"Bring him below," Lieutenant Norrington waved a dismissive hand.

His men nodded and obeyed his orders, the young Elizabeth following along nervously. The burly sailors set the sleeping boy down on a thin pallet and left. Elizabeth, unsure of what to do, pulled up a small stool, sat down and wringed her hands anxiously.

Unbeknownst to all else, two curious brown eyes spied on the pair from behind a large barrel labeled "GUNPOWDER". Shiny curls bounced down in front of the inquisitive eyes, blurring the small child's vision. A chubby hand reached up to brush the coils back, securing them behind a small ear. Unlike most youngsters her age, whose attention span wavers after a small span of time, this child stood immobile for well over an hour, watching Will and Elizabeth.

When three hour had run their course, and the boy still showed no sign of waking, Elizabeth finally stood, and brushing her skirts off, she left the small cabin. Waiting a moment, the small girl then began to creep towards the sleeping form, curiosity shining in her deep brown eyes. She sat near Will for a couple minutes before tentatively reaching out to stroke the boy's cheek. He slowly opened his eyes, and found himself staring up at a beautiful child, about the age of seven.

"'ello," he said, propping himself up on his elbows. "'ew are you?"

"My name's Mary Swann. I'm Elizabeth's sister," the girl responded in a sweet and innocent voice.

"Elizabeth?" The boy asked puzzled. Then his features lit up as he remembered, "Oh! Her- nice to meet ya!" Will held his hand out. "My name's Will Turner. Though...you probably already know that," the boy added ruefully.

Mary clasped his hand warmly in her small one. "A pleasure, I'm sure." She smiled shyly. This boy was different from the others- she didn't know how, but she felt strangely drawn to him.

Will was about to speak again when Elizabeth walked in and caught sight of them. "Mary!" she exclaimed, shoving her little sister carelessly aside. "What are you doing? Are you alright Will? I'm sorry about Mary- she's such a little bother, isn't she? Run along and play, Mary. Don't disturb us any longer."

Throughout her older sister's rushed monologue, Mary's chocolate eyes began to brim with tears. She looked down, ashamed ad embarrassed, and a fat tear drop spilled over and fell with a splat down onto the wooden floor. Her lower lip began to tremble as she looked pleadingly at Will, her big brown eyes shining.

"I...uh, I-" Will stammered, unsure of what to say. Mary hadn't been a bother- after all, she was just being polite. But Will didn't want to be rude. He opted to remain silent, contenting with throwing the smaller girl an apologetic glance.

She sniffed pitifully and ran out of the room, sobs racking her petite body.

"Pay her no heed," Elizabeth cut in before Will could speak.

************************************************************************

I have grown much since that day, eight years ago to be exact. But nothing has changed in respect of myself, Will, and Elizabeth. I still love him, he still thinks me a child, Elizabeth still sees me as a nuisance, and Will as hers.

And he accepts it.