Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Will Turner. Or, in fact, anyone in this story, so far.


Three days.

It had been three days since the ship was captured, three days since Will had eaten and three days since he'd seen the light of day. He was squashed in a cell with twenty other sailors of varying ranks – luckily not including commodore – and so he also hadn't slept properly for at least four days either. The place stank. He felt like he was dirtier than he'd ever been in his life. He wasn't even sure that he was fully conscious.

Later, he hardly remembered the rough hands that forced him to his feet, the march from the brig up onto deck where the light blinded him and he couldn't see anyway, down the gangplank to what he assumed was a port and at some stage later lining up behind the other sailors again.

The attack had been fast.

He remembered the cry of "Sail ho!" from the crow's nest and someone yelling at him to run and get the Commodore. He left his bucket and mop and ran below, but he had barely even cleared the stairs when the cannon fire started. He was thrown off his feet as the ship shuddered, and he wondered who could be firing on them – the ship they'd just spotted was too far out to hit them yet. Commodore Norrington rushed past him up onto the deck even before Will had regained his feet, yelling for all hands and to man the cannons.

Will ran after him, and as soon as he reached the top of the stairs, he looked up in awe at the attacking ship looming over them on starboard side. It would have to be the biggest ship he'd ever seen – he wondered how they got it to stay afloat. He snapped out of his daze as the gunfire started, ducking and pulling out his pistol, but for all the good it would do it may as well have been made out of wood.

They were already being boarded… Injured crewmembers and blood was starting to cover the deck… Who were these pirates? And suddenly the fight was over before Will had any chance to join it. The enemy crew were gathering them all together in a tight circle around the main mast – there were so many of them! Some of them dressed like pirates, but some were as well-dressed and tidy-looking as Will, and there was an abnormal amount of women among them, too.

Now someone was turning Will around, shoving him against the mast and roping his hands together, then he was pushed into line behind another sailor and they were ordered to march straight down to their own brig. The ship, with one of the best crews in the Navy, had been completely defeated and captured in less than five minutes.

Someone was pouring water down Will's throat. He spluttered and opened his eyes, a wave of disorientation washing over him as he realised he was lying on the ground. He must have fainted.

"Come on now, young sailor-boy," a voice said. He focused on a big fat man dressed in rich clothing. He had no idea where he was or how much time had passed. "I know a few buyers who'll be interested in you straight away, but it won't work out too well if you're fainting all over the place, know what I mean?" He laughed. Will had no idea what he was talking about, and his accent was unfamiliar. Now he was pushing bread into Will's mouth, and some kind of liquid that seemed to set his whole head on fire. Gradually, he regained his awareness. He was still outside, lying next to the line of his fellow captive sailors. He sat up and looked around.

This was a slave market.

Suddenly, a giant of a man with incredibly dark skin loomed in front of Will. "Are you Turner, boy?" he asked, his voice lower, if possible, than a growl.

Will nodded. However, it felt like he was in fact shaking his brains around inside his head, so he quickly stopped. At this stage, he wasn't quite up to asking any questions. Once again, he was pulled roughly to his feet, beginning to feel marginally more alert.

"This one's not for sale," the man growled to the slaver. Some kind of brief argument ensued but Will didn't make much sense of it. Now he was being marched back to the ships.

Wherever they were, it was hotter and more humid than Port Royal. He noticed that his hands were tied in front of him, and that there was no Navy presence at all. This port was probably run entirely by the slavers.

They marched on to the giant ship that had attacked them and another of the captors somewhat familiar to Will, joined them. They seemed to have arrived, because they giant man stopped and pushed Will down onto a crate near the edge of the deck.

"You will tell us the location of Jack Sparrow and the Black Pearl," he ordered.

Will cleared his dry throat. "I don't know where he is. I last saw him in Port Royal."

Louder and more aggressive, the man repeated, "You will tell us the location of Jack Sparrow and the Black Pearl or we will sack Port Royal and kill the Governor's daughter."

"Leave her out of this-" Will began, but the man smacked him across the temple so hard that he saw stars.

"If I were searching for him," he said through clenched teeth, "I'd probably try Tortuga. But I'm not guaranteeing he'll be there. I've had no contact with him for months."

A small boy had approached the giant man, who turned to listen to his message before patting his head and sending him off again. The kind gesture struck Will as strange, but he didn't have the time to consider it.

"Captain Sinbad wants to see you," he growled. "Report to the Captain's cabin."

Then he turned away and left Will sitting there dumbly. Sinbad… He hadn't heard that Sinbad's legendary fleet of pirate ships had ever sailed this far into the Spanish Main. Pushing himself to his feet, he walked across to the Captain's cabin and awkwardly raised both hands together to knock on the door. A moment later, a young woman about his own age answered.

"Yes?"

"I was sent to see Captain Sinbad."

"Yes?"

"…Can I see him, please?"

She frowned. Her hair was cut in a short boy's mop and she was dressed like a man, too, in pants and a shirt with a frivolous amount of frills, and a big hat. In fact, a captain's hat.

"The last male Sinbad was my father, and he's dead. So no, you can't see him. But you can see me. Please don't do the jaw-dropping thing, I get enough of that already. What did you say your name was?"

"Will Turner."

"Ah yes, I've been expecting you. Come in."

She led him in to a rather lavishly-furnished room and sat him down at a table piled with just as lavish food, and continued speaking in her hurried, curt tone.

"You eat, I'll talk. I'm sorry for your imprisonment, but I didn't know we'd captured anyone of value until one of my crew recognised you." Will attacked the bread and fruit as she spoke. He'd never tasted anything so good in his life. "I think I know a fair bit about you already. You were a blacksmith in Port Royal until the Black Pearl sacked the town and captured one Elizabeth Swann, so you collaborated with the pirate Jack Sparrow to find the ship and rescue her – of course there was all that Aztec gold curse business – but now you've joined the Royal Navy in order to impress your beloved's father into allowing your marriage. Am I correct so far?"

Will nodded, his mouth ridiculously full of food.

"And as you are under the command of one Commodore Norrington, from whom you stole Elizabeth in the course of your adventures, I don't imagine you're having much luck."

Will shook his head.

"Well, Mr Turner, I have a proposition for you. Stay with my fleet for a while and let me take you on as an apprentice. If you do well in the next few months, I'll give you your own ship to do whatever you like with – even if all you do is to sail it back to Port Royal and tell them you captured it from pirates."

Swallowing hard, he frowned. "And what's in this bargain for you?"

"Nothing at all, except for the honour of working with you." When Will didn't respond she darkened. "Take me offer or leave it, but don't sit there and act like I'm lying to yer." Her high-class accent suddenly disappeared as she raised her voice, and she immediately sounded much more like a pirate. "If you're not interested," she said, regaining her composure, "we can set you down here and you can find your own way home."

Will didn't need to consider for long. "Alright," he said. They shook hands.

"My name is Kari, but I'd prefer it if you didn't flaunt the fact that you know Sinbad is actually female. It's not general knowledge."

"Pleased to meet you," he replied warily. At least, he considered, here I might have a better chance at promotion…


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