AUTHOR'S NOTE A few notes about this chapter. I have decided that I think Will and Elizabeth were 11 when Will was rescued and would therefore be 19 in Pirates of the Caribbean. This vignette takes place 3 years prior to that. It's also slightly AU I guess, since if they really were close friends like I've written, Will wouldn't have been quite so nervous in the opening scenes of PotC. *shrugs* Oh well.

DISCLAIMER They all belong to Disney…*sniff* Too bad…

Dot Hehe, yes, he was in for a surprise!

Sanely Challenged Ragetti's chapter will be chapter 8. Sorry you have to wait so long, but I hope you're enjoying these along the way!

Ragetti's gurl & Lisha the omnipotent Like I said above, Ragetti will be Chapter 8. I actually just finished writing his chapter today. I hope you'll keep reading while you wait!

StrangeDreams Don't worry, you'll see all of those except Cotton. I don't know why I didn't decide to write one for him, too. Gibbs is Chapter 3, Anamaria 5, and Jack 9.

Happychaos Thank you so much! That about Murtogg and Mullroy is probably the highest compliment you could have given me! I'm always so worried about keeping everyone in character. And there will be Jack of course, have no fear!

Tinania Lindaleriel I'm glad you like it! Vignettes are fun.

Astralmoth Thanks so much!

Pery-pirate-fancier "Hope am not turning into pervy hobbit-fancier like Uncle Windermir. Not after what happened to him." Hehe…love your author name! Love the secret diaries too. *grin* I'm glad you're enjoying it!

"Elizabeth?"

16-year-old Elizabeth Swann, daughter of the Governor of Port Royal, looked up from her lessons to see her father in the doorway. "Hello Father," she greeted him with a smile.

Weatherby Swann smiled back at his only child. She looked so much like her mother. "I must go into the village to run an errand," he said. "I was hoping you would accompany me."

Elizabeth grinned widely and jumped up from the table in a most-unladylike manner. She rushed off to find her wrap. The Governor sighed. His only daughter was unfortunately much more interested in tales of the sea than in her manners. He had no cause for worry, of course, as Elizabeth always presented herself perfectly when around company. It was the rest of the time that worried him.

His daughter returned and the two boarded an elegant carriage drawn by fine horses. The Governor's house sat high on a hill above Port Royal and the carriage bounced merrily down toward the town. Elizabeth happily watched out the carriage window while her father watched her fondly.

"What errand must you run, Father?" she asked curiously.

"Oh, nothing important." He smiled to himself. "Mr. Brown has finished mounting my two old swords and I wish to pick them up."

Elizabeth's eyes lit up. "We're going to the blacksmith?"

Governor Swann chuckled. "Yes daughter."

"I'll get to see Will! I've not seen him in ages!" Elizabeth couldn't wait to see her old friend. The two had been inseparable since the day the ship docked in Port Royal after Will had been rescued. For year they had played together, pretending in secret to be pirates.

Then, the year they each turned 14, all their play had to stop. Will was apprenticed to the town's blacksmith and Elizabeth had to become the Lady of her house. For the past two years, the two friends hadn't seen much of each other.

The prancing horses stopped in front of a small workshop. The Governor helped his daughter from the carriage, then knocked on the heavy wooden door. A hefty, stocky man opened it. "Governor! Tis an honor to have ye visit me 'umble shop!"

Governor Swann laughed. "Thank ye indeed, Mr. Brown! I've come for my swords."

"Aye sir!" Mr. Brown hustled into his shop, beckoning for Elizabeth and her father to follow.

The blacksmith's shop was unlike any shop Elizabeth had been in before. Everything was grimy and covered in soot. Hay was strewn about and there was a donkey in the middle of the room. The poor beast was harnessed to a large machine attached to the ceiling. Elizabeth couldn't even begin to guess what it would be used for.

"Boy!" Mr. Brown called. "Oi! Turner! Where be ye?"

"Right here, sir!" 16-year-old Will Turner hurried out from a back room.

"The Governor is 'ere for 'is swords! Fetch them."

"Yes sir! Good day, Governor. Good day Eliz-uh, Miss Swann," he finished nervously.

"Hello Will!" Elizabeth said. Whoa. She was looking into the eyes of a Will she definitely didn't remember. He gazed back at her with big, dark eyes. Had his eyes always been like that?

"Boy!" Mr. Brown barked. "The swords, boy!"

"Oh!" Will stumbled a little, then turned and hurried to find the mounted swords.

"How is the boy doing?" the Governor asked.

"Eh. 'E's alright," Mr. Brown grunted noncommittally. He and Governor Swann continued to discuss Will's progress as an apprentice, but Elizabeth wasn't listening.

His eyes had been so dark…so gorgeous and dark. Were they always like that? She didn't remember them like that. She remembered everything about that day Will had been pulled from the sea and his eyes couldn't have been so beautifully dark without her realizing it.

Will soon returned, carrying two swords beautifully mounted in black steel. He strained under the weight just a little, but enough so that his thin cotton shirt couldn't hide his muscular arms. 'I wonder if the rest of him is like that,' Elizabeth found herself thinking.

She blushed crimson at the indecency of her thoughts and looked away. Her father took the swords and paid Mr. Brown handsomely. "Thank ye very much! Good day to you."

"And to ye, Governor."

Elizabeth tilted her head just slightly. "Good-bye Mr. Brown. Good…" her voice trailed off as butterflies erupted in her stomach. Those eyes…

As she struggled for composure, Will smiled nervously. "Good day, Miss Swann." She just smiled shakily back at him, then fled for her father's carriage.

She sat lost in thought the whole way home. Who was that? It certainly couldn't be Will Turner. Will Turner was the boy she used to play pirates with. Mr. Brown's apprentice certainly couldn't be that same 11-year-old boy they'd rescued from the ocean. What had happened to that boy, her friend?

When the returned to the house, Swann Manor as she and Will once joked, Elizabeth had to resume her lessons. However, her mind was far from the etiquette of serving dinner guests. Whoever this new Will Turner was, she looked forward to getting to know him all over again.