Chapter 3

For over an hour, Elizabeth sat, watching Will skillfully
craft a few pieces of iron into perfect horse shoes. As he worked,
Will hardly even noticed that she was in the room. He was bent over
his tiny table, banging away. Then he would stick the iron in the
hot coals to shape it every so often. Sure enough, whenever he lit
the shoe on fire, Pepper went mad, rearing on his hind legs and
squealing in terror. "Calm down," Elizabeth soothed, climbing into
the paddock to grab Pepper's harness. The donkey nearly knocked her
down again, but she managed to slide out of his way just in
time. "It's not going to hurt you…see how far away it is?" Elizabeth
asked, as the animal pranced around in a circle, his great tail
swishing back and forth. Eventually Elizabeth managed to calm the
donkey, and gave him a few sugar cubes that Will stored in a
container on one of the tables.

"You should get out of there before you ruin your gown," Will
told her smiling as he continued banging the hammer against the iron.
Elizabeth did as she was told, though she could have cared less about
getting her dress dirty. When she told him this, Will shook his head
with a smirk. "Are you purposely trying to get me into trouble?"

She kissed him. "No." Then she placed one of her hands on top
of his, smiling. "Can I try?" she whispered. Will hesitated. He
wanted to get these shoes to Mrs. Barton before she had a fit, and
gave him a bad reputation to the rest of the town. Still, he decided
he could always fix it back into shape if for some crazy reason
Elizabeth messed up the iron.

"All right, but please be careful…" Will handed her the
hammer, and stepped aside so she could take his place. He folded his
arms and watched as she firmly tapped the half-finished horse shoe,
gasping as the sound of the clang made her body tremble. She was
beaming as she repeated the gesture, holding onto one end of the shoe
tightly so she would not cause it to flip up into the air and smack
her on the forehead. Will hated to admit it, but that had happened to
him more than once before, and had caused quite a few nasty bruises
to form.

"That is different," Elizabeth announced, once she'd had
enough and handed the hammer back to him. "Thank you…I've always
wanted to see how it felt to be a blacksmith…"

Will laughed. "It's not all fun and games, My Lady…"

Elizabeth put her hands on her hips. "I hate it when you call
me that…" She sighed. Will laughed and shook his head.

"Call you what?"

"You know what."

He smirked. "Well I promise that I will not do such a thing
again, then." He went to smack the hammer against the shoe again when
sure enough, missed. Elizabeth covered her mouth with her hands as
the iron flew up and smacked him right in the forehead, and she
watched in shock as he quickly dropped his tool and placed his hand
against the tender spot, cursing. "Damn it!" Luckily the cool end of
the metal had whacked him, or it would have caused more damage.

Elizabeth burst out laughing, and rushed over to him,
carefully pulling his hand away and examining the bruise that was
starting to appear. He cried out when she touched it gently with her
fingertips, and she clucked her tongue. "Let me get you a compress
for that…at least it will help somewhat," she said through her
giggles.

"I am so glad you find this funny," Will grumbled as she lead
him over to a chair so he could sit down.

"You will too, afterwards," she told him as she went to fetch
a cloth. "I'll use the water pump out back to soak this," she added,
and he nodded, closing his eyes tightly as pain seared through his
head. Elizabeth went outside and around the back of the shop, over to
the water pump, soaked the cloth, and squeezed out excess droplets
before going back inside again. Will gasped as she pressed the folded
cloth against the bruise, but she placed her free hand on his
shoulder. "Just calm down for a moment and it will be all right," she
soothed.

"Let us hope that this welt goes away before our wedding,"
Will sighed.

"I would not worry so much," Elizabeth insisted. "No one will
care…"

"I will." Will muttered. "Of course, everything always
happens to me, doesn't it? Only every so often do I have a stroke of
good luck…" he grinned at her, and laughed when he saw her blushing.

"I was hoping you'd come up with a way to weasel out of that
statement," Elizabeth laughed also as she sat down on his lap,
putting her free arm around his shoulders. "And Madame Barton will be
satisfied by your horseshoes…they look fantastic already and you've
not even finished!" She planted a kiss on top of his head. "Now how
does it feel?" she asked, removing the compress.

"Much better, thank you…" Will wrapped his arms around her
waist. "Madame Barton can wait, I think," he whispered into her
ear. "Let us get out and take a walk and maybe find a place to have a
small picnic?"

Elizabeth nodded. "I am sure Father will not mind sparing a
bit of food, so we'll have to go back to my house then." She stood
up, helping Will to his feet, trying not to laugh again at his
injury. Will made sure to clean everything up, putting his tools away
and the iron horse shoes in a safe place, before saying goodbye to
Pepper.

"Mind the place now," Will warned.

"Heehaw!" Pepper replied, bobbing his head, reaching out his
neck to Elizabeth again, who stroked him one last time.

"Come on then." Will took her hand and the two of them left
the shop. Elizabeth waited until Will locked the door before lacing
her fingers through his again while they started to walk down the
street. It had grown incredibly warm, and Elizabeth found it rather
difficult to breathe properly in the stuffy air.

The two made their way down the street, talking to each
other, neither caring about the odd looks they were receiving.
Certainly no one had expected Elizabeth Swann to marry a poor
blacksmith. Everyone expected her to accept Commodore Norrington's
proposal, in what would supposedly be a "fine match". Elizabeth
agreed wholeheartedly…the commodore was a good man, just not a man
she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. She remembered the
sour expression on his face at breakfast, and grinned as she
continued to hold hands with Will. He was very jealous, she could
tell. I'd rather follow my heart than my Father's,' she thought with
a quiet sigh as she glanced up at Will, feeling laughter bubble
inside of her again when she noticed how dark his bruise had become.

"Goodness, could it be any warmer outside?" she asked,
fanning herself with her silk fan that she had luckily brought with
her. Will smiled.

"Aye it could, Love." He replied as they walked up the steps
to the Governor's mansion, and Elizabeth opened the door. Kati,
Elizabeth's maid, was busy dusting in the front hallway, and had her
back turned to them as she worked on a painting that hung on the wall
by the bottom of the stairs.

"Kati, is Father about?" Elizabeth spoke up, and the maid
gasped, whirling around.

"Ah, Miss…I did not hear you come in!" When she saw Will come
out from behind Elizabeth, a slight blush crept into her tanned
cheeks, and she hid the feather duster behind her back, grinning
nervously. "Good afternoon, Mr. Turner…nice to see you again…"

Will nodded respectfully. "And the same to you, Ma'am."

"Your Father is out for the afternoon…he had to take care of
some business or other with the navy men… Is there something I could
get for you, Miss?"

Elizabeth nodded. "As a matter of fact, yes you could," she replied
thoughtfully. "
Will and I were thinking about going on a picnic, but of course we
didn't decide until the last minute and we had no food with us…"

"Of course, Miss, of course! I'll fix up something real nice
for you…"

Elizabeth grinned. "Fix it for three, Kati…"

"Three, Miss? Are you expecting another guest?" She asked.

"You of course!" Elizabeth replied.

Kati's eyes grew very large and she stepped back a pace. "Oh
now Miss, that would not be proper, no…what would your Father say if
he saw me with you?"

Elizabeth chuckled. "He'd think it was delightful. You work
very hard, Kati, and deserve an afternoon off."

Kati turned to Will. "Won't you join us?" he added.

"Oh Miss, I don't know what to say…"

Elizabeth grinned. "I know what you could say," she
began, "You can say Elizabeth instead of Miss if you will…"

Kati blushed again. "Yes Miss…Elizabeth. I'll start fixing us
something real nice to eat straight away…just have a seat and make
yourselves comfortable while you wait," she announced, and bustled
into the kitchen. Will sat down on the chair by the front door, and
Elizabeth sat down on his lap, causing him to grunt for a moment.
Once he managed to steady her, he glanced up at the candle sticks by
the doorframe, and smirked.

"Dear, might I ask you something?" Will asked.

"What?"

"Why do those candlesticks make such a loud echo when you
take them out?"

Elizabeth laughed. "It's Father's idea of a door knocker.
Connected to the end of that candle stick on the outside of the house
are two rocks, and a trigger sets them off every time someone takes
one out. Watch…" Elizabeth slid off of his lap and went over to the
candlesticks, lifting one from it's holder, and an echoing knock
sounded through the house. Will nodded. He had done that before, but
had been so startled by the loud noise it caused that he had dumped
the candlestick into the umbrella bin.

The two of them sat together, glad that the Governor had gone
out and could not see them like this, waiting for Kati to come back
with a picnic basket. Will leaned his forehead on the back of
Elizabeth's head, touching the back of her neck with his fingertips.
His hands slid up under her hair, which felt so soft and silky.
Elizabeth closed her eyes as she felt Will massage the back of her
neck, and she wrapped her legs around his so she would not fall off
of his lap.

Kati soon came back with a large basket, and stopped
short. "Oh…" she whispered, and Will immediately lowered his hands
and Elizabeth's head shot up.

"Thank you, Kati," Elizabeth told her maid, hopping off of
Will's lap yet again. "Now go and change so you'll be more
comfortable."

"But Elizabeth, all I have are maid's gowns and one evening
gown."

"Hmm…well, all right…I suppose that will have to do. At least
take off your bonnet."

Kati was beaming as she did as she was told, and she stood
with Will, waiting for Elizabeth to scribble a note to her Father,
telling him of Kati's whereabouts.

"I can't thank you enough," Kati told Elizabeth as they went
outside, locking the door behind them. Elizabeth smiled as they
headed in the direction of the park by the water. They found a nice,
lush patch to sit upon, and Elizabeth helped Kati set up the picnic
blanket. Will unpacked the food basket, taking a great breath of the
fresh salt air that wafted from the bay. Elizabeth sat right beside
Will, smiling as he unwrapped the sandwiches, and handed one to Kati
first.

"It feels so very nice to be out in the fresh air," Kati told
them.

Elizabeth laughed. "Fresh air?" She took a deep breath of the
humidity and pretended to gag, fainting jokingly across Will's lap.
He smirked, and bent over to kiss her forehead. She struggled to sit
up again, giggling as Will pulled her to him. Kati chuckled.

"You are both going to look so handsome at your wedding," she
announced. "It seems like ages away…"

Elizabeth nodded. "Thank you, Kati. Would you believe Father
had the nerve to mention wedding gowns at breakfast this morning? I
honestly thought I would die!"

Will snorted. "I'm flattered that he's willing to provide an
outfit for me…"

Elizabeth smiled. "Well, that was very kind of him at least…
it's just…wedding garments are not to be discussed…"

Will touched his fingers to her lips. "At the table, I know."

Kati raised her eyes as she sat munching on her portion of
the food, eventually reaching for the bowl of freshly cut fruit.
Peaches, pears, apples and oranges were the variety she had chosen…
Elizabeth's favorites. For a few moments, the three of them were more
intent on eating their meal than they were in chatting, until Kati
spoke up. "So, what are you two going to do on your wedding night?
Are you going to carry her away like in the fairy tales?"

Elizabeth nearly choked on her glass of milk. "Kati! That is
too bold!" she gasped.

Kati grinned mischievously. "Is Will a nice kisser?"

"KATI!"

Will turned to Elizabeth, grinning as well. "Am I, dearest?"
he asked in a sweet voice. Elizabeth folded her arms, her cheeks
turning bright red with embarrassment. She stuck her lower lip out in
a pout, and glared at him.

"Now this isn't fair!" she snapped.

He laughed, and cupped her face in his hands. "I might have
to re-think taking you sailing with Jack next time he comes around,"
he teased, rubbing noses with her.

She gasped and gave him a playful shove. "Oh no you won't! If
I have to sneak on that ship I will…"

Will touched the ends of her hair softly. "You know I would
never leave you behind…" He turned to Kati with a wink. "Watch and
learn, My Lady…" He lowered his lips to Elizabeth's, pulling her into
a tender, loving kiss. Kati nearly dropped her apple in surprise, and
she placed her hands against the sides of her face, her mouth falling
open with a gasp before giggling, and covering her eyes. The kiss
lasted for a full two minutes, before the two broke apart, taking a
great breath, before beaming.

"Oh I could melt right here I could!" Kati squealed,
giggling. "Only five more days…"

"Shhhhh!" Elizabeth hissed. "Don't make me think about it!"
She gave Will a joking look of disgust, but he pulled out a handful
of grass and dumped it on her hair, ruffling what he could of it. She
shrieked.

"Will, you let go of my hair NOW, or you'll mess it up!!!"

Will couldn't help himself. He doubled over in roars of
laughter and fell backwards, clutching at his sides. She put her
hands on her hips. "What's so funny?" she asked harshly.

"You always s-said that when you were little," Will gasped
through his chuckles. Elizabeth turned to Kati, and nodded to her.
Soon both girls attacked and started to tickle him, Elizabeth on one
side and Kati on the other. Will curled up into a ball, covering his
head with his arms as they did so.

"Elizabeth!"

Everyone froze. Elizabeth very slowly lifted her head, to see
her father standing before them, an expression of great horror on his
face. Silence filled the air for a moment or two.

"Father…"

"What are you thinking, acting in such a manner in public?
And Kati…what do you think you're…"

"Do not get angry at her, Father…I invited Kati to come with
us on a picnic," Elizabeth insisted. "I did not think you'd mind,
honest!"

Kati looked near tears as she quickly stood up. She
straightened her dress, curtsyed with her arms stiffly at her sides,
and bowed her head. The governor nodded, chewing on his lower lip. "I
just find it rather rude that you did not include me in the fun…"

Everyone sighed with relief and laughed. Elizabeth then
pointed at an empty spot on the blanket. "You may join us, Father, if
you're not too busy."

The governor chuckled. "No, no, I have business to take care
of at the house."

Kati gulped. "I'm…sorry for abandoning my post, sir,"

The governor shook his head. "Nonsense…everyone deserves a
holiday. Well…carry on, then…I'll expect you home at a reasonable
hour, Elizabeth…preferably for supper," He ordered quietly.

Elizabeth nodded, and waved as he walked away. When he was
gone, everyone practically sunk back onto the blanket in a dead faint
with relief. Elizabeth rested her head on Will's stomach, stroking
his chin, as he kept a strong hand on her back. Kati relaxed again,
lying down on her side, allowing her mind to drift away into a
comfortable doze. "Let's all take a…." Will yawned hugely. "Nap…"

Elizabeth nodded. "Mmm hmmm." She snuggled against him so she
could find a more restful position. "Sounds…good…" Soon she started
to snore quietly, and Will looked down at her with a small smile on
his face.

"I'll wake you in a bit…just sleep now," he whispered,
singing softly, "Yo, ho…yo, ho…a pirate's life for me…"