A low
groan emitted from his throat as he came back to the conscious world at last.
He could feel the pain as he moved slight in the side of his stomach, but the
fever that had been plaguing him had burned itself out. He opened his eyes,
looking around the room. It was early evening by the looks of it, and there
seemed to be no one around. The perfect time to escape...that is, if he could
move.
Sitting up slowly, he felt the stitches in the side pulling, fresh pain tearing
up his side. He looked down, running his hand over the dried blood on the once
white bandages. Estrella had left him a fresh shirt on the chair a few feet
away, telling him that he could have it when she was satisfied that he was
healing ok. But time was at stake and he needed to get going. Throwing his legs
over the side, he got to his feet slowly. Standing up slowly, he winced at the
new pain, then walked over to the chair. It was hard putting on the shirt, but
after a few moments of cursing and struggling, he buttoned it up, slipping the
vest on as well. He grabbed his coat, then reached for his weapons. Which
weren't there.
"Damn..." He cursed, looking around the room, but the weapons were no
where in sight. He dropped the coat on the chair, going through the room,
getting down on his knees to check under the cot and the table.
"What are you doing?" Will turned to see Thomas and Alex starting at
him. Thomas was holding a pistol at his side, one of Will's, a scared look on
his face.
"Where's my other pistol, sword, and dagger?" He asked, getting back
up to his feet. Thomas brought the pistol up, his hand shaking, and Will
frowned, raising his hands. "What are you doing?"
"We know who you are." Thomas said, and Alex nodded, hiding behind
his big brother.
"You and all the rest of the town. Why the sudden hostility?"
"Because you killed innocent people." Will's eyes grew dark, an angry
expression crossing his face.
"Where did you hear that?"
Thomas backed up slightly, even more terrified of the pirate. "The
soldiers came around this morning, after Estrella left. They were looking for a
Captain Matthew Stryder, and the way they described him was a lot like
you."
He knew what they were trying to do. They were trying to flush him out by
spreading false rumors, hoping someone, an innocent citizen trying to do the
right thing would come forward and turn him in. They were even using his
assumed alias to do it.
"I am Matt Stryder." He said slowly. "But I've never killed an
innocent person."
"The soldiers don't lie to people." Alex spoke up.
"They don't, but maybe someone's lying to them." The two boys look
confused. "Sit down." Alex and Thomas scooted towards the chair,
Thomas still tightly clutching the pistol. "Look, my real name isn't Matt,
it's....how old are you boys?"
"Five." Alex piped up.
"Thirteen." Thomas responded. Will nodded.
"See, there was a man who used to live here, a blacksmith."
"Will Turner." Thomas said. "He was a really nice man. But he
died because people thought he was a pirate. Estrella never did, because she
knew that even though he had pirate blood, he was a good man." The boy's
words quieted Will for a moment, before continuing.
"I'm Will Turner." He said finally. Alex stared at him for a second
before bursting into tears. "What? Hey...." Without even thinking
about it, Will scooted forwards on his knees towards Alex, trying to calm him
down, his fatherly instincts taking over. Alex curled up in the corner of the
chair, shying away from him. "What's wrong?"
"You're....you're...you're a g-g-ghost." Alex cried. Will shook his
head, an easy smile on his face.
"I'm not a ghost. I'm still alive." The boy sniffled, looking at him.
Thomas regarded him as well.
"You're Will? I thought you weren't a pirate." Thomas said finally.
"I wasn't, until that happened." To his surprised, Alex crawled over
to him and laid his head against Will's chest. Hesitantly, he wrapped his arms
around the boy, looking over at Thomas. "I was falsely accused."
"Estrella was right."
"Aye, that she was." Will held out his hand, looking down at the
pistol. Thomas looked down as well, then set it in Will's hand.
"Why did you come back?"
Will wasn't sure how to answer the question, staring at the floor. Finally he
spoke up. "Bad things are happening and I think Eli...Mrs. Norrington
might be in trouble." Thomas nodded.
"They said weird stuff was happening. I'd hate if anything would happen to
Mrs. Norrington and Emma, they're both really nice. Commodore Norrington was
really nice too." He said quietly. Will felt guilt bloom in his heart, but
refused to let his face show it.
"Yeah...which is why I need you to show me where my weapons are so I can
go help her." He pleaded. Thomas bit his lip for a moment.
"In the kitchen, in the big pot." Will got to his feet, letting go of
Alex.
"Thank you." He strode into the kitchen, and sure enough, there was
the pot. There was also someone standing next to it. A very familiar someone.
Will's eyes narrowed dangerously as he regarded the other man.
"Regular bunch of Lazarus' we all are, aren't we?" He said, an ironic
smirk on his face.
Michael, his supposedly dead best friend smirked back. "Well, I never
really died, just made it look like I did." He cocked his head. "I
thought you'd be more surprised to see me."
"I'm not stupid." The smile disappeared off Will's face. "How
much did they have to pay you to betray your best friend, eh? Better be a good
sum, or I'll be really insulted." His temper was rising, his hands
clenched in fists, cursing that the traitor was between him and his weapons.
"You should know, Will, you looked right at it that night..."
Clapping and cheering filled the tavern as Will and Elizabeth burned up the
dance floor, energetically dancing among the rest to the small band that had
volunteered to play that night. The smile on Will's face could not be wiped
away, and Elizabeth's cheeks were
flushed red, glowing happily. Nearby, Governor Swann laughed and clapped his
hands, Michael sitting next to him, baby Emma cuddled protectively in his arms
as he watched Elizabeth and Will dance.
It was the perfect night, no worries to bog them down.
The song ended, and Will came to a halt, catching Elizabeth in his arms. She
sighed, snuggling up against his chest as they walked back to the table, tired.
"This is a wonderful birthday party." Elizabeth told Michael as
they approached. "Thank you."
Michael smiled. "Anything for the beautiful, loving wife of my best
friend." He teased, and Will nudged him with his elbow.
"She's taken." He joked, as Michael mockingly hit his head with his
palm.
"I knew that." He looked up. "If you'll excuse me for a moment,
I have to go play tavern keeper." He handed Emma to Elizabeth and took off
through the crowd. Elizabeth looked down at
the child in her arms.
"She's so tired. I should take her home." She said, looking up at
Will. Will nodded, smiling gently.
"Just let me go say good-bye to Michael and I'll be right there." He
wandered through the crowd, looking for the other man. He finally found him in
the back, talking with two other men. Will stopped a few feet away, and they
stopped talking, looking over at him.
"Lieutenant Gillette, sir." He wasn't sure who the other man was, but
he nodded to him as well to be polite. He would later come to find out that
this man was a mercenary named Ghost. Michael looked over at him.
"Everything ok?" Will nodded.
"Yeah, I just wanted to come thank you for helping me throw this birthday
party for Elizabeth and to say
goodnight. Emma's exhausted, so we're going to take her home." He held out
his hand to shake Michael's. Michael juggled the large coin purse in one hand
over to the other.
"I didn't mind. Anything for my best friend." He said, laughing.
"That was a pretty hefty amount, but looks can be deceiving." He
stared at Michael as he said it. "I trusted you..."
"And I could make a fortune off of you." Michael pointed the pistol
at him. "And I can make double of what I did last time, because you can't
stay dead. So thank you, Will."
Will stared at him. "Why fake your death?"
"Elizabeth was too needy
and she was becoming attached. Needed to get away. And being second in command
of a mercenary ship has its rewards."
Will growled. "You sold me out for a position on a ship of scumbags."
"And pirates are better?"
"Aye, they ar...." He winced as Michael pulled out another pistol and
shot it into the ground near Will's foot. The boys stayed silent and Will
thanked God for that.
Michael pointed at the door. "Come on, Mr. Turner, we're going to go see
an old friend."
