AN (12/11): Well, I guess I really put my first story up a year ago today...silly me, not being able to read. Anyway, the reviews thus far have been very heartening indeed. Thanks!
(12/13): To clear up some misconceptions I noticed...there were two distinct flash backs in the last chapter. Lottie...well, you'll learn more about her. In the play, Willy (who is now Will, oddly enough) has flashbacks inside of flashbacks...it can be a bit confusing, hence the boldness and italicisedness...if that's even a word...
And I've finally got myself some cheese...I've been wanting it ever since I typed up that last chapter...sad, really. Ah well, now I've got cheese, and I'm listening to Pirates of the Caribbean music...and putting off studying for Academic Decathlon.
Death of a Blacksmith: Chapter Two
"Doesn't he realize that mom can hear him?" Edmund asked disgustedly as he stared at his younger brother across the room. He could hear Will downstairs, muttering something about moldy cheese now. It was starting to get dark in Port Royal... Will usually wasn't home this early.
"I dunno," Dalen replied with a slight shrug, frowning at his brother. "Come on, Edmund...Dad's just a little tired."
"Not only mom...but the neighbors as well." Edmund sighed heavily and shook his head. "Something needs t' be done about him...honest, I shouldn't bother coming home any more. Never seems to help."
"Well..dad does get rather excited, whenever we get a letter from you when you talk about coming home...but as each day goes by, he just gets into a more sour mood. Almost like he doesn't really want to see you." Dalen laughed slightly. "Of course that isn't really what it is. He loves ya, Edmund. I bet he's just tired of being a blacksmith."
"Oh, I know he is," Edmund replied, almost thoughtfully. "Has been ever since I was kicked outta the Academy. Not that I can blame him...I let him down, Dalen."
"Aww...you din' really let him down, Edmund...he was still proud of you." Dalen smiled, almost eager to cheer up his older brother. Of course, Dalen had always idolized his elder brother...with all his skills and natural skill with women...
"I let him down," Edmund said softly, as though contemplating his whole life in just one moment. "Well...I can't change tha', can I?" He sighed, glancing towards Dalen with a look in his chocolate brown eyes that bordered on contempt for a moment. "What have you been up to?"
"Cheese...why in the world did she get cheshire, anyway? What does she think I'm made of, money? Goodness...she should know better than that." Will frowned slightly as he cut the bluish cheese in front of him and placed it on the table next to the bread he'd already gotten out. "I hate this stuff...too rich for my blood. Blood of a pirate, you know."
"Of course I know tha', mate," a very familiar voice said as Will looked around and spotted none other than Captain Jack Sparrow. "I was the one tha' tole ye."
"Oh, I know that you were the one that told me," Will replied, smiling at the older, more experienced man. One thing could be said about Jack Sparrow...he always seemed confident. "What are you doing in Port Royal, though? You'll get caught."
"Mate, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow...don' ye worry yer li'le stick o' a head abou' me." Jack chuckled faintly, his dark eyes flashing with amusement and slight worry. "Ye been thinkin' abou' tha' offer?"
"Of course I have," Will said softly, staring at someone who wasn't even there. In his eyes, however, he could see the infamous captain as plainly as ever.
"Will?" a man looking very similar to Elizabeth called out as he stepped inside the house, a look of concern in his light blue eyes. He was about the same height as Will, though he carried himself much more regally, due to his upbringing. He was a young man...only about Edmund's age.
Will frowned slightly and said, "Excuse me," to the nonexistent captain standing to his left. Jack's figure bowed his head slightly, staring out the window for a moment, as he'd done all those years ago. "What is it, Darwin?" he asked with a supreme frown.
"Just wanted to see if you'd like to play some cards," Darwin replied easily, sitting down in the chair next to the distressed dining table and staring at Will for a moment. "Who were you talking to?" Governor Weatherby Swann had remarried after disowning Elizabeth, though he didn't want to "make a mockery of his first wife" by remarrying. Most suspected that their venerated governor had different tendencies...but he had gotten married again. Darwin was the result...but his mother had tragically died a few days after he'd been born. No one could really explain why...
"No one, I was talking to no one," Will responded sourly. "It isn't any of your business anyway." He frowned and glared at Darwin for a moment.
"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, mate...yer father would be proud t' see ye come along," Jack chided gently, staring at Will with that intense probing stare he'd mastered years ago.
"Do you want me to deal or not?" Darwin asked exasperatedly as Will stared off into space again. "I don't have all night, you know." No one really knew why Darwin even bothered trying to help the mentally shaky Will...perhaps he felt he owed it to his sister, who'd almost raised him, once Weatherby had softened a bit when Edmund and Dalen had come into the world.
"Deal," Will replied, sighing. Why was Jack back again now, of all the times he could come back? "Well, hurry up! I don't want t' turn in'o dust before you get the bloody cards dealt."
"Do you want to play cards or not?" Darwin asked, a touch of warning to his voice. He took a lot of abuse from Will...but he'd had a very long day today. It had been one boring meeting after another...and here he was, trying to keep the ailing Will company.
"Of course I do," Will replied, looking slightly repentant. "Just deal." He stood up and walked over to the counters, moving a heavy marble rolling pin forward and grabbing the little sack behind it. Once that was accomplished, Will meandered his way to his chair, staring off towards the left for a moment.
"Will, I really 'aven't got all day...I need t' pick up some supplies. Ye be'er give me an answer, when I swing by the house again." Jack sounded almost perturbed at Will's slowness.
By the time Will got into his seat again, Darwin had dealt the cards. This was almost a nightly ritual...they'd play a game of cards, so that Will wouldn't go off wandering...
Dalen either didn't notice or chose to ignore that look his brother had given him. "Not much...I've been promoted t' Ensign." He smiled proudly, revealing a chipped tooth that Edmund had accidentally broken several years earlier in the smithy... Edmund still felt bad about that. Will had been able to repair it, of course, but it was an ugly steel, rather than gold, cap. It'd been a really tight year...
"Well, that's good t' hear," Edmund replied, sitting down on his old bed. A sudden wave of nostalgia swept over him. He brushed most of it aside...now wasn't the time to be thinking about the time he'd convinced Dalen he was actually of noble birth and had bossed him around for that entire week... Elizabeth had been very mad when Dalen had started doing Edmund's chores, like making the bed. "But does being in the Military really make you happy? You used t' always say that you wanted t' be a blacksmith, like dad."
"It's a job, isn't it?" Dalen countered softly, shaking his head. "Besides...you can't get anything accomplished as a blacksmith...no one appreciates you. No one respects you. I've got t' be in the military...dad thinks I can make it all the way to Captain by the time I'm your age."
"Ah ha! Take tha' you cockroach!" Will said triumphantly as he swept the small pile of money from the middle of the table into his waiting hands. He smiled at Darwin for a few moments. It had never crossed his mind that perhaps Darwin lost on purpose...
"So you did," Darwin remarked with a slightly mischievous smile. "I'd like to try and win it back...but I really must be going." He stood and put his hand on Will's shoulder for a moment before gathering the cards. Thankfully Will had stopped talking to whatever person he had been seeing during the course of their game. "Sleep well."
"I will," Will replied, still happily counting the money. "You've made me a happy man, Darwin. I can always sleep better when I'm happy."
"Good," Darwin replied with a slight chuckle. Perhaps giving Will help was just some way for him to feel charitable...he wasn't entirely sure. "See you tomorrow...same time. Unless something comes up."
"Sure, sure, you miserable loser you. I'd like to steal some more of your "hard" earned money." Will frowned slightly, and looked up to further harass his brother-in-law, but Darwin had wisely left the house before that could happen.
"I'm tellin' ye, Will, you could make a fortune off o' this 'ere treasure map," Jack insisted, staring at Will for a moment. "There's a load o' money tha' the Spanish 'ave lost...due t' Blackbeard." The famous pirate's name was spoken with almost a mocking sort of reverence.
"Well..." Will looked towards his old friend again, amazed at how young Jack still looked. His hair had a few strands of gray, to be sure, but his face had hardly any wrinkles. His eyes still twinkled mischievously behind that line of kohl he still wore.
Whatever Will had been about to say was cut off as Edmund, Dalen, and Darwin appeared. Edmund was busy trying to knock his younger brother over with a stick as Darwin watched like a fan. Darwin idolized his eldest nephew...for good reason. Edmund was very handsome, and very talented. He'd inherited Will's height and chocolate eyes and Elizabeth's chin and hair. The manual labor Will put them to helped a lot, in fleshing out their bodies. "Hey, dad!" Edmund said cheerfully, completely astounded to see his father home this early. It was still day time, and Will never came home before the sun set.
"Hey, boys!" Will said proudly, motioning them over to where he and Jack were standing on the front porch of Will's home. It was a cheerful day...the sun was shining above with only a few puffs of clouds whipping their way past. It was almost as though the world could sense that a very important meeting was to take place today. "I'd like you to meet your uncle Jack."
Both boys came running forward, abruptly stopping near Will's sides and surveying the curiously-dressed pirate. Jack observed both of them as well, though he seemed almost disgusted. Dalen looked almost exactly like Will. Honestly, something was wrong with that Turner blood. "Hello," Edmund proclaimed boldly, holding his hand out to Jack.
Jack stared at the hand for a moment, wondering if he really wanted to touch something so vile. But Will was watching closely, and he desperately needed Will's help with this venture. "Well, 'ello. I'm assumin' tha' your Edmund." He smiled quickly, though it was rather insincere as he put his hand extravagantly out and shook the lad's. "An' you mus' be Dalen," he commented as he pivoted slightly on his foot after letting go of Edmund's hand. The lad did have a firm grip...
"Aye, he's Dalen," Will supplied as his youngest son stared in absolute awe of the pirate. Even Edmund seemed rather surprised by their visitor, for he was staring between his hand and Jack's hand. Apparently he didn't realize that pirates (or anyone at sea, for that matter) wore rawhide to protect their palms from rope burns...
"Well..pleasure t' meet both of ye," Jack replied, bowing slightly. He glanced at Will with faint annoyance visible in his eyes, however. "Would it be too much for me t' ask for some privacy? As much as I appreciate your sons, Will, I don' particularly wan' them t' hear wha' I have to say."
Edmund shook his head slightly, but refrained from making a comment. Dalen was a terrible sailor...he had no sea legs at all. It really was a pity, that he was so obsessed with becoming an officer, for he was almost as skilled as Will with sword-making.
The two were in silence for a few moments as Dalen sat down on his bed. "Do you like your work, then?" Dalen asked softly as his hand traced the contours of a yellow pillow Elizabeth had sewn for him when he'd been a small lad. Amazing the sort of things mothers will hold onto...
"Aye, I do," Edmund replied, pulling out of his memories and frowning at the door as he heard Will yell about something. "I like bein' at sea...there's no worries. An' I like not being a part of the Navy...I'm expected t' pull me load, but I don't have to worry about their strictness."
"Ah...well, working under a fine merchant sailor would be fun," Dalen replied softly, staring at his worn hands. They were much too tan for the Navy's liking...he'd seen too much sun as a lad.
Edmund nodded and smirked slightly...yeah, he was in a respectable man's crew. Whatever comment he'd been about to make was broken off as he heard Will below, however.
"Well, you heard Jack, boys! Go upstairs to your room...I believe your mother needs some help with the wash, anyway. What sort of boys are you, if you can't help your mother?" Will was now standing, the money he'd won from Darwin completely forgotten as he yelled exuberantly at his sons.
OpraNoodlemantra: I like this version better too...though, I'm not entirely sticking to the story any longer. I can't remember the specifics of what happened...but as long as I'm close, eh? Thanks so much for leaving a review! It means a lot to me, honest, it does. And I hope you enjoyed this rather confusing addition...
Eccentric Banshee: It is a very depressing play...unless you've got Seth Bracken playing Willy...it was very good, but the whole class was often laughing, instead of all depressed like. I've killed of Jack before...of course, it was only on Neopets, and it was only because he'd been cursed...he was still alive. I should, eh? I'll get around to it eventually...anyway, thanks for the review! It really means a lot to me, when I see your reviews.
Yes, the whole Lottie thing is an affair...
Jack: Well, the play is all sad and depressing. Tis why I rated it a Tragedy/General. It'll just get worse, trust me. The Lottie part...well, that was a flashback inside a flashback. Lottie...well, Will is having an affair with her.
meggumscat: Aye, Will is losing it...and he can't blame Barbossa and Cotton's evil parrot for it, either. Poor Will...
Thanks for leaving me a review, Megan! I lurve it when I get reviews from you...and I can't help but think you're a bit biased towards Dalen...
Jack's-Island-Angel: I'm glad you like it, Kess. Thanks for leaving a review!
sunkist3208: Tis an odd little phrase that I like. -grins- And yesh, this was the top secret plan. I've got another one brewing inside my head... which I'll get started on, as soon as I finish TEEATOM. Which will be soon...sadly. This one, however, is easier to write...anyway, Will's rather old...and worn...kinda like butter stretched over too much bread. He'll eventually snap. Hence the title.
Thanks for the miniature spiderman and cheese! -bounces-
CrazyPirateGirl: Well, that is all going to be explained...both Dalen and Edmund are obviously at home... Thanks for the compliment!
Alteng: Well, this shall be a surprise for you, then! Well, not exactly...anyway...
It isn't the Mr. Brown you're thinking of...you and your ability to catch things that most people don't...anyway, this Mr. Brown is that Mr. Brown's son. Dalen is a cool name...it means something like magical blacksmith or something...Edmund means protector, like Will...and Darwin is something about being a friend...I have all sorts of little hints, in the names...of all my stories. Like Meagan...her name means White Pearl. Anyway, thanks for the constant support and helpful reviews! Since you were the first to leave a review, you get a handful of cheese and a Mickey Mouse plushie dressed up as a pirate that I got for my birthday...