CHAPTER TWO

Mr. Brown

Will shielded the sun from his eyes as it filtered through the light curtains. The Blacksmith sighed and buried his head in the pillow beside him and groaned. Did he really have to get up? Was it completely necessary? The answer to both questions was yes. Today was his first day back at his old job. He would once again return to the Blacksmith's shop to work for the infamous and perpetually drunk Mr. Brown. Elizabeth had said that he did not have to go back to his old profession and that her father had offered him a position in the Navy.

Will could not think of anything worse than being under the command of Commodore Norrington. Especially after the way he had treated Elizabeth the last time they had seen eachother. The man, as far as Will was concerned, was a inconsiderate and treated women with utmost contempt.

The Blacksmith stood up out of his bed and inspected himself in the mirror on the opposite wall. Despite last night he looked relatively unchanged despite the fact that his hair was in a messy birds-nest, actually, Will would not be surprised if a bird actually flew out of it. His eyes were reddened with dark circles under them from lack of sleep or excess of drink, Will could not choose. No matter what it was, Will was intent on not repeating it out of risk of waking up with yet another sore head.

Will walked to his cupboard and opened it, pulling out a calico shirt and brown moleskin pants. Will looked briefly back at his bed and noticed for the first time, that Elizabeth was not there. He shrugged, she was probably down having breakfast already. Will discarded his previous garments and replaced them with his fresh ones.

After lacing up his boots Will walked to the door and opened it. He walked out of the room and heard the door slam behind him. He cringed. It seemed that any noise, no matter how loud or soft, wreaked havoc upon his eardrums. Once again, Jack's happy drinking games were to blame.

Will could hear voices from the dining room. The voices of two women and a pirate and a few others he was yet to recognise. Guessing he had better be a small bit sociable, Will walked down the staircase and to the dining room. Sitting at the long table was Jack, Faye, Elizabeth, Irving and Anamaria. They all smiled at him as he entered, but all Will could do was manage a small wave.

'Good Mornin', boy!' Jack said cheerily in a voice that hurt Will's head. Jack, observing Will's discomfort, couldn't help but smile. 'Sore head? Well, that'll teach yer t' drink so much!'

Will's response was nothing but a nonchalant grunt as he took a seat next to Elizabeth. Elizabeth, Will noticed, was stifling some laughter herself.

'It's all right for you to laugh,' Will said, turning to her. 'You weren't in the company of a pirate for the night. Remind me never to go out in the company of Jack again.'

Elizabeth nodded and sipped some of her drink. 'I shall.' She replied sarcastically. 'Are you working today?' she asked, changing the subject completely.

'Unfortunately.' Will replied as he took a piece of toasted bread off a platter in the center of the table.

'That's a shame.' Elizabeth replied. 'I was hoping to have the day with my husband.'

That sentence hit Will like a mallet to the back of the head. He was married. He looked at Elizabeth and suddenly felt an overwhelming feeling of love towards her. Sitting next to him was his wife…his wife.

Will found himself putting his arm around Elizabeth. She looked at him and smiled sweetly before turning back to Jack who seemed to be yet again off on another tangent.

'Jack, slow down. What were you saying?' Will asked, only just starting to listen to the pirate.

Jack gave a low grown but spoke anyway. 'I was sayin',' he began 'Are ya goin' back t' the Blacksmiths t'day?'

Will nodded. As much as it pained him to say it, he was actually looking forward to having his life back to normal. This past two years had been both rewarding and challenging. He had gained friends, as well as lost them. Though it seemed the ones he lost he did not care for anyway.

'You know,' Irving suddenly said from beside Anamaria. 'I've always wanted to try my hand at being a blacksmith.'

Will smiled. Finally someone was taking interest in his line of work. 'Is that so?' he asked. 'Well, you should come around one day and I'll show you.'

At this, Irving beamed, his tanned face lighting up with joy. 'Thanks, Will.' He said jovially, reaching for a crystal jug of orange juice.

Will looked over at the grandfather clock against the opposite wall and immediately stood up. It was time to go, and he was already late to start with. Will kissed Elizabeth goodbye and hurried out of the room without another word to anyone.

Will made his way to the door and opened it, revealing a startling bright light to his bloodshot eyes. Will placed a hand above his brow to shield himself from the sun and continued walking down the path and out of the wrought iron gate.

Port Royale was bustling with people, some of whom who stopped Will and congratulated him on his marriage to the governor's daughter. Will smiled kindly at the people no matter how desperate he was to get to his work.

Finally, and not a moment too late, he arrived and opened the door slowly. The old hinges creaked as he walked in. His donkey brayed, though Will could not see it. The blacksmith's shop was dark and noiseless, not even the sounds of Mr. Brown could be heard.

'Come on!' Jack called through the door. 'D'you wanna take any longer?'

'Coming!' Faye's voice called through the door.

Jack could hear a frantic haste from behind the door. Why couldn't he just wait in the room? Oh, yes, because it was considered improper. Jack had seen grown women change their clothes all his life, he honestly did not see why this was a problem. Faye did not mind in the slightest if he was in there, but due to Governor Swann and his morals Jack was stuck on the other side of the door.

Damn morals.

At last Faye opened the door and she emerged wearing a long emerald skirt and white blouse. Jack smiled and held out his arm for her. She took it in a courtly gesture and began walking down the staircase.

'Where are we going?' Faye asked as they descended the stairs.

Jack shrugged. 'I 'ave no idea, luv. Jus' take a walk aroun' the town.'

Faye nodded and smiled at Jack, stepping off the last step. Once they had walked out of the manor, Faye breathed in the fresh air and smiled. Her head was nowhere near as sore as Will's or anyone else's. She was in high-spirits ever since the wedding had begun and intended to stay that way. Suddenly she realised she had a huge smile plastered across her face. She quickly relaxed her lips and laughed to herself.

'Keep smilin'.' Said Jack, who had obviously noticed. 'It suits you.'

Faye laughed and smiled once more. They were now out of the gates of the manor and free from all restrictions that the manor placed on them.

People had long given up on staring at Jack and just walked past him without a second glance. Jack liked it; finally he blended in. Suddenly, Faye stopped him outside a building. The sign swung above the door.

Huang's Fine Cantonese Cuisine

From North to South

Best Chinese in Port Royale.

(Actually…only Chinese in Port Royale.)

'Shall we have a look?' Faye asked, leading Jack toward the door as if he had no choice.

Jack shrugged. He couldn't see why not. He let Faye lead him through the door.

The building smelt of incense, Chinese food and general…well…China. Jack had only been to China once before, but he would never forget the smell. It was a concoction of animals, people and food; a scent unique to China and China alone. Round tables were set up around the room, each with at least two seats at them. Jack could see quite a number of people in the restaurant, each of them heartily eating the food in front of them.

Suddenly, a small Chinese woman ran over to Jack and Faye. She smiled and wiped her hands on her apron.

'Welcome.' She said, obviously this woman was not used to speaking to English. Her L's and W's sounded like R's and her M's sounded like nothing at all.

Jack smiled kindly at her and looked around the small restaurant. 'Could we 'ave a table, please?' he asked politely.

The Chinese woman nodded quickly and scurried over to an empty table. She pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket along with a lead. She smiled at the couple.

'Would you like to order?' she asked in practiced English.

Jack nodded and looked at Faye who shrugged. 'What woul' you recommen'?'

She nodded and scurried off to the kitchen, obviously happy to serve them. Jack looked after her and shook his head. He did not understand how someone could be so willing to serve others. If he were in her shoes he would tell the customers to bugger off and fetch it themselves.

'This is interesting.' Faye stated, looking around the room. 'I have never been to China before.'

'Well, it is a good country…though it does smell and there are 'omeless an' 'ungry people ev'rywhere.' Jack shrugged. 'Goin' there kinda made me grateful for what I 'ave.'

Faye smiled. 'I would still love to go there.' She replied with a dreamy look in her eyes. 'I love the idea of travelling to other countries.'

Before the pair could continue their conversation, the same Chinese woman came out with a steaming pot. Jack looked at it questioningly when she opened the lid, but did not say anything. Instead, he smiled thankfully and picked up his chopsticks.

'What is it?' Faye asked, looking into the pot.

Jack pulled a face. 'Beats me.'

Jack though he may as well try it. So, he readied his chopsticks and picked one of the questionable substances up. Jack pushed a small plate in front of himself and dropped the…thing…on it. When it came in contact with the ceramic it made a horrible squelching sound.

The food was a tan colour. It resembled…well Jack had no idea what it resembled. Put when poked it jiggled continuously for a few seconds before turning back into it's sloppy self. Jack took one chopstick in each hand and slowly dissected it. Inside it was hollow and somewhat…shall we say…juicy. Jack pulled yet another slightly disgusted face and looked at Faye.

'I am not eating tha'!' he said, poking it with his chopsticks once more.

'Oh yes you are!' Faye replied. 'You eat it and I will too.'

'Fine.' Jack consented and waited for Faye to choose her 'squishy' from the pot. 'On the coun' o' three.'

'One…' Jack held the thing to his lips. 'Two…' Faye did the same. 'Three!'

Jack closed his eyes and dare not breath. He felt the thing in his mouth, sliding each and every way. He tried to swallow it but it was too slippery. He looked at Faye, only to see her laughing hysterically at him without a 'squishy' in her mouth.

Jack reached for a glass of water and washed the food down. Faye was still in hysterics, holding the squishy in her chopsticks, its sloppy body swaying from side to side. The very motion of it made Jack feel ill.

Before he knew it, Jack could feel bile at the back of his throat. Not wasting a second he darted from his chair and out the door. He doubled over and felt his stomach wretch. Jack leant his hand against the wall and waited for another wave of dizziness to overcome him. He turned away from the wall and saw the ocean. The ocean! Jack sprinted to the docks and hung his head over the wharf, vomiting into the ocean the final remnants of the half-digested Chinese delicacy. He exhaled deeply and noticed people staring at him, but he didn't care. All he cared about was getting that disgusting food out of him.

Jack felt a hand on his back and turned around to see Faye's smiling face.

'Are you all right? You darted out of there like a man on fire.' She asked, concerned.

Jack nodded. 'I am now. I swear, tha' thing was the mos' disgustin' thing I 'ave ever eaten!'

Faye laughed and patted him on the back. 'Come on, let's get you cleaned up.'

Will hummed a soft tune to himself as he went about his blacksmith duties. It was so quiet without Mr. Brown's drunken snoring. Will was slightly concerned for the man, since he had known him he had snored during his sleep. The Blacksmith slowly set his work aside and walked toward his 'master'. Will crouched down on his haunches and poked him softly in the chest. Nothing happened. He tried saying his name…nothing happened. Will was beginning to get worried, so he breathed in deeply.

'Wake up!' he yelled in the old man's ear.

Nothing.

Will bent down again and grasped the old man's wrist, checking for the soft beat of a pulse.

Nothing.

Will cursed and wondered what in the world he should do. Before he could think of anything an overwhelming feeling of sadness enveloped him. True, he had never been particularly close to Mr. Brown, but he had known him for almost all his life. The man had sat in that same chair, hardly speaking and merely grunting for most of his life, but now he was dead…dead as can be. Will felt a small tear fall down his face, but he ignored it. He had often thought about how he would react upon Mr. Brown dying, he had imaged himself to be emotionless and quiet; not really feeling any amount of sadness at all, but he was wrong.

Wrong.

Will sighed. He had to do something. Who would be report it to? Norrington? Surely not, then again, Norrington was the only person he could think of telling. Will did not know any doctors in Port Royale and was not about to go on a trek for one. Will looked at his master and noticed that his eyes were open. He placed his hands over the mans eyes and shut them, allowing him some dignity in his last hour.

The Blacksmith stood and walked out of the workshop. He could see a group of re-coats loitering by the docks. He sighed and walked over to them.

'Excuse me.' Will began with a small smile. 'I have something to report.'

One of the red-coats turned around. Will later recognised him as Murtogg. His chubby-face stared back at Will.

'And?' he asked lightly impatiently.

How would he say it? Mr. Brown has passed on? He has left us? He has joined the angels? Pushing up daisies? Will could not find a delicate way to say it.

'Mr. Brown is dead.' Will laughed inside at his own stupidity. He could have come up with a more eloquent way of putting the situation. Then again, he was dead.

Murtogg raised his eyebrows and stood to attention. 'Dead? As in…not breathing?'

Will rolled his eyes. 'Yes, dead! What other ways are there of being dead? You are either dead or not!'

Murtogg nodded and motioned to his partner, Mullroy. Mullroy nodded and followed Will and Murtogg into the Blacksmiths.

Silence met the group, stark and disturbing silence. Will could feel his ears ringing with a high pitched noise and hear his heart beat loud and clear. The two red-coats went over to the deceased man and lifted him up, one at his hands, the other holding his ankles. Will had no idea what they were going to do with him, and for some reason did not want to know. He sighed, assuming there would be a funeral in a few days time…not that many people would attend, but Will would make a point of going.

Suddenly Will thought of something. He could not possibly manage the Blacksmith's on his own. Sure, he had done fine without much help from Mr. Brown, but the old man had had his uses. He would often take orders from those interested and sometimes, if Will was lucky, he would even clean the place moderately well. He needed someone to help him with his work, even if they would just feed the donkey once in a while. Will had an idea.

Irving.

Irving had expressed a keen interest in the Blacksmith trade this morning, it was as if their partnership was meant to be, as if they were actually supposed to work together. Irving was a nice enough young man and the fact that he had befriended Elizabeth in her hour of need was enough to make Will like him anyway.

The Blacksmith fetched some hay for his donkey as well as some fresh water. Will patted him on the neck and the animal brayed pleasantly. He smiled at the donkey and left him to his food, walking out of the blacksmiths shop.

Elizabeth pushed hard on the ivory key of her piano. She shut her eyes and tried again. Elizabeth sighed and stood up, looking at Irving.

'A little higher.' She said, sitting back down. 'So far it's playing a B Flat not a C'

Irving nodded and ducked back down to the strings of the piano. The two had been spending the past hour and a half trying to tune Elizabeth's piano. They had lifted the lid and so far had successfully tuned half of the instrument. Irving resurfaced, his long hair disheveled about his face.

'Try it now.' He said, watching her play the note once more. To tell the truth, Irving could not tell the difference, but obviously there was one because Elizabeth winced once more.

'Too high…try a little lower.' She sighed. 'I'm sorry about this Irving. There's probably a hundred other things you'd rather be doing now.'

Irving twisted the string a little more and smiled to himself. 'Not really; I haven't anything to do anyway and, besides, your music is nice to listen to. Try now.'

Elizabeth played the note and smiled. 'That's it!' she exclaimed. 'Gosh, I can't believe how out of tune my piano has gotten since I have been away.'

'Well, next one.' Irving said, moving along to the next string and ready to tune it again.

Elizabeth played the note and smiled once more. 'This one doesn't need tuning.' She replied. 'It's fine.'

Irving was relieved, one less string to pull or loosen.

Suddenly, someone at the door interrupted the two.

'Will!' Elizabeth stood from her piano stood and walked over to him, pulling him into a tight hug. She stood back and looked at him, he seemed so quiet and out of place. 'Are you all right?'

Will sighed and looked at her with sorry eyes. 'Mr. Brown has died. I found him about an hour ago.'

'Oh, Will, I am so sorry.' Elizabeth pulled him to her once again and ran a hand through his loose hair. She knew he had never particularly liked the man, but Will had known him almost his whole life.

Will rested his head on her shoulder and looked up, noticing Irving. A small smile crept upon his lips. Will broke away from Elizabeth and walked over to Irving.

'I am sorry for your loss, Will.' Irving said apologetically, standing from his crouched position over the piano. 'I truly am.'

'Thank you, Irving.' Will replied. 'But some good has come out of this.'

'What is that?' Irving queried quizzically, he had no idea what kind of good could come out of someone dying.

'You have a job.' Will replied with a small smile.

'What do you mean?' Irving asked, flicking some hair from his eyes.

'I want you to work with me at the Blacksmith's. I need someone to help me, I cannot possibly do it alone.'

'Are you sure?' Irving asked. 'I mean, I have no experience whatsoever.'

'It doesn't matter. When I started I didn't know anything about making swords either.' Will replied.

Irving smiled. Finally he would have someone to work for. So far his life had been full of gambling and stealing bread from the local bakers. Now, he would work for his money and have something to show for it.

'Thanks, Will.' Irving took his hand and shook his vigorously.

'You're welcome.' Will smiled. 'We shall not start until next week. Best to start on a Monday I believe.'

Irving nodded and walked out of the library. He turned back to face Elizabeth. 'Do you mind if we finish your piano tomorrow? I am a little deaf after getting the full force of the noise all afternoon.'

Elizabeth laughed. 'Not at all, that is fine. Go and take a walk.'

Irving smiled and hurried out of the room. Elizabeth heard the front door open and close as Irving hurried out into Port Royale.

'That was really kind of you, you know.' Elizabeth said with a smile and she packed up her sheet music and put the lid down on the piano. 'Irving has been talking about the Blacksmith's all day. He's been saying what a great job it would be and everything.'

'Really?' Will inquired. 'Well, I have no doubt that he will enjoy it.'

Elizabeth opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off as the front door slammed shut. Surely Irving couldn't be back so soon. Elizabeth left Will and walked out, only to see Jack and Faye walking into the Manor.

'Jack! Shush!' Faye said, laughing as Jack picked her up and swung her over his shoulders.

Upon seeing Elizabeth, Jack lowered Faye to the ground and smiled. ' 'ello, luv.' He said with smile.

'Hello Jack. Had a good day I see?' Elizabeth laughed at Faye as she tried to stop Jack picking her up once more.

'Yes!' Jack exclaimed.

'Honestly, Jack, I am beginning to wonder what that Chinese food has done to you.' Faye said with a small smile.

Elizabeth observed them. 'Perhaps it was an aphrodisiac, Faye?' Elizabeth suggested with a small laugh.

'I certainly hope not.' Faye replied, now almost hysterical with laughter.

'What's tha' s'posed t' mean?' Jack asked standoffishly. 'Am I not good enough for yer?'

Faye laughed and slapped him on the arm. 'Of course you are, of course.'

Elizabeth laughed at the two and left them, walking back into the library to Will. Will was sitting by the fireplace even though there was no fire in it. He once again had a solemn look on his face. Elizabeth crossed the room and sat next to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

'What's wrong now?' she asked, closing her eyes softly.

'I don't know. I have no idea why I am so upset about his death. He never really helped me overmuch.' Will said, he too closing his eyes.

'Well, I guess you don't really realize how much someone means to you until they leave you.' Elizabeth said, opening her eyes and looking at Will.

'I guess you are right. He was like a father to me. A drunken and useless father, but a father nonetheless.' Will laughed slightly at this last part.

Elizabeth smiled and kissed her husband on the cheek. 'I love you, Mr. Turner.'

'I love you too, Mrs. Turner.' Will smiled and placed an arm around Elizabeth's shoulder.

(A/N: Well, there! And yes, I know it has taken me AGES to write this, but it's here now so review review review. Um, just a bit of trivia. The odd Chinese food Jack eats actually does exist. While I was in China a friend of mine ate it…I was going to, but, like Faye, started laughing before I could. Apparently it's a relative of tofu…made out of cornflour or something, but it is soooo disgusting that I just HAD to put it in here. Em)