Disclaimer: POTC belongs to better people than I.


Otherwise Incapable

That pirate had taunted him, mocked him. Will fumed silently, taking out his rage on the shapeless piece of iron in the forge, beating it into form and submission. That pirate had called him a eunuch.

It was bad enough that a pirate had tried to fight him - had cheated! - but to insult him! …And to have threatened Miss Swann!

"Who makes all these?"

Will stopped for a moment, considering. He'd taken up a sword to fight the pirate not only because the pirate happened to hide in his shop, but mostly because of Miss Swann. That pirate had threatened her, tried to kill her. And Will would have gladly killed that pirate for that fact alone. No harm would ever come to Miss Swann. Not if he had any say in it!

"You need to find yourself a girl, mate!"

This workshop, full of swords. He made them all, hoping that, one day, he might impress the governor with his skill. So far, all Governor Swann had noticed about the swords were that they were beautiful, and that only a master could have made them. A mere boy like Will Turner could not have made such beautiful swords. He was just… Will Turner. The blacksmith's apprentice. The shipwrecked nobody.

But Elizabeth knew. She knew him to be a hero underneath the grime of the forge and the city. She knew he loved her. But that look on her face when she bid him 'good day, Mister Turner'… she wanted a man with backbone. She didn't want a boy who would stay in his place and look up at her adoringly.

Will stared into the fire of the forge bitterly. Stare at her adoringly is all he could do. They were too different, he and her. He may love her but class and status and society kept them all apart. And she was the governor's daughter. He was… nobody.

"Or, perhaps the reason you practice three hours a day is because you've already found one… and are otherwise incapable of wooing said strumpet."

Will stared at the sword, seeing not only the iron's edge but his own weakness. A weakness which even a pirate - a pirate! - noticed and exploited. Will picked up the forge hammer and resumed his punishment of the metal, determined to keep his thoughts elsewhere.