A/n: Yay! A new chapter... Summer is here, I am officially done High School forever and ever...! So now, my big hopes are that my fics will move faster through here (updates, I mean). So please please review me, b/c they are so fun to read. Ok, I think its a fairly long-ish chapter, and I hope you like. I have big plans in store, so don't fret if this chapter sucked.

CHAPTER 8

Westley ran his fingers through his shining blonde hair with one and hand, and with the other he opened the door to his home. Inside, Buttercup heard him enter, and quickly stood up. The embroidery she had been working on fell gently to the floor, already forgotten. She stared right at his blue-green eyes behind his black mask.

"What happened?" she asked, wasting no time. She took a few steps towards him, wringing her hands. Where was the girl?

Westley pulled off the face mask he'd been wearing and tossed it on the nearby kitchen counter. "I gave her the symbol." He shook his head slightly as if frustrated with himself.

"That's it?" Buttercup's shoulders visibly sagged, and she felt a little confused and disappointed. Their original plan had been that Westley would rescue the girl and bring her back her.

Westley nodded glumly. "I was by myself and there were far too many guards around. It was as if he were almost expecting something to go wrong." He sighed and settled into a chair beside Buttercup's vacant one. "And of course practically every towns person in the country had to be there, too."

Buttercup shook her head and bit her lip. She sunk back down into her chair, feeling sad. If this had been her, how would she feel? "Is there anything further we can do?" she asked hopefully.

Westley shrugged. "Not until this Turner fellow arrives. He is coming, right? I mean, he found some sort of transport, didn't he?"

Buttercup shifted slightly. "I assume so. I mean, in Uncle Thomas' letter, it said he was on his way. There wasn't a date on the letter, though, so William could be arriving any time today and after."

Westley nodded thoughtfully. "In that case, I should be heading to the docks right away, then."

Buttercup nodded and sighed. "I suppose it would be best."

Westley rose and hugged her tight, thinking of their predicament. When he pulled away, he brushed some her beautiful blonde hair from her eyes. He smiled and she smiled back. And then it hit him.

"Come with me." he said.

"What?" Buttercup half-smiled.

Westley held her hands. "Come with me! I've been teaching you swordplay - you could easily hold your own! Let's go together."

Buttercup glanced ast the corner of the room where she keep Westley's new sword, and his old one, which was essentially hers. It was true, she had been learning, and improving. But could she really see herself taking on castle guards when only not that long ago she could barely defend herself against an R.O.US.?

She looked back into Westley's eyes. If anything went wrong, he would protect her...

Westley released her and retrieved their swords from the corner. He tossed Buttercup hers, and readied himself with his own. He smiled challengingly. "You're unsure of yourself, dear, so let's have a go."

Buttercup raised her eyebrow. "Are wanting a duel with me, darling?"

"Indeed, I am."

"Very well, I accept." she also readied herself.

Westley's grin grew, and he thought of his friend Inigo as he said, "Begin."

After a moments hesitation on Westley's part, Buttercup struck with surprising force and accuracy. He could only keep smiling as he defended himself, though, as he taught her nearly everything she knew. He blocked her easily for quite some time, waiting for her to get tired. But she didn't. Her blows and strikes were consistent, but different enough that he had to keep switching defences. The way she was working, he didn't have a single second to put in his own offensive attack.

Buttercup moved and dodged, struck and parried constantly, knowing that a tiny mistake or then tiniest of breaths in her swordplay was enough o give Westley an opening. She was getting more tired by the minute, but she refused to let the pace slow, as she could see Westley was beginning to struggle as well. Despite her energy quickly ebbing away, Buttercup stepped up the pace on her attacks.

Westley blocked harder and faster, each time strongly reminded of his last moments in his sword fight against Inigo on the Cliffs of Insanity. Except that his opponent was not the one tiring and about to use both hands. Westley could remember that duel clearly in his mind, and made sure he would not use both hands, no matter what. It only wrecked his concentration by making him desperate.

Buttercup's energy was nearly sapped and yet she managed to keep up her attacks. The duel was ranging all over the kitchen and living room, and now there were some pots and pans on the floor, one chair was knocked over, and one set of curtains had been pulled from their hangings. A small idea arrived in Buttercup's mind, and she whipped around to the side and continued her attacks in such a way as to force Westley towards the kitchen. She knew if this worked, she would win. And if it didn't she would lose, as she would have no more energy whatsoever.

Startled by her sudden change in direction, Westley was caught off guard for a moment, and grabbed his sword with both hands. He blocked once or twice, all the while having to step backwards to give himself more room to defend himself. A few seconds later he realized he hand both hands on his sword and quickly removed his left. He could not believe how his wife was duelling with him. She was amazing, and yet it was only from a few months of teaching. And how was she keeping her energy up sp high?

Buttercup was panting hard, her arms and legs screaming for her to slow down. She did not. He was almost there...

Westley thought he could outsmart her once and for all if he managed to swing back around her and start offensive attacks...

He took another step backward, and was just about to put this small plan into action, when his foot landed on something shiny and metal. It slid across the floor under his weight, sending Westley to land soundly and rather painfully on the floor. The impact sent his floor sliding far out of his grasp.

Buttercup grinned and pointed her sword at Westley's neck. "Satisfied?"

Westley nodded, his handsome grin wide. "Quite."

"Then let's go."

"So that's why I'm going to Florin." Will finished, and the looks on the faces of the crew were rather varied. Some looked sad, others sympathetic. One looked confused, two looked thoughtful. One looked an amused, and one was smiling stupidly and Will was quite sure he had not heard a single word of the entire conversation.

Jack gave Will a hearty pat on the back as they both stood up, as did the rest of the crew who had listened. "You'll find her. Don't worry, mate. You'll get her back." he grinned, revealing a glinting fake tooth. "You always do."

Will nodded, still feeling numb. As soon as he got to Florin, he was definitely in trouble. He was supposed to be dead, and his map only show him how to get to Florin. He had no map of Florin itself. And what if Elisabeth was dead when he got there? Then what was he supposed to do?

He leaned on the edge of the boat and looked out over the rippling blue-green ocean, and despite all his worries, he felt a small bit of calm seep into him, like he was soaking it up from the ocean. It made him feel a little better, and at least quieted his mind for some time.

He did not know how much time had passed, when Mr. Gibbs suddenly called out, "Land Ho! Florin, Lads!"

Will raced to the front of the boat and saw a large sea-side town sprawling off the main docks. It looked like a small, sweet little town, a little less formal than Port Royal. In the distance beyond the town, there was massive grey building whose features were not yet distinguishable, but he guessed right away that that was the castle that he needed to get to.

The big ship's mass continued toward the sea-side town for quite some time before abrutply turning towards the left. Will looked confusedly at Jack who was steering at the helm, and the back at the sea-side town, which they were obviously moving away from.

"Oy, JACK!" Will hurried over to the Captain. "Florin's that way!"

Jack nodded. "I know that, son."

"Then why in the blazes are you heading this way!" Will shouted.

"Hold your shirt on, Will. I know what I'm doing."

"I'm sure you do, but I don't! So would you mind explaining it to me?"

Jack sighed and produced a grubby looking piece of paper from his pocket. Will took it gingerly, as it looked as though it would fall apart if he grabbed it to hard.

The paper had what appeared to be a map roughly scratched on it. It showed the main docks of Florin, among several other labelled places. The Castle, The Castle Grounds, The Fire Swamp, The Pit of Despair, The Lake, and The Thieves Forest. Across from The Lake, there was more places labelled, and over it all said, "The Country of Guilder". In the country of Guilder were The Cliffs of Insanity, The Place where the Man in Black beat Fezzik, The Place where the Man in Black beat Vizzini, The Ravine, and The Fire Swamp, which was the same Fire Swamp which appeared to connect the two countries as did the massive Lake.

"Jack... what is this?"

"It's a map, Will. Gee, and your father said you were brilliant." Jack shook his head.

"I can see it's a map. But a map of what? It has the strangest names on it..." Will rotated the paper slightly and read the names over again in his head.

"Aah, a few months back we got into a pirate scrape with a fellow named Roberts. I won't explain everythin' because that would take too long." Jack paused and gave the helm a turn. "In the end, however, this Roberts fellow an' I become friends, more or less, and he gave me this map, sayin' if I'm ever near Florin it'll help a great deal." Jack shrugged. "Didn't know where Florin was, but he said it was a pretty important map, and if a certain prince got a hold of it, things wouldn't be very good, so I was to keep it close." Jack shrugged again. "So I did, and looks like it finally came in handy." He grinned again.

"Right..." Will trailed off. "So then, where are we headed? Why not words the main dock?"

"Well, the way I see it, the King's guards will be swarming the docks, because its close to the castle." he pointed to the map as he was talking with a dirty finger adorned with a heavy ring. "So, seein' how the ocean joins up with this here Lake... thought it'd be easier to dock by this here Fire Swamp, see?"

Will nodded in understanding. "Good thinking, Jack."

Jack tapped the side of his head with his finger. "Always."

A/n: Well? What do you think? By the way, for anyone who didn't catch/understand: Roberts is Inigo. (Ooo, possible foreshadowing...?) Lol. Anyways, leave me a review, b/c I LOVE LOVE reviews. As usual, please, no swearing and preferably no flames b/c they are no fun.

Major Thank you to all my reviews, but I'd like to a shout out to a certain three reviwers who seem to be very faithful. williz, Kelsey Estel, and moony's number 1. Thank you sooo much for all your reviews, guys:)