I Am William Turner

Disclaimer: Will still does not belong to me.

Chapter Two: A NEW LIFE

The next morning, Will went down to the pier. He figured he had to get on to a ship and try to meet some sailors who may be able to help him find his father, assuming he was alive. Will looked at all the ships moored at the docks and then out at the open sea. His mouth hung open and his eyes grew wide with the spectacle of it all.

The ships were huge and beautiful; hundreds of them were lined up before him and their masts reached high into the sky. It was a forest of poles against the blue sky with their flags snapping in the breeze as the men in uniforms strutted about.

Some of the men were shouting and cursing and groaning under the loads they had to carry onto the ships. They did not appear very happy.

Will made his way over to one of the ships, figuring they could use some help. As he got closer, he noticed other boys hanging around. Will walked over to one.

"Hey, mate, what's the word?" he asked in a low voice, trying to fit in.

The biggest boy in the crowd looked down at him. "The Captain of this here ship is taking on six ship's boys for the coming voyage. They are leaving today." The boy then gave Will an evil grin. "Of course, they certainly wouldn't want a scrubby runt like you."

Will ignored the boy and wormed his way to the front of the mob. He looked over to the ship to see some men dressed in fine, blue uniforms, all decked out with gold and ribbons, swords and buckles.

As Will got closer he saw a sailor holding a piece of knotted rope in his hand and he had a nasty look in his eye. The sailor had muscles like a horse and he looked to have a brain to match. Will jumped back when the man yelled out at the boys: "Awright, what kin yiz do? Why should we take yiz on this ship?"

Will thought for a moment, wondering weather this was a good decision or not. He did not have any prospects where he was and he did not want to end up dead on the streets from starvation, mugging on being stepped on by horses. He figured he may as well go out to sea and drown, which seemed more pleasant than the multiple ways to die that the land offered.

William stood up straight and was about to answer when the large boy he had encountered earlier spoke up. "Sir, I can splice a line."

The man motioned him on board.

Another boy yelled out, "I'm strong fer my size and I don't eat much."

The man narrowed his eye on him and motioned him aboard.

Will knew that if he did not speak up soon he would loose the opportunity to sail away. He stood up and yelled, "Sir, I can read."

The lads standing near Will began to laugh. "What the hell's the good of that?" one muttered to the other.

The captain now stood next to the muscular man holding the knotted rope and looked down at Will. "Is that so boy? Then what's the name of this ship?"

"The Star, Sir!" Will said joyfully as he pointed to the name.

"And what does that say?" The captain pointed to another ship.

"The Prince Of The Ocean," he spoke, a little less confidently this time.

"If you are so smart, why do you want to sail with us? Why would you want the hard life of a sailor?"

Will's heart was now pounding hard. He knew what ever he said would make or break the trip. "Sir, all my life I have longed for a life on the rolling sea. It's in my blood, it can't be denied anymore. I want to see all the wonders of the world."

The captain smiled and looked down at the other boys. He then motioned to Will. "Very well boy, you can come aboard."

As Will crossed the plank, he looked down into the dark water and felt a bit of a shiver run up and down his spine. He was now going out to sea. As soon as his foot hit the deck of the ship he was sent over to a portly gentleman dressed in a black suit who did not look military at all. The man was wearing a fancy hat and he had little round glasses set on his nose. He looked up at Will and squinted.

"What's your name, boy?" the weedy little man sitting at the table asked as he put his pen down.

"William, Sir," he said as steadily as he could. "William Turner."

"Age?"

He thought fast. A wrong answer could get him tossed back off. He knew he was twelve but he looked younger. He didn't want to claim he was too old or the man would never believe him.

"I'm thirteen, Sir," he said as the man looked up at him without saying anything.

"Thirteen and a half," he qualified quickly, "almost fourteen."

"All right," the man said, writing it in his book. "You are now written into the record of this ship and, as such, you are now bound by all the rules that pertain to members of this crew. Should you willfully disobey any of those rules, or the Articles of War, you will be punished by imprisonment, flogging, or hanging. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir," Will said as he looked around the ship and at the other boys.

"Good, go over and join them. We will be sailing soon."

Will took himself over to the side of the ship to be out or the way but he wanted to watch the proceedings on the dock and the ship. Three more boys were picked and they soon headed out to sea.

A/N Thank you for the nice reviews. I figured since I got four very nice reviews I would update and not leave you all hanging. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and the next one that will follow soon.

Lizzy