Disclaimer: don't own POTC, but anyone u don't recognize from da film is mine. MINE! MINEMINEMINE! MUA AAA AAA!
A/N: sorry, got a little carried away there. and i'm sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo sorry that it took so long to post this! I had a brain fart and i just couldn't think anymore. (Damn writer's block!) But i'm better now. here's 3 chappies fer u lot to chew over. ENJOY!
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Will had just dropped to his knees, overwhelmed that Elizabeth was still alive, when the door to the smithy burst open. A blurred figure charged in, screaming something about Elizabeth.
Will's mind jumped to the instant conclusion that this was one of the things Elizabeth had feared was "coming to get her". She wasn't awake, and was showing no signs of doing so. They had done something to her, and now were coming back to finish the job.
Will reacted as fast as he could given the circomstances, and whipped a sword out from under his bed, where it had been loosely tied to the underside. But even still, he barely managed to deflect the charge. He shoved his assailant backwards at the same time he rose to his feet. The smithy's invader stumbled backwards and fell. With a jolt, Will realized his opponent was none other than Commodore Norrington. And Norrington was only attacking him with a knife, despite the fact he had a sword dangling off his belt.
Norrington flung himself back at Will with an inhuman cry of rage. Now that Will knew who he was fighting, all thoughts of killing flew out of his mind. This was one man he could not kill. For the sake of the town, for Elizabeth's sanity - and for his own sort of revenge. What better way to get back at the Commodore for all the mistreatment (it wasn't anything huge, just minor sabotage of Will's metalworks) he had received - unknown to anyone but him and the Commodore - than to marry the one woman Norrington really cared about?
Why was the Norrington attacking him? It made no sense. James was not the type of person you'd seen randomly assaulting passers-by. So why had he come bursting into the smithy screaming something about Elizabeth and brandishing a knife?
Will parried Norrington's wild knife slashes almost carelessly. Norrington wasn't at his best - he was blind with fury. But Will was beginning to tire - the lump on the back of his skull was starting to throb. He wished he knew WHY Norrington was acting like this.
The fight wore on. Will fell into a state of numbness. He didn't really care anymore. His mind was already slipping back to the woman lying still on the bad. Why didn't she wake? He just wished that Norrington would give up so that he could go back to Elizabeth.
Norrington fought with the inhuman anger of a man posessed. He was wounded in a dozen places - yet he didn't feel a thing. Will regretted it, but hey - you can't let a crazy commodore stab you to death while your true love is lying unconcious on your bed! And for God's sake, Will couldn't exactly kill the guy; he was the bloody commodore of bloody Port Royal! Will would hang for sure if he did that.
Suddenly the door burst and in came a mini-regiment of marines! Will looked up in surprise at their arrival, losing his concentration. As a result Norrington's knife landed firmly in his arm.
Will yelled in pain and shock, and the marines charged forward. They hauled the incensed commodore off Will and beat him gently to unconsciousness.
When Norrington was lying safely tied up on the floor with a soggy gag in his mouth, one of the soldiers turned to Will. "Y'alright, sir?" he asked amiably. "That looks nasty."
Will looked down at his bicep to see his sleeve slashed and covered in blood. He didn't even feel the pain. "No thanks," he said, "I'll be okay."
The marine nodded and went back to the others trying to drag the commodore out of the shop. "It's lucky we got here in time, Mr. Turner - we were tipped off just in time. So here we are, with our orders."
"What orders?"
"Orders for the arrest of Commodore Norrington."
Will was incredulous. "Arrest! Orders from who!"
"Governor Swann."
Will's jaw dropped. He glanced at Elizabeth lying still under the sheets. The soldiers hadn't noticed her, and Will didn't see any harm in letting that slip. Her father was behind this! He didn't know what to make of it! Governor Swann had always been a firm Norrington supporter in the Will vs Norrington battle for Elizabeth's hand. Why the sudden change of heart? Will could only figure that Elizabeth had said something to him before coming down - something in that argument she'd mentioned. Maybe while she'd stayed warm and safe in the smithy, he'd pondered her words and had FINALLY decided to side with Will. And since Elizabeth wasn't exactly awake for further, detailed questioning on the subject, Will would just have to assume that was what had happened.
The marine Will was speaking to twisted around to look at his comrades' progress while Will was lost in his thoughts. They'd managed to get the Commodore into a cart, covering his face with a cloth so that he wouldn't be recognized by the townsfolk. They'd surely start asking awkward questions that wouldn't look good for the military. Couldn't have that. There could be an uprising or an outbreak of crime or an invasion of pirates if the town's gossips got ahold of this most recent scandal.
The marine turned back to face Will. "You'll be alright, sir?"
A marine's being polite to me, thought Will dryly. Ironic, considering his commander's hostility towards my liasons with Elizabeth. "Yeah," sighed Will. "No harm done. Well, no great harm at least. This," he indicated the bloody gash on his arm, "isn't anything I can't deal with."
The marine nodded absent-mindedly, staring around the shop. "Say, if you don't mind me asking..."
Uh oh, thought Will, now I'm in for it. He's going to want to know where Elizabeth is. THEN what will they think?
"...how many of these swords did you make? Since Mr. Brown's not here, I'm assuming he's out delivering something or whatnot. I hope you don't mind me asking."
Will felt a huge sense of relief swell up within him. Thank God. Elizabeth wouldn't be discovered in her current state. "All of them," he replied unthinkingly, forgetting he was supposed to only be the blacksmith's apprentice.
"All of them?" asked the marine, curious. "Are you sure none of them are Mr. Brown's handiwork? Begging your pardon if it seems forward, but isn't this all a bit beyond an apprentice's skill? Surely he's helped you with some of it?"
Will hesitated for a split second. Should he blow Mr. Brown's shaky cover? Yes, he decided; he'd been wearing the apprentice's guise for far too long. "Actually," said Will, still slightly uncertain if he should really be telling the soldier this, "Mr Brown has never done a day's work since he took me on as an apprentice. He takes what money I earn and spends it on liquor. If you go in the back, he'll probably still be passed out from last night's frolicking."
The marine looked shocked. Will noticed he was fingering the hilt of his sword. With a start, Will realized it was one of his own. "So...you've been running the shop all this time? Making the swords and such?"
"Yes."
The marine nodded slowly. "I'll speak to one of my superiors. There must be something we can do for you, Mr. Turner, after all this."
Will smiled wryly. "Thanks, but I don't think it'll do much good."
The marine smiled, a cheeky glint in his eye, "On the contrary, Mr. Turner. If you still have intentions to marry Miss Swann, I'm sure you'll want all the money you can get."
Will, who had been scuffing the dirt floor with his worn shoe, looked up sharply. The marine chuckled at Will's expression. "Don't think I don't know about it. We've all heard you and Miss Swann. But don't worry!" The marine winked. "I'm on your side. I'll see what I can do for you. I'm a married man myself and I know how hard it can be to start a household."
Will was smiling too now. "Thank you, Mr...?"
"Corporal George Sanders at your service, sir."
"Ah, yes. Thank you, Corporal Sanders."
Corporal Sanders nodded. He glanced behind him to see the other marines trundling off down the street with the Commodore in his wheelbarrow. "Oops. I'm late. See you around, Mr. Turner." With that, he dashed out the door and down the road, jangling undignifiedly as he went.
Will's smile at the quirky young corporal slowly disappeared as he shut the door behind him. He looked across the room to Elizabeth. The snow still hadn't melted, and the sky was heavy with the promise of more. And Elizabeth still hadn't woken up. What was he going to do?
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A/N: need...gasp!...encouragement! ...read...choke! ...and ...wheeze!...REVIEW! (plz!)
drumroll! yay! another chappie read by u peepls! onto the next ! 2 more to go before u run out of new chappies! (sry so few, but i get a limited time on the computer cuz of blasted HW.)