Beginning of Will's story after the Prologue :) I hope you enjoy it.

Please read and review!!! Let me know what you think! It would be great to know what I can improve on and what I'm doing well xP

I know not much is happening yet (or seems to be happening), but meh... bear with me xD

By the way... whoever can help me think up a better name will be my best friend forever :o M'kay thanks.

Important Stuff xP

Dedication: I (still) dedicate this to all of my friends in BmtH and on the Neopets roleplaying boards. :) You've all helped me grow so much even if you never see this fanfic.

Warning: Rating is always for safety. I don't think there'll be anything other than alcohol in this chapter xP

Disclaimer: I do not own PotC O.o No matter how much I wish I did. Dx

Now on with the chapter.

The Letter

Chapter 2: Departure

The moon lit his path as he made his way hurriedly to the docks. He wasn't sure exactly what he was going to do once he got there- the hopes of commandeering a ship by himself were pretty low. Then again, it was only half past midnight. It'd be easier to slip past guards, but... wait... one crew wasn't asleep... wasn't out drinking...

"Wait!" Will called to one of the crew, a shadowed figure, preparing to set off on a small ship. The figure turned around, the moonlight revealing the face of the man who had been at his house only moments before. "Where is this ship headed?" The stout man smiled before shouting a few commands to the few crewmembers he had aboard.

"Port Royal, mate," he finally answered, "but we're making a short stop in Tortuga. Will you be coming along then?" Will hesitated before nodding, moving closer to the ship. "Hurry aboard, then! We need to get out of here- we're already behind schedule as it is!"

Will climbed up the Jacob's ladder hastily as the crew began to prepare to leave the docks. After a few minutes of waiting they were sailing off into the black sea, the warm ocean air embracing them.

"I 'ad a feeling you'd tag along," the man admitted, coming up from below deck with two bottles of rum in hand. He had light brown hair that was starting to thin and beaming blue-grey eyes that sparkled with enthusiasm and some strange kind of knowledge. He handed a bottle to Will who took it reluctantly, curiosity prying at him to ask a question that had been bothering him since he had stepped aboard.

"Are you a pirate, sir?" He asked, glancing meaningfully at the rum in his hands. The man seemed to pause, puzzled a little, but then he chuckled heartily after taking a short swig.

"Not exactly..." the man slowly answered, turning his gaze to the darkness lying ahead of them, "But I am against the East India Trading Co."

Will leaned forward against the side of the ship, turning his head to face the man with a frown.

"Why? Why would you be against them?"

"Well... e'er since they paraded into Port Royal and completely tore apart Governor Swann 'n everyone else there, it's been pretty 'ard to do many of the things one was once able t' do, eh? Plus... they left me without much of a job. I nearly got arrested. That Cutler Beckett though... he uses his power for awful reasons." The man frowned, tapping his fingers absentmindedly along the ship's railing before quickly supporting himself from toppling over.

"How did you come to be friends with the Swann family?" Will pressed on, still leaving his rum unopened. "How were you able to find me?" A slight fear crossed over him. If such a common man as this could find where he was hiding... then it was probably effortless for Lord Beckett to find him no matter where he'd run. The man chuckled before hobbling over to a shorter man at the helm. Will followed, frustrated that his question wasn't being answered right away.

"I thought you'd have it figured out by now, Mr. Turner..." the man finally slurred, giving a sort of dazed look at Will, "I'm a sort of... private officer one might say..."

"A spy?"

"I suppose that's another name for it, aye." Will let out a groan. Could he really trust this man? People like him were excellent about lying and keeping their true identities undercover, but perhaps this man was just a batty drunk...? He must've been out of work for a while now and it was clear from the generous rum present that he must have made more than a few trips to Tortuga since Lord Beckett's intrusion upon the port.

"That all makes sense now, then..." Will admitted with a tired sigh, "But surely Lord Beckett has spies as well...?"

"I can swear to you that 'e does," the man said solemnly, glancing out at the sea, "but that doesn't mean he's always so desperate to use 'em. He 'as other ways o' pryin' information from people." Will shivered as the man leaned over to give the man at the helm directions.

"You still haven't told me your name," Will reminded him edgily, still unsure of whether or not to trust this man. But the man only smirked, raising an eyebrow.

"What would be the point o' tellin' you, mate? Giving out my true name to anyone may as well be the same as selling my soul t' hell." Will frowned in slight confusion.

"But surely you have another name you go by? Another name by which I can call you?" The man shrugged.

"Mos' jus' call me Sam. I earned my nickname from the very beauty you're standing upon now, The Flotsam." Will tried to hold back a small laugh but he disguised it as a cough. Who would name their ship after what a ship became after it sunk?

"I see. How much longer until we reach Tortuga?" The man, Sam, sighed before scratching his head and turning back to Will.

"Well unfortunately, The Flotsam isn't the fastest ship in the ocean so it'll still be about two or three days... and that's if we're lucky." He told Will darkly, eying the gathering clouds above them. "The seas have been kind to us so far." Will returned the sigh, feeling more frustration.

"And if we run into a naval ship...?"

"Well, we have to hope it doesn't come to that, won't we?" He answered grimly before heading off to a small cabin.

Will listened as the heavy footsteps faded away before staring out at the waves before him.

Elizabeth...

He couldn't take his mind off of her now that she had written to him and he found himself taking out the letter to read it again. It felt so wonderful glancing over the words she had written, no matter what memories she had brought back to him. He knew he couldn't avoid them forever. Sadness crossed over him for a moment as she examined her shaky letters; he could guess that she had written this with a tearful hand. And the ink blotches that smeared some of the words to the point of illegibility proved it. She had been crying when she had written this, but why? Was it the death of Jack?

Jack's death. Definately something he'd look into when he got to Tortuga, if it was true. Somewhere inside Will was doubt that the captain would have been killed so easily in a battle at sea. Then again... it was odd that the commodore would deliver such a serious lie to Elizabeth.

He felt a touch of anger rise in him after reading her words for what felt like the hundreth time, finding it typical that she'd wait until everyone else was gone before resorting to him for help. He wished he could have just refused her plea for help but he knew that he'd never be able to, even if he did love Evangeline.

No matter what his mind told him, his heart still loved her. And it hurt knowing that she no longer turned to him in her time of need.

Only as a last resort.

How could such a simple letter cause such different emotions from within him?

A distant rumbling boom of thunder sounded warningly in the distance, interrupting Will's thoughts and making him jump a little from the instant sound. Moments later a soft rain began to pour onto the vessel, and he made his way hurriedly below deck to escape the coldness the wet drops had seemed to bring with them. He folded the letter carefully and hid it back in his coat pocket, leaning against the wooden wall of the ship for support. He slid down to the floor out of exhaustion and his mind finally allowed him to rest.

Please review if you get the chance! x.x Thanks so much for reading! Next chapter will come out... well... when I write it xP

And yeah xP I'm aware that the man is loads different than he was in the prologue but oh well xP