"In the name of God, William Turner, I can't take my eyes off you for ten minutes before you do something rash and life-threatening!"

Far from being startled, William Turner simply laughed. "I am sorry for worrying you, Ophelia—but I am here now, and that is what matters." His brown eyes regarded his friend's face, a light and apologetic smile on his lips. "How have you been the past couple of months?"

Ophelia raised an eyebrow at the sudden change of topic. As worried as she had been about her greatest friend the past five months, she was even more relieved to find him in front of her now. He had disappeared one night when a bunch of cursed pirates from the Black Pearl opened fire on Port Royal. Said pirates had taken Elizabeth Swann, the governor's daughter, captive, and of course Will simply had to go after her… and nearly get himself killed in the process.

"I've been bored," she responded banteringly. She seized a thick woolen blanket and draped it around Will's shoulders. Seeing as Will had returned late at night in the middle of a rainstorm and had given Elizabeth his jacket to keep her dry, Ophelia felt it was her responsibility to make sure Will would not catch a cold.

"Bored?" asked Will.

"Yes, bored," she confirmed, moving to strike up a fire in the fireplace. "You're mad if you think Mr. Brown would've practiced swordplay with me. I've had to practice all by myself!"

At this, a smirk formed on Will's face. "If that's the case, we have a lot of work to do."

Choosing to ignore Ophelia's protests, he stood up and grabbed two swords. He handed one hilt first to the woman; the other he extended her direction. "Are you ready? One—two—"

"Will, you need to rest," she retorted, but it didn't look like Will would be having any of it.

"Three!"

Right when Will said that, he lunged toward her. Ophelia yelped and quickly parried; despite him catching her off-guard, she was able to regain her balance. Even though her mentor and friend had been gone the past five months, she was pleased to see that she was holding her own against him rather well.

"Ha!" exclaimed Ophelia, leaping back to avoid Will's sword. "Is this all you can do? I would've thought that your journey improved your skill!"

Will glared at her as if she'd just issued a personal insult. "You will regret saying that, Ophie!"

She merely laughed and danced out of his reach.

For a while more, with Will assessing her performance the way he always did, they sparred. It went on for a time until at last he got the best of the engagement and disarmed her. Nonetheless, Ophelia was pleased to notice that Will seemed winded.

"Very good!" he exclaimed. "Very good… you have been practicing!"

"Three hours a day," she grinned. "Just like you."

Will chuckled, his dark eyes gleaming with something that Ophelia hoped was pride. "That's good to hear."

"How much did you have to fight during your journey?"

Now he shook his head. "More than you'd like to hear."

"The exploits would be a most wonderful tale, I'm sure," she giggled, feeding the fire with new coals. She gently guided him toward the fireplace and sat him down on a barrel in front of it. "Tell me about it."

She was answered with a curt laugh. "Very well. It was a long journey with Captain Jack… we started by hijacking a ship from the navy and commandeered a cursed pirate ship from there. Have you ever heard of those old curses? The ones about pirate gold?"

Ophelia blinked. "I don't believe I have. What was the curse?"

"The curse of immortality… if anyone touched or spent the gold of the Aztecs, they would never die."

"That hardly sounds like a curse." Ophelia's eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. "Wouldn't most people want to live forever?"

Will shrugged and muttered, his voice low, "That was their thinking. But after many long years, the men lost their sense of taste or feel. They could not enjoy life as they once had… food and water turned to ash, physical touch became nothing… and in the moonlight, their very bodies would waste away to skeletons. They were simply undead—and could not be killed."

"And you fought them?" Ophelia's whisper was of a horrified fascination.

He offered her a hesitant smile. "Not alone. But yes…"

There was a silence as Ophelia processed this information. She loved Will immensely—he was the most important person in her life. She had fallen in love with him years ago, and had been his friend for much longer. She had been worried about him for so long… but now he was back, safe—home.

"Well," she sighed, "the next time you go off to fight cursed pirates, be sure to take me with you. I would bet I could've made the journey at least somewhat easier for you." This last was said with a knowing smirk, one that Will did not miss.

He laughed and placed an arm around her shoulder. "Very well," he promised. "Everything was in disarray when I left. Now, though—if it comforts you, I promise that we shall remain together, through whatever chaos."

Ophelia smiled, indeed comforted. She remembered the first time he had told her they'd remain together… the first time they met.

—At twelve years of age, Ophelia was slowly but surely starving on the streets. She had been rummaging through a waste pile in the back alley by the bakery when a young voice asked, "What are you doing?"

Ophelia leapt back, startled. She didn't think anyone would want to chase her if she were rooting through a waste pile. Sheepishly, she hid the apple core she'd found behind her back and glanced upon the person who'd caught her. It was a young boy, not much older than herself.

"Well?" asked the boy, his dark eyes curious. His hair was tied back, and there were grimy stains on his clothes.

The girl sighed and silently held out the apple core.

The boy moved forward and stared at it. His eyes moved to her gaunt figure and pale face. "Are you trying to get something to eat?"

She nodded, ashamed to admit it.

And yet, the boy didn't look disgusted. If anything, he looked sad. Nonetheless, he smiled at her—the first act of kindness Ophelia had received in a long, long time.

"I have some money. I've been saving it," said the boy, extending his hand to show her seven coins. Ophelia could see glints of silver in his palm. "Maybe we could both get something to eat. I'm hungry, too."

She blinked again and stared at him before simply asking, "Why?"

He shrugged. "We're both hungry. And you won't get anything good to eat like that."

"I… have nothing to give back to you," she confessed, shuffling her feet.

The boy hummed for a second before gazing her up and down and then, a bright smile on his face, exclaiming, "You can be my friend."

Ophelia's gaze shot back to his face. She had never thought that someone would ever offer her a piece of bread, much less an invitation of friendship. She worried that perhaps the boy might change his mind later, and thus was terrified of accepting.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Ophelia. You?"

"Will."

She nodded and tried to smile, but Ophelia was afraid it looked more like a grimace. Just then, her stomach rumbled—embarrassed, she glanced at the ground. But when she looked back up, Will was grinning.

"Come on," he said. "Let's get some lunch. It can be you and me. Together."

This almost seemed too much to hope for. "Together? As… friends?"

"Sure!" Will seemed no less than delighted by her speaking the word, as if her merely acknowledging it was enough to give him hope. "We can be friends. We can do everything together."

Ophelia finally allowed herself to smile. She'd never had a real friend before. "Everything?" she asked.

"Everything," he confirmed, nodding. He held out a hand—and Ophelia shook it. "Now let's get some lunch."—

Ophelia was suddenly brought out of her thoughts by Will's voice: "What are you thinking about? You have that look."

Knowing that she couldn't simply deny it, Ophelia chuckled sheepishly. "I was just thinking about the first day we met. It seems so long ago, and yet… like yesterday."

Will grinned at her and tightened his grip around her shoulder. "It was a very fortunate day for us both."

"More for me than you," she laughed, but Will would have none of it. He waved off her comment and simply sat, staring at the fire… Ophelia noticed that it was now he who was drifting off into his own thoughts.

Right when she was about to ask what he was thinking about, he blurted out, "Ophelia, I must ask if I can tell you something off topic?"

He sounded anxious, for some reason. Ophelia withheld her frown. He didn't need to feel nervous to tell her anything. They were best friends, after all.

She was not conscious of replying, "Yes, of course. You know you can tell me anything."

Will smiled again; that was another thing Ophelia had missed. He always seemed to reserve a specific smile just for her, and he wore it now when he said, "I know I can, do not worry. Anyway… I know this seems sudden, and hardly anyone knows… but I just wanted to tell you—Elizabeth and I are going to be married in the spring."

Ophelia blinked, unsure if she had heard him correctly. "Married?"

"Yes—her father has approved it already, when we returned just a few hours ago. As my best friend, I value your opinion. What do you think?"

Seeing the hopeful look on Will's face, Ophelia swallowed back the burning in her throat and blinked the tears out of her eyes. She would never dream of doing anything to withhold his happiness. Seeing the hope and joy in his eyes as he said Elizabeth's name, Ophelia knew she could never tell him her true feelings.

And so she replied, "Oh, Will, I think—I think that's wonderful."