Different Styles of Persuasion
Chapter 14
"Lydia says the horses are too heavily built. They were bred for pulling not running, so are naturally slow," Will commented as he walked up to them with Barbossa following.
"And just what do ya propose we do ta get 'em ta move faster," Jack looked down his nose at Will while gesturing with his hands.
Will said. "Maybe, we will have to take the chance of firing a pistol behind each of them to startle them. That may make them move faster."
"Boy, for a whelp ya surprise me more each day. That be pretty smart thinkin'. Shudda thought of that meself," Barbossa said as he turned to follow Norrington.
"Well, if that is what it takes to get you and Jack to quit calling me 'the whelp' it is worth it," Will commented as he turned to follow Jack.
"Just make sure ya don't shoot the nag or me, William," Jack looked down at Will.
"I won't, too much is at stake Jack. And as a smart man once told me, 'now is not the opportune moment'," Will smiled slightly.
Jack nodded his thanks for the compliment. He knew how much that cost Will to say that. Will raised his pistol and shot it just as he heard Barbossa's pistol go off. The horses spooked and started running wildly at each other. The swords clashed.
This time there was the blinding light. Jack pulled his horse up but couldn't see just yet where they were. He turned the horse around and stopped where he thought Niece would be. He found Norrington already off his horse and on the ground next to Niece. He was checking to see how she had faired. "She is still breathing. Now where in the world are we," Norrington said as he looked around.
Jack looked around too, "Wait I hear cars, lots of them." He loped off on the horse to a hill a ways away. He disappeared over the hill and when he came back a few minutes later he said, "Being Johnny Depp can have its advantages at times." He held a cell phone out for Norrington to see. "Already have 911 on the line they are sending an ambulance. We are somewhere outside of San Diego along I-5. I saw some freeway signs. Do you have a good memory?"
"Yes," Norrington answered a little perplexed at first until Jack indicated with his sword to Norrington's sword.
You better hide the swords and take note of where they are. I don't have a good memory for that sort of thing. And we have to be able to find them to go back," Jack commented.
Norrington nodded and looked for a place to hide the swords. He found a good place. He checked all the surroundings and landmarks, committing them to his memory. Jack dismounted and checked on Niece. She was awake.
"Hey Niece, can you remember anything I tell you right now?" Jack asked her as he smiled at her.
"I think so. Where are we?" She looked around as she asked.
"Back in 2006 for the time being. Now listen we have to tell the same story and we have to stick to it," Jack said as Norrington walked up.
They decided the story would be that they had been taking a break from shooting a movie. They had been riding when Niece just fainted. And that her horse had run away to explain why there were only two horses. They had not been aware that Niece had been injured. But that she could have been injured in a sword fight scene earlier in the week. That was the truth anyway. They also decided to say that Niece hadn't thought the injury was that bad so hadn't told anyone. They would take these horses back to the stable and meet the paramedics and Niece at the hospital.
The ambulance came and the paramedics started her on an IV. They told Jack to which hospital they would take her and then left. Jack and Norrington found some where for the horses and talked someone into a ride so they could rent a car to go to the hospital.
The hospital believed the story when Jack and Norrington got there. They were permitted to see how Niece was doing, after she had been settled into a private room. They were told that she had an infection from the wound. That it might be a while before she woke up, since she had waited so long. The anti-biotic would work and bring the fever down. But the doctor didn't know when that might be.
They stayed until late in the afternoon before Niece woke up again. Norrington was sitting in a chair closest to the bed. He sat with his left elbow resting on the arm of the chair, his chin on that hand. His left foot was crossed on his right knee. He saw her first as she moved her head to look around. "Hey, welcome back. The doctor said the best thing was sleep for you now."
Jack looked around from the chair he had been sitting sideways in. His feet dangling over the arm of it. "Yeah, you had us worried there for a while."
Niece smiled slightly, started to speak but nothing came out. She saw a glass with water and took a sip, then said, "Yeah, well, I wasn't sure I was going to make it for a while either. It was like being in a foggy, soupy… I don't know, whatever. I still feel like shit. I can tell I still have a fever, but it must be down some. I only have this hot behind my eyelids thing going now."
"Yeah, the doc said it might take a while, but that your fever was already down a degree or two since you came in," Jack swung his leg back and forth. "How can you tell you still have a fever?"
"People in the medical profession can tell these things," Niece shrugged.
"I thought Lydia was the one in the medical profession? You said she was," Jack frowned.
"She is a nurse, so she knows more than I do. Which is what I said. I am just a paramedic. She just couldn't find things she was familiar with to help back there. Kinda makes you realize progress I guess," Niece explained. Niece always hated her feet and arms covered up so she kicked the blanket off her feet and pulled her arms out and set them on top on the blankets.
Both men were on the right side of the bed. Jack got up quickly and came to stand next to her. He felt her head but stood close enough to hide her right wrist from Norrington. "Dude, what are you doing?" She pushed his hand away from her head, giving him a jaundice look. "You're invading my space here."
"Too late Jack, I saw it," Norrington got up and took her hand.
She jerked her hand away, "Are you guys nuts or what?"
"You are Pegasus," Norrington indicated the tattoo.
"Yeah, I have a Pegasus tattoo. That doesn't make me Pegasus. I just have a tattoo. Why does everyone keep saying that? And I thought I was only supposed to keep Barbossa from seeing it. It is for my stage name in the knight re-enactments. Lydia has a unicorn, so?" Niece moved to the far side of the bed to get away from these two men she thought were crazy.
Norrington looked at Jack, "How long have you known?"
Jack sighed, letting his head drop back on his shoulders. Looking at Norrington out of the corner of his eyes he said, "Since the day after we got her back from you."
"Hello? I asked what my tattoo has to do with anything," Niece backhanded Jack up side his arm.
"Damn, woman, that stung," Jack said as he rubbed his arm. Norrington's eyebrows raised, his green eyes sparkled and he smirked trying not to laugh.
She made a snide face at Jack, "Good, at least I have your attention now. Or would you rather tell me what this is all about James." She emphasized his given name, turning her attention to him. Norrington sobered and stepped out of her reach.
"Pegasus is in the script. So far as the script is concerned only Tia has had a vision so far of 'the wing horse wo-man' as she calls Pegasus," Jack did a perfect imitation of Tia's accent, still rubbing his arm.
"And who is she? Come on spill it. You have to tell me now," Niece prodded, looking back and forth between them. Norrington sat back down in the same position he'd been in before. Jack sat down in his chair. He sat forward with his elbows on his knees. The fingers of one hand twisting one of his many rings around another finger.
"All right, from the beginning. Feel free to jump in anytime James," Jack accented Norrington's given name as Niece had. Norrington nodded and smiled tight lipped. Jack continued, "When we came back and ended up in Oregon we thought it was because Travis is James' older cousin."
"Travis is your real cousin? No wonder I always thought he looked more like Norrington than Jack," Niece exclaimed interrupting Jack. "That explains a lot."
"Yes, he is my real cousin," Norrington said. "Let Jack finish." Niece made a sarcastic look and directed it at Norrington.
"Well, now Tia, Elizabeth and I believe we went there to get you to come back with us. Pegasus is written into the script probably some where about where we were shooting. She has the tattoo in the same place as yours. So you have to be her. She is a female pirate captain of her own ship. It is called The Thunder of Zeus," Jack was interrupted by Niece again.
"Ah, Pegasus is said to be the one that brought thunder and lightning to Zeus. So I get the name of her ship. Whew who, I am a pirate captain of my own ship. Oops, sorry, go on," Niece thought aloud.
"Yes, so the myth says. The Zeus, as everyone calls it is the second fastest ship in the Caribbean. Barbossa knows this and will join with Pegasus against Beckett and Norrington. That is why you couldn't let Barbossa see the tattoo. And probably why James here shouldn't have seen it either. Any questions so far?" Jack stopped for a moment.
"I don't understand why they shouldn't have seen the tattoo since it is in the script," Niece replied.
"Because, you aren't on The Zeus and Norrington wasn't on The Pearl," Jack answered.
"Oh, now I am really confused," Niece threw up her hands.
"Well, I might help out there," Norrington said. "You see there was nothing in the script about me kidnapping you or leaving The Pearl. I was supposed to be on The Pearl to spy. I was supposed to see you while on The Pearl. When I left and took you, it messed things up. I just thought I could change the script enough so that I am not such a bad guy. I would catch Jack and I would be the hero in the end," Norrington confessed.
Jack rolled his eyes and looked at Norrington, "He is pretty bad for a while, so maybe the script hasn't changed that much. And he is back on The Pearl spying again. We aren't sure how the script ends. It is a secret until we shoot those last scenes."
"Oh now I get some of it anyway. But I thought directors and producers shot scenes randomly, not in order?" Niece asked.
"They do, but someone higher up wants a surprise ending that no one knows about so it can't be leaked out," Norrington said.
Jack fiddled with his beard braids and his rings. He still had the braids even though his wig was gone. Norrington was also fidgeting and changing positions. Niece narrowed her eyes watching them both. They were squirming like bugs stuck with a needle. "There is something you aren't telling me," Niece guessed.
"Yeah, I guess there is," Jack looked up, rubbed a hand across his face and said, "Just knowing you the short time I have. You aren't going to like it."
"Spit it out Jack," Niece demanded.
"There is another reason for them not to see your tattoo. Tia saw in her vision 'the winged horse woman', Barbossa and Norrington together," Jack cringed for the explosion that came.
"What?! Together how? That's disgusting!" She shrieked.
"I told you, you weren't going to like it," Jack shut one eye and cringed again.
"This is Disney," she said, "What the…. What are they thinking?"
"Well, we aren't sure. And get your mind out of the gutter. They aren't going to go where your mind is right now. But that is part of what we haven't been told," Jack shrugged.
"Well, he has already seen my breasts, "Niece mumbled, then continued, "Oh man, I don't know about this," Niece shook her head.
"Whoa back up, who has seen them?" Jack asked incredulous. He looked to Norrington.
Norrington held up his hands, "Don't look at me. But I would like to know who also."
"Barbossa has. Being a man I figured he would have said something about it by now. It was when Tia was doctoring my wound, the blanket slipped off when I threw plates, and forks and stuff at him," Niece shrugged it off.
"Now that I can believe," Norrington said. "I have been on the other end of thrown objects from you." Niece just glared at him.
"You can act, you have to doing re-enactments. You are good at it," Jack remarked to get back on subject..
"Yeah, I suppose I can, but I don't know if I want to go back. Except to get Lydia and our horses back to this time. I told you guys from the first that I wasn't into pain. There has been a lot of pain here," Niece shivered.
Norrington said, "Tell her the rest Jack." And Jack shot him a look that could kill. Niece expectantly looked at Jack.
"There will be more fighting. Just be careful and you shouldn't get hurt again," Jack shrugged.
"What about Lydia it could be her next time, she isn't as good of a fighter as I am. She hasn't been with the knights that long," Niece asked.
"That is why we decided that Will should be her protector. He is the best sword fighter among us. The script really has Elizabeth and Will back together. I was going to be either your or Lydia's protector. But it didn't turn out that way," Jack motioned then continued. "Oh yeah, it seems Pegasus may be a fickle female to say the least. Kind of like Elizabeth is. It seems she becomes curious about James over here too," Jack finished.
"Oh great, so she is a sleaze too," Niece rolled her eyes.
"No she is just fickle and curious. We don't know the ending. We have no idea what happens if anything between any of them," Norrington added.
"Well, I guess I have already played the sleaze by kissing both of you. So I won't bag out on you now," Niece groaned embarrassed.
"What's this? Another new development that I hadn't heard of?" Jack drew his head back, frowning at both of them.
"It seems our proper gentleman Norrington couldn't resist the charms of a sleeping woman in a bed," Niece sneered playfully at Norrington.
"Oh, is that all. Well, like James said, fickle and curious is all Pegasus is. It is expected of a female pirate captain anyway. Don't worry," Jack waved it off.
"Easy for you to say, you have done this lots of times. I haven't," Niece moaned this time covering her head with the blankets.
They stopped talking when a nurse entered the room. She made the men leave while she took Niece's vital signs and her temperature. Niece still had a slight fever. The doctor came in later and told them that as soon as her temperature was normal for one day she could be discharged.
Jack and James left later to get a motel room and so she could get some sleep. Her fever broke in the early morning hours and didn't come back. She was released with medication to take the day after that. The medication was to be taken for ten days, but they all decided that they need to get back soon. They would take the medication back with them and hope all worked out okay.
They stayed in the motel for one more day to be safe. Everything stayed fine. They left the next day, got the horses and tried to get back. It took several tries because the horses couldn't get up enough speed to get them back.
"Technically, they are four thousand year old horses. They need all the help they can get. James take your horse to the top of that hill. Jack take yours to the top of that other hill. Get them going as fast as you can down those hills. I will be waiting at the bottom. I hope it works this time," Niece scratched her head.
She waited at the bottom of the two hills. She prayed that the technically around four thousand year old horses wouldn't lose their footing. They didn't and it worked. When the blinding light faded they were back on the shore where the battle had been fought. There was no Black Pearl in sight.
Norrington looked around, "We could commandeer The Intrepid." They all laughed. "We really should change clothes quickly before someone comes upon us. Then decide what to do."
They found their clothes they had hidden. They went behind different bushes to change into them. "No peeking you nasty pirates," Niece teased.
"I will have you know I am a gentleman," Norrington sniffed.
"Yeeeah, just like you were back when I was sleeping after you kidnapped me?" Niece reminded him.
"A momentary lapse," Norrington defended.
Niece didn't like the way Norrington had his belts were so she rearranged them. Then she messed with his hair a bit while he sat there with a straight face.
Jack couldn't get his wig on straight and said, "Bugger, this thing is a piece of ….."
Niece laughed as she walked to him, "Get your hands down, and let me." And she straightened it and his bandana.
"Easy on the goods darlin'," he smirked at her.
"Funny Jack, real funny," she put her hands on either side of his face and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, "That was a thank you for everything."
"Oh good god," Norrington rolled his eyes and leaned back against a tree behind him.
So she walked over to him and gave him the same treatment, except that she kissed one corner of his mouth and lingered. "Thank you James," she said in a sultry voice as she grinned as she walked away.