The morning air of mid December was cold and crisp. The docks were quiet, the only sounds of crashing waves and squawking seagulls. France was exactly the way Hermione had expected it; old tutor styles homes and cobblestone streets. Unlit street lamps stood around every corner as well.
Hermione observed from the railing of the ship as the crew unloaded cargo and Jack wandered about, studying a map of the sort. Their next stop was Paris, and the only way to get there was to walk- or go by horse drawn carriage.
As Hermione scanned around, she decided to approach Jack who stood at the bottom of the gangplank. Perhaps he would let her set up their rides to Paris.
"Jack," Hermione said halfway down the gangplank. "Have you already set up a carriage to Paris?" She was now near the bottom, approaching Jack and standing beside him.
"No, luv. But there's an admission office of transportation just down the road. I was going to send Barbossa to have it done, but he hasn't gotten around to it." Jack explained.
"I can do it!" Hermione said hopefully.
"Well sure, luv. I don't see why not." He smiled, "Here, I'll go fetch some coins."
"You don't have to do that, Jack. I've been told I'm really good at negotiating." Hermione said, forming a plan in her head.
Jack stood back, giving her a quizzical look. "If you're so sure, luv..."
"Times." Hermione said suddenly. "What time do you want to leave and how many people?"
"32 people and we can leave some time before noon." He responded.
"Alright, thirty two people, before noon. Got it." Hermione nodded.
"Oh, and Hermione?" Jack called just as she was leaving.
"What?" She turned.
"I would like for you to meet me back here in about thirty minutes." He instructed. That way, if anything went wrong, he would know soon enough how I find her. Plus, he had an idea.
Hermione continued down the cobblestone roads and through the empty streets, her destination being the transportation office. She neared the building, opening the doors and seeing a man behind a counter, glasses resting on the end of his nose. "Que puis-je faire pour vous aujourd'hui, Mademoiselle?"
He spoke French, which luckily, Hermione spoke fluently.
"chariots de combien il faudra de trente deux passagers?" Hermione asked, asking how many carriages would be needed for thirty two people.
"Hmm..." He thought. "vous aurez besoin de six voitures." Meaning, six or seven carriages.
Hermione continued in French, "Then seven for Paris leaving before noon."
"That will be two hundred shillings." He spoke in his French language, but Hermione had something else in mind.
"I'm sorry about this, sir. Imperio." She said, causing the man to look around dreamily. "I'm going to get the information for the seven carriages."
"Sounds good." Hermione smiled, glad her spell worked.
The man went into the back room, gathering the papers for her. He returned, a folder in hand with several parchments.
He left to the back room, returning with a few pieces of rolled up parchment, handing them to her. She nodded in thanks before turning to leave.
Hermione opened the shop door and stepped out into the grey town, cottages lining the roads, tall pine trees here and there.
"Oh, good." Hermione perked up upon seeing that Jack hadn't left his spot, observing as the crew tied the ship up to the dock.
She practically skipped over to him, surprised at how easy it was to 'arrange' their trip to Paris.
"Hermione, that was quick!" Jack said in surprise.
"I'm just a talented negotiator, I guess." She shrugged, handing him the papers.
Jack unraveled the paper, reading the information. "Oh, good. We have two hours to get all situated in the carriages. Hector!" He called for the first mate.
The pirate approached him, a reluctant expression in place. "Aye?" He grumbled.
"Make sure everyone's jolly for the road," Jack explained, shoving the informational parchment into the first mate's arms. "We'll be on our way in two hours."
"But what about the cargo? How exactly do you plan on having it all loaded in TWO hours?" Barbossa objected.
"Sell the cargo, it'll give us a boost in the long run. Besides, no one knows how long we'll be gone, mate." Jack simplified the situation down with a patient smile.
Turning back to Hermione, he casually wrapped his arm around her waist. "Would you like to go shopping, luv?"
"Shopping?" She was surprised. "I mean, do we have time for that?"
"We have all the time in the world. I have a place in mind I would like to take you, either way."
He escorted her down the road, around a few corners, and came to stop in front of a fancy dress shop. He began, "I just figured you'd like something- new. You know? Something more... Your own."
Hermione wasn't sure what to say, whether to politely deny the offer or politely accept it. She glanced down at her current dress. "Well, thank you." She smiled. "I don't really need-"
"No, luv, no need to act polite, I insist." He smiled, holding the door open for her to enter.
A single bell announced their arrival, and a young lady, about Hermione's age, came to their assistance. "How may I help you?" She asked in poorly accented English.
"The miss is looking for a new dress, if you'd be so kind." Jack spoke up.
The girl nodded, understanding. "Right this way then." She lead them into the small shop, towards a fitting area of the sort. A tall, antique mirror stood in the center of the room, a stool in front of a sitting sofa.
"Come stand here, please." The girl lead Hermione to stand on top of the stool. She pulled measuring string from her pocket, wrapping it around Hermione's waist. Hermione held her arms up at the woman proceeded to measure her. Jack sat back on the sofa, looking around the room to avoid staring at Hermione while she was being measured for size.
"Just one moment, dear." The woman said, leaving to the back room.
Jack looked back to Hermione, flashing her a comforting grin. Hermione smiled weakly back, turning her attention to her feet as a warm shade of pink swept her cheeks, causing Jack to smile inwardly.
"Here we are." The woman returned, her arms filled with samples of fabrics and prints and designs that made Hermione's eyes widen in excitement.
The woman laid everything neatly on top of the mahogany table, so that all of the options were there for her to see. There were corsets, skirts, hems, sleeves, collars, hoop skirts, ruffles and so on and so forth.
Having decided on a combination, the woman lead Hermione into the back room to quickly piece the design together. A few minutes passed, and Jack nearly was at a loss of breath when Hermione first emerged from behind the curtain. She was absolutely gorgeous.
She spun in place, feeling the tickle of the ruffles against her legs. Her dress was a pale yellow with blue designs on the fabric. The corset was tied tightly, allowing more cleavage to be shown than Hermione would like, but that didn't make her love the dress any less. She didn't think she'd ever worn anything this elegant before either. The sleeves had a pretty white ruffle as well.
"You have two more." The woman said, holding out the other two. One was a light purple- slightly grey, and the last was the most elegant. It was of a deep fabric, with gems along the neckline. It was a dress befitting of royalty. Hermione took them graciously as the woman lead Jack to the front to pay. It was a little bit more than a shiny penny, but all the well worth it. As they exited the shop, Hermione stood on her toes and quickly gave him a small peck on the cheek. "Thank you." She smiled. He smiled back, an admiring gleam in his eyes that made her heart beat increase ten fold. They proceeded back to the dock, where seven carriages were waiting.
A long while later, Jack studied Hermione with a soft smile, running his fingers gently through her hair as she unconsciously leaned against his chest, fast asleep. The carriage rocked against the cobblestone roads, preventing Jack from getting hardly any sleep. He looked out the window, seeing the tall pine trees pass over the moon in the distance. He shivered, seeing his breath fade out in front of him. Jack eyed his coat on the bottom of the carriage, which he kicked up with his foot, catching in his free hand. He then draped it over Hermione, noticing she was shivering herself.
The crew followed behind in a few other carriages, and luckily, they would arrive in Paris soon. They had traveled by carriage for eight hours now, allowing the horses to take breaks here and there with every meal.
Jack noticed something strange outside of the window, drifting past. Another one followed, then another! He looked upon the ground to see the dark surroundings dusted white, glittering in the silver moon. It was snowing! It wasn't like a drop down freezing snow, but a peaceful and happy snow. A kind of snow that makes you happy and warm inside in a way. It was almost new to Jack. He wasn't very familiar snow although he had a short experience with it in his teen years.
He looked over to Hermione and noticed the way the moon casted the trees' shadows over her face. To Jack, everything about her was perfect. He admired everything. But he wished he could describe how much he loved her and how to explain it to her. They hit a bump, causing Hermione to become awake and alert, sitting up quickly and glancing around.
"Those rambunctious tree roots are quite the annoyance." Jack commented, putting his hand around her shoulder re-assuringly. His thumb sub-consciously began to caress her soft brown hair that rested along her shoulders.
"Is that- snow?" Hermione asked, noticing how brightly the moon reflected off the white blanketed ground.
"Most certainly. And common here in France, considering its northern geographical location. Aye?" He raised his eyebrows as he peered out the window at the white forest that surrounded them.
"How much longer, Jack?" She complained with a groan, "We've been cooped up for hours..."
"Only maybe thirty minutes left, not much longer at all, I promise. Besides, you, Billy, Hector and I are all going to have a nice room at the Hotel de Paris to sulk in as soon as we arrive into the city." He assured her with a grin.
Another bump rocked the carriage, shaking the curtains loose from their restraints and causing the carriage to go dark.
"Lovely." Hermione said in a high tone.
"'Ere we are!" Jack rummaged through his coat pockets, retrieving a candle and a match to go with it. Striking the match stick along the roof of the carriage, a dim orange flame sizzled on the match, that he brought to meet the candle wick.
Hermione then flashed him a 'why-in-neptune's-sea-do-you-have-a-candle-in-your-pocket' look.
"What?" Jack shrugged, "Never hurts to be prepared, luv."
Holding the candle stick up, it illuminated the once dark carriage. She placed it on the candelabra that hung on the inside of the carriage. She then glanced about, thinking of a way to pass the time.
"Have you ever heard of a game called Rock Paper Scissors?" Hermione asked upon a sudden.
He seemed momentarily confused, frowned, then saying, "No."
"It goes like this." She began, holding out her hand and placing her fist in her palm. "Rock paper scissors. Now, you choose to make a rock, like this, paper, your hand is flat like this, or scissors, like this." She showed him each hand formation an waited for him to nod before continuing. "It's simple really. The rock beats scissors, scissors beats paper, and paper beats rock." She explained further.
"Alright luv, I'll call it." He said anxiously, smiling as he called out "Rock paper scissors." Rock and scissors.
"I win!" Hermione chirped.
"Again!" Jack announced. "Rock paper scissors." Paper and rock.
"I win again!" Hermione laughed. "Okay, I'll call it this time. Rock Paper Scissors." Paper and scissors.
"I WON! HA! Just what that Captain ordered, isn't it? So sorry, luv." He said, patting her hand in apology. "But you are no match for my scissoring skills."
"Oh my goodness," She pretended to look hurt. "You're right. I'm no match for your invigorating skill and years of on going practice."
Soon enough, Hermione began to notice the glimmering streetlights that illuminated the beautiful buildings of Paris, France. She glanced eagerly out the window, teeming with anticipation. The snow sprinkled the ground, inflicting sparkles upon itself from the lanterns and moonlight.
The carriage slowed to a stop, and Hermione could see their hotel from the window.
"Velcome to Paris, madam and Captain." The carriage driver bowed as he opened the door of the carriage, revealing a magnificent city behind him. The buildings were a smooth white marble with beautiful detail and architecture. The dirt roads were lined with candle street lamps, and several other carriages strolled past. The carriage driver offered his hand to Hermione, assisting her from the carriage and out onto the snow covered pavement. Jack followed after, all of the pirates filtering from the carriages simultaneously. Though, understandably, they would be in a separate hotel from Jack, Hermione, Billy and Barbossa. They were one block over in an inn all for themselves.
Barbossa and Billy came to Jack and Hermione as the carriages drove off.
Jack came to stand in front of his crew. "Alright, gents. I understand you are most excited to be in Paris, I just ask that you lot remain civilized. I WON'T be bailing you out from jail while we're here. Savvy? Goodnight, sleep tight- or a tight as a pirate sleeps." He concluded his speech, proceeding up to the room that the four of them would be sharing.
Hermione followed the others into the grand hotel, a giant brass chandelier hanging overhead and luxurious surroundings cluttering the lobby. They walked up the grand staircase and down the hallway, each of the doors towering above their heads, engraved in white and pale grey features. They came to a stop at one of the doors, Jack unlocking it with a single key, and pushing the door open. Her eyes widened at the tall ceilings, chandelier, four separate glorious beds, a fancy fireplace as well as two sofas. A white antique armoire stood beside a towering window, draped with the finest of linens and oldest of trim.
Jack removed his hat and coat, tossing them haphazardly on the coat hanger.
"Jack, this is a nice room, you should do what you can to take care of it." Hermione explained, placing her hands on her hips.
He slumped forward, adjusting his coat and hat more properly on the coat hanger. Barbossa simply rolled his eyes.