Well, mostly.
Actually, she fell forward off the sinking boat with a loud crash. Traveling with no warning whatsoever through time, space, and probability can be a bit disorienting, and Alyssia was, without a doubt, a bit disoriented. She lay stunned for a moment, then rolled into a sitting position, noticing a number of things as she did so, chief of these being that her hair was, inexplicably, free of its tie and hanging in her face. She brushed it back purely out of reflex, and stopped short as her sleeve hit her in the face. She blinked, and glanced down at herself. Her jeans, T-shirt, and tennis shoes were gone. In their place were what her history teacher would probably call 'period clothing'. Breeches, boots, and a light, loose, long-sleeved shirt, all black. She also, interestingly enough, now had a sword
The sound of voices arguing made her leap to her feet. Johnny Depp was some ten feet away, having some kind of discussion about shillings with the harbormaster. Only... Alyssia thought back, and determined that, judging by the angle of the shot she had last seen on the movie screen, the camera operator ought to be exactly where she was standing- except he wasn't. In fact, there were no camera operators, directors, body guards, lighting people, or nervous financial backers anywhere in sight. Odd, very odd.
Alyssia stood for a moment in a state of complete mental overload, but then a thought occurred to her. It was random, but at least somewhat encouraging. It even made her smile faintly. She thought, 'People who have been reading "The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide" by Douglas Adams ought to be able to cope with this sort of thing.' Luckily, Alyssia was one of those people.
Having finished his conversation with the Harbormaster (and having stolen the man's coin-purse in the process), Johnny Depp wandered slowly away. Alyssia watched him for a moment, then took a few cautious steps forward until she was standing directly in front of the harbormaster. "Um, hello?" she said, crossing her fingers (and noticing something else very odd, which we shall come to in a moment).
The man gave no indication that he had heard her, or indeed noticed her at all. Alyssia shifted nervously from one leg to the other, but found that both were equally sore from her fall. At last, somewhat hesitantly, she waved her hand in the man's face. He jumped, and demanded harshly, "Here, now, what do you want, sneaking up on a fellow like that? Be off with you!"
"All right, all right, I'm going!" Alyssia said hastily, and suited actions to words by beating a hasty retreat.
The next hundred feet were the oddest she had ever walked in her life. It was as though no one could see her unless she worked really, really hard at being noticed. Several people actually walked smack into her before they became aware of her presence. After a few such incidents, she came to the conclusion that she wasn't invisible as such, just...
It was then that her mind flashed to the odd thing she had noticed when she crossed her fingers. She seemed, in the course of losing all her twenty-first century possessions and getting seventeenth-or-so century replacements, to have acquired a ring. It was a heavy, ornate silver affair, set with a lusterless black stone of some kind. Curious, she tried to take it off, but it seemed to have a death grip on her finger at the moment. She shook her head, wondering what on earth she was going to do next.
She spotted Johnny Depp, ambling along at an easy pace, some distance ahead of her. Still tugging at the ring, she broke into a jog, and called out, "Um, Mr. Depp?" He didn't turn around or give any indication that he had heard her, though she was now only about fifteen feet behind him.
'Okay' she thought to herself 'That proves it. The articles I've read said he was just a bit odd, not deaf, so... Oh!' Two and two had quite unexpectedly come together as four in her still-spinning mind. 'Right. Of course. I'm not on a movie set. There aren't any movie people around here. Which means this is actually happening, so to speak, so... That's... not Johnny Depp. That's, um... damnation, I knew this morning, I just read the summary of the movie... Sparrow. Jack Sparrow.'
She took a deep breath, and called out, "Hey you, Sparrow!"
Ahead of her, he swung around in a kind of off-balance pirouette, and said, "Who calls?"
Nervously, Alyssia closed the gap between them to about five feet, stopping a safe distance away. "I do."
His dark eyes narrowed as he surveyed her. "You look a bit familiar. Have we met?"
"N-no," she stammered, realizing with a nasty jolt that she had no idea what she was about to say, but kept talking anyway. "I, um, hoped you could help me, I... think." She paused to consider exactly what she needed help with, and finished rather lamely, "I'm a bit confused."
He gave her a slow, insolent, up-and-down look, and the smile he gave her was, if not quite predatory, at least slightly carnivorous as he replied, "About what, love? New in town?"
"More than that," she replied, and, deciding to just give him the story, make of it what he would, she continued, "I'm actually new to the century. I'm... well, I was born in the year 1988, and I'm not sure how I got here or what I'm supposed to be doing, or how to get back (not that I really want to), and I thought maybe you could sort of help me?"
He stared for a moment, apparently too surprised to speak, then his expression became one of mingled awe and pity as he asked, "What have you been drinking, love?" Then he gave her a lopsided smile and added, "And where can I get some, hey?"
Alyssia stuttered for a moment, then mumbled, too quiet for him to hear, "It's called Mountain Dew. You should try it sometime." Then she squared her shoulders, and said, as calmly as she could, "I'm not drunk. Honestly, I'm not," she added, seeing his expression. "Look." She demonstrated by walking a very straight line.
He still looked somewhat skeptical, but said, "Aha. Well, all that's left for me to say is welcome to the Caribbean, then. As for helping you, though, I don't think I will. I'm here on business, you see. Ordinarily, I'd be delighted to help you learn your way around"- another grin -"But under the circumstances, you'll understand if I'm not interested in having a pretty young lady of questionable mental stability traipsing around after me."
Alyssia glared, and said tartly, "Speaking of questionable mental stability, what IS your business in Port Royal, Mr.... Smith?"
He shrugged, ignoring her sarcasm. "Oh, nothing too dreadfully interesting. Just thought I might commandeer a ship, maybe two, pick up a crew in Tortuga (lovely place, by the way), and go on my merry roguish way."
"Oh, good," Alyssia said. "Because I'm coming with you."
"Oh, no you're not," he said, holding his hands up, palms out. "You'd be nothing but a hindrance, probably get me killed."
"Ah, but you can't do this, can you?" Alyssia inquired, stepping into the path of an old man strolling slowly along the road. For added effect, she began whistling loudly. He was ten feet from her... then five.... then two.... then he crashed slap-bang into her, having been looking directly at the place where she stood for a good fifteen seconds before doing so. He staggered back, surprise written across his wrinkled face, and growled, "Sorry, missy, I did nae see ye there, my apologies." And he continued on his way.
Jack's eyes narrowed speculatively as she took a theatrical bow. "That's... interesting. How did you do that?"
Alyssia shrugged. "I have absolutely no idea. It might be this," she held up the hand with the ring on it, "But I really don't know. Whatever it is, though, it seems to work on everyone except you, for some reason. So," she added, "You're sure I can't come with you?"
Jack gave her a lopsided grin, and said, "You know, love, you might have just changed me mind?"
Actually, she fell forward off the sinking boat with a loud crash. Traveling with no warning whatsoever through time, space, and probability can be a bit disorienting, and Alyssia was, without a doubt, a bit disoriented. She lay stunned for a moment, then rolled into a sitting position, noticing a number of things as she did so, chief of these being that her hair was, inexplicably, free of its tie and hanging in her face. She brushed it back purely out of reflex, and stopped short as her sleeve hit her in the face. She blinked, and glanced down at herself. Her jeans, T-shirt, and tennis shoes were gone. In their place were what her history teacher would probably call 'period clothing'. Breeches, boots, and a light, loose, long-sleeved shirt, all black. She also, interestingly enough, now had a sword
The sound of voices arguing made her leap to her feet. Johnny Depp was some ten feet away, having some kind of discussion about shillings with the harbormaster. Only... Alyssia thought back, and determined that, judging by the angle of the shot she had last seen on the movie screen, the camera operator ought to be exactly where she was standing- except he wasn't. In fact, there were no camera operators, directors, body guards, lighting people, or nervous financial backers anywhere in sight. Odd, very odd.
Alyssia stood for a moment in a state of complete mental overload, but then a thought occurred to her. It was random, but at least somewhat encouraging. It even made her smile faintly. She thought, 'People who have been reading "The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide" by Douglas Adams ought to be able to cope with this sort of thing.' Luckily, Alyssia was one of those people.
Having finished his conversation with the Harbormaster (and having stolen the man's coin-purse in the process), Johnny Depp wandered slowly away. Alyssia watched him for a moment, then took a few cautious steps forward until she was standing directly in front of the harbormaster. "Um, hello?" she said, crossing her fingers (and noticing something else very odd, which we shall come to in a moment).
The man gave no indication that he had heard her, or indeed noticed her at all. Alyssia shifted nervously from one leg to the other, but found that both were equally sore from her fall. At last, somewhat hesitantly, she waved her hand in the man's face. He jumped, and demanded harshly, "Here, now, what do you want, sneaking up on a fellow like that? Be off with you!"
"All right, all right, I'm going!" Alyssia said hastily, and suited actions to words by beating a hasty retreat.
The next hundred feet were the oddest she had ever walked in her life. It was as though no one could see her unless she worked really, really hard at being noticed. Several people actually walked smack into her before they became aware of her presence. After a few such incidents, she came to the conclusion that she wasn't invisible as such, just...
It was then that her mind flashed to the odd thing she had noticed when she crossed her fingers. She seemed, in the course of losing all her twenty-first century possessions and getting seventeenth-or-so century replacements, to have acquired a ring. It was a heavy, ornate silver affair, set with a lusterless black stone of some kind. Curious, she tried to take it off, but it seemed to have a death grip on her finger at the moment. She shook her head, wondering what on earth she was going to do next.
She spotted Johnny Depp, ambling along at an easy pace, some distance ahead of her. Still tugging at the ring, she broke into a jog, and called out, "Um, Mr. Depp?" He didn't turn around or give any indication that he had heard her, though she was now only about fifteen feet behind him.
'Okay' she thought to herself 'That proves it. The articles I've read said he was just a bit odd, not deaf, so... Oh!' Two and two had quite unexpectedly come together as four in her still-spinning mind. 'Right. Of course. I'm not on a movie set. There aren't any movie people around here. Which means this is actually happening, so to speak, so... That's... not Johnny Depp. That's, um... damnation, I knew this morning, I just read the summary of the movie... Sparrow. Jack Sparrow.'
She took a deep breath, and called out, "Hey you, Sparrow!"
Ahead of her, he swung around in a kind of off-balance pirouette, and said, "Who calls?"
Nervously, Alyssia closed the gap between them to about five feet, stopping a safe distance away. "I do."
His dark eyes narrowed as he surveyed her. "You look a bit familiar. Have we met?"
"N-no," she stammered, realizing with a nasty jolt that she had no idea what she was about to say, but kept talking anyway. "I, um, hoped you could help me, I... think." She paused to consider exactly what she needed help with, and finished rather lamely, "I'm a bit confused."
He gave her a slow, insolent, up-and-down look, and the smile he gave her was, if not quite predatory, at least slightly carnivorous as he replied, "About what, love? New in town?"
"More than that," she replied, and, deciding to just give him the story, make of it what he would, she continued, "I'm actually new to the century. I'm... well, I was born in the year 1988, and I'm not sure how I got here or what I'm supposed to be doing, or how to get back (not that I really want to), and I thought maybe you could sort of help me?"
He stared for a moment, apparently too surprised to speak, then his expression became one of mingled awe and pity as he asked, "What have you been drinking, love?" Then he gave her a lopsided smile and added, "And where can I get some, hey?"
Alyssia stuttered for a moment, then mumbled, too quiet for him to hear, "It's called Mountain Dew. You should try it sometime." Then she squared her shoulders, and said, as calmly as she could, "I'm not drunk. Honestly, I'm not," she added, seeing his expression. "Look." She demonstrated by walking a very straight line.
He still looked somewhat skeptical, but said, "Aha. Well, all that's left for me to say is welcome to the Caribbean, then. As for helping you, though, I don't think I will. I'm here on business, you see. Ordinarily, I'd be delighted to help you learn your way around"- another grin -"But under the circumstances, you'll understand if I'm not interested in having a pretty young lady of questionable mental stability traipsing around after me."
Alyssia glared, and said tartly, "Speaking of questionable mental stability, what IS your business in Port Royal, Mr.... Smith?"
He shrugged, ignoring her sarcasm. "Oh, nothing too dreadfully interesting. Just thought I might commandeer a ship, maybe two, pick up a crew in Tortuga (lovely place, by the way), and go on my merry roguish way."
"Oh, good," Alyssia said. "Because I'm coming with you."
"Oh, no you're not," he said, holding his hands up, palms out. "You'd be nothing but a hindrance, probably get me killed."
"Ah, but you can't do this, can you?" Alyssia inquired, stepping into the path of an old man strolling slowly along the road. For added effect, she began whistling loudly. He was ten feet from her... then five.... then two.... then he crashed slap-bang into her, having been looking directly at the place where she stood for a good fifteen seconds before doing so. He staggered back, surprise written across his wrinkled face, and growled, "Sorry, missy, I did nae see ye there, my apologies." And he continued on his way.
Jack's eyes narrowed speculatively as she took a theatrical bow. "That's... interesting. How did you do that?"
Alyssia shrugged. "I have absolutely no idea. It might be this," she held up the hand with the ring on it, "But I really don't know. Whatever it is, though, it seems to work on everyone except you, for some reason. So," she added, "You're sure I can't come with you?"
Jack gave her a lopsided grin, and said, "You know, love, you might have just changed me mind?"