It took Bruxa nearly an entire day of scouring the island to finally decide on a location for the gazebo. After what felt like a 50-mile hike, she glided to a stop while both Will and Jack collapsed to the ground, panting.
"This will do," she announced as they reached a beautiful spot on the water.
"Where are we?" Will asked, breathing hard.
"You old she-devil!" Jack exclaimed, rising up onto his elbows so he could glare at her better. "After all that walking, we're less than half a mile from the house!"
"Who would have guessed that the perfect spot would be so close to home?" Bruxa asked, hiding a grin. "Well, now you know where to build. I must go check on Pomba. You'd better hurry back to get the supplies if you want to get any work done before dark."
"Today? You must be out of your mind," Jack stated.
"The gazebo must be done in one week from today," she informed him.
"What's it for?" Will asked, staring up at the sky.
"A gathering of people," she answered.
"A party?"
"Perhaps. Or a funeral," Bruxa mumbled then turned towards home.
"What was that?" Jack asked, leaping to his feet. "Don't play games with me old woman," he warned, grabbing her arm so she would stop walking away.
Bruxa sighed and turned to him with sorrow-filled eyes. "One week from today, we will know your Pomba's fate. She will once again join the living, or she will join the dead."
Jack released his hold on Bruxa and his arm fell limply to his side as he digested her words. "How can you expect me to build this bloody shack when the woman I love may be a week away from death?" Jack burst out angrily.
"You will build the gazebo with the love you have for your Pomba. You will either celebrate her life within its walls or mourn her death. Keep in mind Pardal, that you have the choice to build it the way you see fit. The love you put into this building will give her strength by the pull of the ocean and the whisper of the wind. That is why we needed the most perfect place to build it." The witch turned once again toward home.
Will gaped at the woman's back. "She's not serious, is she Jack?" he asked once she was out of earshot. "How can building a gazebo make Cole better?"
"I don't know, Mr. Turner, but I learned long ago never to ignore the witch's advice. The irritating woman always turns out to be right," Jack grumbled. "Let's get to work, shall we?"
"Aye," Will replied, suddenly understanding why Gibbs was such a superstitious man. How could he not be with a witch as a mother?
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Will and Jack actually made real progress that day with the assistance of Gibbs and the rest of the pirate crew. They returned to the house towards the end of dusk and Bruxa had an amazing feast spread out on the table for them. Jack was so exhausted that he devoured a plate of fish and fruit then trudged off to his room to sleep.
Standing before the basin, Jack hissed in pain as he removed his shirt. He noticed the back of his shirt was pink on the inside with a mixture of his blood and sweat. The few hours he'd spent building the gazebo had pulled his semi-healed wounds open again. He needed someone to wash his back, and he wished that person could be Cole.
Jack set his jaw angrily as he began to wash his arms. Why had it taken death to hover over them for him to expose his true identity to Cole? He was in love with her, and he was pretty sure he had been since the moment when he realized she was a woman. As he relived those first few days with Cole on the Black Pearl, someone knocked on his door.
"Yes?"
He watched in the mirror as the door opened and Bruxa entered the room with a jar in her hand. He continued to silently wash himself as her eyes met his in the mirror. "I come bearing gifts," she declared airily through the tension in the room. "I know you are not happy with me," she began as she set the jar on the bureau and unscrewed the top. She scooped out a handful of goop and slapped it on his back.
Jack yelped in pain as the salve stung his open wounds. Gritting his teeth, he replied, "I am not happy with myself. I have handled this whole situation rather badly. I treated Cole like garbage, and now she is near death. It is only fair that I'm kept away from her. I have only caused her pain, and I am the one who deserves to be tortured for what I have done to her."
"Do not be so hard on yourself, Pardal. It was not your fault. It was no one's fault. Not even your hard-headed father's. He was bound by tradition, and you were bound by blood. Cole was bound by her commitment to herself." Bruxa rubbed his back.
"I wish I could do it over again. I wish I could start over from the moment I met Cole. I wish I had married her and set off in the Black Pearl never to be found again just like Will suggested," Jack murmured.
"You can't be a pirate forever, Pardal. You can always have your adventures of course, but the pirate life is not for children. Your child will need to have a father to look up to and take after. Would you really want him to be hanging around the likes of those men, and most importantly – my son?" she added the last with a laugh.
"Your son is a fine man, but I see your point. It's no life for a wife either. As much as Cole loves to be at sea, she will want to have a home and friends, and pretty dresses," Jack rationalized.
"Do you not want those things as well?"
"I don't think I'd look real good in a dress Bruxa."
"A home, Pardal. And friends."
"That'd be alright, I guess. An adventure all in its own I suppose."
"That's the spirit Pardal. I must go check on Pomba now. Does your back feel better?" she asked.
Jack rolled his shoulders experimentally. "A lot better actually. I don't feel the cuts anymore."
"Good. I was afraid I had the wrong paste."
Jack turned and looked at her with trepidation. "Which one did you think you had?"
"The impotency paste."
Jack swallowed audibly and glanced down at his crotch area.
"Relax Pardal, I am only teasing. Why would I have an impotency paste?" she asked with a laugh.
"Because you're an EVIL WITCH!" he shouted, pushing her out the door and slamming it behind her. Bruxa chuckled as she made her way down the hallway. She slipped the big brass key from her pocket and unlocked Cole's room making sure to lock it behind her.
Still snickering at herself, Bruxa lit the bedside candle so she could examine Cole. She felt something press against her stomach, and she looked down in confusion. The sword blade gleamed in the candlelight. Startled, Bruxa stared up at a set of terrified green eyes.
The girl she'd so fondly begun to think of as Pomba nudged Bruxa with the sword. "Where am I, old woman, and where's Jack?"
