CH 43 There's A First Time For Everything

Risqué dreams punctuated Elizabeth's sleep again that night. She awoke breathing heavily and smiling as the first gray light of the virgin day crept in through the cannon port. She caught a teasing hint of a provocative scent. Her body responded to it with a mild shiver of pleasure. She sniffed the air. There it was again, muted but enticing.

She realized she was clutching the handle of the Damascus sword to her chest, just under her chin. She raised the sword closer to her face, and the not-quite-smell got stronger. She put her nose to the cords that bound the grip and inhaled deeply. A brief but pleasant tingle ran through her body and her limbs, and her heart beat a little faster. Her nose and her mind recognized the faint scent of Jack's sweat on the wrapping of the grip. Her body had perceived something more; something that spoke to base instinct, not conscious thought. She held the sword to her face for one more deliberate sniff, quivered, smiled, and sat up. I may as well get up, I won't be sleeping again tonight…

She crawled out of the alcove and buckled the sword belt around her waist. Her fingertips could feel every detail of the carving in the leather belt. The metal of the buckle was cold against her hands. The simple sensation of her clothing moving against her skin was almost overwhelming. As she stretched, she was aware of the independent movement of every muscle. She looked up. The clear sky was already a brilliant blue even before the sun was up. The last stars of the night still glittered next to the fading moon on the western horizon.

She took a deep breath and smelled green. A gentle breeze was blowing from the west, carrying scents from the narrow peninsula that divided the main body of the lake from the narrower river channel. Elizabeth walked to the port rail and inhaled the lush scents of the forest air. She could distinguish the fragrances of individual flowers, trees and bushes on the shoreline. She smelled maracuyá and vanilla orchids, and tasted the scents on her tongue. The fertile earth itself was the base note of the living, growing perfume on the air. The calls of song birds on the shore half a mile away were as clear as if they were on board the ship. She had never before felt so aware, so alive, so attuned to herself and the world around her.

As she watched the west shore, the colors of the trees began to intensify from the dull greens of pre-dawn to brighter greens highlighted with orange and yellow. She turned to the east. The sun was just emerging above the horizon. Elizabeth crossed to the starboard rail and leaned her forearms against it to watch the sun come up. Her hands upon the wood of the rail sensed many things at once; the age, dignity, and knowledge imbued into the ship during her many adventures were as apparent to Elizabeth as the texture of the rail itself.

The sunrise exploded with colors that Elizabeth was certain she'd never seen before. She had watched many sunrises during the months she was unable to sleep at night. None had ever been as resplendent with subtle shades of golds, pinks, reds and oranges as this one.

She inhaled deeply of the forest smells as the westerly breeze slipped over her shoulder and ruffled her hair. Suddenly her knees weakened for just an instant as another delicious shiver rippled through her entire body. She breathed again, gulping in the scent. Her already heightened senses intensified even further. As her heart pounded, she could feel her pulse in her fingertips and in her toes, and many places in between. A smile full of secrets tickled her lips. "Good morning, Jack," she whispered to herself.

She stole a glance over her shoulder. The captain of the Black Pearl had just passed behind her on his way to the galley. He had not noticed her. Her smile deepened. He would never be able to sneak up on her again.


The sailor on watch rang six o'clock, and soon the ship was buzzing with activity. After breakfast, Jack ordered everything to be readied for going ashore on the carrier. The foremast yards were braced fore and aft again, and the sails were furled and lashed tightly. The longboats were tied to the rails, oars stowed inside of them. Before time for the midday meal, everything was in readiness for the Pearl's exit from the lake.

Just after dinner was over, Jacob called from his seat in the crows' nest, "Cap'n! Red flag to the west!" Jack dashed for his spyglass. Through the glass, Juan, resplendent in white, was visible waving a large red flag near the road out of Lagos Alajuela.

The pirates were ordered to raise the anchor and man the sweeps. When the anchor was secured, the Pearl began turning slowly to the west. The river channel became narrower and shallower as they left the body of the lake. Lookouts on the bow shouted when rocks were visible beneath the surface. It was slow and laborious work to maneuver the one hundred twenty foot long oceangoing vessel through the rock and water maze that was the Chagres River. As they neared the road, the current began to strengthen, so the oarsmen had to fight to maintain the ship's position in the river as well as her speed.

Three exhausting hours later the Pearl finally approached the place where the stone road emerged from the water. Right where the road came out, the river curved hard to the south, so they were facing the ramp. Jack left the helm and climbed up to the bow. Juan was sitting in a chair in the shade of a tree up beyond the bank, sipping wine from a crystal glass. He called out "Captain Sparrow! So good to see you again! I trust you had a pleasant voyage across Lagos Alajuela!"

From his perch on the bow Jack replied, "'twas alright. It was a nice change from cobblestones for a while, at least. So when are you taking us out of here?"

Juan was silent for a moment before answering. "I have decided that I wish to renegotiate our agreement, Captain. Please bring the payment we agreed upon and come to shore in one of your small boats so that we may speak in private." He spotted Elizabeth by the rail near the quarterdeck steps and pointed to her. "And bring her as well!"

Elizabeth grimaced at his words. "Oh yes, Captain. Neither of you are to bring any weapons. She has a vile temper."

Jack shouted "I thought we already had a deal!"

"I changed my mind, Captain. Your ship does not move from the lake until we speak. Right here." He pointed to the ground next to his chair.

Jack turned to Elizabeth, shook his head slightly and shrugged. "Men, drop the anchor so we're not pushed any further by the river current. And prepare a longboat!"

When the anchor settled on the river bottom, the ship slowly swung sideways in a natural attempt to turn anchor-first to the current. She lodged against a rock, holding her broadside to the flow of the river, port side facing the road. The partially blocked river rushed around her bow and stern, holding her in place less than a hundred yards from the stone road..

Jack walked back to oversee the longboat's preparations. Elizabeth met him by the boat. "What are we going to do?" she asked, worry evident in her voice. Her heightened senses of the morning had shifted over into her emotions. Every emotion felt just as exaggerated to her as her sense of smell had been earlier that day.

"Go get your sword. No scabbard, just the sword itself. Carry it point down against yourself, keep it out of sight of shore. Bring it here and put it by the front seat of the longboat, just in case." She did as he instructed. Jack disappeared briefly into his cabin. When he returned, he cautiously placed his sword under the oarsman's seat. They got into the boat and the crew lowered them to the water below.

Jack rowed slowly toward Juan. As he rowed, he spoke quietly to Elizabeth.

"Let me do the talking, love. I don't think he likes you too well after you refused him so politely. I don't know why he wants you down here, but don't do anything that'll set him off. After the Pearl is out of this lake, I'll gladly stand back and let you kill him. But until then, let me handle this. Savvy?"

Elizabeth could only nod nervously. Her increased emotional state had obliterated the earlier intense awareness of her own muscles and movement. Her chest was tight and her hands were clammy. She felt awkward and clumsy, and very frightened. Whether she wanted him to or not, Jack was going to have to handle this situation.

They reached a small cleared area of the shore near the stone road. Jack hopped nimbly ashore past her and pulled the longboat's bow onto the bank. He offered her a hand out of the boat, which she took gratefully to avoid falling. She stumbled up the slight embankment after Jack. They approached Juan, who was still seated in the chair sipping his wine. Juan applied his predatory smile as they drew near.

"Alright, Mister Pardal, here we are. What's this all about?" Jack demanded impatiently.

Juan stood and waved his wine glass out to the side. A man stepped forward to take it, and retreated out of sight. "Ah, Captain Sparrow! I have given much thought to our agreement of four days ago, and have decided that it is not enough for all the inconvenience this business deal has caused me."

"How much do you want now?"

"It's not 'how much', Captain, it's 'who'. I wish to have her—" he gestured to Elizabeth, "—as part of the bargain. If you say no, your ship will remain in Lagos Alajuela. I believe it would be worth your while to consider my offer, Captain. I know she is a spirited girl, and I can only guess how much discord she creates among your crew. I assume they fight often for her favors, yes?"

Jack clenched his jaw for a second. "She doesn't share her favors with any of the crew."

"Ah, then she is, how you say, your personal wench?" Juan smiled knowingly.

"I said she doesn't share her favors with ANY of the crew. That includes m'self."

"Ah, I see! I'm sure that only makes morale among your crew worse, doesn't it, Captain? A beautiful woman aboard and no man may touch her? That must be to your men like a starving man viewing a feast behind glass." He tut-tutted. "Such trouble that must cause! I'm certain things would be more peaceful on your lovely ship if she were no longer aboard, eh?"

"And what would you do with her?"

"Ah, Captain, I am a man of many businesses. I have a place for her at a business I own in Portobello. She would be highly regarded among the other employees there, well cared for, and well paid."

"Doing what, pray tell?"

"Simply entertaining clients of my other businesses."

"And if I say no?"

"Get used to life on fresh water, or find another ship, because this ship stays where she is unless you can pull her out by yourself."

"You strike a hard bargain. I am a bit of a magpie, and I tend to hold onto things which I deem valuable. This one—" he gestured casually at Elizabeth,"—is an excellent cook and seamstress, not to mention that she is decorative, as you've noticed." He looked her up and down lecherously before turning back to Juan.

"But as you so astutely discerned, she is a bit of a hellcat. and she does cause me headaches at times by disobeying orders. I will agree to your terms, under conditions." He turned to a shocked Elizabeth and quickly winked the eye that was facing away from Juan.

"What conditions are those, Captain?" Juan frowned momentarily before pasting the smile back on his face.

"This is the second time you have renegotiated our deal to transport my ship since we left the Pacific. I don't want to be put in a position for you to call for a third renegotiation. I'll give you the payment that you agreed to accept at the time you launched my ship into this lake." He handed Juan a small, heavy cloth bag that had been tucked in his sash. "But I'll hold onto the final payment," he jerked a thumb toward Elizabeth, "until there's salt water under the keel of my ship again. When we are in the Atlantic, not on the shore but floating in it, you may have her. And not a moment earlier."

Juan glanced into the cloth bag and his eyebrows rose in surprise. He carefully folded the bag closed and placed it under the red flag on the seat of his chair. "I will counter your offer one last time, Captain. We will put your ship in the ocean, but the woman remains on the shore when it is launched." He pointed to Elizabeth. He too looked her up and down and back up again. His expression changed from falsely pleasant to truly satyric. Elizabeth felt that he was somehow looking straight through her clothes. She shuddered in disgust and fear.

Jack nodded. "Done!" He turned to Elizabeth. Her mouth was hanging open and her face was pale. "Come on, Swann! The crew is famished, and you've got supper to prepare!" He turned back to Juan. "Let me know when you're ready to pull us out of here."

He sauntered confidently off in the direction of the longboat. As Elizabeth moved to follow him, Juan grabbed her arm. He spun her around and shoved her against the tree next to his chair. "You are mine now, querida! Your Captain has sold you to me to save his precious ship! Before you go, I want a sample of what my final payment shall be!"

He pushed himself against her, pinning her arms between them. He kissed her roughly as he parted her thighs with his knee. One hand roamed down her body, groping between her legs. Elizabeth struggled to free herself as waves of revulsion rolled over her. She felt she would vomit at his touch. She tried to scream, but Juan's mouth muffled the sound. She squirmed, and he pressed himself harder against her to hold her in place. He removed his hand from her crotch and gripped her upper arm painfully in an attempt to control her. He pulled back from the kiss and clamped the other hand over her mouth.

Juan hissed in her ear, "I know you found the Celestina! I recognized the stamps on the gold. I know she's in this lake somewhere. How did you find her in just three days? I've been searching for her for over ten years, ever since I found her longboat near this very spot. There was a skeleton next to it, curled around two gold bars and a bag of emeralds. That treasure funded my businesses and my lifestyle for a while, but it's nearly gone now. I need more. I must find her. You will tell me where she is!" He shook her roughly. "You WILL tell me!" Juan shook her again, banging her head against the tree trunk.

She wriggled one arm out from between their bodies and slapped his face. Juan smiled and laughed. "Good! That's right! You have learned your part in the dance! But I will lead, not you!" He grabbed her free arm and wrenched it down to her side as he pressed his open mouth to hers in another violent kiss. Some of Juan's crew began to laugh as they watched the girl try to fight to free herself.

Jack had reached the longboat. He turned at the sound of men laughing behind him. In an instant he took in the situation. He reached into the boat, seized her sword, hefted it for a second and hurled it. The Damascus steel blade struck the tree trunk just above Elizabeth's head. It rang in a deep clear note as it vibrated from the impact. Juan took two steps back, glanced up at the blade, then over his shoulder at Jack. He turned to his men and said simply "Hold him!"

Several of Juan's crew rushed to grab Jack by the arms. They dragged him back up the bank away from the longboat. The rest of the ground crew came forward for a better view.

Elizabeth used the instant that Juan was distracted to pull the sword from the tree and slip her hand through the cord loop. She was holding the sword with both hands when Juan turned back to her.

"Don't make me kill you!" she stammered.

Juan laughed softly. "I don't believe that will happen." He took a step toward her. She pointed the sword at his chest. "Don't…." she said.

Juan laughed. "A Damascus steel sword! That is worth many times more than the whore holding it. Does that belong to you? If so, it is mine now, just as you are!" He reached a hand around to his opposite side. He smiled the ugly toothy smile of a piranha. Slowly and deliberately, he drew a sword of his own. Elizabeth hadn't seen that he wore a sword belt until that second.

"This is your last chance to surrender. If you provoke the jaguar, you must fight him. Is that what you wish?"

Elizabeth responded to his question by slashing at his face. He parried the blow easily. "Ah, the weak little girl thinks she can fight like a man. Show me then, what you can do! Legendary old Damascus against the finest new Toledo steel." He advanced on her as if she were merely a partner in a lesson.

Elizabeth parried his advances wildly. Weak women die… As the swords met, Juan's clanged like the slamming of a prison door, countered by thechurch bell chime of the Damascus blade.. Every few strokes, the razor sharp tip of his blade made contact with her arms or shoulders and left another small bleeding wound. He was playing with her.

Juan began speaking in an almost conversational tone. "You will eventually serve in my brothel in Portobello with the other whores. Some men would pay dearly for a virgin, especially a woman who has some fight in her!" Elizabeth's eyes widened. Weak women die… "But I have decided that I will have you first because you refused me, not once but twice. And I will not be gentle. I will enjoy breaking you. By the time I am through with you, you will beg me to do only what I whispered in your ear! The roughest men you service will seem gentle by comparison!" He lunged at her and tagged her sword arm with another shallow cut.

She stumbled and nearly fell. Jack shouted "Lake legs!" Elizabeth's fear fogged brain heard the words but didn't comprehend them. She floundered backwards, parrying blows only by chance, barely staying out of reach of the point of Juan's sword. She gasped for breath. Her face was ashen and her eyes were unfocused. Weak women die…

Jack shouted again. "Lizzie, anchor!" One of the men holding him clapped his hand over Jack's mouth.

The suggestion Jack had implanted in Elizabeth's mind before the dives brought the image of the dark angel immediately to her. It was so vivid that it clouded her vision momentarily. The angel's visage was contorted with anger. She felt his rage flow through her, washing away the fear and confusion. Her vision cleared, and so did her head. Her expression changed from fear to hatred.

Jack bit his captor's fingers. When the hand jerked away, he shouted, "Lake legs!" for a second time before his mouth was covered by another hand. Elizabeth suddenly realized that being on land was to her disadvantage. She ducked past Juan, took one haphazard slash at his leg and ran unsteadily down the bank toward the longboat.

Juan roared in rage at the pain she inflicted, and dashed after her. Elizabeth leapt into the boat. Her momentum of the jump carried her to the middle seat. The impact of her landing slid the longboat backward off the bank and out into the river. Juan ran down the incline, took a step in the water and jumped. He landed in the bow of the boat. It took him a second to regain his footing before he spoke again.

"She flees like the frightened deer before the jaguar. This will make it all the sweeter when I finally capture you! No, you will not serve in my brothel. You will be broken by my hand. You will do everything I tell you to do, and you will tell me everything I want to know. When I am through with you I will throw you away like the trash that you are." He took a step toward her and raised his weapon. Before Elizabeth could move, he stabbed at her. His sudden movement rocked the longboat, causing him to miss. Elizabeth stood on the oarsman's seat and rolled gracefully with the boat's movement. But Juan waved his arms to maintain his balance.

Jack wrestled his face free from his captor's hand and shouted. "Lizzie, he's a landlubber!" Elizabeth shifted her weight and rocked the boat a little. Juan's arms windmilled again as he fought to remain upright. Elizabeth cut his face with a flick of her sword. He screamed in rage. She rocked the boat again, and cut his other cheek as he dropped his guard to keep his balance. She did it yet again, and left a shallow but bloody cut down the center of his chest. Juan became incoherent with anger.

She stepped backward off the seat, and retreated to the stern of the longboat. Juan advanced toward her and stepped carefully up onto the seat she had left. As he stepped up, she knelt quickly and seized Jack's sword up from the bottom of the boat. Juan laughed. "That's right, whore, you will kneel before me just like this, and you will learn to keep your teeth covered!"

Elizabeth stood up with Jack's cutlass gripped in her off hand and the Damascus sword in her right.

"So you think two swords will make you a better fighter? Show me!" He struck a fencing pose and waited for her to respond. She stepped backward up onto the rear seat, and opened her arms wide, giving Juan an invitation to stab her through the heart. He took the bait.

As he leapt forward, Elizabeth parried his Toledo steel with a hard blow from the Damascus. Juan's blade was sheared through like butter. It flew through the air into the river. She threw her weight to one side, rocking the boat. As Juan flailed to recover his footing, she rocked the boat the other way, then back again. "I don't need to use two swords, Pardal. I just don't want to lose this one!"

As the rocking gained momentum, the sides of the boat began rising farther up out of the water. Elizabeth began jumping from one side of the seat to the other, causing the longboat to nearly flip in response. Juan couldn't take it. His useless sword hilt flew from his hand as he thrashed his arms desperately. He cursed ferociously as he fell into the deep river.

Elizabeth jumped one more time, landing with her feet wide apart. The boat jerked and leveled in the water, steadied by her centered weight. Juan surfaced, sputtering and swearing. He splashed toward the longboat and grabbed the side with both hands. He began to lift himself out of the water.

Elizabeth slapped him hard on top of the head with the flat of her sword, knocking him back into the river. "Permission to come aboard denied. I want to renegotiate our relationship."

Juan tried again to pull himself into the boat. Elizabeth hit him with the flat of the blade again. "I said no! Don't try it again. The next time you do I'll kill you. Now make me an offer that will convince me to let you back into this boat. Offer me what I want."

"Encantadora!" he whispered.

"Not any more! What will you offer me, Juan? What do you think I want?" She stood over him, the tip of her sword only inches from his eyes.

"Once I find the Celestina, I will give you money, gold, jewels, all you could desire!"

"I already have the Celestina. Give me what I want." Her voice was calm and cold. "You're bleeding into the water. You don't have much time."

"I will give you all my possessions, all my businesses!"

"That's not what I want. Give me what I want."

Juan screamed as the first piranhas found his legs. "What do you want?"

"I want your respect."

"Very well. I will honor you above all other women. I will marry you and you will bear my sons."

"That's definitely not what I want. That would be servitude, not respect."

Juan screamed again as the blood from his wounds drew more piranhas to the feast. "Cona! Women only understand one thing!" He tried once more to pull himself up into the longboat..

Weak women die. Elizabeth had a sudden vision of all the weak women in Juan's past, the weak women who were whores in his brothel, and the weak women he would continue to hurt and kill if she let him live.

"Your mother should have been the one to kill you." Elizabeth stated flatly.

She stepped on the fingers of a hand that gripped the gunwale. She heard bones crack under her boot. Juan howled and grabbed at her foot with the other hand. A swift overhand stroke with her off hand made the cutlass ring against the gunwale. Juan stared in disbelief at the place where his fingers used to be. Blood spurted from the stumps as the severed digits fell into the longboat. Juan jerked the hand away, screaming. The water around him roiled in red and silver.

"I wish I had slit your throat when I first had the chance."

She lifted her boot from his crushed fingers and kicked him squarely between the eyes with her heel. The impact knocked him backward into the water, and the counteraction caused the longboat to drift away from him. Seconds later Panama Juan Pardal learned just what kind of woman Elizabeth Swann really was.

And so did she.


A/N: Portuguese again.

Cona: c-nt