As the days went by, Bruxa kept Cole on a strict regimen of exercise and hearty food. The old woman would wake her with a hearty breakfast laced with an herbal remedy of some sort then force Cole to stretch her body out in all different directions which usually left her aching by the end of the day. This did not go unnoticed by Bruxa who would take Cole to a secluded spot on the beach where she could swim away her pains then lay in the sun until her skin turned brown.
Bruxa seemed quite concerned with Cole's outward appearance. She would apply ointment to her skin and take a small rough stone-like tool to peel away the layers of old skin Cole didn't even know were there. Afterwards, the witch would rub aromatic oil onto Cole that made her skin soft and shiny. Bruxa would also wash Cole's hair every day with a putrid smelling paste, much to Cole's protest. Bruxa assured her that it was very important that Cole look her best when she was reunited with Jack. Cole grudgingly agreed, but she had to wonder when enough was enough.
On the fourth morning, Cole woke to a stinging pain on her leg that drove tears to her eyes before they had even opened. "Yowwwwwww!" she howled, lunging into a sitting position.
"Good morning," Bruxa said brightly from where she sat next to her on the bed, handing Cole a steaming mug.
Cole accepted it, blinking with confusion. "What are you doing to me?" Cole asked crossly, glancing at the irritated patch of skin on her leg. She rubbed the spot and was surprised at how smooth it was.
"I'm making you beautiful," Bruxa answered simply as she smeared something sticky onto Cole's leg. "Now drink your tea," the witch instructed. Cole placed the tea on the bedside table and watched as Bruxa pressed a strange looking cloth to the goop on her leg. She smoothed it down with the palm of her hand until it had adhered itself to Cole's skin. Suddenly, Bruxa pinched the cloth between her fingers and swiftly yanked it off of Cole's leg.
"Stoooooooop!" Cole bellowed. Bruxa raised an eyebrow and handed the cloth to Cole. She looked at it and saw a million of her leg hairs trapped by the cloth.
"I know it stings a little, but look how pretty!" Bruxa said, running a hand down Cole's leg. Cole looked down and saw that half of her leg was now hair-free. She had to admit, it did look nice, but was she willing to go through pure torture to finish the job?
It appeared she didn't have much choice, as Bruxa was already drizzling more of the sticky stuff onto her leg. Cole tried to keep on a brave face as Bruxa continued to pull out all of the hair on her legs. After a while, it really wasn't so bad because her legs went numb.
"Done!" Bruxa declared triumphantly a few minutes later. Cole sighed with relief as Bruxa smoothed some soothing oil onto her legs. "Now for your arms."
"Oh no!" Cole protested.
"Not your whole arms," Bruxa said, rolling her eyes. "Just underarms."
Before Cole could protest again, Bruxa deftly tied Cole's wrists to the bedpost with a strip of the same cloth she'd used to pull the hair off Cole's legs. Cole struggled, but her bindings held fast and she knew that the cloth must be charmed in some way. It was as strong as iron.
Her underarms went fast, and Cole barely winced. She thought Bruxa must be done for sure now, but instead of untying her hands, Bruxa tied Cole's feet to the footrest of the bed. "Now what are you doing?" Cole asked irritably. Was beauty truly worth all of this? Didn't Jack love her for who she was not what she looked like? Her thoughts of Jack made her eyes tear a little. She was tired off all of this. This old woman was playing games, while Jack could very well be in the next room for all Cole knew. She longed to see the captain. She needed him because he was the only one who could ease the ache in her chest.
"You'll thank me later," Bruxa said and pulled Cole's nightgown up to her waist. Cole's blood froze as she felt stickiness on the skin between her legs.
"No!" she protested, thrashing her body as much as she could.
"Pomba, mind the baby," Bruxa muttered.
Cole stopped moving at the witch's manipulating words. Cole was almost certain the woman was just using her baby as a way to get Cole to do what she wanted, but Cole would not risk hurting her child no matter what. So, she held still and waited for the sting. Bruxa was now up close and personal with the one area of her body that only Jack had ever truly paid attention to. The thought made Cole feel a little ill.
Fortunately, it was over quickly and Bruxa finally released Cole's bindings. "Look," Bruxa prompted, pointed her finger at the looking glass. Cole didn't want to look, but felt compelled to do so, for some odd reason. "See yourself as Pardal will see you."
Cole pulled her nightgown up and over head and walked slowly to the mirror. Standing before it, she could see that her color had returned. Her body looked healthy and strong, even where her stomach rounded. Her hair cascaded to her waist, soft and wavy, and her skin was glowing. She looked beautiful. Then her eyes fell to the most private area of her body and she saw something that made her squint and look more closely into the glass. Her nether hair was not completely gone. In fact, Bruxa had somehow shaped it into a most unusual pattern.
Cole gasped when she realized what it was. "It's perfect," she whispered.
"I know," Bruxa answered. "Quit staring at yourself. We've got work to do, and time runs short."
"Not nearly short enough," Cole murmured.
