Disclaimer: See first chapter

Jack couldn't believe it. It was impossible, not just improbable this time. The sea, his friend, mother, brother, father, sister, lover, enemy, teacher - was gone. Instead, she was replaced by something lifeless and still. All that was left of his darling ocean was a vast sheet of ice. Thick, solid, unbreakable ice.

"Alderman," Jack snarled under his breath. He hadn't thought that Deadeye would DARE go as far as to invoke the curse of Ochiri. But he had, and now the soul of the dead woman was out for revenge. Five hundred years ago, a young japanese lady had fallen in love with a sailor. Her love had sailed away to gain enough money to provide for a decent start to their home, but he had been killed. By pirates.

Ochiri became insanely angry at her man's murder, and had, out of fury and grief, vowed revenge. But sadly, she had never found her fiance's killer. She took her own life, vowing that if ever there was one foolish enough to disturb her rest, her wrath would be released upon the descendants of the pirates that had killed her love. For in death, they would find each other again, and he could tell her the identity of his murderers. And then, if her curse was awoken, and the descendants could not be found, she would wreak her vengeance on ALL pirates.

Unfortunately for Jack, her man's killers had not lived long enough to provide heirs for objects of her wrath. So now that Alderman had woken Ochiri's spirit, he, not to mention all his fellow thieves and brigands, was in mortal peril. But what Jack couldn't understand was why Alderman had called upon the curse. Deadeye Alderman was a pirate himself, so he was included amongst the victims of Ochiri's vengeance. It made no sense...unless Deadeye had discovered a way to safeguard himself against Ochiri's spirit.

Jack felt a an angry stirring in his chest. Deadeye Alderman...the name alone was enough to make his blood begin to boil. Alderman was the man who had shot him twice in the chest, missing his heart by mere centimeters. He had been one of Jack's most trusted comrades. They had sailed together ever since Jack was a mere cabin boy, since before he had met Bootstrap Bill, Will's father. But it had all changed when Jack had attacked a Spanish ship.

Back in those days, he was a "gentleman pirate". He never took a life, but robbed and thieved by means of threats, wit and charm. He had a way with women; it always seemed like they didn't mind giving up their jewellery to him, especially when he asked so nicely. They always did it with a look of fear and concealed excitement. Most of them had never met an outlaw before.

It was on one occasion, the Spanish ship, when Jack finally met his match. He had lined up all the merchants and passengers into a row, and walked down in front of them with a rough burlap sack.

"Drop your valuables into the sack, and you'll all be sailing on your merry way before you can say 'Black Pearl,'" said Jack, holding open the sack with a cheery grin on his face. Back then, he had had less trinkets dangling in his hair, and he had been wearing a dull green bandana instead of his now-customary red one. He had also not yet come into posession of his favorite tricorn hat.

He started to walk their ranks. Grudgingly, they had surrendered their trinkets, and Jack's sack was soon clinking with many priceless baubles. And then he reached the last prisoner. A passenger on the vessel, bound for South America. She had been wearing a heavy cloak of rich indigo velvet; its hem just brushing the boards of the deck, its hood obscuring her face. A violet and black dress embroidered with gold thread peeked out from the folds of the cloak.

Jack stopped in front of her, and waited expectantly. He had not yet acquired his drunken, rolling stride, nor his slightly insane habits and manner of speech. "Miss," he said imperiously. "Your valuables please."

A feminine voice, low and pleasantly husky with a Castillan accent, answered. "I have no things of value, senor pirata. Leave me in peace."

Jack snorted. "C'mon miss! You expect me to believe that dressed like that, you do not posess anything worth stealing at all?"

The woman replied simply, "Yes. I own only the clothes on my back and a small sachel of personal effects in my cabin."

Jack studied her out of the corner of one eye. "Very well," he began, starting to pace back and forth in front of her like a caged predator. "If that is so, miss, then why do you not remove your hood?"

The woman responded with a stony silence.

Jack cocked an eyebrow. He knew she was hiding something. He stopped pacing to stand directly in front of her, less than a foot away. When she did not recoil from his proximity, he noticed. It was not every woman who could stand unflinchingly before a pirate. She certainly had guts, thought Jack, I'll give her that much.

"Take off your hood," commanded Jack in a quiet voice, "and I will not take it off for you."

She raised her hands to grasp the edges of her cowl. Jack saw that her hands were untrembling; she was not afraid of him. Then, seeming to take an eternity, she slowly lifted the hood of her head and pushed it back to rest on her shoulders.

Jack tried to control the awe that he knew was trying to register on his face. There, standing less than twelve inches away, was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

Her skin was the color of caramel; it was smooth and perfect without a single blemish. Her face was beautiful, like it was sculpted by the most talented artists in all the world: she had a soft rounded nose and full sensual lips, high cheekbones and the most beautiful shade of intense blue eyes, big eyes that were rimmed in long dark lashes that could either pierce your soul or melt it completely. Her heart-shaped face was framed by gorgeous jet black locks, tumbling down her back in even, shining waves. Her hair was the sea; a dark and changing sea, that could either trap you in its luster or else take you somewhere glorious.

But there was a cold quality to her beauty, like the magnificence of an iceberg. It was untouchable, and so was she. And yet - Jack could see, buried deep in the blue ocean of her eyes, that there was a warmth. A faint warmth, like the last glow of a candle wick just before its ember is extinguished. There was a true, open beauty buried under her superficial, closed loveliness - if she let herself be free, then none in the world could match her, either by looks or by character.

Jack found his voice, but it was soft and hoarse, like he had forgotten how to use it. "Your valuables, miss," he said, holding open the sack. He suddenly became aware that the entire ship was silent, entranced by this gorgeous woman gracing the decks with her presence. Entranced, entrapped, ensnared by her - just as he was.

The woman sighed, and the moment was broken. She fingered the thin gold chain around her neck, then traced the contours of her glittering bracelets. She stared down at the deck, biting her bottom lip. Then she raised her head and looked Jack dead in the eyes.

He felt his knees go weak.

"No, senor pirata, I think today I will be keeping my jewellery."

Some part of Jack began to protest loudly at this impudent reply, but the other part of him merely accepted what she said and wanted desperately for her to say 'senor pirata' again in that wonderfully seductive accent of hers.

Jack shook himself out of his daze. He was a pirate, for God's sake! He had seen beautiful women before, and had slept with quite a few of them. He shouldn't be getting sentimental over a hostage! And yet...he was. He knew he should just let her go - he couldn't imagine forcefully taking her trinkets anymore than he could imagine sinking the Pearl. But he didn't want her to leave.

"Well then," began Jack, thinking quickly, "I guess I have no choice." He motioned at a crewmember. This was all now so long ago he could no longer who had been part of his crew back then. "Escort this young lady to the brig and show her our best hospitality." He addressed the woman again. "If you will not surrender your valuables, then you will be residing on the Black Pearl until such a time you see fit to do so. Off you go."

The woman was led away, and Jack quickly left the plundering to his crew. He ran after his new captive.

"Wait!" he called, and the woman, under guard of a crewmember, turned. "Forgive my rudeness, miss, but I forgot to introduce myself. I'm sure you will want to know on whose ship you will be staying."

The woman nodded shortly.

Jack took a deep breath. Why did he feel so nervous all of a sudden? "Cap'n Jack Sparrow at your service, miss," he said, sweeping a low bow.

The woman regarded him through cold blue eyes as he straightened. Jack stood trapped in her gaze, beginning to feel highly fidgety and embarassed, as though he had done something wrong, when in fact he had not.

"May - may I inquire to know your name, miss?" asked Jack haltingly. He had never felt more ill at ease since he had - well, since a long time.

The woman studied him with those stunning, cold eyes. After a moment, she replied in a soft voice, "My name is Dona Esperanza. That is all you need to know." Then she turned and went below decks.

Jack smiled to himself at the memory. Ah, his Dona Esperanza...she was so beautiful, so lovely - but he would never see her again. And it was all because of Deadeye Alderman.

Jack felt the fury surge within him. He could not even sooth his troubled soul by sailing the Caribbean: the sea was frozen over! He could no longer even say that he would one day get his

revenge, because the curse of Ochiri could strike at any time. And it was all down to Deadeye Alderman.

Jack invisioned the moment of the cur's death. His hands around Alderman's throat, slowly tightening, squeezing the air out of Deadeye's lungs. Watching him suffer the same slow agony just as Jack had suffered those nine years ago. He could hear Deadeye's desperate choking gasps, feel his panicked hands scrabbling for a purchase to throw Jack off; he could just imagine -

"Cap'n!"

Jack started and looked around. Anamaria was walking down the dock towards where he stood by a mooring post looking out to sea. Or rather, out to ice.

"C-Cap'n, what are w-we g-gonna do? It's f-freezing!" exclaimed Anamaria through chattering teeth. "Sea's f-frozen over; w-we're stra-stranded!"

Jack's face grew determined. "I'm not beat yet, not by a long shot." Jack paused and grew

thoughtful.

"Ca-Cap'n?"

"C'mon," said Jack, settling his features in an expression of pure determination. "Gather yer stuff and round up th'crew. We're walking 'cross th'ice."

"Wh-where are we goin'?"

Jack smiled his cocky, confident half-smile. "Port Royal."

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