"Lovely, as a matter of fact"

To stick with the theme of disguises and Halloween previously discussed in yesterday's post, I thought It would be fun to make this new post about Princess Amenirdis' disguise as Ayisha.  We begin our story with Ameniridis' trip to Kush, where she finds nothing but desolate ruins.  And things only get worse for the princess from there because the slave hunters show up with their guns.  These weapons really freak Amenirdis out and she can't figure out what is happening.  All she knows is that she has to think fast.  So she and her bodyguard Tarek and the high priest Piye devise a plan of using Amenirdis' magical abilities given to her by the god, Apedemak, to disguise her because who knows what greedy slave hunters might do to a twenty year old princess.  So they change her from a young lady, to an old hag.  They weave the spell into a gray shawl so that no one will know.  Piye: "This should do.  We will center our illusion on it.  While you are wearing it, or even toughing it, you will appear as we envision you in our spell."  Pretty epic.  Tarek: "Give her a squint.  Thin, lank graying hair.  Protruding, snaggled teeth.  Some strategically placed warts . . . hairy ones.  Wrinkled, blotchy skin.  A bit of a hunchto her back, so she can't stand straight.  Make her shorter, so everyone will look down on her.  Make her thin up top, and fat below.  That should do it."  They scheme well.  Sure enough, everybody she meets after that as she's dragged across the continent as a slave is repulsed by her appearance and no one suspects that she's a princess.  Finally, she changes her name to Ayisha, just in case.  

Yay!  But then Cutler Beckett cracks through the spell, well sorta.  She works for him as a sewing woman.  She proves to everyone that she has great ability with cloth, but she acts very solemn and secretive around everyone else.  And most importantly, she doesn't reveal to anyone that she knows English because it's her key to escaping slavery.  Then Cutler Beckett figures out that she's from Kerma, which greatly interests the greedy Director of West African Affairs because he wants to steal the wealth of Kerma and sell all of its people into slavery.  Sounds like the Beckett we're used to, am I right?  But As I shared before, he and Jack Sparrow have become co-workers, as Jack captains Beckett's ship.  So Beckett gives Jack his slave woman to try to get her to tell him the bearings of Kerma in promise that they will share the fortunes of Kerma.  Jack tells Ayisha that he will take her home to freedom of he tells her the location of the island.  Ayisha, however, knows the plans Beckett and Jack devised and keeps her identity hidden.  But of course Jack always figures things out.  

A few weeks into their journey on the Wicked Wench, as she is still sea sick, Jack carries her down below deck.  But in the whole confusion of getting her well again, he accidentally walks off with her shawl, which pretty much blows the whole secret.  Jack: "Oh, sorry, didn't mean to keep your shawl.  Wouldn't flatter me at all I fear.  Here, let me spread it-" Uh-oh.  At this point, Jack doesn't really plan on telling Beckett the bearings to Kerma because he knows Beckett's views on slavery, just an FYI that will be very important later.  Anyways, at that moment Jack realizes that Ayisha is in fact only a third the age she claimed to be and about 10 times prettier, something we know Jack can't ignore.  Jack: "Ah.  Much becomes clear.  Magic.  A bloody powerful illusion, that.  Even Tia Dalma might be impressed.  By Neptune's trident.  You are one pretty girl.  Lovely, as a matter of fact."  And once again, Jack is on his way to get another girl!