The Rookie Pirates (Parts 1-6)

14. Apple Picking

Jessica thought about last night with the masked man. She had no idea who he was, but he had gotten to her in a way she had never felt before. Her stomach churned with butterflies, and the slightest intimate thought about him would force a pink blush on her cheeks.

She knew nothing of him, yet she couldn't get the man out of her head. She'd never felt anything like this with any other man.

Maybe she felt the way she had with the masked man because of the way he had acted around her. He was mysterious, and she loved solving a good mystery. She grinned to herself as more thoughts of the man popped into her head.

Bonk.

"Ow!" She scratched her head and watched the red apple that had dropped onto her head roll to her feet.

She needed to snap out of her thoughts and concentrate on picking apples. Most of the townspeople of Northport were on Apple Road joining in on today's activity of apple picking. If she didn't concentrate, all the good ones would be gone, and Elena would be mad with her if she came back to the Hawk's Eye empty-handed.

She grabbed a wooden step ladder and placed it against a tree filled with juicy red apples and started to pick them off one by one and drop them into the basket below. She found herself lost in thought once again, but this time thinking about Paddy and whether or not she would see the cuddly black feline ever again.

She liked that cat; she liked him a lot.

A grin spread across her face, and she soon started to hum one of her favourite sea shanties that she would always sing whenever she was happy. Her father used to sing it to her; the song would always make her laugh and grin.

"Jesse."

Jessica squealed, startled out of her thoughts. She lost her balance, and the wooden step ladder rocked over, and she found herself falling. She scrunched her face, expecting a harsh landing, only to find herself caught in the arms of the one person she'd least expected to see.

"You?" Her eyes widened in horror as she stared up at the Dark Physician, Dr Jude Hunter.

"Good Morning, Jesse." He smirked, having spoken in her native tongue.

She started to squirm in his hold, remembering he was a pirate that could speak her language, which only meant one thing: he knew she was somehow related to the Honey Tribe Kingdom and was here to kidnap her and sell her to a slave house. She knew members of the Honey Tribe were sold at higher prices than regular humans because of their beauty, and she was even rarer because she had red hair.

"I'm not here to hurt you." He gently placed her down onto the ground, but he still kept a hand on her shoulder so she couldn't run off.

Jude noticed she was back to wearing her usual attire: her purple crop top and black shorts. His line of sight automatically drifted down to her midriff. He really needed to stop doing that. He preferred her in the black dress she was wearing last night; it was less distracting.

"Then why are you here? And don't reply in my language!"

Jessica had already noticed the locals giving them odd looks from the strange language they had spoken in. She had hidden herself so well for the past two years, why was this happening to her now?

She looked back at Jude and frowned as she looked into his eyes. The same ones from last night with the same amused look in them. Not only that, but he had the same smirk she hated, and from under his black hood, she could see his unkempt midnight blue hair.

Her cheeks slowly reddened. All those intimate thoughts were about Jude; she couldn't believe she had almost kissed him last night. She felt disgusted with herself and angry at him.