Jessica spat her drink out of her mouth and started choking, coughing like her throat was about to be ripped out. How did he know her real name?
Jessica looked around her and sighed, realising that nobody had heard him. Not even his first mate had heard. He was too busy indulging in his whiskey and staring at Elena in deep thought.
Levi's lips parted, about to ask again, when Jessica dived forward and started attacking him to get him to shut up.
"Ow... stop it... ow... what did I... ow...do?" Levi continued to get beaten to a pulp.
Alex looked over from the corner of his eye, noticing the red-haired girl beating his captain. He shrugged, continuing to drink. His captain probably deserved it.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!"
Jessica grabbed Levi by the ear and dragged him towards a secluded part of the bar where no one could hear them and sat down at the booth.
"How do you know my real name?" She pointed at the very bruised looking Levi, who was looking cross-eyed down at her finger.
"You look like Zachary Flint," he laughed.
Jessica fell back in her seat. Her throat suddenly felt tight, her heart thudded away, and a small smile landed on her lips as she clutched onto her honey gold locket.
"You know my father?"
"I've met him once." Levi nodded. "He told me all about you."
He started telling the story of how he'd met her father. It was a funny story involving monkeys they'd accidentally let loose from a travelling circus. Jessica laughed softly; it did sound a lot like her father, or at least what she could remember of him. He always seemed to find himself caught up in awkward situations.
A blue-haired waitress appeared with a mountain of food for Levi, and he started to stuff the entire mound down his throat like a hungry wolf. Jessica laughed at his odd behaviour; he was a unique person, and she thought fondly of him. Her cheek leaned into her hand as she watched on.
Her soft laugh resonated across the bar and caught the attention of Alex. A small smirk formed on his lips as he drank his whiskey.
She has a pretty laugh, he thought.
Alex looked over at the pair. Levi, as usual, was eating, and talking with the girl. He seemed to be friends with her already. Now and then she would giggle, covering her mouth as she did so. Alex found the act cute.
The girl's honey-gold eyes flashed over in his direction, and he could feel his cheeks heat up, having been caught staring. He instantly looked away from her. What was wrong with him? He never acted like this around women, yet something about her laugh made him smile, and it was rare of him to smile. It felt odd.
"Levi, could you keep it a secret that my father is Zachary Flint? The United Islands and the Navy don't know that we're related, and it's best if they never find out. My father is a Pirate Lord, after all. So could you call me Jessica, please?"
"Sure thing, Jess! We're best friends aren't we?"
Best friends?
She hadn't had a best friend in a long time. Her last best friend died at the hands of her master when he tried to help her during one of her attempted escapes. Having a best friend sounded odd to her, but she liked the sound of it and smiled at Levi, who waited for her answer.
"Of course we are, and in thanks for keeping my secret, I'll pay for your lunch."
"Yes!" Levi cheered. "I was going to have to dine and dash otherwise. I have no cash on me. Mirella is in charge of the crew's money, and she won't let me have any more until next month."
Jessica laughed at his response, though she would soon regret later on that day for offering to pay for his food as the bacon kept on coming. However, she was too happy in the moment to care; she had made a friend.
They continued to talk, and Jessica showed him her locket and a picture of Zachary inside of it. The grin on Levi's face when he saw Zachary made her day. He looked so happy to see his old friend.
Levi went on to tell her all of his adventures with his crew, and they sounded amazing from his point of view rather than reading the made up stories about him in the newspaper. The papers made him come across as a vicious, bloodthirsty pirate when he was anything but that.
He gobbled down a whole piece of meat in one bite. His neck stretched, revealing the shape of the bone, and his face started to turn purple. He slammed his throat and gulped, burping in the process, and called the waitress over to order more food.
"I noticed earlier that you're a cursed soul. What exactly is your ability?" Jessica asked, fascinated by the way his arms quickly moved in a blur around the table.
"I have three cursed souls." He lifted three fingers into the air, and Jessica gasped. "Locomotion, super strength, and super speed." He then pulled a sour face. "But I don't like using my speed too often; it tires me out really quickly, makes me hungry all the time, and takes forever for me to regain my energy."
Jessica was amazed. She'd heard of people having two cursed souls, but three was unheard of. This boy was unique, and she started to understand how he became such an infamous pirate.
"Locomotion?"
Before answering Jessica's question, Levi shoved more food down his throat. "That's what Penny calls it," he said in a muffled tone. "I can jump really far."
Jessica parted her mouth, about to ask more questions when she was interrupted.
"Jessica, stage now!" Elena pointed to her purple silk ropes.
Already a crowd of men had surrounded the stage. Jessica groaned, but she couldn't complain. Elena paid her well, and it was good for tips.
"Could you look after my locket and sword for me?" She placed the items down onto the table.
Levi nodded his head as he shovelled more food into his mouth. Jessica made her way up on to the stage and started her routine.
Still sat at the bar, Alex watched on, intrigued with the girl as she jumped up onto the stage. She threw her boots and socks off and started to climb up the purple silk ropes like a monkey climbing a tree.
He paused before taking another sip of his whiskey, mesmerised by her routine as she danced with the silk ropes up in the air like she was flying. He had never seen anything like it before. The sequence was elegant. The way her body moved up and down the ropes, the way the silk twisted around her waist and emphasised her curves.
"She's beautiful isn't she?"
"Yeah," he breathed out.
A smile still evident on his face as he continued to watch, it was like he was under her spell.
Alex blinked a couple of times, realising he had admitted out loud to admiring the girl. His facial muscles slackened, and a red hue appeared on his cheeks as he faced the barmaid. She was leaning against the bar, her head propped in her hands as she gazed at him with fascination. She wore a revealing black dress and a pearl the size of a marble encrusted onto a gold pendant around her neck. Altogether she was beautiful but oddly familiar to Alex. It was the eyes: dark, yellow, and haunting.
"Do I know you?" He slipped his white dagger, Washiro, out from her white sheath, ready in case the barmaid was an enemy.
He could have sworn he had met her before. He shook his head. It could have been a different but similar looking woman from his past. His memory of his childhood was hazy. It always had been, yet her presence felt familiar. But not in a good way.
She laughed at his reaction.
"It has been a long time, Alexander. I see you're still in search of your family. Still trying to work out who you are." She leaned back against the counter and started cleaning glasses. "Don't worry yourself and put that silly toy away. I'm not your enemy."
Alex clicked Washiro back into her white sheath, but his eyes never left Elena, still suspicious of her.
"How do you know me?" he hissed.
"One day, your life will make sense."
Alex scowled when she grabbed his hand. Her fingers traced along the creases of his palm.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Reading your palm. Sometimes I can see glimpses into the future. I foresaw you and the Mad Man arriving on this island." She continued to trace his palm, intrigued, and now and then, she would gasp then smile again. "You and the rest of Levon's crew will make her very happy, especially you. Your destinies are entwined."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" He snatched his palm back from the crazy woman.
"Exactly what it sounds like. I've seen the way you look at her. You've only known her for the best part of half an hour, and already your heart thuds for her. It's no surprise. Every man that ever meets her falls in love with her beauty, yourself included. However, you're different; it wasn't her beauty that intrigued you at first. It was her selflessness to help you and your captain escape from the temple guards earlier, endangering herself in the process when she could have left you to fend for yourself."
Alex nervously swallowed. How could she have possibly read all of that from his palm? He kept his thoughts and feelings to himself and never let any of his emotions show.
"Take good care of her. She's like a sister to me." She walked into the kitchens, leaving Alex with his jaw hung wide open.
"Destiny?" He clicked his tongue. "What a load of crap."
He faced the stage once again, but almost immediately, his heart stopped, and his body froze as he watched the girl move with the silk ropes.
"Damn you, witch!" he growled, stomping over to Levi, who was still stuffing his face with food.
"Hey, Alex. I'm gonna ask Jess to join our crew!"
"Jess? Who's Jess?"
Levi pointed to the dancing girl. Alex's heart tightened, but he controlled his exterior emotions. Elena's words had really gotten through to him, and he hated it.
"You don't know anything about her," Alex protested.
If she did end up on their crew, she would only distract him, and he couldn't be distracted by anything if he wanted to accomplish his dream: to find the answers to his past. Who was he, and where had he come from originally?
Levi grinned at a golden locket in his hand and laughed as he flipped it open. "I know enough."
Alex looked at the locket in his hand, wondering what could be inside it that had his captain smiling. Levi placed the pendant around his neck like it was his most prized possession.
"What's with the locket?" Alex pointed towards the piece of jewellery.
Levi's grin widened. "It's Jess'. She asked me to look after it."
Alex raised a brow. "What's inside it?"
"A secret." Levi chuckled and tucked the golden locket under his green vest for safekeeping.
Alex frowned. He wondered what the secret was but didn't ask. Levi would have told him. Otherwise, his captain usually couldn't shut his mouth unless he had to. The rapier sword on the table soon caught the first mate's attention.
"Is the sword hers as well?" He took it in his hands as Levi nodded.
The sword hummed in his hand, and he immediately dropped it. It was an angry hum; the spirit within the sword didn't like him.
As soon as Jessica had finished her performance up on stage, she stumbled around as she pulled her socks and shoes on and was approached by a handsome man in a black suit and shirt with a red tie. He had dark hair, white porcelain skin, and piercing eyes. He smiled at her, a gentle, friendly smile. She recognised him almost immediately. It was the Mayor, Dom.
What was he doing here of all places?
He never came to visit her here. It must be because she had avoided him since her encounter with Jude. She kept her eyes away from him, feeling guilty.
"I haven't seen you in a while. I feel as though you're ignoring me." His voice was smooth.
Jessica stood up. "Um... I..." She swallowed, finding it hard to form words. "I've been busy with work at the bar."
She smiled at him but still avoided eye contact. He held her chin in his hands and forced her to look up at him. His touch wasn't the same anymore, and nor were his eyes as mysterious compared to the steel-blue ones of the Dark Physician.
"What's wrong?" He looked sad when asking her.
Jessica sighed. I guess now is a better time than any.
Back at the table, Alex and Levi were laughing at a joke Levi had told. Their hands smacked against the table as they laughed their heads off. Alex had a whiskey in his hand, and Levi was still eating. A few moments later, their friends Penny and Mirella joined them.
Alex's and Levi's laughter came to a sudden stop when Penny punched them both.
"What's this I hear about the temple guards running amok looking for you two because you committed a sacrilege against the high priest?"
Penny's fist curled, ready to attack them once again, when Levi started to laugh at her reaction, which only infuriated her more. It took Mirella to calm her down with the promise of strawberry cheesecake.
"Still, we haven't even been on the island for an hour yet, and the locals already hate us!" Penny placed her hands on her cheeks in horror.
"It was an accident." Levi continued to laugh.
"It's always an accident with you!" Penny smacked him around the back of the head once again, and his pirate hat toppled off his head.
"Don't worry. Jess saved us." Levi placed his hat back on as he continued to grin.
"Jess?" Penny raised a brow in suspicion. "Who's Jess?"
Levi pointed to the girl talking to the tall man in the black suit and red tie. Levi's head tilted when he noticed that Jessica was arguing with the man in the suit. He shrugged. It wasn't his business.
"She's beautiful," Penny commented. "And she knows the guy that will be in charge of the beauty contest."
"What beauty contest?" Alex frowned as he took a gulp from his whiskey and rubbed the back of his head where Penny had hit him.
Mirella passed him a leaflet and started explaining. "We bumped into that man outside of the tavern. He gave us this leaflet saying we should enter. There is a chance of a 100,000 joule cash prize." She covered her mouth while speaking. "We're short on cash at the moment, and Penny thought about entering."
Mirella continued, her mouth still covered by her hand as she spoke.
"The island used to use the most beautiful woman as a human sacrifice for the harvest god. Of course, they don't do that anymore and use an animal instead, but they still like the idea of bringing forth the most beautiful woman, and so they have a beauty contest instead." Mirella pointed to the man with Jessica. "He's the mayor of the town, but he will also be a judge at the competition. He probably wanted that girl to enter."
Alex frowned as his eyes flashed over to look at Jessica. It didn't look like she wanted to enter the beauty contest. If anything, it looked like the two were arguing.
"Hey, Levi, I think your new friend is in trouble." Alex nudged his captain.
Levi's brown eyes darted over in Jessica's direction, and looking at her body language, he could tell she was more upset now than she had been only moments ago. He placed his hand on his tricorn hat, tipping it forward and shadowing his eyes.
"Nobody hurts my friends." His fist slammed into his palm.
"If you don't mind, Captain." Alex stood up and drew his red longsword, Akatenshi, out from his sheath. "I've got this one."
Levi smirked and nodded.
"What do you mean, you're thinking about going out to sea?" Dom seethed, his eyes had turned dark, and Jessica felt small and intimidated by him. "Don't I mean anything to you? I helped you to get back onto your feet when you washed up here. I welcomed you to the island when no one else did. You owe me your life!"
The look and the way he had suddenly turned angry reminded her of her master.
"I-I-I..." Jessica started to stutter. "I've always wanted to go out to sea."
"It's because of that pirate you met in Northport, isn't it?"
Jessica frowned, how did Dom know about Jude?
"Have you been watching me?"
Dom smirked deceitfully. "I've got to keep an eye on my girl now."
His hand reached up to stroke her cheek, and she slapped his arm away.
"You're disgusting, and I'm not your girl!"
"Not if I have anything to say about it." He gripped tightly onto her arm. "I've waited two years to be with you. I'm not letting you walk out now."
He tugged on her arm, dragging her towards the exit of the tavern. Jessica attempted to pull back but was too weak against his firm grip. Her lips started to tremble as flashbacks with her master resurfaced.
"P...p-please," she begged, attempting once again to pull back her arm. "Let me go."
Where was Kirk when she needed him?
Dom froze when the sharp edge of a red blade was aimed at his neck, the glint of the red sword reflecting into the mayor's dark eyes.
"She said to let go."
All Jessica could hear was the sound of her beating heart. Her honey-gold eyes looked up at the deep scowl of the first mate, a scowl best described as coming from hell itself.
The Mayor glared at Alex. "This is none of your business, pirate," he spat.
"It is my business when she is friends with my Captain." He pressed the red sword harder against the Mayor's throat, the blade cutting against his skin, and blood started to ooze out. "And if you know any better, I would advise you walk away before my captain decides to interfere, and trust me, you do not want to be at the other end of his wrath." Alex's green eyes flicked over towards Levi. "He isn't called the Mad Man for nothing."
The three of them looked at Levi. He was stood up, his arms crossed over his chest, and his tricorn hat shadowed over his eyes. Any innocence of the child Jessica had seen in him before had disappeared. There was nothing left but a monster ready to be unleashed upon the world, the same monster that took out Pirate Lord Madame Cheng.
The Mayor let go of Jessica and pushed Alex's red sword away from his neck.
"You and your crew will live to regret this," Dom sneered and looked back towards Jessica. "If I can't have you, then no one can," he threatened and stormed out of the bar.
Jessica's legs felt weak, and she collapsed. Before hitting the ground, Alex grabbed her from around the waist and helped her back onto her feet. Her breath caught in the back of her throat. She felt safe in his embrace and found herself lost in his scowling green eyes that slowly turned soft.
"Hi." A small smile formed on her lips.
A smirk formed on his own. "Hi."
Behind the bar, Elena stood cleaning a glass, watching on as the first mate held Jessica in his embrace, the two of them lost in each other's eyes.
A knowing smirk appeared on Elena's face. "Destiny always finds a way."
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