The Rookie Pirates (Parts 1-6)

02. Aerial Silk

The ruthless pirate captain, Ruben Kirk, had had his ship docked on Harvest Island for five days. His crew had already supplied themselves with enough food to last the journey until Halfway Point, an outlawed island that wasn't a part of the United Islands. Now his crew were wasting what little money they had left at the local tavern, drinking until their hearts were content.

The second night they had stayed on the island, the crew had returned with big smiles on their faces and the mention of a pretty girl dancing mid-air with silk ropes, as they had described it. However, they were also short on money that night.

Kirk hadn't entered the tavern since stepping foot on the island. He wanted to stay sharp so he could get his revenge on the girl that had made him look like a fool. He still hadn't found her and had started to wonder where she could have disappeared to in the past five days.

Maybe she had already left the island, and he was now looking for someone who was long gone. Giving up on his task, he gave in to the pleasures of alcohol and made his way to the tavern. He slammed the door open, causing heads to turn in his direction. His crew were laughing and drinking, drunk out of their minds, but he knew as their captain that if the navy were to attack, they would be ready in a heartbeat.

He sat down on a wooden stool at the bar and ordered a drink from the landlady with long black hair and piercing, dark yellow eyes. He couldn't deny she was beautiful, but something about her seemed mysterious and off-putting.

"Do you know anyone who can fix compasses? Idiot over there...." He pointed at his quartermaster, Morgan. "... broke it. It's the only one we have."

Kirk noticed the electric lights flicker within the tavern, and the landlady pulled out candles from below the counter. Aqua had fluctuating magnetic fields which interfered with electricity and gadgets with magnetic components such as compasses. It always came in handy to have candles and a spare compass nearby. Kirk had stocked his ship with the former, but he didn't have the latter.

"I do know." She smiled before returning to her duties. "But he's off the island at the moment. He'll be back in a month."

Kirk's fist clenched. A month? He'd already been here for five days, which meant he was still stuck on this godforsaken island for another thirty. Anything could happen in a month. After his brutal attack against the navy when he ported, he had no doubt more would be on their way from the neighbouring islands. As much as he loved a bloodthirsty fight, he couldn't afford to stay on this island any longer.

"Do you know of a red girl?" he asked the barmaid. He should at least make use of his time by finding the girl.

Kirk looked down at her name tag pinned to her black dress. The dress left nothing to the imagination, and he couldn't help but take a quick glance at her cleavage before looking back at the name tag.

Elena, it read.

"You must be talking about Jessica Red. She mentioned she saved the life of the infamous Captain Ruben Kirk," she teased. "Don't feel indebted to her; she doesn't want anything in return for saving you."

He stood up violently and grabbed the landlady by the collar of her black dress and pulled her over the counter. The captain found it weird that she didn't even flinch from his attack; she merely smirked in response to his actions.

"I'm not here to fulfill a debt. I'm here to crush that little girl's head in for humiliating me in front of my crew. So where can I find her?" he demanded, a low growl emanating from the back of his throat.

His sudden burst of anger had set off his cursed soul and made all the loose objects in the room shake, and had drawn the attention of his crew. The chatter immediately stopped, and the live music died down. Their hands curled around the hilts of their weapons, ready for his order.