The Rookie Pirates (Parts 1-6)

01. Along Came a Hothead

A warm breeze swept its way through the cobbled streets of Southport, a small harbour town found south of Harvest Island. It was an island famous for producing the finest crops and food throughout the world of Aqua.

The crescent moon glowed in the late evening sky, and its white light reflected off the calm blue sea. In fact, it felt too calm for the red-haired girl that sat on the thatched roof of the local tavern. Her legs swung over the edge of the old, deteriorating building, and her feet kicked out playfully. A stoic expression landed on her lips as she waited patiently for some sort of excitement to arrive.

Tick Tock.

The seconds passed by and still yielded nothing. The red girl had turned to admiring her newly bought blade. The sharpness of the silver glistened in the moonlight and reflected the sadness of her honey-gold eyes; they were eyes that had seen things that could never be unseen, eyes with a dark past. Yet, in the corner, they glimmered with hope. The girl wasn't all gone yet; she still had hope for a brighter future.

She sheathed her rapier sword in its black scabbard. She had yet to name her new blade, because she found it hard to come up with a suitable one when she hadn't yet played with her new weapon.

"I thought I would find you here."

The soft voice of the red girl's friend, Elena Sharp, interrupted the peacefulness of the evening. Elena's shadow loomed over the red girl before she sat down next to her and handed her a hot cup of freshly made tea.

The girl indulged herself in the sweet taste of the honey-flavoured beverage and let the warmth of its contents heat her body. She nodded to her friend in thanks.

The red girl had always found Elena beautiful with her delicate facial features, a slim, perfectly shaped hourglass figure, and long black hair. However, the girl always found Elena's eyes too intimidating to her liking; they were a dark yellow colour and would dart around like a predator looking for its prey. They made her friend look older than and more mature looking than her actual age of twenty.

The girl had always found something mysterious about Elena, but she didn't dwell on it too much. Elena most likely had a dark past, just like she did. It wasn't her place or business to ask her friend. If Elena wanted to tell her, she would do so in due time.

"Anything tonight?" Elena asked.

"It's a ghost town." The girl sipped on her drink.

The evening went on, and they sat together in peaceful silence, still enjoying each other's company without speaking a word.

Elena finally gave in to exhaustion and yawned while stretching her arms up into the air. She stood up, taking the two empty mugs with her as she made her way to the hatch on the roof of the Hawk's Eye.

"Good night, Jessica. Don't stay up too late."

"Night," Jessica grunted.

Elena disappeared through the hatch, leaving Jessica alone with her thoughts and the peacefulness of the evening. She heaved a sigh; it didn't look like there were going to be any forms of commotion tonight.

Pity, Jessica thought. I like watching the Pirates fighting with the Navy.

As if her prayers had been answered, at that exact moment, the sound of a cannonball being fired split through the air, followed by an explosion and the sound of wood splintering as the dock shattered into pieces. The local navy headquarters, which were half a mile inland from where she sat, lit up. Alarms blared loudly, and the sound of scrambling feet could be heard as the navy sailors prepared themselves for battle.