13. A Dance With a Masked Man

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It shook Jessica to the core knowing that a non-native of Hive Island spoke her language; it was rare and unheard of. However, she knew she couldn't think about it too much; she would just have to avoid the pirate for the rest of her stay at Northport. She was here to enjoy the start of the festival, not meddle in Jude Hunter's business.

Already, she could hear the vibrations of the music as the festival started. She pinned her crimson hair back from her eyes and let it flow down behind her back like a red waterfall. She looked over herself one last time, making sure the long-sleeved black dress she had borrowed from Elena wasn't creased. Positive she looked good for the evening, she stood up, ready to enjoy the festivities, and left the local inn she'd stayed the night in.

Bunting draped across from building to building, and tinted lanterns lit up the sky, creating a rainbow of colours. Playful music sounded in the background, and people dressed in masquerade masks danced and clapped their hands along to the bountiful tune. It was the start of the harvest festival and would last the entirety of the month until the red moon, where the carnaval would finish at the temple situated in the centre of the island.

A huge grin spread across Jessica's face as she watched from the sidewalk, clapping her hands along to the music. She always loved the harvest festival; it reminded her of home. She bought a black mask from a little boy selling them at a stall and placed it over her face, joining in on the dancing.

She loved to dance, whether it was with her purple silks up in the air or on the floor with her own two feet. Jessica loved the sensation of her body freely moving to the sound of music. Her long red hair spun around her as she danced elegantly. Her smile was big and broad as she enjoyed herself; she had never felt so free. It was a feeling Jessica would always treasure.

The locals and tourists started clapping along to her movements, cheering and throwing flowers at her, mesmerised by her dance.

Unbeknownst to Jessica, Jude stood leaning against a balcony of a local inn. His foot unconsciously tapped to the beat of the music as he watched the festivities of the harvest festival in the street below. A calm and collected look was on his usually stoic face.

The commotion of a dancer caught his attention, and a crowd had formed around her as she danced a dance so beautiful it was lethal. Jude smirked, his sharp eyes never missing a beat. That was no ordinary dance but a form of martial arts known only to those of the Honey Tribe Kingdom. It was her: Jessica Red.

She wore a long-sleeved black dress that flared out at the waist and was cut short off her knee and was accessorised with a purple belt around her waist. Jude noticed that the dress covered her back, hiding the mark that interested him. He had hoped to see her down on the street and had looked out for her on the balcony so that he could meet her again. The girl had taken his fancy. Unless it had something to do with medicine, not much intrigued the dark and mysterious physician, but she had from the moment he had read her note to Paddy.

Already dressed up in a black suit and navy shirt he had bought earlier in the day, he turned and left his spot at the balcony. He placed his medical bag down onto the dresser. Already, he felt vulnerable without it.

"I'm going out. Don't go wandering off with my bag this time." He gave the feline a warning glare, and Paddy nodded in understanding.

Jude turned to the twins, who were playing a round of poker on the bed. "Don't cause any trouble when I'm gone."

"You shouldn't order us around like that; you're not our captain." Saskia, the white-haired girl, laid out her royal flush.

"Saskia is right." Her twin Pedro, the black haired boy, slammed his fist against the table in defeat as he unfolded his hand of cards. "The navy and everyone else in the world may think you're our captain..."

Saskia grabbed her winnings. "...but you're not our captain."

"Captain Paddy is" they both said together, and both looked up at their first mate at the same time with their swirling black and white eyes.

Jude shuddered. He hated it when they finished each other's sentences and mirrored each other's movements. He especially hated their eyes; Saskia's swirled black and white in a clockwise rotation, and Pedro's swirled white and black in an anticlockwise rotation. It was like looking at something out of a horror film.

Their eyes didn't always look like that but had turned into that when they developed their conjoined cursed soul. They could manipulate one's luck; Saskia was lucky, and Pedro was unlucky, and together they were equal. The two were the Hunter Pirates' second most powerful members on the ship after him, of course.

Jude's forehead twitched with the twin's statement. If it weren't for him, the crew would have fallen apart long ago. Jude might as well be the captain; even the navy called them the Hunter Pirates. He said nothing and left. The twins glared into his soul as he walked off.

Jude made his way out onto the street, his hand swiftly taking a black mask from a stall without the seller noticing and placing it over his face to hide his features. He put his hands casually into his pockets and made his way to the girl.

Jessica still danced in her unique honey tribe style. The crowd was even larger as they clapped along. Jude leaned against the wall of the building and continued to watch the girl. He spotted a loose stone on the floor, and a mischievous smile formed onto his lips when an idea popped into his head. Now all he had to do was wait for the right time.

Jessica spun and spun as she danced, and her feet tapped against the ground as she moved to the beat of the music. Her smile was more prominent than ever before. The tune started to fade, and some of the crowd that had watched began to thin out. The song finally came to an end, and she spun her last spin. However, she gasped after misplacing her foot, and found herself tripping over a loose stone that had appeared out of nowhere and fell towards the hard ground.

Jessica felt the grasp of someone placing their arm around her body and pulling her back onto her feet before any she inflicted any damage onto herself. She found her body colliding with a stranger's firm chest. His strong grip was placed around her waist, and his left hand held her right.

"Thanks..."

Her voice disappeared when her wandering eyes looked up at the man who had saved her from humiliation. His dark hair was unkempt and scruffy like he had worn a hat recently, but it was still cute looking at the same time.

He wore a black masquerade mask, concealing the majority of his facial features, and was looking down at her with blue eyes, a hint of humour flashing in them.

"You're more than welcome." His voice was cool and smooth and sent a pleasant shiver down her back.

Jessica's throat tightened, and she parted her lips, but she couldn't seem to form words. Her heart raced; she was still comprehending what had happened. Everything had happened so fast. How did she get from almost falling to being in his strong arms?

She looked around her. The music had changed to a slow beat, and couples of all ages danced together. That's when she realised she was dancing with the man slowly and in sync. Shocked by her actions, she stepped back from him, only to have him pull her back towards his body.

"Dance with me." He spoke smoothly, but it was more like a command than a proposal.

She looked back up at the stranger, finding herself lost in his eyes. If only she could see the rest of his face. He placed a smirk on his thin lips, amused by her behaviour when she blushed. Without further thinking, Jessica complied with his request and continued to dance with the mysterious man. The two danced together, the perfect couple as they outshone every other dancing couple on the street.

The song hit the end of its climax, and he spun her around and leaned her back, keeping a hold of her weight in his arms, his body shadowing over her. He pulled her back onto her feet just as the music stopped. She felt tired from all the movements, her chest rising up and down as she tried to regulate her breathing.

"The music has stopped," he whispered. "You can let go now."

Realising she was still holding onto his firm muscular arms, Jessica let go, embarrassed by her behaviour.

What was wrong with her?

"Will you accompany me for the rest of the evening?" He offered his arm for her to link with him. "I would like to get to know you some more."

This man was going to leave her with a permanently red face with the number of times she had blushed that evening.

She agreed and linked her arm with his, and they walked along the street together, enjoying the festival as they chatted away, getting to know each other. They soon found themselves at the docks, walking along the wooden decking. They sat themselves down. Jessica took her heels off and let her feet dangle below, her toes touching the cold seawater and a soft smile gracing her lips.

"Why are you smiling?" he asked.

"I love the feel of the sea." She looked at him and noticed that he sat crossed-legged next to her on the deck. "Don't you want to feel the water against your skin?"

He shook his head. "Not really."

Jessica frowned at the man's response; who didn't like water? She shrugged and continued to splash her feet.

"Are you a cursed soul?" Jessica asked in an attempt to break the ice between them.

He nodded in response to her question. "My soul has been cursed twice." He lifted two fingers.

Twice. Jessica looked at him in awe; she had never met a person with two cursed souls before. It wasn't unheard of to have a soul cursed twice, just extremely rare. She had read in the newspapers that the Pirate King had two cursed souls.

The man pushed a strand of her crimson hair behind her ear and revealed a small stone in his hand. Jessica squinted at the jagged grey rock, the same small stone which she had tripped on when dancing.

"That was you!"

A playful smirk graced his lips as the stone disappeared in a fuzzy haze and reappeared in his other hand.

"I can teleport myself and other objects I can see within a one hundred foot radius."

She laughed nervously; that was a powerful cursed soul to have. "And the other?"

His devilish smirk stayed put on his thin lips. "That I cannot say for some find my gift rather gruesome, and I do not wish to scare you."

Jessica felt a stiffness between them as he stared down at her in warning. She decided against asking further questions and instead looked up to the sky, the stars shining brightly, not a single cloud in sight. She always felt at ease when there weren't any clouds.

"I never caught your name," he said.

"Azalea..." Jessica said, lost in thought as she continued to stare at the brightly-lit stars.

Realising what she had said, her eyes shot wide open in horror, and she immediately covered her mouth. It had just slipped out.

"Jessica! My name's Jessica!" she blurted.

The man was about to say something in response when she covered his mouth as well. Her unexpected actions shocked them both.

What was wrong with her tonight?

Jessica couldn't think straight, and she was acting weird and felt an odd sensation in her stomach. The man took her hands away from his mouth and kept ahold of them in his grasp as he smirked at her.

"Azalea. That's a pretty name. I prefer it over Jessica."

Jessica's heart flatlined.

"My name is Jessica!"

"Then why did you say it was Azalea?" he asked as he continued to smirk at her.

She was slowly starting to hate that damn smirk of his.

Jessica yawned. "Because I'm tired and I was thinking of flowers."

He didn't believe her. "And where are you from, Miss Azalea?"

He rolled the name off his tongue and leaned towards her, his hand stroking a loose strand of her red hair behind her ear.

This time, she made sure to think before blurting out answers, but he was too distracting, her eyes never leaving his lips as he inched closer to her.

"Sunrise Island." She placed her finger to her mouth and chewed on her purple varnished nail, a nervous habit of hers.

"Is that so?" He pulled her finger away from her lips. "Don't do that; it's ever so distracting."

His hand stroked her cheek as he leaned closer, his lips almost touching hers. Was this really going to happen? She had only just met the man; she didn't even know anything about him, but she wouldn't harm anyone by having a taste of the masked man's lips.

"What's your name?" she whispered as her lips grazed against his.

"It's not important."

She frowned and shot back from him. If the man was going to kiss her, he could at least have the courtesy to tell her his name. She wasn't about to kiss a stranger; Kirk would have her head for being so stupid.

It was then Jessica realised just how suspicious the man had been acting, asking questions about her, but throughout the night, he had steered her away from asking questions about him. She stood up abruptly, picking her heels up as she did so.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

His smirk never left his face as he stood back up, towering over her. He was tall.

"Nobody of your concern. Our time together was fun, but I must go." He placed his hands in his pockets and walked off along the wooden deck. "I hope we meet again sometime, Miss Azalea. I enjoyed your company."

He disappeared in a fuzzy haze and left her standing there, a confused look on her pretty face as she thought about what just happened between the two of them.

The festival was still ongoing as Jude made his way down the street, taking his black mask off, a satisfied smirk on his face as he made it back to the inn. He once again leaned against the balcony, looking over the port town and thinking over the events of the evening with Jessica, or should he say Azalea.

His fingers touched his mouth, still feeling her warm lips grazing against his. He didn't intend on almost kissing her; he'd gotten carried away in the moment. She was beautiful, after all.

He'd gotten more than enough information out of her than he needed. He'd known from the start that her name wasn't Jessica; the name didn't suit her. Azalea, on the other hand, was more suited to her, but not only that, it was also a flower, adding to the list of evidence that she was indeed from the Honey Tribe Kingdom.

What puzzled him was that she had said she was from Sunrise Island, an island from the east. He had felt her pulse when holding her hand. She wasn't lying; she had come from there. It didn't make sense.

It was a shame he would be leaving tomorrow afternoon; the crew had already been on the island long enough for the navy to be suspicious of their activities.

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