18. We All Have Dreams

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height

Jessica found herself sat in the galley of Captain Levon's pirate ship, the Leo, completely bewildered by the entire crew as they gorged on their feast of a lunch. Hands grabbed from all directions, food flew everywhere, there was laughter, music, arguing, and the occasional smack around the back of Levi's head for stealing.

It was crazy, and Jessica had no idea what to think of the scene before her other than to smile and softly giggle, her hand covering her mouth as she did so.

She gazed at the first mate sat at the head of the table. He rocked back and forth on his chair, drinking from a bottle of whiskey. He had been watching her the entire time, and as their eyes met, she blushed and looked away, whereas a smirk graced his lips, and he continued to drink from his bottle.

Jessica still hadn't had the chance to thank him for saving her from the Mayor. After the incident at the bar, when Alex held her in his strong arms, Levi had bounded over and had brought Jessica into a big hug and had invited her to lunch at the Leo. She had been taken away before she had a chance to even talk to Alex, much to her dismay.

"You should enter the beauty contest!" Penny exclaimed and nodded her head in approval of her idea.

Jessica shook her head. "I don't think that's a good idea. Dom is judging..."

"All the more reason to flaunt your stuff and show off that you don't care about him anymore and are looking for a new man," Penny cut in.

Jessica frowned. The pink haired girl had the wrong idea about her relationship with the Mayor, and Jess was about to protest but decided against it. She had a feeling she wouldn't win in an argument against Penny. She was very outspoken.

Jessica shrugged. "I don't know; I guess I could enter. I do need the money, after all."

"Great!" Penny smiled. "Then we can enter together."

Jessica continued eating her food. She had to admit; the food was to die for. She spotted the silver-haired teenager in the kitchen dressed in a grey blazer. He was incredibly handsome, with well-defined features like the statues of the ancient gods and stylish hair that must take him an hour to prepare, probably with all sorts of hair product.

He slaved away in the kitchen but had a smile on his face as he stirred the contents of his pan. He looked like he was in his element, and from what Jessica could see, he took great pride in his kitchen. She could tell how much he loved to cook, just like she did.

Jessica left her seat and walked over to the counter of the kitchen and leaned against the wooden counter.

"I never caught your name," Jessica said.

The silver man spun around with a big friendly smile, and his silver, fin-like eyes glistened with a warm aura.

"My name's Tommy. Would you like some more food, Lady Jessica?" The boy was well mannered. "A beautiful red flower such as yourself deserves the best food there is," he kindly offered.

Jessica frowned at him and flinched at the nickname he had called her. It was the same name her master had once called her.

"Don't call me Red Flower." Her voice was stern and sharp.

Noticing Jessica's change of mood, Tommy's silver eyes dulled to grey. He nodded and returned to cooking.

"Can you explain what it is you're making? I like to cook." Jessica inhaled the hot, spicy aromas that tickled her nose.

His face lit up. He was mesmerised by the fact that the girl liked to cook.

"Of course." He returned to his cooking and explained to Jessica what he was making.

Jessica smiled. She liked Tommy. He seemed to be in his element when cooking and concentrating on his love for food. She managed to start chatting away to him about recipes, and she joined in and helped where she could.

At the table, Alex clicked his tongue in annoyance as he watched Jessica and Tommy getting along like they were already the best of friends. The girl laughed, a soft, cute laugh, and covered her mouth at whatever Tommy had said to her. Alex's stomach churned in what felt like anger. He didn't know how else to describe it. Annoyance, maybe?

He got up and left heading towards the deck; he didn't want to watch anymore.

"So why do they call you the Silver Fin?" Jessica wondered aloud.

Tommy smirked knowingly. "I guess because of my silver hair and eyes, but mostly because I'm an incredibly fast swimmer."

"Faster than the ancient god and the king of the seas, Poseidon?" Jessica joked. "They say he's the fastest swimmer..."

"I'm faster." Tommy cut her off sharply, and his hand curled tightly around the chopping knife.

Jessica felt the boat rock violently from a sudden wave hitting the hull of the ship. The impact was so incredibly harsh that she had to hold onto the counter to steady herself. However, no one else seemed too bothered by the enormous wave that had appeared out of nowhere. It was within the harbour as well, so it seemed unusual to Jessica.

"Sorry." Tommy coughed awkwardly. "I came across as rude then. What I meant to say was that I'm faster than Poseidon. If I were to swim against him, I would easily beat him. Hands down."

Jessica couldn't help but smile. If that was what he believed, then so be it, Tommy was faster than Poseidon.

After finishing her conversation with Tommy, Jessica turned around to find that Alex had disappeared. She felt sad that he had gone but shrugged it off and walked back over to the table. She could thank him some other time.

"Jess, that dance routine at the tavern earlier was amazing." Levi grabbed ahold of her waist and pulled her towards him, so she had no choice but to sit back down next to him.

She didn't mind. She liked Levi, especially since she had a connection with him through her father. He was like a kid-brother to her.

"Thanks, Levi."

She continued to talk to him and laughed at his antic behaviour when he started dancing around the table top. What amazed Jessica the most was the way Levi treated his crew like they were all equal to him, like they were his friends, and they treated him the same way. It was different to how she saw Kirk order his crew about, and it seemed refreshing in comparison.

"I forgot to give this back to you." Levi jumped back down and lifted the honey gold locket out from under his green vest.

Jessica smiled but shook her head. "Keep a hold of it for me. I'll be going off later to enter the beauty contest, and I don't want to wear it up on stage. Will you be there to watch?"

He nodded his head, hiding the locket back under his green vest while stuffing food down his throat.

Jessica laughed and started talking with the rest of the crew, finding them all equally interesting.

Oberon was a fairy. He was only about a foot tall and as light as a feather. He had spiky green hair, teal coloured eyes, and his transparent wings gave off a glitter of green dust as he flew around the room. His voice was ever so cute and squeaky, and he could heal anybody with his magic. However, he wasn't to be messed with, for he could give off blasts of energy from his hands called fairy stings. He could be easily annoyed and short-tempered, especially with his captain.

Baden Bones was tall with dark brown skin; short, curly black hair, and he always wore an orange fedora hat. He wore a matching orange suit with a black frilly shirt underneath and walked with an orange cane. When Jessica asked why he was called the Many-Faced Man, he started to laugh and transformed into an exact replica of her, right down to her long red hair, clothes, and honey gold eyes. It was like he was her doppelgänger.

"My, what a chest you have," said Baden in Jessica's girly voice and grabbed for his new found breasts.

Jessica died of embarrassment, her face glowing redder by the second. Alex gasped from such a glorious act, and Levi spat his food out when he burst out laughing.

"Leave the poor girl alone!" Penny's fist slammed into Baden's head with a loud crack, and he reverted to his standard form.

"Sorry," he apologised and rubbed the back of his head where a new lump formed. "That was inappropriate of me."

"You think?" Penny shrieked in outrage.

It turned out Baden was a cursed soul as well and could shapeshift into anything he liked, dead or alive. He could even turn into the King of the United Islands if he wanted to. However, he could only stay in the form of another for a day before he reverted to his original form.

Vulcan was a tall, bulky man in his mid-twenties. Covered in grease and oil, he had shaggy brown hair and soft hazel eyes. He wasn't much of a people person, but eventually, he warmed up to Jessica. He was an engineer. His role in the crew was mainly to look after the ship. He built it, repaired it, and navigated it; he knew the seas better than anyone.

Jessica liked Mirella a lot. She was twenty-one years old and had long dark purple hair and purple eyes. She was intelligent and loved to read about poisons. She too was a cursed soul; her bloodstream and spit were extremely poisonous to humans, which was why she covered her mouth when talking. However, there was a downside to her cursed soul, but she did not say what it was. Not once did Mirella have a scary look about her; she always looked kind and sweet with a cool, soft smile. It explained why they called her Cool Venom.

Jessica found Penny scary, especially since her temper got the best of her and was easily wound up by the antic behaviours of Levi and Baden. She was always telling them off for being troublesome. Jessica found her to be incredibly vain, always taking pride in her appearance, which she couldn't blame her for. Penny was incredibly beautiful with short, dusty pink hair that bobbed against her jawline and dark pink eyes that were intense looking. Despite her girlish appearance, she wasn't to be treated like a damsel in distress. Far from it, Penny was a lethal archer, never missing her target, and always carried a bow an arrow on her.

As the meal came to an end, everyone went out on deck to continue with their usual chores on the ship, and some of them headed back into the town to collect supplies. Jessica found herself having a chat with Penny about what they would wear to the beauty contest.

However, despite getting along with all of the crew, she always found herself winding back over to Levi and talking to him. There was something about him that spoke out to her. Not in a romantic way but in a friendly way like, she could trust him. She felt safe around him.

Jessica squealed when Levi swept her up into his arms and sped off towards the Leo's bowsprit, only to trip on a piece of rope. The two of them tumbled over, and Jessica landed on top of him in a heap.

Jessica smacked his head. "Don't do that without warning."

He rubbed his head. "Sorry, Jess."

The temple guards were still running around the town looking for Levi and Alex, and so they had been told by Penny to stay on the ship and out of trouble, which was why Levi was still on the Leo. It also meant that Levi couldn't watch her at the beauty contest.

"Join my crew?" Levi grinned.

"What?!" Jessica was flustered.

"Join my crew?"

Jessica's heart quickened, a smile forming on her lips. She felt honoured to be asked by Mad Man Levon to join his crew. Her smile soon disappeared as she remembered her promise to Kirk.

"I can't; I've already promised to be a part of my brother Kirk's crew."

Levi's head tilted. "Flint has a son?"

Jessica giggled and shook her head. "No, he doesn't have a son. I shared a glass of rum with Kirk, and we declared ourselves siblings with a promise that when I felt strong enough, I would one day meet him again and join his crew."

Levi grinned, understanding her.

"Penny wants to be the best archer in the world. Oberon wants to find his missing fairy queen, Titania. Baden wants to find his friend who left him without saying goodbye. Vulcan wants to find the King's Compass. Mirella wants to find a cure for her cursed soul, and Tommy wants to... he... er... something to do with the sea." He grinned from ear to ear. "Everyone on my crew has a dream. Make yourself stronger by joining my crew, then when the time is right, find your brother."

Jessica felt happy. Levi cared about everyone on his ship. He even cared about their dreams and not just his own. "What's your dream, Levi?"

"To defeat King Mordred." He then took his tricorn hat off and looked down at it in his hands. "And to keep a promise I once made when I was seven years old."

An ocean breeze swept across the harbour and ruffled Levi's shaggy black hair, and he smiled down at his hat knowingly. He looked back up at Jessica, a big grin still evident on his face. His promise confused Jessica. Nonetheless, she smiled at him in understanding.

"I also want to see my father again, and if it means being on your ship to see him again, then so be it. I'll join your crew." She smiled.

"Yes!" Levi cheered. "This calls for a party!"

He bent his knees in the direction of the kitchen and jumped across the deck, almost knocking into Tommy, who had just walked out of the galley. Jessica couldn't help but laugh. What a unique captain. She hoped she wouldn't regret joining his crew.

Jessica jumped down from the Leo's bowsprit and walked along the deck, which had a raised vegetable patch called Logan's Garden that Tommy was tending to. There was also a sliver slide spiralling around the mainmast from the crow's nest to the deck, as well as a painted volleyball court. She was definitely going to like it here.

She frowned, realising that Levi had never told her what Alex's dream was. She hadn't seen the blonde first mate since lunchtime and wondered where he had disappeared to.

"Tommy," she called him over. He was still tending to Logan's Garden, which made her wonder who Logan was.

"Yes, Lady Jessica?" He came walking towards her. "Is everything okay?" he asked.

"Do you know where Alex is? I never got a chance to thank him earlier," Jessica asked.

Tommy's happy aura disappeared, and he turned placid, like he didn't have a care in the world.

"Blondie is probably up in the crows nest being antisocial as usual." He pointed up the mast. "A lovely lady such as yourself deserves better company than the likes of that stupid asshole."

"Thank you, Tommy." She decided to ignore his last comment and made her way up to the crow's nest.

The crow's nest was much larger compared to Kirk's, which was the size of a bucket. This one was much bigger, larger than what she'd rented back on the island. It had a sofa encircling half it and was covered in multi-coloured cushions, and had deck chairs with cup holders. There was also a dart board attached to the mast with a scoreboard, and on the opposite side of the nest was a weight and weapons stand. It was like a playroom.

By the weight section, she found Alex. A blush graced her cheeks as she caught him with his shirt off and sucked in her bottom lip as she admired the beautiful specimen stood before her.

His tanned, chiselled chest was like a carved statue of an ancient god, and sweat shimmered on his flexing muscles as he continued to work out. On his left pectoral, Jessica noticed he had a deep red gash, like someone had attempted to stab him in the heart. She wondered how he'd acquired such a scar.

There was a focused stare in his intense green eyes, and his lips were set firmly in a hard line. He lifted the heavyweights, looking lost, deep in concentration. He hadn't even noticed her yet. She wondered what he was thinking as she sat down on the sofa, leaning back against the soft, plush cushions and watching him in awe. She ended up lost in her own thoughts as she bit down on her varnished nails.

Alex wasn't strong enough; he still felt weak after his encounter with the Pirate Lord Madame Cheng. The Levon Pirates had barely just defeated her. He had no idea why Madame Cheng suddenly attacked them, but when she did, Levi had ordered a counter attack.

Alex's muscles still ached, he hadn't fully recovered after taking an entire blow of Madame Cheng's demonic blast, her cursed soul. Levi walked it off like it was nothing. He didn't know how his captain did it. Alex wouldn't let such an attack keep him bedridden; he kept on going. He had to succeed in his dream. He had to find the family that abandoned him.

First, he had to concentrate. He had to make himself stronger. He had to prove to his family that they'd made a mistake in leaving him on the doorstep of a monastery.

No distractions, no matter how beautiful they may seem.

However, his mind had other ideas, and Jessica popped into his head. Pink graced his cheeks.

Why did she keep popping up in his head? It was distracting; he had to concentrate.

No matter how hard he tried, she kept appearing in his mind; it was now imagining her sitting and watching him.

Alex frowned as he paused in his lift. Jessica sat on the sofa and blinked at him a couple of times, and he contemplated whether she was actually there or not. He breathed heavily from his tiring workout. It had to be his imagination, and so he continued with his lifting.

"Hi." She waved.

Alex's eyes shot wide open in surprise. His muscles slackened, and he felt himself falling back from the heavyweights. There was a loud bang, and he fell back, hitting his head.

He groaned in pain and rubbed the back of his head. She was the real thing and not his imagination. How long had she been there?

He scowled up at her. The damn woman made him lose his concentration.

She softly giggled. "Sorry if I scared you."

Alex mumbled under his breath and picked up his towel, drying himself off.

"What do you want?"

Jessica frowned, taken aback from his sudden change of attitude towards her compared to when he helped her out earlier with Dom. He now seemed irritated by her.

"I'm sorry if I disturbed you. I only came here to say thank you for earlier at the bar."

Jessica kindly smiled towards him.

Alex clicked his tongue and shrugged.

"Levi saw you struggling and looked like he was going to take the whole building down with him. I stepped in before he destroyed the place, nothing more. It wasn't like I wanted to save you, so don't take it to heart," he said harshly, sounding irritated that he had to speak to her. "Is there another reason why you're here, because I need to build my strength up and you're wasting my time."

His intense green eyes looked up at her sharply, telling her to leave him alone.

Jessica felt a sharpness in her heart. Why did that hurt to hear him say that?

Her smile instantly disappeared, and the happy aura vanished. She swallowed a lump in her throat and held back the tears that had formed. She had no idea why she felt like this, but she did, and it was confusing.

"I was only thanking you, which I now take back. It is clear to me now that you are nothing more than a rude man who cares for no one but himself." She felt the need to argue with him.

Jessica quickly turned around and left.

Alex sighed and rubbed his face. That was harder to take in than he'd expected. The way her eyes had turned sad so quickly had made his heart feel heavy with guilt.

However, he had to be harsh towards her. He shouldn't have intervened with Jessica and that man in the first place. He should have left it to Levi. Then he wouldn't be feeling so guilty for upsetting her. She was too distracting, and he couldn't be distracted if he wanted to accomplish his dream. From now on, he had to be

You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net