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.

Elena shrugged, still unafraid of the pirate captain; then again, not much scared the dark-haired girl.

"She comes and goes as she pleases. Now and then she works shifts here when out of pocket money. Occasionally, you can find her sitting on the roof of this building."

Kirk let the landlady go, pushing her back over the bar and smashing a few glasses in the process. He waved at his crew to settle down. They immediately returned to their drinking and card games, and the sound of chatter and music filled the silent void.

"Why does she sit on the roof?" asked the captain, intrigued by the red girl's habitual behaviour.

"She likes to watch the pirates fighting with the navy. She finds it entertaining. However, since you killed every last sailor on this side of the island, she has most likely trekked over to Northport to watch."

"There's a second port town?" He sounded surprised.

The girl chuckled. "Harvest Island is a large island and has two port towns: Southport and Northport." She lifted two fingers. "In between, are smaller farming villages linked to one of the port towns. There are also fields of crops and a large orchard. The island is so big that when pirates dock up at either one of the ports, they don't realise there is a second town and usually end up staying in the town they docked at until they leave.

"The same goes for the citizens of the island; they usually stay in the port town they grew up in and only come together during the harvest festival of the red moon at the temple in the centre of the island in celebration of the harvest god. The only islanders that travel between the two towns are merchants, priests from the temple, and the mayor of the island, who lives here in Southport," Elena finished.

This information could become of use to Kirk. He could have his crew ransack Northport and make their escape to Southport without being followed. The Islanders wouldn't foresee pirates coming over from the other town. He would think about that later with his crew. First, he needed to find the red girl.

"How do I get to Northport?"

Elena slyly smirked. "It's a day's trek from here."

"I'm here for another thirty days. I have to do something to pass the time," Kirk retorted.

Elena sighed; she might as well tell him the way before he blew his top off and destroyed her bar. He wasn't called the Hothead for nothing. She knew Jessica could handle herself against a savage like him.

"Take a right out of here, pass the docks, take a right down a small alley, and it will take you to the town square. There you'll find the mayor's mansion. There should be a road outside his house called Apple Road; it's the only link between the two towns."

Kirk stood up and left without even thanking her, his mind occupied by the red girl and the different ways he would torture her first before killing her.

When walking past the docks, a loud clatter echoed throughout the port, followed by a young girl's voice swearing under her breath. Kirk froze in his step and looked up at his ship. A deep sadistic grin landed on his lips. He knew for a fact all of his crew were in the bar, which only meant someone was intruding on his ship, and from the sound of the voice, it had to be a girl, most likely the red-haired girl he had been looking for.

He jumped up onto his ship. He searched the deck for the girl, but not a soul was in sight. He did, however, notice crates had been moved and knocked over. Weirdly enough, the girl had dumped her leather boots and black socks in a pile in front of the main mast like she had made herself at home. His ears pricked when he heard the sound of a humming laugh, but he couldn't tell where it had come from; it sounded like it echoed from all directions.

He swung around when he felt the presence of someone behind him, only to find no one but the echo of the girl's humming laughter. She was like a whisper in the wind. He felt the lightest touch run through his red hair, and his precious steampunk goggles were taken from his head before he knew what had happened or could try and stop her.

He turned around, ready to attack. Yet again, there was no one in sight.

His patience with the girl was starting to wear thin. Nobody took his goggles and got away with it. If it was a game she wanted to play, he would be more than happy to join in. The ship started to shake as he activated his cursed soul. All the metal on the boat began to rattle and fly towards him.

"Don't you get bored of using the same technique every time?" The voice came from high above.

His head shot up to find the girl on his mast, casually lying back on the yard, her long red hair dangling down beneath her and his goggles placed on top of her white beanie. The girl yawned and stretched her arms out before folding them under her head. A few seconds later, he could hear the sound of light snoring.

A vein burst in his head, and his eye twitched. He was beyond mad now.

Was she toying with him? He was ready for battle, but she could care less. Instead, she snoozed on his mast like she owned his ship. It was insulting.

"Don't fall asleep on me, girl!"

He used his cursed soul of telekinesis to raise the loose objects scattered around the ship. He stuck them together into a giant ball and aimed it at the girl. The forceful blow smashed through the yard she was laying on. Wood splintered everywhere, and the black sail flapped down onto the deck. The humming laughter indicated that he had missed. How she had dodged his attack or seen it coming?

One thing he did know for sure was that he was going to torture her until was was satisfied he'd had his revenge.

"That's no way to treat your saviour."

She tumble-rolled down a piece of rope like an acrobat and stopped directly at his eye level. Her head hung upside down. Her hair swayed down to the deck with the breeze, and her back arched. She had the rope around the back of her bare waist and wrapped around her thighs, and her toes pointed out. The position looked elegant except for the cheeky grin on her face.

Kirk couldn't help but chuckle, and the objects flying around him dropped down to the deck with a loud clunk. This girl must have been the one who danced mid-air with silk ropes at the tavern the other night. The act was called aerial silk, often seen at a circus. Was the girl part of a travelling circus group?

He now regretted not going to the bar earlier on in the week; he could have captured the girl sooner. Elena had lied to him by telling him she had run off to Northport.

"Why are you here?" he grumbled after realising he had let his guard down for a second.

She shrugged. "I'm bored and hear you've been looking for me."

She flipped herself upright into a standing position, her wrists curled around the rope. She swung her foot, attempting to kick Kirk in the face. However, he saw through her move and grabbed ahold of her pointed foot and pulled down on her hard. Her hands burned against the rope as she was dragged down, and she squealed in pain as she landed harshly against the wooden deck, splinters grazing her skin.

What had she expected from an infamous pirate captain?

She was no match against him. He took back the steampunk goggles she had stolen from him and placed them back on top of his head. A lopsided smile returned to his face like they were a treasure to him.

"That was mean." She sat crossed legged on the deck, a pout playing on her lips as she looked down at her raw redhands.

Kirk had had enough of her childish behaviour. He grabbed the red-haired girl by the throat and picked her up off of the ground. She gasped for breath and clawed at his hands, but no matter what she tried, she couldn't escape from his tight grasp.

Jessica never thought she would ever be deprived of air ever again in her lifetime, yet she there was, deprived of air. Her lungs cried in agony. Black spots soon took over her sight, as well as images of her dark past.

Kirk frowned. The girl's eyes looked distant and far away like she wasn't in this world anymore. He spotted the red marks hidden under her black choker necklace and jumped back when an incoherent sound tore through his eardrums.

The red-haired girl had shrieked, a heart-piercing scream that ripped through his heart, scaring him in the process. Kirk's grip slackened around her throat, and he dropped the girl to the floor.