Chapter Three - An Eccentric Doctor and a Fearless Pirate

Dolittle and Barry's tiger therapy continued for one full hour daily. By the third day of their scheduled therapy, John was already seeing vast improvements with the depressed tiger cub. Small steps, he reminded the youngster, were the key to larger success.

"Do the animals always follow him around like that?" Rassouli questioned, watching from his balcony - which had a perfect view of the harbour and any approaching ships - as Dolittle made his way through the colourful marketplace, his group of animals right at his heels.

Lily chuckled. "Most often, yes."

"How peculiar." The pirate king watched as the crowd dispersed to make room for the group to pass by.

"Don't judge, Papa."

"No, no, of course not."

"Remember how much he is helping Barry."

"Si, that is very remarkable indeed."

Father and daughter began walking through the market themselves. They walked in comfortable silence, observing their kingdom. This was until Rassouli stopped suddenly in the middle of the path.

"What in heaven's name-"

Lily looked to see what had startled her father so much-

They had reached the harbour on their walk. The doctor was kneeling on the docks, his head submerged in the water. Based on the look on Rassouli's face, he was definitely judging.

The water surrounding Dolittle's head began to bubble, and moments later his head broke the surface, burst into the open air, sending a splash of water around him. Lily saw now that he had goggles on, and he was taking deep breaths after holding his breath on the water.

"Oh, hello there," he called, smiling, noticing the king and princess. "Just conversing with the fish."

Lily giggled at the way his eyes bugged out beneath the goggles, and how his hair was dripping all around him. She found it incredibly endearing.

"How strange..."

"Papa!"

"Qué?"

"Stop judging him!"

"I'm not!"

"Yes you are! I know that look!"

"All right, maybe a little..."

Rassouli headed back to the palace while Lily stayed by the docks. Dolittle was running a towel across his wet hair to try and dry it some.

"It will dry quickly in the heat," she told him.

"Yes, that's what I was thinking."

"Oh, you've got a little something there - or someone..." Lily chuckled, pointing to his cheek.

He touched the side of his face where she was gesturing to - where a small pink starfish was stuck. "Oh-" He removed the star. "Sorry about that, my friend. There you go." He knelt back down and let the starfish back into the water.

"It seems you made a friend."

"Yes, it would appear that I did. Although I think I scared your father away."

They chuckled.

"You're just very different from any doctor he's dealt with before," she told him.

"A good sort of different?"

She smiled. "I would say so." And he smiled back.


"Princess Lily is very nice," Barry said.

"Yes, she is," John agreed.

"She's the nicest."

John chuckled. "Yes, she is."

They were wrapping up another successful therapy session, Barry curled up in the doc's lap, John stroking the cub's bright orange fur.

Lily stood along the edge of the enclosure. She waved, John waving back. Barry even growled in greeting.

"She's traveled all over the world!" Barry told John. "She's fearless! She's not afraid of anything!"

"Oh I think even the most seemingly fearless creatures have at least something they're afraid of."

"Well she doesn't seem to be afraid of anything! I wish I could be like that..."

"And you can be," John assured him. "If you keep working at it, you can one day be just as fearless as her."

"You really think so?"

"Yes, I do, Barry."

"Wow! Thanks Doc!"

"Of course. Now run along and go play."

"Okay - bye Doc! See you tomorrow!"

"Goodbye Barry. Yes, see you then."

"How is our star tiger cub doing?" Lily asked as John left the enclosure.

"Well, he's past the point of wanting to eat me, so I'd say we've made some good progress so far."

They shared a chuckle over this.

"I saw him running around playing, so he must be doing better," she remarked.

"Yes, that is a good sign."

"Before, he'd spend so much time just lying around, growling sadly. No one could understand why, before you came, of course." She smiled. "Would you like to walk with me?" she asked.

"Thank you, I'd like that."

Together they leisurely strolled through the bustling market place. As they walked, John noticed King Rassouli standing on his balcony, overlooking the market.

"I can't tell if he likes me or not," he said.

"Trust me, you would know if he didn't like you," Lily assured him. "For one thing, he would carry a blade with him always, and point it at you while he was speaking to you."

"Ah, I see. So then he must like me, at least some."

"Yes. My father is very wary of outsiders. He likes to keep Monteverde and its people isolated from the outside world. Perhaps that's why I wanted to become and explorer, to break away and see the world. My mother was killed during an attack by invaders, so Papa is very protective of me and the island."

"Oh, I'm very sorry for your loss."

"Thank you. I was quite young, so unfortunately I don't remember her very well."

"I'm sorry."

She smiled her thanks. "It would be easier for him if I didn't have such a thirst for adventure, but, alas, I do. It's my pirate blood." She winked. "And despite his worries, I know he doesn't want to hold me back and wants me to be happy."

"Yes. Your father loves you very much."

"Thank you, Doctor. He does."

"Please, no need to be so formal. You can call me 'John' if you'd like."

"Then you must call me 'Lily'."

"Deal."

They shared a chuckle and a smile.


John was walking along the edge of the island, goggles in hand, on his way to visit the fish again. They had had a most interesting conversation last time.

On his way to the docks, he passed by an open field. In the field, he saw Lily was training with her father's men. She was currently engaged in a duel with swords.

She shoved the man down, pointing her blade at his chest, before offering him a hand up.

Strands of her hair clung to her sweaty face, her cheeks flushed a light pink, and her lips wore the biggest smile.

"Hello John!" she called, waving to him, noticing him standing along the outer edge of the field.

"Hello Lily!" he waved back.

One thing was for certain, he was unlike anyone she had ever met, and she was unlike anyone he had ever met.

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! :)