The Sea Beast (Jacob Holland X OC)

Bet with the King and Queen

A canopy of trees fills the screen as sunlight momentarily blinds the camera. Clanging rings in Jacob's ears as his eyes open with a groan after having passed out from one to many drinks last night. He looked over to Sarah, who had her hat tipped so it covered her eyes while Captain Crow drove the carriage.

They were heading to the castle, a large, regal (pointed) structure. It was in the center of the town surrounded by water, bridges connecting the buildings and allowing people to walk everywhere. Everyone eagerly watched the carriage enter the castle gates, children rushing out as they followed. "Captain Crow!" "It's full of brickleback!"

Inside the castle fancy doors open to show Crow, Sarah, and Jacob walking in to a room full of monster skeletons and memorabilia.

"Well, if it isn't Captain Crow and his loyal mates." The King greets them as his servants wheel in the brickleback horn.

"Your Grace," Captain Crow says, removing his hat out of respect as Jacob eats from the snack table, "as you can see, the oceans have offered abundant prey."

"And I see you've taken a full-grown brickleback." The queen says. She looks over to the horn as the servants remove it from the barrel. "A specimen like that garners quite a bounty. But there's something I don't see." She fixes them with a stern look. "The horn of the Red Bluster. Admiral Hornagold has reported a rumor..." A man with sideburns has a smug smile as he steps up.

They all look confused and slightly aggravated as they greet him. "Admiral Hornagold?"

"...that you spotted the Red Bluster, but abandoned your pursuit because of a certain code." She finished venomously.

"The royals don't pay you to honor such codes." Admiral Hornagold says as he walks down to them. "They pay you to kill monsters." The crew looks more and more aggravated as he gets closer to them. "How many more ships will be lost because you let the Bluster slip away?" Crow glared at him.

An aerial shot shows doors opening as the Royals, Admiral Hornagold, and the crew walk out to a balcony with the floor being a map of the world. "This was once a small kingdom with a big idea." The king starts as him and the queen lead the way. "To send hunters out to repel the beasts from our shores and utter in a new era of peace." A ship post is shown in front of them.

"It's been hundreds of years since the dark times, but as long as the Bluster lives, people will still look to the seas with fear." The queen continues as the crew walks around them to look at the ship.

"So today marks the beginning of a new era." The ship was enormous, basically being the size of a cruise ship. It was trimmed in gold and had multiple floors of decks. "The Crown will no longer support the hunters."

Admiral Hornagold steps up to them as he brags, "She's quite a sight, isn't she?" The crew had shocked expressions as they took in the ship and kings words. "The Imperator is the most heavily-armed ship ever to set sail." Along the sides of the ship was almost a hundred cannons, maybe more. "The Royal Navy will push deep into the unknown world and eradicate every sea beast in our path."

Crow gives a silent scoff. "Not in that thing." Hornagold gave him an insulted look. "She rests too low. And them fixed cannons is useless." He gestures to said cannons. "And her Captain is an ass." He turns to Hornagold, who gives an insulted gasp.

"It's time for you to leave, Captain." He says through gritted teeth as he walks away. Crow continues to stare at the ship. "Your time is up."

"Admiral," Crow says, making Jacob and Sarah shoot him confused looks, "have you ever seen one of them beasts that wasn't hanging from a ceiling?" He turns with an aggravated scowl. Hornagold turns back with an equally aggravated glare. "Don't send your soldiers to die in a ship like that." Crow approaches him, gesturing to said ship. "It's not built for hunting, and neither are you."

Hornagold steps closer to Crow as he says, "I assure you, I am not afraid of those beasts."

"Then you're a fool!" Crow yells in his face. "And you'll take a lot of good sailors down with you!"

"General," the queen says, "see the hunters out. We're done with them." She gives Crow a cold stare as the guards step forward.

"We hunters have shed blood, while you lot hide behind walls and drew lines on maps." Crow was waving his hand around, upset at being fired and tossed away like trash. "You're cowards, the lot of ya!"

The queen gave Crow an insulted and upset look. "General, the Captain is to be placed under arrest and the Inevitable decommissioned."

Sarah placed her hand on her gun, the General narrowed her eyes, and everyone started reaching for their swords.

"W-W-Wait, wait!" Jacob quickly intervenes, standing between Crow and the General.

He gives Crow a nod before addressing the Queen. "Uh, Your Grace." He gives a nervous chuckle, still standing between the two. "The, uh... " He tries to find the right words. "The Captain is well-known for his temper, but his talents as a hunter have served you well." The Queen gives an unimpressed stare as the King looks at him in aggravated confusion. "He's opened the seas and made your empire the envy of the known world." The royals exchange a glance as he desperately tries to fix the situation. "Now, I believe the world still needs the hunters, so prove me wrong." Hornagold gives a curious look.

"Give us one more try for the Bluster." Jacob nudges a gun out of his way as he tries to convince the queen. "If we take it, you keep your promise, and we continue our alliance. If the Imperator takes the Bluster, well, you can tear down the Inevitable for scrap, and the days of the hunters will be over. Either way, you win."

The Royals are silent as they think it over. Hornagold steps forward as he says, "I, for one, would relish the opportunity." He gives a cocky smirk to Crow, who gives him a glare in return.

"Then we have a contest." The king decides, curiosity and slight amusement in his voice. Everyone lowers their weapons, not breaking the heated stares. "Get set. Go."

"We'll take the Bluster and bring it to your doorstep." Crow confidently says. A pattern of the Red Bluster is shown on the floor as the crew walks over it. "The days of hunters are not over. Not nearly."