I Will Sail With No Pirate! (mxm)

Chapter 18

"Captain Wallace, welcome back!"

Wallace tipped his hat to the dockhand boy who always took care of his vessel when at the port of Gil Cres. He was a young lad, likely in his early twenties, but he was the best of the best when it came to getting things clean and settled.

"Morning, Creito, please see to it that my ship is ready to sail once more within the week."

The young blond man nodded as Wallace dropped two gold shillings into his hand. He quickly shoved the pieces into his back pocket before running past with a loud "aye, Captain! We'll have her ready in no time!"

Wallace smiled and headed off toward the courthouse now that his ship was in good hands. The building was tall, three stories to be exact, and was the best in the region. The judges were fair, but they still cared least for vampires and pirates. After holding the door open for a young lass, he quirked a smile at her blush and ducked inside the large building. He might spend most of his time on the ocean, but it felt great to be back on dry land once in awhile. Not to mention that the reward for the captain and his son will likely pay any expense he may acquire while there for the next month or so... plus some.

Come to think of it, there was also a reward on any of the survivors from Jenkin's crew, with the most money going for the captain. Granted, he was a vampire now and will likely be executed appropriately, but he will be held for information before being dispatched. 

Walking into his favorite judge's office, the man looked up from a paper and quickly set it aside with a smile.

"Good morning, Captain Wallace. What can I do for you?"

Wallace slid into the large black armchair across from his desk and crossed one leg over the other.

"I have three vampires aboard my ship, two are blood pirates, while the third is the lost captain, Alexandre Jenkins."

The grey-haired judge whistled a long breath before shaking his head.

"You always bring me the most interesting cases. I assume both blood pirates will stand trial, but what of the former captain, how is it that he is now a vampire?"

"From what I've heard from the blood captain, he said that he had changed him by mistake. I don't doubt that he fed on and tortured him like the rest of his crew we had found below deck, but he probably went overboard and caused him to become a Damir, then changed him completely when he saw what was happening."

They were both quiet for a moment before Wallace smirked, running his thumb along his lower lip.

"I think we can use him against the blood captain. He begged for us to spare the former human's life... and the other blood pirate still alive is his biological son."

"My word, he changed his son?"

"Yes, the bastard ruined his boy's life. I will enjoy watching his head roll, and considering how long they have been known to sail the seas, I do not doubt that his son is a lost cause... not that your court lets vampires walk free in any case."

The judge sighed and nodded as he pulled out three pieces of paper. Two were requests for fair trials, while the third was a momentary stay of execution order. He wrote on the first two, then pushed them towards him. Wallace retrieved them as the judge worked on the last piece of paper, writing a bit more for the former human captain. He signed it after a moment, then slid it, too, over to him.

Wallace stood up as soon as he had the documents together. After folding them and tucking them into his coat pocket, he reached over and shook the man's hand.

"Thank you, Judge Mezric."

The older man nodded and then got busy with the work he had distracted him from. Taking that as his cue to leave, Wallace quickly headed back outside. His first mate met him right beyond the entrance with all three vampires chained together. People were staring, but he didn't have time to wave his catch around right then. The sun was beating down on them, burning the two younger ones.