[25]

"Jack, the Wench is your's now." The former Captain Becketts says to Jack as he passes out, and Jack's spine stiffens as he puffs his chest out while holding a leather bound piece of parchment.

"Let's push these filthy dogs back…" Jack shouts while holding his Cutlass up in the air, before turning to look at me for guidance…for some unknown reason, I give him a nod and we charge into the thick of things as cannons fire and rock the ship.

The battle at sea seems to last hours for everyone around me but it is over in minutes and leaves me aching for more.

'Haa, I'm hungry.' I release a mental sigh…and find someone partially alive amongst the enemy crew that smells a bit more pleasant and not as rough looking as a sailor or pirate.

"Yuck!" I spit out some of the blood left over in my mouth. 'God, damned I hate drinking from men, note to self make a pirate crew nearly entirely out of women.' I curse in my mind as I angrily rip the guy's spine out his skull still attached to it.

"Too bad that there isn't really a way to impale people on spikes out at sea…" I complain softly as Jack looks between the bloody spine in one hand and the bloody body in the other.

"Rum…I need Rum…lots and lots of Rum!" Jack says while holding up his forefinger and wagging it back and forth in the air.

"I think I saw a few crates of bottles over there…" I say while motioning with the body before dropping it and the spine, then using my speed to check out the crates I'd indicated finding oblong brown glass bottles.

Plucking one of the bottles from the crate turning around just in time to see Jack puking into a bucket.

'Didn't expect that, not when the kid seems to have a good handle on death and murder…' I mutter in my mind but then look at my handy work…'Maybe that's why…' I mentally tack on.

"Here, have a drink." I gently command Jack who takes the rum bottle from me and starts chugging it down.

"Whoa there, you're Captain now you gotta set an example for your crew." I gently scold Jack who gives me a light glare and stumbles as he tries to poke my chest.

"You…" Jack accuses as he points at me and nearly falls into me as the ship rocks on a particularly large swell. "C-can't die…and drink blood…what are ye?" Jack asks accusingly as he drinks a bit more sloshing more rum onto his clothes than he actually drinks.

"Come on Jack, you ought to know what a Vampire is." I chuckle softly and roll my eyes as Jack's eyes widen…

"Why'd you protect me?" Jack asks softly while looking at me searchingly.

"You remind me of my little brothers…and my younger self…plus it's the Pirates Life For Me." I reply seriously while joking at the end.

"You're my First Mate…don't stick your fangs in me…" Jack finally says after a few passing moments making me reveal my vampire face that has Jack knocking back the mostly empty rum bottle.

"Not the ugliest Chap I've met or the meanest." Jack jokes softly to himself.

"Thanks, I appreciate it…I thought maybe you'd say something like "Ahh, the devil is in you!" Or something like that." I reply to Jack somewhat teasingly.

"Hoo, the devil is in us all…Ser Mikaelson…you're's just so happens to be easier to…I like that in a man…I'm going to trust my life too." Jack replies seriously and seems to have a moment of complete sobriety.

Weeks at sea blend together as we limp the Wicked Wench into port. I have to admit I've greatly enjoyed getting to watch and be a part of Jack growing up to be a bit of a drunken…but also an excellent captain.

'I don't think I've ever been so happy to see an assortment of ramshackle huts before...' I internally express and suppress my excitement at seeing scantily clad...well as scantily as a whore in the early 1700's would dress, painted ladies walking around offering their services to men coming into port.

"So this is one of the trading companies' ports…I thought it would be more established." I say to Jack who looks at me and shrugs with a smile on his face.

"This was the closest safe port…and where our cargo was heading, we'll make our repairs off load the cargo…and pick up our shipment…of…" Jack says while he unfurls a well oiled piece of parchment… "Slaves…our next shipment is slaves." Jack mutters softly and I can tell he feels both disgusted and conflicted.

"Slaves were common where I grew up, when I grew up…I didn't keep them myself…but they have a purpose in this world…deemed by other men…those same men are deeming you as their transporter…" I say softly and start to walk away.

"It's a pirate's life for me as well then." I reply back to Jack with a smile. "I'll be back later Jack, I need a bite to eat." I joke to Jack while making my fangs grow slightly.

It takes about a month for the ship to be repaired but once it is some mercenaries load slaves up into the hold of the ship, Jack was…is kind enough to give me and my whores/waking blood bags the Captain quarters.

Jack steers the ship out of the port as I start to kill the mercenaries and crew that put up a fuss over freeing the slaves under their Captain's discretion.

We stop at the port we were supposed to deliver the slaves to and I take a walk and some people get left on poles and I write in blood "Freedom for all." and I may or may not have decorated the bodies with slave collars and manacles and hinted that the Captain and First Mate of the Wicked Wench were/are responsible for this atrocious act, while freeing damn near three thousand slaves that were at the auction sight.

'Never thought I'd add freedom fighting privateer to my resume.' I joke in my mind while laughing like a madman making Jack sigh shake his head and down some rum.

It wasn't long before Jack and I got word from one of my Shadows that we have been branded as the father and son pirate duo much to both of mine and Jack's chagrin, and Jack's father who is a witch find it hilarious when he suddenly appeared on our ship after ramming into us in a dingy.

'Shadow 3 worked really hard to run across the ocean like that I should reward her.' I make a mental note as Jack and his father walk a ways across deck to conversate.