#endgame royaliceit

[emoprincey]

Fangs and Cutlasses (chapter 3)

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | This is chapter 3!

Taglist: @the-duke-of-nuts

The pirate ship never truly slept. Even when the sun had gone down, there were a good number of people patrolling the decks, keeping an eye out for any change in the weather or enemy attacks. Either Remus or Janus would stay up through the night, and Remus always liked to do a last circuit of the ship before he went below deck, to check everyone was in position.

He’d almost completed his circuit when he spotted a lone figure leaning on the railing of the ship.

“Hey,” he said.

Patton looked up in surprise. “Oh, hi.”

“Where’s Ro?” Remus asked. He hadn’t gotten much chance to talk to Patton since he and Roman came aboard.

“He already went to bed. I told him I’d join him in a minute,” Patton said, returning his gaze to the ocean. For a moment, Remus thought he’d finished talking, but then Patton sighed, not turning away from the sea. “I miss the ocean,” he said, distantly. “I grew up right by it, probably spent as much time swimming or sailing as I did on land at one point. I always loved the feeling of being out on the water, being carried and held afloat by the waves. The lakes around the village were nice, but they weren’t the same to sail in. Nothing can come close to being completely surrounded by the ocean.”

Remus hummed in agreement, thinking about the feeling he got when he steered the ship. He always felt so small, a speck in the middle of the vast ocean. It was comforting, in a way. “I never met you in the village,” he said.

Patton shook his head. “You wouldn’t have. I moved there with my family about three years ago. You’d probably already... I mean...”

“Been kicked out?” Remus supplied.

Patton winced. “Yeah, sorry.”

Remus shrugged. “It’s whatever, I don’t really care anymore. I think half the village had been looking for an excuse to get rid of me for years. Sometimes it felt like Roman was the only one there who’d tolerate me, and even then...”

“You want him to stay, don’t you?” Patton said.

“He’s my brother,” Remus said simply, looking out at the waves. “Before I was exiled, I never even spent a day without him. He was always a bit of a stick in the mud about rules, but we were thick as thieves, did everything together. Even when we grew up, we still hung out all the time; we even shared a room. The night I left, I thought about waking him, asking him to come with me. But I couldn’t do that to him. He loved the village. So did I, but he was always so happy there. I don’t know if I didn’t want to make him choose, or if it was because I knew I wouldn’t be able to stand it when he chose the village over me. I wouldn’t have blamed him, but it would’ve hurt.”

“You don’t know he would’ve chosen them over you,” Patton said. “He cares about you a lot.”

“You didn’t even know I existed before you met me, did you?” Remus asked. It wasn’t really a question – he’d seen Patton’s puzzled expression when Roman had introduced his long-lost brother.

“Ro doesn’t like to talk about things that are upsetting him,” Patton said. “And I think he really misses you.”

Remus turned to face Patton properly, and looking into his earnest brown eyes, he could see that Patton honestly believed he was telling the truth.

“Sure, whatever,” Remus said, and he turned to walk below deck.

-----

Remus wasn’t the biggest fan of being woken up in the middle of the night – as, he imagined, most people weren’t. But as the captain of a pirate ship who had enough trouble getting to sleep anyway, it was especially important for him to get a bit of shut-eye and be well rested for his duties in the morning.

So, when he was awoken before the crack of dawn by a frantic rapping on his door, he wasn’t too pleased.

“What d'ya want?” he grumbled from under his blankets.

The door opened just a crack, and Remus' expression softened when he saw Elliot's face peek through. They were one of the younger members of the crew, and Remus had always had a soft spot for the kid. It was hard to be alone at such a young age, so he tried to make sure the crew were as much of a surrogate family to Elliot as they could be.

“Janus needs you,” Elliot said, which immediately dragged Remus into the waking world. “On deck. He said as soon as possible.”

Remus swung his legs out of bed, glad he hadn’t bothered to change out of his day clothes. “I’m on my way.”

-----

The deck was far more crowded than it usually was at night. There would usually be a couple of people patrolling, but it seemed like half the crew was out there, all crowded around some kind of dark blob. When Remus got closer, he realised the blob was actually a cloaked figure crouched on the floor.

“What’s going on?” Remus asked Janus, who was stood in front of the crowd, looking down at the figure.

“A stowaway,” Janus said. “I found him in the hold.”

“I’m not here to hurt any of you,” the stowaway said. His voice was shaky, matching the slight tremble of his limbs that he was clearly trying to hide. Remus couldn’t tell if it was from fear or from the cold night air. “I just needed to get off that island.”

Remus took a step closer to the stowaway, and got a good look at his face. He was pale and gaunt, with shaggy black hair framing his thin face. The stowaway growled defensively, a glint of a fang showing.

At that, Remus held up his hands. “Why?” he asked, though he could take a pretty good guess.

“There were, um...” the stowaway – vampire? – cleared his throat, obviously stalling to think of something to say. “There were people there who want to hurt me,” he eventually said. “I got away from them on the Broken Isle, but they would’ve found me if I stayed there. I took the first way out I could find.”

“These people...” Remus said. “They were vampire hunters?”

The stowaway winced, quickly schooling his face into some semblance of a neutral expression, but that was all the information Remus needed.

“Aw, kiddo!” Patton cooed. “You should’ve just told us you needed somewhere to stay!”

“I’m over four-hundred years old,” the vampire grumbled.

Janus was tapping his chin in thought. “My question is, how did he even get on the ship? We live here, a vampire shouldn’t be able to enter without our permission.”

“Ah, that might've been me,” Patton said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “He offered to help me carry some crates so I invited him aboard. I thought he ran off, though.”

“No harm done,” Janus said with a small shrug. That was very un-Janus-like of him, but Remus knew his first mate always had a weakness for men with pretty smiles. “Now, we just have to figure out what to do with him.”

“Aren’t you going to let him stay?” Patton asked.

Remus saw the moment Janus gritted his teeth and dragged his gaze away from Patton’s wide, pleading eyes. Oh, he was down so bad.

“I don’t have a problem with it!” Remus chimed in. “The more the merrier!”

This only seemed to make Janus’ conflicted expression twist even further.

But it was Roman who spoke up next. “But- but he’s a vampire!” He protested, eyeing the crouched man warily. “He growled at you.”

Remus levelled his brother with a look. “I told you, bro. You won’t get far judging people on first impressions.”

Janus was still staring intently at the vampire, his gaze calculating. From under the shadow of his hood, it looked like the vampire was glaring back.

“Fine,” Janus said. “He can stay for now, but we’re dropping him at the next port.”

“I wouldn’t want to stay any longer anyway,” the vampire snapped. He stood to his full height – which, admittedly, wasn’t very tall. With slumped shoulders, and baggy clothes dangling off skinny limbs, he looked more exhausted than threatening. “Now, can I go inside before the sun comes up?”

“Can we at least get your name?” Remus asked.

The vampire stalked past him, cloak swishing in ocean breeze. Remus thought he was going to ignore him, but the vampire stopped just before he got to the staircase. “The name’s Virgil.”

[emoprincey]

Fangs and Cutlasses (Chapter 1)

This is chapter 1! | Chapter 2

Author’s note: Here’s the fic I wrote for @the-duke-of-nuts as part of @sanderssidesgiftxchange. I went with your first wish, dukexiety with pirate!Remus and vampire!Virgil (you have no idea how excited I was to receive that prompt, I’m obsessed with both vampires and pirates, and dukexiety are my absolute beloveds), and I added in a dash of fluffy royaliceit as per the second wish because I couldn’t resist. This ended up being rather longer than I anticipated, so it’ll be a multi-chapter fic. The next few chapters will be out when I have time to finish editing them. Although this fic is dukexiety, Virgil won’t actually be in this chapter because this is mostly background stuff, but I promise he’ll show up in the next one XD 

Fic summary: Remus has come a long way since being exiled from his village. He's the captain of a pirate ship, with his own crew, and a brilliant first mate. But when his brother shows up out of the blue, Remus can't leave him behind again.

And, while trying to repair that rift, he meets a strange man cloaked in shadows who will turn Remus' entire world on its head.

Relationships: Endgame dukexiety, endgame royaliceit with pre-established royality 

Warnings: Knives, swords. 

Word count: 3595 

There were few things Patton loved more than the feeling of the summer sun on his skin.

He sighed contentedly as he leaned back in his deckchair, soaking in the warm rays that danced across his face. At his feet, gentle waves crashed against the shore, sending up sparkling bouts of sea-foam which shimmered like crystals in the golden light.

As he let the heat push his heavy eyelids closed, he could almost imagine he was back in his childhood. The small archipelago he’d grown up on was cloaked in warmth nearly year-round, lying just south of the Meridian Line, a place that the sun’s rays never seemed to abandon, even in the middle of winter. Patton had spent his childhood charging through the shallows with the other children, sifting through rock pools under the warmth, and – when he was older – taking the boat out with his dad to go fishing. 

Since his family had moved to a small farming village further north, he’d gotten used to the cooler days and the sky darkening sooner in the winter. It was a lovely village, but it never felt quite like home. Though he liked the rolling green hills and patchwork fields around the village, the ponds cluttered with plants and the streams that ran through the valleys could never compare to having the vast expanse of clear ocean on his doorstep.

“Hello, love.”

At the sound of the familiar baritone voice, Patton opened his eyes and tilted his head to smile up at his fiancé. “Hey,” he greeted sleepily, his heart fluttering as Roman leaned down to press a soft kiss to his lips.

“I got us some lemonade,” Roman said as he drew back. He sat down and placed two rounded cocktail glasses on the table between their deckchairs. Each glass was filled with the smooth yellow liquid and ice cubes, complete with a twirly straw and a little umbrella floating at the top.  

“Thank you,” Patton said, picking up his glass to take a sip. He sighed, stretching out in his chair. “I’m glad we got this break,” he sighed, gazing out at the sea in front of them. Their set-up was just by the shore of the beach, with a striped umbrella to shield them from the afternoon sun’s rays.

“So am I,” Roman said. The two of them had been working hard on the farm that Roman’s parents owned. The birthing and planting seasons had been hectic throughout the spring, and though Patton had loved caring for the new-born lambs and sowing seeds, he was glad to get some time away with Roman.  

The break certainly seemed to be good for Roman. His pale skin had tanned easily, and there was a healthy glow to his cheeks. The sun brought out more of his usually numerous freckles, until his broad nose and wide forehead were covered with splotches of them, and his russet hair shone beautifully in the sunlight.

Some people, Patton thought, were meant for a life outdoors, and Roman was no doubt one of them.

“We could head up to the markets later,” Patton suggested, “if it’s not too busy.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea, my love,” Roman smiled, reaching for his hand.

Patton squeezed tightly and leaned back in his chair, letting his eyes fall closed again.

 -----

This seaside town didn’t seem much different from any others Remus had visited over the years. The harbour had been bustling with activity; fishermen hauled in their loads, while tourists rushed to find their inns. The most expensive inns were right on the waterfront, with views out across the harbour and the sea beyond, nestled between shops and restaurants whose outdoor seating was perpetually full throughout the summer. Beyond that, there was a labyrinth of twisting, narrow streets, each bordered by tall buildings with painted white to keep the heat out, with rooves that jutted out and covered the roads in shadow even on a sunny day.

The place seemed to be, first and foremost, a tourist trap. Every second shop claimed to be selling some kind of novelty food for bumped up prices, or had racks of cheap jewellery that the owners would no doubt claim were made with some kind of precious stones. It was all a sham. Although the place looked pretty to any casual observer, it was only when you looked closely that you saw how the paint was peeling from the walls.

Remus wasn’t there for sightseeing, though. His crew were counting on him to bring back supplies, and he couldn’t waste any time.

The first order of business was food. They weren’t running particularly low, but it might be a while before they managed to land again. There were very few places their ship could feasibly dock at, since Remus and his crew had been banned from most coastal locations.

It didn’t take him long to find the market – the stalls always lined a street near the harbour, practically inviting pirates to come and steal their goods.

The street was already crowded in the mid-afternoon, the height of shopping time for tourists. The crowd would’ve provided good cover, if he wanted to swipe a few things from a stall – with all the hands hovering over items and snatching them up, it was hard for anyone to keep track of who’d paid and who hadn’t, and the mass of bodies jostling each other would provide cover for his getaway.

The extra pairs of eyes didn’t bother Remus; people had a habit of turning a blind eye to things that didn’t affect them.

No, the real problem wouldn’t be nosy tourists. The only real threat to him was the city Guard. Near enough all the towns on this coast had them, soldiers parading about in flashy uniforms, flaunting the crest of their various monarchs.

Remus had seen a few of them standing guard around the harbour walls – high-ranking, clearly, with fine navy blue uniforms and chest-plates bearing their king’s crest, hands resting on the hilts of large swords that were probably more for show than anything. Those were the guards the town wanted people to see – polished and imposing. The ones Remus was more likely to encounter would be the lowest-ranking guards, who were more concerned about showing off their uniform than actually catching criminals.

If he was quick, though, Remus might not have to deal with any at all. Behind each stall, crates and sacks of goods were piled high – since Remus would need to bring back a fair bit of food, those would be his best bet. He could easily carry two sacks back to the harbour, as long as nobody tried to stop him.

His eyes landed on a stall selling dried fruit. Full of nutrients, and they would last a while at sea. Perfect.

It would be easier if he had a companion, to distract the stall owner and the crowd while he swiped the goods. But they couldn’t stop long, so Remus had come alone, the rest of his crew waiting back on the ship, ready to depart as soon as he returned.

But Remus could provide plenty of a distraction by himself.

Smirking to himself, he surveyed the scene.

One cart was selling hats decorated with the feathers of exotic birds – well, Remus knew they were just feathers the stall owners bought in bulk and dyed with cheap, bright dye. Another displayed all kinds of games, little spinning tops painted bright colours... and a large box of marbles. That could work.

The stall next to that had scarves laid out across the front of it, with a conveniently placed sign announcing the prices. A couple of the scarves were trapped underneath it. Yes, this would work just fine.

Remus tugged experimentally on one of the scarves, and the sign wobbled a little. Perfect.

Now, all Remus had to do was snag a thread from the end of one of the scarves on the bracelet of a woman at the next stall, so that when she moved away-

The scarf was pulled along as she walked away from the stall, only a little way before the thread came free, but enough to make the sign topple and crash into the box of marbles.

The marbles scattered all over the floor, the box knocking a fair number of spinning tops off the table on its way down, and the crowd reared back as one to avoid tripping.

While their focus was on the ground, trying not to trip, and some stall owners tried to calm the people while others watched with interest, Remus grabbed two sacks of dried fruit and made for the next street.

“Stop, thief!”

Remus cursed. He was nearly at the end of the street when he heard the voice. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw a man dressed in the royal blue of the town guard, and dashed down an alley as he passed. Thankfully, the alley opened onto another street, this one not quite as busy. Through the backstreets and alleyways, up and down flights of stairs, and even vaulting over low walls and crates, the footsteps behind him never slowed. Remus had lost track of direction – he could be running the opposite way from the harbour for all he knew, but what mattered was finding a way to ditch the guard.

He ducked into another side street, and nearly slammed head-first into a wall. The alleyway was short and narrow, with walls far too smooth to scale.

Behind him, Remus heard the guard chuckle, far too close for comfort.

“Well, well, well,” the guard drawled. “What do we have here? Some thief who thinks he can outrun the city guard?

Remus turned around slowly, surveying the situation.

The guard blocked the small entrance to the alleyway, pointing his sword towards Remus’ chest. No matter how poorly trained a guard was, it would be difficult for any sword not to strike true at this close range.

If he’d brought his cutlass, Remus would’ve been able to best the guard easily, but the sword was far too conspicuous to take into the market. He did have a few concealed knives on him, small and not good for much unless he had the element of surprise, so he just had to wait for the guard to get close enough for him to use them.

“Thieving scum,” the guard muttered, glaring at Remus.

One step. Remus slipped a hand inside his jacket and wrapped a hand around the handle of his knife.

“You know, folks don’t take too kindly to stealing ‘round here,” he sneered.  

Two steps. He was nearly in range now.

“I’m sure a night in jail will do you good.”

Three steps. Remus began to pull the knife from his jacket-

And the guard crumpled to the ground.

Remus blinked.

There wasn’t much that could put Remus at a loss for words, but he had to take a moment to find his voice when he saw the face in front of him, identical to his own, staring between the guard and the rock in his own hand as if he was as surprised by the situation as anyone else was.

“Roman?”

His brother looked up, shocked expression morphing into something Remus couldn’t quite name. “Remus...” he said softly, but then he glanced back down at the guard, and his eyebrows pinched. “What are you doing, being chased by a guard?”

Remus folded his arms in the way he’d always done when one of the neighbouring farmers caught him mucking about in their barns or letting down the wheels of their tractors. “I was just getting some supplies.”  

Roman narrowed his eyes. “What, so you’re some kind of common thief now?”  

“A pirate, actually,” Remus said proudly. “Captain of my own ship and everything.”

For some reason, Roman didn’t look any more impressed by that.

Remus turned his attention to the unfamiliar man next to Roman. He was a good foot shorter than Roman, and much slighter, just visible behind his shoulder. Roman was standing just in front of him, protectively. He had warm brown skin, with dark curls framing his round face, and freckles splashed across his nose.

“I don’t believe we’ve met before,” Remus said with a smile that was probably more than a little strained.

“Right,” Roman said. “Remus, this is my fiancé, Patton. And Pat, this is Remus... my brother.”

“Hey, Ro-bro got himself engaged!” Remus cheered, clapping Roman on the back.

“I’ve told you to stop calling me that,” Roman muttered, but Remus could sense a hint of affection in his voice.

Patton was glancing between the two of them with wide eyes, but after a moment a smile formed on his face. “Well, it’s lovely to meet you Remus,” he said brightly, though the confusion in his eyes hadn’t quite faded.

“The pleasure is all mine,” Remus said grandly, bowing for good measure.

Patton giggled a little at his antics, and when Remus straightened up again, his smile seemed a little warmer.

“What are you doing here anyway, Ro? Bit far from the village,” Remus said.

“Oh, we’re on holiday,” Roman said. “We were just on our way to the markets.”

Remus remembered the mess he’d left behind him there. “Yeah, I wouldn’t go there for a while if I were you,” he said.

Roman narrowed his eyes. “What did you- actually, never mind. What are you doing here?”

“I told you, getting supplies. My ship just stopped for a few minutes, I need to head back soon.”

“You do?” Roman asked, his voice a little smaller than it had been a moment ago.

“Yeah,” Remus said, feeling something strange clogging his throat. “I’m a bit late already, Janny will be on my case about that.”  

He looked at his brother. Roman had the calloused fingers of a farmer, but his features were still soft. He was clean-shaven, because of course he had a steady supply of soap and clean water, and could shave without the rocking of the boat making him nick his own skin with the razor.

Remus felt like an impostor, an imperfect copy, with his greasy, matted hair and patchy stubble; his bushy moustache and battle-hardened glare; his sallow skin and sunken eyes. Roman had the innocent eyes of someone who’d never had to plunge a cutlass into an enemy’s gut, the knowledge that it was his life or theirs never dampening the guilt that burned in his stomach every time he watched the light leave someone’s eyes.

Remus had wanted to keep Roman away from this life, but the thought of leaving his brother again, so soon after having found him, made something twist in Remus’ stomach more painfully than any knife.

“You should come with me,” Remus offered.

“What?” Roman asked.

Remus paused for a moment. Even he was a little surprised by his own words, but now that they were out he couldn’t deny how much he meant them.

“Come with me,” Remus said, more decisively. “On my ship. We do plenty well for ourselves, all things considered, and we could do with the extra manpower. You can bring your fiancé along too.”

Roman’s mouth opened and closed a few times, and Remus would’ve revelled in seeing his loudmouth brother speechless for once if he wasn’t still trying to process seeing his brother at all. “We left all our stuff back at the inn,” Roman said eventually.

Then, surprisingly, Patton placed a hand on his arm. “We didn’t bring much with us anyway,” he shrugged, giving Roman that same bright smile he’d offered Remus earlier. A silent discussion passed between the two of them, and Remus felt a sudden aching in his chest at the realisation that he couldn’t read his brother’s facial expressions anymore.

“Patton, darling, I can’t ask you to come and uproot your whole life,” Roman said.

“You are my life, Ro,” Patton said, with a sappy expression that made Remus want to gag but seemed to make Roman actually tear up a little. “I’ll go wherever you go. I do like the village, but I want some adventure, and I do miss the ocean so.”

Roman gazed at Patton for a long moment, then he turned to Remus. “I guess we’re going. As long as you don’t crash the ship into rocks or something.”

“No promises!” Remus grinned, racing past them out of the alleyway. “Come on, I’ll introduce you to my first mate.”

 -----

Patton wasn’t sure what he’d expected a pirate ship to look like. Perhaps a large vessel stocked with cannons to shoot down enemy ships. The sails might be black and ragged from battles, and maybe a flag bearing a skull-and-crossbones would fly from the top of the mast.  

But the ship that Remus led them to seemed relatively normal, just a little bigger than a large fishing boat. There were no cannons, or imposing flags. The sails were a plain white, if a little faded and stained with age. There was absolutely nothing remarkable about the ship. Patton wondered, briefly, if Remus was a pirate at all, or if he’d just made up a tall tale for his brother.

The only thing that set it apart from the other boats in the harbour was the man pacing in front of it. He was far more finely dressed than the fishermen who frequented the harbour, in dark clothes with gold accents.

Patton wouldn’t even have thought he was a pirate, but from the way he stalked towards Remus there could be no doubting that he recognised him.

“What took you so long?” The man snapped. “We should have left twenty minutes ago. And who are they?”

Remus seemed to ignore the fiery glare the man fixed him with, instead slinging an arm around his shoulders.

“I think introductions are in order! Roman and Patton, meet Janus, my first mate. He’s the one who keeps things ship-shape around here,” Remus announced.

Patton giggled at the pun, but Roman narrowed his eyes at the pirate they’d just been introduced to.

Janus looked the two of them up and down. He had a black patch over his left eye, a thin scar shooting out from the top and bottom like a bolt of lightning, starkly pale against his dark, coppery skin. There was something electrifying, too, about the calculating gaze of his golden-brown eye, that seemed to stare right past Patton’s defences, as if reading his deepest secrets from his face like an open book. It made his spine shiver with something thrilling.

Then Janus clapped his hands decisively, nudging Remus’ arm off his shoulders. “Very well, then. Remus, say goodbye to your new friends, we need to go.”

“They’re coming with us.”

That made Janus falter.

He rounded on Remus, though Patton couldn’t help noticing the fondness in his look of exasperation. “For the last time, Remus, we can’t just adopt every stray you see.”

Roman huffed, folding his arms in a strikingly similar way to how Remus had stood in front of the two of them before. “Isn’t Remus the captain? Surely if he says we can join the ship, we can.”

Janus smirked, which made Patton’s heart flutter, and he could see a slight flush appear across Roman’s cheeks. Perhaps Patton was getting a bit ahead of himself, but Janus was very pretty, and although Patton and Roman were polyamorous, it had been a while since either of them had dated someone else. Perhaps this little adventure could have more perks than he thought.

“Surely Remus told you,” Janus said, drawing Patton out of his daydream. “He may be the captain, but the two of us run this ship together. All major decisions – say, new members joining our crew – have to be approved by both of us. And I just don’t know if we have the extra space to spare.”

“Roman’s my brother,” Remus said. “See the family resemblance?”

Instead of answering, Janus looked up at the sky as if one of the spirits would swoop down and save him. “I don’t have time for this today. Alright. A long-lost brother, and...”

“Roman’s fiancé,” Patton supplied.

“Right. This isn’t a family vacation, you know.”

“We know. We’re serious about this,” Patton said.

Janus looked at him. “And what use could you two be to the ship?”

“Ro took down a guard earlier,” Remus offered. “He’s always been good in a fight, we could always use that.”

Roman raised his eyebrows at Remus, in what Patton thought was probably sibling-speak for, You didn’t say we’d have to fight anyone!

Remus just shrugged, gesturing to Janus as if to say , Don’t worry, I’m just trying to convince him, which made Roman’s shoulders relax.

Janus was looking Roman up and down, as if mentally pitting him against opponents to see how he’d fare, though his gaze lingered appreciatively on his biceps. “I’d have to train this one up,” he murmured, “but he has potential.”

Remus beamed at Roman, as if Janus had just given him the most glowing compliment.

“And you?” Janus turned to Patton. “What can you do?”

“I can sail a boat,” Patton said. “Pretty well, actually.”

Janus looked at him again for a long moment, making Patton’s heart do a little flip.  

With a final nod, Janus turned around, already making for the ship as he spoke. “Well, come on then. We don’t have all day.”

Remus whooped, patting Roman on the shoulder as he followed Janus.

Patton glanced at Roman, and together they stepped onto the ship.

[emoprincey]

Fangs and Cutlasses (Chapter 2)

Chapter 1 | This is chapter 2! 

Author’s note: I’ve finally finished the second chapter of this fic I wrote for @the-duke-of-nuts in the Sanders Sides gift exchange last year! 

Fic summary: Remus has come a long way since being exiled from his village. He's the captain of a pirate ship, with his own crew, and a brilliant first mate. But when his brother shows up out of the blue, Remus can't leave him behind again. And, while trying to repair that rift, he meets a strange man cloaked in shadows who will turn Remus' entire world on its head. 

Also posted on my ao3: stormofstarlight 

Relationships: Familial Creativitwins, endgame romantic dukexiety, endgame romantic royaliceit with pre-established royality. 

Writing taglist: @iclaimedtobethebetterbard 

Word count: 2018 

They had to stop for supplies again the next day, since Remus hadn’t made it back to the ship with anything he’d picked up from the market.

The place they’d docked the boat in wasn’t so much a harbour as an old boardwalk that jutted out over a gravelly shore, but Remus had jumped out and tied the ship to a rotting wooden post with surety, so Roman supposed it was as good as they were going to get.

“We can’t stop here for long,” Janus said, already glancing around the cove warily. “I’ll send out a small team to get supplies, and we’ll leave as soon as the ship’s loaded.”

“I want to at least show Ro the cavern. What’s the point in bringing him along if I can’t show him any of the cool places we go to?” Remus said. 

“Fine,” Janus said. “You can show your brother around, but you’d better not get into any trouble, and if you’re not back in exactly two hours I’m leaving your asses there.”

“He doesn’t mean that,” Remus said to Roman as Janus walked away, but somehow that didn’t really reassure him.

Roman wasn’t exactly thrilled at the prospect of going with his brother. Even he had heard of the Broken Isle – so called because of the sharp, thin stream of water that ran between the two islands, making them look like they were one landmass cleaved in two. According to the few rumours that had reached his quiet village, it was a place where only the most hardened of criminals would meet up and exchange their spoils.

As the two of them stepped off the boat, he glanced around, patting his jerkin to make sure the dagger Remus had supplied him with was still looped through his belt.

The isle was everything Roman would expect from a pirate’s hideout – dirty, desolate, and filled with noise. Boardwalks seemed to stretch in every direction along steep, sheer cliffs. None of them seemed to reach the top, and Roman could tell at a glance that it would be impossible to scale them.

Remus led him along a boardwalk, surefooted and stomping as heavily as ever, even though the boardwalk was rickety and rotting.

Roman stayed close to the cliff, trying not to focus on the sound of waves crashing violently against the sharp rocks below.

“Stop looking over your shoulder,” Remus said.

Roman huffed, but he tried to keep his gaze on Remus’ back.

His brother sighed when they reached the end of the boardwalk, which led to a narrow cave in the side of the cliff. He gestured for Roman to follow him inside. “Just act like you belong.”  

“Act like I belong with a bunch of criminals?” Roman scoffed, earning him a glare from a group of passing mermen. They looked mostly human in their land forms, but they were still easy to identify by the scales that curled around the sides of their face, and their frilly finned ears.

“And keep your voice down,” Remus muttered.

Roman pouted, but he kept following Remus closely. He rolled his shoulders as they walked along, trying to get some of the stiffness out. Roman and Patton had been given a tiny room with two bunks. Patton had taken the top bunk at first, but after a while he’d climbed down and squashed into Roman’s bunk with him. Though Roman had woken up with an aching back and Patton with a sore neck, they’d both slept much better in each other’s arms.

After walking through the cave for a bit, they turned a corner. For a moment, Roman thought they’d emerged again into the open air. They were surrounded by light, and rowdy voices, and all kinds of smells. But when he looked up, he realised they were in a massive cavern. The ceiling was made of stone, with boardwalks running between caves higher in the walls, criss-crossing like spiderwebs. The floor was bustling with activity. Ramshackle stalls were crammed together in haphazard lines, and they seemed to be selling everything from food to treasure.

It reminded him, strangely, of the marketplace he used to take the farm’s products to every month. No, not used to – he’d be going back. Soon. Just as soon as... what? When Remus had taken him and Patton on a little adventure across the high seas, would he drop them back off in their village? That thought made Roman’s chest feel oddly hollow.

“This is where people come with their hauls,” Remus explained, leading him over to one of the stalls. “Anything you’ve pillaged can be sold off for a fair price. Or, fair as you can get around here.”

The stall was covered in jewellery and trinkets. Some of it looked valuable, with real stones set in gold, and other pieces were clearly sea glass. A burly man with a scruffy beard was standing behind it.

“Is that stuff stolen?” Roman asked warily.

Remus elbowed him, and raised an eyebrow at the stall owner. “New crew member,” he said, as if that explained something.

The stall owner didn’t seem to care, just humming gruffly as Remus pulled Roman away from the stall.

“Is that stuff stolen?” Remus mimicked, when they were out of the stall owner’s earshot. “We’re pirates, dipshit. What do you think?”

Roman just hummed, a line from Remus’ conversation ringing in his ears. He looked up when he heard footsteps from the upper boardwalks.

“Nosferatu!” Someone shouted.

“What’s going on up there?” Roman asked apprehensively.

Remus pursed his lips, looking intently at the boardwalk. When he didn’t seem to find what he was looking for, he turned away, but the crease between his eyebrows didn’t disappear. “Sounds like someone’s found a vampire,” he said. “They don’t usually show up around here.”

Roman shuddered. He’d heard countless tales about vampires – creatures of the night who hid in the shadows to prey on unsuspecting victims. Some of them had been around for centuries, and had vast amounts of wealth.

Remus seemed to catch his reaction, and grabbed his arm before he could continue. “Hey. One thing you’ll learn in this line of work, is that judging people isn’t going to do you any good. You’ll have to work with loads of different people, and no matter what, we’re all outcasts together.”

“I’m not in this line of work,” Roman scoffed. “I saved your ass one time, and couldn’t go back in case I got caught. The first chance I get, I’m going back to the village. You don’t even want me here anyway.”

Remus seemed genuinely baffled. “What makes you think that?”

Roman looked at the ground. He felt a little pathetic admitting out loud what had been bothering him. “You didn’t tell that stall owner that I’m your brother.”

“Well, yeah, obviously,” Remus said, raising an eyebrow. When Roman still didn’t get it, he sighed. “Look. If those goons find out I’m carting my little brother around, they’ll think I’ve gone soft.”

“We’re the same age,” Roman said.

“I’m nine minutes older,” Remus said. “Anyway, let’s get this stuff back to the ship. I don’t wanna get caught up in whatever’s going on up there.”

He nodded to the boardwalk the commotion had come from. Roman sighed and followed Remus back to the ship.

-----

Patton wasn’t quite sure what to make of Remus. He’d known that Roman had a relative who was kicked out of the village after one too many petty crimes, but he’d expected that person to be a distant cousin from the way Roman’s parents talked about him, not a brother – and an identical twin, no less. At first, Remus hadn’t seemed like Roman at all. He was brash where Roman was gentle. But they seemed to have the same love for adventure, the same twinkle in their eyes when they had an idea.

He sighed as he started to load some crates onto the ship. He’d stayed behind to give Roman some bonding time with his brother, and some of the crew had just gotten back with supplies. Janus had gone to supervise the things that needed taking below deck, leaving Patton alone to take some of the smaller boxes on board.

A blur of purple whizzed past him, but before he could investigate it he was distracted by the rumble of footsteps on the boardwalk above. He glimpsed a hoard of people – pirates, he presumed – racing across the boardwalk.

Those noisy pirates. Someone ought to teach them some manners.

“Do you need any help with that?”

Patton looked up. A man wrapped up in a loose-fitting dark purple cloak was standing by the crates on the opposite side of the cove. He was shifting nervously from one foot to the other, as if he was half a second from dashing off again.

Patton glanced around. There was only one entrance to the harbour, and he hadn’t seen anyone come through it. The man must have entered when he was distracted.

“If you could, that would be great!” He beamed, hoping to ease some of the boy’s nerves. “I’m just taking these crates aboard, if you can pick some of those up.”

He glanced at the stranger, who seemed a little scrawny under the cloak.

“I’m stronger than I look,” the stranger muttered, a touch petulantly, and he hefted one of the boxes easily.

Patton took his own box aboard, motioning for the stranger to follow, but noticed that he hesitated when he reached the gangplank. “It’s ok, you can come aboard!” He assured him cheerfully.

The stranger smiled, and took the box aboard.

When Patton had taken the last box aboard, he turned around to his new friend with a smile. “Hey, I didn’t catch your- name...”

He furrowed his eyebrows, realising he was suddenly alone in the harbour. Perhaps his friend had somewhere to rush off to, he had appeared quite suddenly after all.

“Patton!”

He turned around when he heard Janus call his name. He was coming up from below deck with the rest of the crew.

“Thank you for bringing those crates on board, we can get going as soon as Remus gets back,” Janus said with a smile. Then he nodded over Patton’s shoulder. “Speak of the devil.”

“Roman!” Patton called, running into his fiancé’s arms as soon as he rounded the corner into the cove.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Roman said, catching him with ease and pressing a little kiss to the top of Patton’s head.

Remus walked straight past them, and began talking in hushed murmurs with Janus.

“...and apparently there’s a vampire about,” he heard Remus say as he and Roman approached them. “And hunters, or at least people who fancy themselves to be.”

Janus’ expression turned sour, and he nodded. “Alright then. That’s as good a reason as any to leave now.”

As Remus was untying the ship from the makeshift dock, a mob of people rounded the corner. Some had weapons drawn, and all of them looked furious. One of them yelled and pointed at the boat.

“Shit,” Remus said, hopping back onto the boat. “Man the rigging!” He yelled. “We’re getting out of here!”

A couple of the younger crew members – Patton had briefly spoken to one of them yesterday, a small sullen kid called Elliott – raced over to the mast and began to climb, unfurling the sails. 

“Who are those people?” Roman shouted to Remus, looking back at the shore.

“Don’t know,” Remus called back, “but they seem to have a problem with us!”

The boat began to move as the mob advanced towards them. They sailed out of the port just as the mob reached the shoreline. A few of them waded into the water up to their knees, but there was no way they could reach the boat.

“Do you always do things like that?” Roman asked Remus, once they were clear.

“There’s usually more swordfighting, but yeah, being chased by an angry mob is pretty average for us,” Remus said.

Patton leaned back against Roman’s shoulder, and Roman murmured to him, “What have we gotten ourselves into?”