Alexandre...

Dark red eyes... eyes everywhere.

Each direction he turned, they were there.

Go away!

The eyes vanished, leaving him in complete darkness.

Come back, Alexandre.

No.

The eyes returned, circling him as he tried to swat them away. His hands just kept going straight through them.

Come back to me. I will make your life so much better...

"Alexandre."

Get away from me!

"Alexandre, wake up!"

He could feel his hands finally hitting those eyes, but then a sharp sting against his cheek had him gasping and blinking against dim light.

"What...?"

His mind felt heavy with exhaustion as he panted, trying to collect what had just happened into some sort of coherence. He quickly realized that he had been dreaming, but then as he looked up at the captain now leaning over him, he realized that he must have been hitting him a moment ago.

"I am sorry, I did not mean to hit you."

The blood pirate smiled slightly at that as he looked him over for a moment, but then his lips turned downward into a small frown as he reached forward, fingers gently running across Alexandre's forehead. 

"Your face is damp and your eyes are bloodshot."

"I had a nightmare."

That actually got an impressive laugh from the man.

"You live in a nightmare, dear Alexandre, what could you think of that is worse than your reality?"

He did have a point, but those glowing red eyes... Merik. 

Wait a second...

"We're... not moving?"

"No. This port does not allow departures at night. We must wait at least another three hours before we may take our vessel safely out to sea."

"Safely?"

The captain smirked and ran his fingers through Alexandre's messy hair.

"Yes, Alexandre. This area is surrounded by a reef that becomes partially exposed during the evening. While we could try to sail around it, the port police would prefer that we wait. And, considering that I often need to stop at this port, I have no interest in upsetting them by disobeying their rules."

I never thought that he would care about his reputation towards humans.

"It makes it easier. While I could easily kill plenty of humans, more just take their place and then the royal navy gets involved and brings hunters... tsk, just not worth the hassle."

At that, Alexandre couldn't help but give out a quiet but honest laugh. 

Laughing. He was laughing. Why was he laughing?

"Why are you laughing? What is so funny?"

Alexandre began to open his mouth to respond but then another small bout of laughter escaped, making James' heart jump oddly in his chest. 

Giving a deep growl, he leaned over until their noses were almost touching, the closeness easily silencing his unwarranted chuckle.

"Why are you laughing at me, Alexandre? Answer wisely or your pet shall suffer the consequences."

"I apologize, Captain. It just seemed like you were uncharacteristically annoyed? It was just such an odd emotion to see from you that I suppose I lost myself. Please don't hurt Ria over my mistake." 

They were both quiet for a moment, but then James just silently nodded and got up. He had things to do and had actually been busy when he'd heard him scream in his sleep moments ago.

"Get up and put on a pair of pants."

Alexandre quickly did as told, though judging from his clumsy movements, he wasn't quite awake yet. Looking over to the corner by the dresser, he nodded to Ria, the gesture immediately getting the boy's full attention.

"Ria, make the bed before nightfall. For now, go do your job on deck. If you finish early you may come back and sleep. I will have food for you later if you do a good job."

The boy nodded and jumped up, vanishing out the door but moments later. He was regaining his strength rather quickly. He was very lucky that his body managed to make use of the food given to him.

"Ready Captain," Alexandre said after a moment. 

"Alright, follow me."

He had fully intended to carry him naked once more, but considering his burns were still healing, he didn't want the gesture or work he was going to be doing causing more damage. As they descended into the darkness, James allowed a small flame to glow from his palm, giving Alexandre enough light to navigate by his side.

"I need to finish inspecting the stores we have left for our human populace. You will help the cook catch up for tonight's dinner."

When he didn't answer right away James glanced over his shoulder and noticed him shivering slightly. His feet stopped abruptly, and sure enough, his pet's shoulder knocked into his, snapping him out of whatever he was thinking about.

"Why were you shaking, Alexandre?"

His lips pursed, a sign he'd come to know as hesitation. Thankfully, he tended to speak even with such emotions. James slowly turned toward him and watched as he flinched and stepped back.

"What is bothering you now?"

"The nightmare, Captain."

The nightmare again? He could easily replace it with something much more frightening, but he was slightly curious as to what had him so afraid. James turned back around, motioning for him to follow as they continued down the hall.

"Well... um. It was about..."

James let a rumbling growl slip from his lips, effectively speeding up the man's story with the warning.

"Merik. I kept hearing his voice in the darkness, then seeing those glowing red eyes... The color of your flame reminded of it and now I can't get his voice out of my thoughts."

"That is troublesome." 

After they got to the end of the hall he closed his hand, effectively putting out the flame before turning and scooping his human up into his arms. His body was extremely tense, but it slowly began to relax as they went through a door and down a few steps before one more short hallway.

"Here we are."

James felt him shift a little as he opened the door to the galley. It was lit very dimly with two small torches on the wall. They gave off just enough light to allow humans to move about the room. Alexandre was looking around with tired eyes, though he could feel his curiosity beginning to grow. Such a simple emotion, yet when it came from his pet, it was quite interesting to watch be fulfilled.

"Why am I not allowed to come down here to eat?"

He didn't sound upset, just his curious coming through. As they walked back toward the small kitchen, James replied, finding no reason not to give him an answer.

"I don't want any of the other vampires trying to mess with what belongs to me."

Alexandre deadpanned and James smirked.

"Are they allowed to feed on each others' humans?" 

"No. They are assigned one human and that is the one they feed from when needed. The only time you may borrow another's' pet is if yours is feeling unwell and it would be detrimental to extract a meal." 

"Captain."

James stopped right before the door to the kitchen and turned when he heard his first mate's voice.

"Yes, Desden?"

"Helket fed from my pet without notifying me. I just checked and his human is in perfect health."

"I see. He is becoming quite troublesome... you may kill him."

"W-wait, Captain!"

Both of the vampires looked at him, but their expressions were masked by the dim lighting.

"Did he kill them?"

The other vampire, Desden, replied with a slight air of confusion.

"No, but he fed from something that wasn't his, obviously knowing that it was not allowed."

"If he didn't kill the human, then why kill him?"

The captain chuckled and patted Alexandre's back like one would a child, just making him more flustered about the situation.

"Why do you care about a vampire? You would gladly kill one of us, would you not?"

He was taken aback slightly by his statement. He guessed he was speaking the truth, but it somehow still felt wrong. 

I don't know.

"Such a cute little mind you have there, Alexandre. Desden, see to it that Helket is put into a coma and locked in the brig. I don't want him awake for the next two weeks. He has made far too many mistakes for my liking." 

The other vampire seemed sated by the punishment and bowed.

"As you wish, Captain." 

When his first mate walked away Alexandre was taken into the kitchen and set down by a stove. It was nearly impossible to see anything besides the faint bit of fire glowing beneath the large item. He did, however, notice several sets of glowing red eyes turn to stare at him as the captain released his arm. 

He quickly grabbed for the man's wrist, halting him just before he disappeared into the darkness. His mind was playing flashbacks of all of the eyes that had been in his nightmare and then Merik's voice returned to accompany the images.

I can see into your mind, love.

That was the first time James had called him that since he'd asked him not to... 

It takes a lot of effort to withhold such a fitting name. As I was saying though, the images are from Merik, as well as the voice. His abilities have a fairly long reach.

Alexandre felt him gently tug him forward and he obediently followed. Sure, he was going into complete darkness at the back of the kitchen, but at least he was away from all of those other pirates and the glowing red eyes.

"Alexandre..."

His attention was so focused on what was behind him that he actually jumped when he heard the captain whisper right next to his ear. His deep chuckle echoed in the dark room as pots and plates banged in the background.

"Yes, Captain?"

"Open your mouth."

That was an odd request... He wasn't interested in arguing, though, so he quickly did as told.

"Good. Now I am going to press my finger to your tongue. When I do so you need to close your mouth and suck, understand?"

"Yes, Captain."

Alexandre heard a quiet growl from him in response, and a moment later the finger he promised was tapping against his tongue. The coppery taste of blood was slightly alarming, but he closed his mouth anyway and began to gently suck on the digit.

Very good. With your ability to withstand vampiric pressure and my own powerful blood, you should be able to have some freedom from those eyes and his voice.

He hadn't even needed to tell him that, because the images immediately stopped and then, with an angry snarl, the voice was pushed out of his mind as well. The sheer relief made him dizzy with the need for a good night's rest, since he'd had such a fitful one earlier. But first... Alexandre carefully nudged James' finger from his mouth with his tongue and then leaned into him until he could wrap his arms around his chest. He then allowed his head to fall against his collar bone with a content sigh.

"Thank you so much."

Odd little human, thanking him so passionately for such a small act of... damn, that had been kindness. He was losing his touch to the pathetic bothersome human. 

He snapped his arm out just in time to prevent his human, who seemed to have passed out from the relief, from smacking his head on the hard wooden floor. He didn't need blood spilled in the middle of a kitchen full of vampires. Not that he couldn't have handled the situation, but it was best that it never happened to begin with.

With a grunt he lifted him up into his arms and sighed. Now then, what to do with this troublesome human. 

He obviously wouldn't be working just yet, though he could easily wake him up to do so, but he had a feeling that his work would suffer due to his lack of sleep from the nightmares. He supposed that he'd just carry him until he finished the inventory he needed to get done... fun.

It took about two hours to finish the rest of his work for the day, and James was satisfied with the amount of food. They wouldn't need to dock for at least another few days, maybe even a week if they rationed the food correctly.

Alright, time to get a certain human to bed and... ah, right.

"Chef?"

He spoke as he ducked out of the back room and back into the kitchen. A large vampire who looked like he ate quite obsessively in his human days waddled up to him with a welcoming smile. The man was always happy, even when he was scolding him for something amiss in his dishes.

"I need a plate of vegetables and a small portion of cooked salted beef."

"Yes, Captain."

The man had the food ready in only a few minutes since he'd already had most of the ingredients cooking, and handed over the platter.

"Thank you, carry on."

He nodded and hobbled away as James quickly made his way back to his room above deck. The sun was beginning to rise, but they still had a little while before could safely leave. Either way, it didn't bother his eyes like midday so he welcomed the fresh air before ducking into his room.

"Ria, come take this platter and put it on my desk."

It was odd that he was back so quickly, but everything on deck looked completed and the room was well cleaned. The young boy hurried over and took the tray, setting it exactly where he'd ordered before returning to his pillow in the corner. Once James' hand was free of the plate he easily got Alexandre into bed. He looked much more at peace now, and the thought of Merik fuming about him giving him his blood to force him out made his lips curve into a smirk.

He calmly got himself situated on the edge of the bed and crossed his legs before motioning Ria over once more.

"Get the tray and bring it here, then kneel before me."

He did as told and then waited, his head bowed like a good slave. The boy actually wasn't bad for a human, and he was actually quite fun to feed.

"Here."

He looked up and took the slice of cucumber that was offered and quickly stuffed it into his mouth.

"Would you like some more?"

"Yes please, Captain." 

His enthusiasm for such a simple thing made James grin. He'd seen some picky humans in his life time, but the boy before him ate without a second thought. He could easily poison the food as well, but he'd probably still eat it, if only to get away from his own personal nightmare faster. 

Feeling strangely giving, James took the piece of cooked beef off the platter along with four more big pieces of cucumber and handed it all to the boy. His eyes immediately went as wide as saucers when his hands were filled with the food. It honestly wasn't much compared to what an adult human might gorge himself on in a normal situation, but considering the boy often just got fed scraps, it probably looked like a banquet. He even had a tear running down his cheek.

"M-may I eat it all, please Captain?" 

He wasn't sure why he was spoiling him. With a shake of his head, James flopped over onto his bed and stretched out beside his pet. He wouldn't mind a small nap before the day shift began.

"Yes, you may eat it all."

The loud "thank you!" he got in return made him laugh inwardly, but as the room quieted down besides the sound of the boy's soft chewing, he slowly let himself drift off to sleep.