Captain Kidd and his band of misfits danced on the shore in various states of intoxication. As a classic bunch of pirates, some wore tricorns, others just a bandana on their head. The Captain wore a fancy coat adorned with gold buttons, intricate embroidery, and velvet cuffs, but many of the men wore just a vest and no shirt, their hairy chests and beer bellies on display.

A few had eye patches, more for show than because they were missing an eye, so some had them pushed up upon their foreheads. The men had arrived armed with pistols, swords, maces and battle axes, but now that their victory was secure and the party well underway, many of their weapons lay strewn upon the beach.

Some howled, some yelped and others were already beginning to sag to the rocky beach to sleep off the excess rum. A couple of pirates sat upon driftwood logs with maidens upon their laps, willing captives to the victors of the day.

Although the summer sun had warmed the beach during the pirate's landing and the battle with King Neptune, the sun now set and the cool northern waters quickly dissipated the warmth of the day.

The Princess, perched upon her kidnapper's knee, leaned into his hairy chest for warmth.

"Is it true,? she asked, raking her hands suggestively through the pirate named John's hair, "that the mayor handed over the keys to the city to the Captain?" Then she reached for his bottle of rum for further warmth, as she wore only her beauty pageant bathing suit.

"Aye," replied John, "that he did!"

The bright spark of fire caught their eye and the pirate and his lady watched as flames caught hold on a boat anchored just off the shore. Soon the blaze climbed high into the air. A cheer went up from the men upon the shore. Fireworks shot out from the burning boat lighting up the dark night sky with reds, golds and greens. Someone hoisted the skull and crossbones in the air and waved it with gusto.

"May Neptune's ship sink to the bottom of the sea!" someone shouted and another cheer went up from the crowd.

A younger man approached the Captain.

"Captain, where is the defeated King?" he asked.

"Buggered off a half hour ago," replied Kidd, "something about his wife threatening him about having had enough of the kids and his shenanigans."

The young pirate grimaced. His own wife was pregnant and given her foul moods from the pregnancy alone, he knew the King faced a fate at home worse than that of losing the keys to the city.

"Captain," the young man asked again, nodding to the burning ship, "why didn't we take that ship since we don't have our own?"

The Captain looked irritated by his young crewman's question. Besides breaking the magic, it was a sore point that the Sea Fair Pirates had no actual ship, they were strictly land pirates. Their 'landing' in West Seattle was in fact orchestrated by a tour company boat each year.

"That ship was derelict and beyond repair. The city looks at this as a means of disposal," said the Captain. Then he pulled his hat down low over his eyes and took another swig from his bottle of rum.

"Argh," he huffed.

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A/N: To read the complete history of the Sea Fair Pirates see the link in the comments below.