"Behold, innocent civillans of Mainland!" Dingsworth cried, pointing at the Lyre's crew. "Standing before you are some of the most wicked robber barons of the sea!"

Spurred on by Dingsworth, townsfolk stopped to watch the public trial. As they gaped at her, Elise tried to hide her face in embarrassment. No one in Prospect Island would ever believe that Miss Goodie Four Eyes was being tried like a hardened marauder. Captain Archibell, Sincirce, and even Tito couldn't help but grandstand a bit. Sincirce wrinkled her nose like she was going to cast a spell on them, Tito closed his eyes and smirked and Archibell merely cackled like a raven.

The men in their silk robes and women in frilly dresses all stood aghast at their outrageous behavior. And when Sincirce raised a wily eyebrow and screeched, "Hyena, caribou, monkey and shrew, turn these richies into a pile of...poo!" the noble men and women cried and recoiled (some even fainted) before Dingsworth clapped his hands.

"Hells bells!" Dingsworth cried. "She's wearing Dispell Cuffs everyone, she's completely harmless!"

The pandemonium ceased, but Sincirce winked, "Just wait til I get out, fancy pantsys!"

"Stop it, Sincirce!" Elise whined. "You're only gonna make it worse for us."

"Finally someone is talkin' some sense!" Tony snapped at Sincirce who was making a goofy face at Dingsworth.

The minister held his white gloved hand to his heart. "As much as it pains me to say this, our good Queen Annabell has appointed you nogoodniks a defense attorney."

Elise was praying that people would finally be taking this more seriously, but things took a turn for the absurd when a boisterous voice gave a hardy laugh.

"Yo ho ho and a bottle of good legal advice!"

For a second, Elise thought she wasn't wearing her glasses because the most bizarre character strolled out into the village square. He was dressed in a rather dapper, purple tuxedo with a scarlet tie and a red carnation like a suave lawyer might, but his face and the rest of his attire didn't match at all. For one, he wore a pirate's hat constructed of black felt. There was an eye-patch with skull over his right eye and fake bluebell parrot on his shoulder. This pirate-looking lawyer had strips of paper glued around his face like a mustache and a beard.

"Who are you?" Elise stammered, completely dumbfounded.

"Arr, I be Legalbeard the Pirattorney!" the pirate said, standing tall and proud. "After a life of high seas hijinx, I reformed meself and went back to law school. There I got a masters in Seagalities. I assist pirates with their difficulties at assimilating themselves back into seaciety!"

"Wow!" Elise said, holding her hands together. "Thanks Chlo...I mean Queen Annabell."

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A soft, slight smile formed on Chloe's face, but it retreated when Dingsworth glared at her.

"I've seen yer case," Legalbeard said, "It's more fearsome than a watersnout with more twists and turns than a whirlpool in the eye of ferocious hurricane. But that's what a pirattorney does best. We chart the course and sail these uncharted legal waters!"

"Very well," Dingsworth said, "I will act as the prosecutor for those who've been wronged. Now in the first case of Mainland V. Captain Archibell, let me list the amount of goods this captain has plundered from our fair isle."

Several curious items were unloaded off the Lyre and hauled into the village square by naval officers. "A copper telescope from Copper Nick, our good astronomer."

A bearded old man in a blue robe and long stringy silver hair emerged from crowd. "That's right!" Copper Nick cried. "This scope could see further than any other. I was about to discover if the world was flat when this cretin stole it fifteen years ago."

Archibell innocently blew a tune. "I used it to see Nelly the Barmaid who isn't so flat."

An army of mothers and other middle aged women cried in horror. "See how foul this man is," the minister cried. "His innuendo makes women blush and babies cry."

"To be fair," Archibell said, "I was only twenty and I've grown a lot since then. Nowadays, I let my first mate Freckles use it to survey the waters for sea monsters and unruly pirates."

"Like yourself!" The minister snorted. "Howabout this. A silver tuba plundered from P.T. Barry our very own ringmaster twenty years ago."

A stout man in a top hat and red and black striped pants strolled out. "This is true. He plundered it from me when I was training Bonzo the Bear."

An enormously fat bear waddled through the crowd, causing some people to shriek and cry. "I felt Bonzo needed a theme song," Archibell squawked, "And then I forgot to give it back!"

"You forgot to give a lot of things back, you ruffian!" the minister screamed.

One by one, he listed off items poached from every townsfolk...even some people who were dead. Elise was saddened that Archibell was such a sketchy man, but at least he didn't kill anyone.

After talking with Archibell after the prosecutor stated his exibits, Legalbeard stepped forward. "My client has decided that he shall return everything that was stolen from the townsfolk over the years and will agree to doing a few years community service if you let him off easy."

"Let him off easy?" the minister sneered, "These are the least of his crimes. If that hasn't already disgusted the whole community with his behavior, we have two elderly people here who have an unaired grievance...one that runs much deeper than a bunch of stolen trinkets and doodads."

For once, Archibell turned pale. "What do you mean?" he gasped.

The crowd parted ways for an elderly couple. Their hair was a darkened grey and their eyes were like two pairs of wrinkled almonds. Creased, silky black robes folded around their bodies and bore the insignia of a jet black swan upon the fabric. There was a vengeance in the old man's eyes, a fury that burned even in his old age and he balled up his fist. There was only sorrow in the woman's eyes and she dabbed at her eyes with her robes.

Elise was baffled by these two elderly people. Who were they? Were they Archibell's parents? They sure didn't look like him.

Even the admiral who loathed his brother, couldn't bear to look at the old man and woman. There was a lingering regret that made him cover his eyes. Who...were they? Elise thought in utter confusion.

"Mr and Mrs. Blackswan of the house of Blackswan!" The minister announced boldly. "Testify to the good people of Mainland how Captain Jonas Archibell kidnapped your fair daughter Lyra, seduced her into a life of piracy that lead directly to her demise."