Jeikobusu monogatari (Jacob's Story)

It's been a few days since the griffon gave us the treasure. The others and I still live in the hole they call a jail cell. Whenever they bring me out Christopher still comes with me and we do our best to try and find a way off this ship. By now they've taken me out to at least get used to the ship before throwing me back in with the others. When ever I did get that time I tried to learn by observing, staying out of the way and keeping quiet. We haven't made it to port yet so we still don't know when that is to happen but we're learning their routines and habits. Christopher is keeping a close eye on Rai learning how he runs things on the ship. The cook suddenly shouts signaling for lunch,

"Alright all time to eat; Jacob take the girl back to her cell." Rai commands. It's been a bit tense since that exchange between him and me. I've been trying to think of a way to apologize but my throat tightens on me every time I try to. He still brings food to us but he kind of remains quiet now. As we head down below deck I follow behind Jacob trying to think of a way to start up a conversation.

"Um…" I look down at Christopher silently asking for help but it's not like he can talk to him, at least not in his wolf form.

"Just talk to him…" he tries to urge me gently.

I open my mouth but close it unable to think of something.

"S-so what is Rai going to do with that treasure?"

"Trade it for money I suppose." His answer is short.

"Will we get some time to wander off…?"

"Highly doubt it."

"What will you do?"

"Don't know; I may have to watch you like I did the last time." More silence,

"Um…"

"What?" he's short with me this time his tone sharp and impatient,

"No…nothing." We reach the cell and he opens the door. Christopher enters first while the others stand tails slightly wagging that I'm back safe and sound. I enter the cell and hear the door screech shut behind me. he locks the door and I hear the keys jingle as he places them back in his pocket.

Come on you scaredy cat. APPOLOGIZE NOW!

"Jacob…!" I catch him as he walks out the door. "I…I'm sorry about what I said back on the island. I was stressed out and scared of what was going to happen to me and the others… but that's still no excuse as to how I behaved and what I said. It wasn't my place to talk about you nor why you left your daughter. I'm sorry." It's quiet for a few moments before he continues walking,

"I'll be back with your food." My shoulders slump at the words before I go and sit down. the others come over and sit around me with Christopher taking his personal spot on my lap.

"The hell was that all about?" Nathan asks.

"It was when Reisaki and I were taken to the island." Christopher explains what happened and the others listen intently finally figuring out why Jacob was so quiet. Eduardo only smirks,

"Expected of our mistress; way to tell him off."

"It's not funny Eduardo…" I say plainly, "I shouldn't have lashed out at him like that. He was trying to make peace with me and I threw it in his face."

"And what's wrong with that?"

"You're impossible…"

"Guilty as charged."

"So he…doesn't like us any more?" Thomas asks.

"Fine by me; we don't need him at all."

"And who's going to unlock the door for us to this cell Russell?" Nathan silences him,

"Well…"

"It would make it easier for us to escape." Christopher says, "However, that doesn't mean we actually need him to get us out of here."

"Yeah we got Reisaki."

"Excuse me?" I look at Morgan, "Just what does that mean?"

"You ever pick pocket someone before."

"No! I have not! I was never around that many people living near the forest; so it would be safe for you to assume that I have no experience in it." he gives a big toothy grin,

"It was just a thought." He laughs.

"That's not funny…" I feel my cheeks become slightly hot.

"What do you think Doc? You're the one that has to babysit all day when she goes out."

"Did you have to word it like that Eduardo?" I ask knowingly. Actually with how I acted that day that's actually the best way he could describe it…

"Don't start Reisaki." Christopher says somewhat stern, "I don't want to have that conversation a third time."

"What conversation?"

"Never mind Eduardo. Anyhow, if I have to I can get the keys from Jacob; I'd rather not use violence but there may not be any other choice."

"Do we have to attack him? I mean if were Rai or even someone else on this ship I wouldn't object but Jacob is different."

"I get where you're coming Reisaki but right now we're prisoners and if he becomes a threat rather than a friend we may not have any choice but to attack." If he does become our enemy it would most likely be my fault…

*sigh*

Well this is just great…

"Reisaki… what are you thinking?" Christopher looks me straight in the eyes. He has a smile on his face but right now it just seems scary with that tone he just had.

"Nothing…" I smile nervously.

"You're lying."

"I-I am not!" I avert my eyes and spot Jacob standing there. Following my gaze the other look at him at well. He carries a tray of food and as usual we'll have to split it.

"Great…what the hell does he want?"

"Be nice Eduardo." I say.

"You talking about me?" Jacob asks me somewhat kinder this time. I exchange glances with Christopher and the others before looking back at Jacob. "It's alright I don't have any intention of stopping you from escaping."

"Um…thank you." I begin tearing the food and passing it to the others,

"You plan on eating too don't you?"

"Yes but I like to make sure that every one gets something first." The others wait before they take the scraps making sure I get some as well, "I'm fine I got some now will you all eat?" they all eat the shared food and even leave Thomas his share.

"You all really do look after each other." Jacob takes a seat by the cell causing Eduardo to pick up his food quickly in his mouth and moves away to eat in peace.

"Well I will say this: some things never change."

"I do something?"

"No it's not you; Eduardo just doesn't like people in general unless he knows them."

"So only you lot?"

"That pretty much sums it up yes. He does have a soft spot though he just doesn't like to show it." Eduardo's ears go back as he glares at me agitated, "Oh don't get your fur in a bunch would you I'm only teasing."

I try to take a bite of my food when,

"Jenna."

"What?"

"My daughter's name is Jenna." Ok wasn't expecting that… "When I left her she was fourteen years old. That was seven years ago. I wouldn't be surprise if she was about to be married now. You wouldn't believe how many boys I had to scare off when I was around. Knowing her grand mother though she's probable got a bit more freedom than I would have given her. Knowing her she would have gone out of her mind with me there." He trails off thinking as he comes his fingers through his hair, "The reason I left her was to save her." my throat tightens at what he says.

"Y-you don't have to tell me this if you don't want to." I say.

"It's fine; you should know just how cruel Rai can actually be and why you all need to get out of here as soon as possible." He takes a moment to think before he starts again, "My wife left us when Jenna was only three so I had to take care of her myself."

"You mean like…she died?"

"No…one day she just up and left us. Not sure why but it doesn't really matter now."

"Oh…sorry."

"It's not your fault. Anyway it was tough at first but Jenna kept me going and if it wasn't for her grandmother I probably wouldn't have stuck around for as long as I did. I was a map maker, charter what ever you want to call it. my job kept me busy because I traveled a lot and I had to leave Jenna home."

"What kind of places did you map out?"

"Unknown places, so places that were hard to navigate through, places on Sheva that others wouldn't normally go without a map. But around when she was thirteen Jenna had finally had enough of me leaving her at home all the time. She was screaming at me to take her with me, that she wanted to help me make maps. She was stubborn about it that much I do know and I was a bit spineless as well. I let her help me but I didn't take her anywhere dangerous. That much she understood. Jenna was actually very clever when it came to guessing what a place would be like. She certainly had a knack for mapmaking. She was smart though, went to school like a good girl so I guess she picked up a thing or two by applying what she learned. Well one day I had taken Jenna with me to go map out a swamp in a near by area." It's silent for a moment or two actually longer than that. Jacob seems to not want to even continue so I try to switch the subject a bit,

"It sounds like you and you daughter were very close…still are. I wish I could say that." I pet Christopher on his head in the place he likes before patting Nathan on the head from his resting spot which seems to be my shoulder for a head rest. "Before I met these guys I was alone for quite some time myself. Back in Yamato I didn't used to live on the side of the island where you all found me. I used to live on the other side. It used to be me and my grandmother…Bachan."

"Did something happen to your family."

"Sort of…I don't even know who my father is and my mother…well lets just say I can somewhat relate to you and your wife."

"She left?"

"More like she dumped me…on Bachan."

"Ah…well no offense to you as a woman but…women can be well…"

"A female dog, a donkey's butt?" using the animal terms seems to make him blush for some reason even though I laugh. "Yeah your right about that… to be honest I wasn't really meant to exist. My mother had me out of wedlock…she's…she had slept with so many different men I'm not even sure she would even be able to determine who my father is." Thomas forces me to move my arm while he crawls under it to sit right beside me. I pat his head and give a smile to let him and the others know I'm fine.

"I see…"

"You don't have to feel ashamed; I'm not. I may not have a very healthy relationship with my birth mother but I had a great one with Bachan. I probably wouldn't be who I am without her today."

"She the reason you met this lot here?"

"I guess you could say that. If I hadn't been with Bachan I wouldn't have been near the forest and if I wasn't near the forest I would never have met them." Jacob stares at me slightly wide eyed.

"I'm surprised at you…"

"What? Why?"

"Even though you're all in a cage right now you still seem to be able to smile." He laughs, "Jenna was like that too. She always was able to find the silver lining in any dark cloud." His smile turns sad before it disappears completely. " You remind me a lot of her…I see so much of Jenna in you. That positive attitude; your love of the outdoors…" Thomas moves from his spot next to me and crawls over to the bars to nudge at Jacobs hand. He reaches through the bars and pats Thomas on the head, "I still wonder sometimes what I could have done differently back then so I wouldn't be here. Even after seeing what lengths Rai went through to get you. I still wonder if she still keeps a positive outlook on life." He sighs, "the day I took her with me into the swamp area Rai was also there. I wasn't sure what he was wanting at first but he had somehow gotten separated from his crew and was aimlessly walking around in the swamp. He was about at his wits end. So my daughter and I led him out of the swamp. I knew there was something about him that was off so I tried to keep him at a distance from Jenna. But I guess that only helped in giving away my weakness. Before we headed back into the swamp Rai took one of the maps I had brought with me and he liked what he saw the maps he thought I could be good at navigating him through Dangerous areas with little loss as possible. I told him no; that I was happy just as a map maker and only that. I had no intention of becoming a pirate."

"He wouldn't take no for an answer would he?"

"Do I even need to answer that question? I should have relocated after that encounter. The look in his eyes said it all. He had no intention of letting me walk away. A few days later I had returned from a trip up in the mountains; the door was off its hinges and I could hear Jenna screaming at someone but I already knew who it was. When I came in he was allowing his men to touch her. I fought them off her and tried to escape with her but there were too many. Eventually they were able to pin us both down. Rai made it clear as to why he was there but still I refused to agree to his terms. But he wouldn't have it. At first I thought he would come after me but as he took out a knife he went over to my daughter." I could just imagine him trying to protect Jenna as best he can. The thought of Rai going after even a little girl makes me swallow hard, "he grabbed a fist full of her hair and chopped it off. Then he placed the knife on her cheek and gave me one last chance to change my mind. I told him I would go so long as they let her go. He wouldn't however, not until we set sail. That was five days from then; those five days felt like a life time…I felt like would lose my mind. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what they were doing to her; what they would do to her. I was a bundle of nerves by the time I got to see her. I couldn't even say goodbye to her when I finally boarded this ship. They held her on the docks to make sure she wouldn't follow and I had to stay on board. I don't even know how she is now…can't even send a homing seagull to her with a message or anything." I look down at the ground covered in slimy moss.

"I understand you leaving in order to protect her…but why haven't you just gone back? Why didn't you just escape at the next port?"

"He had me watched like a hawk and by the time he did trust me enough to be let alone I was to turned around to even know which way Sheva island was." I look at the others and they seem to know what I'm thinking. We were planning on taking the keys from him but…

"What if you could go back would you leave this ship?"

"Even if I wanted to I'm too lost to even know which direction I would need to go in."

"No you're not…you just need to be nudged into the right direction."

"I admire your optimism but speaking figuratively isn't going to help."

"Who said about speaking figuratively?" he looks at me wide eyed and we all look at him with slightly mischievous looks on our face.

"What are you up to?"

"That depends would you rather avoid being mauled by wolves and go home in one piece or stay here under Rai's dictatorship?" he looks back to make sure no one is listening before leaning in closely,

"Are you saying you know how to get to Sheva island?"

"It depends on what port we'll be stopping at next."

"We'll be restocking on supplies in Jinchu island." He answers quickly. The wheels in my head spin as I formulate a plan to get away from Rai and to get Jacob home.

"This couldn't work out more perfectly for us Jacob. Jinchu is so overpopulated with traders and ships heading in and out we'll be able to slip out unnoticed by Rai and everyone else. Not to mention I think I have a way of making it a bit harder on Rai to set sail after us."

"What do you have in mind Reisaki?" Eduardo asks me very curious about the glint I most likely have in my eye,

"How does sweet, sweet revenge sound to all of you?"