Chapter 5 – Blue

"I would like to wager this coin purse on the new guy who just entered the ring!" Margaret stated excitedly as she held the coin purse over to the man wearing the blue lined hat.

The wall of a man gave the blonde a look as his bruised eyes looked at the what was being offered to him. She could practically see the gears turning in his head as he snatched it up and quickly began to count the coins that lined the bag. As paper pounds and coins continued to pile up the man's eyes only widened and his jaw began to fall slack with disbelief. The muscles in his neck twitched and he returned the coins to the purse followed by ripping off a ticket with her placed bet.

"There you go, miss. Best of luck to ya." The man offered her a tip of his hat as she pinched the ticket out of his grasp.

The prostitute slipped the piece of paper where she kept anything valuable and made her way over to the crowd that surrounded the fighting ring. Her chest was full of fluttering butterflies with each flap of their wings caused her stomach to churn in excitement. She had never been to a prize fighting ring before but the stories she heard had always been fascinating. There had been plenty of costumers that came in beaten and bruised that wanted to be babied. As she pretended to care for their wounds they often boasted about how they were lucky to leave the ring alive. In her mind the rings were always in these seedy locations and she was pleasantly surprised that as least one ring existed in such a regal part of town. Everyone had the right to this kind of entertainment. There was nothing quite like watching men beat each other into a coma. Her heels clicked against the wood floor while she glanced over the names on the chalk board behind Robert Topping. A soft smile played on her lips. The chalkboard was filled with names and bets listed right next to them. If all went well, they would surely make a killing.

And Jacob knew it. The corners of her lips turned up into a smirk. He might have been part of the assassin order but he was just as wild as an alley cat.

Her eyes wondered up the wooden column to the balcony. For a fleeting second she thought about finding a spot up there but what would the fun in that be? Too many drunks and too many people grabbing at her to have 'her do her job' at least down here it seems like people's attention was captivated on the fight about to take place. She wormed her way through the crowd until she found a place right outside of the ring. In the middle of the ring Jacob lazily stretched out his arms. His knuckles were wrapped with a white bandage, his chest bare, and his pants changed to ones full of patches. Margaret couldn't help herself and allowed her gaze to take him in. He looked smaller without his popped collar of his jacket masking the size of his shoulders. She had seen him without his top hat before but he was usually sitting down. Now that he was standing in the middle of the ring he seemed the size a dwarf. His lips were corked into his devilish smile while his eyes darted around. Looking for his first target.

Topping worked the crowd trying to get willing men to crawl into the ring making promises that the police would not know of their actions.

Margaret found herself closing on the edge of the fighting ring. Her heart was pounding in her chest and no one else had entered the ring. She could see why people were addicted to this place the continuous change in line up as to who will make it on top and every fight had a different outcome. Nothing seemed to be predictable. The blonde rested her hands on the edge of the fighting ring, her fingers curled around the worn line of the canvas. Jacob's body tensed as he turned his attention to the man climbing into the ring.

His first opponent.

Somewhere in the background Topping bellowed, "A fine challenger!"

The next thing she knew Jacob was lazily dodged the man's punch. He lunged to the left causing the man's fist to whiz passed Jacob's ear. The assassin bared his teeth and he shifted his weight quickly to collided his knuckles with his opponent's jaw. There was a sickening crack that sounded but was quickly covered by the roar of the crowd. Jacob bounced back with a heavy step his arms hanging almost lazily at his sides once more, instead of blocking his face like most fighters. He stood like an open target tricking whoever walked into the ring that he had is guard down. Margaret found herself on her toes moving with the ropes to catch sight of the fight within the ring. One by one men climbed into the ring to challenge Jacob. Margaret's fits found their way in front of her bosom as she bounced excitedly at the edge of the ring. Her voice became one of many people cheering for who they wanted to win.

Jacob snapped the bones of every challenger who entered the ring. Round, after, round, Topping raised his hand in victory.

"Would anyone else like to challenge this beast in the ring?" Topping exclaimed as Jacob rolled neck and shoulders.

Margaret's lips quirked to the side as her brows narrowed into a knowing look. At least she knew Jacob's beast comment had not been from his own imagination. Though, it did not mean he argued with Mr. Topping's statements.

Any thought of teasing Jacob fell to the back of her mind as men, three times the size of the brunet entered the ring. The bald gorillas growled threats at the assassin as they closed in on their target. Their red pants were stained, an obvious sign they frequented the ring. Jacob kept his hands at his sides, his head cocked to the side ever so slightly as he took in his surroundings. His assailants thought they had him. As the man to his left pressed charged, his lips curled and suddenly everything happened in a blur. Jacob dodged his first punch, similar to the first man, ducked inward and delivered a proper blow to the inside of his arm. He was small enough that he could fight in close quarters without giving them too much of an advantage. With a turn he placed another punch on the inside of their other arm just before reaching up and jabbing his thumbs into the man's eyes and pulling his head down toward the ring. The man let out a cry but found himself hunched over in a daze. The boys smirk spread into a matured grin as he rendered the second man in a similar state. With a quick side step back to the right he punched the man, causing him to stagger backwards. He kicked his opponents' knees apart and did not even watch him collide with the canvas floor. Within a second Jacob had targeted the other, his booted foot crashed into the man's right knee cap. He fell forward allotting Jacob the time he needed to stomp on his other knee. As the man began to fall to join the other onto the ground Jacob used the momentum to spin kick the man into the jaw. Which redirected his course and left the wounded man splayed on his back.

Margaret's soft blue irises sparkled with long lost enthusiasm. She was unsure what she had expecting the rings to be like but it was far more than what she could have.

Jacob wiped the corner of his mouth with his blooded bandages, doing little to clear the sweat and blood that speckled his skin. His hair fell lazily in front of his face as his eyes darted toward the other side of the ring. Three more men climbed between the ropes.

"I'm gonna knock your teeth in!" One exclaimed.

Which received a chuckle from Jacob. "I would pay to see you try, mate!" He commented as he grabbed the man's punch, snapped his elbow and clothes-lined him.

- Hazel –

"We have a winner!" Topping exclaimed as he hoisted Jacob's arm up into the air. Anyone could see he was mentally counting up the dollar signs in his head. The assassin laughed softly as he spat blood from his mouth; one of them had managed to get a lucky shot.

As Topping lowered Jacob's arm he began to instruct where to collect the prize money. Instead of rushing over to collect it he found Margaret in front of him.

Her lips parted as she mentally shuffled through her vocabulary and attempted to pluck the right words to piece into a sentence. "That was amazing!" Adrenaline coursed through her veins. Her eyes darted from the ring, to some of the men that limped out of the building, and back to Jacob. "Erstaunlich!*" She repeated in her mother tongue.

Jacob's eyes scanned over her with sheer amusement as he gathered the clothes he had worn here. Since he frequented the rings so often, he usually kept a pair of pants at their venue. Most people did not question appearance when it came to other people wondering the streets of London but Evie won their fight when it came to reasoning fight-clubs. They were illegal throughout the city (as well as their job) and they both agreed it was wise to be discreet about some things…some times.

He remembered the first time he had found himself looking in on a fight. He was ten. Their father had assigned a reading on bombs and what components they needed to construct the different types. Instead of reading the guides Jacob had slipped out of the house and went down to the shed a block over. Many of their Brotherhood frequented the prize-fighting ring in hopes to bring some money back to the Creed. Jacob had heard stories from the other men but never could have dreamed what a magical place it had really been. He had climbed up into the rafters were hay and was usually stored and watched the fight happening below. Of course, he was quickly caught by George who brought him back to his house to receive a proper scolding. For as strict as the man was, his mentor would never admit to attending any of the fights.

Watching Margaret attempt to whole heartedly reenact the rounds caused Jacob's chest to flutter with a distant memory.

"So I take it you enjoyed yourself?" He questioned as he began to button up his shirt, he had missed a button in the process causing the shirt to lay lopsided.

The blonde's usual sarcastic comment was lost as she swayed closer to Jacob but her gaze fell upon the ring once more. Her red stained lips were parted in a crooked smile of bewilderment. Words had escaped her. He could not help but mentally question what else she was thinking about.

His hand clamping onto her shoulder pulled her back into reality, if only for a moment. Jacob leaned toward her with a smile. "Before I lose you again let us collect our winnings and I'll treat you to a meal," His legs began to carry him toward the man with the blue ribbon hat as his hand thumped his stomach. "I am starving!"

As the pair made their way to one of the pubs Margaret continued to ask how Jacob had learned how to fight. It initially came as a strange question. He literally was born into a world of war where it was learn how to fight or die at the hand of your enemy. Certainly, there was more to it than to defend oneself against your attackers. There were rules and regulations but…who had time to remember all of that?

Nothing is true, everything is permitted.

That was the motto of their Creed. Their guidelines. Evie often rolled her eyes and huffed in his direction when he quoted these words at her along with his defense. She stated that the words meant much more than what they were on the surface. Jacob brushed it off as just another thing his sister over thought. She had a nasty habit of quoting their father's words at him, especially after his recent passing. He trained with the rest of the assassin's in Crawley often driving George and his sister mad and causing his father to walk away shaking his head. In his mind, he gave his all. He was what the Creed needed to survive, to take the next step. Too long they had sat in silence and let the Templars do as they pleased. His methods were unorthodox but the only one yelling at him was Evie. And that has been the norm since they were children.

Jacob was pulled from his thoughts as the bar maid handed him his drink. They had slipped into one of the Queen's Pubs down the road from the fight club. He flashed the red head a smile and grasped the handle of his steel pint and allowed his gaze to follow the woman as she walked away. With an inward whistle he welcomingly gulped down the amber liquid. Margaret sat across from him her emerald corset standing out against the grimy red upholstery of their booth. Her lips were still pulled into a dazed smile with the lingering memory of the fight club. She was already itching to go back. She had become lost in the crowd, lost in the waves of people. No one seemed to care who or what she was. All that mattered was who was going to walk out of the ring alive or unscathed.

Her lips curled ever so slightly at the corners as she pulled her own pint to her lips.

They sat there in silence. Both lost in their thoughts and both absently studying the person before them.

"I am surprised you have never been to the ring before." Jacob broke the silence while placing his half empty mug onto the scarred table top. Margaret's head tilted to the side as her eyes challenged him to rethink his statement. The male shook his head with a laugh. "I meant in general not because of your line of work. For someone who gets paid to sleep with men you need to loosen up-OW!"

Margaret's lips corked into a satisfied grin which she hid behind worn steel as she attempted to cover up the fact she had dug the tip of her heel into Jacob's shine.

The gears in Jacob's skull began to turn his mouth parted in a crooked grin. With a snort and a shake of his head he decided to drop where that comment was going. He rubbed his shine with the back of his boot before slouching comfortably into the booth. The corners of his lips turned downward in a forced frown. "Now, that is no way to treat someone who may be offering to teach you how to fight."

The blonde started at him like a stray dog gawking at an oncoming carriage. She was expecting a witty comment to follow out how she was too delicate for the ring but it never came. Instead Jacob took her silence as interest and continued.

"There are plenty of female Rooks who I have helped learned how to handle themselves in a fight. We will exclude the guns and knives since they are not welcomed in the ring. If you trained hard enough I don't see why you couldn't tussle with a few mad men." He shrugged his shoulder before finishing the rest of his drink. Just in time for their fish and chips** to make it to the table. The man offered a quick thank you as his stomach growled in welcoming. "Besides if Evie can get into the ring anyone can do it." He finished while lazily waving a chip in Margaret's direction before tossing it into his maw.

The woman shook her head in disbelief. She lowered her cup onto the table and slowly pushed it away from her, as if worried she may drop it if it lingered to close. The only other time she had been offered help since she had made it into the city was when Henry found her on the streets. He did what he could and offered her food and a place to stay. But learning how to fight? She could defend herself; she could take care of herself. Margaret felt like her head was spinning. She placed her hand onto the table as her eyes studied the man before him.

"You would really teach me how to fight?" She questioned softly.

Jacob's chewing slowed and he found himself looking around the bar as if he had missed something. "If I have to repeat a statement maybe you're not ready for the ring."

As he went to grab another chip from his plate Margaret's hand reached out and wrapped around his gauntlet hand. Her soft blue eyes locked with his curious hazel, a small smile worked its way onto his lips as he registered the look of determination on the woman before him. Truthfully…Margaret had always been worried about handling her own. Before Henry came into her life and showed her any kindness she had no protection from the dangerous streets. He had offered to help her and has been watching over her in his spare time but what Jacob was offering was something new. She was more than willing to learn.

"Please teach me how to fight." The way she said it caused the hairs on the back of Jacob's neck to stand up.

He slipped his hand from under her grip and rolled his wrist to place his hand on top of hers. He gave hers a squeeze with a war smile. "You have my word, love."

Erstaunlich* - Amazing

Chips ** - Will be referring to a "French Fry". (Just making sure everyone is on the same page…)