The tavern's door opened abruptly. It was Stella. She was panting so hard.
"Jacob!!!" she cried. Tears were flowing down her cheeks.
Jacob turned to the door. The crew quieted down.
"Dylan….He's gone... He left again..."
I saw Jacob clenched his jaw and then made a fist before banging it on the table. I was startled. I never saw him that angry.
Upon seeing their captain's reactions, the crew became quiet and stood up. They looked at him and waited for his orders. For a bunch of pirates, they seemed to be really disciplined. I mean I know that now. I have stayed with them for a month. Jacob's crew looked up to him with utmost respect.
Jacob stood up. Paco quickly gave him Canupeer's map. Immediately, all the crew gathered around the table as Jacob put the map down. He gave them directions after. He assigned pairs to go on different locations of the map. After he was done, the crew dispersed right away. Paco was the only one left.
Jacob looked at me, then at Stella.
"Stella, take Darling with you and go back home. I will bring Dylan back," he ordered and left with Paco.
Stella walked towards me and sat on the chair. Her tears are still flowing down her face. She covered her face with her hands. I do not know what to do but watch her weep and wait until she finished crying. After a while, her sobbing stopped. I watched as she wiped her tears away and looked at me while forcing a smile.
"I'm so sorry you have to see me that way. It is very difficult. Oftentimes, I am clueless as to what to do with Dylan. He is growing up and he needs a father-figure… but…" her voice broke down again.
"It's alright. I understand," is all I managed to say. To be honest, this is the first time I saw someone sob in front of me. When I was in our manor or visiting a friend, we laughed and chatted and played and giggled… and yes there might be times where we talked about our problems but the crying was not to this extent.
Stella cleared her throat, "Alright then, let's go home," she said.
I know she was trying to follow Jacob's demands but I am also aware that she is worried about Dylan so I suggested, "Do you wish for us to search for Dylan as well?"
As I have said, I am quite inexperienced with matters like these so I just said what came to my mind first even without thinking. I do not know if it is a good idea or what will happen after. I said what I say and I cannot take it back.
"That is a good idea. Are you sure you do not mind?" she answered.
It is indeed too late to take it back so I just nodded. We went out of the tavern and began looking for Dylan. I just hoped that we would not run into Jacob. He will be upset that we did not follow his directions. I still could not forget his angry face and I do not want to be at the receiving end of his anger at this time.
We walked from alley to alley and then we saw him.
"Dylan!" Stella called out.
I saw Dylan look in our direction and quickly looked away. He turned away from us and ran. Someone was with him and to my amazement, it was the same exact boy that stole from me just a couple of hours ago.
Stella and I did what was obvious. We ran after them. After we turned right around the corner, I noticed the loud voices of men.
"There they are!!! After them!!!" they shouted.
Did they mean us? For a moment I grew scared. I looked to the direction of the voices and saw that they were men in uniforms. I saw one of them pointed in our direction. Stella and I looked at each other and we both knew that the law enforcers were after Dylan and the pickpocket!
The uniformed men quickly passed us running. One of them even said, "Don't worry madame we will catch them," thinking that we were chasing the boys because they stole from us.
Stella grabbed my elbow so I stopped running. She put her finger over her lips to signal me to be quiet. "Follow me," she whispered.
I followed her as we walked away and made a quick turn to the alley nearby. Stella definitely knows her way around the place. I watched as she led me from alley to alley. I looked at her and saw her face filled with worry. One more turn, then we found what we were looking for.
I put my hand over my mouth when I realized what was going on. Dylan and the boy were caught. Two men were holding both of their hands behind their backs and another man in uniform walked towards them. I noticed the star on his shoulder. He is a general. Stella stepped forward. I held her arms and shook my head no.
"But.." she tried to disagree but I held her arm tighter.
What the one star general did surprised me. He knelt down and talked to the boys, just like how Jacob did.
"Why did you do it?" he asked. We can just conclude that Dylan and the boy stole from him.
"We're hungry!" the boy responded. Dylan glared at the General.
"Where are your parents?" the General asked again.
"The Governor put them in jail because we cannot pay our debt! He said that they will be shipped off to Beckforth to be slaves! Don't you know that? Don't you work for him?" the boy responded angrily almost to tears.
I felt a tug in my heart. I was shocked. 'What? Was that true?' I looked at Stella. Stella seemed to understand my thoughts because she nodded. That means all the children that I saw this afternoon had their parents taken away from them to be slaves!
The General sighed, "I am so sorry to hear that."
"If you are, then let us go!!!" It was Dylan.
"Let them go!" the General ordered the other two men.
The men looked at each other confused. One of them said, "But, General…"
"Unhand them. That's an or--" the General was about to say but he was cut off.
"What do you mean General Abel?" I looked at the direction of the voice and saw a man in a black suit. I noticed his red signet ring on his right hand right away which means he has a high position in the government. He was holding his pipe on his left hand and his walking stick on the right. Behind him were twelve armed men. All of them prepared to draw their weapons.
General Abel looked at the man and frowned. "Governor Victorino…"
The Governor responded by looking at the general with disgust. He then walked to the boys and lifted their chins with his walking stick. "Thieves. Lock them in jail," he told the law enforcers.
"They stole from me and I pardoned them," the General insisted.
The Governor scoffed, "But they are thieves. People who broke the law must be put to jail," he replied. "A General such as you should be the one who upholds the law, should you not?"
"They are just children. They do not belong in prison," the General answered.
The Governor looked at the boys, "How old are you?" he asked.
The boys glared at the Governor and refused to answer. "Not answering, eh?" he said and signalled the men. The men twisted the boys' arms. They screamed. "How old?"
"Thirteen," both of them answered immediately.
The cruel Governor looked at the General, "See? They're in their teens. One more year and we can sell them off as slaves." The General narrowed his eyes while the Governor laughed. "LOCK THEM UP!" he said and walked away.
After hearing that, Stella shrugged my hold of her and ran to their direction. I ran after her, "No! You cannot do that! He is my son! I'll pay for what he owes," she said and tried to stop them. "Let him go," she added.
The Governor looked back at her. He was about to put his stick under Stella's chin but I stepped forward in between them and pushed the stick away with the back of my left hand. "Don't you dare!" I warned him.
The governor glared at me. "Who do you think you are?" He raised his stick and was about to hit me when General Abel stepped in front of me and grabbed the stick.
"That's enough, Governor," he said in a stern voice.
The Governor's guards drew their weapons but the Governor signalled them to stop with his left hand. "No need for that. Just take them and put them in jail."
The guards quickly followed and grabbed Stella and me as well. "Governor, hold on…" the General insisted.
"General, I am upholding the law. I am taking those that broke the law," the Governor answered.
"How did we break the law?" I replied as I struggled away from the guard's hold.
"Conspiring with these thieves, peasants," he said. The general tried to stop the governor once more but the latter warned. "Do not force me to report you to Beckforth, General. I can easily tell them that you are a traitor and get you executed."
"Victorino…" his voice seething.
The cruel governor ignored the general and ordered his men to follow him. I looked at the General with pleading eyes. He looked at me and looked down. 'What is going on? Why can't he do anything?' I cannot believe this! This is really happening! We are being dragged to be locked up!
The next events happened so fast. After we were thrown into a carriage that transports prisoners, we were immediately put in jail. Dylan and the pickpocket were separated from us.
I was still in shock so I was holding the jail bars to keep myself from falling over. "What just happened?" I blurted out.
"Again, I apologize Darling," Stella told me. "After Governor Victorino held office, corruption got worse."
"What do you mean?"
"Canupeer is one of Beckfort's overseas territories. After the death of our governor last year, Victorino was appointed by Beckforth as his replacement," she began to explain.
"But he is horrible!" I replied.
"I agree, Miss Darling. Most of Beckforth's higher ups are corrupt. That is why Jacob does what he does because of them."
"What do you mean by that?" Stella walked to the back of our prison cell and sat down. I followed her determined to listen to what she would say.
She gave me a faint smile before she continued. "Jacob used to be so loyal to Beckforth. He lived in Fildas for quite a while to study and train to be a navy."
Fildas is the capital of Beckforth. I was a bit surprised to learn that about Jacob.
Stella continued, "He was a Navy Captain with letters of promotion to become an Admiral. But I believe he saw something that angered him so much. He left his post and began to fight for the people."
"But he's a pirate…" I cannot help but mumble.
"True but it's not the way you think. You see he figured out that fighting for the people will not change their way of life. They will still be poor. They will still be hungry… Darling, Jacob steals from these corrupt noblemen to give back to the starving citizens."
"I do not understand," I said. I am confused. I am a noblewoman but I do not steal from people. What does Stella mean?
Stella sighed and continued with her explanation, "Noblemen of Beckforth appoint governors to rule the overseas territories. Then, they tell these governors to overtax the citizens. If they cannot pay their tax, they are in debt. If they cannot pay their debts, they are thrown in jail or worse sold off to be slaves as payment."
"So the government forced the citizens to break the law and then punish them? That's horrible," I replied. We do not do that in Francua.
Stella nodded, "That's why Jacob and his crew target ships that carry noblemen from Beckforth to steal the money so they can give it back to the citizens. That way, the citizens can pay their debts."
At that moment, I felt like I had been punched in the gut. I felt bad by the way I accused and treated Jacob. He did not deserve that. He must have known that I am a noblewoman. He hates nobles. Just the thought of him hating me made me so upset that I wanted to cry. I have few noble friends in Beckforth but never have I imagined that their families might have been involved in this corruption.
"I am so sorry…" is all I can say, "... I didn't know. We are not like that in Francua."
"You are a noblewoman, miss?"
I nodded, "... but not from Beckforth."
"How did you end up in my brother's ship?"
I told her the story of my first meeting with Jacob. Her facial expressions changed from being apologetic to smiling and laughing as I narrated what happened between her brother and me.
"Do you think he hates me? I am a noblewoman after all," I asked.
Stella shook her head. "From what you told me, he couldn't have. Besides, he let you go free," she smiled. "In fact I think you're good for him."
I rolled my eyes. "We fight a lot!"
Stella chuckled, "I have never seen Jacob laugh like the way he did at the docks this morning."
"That is because he makes fun of me."
Stella laughed hard. I diverted the topic. "Stella, the general a while ago, do you know him?"
Stella nodded. "He's the son of our late governor. You see, General Abel's father, though appointed by Beckforth is a native of Canupeer so they put us first before the nobles' orders."
"Then why can't he do something about the current situation? General Abel I mean?"
"As long as Canupeer stays to be Beckforth's territory, he's limited. He loves the people though, despite the fact that some of them think he works for Beckforth… him being a general and all."
I closed my eyes. Canupeer is in a dire situation. As long as they remain Beckforth's territory, they are under its laws and governance. The only way they can be free is a revolution to be a separate state or for another country to buy the land and make it a state.
"Darling--"
"Editha… my name is Editha. Please do not tell Jacob."
Stella smiled and nodded, "It is already late at night. We should sleep."
"We are not escaping?" I asked.
Stella giggled and shook her head, "By now, Jacob knows we're captured and knowing him, he's already planning for our rescue."
I groaned, "He's going to give me an earful because of this." I sighed and Stella chuckled. We laid down our head on the floor and slept.
*****
A loud bang woke me up. I looked at Stella who stood up after hearing it. I stood up as well and looked around. Another bang! I covered my ears. It sounded like an explosion. I looked at the wall in front of our jail railings. The sound came from there I am sure. A third bang! After that, there was a large hole on the wall enough for a person to fit in. Then, I saw Jacob enter followed by Lowen. I sighed in relief because our rescue came at last. At the same time, I am a bit anxious because I will definitely hear something from him.
Jacob, the moment he came in kept staring at me. He did not look away even while breaking the chains from our prison cell. Not even when he opened the door and walked towards me. My heart beat faster. Usually, I could take on his gaze but this time I could not handle the intensity in his eyes. I blinked and looked down when he was two paces away from me. "Didn't I tell you to go home with Stella?" he asked, then lifted my chin so my eyes were on him. His face was so close. I gasped.
His gestures made me speechless. Before I could respond, he looked away and began scolding Stella about not following his directions but his hand never left my chin. When I removed it with my hand, he grabbed hold of my wrist. He was still scolding Stella but I felt his grip tightened. I began to feel my cheeks getting warm when he looked back at me and said, "Let's go."
After saying that, Jacob started leading me towards the exit they made. Stella and Lowen followed us. He did not let go of my wrist even as we walked out the hole to the courtyard. The sun was so bright that I had to shield my eyes with my other hand. I didn't notice the chaos right away. When I did, I saw my favorite pirates in their shenanigans. They were battling the governor's guards.
This was the first time I saw them in action. I know most of them were not master swordsmen but their underhanded tactics were overwhelming the guards. Sandlot, Urdel, Zaki, and Thom had hidden weapons-- pistols and daggers and pointy things that I do not know the name of. They moved very quickly, guards were falling left and right!
Jacob took out his pistol and began shooting without missing any targets. He did not waste any bullets. His grip on me tightened and he pulled me to him closer as if he did not want to lose me again (or maybe it was just my imagination). I looked at his face. He was intense and serious. I cannot help but mutter, "I'm sorry for not listening to you."
He glanced at me for a little bit and I saw a hint of shock from his eyes. Then, he went back to doing what he was doing, clearing the way of enemies so we can pass through. When he was out of bullets, he replaced his pistol back and took a new one. I looked behind us and saw Stella being protected by Lowen. She smiled at me. I smiled back. It looked like the pirates were winning. The governor's guards were not able to outwit them. Then…
"HOLD YOUR FIRE OR I'LL SHOOT," a loud voice said. I knew that voice. I saw Stella's smile vanish. She put her hand over her mouth. Her eyes filled with fear as she looked ahead. I looked in the direction of what she was looking at. That voice belonged to Governor Victorino and he was holding Dylan as a hostage… gun on his right temple.
Jacob's jaw clenched. I saw him narrowed his eyes before pulling me behind him. "Lowen," he ordered.
"Understood, Captain," I looked behind me and saw Lowen aimed.
"Ha!! You wouldn't dar--" the Governor was about to say but BANG! It was as fast as lightning! Lowen shot at the governor's gun and it dropped on the ground. Dylan elbowed him and pushed him away then ran to us.
The governor quickly drew another pistol from the holster inside his suit and was about to shoot the running Dylan when General Abel came in the scene and pointed a gun at him, "That's enough, Governor," he said. I couldn't help but sigh in relief.
The governor knew he was cornered so he resorted to threats. "What is the meaning of this General Abel? Beckforth will hear of this and I can get you hanged!" he said and pointed at all of us. "All of you will be hanged for treason!"
"That's not going to happen--" the General began.
Governor Victorino interrupted him, "If you kill me, Beckforth will send naval ships to attack Canupeer as punishment. This is rebellion against his majesty!"
The General couldn't hold it any longer. He clenched his fist and punched the governor on his face. I gasped. I cannot believe that General Abel is quite that strong as the governor's face was almost twisted as he landed on the ground.
"I SAID THAT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! Canupeer is no longer Beckforth's territory. Francua bought this as territory and made it into a free state," he said then grabbed a parchment from inside of his coat and unfurled it in front of Victorino. "Here is the document that proves that, signed and sealed by the King of Francua."
Victorino glared at the governor after looking at the document. "You… How did this happen?"
"Do you really think I'll sit idly by while you destroy the worth of the people on this island that my father protected?" the general said. "Father was a respected politician. He was a friend and a business acquaintance to the King of Francua. I wrote the King a letter stating our dilemma and made business negotiations with him. You are now looking at the new governor of Canupeer."
I have not known the General for long but I wanted to applaud him. I couldn't help but be proud of the honorable man. No wonder he held his silence. If he did not, Victorino could have seen his plans and did something to stop him. I looked at the people around me. Stella and Jacob smiled. Dylan's eyes were wide in surprise and awe.
"You are NOT welcome in Canupeer anymore!" General Abel told the governor. "You have an hour to sail away to leave this place or else I will execute you as a criminal myself!"
Victorino cowered as he ran away. The new Governor Abel ordered the soldiers to make sure that Victorino and the rest of Beckforth's loyalists are to sail back to Beckforth and never return to Canupeer. The soldiers quickly followed as they were loyal to Canupeer and were tired of upholding the laws of Beckforth.
The ambience of the courtyard quickly changed into a celebratory mood. "Jacob, my arm, you can let go now," I said and smirked.
Jacob looked at me and quickly let go. I know he was about to tell me something sarcastic but his attention was taken away by Governor Abel. "Jacob, thank you," he said. "You and your crew made this victory possible."
Jacob scratched his head. He looked very uncomfortable with the gratitude that the governor was giving him. My eyebrows met. 'What now? He's embarrassed?' I couldn't help but ask myself.
"If not for your letter to the King of Francua, Canupeer would still be Beckforth's territory. All I did was rescue my family," Jacob reasoned.
Governor Abel smiled, "You never changed Jacob. Whatever you say, thank you. You have Canupeer to back you up with whatever you need."
Jacob quickly smirked after hearing what the Governor said. "Well, now that you said that, my crew needs sustenance for about 6 months and I would gladly take what you can offer for free. Not to add my crew's never ending merrymaking at Verna's Tavern for one more day? Would you take care of the tab?" he said and beamed after.
My mouth opened in shock. I couldn't help but to chortle. Seeing me laugh, the general laughed with me. "Yes… of course… I will take care of it," he said in between laughs.
*****
The rest of the day was spent loading Labyrinth with goods. The governor and the people of Canupeer graced the crew with barrels of fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, and booze. The young men carried coals, timber, nails, ropes, and tools for Labyrinth as well. Some older men helped Thaddaeus perform maintenance on the ship. When it was over, Labyrinth looked new. Not to mention filled with food.
That night, everyone was tired so we fell asleep quickly - the pirates at Labyrinth and me at Stella's house. I woke up in the middle of the night because I got thirsty. I went to the kitchen to get water when I heard two voices. I got curious so I tiptoed and sneaked a peek. I saw Dylan and Jacob talking.
"You cannot go with us," Jacob said.
"I know and I won't insist anymore," Dylan replied without a hint of hesitation.
"What changed your mind?" Jacob asked.
He looked at Jacob with his eyes filled with excitement. "Did you see General Abel? Did you see how he punched that wicked man? Did you see how that man landed on the ground? His face almost twisted? He sure put that man in his place " he said then laughed. "I want to be like General Abel. Jesse told me that the general will help all of them get reunited with their parents. He will petition Beckforth to release them from slavery. I want to help with that."
I saw Jacob put his hands on Dylan's head and ruffled his hair, "Very good."
I smiled and left the two alone. I went back to bed. All's well that ends well.
True to his word, the crew spent the next day merrymaking at Verna's Tavern. There was singing. I mean very loud singing.. mostly out of tune. They were so drunk, all of them fell asleep in the tavern. Good thing Verna did not mind as she was used to them doing this as long as they pay their tab and since the Governor was responsible for their tab, she said it's good for business.
The three days stay in Canupeer finally came to an end. When morning came, I surprised everyone when they boarded the ship and saw me there already waiting. Jacob looked at me and smirked, "So you finally made your decision?" he asked.
I tossed my hair. "I have. But so you know, I did not want you to take me. This is a decision I am making by myself. I just want that to be clear," I said and smirked back.
Jacob chuckled, "Fine, I concede. Welcome aboard," he said then raised his voice, "Let's set sail!" All the crewmen followed his command.
Lowen came to me and smiled, "Welcome back, Miss Darling," he said. I nodded. He nodded back and went to his post. I cannot help but notice that Lowen's eyes express a certain melancholy that he tries to hide by always smiling. I wonder why.