Jacob drew his pistol. "Think of the odds, mates. You were probably seeing doubles and I have a clear head," he warned pertaining to the goons being drunk.

But because the men were drunk, they were brave so they took out their weapons. I was startled when the man beside me broke the bottle of alcohol with him and was about to point it at me but Neville pulled the dagger from his other hand quickly. As a result, the man winced and screamed in pain.

That started the brawl. I took cover under the table as guns fired. Fists were punching faces. Chairs were being tossed and thrown. Ladies were screaming as they scurried to leave the tavern. Bottles were being broken and shattered. I wanted to join the uproar but I knew it would just make Jacob angrier and I wanted our war to end so I stayed put.

Sooner than later, Jacob found me and took hold of my wrist. He did not say anything. He pulled me up and headed to the exit. My crewmates understood his actions right away so they covered for us until we were safely out. Then, we ran.

When we were far off the tavern, I tried to release myself from Jacob's hold but he gripped me tighter. He did not look at me. We had already stopped running and were walking at fast paces. I tugged again. My intention this time was to get him to look at me. But he did not. Instead, he tightened his grip some more.

"What about the others?" I asked.

"They know how to take care of themselves," he answered without looking at me.

"You're hurting me, let go," I complained.

"Not until we are on the ship," he replied and loosened his grip a bit but not enough for me to escape his hold.

"I can take care of myself, too," I reasoned.

"Really? You were nearly harassed if I did not make an appearance," he answered back.

"Well, your impatient dagger flew too fast. It did not allow me to defend myself!" We were having another argument, again. I closed my eyes. I wanted our fights to be over.

"What do you want me to do? Watch until he has his grimy hands on you?!" he retaliated with a raised voice. He continued to drag me without looking back.

"As if I would let that happen! In case you have forgotten, I am also armed," I reminded him. Why couldn't I just concede?

Jacob did not respond but he continued to drag me back to Labyrinth.

"Could you unhand me?" I asked impatiently.

"No!" He responded and finally looked at me. "Could you please just be quiet for once?!"

I wanted to just cave in but I was irritated, so it was too late for me to stop myself. "If you wanted a quiet walk then you could've left me in the tavern!" I replied unreasonably.

Jacob sighed and we stopped walking. "Didn't you see what was happening there? Were you blind?" He said and let go of me.

"You're the one who started it!" I replied while massaging my wrist. Another one! Just be quiet, Editha! I tried to convince myself.

Jacob closed his eyes and clenched his fists. Then, he turned away and began to walk.

"You're leaving me?!" I asked.

"Go back if you want! Why do I even bother?!" he shouted without looking back.

I sighed. There, we just had another fight. I watched him go and decided to just follow him back since Labyrinth was much closer to us already. When I reached the bay, Jacob was waiting in one of the rowboats.

"Are you coming or are we also arguing about this?" he asked me. I could still see that he was upset.

This time, I really tried my best not to answer back. Instead, I walked to him and rode the boat to yield. Once I was situated, he began to row back to the ship. We were silent the whole time. I wanted to say something but I was too afraid that it would turn into another heated debate so I kept mum.

Jacob did not speak as well. He did not even give me a glance. He just rowed and rowed the boat until we got closer and closer to Labyrinth. He assisted me to board Labyrinth and when we were on the main deck, he marched back to his room without looking back.

This was the longest fight we have been in. Usually, after our heated discussions, he would smile at me or nod his head to let me know that everything's already alright. But, this time, no smiles, no nods. And, I miss those times! Did I push Jacob to his limits that he would not even look at me?

I looked down and forced myself to smile before I turned to him. I nodded, "Yes."

"Did you have fun at the tavern?" he asked again.

I shook my head. "They didn't even pour me a single drop of rum," I told him.

Paco chuckled. "Where are the rest?"

I sighed, "Finishing a brawl that Jacob started."

"Jacob started a brawl?! That doesn't sound like him. He always just reacts or responds," Paco looked at me with questioning eyes.

"A drunk man tried to harass me," I replied quietly and looked down. Suddenly, I felt embarrassed. Jacob did protect me again… as always… and I… I … I just flew off the handle like that. I looked at his closed door again.

I was determined to end this quarrel once and for all so I began with one step towards his direction but it was all for naught because my crewmates began screaming.

"PACO! CAPTAIN! ANCHOR UP! ANCHOR UP!"

Jacob immediately opened his door after hearing that. Paco and I ran to begin pulling up the anchor. There were still gun fires being shot. I quickly glanced and saw more goons aiming at them. Lowen, Sandlot, Zaki, Urdel, and Thom were the ones firing back while the others were rowing back as fast as they could.

Jacob immediately went to the cannons and aimed at the goons. That stopped the crossfires for a while so our crew were able to board. When all were onboard, we quickly sailed away as the goons sent us off with bullets.

"Don't let Darling come with us to a drinking tavern ever again," Neville told Jacob while shaking his head.