Jacob took a gold piece out of his pocket, and played with it in his hand. He threw it in the air, and then caught it again. He kept his hand in the air, however, and opened his palm, letting the moonlight shine off of the splendid piece of currency. Jacob tilted his head, and examined it carefully. [i]A meal's worth...[/i] Jacob thought to himself. [i]This is worth enough for a whole meal. And I'm playing with it.[/i]

Jacob felt a slight twinge of guilt, but then hardened his gaze. He suddenly gripped the gold tightly and shoved it back into his pocket. He worked for this money. It was rightfully his. Suddenly feeling a bit frustrated with his emotions, Jacob decided to begin to walk again. He kept trying so hard to train himself to not feel any sympathy for others. After all, he'd been betrayed so many times... there's just no room for feelings or sadness for others. He had to keep his head up, and work for himself. 

As he strolled along the outskirts of the palace, he heard something. Grabbing the hilt of his cutlass, just in case, he proceeded carefully. He figured that he would not be a welcome guest, and that they would think he was planning something. After all, he was an infamous pirate, and anything he did would certainly be questioned. Especially around royalty. He'd been in heaps of royal trouble in his lifetime, but mostly with officials or spokespeople for the king or queen. He'd never actually met true royalty, but Jacob wasn't sure if he wanted to or not. There would be no telling how they would react.

Jacob rounded the corner of the garden, and took a peek. [i]A girl?[/i] he thought to himself, a genuinely puzzled look on his face. She seemed to be singing a soft, heart-felt tune, and as Jacob continued to listen, he figured it was for her boyfriend... if she had one. Jacob was almost touched by her voice. It was astounding how silky smooth it sounded and how much life she poured into such a soft tune. He decided it would be rude to interrupt her, so he waited patiently. After a little while, Jacob got a bit restless, and he straightened his captain jacket, something he often did. 

"Greetings," Jacob said, and entered the garden. His voice wasn't hostile, but rather, it was curious. "My name is Jackal. The Jackal. Either will do." he tipped his hat. Jacob puffed up his coat, as if to show off. "I take it you know who I am? I'm very sorry to interrupt your singing, but I was just quite curious. I'm a pirate, you see. If you know that already, you'll know that I'm one of the biggest in the business. The name will surely be a memory-jogger."

Jacob sat down on a chair across from the bench at a little table. He angled the chair towards her, and tapped his finger to his chin, as if he were thinking. "Something tells me you're not one of the town citizens. No, you're dressed nicer than that." He glanced at the palace, and his eyes lit up. "Do you live there?" Jacob asked, his interest piqued. He'd love to hear the story on how her family got such a nice place. Could it be that they were the mayor of the town? Surely it had to be something more than that. Jacob turned back to the girl, and got a good glimpse of her in the moonlight.

Her hair was brown, and it was curly. Jacob looked at her face, and noticed something. [i]Are those freckles?[/i] Jacob thought to himself, and tilted his head slightly. He thought of his own freckles. He thought they were very unique, for there were not many adult people he knew that had such facial traits. Even in the moonlight, the girl seemed very pale, and her blue eyes seemed dark at night.

Realizing he hadn't done anything for a while, Jacob leaned back, and took off his captain's hat. He placed it on the small table, and ran fingers though his thick hair. "I'll only be in Solomon for three days. It's quite a town." And what he said was true. In the time that Jacob had been there, he had experienced many things. Usually, as a pirate, he spent most of his life on the sea, so it was good to be on dry land for a while. The beaches on the coast were clean and inviting, and the city was full of life, even at night. While walking down the streets, Jacob often heard people singing and chanting shanties. Did this rub off onto the girl? Or was her liveliness what energized the town?

Either way, Jacob was rather curious to learn more.