THE 15TH ACCOUNT: JACOB'S TROUBLES 5

Jacob looked around as he disembarked from the ship that took him from Canupeer to Fildas, Beckforth. He sniffed the air and a smile of contentment formed on his lips. He finally made it to Fildas! It will be his new home.

He walked the stone-paved streets until he reached downtown to acquire a map. He still needed to find Paco's house. Of course, Paco offered to meet him at the pier but he declined. After all, he was a glutton for adventure. He'd rather find it himself. Aside from that, finding Paco's dwelling is an opportunity for him to practice his, according to his sister, uncanny ability to read maps, and etched into memory the geography of Fildas.

Once he got the map, he immediately scanned and studied it. He smirked after he located Paco's house, according to the latter's description, right away.

"Well, that was easy," he said and looked at his pocket watch. "It's still early…"

Jacob put the map away and decided to explore Fildas first before heading to Paco's. His feet trailed the pathways that he saw on the map that he committed to memory. In no time, he was able to locate the naval training grounds, the military offices, the famous bakery, the weapon's division, the palace gates, and a lot more.

He was even able to discover a scenic view of the Orgag Mountain Range. He sighed happily and leaned on the fence ledge to take in the view. The grassy plains filled with the Queen Anne's lace and Orange Butterfly Milkweed in bloom was a sight to behold. He knew those stubborn weeds by heart. His sister, Stella, quite loved them and would hit him every time he tried to uproot them.

Jacob was admiring the view when his attention was taken by a distant warning, "Out of the way! This crazy horse… Oh God! Help!!!!"

It was the voice of a woman in distress. He quickly jumped over the fence to avoid the unruly running horse. When he did that, he caught a glimpse of a black-haired beauty trying to control the horse and maintain her balance at the same time. His heart skipped, unsure whether because she was in danger or because her trying to manage the horse in the midst of her distress was very attractive to him. She was a perfect epitome of irony!

His body quickly moved on its own in response to the danger. His hand caught the reins and he automatically mounted the horse behind her. She was about to fall so with his other hand, he wrapped it around her tiny waist to prevent the danger. He heard her gasp.

"I apologize, Miss. If I don't touch you, you would've fallen," he responded, not knowing its effect on her since he said it right behind her ears.

Jacob saw her turned red. He scrunched his forehead as he pulled the reins again. The horse seemed to obey him and he was able to slow it down.

"Whoa… whoa… easy there..." Jacob uttered as he stopped the horse.

When the horse was at full stop, he dismounted, not letting go of the reins. The woman closed her eyes and sighed in relief. At her movement, the horse jerked. She yelped as she held onto the saddle tightly. Jacob quickly pulled the reins to stop the horse.

"Let me off! Let me off!" the woman cried quickly.

Jacob chuckled and offered his other hand. She looked at it and quickly took it. Within seconds, she was off the horse. She was panting and a stray strand of sweaty hair was stuck on her beautiful face.

"Do you mind?" Jacob asked and took it to tuck it behind her ear.

Then, their eyes finally met. She has the most expressive almond- shaped brown eyes. They were still holding hands. Both of them blushed after realizing that and simultaneously let go of each other's hand. She quickly turned away. He couldn't. He was too curious to look away.

"Thank you," she quickly muttered and turned back but avoided looking straight into his eyes.

"You're welcome," he replied and turned to the horse. "He's quite misbehaved, isn't he?"

She rolled her eyes, "You can have him."

"Excuse me?" He looked back at her.

"He was supposed to be a birthday present from Father. But now, I doubt he is. The horse wanted to kill me and obviously whoever really gave him to me wanted me gone," she uttered quickly.

"So you're giving me a killer horse?" he teased. He couldn't help himself.

She widened her eyes upon realizing what she did. She shook her head right away, "Oh no no no no… I don't mean harm to come your way. I'm so sorry. I just thought since he obeys you, you could have him but if not, just leave him here or whatever…" she said quickly.

Jacob chuckled after seeing her reactions. "Thank you, I'll take him. I'm Jacob by the way, Miss."

The woman looked at him with a studying gaze before blushing, "You're new here?"

Jacob smiled and nodded, "Is that quite obvious?"

She chuckled, "I'm Yazmine. Welcome to Fildas."

The pair gazed into each other's eyes for a while in silence before she broke the contact. "I should get going before they look for me," Yazmine said and took something from the horse's saddle. She crossed something out and gave it to him. "Here, so no one will accuse you of stealing my horse," she smiled and handed him something. When he took it, she immediately walked away.

Jacob looked at what she handed to him. It was the horse's deed of ownership with Yazmine's name crossed off with her seal to connote transfer.

"Yazmine!" he called out to her. She turned back. "Are you sure?" he asked and held up the document.

"Yes, I am. I do not need such an unruly horse that would break my neck," she answered.

He chuckled, "Do you need a ride? It is ungentlemanly of me to have you walk back on foot."

She shook her head, "I am used to being on foot and I know my way around here more than you do."

"You won't be in danger?" he insisted.

She chuckled, "My home is closer. I won't be in danger. It was nice to meet you, Jacob and again thank you and welcome to Fildas." After saying that, she quickly turned and ran away.

He smiled and uttered in the air, "Nice to meet you too, Yazmine." He then turned to the horse and said, "You're not really going to kill me, are you?"

The horse neighed. Then, his stomach growled. "I think I had quite enough excitement today. Shall we head to Paco's?" The horse neighed again as if agreeing to him. He chuckled, "I think you like me." He mounted the horse and the horse behaved right away. He laughed as he rode it to Paco's house.