Chapter 43 Entwined Roots

Chapter 43 Entwined Roots
I stared off into the direction of the forest as Cedric spoke to the other knights, giving them orders in Jackson’s place. They patrolled the camp, keeping an eye out for any stray bandits hiding in the shadows.
“Wow,” Russel said, walking up beside me. “The captain is hotheaded, but I’ve never seen him show emotion like that. I think you broke him.” 
I winced. His words didn’t humor me, and definitely didn’t make me feel better.
“Quiet, Russel,” Cedric warned, joining our side. “Let’s not talk about that any further. It’ll only cause more problems for the captain. We move on and do as we’re told.” He glanced at me, and his deep blue eyes narrowed. “Including you, Robin. The amount of disrespect you’ve shown Captain Jackson, in front of his own knights, is disgraceful.”
I ducked my head and looked away. “I know… I’m sorry. I just couldn’t sit by and do nothing.”
“That wasn’t your choice to make,” Cedric said in a stern voice. 
“Didn’t you say we should drop it?” Russel interrupted us.
We stood in silence before Cedric sighed and turned away. “We’ll keep this position until Captain Jackson returns. Don’t let your guard down.”
As Cedric walked away, Russel turned to me and whispered, “Erik will hear one hell of a story.”
“I’d rather leave out the details,” I murmured with a crooked smile. 
“Well, then.” Russel sighed, stretching his arms before grunting, “Back to work. Let’s get going.”
“Yeah…” I said as he walked off. I should’ve followed him, but my feet wouldn’t move. My gaze traveled back to the forest.
I must be out of my mind.
With a deep breath, I followed the path that Jackson had taken, sneaking away from everyone’s view. I ducked beneath pointy branches, brushing leaves to the side as I looked around but saw no sign of Jackson’s silver, blood-stained armor. What caught my eye was a patch of white daisies swaying in the wind under the sunlight, dappling the lush grass. I plucked the biggest one and continued my search.
For a moment, I was convinced I’d walked past him and too deep into the forest until I finally glimpsed his armor behind a tree. He leaned his back against it, arms crossed, staring off into the forest. The turmoil of a hundred thoughts reeled behind his hazel eyes. I clutched the daisy and stepped closer.
“Captain,” I murmured.
He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye before looking away with a sigh. “You don’t know when enough is enough, do you?”
One corner of my lips lifted. “I may have been told that before,” I said, and then handed him the daisy. “Here you go. Um… it’s for you.”
Obviously. Why would I say that?
I mentally scorned myself, expecting him to reject the silly offer. To my surprise, he took it and twirled the flower in his fingers.
“You picked a white flower,” he mumbled.
His tone made it impossible to tell if he liked it or not, but I did recall most of our moments together in my past life were spent in the royal garden surrounded by white roses.
“Yeah… I guess I did,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. “Sorry…”
“Why are you apologizing?”
“Do you not like it?”
“I never said that.” Jackson lifted the daisy to his nose and gave it a faint sniff before murmuring, “…I like white flowers.”
My eyes widened before a smile lit my face. The feeling of a hundred butterflies fluttering in my chest warmed my cheeks. “Yeah? I’ll be sure to bring you more then.”
He glanced down at me and lifted his brow. “You’re going to start bringing me flowers now?”
I held my hands behind my back, dipping my head as I murmured, “If that’s what will make you happy every day.”
Jackson scoffed and turned his head away, barely hiding his smile. “What am I going to do with you?”
His futile effort to hide his smile brought ease to my heart that I didn’t deserve. Cedric’s words still clouded my mind and guilt clawed at my conscience. My lips pursed as I looked away, mumbling, “I’m sorry, Captain. I spoke out of turn earlier. I meant you no disrespect, and I…”
We stood in silence before Jackson said, “Yes. You did.” I winced, and he turned to face me. He mumbled, “But you were right. I’ve been occupying my mind—distracting myself from my grief.” He glanced down at his sword, muttering, “The only thing that can distract me is my sword ripping through flesh.”
I flinched at his brutal words. I shouldn’t have been surprised, not after seeing the merciless way he cut down the bandits, but it was still staggering to hear those words from his lips.
With a deep breath, I spoke without thinking. “Captain, I… don’t believe that. I can’t believe that.”
Jackson glanced down at me, his brows creasing. “What?”
I stepped closer, placing my hand on his chest as I looked up at him and murmured, “There has to be a less self-destructive way, right? I want to help you find it.”
Jackson’s eyes widened before he quickly looked away. His ears reddened and this time it stretched to his cheeks. For a moment, I was worried he was coming down with a fever until he swallowed and glanced down at me out of the corner of his eye, barely whispering, “I think you already have.”
My eyebrows knitted together as I searched his gaze, murmuring, “Captain—”
We both jumped and whirled around when shouts and clanging metal echoed through the forest.
“That’s back from camp!” I breathed.
“Shit!” he growled, sprinting off, and I gave chase.
I lifted my hands to keep the branches and leaves from slapping my face, almost tripping over several branches. I showed up behind Jackson and I gaped in horror. Cedric was right. There were more hiding in the shadows. The amount wasn’t as many as the knighthood, but the knights were still weakened from the previous battle, some more so than others.
Jackson already dived into the fray with his fierce battle cry, his sword hissing as he unsheathed it. The blade and his armor became further stained in blood as he hacked away at the bandits. His presence alone turned the tides and made the raiders back off. The gentle warmth in his hazel eyes seconds earlier was replaced with blood lust. 
I grimaced at the bloodshed and looked around for the tied up bandits. They were gone. “Damn it…” I muttered, and then gasped when I saw Cedric crawling on the ground. His wound from the previous battle was reopened and bleeding heavily. 
The bandits’ leader walked after him, gripping a cutlass with a sickening grin stretched from ear to ear. I charged in, swinging my rope dart at my side.