Chapter 16 Planted Under New Sunlight
Ruby let out a thundering neigh and her front legs kicked the air. I gasped and rolled out of the way before she could stomp on me. She kicked again, blocking the door, and I scrambled over the side of the stall.
Wait—I can’t keep running away if I want to impress the captain!
My hand clutched around the brush and I breathed, “I’m brushing your hair whether you like it or not!”
Ruby squinted at me, her nostrils flaring. I leapt onto her back, gasping when she almost kicked me off. I clung to her mane I was supposed to detangle for dear life. I barely managed to straddle her as she kicked and spun around. I grunted when she reared back and her neck smacked me in the face, busting my lip.
All the while I struggled to brush her black mane. But after a few strokes, she stopped kicking. A few more strokes, and she stopped stomping.
“You like that, aye?” I panted, slightly smiling.
Ruby snorted and glared up at me again.
My body stiffened as I avoided eye contact. “Okay! Okay,” I mumbled, focusing on brushing her mane.
Once her tangled knots were gone, I slowly slid off her back, keeping my eyes glued to the ground. I felt the mare’s narrowed gaze on my back as I sped walked out of her stall and locked the door behind me.
“Robin?!”
I glanced up when I heard Erik’s voice. He came over holding hay with Cedric at his side. “Oh… hey guys.”
“What were you doing in Ruby’s stall??” Erik exclaimed.
“Captain Jackson wanted me to brush her mane,” I explained.
Erik and Cedric looked at each other wide eyed.
My brows furrowed as I looked between them. “Um… Everything okay?”
“Are YOU okay?” Erik asked.
“What? Of course I am. She’s just a horse, not some bull,” I chuckled, and then jumped when Ruby growled behind me.
“Mhm.” Cedric pointed at my trembling knees. “Are you sure about that?”
“I’m fine! I’m fine.” I exclaimed, crossing my arms.
Cedric sighed. “The captain wants to see you. He’s out front.”
“Oh…” I grimaced, looking away. “Thank you for letting me know.”
Erik shot me a smile while Cedric nodded and the two carried on their way. I stood there, waiting for my body to stop trembling, taking slow breaths.
The thought of speaking to Captain Jackson again was more nervewrecking than locking eyes with his horse. I had half the mind of walking back into Ruby’s stall and letting her kick me in the gut.
With a deep breath, I left the stables and looked around. Captain Jackson was speaking to some of his high ranked subordinates until he spotted me. He gave them a curt nod. The other knights peeked at me before leaving, and then Jackson faced me. I struggled to steady my composure as I approached him.
“Robin,” he grunted, crossing his arms. “Have you completed all of your tasks?”
“Yes, sir,” I mumbled, handing him his notepad.
Jackson cocked his brow as he looked at me, to his notepad, and then back to me. “All of them? Including Ruby?”
“Including Ruby, sir.”
His hazel eyes widened as he looked me up and down. “Well, I’ll be damned. I didn’t think you had it in ya.”
My cheeks flushed as I fumed, biting my tongue to hold back my retort. I could tell Jackson noticed my restrained frustration, the faintest smirk played on his lips.
“Most of my knights get a black eye or broken nose. Meanwhile, you didn’t get a scratch on you.” Jackson squinted closer, and lifted my head with his finger beneath my chin, peering at my busted lip. “Almost.”
The heat in my cheeks went from frustration to embarrassment as I avoided eye contact. His callused hands felt rigid against my skin.
“Ruby is surprisingly forgiving if you brush her mane just right,” I joked, but it was met with his narrowed gaze.
“You’re still too reckless,” he scoffed, releasing my chin. “I don’t know how you did it, but I know you likely would’ve broken your neck if you fucked up.”
WHAT?!
Again, a vein pulsed in my neck. It felt like no matter what I did, I couldn’t please the knighthood’s captain.
“Come with me,” he said, walking past me, and into the stables. I followed him. We passed several stalls until he stopped and faced me. “Does any horse here catch your interest?”
“Um…” I blinked. “Sir?”
Jackson sighed. “Which horse is your favorite?”
I rubbed the back of my neck and looked around. All of the horses were beautiful, but foul in their own way. My head lifted when I caught sight of a beautiful white pelt. I walked over and was met with the white horse’s dark eyes. I couldn’t help but beam a smile. “This one by far.”
“Then he’s yours.”
I spun around, eyes wide. “Pardon?”
“I said the horse is yours.” Jackson tilted his head. “All of my knights need a horse. We often journey far from Embercrest Kingdom on our patrols.”
“Wh—wh—” I stammered. “You said that I have to prove myself to become one of your knights! Was cleaning the stables all it took?”
“No. I already decided when you asked.”
I gaped before my teeth ground, struggling to hold back my heated complaints.
“I decided when you single-handedly fought that bear. Not many of my knights have that fire in their eyes—even in the heat of battle, facing life or death. Ray or not, you were born to be a knight,” he said.
My anger faded like fog at the break of dawn. Such words had never been said to me before, only ever the opposite, and it felt as if hands were squeezing my heart.
“R—really…?” I whispered.
Jackson frowned. “Stop getting worked up over everything so easily. My knights do not wear their hearts on their sleeves. It’ll be the death of you. Understood?”
I wiped the corners of my eyes. “Y—yes, sir!”
“Come.” Jackson left the stables and I eagerly followed. Outside were a cluster of swords and crates leaned against the wooden wall. I perked up.
Am I getting a sword too?
“Think fast.” Jackson tossed me a sword. I gasped, fumbling to grab it before it fell.
“Phew,” I breathed, grinning proudly at my success.
Suddenly the flash of a full moon filled my mind, and my vision was shadowed by my murderer lifting their sword high. My blood still coated the gleaming metal, dripping scarlet drops at the tip. They swung it down, and I screamed, dropping my sword as I stumbled backward with my eyes squeezed shut.