Chapter 36 Bloodied Petals
Captain!
I bit my lip anxiously and gasped when their swords collided. The bandits surrounded the small number of knights. The clang of swords and their roared battle cries echoed. My hand snatched my rope dart, but the knight next to me gripped my wrist.
“Hold on. We were given orders to wait for Captain Jackson’s signal, remember?”
“Yes, but…!” I protested.
“Trust the captain.”
My jaw clenched, but I took my hand from my rope dart. Every bone in my body wanted me to rush to their rescue. The circled knights managed to break free and retreat toward the forest. Towards us. The bandits pursued them, cockily thinking they’ve got the knighthood on the run. My heart pounded, adrenaline pumping through my veins.
This is it.
When Group A turned to face them again, they clashed. The duel-wielding bandit stayed on Jackson’s tail the entire time and immediately struck when given the chance.
Our captain gave a fierce battle cry; the fire in his eyes something I’ve never seen before. “For Embercrest!” he roared.
“Now!” the knight next to me shouted, and they charged past me. I adjusted my helmet and rushed in too, unwrapping my rope dart and swinging it at my side.
The bandits’ eyes flew wide when the knighthood’s numbers doubled. Their split-second of hesitation was all it took to drive them back.
“Do not retreat!” the duel-wielding bandit snarled at his subordinates, forcing his followers back into place. He and three other bandits crowded Jackson, attacking him mercilessly, but our captain skillfully blocked each blow and fought back.
I sprinted to his rescue, but the swing of a curved sword nicked my helmet. I instinctively jumped to the side, facing my attacker. The bandit snarled and swiped his sword at me, but my rope dart slapped it aside with lightning speed, slashing the back of his hand. He yelped and dropped his weapon. My razor-sharp weapon sliced through his pants, slashing his kneecap. The man cried out and fell, clutching his leg as it became soaked red.
Quickly, I continued to rush to Jackson’s side, but froze in my tracks. The captain had already won the fight, but blood soaked his armor, hair, and splattered his face. His drenched bangs had slipped out of their bun. At first glance, I could tell it wasn’t his blood. Three of the bandits lay mutilated at his feet, their blood dripping from his sword and his chin.
I took a step back and stiffened when he glanced my way, his hazel eyes locked with mine. The fire in his eyes was as cold as ice. That warm flicker in his eyes from my memories felt like it had never existed—a fragment of my childhood imagination.
Is that really Jackson…?
My gaze drifted back to the slaughtered bodies at his feet, and I didn’t spot the leader. Alarm struck me. I looked around wildly and saw Cedric locked in combat, his arm bleeding.
I rushed to his side, hooked my rope dart below my heel, and kicked it at the bandit. The blow went through the man’s hand, disarming him. Cedric took the chance to attack, slashing him across the chest. The bandit cried out in pain as he collapsed.
Cedric groaned, holding his bloodied arm as I hurried to his side.
“Cedric! Are you okay?!”
“Worry about yourself,” he grunted, his breaths heavy.
“There’s so much blood…” I breathed. “You can’t keep fighting—”
“Robin!” Cedric snapped, and then coughed. “Don’t tell me to do something I’ll take shame in…!”
I grimaced at his words. If someone told me the same, I would’ve repeated his words. I glanced around. The knighthood was holding their ground, but something felt off. The bandits were organized, and I could tell they’ll get the upper hand if there’s one slip-up.
These are still my people, I told myself. Princess or not.
The leader has to be taken out. He must’ve escaped Captain Jackson… I’ll find him and disable him. The captain can take care of the rest.
I faced the hoard of bandits that threatened to surround us, swinging my bloodied rope dart at my side.
“Robin!” Cedric coughed and groaned, stumbling back.
I charged the group. My twirling rope dart moved as if it were a part of my body; striking at the attackers I dodged, flying over my shoulder or past my thigh, weakening and disabling my opponents, preventing them from continuing the fight.
What surprised me was my elegant moves, like a deadly dance. As several turned into a few and more surrounded me, my reflexes became faster. Predicting their moves. A simple tilt of my head dodged a fatal blow to my jaw, and I countered with my rope dart slashing his nose, spraying blood in his eyes.
I may have trained, but this was battle experience far beyond what I possessed.
This was muscle memory.
Robin is fighting for me!
The panting, bleeding bandits around me stepped away. Fear and resentment in their eyes, but their bodies were stiff, some trembling. Whatever confidence they had was long gone.
A slow clap approached me from behind. I spun around, and my heart jolted. Their leader walked over, eyeing me down with amusement. Now closer, I could see a ghastly scar on the left side of his face that split his lip, carved up his cheek, and nicked his brow. The eye was gray, the other brown.
I shuddered at the sight. I’ve never seen a scar so horrible.
“Well, now…” he said. “You’re smaller than the rest of the knights, yet double the ferocity.” His eyes fell to my swinging rope dart. “Interesting choice of weapon.”
I urgently glanced around for Jackson, but lost sight of him in the chaos.
When I turned back to the duel-wielder, I shrieked as one of his swords dove for my face. I narrowly dodged, but his curved sword hooked under my helmet and swung it up, nicking my jaw. My helmet took flight and bounced off the ground, rolling away.
My bright ginger hair blew in the wind as I glared up at him. The bandits next to him gaped, shocked to see I was no man. However, their leader smirked.
“A ginger-haired woman playing knight, swinging a little knife on a string… so you’re the one who bested my two scouts. I expected a burly woman, not a pretty face.” He approached me, spinning his curved swords. “Your callous captain isn’t coming, sweetheart. How about you and I have some fun…”