"I don't like it."
Jasper pushed a hanging branch aside as he followed Bennet into the woods. He broke a smaller branch of to fiddle with as he walked. They were on guard duty for the night and were slowly circling around the camp in an attempt to head off any intruders before they reached the makeshift tents and bedrolls.
"I was just thinking the same thing," Bennet responded, keeping his voice low.
"Why would Houndsley let him go? Why would he want to go? He's been Lorelei's minion for years." Jasper couldn't keep the bitterness from seeping into his words.
"We'll just have to keep tabs on him. I don't think he's much of a threat with that gash on his leg, but it's shallow and will heal quickly." Bennet paused. "I definitely think he's up to something." Jasper only huffed a breath out as he nodded in ascent.
Then men continued their rounds in silence, Jasper's mood growing more foul by the minute. The falling temperature didn't help. After several unseasonably warm days, this night was clenched in the icy cold grip of winter. Jasper glowered at the air in front of him, his breath swirling in his face. He couldn't stop thinking about what a terrible idea it was to let Kade travel with them, but Zephyr seemed to have her heart set on helping the man. When he and Bennet had left camp she had been checking under Kade's bandages for signs of infection.
Jasper snapped the branch.
Bennet let out a small chuckle. "You're wound tighter than one of Saria's curls." Jasper looked at the broken twigs in his hand for a moment before tossing them aside. He shoved one hand in his pocket and rested the other on the pommel of his sword.
"This wouldn't have anything to do with a certain woman would it?" Bennet's voice was teasing and his eyes gleamed with mischief in the moonlight. Jasper threw a glare in the other man's direction and walked faster. Bennet increased his pace to catch up before starting in again.
"I wouldn't worry about having any competition, at least not from him. She isn't going to be trusting Kade any time soon. Stars, the only reason she trusted us was because she had to." Bennet's tone changed a bit with that last statement and Jasper turned toward his friend at last. Bennet's face had gone from cheerful to serious, a somewhat rare change. Jasper waited for him to continue.
"I think you should be careful, Jas," Bennet said. Jasper's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to respond but Bennet held up a hand to stop him.
"Hear me out. It's pretty obvious that you're smitten." Again, Jasper made an attempt at protest, but promptly gave up when Bennet gave him a bored stare. "We've been friends for what? Twelve years? I know when you're smitten. You get this look, where your mouth turns up a bit at the corners and your eyes go all squished."
"I smile." Jasper gave Bennet his first eye roll of the evening.
"Smile! Yes, that's it. More specifically, you smile at the object you're smitten with. In this case, Zephyr."
Stars above, Jasper couldn't even hear her name without his pulse giving a start and his face warming. Not that he would ever admit those things to Bennet.
"Okay, so are you planning to circle back to why I need to be careful?"
Bennet clapped a hand on Jasper's shoulder.
"Ah. Yes. That." Bennet's tone once again had a layer of seriousness to it. "You're as much family to me as my ma and Lyra. I don't want to see you get hurt. And I really don't want to see Zephyr get hurt."
"Neither do I." Jasper's voice was solemn as he glanced up toward the moons hanging in the veil of blackness above.
"She's been through a lot, Jas. I don't think now would be a good time for any declarations of love."
Jasper tripped. This seemed to amuse Bennet immensely, if his stifled cackles were any indication.
"Who said love? I didn't say love," Jasper glowered at Bennet this time. "I believe smitten was the word you used, so let's stick with that. And besides," Jasper sighed. "I'm not a dolt. We have more pressing matters at hand than any declarations of smittenness." Bennet had reined in his laughter and gave Jasper a commiserating glance.
"If things were normal, if we weren't running, would you say something to her?"
Jasper thought about this for a few moments. Would he? He didn't doubt that his emotions would probably be stronger in a normal situation, without other problems pressing in all around him. He looked back up at the moons as a strong, chilling breeze pushed into him from the direction of the camp. Jasper let out a tired sigh.
"No. I wouldn't," he finally answered. "If we're right about her, then you and I both know it could never last anyways." Bennet's smile seemed sad as her squeezed Jasper's shoulder before letting his hand drop. Jasper watched his friend nod before turning to face forward as they continued circling the camp.
~
Aside from her runs with Bennet each morning and horrendous attempts at sparring with Jasper, Zephyr spent most of her time at Saria's side. She had ached for her friend for what had felt like forever. Now that she was there by her side Zephyr didn't want to let her out of her sight. Saria seemed similarly inclined. Bennet loved to tease them about how inseparable they were, though Zephyr suspected this was mostly an attempt to get Saria away for a few moments. It was quite amusing. Zephyr had watched her friend stay just out of reach of every farmboy and young merchant in Bremerton. Playing hard to get was Saria's specialty.
The days quickly rolled into a week as the small group of rebels traveled the countryside following the river. Zephyr had reverted back to quietly observing most of the time, no longer gripped by the gut-wrenching grief that had been plaguing her. When she wasn't discussing everything under the sky with Saria, Zephyr spent her time playing with Tib or keeping tabs on Kade. The latter seemed to be integrating himself into their little group well. He had a snide charm about him that drew others in. Zephyr watched as one person after another let their guard down around him. Zephyr kept hers steadily up, and noted that a few others did as well. Saria flat out disliked Kade, which Zephyr found unsurprising. Their personalities were too similar, with an added darkness lurking behind Kade's seemingly good-natured smirks.
Zephyr was leading Belles along while Tib sat in the saddle when a town came into view in the distance. The afternoon sun was a much needed relief as it beat down on her and warmed her slightly, but the idea of an inn with a hearth and a warm mug of tea made Zephyr's heart sore. She reached up to snatch Tib off of Belles, much to the little one's consternation, as he had been a half moment away from latching on to the horse's ears. Others in the group were pulling to a stop as well, those on foot beginning to congregate around Frederick Deveraux. Zephyr planted herself on the outer edge of the group, balancing Tib on her hip as he squirmed and reached back toward her horse.
"Jasper, Bennet," Frederick was saying with a level voice. "You two go ahead and scout the surrounding area. See if there are any patrols we need to watch out for. Saria and I will go ahead to the town and see if we can find lodgings for the night." Zephyr decided that Frederick looked as though he really wanted to do anything but that. She supposed that he wanted to continue onward, taking no chances on a town full of strangers. Zephyr would probably agree with him, if she weren't so blasted cold and tired. Sleep. In a bed. That's the dream, she thought to herself.
Zephyr wasn't the only one who seemed to feel that way, if the faces of the people surrounding her were any indication. Next to her, Gretchen was nearly vibrating with anticipation, her hands gently twisting and tugging on her long, dark braid. Tib took note of this as well. Zephyr saw what he was going to do a moment before it happened, but she was too late. The small boy lunged forward and snatched Gretchen's braid in his own tiny hands, giving it a good, hard yank in the process. Gretchen squealed and jumped away, leaving a handful of dark hairs in Tib's hands. Saria smirked from where she sat on her horse, watching the whole exchange.
"Tib! No!" Zephyr scolded the boy, who was grinning like a small fool. She looked back at Gretchen, who was glowering in her direction. Zephyr tried lightening the mood. "At least he's finally interacting with other people?" It didn't work. Gretchen stormed off, gingerly rubbing a spot on the side of her head. Bennet's laughter reached Zephyr before he did.
"I don't know if you were trying to be funny or not, but that was brilliant," he said between his cackling. Jasper followed behind him. Zephyr felt her cheeks color.
"Well, with the way he pulls the horse's hair all the time, she probably should have known better," Zephyr said with a smile. The prospect of a night spent indoors was drastically improving her mood. Bennet gave another laugh.
"We should head out," Jasper said as he tried to corral Bennet away from the group. Zephyr reach out a hand, grabbing his arm before he could walk away. "Be careful, please." Jasper looked down at where her hand rested on his upper arm, his body stiff and unmoving. After a long moment he pulled away, giving her a small smile that didn't quite reach his night dark eyes.
"We'll be back soon," was all Jasper said as he walked away. Bennet just gave Zephyr a shrug and a grin before following after his friend. Zephyr stood there, eyes wide as she tried to absorb the strange interaction.
"That was incredibly awkward," Saria said as she rode up next to where Zephyr stood still. Zephyr just looked at her friend and gave a small shrug as well. Tib reached out and pulled on a chunk of Spud's mane. The ugly beast gave the boy a look that could unsettle a hardened warrior. Tib quickly let go and leaned back into Zephyr's arms.
"Well maybe you shouldn't do that anymore," she suggested sternly before looking back up at Saria. "You'll be careful too, right?"
"I'll be with my father, he's the epitome of careful," Saria said flatly, glancing in Frederick's direction. The sun glinted off of the frizzy mess of hair she had tried to tie back away from her and turned it a brilliant orange. Zephyr thought maybe someone with such notable hair wasn't the best person to send into the town, and made a note to wear a hood if she went into the town.
"I am worried though," Saria continued, turning back to Zephyr. "I wonder if it's a good idea to take Kade into a town." Zephyr nodded, her expression growing grim.
"We'll just have to keep an eye on him. If we can stay then we need too. Everyone could use a good night of sleep." Saria nodded deeply, sighing as she did so. Both girls looked toward the town as Frederick called for his daughter. Saria turned back toward Zephyr one more time and gave her a knowing smile.
"I promise I'll be careful," she said teasingly before turning to ride away toward her father. Zephyr's watched Saria go, the orange ball of frizz bouncing on her head as she trotted towards the town.