THE KNIGHT AND THE ROSE

The girls were settling down in their houses for the night when the sound of shouting from the direction of the wall drew the attention of several of them to their windows. In the street lights they could see the two standing by the wall.

What they saw caused a variety of emotions; confusion, amusement, dread. Cap and Ginny stood facing each other about 3 or 4 feet apart. They were shouting at each other! Ginny was bent forward, fists balled at her sides, yelling at Cap. Cap stood there, helmet off, yelling back. The girls listened as best they could and made out the following exchange.

"You tin plated Don Quixote wanna be!" Ginny all but screamed at Cap.

"Oh yeah?!" Cap rejoined.

"Yeah! Why don't you go jump in Fire Lake!"

"OH YEAH? Uh...Well, Uh...Fire Lake is dry this time of year!"

Exasperated, Ginny spun on her heel, trembling with anger, and stalked off.

"Ooooo!" she raged, "You are thick as unrefined neutronium!"

Cap watched her go for bit, acted twice as if to say something back, but instead threw his helmet down with considerable force. Then he kicked it as hard as he could toward the perimeter wall where it bounced off with some sparks. He then limped over to pick it up.

"Oh this is bad!" one of the girls says to another, "I've never seen them fight like that before!"

"She called him Donkey Hoatie! Whats a donkey-hoatie?"

"I dunno, but it must be BAD!"

The next day any hopes that the disagreement had passed were dashed. The two did not even look at each other in the hallway when they passed. They sat clear across the lunch room from each other.

Their relationship had its highs and lows, times when they were so close rumors of marriage were in the air, and times when they acted only as friends, but never had they been outwardly hostile to each other. This was the worst the girls and the faculty had ever seen it. The two weren't seen at the wall at all after this.

Then Ginny went out on a date with an officer from the airbase in Pace. The guy drove up and honked for her. She happily ran out of her bungalo to the waiting sports car and they disappeared down the road. Cap emerged from the shadows and glared at the receding tail lights.

Then he drew his sword and attacked a nearby metal light pole in his rage. Sparks flew as the blade bit deep into the pole, almost two thirds through it with one swing. He withdrew it, kicked the pole while saying something in a language none of the curious could understand, then ran the pole through with one thrust. Pulling the oddly blue glowing blade free, he stood there as if in deep pain, almost as if crying. He then stumbled away into the darkness, head down, shoulders slumped.

Ginny came back late that night, waved to the car, and swayed slightly as she walked back to her bungalo. She fumbled with her keys, dropped them, picked them up, and stumbled inside. It was not clear if her unusual clumsiness was because of the late hour or the possibility she had been drinking at the club they went to.

The next day Kap was reprimanded by the school superintendent Sharon Taylor and had to pay for a new light pole. Ginny seemed to have a headache all day, and didn't like loud noises. The iciness between Cap and Ginny continued.

Next weekend, Ginny went on a date with Chuck Midnight. Chuck was the Drivers Ed and Shop teacher, and also a professional race car driver and tester. His work at Guiding Light was more or less a service, for he made considerably more money with his position as driver and tester than he ever did as a teacher. He owned several Saleen Mustangs, and picked Ginny up in one of the powerful Mustang based sports cars.

Ginny was also Chuck's timer and book keeper during the summer racing season, so they knew each other from that, but this was the first time they ever went out.

The powerful car purred off into the distance.

Cap watched them leave, but did nothing. He also saw them come back in late that night. Ginny was dropped off at her bungalo and Midnight drove over to his sizable house. She waved at him as he left, and just walked straight to her bungalo and entered.

Then came Ginny's third date. The guy picked her up at her bungalo and away they went. Within an hour, much to everyone's surprise, they came back and Ginny got out of the car and slammed the door. She was yelling at the guy and stomped away into her bungalo. The guy spun his tires noisily as he left. Something definitely went wrong there.

The dating stopped after that incident.

This circus went on for a time, and the girls at the home watched on. Some didn't care, but most didn't like it. Cap and Ginny were an item, and sort of a living romantic fantasy to them. The Knight and the Damsel. The Warrior and his Lady. Now it was in danger of being lost.

Then something happened that had nothing to do with the current friction between the two; a girl ran away.

Run-aways happen. Girls get fed up with the place and leave. Some try to go back where they came from. Others just try to get out of the institution for a variety of reasons. The bottom line is, that in a place like Guiding Light, very few are there because they want to be, and far fewer like it. Plenty to eat, good clothes, and a nice place to stay can't make up for a lack of parental love and affection and family bonds. Not to mention the freedom of doing what you want. Many chaffed under the rules and systems.

Now a girl had disappeared. Most take the highway to Pace, hitching a ride with strangers, then turn up miles away. Some are okay, some are in pretty bad shape, some even end up dead. This girl, for reasons unknown, took the overland route into the desert. Perhaps she thought the shortest route between two points was a straight line, so in order to get where she wanted to go, she took off across the desert. Definitely not a good idea.

After a couple days of searching by the authorities, nothing was found. Sharon Taylor called a staff meeting to see what they should do. If the girl didn't turn up some place the next day she'd have to be declared lost, feared dead. Mrs. Taylor hadn't had a girl die here in ages, and she didn't want this to be the first. Unless they found her, she would have to give up.

Seated at the table in the cafeteria were Mrs. Taylor herself, Paul Arcon, Ginny, Cap, Gabrielle Wilson, Coach Collins, and all the rest of the faculty. Ideas were given, examined, and acted upon by their merits.

The table went silent. Then Cap spoke up.

"I know someone who can find her."

Mrs. Taylor looked over at Cap, and pushed her glasses back up.

"How? Helicopters from the airbase with thermal imaging couldn't find her. What makes you think someone else can?"

Paul Arcon butted in.

"I think he can do it, Mrs. Taylor. He knows some, er, interesting people. It won't hurt to let him try."

It was known that Paul knew some things about Cap that the rest of the faculty didn't. Rumor had it that they spent some time together in where ever it was that Cap came from, and did some of the same things Cap did.

Mrs. Taylor thought for a minute, then looked at Cap.

"This guy, what is he? Some sort of mountain man or something?"

Cap looked back at her, a very serious expression his face. He blamed himself for not stopping the girl from leaving. He had been distracted, and failed. Now he had a chance to deal with it and maybe make up for his failure.

"Or something. He's a tracker, outdoorsman. We call them "Rangers". Its what they do. They can follow a trail that is cold for many days."

"Even three days?"

"Yes. They know the ways of the wilderness, and can live where most folks cannot. They have an eye for tracking and wilderness survival."

"I guess we have nothing to lose. How soon can this guy be here?"

"With in the hour, and we can go searching at sunrise."

"Good. Can we give you anything? What do you need from us?"

"Patience, and your prayers." 

At sunrise the next day a fellow they had never seen before sat on a fine horse outside Cap's bungalo. He was clad in green from head to foot, carried a sword similar in make to Cap's, and had an odd looking bow and quiver of arrows. He had long blond hair and a beard to match. He and Cap spoke to each other in a tongue no one understood there. Cap was saddling his horse while the fellow waited. A small gathering watched on in silence, including Mrs. Taylor. Finally she spoke up.

"Who is he, Cap?"

"Jack Ogre-Taunt. I don't know if he speaks English, but he might."

The fellow just looked at Mrs. Taylor with a neutral expression. She didn't try to talk to him. She knew Cap had some very unusual associates, and she didn't need to know too much about them.

Ginny watched on in interest. Cap swung up into the saddle and lead Jack over to the house where the girl lived. Jack dismounted, looking at the ground. He said something to Cap, and Cap replied. Suddenly he mounted back up and still studying the ground, took off toward one of the gates at a trot. Cap followed. Cap looked back and waved to the watching people. Ginny and he made eye contact once, but neither acknowledged it. She watched as they got lost from sight in the morning thermals coming off the desert. Then she spoke to Paul Arcon.

"You think they'll find her?"

"I know they will. These guys can find a needle in a haystack. Alive or dead, they'll find her, and bring her back."

"I just hope shes alive..." Ginny said, then blushed from stating the obvious.

The desert heat shot up enormously as the two riders ate up miles. Jack spoke to the Captain.

"How long did you say? Three days?"

"Two. Today will be three."

"Then we must find her today. Judging from the look of her tracks, she's traveling too light to be carrying much, and she probably doesn't know how to find water. Fortunately there aren't the type of vermin here like we have back home, so all we have to worry about is the desert itself killing her and not something else."

Some time later they stopped. Cap and Jack drank from their leather waterskins after giving some water to the horses.

"How far do you think she's got in two days?" Cap asked.

"Kid with problems, angry, and frightened. Hard to say. They can push themselves quite a bit. Maybe as far as 60 miles, Cap."

Cap shook his head. 60 miles is too far to go in one day on horseback. If they don't find her today, it'll be too late.

"Lets ride."

They rested their horses many hours later and ate a small meal. What ever was propelling the girl along, it wasn't good sense. She hadn't taken any food along, or water. At about this time on the first day she had plopped down from exhaustion. How long she rested here, could not be said, but she took off in the same direction soon afterward.

"She sure wants to get somewhere pretty bad, Cap."

The problem here was not with the riders. Humans can push themselves beyond normal limits. The problem was the horses. They had to be taken care of and minded, and if pushed too hard or too far too fast, they'd be blown out and useless. Otherwise the journey could go on non-stop until they found the girl.

On they went.

After some time, Jack called out that the tracks were getting fresher. They speeded up their pursuit. It abruptly halted at the banks of an arroyo. Jack looked down over the edge. He couldn't see anything.

"My guess is she climbed down or fell in! Probably came here looking for water. Looks to be about 30 feet down. Wanna get down there?"

"Yes."

Both men dismounted and quickly began rigging ropes. They rigged Swiss Seats and secured them with carabiners. One rope for each man was secured to nearby boulders, and tossed down in the arroyo. Then ropes were secured to the saddle of each horse, and tossed into the arroyo.

Cap called the girls name down in the arroyo, but got no response. A sense of dread filled him, but a look upward showed no buzzards and no coyote tracks could be seen by either man. They quickly snapped the ropes into the carabiners rappelled down into the dry riverbed. Once on the bottom, they released from the ropes, and went in opposite directions. Jack soon called and Cap came at a dead run.

They had found her! She was amost completely buried under a landslide. She had apparently managed to get down the embankment somehow and got under an outcropping to shield her from the blazing sun. Then something triggered the landslide that buried her here. She was still alive, but just barely.

"Get some potions and shovels! I'll tend to her here!" Cap said.

Jack nodded once and skillfully free climbed back up the embankment. Cap tended to what injuries he could see. She was dangerously dehydrated and probably had broken bones as well. It was a rough lesson for a 13 year old girl.

Cap mumbled a few words, his right hand glowed slightly and he touched the girl on the forehead. Her breathing got stronger almost instantly and her color improved visibly.

"Antonia, can you hear me?" Cap said.

Her eyes flickered open and she weakly looked at Cap. Cap smiled back to her.

"Hi." he said.

"Captain!" the girl struggled out, "I'm sorry. I..."

"Shhh! Everything is okay. We are gonna dig you out and get you out of here. Tell me where you are hurting."

Jack returned with the items and Cap gave her a drink of a potion. Then both men took to digging her out with the light folding shovels they had on their horses. After a little work the girl was out of the debris. Both men splinted her up and secured her to a stretcher they had fabricated on site. They then rigged up ropes to the stretcher. These were secured to the ropes tied to the horse's saddles. Jack climbed back out again and guided the stretcher out as the horses backed up, pulling its load out of the arroyo. Cap followed immediately after, pulled up on the same ropes.

They put the stretcher on the ground, and Cap reached into his saddlebags and pulled out a light military radio. He called the airbase in Pace. In minutes a Blackhawk Medivac helicopter was on its way. Cap turned on the locator beacon in the radio and set it on the ground. They then rigged a sunshield for Antonia and Cap sat on the ground next to her.

"Why did you run away, Toni?" Cap asked her.

"Wanna go home. Just wanna go home again, thats all." 

"Why this way? Why through the desert?"

"Highway was too dangerous. You said so."

Cap shook his head. Kids.

He passed the time by telling her a story of the land he came from, about a love of a knight for his lady, and an encounter with the elves, and a battle to save the lady from the goblins. The girl listened, but the story was far from finished when the whirring blades of the helicopter could be heard. It landed nearby. Jack and Cap helped load Antonia on the Copter. The girl looked at Cap.

"How does the story end?"

"I'll tell you later," Cap said, smiling at her one last time.

The crew chief shook Cap's hand, and the machine rose into the sky throwing dust and small rocks in all directions. It then sped off toward Pace. Both men watched it leave with great satisfaction.

"Not a bad days work," Jack said.

Cap nodded.

"Its too late for us to get back to the Home today. Lets make camp and stuff ourselves. What do you say?"

Jack smiled and nodded. Soon they had a fire going and were feasting on their rations. The horses were also fed and watered.

About noon the next day the weary pair rode into the main gate of the Girls Home. Students and faculty poured out of the buildings and applauded them as they made their way to the stables. The men acknowledged the praise.

They reigned up in front of Mrs. Taylor. She beamed up at them both.

"Unbelievable, Cap. Antonia has a few broken bones and the like but is in very good condition at the hospital. She says something about a story you have to finish."

Cap and Jack smiled to each other.

"After we get everything put away, I'd like to go see her, Mrs. Taylor. What say you Jack?"

"Don't care much for cities myself, Cap. Need to get back. My people will be wondering where I am."

"Fine. I'm sure Mrs. Taylor can give you a nice dinner here before you go back home, though."

"That would be good."

Cap reached into a pouch on his belt. Jack put up a hand to stop him.

"No payment is needed, Cap. This was a quest. We were successful. I will not accept your money."

Cap then slapped the man on the shoulder in a brotherly fashion and they continued on to the stables.

The crowd watched them go and one of the girls couldn't help notice the earnest with which Ginny was looking at Cap. There was a look on the pretty teachers face of downright awe and admiration. She would almost say love, but wasn't sure. The girl smiled to herself, and hoped everything would soon be all right.

Cap went to the hospital, and Jack ate his fill in the Cafeteria. The odd man in green then disappeared after that with his horse, riding out the main gate and out of sight.

That weekend Cap was practicing jousting on his horse. Man and beast were in full battle armor. A small group of girls sat near the perimeter wall, doing homework and watching the practice. Cap had set up a jousting dummy near the track, and made regular passes at it with his lance. This was called Quintain. The Quintain dummy has a shield on its left side and a flail on the right. When the shield is struck the dummy spins and the flail can strike the knight if he is not careful, delivering a blow of considerable force. Cap had a few marks on his shield already and not a few bruises to go along with it. Each time Cap would charge the dummy, the girls would cheer and applaud. When he took a whack from the flail they all went "Ooooo!" in sympathy.

Then Ginny walked through a nearby gate and stood watching. Cap noticed her almost immediately. They made eye contact. Cap then made another pass at the dummy, dodging the flail. The girls applauded. Ginny stepped forward to be in front of the little gathering, eyes locked on Cap. Cap reigned his horse and looked at her for a moment, considering his options. He planted his lance in the ground by the butt. Then he rode over to her. He drew his sword and formally saluted her, then put the weapon back. The girls watched in great curiosity and awe. Something was about to happen.

"That was a wonderful thing you did, Cap." Ginny said. 

Cap raised his helmet and looked at the woman.

"It is what I do, Ginny. I can do no less."

She nodded, a smile came to her face. It was his stock answer when he was praised.

"Still, it was wonderful."

Cap accepted the praise with a nod. He worked up his courage.

"I want to talk to you again. Can I see you tonight, at the wall?" he said.

"I'd like that very much," she replied.

The girls then got very interested. Books closed. One stood up. All eyes were on the two.

"What about the guys you dated?" Cap asked before he even realized he'd said it. He blushed visibly with embarrassment.

"I just went out with the pilot to make you angry. I see I succeeded. That was wrong of me. I went out with Chuck because hes a friend."

"And the third guy?"

"That was a mistake."

"If hes harmed you in any way..." Cap growled.

"No, it was just a misunderstanding Cap."

Ginny thought for a moment, then continued.

"I went out with these guys, not just to make you mad but to see if it would be any different. To see if things had changed. They hadn't. I went with the pilot to a show and dancing. It wasn't as much fun as I thought it would be. I tried, but something was missing. There wasn't anything good to talk about, either. It didn't feel.... Secure, proper, trusting. I couldn't relax.

"Chuck was okay, but he's a friend. It was like going out with my brother. He's interested in someone else anyway, and all he did was talk about her.

"The last guy was a jerk. The less said about that the better.

"But the point is, I think I missed you. I didn't realize how much until just recently. You're the best friend I've got, Cap, and I don't want it to end because we disagreed about something."

Cap sat in the saddle a moment, gazing at her, digesting what she said.

Then he rode over to a rose bush. He cut off a single red rose with his dagger and returned to Ginny. He handed her the flower, thorns and all. She admired the flower and smelled of it briefly. She looked back up at him.

"Friendship can be like a rose, Ginny. Beautiful but with thorns. Handle it carefully or be injured. I suppose we both got stuck by our own thorns. I hope we have put that behind us. What we have is too good of a thing to let die.

"But, Ginny, you can't let our friendship get in the way of you finding somebody. I want you to be happy. Don't let what we have get in the way of what can be.

"Eventually you are going to find someone. Someone who loves as much as..." Cap hesitated, then continued, "Someone who loves you a great deal. Yes, it might hurt me, but I've been hurt before and I'll get over it. I'll still be very happy for you when you've found that somebody special you're looking for."

Ginny looked up at his eyes and thought "What if that someone is the person I'm looking at right now? What if? No, I can't. Not here, and not him. It wouldn't be right. Not with who I am, and what I am. It would be wrong."

Cap studied her a bit. She was so lovely. He looked back into her eyes.

"It would be SO easy to fall in love with her" he thought, "But shes not for a guy like me. Too pretty, too bright, too worldly. Just look at her. No, not for me. I aimed too high once before, and never again. I wont make that mistake twice. Besides, shes bound to find someone better than a beat up old knight."

Ginny made a motion for the Captain to lean down. He did. She kissed him lightly on the cheek.

"I'll see you at the wall." she said.

Cap raised back up, looked at her, tipped his helmet back down into place and resumed his jousting. Ginny watched for a while then left. The girls exploded in whispered gossip over what they had just seen and took in.

That night, to the delight of the faculty and alumni, Ginny and Cap were back at the wall, talking, laughing and of course, kissing each other with great passion.