She's His Medication; She's My Drug

We were silent many hours into the journey. We hadn’t spoken since I found her sitting on the log. We were taking longer than it would have with any other human because Miss White would trip a lot and hold her hands out in front of her and feel things. I was getting impatient; we should have gotten so much farther than this.
I heard a scuff as Miss Rosalie Abigail White fell again for the one hundred and thirty eighth time.
I felt like turning around and shouting at her to be more careful but I swallowed my irrational anger towards the poor, innocent, beautiful, blind girl. Instead I turned around and took her hand, helping her up.
“Be more careful,” I said. My voice was flat like usual but something in the girl’s face said she got something from it.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
We fell silent again and stayed so for a good twenty minutes.
All I could think of, much to my embarrassment, was Miss White’s beauty. Her shiny hair, her cute, up-turned nose, her wide, beautiful, non-seeing eyes, her full, round, red lips, her adorable blush, her slender neck, her soft, pale skin, her small, dainty shoulders, her large, round br-
I cut myself off, angry for thinking of such a thing, for taking her beauty like that and for glancing there to think like that. I was so angry I almost let it show on my face and I had to smother the growl I could feel building up in my chest.
After a few minutes of my silent, internal anger, Miss Rosalie broke the silence even though that was easier for her as she struggled to keep up with me.
“Sir Doyle?” She called out form a few feet behind me.
“Yes.” My voice was gruff from my internal anger.
“How old are you?” She asked.
I glanced at her from the side of my eyes. She was looking in my general direction and her eyes screamed innocence and interest despite their lack of life. I looked forward again, my steps never faltering.
“Twenty-one,” I answered curtly.
“Oh,” she said and was silent again.
“How did you become a knight?” She asked after five minutes had passed.
“All the things I’ve done for the king, my loyalty to him and how brave and well I fought when I was in battles.” I made sure my tone was indifferent and emotionless. I was going to stay a strong, brave warrior my whole life.
She was silent again for another moment before asking me, “What did you do in battles? Are you a war hero?”
I nearly smiled. Nearly, but didn’t. Emotions were for the weak and for women. I am a strong man.
“I don’t think I should tell you for fear of giving you dark dreams. I don’t know about being a war hero,” I told her.
“Well… have you won any medals from being in battle?” She asked me, she was sounding breathless. Maybe I should let her take a break…? No. That would only slow us down.
“Yes, several,” I told her.
“Then you are a war hero!” She exclaimed happily.
I glanced back at her and she was beaming, showing me all of her straight, white teeth. Her cheeks were red from exertion.
“Forgive me m’lady. You look tired. Would you like to have a quick rest? We wouldn’t want you to faint,” I said to her. I made sure my voice was flat so my kind words would seem slightly cold but in a polite manner.
She froze.
“Miss White?” I asked, slightly startled. “What’s the matter?”
She shook her head. “Nothing. Thank you kindly sire, I would love a rest. You wouldn’t happen to have any water with you, do you?” She felt around for something to sit on. She settled with a large, flat rock.
I didn’t. I only had an empty canteen. The river was only a mile away so I could run.
“As a matter of fact I do,” I lied. ‘But – oh – I seem to have dropped it slightly farther back on the trail. I will go look for it. If anything happens, or anyone comes, even if it is your grandfather, I would very much appreciate if you would scream so I can get to you as fast as possible.”
“Okay,” she huffed, regaining her breath.
Why was I being so protective? She’s only one little human girl. She’s nothing special.
It’s probably because she’s going to save the king, I told myself.
I sprinted off as silently and quickly as I could.
The trees flew past me far faster than I thought they would and I reached the river in only thirty seconds. In a flash I had the lid off the canteen and had plunged it in the water where I knew it was safest to drink from and put the lid back on the canteen and was back to the trail we walked along, slightly behind Miss White.
I began to walk towards her like a human and took a deep, unnecessary breath in and exhaled heavily, just to seem more human to her.
“I’m back Miss White,” I told her.
“I know,” she said, beaming. “I heard you coming to me, Sir Doyle. Did you find your gourd?”
I didn’t say to her that I had a canteen, not a gourd, for fear of embarrassing her. That would be unpleasant for her and she was so happy at the moment. I didn’t want to wipe that pretty smile off her face.
“Yes, I did Miss White. Would you like a drink from it? You look thirsty,” I stated.
“Oh, yes please! Very much so!” She was so animated right now. She seemed like a little girl. Suddenly a thought struck her. “If you wouldn’t mind that is, I meant to say. Forgive my manners.”
“No, it’s okay. Your manners are just right, Miss White,” I said. Her hands began searching for the water I promised her.
Since she was blind and wouldn’t see, I rolled my eyes towards heaven before crouching down to catch her hands and placed the canteen in her hands before taking off the lid.
She eagerly brought the canteen to her lips before gulping down the water greedily.
“Just don’t choke on the water and drown,” I mumbled before sitting down on the exposed root of a large tree across from her.
She pulled the canteen away from her lips gasping and panting for oxygen before saying, “Don’t worry Sir Alexander, I won’t!” happily and brought the canteen back to her lips before finishing it off.
Then she dropped the canteen and flopped on to her back, gasping for air happily.
I just sat on the root watching her. I had never seen someone be so… expressive. It was amusing. The corners of my mouth kept twitching till finally I let it pull up into a large smile. That was the first time I had smiled in nine and a half years. This girl was magic.
Suddenly, Miss White burst out laughing, startling me with her pretty, high, tinkling laugh.
“Miss White? What’s wrong?” I asked, managing to pull off only mildly interested.
“I feel so free!” She exclaimed. “I thought I was going to live in that little, old log cabin till I died! Not that I don’t love Grandpa, I do, but – oh!” And she burst out laughing again. “Oh, how fun it is to just laugh for no reason at all!” And she started laughing again.
I beamed at her now, I couldn’t hold it in anymore and I began to laugh with her. My laugh surprised me; it was so very deep. I hadn’t laughed since I was twelve.
The sun began to set and as we laughed and soon after, our laughter died away.
Laughing felt so good, the bubbles rippling out of my chest, maybe it wasn’t so bad after all…
Miss White never sat up. All the walking and laughing wore her out and she fell asleep on the rock.
She was so beautiful when she slept; her cheeks flushed a rosy pink in her sleep. She looked like… well to be honest she looked kind of like what my mother looked like before she passed away.
And so she slept with me watching over her the whole nightlong.