The Once and Future King

It was the second game of the season and the Knights were on their turf. As everyone got ready Lance leaned against his locker facing Will. “Noticed the tension?”

“You mean like there wasn’t before?” Will teased rummaging through his locker before growing serious. “It’s worse. What happened? I assume you know.”

“Know?” Lance snorted. “I was there…. What we talked about happened.” Will looked surprised. “El confronted Marcus after he called Issy basically a hooker because of what he was wearing. She got mad and tried tell Marcus to respect Issy but you know him. Things got tense…”

“What do you mean?”

“He basically told her to back off or something bad would happen.” Will frowned as his temper started to rise. “Issy broke it up and dragged her away. When Issy came out he was pissed and he and Marcus disappeared. El came out and said she wouldn’t turn a blind eye. The splits happening…”

“Shit. I understand both sides, but…” He sighed before grinning and placing a hand on his best friend’s shoulder. “You and I will try to keep our family together, right?”

“We’ll keep it together. It may be bloody, but we’ll do it.” Then he grinned. “But right now... Let’s go kick some ass!” Will cheered causing the locker room to erupt into shouts. The team jumped and shouted as they ran out to the field and passed the confused turned smiling manager. Like always the team played with a passion and fire that rivaled the sun or the core of the earth. The stands were filled with cheering fans most decked out in Knight’s gear. The energy fed the players making them unable to feel pain, which could have been seen as either good or bad.

During half time most of the players were bloody with some sort of injury. El spent most of the time helping patch up the ones who would be starting the next half. “I don’t think this is sanitary.” El commented as she taped Drustan’s forehead wound (more like scratch) shut. “I think this is a bio-hazard.”

The young man chuckled. “That’s why you’re wearing gloves my beautiful nurse.”

“I take that as a compliment since I’m not exactly your type.”

“You’re right, I’m looking for an artsy person in my life.”

“And someone with external genitalia to which I do not have.”

Drustan barked out a laugh and patted her hip. “I knew I liked you.”

“Right. Now off with you, send in the next lad.”

“Thanks girl.” He kissed her cheek and called Will.

“Always nice to have a nurse tend to me.” He teased before wincing a little as El dabbed hydrogen peroxide on his wound.

“Hardly a nurse, barely have my CPR card, besides what would Jenessa say.” She bopped his head with her finger before continuing the cleanup.

“She’d probably roll her eyes, swat my shoulder, and then kiss me.”

“Lucky to have such an understanding girlfriend. Now Mr. Captain go lead your team and make your girlfriend proud.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He clamped his hand on her shoulder and gave a closed mouth smile. “Thanks.” She rolled her eyes with a grateful smile and pushed him back to his team mates. She finished with the last patch up right as Will finished an invigorating speech about honor, teamwork, determination, and destroying the other team. El watched the room shifting and move with everyone’s energy combing into one force. If she hadn’t been used to it, it would have felt like staring into the center of the sun but she knew better. This was a united team hell bent on winning and winning they would. She watched as the players moved near perfectly. They read each rival’s movements as if he had told the defender out loud what he planned on doing. Not for the first time El realized how truly lucky she was to be working with these young men to reach their full potential.

With the last point scored, the buzzer sounded signaling the end to the game and the Knight’s victory. The stands erupted into cheers as the players bounded towards each other to congratulate one another on their victory. El laughed as most of the guys ended up in a puppy pile, too excited to care how they looked. Within minutes however, adoring fans were on the field praising the team on a job well done. Unsurprisingly, she received the cold shoulder from Issy and Marcus, but received sympathetic smiles from her other friends before they moved on the talk with the guys.

Not wanting to be at the school all night while everyone else was out celebrating, El started cleaning up the bench, leaving one bottle of fluids behind for each member of the team while collecting the empty ones. It wasn’t long before Coach Kilg yelled for the guys to pick up their things and head back to the locker room for a quick meeting. Slowly the crowd dispersed and the pitch emptied for the night. Even with the players picking up their sticks and gear, El was the last one to leave. She trudged up to the school and sighed when she finally dropped the bottles, clipboard, first aid kit, and anything else she could grab on the table.

“Nice work today, El.” Coach Kilg patter her shoulder with a smile.

“Thanks Coach. You too.” He gave a nod of thanks before returning to his office. As she straightened up and prepared for the next day’s practice, the guys pattered her on the shoulder and thanked her for her hard work as they passed. By the time she was done with her chores for the night, she decided to do laundry the next day, there was virtually no one left.

Undisturbed by being alone, she was quite used to it by now, she hummed quietly to herself as she locked up for the night. El let out a yip as she spun around to find Will chuckling while he leaned against the opposite wall. “What the hell, Will! You scared me.”

“I didn’t notice.” He grinned before pushing off his wall. “Everyone’s headed back to your apartment to celebrate and Serene didn’t want you to walk home alone.”

“So you volunteered?” El rose a brow in disbelieve.

Her skepticism was confirmed when Will shrugged, “Jenessa did for me. I wanted to talk to you anyway.”

Narrowing her eyes, El asked, “Why?”

“I’m not kicking you out of the group or anything, god El who do you think I am?” Will rolled his eyes.

“The ring leader.” She deadpanned.

“Hardly.” He snorted. “Come on, let’s go. I want to celebrate our win.” El hummed as the pair slowly walked the halls towards the exit. “So, Issy.” Will’s sapphire eyes watched as El cringed. “Lance told me you had a… confrontation with Marcus and Issy didn’t take it well.”

“He told me to stay out of it, it wasn’t my business.”

“And you disagreed?”

“Hell yeah I did!” El nearly shouted. “Of course it’s my business, he’s my friend. If someone’s acting in a contemptible behavior towards my friend I will put them in their place. Unless,” She allowed, “The person can handle it themselves. However, since Issy refuses to see the abuse-“

“Marcus doesn’t touch him.” Will pointed out.

With a glare, she hissed, “Just because the wounds are not physical doesn’t mean there is no abuse being dealt.”

“I understand, but Issy will be harder to convince.”

“I am well aware, but nonetheless he must be shown that Marcus is malevolent towards him.”

“People see only what they want.”

“Textbook much.” She snorted earning her a glare. “I understand what you are saying, but I’m tired of biting my tongue whenever the two are near me. I’m going to need to stitch it back together if this continues.” Will let out a snort as she grinned.

“How do you plan on doing this if Issy doesn’t even want to be in the same room as you?”

“I will think-“ She frowned and paused with her hand on Will’s chest. “Did you hear that?”

Barely moving, Will strained his hearing for any odd noise. “I don’t- It’s coming from over there.” The pair ran over to a fence that pressed against hedges and flowers. Whimpering and yips greeted their ears the closer they came. Slightly confused yet determined to find the poor creature, the pair climbed over the fence and scoured the immediate area until they found a young matted dog tangled up in a rope that attached to a too tight collar. As El spoke softly to it and tried to keep the frightened creature calm, Will tried to free it without scaring it more.

“The rope’s a mess, I need to cut it. I’ll be right back, my knife’s in my bag.” Before he could stand, El handed him a partially serrated pocket knife that looked more military and civilian. “I don’t want to know.” He muttered as he got to work on freeing the dog. Within minutes the collar was cut off and the pair was figuring out what to do. “El, climb over and I’ll pass… it to you.” With a nod, El scaled the fence and gracefully landed on the ground waiting. A second later the dog was passed over and was trying to lick her face in gratitude. “What should we do with him… her?”

Flipping the large dog so the belly was showing. “I believe she needs to get looked at for any cuts. Are any vet offices open this late?”

“Hold on.” Scrolling through his phone he found one on the other side of town. “We can take my car. I’ll let Jenessa know what’s up.” With some hesitation, the dog settled in the back seat of Will’s fancy car and within twenty minutes they pulled into the parking lot. After stumbling through the paper work, the trio was seen by the local doctor who was sympathetic to their case.

“This young girl appears to be a Setter, most likely an Irish Setter by her coloring, she’s young but without her papers she could be between 1-5 years old. She appears to have been spayed, she is a little underweight, however she surprisingly isn’t chipped. You can leave her here at the shelter or you can take her home. If you decide on taking her she does need shots and blood work to make sure she doesn’t have worms or anything.”

“How much are we talking?” El asked stroking the setters head.

After doing some quick math, he replied, “With the three required shots, rabies, distemper, and Leptospirosis, and I suggest getting Lyme disease, Kennel cough, and Influenza if not now then later, the lab work, and this examination, you are looking at about $350-$400. That isn’t including heart worm and flea medicine I suggest getting her.”

Will whistled at the price while El rubbed her forehead. “That’s just the initial right? After this it won’t cost as much, right?” She had a dog when she was younger, but she never paid attention to the cost of owning one.

“Not usually. Unless she gets something, a yearly booster and checkup would do her fine.”

“Alright, get the blood panels done and give her the three main shots and Kennel cough. All at once won’t hurt her will it?”

“No, she should be fine. Are you sure about this? This is going to be expensive.”

“Yeah El, you sure?” Will looked at her seriously and a little like she was crazy.

“For all we know, no one will adopt her or she’ll end up at another miserable home. She deserves better, we don’t know how long she was tied up in those bushes for. It’s fine, I’m sure Serene will love the idea of having a dog.” She replied still stroking the tired dog’s muzzle.

“Can you afford her though?” His voice dipped low, almost soothing. He didn’t want to hurt her, but felt he needed to play the devil’s advocate to make sure the dog would be okay.

“Yeah, I’m not rolling in the dough like you.” She smirked up at him. “But I’m okay. I got paid for my time in the North.”

“Alright, just making sure.” The pair did their best to keep the Setter calm as she was stuck with needles. By the end the dog pranced around nervously and looked at the doctor wearily.

“Okay, she should be all set. Give Milly your phone number and we’ll contact you with the results. Take good care of her, she seems like a great dog.” The doctor said farewell and went on to do other things.

During the process of putting her into the system, the nurse asked, “Her name please. You never put one down.”

Will and El looked at each other dumbfounded. “Ah.” They stared at the dirty yet mostly happy dog and tried their best to think of something. “Cat?”

“She a dog, El.”

“Shut up. Beatrice?”

“Really?”

“I got it from a book! Perdita?”

“She’s not a Dalmatian."

“I’m surprised you got that. Zoey?”

“I like Disney, thank you. She doesn’t look like a Zoey.”

“Dahlia?”

“Like the Black Dahlia? No.”

“Then you come up with something!”

After a moment of staring at her, he called, “Cavalier.” The dog perked up and wagged her long tail at him. “There it’s settled, her name is Cavalier.”

“Fine. Where did you come up with that anyway?”

“We found her at the school and we’re the Knights. Cavalier seemed to fit.” El nodded and gave information to the nurse whenever she was asked a question.

When it came time pay, Will gently hip checked El out of the way and handed the nurse his card. “Put half on this please.” He grinned at his red headed friend who was about to protest and said, “As you keep saying, I am rolling in dough. Besides, I also rescued her the least I can do is help pay her initial expenses. I expect to see her more than here and there. She needs to come to some of our games.”

“Will Coach be okay with her?” El asked, handing over her card to pay the rest.

“He’ll be all scowly at first, but all she has to do is lick him and he’ll demand her presence. If we win with her around, maybe he’ll even demand her at away games.” His grin was child-like, innocent and full of hope.

She let out a laugh, “Our own mascot. Come on Cavalier, time to go home.” The dog barked and jumped in excitement. She settled in the back easily falling asleep as the car coasted through the streets. Once at the apartment the trio walked up the three flights and paused for only a second to hear music and cheering coming from inside. Trying the doorknob, she pushed the door open to find her living room crowded.

“El!” Serene yelled happily with a stumble in her steps. “Jen told me ‘bout a dog. Where is it?”

“Serene, meet Cavalier.” She swept her hand down to the curious yet unsure dog. “Go slow, she’s had a rough evening.”

“OH, she’s precious!” Serene crouched down and slowly extended her hand. “Hey girl. You are so precious.” The young woman’s eye shot up to look at her roommate. “Are we keeping her or is she here only for the night? Or did Will steal her?” Her narrow eyes snapped to the young man who barely made it inside.

“Cavalier is not mine.” His hands went up defensively.

“And yes, I’ve decided to keep her. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all. We are going to be best of friends!” The latter half spoken to the dog. “She needs to meet everyone!”

“Hold it Serene. I want to clean her up first. She’s kind of a mess.”

“Okay, then she meets everyone.”

“We’ll see. Go be a good host, I’ll be back in a bit.” El weaved through the crowd with a hesitant Cavalier trotting behind her until they made it into the bedroom. After gathering some pajamas (she wasn’t going to soil another outfit), a pair of scissors, the dog shampoo/conditioner, and two towels, El walked down into Serene’s room to use her bathroom since El’s was public at the moment.

The shower went well for the most part. El tried her best not to hurt Cavalier, but the dog was tender in the spot she received shots and some of the snarls were too much for the comb. Doing the best she could to keep the dog looking respectable, El decided the groomer would be one of the first she would call in the morning. Some unintentional dancing and chasing later, Cavalier was mostly dry and looked like a whole new dog while El was in clean clothes. “Alright you, be free. Don’t bite anyone.” The dog sprinted out the door only to stick her nose in to see what was taking her new owner so long. With a chuckled, El walked out and ditched the dirty items in the hamper before joining the party. For the rest of the night Cavalier stayed close to either El or Will depending on who was closer at the time.