His Guardian Angel 2

Interlude - Nathaniel and John

I smiled as I sat in the inn with Lancelot. We had gone out for a ride earlier to keep our horses well exercised, and had also decided where our next stop would be, after we left this small village. We ate some dinner in silence, just enjoying the comforting feeling of this moment. There weren't that many people in the inn, so there was only a light murmuring of voices and the cracking of a warm fire in the distance.

"Hey, Ana, I was hoping you were still in town." A voice said, making me look up and smile as I recognised Nathaniel, the man from before. "Hey, yep we're still here. How's my patient fairing?" I asked, curious as to how the man was after his ordeal. "He's doing well, and that's actually what I'm here for, he wants to talk to you." He said, and I looked over at Lancelot, who nodded slightly, letting me know he was okay for me to go without him.

"Okay, lead the way." I said, standing up, grabbing my bag, and following Nathaniel out of the inn, and across the road to the barn that we were in before. He let me in and I thanked him, before looking around the place, as I hadn't had much of a chance to before, as I was panicked about saving the man's life. It was small and simple, with two beds on one side, and a few drawers of clothes. There was a small dining area, and a kitchen, which had a small amount of smoke rising from it, telling me that it had recently been put out.

A man, who I recognised as the injured one, was sitting at the table, drinking what I hoped to be water, and he noticed us as soon as we walked in. "John, this is Ana, the one who saved you. Ana, this is John, my brother." Nathaniel introduced, and I walked over to the man and shook his hand gracefully. "I am completely grateful that you were here, we lost our physician a few months back, and since then, everyone has been terrified to get ill, or be hurt. If you weren't here, I would have died from losing too much blood. You truly saved my life." He said, completely complimentary, causing a few tears to prick the back of my eyes, although I didn't let them fall.

"Of course, it was no issue. I trained under a physician myself, and have been travelling for the past few months, unable to keep the training up, so I was glad for the practice again." I said, sitting myself down on one of the other chairs that was there. I chatted with the two brothers for a little longer before we lingered in silence for a second.

"Do you heed from the city?" Nathaniel asked, causing me to furrow my eyebrows gently in confusion at his question. "What do you mean?" I asked, and the man sighed gently. "It's just that you dress like a noble, when I first took you in after the whole hassle with John, I noticed your clothes. They look to be expensive, and I know that many of the fabrics come from the citadel." He said, making me form an oh shape with my mouth, finally understanding where he was coming from.

"I spent a little time in Camelot, most of the fabrics are from there, but I sewed some of them myself, others were sewn by my friend. But you're mistaken if you think I'm a noblewoman, I am far from it. I grew up in a village similar to this." I explained, and the two men nodded slightly. "You'll have to forgive my brother, he's always been interested in fabrics and sewing." John said, causing his brother to hit him gently on the arm.

"My parents weren't too pleased when I said I wanted to train under our town's seamstress, so I left, John came with me, there was no way he would let me venture out on my own. And we ended up here. I've trained, and I get paid small amounts to mend clothes, but it's just not enough you know?" Nathaniel said, making me nod my head. There wasn't really a place for male seamstresses in small towns like this.

"Why don't you head further into the capital, you'll be more accepted, and there will be more access to different materials." I said, and John shook his head. "I've told him that time and time again, but he always refuses." The younger man said. I noticed that Nathaniel was looking slightly uncomfortable so I turned my attention to the younger brother, shifting our conversation to him.

"What about you, John, what do you want to do?" I asked, and the man looked at me, contemplating his answer for a few seconds before answering. "I want to help people, and since the old physician died I was thinking that I could train and take over, but I can barely make sense of anything in his house." The man said, and I smiled at him gently before pulling a large book from my bag.

"Here, this was one of the first books I used to learn. It may help you a little more than some of the older books." I said, sliding it across the table to John. He smiled widely at me, before his face fell. "But I have nothing to give you, no money, no supplies." He said, and I shook my head, placing one of my hands over his. "I don't ask for anything in return." I said, and the two boys shared a look with each other, seemingly having a silent conversation, reminding me of when my brother and I used to do that.

"Well, too bad, I've been working on something, and I know it won't be what you're used to, but please, take it." Nathaniel said, moving away from the table and pulling a simple serving girls dress from a drawer and holding it out to me. I was about to protest, but Nathaniel had a look in his eye saying that he wasn't going to take no for an answer, so I reached out and took the dress.

"I'm sure it will come in handy on my travels." I said, standing up and giving Nathaniel a small hug. "It is the least we could do, you've been such a help for us." John said, and I gave him a small hug as best I could while he was sitting down. "I should be heading back to my room. I promise to tell you when I'm leaving." I said, before starting to make my way out of the barn, sending the brothers a small smile as I left.

I made my way back to the inn with my bag and new dress in hand, and once I reached it, I spotted Lancelot was still sitting at our table, now talking with the innkeeper who was sitting in the seat I had vacated. I made my way over and placed my hand on the knight's shoulder to alert him of my presence. "I'm just going to put a few things in our room, I'll be back in a minute." I said, and he nodded and smiled at me sweetly, before going back to his conversation with the innkeeper.

I went up to our room and placed my bag down, folding over the dress I had just received and I put it in my bag alongside the other things I had. I reached up to my neck and held onto the Druid necklace I had on, fiddling with it as I made my way down to the main room again, where Lancelot had been left alone.

"What did Nathaniel want?" He asked as I sat back down in my seat. "John, the man I helped, wanted to say thank you, and I talked with them for a little while. They're good men." I said, and Lancelot smiled at me. "You are honestly the kindest person I have ever met." He said, making me look down at my lap, a dark blush setting across my cheeks. "Thank you." I whispered under my breath, but I knew the knight had heard me.