The Ghost

Chapter 4: The Healer

Marian reached Allan near the bed, holding a pot of hot water. She placed it on the bedside table, dipped a clean towel in it, and passed it to Allan.
The young man used it to rub Guy's hands, still too cold.
Marian looked at the knight, serious and tense.
"What happened to him? Why doesn't he wake up?"
Allan put a hand on Guy's neck to check his pulse.
"I don't know. His heart seems to be as strong as ever, but he's too cold."
"It's because of what I said to him?"
Allan stared at her, lifting an eyebrow.
"Mocking his feelings for you didn't help for sure."
"I wasn't mocking his feelings!"
"What?! 'I love Robin Hood'? Are you serious? Giz always protected you from the sheriff, you have no idea how many times, and what he had to endure just for your sake. He's a fool to love you so much when you obviously don't care for him, but you could have avoided showing off your awesome love for Robin Hood just to hurt him. Not when he's doing so much for your father!"
"My father?"
Allan stopped himself from telling her about the ghost, he wasn't completely sure of it himself, but he nodded.
"Did you know that Giz is paying for the burial and the tombstone? He also thought to bury him in Knighton so it would be easier for you to go and visit his tomb, he was afraid that the sheriff could make it difficult for you if the tomb was in Nottingham."
Marian blushed.
"I am sorry," she whispered, looking at Guy. She gingerly touched his forehead, frowning to feel his skin so cold. "Allan? Do you think that he will be alright?"
The young man shrugged.
"How can I know? I'm no physician. Do you think that we should call for one?"
"Probably we should. I've seen people getting ill or fainting, but never like this. Do you know if he was ill?"
"Last night he got drunk. After he found out that you had run away. But other than the hangover and the strain of having to deal with all of this, he wasn't sick. I know the effects of too much wine, believe me, and there was nothing too strange in him."
Marian went to the fireplace to stoke the fire, in the attempt of making the room warmer.
"Call Matilda. She's the better healer in the county, she can surely help him."
"The same Matilda who Giz arrested and who had almost been drowned by the sheriff? Come on, Marian, do you really think that she will come to treat him?"
"Don't say that it's for him. When she comes I'll talk to her. She won't say no."
Allan unfolded another blanket, and he put it on the bed.
"Very well, I will go, and you will take care of him in the meanwhile. Try to warm him, and be gentle." Allan searched her gaze, and stared at her, unusually serious. "If he dies, I will never forgive you."
The man went away, and she was left alone with Guy. It was only then that she realized how scared she was. She was used to see Gisborne always strong and tireless, and now he was laying in a bed, half dead.
"Please, please, open your eyes!" She whispered to the knight.
Marian paced around the room, wondering how she could help him, and at last she sat on the edge of the bed, taking one of his hands between hers. She took it close to her face and she breathed on it, trying to warm his icy fingers.
She had been doing it for a while, when Guy stirred a little, with a low moan. His eyelids trembled, and he opened his eyes, but his gaze was unfocused, and he didn't seem to acknowledge her presence.
"I'm sorry," Guy whispered, staring at an empty corner of the room, "I'm so sorry, I won't hurt her, I swear. Please don't take me to Hell, I beg you!"
Marian squeezed his hand a little, tenderly.
"Guy? I'm here, Guy, please look at me."
"Marian?" His voice was weak and he still looked confused, but he seemed to recognize her. The girl was a little relieved to see that he was awake, but he was still too pale and his skin was clammy and cold.
"How are you feeling? You scared us," she said in a gentle tone, still feeling guilty for her harsh words and afraid that they had been the cause of his illness.
"Cold. My stomach aches." Guy closed his eyes with a pained expression, taking some deep breaths, then he turned on his side, struggling to get up. "I'm going to be sick."
Marian moved quickly, managing to grab the basin just in time, and she helped Guy, supporting him while he threw up and then helping him to lie back on the bed when he had finished.
She looked at him for a moment, then she took the basin out of the room and she called one of the maids of the inn, giving it to the girl.
Marian hurried to go back to Guy, and she sat on the edge of the bed. The knight averted his eyes from her, ashamed.
"I'm sorry. You shouldn't see me like this."
Marian smiled, moved by his embarrassment, and she took his hand.
"It's not your fault if you are ill." Now it was her turn to feel uneasy, and she blushed. "Actually it might be my fault. I've been cruel to you."
Guy glanced at her, surprised for her words.
"You just said the truth," he said, gruffly, "and if I got ill it wasn't your fault. I think it was... something else."
Guy looked at the farthest corner of the room: the ghost was there and he was staring back at him with a contrite look.
"I'm very sorry, Sir Guy," he said, "I didn't know that my touch could hurt you."
Gisborne gave him an imperceptible nod, and he looked back at Marian, noticing how worried and scared she was.
"Are you alright?" He asked, and the girl burst up in tears.
"I should be the one to ask this question to you, Guy! I thought you were going to die!"
"Would you care if I did?" He asked, more surprised than bitter, but Marian gave a little slap to his hand.
"How can you talk like that?! Of course I would!"
"You love Hood."
"And just because of this I shouldn't care for anybody else? You love one person and the rest of the world stops existing?! It doesn't work like this, Guy."
"For me it does. You were all my world."
Marian stared at him in disbelief. She nervously dried a tear from her cheek with the back of her hand.
"It can't be, surely. Wouldn't you care at all if your friends should die or get very ill?"
"I have no friends."
The girl realized that there was no self pity in Guy's words. The knight was just stating a matter of fact, as if that situation was perfectly normal for him.
"What about Allan?" She asked. "He acted like a friend, just a while ago. He was worried for you."
Guy frowned. He thought that if something bad happened to the young man, he would care.
He was so used to be completely alone that he hadn't realized that he actually enjoyed the company of the former outlaw, that maybe Marian was right and he had at least a friend.
"Where's Allan?" He asked, a little worried.
"He went to call for a healer. You gave us a big scare. How are you feeling, now?"
"A little better. Still so cold..."
Marian added another blanket to the bed, and she rubbed his hands gently, trying to warm his fingers.
"Do you think you could drink some broth, or some mulled wine? They would warm you."
"Not now. I'd be sick again."
Marian nodded.
"Maybe it's better to wait for the healer, then. Try to rest until she arrives, when I am unwell, sleeping always makes me feel better."
Guy closed his eyes, tired and weak, but his fingers clenched on Marian's hand for a moment.
"Don't leave me alone," he whispered.
Marian sighed to see him so vulnerable and sick, and clenched her fingers back on his.
"I won't go anywhere until you are better," she promised, but Guy was already asleep.