Jonathan Archer poured coffee into two cups and handed one of them to Peter Edwards.
The archaeologist took it, grabbed a donut from the open box on the table, and seized the guardian's chair without any hesitation.
Since the day when they had collaborated to save the wounded man they had found in the crypt, the two men had become friends, and Peter Edwards had taken the habit of going to the guardian's room during his breaks to get coffee and chat with him.
Jonathan Archer was a simple man, but he was interested in the history of the city and he found the archaeologist's words fascinating, especially when he told him about the progress of his work in the crypt or some anecdote about the excavations he had done in the past.
"Police finally took the seals off the crypt, now we've been able to resume work in those rooms," Peter said.
"I know, I accompanied them down there yesterday." Jonathan said. "There's still the stain of that poor man's blood on the floor. I suppose the museum will have to call some specialized company to have it cleaned, sooner or later."
"Do you have any news of that man? I often think of him, I wonder what happened to him..."
"A few days after the accident, I called the hospital and they said that he was going to make it, but they wouldn't tell me anything else. Sometimes I even thought of going there to see him, but I never did."
"I really thought that he was going to die," the archaeologist said, then he took a sip of coffee and nodded toward the open door. "I think that lady wants to talk to you."
The guardian looked at the woman who was waiting outside the door and wondered what she wanted.
She was a middle-aged lady with a round face and curly hair sticking disorderly out from the edges of a colorful woolen cap.
Usually the ladies who looked for the guardian of the museum wanted to protest for the behavior of some other rude visitor or for small flaws, but the woman who was waiting for him didn't have the usual arrogant expression of who is going to give an indignant reproach, instead she seemed rather hesitant, almost embarrassed.
"Good morning, madam, how can I help you?"
Alicia looked at him.
"I would like to visit the castle dungeons."
"Guided tours are on Wednesday and Friday mornings and throughout the day on weekends. I'll get you a brochure."
"No. I need to visit one of the areas not open to the public."
"This is not possible, ma'am."
"Please, it's very important!"
The archaeologist and the guardian exchanged a look, curious because of the woman's tone: it was clear that she wouldn't give up so easily, and they both wondered why it was so important for her.
Alicia knew that if she told them the truth, they would believe her to be crazy, but she couldn't find another plausible excuse.
"It's for one of my patients. He is sure to know a secret niche in the dungeons of the castle and he asked me to check if it really exists."
"A patient? Are you a doctor?"
"Yes. Guy says he's a twelfth-century knight, and he asked me to check if his memories correspond to reality."
"Guy? Is that the man who we found in the crypt a few weeks ago?"
"Yes. Are you the guardian who kept him alive until the arrival of the helicopter rescue?"
Peter Edwards patted his friend's shoulder.
"Exactly him! And I gave him a hand. So did he survive?"
Alicia smiled.
"Yes, physically he is recovering."
"But he says that he comes from the past? Was he damaged by oxygen shortage?" The archaeologist asked.
"Apparently he isn't. Guy is very coherent and his descriptions are incredibly detailed."
"But you're here to have proof that he's crazy."
Alicia shook her head, blushing.
"I'm here because I think he isn't."
The two men exchanged another perplexed look and Alicia noticed their glance.
"You will think that it is me the one who is crazy, now."
"Madam, it seems quite unlikely that we may have to deal with a time traveler, don't you think?" The archaeologist said. "At least, I didn't see any blue police box in the crypt."
"I know that it seems absurd, but I don't think that Guy is a liar. What he says is too precise, it seems that he has really seen what he describes. I've been working at the hospital for nearly thirty years, but I have never had a case like this."
"Peter, you have to admit that the way we found him was definitely unusual. I still don't understand how he arrived there," the guardian suggested.
"Why?" Alicia asked.
"The gate was locked and that section of the dungeons is connected to the outside only with a tunnel that collapsed many centuries ago and through other rooms, perhaps old cellars, which were also closed with a gate. I explored that section of the crypt, but I did not find any further passages.
According to the police, he must have entered before the gate was closed and stayed there for a few days, but I'm absolutely certain that, when I closed the gate for the last time before the accident, there was nobody down there."
Peter Edwards looked at his friend, amused.
"The mystery becomes more and more interesting. Why don't we check what the lady says?"
The guardian looked at him, uncertain.
"I'm not allowed to let visitors enter the closed areas."
"It won't be necessary. I have all the permissions to examine the crypt. If the lady gives me the directions given by her time traveler, I'll go and check it out."
"My name is Alicia Little," the woman said and handed the archaeologist the notebook where she had noted down Guy's instructions.
Peter took the notebook, drank a last sip of coffee, and he returned to the dungeons. Jonathan poured another cup of coffee, and offered it to Alicia.
"Sit down, please, I think it will take some time. I noticed that archaeologists are very meticulous in their work, but speed is not their strength."
Alicia smiled at him and accepted both coffee and one of the donuts.
"I'm glad you came here," the guardian said, after a while. "I confess I was worried for that man, and I was curious to know if he survived. I think I have never been so scared for someone in my whole life."
"You saved his life."
"Do you think I could come and meet him one of these days? I may be an old fool, but I can't take the image of all that blood away from my mind, seeing that he is fine is going to be a relief."
"There shouldn't be any problems. I'll talk to him so he will know that he can expect a visit."
"By the way, what's his name?"
"He didn't have any documents on him. He says his name is Guy of Gisborne."
Jonathan looked at her, surprised.
"Like Robin Hood's enemy?"
"Exactly. But Guy says that he and Robin eventually became friends."

A few hours later, Alicia was walking through the corridors of the hospital steadily, headed to Guy's room, but when she arrived, she found it empty.
One nurse greeted her cheerfully.
"Good morning, Dr. Little! Isn't today your free day?"
"Yes, but I had to talk to Guy. Where is he?"
"With Dr. Robinson. This morning I saw them together after the doctor came to check his wounds. It seemed strange to me because Guy usually never leaves his room."
Alicia frowned.
"Can you check if there were some examinations scheduled?"
The girl looked at the computer and after a while she shook her head.
"No, nothing like that. Dr. Robinson just wrote that he had removed the stitches."
"Was Guy fine?"
"I would say he was. He walked well, following the doctor. Perhaps he was a bit nervous, he looked around and he seemed to be a little scared, but he seemed pretty fit, more than last week, at least."
Alicia nodded. After the shock he had had when he had walked out of the hospital, Guy had spent most of his time sleeping, as if too much emotions had drained all his energies, and, when he was awake, his mood was overwhelmed by a deep sadness.
She had tried to comfort him in every possible way, but she wasn't sure she had been able to help him.
"Have you seen where they went?"
"Towards the lift."
Alicia wondered what had happened to push Guy out of his room and she wondered if she should go looking for him, but at that moment the lift doors opened and she found herself staring at the object of her thoughts.
Guy was wearing one of the windbreakers supplied to the rescuers and he had his hair ruffled by the wind and his cheeks reddened because of cold. He seemed to be very tired, but he smiled when he saw her, and, for the first time since she knew him, Alicia saw that his smile this time also reached his eyes, illuminating his face and making him look much younger.
She couldn't avoid smiling in turn.
"Where have you been?"
It was Dr. Robinson who answered.
"On the roof. For a good part of the morning."
"I wanted to see the helicopter," Guy said. "I had to see it fly again."
Alicia glanced at her colleague, worried because she remembered Guy's reaction when he first saw it.
"And everything went all right?"
Jack chuckled.
"Even too much. This morning there were three calls for the helicopter, and we have been out there watching it fly all the time. If you don't mind, I guess I'll go get some hot coffee now."
The doctor said goodbye to both of them, and he walked away along the corridor.
"I thought I wouldn't see you today," Guy said, returning to his room together with Alicia. "They told me that today was your free day."
"And I thought that you were scared of the helicopter."
"That's why I wanted to have a good look at it. Twice I saw Nottingham besieged by an enemy army, and for three other times I have been just a step away from being executed, it's not the first time I look into Death's eyes. I won't be a hero like Robin, but I'm not even a complete coward. If this is the world I have to live in, I won't hide in a corner, trembling, just because I don't understand it."
"And now do you understand helicopters a little better?"
"Yes, I think so. It is a complex and ingenious mechanism. I've never seen anything so powerful and fast, I think I wouldn't mind flying on it, someday."
"Oh, but you did, even if you can't remember it. They took you here by helicopter when you were hurt."
"Really?"
"You wouldn't have survived an ambulance trip, the helicopter is much faster."
"The ambulance is the wagon without horses?"
"Yes. If you want to see them, you can just look out of the window at the end of the corridor."
Guy took off his jacket and he placed it on a chair, then he sat down on the bed, wrapping a blanket around his shoulders.
"Maybe tomorrow. Today has already been quite exciting."
Alicia saw him shiver and she took his hand.
"You're freezing. You're still not healthy enough to stay outside for such a long time. Now go to bed and I'll bring you something warm to eat. Then, since they removed your stitches, later you could try to take a hot shower before you go to sleep. Wait here, I'll be back soon."
Guy dutifully obeyed: it had been an exciting morning, but now he felt terribly tired and cold.
When Alicia put the lunch tray in front of him, Guy realized that he was even more hungry than usual.
The doctor looked at him eating with appetite, while she just nibbled a piece of bread, too nervous to be hungry. She didn't know how Guy would react to the news that she was bringing, and she was afraid to ruin that moment of serenity.
She was tempted to postpone their talk to the next day, but she knew that it would only be a postponement of the inevitable.
Gisborne looked at her.
"What's up, lady Alicia?"
The woman smiled because of that old-fashioned title, then she returned serious.
"Today was actually my free day, and I went to the castle."
Guy focused his attention on her.
"To look for the sheriff's dagger?"
"Yes."
Guy's heart accelerated its beats.
"And did you find it?"
Without saying anything, Alicia took out a bundle from her bag and laid it on the bed, carefully opening it.
Guy stared at the object that was in front of him: it was corroded by rust and rendered fragile by years, but it was clearly a broken dagger.
Gisborne touched it with a finger.
"It was really there. Then I'm not crazy."
"Looks like you are not. Even if I don't know how this is possible. There was also this in the niche." Alicia handed him a smaller object, closed in a padded box.
"Later I have to bring them back to the castle, they will put them into a museum, but I wanted to show them to you."
Guy opened the small box and took the ring with two fingers, almost with reverence. Alicia saw his eyes glistening with tears.
"Guy..."
Gisborne looked at her and he gave her a trembling smile.
"This was my mother's ring, the only thing I had left of her. I didn't remember hiding it there..." He touched the faded scar beneath his cheekbone. "Do you see this scar? It was this ring to leave it on my face, after I put it on Marian's finger to force her to marry me..."
"And it didn't go well, I see..."
"She's never been mine. But I only realized it too late... Only after I destroyed her."
"I didn't want to upset you. I'm sorry."
Guy shook his head.
"Don't apologize. I have created this sorrow with my own hands, it is only right that I should bear its burden. It's always with me, it never leaves me. It's just that I didn't expect to see my mother's ring again."
Alicia sighed.
"I'll have to bring it back to the castle, Guy."
"Why? It's mine."
"We can't prove that it belongs to you, no one would believe what happened to you. For the law it's an archaeological find, we can't keep it. But they assured me that they will put it in a museum and they will keep it with care."
Guy nodded.
"I also struggle to believe what happened to me. What is a museum?"
Alicia explained it in a few words, and Guy returned the ring to her reluctantly, after kissing it one last time.
"When they put it in this museum... can I go to look at it, every now and then?"
"As often as you want, I promise you."
"Then go. Bring it there before it becomes too difficult for me to let it go."
The doctor sighed.
"Do you want me to keep you company tonight?"
Guy shook his head. He looked down and his hair covered his face, like a curtain, but Alicia could easily guess the presence of tears hidden behind those ruffled locks.
She hugged him impulsively, and she held him tight for a few seconds, then she brushed his forehead with a maternal kiss, and let him go.
"Listen to me, Guy: now go and take a hot shower, then eat one of the chocolate tablets I gave you, and go to bed without thinking of anything. We will face everything together in the coming days, but now you need to rest. Sleep well and remember that you are not alone."
Guy took a deep breath, straightened his back and looked into her eyes, struggling to smile.
"That seems a good plan to me. Especially the chocolate part."
The woman caressed his cheek with tenderness.
"I'll try to come back later, but I can't guarantee it, this afternoon I will have some chores to do. But if you need me, tell the nurse and she will contact me right away."
"Will she send you a messenger?"
"No, she'll use the phone. I'll explain you how it works in the next few days."
The doctor walked to the door, but before she could leave the room, Guy called her.
"Lady Alicia! Thank you. Thank you for believing me."
The woman smiled, moved.
"If you want to thank me, don't be so formal, love. Just call me Alicia, okay?"
"All right... Alicia."