Diary of a Sentimental
There's a bit of artistic license involved, but then again in what 'fic is there not?
Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one, too bad for me.
Guess wot? Chapter two is here everyone! Thanks for all the great reviews and hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 2 "To Love"
To describe that one night in mere words must be beyond the talents of all the well-known and well-appreciated writers of my time- most obviously including myself. Some of those would dismissively describe the feelings I experienced wrapped in the arms of an angel in a single word: "love". But as with "kiss" it does not even compare to the emotions that took possession of my soul as he held me close.
Waking the next morning to the birdsong in the trees above I lay for what felt like hours and watched the patterns of light from the unmended roof above our head, dance across the angel's body curled naked around mine. The touch of his warm skin, and the gentle tide of his breath against my own was a feeling for which I have not yet found comparison- the elation I felt in that moment is something I will take with me to my grave.
"I can't help noticing, master Chaucer," Spoke my angel with speech shrouded in sleep as he stirred by my side, blonde head rousing itself and looking upwards to find my wakeful stare, "that you seem to be again without clothing"
I laughed, a low and delighted laugh "It seems so, my dear William" Reaching toward him I ran a finger down the side of his still smooth face, "I think, perhaps, its is getting to be somewhat of a pattern with me"
"Perhaps you were robbed," He spoke with a smile, stretching and rolling onto his back to look up at me. Oh how robbed was I at that moment, of every thought and feeling that did not revolve around this one angel- my angel. And I had been robbed that night, robbed savagely of the one thing I had protected in myself for as long as I had lived -my heart.
"Perhaps I was," I whispered, more truthfully than he will ever know, and with a matching smile, I bowed my face to catch his lips gently in a soft morning kiss.
"Oi," A call behind us, "Oi you two!" And again "You seen 'em Wat?"
"Not a peep, thought they was with you"
"No one's with me. I thought they'd gone off to talk to you"
"Didn't hear a thing."
Breaking from our kiss we listened in silence to the shouted conversation on the other side of the hayloft, laughing gently together at their confusion. It was no wonder they couldn't find us -the straw we'd upset during the night now lay about us in a small haven of privacy, cutting us off from their roaming eyes.
".Not that I expected they would." Wat's voice continued, still sore.
"I'm sure there's a perfectly good reason why they didn't come find you Wat," Roland said, level-headed as ever.
"Perfectly good reason" I repeated in a whisper, a laugh playing on my face and I leaned down to once again capture his lips softly beneath my own. Moments later I was on my feet, facing the searching pair as a panicked William desperately reached out to stop me from behind, his efforts unheeded.
"Good morning fella's" Perfectly naked I stood and grinned, cutting Roland off mid-speech so he could merely stand and stare open-mouthed.
"Oh! Oh, oh God!" Disgusted, Wat covered his face "What is it with you and nudity!?"
"Nothing to be embarrassed about Wat, perfectly natural" There was no use hiding the delight I was taking in the moment, as I strode over toward him and ruffled his hair.
"B- But. But still..." Wat's reaction was more than I ever could have hoped for, perfect nervous disgust.
"Can't sleep in anything more." I shrugged "Clothing, although useful, can be so binding at times"
"Now we know why we found him naked" Roland's low voice said amusedly behind me "He probably offered the robbers his clothes before they'd even found his money!" He chuckled to himself, just as amused by Wat's reaction as I was.
"B- You. Wha. I."
"Morning!" There was a call from below us, freeing Wat from his painful efforts to formulate recognisable speech. We turned as one to peer down from the hayloft, finding below us the perfect figure of a happy, and fully clothed, angel.
"William! There you are, we've been calling you for ages" Roland called happy to have found his friend.
"I took a walk," The friend replied with a smile, "Its such a lovely morning."
I smiled idiotically to myself, taking undue pride in the thought that we obviously functioned on similar wavelengths since he had so quickly been able to see my diversion for what it was and use it to his advantage.
"Now come on and lets get moving," Will continued below us "if we hurry we can be at the next town my midday," Having seemingly finished speaking he made to turn away towards the waiting horses, but looked back again after a moment "And for goodness sake Geoff, put some clothes on."
The day passed in the kind of ecstatically haze that you would so expect following such a night. Well, for this lovesick writer it did- I cannot speak for the rest of my travelling companions. Actually, in fact, scratch that, I can speak for the rest (I am the writer of this piece after all), and they spent the day in the same mood as had gone the afternoon before; quiet, bitter and miserable. It got to the point that, 4 hours after we had left the warmth and comfort of the barn and were searching for something to eat in the next town, I finally got thoroughly tired with the lot of them, and left them to argue it out together, deciding instead to see what "entertainments" this town had to offer.
As is obvious, I suppose, when I returned half an hour later after a fruitless search, Wat and William were still sat in that same silent deadlock, while Roland tried desperately to raise the spirits of the group with amusing stories they had no doubt all heard many times before.
One exasperated sigh on my part and we were off again, travelling along the same road that would eventually lead us to Rouen in a silence so uncomfortable I was often seized by the inclination to ease the tension with a song. Something that, as anyone who has actually heard my singing voice can assure you, dear reader, is not the most enjoyable of experiences.
"Will someone bloody well shut him up!" said Wat venomently, the first to break under my tuneless melody. It had taken some time but I had finally managed to pierce the resolve of at least one of my soundless travelling companions.
"Nothing I can do Wat, I have no power over him..." -William's naivety was still endearing to me.
"Couldn't you threaten to leave him behind or something?" Wat continued desperately as I reached the chorus and completely failed to reach a top C I should never have attempted in the first place.
"I could," William was desperately trying not to laugh as I began to integrate a small dance step in my pace to match the tune I was still mercilessly butchering "But I wouldn't mean anything more from me that it would do from you..."
Something in this finally got through to the poor man and suddenly I found my path blocked by a flustered and extremely irate redhead.
"Shut it" He spat, extremely successfully, for out of surprise alone I was struck completely dumb "Or I'll, I'll..."
"'Fong' me?" I asked innocently, eyes meeting Will's across his shoulder and finding there a look of fair and perfect hilarity.
"Yes, yes, I'll 'fong' you until your..."
"I've already had the speech my dear Wat." I held up a hand "And thank you, but it was quite memorable enough the first time" And I continued my song, barely managing to mask the delight that arose as Wat crossed the group in order to get away from me and in so doing matched step with Will.
"We're leaving him behind," He said conspiratorially- the first thing he'd said to him good-naturedly in over 24 hours "The next chance we get, we're tying him up and leaving him behind."
That one song was ultimately, despite the horror of its performance, one of the most successful I have ever undertaken as it cast me once again in the enemy role I should have taken from the beginning, rather than leaving it for the quite undeserving angel who became cast there by Wat. That song realigned the natural order of the group, and, over the course of the afternoon, allowed William to begin the tedious job of prising Wat out of his carefully concocted shell.
Dusk saw a band of four making their way across the moors, walking in twos, the pair at the head of the group deep in conversation, heads bowed together as they walked. While the final pair trudged together in silence, barely able to suppress the delighted grins that threatened to take them over every few minutes.
We stopped that night by the light of the half moon, having walked some way in darkness unnoticed by the pair ahead of us. Roland and I, walking behind, had not wanted to break their private riviere to point out the dissolving daylight, for fear that it may stop their flow of conversation and ruin all the good work they had done so far in rebuilding their friendship. But we need not have worried for the couple continued to talk even as we sat down to eat by the roadside -far to exhausted to find somewhere more substantial to sleep- and barely even noticed when Roland and I made our excuses to find respective places to lay our heads for the night, some way off from the chatting pair.
"You still awake?" A soft voice called to me in the darkness, as a gentle hand reached out to brush against my cheek. Of course I was awake, I thought to myself, turning over to stare into two perfect dark eyes, I would be awake in an instant if this angel ever but whispered my name.
"I am now" I smiled, amused by the secret censor inside my mind.
"Come for a walk with me then." He said, offering his hand to help me up. It was not quite the grand romantic suggestion I could have wished would be uttered from his flawless lips at such an hour, but, for now I supposed, it would do. Reaching to take his proffered hand, I rose to my feet by his side, flashing him a weak smile.
"Lead on, fair knight" I whispered in the darkness, and felt, rather than saw, his smile by my side.
"I am not a knight yet, Geoff," His voice was soft as we turned together to walk from our makeshift camp, the hand which he had held out to me still clasped in my own, sending periodic thrills through my body "that will be decided at Rouen."
"Ability with a lance does not constitute a knight, Will."
"I know," He squeezed my hand gently and I had to fight to control the delighted gasp that it elicited "But it does help" A pause "As will your patents"
"Ahh, I had almost forgotten," I said with a smile "I knew there was a reason I was here"
"You mean other than separating friends and seducing knights?" There was laughter in his voice.
I stopped and pulled him close "I seem to remember the knight in question putting up little fight" My comment was met with his laughter, beautiful and bright in the darkness "But then, you do admit you are a knight?"
"I am if you believe me to be Geoff" His voice blew across my face as he spoke, words sealed with a kiss.
"You have always been, and will always be a knight to this humble writer, Will, you know that" My words were quiet as we broke away, bodies pressed against each other, souls aligned.
"That means a lot, thank you Geoff" Slowly his words filled the space around us with a sigh that was gradually lost in the breeze blowing through the tree branches above our heads.
"And I bet I can name you two others who feel the same" I spoke with a smile; lightening the mood as I turn again, hand entwined in his, to walk on.
Will laughed, "Well, one perhaps, the other needs a little more time to get used to the idea"
"I don't think you have enough faith in yourself, my dear knight, you can be quite persuasive at times" I cast him a smile by my side.
His smile dissolved the darkness around us as he halted us once again, turning to face me.
"I can, can I?" A devilish smile emerged from his angelic face.
"You question my word?" Moving my face closer to his I spoke with menace in my eyes.
He laughed, "Someone very dear to me once told me that most of the things spoken by a writer are nonsense."
And my laugh was cut short as his lips found mine once again, more passionate this time so as to stifle all remaining thoughts and memories that did not lie in the here and now.
It was some time later, as I lay beside him watching the trees filter the moonlight onto his body next to mine as the weather-worn roof had done the night before, that I spoke again, voice sounding alien in the depth of the darkness.
"I love you William Thatcher," I confessed quietly to his still form "and that is anything but nonsense"
But he was already asleep.
The next day passed in much the same manner as the last, four figures, striding across the countryside, this time all united in their journey to Rouen, in pursuit of triumph and riches. The morning had dawned cool and clear, as I had risen at daybreak to find the patch of earth that had once held an angel, empty by my side. He had not gone far, and met me with a sweet, promising kiss over the sleeping bodies of his travel mates as he set about preparing breakfast over the still-glowing embers of the fire he and Wat had built the night before.
Today's pace was quickened somewhat, due to our self-imposed arrival time in Rouen of noon the next day, so travelling was harder, but the food more substantial as we lunched in one town, and then found supper in the next, followed closely by the renting of two (dirt cheap I might add) rooms in the local inn. Tonight we had decided, was the time to care for ourselves- the next day would be a challenging one. What we had not counted on, however, was that for some of us, or rather one of us, the night would be just as draining.
"You're beautiful, you know that?" His voice was that kind of smooth perfection against my ear that meant all rational thought was lost within moments of it being uttered.
"I am not beautiful, I am busy" My mind spoke without my hearts consent, with that kind of flirtatious amusement only possible when the person you desire most in the world has taken it upon themselves to nibble gently at your earlobe.
"You are busy pleasing me, and I believe I can think of more interesting ways of doing just that" His voice was a hot wind against the side of my face as he spoke, eliciting from me what could only be described as a delighted chuckle.
And of course he was right, I thought, as I finally turned from my task and met his eager mouth with my own.
Our rooms were as large as our pockets would provide and as small as would be expected on a down-and-outs salary. Two had been all we were able to afford, and so, much to Will and I's mutual delight we immediately paired off, Wat and Roland in one direction, Will and I in the other. For the first time we had one place totally and completely to ourselves, and were determined to make the best of it.
"You know, if I don't get these finished, there's no way you can fight tomorrow" I spoke slowly, remembering the task at hand and breaking away from him.
The task, as so previously mentioned, was of course my sole reason for being within this heavenly embodiment's presence- the patents. On arriving at a place that was, for the first time, not over run with damp or dirt or insect -and was within distance of the needed supplies- I had decided that the first task that should be undertaken on this night was earning my place beside this angel. Therefore I had dutifully set about preparing the documents, unaided of course by the same angel who relied on them so.
"And do you know," The angel replied immediately, recapturing my waiting lips "That if I do not finish, there is no way I'll sleep tonight?"
And of course I gave in. I've always said that a squire's first considerations should be for the well being of his master.
"I should have known," There was a rustle and a sigh from behind me, followed by a warm, commanding, voice "A writer could never be devoted to anything but his pen" I chuckled in the candlelight, unable to tear myself from a task so near to completion even for an angel. Instead I replied without turning around,
"They do say the pen is mightier than the sword."
". and just as irresistible" He finished
"If I did not know you so well William," I said after an amused pause "I would be certain that you were continuing an almost sexual witticism."
"Well, master Chaucer, if you do not think me capable of such a thing, you cannot know me as truly as you think" There was a smile in his voice. "How long do you think this pen will lay its claim to you?"
"It is hard to tell," A loop on the "y" and I would be almost done "A lifetime perhaps? For you should know very well that a true writer does not think with his mind, but, instead, with his. pen"
"And what does this pen say?" Without turning around I could see the smile on his face, taste the warmth of his mouth on my own.
"It speaks great wisdom," Finally the papers completed, I laid my quill on the table and reached to twist the cap back upon my ink "It tells me that the more time I waste sat at a desk will mean less time I enjoy laid in a bed." I finally turned as I spoke, to find the image of my angel more breathtaking than in my own vision. "Did the light wake you?" More serious now, I smiled at his perfection.
He sighed, smiling at my attentiveness, "No, of course not," He met my eye "I woke when I realised I was alone"
"You weren't alone," I smiled, crossing the room, and tugging from my back the shirt I had pulled on in the cold of the room "And you never will be, Will" I met his lips quickly, as he welcomed me back into his arms beneath the blanket.
"I don't know Geoff, sometimes I feel so," He spoke after a few moments of contemplation in which I settled myself into his embrace,
"Why is that?" My voice was gentle, dreamy in the perfection of the moment, eyes closed in the warm scent of an angel. Again there was gentle silence, his breathing a warm wash of sweetness atop my head.
"Do you think I shall ever meet a girl and fall in love, Geoff?" It is amazing how a moment can completely turn itself about in merely the time it takes to utter a sentence.
"I-I'm sorry?" I stuttered finally through my confusion, propping myself up to look into his face.
"Do you think I'll ever fall in love?" He was sitting up now, meeting my questioning gaze, puzzled in himself as to my own confusion.
"Well, of course, I mean, why not?" So early in the morning (or so late at night, who's to say) even a writer does not have the words to convey confusion and. (there is no other way to say it) .betrayal such as this.
"It's just, women seem to be a rare commodity in this profession. Sometimes I feel I'll never meet that right one, never know." But my mind refused to listen any longer. Slowly, like the sun that was, at that very moment, creeping across the moorland outside the grimy windowpane, realisation was beginning to dawn.
Was I nothing more to him than a comfort? Something to pass the time until his true and rightful partner made their appearance in his life? Was this angel so innocent as to unwillingly commit the greatest sin of all? Breaking a man's heart as he seeks out a "truer" love -one he believes only a woman can give? And was this man, tainted by the world in every respect, ever to know the true touch of an angel? In life and in love? Did he deserve nothing more than to be the passing fancy of a man he would have gladly laid down his life for? Surely no deity could be as cruel as that?
"Have you ever been in love Geoff?" His voice called out to me through my devastation and I was forced to look back into the face I could not help but love with every measure of my soul.
"Yes Will" I spoke finally, reaching out a hand to cup his cheek. For a moment I let it rest there, before making the decision I knew would taint the happiness of my life for a good time in the future "A long while ago now."
"Well, 'tis better to have loved and lost. as they say" His eyes held that kind of sadness that made me want to run to the edges of the world if it would help dissipate it. Instead I touched my lips to his- a sweet, tender acceptance of a love I now knew there was no purpose in pursuing.
"You will love, William, and be loved." I spoke into his chestnut eyes, honey-sweet in the candlelight ".I doubt it not"
To be continued.
There's a bit of artistic license involved, but then again in what 'fic is there not?
Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one, too bad for me.
Guess wot? Chapter two is here everyone! Thanks for all the great reviews and hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 2 "To Love"
To describe that one night in mere words must be beyond the talents of all the well-known and well-appreciated writers of my time- most obviously including myself. Some of those would dismissively describe the feelings I experienced wrapped in the arms of an angel in a single word: "love". But as with "kiss" it does not even compare to the emotions that took possession of my soul as he held me close.
Waking the next morning to the birdsong in the trees above I lay for what felt like hours and watched the patterns of light from the unmended roof above our head, dance across the angel's body curled naked around mine. The touch of his warm skin, and the gentle tide of his breath against my own was a feeling for which I have not yet found comparison- the elation I felt in that moment is something I will take with me to my grave.
"I can't help noticing, master Chaucer," Spoke my angel with speech shrouded in sleep as he stirred by my side, blonde head rousing itself and looking upwards to find my wakeful stare, "that you seem to be again without clothing"
I laughed, a low and delighted laugh "It seems so, my dear William" Reaching toward him I ran a finger down the side of his still smooth face, "I think, perhaps, its is getting to be somewhat of a pattern with me"
"Perhaps you were robbed," He spoke with a smile, stretching and rolling onto his back to look up at me. Oh how robbed was I at that moment, of every thought and feeling that did not revolve around this one angel- my angel. And I had been robbed that night, robbed savagely of the one thing I had protected in myself for as long as I had lived -my heart.
"Perhaps I was," I whispered, more truthfully than he will ever know, and with a matching smile, I bowed my face to catch his lips gently in a soft morning kiss.
"Oi," A call behind us, "Oi you two!" And again "You seen 'em Wat?"
"Not a peep, thought they was with you"
"No one's with me. I thought they'd gone off to talk to you"
"Didn't hear a thing."
Breaking from our kiss we listened in silence to the shouted conversation on the other side of the hayloft, laughing gently together at their confusion. It was no wonder they couldn't find us -the straw we'd upset during the night now lay about us in a small haven of privacy, cutting us off from their roaming eyes.
".Not that I expected they would." Wat's voice continued, still sore.
"I'm sure there's a perfectly good reason why they didn't come find you Wat," Roland said, level-headed as ever.
"Perfectly good reason" I repeated in a whisper, a laugh playing on my face and I leaned down to once again capture his lips softly beneath my own. Moments later I was on my feet, facing the searching pair as a panicked William desperately reached out to stop me from behind, his efforts unheeded.
"Good morning fella's" Perfectly naked I stood and grinned, cutting Roland off mid-speech so he could merely stand and stare open-mouthed.
"Oh! Oh, oh God!" Disgusted, Wat covered his face "What is it with you and nudity!?"
"Nothing to be embarrassed about Wat, perfectly natural" There was no use hiding the delight I was taking in the moment, as I strode over toward him and ruffled his hair.
"B- But. But still..." Wat's reaction was more than I ever could have hoped for, perfect nervous disgust.
"Can't sleep in anything more." I shrugged "Clothing, although useful, can be so binding at times"
"Now we know why we found him naked" Roland's low voice said amusedly behind me "He probably offered the robbers his clothes before they'd even found his money!" He chuckled to himself, just as amused by Wat's reaction as I was.
"B- You. Wha. I."
"Morning!" There was a call from below us, freeing Wat from his painful efforts to formulate recognisable speech. We turned as one to peer down from the hayloft, finding below us the perfect figure of a happy, and fully clothed, angel.
"William! There you are, we've been calling you for ages" Roland called happy to have found his friend.
"I took a walk," The friend replied with a smile, "Its such a lovely morning."
I smiled idiotically to myself, taking undue pride in the thought that we obviously functioned on similar wavelengths since he had so quickly been able to see my diversion for what it was and use it to his advantage.
"Now come on and lets get moving," Will continued below us "if we hurry we can be at the next town my midday," Having seemingly finished speaking he made to turn away towards the waiting horses, but looked back again after a moment "And for goodness sake Geoff, put some clothes on."
The day passed in the kind of ecstatically haze that you would so expect following such a night. Well, for this lovesick writer it did- I cannot speak for the rest of my travelling companions. Actually, in fact, scratch that, I can speak for the rest (I am the writer of this piece after all), and they spent the day in the same mood as had gone the afternoon before; quiet, bitter and miserable. It got to the point that, 4 hours after we had left the warmth and comfort of the barn and were searching for something to eat in the next town, I finally got thoroughly tired with the lot of them, and left them to argue it out together, deciding instead to see what "entertainments" this town had to offer.
As is obvious, I suppose, when I returned half an hour later after a fruitless search, Wat and William were still sat in that same silent deadlock, while Roland tried desperately to raise the spirits of the group with amusing stories they had no doubt all heard many times before.
One exasperated sigh on my part and we were off again, travelling along the same road that would eventually lead us to Rouen in a silence so uncomfortable I was often seized by the inclination to ease the tension with a song. Something that, as anyone who has actually heard my singing voice can assure you, dear reader, is not the most enjoyable of experiences.
"Will someone bloody well shut him up!" said Wat venomently, the first to break under my tuneless melody. It had taken some time but I had finally managed to pierce the resolve of at least one of my soundless travelling companions.
"Nothing I can do Wat, I have no power over him..." -William's naivety was still endearing to me.
"Couldn't you threaten to leave him behind or something?" Wat continued desperately as I reached the chorus and completely failed to reach a top C I should never have attempted in the first place.
"I could," William was desperately trying not to laugh as I began to integrate a small dance step in my pace to match the tune I was still mercilessly butchering "But I wouldn't mean anything more from me that it would do from you..."
Something in this finally got through to the poor man and suddenly I found my path blocked by a flustered and extremely irate redhead.
"Shut it" He spat, extremely successfully, for out of surprise alone I was struck completely dumb "Or I'll, I'll..."
"'Fong' me?" I asked innocently, eyes meeting Will's across his shoulder and finding there a look of fair and perfect hilarity.
"Yes, yes, I'll 'fong' you until your..."
"I've already had the speech my dear Wat." I held up a hand "And thank you, but it was quite memorable enough the first time" And I continued my song, barely managing to mask the delight that arose as Wat crossed the group in order to get away from me and in so doing matched step with Will.
"We're leaving him behind," He said conspiratorially- the first thing he'd said to him good-naturedly in over 24 hours "The next chance we get, we're tying him up and leaving him behind."
That one song was ultimately, despite the horror of its performance, one of the most successful I have ever undertaken as it cast me once again in the enemy role I should have taken from the beginning, rather than leaving it for the quite undeserving angel who became cast there by Wat. That song realigned the natural order of the group, and, over the course of the afternoon, allowed William to begin the tedious job of prising Wat out of his carefully concocted shell.
Dusk saw a band of four making their way across the moors, walking in twos, the pair at the head of the group deep in conversation, heads bowed together as they walked. While the final pair trudged together in silence, barely able to suppress the delighted grins that threatened to take them over every few minutes.
We stopped that night by the light of the half moon, having walked some way in darkness unnoticed by the pair ahead of us. Roland and I, walking behind, had not wanted to break their private riviere to point out the dissolving daylight, for fear that it may stop their flow of conversation and ruin all the good work they had done so far in rebuilding their friendship. But we need not have worried for the couple continued to talk even as we sat down to eat by the roadside -far to exhausted to find somewhere more substantial to sleep- and barely even noticed when Roland and I made our excuses to find respective places to lay our heads for the night, some way off from the chatting pair.
"You still awake?" A soft voice called to me in the darkness, as a gentle hand reached out to brush against my cheek. Of course I was awake, I thought to myself, turning over to stare into two perfect dark eyes, I would be awake in an instant if this angel ever but whispered my name.
"I am now" I smiled, amused by the secret censor inside my mind.
"Come for a walk with me then." He said, offering his hand to help me up. It was not quite the grand romantic suggestion I could have wished would be uttered from his flawless lips at such an hour, but, for now I supposed, it would do. Reaching to take his proffered hand, I rose to my feet by his side, flashing him a weak smile.
"Lead on, fair knight" I whispered in the darkness, and felt, rather than saw, his smile by my side.
"I am not a knight yet, Geoff," His voice was soft as we turned together to walk from our makeshift camp, the hand which he had held out to me still clasped in my own, sending periodic thrills through my body "that will be decided at Rouen."
"Ability with a lance does not constitute a knight, Will."
"I know," He squeezed my hand gently and I had to fight to control the delighted gasp that it elicited "But it does help" A pause "As will your patents"
"Ahh, I had almost forgotten," I said with a smile "I knew there was a reason I was here"
"You mean other than separating friends and seducing knights?" There was laughter in his voice.
I stopped and pulled him close "I seem to remember the knight in question putting up little fight" My comment was met with his laughter, beautiful and bright in the darkness "But then, you do admit you are a knight?"
"I am if you believe me to be Geoff" His voice blew across my face as he spoke, words sealed with a kiss.
"You have always been, and will always be a knight to this humble writer, Will, you know that" My words were quiet as we broke away, bodies pressed against each other, souls aligned.
"That means a lot, thank you Geoff" Slowly his words filled the space around us with a sigh that was gradually lost in the breeze blowing through the tree branches above our heads.
"And I bet I can name you two others who feel the same" I spoke with a smile; lightening the mood as I turn again, hand entwined in his, to walk on.
Will laughed, "Well, one perhaps, the other needs a little more time to get used to the idea"
"I don't think you have enough faith in yourself, my dear knight, you can be quite persuasive at times" I cast him a smile by my side.
His smile dissolved the darkness around us as he halted us once again, turning to face me.
"I can, can I?" A devilish smile emerged from his angelic face.
"You question my word?" Moving my face closer to his I spoke with menace in my eyes.
He laughed, "Someone very dear to me once told me that most of the things spoken by a writer are nonsense."
And my laugh was cut short as his lips found mine once again, more passionate this time so as to stifle all remaining thoughts and memories that did not lie in the here and now.
It was some time later, as I lay beside him watching the trees filter the moonlight onto his body next to mine as the weather-worn roof had done the night before, that I spoke again, voice sounding alien in the depth of the darkness.
"I love you William Thatcher," I confessed quietly to his still form "and that is anything but nonsense"
But he was already asleep.
The next day passed in much the same manner as the last, four figures, striding across the countryside, this time all united in their journey to Rouen, in pursuit of triumph and riches. The morning had dawned cool and clear, as I had risen at daybreak to find the patch of earth that had once held an angel, empty by my side. He had not gone far, and met me with a sweet, promising kiss over the sleeping bodies of his travel mates as he set about preparing breakfast over the still-glowing embers of the fire he and Wat had built the night before.
Today's pace was quickened somewhat, due to our self-imposed arrival time in Rouen of noon the next day, so travelling was harder, but the food more substantial as we lunched in one town, and then found supper in the next, followed closely by the renting of two (dirt cheap I might add) rooms in the local inn. Tonight we had decided, was the time to care for ourselves- the next day would be a challenging one. What we had not counted on, however, was that for some of us, or rather one of us, the night would be just as draining.
"You're beautiful, you know that?" His voice was that kind of smooth perfection against my ear that meant all rational thought was lost within moments of it being uttered.
"I am not beautiful, I am busy" My mind spoke without my hearts consent, with that kind of flirtatious amusement only possible when the person you desire most in the world has taken it upon themselves to nibble gently at your earlobe.
"You are busy pleasing me, and I believe I can think of more interesting ways of doing just that" His voice was a hot wind against the side of my face as he spoke, eliciting from me what could only be described as a delighted chuckle.
And of course he was right, I thought, as I finally turned from my task and met his eager mouth with my own.
Our rooms were as large as our pockets would provide and as small as would be expected on a down-and-outs salary. Two had been all we were able to afford, and so, much to Will and I's mutual delight we immediately paired off, Wat and Roland in one direction, Will and I in the other. For the first time we had one place totally and completely to ourselves, and were determined to make the best of it.
"You know, if I don't get these finished, there's no way you can fight tomorrow" I spoke slowly, remembering the task at hand and breaking away from him.
The task, as so previously mentioned, was of course my sole reason for being within this heavenly embodiment's presence- the patents. On arriving at a place that was, for the first time, not over run with damp or dirt or insect -and was within distance of the needed supplies- I had decided that the first task that should be undertaken on this night was earning my place beside this angel. Therefore I had dutifully set about preparing the documents, unaided of course by the same angel who relied on them so.
"And do you know," The angel replied immediately, recapturing my waiting lips "That if I do not finish, there is no way I'll sleep tonight?"
And of course I gave in. I've always said that a squire's first considerations should be for the well being of his master.
"I should have known," There was a rustle and a sigh from behind me, followed by a warm, commanding, voice "A writer could never be devoted to anything but his pen" I chuckled in the candlelight, unable to tear myself from a task so near to completion even for an angel. Instead I replied without turning around,
"They do say the pen is mightier than the sword."
". and just as irresistible" He finished
"If I did not know you so well William," I said after an amused pause "I would be certain that you were continuing an almost sexual witticism."
"Well, master Chaucer, if you do not think me capable of such a thing, you cannot know me as truly as you think" There was a smile in his voice. "How long do you think this pen will lay its claim to you?"
"It is hard to tell," A loop on the "y" and I would be almost done "A lifetime perhaps? For you should know very well that a true writer does not think with his mind, but, instead, with his. pen"
"And what does this pen say?" Without turning around I could see the smile on his face, taste the warmth of his mouth on my own.
"It speaks great wisdom," Finally the papers completed, I laid my quill on the table and reached to twist the cap back upon my ink "It tells me that the more time I waste sat at a desk will mean less time I enjoy laid in a bed." I finally turned as I spoke, to find the image of my angel more breathtaking than in my own vision. "Did the light wake you?" More serious now, I smiled at his perfection.
He sighed, smiling at my attentiveness, "No, of course not," He met my eye "I woke when I realised I was alone"
"You weren't alone," I smiled, crossing the room, and tugging from my back the shirt I had pulled on in the cold of the room "And you never will be, Will" I met his lips quickly, as he welcomed me back into his arms beneath the blanket.
"I don't know Geoff, sometimes I feel so," He spoke after a few moments of contemplation in which I settled myself into his embrace,
"Why is that?" My voice was gentle, dreamy in the perfection of the moment, eyes closed in the warm scent of an angel. Again there was gentle silence, his breathing a warm wash of sweetness atop my head.
"Do you think I shall ever meet a girl and fall in love, Geoff?" It is amazing how a moment can completely turn itself about in merely the time it takes to utter a sentence.
"I-I'm sorry?" I stuttered finally through my confusion, propping myself up to look into his face.
"Do you think I'll ever fall in love?" He was sitting up now, meeting my questioning gaze, puzzled in himself as to my own confusion.
"Well, of course, I mean, why not?" So early in the morning (or so late at night, who's to say) even a writer does not have the words to convey confusion and. (there is no other way to say it) .betrayal such as this.
"It's just, women seem to be a rare commodity in this profession. Sometimes I feel I'll never meet that right one, never know." But my mind refused to listen any longer. Slowly, like the sun that was, at that very moment, creeping across the moorland outside the grimy windowpane, realisation was beginning to dawn.
Was I nothing more to him than a comfort? Something to pass the time until his true and rightful partner made their appearance in his life? Was this angel so innocent as to unwillingly commit the greatest sin of all? Breaking a man's heart as he seeks out a "truer" love -one he believes only a woman can give? And was this man, tainted by the world in every respect, ever to know the true touch of an angel? In life and in love? Did he deserve nothing more than to be the passing fancy of a man he would have gladly laid down his life for? Surely no deity could be as cruel as that?
"Have you ever been in love Geoff?" His voice called out to me through my devastation and I was forced to look back into the face I could not help but love with every measure of my soul.
"Yes Will" I spoke finally, reaching out a hand to cup his cheek. For a moment I let it rest there, before making the decision I knew would taint the happiness of my life for a good time in the future "A long while ago now."
"Well, 'tis better to have loved and lost. as they say" His eyes held that kind of sadness that made me want to run to the edges of the world if it would help dissipate it. Instead I touched my lips to his- a sweet, tender acceptance of a love I now knew there was no purpose in pursuing.
"You will love, William, and be loved." I spoke into his chestnut eyes, honey-sweet in the candlelight ".I doubt it not"
To be continued.
