Sir Arthur

• Thirty

Matteo had picked a good amount of herbs as they had the small basket almost full. With the limited knowledge that Kim had gained recently she could identify some of them though the preparation was not clear to her.

It was great having a reference source though she at times found herself stuck on some pages of the medical book unsure of what some of the words meant and with no one to ask, it became frustrating.

They were seated by the calm lake, relaxing as they watched birds flying in beautiful whirls, after rowing the boat for quite sometime enjoying the breeze that blew.

"This basket looks familiar," Kim broke the silence looking at the patterns drawn on it. The purple ribbon at the handle had her overthinking but she cut her train of thoughts. It could have been coincidental.

"I've not seen these designs in town either," Matteo replied not knowing how to reveal that he'd been keeping her basket all that while. He had even attempted to weave it by the side where a small hole had formed.

"Where did you get it from then?" Kim enquired knowing it matched perfectly with the one she'd lost three months ago in the mountains and luckily her mother had made new ones so she didn't ask for the lost one anymore.

"Actually," Sir Arthur cleared his throat and Kim turned to look at him. His eyes fleeted to hers for a second before they shifted back to the waters before them. He wasn't one to lie so he sincerely continued.

"The knights took it from the mountains, it belonged to you." He tilted his head to her side just as he finished talking. Her eyes widened a fraction then dropped to the basket between them in surprise.

"I've been looking for it for a long time now," she took hold of it rotating it sideways then smiling up at him in gratitude, "Thank you for keeping it well."

Matteo nodded in acknowledgement relieved that she'd not taken it negatively in that he'd kept the basket without giving it back knowing clearly that it was hers.

Kim's thoughts floated to their first counter and something she'd been wondering about popped up in her head. "Why did you help me out that day?" She'd been meaning to know why he did it.

Sir Arthur shook his head not having a definite answer. He couldn't figure it in himself why he had done that then as he was always honest with those around him so that day when he'd even lied to the General, it had been so out of line.

"I thought you needed help," Matteo finally replied after giving it a thought, a hint of a smile on his lips. It was the closest truth he could come up with. He reminisced of how she looked like a scared rabbit in his office.

At first when he learned of her name, he'd guessed she was the General's daughter but then again he had never heard about her so when her face lost its adorable rosy color when the General visited, he confirmed his assumptions.

"You didn't tell father right?" Kim asked again. She had always been on high alert everyday after that worrying that he could inform her father of her behavior. He wore that stern face that had her jittery all the time.

"Of course not," Matteo shook his head a small chuckle escaping him that had Kim turn to look at him in awe. She had never heard him laugh nor see him that carefree. Her eyes flitted to his upturned lips that crinkled at the sides then to tanned skin of his throat.

He spoke before her eyes wandered further. "I was helping you remember?" He said it as if it was the most natural thing. Kimberly tried to hide back a smile. It felt good to have someone do something nice to you especially when they were a stranger then.

"I'm so grateful then, you've always helped me." She said the last words in a whisper almost to herself, toying with her sleeve, but he caught onto them.