Arriving back at Robert’s home with a frown, Lee kicked off the dirt clinging to his boots, then swung open the door with a little more force than he intended. He wasn’t mad per se, just a mix of upset and disappointed—Mostly at himself and only slightly at the rag-tag group he found himself with. 

He knew there were cultural differences between them, as his culture didn’t exist in this world, but taking the previous owner's home because his group was ‘important’ didn’t sit right with him. This wasn’t something he was willing to support. 

When he abruptly entered, Jeremy was writing down some notes in a small book. The clanging of the door made Jeremy jerk slightly. He slammed the small notebook closed and stood to face Lee with a small amount of shock.

Lee gazed around for any of the other members of his party but didn’t spot them. Focusing on Jeremy, Lee walked straight over to him and sat at the table. He tapped his finger down on its hard surface, indicating that they should sit. 

Meriah and Kooco came over to the table as well. Meriah looked startled as she took a seat next to Jeremy, across from Lee at the table. Both of them shared a look. Kooco simply followed Lee around like he was her mother duck and flapped herself into the center of the table itself. 

Lee started the conversation after giving himself a moment to think about what he wanted to say. The wait caused Jeremy and Meriah to grow even more confused and unsettled.

“We are not staying here any longer.” 

Jeremy glanced at Meriah, trying to discern what the hell caused this turn of events, before responding.

“That’s… fine. We can set out within moments. Might I ask why we are leaving suddenly?”

Instead of answering his question, Lee wanted to say his peace. Setting his elbows on the table and resting his chin on top of his now interlocked fingers, he spoke. 

“Firstly, I want to say that I'm aware that there are cultural differences between us and that that’s perfectly okay. But, there are times when cultures clash, and this is one of those times. I am not going to force another man to leave his home so we can have a place to rest. If I knew that we had taken Robert’s home, I wouldn’t have stayed here. Was there a reason for us to have to take his home?”

Lee inspected Jeremy for any sort of reaction. The first was obviously confusion; the second was nervousness. Jeremy kept trying to glance at Meriah for answers, but she didn’t have any to give. She herself didn’t understand why Lee was mildly upset. Kooco was quiet and observant.

“It’s customary for the populace to give soldiers and important figures the best lodgings available when they require it.” 

Lee had some thoughts on his way back here. The first was that Jeremy had sequestered this home because he was a noble. The second was because they were part of the armed forces of the kingdom— Both of these seemed to be the answer. 

“That’s understandable, and again, I want to say that the way you do things is fine, just different than mine. I do not feel comfortable taking a man's home for a place to stay. If we were simply guests in his home, I would be okay with that, but we kicked him out of his home entirely.” 

Lee had come to understand his position in this group. Jeremy, Belrate, Kendri, and Meriah were there to keep watch over him. He wasn’t a fool. He understood that the moment they were ‘requested’ to join him by Wall Commander Timberson. Although he wasn’t sure how he was ranked against a noble of the kingdom, Lee felt confident that he was at least on par with Jeremy’s position, as long as he was still a wildcard and a person of interest.

This would be the moment he discovered how much sway he had regarding real decision-making.

Taking a risk, he tried his best to put on a confidence facade. He stood and just stated what was going to happen. 

“We won’t be staying here any longer. We can camp out along the road or on the outskirts of the village itself. Tell Robert that he can have his home back and that I am sorry.” He paused, then changed his mind. “Actually, I’ll apologize myself. Where is he staying?” 

Out of all the things Jeremy had expected, this was not it, and Lee could tell. For once, Jeremy looked conflicted on many different levels. Lee assumed that camping out as a noble was what was causing most of the problems, but surprisingly, it was the apology. 

“You should not apologize. It is beneath you as a healer of great esteem.” 

Lee stared back at Jeremy with a blank face, astounded at what was just heard. This would be a longer talk than planned, so he sat down again and started talking.

“Nobody is beneath apologizing. Not even your king or queen. Also, I don’t understand what makes a healer have ‘great esteem.’ I myself have never met another healer. What you say makes me think they’re rare, and offending them has consequences. Why don’t you tell me about other healers. Let’s not pretend I didn’t notice how people interacted with me. They were wary.” 

Jeremy and Meriah shared the same look—a grimace. Meriah was the first to speak.

“Lee, they are rare. The only way to get healing magic is to ask the gods. Even then, they don’t give them out freely, if you can even speak with one.” 

Lee nodded; this was something he understood. He didn’t know how scarce healers were in general, but he knew this was how people learned to heal—before him, at least. Jeremy spoke next.

“You don’t want to offend someone who can save your life with a flick of the wrist. Even my father has to tread carefully with how he speaks to the healers he comes across. My father is an Earl. Being a healer is similar in rank to that of a Duke or Duchess. Although, they don’t hold any title in actuality.” 

Not having any knowledge about how noble ranks worked, Lee just nodded. Kooco surprisingly spoke next. 

“Friend Lee Barnes. Healers are also expensive! That is why Kooco wanted to learn healing magic!” 

Caught off guard by the frank admission of greed from Kooco, he let loose a slight chuckle. 

“I kind of expected that healing would be expensive, Kooco. Mana regeneration is a thing; if you’re healing hundreds of people a day, you must pick and choose. Money makes an excellent way to cut the line if I had to guess. Some friends of mine also mentioned that healing potions are expensive.” 

Kooco happily nodded. Lee didn’t bother translating that conversation to Meriah or Jeremy. 

“Well. I’m not from your kingdom. I can respect your customs, so I hope you can at least respect some of mine. As I’ve said plenty of times. I’m just a guy. Where is Robert staying?” 

—-----------------

After knocking on the wooden door in front of him, Lee waited patiently. It took a bit of back and forth with Jeremy to convince him that Lee didn’t mind apologizing. During that conversation, Lee learned more about how the kingdom worked through context. 

From what he could gather, Jeremy wouldn’t apologize to anybody beneath his station unless it was a life-or-death situation or they were ‘acquaintances.’ Lee assumed that was his way of saying close friends or family members, but he wasn’t sure. Apologizing to a village head as a healer was, apparently, ‘Disgraceful.’ 

Lee didn’t care. In his mind, a human being was a human being. At the end of the day, Death will greet them all… Just, maybe not him if he played his cards right. 

The door opened, revealing a woman in her late twenties. Upon seeing Lee, her pale blue eyes widened. She quickly collected herself, brushing a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. 

“Is there anything I can do for you?” 

“I’m here to speak to Robert. Is he in?” 

After stealing a sneak-peak at Jeremy, Meriah, and Kooco, the woman nodded. 

“One moment.” 

She closed the door, and after a few seconds, Lee could hear snips of conversation from right behind the door.. 

“...Healer… Ask…. Dad… Fine.”

Then, the door opened once more. Robert stood in the doorway with the woman behind him. The woman glared into the back of Robert's head, but Robert himself was unfazed.  

 Before Robert could ask what Lee was here for, Lee bowed in front of the older gentlemen. 

“I’m here to apologize. I wasn’t aware that we had taken your home. We have collected our things and are going to stay elsewhere. I’m sorry for the inconvenience we caused.”

At first, this would be the extent of his apology, but with the hopeful look Robert had given him when they were first introduced and the bits and pieces of their conversation from behind the door, Lee guessed they had someone they needed to be healed. 

As a cancer patient, he lost count of the number of times he witnessed less fortunate families rush into the hospital at the last minute—Having never gone before because of the price they would have to pay with the American health care system and only rushing in last minute when the need was too great. This situation felt similar in scope. 

“Also, as proof of my sincerity, I’ll heal someone for free—No matter the severity.”

Rising from his bow, he saw the gaping mouths of Robert and the woman. Robert’s hands were outstretched, probably in an attempt to make his rise. He glanced over Lee’s shoulder, obviously nervous about the military figures behind him. 

“Don’t worry about them. So, do you have anybody in mind?” Lee asked.

The woman was more quick to adapt. She nudged Robert with her elbow and tilted her head towards Lee, almost as if saying, ‘go on.’ Robert cleared his thoughts and tried to speak formally. 

“Thank you for the unneeded apology, Mr. Barnes.”

Lee waved that away.

“Just Lee is fine.” 

Nodding and still trying to speak with some formality, Robert continued. 

“Mr. Blight informed me of your special healing capabilities…” 

Lee nodded along with a slight smile. 

“There is someone I would like to be seen too... but…”

Lee watched Robert’s eyes slide over his shoulder to glance at Jeremy. Getting the hint, Lee turned to Jeremy and got a glimpse of his panic before it was turned into a blank face. 

Not the emotion I expected… I’ll remember that.

“I’m going to talk with Robert alone for a moment. You can ready the horses and wagon and find a nice spot to camp tonight.” 

Jeremy instantly took a step forward and responded. 

“I think it would be best to have one of us pres…”

Lee cut him off.

“It’ll be a quick talk. It’ll be fine.”

Turning back to Robert and gesturing towards the door, Lee continued.

“Shall we?”