"We should get married"
"What?" Jester looked up from the piles of books and paperwork in front of him and turned toward his companion.
"I said we should get married" Jane replied idly, pulling at a single red curl. She sat by the fire, watching the sun set out the window of the library.
"You know, if you marry me, you are stuck with me forever!" Jester laughed.
"That's not too long, you could be Dragon."
"You wish I were, don't you? Oh! And what of your mother? Would she approve of your wedding a foreigner? I'm sure a poor Italian nomad is not what she wanted. "
"You are practically more English than I am!" Jane teased "Besides my mother has been vying for me to marry somebody, and if I marry Gunther like a proper women should, you'll whine about it until that day you die, you jealous bastard."
"Guilty as charged!" He sighed dramatically, tossing his dirty blond hair as he did so. The night had closed in and the candlelight danced across their faces, highlighting the sharp cut of Jester's straight narrow nose, and v shaped jaw. The light bounced off the softness of Jane's smile, contrasting her small, strong form, always primed and ready for attack. Jane was under the belief the Jester had become strikingly handsome at 17, and it wasn't until then that her innocent crush had taken its leave for something more, well, heart-racing.
Jane found herself giggling at his silly mannerisms "Yes, you would be a miserable husband, but I would be a terrible wife, and that is why I must take you up to the Reverend in the village, so we can be horrid together."
"Well then I must speak to your father in the morning! I imagine the conversation will be lovely- 'You see Mr. Turnkey, Your daughter has made her goal to wed me and bed me by the end of the year and I need you permission so we can do adult things without the scorn of god!' Yes, that will go over fantastically." His wild hand gestures and silly expression caused the both of them to collapse into giggles.
Jane caught her breath, and sobered abruptly. "He has been waiting for to you ask for some time now; we are no longer brash teenagers that wreck havoc at the midsummer ball. You should know this." The smile she had worn faded from her face. Her words were a strange break from silliness, and Jester could feel that Jane was afraid. He didn't have to ask, he knew better than that. She was never one to admit weakness, even before her dreams of knighthood.
The silence felt as though it would last all of their lifetimes. Jane didn't want to think about dying, but the thought struck her sometimes when she thought of her knighthood, and of her mortality. Her chest ached with realization of how fast that time was moving. Their lives were only a blink compared the rest of the world. It was all too much.
She moved so that she stood in front of his chair pulling his chin upward gently so their eyes met. "I love you. You know that at least."
"I would marry you on that alone" He said softly. She leaned down to kiss him, gently tucking a loose strand of dusty blonde hair behind his ear.
"Goodnight Jester. Try not to work too late."
"I will try, Goodnight Jane." He watched as she left, confusion playing across his face. As he gathered his things and wandered back to his own room a few hours later, he made a mental note to speak to Milton Turnkey within the next few days.
A/N: So, this has been sitting in my drafts forever, and I'm finally posting it! I rediscovered Jane and the Dragon last year and hoo boy do I love it. Jester is my favorite because he and I are very similar people. I hope that you like this and I hope post more soon!