Chapter One

Just Outside Burford, Mercia

July, 822 A.D.

Being a knight had its perks, but traveling down a long, dusty road on one of the hottest days in July wasn't one of them.

The horses Jane and I rode moved at a languid pace while we sat in the saddles, sweating like hogs in all our armor. The sun beat down on us, and I was dizzy from the metal helmet I wore. It seemed to trap the heat, making it scorching hot, and the mail coif I wore over that did not help matters. The small metal rings—heated from the sun—brushed against my face and stung my skin. But there was nothing I could do about that now.

Jane had begrudgingly told me to wear my padding under my coif when she saw me going without—and for this exact reason—but I had been in an irritable mood this morning, and only brushed her comment aside, thinking about how hot it would be under all that extra clothing. That, and the stubborn part of my mind made me not want to wear it simply because she had told me to. So I was not about to dig it out of my saddle bag right now and prove her right. The only part of my body that was not blistering hot was my chest, since—ironically—the padding under my mail provided a cooling effect.

I reached a hand up and wiped the beads of sweat from my forehead, inwardly cursing the heat. For the first time in…well, for the first time ever, I wished King Caradoc had let us ride to the Kingdom of Northumbria—which, just our luck, happened to be hundreds of miles from our own kingdom—on the back of that large green frog Jane called her friend. At least then we would have the wind to cool us down, and a much shorter trip. But King Caradoc had decided that it wouldn't look good to bring a large, formidable dragon along for a mission of making an alliance with them.

Even though the large green lizard was one of our selling points—Caradoc made it clear that an alliance with us would mean that Dragon would be on their side—it was thought that it might be taken as a threat to bring him along. Although our kingdoms were not technically enemies, we left each other well enough alone. Our little kingdom rested just outside the border between Wessex and Sussex, on the coast, both of whom we had trading agreements with. Since those two kingdoms were not exactly on friendly terms with Northumbria, we were understood to be enemies with them as well. But all that was about to change.

Now both our kingdom's had a common enemy—the heathen invaders from the north who called themselves Vikings. They had become such a big problem that there was even talk of Pope Paschal in Rome sending missionaries to preach to them in hopes of converting them. King Caradoc, on the other hand, intended to be more proactive about the problem, and thought it might be wise if we made an alliance with Northumbria, so that united, we might put a stop to the continuous raids that had plagued everyone for the last thirty years, and which were expected to continue and expand even more, if not defeated. It would be good to have them on our side should the raiders continue their reign of terror and attack our kingdom.

We had been lucky not to be the target of a raid, since even Francia to the southeast of us had a few cities raided a couple years ago. There was speculation in the kingdom that tales of Dragon kept the savages away, but how long would their fear of the large lizard last? How much longer could we hide behind Dragon before they turned their eyes to the riches of our kingdom and overcame their fear? So Jane and I had been tasked with delivering a very important letter to King Eanred of Northumbria…on horseback. We had received a favorable reply, and were now on our way home. There was nothing to do now but travel back and deliver the good news.

Father would be beside himself with joy, knowing that an agreement between the two kingdoms would mean more business for him, and that meant more money. He would probably expect me to settle down soon as well. At the ripe age of twenty-four, and as a knight with a respectable title and money to my name, Father wouldn't settle for anything less than a woman with a good title and lots of money to her name…however, finding such a woman would be tricky.

Our name was thought poorly of in the village due to the fact that my family made their fortune by trading with the enemy during the siege on Kippernium nearly a century ago. Finding a woman who would be able to look past my status as a 'blood traitor' would be tricky, but Father said that with wealth comes power, and now that I was a fully-fledged knight in the King's service, people might look at our family differently. I wondered what Father would think if he knew there was only one woman I could see myself settling down with.

At the mere thought of her, I glanced up from my horse to see that she was a good distance ahead of me. I tapped my heels against my horse's side, and easily caught up with Jane. At the sound of quickening hooves, she turned around and glanced back at me, the irritation clear in her sharp green eyes.

"Keep up, will you?" she snapped, exhaustion biting at her voice. She reached a hand up and wiped a sheen of sweat from her forehead before turning around in the saddle. I frowned, but didn't reply.

Usually, I would be able to think of some comeback or, at the very least, an insult to throw back at her, but I didn't have one this time. I probably would have, except I was focused on other things, like the way her hips rocked from side to side from the motion of her horse; the way confidence seemed to radiate from her whole being, evident in the way she walked and held herself; the way her emerald green eyes sparked with fire when she turned around and narrowed them at me. Of course, this wasn't the first time I had noticed these things—that began a few years ago…and it annoyed me to no end.

Most of the time I squashed these thoughts by pushing them to the farthest corners of my mind, where I wouldn't think about them. But as of late, it was becoming harder to banish these unwanted thoughts. All I saw when I looked at Jane was a beautiful woman. That pushiness and stubbornness that annoyed me so many years ago had faded into an admiration for her strength and tenacity.

It was once jealousy I felt, because why should it be so easy for her? I had to struggle with my knight's training, while for Jane it seemed effortless. She was forever besting me and always had to be right about everything! It was so annoying, but once I grew up, I realized that all it did was make me work harder. Her competitiveness and our rivalry while training helped shape me into the man I was today. She pushed me to do the right thing—to live up to the Knight's Code of Conduct. I didn't realize it then, but she made me want to meet her expectations—to prove that I could be the kind of man who deserved her attention and admiration. It was by no means easy, but now we stood on equal ground.

Still, I seemed to have lost one problem only to gain another. I lost my resentment for Jane and seemed to trade it for exactly the opposite. It certainly wasn't my fault that she was beautiful—not that I'd ever admit it to anyone. I even had trouble admitting it to myself. I wasn't supposed to think about Jane this way. I was certain there were laws against feeling this way about a fellow knight…but then again, there had once been a law against women becoming knights.

I could see why now.

It was not because women were incapable—they could be quite capable and determined, as Jane had proven—but because how was a man supposed to keep his mind on the mission and the battle when there was a beautiful woman not ten feet away? Every time I even sensed danger was near, I felt an overwhelming protectiveness wash over me. Yes, Jane could take care of herself, but the urge to protect her was involuntary—it came quite naturally, no matter how unnecessary and unwanted it may be. It was quite distracting when one's mind needed to stay focused.

Not only protectiveness, but I found myself distracted by her beauty—her body. As sinful as lust was, I found myself trapped by it sometimes. How could I not notice her body? I was still a man, and therefore, found myself wanting Jane every way a man could have a woman—heart, mind, and body. Sometimes, I wanted her so badly it hurt, but as a knight, I knew discipline. I would ever act upon my feelings. Even if Jane had feelings for me and was willing, I could not destroy her reputation like that. The Knight's Code of Conduct—the thing Jane had always used against me when we were younger—called for me to guard the honor of fellow knights and respect the honor of women. As a woman and fellow knight, it was my duty to protect her honor, even though she would scowl at the thought of me protecting her from anything.

"Why are you staring at me?" I heard Jane demand, bringing me out of my thoughts.

I blinked and suddenly noticed that Jane had turned slightly around in her saddle, and was now staring at me in irritation. Cursing myself silently for being caught staring at her, I racked my brain for a lie. Unfortunately for me—or perhaps fortunately, since the last thing I wanted was for her to realize my feelings for her—I said the first thing that came to my mind.

Which just so happened to be an insult.

"There is something right there," I replied, pointing towards my own cheek. Jane furrowed her eyes in confusion and reached up a hand, brushing her fingers against her flushed cheek. "Oh, never mind. It is just your ugly face."

Jane sent me a scowl before turning back around, muttering under her breath. Well, she could certainly swear like a man, if nothing else…

It came as a reflex, to insult her. Not that I meant it anymore, but after years of exchanging insults amidst the sound of wooden swords hitting each other, it had become a habit. Now it was nothing more than a defense against her—a wall I had built up so she wouldn't see past my façade. If I stopped insulting her she might see through the cracks, and who knows how she would react. She might mock me, or tell her friends, and then I would become the laughing stock of all of Kippernium—a knight in love with his partner. How ridiculous!

Everybody already despised me, I did not need another reason for them to make fun of me. I especially did not want to find myself on the bad end of one of Jester's jokes—whose crush on Jane has only seemed to grow since they were young. However, her feelings for him seemed to remain largely unchanged. Either she was a better actress than I gave her credit for, or—like I suspected—she only saw him as a friend.

However, I could at least sympathize with Jester. I knew how it felt to feel strongly about her and have her feel nothing in return. At least he had the good fortune of being her friend. That, at the very least, earned him a certain amount of affection from her—the occasional dazzling smile, hearing her let out a laugh and having the satisfaction of knowing that it was he who made her laugh.

The only time I was able to make her laugh was when I fell flat on my face or embarrassed myself in some way. Jester even had the privilege of being her best friend—well, her best human friend, that is. That earned him a hug every once in a while when she was very pleased with him, or when she was upset and needed comfort. I could only watch with envy when I saw her hug him. I knew I would forever be stuck just imagining how it felt to have her arms wrapped around me…to feel her warm body pressed against mine—

"I will be glad when this mission is over so I can get away from you, bog weevil," she muttered, interrupting my thoughts. Even though I should be used to her insults by now—after all, I had been enduring them for years—it still stung a little. All because of these stupid feelings I had. Well, at least she didn't suspect anything…

We traveled for a few more minutes before Jane finally spoke again. "We need to make a brief stop. The horses need to rest and it is a good time to take a break and eat."

I glanced up to see her tug the reigns and lead her horse over to a scrawny looking tree by the side of the road. Unfortunately, it was the only tree for miles around, so it would have to do. I pulled the reigns to the right and followed her. By the time I got my horse under the limited shade, Jane had already tied her horse up and pulled the canteen out of her saddle bag. I swung myself out of the saddle and tied the reigns to a nearby tree branch before opening my own bag and taking out some of our provisions.

I ripped off a chunk of the bread and took a bite as I watched Jane tip her head back, bringing the canteen to her mouth. Some of the water escaped from the corner of her lips and carved its way down her cheek, then slipped under her mail. I averted my eyes before any unwanted thoughts could pop up, and instead turned my attention to the dry, withered leaves on the tree.

"How much farther do we have to travel?"

I heard the rustling of paper and then a long pause. "Eighty more miles. Should be two more days of journeying—perhaps three. There's a town called Burford about seven miles ahead, though. We should reach it before dusk and stop there for the night." There was more rustling of paper and then I heard her saddle bag click as she closed it. A silence followed that seemed to last longer than it actually did. Seconds seemed to drag on, which was unusual for us since we spent most of our time together arguing or insulting each other.

"Okay, what is wrong with you?" Jane finally demanded. My eyes snapped up to look at her and narrowed in anger.

"Excuse me?"

Jane put one hand on her hip and glared back at me. "You heard me, maggot! You have been acting weird this whole trip, and I want to know why."

"I have not been acting weird!" I glanced away, unable to meet her piercing gaze.

"Yes, you have! You will not stop staring at me, and you have been unusually silent as of late!"

"When I talk too much, you are cross, and now when I talk too little, you are cross?" I snapped, wishing Jane would just drop the subject. But I knew her better than that—she was too stubborn to let anything go. "That is just like a woman—nothing can satisfy you!"

"I am not cross, I am concerned," she said, her voice a bit gentler this time.

"Do not waste it on me. I am fine," I spat back at her, doing my best to send her a glare as I turned my gaze to her. The last thing I needed was her pity. She returned the look before snatching the bread from me and breaking off a piece.

We ate our small meal in silence, and when we were recovered, we got back up on our horses and set off for the town. We reached the village an hour or two before sunset, and instantly spotted an inn—marked by a board hanging above the stone archway. I took our horses around to the stables and gave them over to the care of the stable boy, while Jane purchased a room for the both of us.

As if being in close proximity was not distracting enough, Jane and I slept in close quarters while on missions—mostly in empty barns or any sort of shelter we could find if no one was willing to let us lodge for the night. Male knights always did this while traveling together, so Jane—always one to be treated equally—never complained about the arrangement. I did not want to appear like it bothered me, so I went along with it.

It was not like it could be helped, since we were traveling together, but it was quite awkward to be sleeping so close to her. There were a few instances when I woke up with one arm draped over her shoulder, and had to promptly remove it before she woke. There was even one occasion when I woke up to find her snuggled against my side, face buried in my chest. Needless to say that when she awoke, I was a proper distance away.

As I strolled back into the main room of the building, Jane walked over to me. "We were given a room on the second floor. Second door to your left once you have climbed the stairwell."

I gave a nod of understanding, then let my eyes travel over to the tavern in the next room, where men were drinking and laughing as they gambled. Jane's eyes also wandered over to them, and then returned to meet my gaze. We both shared a look.

The bread was filling enough, and we did not want to waste any money on extra food when we had enough provisions. Though…after being away from the castle for so long, I was yearning for a hot meal. The first place I would visit once I got home would be Pepper's kitchen. However, I could use a drink right now. As if she could read my mind, Jane immediately spoke up.

"No. I need you sober-minded. We leave first thing in the morning," she said, placing both hands on her hips. As I glanced over her curves, once again feeling a wave of longing wash over me, I knew I needed a drink.

"I am a grown man, Jane, and can make my own decisions," I shot back, lifting my chin up.

She narrowed her eyes. "We make decisions together, Gunther, as a team—or did you forget the meaning of that word?"

"Then perhaps my teammate might loosen up and have a drink as well," I said, giving her shoulder a poke. At this she crossed her arms over her chest and sent me a glare. "I am having one, Jane, whether you like it or not. Do not get your knickers in a twist, I will not get drunk, and we will leave as planned at dawn."

At this I spun on my heel and stalked off towards the tavern. I just needed a drink or two to get my mind off Jane and the troubling thoughts that seemed to follow me whenever she was around.

First of all, I'd like to thank my Beta, Amelle Kyre for all her help with this story. :)

You don't have to read the next part unless you're interested, it's just some history and facts about Jane's time:

You might notice that Jane and Gunther's armor is different from what's shown on the show, but this was to make it more historically accurate. Jane's plated armor and Sir Theodore's armor in the show are both reminiscent of lorica segmentata, a type of armor used by Roman soldiers, but this design was discarded after the fall of the Roman Empire because of the cost and time involved in making small pieces of plate metal. And plates of metal didn't come back into popularity until the 13th century, where they were used to protect joints and other areas of the body, and over time, more plates were added until you get the full-plated knight most people think of when they think of knight's. During Jane's time, knight's would wear leather armor, padded clothing, and chainmail. But the clothing will come up more in the next chapter.

One thing that wasn't historically accurate about this chapter: they didn't have maps back in Jane's day. Well, they did, but not the fold-them-up-and-put-them-in-your-saddlebag type of maps we have today. They weren't usually very accurate, and didn't include roads (the only roads they had were left over from the one's the Roman Empire built and a few unpaved roads from earlier British tribes). Usually when someone traveled they would ask directions in the town they came upon, and the person there would tell them which direction or road to travel, and when they got to the next town, they would repeat the process until they reached their destination...but this is fiction, so I took some liberties.

Back in Jane's time, England was divided into a few different Kingdoms, but there were three big one's: Northumbria, Wessex, and Mercia (which had conquered the other, smaller ones like Essex, Kent, and Sussex), but even during this time there were lesser kingdoms that retained their independence, so it's possible there could have been a Kippernium-like kingdom back then.

There will probably be history facts in other chapters in the Author's Notes as it becomes relevant, but for now I hope you enjoyed learning a bit more about Jane's time and the start of this story! :)