Disclaimer: I do not own Jane and the Dragon or anything in its universe - They belong to their rightful owners. If there is anything that you don't recognise, hey I had a creative idea!

Full Summary: It's been decided that Gunther needs a wife, and conveniently enough Jane is being pressurized to find a suitable husband. Magnus has managed to arrange a marriage between Gunther and Jane. Is it because Jane is the most eligible lady in the kingdom or is there a more sinister plot lurking in the shadows, so beautifully orchestrated that it will result in Jane's downfall once and for all? Can the two young knights learn to love one another and be able to thwart Magnus' schemes or will they be just pawns for him to use so freely?

This is my first Jane and the Dragon fanfiction and I would really appreciate it if you read it then just before you press back you leave a little review. Even just a short one-liner would do. Just to reassure me that someone has read it and a day of writing and a few more nitpicking and fretting over it was not all in vain! Please? Cookies to anyone who reviews and my eternal love too! xxoo

Chapter One

A Summer's Day

It was a beautiful hot summer's day in Kippernium. The sky was blue and the clouds were nothing but rough sketches lazily drifting. The birds chirped happily with each song and the gentle breeze rustled the trees. The inhabitants of the Castle seemed to enjoy the glorious weather, some more than others, as they got on with their daily tasks.

Only two individuals, out of the whole kingdom, appeared to internally curse the hot weather as the heat made it harder for them to spar. In time to Smithy's mindless hammering against the metal shield he was working on, was the intense percussion of one wooden sword hitting another with brute force. Smithy lifted his head to wipe the sweat off his forehead and momentarily watched the two young knights fight with their wooden swords in the courtyard, the quickness of their footwork making it look like they were locked in a complicated dance. Though he would never admit it out loud, he enjoyed watching the two knights spar as they normally do every day. He was used to the sound of wood hitting wood, the grunts and huffs for breaths, and of course the name calling from the sparring individuals which all became a source of amusement for him when he took his occasional breaks for a moment or two.

Smithy watched as Jane screamed her battle cry with both hands on her wooden sword and attacked Gunther with all her strength only to be blocked swiftly by Gunther's own sword. Gunther ducked low as Jane swung her sword once more and stepped to the side completely evading Jane's blow. They stared at each other for a minute, eyes narrowed, their swords gripped tightly before they started to circle each other menacingly and this time it was Gunther who made the first attack. He aimed for Jane's side and Jane pretended to move left only to swiftly move to her right and before Smithy even realised what has happened Jane moved behind Gunther slyly and taking advantage of the blind spot she struck the boy between the shoulder blades and pushed him to the ground.

"Yield." Jane grinned victoriously as she pressed her wooden sword against the hollow of Gunther's throat, her foot rested on his chest. She stared him down and Gunther merely glared back. For a moment they simply stared at each other, brilliant green met steel grey, their chests heaved heavily with every breath they took.

"Never." Gunther suddenly declared, swiping Jane off her feet and made her land on her back. Gunther jumped up to his feet swiftly like a cat and this time pressed his sword against her throat. "Yield." He echoed with a smirk, his eyes flashed dangerously with mischief.

"Yield." He echoed with a smirk, his eyes flashed dangerously with mischief.

"Cheater!" Jane exclaimed using her sword to swat away the one that was pressed against her throat.

"In the battlefield, no one plays the by rules, lady knight." Gunther drawled lazily as he stared down at Jane who was still on the ground with disdain and boredom.

"Rematch." Jane huffed in annoyance as she knew that despite all the rules, everyone would play every trick in the book to win.

"Sore loser." Gunther taunted.

"Am not!" Jane jumped to her feet and stood in her fighting stance. Gunther arched an eyebrow before he sighed and strangely enough begun to unbutton his tunic.

"What are you doing?" Jane asked startled.

"It's too hot." Gunther said dismissively as he shrugged out of his tunic and sighed with relief as he was finally out of his hot and sweaty tunic and was only clad in his white loose undershirt with baggy sleeves that tightened around his wrists and had a low V neckline.

"That's better." Gunther said to himself before he smirked at Jane who frowned at him though he can tell she was trying her hardest not stare at his chest.

"Feel free to take your tunic off too, Jane, it's easier to move around especially in this heat," Gunther goaded and laughed meanly as one corner of his lips tugged upwards in a mocking way "oh, that's right! You can't. You're a lady!"

"Beef brain!" Jane narrowed her eyes at him as she gripped her sword in both hands and begun to circle Gunther whom in turn mirrored her movements. Jane briefly registered an echo of giggles in the corner of the courtyard and as she walked around she saw a group of young maids giggling and blushing indiscreetly at Gunther in his undershirt. They whispered amongst themselves but their eyes were firmly trained on Gunther who also noticed the attention and even had the audacity to wink at them cheekily which made Jane roll her eyes and aimed at Gunther once more.

"JAAA-AAAY-NEEE!" A shrill call that could only be the Lady-in-Waiting rung out as Jane's mother is the only capable of extending Jane's short name into a multi-syllabic one. The sparring knights halted mid-strike, the giggling maids stopped and ran quickly inside to whatever they were supposed to be doing and Smithy went back to his hammering.

"JANE! You are late. Your suitor would be here anytime soon and you're still running around the courtyard with your sword! Come on!" Adeline stopped short in front of Jane and Gunther with her hands on her hips and a scolding glare. Jane sighed in defeat and even Gunther diverted his gaze down to his feet under the Lady-in-Waiting's glare.

"Captain Beaumont would be a perfect match for you, young too!" Adeline gushed and Gunther stiffened discreetly at the name of Jane's latest suitor, his eyes involuntarily hardened and he clenched his jaws tightly, but this goes unnoticed by both Adeline and Jane.

There was a niggling feeling inside Gunther every time he thought about Jane's suitors, it swirled and bloomed inside him like a flower and grew into his skin but he pushed it down, trapping it in the depth of his dark soul and convinced himself that he feels absolutely nothing for his fellow knight. Nope, absolutely and utterly nothing. Just your normal innocent feeling you can't help but feel when you watch your friend being paraded by her mother in front of suitors ever since said friend reached the age of thirteen. Yes, that must be it, just a friendly dose of protectiveness and surely even her other male friends felt it time and time again when Adeline came up with a 'suitable' suitor and thankfully Jane had managed to refuse all offers. Though he couldn't figure out for the life of him who is more thankful that Jane has refused yet another request for her hand in marriage; Jane herself or Gunther himself? But there was this feeling of relief inside when Adeline looked disappointed when one of Jane's suitors storms off angrily whilst Jane herself looked smug for chasing away yet another suitor and Gunther can relax once more with the knowledge that it'll take weeks for Adeline to find a new suitor for Jane.

But with that said, Gunther knew that it will not be long until Jane will buckle under her mother's request to find herself a suitable husband and Gunther dreaded that day. Surely when Jane put her mind to it, no man could resist her. She has grown into a beautiful lady, a few inches taller and slimmer. She had lost the child-like roundness to her face and developed a fine bone structure. Her fiery red hair was still the same messy, unruly curls but it only brought out her large green eyes and made it brighter which captured many men's attention, including his own though he will never admit it. Jane and Gunther may have matured and got over their petty childhood rivalry for a few years now but he will never admit out loud that she was pretty. Besides, she'll probably hit him with her wooden sword if he so much utter such words.

"Mother, for the last time, I don't want to get married!" Jane tried to argue but she was quickly shut down by Adeline's stern glare.

"Nonsense, child. You are of age, you are seventeen and you are at your prime to get married. Even Pepper is married and has a child! It's time you settle down with a nice fellow." Adeline continued, ignoring Jane's protests. Gunther hid a smile when he saw from the corner of his eye Jane rolling her large green ones in a silent retort, but unfortunately for Jane her mother caught this and snapped "Don't roll your eyes at me, Jane!"

"Knights don't get married!" Jane exclaimed and glanced at Gunther for agreement but her fellow Knight just merely shrugged. She should have known that the boy wouldn't say anything to help her despite being friends, though she says that in the loosest of terms. Gunther and Jane may have gotten over their rivalry and come to an unspoken truce but they still bickered and insulted each other whenever they got the chance though their insults held no malice and hurtful undertones - it's merely playful and occasionally motivating especially during the period that she was to be knighted a season ago. Gunther, of course, was knighted last summer before her since he was training to be a knight longer than she was.

"Of course they do! Sir Gunther, are you not currently searching for a wife?" Adeline waved Jane's statement away and focused her attention to Gunther.

Jane's eyes widen slightly at the revelation and felt a pang of hurt when Gunther nodded his head. How come Gunther never said anything to her? Weren't they friends and friends were suppose to tell each other things? Jane internally scoffed, of course, they were not really friends and Gunther never told anyone about his personal life. He just clammed up and refused to say anything along with a silent glare. When it came to not saying anything, Gunther was certainly a vault. At this thought, Jane realised that she doesn't really know a lot about Gunther despite knowing him for most of her life.

"My father is searching for a suitable wife for me, m'lady." Gunther said dryly and Jane noticed his hands curl into fists at the mention of his father.

"See! Gunther is to be married soon enough, and he's your age." Adeline gestured with her hand and looked at Jane pointedly.

"He's nineteen, mother, and that's... that's... different!" Jane huffed in annoyance.

Adeline arched an eyebrow and turned to look at Gunther once more "How is the search going, a handsome strapping young man like you must have a line of fine ladies offering their hands in marriage?"

Jane felt a blush tint her cheeks when Adeline called Gunther handsome, but it was a good thing that her cheeks were already rosy from all the sword fighting or someone would notice that Jane did, in fact, thought Gunther was handsome. But, she will never admit it. Never! Jane couldn't help but look at Gunther though she tried to do it as secretly as possible since she knew that Gunther noticed everything with his cold grey eyes. Gunther was no longer the miserable, pathetic, snivelling boy from her childhood but he has indeed grown into a handsome strapping young man. At the age of fifteen he underwent an unbelievable growth spurt and now stood over six foot, whilst Jane was stuck in five foot five, which meant that he was at least a head taller than her. He has also chiselled out, his shoulders broadened and his muscles became more defined. His raven hair, which was as silky as they looked, had gotten longer which he usually tied back with a black ribbon though at that moment in time his hair had come loose from the ribbon and framed his face giving him a more charming, more boyish look that he did not make up for in personality.

"It's going... well, m'lady." Gunther said with an underlying tone of uncertainty. "I have yet to find the one that catches my eyes."

Adeline nodded her head and looked pleased with the idea of Gunther's search for a wife was going better than Jane's search for a suitable husband "Ah, well, better hurry Sir Knight or they will be all taken."

"I'll keep that in mind. M'lady, Jane." Gunther replied coolly bowing elaborately at Adeline and Jane before he turned on his heels swinging his practice sword idly as he walked away. Jane and Adeline watched momentarily as Gunther walked towards his discarded tunic and leather armour and picked them up with his sword before he retreated into the stables where he greeted Sir Ivon who almost instantly went to order her fellow knight but not before questioning the sight of him only clad in his undershirt.

"Yes, why was he in his undershirt Jane, and I'm sure I heard him taunting you to take off your tunic too? I do hope you weren't planning to, young lady!" Adeline glared at Jane with a scolding finger.

"Of course not, mother!" Jane blushed.

"Good. Gunther may be your fellow knight but he is also a man and he most certainly must not see you in your undershirt, under any circumstances!" Adeline continued and Jane scowled when she heard Smithy chortle with laughter but the blacksmith swiftly turned it into a cough when Jane sent him a glare.

"He took his tunic off because it's too warm to spar." Jane sighed in defeat once more.

"Come now, child. We must make you presentable for Captain Beaumont. When the time comes, he is most certainly allowed to see you in your undershirt, Jane." Adeline grabbed Jane's wrist and dragged her away. Somehow, and she didn't know why she entertained the idea of not wanting anyone to see her in her undershirt apart from Gunther. Though as soon as the thought entered her mind she shook her head and tried to dispel it from her brain. Bad thought, bad bad bad! She chanted to herself.

"Mother!" Jane exclaimed a crimson flush burnt her cheeks especially when Smithy burst out laughing. She took a glance over her shoulder and Smithy only offered her an apologetic smile and mouthed "Good luck" before he returned to his hammering once more.

It was going to be a long day!

EDITED 13.04.17

Review, please! Tell me what you all think :D Even one teeny weeny little word, I'll be happy ^_^ This is my first Jane and the Dragon fanfiction and I'll be really happy if even one of you review! It took me a while to write it and even longer to gather up my courage to upload it! cookies to anyone who reviews! Pleeassssseeeeeee?! pretty please with a cherry on top? Anyways, I'll update soon :)