Hello, welcome to the beginning of the story. I am JBIL. I know it's been awhile, I'm sorry, it really can't be helped.

This fic has been written for Kyra4, for the JatD fic exchange.

Challenge: "My request is um... just Jane/Gunther. That's it. Take the
ball and run with it!"

I would like to apologize for the following reasons:

1. This story is incredibly late, I know. But sometimes things happen that just can't be prevented from happening or be predicted. First it was my sister's birthday, then my friend lost her mother to ovarian cancer, then it was my birthday, then I lost a dear relative in a most unpleasant manner...plus the computer having a mini-crash and a great deal of school assessments somehow getting scheduled all around the same time. So I am very sorry, but, due to the circumstances, writing hasn't been my top priority, recently. I hope you will understand.

2. The fic is still not all here. It's a chapter fic. -_- Bear with me, people.

3. This is a Jane/Gunther fic, and whilst I like Gunther very much as a character, I am hopeless at writing for him and not very good at Jane/Gunther. This would be because I have never really written it before, as I am a strong believer in Jester/Jane. Sorry. But trying my hand at Jane/Gunther has been fun and interesting.

I'm going to stop ranting rubbish now. Enjoy!


I am Unwritten,

Can't read my mind,

I'm undefined.

I'm just beginning,

The pen's in my hand,

Ending unplanned...

Unwritten, Natasha Beddingfield

Sometimes, things just don't turn out the way you expect them to. Certainly, you can try your hardest to make things go your way, but no-one can predict the future. Just like no-one can predict the way they will react themselves in any given situation, especially that of which one has never anticipated finding oneself in before.

Jane Turnkey was unaware that she would be faced with any such situation even remotely of the kind that morning, as she awoke all too suddenly to the sound of mooing noises which were not being emitted by cows. Moaning, stuffing her fingers in her ears, hiding under the covers and squeezing her tired green eyes shut tight did little for the preservation of her sanity. And so, giving in, the young redheaded squire got up, dressed, and, ten minutes later, could be seen trudging lethargically into the castle practice yard looking for a quick sparring session before breakfast.

She did not have to look far, of course.

Gunther Breech strolled in almost directly after the female squire, yawning hugely and scratching his back with a wooden practice sword.

"Good morrow, Jane." He said, smirking loftily.

"And to you, Gunther." Came Jane's reply, as polite as she could paint it. "What would you say to a little swordsmanship practice?"

"That all depends on who's asking..."

"Prepare to be mashed, then!"

Perhaps this was badly timed. Gunther didn't even blink. "As I was saying before being rudely interrupted...I certainly am up for a short joust, yes. With Sir Ivan, if at all. Sir Theodore is likely to be too busy this morning and there are, of course, no other worthy opponents about this morning, as the rest of the knights are off on that quest to re-discover the missing...what was it, now? Blacksmith's pig? Something like that. So I will just have to wait a little longer to get a bit of training in. What an odd question. I have no idea why you would ask."

And he strode off, without another word or a backward glance.

Jane stood stock still for several short minutes, allowing the full effect of Gunther's rather uncalled-for insult to sink in. Then, after a while, knowing that she hadn't a hope of getting to do any practice at all that morning in light of what she had just been told, she threw her own practice sword clumsily aside and stormed off towards the kitchens.

Rake was in the garden, tending to his leeks. He looked up to yell a "Good morrow!" to Jane as she careered past him, but she offered little more than a grunt of recognition in reply and dropped down none too gracefully at the table, still fuming.

Several minutes later, Smithy came to join her. She barely noticed he was there until he tapped her on the shoulder. She started and looked up.

"Yes?"

He looked at her curiously. "Uhh...good morning? I've been right here, trying to get your attention for at least five minutes."

"Oh, well, a good morning to you too." The red-head replied shortly, before looking back down at the table.

A couple long moments of silence passed, before being penetrated by-

"Morning all, morning all!"

Where there had recently been an empty spot opposite Jane and Smithy, Jester was now sitting, grinning manically at everyone.

"Morning Jester." chorused the other two boys. Smithy gently nudged Jane, but this time she didn't respond.

Jester's grin faltered. He raised a questioning eyebrow at Rake and Smithy, who both shrugged, looking just as confused as he did.

Just then, Pepper came out with four bowls of mushroom soup. "Morning everyone!"

"Pepper!"

"Early breakfast! Good job, my friend."

"Oh, that smells simply divine."

"I do my best."

"Mmm...it is good...what is the herb in this?"

"The things you do with my vegetables are such a compliment to them, Pepper."

"But of course, ultimately she does it to compliment the biggest vegetable of them all, Rake."

"Jester!"

"Sorry."

"Soup, Jane?"

The grain in the wood is rather crooked...I wonder what kind of tree it is...

"Jane?"

Not an oak...I've always assumed it was an oak...only the table in the throne room is made of oak and it looks completely different...

"Jane..."

Pine? Too dark for it...perhaps it's a foreign made thing...

"JANE!" yelled four voices all in unison. She looked up, annoyed that her train of thought had been broken.

"Yes, yes, what is it?"

They all just stared back at her, taken aback by her tone and her distracted behaviour. Several seconds passed before Pepper spoke up.

"We were just wondering...if you would like your breakfast now...?"

Suddenly, Jane came back down to Earth with a thud. "Oh."

Silence.

"...Well?"

"Uh...I'll have...I'll have just a little bit...thank you..."


After breakfast, Jane decided to wander down to the practice yard and have a whack at the dummy (the inanimate one), finding herself with little else to do.

However, she hardly got as far as just out of the garden, when she found herself cornered by Jester.

"Where did you spring fr-"

"Jane." He looked uncharacteristically serious. "Has something happened that we should know about? You've been acting strangely."

She blinked, feigning bemusement. "Me? Acting strangely?"

Jester looked completely and utterly unconvinced. "Not amused, Jane."

She sighed, abandoning all pretence. "Oh, alright. It's just that pig, Gunther. He's really getting on my nerves, lately."

His turn to sigh. "Oh, Jane. I thought you had had a fight with Dragon, or something a little more serious."

"What?! This is serious! He is never going to respect me as a person, let alone a knight!"

"What? You have never cared for Gunther, Jane. Why should you care about his opinion?"

"I..." She trailed off, confused.

"Exactly." Jester looked her right in the eye. "Try to ignore him. It will only make things worse if you give him what he wants, you know."

She sighed once more, and looked up at the sky. "I...I know. You are right. I do know."

There was a brief pause, and then Jester smiled. "A pig, you say? Well, I suppose if we don't find Smithy's runaway one, we'll have a good replacement ready, just in case."

Jane laughed. "Well, I really must try and get in some practice today..."

"Right, well, I will see you later then."

And he was gone. Just like that.

"...Oh." Jane stood silently in the courtyard, left alone without any warning for the second time that morning.

Why does that keep happening?

She looked back up at the clear blue sky, and suddenly, forgetting all about practicing, she wanted more than anything to be high up in it, lost in its fluffy white clouds.

Now where is Dragon...