Jane sat at the edge of her bed. Practice had gone from bad to worse beginning with her walking face first into a wall that she was not smart enough to avoid, and ended with her getting smacked in the shoulder by the practice dummy in front of almost everyone. Of course all of her 'fellow' knights laughed at her, not pausing for a second to consider the idea that she may be hurt.

"Pigheaded…" She began as she rubbed her aching arms, but stopped herself as her hand hit a damp spot on her left shoulder. Her mind realized she was bleeding before she did as she walked to her mirror to inspect. A large gauge of blood had begun to pool at the blade of her shoulder. Jane bit her chapped bottom lip as she starred as the stain. Sighing she began the now torturous process of taking her shirt off. Yet, as she was, she heard a faint knock at the door, and a timid voice.

"Jane….Are you alright?" Jester melodic voice traveled to her ears as she reassembled herself allowing her shirt to fall back in the position. She had made little progress with it anyways.

"Yes, I am fine." She lied. "Why do you ask?"

"You took quite a nasty fall. I thought I saw a little blood on your shirt as you walked away." Jane knew that tone of voice. That was his usual 'I know, You know, Just admit it' voice. He knew she was hurt, though he would not say it first. Jane looked at the blood that now slid down her sleeve, until it finally reached her finger tips, where it dripped off like crimson rain. Sighing she pulled herself away from the mirror and walked over the worn brown door that stood between her and Jester. She slowly, and painstakingly pulled the door open, where she was greeted by a rush of crisp autumn air, and a blue belled boy.

"Oh…" Jester put his hand to his mouth as he got a glace at Jane's bloody shoulder blade. Jane rolled her eyes, and shook her head sadly. She was the one who was hurt, and yet he was the one who looked in pain.

"Jane, we need to take you to your Mother. That could be serious." He said hurriedly, his eyes darting from the blood, to her emerald green eyes. He had not bothered asking if it hurt, as both of them knew it was a fairly one-sided question. Jane merely shook her head, her shock of red curls dancing playfully as she did.

"No Jester. It is fine. It is not so painful. I am sure I can manage without my Mother's help." Now it was Jester's turn to shake his head.

"Jane, you are the best fighter I have yet to see, but when it comes to treating battle wounds, you are quite clueless." He said lovingly, a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. Jane starred at her feet in embarrassment, a touch of color painting her cheeks pink. Both remained quiet for a moment, lost in the words of a complement unforgotten, until Jester finally spoke, pulling them out of their trance.

"Jane, you really do need help with that cut."

"Jester, I can handle it. I told you, It does not hurt to much." She lied again, but this time, her lie had failed. Jester gently gestured for her to go back into her room.

"I will go get your mother." He said as Jane sat back down on her bed.

"No. Jester, she will just treat me like a child, and tell everyone about my failure to take care of myself. I would prefer to suffer by myself, thank you very much." She whined crossing her arms stubbornly, which did no justice to her shoulder, as she winced in pain from the folding. Jester sighed and finally shut the door.

"Fine then, I will just have to help you in her stead." Jester said as he sat down to the left of Jane on her unmade bed. Jane looked to the right of the room to avoid his eyes before she finally agreed. Jester closed his eyes as Jane slowly pulled her leather tunic off, followed by her red under shirt, and then the yellow, each one more bloody then the last, leaving only the white lace that bound her chest. She quickly grabbed her blanket, which she wrapped securely around her entire chest and torso, save her left shoulder. When Jane was set, she nudged Jester lightly. His eyes sprung to life, as his cheeks blushed in regard to Jane's lack of clothes. Without saying a word, Jester set to work, wiping the wound clean with a fresh handkerchief, followed by a lot of light prodding. Jane let out a long breath and a shiver as his hand delicately touched each part of her shoulder.

"Jester…" She murmured softly, turning to look at him. Jester finally pulled his hand away, looking rather ashamed of himself. He swallowed heavily before getting up and heading towards the door.

"You, Um… Nothing is broken. It is just a cut, and should heal soon." He said running his hand through his hair as he pulled Jane's door open and was going to take a step out into the now frosty air, but stopped himself. Slowly he turned around to face Jane as she sat paralyzed on the bed, starring at him.

"Jane I…" But before he could finish the sentence he walked swiftly over to where Jane sat, gently placed both hands to the side of her face, and pulled her face to his, his lips locking against hers. He finally pulled away, his eyes glued to hers.

"Jane I made your dream real, now I must ask of you the same favor." He said his hands sliding down to her shoulders, carefully avoiding her bruise. His voice then turned to a whisper. "Please tell me I do not wish in vain."

Jane sucked in a deep breath, before touching her nose to his. Jester closed his eyes and aloud her to gently nuzzle her nose against his. A single teardrop penetrated his eyelid and made its way on a steady course down his face as Jane whispered the three words that had made so many desperate attempts to escape his mouth, but had always gotten stuck in his somewhere in his throat.

"I love you."

Next up, Gunther...