Blame Game
DISCLAIMER: "Jane and the Dragon" belongs to Martin Baynton and company. This is merely a whimsical piece of fan fiction made for no other profit than the joy of receiving reviews.
NOTE: I finally finished the whole series and it left me pining for more! So to "celebrate" having completed "Jane and the Dragon", I have decided to post a "trilogy" of one-shots on this special date, 09-09-09. All three will focus on a single event or person but from different perspectives.
I am so thankful for all those who read and reviewed my past attempts at "JatD" fan fiction. I am still a newbie to this fandom but I hope I can contribute more to it as time goes by. JatD has so much potential! I also hope they continue the series somehow.
This could be JanexGunther or just general. You decide.
This is the third in the trilogy but you don't really have to read them in order.
This is also to "celebrate" 09-09-09. One day. 9 posts (new stories or updates).
Enjoy.
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While going on a leisurely afternoon patrol with Jane, Dragon's sharp eyes caught sight of a familiar figure slumbering beneath one of the tall trees just outside of the castle.
"Jane," the large lizard asked, "isn't that your old sweetheart Gunther down there?"
"DRAGON," Jane protested, before looking towards where the reptile was pointing.
She confirmed that it was indeed Gunther who lay under the tree and denied having any romantic connection to him whatsoever. Dragon simply laughed as they continued their patrol.
But as they flew away, Jane could not help but look behind her to where the tall and ancient tree stood and where, although she could no longer see him, Gunther lay fast asleep.
She had not seen him at the castle for the past week. It was the longest he had ever been absent from knight's training and if she had not caught glimpses of him lifting cargo for his father down at the wharf when she and Dragon went on patrol, she would have worried.
It had seemed rather lonely to be sparring with only the practice dummy in the courtyard.
She had also found the strangely silent atmosphere slightly unnerving. At first, she had been relieved not to hear any snide comments, disparaging remarks, or not so subtle snickers of contempt.
But as the days went by, she felt a little bored by the lack of motivation.
Of course her friends had been there to cheer her on, always ready with smiles and kind words of encouragement. And yet, none of these seemed to enough to drive Jane to do her best in training.
The red-headed squire realized that she worked best when she was slightly provoked.
As they continued on their patrol, Jane's mind began to wander since there was nothing of consequence happening down below. Which was always a good thing.
Dragon was now busy gazing at his favorite cows and trying not to scare them or enrage any farmers.
Since she had the time to spare, Jane's thoughts once again turned to her fellow squire. The image of him resting so serenely under the shade of the large tree would not leave her memory.
It was so rare to see Gunther so relaxed and calm, not to mention humble-looking. He always strutted around the castle as if he was someone terribly important.
Jane ignored such antics most of the time since she knew that he was only trying to attract attention. And she also knew that such an attitude was merely a façade, to conceal his fears and insecurities.
She pitied him sometimes, although all such sympathetic emotions were forgotten whenever he dared her to a duel.
The frustrating thing was that he sometimes won. And he would always gloat.
Clearly, Gunther was the superior when it came to brute strength and Jane could never contest that. This relative weakness was one of the things that made her slightly regret being a girl.
But she knew that she bested her fellow squire in many other areas and so was content to grant him his little joys.
After all, it was understandable that Gunther had grown so physically strong. He was his father's personal beast of burden and when she remembered this, Jane felt angry at the merchant for treating his son in that way.
Whatever Gunther's faults, he did not deserve to be subjugated and somewhat enslaved, by his very own father no less!
As much as this incensed the honorable young squire, Jane knew there was not much she could do about it. One could not choose one's family and as far as she knew, Magnus Breech was the only family Gunther had.
She had never heard of his mother, and she was sure he had no siblings. Once again, she pitied the dark-haired boy, and felt lucky that her circumstances were so much more favorable.
But when she thought about it, the others would have befriended Gunther if he acted less arrogantly. Everyone knew his family situation and they would have consoled him if he only let them.
But then again, Jane thought, perhaps Gunther was too afraid to show any vulnerability in front of anyone. He preferred to keep to himself when he wasn't training.
And for as long as she had been sparring and learning the skills of knighthood with him, Jane realized how very little she knew of him.
"Jane, Jane, are you listening to me?" Dragon asked almost impatiently.
Jane shook her head suddenly and looked at the reptile in confusion.
"I'm sorry, Dragon," she said with a small laugh, "I was a little preoccupied."
"Head in the clouds, eh?" the large lizard quipped before bursting into a fit of laughter at his cleverness.
Jane merely rolled her eyes at this.
"Oh, come on, Jane," Dragon teased, having finished his mirth, "what could you have been pondering on so seriously? I bet it was Gunther, wasn't it?"
Jane colored slightly at being so instantly found out and then put on a defensive expression.
"No," she answered defensively, but Dragon was too good for her.
"You hesitated," he teased further, amused by this development, "so you WERE thinking about Gunther. I knew it, I knew it… all those denials were for nothing."
"Oh, hush, you big lizard," Jane scolded her companion, "it wasn't like THAT. I was simply thinking about how cruelly Gunther is being treated by his father, that's all."
At the mention of the merchant, Dragon's expression grew slightly serious. He could never forgive the conniving man for deceiving him about the Dragon Egg. And Dragon knew well how Magnus had been using (and abusing) Gunther for his own purposes.
"That slimy git," Dragon muttered, "he sets a very poor example to his son, that's for certain."
"A huge understatement," Jane commented with a laugh.
"So that's why I haven't been seeing Gunther at the castle lately, huh? His father made him cargo-boy yet again."
"I guess so."
"Well, it's a good thing he didn't try to trick me into helping him again. As if I would ever fall for any of that."
"After what happened, I don't think either of them would dare," Jane replied with a laugh, remembering the unfortunate end of the Merchant's cargo that day.
"But what a way to treat his son, though. No wonder Gunther tries to act all important when he's in the castle. I suppose he never feels worth anything when he's around his father."
"That's exactly what I was thinking," Jane agreed.
"Let's not talk about something so depressing," Dragon suggested, "it's such a lovely day and there are so many lovely cows down there mooing away. We can worry about your sweetheart later."
"He is NOT my…" Jane protested.
"Whatever," Dragon cut her off; flying towards the herd of cows he had just spotted.
Jane sighed and rolled her eyes.
And then, she could not avoid continuing her train of thought about the other squire.
As much as Magnus' treatment of his son was deplorable, she realized that she had not always treated Gunther as fairly as she should have.
Beyond all his taunting and gloating, he had done her no real harm.
She, on the other hand, was always quick to judge him and to blame him for things going wrong, such as when the portrait of the queen had been vandalized.
And she could not blame him if he was sometimes envious of the treatment she was given by Sir Theodore. Gunther knew that he was lacking in some qualities and Jane was sure that this knowledge pained him greatly, more than he was willing to show.
When she had needed his help, he had been there to offer it like when he had run back to the castle with the cure for Dragon's ailment.
That day, he had also saved her from falling off a cliff.
And as much as she always sought to uphold the knight's code of honor, she remembered that he did his best to do the same.
Most of his dishonest and unpleasant habits were a result of too much exposure to his father.
But Gunther had proven that he could do the right thing on various occasions.
After all, he had returned Dragon's tooth even if it meant being severely punished by the merchant.
He had braved his father's displeasure again when he had told her of the tar-on-fire business. But what had shocked her most was the fact that he had been willing to take the blame for the deed which was clearly the merchant's doing.
Magnus Breech did not deserve such a sacrifice but his son had offered it nonetheless.
The longer Jane thought about it, the more she believed that there was so much more to the sleeping figure beneath the tree than she had initially thought.
Having had time to dissect his character and his actions, she softened towards her fellow squire.
She would even go so far as to admit (only to herself) that she had missed Gunther the past week and his return to the castle would be most welcome.