Blade
The flicker of light across her face woke her from her dreams. She opened her eyes to an unfamiliar roof: wood beams instead of her stone tower. The light shone into her face again and Jane turned her head towards the source. He was a shadow against the full moon shining beyond him as he stood by the window, looking out over the forest. His blade moved gracefully in his hand, flipping and turning distractedly. She wondered, vaguely, why he could not sleep – the inn beds, paid for by Sir Theodore while they were out training, were very comfortable – before she fell asleep with a mental shrug. They had a long day tomorrow, and if he wanted to go through it with little sleep, it was his problem.
Gunther froze when he thought he heard Jane move. He watched her for a moment before he turned, very deliberately, back to the window.
Drowning
He did not know if it was possible to drown in tears. But when Jester thought of Jane, alone and dying on the battlefield, he was sure he was drowning.
Frozen
He wanted to say something kind and comforting. He looked at her bowed head, her frizzy hair falling in front of her face. He wanted to have words that would take away her pain and sadness. He wanted to be able to walk up to her, put his hand on her shoulder like any of her friends would have been able to. Instead Gunther shoved his hands in his pockets and looked away. Frozen.
Prison
The walls had felt like protection. The halls had felt like his stage. The people had been an audience. The castle had been home. But now, with Jane gone… the walls penned him in, the halls were his burden, the people his keepers. The castle had become his prison and Jester did not know which was worse: that she would not return before he left…. Or that she would, and he would not be able to make himself leave once she was there.
Red
Her hair brushed his face as she leaned across him to reach the pack. Gunther closed his eyes so he could not be tempted.
Laughter
She followed the sounds through the castle when she wanted to talk to him. Sometimes it was something she had seen that she knew he would find interesting, or it was a question he could answer, or it was just that she needed him to be her friend. If she had something to say all she would have to do was stand and listen. Jane followed the laughter to Jester.
Dance
The fight looked almost like a dance. Back and forth, in and away. Concentrating only on the movement and each other. Pepper leaned against the stone of the archway, watching the squires. She smiled a secret smile. She had learned her lesson: she would not say a word about what was there for anyone to see.
Choked
Jester choked on his meat when she talked about leaving the castle with Dragon, to see the world. He looked up to laugh at her joke – old joke really, hadn't this conversation happened before? The laugh died on his lips when he saw the look on her face. Even months after she flew away he still was not sure how to get his laugh back.
Impale
Gunther watched from the stables after their argument as she fought with the practice dummy. Her muttered curses floated on the silent night air over to him and he smiled, even though he knew she was thinking of him as she stabbed the straw man through.
Moment
There was a moment when they looked at each other that Jester believed that she knew what he was not saying. And then he smiled and poked at her. She threw a punch and pouted with her arms crossed when she missed and they both laughed. The moment had passed and they were best friends again.
Tangled
Gunther was trying to use his height and weight against her while sparring but it backfired when she jumped back, quick enough to make him fall over. Somehow she toppled too and they ended up tangled together on the dirt of the practice yard, yelling curses at each other while they both blushed.
Grace
He had built up grace in order to be the Court's jester. He could dance, play an instrument, and juggle. But he knew he could never match the grace of her when she had a blade in her hand.
Armour
Gunther put up armour against the world. Made of sarcastic comments and insults, it worked very well at keeping everyone out. But when he watched her laughing and playing with Jester he wished it had been a little less effective.
Song
Jester made a song for her. He spent hours poring over it, playing it with different instruments, tweaking the words. He practiced, quietly, in his room until it was perfect. But she had never heard it. He did not know if he would ever play it for her.
Years
Time passed and together they moved from squires to knights. The years had passed but little changed. Jane still thought he was arrogant and insufferable, though noble at times. Jane still thought he detested her and Gunther still was too afraid to show her that it was so far from the truth.
Memory
He had a memory of the two of them, sitting together in the garden. The moon was up and there was a candle lit on the table. She smiled in easy companionship and he knew that he was lucky to have her as a friend, no matter what else happened. The memory sustained Jester as he packed his bags to leave forever.
Blind
He thought someone would have to be blind not to fall for her. She was noble, beautiful and kind. She would be a great knight someday and her strength was there for anyone to see. Gunther was many things, most of them not good, but he was not blind.
Spar
Jester sometimes wished he could spar. He was hopeless with a blade and most days it not only did not bother him, but he was happy about it. He made music and read books and told jokes; he did not beat poor, defenceless straw men with wooden sticks. But he watched Jane and Gunther spar, when they were too tired to bicker back and forth and just moved together. After, they called it a draw and Gunther put his hands up in surrender, making her smile at the silent compliment. Just at that moment Jester wished he could spar.
Silence
With Jester, she had the comfort of conversation. Gunther knew that she could go to him when she was upset and talk it through and come to a solution. Gunther also knew she would not ever come to him for that comfort, and so he avoided the feeling of jealousy he so hated by avoiding their conversations. Gunther did not realize that when she came to him and sat in silence that, sometimes, that was just as comforting.
A/N Thanks Lightning Flash, for being a great beta and for providing most of these prompts on the forum! Edited 12/02/10