He watched her give strict orders to her cat and followed it with his eyes as it trotted away, tail held high. "I take it you told Faithful to stay out of the fighting," he asked as she approached him.
She checked the cinches on Darkness' saddle as she replied, "He may even listen to me for once." He gripped her shoulder and waited for purple eyes to meet his own as she stopped what she was doing immediately.
"I guess I can't tell you the same, can I?" he whispered. Any louder and she would hear his voice breaking. What was wrong with him? He knew, better than anyone else, that she could take care of herself.
"The biggest attack this summer, and I'm supposed to hide in my tent?" she asked, grinning whether she knew it or not. "And me, your squire. Are you out of your mind?"
The trumpets sounded, but Jon barely heard them. He felt his eyes burning. What would he do if she died? It wasn't like they were married or anything, but he didn't think he could go on in life without his squire and best friend. "Against one warrior, I can't worry about you. You've proved you can handle yourself. But against a whole army—" she cut him off by holding her hand over his in a slightly more intimate gesture than Jon thought she had intended.
"I have my duty, Highness. And this is my home too. I'm trained to defend it, and defend it I will." There was a tone of finality in her voice that forced Jon to accept that she was not going to let this one go.
He simply sighed as he slid his helmet over his head and swung his leg over Darkness' back. "You know where to find me when you're armed," he said finally, not looking at her as he urged Darkness out, blinking back tears as he went. He was glad no one could see his face through the helmet, for he would have shamed most of the men.