Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry that it took me so long to get this chapter up! Its been so busy for me lately, especially with starting my second term in University. Hopefully though now that I'm all organized, Ill be able to put up another chapter in a half decent time.

I'm so sorry!

Disclamier is still the same. Totally has not changed.

Chapter Eleven

My fair Maiden

She had awoken to the sunlight shining into her face, the red glow in her eyelids forced her to roll over in her bed before opening them to free her forest green eyes to the world. Or more specifically, her wall. It hasn't changed since he left, more then two years ago. The grey stone unrelenting to anything she did. She tried to cover it with a picture, but it fell down two days later, so she moved her armour to hide it, but that too fell over so she was forced to move it back.

"I must be crazy." she whispered to herself rubbing her eyes while getting up out of her warm bed, the quilt rolling off onto the floor, forcing a hand to follow it and toss it back onto the plain straw filled mattress. The King had found out that cotton was growing not far from his castle, and shortly after that realized that it made a better mattress. It was a pure accident that it was found. Princess Lavinia had leaped into the pile of cotton bags that had just arrive from the merchant, and fell asleep right where she lay.

"It was one silly dream..." Jane yawned as she walked over to her dresser getting ready for the day. It was a couple weeks ago when she had the dream. It was so real, his skin soft under her fingers, his hair smelling fresh and clean, his grey-blue eyes watching her with humour as she explored his well muscular body. Well she thought he would have a muscular body.

When she had rolled over she was meet with the unrelenting, grey stone that made up her wall.

"Stupid man! Taking up my dreams!" Jane ran her hands down her body and stopped when they hit her waist, or the curve of it anyway. "Cursed hips..." That was not all that changed in the two years, Jane had grown and started becoming a fine woman, rather then a child. Her flat boxy like appearance was slowly melting away into a more curved and softer figure, one that she despised as it made men drool. Walking over to the mirror Jane decided to admire herself naked just in case something else changed.

She had grown taller, not to much but her legs where definitely longer and leaner. The muscle rippled as she moved them to see all angles of her calves and thighs. "Normal, no changes there. Yet" She continued up to the roundness of her buttock. It was... "Lush. Round and lush, as my mother would put it. A butt she would die for." Turning around she noticed the fine layer of red hair that had been growing in between her legs, something she made sure she kept trim and neat. "Damn bleed." Looking up onto her lower section of her stomach she saw the little blob of fat that she could not for the life of her get rid of. It added to the beauty of her body, but it annoyed Jane to no end as she gave the fat a pinch. "Belly fat. Not as much as yesterday, but still always there." She then moved her eyes up to her breasts, something that had grown quite fast, but she could easily tell they were no where near done. Not small little bumps anymore, but stuck out of her like little triangles. There was no softness to them, or roundness. Just to sharply pointed lumps on her chest. Sighing Jane looked up at last to her face. The childhood roundness had started to disappear, and a more mature gleam started to show in her eyes, the green sparkling in the light from her window.

Groaning to herself, Jane left the mirror and walked over to the dresser where her clothes lay. First she placed on her undergarments, then took a long band of cloth and wrapped the triangular lumps on her chest, bounding them. "There. That should stop you from growing." After binding them, she put on the rest of her clothes. Her style never changed from when she was a young girl the same yellow and orange checkered tights, followed by the red skirt with purple trim. The metal, fish-scaled styled armour on the side of her thighs. Next she slipped on an orange t-shirt over her curly red hair, and a yellow vest like shirt over top of that. Putting on her simple shoes, Jane ran a comb though her hair, and wondered out of her bedroom.

The kitchens where warm when Jane wandered down in the lower part of the castle, Pepper madly stirring whatever was in the pot over top of the fire in the mantle. The smell of oatmeal was strong in the air, but Jane thought the well developed woman in front of her was stirring a little quicker then was needed for oatmeal.

"What are you making Pepper?" The red-haired teen asked

"Hmmmm?" Jane repeated her question to the pale dark haired teen. "Oh? This?" Pepper sighed allowing her ladle to settle in the large brass pot turning around to face her friend. "Its that swamp soup that Dragon likes so much." The cook wondered over to the counter and started chopping up cabbage, her long braid bouncing back and forth with the movement of the moving knife, her bust jiggling like jello.

"Doesn't that hurt?" Jane questioned as she looked at her friend's chest and the strange motion that it was doing.

"Doesn't what hurt?" Pepper chirped, her voice sounded confused while she scraped the cabbage into a bowl.

"The lumps on your chest are bouncing. Doesn't it hurt?" Pepper laughed at the question, the sound echoing through the dark kitchen.

"Not if your wrap them right. I made the mistake of not wrapping them, and ran outside. That hurt. But usually, you forget about it."

"Forget about it? They are lumps, men goggle and drool over them, how can you just forget about them?"

"You just do." Pepper looked up and smiled sadly to her red-headed friend walking back over to the pot and dumping in the chopped up cabbage. "Lucky this doesn't smell bad. If your hungry Jane I have oatmeal prepared for you already, it should be on the table in front of you."

And indeed there was. A small wooden bowl with some warmed oats sat steaming on the table in front of Jane, some milk sitting in a cup next to it, and a bit of cream on the other side. Brown sugar had been sprinkled on top already, a spoon resting neatly on the right side. "You spoil me Pepper. But im grateful for it."

"your most welcome." Her pale skinned friend beamed from her boiling pot as the taller girl sat down and poured the cream into the bowl before stirring and and spooning it into her mouth.

"And always very delectable. Your cooking has improved greatly!" Jane smiled before helping herself to more from her bowl.

"Thank you." Pepper sighed and stirred her goopy mess. It was going to be a pain to clean out the pot later, but Dragon really enjoyed it. "You know, if you where to just let me show you how to properly wrap your chest instead of hiding it like your were a boy, you would not have to worry about the pain."

"I don't want them to grow" Jane said into her bowl taking another spoonful, "the idea that men would drool over them disgusts me."

"You wouldn't be saying that if it was Jester drooling over them."

It was the first time in a year that his name had been said, even the King never addressed his new Jester as 'Jester' he always called him Leo, just as his name was. Tears started prickling at Jane's eyes when she looked up at her friend with anger, who looked straight back. An unforgiving look dead set on her features.

"How dare you say his name. I thought you were my friend?"

"I thought you were smarter then that Jane." The smaller woman pulled the pot away from the heat then looked back at her friend, "Nobody has used the name because of the pain it causes you. But you have to remember Jane. Its. Not. His. Name." She had a point. And the cook knew it, her smug look said so.

"Not his name or not, its still him." Jane pouted into her oatmeal "Besides, hes forgotten about us."

"Now what in your right mind would make you say that?" Pepper asked, pouring the swamp soup into a smaller bowl to place by the window.

"I haven't heard from him in two years. Two. Years!"

Pepper walked up to her friend and wiped away the tears that had fallen past her lids and down her cheeks. The salty wetness leaving a wet trail down the fair cheeks of the red haired maiden.

"I'm sure he has more then a good enough reason to have not written."

Jane sniffled and looked up at the pale skin of her friend and smiled. "He has kept in touch with me I guess."

"What do you mean?"

Jane touched a hand to her cheek, "he kissed me the day he left. Just a little peck on the cheek just before he put the first letter on my pillow."

"I still don't understand." Pepper sighed and took the swamp bowl to the window so Dragon could smell that it was done.

"My cheek is burning just thinking about him, but I get this feeling sometimes that something was not right..."

"OH!" Pepper squealed jumping on her toes before pulling Jane out from the table where her empty bowl sat, "I get those feelings about Rake! This means you have a connection to him, I see love in the air."

Jane allowed herself to be pulled out of her seat in an awkward way as she was sitting at a picnic styled seat, and walked into the main part of the kitchen where Pepper started to twirl her around by her hand, while humming a slow tune to herself.

"Shouldn't you be cooking breakfast Pepper?" Jane questioned, a smile on her face.

"Only if you help me."

"Okay, okay. Ill help"

"The family says his injuries are extensive, but should survive through them."

"How extensive?" King Caradoc pinched the bridge of his nose with his forefinger and thumb, his eyes closed and facing the floor, his elbow resting on the armrest of his throne. The messenger that was bowed before his majesty was sent to him from Jesters family shortly after they had found a home to stay in after Jester was wounded in the attack.

"They say he's healing well, just a couple of scratches."

"You told me that his mother was worried about a cut on his chest."

"Yes, it was inflicted by a sword owned by a bandit. She's hoping that he bled out all the poisons, and her daughter was at his side the moment he hit the ground, said she did some quick cleaning right there."

"Quick cleaning?" The King sighed, he didn't like how this was turning out, if the injuries where severe enough he would have to tell Leo about them, and the replacement Jester was unable to keep his mouth shut, which in turn meant that Jane would find out. Something that would be disastrous, she seemed to have taken a liking to the boy that left more then two years ago.

"She used her under-bindings to try and clean off some of the blood."

"Has he developed an infection?"

The messenger hesitated, the Jesters mother told him that he would have to tell the King about the injuries that were inflicted upon her son, and his achievements as well. The biggest warning the mother had was that the King was very protective of his people and might send somebody to check up on the boy no matter what he said. The messenger, his long blond hair flowing down to his shoulders, although in the kneeling position, it covered his sharp facial features. He had to be cautious as he could not have the king sending a check up, or else he would not paid.

"She would not say."

"Don't lie to me boy." The King looked up and looked down at the small man who was sent with a unfortunate news. "Clara promised me that she would tell me if any serious injuries occurred to my Jester. You had just informed me not long ago that it was bad. So? What is it?"

"She fears he caught a fever from some infection, they are living temporarily in a small cabin owned by a farmer by the name of Theo and his son Luke. That way he is out of the elements and has a better chance of recovery. They have two people skilled in the art of healing, and one in training, plus they are within walking distance to Ardea were they can get any supplies that they might need."

"Ardea?" Caradoc mused over this, "they are quite a distance, you travel quick."

"Six months your majesty. I fear my horse may be tired."

"Yes. Your horse can stay here. I need to see how bad he is. Maybe send some herbs for quick healing..."

"I assure you my lord, he is fine. I can take the herbs back for you if you would like. Clara would be most grateful."

"Ill send Dragon, he could fly over, check up on him and report back to me and take you." The King stood up not hearing what the messenger said. "Its final! I will give you the recommended herbs for the injury and send you back with Dragon, he can check up on his condition and bring him back if he is close to death."

The messenger defeated, bowed his head even lower, then getting up from his sore knee he made eye contact with the King. "Due to my status I can not disobey your orders, please inform me when I will be departing with this 'Dragon' you speak of."

"You and Dragon will leave the moment he comes back and you received the herbs. I also have to convince him to allow you to ride."

The messenger bowed, "Yes, your majesty."

So there you have it. They are going to go check on him.

Ill make you all a deal, leave me reviews, and I'll write up a new chapter even quicker. No reviews, slower making of the chapter. :P

Hopefully school doesn't interfere as much as it did for this chapter. Ah school.