Author's Note: Hi again. Well, you're still reading? Didn't get bored? Yay! That makes me happy. If you are liking my fanfic, there is a chance that if I start writing a real book, people will enjoy that too. That is, though, as long as I don't get lazy and as long as I actually get around to writing it (lol). If I don't write for a few days, please scream at me through my comments page. I'll be able to check it from my cell if I don't have access to a computer. I'll know that people want more, so then I will write on my laptop and wait until I have a computer with internet (yeah, my laptop has been disconnected from the Web. Curses!) to upload it. And ta-da! You'll have your next chapter. Or next few. And lots of fluff is coming up. I know exactly what will happen. But you have to wait. If I told you, that would be like getting presents before "Santa" came.

Hey, yeah... just a warning: THIS CHAPTER IS LONG! Seriously. If I round it up to the nearest thousand or whatever, it's basically four thousand words. O.o And it has a lot going on in it, cause it's a whole day of travelling. But this is good practice and very entertaining for me to write. I don't know...maybe even if no one reads this, I'll still keep writing it and make it go on to some insane amount of chapters (like, thirty or sixty or ninety-nine! That would be funny...XD) just for my own enjoyment.

Oh, and just another note: the first song is (c) of me. I wrote it for another Jane fanfic I came close to writing, and then discarded. But I thought the song was random. So I salvaged it. So no stealing. Unless you ask me. Then, if I say yes, you can take it and rip it apart and make it better. I'm a pianist but not a songwriter (at least not yet ;) ) And, of course, the second song is (c) of Martin Baynton or Weta or whoever wrote it in real life. In JatD itself, I think Baynton's website said that Dragon wrote it. So it is Dragon's song...JK, JK!

Alright, I need to go get a late brekkie/lunch thing, so I'll come back soon with more chapters. Ciao!

Timid

Timid. The word rolled around his mind like a marble, as their horses trotted briskly down the dirt road. Am I too timid? Jester wondered. The sun was setting fast, the sky an explosion of colour. Violent reds and oranges, with streaks of black and yellow, painted the canvas of space where the sun set. Dark storm clouds loomed in the far east, behind Dragon's mountain range. Off in the distance, Jester could hear the haunting cry of a wolf. Jane shivered.

"We should find an inn soon," Jester said finally, stopping Valiant completely. Jane nodded wordlessly.

"I think that the closest one from here is...Muskhorn? It's a small hamlet- I went there once with Sir Theodore- and I think that there were...three inns? The Hunt and Crown, The Sleeping Herring and The Muskhorn Inn. We should probably head over there."

"Which way?" asked Jester. He was sore all over, and longed for a soft bed.

"Just a few miles south from here- nothing too far. We should be able to make it there before it gets too dark." Jester nodded, and they kicked their mounts forwards.

Before long, they caught a glimpse of the twinkling lights of a small village up ahead.

"Nice memory, Jane," Jester grinned wryly. His stomach growled loudly, and Jane snorted.

"And remember it when your belly is full of steaming soup and soft bread and sweet ale!" Jane grinned back.

They went forwards at a comfortable canter, but it took a while to get to the lights. They played the illusion of being close, yet no matter how quickly they pressed the horses, it seemed as if a century passed before they arrived at the gates. Their stomachs were screaming out in hunger, though they did not want to waste their rations by eating their precious food on their first day.

Jester pounded on the gate with his fist.

"Let us in!" he hollered. A window up in the gatehouse opened and a wizened old man peered down at them. He had wrinkled skin and busy white eyebrows, and his eyes were such a bright blue that Jester could see their colour even in the night.

"Who are yeh young folk, an' what's yer business 'ere in Muskhorn?" He wheezed in a squeaky voice.

Jester bowed his head from atop of Valiant, but it was Jane who spoke.

"I am Squire Jane Turnkey, soon-to-be-knight of King Caradoc's guard. This is the jester of the court, and my good friend. Our business is our own, but I assure you that it is lawful and done in the name of the King. We are simply passing through Muskhorn, and need only a place to rest for the night." The gatekeeper sighed.

"Very well. I suppose that yer that girl with the dragon up at Kipper, though yer friend here... he don't look like much of a jester, if yeh ask me." The gatekeeper disappeared from the window.

"Not much of a jester?" Jester murmured to Jane, and she grinned.

"I suppose that it's the lack of the bell-hat, you know. With the whole armour thing, it makes you look more like some other squire." Jane whispered back.

"Oh...right," he replied, as the gate swung open.

"Yeh mind yerselves," the gatekeeper said sourly, his lowborn accent twingeing every word. "And don't yeh be causin' any trouble, yeh hear me?" Jane assured him that they would behave, as they rode their mounts through the gate. The loud clang behind them of a closing gate told them that they should keep moving before the gatekeeper told them to "Scurry off", so they began to walk down the cobbled streets of the hamlet.

"So this is Muskhorn, is it?" Jester eyed the place. It was a compact village- more of a tiny city. The streets were clean and all interconnected, and the buildings narrow, cramped and whitewashed. Red flowers grew in flowerboxes at windows, and wooden shutters kept the wind out of rooms. There were bright, hanging signs at the darkened doorways of shops, and candles in a few open windows above them. Their horses had to move in single file to fit through the side streets, as they made their way to the main square.

The main square held many carts and stalls, now empty, which Jester was certain were the stalls of travelling merchants. In the daytime, they would be packed and bustling with people and produce. Minstrels would play their lutes and lyres and pipes in the center, and flocks of peasants would gather around to listen.

"There is one of the inns," Jane said at last, pointing to a larger building. There was glass in the windowpanes, and light, music and laughter coming from the inside first floor. A large, round sign swung above the door, depicting a snoring silver herring on a platter.

"The Sleeping Herring," Jester laughed. "Not quite a creature you would know as a 'sleeping' one, what with what the village does with them, with the smoking and selling and all."

They made their way to the inn, took their packs and tied the horses securely to one of the posts. They would have to be quick in getting them to the stables, to avoid them getting stolen, and so they quickly entered the inn.

Inside, the inn was homey and warm. There were little, round tables everywhere, each with a lit candle. A fire roared in the grate, over which meat was slowly being turned and cooked thoroughly. Patrons of the inn's pub lounged at the tables, as pretty waitresses served drinks and meals. There was a long bar at one end of the room, around which many men were drinking themselves silly, which was occupied and run by a woman with bright, auburn curls. There was also a well-lit staircase to the left of it, leading up to the rooms.

As they entered, a round-faced man wearing a simple brown tunic and matching hose approached them. He was balding, but the little amount of hair that he had was brown and grey, with a wispy quality to it. He had a jovial appearance, with a bit of a round stomach and a healthy, ruddy red glow to his face. It was immediately obvious that the inn was prosperous enough.

He greeted them with a warm smile, and Jester felt at once that this was an honest, trustworthy man.

"Good evenin', fair lady, good sir. I don't believe we have met, yet. Allow me t'introduce myself. My name is Torval Fuller. I own this inn, here, The Sleeping Herring. Been in the family on my wife's side for many a generation. I hope that you will find yourselves comfortable during your visit here in Muskhorn." He nodded his head to each of them.

"Glad to make your acquaintance, Master Torval," Jester replied, shaking the man's hand. "Allow me to introduce myself and my companion," he gestured to Jane. "This is Lady Jane Turnkey, a squire in King Caradoc's guard. I myself am nothing but the Court Jester, and go simply by the name of my profession."

"We have come on an errand," Jane said slowly, "from Kippernia Castle, and came to ask the price of a room here."

"Six and one half coppers, milady," Torval said proudly. "An' a cheaper price you'll not find in this town. Most of the innkeepers are slimy little..." He trailed off.

Jane pulled out the purse given by the King, and took out one silver coin.

"Keep the extra," she said, "It will pay for our food for the night, I am sure." Torval nodded, smiling.

"Thank you. One of our stable hands will bring your horses to the stables. Feel free to have a seat and order something warm to eat. When you are done, that is my wife, Mathilde, working there behind the bar. She'll show you to your room when you are ready. Feel free to go to her or myself for anything." Torval nodded his head, and went off to send out a stable boy, and to alert his wife.

Feeling satisfied and hungry, Jester and Jane sat down at a table near the hearth. Their aching limbs and muscles sighed in happiness of a rest, and for a long moment neither of them spoke. A waitress came, and they ordered politely- leek and rabbit stew, fresh bread, sweetened ale and a pecan pie as a desert.

"So, Jane," Jester smiled across the table at her as the waitress left.

"So, Jester," she replied, grinning. "Have you finally realized that we have travelled one whole day? We're actually doing something? We're already one day in!" Jane grinned at him, as he pretended ignorance and shock.

"Really, Jane? I had no idea!" The two laughed in friendly companionship, and then grew silent and grave.

"So, Jester...where do you want to start? Looking, that it?" Jane bit her lip, as Jester's eyes darkened.

"Well, the last letter I ever received said that they were in a neighbouring kingdom...Norrium, I think it was. They were playing in the court of King...Baltor the Second, was it? In Norria, the capital...I was thinking that we could go there to start. Someone must remember them. Perhaps we could find out where they were headed next?" Jester looked hopeful. Jane looked down at the tablecloth.

"Umm...Jester?" She asked. She leant forwards and took his hand. He looked up, startled, but didn't say anything. His eyes were wide and held a hint of something. "Wh-what...what if we don't find anything. In the fortnight the King has allowed us, I mean? What do we do?" Jane asked softly. Jester's eyes darkened even more. Don't get your hopes up at a single touch of your hand, fool, he told himself sternly. He sighed.

"Then we go back, Jane. It's as simple as that. We head back to Kippernia."

"But, Jester! After all of that? All of that running around and out of the kingdom?" Jane quivered with emotion. "No! We should stay until we find them. I'll have failed you otherwise!"

"What are you saying, Jane?" Jester clenched her hand tightly in his. "We can't disobey the King! He gave us his permission for a fortnight there and another back, and we shouldn't betray his trust! No. We go back after a fortnight, no matter what. And, Jane. Don't say that again. You would never, ever fail me, no matter what you did in the end. Ever." Because I love you, he finished silently to himself. Jane was right. He was too shy, too timid, too scared for his own good sometimes. But only because I don't want to hurt you or anyone else! He thought fiercely. Sighing, he let go of her hand. "Look, our food is coming."

After they had eaten and drunk, the inn's pub was rowdy and restless. Mathilde, the innkeeper's wife came over.

"You two might want to go up to your room, soon. This is about the hour that the men feel violent, and brawls can break out." She made a face. "The boys are a rowdy bunch under the drink, and not much but entertainment can calm them down. It's a sad thing that the minstrels are out of town." She shook her head sadly.

"Would I be able to help, madam?" Jester asked suddenly. He would not be timid and let the daunting threat of a brawl make him go up to the room.

"Oh, yes! That's right! You're the Jester from King Caradoc's court, aren't you? Well, perhaps we could give it a shot."

"Jester, wait-"

"Jane, relax. Just go to the room. I'll be up soon." Jane crossed her arms and leaned back in the chair, as Jester pulled his lute out of his pack.

"I go when you go." She said stubbornly. He smiled sweetly to her, and followed Mathilde towards the bar and the drunks.

"Boys," the Innkeeper's wife bellowed, to get their attention. They were a red-faced bunch, with the bulbous noses of heavy drinkers. "We have a bit of special entertainment tonight. A guest visit, from the King's very own court jester!" There were a few shouts and wild yells, and so Jester began to play an upbeat, drinking song on his lute. At nineteen, he had a fine tenor, and the skills on his lute of a master. His voice soared and whispered and leaped around the room. Soon the men were singing along, and as his song ended, they called for more. Jester took a swig of ale, and then jumped up onto one of the tables. His lute picked up a faster tune, and he began to improvise on the spot, dancing on the table as he played and sung.

I went to town to visit the Fair

'Twas south of here, near Kippernium Square

And who should I meet but a jolly old bear?

When I went down south near Kippernium Square.

I asked him kind how did he fare

He smiled at me, nodded his head in the air

Then bidding adieu to this great old bear

I continued my way through Kippernium Square

I saw many things and wonders rare

There were jugglers and bards and a maiden fair

Who rode elegant upon a dapple grey mare

My heart did stop near Kippernium Square.

I asked her name, that maiden fair

She told me sweetly and with gentle care

A thousand questions I dared not share

For she stole my heart near Kippernium Square.

I returned home once more, leaving the Fair

'Twas North again, from Kippernium Square

With stories and wonders a many to share

Yet I've left my heart south near Kippernium Square

Yes I've left my heart south near Kippernium Square.

There was a round of applause, and the men shouted for more. Jester sang a few more ditties about whatever he could think of. He ignored the urge to sing the one he had written while watching Jane and Gunther spar, but instead, a mischievous grin on his face, he beckoned to Jane.

"Jane, I need you for this one." Jane looked taken aback.

"Me?" She asked incredulously. "But Jester, I am no singer!" Jester rolled his eyes.

"Jane, come on. I've heard you before. I do live beneath your room. You aren't as bad as you pretend to be. Come. You'll know this one. You know, that one that Dragon wrote." Jane scowled.

"Fine," she snapped, though she looked pleased as well as embarrassed.

"There once was a lady-in-waiting...

Let's call her Jane. That girl wasn't ordinary..." Jester began. And then Jane, in a lovely voice that no one but Jester had ever really heard, sang the reply.

"No way for me, a lady stuck in waiting

I'd rather battle fire-breathing dragons

I knew I could prove that a girl could be a knight,

Though my friends all laughed at me

But I wouldn't be discouraged, and trained in secret

Then a dragon pinched the royal prince and everyone was freakin'

So I went alone to the dragon's home

To slay the dragon"

Jester joined back in, his lute and his voice blending beautifully with Jane's own contralto.

"Hey now, hey now now!

Jane and the Dragon are best friends now!"

"Dragon's sweet, he let me save the young prince!

Then the King made me his knight apprentice!"

"Hey now, hey now now!"

"With Dragon's help, I'll be a knight someday!" Jester finished the song with a complex cadence, and the duet was met with uproarious applause. Jester bowed, and prompted Jane to do the same. She looked flushed and embarrassed, but there was a sparkle in her eyes. Jester grinned, feeling light and pleased.

"Thank you, Jane," he whispered to her.

Behind the bar, Mathilde clapped, her red curls bouncing around her plump face.

"Wonderful! I'd ask for an encore, but we don't want to tire your beautiful voices," Mathilde said, as the inn's tavern emptied itself of the drunk yet content men. They went out the door, their slurred voices singing bits of the songs and muddling lyrics together.

"No way... me...fire breathing...girl...dragon...knight...hey!"

Jane giggled, and unexpectedly leaned her head against Jester's shoulder. He looked down at her, blushing, but smiling. Jane had closed her eyes and he put an arm casually around her shoulders.

"Come on, Jane," he said. "We have a long day tomorrow." Mathilde gave them the room number and they went upstairs, taking a candle with them.

The hallway at the top of the staircase was dark and narrow. Jester held the candle aloft and after scanning the doors, spotted their room number. A brass number "3" hung crookedly in the middle of the door, and they opened it.

If the hallway was dark, the room seemed darker. It took them a moment for their eyes to adjust, and, seeing the outline of a small table, Jester put the candle down. Feeling his way along the wall, he found the shutters and opened them to let the moonlight enter. It lit parts of the room as if it were daytime.

The room was relatively comfortably sized. A large, double bed was up against one wall, and a pair of armchairs were by the hearth. A plush rug covered most of the stone floor, and in one corner there was a table with a washbasin and a little dirty mirror.

Simple tapestries covered the walls, to hide their plain stone appearances, and there was a door that led to the privy chamber. Everything was neat and tidy, and like the downstairs of the inn, the whole room felt friendly and inviting.

A sudden, embarrassing thought came to Jester's mind.

"Jane..." he started. She looked up at him, rubbing sleep from her eyes. "Jane, I just realized something...there's only one bed." Jane shrugged.

"There's an armchair, too. And a rug." She added jokingly. But then, catching on, she said: "One of us could sleep in the chair." Jester bit his lip. His limbs called for the bed- it looked soft and inviting.

"You take the bed, Jane. I'll sleep in the armchair," he said, chivalry prompting him. Jane shook her head.

"I'm the knight, here. Knights must endure even the worst of conditions. I'll sleep in the chair. You take the bed. It'll build my endurance." She moved towards the chair, but Jester stepped in her way.

"Jane, as you are the lady here, and I am the man, I insist that you take the bed." She raised her eyebrows at him and crossed her arms.

"Make me," she said stubbornly. Jester sighed, and made as if towards the bed, but doubled back, catching her off guard. He wrapped his arms around her waist and picked her up, holding tightly as she laughed and squirmed. He then dumped her unceremoniously onto the bed, and went to the window himself.

"Happy?" He asked, staring out into the night. Jane laughed.

"Very," she said, grinning impishly. "I am thoroughly impressed."

Silence fell upon them suddenly, like an invisible shroud.

"Am I really so timid, Jane?" Jester asked suddenly. He was still standing by the window, the light of the moon making his golden hair glint softly. He turned to her, his mist-coloured eyes wide and distant. Jane was sitting on the bed, hugging her knees to her chest. She cocked her head, a smile playing lightly around her lips.

"You just threw a knight around, Jester. Literally. That, you fool, takes some serious courage," she laughed, and got up from the bed, coming to stand close to him. "You aren't dwelling on what I said this morning, are you?" She asked. Jester was all too aware of just how close she was to him.

"Well...maybe...I...yes...perhaps I... am." He flushed red, glad that his face was in shadows. He felt himself struggling inside. He wanted to tell her so much. To be able to pour out his heart for her. But he just...couldn't. Jane rested her head on his shoulder again, and he sighed, as she laughed.

"Jester, just forget about it, you fool." Her face was now very close to his, and he could feel her breath on his cheek.

"Jane...I..." He stopped, as she put a finger to his lips. Silently, her fingers brushed his blond hair away from his face, and he could faintly see her green eyes in the dim light. Without realizing what he was doing, Jester wrapped an arm around her waist, and brought his face very close to hers. Her hand found his free one, and squeezed it softly. He began to move forwards, but Jane moved back. She turned his face into the light, and seeing his confused expression, she caressed his cheek with her other hand.

"Not yet," she breathed, and slowly let go of his hand. Jester could only stare after her. He felt as if he was glowing. Not yet she had said. Not "never" or "no". It was simply "not yet." A wonderful phrase that could give him hope for the future. Not yet. He smiled, and went to sit in the armchair, her words echoing in his ears. Not yet...not yet...