Author's Note: Hey, guys! I know, I've been gone a while. I don't know if anyone read my post/message to you on the comments page of Ballad (if I ever disappear for a long time, and you're really pissed with me, check to see if I've left a message for you there!)... but if you didn't read it, it was just to assure you that I have NOT given up on this fic. I know, I've been gone, but I've been spending this time working on the seventh chapter and eighth chapters (no, it isn't complete yet. Stay tuned!), future songs that will appear throughout the fic (it is very hard to get them right and is very time consuming), and attempting to thicken and re-map the plot.

Well, thanks for the screaming. I love my screamers. Come back soon. AND READ AND REVIEW!!! YOU CAN SCREAM AT MY SLOWNESS, IF YOU WANT! Cheers!

-Mintermist

Lessons

The clatter of hooves on cobbles rang merrily through the streets of Muskhorn, a brisk clip-clop clip-clop, as Jane and Jester rode away from the town. The horses were in high spirits, their eyes bright and curious as they tossed their heads, whickering playfully to one another. Atop of his bay mare, Jester couldn't help but feel that this was the perfect begining to the journey.

Their one setback had simply been that it had taken nearly half of the day to get started.

Between swift, clinging kisses, and after having thanked Torval and Mathilde Fuller earlier that morning, they had checked and repacked their packs and set them on the backs of their saddles. They had looked at the horses' tack, as well, to ensure that everything was going to be in top condition for the next two fortnights.

"You can never be too careful," Jane had said, as she saddled her chestnut gelding. As her hands ran deftly over Cleaver's girth, she had grimaced, "because you never know when you'll get a nasty surprise. Cut it out, you!" She had said to the horse, as she poked Cleaver sharply in the side. He exhaled with what sounded like a disappointed sigh. Jane rolled her eyes.

"This little trickster likes to play the odd joke once in a while," she had explained to Jester, "He sucks in air, expanding himself, so that when I tighten his girth, it's really too big. Once I mount him, he exhales, the saddle gets loose and flip, sending the me flying." Jane had made a face at that, as if remembering an unpleasant fall, and the gelding had made an odd snickering noise. She tightened his girth swiftly.

"I see," Jester had murmured, eyeing the gelding with mock-severity, "why, then, he's a jester, too. But of base humour, rather than wit and sophistication."

Jane had rolled her eyes.

"Come on, you fool," she'd said.

"Who...me? Or the horse?"

"You, jingle boy,"

"Oh, right," Jester had taken a step forwards, and then stopped, his face lit up with exaggerated emotion. He had ran a hand through his blonde hair, looking at Jane with one eyebrow raised. "Or, wait... wrong, actually."

Jane looked at him, eyebrows raised in puzzlement.

"Wrong about what?"

Jester had pointed to his head.

"No hat, remember! So, no, I'm technically not the jingle boy." Jane put a hand to her forehead.

"You're impossible!"

"Part of the job description!" Jester had flashed her an innocent smile, and Jane grinned in spite of herself, leaning over to kiss him lightly on the cheek.

Now, they wound their way through the streets of the small, whitewashed town. Jester's eyes drank in every detail- every cobblestone, the sound of laughing children, the scent of baking bread from the Baker's house, the feel of the early afternoon sun on his face. And above all, the figure of Jane riding beside him. He wanted to ingrain it all into his memory, and never forget them- it was a feeling of perfection and wholeness.

"What are you thinking?" Jane asked, breaking Jester's train of thought.

"Hmm? Oh...nothing, really." Jane cocked her head at him from atop Cleaver, and then shrugged.

"Oh. Well...you just looked...thoughtful, I guess." She smiled warmly at him, and he felt his heart do a cartwheel. You'd think that now that she and I...well... that I wouldn't hang so much upon her every glance, he thought to himself.

"Did I?" He asked, "I guess I was just thinking about how...well, wonderful doesn't even cover how this day feels so far. I guess the word I would use would be...perfect... or glorious." He looked at her, his eyes misted over. Jane blushed under his gaze.

"Is that so?" She murmured, fighting to compose herself. "Glorious?"

"Yes," he replied.

"And what is it exactly that makes it 'glorious'?" Jester looked thoughtful a moment.

"Well, I guess it could be this lovely weather, with those clouds coming in from out east, there," he said, his voice sarcastic as he pointed to the dark, looming shapes on the eastern horizon. Jane rolled her eyes, and Jester grinned boyishly at her, before he sobered. "But

really, I think that it's...well...umm.... you, Jane," he murmured, his voice soft and tender. Jane blushed, looking embarrassed.

"Come on," she said, her voice betraying her pleasure, "we should get moving before the weather turns your 'glorious' mood into a sopping wet one."

Jester winked.

"Of course," he inclined his head to her, as he nudged Valiant into a swift trot.

They were out of the gate faster than Jester had expected, with not so much as a dark look from the gatekeeper. One of the town's few soldiers watched them with a chuckle, and sarcastically called out to watch for bandits as they sped by.

The cobbled street leading to the small town swiftly turned into the common dirt main road, and they pushed the horses into a canter. The trees whipped past them, blurring the various shades of green and grey, as the wind whistled melodiously in their ears. The musical bubbling of a creek could be heard somewhere to Jester's right.

They had ridden about fifteen minutes when they finally slowed down once more.

"Jester?" Jane asked, "Which direction do we need to go, exactly?"f

Jester shrugged nonchalantly, and swept his arm broadly in front of him.

"The general eastern border, milady. We know which was to go by those little dark things rolling in, and we just keep the mountains on our left."

"Wonderful," Jane said, her voice dripping in sarcasm, "So we're basically going to get caught up in the storm?" Jester thought a moment.

"It... depends. Eventually, I'd hazard a guess at yes, unless we are unnaturally lucky. That storm seems at least a day or two away, depending on how quickly the wind is blowing it. It could be less, though."

"So we have to be quick," Jane said grimly.

"If you want to stay dry, then, yes."

"Why does the weather have to be so changeable?" Jane grumbled, "I mean, yesterday and this morning were the first real sunny days of the season, and now..."

"Now we get another torrential bucket-load on the agenda?"

"Exactly."

"Hmm...not quite an even trade, but then again, welcome to autumn."

"I would prefer to go back to the summer, thanks."

"Well, we don't always seem to get what we want, now do we?" Jester grinned crookedly.

"You're one to talk," Jane said pointedly, shaking her head. "Come on. We have a lot of ground to cover today. We need to really get out there."

"Then let's start." Jester and Valiant shot forwards, a bolt from a crossbow, towards the billowing black sail of clouds on the horizon.

"We're going to need to find shelter, soon," Jane called. Jester nodded, feeling too exhausted to speak. They had been riding for hours. The sun had not yet set, but they would have to set up their camp for the night while there was still light.

"Any suggestions?" He asked finally, eyes scanning the foothills ahead, and the rocky cliffside on their left, to the north.

"Well, preferably some sort of natural shelter..." Jane replied.

"Such as...?"

"You know. Burrow, cave, overhang... just something that will shield us from the worst of the elements if the wind picks up and the clouds come and decide to spill on us. If there's nothing, we might have to build something rudimentary."

"You mean you'd have to build something, considering my lack of survival skills,"

"That lack of knowledge is something I plan on remedying," Jane retorted.

"Oh, what fun."

Jester rolled his eyes. "What are those?" He asked, pointing to a few dark openings at the foot of the cliff face. Jane squinted, and then grinned.

"Caves!" She exclaimed. "At least, I think so. Come on. We'll take a closer look. If we're going to borrow one for the night, then we had better make sure that it is unoccupied."

"Right," Jester bobbed his head in agreement, setting his mare at a brisker pace.

They advanced in companionable silence, the horses set at a matching gait.

Jester couldn't help but admire the beauty of the forest. Squirrels could be seen leaping between the branches overhead, and swallows flitted from tree to tree. Sunlight shone through the canopy above, creating swirling mosaics of light overtop of the pine needles, which covered the dirt ground. Tiny jewel-like insects swarmed in clouds.

The prints of small mammals dotted the forest floor, their tracks weaving this way and that, and the ferns rustled as if perhaps some of those small creatures were darting out of sight. The chattering noises of woodland animals ceased as the horses moved by, but immediately recommenced once they had passed on, and they themselves rode in an invisible bubble of near silence.

"There," Jane's voice seemed to echo loudly and sharply in the vastness of the forest, as she pointed forwards. Jester squinted through the foliage, at last catching sight of the rocky cave on the other side of a sparse grouping of coniferous trees.

The cave was relatively shallow- nothing too deep that looked as if it could contain unknown creatures- with a slight overhang near the entrance. Bracken and brambles were scattered around its mouth. They nudged the horses towards it, and dismounted warily, Jane inspecting the ground.

"No, I don't think that this is taken," she said after a few minutes, "there are no signs- no pelts, no bones, no tracks... nothing to indicate a bear, or a wolf, or any other carnivore's presence. Everything looks relatively unused."

"Well, just our luck!" Jester grinned, slipping an arm around Jane's waist. He watched her blush, a look of triumph gleaming in his grey-blue eyes.

"Please, not now, Jester," Jane said, squirming out of his grasp and landing a light kiss on his cheek as she danced away. He stuck out his lower lip in a puppy-dog-eyed pout, his eyes following her movements. Jane rolled her eyes. "Come on, fool, the camp won't set itself up! Here," she picked a short-sword from a pack and tossed it to him, "go cut us some of those brambles. We'll use them as firewood." Jester took the blade and mumbled something that sounded like a disgruntled "Fine!" before he went back to the mouth of the cave and began hacking away at the thorn bushes.

The short-sword was relatively light for metal, and in the hands of an expert would have swung almost too easily, though Jester was a little uncoordinated with it, his hands clenching the hilt in a fashion that made it awkward to make accurate cuts.

The hilt was wrapped in a stretch of black leather, with two entwined vines made of silver at the pommel, and the blade itself was of tempered steel. Jester couldn't help but admire the craftsmanship, and felt guilty for using such a fine thing for the humble task of chopping wood.

After he had a reasonable pile, he dragged the thorny branches into the back of the cave. Jane had already prepared the base for their fire: a circle of stones to prevent it from spreading. Jester tossed a few brambles into the circle and Jane withdrew her flint.

In minutes, there was a small fire crackling comfortingly.

"There you have it, Jane. My work is done. So now..." he leaned forward to kiss her, his hands finding hers, but she pulled away with a fresh blush. Jester looked at her longingly, his eyes betraying his embarrassment. "Please, Jane? Please?"

"Maybe... later. If you behave during your lessons, that is."

"My what?!"

"Weren't you listening? I mentioned it to you earlier, you fool!" Jane laughed, "You know. Your lessons. Survival skills and sword craft, combat, tactics, tracking, hunting..."

"Wait...what...when... why?" Jester spluttered. Jane sighed, as if explaining something obvious to a child for the tenth time.

"Because, jingle boy, if you plan on staying alive long enough to go back to Kippernium, you are going to need these."

"...Oh..." Jester glanced down at the short sword he had deposited on the ground. Jane grinned.

"Jester, meet your short sword."

"Hello, Mr. Shortsword. Allow me to introduce myself! I am Jester, the court...erm..., well, jester. If you hadn't already guessed. Pleased to make your acquaintance." He mimed shaking hands with an invisible person.

"Please, Jester. This is serious."

"Very well, very well. As my lady commands," Jester joked. Jane rolled her eyes, and picked up the short sword.

"Now, look closely. You hold it like this," Jane demonstrated, her fingers curling around the hilt, her thumb coming to rest close under the top end of the tang. "And you stand like this." She stood up and posed, her feet staggered and bent slightly at the knees, sword arm raised defensively in front of her. "Just try holding it for now. I'm going to try to knock it out of your hands, to let you get a feel for what a battle feels like. I want you to try your best to keep hold of it. Show some resistance! I'll teach you to spar tomorrow. With sticks, of course."

Jester took the blade, and feeling foolish, stood the same way Jane had. Jane walked around him, moving his arm ever so slightly and adjusting his grip. Finally she stepped back.

"How does that feel?"

"I feel foolish."

"You should. It's your job to feel like that."

"Oh, hilarious, Jane," Jester rolled his eyes, and Jane stuck her tongue out at him.

"Alright, well you have that covered. Now, for testing your grip. And like I said, if you master this, I will give you a brief, brief run-over of how to spar later."

"Brilliant, Jane. I'm ecstatic." The nineteen-year-old said, sarcasm edging his tone. Jane beamed, and withdrew her own sword.

"Ready, Jester?"

"Would I ever be, love?" Jane laughed and blew him a kiss, and before he had even realized it, had lunged, her sword connecting with his own blade in a single arc. The impact was shattering. The clang of metal on metal rang out loudly, echoing in the cave like the voice of a shrill specter. Jester had to gasp aloud, as an electric shock of pain rolled up his arm and shoulder in waves from the force of the blow. He staggered backwards slightly, and the weapon fell from his grip.

Jane took a step back, looking abashed.

"Oops! Was...was that too much?"

"Umm...yes..." Jester gasped, rubbing his right biceps and wincing, "I think it was perhaps a bit too much." Jane blushed and bit her lip.

"Sorry. Here...let me see."

"No, no, Jane, it's nothing. Again, if you please?" Jane raised her eyebrows, but Jester had already raised his sword arm back into its position.

"Now?" Jane asked.

"Yes." Jester said, rolling his right shoulder back once more and giving his arm a shake.

"Here goes," Jane said, striking once more.

Again, the echo of the clashing metal reverberated on the walls, and Jester's arm faltered slightly, but he kept hold of his weapon this time. And, again, he restationed himself into the guard position and Jane struck over and over again, until he finally managed to hold steady.

Rubbing his right arm, he tossed the blade down.

"E-enough," he panted. Jane nodded, wiping a hand over her brow.

"I have to say," she grinned, "that was impressive, for a complete beginner. There are obviously some...faults, I guess, but who doesn't have them at some point? I admit, I could have ended up disarming you with a flick of my wrist with the position you were holding, so we need to work on that. But, otherwise I am quite pleased!"

She sheathed the blades and placed them at an accessible point, as Jester removed his leather cuirass and changed into a light cotton tunic.

"Now, supper!" She declared, handing him his rations- barley bread, dried meat strips and a skein of water. During their practice, night had settled around them like a silent predator stalking its prey. Jester found he was famished, but looked at her with one eyebrow raised.

"First, what happened to the 'if you behave during your lessons' promise?"

Jane stroked his cheek.

"Don't worry," she whispered, a blush colouring her face. "I haven't forgotten. But, your lessons aren't done yet."

"Oh, bliss," Jester muttered. Jane laughed.

"Be patient,"

"I don't think I can!" Jane winked at him, as he mock-glared at her.

They ate in silence, their eyes dancing a colourful minuet of gazing at each other and then looking away shyly whenever their gazes met. At last, Jester moved his gaze to the flames licking the bracken.

The fire had grown considerably, now a crackling blaze that exuded a comfortable heat. Jester tossed another brambly branch in, watching it crackle and spark, the wood turning black and charred by the raging element. The dancing flames, Jester realized, a smiling lighting upon his face, were the exact same colour as her hair. Red. It was also just as wild, as well as beautiful.

As it was, when it came to his relationship with Jane, Jester realized that he was playing with wild fire. One word from her could char him as black as one of the burnt bramble branches. But, yet, she could also bring him warmth and comfort if he did not abuse the flame.

He looked over at her, his eyes sweeping her face, and she looked up. Her face seemed to glow in the firelight, her green eyes illuminated and seeming to shoot emeralds spark of thought. Jester wished he could read some of those thoughts.

He cleared his throat.

"So...you said that you had some more arm-smashing, shoulder-jarring, pain-inducing lessons to inflict upon me? Am I simply the practice dummy now?" He asked lightly.

"Well," Jane grinned back wryly, "you did once offer to be my practice dummy, years ago..."

"So you are using me!" Jester pretended indignation, an exaggerated look of shock passing over his face. Jane waved a hand in the air.

"Details, details," she laughed mockingly. "But, no, back to the point. The answer is yes, I do have a few more things I want to teach you."

Jester frowned and stuck out his tongue.

"This night seems to get better and better, huh, Jane? Bramble hacking and arm-smashing and now more grimy lessons!" Jane rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry," she said, "this is more...theoretical."

"Subject being?"

"Tactics and such." She winked. Jester sighed, and then leaned back against a rock jutting out from a small pile of rubble.

"I'm all ears, then."

Jane immediately began to explain, in depth, the means of thrusting and parrying, dodging, feinting, blocking, countering attacks and such. She explained how to take on one and multiple opponents at once, how to avoid being manipulated into tight spots, and how to guard your own back.

"If you have to deal with a large number of enemies," she said, "use whatever you can to your advantage- deception, feinting, fighting dirty and such. Also, yell. It can confuse an enemy. Keep your back somewhere where they absolutely will not be able to surprise you." She continued giving pointers, emphasizing her explanations by sketching it them out into the dirt.

Jester watcher her long, slender fingers trace battlefields and ranks and plans, utterly mesmerized.

At last, Jane gave a sigh.

"Did you get it all?" Jester nodded once in response, and then took one of Jane's hands in his, playing idly with her fingers, interlacing his own fingers with hers.

"Yes, I think I did," he murmured, and then leant forwards to plant a kiss on her forehead. Jane giggled.

"I'll take that as a 'no'?" she guessed, her voice coy.

"Mmm...no, it's just that I'm a little...distracted right now. Can't think straight." He grinned impishly at her, still toying with her hand in his lap, tracing patterns into her skin with his fingertip. Suddenly, he leaned forwards again and gently pulled her onto his lap, tilting her face upwards to his. "So...now?" He asked, his voice a tender whisper as he cupped her cheek in one hand.

Jane nodded.

"Yes, alright... now you have permission," she said, a blush creeping up her neck and onto her cheeks. Before Jester could move a muscle, though, Jane gently took his face between her hands, and pulled it down to hers.

An electric current seemed to pass between them as their lips met, and Jester gave himself to the kiss. His arms snaked themselves tightly around her, pulling her into his chest. Jane also, threw herself into the embrace. She clung to him desperately, her body held as closely as possible to his.

"I love you." Jester's voice was ragged as he whispered the words between kisses. He pulled back, and in one fluid motion tucked her head under his chin, rocking her gently.

"Mmhmm?" Jane murmured, kissing his neck. She raised a hand from around his neck and tilted his face to hers once more. Jester took her chin between his thumb and forefinger.

"Yes, forever and always," he said.

In the foliage, garbed in a black tunic and hose, crouched a man. His build was slight and slender, but at the same time lithe and muscular. The hood of a dark green woolen burnoose covered the top half of his face, and the lower, visible portion was dirty and unshaven. Long, matted brown hair hung greasily from beneath the hood, splayed like some dead creeping plant. His mouth was stretched into what was supposed to be a smile, the yellowed teeth and the twist to it turning it into a taunting grimace.

He carried an assortment of mismatched weapons, and a set of aged skeleton keys hung from the black leather belt around his waist. Soft leather boots clad his feet, making him silent in his motions.

Silent, which was what he had been for the past two hours.

Because, for the past two hours, he had watched the two travelers warily and unobserved, sizing up their attributes and determining their weaknesses in case of a fight or needed quick getaway.

After his observations, the blond boy -the squire, by the looks of it- he decided, seemed an amateur with weapons, and was thus harmless. He was confident that he could overpower the redheaded girl if need be.

He watched as the girl dropped off to sleep in the boy's arms, and the boy held her protectively, loving and yet gentlemanly. The man felt his eyebrows raise incredulously at the fact that the blond was not taking advantage of the girl's unconsciousness, as he himself would have had he been the one sitting there.

Sitting motionless, barely breathing, he finally saw the boy's eyelids shut. Smiling triumphantly once more to himself, he checked his weapons and began to silently make his was towards the mouth of the cave. He was sure of victory, as he withdrew a thin silver dagger, which reflected the moonlight like a silver drop of blood...