I do not like this chapter. I tried, don't get me wrong: it has been edited so many times I've lost count, rewritten twice, and scoured for missing words and phrases. But nothing I do seems to satisfy me about this chapter, and to make up for it I'll post chapter five way sooner. :) So please go easy on me, I tried to fix it! Oh, quick note: I am a J/J shipper, but I like J/G friendship. So if there will be any pairing in this story, it'll be J/J. Just a heads up. ;)
Disclaimer: If I owned Jane and the Dragon, we would be in our seventh season. Unfortunately, I don't, and we're not. How sad… :(
-x-x-x-x-
"Here, is this enough?"
With an internal groan, Jane pulls an extra few silver coins out of her pocket and offers them irritably to the merchant. It had better be.
The man, a thickset fellow with a dark scraggly beard, raises an eyebrow at the coins, his red eyes unfocused and unsure.
"Maybe…" his voice is thick and heavy from a recent hangover. "Depends on how far yeh want to go on this'un." He pats the mare in front of him. "Farther yeh go, more yeh pay."
I should have brought Cleaver, Jane thinks furiously, digging deeper into her pockets and roughly jerking a large golden coin from the depths of the cloak. "How about this? How long is the horse available for, again?"
The man's eyes widen in surprise and consideration. "Ah suppose…" he says haltingly, observing the coin with unmasked interest. "If yeh want the hurse, yeh can 'ave her fer awhile, so long as yeh return 'er when yehr done."
"Excellent," Jane replies, "and you will keep it to yourself that I bought the horse, yes?"
The merchant –if you want to call him that– slowly raises a hand to scratch at his lanky hair. "I dunno…"
Jane glances behind her urgently, offering the coin farther out enticingly; she has been in her town for far too long –the sun has already risen and is reaching its peak above the ramshackle houses.
I should not have stayed here, she reflects as the man considers the money suspiciously. It was not a good idea, I know, but what else could I do? Starting this journey in the middle of the night, when it is pitch black and dangerous, was not an option. But they most likely have noticed I have left by now – I had a tracking lesson with Sir Ivon scheduled several hours ago, and since I did not show up…
"Vera well," the man says at last, giving in to the money and waving a hand carelessly towards the mare just behind him. "She's yours. Name is Tess, ah think."
Jane tries not to roll her eyes as she steps past the merchant and offers a hand to the horse in an attempt at a friendly introduction. The mare eyes her with dark brown eyes for a moment, waiting to see if Jane's hand is about to hurt her; when the squire does not move, she breathes heavily and pushes her snout into her palm.
"Hello," Jane says quietly, her fingers gently stroking Tess's soft nose as she normally does with Cleaver. "We are in for some rough riding, girl. Do you think you can handle it?"
Tess looks at her silently, her eyes bright. Jane grins.
"Good," she says, reaching for the reins dangling on her new horse's neck.
Suddenly, though, the sound of clopping horse hooves fill her ears, and she spins around to see exactly what she is trying to avoid.
The knights have realized she is gone, and guess what? They decided to come looking for her.
Her heart speeds up, and everything is unexpectedly swirling around her. They cannot catch her. Not now, not when she is so close to leaving…
"Come on, Tess," Jane mutters, untying the rope holding Tess to the post and swiftly swinging herself up onto the mare's dull back to settle hastily into the saddle. "First test as my ride."
Tess whips her head about, and steps easily out into the cobbled streets, now cleared from the previous day's Market. Jane jerks her hood up, pulling the soft fabric over her eyes and ducking down over the beast as Sir Theodore and Gunther come riding slowly into view. Please do not let them see me, please…
She kicks at Tess's side with her muddy boots, urging the horse on frantically even before the animal has fully trotted two paces away from her post and her previous master.
"Go on, girl!" She breathes into a velvety ear, and Tess ducks her head in annoyance; reluctantly, she begins to speed up, her body bouncing Jane slightly as they exit the covered posts from the back entrance and attempt to head out onto the main road leading out of town.
Jane slumps down in the saddle, forcing her eyes to stare only at Tess's neck and her whitened hands clasping the reins like a thin leather lifeline.
"Wait, Tess," she murmurs, pulling on the reins for a second and slowing the now irritated horse to a walk. "We do not want to appear suspicious, especially now." She chances a brief look back over her shoulder at her mentor and her rival as they pull their horses to a standstill and quickly dismount to speak to the man who sold her the horse. The man is gesturing slowly, looking bored and nonchalant; Jane sighs –he cannot have just given her away, it would not make sense after all she paid him. She pulls Tess to a stop to watch the goings on.
And of course Gunther turns around right then.
Her heart speed jumps from calm to terrified in less than a millisecond; she is in trouble now, her rival would certainly take pleasure in turning her in while Dragon wilts away. Don't you dare… Jane screams in her head as she grips Tess's reins tighter than ever and reaches up with her free hand to pull the cloak hood farther over her face. She is too frightened to move as he meets her gaze and his eyes widen from behind a curtain of shaggy black locks.
And then her nemesis nods silently in her direction, and jerks his head around to talk to Sir Theodore.
Jane does not waste a moment. Snapping out of her fear-induced state, she spins around in the saddle, spurs Tess on with her cold, mud-clogged boots, and the next thing she knows she is galloping flat out of the town, coat flying and wind drying her eyes out so fast she has to blink constantly in order to see. And she does not stop Tess until she is far out past the gates and racing along an abandoned stretch of dusty road, worn down by the trails of so many visitors. There cannot be anyone else to see her while she remains in her home.
Slowly, the amount of people they pass thins to only a few, easily spotted from a long ways away and effortlessly avoided by a detour into the trees that mark the beginning of a thick wood; the light, dusty road gradually narrows until it becomes a two lane path, and it is only here that Jane slows Tess down to a walk to allow her a moment to catch her breath.
"All right girl, just a little bit of walking, then we need to speed up a little," the squire says aloud to the animal, allowing her hood to drape back over her shoulders now that they are alone; her fiery curls bounce loudly out from the folds of the dark fabric, framing her face in a curtain of scarlet. At least we can afford to slow down, she thinks nervously, reaching one hand to her waist to finger her sword. But certainly not for long…
Tess just snorts, and continues her brisk walk farther along the path and into the trees.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O
The sun has at long last decided to drop below the horizon, and Jane has finally agreed to stop for the night –riding Tess for so long at varying degrees of trotting and speed walking has left her sore and tired, as well as nervous about the day's riding. If the horse is tired, the rider has no hope of escaping should trouble befall them. Or at least, that's how Jane sees it.
With a glance around her to check for any other unexpected travelers she may have missed, the squire jerks on the reins and tugs Tess over to the left side of the road, into the thick green brush lining the dusty path. The mare obeys, too tired to make it seem as though she decided to stop, not her rider; she plods noisily off the road and crashes through the abundant plants until Jane finally pulls harder on the reins and mutters, "Whoa," through parched lips. She sits for a moment in the saddle as Tess comes to a standstill, breathing quietly in the stillness of the woods, then checks behind her to make sure that she can see the road from her campsite; the nearest inn is still over several hours off, and Jane does not think she can handle any more. Her stamina has a limit, and she has already gone over it.
"All right, girl," Jane says aloud, lowering herself off of Tess and patting her on the nose as she pulls the saddlebag off her back, "We are done riding for the day. So take a break, tomorrow is a full day of traveling, and we might as well be rested up." With a grin at the horse, she quickly sets about fixing a small, inconspicuous fire for the night, a blanket to keep her warm in anticipation of a chilly morning, and a slice of bread to hold her through until then.
If Gunther had not let me go, I would never have gotten this far, she reflects gratefully, popping bits of the food into her mouth as she settles onto the grass near Tess. Actually, that was rather unexpected; normally he would take any chance to get me in trouble, although maybe this time he understood my motive. For once he did something nice… She chews thoughtfully, swallowing the hard bread with a little wince and glancing upwards to check the sun's progress down below the horizon. It is mere inches from the mountain tips far off in the distance, but its gentle rays are still bright enough to read by. Luckily.
Jane turns and digs through her bag, feeling for the thick book she should never have brought along. Her fingers grasp its torn spine, and she tugs the volume out of the leather container with only a twinge of regret. I will return it when I get the cure, she tells herself, and quickly flips it open to the bookmarked page –the one that mentions the Dragon Guardians.
Word has had it that Aolim may in fact be home to the Dragon Guardians, an organization marked by the miniscule dragon tattoos on their right shoulder and their dragons, of course.
Her eyes scan greedily over the yellowed page as she searches for any information that could tell her more; the idea of an organization holding the Night Curse cure as well as the last dragons is more than enough to grab and hold her interest.
Her search reveals nothing –no notes scribbled in the margins, no drawings beside the words, no–
Jane stops. A small slip of paper is peeking out from under the page, a different hue than the rest of the book. She reaches under and pulls the small paper out, her heart just a pace faster at the idea of a breakthrough.
The paper is folded over onto itself, and with fingers shaking oh so slightly Jane peels the fold back to read the scribbled writing covering the surface.
The last Dragon Guardians have been banished from Kippernium. Have gone to Aolim, and brought the remaining dragons. Only fifty or so left, half without their dragon; will attempt to help those still alive. Swords have been lost in last night's battle, the sign on the hilt is sure to give us away. It is coming to an end, Aolim is isolated enough to keep the remaining safe.
Below the muddied words is the symbol of a dragon.
The dragon on Jane's sword hilt.
-x-x-x-x-
Yuck. Well, reviews are necessary, and those of you who have already reviewed, I am so grateful, thank you for your wonderful feedback! And those of you who haven't… please do!
Thankies, all! :D