A/N: I'm sorry. I really am. But this isn't the last chapter either.

All of the brilliant characters belong to Martin Baynton

Talks

Jane could do little more than gape at what had just been said. Her mouth opened, shut, opened once more, and then finally shut. She blinked furiously.

The blue-clad man was not much better. Jane could hear the stuttering, "I… You... I mean… Marry... why… but… you… me… I… kiss… what… but…" Although Jane could not tell what precisely Apollo was trying to say, it was quite clearly along the same thought process Jane was currently dealing with.

She was very nearly a knight; there was less than a month until she was to be knighted! The irony of Jane's current thoughts was that she was not concerned about her own feelings-for she had to admit, now, to herself at least, that yes she had feelings for Apollo, Jester, her best human friend…- she was concerned about her mother's. Jane was, to her mother, a young woman, noble by blood, eventually going to marry a noble. Jane had never cared in the least about titles, however; very few did around Kippernium, until it came to marriage.

"Jane? May I speak with you about… what just happened?" the jester asked, blue-grey eyes wide with... what? Hope? Fear? Jane's own mind was so cloudy that she could not tell.

"I suppose so, Jester. It would only be fair." Jane said, hating herself immediately for how cold and angry she sounded. What was that? She scolded herself. You kissed him, not the other way around!

"Never mind, Jane. It does not matter." Apollo said dejectedly. Jane winced, feeling a stab of guilt.

Jester, wait! I do not want for you to go! "Jest- Apollo?" Jane asked, fearful of the truth but desperate to know. "Were you jesting?"

"I am a jester, dearest Lady Knight. For 12 years, I have done little aside from jest." Jane felt the contempt in his voice pierce her heart. She was too terrified to look into the blond man's eyes, to see the hatred she was positive she would see. 17 years old and finally in love. Jane thought without humor, feeling her eyes prickle in pain, sure that tears were forming. Maggots and sheep's brain!

Jane felt calloused fingers grip her chin gently. Her face was pulled up, jade green eyes meeting tear-filled blue grey eyes. The pain in them was rivaled by hope, both pairs wide with both. "Jane, where your heart is involved, my jests will never go, unless express permission has been granted. I..." Here the young man paused, taking a shaky breath, still holding his best friend's chin in both hands, thumbs pressed over her lips so she could not speak. He continued, "I love you, Jane. And maybe when I said that; no, asked that damnable question, I was not thinking completely clearly. The love of my life had just KISSED me." Here a small smile formed on both sets of lips, identical blushes decorating two faces, "But in truth, I have been waiting for you to be knighted to say something, so that I would not get in the way of your training. Jane felt a swell of love bloom in her chest. Love. Maggots, I cannot believe how weak kneed I get because one good-looking man says he loves me. Maybe I should talk to Pepper about these ridiculous feelings. Maybe she will know why they feel so right! MAGGOTS!

"But I cannot help it anymore, my lady-my love. I cannot ask you to dedicate your precious time to me yet. Perhaps, though, you will think of me after your training, and perhaps we can…" the jester swallowed audibly, "perhaps you will court me?"

Jane's mind became a storm of what-if's, why-not's, and curses. Then, of course, she chanced a look out the window, pushing against Apollo's hands to see an audience; or rather, an audience member, one with a particularly aggravating smirk. As Apollo turned to look as well, he quickly pulled his hands away from Jane's face, sliding his hands into hers in a much less possessive manner.

"So. Jane. Are you going to say yes to the fool?" Gunther asked. His smirk grew into a grin, though lacking the maliciousness the young woman had expected to see. "Because if you do not say yes, he may question your intentions of a minute ago." No. Gunther had not seen. He could not have seen. One more look at the squire in question and Jane knew that her rival HAD seen. But, Jane noted, he was not taunted her for kissing Jester-for to Gunther there was no Apollo- he was taunting her about her honor, as a knight would his fellow knight, regardless of gender. Perhaps it was time to face the facts: she was as much a female as she was a knight-in-training, and she no longer had the excuse of judgement, at least where Gunther was concerned. Jane took a breath and looked at the man holding both of her hands. In a rare show of nerves, the blue-clad man was biting the inside of his cheek; Jane could see the way the flesh pulled in towards his teeth. Steeling herself, Jane made a decision.

"Two things. One: I need to get dressed. I am sure I have a lot of work to catch up on now that I have slept. So you need to go." Jane started."She stole a glance over her shoulder. Gunther looked on in amusement. Jane grated her teeth, "Both of you." She turned back to the man who was still holding her hands, and felt her heart fall at the exact same rate as his face fell. She quickly continued, "Two: if you want to court me, you had better ask my father for permission." The jester's face lit up. He let go of her hands and pulled her into a long embrace. She wrapped her arms around his neck, enjoying the feeling of his around her waist. She revelled in the warmth, trying to ignore how fast her heart was thumping.

A cough from Jane's window reminded her of why she was getting up in the first place. She had things to do, and people to deal with. "Now go so I can get dressed." She said, lightly pushing her suitor- Jane shuddered at that thought, but there was no other word- out.

"Yes, m'lady." Apollo said. Once he reached the door, he turned, took her hand, and lightly kissed her knuckles, saying "until we meet again." Jane felt her eyes grow wide as the man let go and shut the door behind him. She walked over to the side of her room and shut the window, Gunther telling her he expected a good spar as he walked away. She paused for a moment, eyes wide, one hand on her head, the other on the bed post.

"I need to speak with Pepper." She groaned, falling onto her bed, the second half of the sentence muffled by her face against the straw mattress.

"And then… I kissed him! And he asked me to marry him-" Jane explained, kneading bread in the dark kitchen, taking out all of the pent up rage towards men, growing up, and feelings on the lumpy, floury mass.

"He WHAT!" Pepper exclaimed, throwing her hands up so hard that whatever was on the spoon in her right hand splattered against Jane's left cheek. She continued "But you never even courted! He proposed! With NO RING! Of course, what else do you expect, after you kissed him? Oh Petal, what did you say? You have only a month until you are to be knighted! You do not have time for a wedding-" Pepper continued, alternating between stirring her stew and facing Jane with a frantic expression. "… cannot get married if you have no flowers, though I am sure Rake could find something.."

"Pepper…" Jane tried. She repeated the name several times, getting louder each time, to no avail. Finally: "Verbena!" This caught the chef's attention and quieted her temporarily.

"What? Oh, sorry Jane." The dark haired woman responded sheepishly, "It is just so exciting!"

"Pepper, I never even finished the story! He was just so dazed after… you know… that he said it. But THEN he said he has loved me for a long time and was waiting until after I was knighted to tell me so and ask to court me." Jane felt her throat getting thick as she spoke. She felt a little off balance but attributed it to the heat in the kitchen.

"Oh, how romantic!" Pepper declared, spinning in circles, arms out wide, spoon dripping broth onto the floor.

"Yes, I suppose so. And I could not think of how to say yes, so I simply told him to talk to my father." Jane finished, eyes focused on the pathetic excuse of a pastry in front of her. A resound smack from wood banging down on wood startled the feminine squire. She looked up to see Pepper leaning across from her, palms flat against the table, a solemn look on her face. Gone were the excited fancies of marriage; reality had set in for the woman who herself was already married. Pepper and Rake had had a short engagement and a small wedding, only the castle children who had grown up together in attendance and the families of the bride and groom. Pepper and Rake had been married almost 3 years at this point. Pepper knew of gossip regarding young couples in the castle. Jane had a suspicion Pepper would say something about it.

"My biggest concern, Petal, is what are you going to do if people find out you kissed him? I mean, think of it! It is quite nearly a scandal!" Pepper asked. Jane winced, suspicions rewarded. She knew Pepper was correct. Kissing on the cheek was acceptable for young couples; more intimate kisses were generally frowned upon outside of the castle, though most folks inside of Kippernia Castle had been excited to see Pepper and Rake kiss when they finally announced that THEY were courting.

Jane did not know how to react to Pepper's worries, mainly because she was afraid to face them herself. If people find out about THE KISS, it will be because I told the biggest human gossip in all of Eastern Europe. If she knew I had visited him in the middle of the night, regardless of how innocent my intentions were … Jane shuddered at the thought. She loved Pepper dearly, but to avoid letting the truth of her night in the jester's room two nights previous out- that must stay between her and Apollo-she formulated her response carefully. She then remembered something Pepper had told her about a week ago.

"I am long past the age of courting, Pepper. I suppose I shall have to deal with a near scandal if I bring it upon myself. Besides, people are going to be far too excited about your baby to worry about a chaste" Here Jane ignored the incredulous look she was receiving "kiss between two people who may very well get married in the coming year." Jane realized half a second too late that Rake was coming down the stairs with the Princess and both had heard that entire last sentence.

In any other situation, their responses would have been hilarious.

"JANE IS GETTING MARRIED?" Lavinia yelled, her loud voice seeming quiet compared to the ear splitting scream Rake was releasing.

"HOLY PARSNIPS! !" The lanky man screamed. His voice reduced to a whisper "I am going to be a father?" He then promptly passed out, eliciting a much shorter, higher pitched squeal from his wife.

Jane raised an eyebrow at the cook, who was fanning the man's face gently. "Did he not know?" The younger woman asked. She felt horrible for spoiling the secret, though a little amazed Pepper had been able to keep it as such.

"I was going to tell him tonight, after we got home." The woman answered, and seeing her husband wake up, she stood only to have her hands grabbed by an enthusiastic 11-year-old with pleading brown eyes. Lavinia began spinning around in a circle with Pepper, an exberant grin on the face of the former and a worried and tired but geniune smile on the face of the latter. Jane watched them, feeling skin at her temples pulsating. Jane punched her lumpy dough one more time before turning with intentions to calm the growing princess. Her head could not take much more squealing.

"Is Jane really getting married this time?" the hyperactive heiress asked, voice shrill with excitement, remembering a particular fiasco from her childhood. Jane could feel her entire skull beginning to throb and she started to feel naseuous. A moment too late, Jane realized that the ground was coming toward her in a rush. Not again! Was the last thought before the blackness consumed her once more.

A/N: I didn't mean to! I'm sorry! It's taken control of my fingers! They only do as ordered!

PM me if you see any grammar mistakes.

I'm glad this has been getting positive reviews, but I've been putting off homework for FF so I might not update quite as soon next time. Much love for all of you! (Oh, and Jester was TOTALLY lying in chapter one when he said his affection is friendly. He clearly has the hots for Jane.)

One more thing: I'm changing the summary and trying to figure out what's wrong with Jane. Shay-na-na figured it out and won the "contest" so the rest of you can find out what it is next time I write a chapter.