AUTHORS NOTE: So hey for anyone reading. Sorry ive had this chapter written and ready to post for a long time i just feel l can update at my leisure since there hasnt been any indication that anyone is particularly itching for updates. Im still writing just haven't felt the urge to pump anything out since there does not seem to be much of an audience. Don't fret tho, its gonna happen, over time :) Much love! and enjoy!

JANE

There was a distinctive cool morning sea breeze traveling through the modest town of Goodwater as Jane rushed through the streets. In recent weeks Jane had grown accustomed to the refreshing air, and the town's distinctive salty scent. The settlement was teaming with the common people out of bed in the early hours for their day of labor. There were merchants, farmers, and men who worked in the quarries, rope-makers, and seamstresses. Most of all, there were sailors and fishermen heading down to the docks. Some carried barrels of herring to the salt and smoke houses. Smoked fish and Kippers were Kippernium's main export for which it was named after. Jane followed them to a very familiar smoking shed down by the wharf, one which her friend Pepper's mother was known to work in. Jane, being a little later than usual, found the dark-haired woman happily chatting with an equally dark-haired boy who was setting down a large bundle of wood stocks for fire. To look at them one might think they could be mother and son.

"Good, that's perfect. Ok Oddny, now these fish will be for the castle so we must cold smoke them for flavor."

The boy nodded, "No problem Aunt Salter."

Jane smiled, she was happy that the two seemed to be getting along. Her idea to have him pose as the lady's nephew in order to allow him to work and hide in plain sight amongst the villagers was one neither he nor Pepper was originally fond of. But he seemed to enjoy it well enough, and after some time Pepper seemed to warm up to him as well.

"Good morning, sorry I'm a little late Missus Salter!" Jane approached the two, offering a small basket of baked goods to the older women, per usual. "From Pepper, for you and your husband. Baked apples today, they kind of long which is why I'm running a bit late. Where is Mister Salter, by the way?"

The woman smiled warmly taking the basket and glancing at its contents, "Oh dear, you just missed him! He went off to load the ships already. How is my sweet Verbena?"

"Just fine, or as she would say top-table!" Jane giggled, "Busy as ever in the kitchens."

"Oh I do hope that girl is getting enough sleep, managing a whole kitchen on her own at such an age is so much work. I still can't see why she wouldn't let Oddny help out with the cooking; he's proven to be a very capable assistant!"

"Pepper loves the kitchens, and besides she really likes to personally oversee everything when it comes to the food." Jane half-lied.

"Well everyone here at the smokehouse are glad to have him. You should see for yourself. He's wicked fast at cleaning and splitting the fish. Anyway, thankyou Jane, for always being such a good friend to my daughter and for bringing us such a hard worker. Oddny has proven to be very capable." She smiled fondly and remembering the subject of the convesation call out to him, "Oddny, I certainly don't need two baked apples all to myself. You're welcome to have one come noontime. They are very good; my daughter's cooking is fit for a king!" The woman bragged as she set the basket down on a small table and turned around to start hanging the herring over the smoke, humming merrily.

Kneeling over the fire Oddny sighed and muttered darkly, "Thank you Aunt Salter, but I doubt your daughter would appreciate a lowly wasp like me eating her precious food."

Without turning around the women's humming momentarily paused, "I'm sorry dear boy, what was that?"

Jane huffed, knowing well that the foreign boy was severely lacking in manners. She leaned towards him; with a quick push of her hand she shoved the back of his head over and into the smoke that was now billowing out from the smoldering wood. In turn, he received a face full of acrid smoke. Oddny glared at Jane as he choked out a more suitable reply to the kinder older woman, "nothing ma'm, I was just saying that I would very much appreciate an apple, thank you."

Jane, satisfied, released the large boy and sat next to him, although he was now in a very sour mood. "Find that funny, coppertop?" He shot at her as he composed himself.

Jane was a little annoyed at him using one of Dragon's more maddening nicknames for her, but she refused to give him the satisfaction of acknowledging it, "Looks to me you've been getting along pretty well around here. And I see you've cut your hair as well."

Oddny scratched the back of his neck, "Yeah, well, the missus insisted it wasn't proper for a young man to have a 'messy bird's nest' on his head. Her words."

Jane thought she could see a tinge of redness to his face, "What is this? You actually allowed Pepper's mother cut it herself?"

The color deepened, "… and brush it…yeah," he said grudgingly.

Jane tried to stifle a bout of laughter as she imagined Missus Salter grooming a brooding Oddny. "Spoiling you now isn't she?" She teased smartly.

"Enough," he quickly changed the subject, "Did you come here to annoy me, or did you come with news? Just how long am I supposed to hide out here in this smelly port-town? When will I get my audience with your king? I thought you said you were a knight? Don't you see the man every day? It has been weeks already and I am growing impatient."

"Patience, you will see the king soon," there it was, another lie.

"Really?" He seemed reasonably hesitant to believe her, "Did you mention me to your king?"

"Well… no." Jane shuffled a woodchip around with her shoe, "he has been away on a hunting trip with Sir Ivan and-"

"Again? I thought you said he was on a hunt last week?"

Jane ran a hand across her brow, she hadn't realized how warm the Salter's smoke house had gotten, "Well, yes. He was. But, then he returned and heard about the elusive garden thief and now he and the other knights are out on a man hunt!" She nodded, pleased at her quick wit she looked at Oddny slyly, "but don't worry, they won't think to search here in the town. They believe you ran off into forests. Give it a bit more time and they will eventually forget about the whole thing; then I will arrange an appointment for you with the King." She smiled at him reassuringly.

From the look on his face, Jane could tell Oddny was disappointed, "Doesn't your king have better things to do then go on all these hunts? I don't have forever you know? I wasn't sent here to salt fish and make fires."

"And exactly why were you sent here, Oddny?" Jane sincerely wanted to know, but he would never tell her. She had tried time and time again to ask him, but to no avail. The boy was as stubborn as a donkey. This time he merely ignored her and grew silent, focusing on his task at hand.

"Have it your way then, I'll see you later this evening," she stood up to leave, Oddny made no acknowledgment but she knew he would be available. She waved goodbye to the Missus and was back on the main path to Kippernum Castle. She walked slowly, heavily burdened by her thoughts. She wanted to figure out a way to make Oddny tell her more about his purpose in the kingdom before she revealed him to the King. So far, since the day they had met, all he had confessed to her was that he arrived in the kingdom with a message but insisted it was for the King's ears only.

Oddny had come into the kingdom under unusual circumstances after Gunther had found the scruffy boy hungrily surveying Rake's garden. He was uprooting and eating turnips there. Even half-starved as he was, he proved to give Gunther a lot of trouble apprehending him. The thief and young knight made a mess scuffling about in the vegetable patches. Eventually Smithy heard the commotion and together with Gunther they overpowered the dark-haired stranger.

At that time, the king really was gone on a hunt. The young prince Cuthbert had turned eleven and instead of suffering another dreary party he insisted on going out on his first hunt. Usually only one knight would accompany a hunting party so that the other could keep an eye on the castle; but Gunther was knighted last year. Now the castle could allow for both Sir Theodore and Sir Ivan to accompany them. Their departure was on short notice, and as it turned out, Sir Ivan had forgotten to give Gunther the keys to the dungeon. So Smithy and Gunther settled for shackling the boy in an unused tower room.

Jane and Dragon had missed all the excitement. Earlier in the evening they had snuck out to look at dragon runes in Dragon's cave. When Jane returned to the castle grounds, Jester excitedly relayed the night's events to her. And later, when she ran into Smithy he told her that Gunther tried to interrogate the prisoner, but the ruffian refused to talk. Later that day, after she was finished tutoring the young princess in Italian she went down to the kitchens for a snack.

Pepper had just walked in, throwing down a tray into the wash basin and scrubbing furiously. Jane asked her what was bothering her. It turned out the Queen and Jane's mother paid the boy a visit, who continued to keep his silence even in the presence of his highborn and royal guests. Even so, the two women agreed they couldn't bear to see a boy in such a deteriorating state. He was absoulutely filthy and malnourished. The Queen ordered the prisoner be fed regularly until her husband returned. Such a request didn't sit well with Pepper, yet she carried it out dutifully. She shared Rake's dislike for the intruder on account of how he destroyed several patches of vegetables in the royal gardens that Rake tended to. In Pepper's mind the boy was as wicked as a wasp; which was a significant insult coming from her. Gunther walked in as the upset young cook complained that the no good 'wasp' didn't deserve to be fed as long as he refused to be compliant.

"Oh, but our theif has just now finally cooporated Pepper."

The girl jumped; a little startled that someone other than Jane was in the room during her little outburst. "Oh, really? W-well what did he say?" She sputtered embarrassedly.

Gunther paid the shy girl no mind and turned to Jane with an air of superiority, his placed his hands on his waist, "Jane, come with me."

"Me? What for? Is it about the prisoner? Did you want me to stand watch for guard duty?" Jane stood up alert and ready to receive orders, albeit from Gunther.

"Yes, but no, Not exactly," He motioned for her to follow him. She said good bye to her frazzled friend Pepper as she hurried to match Gunther's long strides. He was clad in bits of armor and mail, heavy as it may be, it was easy for him to move in it unburdened now that he had a year to adjust to the added weight. He had grown quite tall now that he was seventeen. Yet, in most other aspects, like his pig-headedness, Gunther had yet to have matured. Jane was looking at his armor wistfully, thinking about her opportunity to prove herself knight-worthy in next year when she ungracefully stumbled right into him.

"You're clusmy as ever. Got something on your mind, Jane?"

Looking at his face she could tell he wasn't asking teasingly, his usual arrogant smile was nowhere to be seen. He knew something.

"Not, particularly. No." She couldn't imagine where he was getting at.

Gunther had wasted no time in getting straight to business."Where were you last night when the thief arrived? You obviously weren't in your tower."

"I was with Dragon, why do you ask?"

"Yes, but where were you with your over-grown lizard, Jane? Playing outside the castle walls?"

"We were not playing. But yes, we were outside castle walls. I admitt we sometimes go out sometimes when all my duties are taken care of, but i thought you knew that. Still, I don't see how-"

"And at any time returning did you let the stanger in?"

"What? No! We were far off in Dragon's cave when that entire muddle with that stranger happened!" Jane was insulted that he would even accuse her of letting a stranger into the castle. Still, the young knight looked at her long and hard before he let out a defeated sigh.

"I believe you, Jane."

She was shocked, "Really?"

"Yes, but unfortunately I think that he may have followed the two of you here."

Jane scoffed, "Oh, I see what you are doing. I know all too well that you are not overly fond of Dragon, and so, you are taking this opportunity to blame him and me for this mess. As always. But there is a major flaw in your accusation Gunther - How is it that Dragon and I are responsible for letting the thief in, if he was already here in Kippernum Castle grounds before we even came back? Not to mention, we didn't even open the gate since Dragon can just fly in!"

Gunther looked at her unhappily, "Actually, I don't think he entered the grounds last night. Which is what worries me; I think he has been hiding around outside the castle for quite multiple days now, waiting for an opportunity to slip in and hide in here. I talked to Rake and he admitted that he noticed a few things had been missing from the gardens preceding last night's events. Food stuffs like baby carrots, cabbages, and apples had been regularly missing or been tampered with. Our prisoner didn't have any of those things on his person when we caught him, but I did some looking around and I found an empty barrel behind the forge with some apples hidden away. It bothers me to think he was hiding here in courtyard for days without our noticing. Jane, tell me true, was last night the only night this week that you and Dragon left the castle?"

She slowly shook her head, fully understanding the consequences of their nightly escapades. As a knight's apprentice, Jane felt as if she had severely marked her honor by sneaking out in secret and leading a potential threat straight to the King and Queen's gates. "Sorry...we- I did'nt think..." She tried to hold back guilty tears, but even failed at that, as one managed to escape.

Gunther rigidly stepped closer to awkwardly pat her on the shoulder in attempt to be sympathetic, "I don't think Sir Ivan or Sir Theodor will be impressed with the way either of us have been handling security around here. I think we might have let the court down this time."

Jane had noted that he had said we, and was stunned to think that upon the King's return he wouldn't be throwing her under the wagon and solely blaming her for the intruder. Gunther had his moments here and there, but Jane had never thought of him to be particularly kind hearted. Yet, there he was trying to comfort her when, in all honesty, she and Dragon really were to blame.

Gunther spoke up breaking the tense mood. "Anyway, I need your help."

Suprise after suprise. Jane wasn't sure she heard right. Had Gunther just asked her for her help?

She thought about pinching herself, but decided better of it,"You're the knight, Gunther, I'm just an apprentice. What could you possibly need my help with?" She said this unsarcastically, in light of her recent blunder she was feeling somewhat incapable at the moment.

"Get our prisoner to talk. Oddly enough, he's been asking for dragon riders. I figured since your the only one in the kingdom who is friends with that beast that he must be talking about you."

"What? Dragon riders?" At the time Jane had never heard such a term. As far as she knew, she was the only person ever mentioned in the whole history of the kingdom to have ever ridden a dragon.

"Yes, as hard as it is to believe, I think that he's been waiting. I think he wants to talk to you."

Jane took a deep breath and a moment to compose herself. She nodded signaling that she was ready to continue, "Ok, I'll see what I can do."

Side by side they crossed the courtyard to a wooden door at the base of a tall tower and entered, ascending the spiraling tower steps.