(A/N: My last fanfiction posting of 2008. Happy New Year one and all!)

OOOOO

Exiting her tower room, she looked around for Dragon, as was second-nature… before remembering that she would be unlikely to see him tonight. Cuthbert had ordered him to confine himself to his cave for the duration of the ball, so that their "guests" wouldn't feel threatened by him. She snorted at the irony of this as she descended the stairs. Tonight's guests deserved to be threatened… and then they deserved to be cut to ribbons.

But Dragon was as tightly bound by the king's commands as anyone else, unless he wished to risk banishment. Jane didn't doubt, either, that Cuthbert would consider banishing Kippernium's strongest defender, even in such times as these, if he were to disobey a direct order; but Dragon wasn't taking the chance. Being banished from the kingdom now would mean leaving Jane in danger, and Dragon would never leave Jane in danger. So, however reluctantly, he had capitulated to Cuthbert's demand.

Gunther was waiting for her at the bottom of the steps. It was some small consolation to Jane that he seemed as uncomfortable in his formal attire as she felt in hers. He was shifting restlessly from foot to foot, and he didn't even bother to mock her – how was that for out-of-character?

In fact, the only thing he said at all as they approached the ballroom from which lights and music blazed, was, "we should probably try to stick near each other tonight." That single statement spoke volumes; yes, he was every bit as ill-at-ease with this whole situation as she was. She couldn't imagine another reason, after all, that he would want to "stick near" her under these, or any other circumstances.

Over the years Gunther had surprised her – had surprised everyone, in point of fact – by taking the Code of Conduct increasingly to heart and actually growing into a downright decent young knight. That did not mean, however, that the relationship between him and Jane had become any easier. They were still rivals who were really only comfortable communicating with one another through banter, verbal sparring and taunts.

Hence Jane's surprise at his simple, quiet statement.

She would have been astonished, then, had she the least inkling of the depth of anxiety that lay beneath the surface of Gunther's seemingly offhand words. For though his outward behavior toward her had altered little over the years, his carefully guarded feelings had changed… profoundly.

Jane paused, frowning, outside the ballroom door. "What do you mean by that?"

He deflected the question with one of his own. "Are you armed tonight?"

Jane's frown deepened. "No. Are you?"

"No. And that is a big part of it. We would be stronger together than apart, better able to act in defense of the kingdom, if anything should… happen."

"You are expecting trouble?"

He tossed a scowl toward the door. "I do not know what to expect from this ridiculous farce. Do you?"

"Well no, of course n –"

"Right," he said, exasperation now coloring his voice, "which is why I think we should probably try and stick near each other tonight. Jane, this –" his voice dropped. "This is not good."

She bristled. "Do not patronize me, Gunther, I am neither blind nor stupid, I know this is not good!"

"All right. It is just –"

"Just what!?" She was positively seething now. "Gunther, spit it out!"

"Look, the men in there are not the most savory characters to begin with –"

"You think I do not know that?"

"Will you let me finish!"

The two of them stood glaring at each other, breathing hard for a long moment until Jane gestured curtly for him to continue.

"The men in there are not the most savory characters to begin with, and they have been on the march, or in military encampments, for a long time. Without the company of women, Jane." He watched her for a moment to see if she took his meaning before continuing. "And seeing as you… look… very nearly human tonight, I just think it would be wise for you to be very… very careful."

Jane inwardly cursed the flush that was mounting in her cheeks as she tried in vain to make sense of the fact that Gunther actually appeared to be expressing concern for her… coupled with the fact that he had just, for the first time in her life, paid her what very nearly amounted to a compliment on her appearance. It had been phrased in high Gunther-ese, of course, but… still.

She'd been feeling uncomfortable about this whole situation before. Now she felt thrown completely off-kilter.

Thank you ever so much, Gunther, for that.

She opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. And finally managed, "I appreciate your concern, but I can take care of myself." She turned toward the door.

"Can you?" Gunther wondered bitterly behind her, "with your overgrown guard dog nowhere in sight?"

Jane hissed in a furious breath. "Yes!" she snarled, and angrily yanked the door open.