Disclaimer: I do not own Jane and The Dragon, they belong to their respective owners

Chapter Six

An Announcement

The Merchant was up to something, a plot brewing in his scheming mind. Gunther was certain of that as he watched his father walk out of the house humming a lewd song he only ever heard from drunken sailors in the tavern. Gunther was baffled, he could have sworn his father almost had a spring in his step. Almost. Either that or his father's knees were causing him some discomfort once again.

He should not be so fat, should he? And all that drinking is not doing him any good. A small voice scoffed in Gunther's mind but he was more occupied at the fact that his father had not said a word to him. It was not like he craved his father's attention, far from it, but it set Gunther on edge that his father had not so much as uttered a word to him for the past few days since their last rather explosive argument. Magnus had not once pestered him to amend the mess he caused with the Fairchilds, in fact, he was sure his father had been giving him a wide berth.

His father, it seemed had been ignoring him on purpose, even when Gunther came home late one night. Normally, Magnus would be up waiting for him ready to give Gunther an earful but to his surprise Magnus was already in his room, his loud snoring rattling the house. It was not only that, for the past few days Magnus had been out the house before Gunther himself had even gotten out of bed. Normally it was Gunther who would be up first up in the morning, waiting for his father at the dining table, their breakfast laid out for them. His father had always insisted that they have breakfast together but Gunther suspected that it was an excuse for Magnus to lecture him about something or rather he did wrong and how disappointed his father was at his actions.

And to add to his father's odd behaviour of late, just yesterday Gunther spotted his father and Lord Stephen at the dock beside one of the latter's trading vessels, talking in hushed tones with no apparent tension between the two men despite the fact that Gunther had upset Lord's Stephen's precious daughter.

What exactly was Magnus up to? What hare-brained scheme was he plotting this time? All this sneaking around Magnus was doing unsettled Gunther and he did not like the glint in his father's beady eyes. He had an inkling whatever his father's plan was it had something to do with him, especially since he was adamant to marry Gunther off for his advantage. He knew Magnus will not let the opportunity of a large dowry to fund his money making schemes slide pass and he knew Magnus will sell Gunther's soul to the devil if he must. He could not quite put a finger on it but he was certain this plan Magnus was brewing, it was the Merchant's most ambitious plot yet.

Yes, whatever his father was plotting, it is going to be big and most likely destructive especially the way he hummed and the confidence swagger in Magnus' steps this morning Gunther was certain of this.

So he needs to be alert to be able to thwart his father's scheme the moment he gets a wind of it Gunther pondered, his breakfast forgotten and untouched as he pulled himself out of his chair and made his way to the Castle.

He just hoped he was not too late to put a stop to his father's plan.

Jane revelled at the cool wind on her face and the rush of flight as she and Dragon soared through clouds and skimmed over treetops on their early morning patrol. Despite these flights being duty-bound, Jane savoured these kinds of moments with Dragon since they no longer spend as much time together as they used to especially now she was a Knight.

She was a Knight, that particular fact still made Jane smile every time it crossed her mind and absentmindedly placed a hand on the hilt of her sword as if to remind herself that it was not a dream. But due to her duties as a knight, she does not spend as much time with Dragon as she would have liked and up here amongst the clouds it was a time to momentarily forget her duties and just spend time with her favourite green lizard. It was not like they no longer see one another, Dragon spends most of his time at the Castle either cheering her on, making crude jokes or just napping. He was always somewhere near her, and when he was not Jane was sure that he would either be in his cave or amusing himself with the cows.

The beating of Dragon's strong wings reverberated inside her as they made their final circuit around the Kingdom's borders when Dragon's very keen vision spotted something below. "Jane, isn't that your father?"

Jane squinted her eyes at what Dragon was pointing out and it was indeed her father as she caught a glimpse of her father's green robes by the Castle gates. "What is father doing with the Merchant?"

"I don't know." Dragon shrugged indifferently but Jane knew he was still frosty when it came to the Merchant. But Jane could not blame him, especially when the Merchant seemed to have an ongoing campaign against Dragon and is always plotting to try and get rid of Dragon somehow or another. Of course, all his efforts were futile since the King himself is rather fond of Dragon.

"As far as I know all the Merchant's shipment came on time for this month." Jane mused as she watched her father and The Merchant shook hands, the latter thumping her father heavily on the back accompanied by that obnoxious laugh of his, her father swaying on impact slightly. Her father gave a hesitant laugh as he straightened his robes before he ushered the Merchant towards the castle.

Dragon circled the Castle before he readied himself on the landing muttering to himself "Tail up, claws down."

Sometime later, both Jane and Gunther appeared to have forgotten the Merchant's presence at the Castle as they helped two young squires with their sword fighting. The two brothers, William and Gregory, who were always at odds with each other had their backs pressed together as Jane and Gunther circled them, their wooden swords at the ready and the two young squires mirrored the two knights albeit with small hesitant steps.

Jane was first to attack and William managed a strong parry but ended up elbowing Gregory in the back who in turn tripped over his own feet and sent both brothers tumbling and landing heavily on their backsides. Jane and Gunther both looked at one another in mirth, a familiar scene took them back to their own days as squires when Sir Theodore and Sir Ivon spent many days teaching to fight as one and now it was their turn to teach the younger ones.

"The two of you need to fight as one." Jane said gently at the bickering brothers, echoing what Sir Theodore used to always say to them. It was a part of their knightly duty to train the younger squires while Sir Theodore and Sir Ivon trained the slightly older ones the finer points of the Knight's code.

"He always gets in the way!" William accused his younger twin with a dark glare.

"I did not, it was you who elbowed me!" Gregory equally defended and both brothers stared at one other, their fist curling tightly a sign of a fight brewing.

"You must learn to trust each other, like the way you trust your sword arm lads. It may very well save your lives on the battlefield." Gunther instructed, gritting his teeth unable to tolerated another fight between the brothers. They were notorious when it came to fighting, anything one say the other will throw a punch willy-nilly, and today Gunther did not want to break up yet another fight.

"I can fight better on my own!" William insisted, stamping his feet childishly.

"You need to work together, boys." Jane gave them a stern look.

"You two always used to fight." Gregory narrowed his eyes in disbelief, William nodding eagerly in agreement.

"We did, I will not deny that, but we did not throw punches like children." Jane sighed, looking at Gunther who shrugged his shoulders.

"You insulted each other instead."William scoffed.

"Lady Jane and I sorted out our difference and we learnt to trust each other, that was the only way we could have learnt. I trust Lady Jane with my life." Gunther responded and Jane could not help but smile at what Gunther said as she remembered the numerous times where Gunther had truly saved her life. But the one that stuck in her memory was when they travelled all the way up to the mountain to fetch a cure for Dragon's curly tail. If it wasn't for Gunther's quick reaction she would have fallen down the ravine to her painful death. She always owed Gunther for that and she knew she has yet to repay him for it. Certainly, they insulted each other walking up that mountain but when he pulled her from the edge of the ravine she saw a glimmer of something in his cool eyes she could not quite put a finger on but from that day on she knew they had some sort of odd loyalty to one another, and it had nothing to do with the Knight's Code.

"And I trust Sir Gunther with mine." Jane said softly.

"Right," Gunther cleared his throat avoiding to look into Jane's eyes as he pointed his wooden sword at the squires "take your position."

"JAAA-AAAY-NEEE!" The Lady-in-Waiting's shrill call echoed around the Castle. Jane looked at the two squires and the entrance of the barn, briefly calculating how long it will take for her to run into the barn before her mother saw her, but alas before she could even take a step her mother rounded the corner with a scolding glare and her hands on her hips.

"Jane, you are required in the Great Hall." Adeline said sternly "You too Sir Gunther."

"Why?" Jane quizzed and her fellow knight looked equally puzzled.

"There is an announcement to make." Adeline merely said, this time a lot gentler and her scalding glare softening.

"You are dismissed. We will pick this up later." Gunther said to the young squires who immediately run out of the courtyard with glee. Jane shook her head at their childish antics and both knights followed her mother obediently.

"Do you have any idea what this is about?" Jane whispered softly to Gunther, careful that her mother will not overhear them.

"No."

"Your father was here this morning."

"What has that got to do with anything?" Gunther narrowed his eyes at the accusing tone in Jane's voice. He knew his father was in the Castle, he briefly saw him walking with the Chamberlain but he thought it had something to do with the latest shipment and did not think too much about it. But now, with Jane looking at him as if he knew something he was not telling her his instinct was telling him that he might just get a whiff of whatever his father was planning.

"Nothing. I just saw him with my father 'tis all." Jane shrugged innocently as her mother ushered them into the Great Hall.

The session, whatever it was supposed to be about, was already full swing and they caught snippets about the rebellion in a neighbouring kingdom and the fear that it may spread to their border but Sir Theodore and the King quickly assured the concerned nobility that the kingdom will be defended appropriately from any unrest.

"Now, onto a much more pleasant matter. I have an announcement to make." The King smiled at the changed of topics and the nobility whispered amongst themselves fervently and the King let them do so for a moment.

Gunther spotted his father near the front of the gathered audience who nodded at the king with false respect. He knew his father thought the king was too soft especially when the latter seemed so fond of Jane and Dragon. It irked Magnus to know that whatever campaign he makes against Dragon, the king will never banish Jane's companion.

"On behalf of the Merchant Breech and the Chamberlain Turnkey, I am very pleased to announce the betrothal of two of my most talented knights Lady Jane and Sir Gunther." The King announced beaming widely as the Great Hall turned so quiet one would hear a pin drop, and as if time slowed down all eyes turned to the back of the Hall and stared curiously at the two knights who stood with their mouths agape, the King's words sinking into them.

The whole court watched as the colour drained away from both knights, and as if they were in-synced they both turned their heads and looked at one another silently.

And as if the magic snapped the moment their eyes met, all hell broke lose.

"YOU! I will never marry you! Never!" Both young knights exclaimed in unison as they stared each other down in front of the whole court their hands on the hilt of their sword.

Edited: 13.04.17

Review please! A slightly shorter chapter this time, what do you guys think? Cookies to those who reviewed, you know who you are! Thank you for reviewing, it means so much to me! ^_^ I shall update as soon as I can x