"How could he?" was the question that kept repeating itself over and over again as she routinely prepared for bed. When Dragon eventually showed up, she had told him that her betrothed was Gunther, and he had the gull to laugh in her face about it. As if he were mocking the fact she didn't figure it out sooner. "Don't laugh at me, Dragon! This is serious!" He rolled his eyes, "Oh please, Jane. This is only serious if you make it serious. You short-lives and your mating rituals are overly complicated!" Jane was now in her night gown but she was far too restless to even think of sleeping. She sat on her bed with a huff, "you don't understand! I am upset because he tried to hide it from me!" Dragon had a look in his eyes that reminded her that he was hundreds of years old. "Don't take this the wrong way, Jane, but you have a tendency to act like a lunatic over certain things. You made it pretty clear that getting married was going to be one of them," he ended with a chuckle. Jane stared at him with her mouth agape, "what? So that gives him the right to lie to me?" "Did he, though?" Jane pondered Dragon's words but was feeling far too stubborn to admit defeat. "Well, at the very least he was scheming behind my back! Just look at these notes!" She stood and grabbed a few of the crumpled pages she had brought back to her tower and waved them in front of Dragon's snout. He barely looked at them, "okay, so the guy is odd, but we already knew that!" Jane wanted to scream, "this isn't 'odd,' Dragon. It's downright disturbing! Writing notes about my friends and I-" "Fine, fine, it's a little creepy but Gunther is... well, Gunther." Jane felt like she was getting the upper hand, "exactly! And Gunther isn't someone I would ever want to marry!" Dragon smirked, "and who, pray-tell, would you marry?" "No one!" Jane yelled. Although she hated how her mind briefly thought back to how flustered she had been just earlier that day. Having held Gunther's hand, looking him up and down at the harbor, practically cuddling with him during archery. She shook her head. It had all been an act, a lie. His affection toward her had been nothing but a scheme. Most likely one to try and gain the king's favor. Gunther did not love her. Dragon seemed to sense the mood-change, "Listen, Jane, I-" He paused to think about his next words, "I might not understand what you are going through, but I see it means a lot to you and..." he trailed off, thinking again of what to say. "I just want you to know I'm here for you," was his simple conclusion. Despite it's simplicity, Jane did find comfort in his words. "Thank you, Dragon. Truly. I just..." She pulled the covers of her bed open, "I wish I knew what to do." "What can you do?" He asked, genuinely curious. As Jane tucked herself into bed, she thought hard about it. Arranged marriages were a tricky thing. At this stage, her parents most likely had already signed a contract with the Breech family. So going to her parents would be a dead-end. She knew the merchant, Magnus, would never agree to break the contract unless she came up with something more valuable to him. She assumed he must have agreed to wed his only son to her because she was of nobility and had a family close to the royals. That only left Gunther himself, but he was the last person she wanted to talk to at the moment. Plus, she realized with a pang of guilt, she wasn't entirely sure how much of this situation was out of his control as well. Dragon seemed to be growing restless by her silence, "Suppose' you could ask the King? Everyone is always saying how he's in charge around here." Jane cringed at the thought of bringing such a personal matter to the king. However, it could be a last ditch effort if she couldn't figure out anything else in the meantime. She sighed before blowing out her candle, "I will think about it. Thank you, Dragon." "It's what I'm here for," he said sincerely before bidding her goodnight.
The morning came and went, and yet Jane was only just rising. She had tossed and turned all night, unable to get the awkward situation out of her mind long enough to sleep. Not only that, but despite her worrying, she still was unable to form a convicting case for herself, especially one worth the king's time. The most she could come up with was her age-old excuse that she was a knight, and thus exempt from getting married. However, knights did get married just like everyone else. Why should she be treated differently? Although she hadn't completely ruled out petitioning the King, another person did come to mind who may be able to help her. Her mentor Sir Theodor. Although she wasn't confident he could help her break contract, he would at least be able to give her neutral advice on how to best go about it. Specifically regarding the legality of it all. Fortunately, she would be heading to see him right away. Unfortunately, it was partly due to the fact she was horribly late for her squire duties. After getting dressed, she headed out into the mid morning sun. As she crossed the bridge over the training yard she glanced down at the other squires, already deep into practice. She did not see Gunther amongst them and she felt both relieved and worried by this.
Once outside Sir Theodor's office, she took a deep breath and readied herself for whatever duty he would assign her for punishment of being late. Upon entering, she found him looking out over the balcony to the training yard and the squires down below. She cleared her throat to alert him of her presence before speaking, "Good morning Sir Theodor. My apologies for over-sleeping. I had- uh- a long night." He remained facing the outdoors as he spoke, "I have been very generous, Jane, regarding your training and the sensitivity of your engagement." He slowly turned to look at her, "But how am I to train a squire who has become so consumed by it?" Jane's heart sank, "W-what? No, no! You misunderstand. My training is what consumes me, not my engagement!" Theodor sighed, "Jane, that is the issue. Nothing should consume you to the point you cannot function for either endeavor." "Oh-" Jane was cut short. "You must learn to balance both the work and the pleasure of life. One without the other will lead to self destruction." Theodor stepped closer and put a hand on her shoulder, "I understand all too well your desire to be the best knight you can possibly be. However, just as in battle, it's better to have a partner by your side. Do you not agree?" Jane cringed thinking back on all the times her and Gunther were tasked with team-building exercises and struggled. Although they always worked it out eventually, it felt like it was impossible to work with him sometimes. "But... what if you're not sure you have the right partner?" Theodor righted himself and a playful smile spread across his face, "Now Jane, do you have no faith in my ability to pick partners?" Jane took a moment to realize he was talking about squire partners and not her marriage, "N-no, I mean... maybe sometimes..." Theodor hummed, "I appreciate the honestly. I never pick squires based solely on how well they will get along. What I focus on most is the qualities they can bring out in each other." He turned back to face the training yard and Jane crept closer to do the same. He continued, "with this in mind, why do you think I partner you with Gunther so often?" Jane hated how much Gunther's name made her feel ill every time it was mentioned. Thinking of him in a good light wasn't very easy for her to do at this time. She tried to banish her current situation and solely focus on Gunther as a person, but she found herself unsure of how well she even knew him. He guarded his feeling close to his chest and kept everyone else at arms length. However, she knew she had to come up with an answer for Sir Theodor, for he was the type of person to remain silent for as long as it took to garner a response. "Gunther and I are both very talented... in different... weaponry?" She knew this response was wrong, but she was struggling to find the proper words. Theodor simply laughed at her response, "well, you could say that, yes." He cleared his throat, "you are both very different, Jane. You are passionate, carefree, and righteous. Meanwhile Gunther practices restraint, caution, and preservation." She did her best to soak in his words although she wondered where the conversation was meant to go. He turned to look at her once more, "All these are good virtues alone but can easily lead a person astray if they do not have someone there to ground and counterbalance them." Jane nodded as she started to understand the words he was saying, "I do notice that I am more focused on bettering myself when he is around..." Theodor nodded in turn, "and you help him a great deal, too, Jane. I fear he would be lost without you." "You do?" Jane was genuinely shocked by this statement. Why would Gunther be lost without her? He seemed to have his life put together pretty well from what she could tell. Although he did need help knowing right from wrong at times, he always made the right decisions in the end. Theodor interrupted her thoughts, "Tell me, Jane, do you know where Gunther is?" Jane looked back out into the training yard. With a more focused eye, she was able to confirm that Gunther, in fact, was not present amongst the other squires. "I am not sure," her response was honest, "I suppose he is helping his father with something today." Sir Theodor let out a dry hum, "I have also been very generous regarding Gunther's absences. However, today marks far too many days missed." He turned his attention back to her, "Which is why I am sending you out to find him and fetch him for me." Jane's face fell at the thought of going to see Gunther so soon after what had transpired between them last they saw each other. Sir Theodor must have seen her ill expression. He patted her shoulder, "it's important to resolve issues and not allow them to fester." She stared at him in shock, "but sir, how did you know that we... fought?" He chuckled, "my office is not far from the barn, Jane. I may be old, but my ears are still sharp." She blushed ferociously and quickly made her exit once sir Theodor dismissed her.
It turned out, finding Gunther was no simple task. She started out by asking their fellow squires about his whereabouts, but none had any clues. From there, she honestly didn't know who to ask. Gunther was an allusive man. Seeming to disappear at will sometimes for hours on end. It didn't help that, as far as she knew, there wasn't anyone he reliably informed regarding his whereabouts. Hell, if he were to die in a ditch one day, no one may even notice for quite some time. The thought saddened her but she was able to remain focused upon reminding herself that Gunther didn't have friends due to his horrible attitude. She wandered aimlessly around the castle, looking in various places she sometimes found Gunther, such as the library, the loading bay, and the shady tree just outside the castle walls. She asked anyone she came across if they had seen him, but none had. The fact no one seemed to care about where he was kept looping her mind back to her previous thoughts, "it's not like I didn't try to be his friend," she thought bitterly, "it's not my fault he's an ass." Despite her anger, she thought back to their journey for the sky leaf. They had fought back then, too. It wasn't one of their typical arguments either. It was a personal fight, one that gave her a better understanding on who Gunther was and why he did some of the things he did. Afterward, he had been so helpful and kind that day, with no hint of an ulterior motivation. She groaned, knowing that despite how mad she was at him, she still cared about him. As her anger dissipated, her worry grew. She had been searching for the biscuit weevil for several hours at this point, and yet no one she spoke to had seen him. She contemplated going all the way down to the village to see if he was, in fact, helping his father with something. However, something in her gut told her he was hiding around the castle somewhere. Before committing to the long journey to the village, she stopped to see if Pepper knew anything. The few times Gunther had hung out with her and her friends, Pepper and him seemed to get along just fine. He himself even referred to her as an "ally" in his journal. Although that was a really weird way to call someone a "friend." Nevertheless, Pepper somehow seemed to know all the gossip around the castle, despite barely ever leaving the kitchen. Lucky enough for her, Pepper was setting the table for their routine friendship dinner when she arrived. Jane got straight to business, "Pepper, have you seen-" "Gunther? I'm afraid not," she responded without looking up from the silverware she was arranging. Jane was taken aback, "how did you know I was looking for Gunther?" Pepper finally looked at her and giggled, "when will you learn how quickly word spreads in this castle?" Jane laughed uncomfortably at her joke, "well, thank you anyway. I suppose I'll get back to my search." Pepper interjected before she could leave, "has something happened, Petal?" Jane stifled a groan at how perceptive her friend could be sometimes. "Yes, and I need to speak to Gunther about it," she decided not to lie to her friend, although she hoped to keep things vague. Unfortunately, Pepper was a master at connecting dots, "this doesn't have anything to do with your engagement, does it?" Jane wasn't sure if her friend sounded shocked or giddy. "W-what, why would you think that?" Jane did her best to cover her emotions but, alas, she was terrible at hiding them. "Oh my goodness, Jane, I knew it!" Pepper rushed over frantically waving her hands arounds as if she wanted to take Jane's hands in hers but didn't want to overstep a boundary. "No, no, stop it right now!" Jane did not need the whole castle talking about the engagement before she was able to find and talk about it with her "betrothed." Pepper slapped her hands over her mouth but her smile could not be hidden, "oh please, Jane. I promise not to tell!" Jane sighed, "I... I shouldn't. Not until I find Gunther." Pepper's face fell, but it appeared to be more of worry than disappointment, "I am sorry, Jane, but I truly have no seen him. He never came for any of the meals." Jane hummed in thought. It was disheartening to learn that he never came to fetch any meals. If he was hiding out around the castle, surely he would have. Was her hunch wrong and he really was at home? It would be dark by the time she reached the village if she left at this hour. Although she usually tried to keep Dragon away from the village and the throng of easily spooked peasants, she decided it would be best to fly there if she hoped to find Gunther before the day ended. After bidding Pepper goodbye, and refusing the soup being shoved in her hands, Jane went to find her scaly friend.
Sure enough, he was hanging out in his usual spot on the wall, taking a nap. She cleared her throat and he awoke immediately, "Jane! Ready for patrol?" She shyly looked away, realizing he most have been feeling ignored all day, "Not exactly... you haven't seen Gunther by any chance, have you?" "Of course, why?" he answered without hesitation. "What? Really? Where?" Dragon seemed confused by her eagerness but he answered, "where he always goes when acting all moody." Jane waited for Dragon to continue, but he did not, "and that place would happen to be...?" "The barn," was Dragon's simple response. "I already looked there but I did not see him. Are you sure he is there?" Dragon giggled, seemingly having realized what he knew must be a secret, "There's this little hidey hole up behind the hay. Honestly, such a great spot for hide and seek if you ask me." Jane almost didn't believe what she was hearing, but she knew Dragon had nothing to gain from lying to her about this. "Really? How do you know this? he asked, genuinely curious. Dragon smirked, "Jane, I know a great many of things!" He flexed before adding, "the fact I also have incredible hearing, eyesight, and sense of smell do help." She laughed at his ridiculous dramatics, "thank you for your help, oh great, Dragon." She turned to leave and couldn't help but call back, "I promise to go on patrol with you first thing tomorrow morning!"
