Jane entered the barn and called out Gunther's name but got no response. "I know you are in here! Please come out, this is silly!" Still no response. With a sigh, she headed toward the ladder that lead to the upper rafters where the hay was stored. Peeking her head over the platform, she still didn't see anyone. Was this a prank Dragon was playing? She heaved the rest of the way up the ladder and onto the hay covered wood. She recalled Dragon saying something about the hiding place being behind the hay. With this in mind, she grabbed hold of the rope wrapped around the nearest bale and pulled. Hay was shockingly heavier than it looked and she knew it would take forever to find the exact spot he was hiding. She decided to try again to coax out her fellow squire, "Gunther?... Listen, I came to apologize for my behavior yesterday. I admit I am still upset but we need to talk." She waited in baited breath and just as she was about to start moving hay again, she heard a muffled voice, "If you are expecting an apology back, prepare to be disappointed." Jane breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing his voice. Although she knew she should not, she had already begun to feel guilty that something terrible had happened to him. His snark response at least let her know he wasn't beyond being reasoned with. "Alright. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, won't you come out?" There was another drawn out pause before he spoke, "Not right now." Jane felt like this was an odd response for him to give, "what do you mean? Is everything alright?" There was no hesitation with his next words, "oh, so now you suddenly care about me?" Jane was slightly taken aback, although she should have expected this. "Gunther, of course I care about you! We are... friends... are we not?" Gunther said something in response but Jane was unable to hear. Tired of begging, Jane got back to work trying to move the hay out of her way. "Ugh, go away, Jane. I'm not... up to it," his words grew softer as he spoke. Jane could tell now that he was actually upset, so she contemplated leaving him alone to argue another day. She shook her head and begun pulling on the hay once more, "no way, Gunther Breech. You had your time for secrets, now I want answers!" After a moment, she heard him groan dramatically, "Fine! Fine. You annoying little-" He cut himself off and she heard movement from the other side of the hay. A thud was heard from down below as she assumed he jumped down from a different opening. She retreated back down the ladder to meet him below, and what she saw shocked her. Despite the dark shadows being cast in the barn from the setting sun outside, she could plainly see the huge bruising and swelling around Gunther's right eye. "W-what on earth happened?" She rushed over to him, which in turn caused him to take a step back. She took the hint and backed off, ashamed to think he may have been worried about another slap. The thought made her all the more worried, "I didn't do that, did I?" "No! This was... something else," his words were hallow and void of emotion. Jane did her best to recall the incident they had, and was relieved to remember she had slapped him upon his left cheek. His wound resembled that of being punched in the right eye. "Can I...?" she crept closer with her hand reaching for his eye. "Why?" he asked while pulling back. He had an edge to his voice. "Because I want to help!" Jane scolded him, beginning to lose her patience. "There is nothing to be done! It is a black eye! Touching it will only hurt!" he snapped back. She huffed in an attempt to calm herself. She was losing him and she didn't want him wandering off before she found out what happened. "Gunther, please. We can wash it and find something to apply to it to help the pain." He thought for a moment, "no thank you. I do not need people spreading rumors." These words made Jane's mind turn on who could have done this. Gunther was prideful and stubborn, yes, but he was never one to refuse medical treatment... unless he was trying to protect the person who created the wound in the first place. Jane extended her hand toward his, "Come. No one will find out. I promise." Gunther hesitated before accepting her hand. "if you insist," he grumbled.
When they exited the barn, there was still light out but it would be gone quickly, for the sun had just set. Jane lead Gunther across the, now empty, training yard and up the stairs to her tower. She had a basin of water and a few dried herbs that she could use to tend to his eye without anyone asking questions. However, as she reached for her door, Gunther released her hand, "what are you doing? I can't go in there." His voice was a harsh whisper. Jane looked at him puzzled, "why not? I can tend to your wound without anyone seeing it. That is what you want, correct?" Gunther rolled his eyes, "Jane, you can't be serious. If word gets out the we were in your room together, alone..." he trailed off and allowed her to put the pieces together herself. Jane did feel slightly embarrassed that she had overlooked the inappropriate implications of the situation in her hast to tend to Gunther's wound. Nevertheless, inappropriate as it may be, Jane found it to be silly. "Have you forgotten that we have camped out with each other on missions before? We have seen each other in our nightwear and have even slept in the same tent." Despite the supposed absurdity, they still both talked in hushed voices, in fear someone may overhear them. Gunther seemed to lack a good comeback to her reasoning, "T-this is different." It was Jane's turn to roll her eyes, "you seem to also have forgotten we are currently betrothed. People supposedly expect us to share a home in the near future. Why would it matter if we were in the same room at the same time now?" They both starred daggers at each other in silence as neither seemed to know how to continue the conversation. Eventually, fed up with the interaction, Jane went ahead and opened the door and walked into her room. She left the door open as a silent invite for him to come inside. Sure enough, her planned worked and Gunther found himself following after her, mumbling a few swears along the way. He gently closed the door behind him and stood awkwardly in the doorway as Jane busied herself with finding a rag for the water. Once found, she grabbed the water basin and put it on the floor near the fireplace. She added some fuel to the wanning flames before sitting back down onto the rug and pulling the water basin closer, "are you going to stand there all night?" Her tease brought him out of whatever trance he was in, "sorry, I was just in shock at how filthy this room is." She scuffed, "will you just get over here, magot breath!" There was no real malice between their teases, and that put Jane at ease. As he settled on the floor in front of her, she was able to take a better look at his bruise in the fire's light. It wasn't the worst black eye she had ever seen. It looked like it would heal nicely in a few days time. However, it looked undeniably painful. Shades of purple surrounded the eye and it faded out into red. The eye was halfway swollen but not completely shut. She dipped the rag in the cool water and raised her hand to his eye. He flinched away slightly, but seemed to catch himself and draw back in. She very lightly dabbed the area as she looked over his other features. He's eyes were dark and heavy, his hair slightly ruffled, and his clothes smelled of the barn and sweat. "You look horrible. More than usual," her tease came out softer than she intended. "Meanwhile, you still look as horrible as ever," he smirked and she playfully shoved his shoulder. "Shut it before I kick you out!" She got up and fetched a small container of honey and a stem of dried peppermint. She then applied a light coat onto his swollen eye before prompting him to eat the peppermint. With the task of men complete, Jane took a deep breath before asking the question that had been nagging her the second she saw the bruise "who did this to you, Gunther?" He averted his eyes, "it does not matter." Jane let out an exasperated breath, "of course it matters! Whoever it is needs to be brought to justice!" These must have been the wrong words to say, for Gunther promptly stood up and begun heading for the door, "This is none of your business!" She rushed after him, blocking his exit, "yes it is my business! We still haven't discussed the subject of marriage, and if you want a shot at marrying me, I need to know who did this." Gunther's hands clenched and unclenched a few times as he studied her face, "surely you already know. Let's drop the subject of my eye." Jane was not happy with that answer but she needed to tread carefully to keep him from running off. "Very well. Tell me how long you knew about the engagement then," she spoke firmly. Surprisingly, he responded right away, "Since the ball," was his simple answer. "S-since the ball? That was ages ago!" she felt her anger returning, "is that why you kissed me?" Gunther waved his hands dismissively, "no, no, I found out after he ball... right after." This only further pushed questions into her mind, "then why did you kiss me?" Her voice was quieter now. Why was she bringing this up? This wasn't part of her list of interrogation questions. She thought this was all behind her, but something in her subconscious held onto it. Gunther turned back toward the room to pace a bit, "I-I honestly don't know why I did that!" Jane marched over to meet him in the middle of the room, "yes you do, Gunther Breech! There was something about that evening that made my mother feel as if we were perfect for each other! What did you say to her?" "That I love you!" he blurted out the words and seemed to instantly regret doing so. He averted her gaze and stood stiff as a board, "there, are you happy? I said it." Jane's world spun but she kept herself upright. After a moment of awkward silence, she let out a dry laugh, "no you don't... do you? I-I mean I'm flattered, honestly, I just- um, I don't understand..." she rambled before trailing off. Gunther turned his eyes back to her, "what do you mean? What is therenotto love?" His tone implied this was meant as an insult but his mask was slipping. Jane could tell he meant it. She fiddled with the hem of her outfit as he continued, "you are the most talented and courageous woman in this entire kingdom! You ride dragons, you are a master at the sword, you are- you areeverything!And it drives me insane!" His face was bright red with wither anger or embarrassment. Jane was left stunned. Although some may think he was being insulting and sarcastic in this moment, Jane felt like she had just received the greatest compliment in the world. There was a vulnerability in his eyes. Vulnerability she only saw a handful of times. This wasn't just a compliment, this was a confession of love and admiration. "You are not lying?" she whispered. The thought that this may all be and an elaborate ruse gnawed away at her. He looked like a caged animal, frantically looking around from side to side, as if searching for the right answer to her question. He gulped, "No... how do I prove it to you?" "Kiss me," she spoke the words without thinking. "What?" he asked genuinely. Despite a brief moment of second guessing herself, she could not back out now, "I said..." she stepped closer so their faces were mere inches apart, "kiss me." He laughed awkwardly. His mask was completely gone and the smile he had been hiding crept onto his face, "Um- alright." He gently cupped her face in his hands and tilted it slightly before closing the distance between them. Jane melted into his arms and she let out an embarrassing moan as his lips gently pressed against hers. Gunther smiled over her mouth and soon moved to pepper her cheek with kisses, quickly making his way to her ear. She laughed as his breath tickled her ear lube and she playfully struggled against him as he held her tighter due to her squirming. His hand drifted to her curly hair and anchored itself there, pulling her head back and exposing her neck which he then begun to lick and suck. Her breath hitched in her throat as her mind grew fuzzy. This was getting out of control and yet the thought of stopping him pained her. Nevertheless, they were not yet married and she needed to keepsomeof her dignity. "G-Gunther, we- AHa, sh-should sto-" As if on cue, there was a knock at the door.