Jane wasn't sure what to expect from the stall Gunther had in mind. They had spent nearly every day with each other for a couple years now, but she wouldn't say they talked about their casual interests often. There was always the possibility he'd take her to a dress shop just to mock. She did her best to follow him through the throng of people and temper her growing anxiety. She had glanced at a passing wagon for only a moment and when she looked back, he was gone. She groaned, knowing it would take forever to find him in this mess. After calling his name to no aval, she weighed her options on whether just to return to the castle, knowing she'd see him there at some point. Before she came to a decision, her hand was captured by another. She was startled by the contact and looked to see who the cuprite was and was relieved to see it was Gunther. "Try not to get lost," he sounded annoyed. She shot back, feeling equally annoyed, "You know that I am not familiar with the village. You should take other people into consideration sometime!" "Why do you think I came back for your whiney highness?" he snapped before yanking her forward. She tried to protest but knew she would get lost again if she did. She wasn't sure if Gunther was still taking her to the stall or not but she was too curious to pass up the prospect. As they weaved through the crowd, Jane became fixated on their joined hands. They had held hands before for a multitude of reasons. This wasn't any different. Nope. No different. Yet her stomach felt like it was going to explode. His hands were callused and they held hers tightly, protectively. Was she sick? Her face was warm again and her knees felt weak. She tried to rationalize a reason for these new emotions, yet she knew it all started after the kiss shared at the ball. He released her hand as they came to a stop in front of a stall, "Don't take too long. We need to get back to the castle." Her feelings of sickness were gone the second his hand left hers. She wanted to feel relieved but she didn't. Gunther hadn't looked at her once since dragging her here. She wanted to call him out on it but decided she might as well look at what the vendor had to offer. She was disappointed at first. It appeared to be a normal jewelry stall and she didn't wear jewelry often. However, upon closer inspection, she realized most of the ornaments had carvings and symbols that resembled dragons. The salesmen must have heard her gasp because he quickly rushed to greet her, "Good afternoon my lady! Welcome to the only kingdom known to house the fabled beast of power and magic, the dragon!" She barely paid attention to his sales pitch. He obviously thought she was from out of town and was looking for a dragon themed souvenir. Nevertheless, it was iconic that she was not aware there were merchants in town that marketed off her unique friendship with the "fabled beast". It made sense, in hindsight. The kingdom was known for it's dragon. People came from far and wide hoping to get a glimpse of said dragon. However, few got to see him up close and personally. These silly trinkets must be the second best thing for many. "I notice your eye lingering on my gold dragon ouroboros ring," the vendor hummed happily as he held it out for her to hold. It was a simple ring depicting a small carving of a dragon head eating it's own tail, which formed the loop required for a ring. It was more subtle than some of the other loud and tacky items at the booth. Although Jane was not a subtle personality, she didn't care for flashy clothing or accessories. Anything big and bulky felt cumbersome to wear and usually just got in the way of her training. She subconsciously put the ring on to try out it's size. To her excitement, it was almost a perfect fit. Nothing Smithy couldn't tweak to perfection. "How much is this?" she asked. "Excellent choice, my lady! All rings are hand-made by yours truly, and as you can see, are each unique from each other-" Jane knew the number was going to be large based on his speech alone. What else did she expect from someone selling to tourists? "But for such a bright woman, as yourself, I will sell this ring to you for twenty shillings!" Jane instantly put the ring down. She did not have that kind of money to throw around on a silly little ring, "Ah, never mind then. Thank yo-" She wasn't able to finish her sentence before Gunther made himself known, "That's funny, I saw you sell a girl a ring twice that size for fifteen shillings yesterday." He drew closer to the stand with his arms crossed. The merchant looked startled, obviously not realizing the "sweet girl" he was talking to wasn't alone. He stammered but Gunther cut him off, "Seeing as this ring isn't even half the size, and the other was already down by five shillings, I will take it for ten shillings." This snapped the merchant out of his momentary shock, "That's outrageous!" He cleared his throat and returned to his happier tone, "Listen, since you drive a hard bargain, I'll sell it to you for the original fifteen shillings." Gunther scoffed, "twelve, take it or leave it." Gunther's arm crossed over Jane to her opposite shoulder and begun to turn her around. Seeing them leave must have panicked the merchant, "alright, alright! Twelve shillings!" Gunther turned back around with his signature grin, "I am so glad we could come to an agreement." As the merchant begun to rummaged for his scales, Jane grabbed her partner by the arm and whispered, "But Gunther, I don't have twelve shillings on my person!" He waved her off, "Please Jane, this is nothing." Jane stood in stunned silence as Gunther paid for the ring. He may have said it was "nothing" but twelve shillings could be considered a staggering amount by many. Jane wasn't sure how to interrupt this grand display of generosity. His nice deeds had been piling up, yes, but this was too much. His grievances were long paid for and now she feared she would be in his dept after all this. Was that his plan all along? To continue this charade until the tables turned in his favor? She hated to be so pessimistic about it, yet it worried her nevertheless.

With the newly purchased ring in hand, Gunther took her left hand and slipped it onto her ring finger. Jane felt instantly flustered at the gesture. Surely he knew the left ring finger was for wedding bands, right? She laughed a bit, knowing it had to have been a mistake on his part. His hand lingered on hers, though. His thumb rubbed the ring and his brows were creased in thought. The moment became too over whelming for Jane and she snatched her hand away. She gave a flustered goodbye to the merchant as they left. They walked in silence for an uncomfortable amount of time after that. Jane thought he would have said something by now. Maybe rubbed the purchase in her face, demand a "thank you," or something! Jane did end up mumbling a simple "thank you," but only received a nod in return. Something was wrong. She hated how many times that thought crossed her mind over the last few days. Despite everything seemingly going well, every interaction she had with Gunther left her with unease. She continued to fiddle with the ring on her hand until they neared the castle walls. There, Jane stopped, fully fed up with all her uncertainties. Gunther strode a few paces in front of her before noticing she was no long next to him, "What?" The question had a bite to it, which only further fueled Jane's suspicions. "What do you mean 'what?' You bought me an expensive ring and then acted like nothing happened!" He turned to fully face her, "You wanted it, did you not?" She met his intense stare without fear, "Gunther, you don't buy stuff like this for friends! I know you have money but I can't help but feel... there's something you're not telling me..." Her voice grew softer as she trailed off. She hadn't intended for this to have turned into a fight. If she wanted answers, she needed to calm down. He opened his mouth to respond but closed it. His jaw was clenched and his eyes averted her gaze. He looked so conflicted in this moment, Jane struggled to know what to do. She stepped a little closer and kept her voice evening, "Gunther, I'm sorry. It's just... you have not been acting yourself lately. I forgive you for what you did at the ball and I want you to know that you no longer need to appease me for forgiveness." His eyes met hers again and it was her turn to look down, unable to handle the awkwardness. When she did, she glanced at the ring on her hand before taking it off and handing it to him. "And I do, so very much appreciate this gift, but understand that I cannot accept it, in good faith." She went to step back but was stopped when Gunther grabbed her wrist, "No, Jane." He slipped the ring back onto her left ring finger. He then held her hand so tightly that it slightly hurt. He stared at their conjoined hands with the same look of deep thought that he had back in the market place. She remained quiet as she waited for him to collect his thoughts. Finally, he looked up, "Jane, listen... there is something we need to discuss-"

"GUNTHER!" The booming voice of Sir Ivon bounced off the walls of the castle as he rapidly approached. They both jumped away from each other as if they were caught doing something sinful. "There you are, lad! What's this? You aren't even dressed yet?!" He dramatically looked back and forth between the two of them, presumably expecting an explanation from someone. Jane jumped to Gunther's defense, "the fault is mine, Sir Ivon. Gunther was helping me with something and we lost track of time." Ivon huffed before turning his attention back to his squire, "Well, your father is a wee bit pissed off about something ya did, my lad." He used his broad arms to violently turn Gunther around and shoved him forward to get him walking. "It'll be stable duty for you today!" Jane wanted to call out and stop them from leaving, but feared getting Gunther in more trouble. With his father absent that day, she wondered what could have made him upset, or how he would know about it. She sighed and turned her attention back to the ring on her finger,"will things ever be normal again?"