A/N: Hi all!
This story is dedicated to the lovely, awesome, wonderful, brilliant writer known as Amelle Kyre! If you have not read any of her stuff, Princess Lavinia demands you go do that and then come back here. Lol, seriously! She is an amazing writer! You will not be disappointed!
You are awesome this is for you, thank you so much for being a friend!
To the rest of you, I love reviews. They keep the muses in my head fed with your kind words, suggestions, ideas and all the good constructive criticism. I have not written for JatD in a while.
English to Spanish translations were done on a free translating program. I want to thank the creators of this show and the web site Google.
Enjoy! Please leave feedback; I love it seriously means a lot! Thank you!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Jane and the Dragon. Flames will be used to light firewood and candles.
Spanish #1:English; My name is Jane Turnkey. I have come to eat fruit in your kingdom.
Spanish #2: English; My name is Jane Turnkey. I have come for the peace agreement in your kingdom.
Spanish #3:English; Very good Jane; and Are you hungry? She answers yes.
-..-..-..-..-
It had started like any other day.
Jane had awakened as usual, rubbing a sore spot just below her collarbone. Gunther had landed a hard blow the day before that had sent her sprawling on the ground resulting in his stave pointed at her throat.
Not to be outdone, Jane had grabbed her own fallen weapon and jumped to her feet.
"You must yield," Gunther started as he had easily blocked her stagger of a lunge, "I know for certain you would be gushing blood if that had been a real hit."
"Dying people can be capable of many feats," she had quipped as she circled.
"Jane," Sir Theodore's voice rung through the sparring yard, "Squire Gunther is correct. If he were to do that again, your best reaction would have been to throw your leg outwards. That way, the enemy could possibly fall on the weapon. You still would have perished however so would have the enemy."
Whilst Jane had nodded her head, Gunther had simply smirked.
The woman now mulled the lesson over in her mind as she ran a comb through her tangled hair. Though she knew her mentor had been right, conceding any sparring match to Gunther always left her feeling slightly deflated. It was as if she should have known better not to jump to her feet in such a manner. She was acutely aware that Gunther realized her mistake as well, for the smirk; though veiled by a look of concentration still lurked in his eyes.
As she exited her tower room, her resolve firmly in place she would not lose next time and make such a foolish error.
"Thank you for breakfast," Jane said as she set the empty bowl down on the kitchen counter, "It was quite good. I would ask for more though I am certain the royal children would want seconds."
A giggle escaped Pepper's lips, "His Majesty the King wanted thirds. However, I was able to stretch it out and save us second helpings as well."
The squire grinned as Pepper produced another spoonful and Jane happily hummed her favorite song as she headed towards the practice yard. Shielding her eyes from the sunlight, the female squire blinked in surprise as she did not spot Gunther anywhere in sight. Plopping down on one of the benches, Jane allowed a brief moment of rest. Figuring that Gunther would love to make his winning streak wider than her own.
"Look out!"
Quick reflexes earned her a spot on the ground as a green shadow momentarily blocked out the sun. A cough left her lips as she sat up, wiping the dirt from her face and hair out of her eyes.
"Dragon!"
A gasp, "Jane! I am so sorry! Are you hurt? Should I fetch Smithy? Can you move? Should I call for your mother?-"
"No," Jane spoke firmly as she coughed once more before getting to her feet, "I am fine. No need to send for anyone."
"Apologies Jane," Dragon said as he playfully nudged her with his snout, "I got my landing wrong."
A quirked eyebrow, "Really? At least you did not land on that part of the castle wall."
"I thought that was fixed?"
An innocent question in itself however it still sent the pair in to a fit of laughter.
"Shall we go on patrol then?"
"Indeed, climb on and we can go before he.-"
"One moment good Dragon," Jane recognized the voice straight away, "Jane needs to go over her language lessons."
"Oh come now Theo," Dragon protested as Jane slid the one leg that she had around his neck back onto the ground, "Surely one little flight would be a good thing? For the castle and the people."
"Surely," Sir Theodore replied, "I have sent squires Edward and Adam to perform a ground patrol. You can do yours later."
"But.-"
"No worries Dragon," Jane cut in before her reptilian friend truly got started with his speech, "I will fly with you later on today. I will enjoy it as always."
A grin played across her face as Dragon heaved a dramatic sigh, "Fine… Later… I will be waiting… Here… All day… For you… I'll just be on this wall…"
A chuckle and a scratch between his horns was her departing gesture that she had taken into account his theatrically spoken words.
"If you get bored keep an eye out for Gunther then," she threw over her shoulder as Dragon sighed once more. He not the only one disappointed with the morning's plans. A weight settled in her chest as she followed her instructor up to his study. Languages were another area that she could definitely use improvement. It was not that she felt herself as perfect; far from that. However, to be dealt two blows to her; one physical the other mental made her have that same feeling as the prior day. Raised in the court for most of her young life, Jane did not have the opportunity to truly hear and pick up the sounds that other people talked. Such foreigners kept to the docks, sending ahead the ambassadors who spoke their English with a thick exotic accent. As she walked, Jane mused on just how different her upbringing had been from the other squires of her rank. It was not just Gunther, though she knew he had to spend time at the docks unloading and sorting items for his father; but squires like Adam, Charles and Daniel who she would hear practicing the dialect of far off lands together. It seemed to come more naturally to them, and Jane felt no matter how hard she studied foreign languages were not her strong suit. Remembering knightly codes, tracking methods, battle tactics among others were no problem and it was this thought that gave her some ease.
'Do everything with a cheerful heart.' She thought inn her mind as she breathed the words of the old scripture.
"Mi nombre es Jane en modalidad llave en mano. ME SIENTO a comer su fruto en el Reino Unido."
"No," Sir Theodore's flat reply sounded though a small smile lifted the corners of his mouth, "Yes, your name is Jane Turnkey however you are not coming to their Kingdom to eat fruit."
"Oh," followed by a nervous laugh, "I, I am so sorry Sir Theodore. I do not know how.-"
"No matter," he said as he waved his hand, "Just try it again. You second guess yourself in languages. Do not sigh just try to speak it again."
Though her words were slow and halting she straightened and said, "Mi nombre es Jane en modalidad llave en mano. Yo vengo con el fin de firmar el acuerdo de paz."
"Muy buena Jane," Sir Theodore praised before he asked, "Si está hambriento?"
The woman furrowed her brow in concentration before replying, "Sí."
"You may go."
"Yes, Sir," she replied whilst getting to her feet, "May I ask what is after the midday meal?"
A one worded answer made Jane rush down to the kitchen for lunch, "Sparring."
It did not take long for her to finish lunch, nor for Dragon to swoop and land just shy of Smithy's forge.
"Dragon!"
"Sorry!"
"I'm sorry Smithy," Jane chuckled as Pig snorted, "I believe someone is in a hurry to leave."
"Yes, quickly before.-"
"Jane," Sir Theodore called down as her hand went to scratching in between Dragon's horns in order to prevent a reply, "Go and see if Gunther is still at the docks. If so, bring him back with you. If he is not, report back to me and then go and find him."
"Yes, Sir," she replied.
"Finally," Dragon mumbled as he started moving his wings. It was then they were off, soaring in to the sky that Jane exercised the muscles in her neck, holding on by her knees as she stretched and yawned.
"Was it a long morning?"
"Indeed," Jane's tired voice said over the wind, "Five hours of reading words I can barely speak let alone understand."
"Short lives," Dragon teased as he descended near the docks.
However, it did not take long to discover that Gunther was nowhere to be found. A quick assessment of the people milling about came up empty as well.
"He left here a half an hour ago," Gunther's father said before turning to smile at a possible customer. Though the squire gave her thanks, she doubted he heard or even cared.
Sir Theodore and Sir Ivon's reactions were unexpectedly different. Sir Theodore raised an eyebrow, and Sir Ivon seemed more cross.
"I told that lad today was very important he not be late," Sir Ivon grumbled, "You see that he gets here soon! He should have gotten his lunch at the market and.-"
"I will tell him," Jane offered before urging Dragon to take off yet again.
"That man can yell!" Dragon shouted in the wind that whipped Jane's hair off of her face.
"When he gets going…" Jane agreed as the two of them swept low over the market square. Not seeing him, they circled around and went towards Gunther's house.
"No," the maid glanced outside as she answered the hurried question, "I have not seen him since breakfast."
"Thank you," the squire smiled as the woman shut the ornate door.
"Where could he be?" Jane questioned to herself as she pulled Dragon away from eating some flowers.
"If I knew I would tell you," he answered while giving her a look, "All this flying I need to gas up."
"Alright," Jane said as she slid off his back, "I will walk; you will eat."
"We will both look for Gunther," Dragon said as Jane smiled.
"Any sign yet?"
"Not since ten minutes ago," Jane said as she was becoming more cross by the minute. The afternoon sun seem to beat down on her, only giving her shade and an ocean breeze whenever she went under a tree. It was merely when she noticed that they were entering the forest that her mood slightly lifted. It was fresher here, the trees filled with the summer leaves covering her and the salty sea breeze cooling her off. The two of them walked in silence for a moment, Jane enjoying the air and Dragon the vegetation. Her eyes scanned the ground, looking for any disturbed earth. She could not smell any unusual fires nor hear any strange sounds other than the forest. The birds chirped as normal, and nothing looked out of place.
That was why as she made her way around a large oak, Dragon behind her she almost let out a cry of surprise.
"Jane?"
It was Gunther who spoke first, jumping up so quick from the ground that he stumbled against the tree's huge trunk, "What are you doing here? How did you?-"
An infuriated expression crossed her face, "What am I doing here? What are you doing here? Sirs Ivon and Theodore have me searching the whole countryside for you! Some important.-"
Jane abruptly halted her rant as a look of shock and then horror briefly shown on Gunther's countenance.
"Bloody hell," Gunther breathed as in a quick move he was back on the ground, shoving items into a small carrying bag.
At this unexpected display Jane's heart softened, "Here, let me help.-"
"No!" the squire's shout stopped her in a half crouch beside the open bag. She watched for a moment as he shoved what looked to be loose parchment back into it.
"I am so late… Stupid… How did I forget?…"
"I have forgotten things in the past," Jane comforted as she glanced at his hands, "I will help you it will go a lot faster…"
"I said no! Why… Ah, damn!"
Stunned at his vehemence, Jane observed as he swept the ground with his eyes, followed by his hands in a circular pattern.
"Goodbye," Gunther said as in one fluid motion he shut the bag and rose to his feet.
"It will be faster if! Gunther, wait! Gunther!"
'Has he gone mad?' Jane thought as she ran down the path, "Dragon and I can fly you back to the castle! Gunther!"
"I never said I would fly.-"
"Not now Dragon," Jane interrupted her friend she trying to remember when the last time it was she had ever seen Gunther run with such haste.
"What was that about?" Dragon continued as Gunther's pounding footsteps quickly faded, "He acted like he had never seen us before."
Jane bit her lip and sighed, "I suppose we can head back to the castle. I do hope Gunther is alright. Such odd…"
Her voice trailed off as something fluttered past her in the wind. Seeing it as one of the lose pieces of parchment, Jane quickly snatched it out of the air.
"Do you see any more of them?"
"No," Dragon replied as Jane did a slower and more thorough search of the ground. All she found was a broken quill pen. Another sigh escaped her lips as she placed the items in her pocket before getting on Dragon.
"These are most likely his studying notes," Jane mused as Dragon flew, "He must have gotten distracted studying."
Though it did not seem like her fellow squire to do so, Jane could not help a small smile leaving her lips. Digging the piece of parchment out of her pocket, the squire unfolded it. Being well familiar with one another's hand writing, Jane could easily recognize Gunther's hurried script.
She could also read the first line and she knew right away these were not study notes. They were just four words, yet why did they send her heart leaping into her throat? Why did her breath hitch suddenly? Why, when they could be about anyone or anything?
Love her emerald eyes.
-…-…End of chapter 1….-…-