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echoingvoids · 7 days ago

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Told Me So pt. 2 (Jetra)

Masterlist Request a Oneshot

Oh my gosh I forgot to post this here I have gotta stop that.

You need to have read part one to know what's going on here. This is gonna be painful (I had a hard time writing it honestly).

It'll work out in the end, I promise.

Word Count: 6,200

TW: Mentions/discussions of 'grape', swearing, sexual themes, descriptions of violence.

"You shouldn't be here." The words slipped from Petra's mouth the second Jack's feet hit the floor, a phrase she'd never thought she'd have to say to him.

"Well excuse me. I couldn't sit around for another month waiting for you to come find me, which you clearly have no intention of ever doing," he crossed his arms. "What the hell happened, Petra? What happened to our plans? I heard from the people in town what's going on--you've settled and seem content."

She pressed her lips together, debating what to say. "I'm...I'm not going with you, Jack."

"Beg your pardon?"

"I'm not going with you," she repeated, more firmly. "I've decided I'm going to stay here in Beacontown and--"

"And stay married with Jesse," Jack scoffed. "Why? He has nothing to offer you, Petra, and knows nothing about you. Or was the sex just that good?"

"There's way more to him than that, Jack!" She snapped, barely realizing just how angry that statement had made her. "He's smart and he's kind and respectful. He's got a nice smile and an even better laugh and finds amusement in such little, random things. He may not be the tough, brave adventurer that you are, Jack, but he's brave in his own right."

Jack was shaking his head. "So you forget about me? You took some wild chance on this guy, decided you liked him, and threw six years of love and friendship out the window?"

"No, Jack, because part of me does still love you and probably always will," she sighed. "What we had...have is love in the dark and I just...don't want to sneak around anymore. Things here...things are actually far better here than I ever thought they would be. I want to stay, Jack."

The man visibly deflated, running a hand over his face. "Never thought that's something I'd hear you say. This man, this...Jesse...he better be all you're saying he is. Because once I walk out of here, I'm not coming back and if it comes out that he's something God-awful--"

"Then I'll take matters into my own hands. You don't owe me anything, Jack. Never. Not your help, not your forgiveness, you don't owe me a thing."

He crossed the space between them, looking at her with a rather sad expression. "I know I don't. I forgive you regardless."

She stood frozen as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head before he turned and made his way back to the window. Just as he was going to climb through, she took a step forward. "Wait. What are you going to do now?"

He paused. "I haven't decided yet. Met this villager-guy named Nurm. Apparently he makes maps and owns the rights to some building in the part of town called 'Bad Luck Alley'. Might open up a shop there with him. I might leave. Dunno."

She nodded slowly. "Well...good luck in whatever you decide to do."

"Same to you, Lady Petra."

Something about him using her title stung, but she simply pressed her lips together and watched him climb out her window for the last time. The sense of finality was overwhelming and as soon as he was gone, she carefully shut the windows. Then she dropped onto the bed and put her face in her hands, suddenly feeling conflicted. She had made the right choice, she figured, but losing Jack still hurt like a stab wound.

She ended up staring at the ceiling for hours. The dawn eventually crept in and she just gave up and got out of the bed.

Jesse had never come back.

He couldn't bring himself to go up there.

Any other man would've barged up there, demanded answers, and punished people accordingly. Jesse couldn't even get halfway up the stairs before turning around, feeling sick.

Some man he was.

He sat at the bottom of the stairs for a few hours, a war of conflicting emotions raging through him like a hurricane. Part of him desperately wished he had imagined the whole thing, but he knew he hadn't, and that thought made everything worse. He had trusted her and she took advantage of it.

He wondered how long this had been going on for. Since they got here? The past two weeks? Or was this something from before they got married, someone from her town? That was the most likely, and it just reminded him of how she had threateningly said she would not marry him, how everyone had a choice.

So this strange man had been part of the picture all along. He must've been her secret lover before Lord Soren arranged this marriage and she clearly had intentions to be with the stranger. Still, why did she have to decide to play Jesse on the side? What had he done to deserve her playing with his emotions like this? If she really didn't give a shit about him, and just wanted to be with the stranger, she could've at least had the decency to not drag Jesse into it.

The baron never managed to get up those stairs. He ended up avoiding that hallway entirely. Avoided Petra too, like a plague. Didn't even see her. The second day, he slept in the stable. The third day, too. His servants tried to question him but after he snapped at them, they kept quiet.

He felt kind of bad about that. They had nothing to do with this mess and taking out his emotions on them was uncalled for. He apologized shortly after.

Apparently Petra had been looking for him. It became like a game of cat and mouse. If he heard her footsteps, he'd slip out of the room another way. He didn't go anywhere he couldn't escape easily. It was just simpler to avoid the issue, something he'd never thought he'd have to do.

On the fourth day, he got caught. He had been training at a late evening hour, and didn't hear her approaching. "Jesse."

He froze mid-swing, and after a moment, resumed training like he hadn't heard her. She strode across the space into his line of vision. "Jesse, I know you heard me."

Again, he didn't respond, focusing instead on the wooden blade whacking against the cloth dummy. He heard her sigh in frustration and as he lifted his arm to swing again, she was suddenly there, grabbing his wrist. Just the feel of her calloused fingers on his skin was enough to send memories of the past month cascading through his head. Every smile, laugh, and kiss raced through his mind like a flash and he found that he couldn't bring himself to rip his arm out of her grasp like he should.

So instead, he finally met her eyes.

His detached expression quickly turned to one of concern and confusion despite himself when he saw her face. Her eyes held this sort of understanding that sent some sort of fear through him and then he realized something else--she was trying not to cry.

She let go of his arm and before he could do anything, she turned and dashed to the house, a door slamming behind her, making him flinch. He stood there a moment, stunned, unsure of what to do, his arms hanging loosely at his sides. Then he quietly put the training sword away and left the courtyard.

He didn't bother with the barn that night. No, he instead locked himself in his office and didn't dare leave.

Bang bang bang! "Emerald Baron, sir!" Bang bang bang! "Emerald Baron!"

BANG BANG BANG! "SIR, ITS AN EMERGENCY!"

Jesse came crashing across his office, scattering scrolls and other things on the floor, scrambling to unlock the door. He yanked it open to find Radar standing there. "Is Petra okay?! Is there a fire?! Who's hurt?! What is it?!"

God, he had asked about her without realizing it.

Radar's eyes were three times larger than usually. "That's why I'm here, Baron, sir! Lady Petra...she's gone!"

Jesse felt his heart drop into his stomach, and he gasped out, "What?"

Radar motioned for him to follow, and the baron did, up the stairs to their room. Several of her things were gone, including her prized sword 'Miss Butter' and Jesse couldn't help the sense of dread spreading in his stomach. "No. No, Notch, please no."

Radar pointed to the desk. "I-I found a letter addressed to you. I didn't read it, I promise!"

Jesse forced himself to cross the space, forced his fingers to grasp the edge of the paper. He recognized Petra's handwriting immediately, and with a shaky breath, he began to read.

Jesse,

By the time you'll probably see this, I'll be long gone. Leaving like this was not a decision made lightly, I assure you, and I think I know what caused the rift between us. And even though I've left, I owe you an explanation.

The man you saw at the window; his name is Jack Malura. He's an old friend and...lover of mine. When I was first told I was to be married, he and I made plans to escape. Even when I met you, I had still intended to leave with him, at least for a little while.

Please don't get the wrong idea. I left completely by myself. I have no idea where Jack is now, but he sure as hell isn't with me.

Truth is, Jesse--I've fallen for you. So hard and way too fast and it scares the living shit out of me. Lady Ellegaard, who you know is practically my aunt, always told me that love doesn't spring up overnight; devotion isn't made in a day. But when it came to you...I gave you that chance, Jesse, and you spun my world around, took my heart, and ran away with it.

And you deserve far better than I can give you. Someone who will treat you better than I have. So I had to leave. Please don't waste time and energy trying to look for me. Just pronounce me dead to the townspeople, I'm sure you can find a viable excuse. Then go find someone else. Someone who deserves your kindness.

Petra.

Jesse sat stunned. He couldn't decide if he was angry, confused, or just plain overwhelmed. Who was she to decide if she was worthy of his affections? That was something for him to decide, not her! He quickly came to the conclusion that he was more angry about that than that whole Jack fellow.

Then that anger was quickly replaced by worry. He wasn't worried that she couldn't defend herself, he knew she could, but worried about the masses of bandits that had been roaming around lately. If they had found her--

An idea crept into his head. "Radar."

"Y-yes, sir?"

"Do we have a 'Jack Malura' in town?"

"I believe so? I think he recently petitioned to open a shop with a villager named Nurm. Why?"

"I need you to send for him right now. Tell him its an emergency and non-negotiable order. I'll be getting ready in the meantime."

"O-okay? But sir, how will this find Lady Petra?"

Jesse strode over to the cabinet in the corner, yanking it open. "He's an old friend of hers. If anyone will know where she might've gone, it'd be him. Now stop wasting time, go!"

Jack strode into the courtyard, sword on his back and that nervous Radar kid following behind. Why Jesse had called for the adventurer, Jack didn't know, but he decided to simply play things cool and detached. "Emerald Baron."

"Jack. Thank you for coming," the baron turned, dressed in full armor with a sword on his hip. "Petra has gone missing and I need your help to find her."

"Baron sir, I don't know what makes you think I in particular would be able to find her. There are more qualified trackers in town."

"Oh, don't even try to play that game with me," the shorter man strode forward, glaring up at Jack. "I know what your relationship was with my wife. And as much as it...pains me to admit it, due to that relationship, you know far more about her and where she might have gone. I know she can take of herself, but...I miss her already."

Jack felt something inside him shift. What it was, he didn't know. "I see. You...do actually care about her, don't you?"

Jesse nodded mutely and Jack sighed. "I'll help you. But more for her sake than yours. The bandits around here have gotten out of control, and while I know she is an excellent fighter..."

"They could very easily overwhelm her. Could overwhelm any of us," Jesse shook his head. "Any idea where she went?"

"Possibly. Did she take her horse?"

"Yeah."

"Anyone else been in or out of the stable besides you?"

"No."

"Good. That means I can still find tracks," Jack made his way towards the stable, gesturing for the baron to follow. "If I can figure out the direction she went in..."

Jesse said nothing, wordlessly following Jack to the stables.

Petra was aware of every single noise around her. Her nerves felt wired, causing her to practically jump every time something snapped. She didn't understand where this was fear was coming from. She had been in forests plenty times enough and she had more than enough supplies.

She currently stood by her grey steed, pulling out an apple from the saddlebags. She heard the footsteps at the same time as her teeth dug into the red flesh of the fruit, and she paused mid-bite. There was more footsteps and she brought the apple away from her mouth, chewing slowly.

"And what's a little lady like yourself doing alone in the woods?"

Petra closed her eyes a moment before turning to face the bandits. There was...a lot of them. "Back off."

"Aye, and she's a pretty lass too," one of the men said, grinning with a rotten smile. "Did you get lost on the way to a picnic? Poor little lady."

Petra pressed her lips together, scanning the men's faces. She assumed the most decorated one was their leader, and he was currently eyeing her horse. "That steed looks a little too good for the likes of you. Did you steal it? Or perhaps you are even more valuable than we think?"

He took a step forward and Petra put a hand on her sword hilt. "I said back off."

"Oh, no need to do that, lass. Wouldn't want you hurting yourself."

She took another bite of her apple before dropping it to the side and drawing her sword. "Last chance. Leave, now."

The leader chuckled, nodding to one of the men. "Stork? Grab her."

Stork grinned, not even bothering to draw his weapon as he advanced on her. Petra waited until the last possible second and then with one quick slash of her sword, cut two of his fingers clean off.

Stork immediately started howling and some of the men took a dumbfounded step back. Blood ran down Stork's hand as he screamed, grasping desperately and clearly unsure of what to do with himself. Petra readied her stance again, shooting a challenging look to the other men. "Anyone else?"

The leader growled, drawing his own sword. "You've just fuckin' pissed me off now, lass. And now we'll be takin' that horse and we'll be takin' you, too. Payment for Stork's fingers."

Despite the worm of fear crawling into her gut, Petra simply laughed. "I'd like to see you try."

The leader sneered. "Boys? Get her."

All the men drew the swords and ran forward.

Jesse followed silently behind Jack, leading his horse carefully along. They had dismounted a while back after Jack had managed to find more of Petra's tracks, insisting it would be safer to follow them on foot. Slower, more like, Jesse had thought, but he didn't dare argue.

He could see why someone like Petra would like someone like Jack. Jack was tall, confident, strong, and bold in a way Jesse never had been. Jack seemed to know what he was doing, where he was going, while Jesse followed along clueless.

Why Petra had struggled to make a decision between the two was beyond him.

Jack suddenly stopped, holding up his hand. He knelt down, scanning the ground and picking up a slightly-mushy, partially-eaten apple. "Shit."

Jesse finally spoke. "What?"

Jack was slow to respond, straightening and staring at the ground. "Take a look at the dirt, Emerald Baron."

Jesse did, feeling his blood run cold at all the footprints and streaks in the dirt. "There was a fight here."

"Yes. These hoofprints are from Petra's steed and right here--this is where she had been fighting. All the others--" Jack sucked in a breath. "Bandits."

"Do you think they got her?"

Jack walked along a bit, finding where all the footprints converged and led. "Yeah. I think they did."

Jesse fought to stay calm. "We have to get to them before they do something awful to her. How far behind do you think we are?"

"Based on this apple? An hour, maybe two hours tops. We'd need to hurry."

Jesse pulled himself up onto his horse. "Mount up, Jack! We don't have any time to loose!"

Petra struggled against the ropes. Her hands were tied to a low tree branch over her head, causing her to slowly lose all feeling in her fingers as the blood fought gravity. Her sword was leaning against a log only a few feet away, glinting in the evening light and antagonizing her because no matter how she stretched or twisted, she just couldn't reach it.

She finally gave up, dropping her head back against the tree. She tried to console herself, knowing she put up the best fight she could and despite not killing any of those men, they'd be nursing permanent wounds for the rest of their sorry lives. Not like that was going to stop them from--

She bit her lip hard, forcing her fear down. They wanted her scared. She knew that. Magnus had taught her that fear and cowardness just gave men like this power, and all she could do in this situation was stay as detached and calm as possible. As difficult as that was, she wouldn't give these creeps the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

She wondered if Jesse had realized she was gone yet. Had he found the letter? She really hoped he wouldn't go after Jack, but thinking about Jesse's personality...he wouldn't do something like that.

"And here she is."

The unpleasant voice of the bandit leader made her glare, defiance in her eyes. He strode over and crouched down in front of her, just far away enough so that she couldn't kick him, much to her annoyance. "I hope you're proud of yourself, lass. Quite the temper you've got on you."

She let out a dry laugh. "Just get to the point already. What are you going to do and in what order? Starve me? Rape me? Torture me? Kill me?"

"I doubt you'll worry about the last one, lass. Because I figured out who you are," the leader stood and began to pace. "Lady...Petra...Goldsmith. Adoptive daughter of Soren Goldsmith, the greatest architect of all time," he paused. "Oh wait--or isn't it 'Osborne' now? Petra Osborne. Jesse's bitch."

"I am no one's bitch," She spat out. "I belong to no man."

"Really? That's not what the law says. And you seemed to like following the law," the leader calmly stepped forward, bending down and putting his face right next to hers (again out of reach of her kicking range). "We'll send you home soon enough. Gonna put out a ransom for you because I'm sure we can get a pretty penny for you. Although we're not going to mention that we'll be returning damaged goods."

She felt that fear flare again but she kept her expression schooled. "Good luck with that."

He simply snorted, dragging a finger along her jawline and making her flinch despite her best efforts not to. "I see why that dumb baron was so enraptured by you. This'll be quite a bit of fun and don't worry, everyone will get their turn."

He stood and walked away and when he rounded the corner, she took in a desperate gasp for air. She had to get out of here now. Before they--

"Pst. Petra."

The whisper made her freeze and carefully she looked in the direction of the voice. It was dark now so it took her a moment to make out who it was, the figure just beyond the reach of the torch light. Then it clicked. "Jack?"

She saw the shadow nod and she felt a flood of relief hit her system. She was going to be okay. A million questions swamped her mind. "How did you find me?"

"Followed your tracks. Jesse asked me to help him."

Her heart leapt. "Jesse?"

Jack nodded again. "Alright, here's what'll happen. Any second now, he'll cause a distraction so I can cut you loose. We grab your stuff and we run."

She nodded, quickly looking back down as she heard the crunch of footsteps approaching on the partially-dead grass. One of the bandits was coming over and she didn't dare look up again to see what Jack was doing. The bandit smiled a twisted grin, eyeing her in a way that made her feel sick to the stomach. "Get a good look, little lady. I'm next after the leader."

She simply stared at him. "I would rather die.'

"Oh, I'm sure. Sadly, we can't let that happen. You're worth a bit too much. But it would be quite fun to kill you slowly--"

An explosion on the other side of the camp suddenly shook the ground, the sounds of alarmed screams and panicking horses filling the night air. The bandit cursed, running to find his weapon and Petra watched him go with nothing short of relief on her face. Jack dropped down a minute later, pulling out the short knife he always kept on hand. "Hold still."

Yells and the clangs of steel drifted over to them, followed by another explosion and a tree catching fire, illuminating the whole camp. Jack sawed as quickly as he dared at the ropes, and in a minute, Petra was free. She shook her hands, desperately trying to get the blood flowing as she ran towards her sword and bag. She barely had them in hands before Jack grabbed her arm. "We need to go!"

"What about Jesse?"

They ran along the edge of the camp, a branch falling from the flaming tree, causing more screams. "He said he'd meet us later! Come on, Petra!"

"Are you crazy?! There's too many of them! They'll kill him!" She fought to yank her arm out of Jack's grasp. "Jack, let go! We need to help him! Jack!"

Jack continued to drag her towards the horses. "Petra, I'm just doing what he told me to do!"

"Since when do you do what you're told?!"

He didn't respond and just as they reached Jack's steed, Petra heard him. She twisted to look, just to see Jesse being surrounded on all sides by angry bandits. He was desperately trying to escape them, jumping back and barely dodging their angry swings. Arrows started fly to the air and screaming his name, Petra finally wrenched her arm free from Jack's grasp. "Petra NO!"

She didn't listen, drawing her sword and running for Jesse with a yell of rage. Her sword flashed in the light of the burning tree and speared one man straight through the chest. He fell down with a gasp and Petra barely realized that she had just killed a man. She didn't have time to dwell on it because she had to block an attack from another bandit, swinging and cutting his weapon hand off.

"Petra!" Jesse was fighting two at the bandits at the same time. "What the hell are you doing?! Go!"

"Not without you!" She blocked another attack, making her way slowly through the bandits. Some of the men were starting to flee and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jack facing off the leader. This was hell.

Another burning branch crashed to the ground just as a new volley of arrows went flying through the air. One stuck in Jesse's arm, making him let out a roar of pain, and a bandit kicked him, sending him flying across the ground to Petra's feet. The bandit ran forward, sword raised and before she could think about it, she threw herself between Jesse and the sword. "NO!"

"PETRA!"

The sword stabbed straight into her side, everything seeming to slow down and speed up at the same time. She felt the blood already trickling out around the steel and the bandit ripped the weapon back out, causing the red to flow freely out of her. She stumbled to the ground, vaguely aware of her hand grasping at something warm and wet while pain blinded her. Jesse was slashing the bandit to pieces, screaming something she couldn't make out as everything spun.

Oh God, was she dying?

Jesse was suddenly in front of her, saying something she couldn't make out. His hands held her face and she heard "Stay with me, Petra! Please!" right before everything spun to black.

The past three days in Beacontown became one big blur to Radar.

Three days ago, the Emerald Baron had set off with a strange man named Jack to search for the missing Lady Petra. They returned hours later, all three wounded with Petra unconscious in Jesse's arms. Radar had gone with Jack to get the doctor, the three men being forced to wait outside a room while the doctor tried to save Petra's life. The whole time Jesse paced while Jack sat and bounced his leg.

When the doctor had finally emerged, the news wasn't great. The odds of her living were slimmer than the odds of her dying and Radar saw that the fact nearly sent Jesse into a spiral. The baron then sat himself down next to her bed and wouldn't leave.

While he was in there, Radar was responsible for running the affairs. For three days he was in and out of the room, getting Jesse to sign scrolls (all of which the baron did very absently) and trying to get approval on decisions. By the second day, Radar just started making choices himself.

On the third day, he was just leaving with some papers Jesse had to sign when he almost walked right into Jack. "Goodness gracious!"

"Hey, kid," Jack hovered, uncertain. "Uh...How's she doing?"

"Well, her fever broke this morning, so that's good. But she still hasn't woken up yet. So not great, but not super bad, I guess?"

"Hm. Has Jesse been in there this whole time?"

"The Baron? Yes, he has. Won't leave no matter what we do."

Jack nodded slowly. "I see. I guess she was right about him after all."

"What-? What are you talking about?"

"Nothing. Take care, kid."

With that, Jack simply strolled out of the building, leaving Radar utterly confused. Unsure of what to do, he went back into the room. "Emerald Baron, sir?"

"What is it, Radar?"

Radar paused. The baron looked exhausted, with deep, dark circles under his green eyes. His hair was matted and now that Radar looked closer, Jesse's eyes seemed almost...dull.

Had the baron fallen for Petra that deeply that quickly?

Jesse was clearly waiting for him to speak and Radar sputtered. "Sorry, uhm...Jack was just here. Said something strange. Something along the lines of 'I guess she was right about him' or something? Do you have any idea what that's about?"

Jesse simply shook his head and Radar nodded, backing up. "Right. I'll...get back to work then."

He turned for the door, and was just about to leave when-- "Radar?"

"Y-yes, Baron, sir?"

Jesse nodded. "Thanks for everything you've been doing."

Radar blinked several times before smiling a bit and nodding back. "It's nothing, sir. Would you like me to send some food in for you?"

"No, I--" He paused, then sighed. "Actually, yeah. Thanks."

Radar nodded again before slipping out of the room.

Things would be okay. They would have to be. Petra would live, whatever rift that had formed would be closed, and things could go back to normal.

The first thing that she saw was silver.

Glowing light making its way into the dark room. A beam of pure silver falling through blackness. With the light came memories. Echoes of sharp pain now throbbing weakly in her side. Fire. Jesse holding her face in his hands, begging her to stay awake, to stay with him. She hadn't been able to.

Jesse. Where was he? She forced her eyes to focus, to take in more of her surroundings. She was in a bed, in a room that wasn't hers but seemed familiar. Was she back in Beacontown? She must be.

The ceiling came into better focused and she carefully moved her eyes. To the left appeared to be a medical cabinet of some sort with a pile of bloody bandages sitting on it. Was all that blood from her?

She forced her eyes to move on, looking to the right. There he was, sprawled in a chair, looking completely knocked out. The silver light of the moon hit his face squarely, letting her see the dark circles under his eyes and the way his eyebrows were knit together in worry even in his sleep. The arm that had been hit by the arrow was bandaged, but it looked like the wrappings hadn't been changed in at least a day.

God...He was like this because of her. The guilt of that thought crashed down on her, putting a weight on her chest that made it even more difficult to breathe. She watched him sleep for a moment, lips forming his name but no sound leaving her mouth. He shifted in his sleep and she felt her hand reaching for him despite herself.

Finally, she managed to croak his name: "Jesse?"

He woke up almost immediately, eyes flying open, emerald greens reflecting the moonlight for a minute as he blinked, seemingly trying to figure out where he was and what had happened. Then his gaze shifted to her and he sat up so abruptly that he almost tipped out of his chair. "Petra?!"

She nodded the tiniest bit and to her surprise, utter relief flooded his face. "Thank God...Petra, I was so worried. Everyone else thought--"

That I was going to die? I thought so too. She swallowed hard, looking him in the eyes as she choked out, "I'm so sorry."

"Petra--"

"I put all of us in danger," she pushed forward. "You could've died. Jack was going to leave you there because you told him to and you could have died because of me. Trying to save me," She gasped, ignoring the increasing pain in her side. "If I hadn't gone back, you'd be dead. You'd be dead and it would have been all my fault."

"Petra," He got up, sitting on the side of bed and leaning over her slightly. "It's okay."

"How the fuck can you say that?"

"Because it's okay. I don't care about any of the shit that happened right now. I don't," He gently took her face in his hands and she saw tears glimmering in his eyes. "You're alive. That's all that matters to me."

"But why? Why do you still care so damn much after what I did to you?"

"Because I stopped to look at everything that happened. Okay, this whole thing so far...We've both made mistakes. I assumed the worst and then didn't try to talk to you like I should've. You took matters into your own hands at that point because of me. But Petra..." He shook his head a bit. "Over the past month and a half, I've seen the signs. You had plenty of opportunities to kill me and leave, never to be heard from again, but you didn't do it. Hell, you got stabbed just to keep me alive."

"Jesse, someone like you doesn't deserve to die."

"Yeah, well you don't deserve to die either. No one does," He rubbed a thumb lightly over her cheek. "Just...Petra, I can't even be upset with you. Well, I can, but I can't. That doesn't make sense, does it?" He sucked in a breath. "Look, what I'm trying to say is even though you did some really shitty things, I forgive you. I forgive you and I hope you can forgive me."

"There's nothing to forgive you for, Jesse. You have been nothing but good to me and...look, nothing happened with Jack, I promise you, not after the wedding," She paused before blurting. "I never slept with him either."

"Uhm, okay. Look, even if you had slept with him, Petra, I frankly couldn't care. Because I read your letter and..."

She reached up and gave one of his hands a weak squeeze. "I love you, Jesse."

He smiled, leaning down and pressing his lips to her forehead. "I know that now. I want you to know that I love you, and have since the moment I met you. Now you should sleep."

She couldn't argue with him. "I...Yeah. Okay."

He smiled just a bit, letting go of her face and brushing some of her hair aside before leaning down and pressing another kiss to her forehead. Before he could straighten, she lightly tugged on his shirt, managing to pull herself up just enough to kiss his lips. He kissed back, cradling the back of her head, and as he went back and settled himself in his chair, the wave of exhaustion took over again.

She couldn't deny she was relieved and was vaguely aware of him watching her as she fell back asleep.

A two months later...

Petra stood in front of the mirror, looking herself over. She finally looked fully normal again, the normal color back in her skin and her body letting her do everything she liked to do without submitting to pain or exhaustion. She took in her face, studying the loose braid over her shoulder and the little scar on her jawline. That was new. She hadn't noticed it before.

She then grasped the edge of her shirt, carefully pulling it up to reveal the scar on the side of her abdomen. The sword had left quite the mark, and she had to admit, the scar was really cool. Especially since not a lot of people didn't tend to survive wounds like that.

Holding her shirt one with hand, she lightly traced the raised, rough skin with her fingers on the other hand. She then turned a bit, a small grin appearing on her face. Cool.

She didn't noticed him behind her until he was suddenly right there, watching her with an amused smile. "Having fun?"

Without bothering to turn to him, she replied, "As a matter of fact, yes I am. Just checking out my cool warrior scar now."

"The scar you got saving someone else's life," Jesse put his chin on her shoulder, wrapping her arms around her waist. "The most noble of scars to have."

She smiled, letting go of her shirt to lay her hands over his. "How did the battle go?"

"It went well. The bandits who didn't die are currently rotting in our jail."

"Good."

He hummed, turning his head and murmuring into her neck, "I missed you."

"You were only gone two days," she gave his hand a squeeze. "But I missed you too."

He chuckled a bit and a moment later, his lips grazed her skin. As she tilted her head to give him better access, she felt his hand slide up her shirt, a single finger tracing along her scar. It sent a shudder through her body and a moment later she turned, bringing his lips to hers.

They still had some problems, but the Baroness Harper, wife of Jesse's uncle Ivor, had told them that even the best marriages had their problems. Love came with sacrifices, issues, fights--but it was all worth it in the end. Petra couldn't agree more.

She had written a letter to Soren a week ago. Apologizing for not trusting his judgement and then catching him up on everything that had been happening. Sparing some details, of course.

Jesse suddenly pinched her, making her break the kiss with a gasp followed by a laugh. "What was that for?"

"How dare you space out on me like that?" He grinned teasingly. "It was like you were on autopilot."

"Sorry, I just--" She laughed a bit, and instead of trying to explain herself, she simply pressed her lips against his again. She kissed him deeply, feeling him lean into her as she got that overwhelming rush he always gave her. Her fingers buried themselves in his hair as his hands roamed her back, pulling her body directly against his as he leaned into her.

When they broke apart this time they were breathing hard and he had this practically smitten look on his face. "That--that's better."

"I should think so."

He grinned.

The bell over the door jingled and Jack announced, without looking up at first, "Welcome to Jack and Nurm's Adventure--" He paused, studying the woman who had entered. "Do I know you?"

She shook her head. "I don't think so. My name is Sammy."

"Sammy, huh? Well I'm Jack," He shook her hand, pausing a moment to notice her firm grip. "Nice to meet you. What brings a lady such as yourself here?"

"Well, you see, this may come as a surprise to you, given I'm a woman and all, but...I want to go on an adventure."

"That doesn't surprise me at all. Where do you want to go?"

"You're not going to laugh in my face? Send me home to my father?"

He shook his head and turned, gesturing to the map on the wall. "Just pick a place, Sammy, and I'll take you there. No questions asked."

A brilliant grin appeared on her face as she joined him, studying the map. "Well then...How about we go there?"

"The Mushroom Archapelago. Excellent choice."

"I'm ready when you are."

He smiled. "Then let's go."

Sputtering

See! Happy endings! Agdkahs

I hope you guys enjoyed it. This was quite the experience to write and I had a lot of fun. Thanks for reading!

#mcsm #minecraft story mode #jetra #mcsm jetra #jetra au #jetra oneshot #jacktra mentioned #mcsm jesse #mcsm petra #mcsm jack #Fantasy au #mcsm radar #arranged marriage au

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