Jessa waits in her room, doing her best to not cry. She's afraid that once she starts that she won't be able to stop. She can't allow that to happen, she can't be weak, it will be hard enough for Sorid and Kallen without her being a weak female on top of it.

Jessa knows full well that they have wanted a child of their own and because they haven't been blessed by one that they took her in. She knows that their goddess loves Sorid so she doesn't understand why she hasn't blessed them with children.

Perhaps now that she will be gone Zira, goddess of the moon elves will grant Sorid and Kallen a child of their own. One that won't be forced to leave their side and live with another race. One that won't grow old and die before them.

She has long thought of this, her growing old and dying and her parents remaining the same age or looking like the same age they do now. She wouldn't have stayed to watch them mourn her as she got older and weaker. It is better that she leave now. Besides, there are none here that would be willing to love her as a partner. Perhaps out in the human world there will be a some one that might learn to love her.

Jessa silently scoffs to herself at this though. For so long she has heard nothing but disparaging remarks about her looks. She has long dark tresses where as the elves has light colored hair the same as the moon, running towards silver. She has midnight blue eyes that see what many don't wish her to. Most elves have green or brown eyes that remind one of life and growth.

She doesn't have the delicate features of the elves, but rather sharp cheeks and a heart shaped face. She has seen the elven beauties including her mother and she is nowhere near them in looks. 

She has no idea that in the human world many would find her breathtaking.

It is the idea of the males finding her beautiful that makes Kallen the most ill. Jessa is naive and innocent in the ways of the world. She won't be knowing to watch for those that would use her trust and abuse it. The males that would try to harm her and take for themselves what is hers alone to give.

It is that and thoughts similar that keep Kallen awake that night. He is determined to talk to Jessa about it the next day as they pack and prepare to leave. He will be taking her to the nearest human city, rather than just sending her out to the nearest village. In the city there are people that she will be able to get work with.

He isn't so sure what kind of arrangements the prince will have for Jessa and intends on making sure that she will have lodgings, work and money before he returns to Silva. The nearest city is one days hard ride from here. They will take it in two so that they will arrive during the day and be able to find lodgings and whatever else they will need to do before Kallen is assured of her safety. 

Well as assured as he can be with her remaining in a world totally foreign to her and far away from her only family that she's ever known.

Jessa is unable to sleep either. She keeps replaying the feeling that she got from the prince and how sick it made her feel. She doesn't understand what happened or why she would feel that way about him. She's felt that way about some of the other elflings as well and it bothers her to not understand what that feeling is for. If she knew why she was feeling it then she would know what to look out for. She is sure that it is a warning, but for what she doesn't know.

In the morning she looks no better than Kallen does when they meet up for breakfast.

They try their best to have an upbeat breakfast but the edict stands heavy in the air. "When do I have to leave?" Jessa couldn't face her parents last night so she didn't go to dinner, if they even had it, she never smelled food cooking.

"Tomorrow morning we'll be leaving with the morning light."

"What about the prince?" Sorid asks more than a little alarmed.

"If he truly intends on being here then he will know me enough to know to be here early." Kallen says more than a little bitterly. He doesn't believe the prince will be there or have anything to help Jessa.

"Jessa, when you were sparring with the prince, did he hurt you or harm you in any way?" Kallen demands of her.

"No, but he scared me. Not because I was afraid to fight him or lose to him, but there was something about him, something like a darkness. It's a feeling I've had around some of the elflings as well. What is it? What does it mean?"

Kallen and Sorid look at each other and Kallen sighs. They've had a belief in being honest with Jessa. If she asks a question they have never hidden the answer or not given her the truth. They might have made the answer easier to understand, but they've always told her. 

"That feeling is the reason Dhiren is sending you away. It means that the male is losing his control and would hurt you as only a man can hurt a female."

Kallen sighs again at Jessa's confused look. "You are familiar with the rites and celebrations we do for our goddess."

At this Jessa brightens but doesn't understand how the celebrations to Zira have anything to do with the ugly feelings she felt coming from the prince. "Of course, how could I not?" Jessa smiles brightly at Sorid, "having my mother be her high priestess, Sorid made sure I understood."

Kallen nods, "Yes, of course. Yet have you ever finished the rites at the celebration?"

That question has Jessa's cheeks burning, but this time in shame. Others her age have done so and the elflings which are decades older than her have done so many times. "No, no one has asked me to join them and there has been no one I've been interested in enough to ask them to join me." She didn't need to say that it would be unlikely for them to take her up on her offer. Most of the elves ignore her being there, others look down on her and sneer at her. Of course they are careful to only do so when Sorid or Kallen aren't looking. 

"What that look means is the male would take from the female without her permission what is freely given to the male partner at the celebration." At Kallen's words Jessa's eyes go wider. She is aware of what the female gives to her partner, Sorid made sure that she understood.

"Ohh, men would really do that to a female?" Jessa asks softly. "So what did the prince mean when he said that I allowed him to have his honor?"

"He meant that because you were able to fight him off he didn't force you like he would have if you hadn't. He kept his honor by not taking what wasn't his to take."

"But he never made any move to even touch me. I've felt the same from some of the elflings that are in my class. They've never made a move to harm me either."

"In the prince's place you made sure that he couldn't until he was able to get himself under control once more. As for the elflings, they wouldn't be able to take you down alone. They are likely planning on ganging up on you. Even though it would still take a lot of luck for them to take you down, the harm would be done to all of them. They would be disgraced for what they would be attempting to do, as would their families. Their fathers' could lose their position in the army or in society. They would be made examples of. Then there is the chance that you could be brought down. You would have been harmed or even killed.

"The prince is having you leave to protect you from his own people, that must have been hard for him to bear. That and knowing that he came close to losing his own honor. He must be feeling very disgusted with himself right now."

"I only did what you taught me to do, Kallen."

Kallen runs a gentle finger down Jessa's face. "You have learned about everything I can teach you. I have no desire for you to leave, you must understand that, Jessa. I, we, love you so much. We couldn't possibly love you more even if you were born to us, do you understand that?"

"I do, but I don't understand why. You and Sorid have sacrificed so much to raise me. You could have just taken me to the human city and left me at the children's home with a donation and no one, not even the king would have said anything against it. Instead, you have faced derision and insult by taking me in and raising me, teaching me as if I was your own blood."

"You were brought to me and placed in my arms when we went to your village. Your mother, that you look just like, was dead with many dead enemies surrounding her. She was newly risen from the birthing. You couldn't have been more than hours old. Your mother was an incredible example and died to give you a chance at life. I couldn't dishonor her and her sacrifice. I just wish I could have known what name she had chosen for you and who your father was.

"I just want you to know, you have honored your mother and would have made her proud from all you've managed to accomplish. I know that we have taught you far different than what your mother would have, but I hope she is not disappointed in what we have done."

Kallen is unprepared for the hug that Jessa gives him and then Sorid. "I can't imagine having any one love me more than you two have done. Thank you both."