"Are you sure, Jessa? You don't have to hurry, take your time." Dhiren says as Jessa dresses for her day. It's the first day she's being let out since she was brought to Castlerock and she's anxious to start back up. She plans to go to the hiring ground and then to check on Jasper and make sure that he's being taught like he's supposed to be. Kallen left when the gates opened this morning to go back to Silva and his duties there. 

Dhiren will return to Silva when Jessa makes her trip on her next caravan. The elves that are left behind are bored. They've been kept in training. The last few days Jessa has been watching them as they sparred and her cutting remarks on their performance made it so that they renewed their efforts.

Dhiren is pleased at the immediate improvement that they've shown. He wasn't so happy about her own remarks towards his abilities, but he has to admit that he has improved as well. He still doesn't think that he could win against her, but he might, just might be able to hold her off to a draw.

He thinks back to the sparring matches of yesterday.

He thinks, or at least he hopes he can hold her to a draw. But then he remembers the look of Jessa rolling her eyes and he rethinks again and sighs. Kallen sees it.

"Don't take it personally, Prince. Jessa is the best fighter I've ever seen. Take her words on how to improve to heart, just don't pay any attention to any of the other words she slings at you. She is impressed by your abilities. Just keep working at it and then she will really be impressed, impressed enough that she won't keep giving you those nasty comments."

"You don't think they are true?" Dhiren asks as he tries to get his breath after a particularly long sparring match against Kallen.

Kallen smirks and raises his eyebrow, "In all the years that I've known Jessa, I've never known her to lie, ever. I have told you before where your weaknesses lie, yet you've made little effort to better them, you've allowed yourself to become lax." Kallen shakes his head. "With Jessa that won't be permitted. Once you both take the throne you better believe that she will be training still. Likely she'll be training your personal guards. They will get up to her acceptable level or she will make sure they are removed."

"So she'll remove me if I don't measure up?" Dhiren asks with a smile.

"Remove you?" Kallen gives a short bark of laughter, "No. There won't be any need for that. Your own pride will do what my instructions have failed to do in the last century. You've already gotten better since you first went against Jessa.

"Whether you are doing it intentionally or not, you are learning from her. Just like Sorsha and Kristoff did."

Dhiren looks at Kallen in horror. "You mean she's doing it slow enough for me to learn like she did them?"

Kallen smirks again at his prince. "It's working isn't it? But since she can't get in here and fight with you she's telling you what to do and you are doing far better. You might actually get good enough that she won't have to hold back any more."

The others have gathered close enough to hear that last bit as well. It's Kristoff that blurts out, "You mean, she's still holding back when she goes against Prince Dhiren?" They can't even follow the fight when it's hand to hand or when she uses the staff.

Kallen nods once, "Yeah, I have yet to see her go completely full out. Not against me, I'm not good enough to keep up. Prince Dhiren has gotten close, but she's not wanting to hurt him so she still holds back a bit.

"I would have loved to see the fight between her and the blue dragon. I'm willing to bet that she went full out against him."

Those words got the other elves to mutter among themselves.

Kallen looks at them impatiently. "What?"

"Her opponent was truly a blue dragon? That wasn't just shit to be told to her detractors?" Kristoff says when no one else had the guts to spit out the words.

"It was a full blooded, ancient blue dragon. The same one that killed her father before she was born. Alaric had been looking for him for years. Jessa killed him and didn't even know it was her father's killer until after she woke up here."

"Her father wasn't young by any means when he went against that bastard. My son, Reniel was about six centuries old when he fought that bastard.

"That wasn't just an ancient full blooded dragon, but he was also the king of the blue dragons. My son had already killed the children. The blues now no longer have a king, and most of the dragon kin are dead. At least the blue dragon kin."

Dhiren and Kallen both stand before him. Unnoticed Jessa had come up behind them and is listening intently. "The Ancient One informed me not too long ago. I had no idea that Reniel had gone against their king.

"I had fought against him in the war and he managed to get away before I could kill him. I thought that his wounds were grave enough that he would die, I was wrong. Had I known I would have gone after him and finished him off. That mistake cost me my son's life and nearly that of my granddaughter." Alaric tells the elves calmly, but there is definitely a sense of great anger behind his voice and the elves are uneasy and edge slightly away from him.

"It's done and over with Alaric. There is no use crying over the past that can't be changed." Jessa says to calm things over. She makes her way to her foster father and lover.

Dhiren pulls her to him. He's just thankful that she didn't fall like her father had.

"How did she survive when your son didn't?" Kallen demands.

Alaric gives a bitter laugh. "My son fought the way humans did. He hadn't been taught so excellently like Jessa had. He didn't have a human god looking out for him and helping him. Jessa was raised to fight by the best general in history, she had the blessing of the human god of war and warriors. She also has her mother's power from that very same god. She is favored and loved by the elven goddess who was also looking out for her because if she fell then so to would the prince of her people. There are many reasons that she lived. But the one that I think played the most crucial part is the bond between you, Dhiren and her. She needed the anchor you give her to fight, to stay in this world.

"My son was linked to Rachel, yes, but not like you and Jessa are. It's not so different, but the difference was enough to make Jessa fight to live." Alaric looks at Jessa with tears in his eyes. "Perhaps Reniel would have lived if he'd had healers there to care for his wounds like Jessa had you there to care for her. Perhaps if Rachel had been there she could have saved him. There are a lot of what if's that happen in life. The thing is, there is no going back so they serve no purpose except to teach us where we went wrong and to not do those mistakes again."

Alaric looks at the elves gathered before him, "You should listen to Jessa, gold dragons are expert tacticians, we are naturally good at it. Her words are correct in telling you where you need to improve.

"She will never push you to do more than she thinks you can handle, but if you aren't putting forth full effort then she'll push you until you do." With that Alaric gives Dhiren and Kallen and Jessa a nod before leaving the room.