Jessa: The Adventures End

10

"Jessa, you are aware that we won't be able to keep up with the army if we stop and do the trading you want us to do, right?" Josnick tells the irritated princess.

"You will." Jessa smirks. "I've arranged for it. There are certain people that owe me and this is how they are paying me back." Jessa states and that ends the conversation about keeping up with the army as far as Jessa is concerned. "Don't worry Josnick, unless the dragons manage to destroy Castlerock and Silva both you and I will make a good return on this caravan."

"I have no doubt about that Jessa, not with you in charge of the items that we picked up. I just don't know that we will be able to do much more. Wouldn't it be smarter to stay with the army to begin with?" Josnick is very nervous with just having the humans traveling back with them. True they are the guards that Alaric sent for the most part, and they are all excellent guards, but they aren't dragon or dragon kin and the ones they are likely to go up against are.

"Don't worry, Josnick. I am promised that if there is any trouble that I'll be taken back to help you. Some of the guards are decent rangers. I've worked with a couple of them over the years and they'll do a decent job of finding trouble before it finds you.

"I don't have time for this, Josnick, Ivy and I are depending on you to get things done since we won't be there to do it. I believe in you and I believe that you are going to do just fine. The guards are aware that they will be getting a bonus if they make it to Castlerock without problems for the caravan, so they'll be working extra hard to make that happen."

Jessa looks at the sad  merchant. "I'll leave one of the prismatic dragons with you. If you need help send her to me. She has requested to be of help to me since she wasn't able to help much before." Jessa tells the morose merchant.

With those words Josnick brightens and smiles broadly. Shortly there is a small dragon before them. "Her name is Vicky. Don't worry about her if you don't see her for large lengths of time, she's keeping watch over the caravan. Her favorite perch, like Mel is around your neck so don't be too excited if you feel her wrapping around your neck." Vicky flies over to Josnick and wraps herself around him like he was told to expect.

"I thank you, Jessa and Vicky, I will do my best to not fail you Jessa." Josnick says before leaving to chivy mules along. They will be leaving before the army but the soldiers will be passing them soon enough, he has no doubt of that.

Soon enough Jessa feels herself being picked up by Dhiren and placed on Moonglow. "I am quite capable of mounting my own horse, Dhiren." Jessa tells him more than a little irritable at his actions.

"I know," Dhiren says and leaves it at that before mounting his own horse. 

Jessa along with the other leaders of the armies rides to the fore of the rather large group. "Okay, listen up everyone, we need to get back to Silva yesterday so we'll be marching rather fast. Some of you might notice that we are making even better time than you understand. 
We'll be having some assistance in getting there faster than would normally be possible. Most of the dragons have gone ahead to protect Silva against the chromatic dragons. There are some that will be traveling with us as well, but they'll be dividing their time between us both. Don't worry about anything else except putting one foot in front of the other. 

"I would be doing the same, but my strength is still rather depleted after yesterday so they are making me ride instead. Once my energy returns I'll be ranging ahead." Jessa thought it would be smart to let them know why she was riding instead of out ranging ahead.

Jessa is chafing at having to ride instead of ranging ahead of the army. By mid day she's had enough and when Jasper comes to her side she is more than willing to give her full attention to his report.

Jessa smiles brightly at what she hears. Dhiren is resigned when he asks her what is going on. Jasper stays when Jessa tells him to wait. She turns her attention to her husband and gives him a brilliant smile. Jasper has found a pocket of the dragon kin that slipped away the night before.

"You aren't going without me Jessa," Dhiren tells her resigned. 

"The thought never even crossed my mind." Jessa tells him soberly. She has no desire to leave him behind. She knows how much it scares him when she fights the dragon kin. She doesn't want to cause him more trouble than she knows that she'll already give him.

Dhiren makes her eat something before they leave, but Jessa does so as quickly as she can. She's itching for another fight and can't wait to go against the dragon kin that got away from her the day before.

Dhiren by then is also feeling irritable. He too now feels the calling of the gold dragons to take out the dragon kin and he doesn't like Jessa doing too much at this time. She's still recovering her strength from the fight. But he knows that she needs to do this. He did get her to promise to allow her guard to have some of the fun as well.

She wasn't happy about that but to ease Dhiren's feelings she's willing to let them have a greater part in the fight. 

By now both Sorsha and Kristoff are back in their proper roles as guards, but now Sorsha is assigned to Jessa.

Sorsha moves ahead when Jessa gives the signal and Dennis gives an exclamation at her leaving and disappearing so completely when she was just at his side.

Kallen is at his side and is more than a little amused by his reaction. "Sorsha is good isn't she?" Kallen says to the shaken ex king.

"Yes, where the hell did she go?"

"She's resumed her duties to her princess. She's out ranging with Jessa and Dhiren. Don't worry, if there is any one other than Jessa and Dhiren that will come back it will be her."

Dennis looks blankly at the general. Kallen chuckles as he explains. "You are blood bonded to Sorsha, other than Dhiren and perhaps Kristoff she is one of the best."

"You didn't mention Jessa there." Dennis says softly trying to understand the female he bonded himself to.

"Jessa has no equal. As I'm sure you now understand after watching the fight she gave yesterday. Dhiren is the closest then it's a toss up between Kristoff and Sorsha. It's taken Jessa years to get those two to the level they are at. She'll make sure that Sorsha's children are at the proper level before they gain their majority and take their places as guards to the crown prince or princess depending on what Jessa and Dhiren have."

"They aren't even the king and queen yet, how would their children become the crown prince or princess?"

"Dhiren's parents have just been waiting for him to marry before abdicating in favor of him. Then the war came and Jessa had this little job to take care of first. Once the war is over they will take over as the King and Queen of Silva. I would make sure to stay away from Jessa once she finds out that little gem of information."

"But she was the crown princess already." Dennis is having a great deal of trouble understanding why Jessa would take things so badly.

"Yes, and she was willing to take that responsibility when she accepted Dhiren's marriage a few months ago. She had no idea that the king and queen were planning on giving Dhiren the throne and with him her. She's not going to be all that thrilled especially since I suspect that Alaric has something similar planned once the war is done."

"I think it might be smarter for me and my people to find another location to settle if Jessa is going to be that upset." Dennis worries as they move along.

"Don't worry, Dennis, she'll make sure that your people will be taken care of. It will just be those in her inner circle that will have to deal with her temper. If Dhiren gets her with child that will make it so that she will have too much to do to fret over much."

"You forget, Kallen, she'll be a brooding dragon once she gets pregnant, everything will make her irritable no way to please her." Alaric steps into the conversation at that point.

"I'm glad I won't be living at the palace at that time," Kallen shivers at the thought of how impossible Jessa will be.

"Oh, don't worry, she'll likely be able to fly by then and then she'll be brooding over a clutch of eggs as well as being pregnant by Dhiren for the elves. It should be interesting to see how that will go." Alaric laughs as both Kallen and Dennis get sickly looks on their faces.