Adventures of Jessa

37

Nathan looks at the springs with awe, "Jessa comes here every visit?"

Sorsha nods, "Yeah, she doesn't like going home without cleaning up first. The water is naturally warm. Go ahead and bathe, I'll wait for you right over there. When you are ready to get out, just give a yell."

Nathan smiles slightly, he doesn't take another minute to get out of his clothes and dive into the water. He takes out the soap and not only washes himself but the clothes he just took off. He figures that he might as well since the water is there and he's sure that they will have time to dry by morning. At least by the time they will be leaving, he hopes to see the sparring in the morning.

Even taking the time to wash his clothes he's still out in a short amount of time. Gaining Sorsha's attention Nathan is soon joined by her. "Come this way, and tell me if you still hear the music."

Nathan follows along stumbling down the path as Sorsha leads the way. Once he gets to the clearing he sucks in a breath of wonder. The moon is shining down and patches of moon flowers open to the sky, glowing and making the clearing bright enough, with the help of the moon, for him to see clearly.

The music he'd been hearing off and on since the moon rose becomes very clear. He feels the desire to dance take root. "I don't understand, Sorsha, where is the music coming from and why do I feel the desire to dance?"

"That is the music of Lady Zira, our goddess. Although this clearing isn't sacred, for some reason she seems to favor it. The music you hear, only a few hear it. I believe that Jessa, and the prince heard and danced to it the last celebration. I know that General Brightblade and High priestess Sorid hear it every time.

"Don't fight the music, if you are favored of our Lady then you should honor her by dancing to the music she is letting you hear." Sorsha tells the astounded human before her. She is more than a little jealous that a human hears the music and she doesn't, but that doesn't stop her from watching the human as he dances the dance he'd never seen before perfectly.

Sorsha watches as he moves and is very impressed at how easily he does the dance. She watches entranced and finds herself joining in the dance, not hearing the music, just following his steps. He changes the dance from the solo to the one of partners without missing a beat.

Like Jessa and the prince they hold the other's eyes as they move together.

The music and dance ends.

Nathan isn't sure if he should say anything. Before he has a chance, Sorsha kisses him. "You know enough about our celebrations to guess how this finishes. Are you willing to have me as your partner? If you don't wish to then we can return to the caravan."

Nathan pulls her closer to him and gives her a kiss.

"Jessa, are you finished?" Dhiren asks as he sits back.

"Yeah, I think so. I doubt I'll be able to eat another bite." Jessa actually fills overly full since she hasn't eaten much the last few days.

"Are you tired? If not I would love it if you would be my partner for a dance." Dhiren doesn't want to make her feel pressured, but the music of the moon has been growing louder. He's not sure how much longer he'll be able to stay out in the moonlight without dancing.

"I would love to dance with you, Dhiren." Jessa tells him and accepts his hand that he holds out to her.

They had found the proper celebration clothing waiting for them after their bath. Jessa was thrilled at finding her wrap that she thought forever lost there. A matching spidersilk wrap for the male was waiting for Dhiren. They laughed as they realized that Lady Zira was messing with things again. She must have really wanted them to dance that night.