Adventures of Jessa

62

Fay remains even though only Jessa and Dhiren can see her. The other deities take their leave as Jessa listens to the human and makes her decision.

"What is your name?" Jessa asks as gently as she can from the terrified human before her.

"M-my name is Jasper, Princess." Jasper is terrified of the elves and the human being held in the elven prince's arms.

Jessa rolls her eyes at him calling her princess. "No need to call me princess. The elves like to use titles that aren't really worth anything. Like your brother, I'm just a guard for the various caravans."

There is a distinct lack of belief in the humans face at her words. "As you wish, my Lady." He doesn't wish to offend but doesn't know just what he should call that human that the elves seem to listen to. Elves don't listen to any one except other elves, occasionally.

Dhiren snorts inelegantly at the humans reply. "Jessa has never been one for titles. She doesn't like using them."

Jessa retorts, "Ha, you are the one that refused to let me use your title, prince."

"You are my girlfriend, Jessa, the others are required to use my title." Dhiren's voice is a curious mixture of love and exasperation as he tells her this.

Jessa just shrugs and places her full attention on the bewildered human before her. "Just call me Jessa and no harm will come to you." Jessa waits for him to give a nod in understanding before she continues.

"Jasper, you told us a bit about you before this idiot scared you nearly to death. How about telling us more? How did you come to be returning to Castlerock when you were coming from Kyron?"

"Okay. My brother is my only remaining family. My mother was  a young naive farm girl that came to Castlerock looking for a better life than eeking out an existence on the poor farmlands roundabout here. She met my father that treated her good, at least at first. Once he got her under his spell he showed her his true self. 

"He got her pregnant with my brother and instead of marrying her he became her pimp." Dhiren looks a bit sick at this and Jessa looks a bit lost. There were some things she still hadn't learned about humans and some areas of Castlerock and Kyron that Nathan managed to keep her from.

"As far as fathers go he wasn't bad, I guess, but he wasn't all that great either. He didn't put my brother to work as many others did, but he sold my sisters to the whorehouses."

Jessa is starting to understand what he meant and is getting more than a little sick. "How old were they?" She asks disgusted and horrified.

"He allowed them to stay with mother until they were three years old. There was always a strong call for young children at the whorehouses. When they couldn't get the children from the street whores they would go to the children's home and buy those children."

With those words Jessa managed to get out of Dhiren's arms and she lost everything in her stomach.

"That could have been me," She finally mutters once she finishes losing the contents of her stomach. Even Dhiren is more than a little white faced. If his father had listened to him then Jessa would have become a child whore. The thought makes him want to lose his stomach. He turns his attention to calming Jessa down.

"If you were as beautiful a child as you are now, there is not doubt you would have been chosen. You would have been a favorite at the whore house for the perverts that use children." Jasper says not realizing the havoc his words are playing on those listening to him.

"After I was born my mother didn't get pregnant again. By then my brother was about fourteen years of age. One of the last things he did for the family was arrange for my brother to be taught how to fight and use a sword.