Disclaimer: This chapter may be infected with H1N1. Proceed with extreme caution and wear a face mask. Should you present with symptoms, please proceed to the nearest butcher shop to have your pig snout harvested.

Not that I have the swine flu, but I have been sick. I actually thing it was a mold or allergen something like that. Mostly coughing. But the 18 hours of sleep a day have really been taking their toll. I'm hoping that the catching up that I'd done previously doesn't start to lag now because I was sick this past week. I don't have the next chappie written…or planned…or, or nothing! Thank God it's Thanksgiving break though so I should hopefully have time to write. Sometime between cooking my own Thanksgiving for friends and driving home and dealing with my family and seeing high school friends, you know what, it could be late.

Oh, and remember how I said last chapter that one of my little teasers would be in the next chapter. I lied. It's in this chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 14: Okaasan

Now alone, Tessa didn't know what to do with herself. Her next match wouldn't be until the next day, so she picked herself up off the ground where she'd settled to meditate after Anya's departure. The psychic had been strangely interested in her and Melon and upon Tessa's comments had become extremely agitated. Apparently, Tessa wasn't picking up on something that she should have been. Granted, she'd honed in on one thing in the conversation: Melon was cursed.

But that did nothing to mask over her other epiphany. Melon loved her. Whether or not it was a romantic love didn't particularly matter to her at this juncture. It'd been far too long since she'd felt loved that she'd take what she could get. And familial love was pretty high on the list of desires, possibly even more so than romantic.

She'd started meditating hoping that Melon wouldn't be gone long and would come back to find her there, but apparently not. So now she was preparing herself to go back to the palace and sleep. At least Melon knew where her room was so he could find her there perhaps? She sighed knowing that it could take far longer than she was quite prepared for Melon to return. He'd seemed very upset when he'd left and she blamed herself for that. Why hadn't she taken him seriously? He was always warning her and she completely ignored him. Why was she so selfish?

But hadn't it been worth it? She closed her eyes as she walked and smiled recalling the kiss. Pressing her hand to her mouth she remembered the pressure of his lips on hers, the warmth of his breath. By the Kais, it'd been perfect. Far better than their first kiss on Earth that had taken her so much by surprise that she'd blanked out. This time she'd been able to kiss him back. She issued a soft sigh and wondered why he hadn't kissed her before. And then she began to wonder if he'd ever kiss her again. At that thought, butterflies took flight in her stomach and she felt a little giddy.

She wasn't completely in the dark about the physical nature of love. It just seemed awkward being stuck at sixteen. But that didn't stop her from imagining what it might be like with Melon. Those thoughts carried her all the way back to the palace and into the downy bed. Now she couldn't sleep as her imagination took over. So this is what people meant by sexual frustration. She wasn't sure if she was pissed or pleased about it.

Eventually her weary mind allowed her to drift into a lonely, dreamless sleep.

Melon had spent two days trying to come up with an answer to just one question. What now? He knew that Tessa would ask it in some form or another. There was no getting around that. Whether it came as, 'So where do we go from now?' or 'What are we now?' or even 'What are you going to do now?'

He had no answers. He'd spent forty-eight hours straight trying to find some sensible answer but there was none to be had. Not without telling her everything. And there was no way for him to do that. At least, he hadn't thought of a way. He somehow didn't think that coming out to her and saying, 'oh by the way I got cursed by some crazy psychic way back when' would help his case at all. It would sound like he was trying to shift responsibility when he had no intention of doing that. No, he was fully conscious of his own bad choices and their consequences. He just wasn't sure how to relay those consequences to Tessa, as to how they were her consequences now too by association. He didn't want to burden her, but wasn't he already doing so by not telling her?

He stood still for a moment gazing at the palace which gleamed like a beacon in the distance. It was night now. The night before the final match, a match he was almost certain she was in. How could she not be? Either way, she'd be asleep right now in that palace. Hopefully she'd be sleeping well and not worrying about him. He didn't want her to worry. Maybe it was time to go back. Maybe he should be there when she awoke.

The idea sounded good in theory. But he wasn't sure he trusted himself to lie in bed with her, even chastely as he once had, to watch her sleep. No there was nothing chaste left to him. That kiss had awakened new desires in him that had laid dormant for many millenniums. It'd been so long that he thought they'd withered and died. Apparently he'd been wrong on that count. He was afraid his return would rouse her, and then arouse her. He shook his head clearing the thought. But he couldn't. Deep down he knew it to be true. The kiss had done the same thing to her that it'd done to him. Had he not seen it in her eyes when she'd awoken? Yes, something had changed within her. She was no longer a girl, but a woman.

This was definitely a problem. One that he didn't know if he could deal with.

Tessa inclined her head towards Bronson as the start of the match was announced. Already it was the final match, all she had to do was defeat this one last opponent and she would be granted permission to train with the Grand Kai. He failed to return the nicety and Tessa frowned up at the gray skinned beast. There was no better word to describe him. She couldn't consider him to even be humanoid. Four arms, two legs the size of tree trunks and feral growl that sent shivers down her spine.

And as she gazed up at his eight foot frame, she couldn't help but wonder why she was even risking, maybe not life, but certainly limb fighting this thing. Maybe she should just go home. But where was that anymore? She didn't have a home. But worse still, she didn't have a reason to keep plodding on. Maybe she never had one. It had all seemed like such a good idea so very long ago. But what was the point to it anymore? And where the hell was Melon?

Two days he'd been missing and she'd soldiered on through the tournament. Now he wasn't here for the final match either. What if he never came back? Then she'd be all alone in the Otherworld and that didn't sound in the least bit appealing.

Her stomach knotted with anxiety and before she had been able to clear her mind in order to focus on nothing but the fight, the fight had begun without her. Tessa largely took a beating. Continuously pounded into the platform, mostly face down, only to be grabbed by the scruff of her gi and hauled back up to her feet to do it all over again. Her mind reeled with confusion. She couldn't begin to properly get on the defensive, let alone offensive, when it felt as if her mind was an old broken record, skipping and catching on just one thought: Where is he?

She was getting pulverized and her one track mind was the cause. Her anger flared and it helped to start clearing her mind. A punch came flying in towards her face and she deflected it, rolling it outward and opening up Bronson's chest for attack. She knocked him back and stood defensively trying to regain the air that had been mercilessly beaten out of her lungs. As she stood there heaving, glaring at Bronson she saw something just to his right. She blinked, her vision refocusing and she froze when she recognized Melon sitting in the front row. Her entire body relaxed, her hands dropping to her sides, as her fists loosened, her stance straightening out of its defensive crouch as she stared.

And that hesitation nearly cost her. A punch that would have normally been easily deflected caught her right across the jaw, tossing her across the platform into a crumbled heap. She pushed herself up slowly, rubbing her jaw as she gazed up at her opponent who was stalking towards her quickly. Not good, not good, not good!

She was still seeing stars when he grabbed her by the front of her gi, lifting her into the air and planting a knee into her stomach. She coughed up blood as she doubled over upon being dropped. A foot was planted into her ribs, and she was airborne going straight for the invisible barrier. At the last second she flared her ki able to stop herself just in time and flew straight up into the air near the top of the dome. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand looking down at the blood that bore witness to her distraction. She couldn't afford to let that happen again.

She dove towards Bronson, energy flaring at her finger tips boosting the power of her punches. Bronson was barely moved by the attacks and she realized the only reason she'd gotten any leeway with him earlier had been because she'd surprised him. She would have to surprise him again somehow. But how when he was fully aware of her every move. He was stronger, even faster maybe.

Tessa clenched her fists allowing her ki to flare freely, glowing green and gold around her. Bronson only watched, his arms crossed over his chest waiting for the ki blast. She tilted her head slightly gazing at him, measuring him up. She could budge him with a ki blast. But she could pummel him with her fists if she pushed herself higher. She forced all other thoughts of her head, focusing on gathering her energy to its fullest. She squeezed her eyes shut, could feel the roar of her shout rumbling in her chest and like an explosion, the air pulsed out from around her.

The eyes that opened were now blue and she flew at Bronson again, this time with more success. He was on the defensive now, forced to keep up with her line of attack and partially blinded by the haze of yellow energy she emitted. She pulled back slightly, one hand being raised to the level of her chest as she looked down at Bronson. Her fingers instinctively formed the shape of a gun, her thumb hitching back. "Bang." A blast of blue energy grew and fired from the end of her index finger. It landed in Bronson's chest throwing him backwards and off the edge of the platform.

Her toes touched the platform as she lowered herself, the golden haze fading as she tried to get her breathing back under control. The adrenaline that coursed through her veins made it difficult though. She glanced at Bronson and seeing that he was fine, she forced herself to stand up straight but she was still heaving for air. It felt as if she'd been holding her breath for nearly the entire match.

Tessa marched to where she had seen Melon seated. The invisible barrier was still up and she pounded a fist against it near where he stood waiting to file out but he ignored it if he could even hear it. Stepping back, Tessa charged a ki blast in her hand and fired it so that it went off against the barrier mere inches from his ear. He and everyone near him jumped turning to stare at her. She rested her fists on her hips gazing at him alone and he paused as the spectators swarmed past him. She gestured for him to meet her near the fighter's waiting area and he nodded solemnly before turning back into the stream of moving bodies.

She sprinted around the perimeter of the dome towards the waiting area and patience not being one of her virtues; she pushed and shoved her way through the crowd in his direction. When she found him, she rushed forward and before the demon could react she had her arms wrapped around his middle from behind. "Melon-chan, don't ever leave me like that again," she said, her voice muffled as her cheek was pressed into his chest. Seeing him made winning the tournament meaningless by comparison.

He froze, his hands in midair, his head tilted slightly to the side as he gazed down at the petite Saiyan trying to catch her gaze. "I'm sorry, Tess. It wasn't my intention to make you worry."

"I don't care what your intentions were, don't ever leave me again. Promise me. I don't care why this time. I forgive you no questions asked. I won't push. Just promise you won't do it again."

"I-I can't. I need to stop making promises I can't keep."

"What's so hard about that to keep? You just don't run off and leave me again. All you have to do is take five seconds and say why first." She looked up at him blinking back the threatening tears and smiled before pressing her face back into his chest.

Melon sighed. He was unable to step forward, turn around, anything. His body was completely tethered to the ground by her grip. He leaned backwards awkwardly, her body weight throwing off his own center of balance. "Tess, please let me go."

"Never," she whispered holding him tighter.

"If you don't, we're going to fall over."

"I don't care," came the stubborn retort.

"Maybe you don't, but I do. I don't want to accidentally hurt you just because we're a mass of limbs that managed to get stuck in a crawl space between these stadium seats and a concrete wall."

"That sounds kinky," she teased as she slowly loosened her grip until he took a step back and continued to gaze down at her.

"Thank you," he sighed. "Now what's with the paranoia?" He wasn't sure what he'd expected her reaction to be, but it hadn't been this. He gripped her by the upper arms, leaning down slightly so their faces were level. He had never seen her looking so conflicted before.

Tessa looked up at him thinking about what Anya had told her in his absence and frowned. Did she question him outright about the curse? Anya had said he wouldn't tell her, that he would lie to her if pressured. She wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt—a chance to explain things his way. "I was worried about you. The way you'd walked off back there…I was afraid you'd hurt yourself."

"Or someone else?" he asked filling in what she'd really ought to be worried about. He sighed rubbing a hand across the back of his head. "I just needed some air. Some time to get back on the wagon, ok?"

Tessa nodded stiffly trying not to feel hurt that he was lying through omission of the truth. Could his curse really be so bad? "You'd tell me if something was wrong, right?"

"Tess, I've already told you what's wrong. You're a freaking powerhouse and I'm an addict without a support group to speak of." He smiled though as he rested his hand on her shoulder. "It wasn't my intention to make you worry."

"I know, you just—needed air," she sighed still feeling discouraged by his lack of honesty.

Melon gazed down at her feeling uneasy. Something about her wasn't sitting right with him. It was as if she knew something wasn't meshing in his story but she wasn't going to tell him how she knew either. "You know that I don't want to leave you, right? I would never leave you unless I had to." Because I can't, and I've tried, and I've failed. It will take the power of the Kais to bind and chain me to keep me away from you.

Tessa looked up at him sideways and sighed before shaking her head. Not in a way that meant she didn't know. But in a way that seemed to say that at the moment, she didn't care. Melon felt as if his heart was breaking as he looked at her like that. Somehow he'd hurt her gravely, and the idea of doing so hurt him beyond his own comprehension.

Despite winning the tournament, Tessa had to wait her turn to train with the Grand Kai. Apparently a hundred years had not been long enough for the last winner of the tournament. But Tessa didn't mind. She was actually enjoying the less strenuous time she suddenly found on her hands. She couldn't remember the last time she'd done anything besides train. Not that she allowed herself to slack off. She would still wake up each morning, go out into the gardens and meditate before training on her own. She was afraid of becoming feeble if she became negligent of her training.

She would conclude her morning exercise with a run—around the planet. It felt good to run. She didn't run at top speed, but at a controlled pace. It seemed pointless if the run took her only a few minutes. But running at the medium pace she'd found it did burn and it took her at least an hour. Often she'd return to find Melon watching with Grand Kai as the other student trained. But not today. No one could be found out behind the palace this morning.

She bent over, her hands on her knees as she slowed her breathing before standing up and wiping the sweat from her brow by brushing it against the sleeve of her upper arm. She didn't wear her full gi when she went for her exercise like this, just the weighted boots and arm bands, the purple gi pants and purple jersey-like shirt. Anymore, her gi felt a little too formal for such menial exercises. She jogged up to the palace, weaving through the open halls towards her room and grabbed her gi, wrapping it around her before tying it off at the one side.

Melon wasn't there either. Now curious and bored, Tessa wandered throughout the palace trying to find anyone at this point. Such a large home and so few people, it felt like searching for a needle in a haystack. She'd already been searching fruitlessly for an hour when she walked across the second floor of the main lobby and looked down the main staircase to see that the Grand Kai was hosting a woman. She was moderately tall, with long straight dark hair that hung to her shoulders. She was dressed in crimson and navy, her gown flowing past the waist as deep slits were cut up each side. For some reason Tessa felt rooted to the spot, unable to look away despite knowing that it was rude. The woman was like an Amazon, something of legend she'd heard about on Earth. She felt a hand on her hip and an arm arching across her back and she turned her head to look up at him. "Who is she?" she asked.

Melon gave a one armed shrug, his face thoughtful though as he looked down with equal curiosity. "All I know is that Grand Kai sent away his last pupil this morning while you were on your run."

"Really? I hope he's not going to start training her now. I'm patient, but not that patient."

"I don't think she's here to train," Melon said, his brow creasing with concentration. "You should be able to sense that. She's looking for someone."

"Who could she be looking for here? The tournament ended weeks ago. We're the only people here," Tessa argued following Melon's gaze to look back down at the Grand Kai and the woman. "Let me guess, another woman from your past?"

Melon shook his head solemnly. "Anya was it, babe. I swear. One crazy female per millennium."

"That leaves room for two more," Tessa pointed out and Melon cast her a sideways glance before rolling his eyes.

"You count twice," he muttered causing Tessa to smirk. "Maybe you should switch some focus back to your telepathic tricks. You're getting rusty."

"I am not. And who am I to practice on? You're a broken record. It's all 'buah, buah, pretty girl,'" she said mockingly and he shook his head in amusement. "Don't worry, I don't mind a little ego boost every now and then," she said resting her head on his shoulder as she nudged his ribs with her elbow.

"Well, so long as your happy," he replied, but there was no sarcasm.

Grand Kai and the woman turned to walk further into the palace and Tessa started, bolting upright in her surprise. "Okaasan?"

She'd spoken loud enough to cause the woman to look up and before Melon could grab her, Tessa had vaulted the railing to land on the floor below in a slight crouch. She lifted her head slightly to get a better look at the woman's face before bowing it deeply as she shifted her weight into a posture of obeisance. The woman smiled warmly as she walked towards Tessa and placed a gentle hand on her head. "My Tanga-chan," she cooed running her hand down through the girl's hair. "You've grown so much." She offered Tessa a hand, bringing the girl back up to her feet.

"But how…why? Is Otoosan here too?" Tessa was nearly shaking with excitement. She'd never imagined seeing her mother again. What few memories she had of her, had all been fond ones. They had largely been before Frieza had enforced his will with an iron fist. Her mother had always represented the pinnacle of the Saiyan culture in her memories.

"Koenma offered to bring me to the tournament and when I saw you, I spoke to Grand Kai about coming to see you in person. You've become a great fighter, Tanga-chan. And I'm sure your father will want to know everything when I get back."

"I've missed you," Tessa whispered gazing up at the woman, unable to restrain herself with formalities as she rushed into the woman for a hug. She was more than glad to rest her head against her mother's chest, allowing the warm arms to envelope her.

Together, the two women walked through the garden's of the Grand Kai and Tessa found herself to just be staring. Her life as a Saiyan child had seemed so brief compared to the rest of her life. And until this moment, it had felt more like just dreams than some kind of reality. "Musume?"

Tessa blinked and smiled before bowing her head slightly. "Sorry. I was just thinking."

"Tell me about where you've been. How you've been."

"I ended up on Earth. Actually not all that long ago in the grand scheme of things. About thirty years, maybe? Anyway, this lady found me and adopted me. She was really nice. Her name was Amber Reynolds. You should meet her."

"She died?"

"Yeah…humans are far more frail than we are. She died in a car accident."

"What else about Earth?"

Tessa shrugged noncommittally. "I dunno. I grew up. I ran away. I found something I was good at and was trained."

"Who trained you?" the Saiyan woman asked with curiosity. It was hard to believe someone on Earth had the capability of honing a Saiyan's skills.

"A Namekian, named Piccolo. He's the one who told me I could get more training here in the Otherworld. So, I came to get more training and to find out more about, well, you." Tessa looked up at her mother to see that she was deep in thought, a finger pressed to her lips making them thin. "I wanted to know more about my family. To find out what happened to them after everything. I wanted to know what became of Veggie-san."

"Your brother has always been…stubborn," the Saiyan queen said after a few moments of consideration. "When he joined us in Upperworld, he insisted that you must be there too. Ever since, we haven't seen him because he went in search of you."

"Great, now I feel bad," Tessa sighed. "And of course he hasn't been able to find me because I literally was nowhere to be found all that time. Did he tell you anything else? About himself?"

"Very little, I'm afraid. I don't think he wished to talk about it. All he would say is that Frieza had been defeated, but not even by whom."

"I think I know that much. He was another Saiyan, named Goku. I think his Saiyan name was Kakkarot." The Saiyan queen shrugged indifferently. The name meant nothing to her. "Okaasan, do you think you'll be able to find Veggie-san?"

"I eventually found you, didn't I? A mother can always find her children, eventually. Just like when you two were children. I'd find you covered in dodillian pollen and petals after a clever escape from Nappa."

Tessa grinned. "I remember that too. We would go to this field and I would play while Veggie-san trained. Veggie-san was always looking out for me. He didn't want me to appear weak."

"He was a good boy, a great Saiyan in the making. It's a shame what happened to our people. He would have made for a great king."

"And what about me? I'm not asking if I would have been queen or anything, but what would my fate have been if Vegeta-sai would have survived?"

"You would have been mated to a lord or an upper class warrior. While not being the queen, you would have been your brother's advisor on all matters. You would have had greatness as well, Tanga-chan."

"So why wasn't I trained then?" Tessa asked furrowing her brows. She could remember asking as a child but it would always be fluffed off.

"You were the strongest Saiyan born in over a century. Your father and I feared that Frieza would recognize your potential and take you away from us, just as he did with Vegeta. It seems our fears were somewhat justified," she replied solemnly. "You have become a Super Saiyan."

"Yeah…I guess so," Tessa said rubbing the back of her head nervously. "I didn't really have time to process it after the final match."

The woman turned to stand in front of Tessa causing the girl to stop as she looked up into her mother's face. The woman cupped her cheeks in her hands and smiled. "You have achieved greatness beyond what we could have imagined for you. You've certainly proven yourself capable of taking care of yourself and making your own decisions."

"Now that I'm not so sure about," Tessa said shaking her head free of her mother's touch. "I'm pretty good at making bad decisions."

Tessa received a knowing smile in return as they started to walk again, circling back towards the palace. "Musume, you must have more faith in yourself. You are fated for greatness still. Your path lies before you, unknown but ready to followed."

"What does that even mean?"

"It means that you should stop doubting yourself. Do what you think is best."

"I don't know what that is. I've never really had much of a game plan, really. I came here to find out what happened to my family. Maybe my road ends here."

The queen straightened up a little and shook her head. Tessa was struck by the elegance and the imperialism of the motion. "You should use your training, your strengths, your knowledge, your love and do more. You're not ready for the Upperworld yet, Tanga-chan."

"But Okaasan…"

"Please, understand, it's a mother's intuition to know these things about her children. I know you have more to give this universe."

Tessa fell silent unable to argue with something like that. Besides, the last thing she wanted to do was argue or worse, disappoint her mother. "How did you die, Okaasan?" she asked breaking the silence that had befallen them.

The woman seemed hesitant to respond as she lowered her gaze. "It's rare, but we Saiyans occasionally contract a disease of the heart. When Frieza threatened to take you and Vegeta away from us, I grew angry to the point of a violent rage. I flew at him, and in the stress, my heart gave out. I believe that it was my final insult to that monster; that I died before he could have the pleasure in killing me himself."

Tessa was somewhat awestruck by this. Her mother had had the courage to face Frieza despite the immeasurable odds set against her. All in order to protect her children from an ill-willed fate. It had been in vain, but nonetheless it was a sacrifice for the right reasons.

"And Otoosan?"

"He died at Frieza's hand in a vain attempt at an insurgence. He and his guards boarded Frieza's ship to attack because both you and your brother had been kidnapped by Frieza's men. It was the final insult to the Saiyan people."

"I'm sorry I couldn't do anything to regain the honor of our family."

"You are. Right now, you are. You are amongst the greatest Saiyans that ever lived, and you represent your people every day that you struggle to become better yet. You embody the best qualities we had to offer. A mother could ask for no more."

"Well, I guess I'm the last though, right? After me, there's no more Saiyans. So even if I do get wished back to life, no one will remember the Saiyans."

"That's not true. You will have children and they will be Saiyans. They'll carry the royal blood and the memory of our people with them."

Tessa laughed at this idea. "Me? Children? I'm sixteen. And I haven't exactly had much luck with families and don't see myself starting to have any luck. Especially since there aren't any eligible Saiyan lords around for me to be mated to."

"You're only a few months shy of maturity by Saiyan standards. And nobody said you had to be mated to a Saiyan."

"Wouldn't that be an atrocity to the royal bloodline or something?" Tessa asked cocking an eyebrow.

"You were the second born. And it's not as if your father and I are there to make the arrangements. You're capable of making your own choices in the matter. Besides, if I'm correct that demon is more than a little attached to you."

"Melon?" Tessa asked glancing up and realized that Melon was standing on a balcony above them. Not because he was keeping tabs or trying to eavesdrop but because like any other time, he was simply drawn towards her like a piece of flint to a magnet. "He thinks we're partially mated—by accident," Tessa responded hurriedly, her words nearly slurring together in the rush.

"There are no such things as accidents when it comes to mating, Musume," her mother responded with a wink. "If a bond is successful after the transference of energy, you are bound in such a way that not even death can part you."

"You think…we're really…mated?" Tessa's voice dropped off as it caught roughly in her throat. "I'm sixteen," she repeated herself whirling to face her mother.

"A few mere months from being an adult by Saiyan standards. Just because you're a Saiyan does not mean that you can't feel love," the woman said placing a hand on Tessa's chest over her heart.

Tessa suddenly could feel her heart nearly pounding out of her chest with nervousness. She chewed her lower lip and gazed down at the ground, staring at the path that lay out before their feet. Until she'd spoken of it, she hadn't actually given it much thought in the past years. She and Melon were partially mated. Now something else had been added to the plague of thoughts, she was sixteen and he was cursed. Talk about having all odds set against you.

Seeing her daughter's silence, the Saiyan woman just smiled softly. "Musume, I know that you're frightened by this. You're allowed to be. I remember being frightened too when I realized that I was meant to be with your father. Here I was suddenly all kinds of attracted to the newly risen leader of our people. And to make matters worse, he returned those feelings. I thought I was going to be assassinated," she laughed.

"I don't think there's a line of women ready to take me out in hopes of capturing Melon," Tessa sighed. "He's cursed. But hell if I know what that means," she grumbled as an afterthought. "He won't tell me what it is even though he knows I know that something's the matter."

"Those things do not matter in comparison to the connection you feel to him. Right? You would give him the moon if it were yours to give, curse or no curse."

"Of course, but I don't think he'll take it," Tessa replied exasperated. "And besides, where is this going to go? I can't leave with him, but I'm certainly not about to leave without him." Tessa was quickly working herself up into a tizzy. She'd been penning up all of these fears for so long that it felt good to finally have someone to let them all out onto. "What if I screw it up? I could be here for a really long time and I'll always be stuck in this pubescent sixteen year old body. I may be only a few months away from adulthood, but until I leave Otherworld, I won't ever reach it. And if I leave Otherworld, I'll have to leave him. I can't have it both ways," Tessa said stoically before lowering her gaze. It was far too tempting to sneak a glance back over her shoulder to see if Melon was still watching from the balcony.

Her mother's brows furrowed at this as she grew contemplative. "I see your dilemma now. Maturity versus love."

Tessa nodded stoically. "Unless Yemma-Heika releases him, he's trapped here even though I can be wished back to life. But I'm too scared to leave him because I know if I go back, I'll be alone. I've been alone my entire life. Why did I have to die to find people who care about me?"

Her mother didn't have a response to this but gently wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulders. "Musume, what matters is that you are loved. And I'm glad someone has found you and is taking care of you. I wish I could have."