Among the Vay

Editor's note: this story contains scenes of non-consensual or reluctant sex.

*

Maya made her way through her village towards the bakery, using her determined stride to mask her anxiety. She didn't look left or right at the neat houses of her neighbors. She didn't want to talk to any of the other women making their way through their daily chores and errands. Conversations with acquaintances were only about one thing now and it wasn't a topic she wanted to dwell on.

The bell above the bakery door rang as she walked inside. Faye the baker looked up and smiled. Faye's smile was wide and sunny, but Maya had known that smile her whole life, so she could see the strain underneath.

"Maya!" Faye exclaimed, genuinely happy to see her.

Maya smiled just a little at Faye's bright tone. In addition to making excellent bread, Faye was the only real friend Maya had in the village. Unlike Maya, Faye was friendly and bubbly and a joy to talk to. She could have been close friends with anyone, but she had chosen Maya. Maya would never admit it, but she saw that as an honor.

"Hey Faye," said Maya.

"Here for your daily bread?"

"Of course. Is my credit still good?" Asked Maya.

"Oh come on," Said Faye, "After all the letters you've written for me you're good into the next decade. Even if you weren't. It's not like I'm going to call you on it now."

Maya nodded and gave Faye a small smile. She knew a few months ago her smile would have been wider. Faye bit her lip just slightly. She must have noticed the worry barely hidden in Maya's expression.

Faye pulled a long baker's loaf from the rack behind her and set it on the freshly wiped counter. Then she pulled one of her blueberry tarts from the glass display on the counter. It was filled with custard and glazed with sugar.

"Oh Faye, I can't take that," Said Maya, "We haven't gotten a new shipment of sugar in weeks."

"Yeah I used the last of my supply to make these," said Faye, "But I know how hard this is for you and... I don't know, we might as well enjoy them. We have to hear something soon. When we do I'm either going to give out the rest of these to celebrate or... Anyway I want you to have first crack. I need to know they came out alright."

Maya raised an eyebrow, "So I'm your guinea pig."

"You're so good at it. You always let me know exactly how you feel."

Maya threw her head back and laughed. It was a little too high pitched to be pretty, but it was honest and pure.

When Maya looked back at Faye she was smiling again. Faye looked a little strained though. The strength of Maya's laugh only reminded Faye of its long absence.

"Have you heard anything?" Asked Faye. The catch in her voice was like a paper cut.

Maya shook her head, "There's still post going to the front, but none coming back."

Faye went a little pale and her eyes moistened.

"But don't worry," Continued Maya, "They're so far out there it takes forever for post to get back, and most of it'll be going to the military anyway. It doesn't mean anything."

Faye nodded, "Right, right yeah," she didn't sound very convinced.

There was a long awkward silence. Those were new too. Faye was normally the chattiest friend Maya had; the chattiest person in town; maybe the chattiest person in the world. But these days there wasn't much to talk about. That wasn't true. There was only one thing; one really big, overwhelming thing that no one wanted to talk about, and it crowded out anything else.

"I should get back to my sister," Said Maya, "We had a few contracts to finish up."

"Alright, yeah. We still on for tonight?" Asked Faye.

Maya nodded in mock seriousness. Faye still insisted they get together every few days for Maya to read to her. The romances and adventures from their small library were one of the few escapes they had left, "Of course. Third chapter of the Crown Cycle. Its my favorite. I can't wait"

Faye smiled again, and for once the strain was gone. Maya was grateful even the prospect of a good adventure could set her at ease,

"Alright, see you soon," Said Faye.

"Yeah, see you soon."

With that, Maya left the bakery and returned home, once again ignoring the other women she passed by.

...

Maya walked through the door of the telegraph and transcription office attached to their house. She was welcomed by the familiar scritch of a pen and the musty smell of paper.

Her sister Abby looked up from her writing desk as she entered, giving Maya a wide smile. Abby seldom smiled, so to see it now was even more exciting than getting a genuine smile out of Faye.

"There was a letter while you were gone, from Daniel," There was only the slightest bit of happiness in Abby's voice, but give her usual reserve, that was the equivalent of Faye squealing.

Maya gave a start, then rushed to the back where the telegraph was. To see the letter from Daniel. H er husband. Who she hadn't heard from in over a month. Ever since he and every other able bodied man in town had gone to war.

Maya made her way to the desk, where the crystal on the encast receiver was glowing a faint blue, indicating a message was ready to be received. There were several messages in the queue, the first batch from the front in almost a week. Most of them encrypted military communiques for her to copy and send ahead without ever understanding them. Among the military code was Daniel's name. Her throat grew a lump at the sight of it.

They had only been married a three years but it had been a good three years. Maya was too proud to pray to the gods to thank them for sending Daniel her way but she knew her sister did it for her. Even if she never thanked the gods herself she knew she had gotten pretty lucky. Who else would have put up with her temper and with a younger sister being part of the marriage package? But Daniel took it all with a smile. He seemed to find her big laugh, her relentless arguing, even her volcanic temper endlessly amusing. To be honest he gave as good as he got. Faye once told her the rest of the town was making bets on how long their marriage would last, but she knew everyone that doubted them would be disappointed. None of them knew the glee that was in Daniel's eyes when they fought. None of them knew most of the time they were just arguing about some book they had read. None of them knew how sweet the kissing and making up was afterwards.

She pulled his message card from the pile, fitted it into the receiver slot, and slammed the telegraph button.

The sympathetic link between the letter placed by Daniel in the telegraph in the front and the one in her office formed. Then the letter began transmitting across the scores of miles that separated them. The page Abby had left in the receiver began staining with ink and Daniel's letter faded into existence on the blank page. The wait for the ink to set was interminable, but finally the letter finished forming . Maya picked it up with shaking hands and read:

My love,

I'm sorry it's been so long since I've written. The orcs had some way to block telegraphing. I didn't know that was even possible, and the mages didn't' either. Whatever sorcery they were using is gone now.

I love you and I miss you more than I can say. I need to get that down first. You need to know that first, because I don't have much time or ink.

We lost my love. I'm so sorry but we lost. I really thought lord Aramore could pull it off. I've been handling my captain's communiques. Aramore had this whole grand strategy worked out that looked brilliant on paper. I've read about this stuff in my spare time and I thought it was going to work.

But there were just too many of them. I've never heard of a horde this big. I swear to god there's never been a horde like this. They stretched to the horizon. An endless sea of green.

We fought for days. I was in the shield wall for hours on end. I rested less than most. You would have been proud.

There's still a lot of us left. There's still hope. The army is retreating to Redmoor to wait for reinforcements from the western baronies.

But there's nothing left between you and the orcs but a few towns and some farmland. You need to get out. Take Abby and pack up the ink and the telegraph and make for Bulwark. It's got good walls and supplies for months.They'll need telegraphers and scribes. You and Abby will be able to make your way there until I can come for you. I've requested a position in a detachment to man Bulwark's defenses and slow the horde's advance. I should arrive there a short time after you do.

I know you're going to be okay. You were always stronger than me, and I'm still here. Take care of Abby and know that I love you,

Dani-

The rest of his name was gone, and Maya realized a tear had blotched it out, and the blotch had transferred through the telegraph. She lowered the letter and it fell from her numb fingers. She stared up to where their marriage certificate hung on the wall. Maya had written it herself. She had teased Daniel that she didn't want it to have any spelling errors.

"Maya? What did he say?" Asked Abby.

Maya turned around and saw looked at her sister standing in the doorway. Most people assumed they had different fathers. Abby was slight and pale and willowy where Maya was tall, broad and dense. She was quiet where Maya was loud, always looking down and biting her lip whenever anyone tried to talk to her. Only their laughs marked them as sisters. One would always set off the other, their voices rising in a perfect duet. Abby had always been fragile. Not in spirit, but a childhood illness and their horrible parents had left marks on her. From the day Maya turned sixteen she had sworn to all the gods she would do anything to protect her.

Maya looked down at the letter and resisted the urge to crumble it in her fist. It might be the last thing of Daniel's she'd ever have.

"He says we need to go."

...

Faye trudged steadily forward next to Maya, thanking the gods once again she had bought a new hat a few weeks back. She had bought it because she looked amazing in it but it turned out to be really good at keeping the sun off too. She looked up and made a tisking noise. Maya had pulled ahead of her again. It really wasn't fair, Maya was only a few inches taller than her, well maybe six or so, but it must have all been in her legs. Faye felt like she needed to take two steps for every one of Maya's.

Daniel's letter had gone through the town like wildfire, sending the women and the children that remained there into a frenzy of panic. The mayor's wife and Maya had managed to calm everyone down. After a furious debate, about half the town had decided to take Daniel's advice and make for Bulwark. Faye had been tempted to stay. She couldn't bring her oven with her, so what was she supposed to do in Bulwark? Sitting around and begging didn't sound very appealing to her. She never voiced her misgivings though. She knew Maya would have given her that glare and she would have folded in three seconds, so there wasn't really a point in arguing.

"I wouldn't bother chasing after her. In a few minutes she'll realize she's pulled ahead. Then she'll let us catch up," Said Abby.

Faye turned to Abby, who was sitting on one of the baggage carts. Abby had walked for a few miles before her legs gave out and was taking a rest. She had repeated that cycle over the last day. If it had been any other grown woman on that cart one of the housewives would have shamed her into walking, but everyone loved Abby too much to say anything. And they knew what they owed Maya.

Faye shrugged, "I guess you're right. She could have a little more consideration though."

Abby smiled indulgently, "It's just her way. She gets a caught up in whatever she's doing."

"Oh really? I hadn't noticed."

They walked quietly for a while. Then Abby spoke up, "I'm sorry you didn't hear from Darren. I'm sure he's fine too."

Faye tried to smile but it must have looked awful, because Abby started, "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said anything."

"No, thank you for saying it," Faye took a deep breath, pushing down her anxiety, "No one else has said Anything. Guess they don't want to upset me and they have their own men to worry about."

Abby paused for a second, looking sad. Then nodded gravely.

Not that Faye would ever tell anyone, but she didn't really miss Darren that much. It was like she missed bits and pieces of him. She missed that smile and those muscles. The earnest, dopey looks he gave her. Most of all she missed the dinners. Darren's family had one of the biggest farms in the area, with a personal line of hogs they had bred over generations. The pork chops darren cooked for their dinners had made every evening with him a delight. More than anything, when she thought of Darren she the taste of those pork chops.

People thought the fear she felt was from losing him, but it was more about losing her future. Catching him had been her greatest achievement. The culmination of a lifetime of hard work. She knew once she had her ring on Darren, she would be a woman of status in town who never had to worry about making ends meet. She could finally stop baking common bread and dedicate herself to the pastries she loved so much. She could stop being a baker and start being the artist she was meant to be. She could entertain the powerful merchants who came to trade for Darren's hogs and shepard him along to more wealth and respect. She had eloped with him the night before he marched out and they had spent a long and somewhat satisfying night together. She knew elopement marriages were easy to contest, and if he got killed at the front there was no guarantee his family would honor it.

Then another thought wormed its way into her mind. Darren's farm could be as dead as he was. His wonderful huge farmhouse burned, his hogs in some orc's stomachs. He didn't have to be dead for her future to be dead.

Some of her fear must have played across her face, because Abby but a hand on her arm. She jumped a little at the touch. She had forgotten Abby was there.

"It's going to be fine. I've been praying," Said Abby.

Faye smiled. She had never been particularly religious, but Abby was so earnest it always bumped her faith up a few notches, "Thanks. I know the gods listen extra hard to you."

"Don't be mean."

"I'm not. I really mean it."

Abby looked down and blushed at the compliment. Suddenly there was a shout from behind them and some screams.

Abby stood on the cart, shielding her eyes firm the sun and desperately searching back the way they had come, "What is it?"

Faye looked back and squinted. She saw people running, scrambling toward her. Terror plastered across their faces. Whatever they were running from was still too far away for her to make it out.

Then Abby gasped and pointed, "Look!"

Faye turned and looked where Abby was pointing. There were the misshapen figures loping over the crest of a hill, directly towards them.

Faye had never seen an orc before. Just pictures in Maya and Abby's books, but it was pretty much what she had been expecting. They were huge. If they hadn't been hunched over they would have all been at least seven feet tall. They were all green, ranging from a bright lime to a deep pine. They had broad, knotted shoulders and thick arms that contrasted bizarrely with their skinny bow legs.

They cantered toward the caravan, using their arms and legs together to propel them faster than any human could run. First a few, then several, until a score made their way over the hills lining the road, barrelling down on the refugees.

Faye screamed.

...

Abby walked steadily between Faye and her sister, ignoring the the faintness in her head and her short breaths. She knew she couldn't afford to fall behind, couldn't lean on anyone like she usually did, or she'd never see her sister again.

Faye gave a small sniffle. She had thrown a fit when they were first taken, weeping uncontrollably as they were marched through the hilly terrain by the pack of orcs. It had taken almost twenty minutes to calm her down. Between Maya's firm admonishments and Abby's gentle prodding, they had finally gotten her to settle somewhat.

Abby knew she should be scared too. She should be crying like Faye or have her jaw grimly set like Maya, but she just wasn't. She felt calm and at peace. Maya always thought her faith was silly. With all the tragedy in their pasts, praying to the gods seemed like a joke to her. But when Abby had gotten sick she had prayed to the gods to save her and they had reached down and taken her illness away. When it became clear she was too weak from her illness to work a farm she had prayed to the gods again and they had given her and Maya the gift of writing. Words came to her more easily than song to a bird, and her fierce, intelligent sister picked it up almost as easily. When dad had died Abby had prayed to the gods to save them, and the gods had brought Daniel. He had accepted her and as a partner rather than a third wheel and helped them start their business. So no matter how dire their present circumstances were, she prayed to the gods and knew she'd be okay.

"Where are they taking us?" Asked Faye. She still sounded on the edge of panic.

"I don't know," Said Maya, curtness masking her fear.

"Do you think they're going to kill us?"

"I don't know," said Maya.

"Oh god what if they eat us?" Said Faye, her panic was bubbling to the surface again.

Abby was afraid Faye was going to have another crying fit. She didn't know how many of those the orcs would tolerate.

"Faye, stop! God!" Snapped Maya.

Faye's eyes got wet again, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry I just..."

"I know, I know but panicking isn't going to help," Said Maya, "We need to stay calm and wait for an opening."

Abby smiled. That was her sister. She always had her eye on the next step. Always the practical one.

They crested a hill and stopped in shock, the orcs letting them just look for a minute. The orc camp was arrayed in a hollow below them. It was huge, their entire town could have been tucked into it without anyone noticing. It bustled with activity, orcs moving back and forth among rounded leather tents. There were enough tents for thousands of orcs. After a moment, their captors growled and they started down into the camp.

As they approached the outskirts of the camp more details became clear, and what Abby saw shocked her. She looked at her friends and saw their surprise equaled her own. The camp was much more orderly and sophisticated than she could have imagined. The orcs who had captured them had confirmed the stories they had grown up with and what she had read in books. It was clear the orcs were barely intelligent, communicating in grunts and simple words and with large, awkwards hands not suited for any sort of delicate work. But the tents that made up the camp showed craftsmanship far beyond what was possible from near mindless beasts. There were rough row houses made of cut logs with heavy leather thrown over the wooden frames and tied taught. But the tents were made of canvas or cured leather and were stitched together with a steady hand. Some even had spiraling scrollwork painted on them. There were a second smaller set of tents that were even more complicated. As complex as something humans would design. They had fine, precise stitching and even more elaborate murals painted on the sides.

The orcs pushed them into a clearing in the tents. A bare space with a few wooden benches scattered about for gatherings. In the center of the clearing stood a woman. She was the bright green of new spring leaves, but her height and build resembled a human's. She was average height, a little taller than Abby, a little shorter than Maya, with the slender frame of someone used having others do work for her. She had long, straight, lustrous black hair woven into a complex braid, with multicolored ribbons as accents. She wore a loose white blouse and a long brown skirt stitched with elaborate designs that mirrored the colorful whorls painted on the tents.