As always, a great big thank you to EmmaKendrick01 for sharing her thoughts on the chapter!
*
The sun hung high in the afternoon sky, beating down on Gwennalyn and Cocoa, the former perched atop the latter, setting him to an easy stride along the corral.
It was the end of her first week with the orcs.
Without the specter of her impending marriage, the actual presence of her husband-to-be, and the boring politics of the capital's court, her spirits were high, helped along by the fact that she was constantly around orcs who would gladly rut her into a blissful stupor. Such easy access meant that she was always in one of three states: fresh off a fucking, taking a fucking, or imagining the next fucking, which thankfully was usually never too far away. Interspersed with these times of submission were the moments spent entangled with her handmaiden and those spent masturbating to the memory of any given fucking.
The bloodclove tea that Deiara had brewed earlier in the week had proven to be very potent, enough so that a daily dose was not needed.
There had been another herbal recipe she had learned from Baltar that had also proven useful.
"He told me that old orcs use it," the handmaiden had told her, holding out a small bowl filled with a fragrant lotion.
The princess had taken the offering, trusting but still sniffing curiously.
"Orcs heal well," Deiara had continued, "better than we do. But when they get older, it takes longer, so the older orcs, when they exert themselves too much, they use elder salve to speed up the healing process. It rejuvenates the muscles and soothes the flesh. Baltar thought it would come in handy for after your escapades."
Both women had been left sore from the previous day's events.
But soon after Deiara had applied the salve, first to the princess and then herself, they had felt the effects, the lotion helping their aches dissipate and their bruises fade. Elder salve had made her current life of constant submission easier, as orcs could ravage her enthusiastically, and she could the next day repeat the same routine with minimal residual soreness. The handmaiden had tried to explain the herbs that went into the recipe, but for the princess, such details were unimportant so long as it worked.
Cocoa huffed underneath her. Leaning forward, she ran a hand down his mane, cooing softly.
It had become a daily habit to come to the stables. If it was not to ride around the city with Nefera, who had overseen most of her cultural education for the past few days, it was for a leisurely stroll around the corral. Whichever it was, the horse was always amiable, reminding her of Zephyr back home.
I hope someone's taking good care of him.
Over at the fence surrounding the corral stood Fulg.
Part of this daily habit involved teasing him. His reaction to her shameless overtures was always awkward embarrassment, which in turn always made her giggle. The fact that he had not yet taken her up on the offers of letting him ride her like a broodmare in heat was slightly confusing and only somewhat disappointing.
We have plenty of time for that.
Walking up to Fulg now were two older orcs.
One was dressed plainly, but the other was immediately familiar from his wardrobe.
Gwennalyn had quickly learned that aside from ceremonial events and international affairs, these orcs preferred simple garments, in both color and design.
But Alikil, the Chief Priest, distinguished himself with his bright outfits, his robes always a garish purple.
The two orcs chose horses, and as they climbed on, she set Cocoa to trot over.
"Greetings, Princess," Alikil called to her.
"Greetings, Chief Priest."
Fulg opened the gate. She smiled down at the young orc, nodding her thanks as she led Cocoa out.
"So, what shall I learn today?" she asked Alikil as the trio headed away from the stables.
"I shall bring you to the Temple of the Gods," he said solemnly, "where you will learn about those who we worship."
They set off into the city proper, the attendant staying slightly behind them.
Much like Alikil stood out for his ostentatious garb, the Temple of the Gods stood out for its imposing profile, relative size to its surroundings, and the swirls of colors arrayed all over the outside. Red mingled with brown, green with black, white with purple, silver with blue, among other combinations, the whorls starting low to the ground and reaching high up to the tops of the four towers that stood one at each corner of the structure.
The trio dismounted just in front of the temple, three attendants hurrying over to take the horses from them.
"These are novices," he told Gwennalyn, gesturing to them, "they are in the process of dedicating their lives to worshipping the gods and helping others do the same."
The novices bowed their heads, before leading the horses away.
A set of stairs took them down to a small plaza area before the entrance proper.
Once inside, she saw just how high the vaulted ceilings rose, the same colors on the outside adorning them as well. There were rows and rows of benches, leading down to a raised dais which seemed to her right now to be very far away.
"Here, princess," Alikil called.
He was standing by a statue of a female orc. Her physical assets were impressive, a rippling musculature that blended in with a generous voluptuousness. In her left hand was a carpentry hammer, in her right a tightly bound scroll.
"Do you know who this is?"
She shook her head.
"This is Irezis. Perhaps you have heard her name."
She nodded. A small smile that appeared on the Chief Priest's face.
"She is our Mother Goddess. The goddess of creation, education, intimacy, fertility, and most relevant to you, sexuality."
"And this," he continued, leading her across to the other wall, "is Kulzis."
This statue was of a tall, broad orc, his countenance stern and stoic, a battle-axe in his left hand and a small scale in his right.
"He is our Father God. The god of combat and challenge."
Alikil led her past the statues, along the benches, until they came to a grotto hidden in the wall. The inside was low-ceilinged and dim, with one table on the other side, several small colorful pots on top of it. A strong incense burned, making her nose twitch.
A female orc dressed in robes of rich brown stood in front of the table.
"This is Kishari," Alikil said, "a priestess of Irezis."
Kishari nodded at the princess, smiling warmly.