She glanced around for a moment, and then made to lie down next to the courtesan.
"Wait," Mazin said, holding up a hand, "there's a basket over there that has rolled-up mats in it. Grab one and lie on it. That way you don't get sand all over yourself."
"Thank you," Gwennalyn replied, heading in the direction that the courtesan had gestured towards.
After a quick search, she found the basket, retrieved a mat, and rejoined Mazin.
She laid there for a little while, drying the slow way. Every time an orc passed her, a small burst of excitement went through her, as she imagined them taking in the strange splendor of her nakedness. None of them gave her a second glance, but that lack of attention did not stop those bursts of excitement.
"Good morning, princess," a familiar voice addressed her.
She glanced up to see King Victorin standing before her, the tribe elder next to him.
"Good morning, King Victorin."
"I hear that you had quite the night. Thoroughly introduced yourself to the tribe."
She bit her lip.
"Yes, well, they were so welcoming."
The king chuckled, and then gestured to the elder.
"The elder has invited us to his hut for breakfast. Would you like to join us?"
"I would be delighted," she said, rising to her feet.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The princess walked through the cluster of huts alongside the king, the elder, and Mazin.
At breakfast, she had eaten plenty. Although the orcs now knew she was a female, they were not yet convinced that she was just skinny, not starving, so they had repeatedly refilled her bowl. Mazin had been happy enough to help her finish those portions.
After the meal, the elder had offered to take her on a tour of the rest of the village, and she had eagerly accepted.
The huts where the orcs lived were clustered together in groups, with the areas between those clusters dedicated to gardens, livestock pens, the occasional larger hut, and sometimes just empty space. There were smaller pathways that branched off from that main thoroughfare that had led to the river, branching themselves eventually, leading towards different parts of the village.
There were orcs all about. Some were bustling about, working in different capacities, while others were lounging around, the occasional group relaxing in front of a hut or sharing in some sort of activity in one of those empty spaces in between the clustered huts.
In front of a hut to her right, on what looked to be a tree stump, sat an old, wizened female. A group of children sat on mats before her, staring up at her as she spoke, her hands moving through the air dramatically. As the quartet approached, her voice became audible, the smooth, deep tones rising and falling along with her gestures.
Something smacked into the princess from behind, knocking her forward slightly.
She turned to see a small child staring up at her with wide eyes.
"Hello there," Gwennalyn said politely.
The child chuffed shyly.
"She says hello," the king translated.
There was a group of children with the girl. They had been looking over towards the old orc, but when they noticed the princess, they joined the girl in staring at her.
"I'm Gwennalyn," the princess introduced herself.
The elder chuffed to the king.
"Her name is Zari," the king told her.
"Hello, Zari," she said.
The girl's face broke into a bright smile.
And then she grabbed the princess' hand. The group with her ran over to sit before the old orc, and the girl dragged Gwennalyn behind her as she followed.
The princess giggled. As Zari was still quite small, she was not as strong as the other tribals and thus not as easily able to overpower the princess. But Gwennalyn did not want to disappoint her.
So, she allowed herself to be dragged over to the group of children, looking apologetically over her shoulder at the other three.
When she reached the group of children, Zari tugged at her hand. Gwennalyn took the hint and sat down on the mat. Zari plopped down in her lap, wiggling to get comfortable.
The other children all regarded her with wide-eyed wonder.
They're all younger than the ones who were outside my hut.
A few children scooched closer now. One even stood and reached over to stroke at her hair. Her giggle made the child draw back, but she smiled, and leaned forward with her head tilted down. The child was tentative, but after a few seconds, stroked her hair again. When she kept still, a few other children joined in, murmuring to each other in amazement.
"Have fun with your new friends," King Victorin called over, the elder nodding encouragingly as well.
The trio continued past the hut, leaving her there.
The old orc had paused, and now chuffed at the children, who all hurriedly sat back down. As they found their places, she smiled at Gwennalyn.
With the children's attention back on her, she began to speak again.
Although Gwennalyn understood none of it, she still enjoyed sitting in the middle of the children as they listened, enraptured, to the old orc. Zari squirmed from time to time, but her warm weight was strangely comforting.
The old orc's gestures soon grew more dramatic, and her voice rose theatrically. The children gasped and murmured constantly, their expressions of astonishment sometimes making the princess laugh.
When the old orc finished speaking, the children bombarded her with questioning chuffs, each of which she answered patiently. The princess spent that time looking from child to child, at their inquisitive faces, taking in their different tattoos and hairstyles, trying as well to figure out which were boys, and which were girls.
Once the last of the questions were answered, the old orc stood, and went behind her hut for a few minutes.
As soon as she was out of sight, one of the children grunted to Zari, who climbed from Gwennalyn's lap.
The child who had grunted padded over and sat there, the princess giggling as they wiggled into a comfortable position. The other children stared in continuing amazement.
The old orc came back a few minutes later, carrying a basket.
The basket was filled with bright orange fruits, which she handed out. There was one for each child, and one for Gwennalyn, who took hers with a grateful smile. The children did not hesitate to eat their fruit, so she followed their lead.
The skin of the fruit was tender, and the meat was sweet and juicy. The children ate enthusiastically and messily, taking loud bites, chattering with each other with full mouths, little rivulets of juice streaming down their chin.
When she finished her fruit, the old orc, smiling kindly, handed her another.
By now resigned to these additional offerings of food, the princess took the fruit with a matching smile, and bit into it.
Most of the children had finished their fruit by that time and were watching her bite into her second with that same innocent wonder. Giggling at those looks, she held it out to the child sitting next to her, who took it, and observed the bite marks closely. After that studious examination, the child took a bite, and passed it along to the others. The fruit went around, each child taking a bite, until it reached the child in her lap. After that last chomp, the princess was left a few last bites, and took them as gracefully as she could, the children's attention still fixed on her.
Once she had finished that second fruit, the old orc spoke, and every child looked to her.
The old orc started off with a low voice, leaning closer to the group, the children quickly entranced.
So it went for a little while, the old orc enthralling the children, adding more dramatic gestures, changing the tone of her voice from time to time. The princess sat there, pins and needles cropping up in both feet from sitting cross-legged, that discomfort easily ignored as she listened to the old orc and looked around at all the children.
But finally, the old orc finished speaking. Again, questions came from the children, the old orc patiently answering each one. After the last question, she stood, and said something that immediately received a chorus of chuffs.
She nodded at that chorus, and again shuffled back around the hut.
One of the children grunted at the one in her lap, who crawled from that seat, letting that other child scurry to sit in between her thighs. She giggled, staring down at the other child as they looked up curiously at her.
"Comfortable?" she asked teasingly.
The child chuffed.
Another child soon grunted at that child and took their place. The others gathered round, watching intently.
By the time every child had taken a turn sitting in her lap, the princess could not feel her feet, but was nonetheless delighted to be so interesting. Some simply sat there, appreciating what was likely a strange experience, while others wriggled to find a comfortable spot, and others spent their time in her lap staring curiously up at her. Whatever child was in her lap was spoken to by the others with questioning chuffs.
