Thank you once again to Emma Kendrick for providing feedback on this chapter!
The small group of children was clustered around the hut, ears pressed to the door.
From the inside, moans were audible.
[Is she okay?], Nakar asked Yoa worriedly.
[Yeah,] Ikeho added, [she might be hurt.]
[Don't be stupid,] Yoa shot back, [does it sound like she's in pain?]
[I can't tell,] Surag murmured, brow furrowed in concentration.
Yoa stepped back from the door.
[She's pleasuring herself.]
Gurkam shook his head.
[It doesn't sound like it. It's too quiet. Maybe she stubbed a toe or something.]
[Do you really think she would sound like the adults? She's so small. Probably couldn't roar to save her life.]
The children kept their ears pressed to the door.
The moans spiked into a squeal, and then stopped.
[Let's check if she's okay,] Izienji suggested, his hand rising to knock on the door.
Yoa grabbed his hand.
[What are you doing? She's okay, she's just pleasuring herself.]
The other children glanced back and forth between the two of them.
[Since when do you know so much about humans?] Izienji asked in annoyance. [You thought she was a starving boy like everyone until Azebar told you she wasn't.]
Yoa rolled her eyes.
[Obviously, I know more than all of you. And why are you all here anyway? I'm her guide, not any of you.]
[We want to see her up close,] Surag said sheepishly, the others nodding in agreement.
Yoa rolled her eyes again.
[Can we?] Arosam asked, the others adding their own hopeful murmurs.
She sighed.
[Fine. Just don't be stupid.]
As the children nodded excitedly, she knocked on the door.
A few seconds of silence followed.
And then the girl called out.
[What'd she say?] Izienji asked Yoa.
[How would I know? I don't speak her language.]
More silence followed.
[Maybe you should just go inside,] Surag suggested.
[Azebar told me to respect her privacy. Humans aren't as open as we are.]
[Why?]
Yoa rolled her eyes.
[I don't know. I'm not an expert, I just know what Azebar told me.]
After a few more seconds of silence, she knocked again.
There was more silence, and then the girl called out.
[Just open the door,] Ikeho urged.
[Yeah,] Gurkam added, [she doesn't know that we're waiting for her.]
The door stayed closed, and Yoa sighed.
[Fine,] she muttered, [but you all wait here.]
She opened the door, steeling herself in case the girl was hurt.
Although I don't think she sounded like it...
The girl was standing by a table, glancing over now to the door. Her nakedness was pale as milk and slender as a willow, several bruises mottling it, bodily fluids glistening here and there. Yoa could smell sweat, arousal, and the stench of sex off her.
A polite smile crossed her face, and she chirped at Yoa.
[I'm Yoa,] Yoa replied, talking a bit louder than usual. [I'm your guide for today. I'm here to bring you to the river.]
When that was met with another polite smile and another chirp, Yoa sighed.
We don't speak each other's languages. So, I guess I have to be more direct.
She walked over, another chirp coming from the girl, and took her by the hand.
As she began to drag the girl towards the door, a protesting chirp came, and the girl gestured to the table.
She ignored the chirp, and kept dragging the girl, easily handling the meager weight of that slender figure.
The other children had not moved from the door, so she grumbled at them as she brought the girl outside.
[Move, idiots.]
All of them were too busy looking up in fascination at the girl to respond.
Yeah, she's different, more different from us than the sailors, but she's not really unusual. Just skinny and pale.
She rolled her eyes at their unabashed fascination and shouldered her way through them.
[Huh,] she heard Surag say in dull surprise, [I didn't think she actually was a female.]
[Yeah,] Gurkam added. [Her breasts are tiny, but she does have a slit.]
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The sun beat down on Gwennalyn's nakedness as she walked along behind the girl, that surprisingly strong hand bringing her easily along. Right behind them followed the group of children, murmuring among themselves.
The princess had woken up to a slight confusion, her usual sumptuous and spacious bed nowhere to be found, replaced by a sleeping pallet laid flat on the ground.
But once her eyes had adjusted to the dimness of the interior of the hut, she had remembered where she was.
With that clarity had come the memory of last night.
There were plenty of reminders all over her, bruises and streaks of dried semen that clung to her here and there. Those reminders, and the additional memories that had come with them, had greatly aroused her, so she had sent her fingers down to her slit and frigged her clutching channel until a satisfying orgasm had broken over her.
Not long after the waves of ecstasy had dissipated, a knock had come at her door.
"Just a second!" she had called.
She had been halfway to the door, when she had stopped short, suddenly aware of her nakedness. On the nearby table were the strips of fabric that were supposed to become loincloths. She had looked helplessly at them, still unable to understand that process. Another knock had come soon, and she had answered it the same as the previous.
The door had opened anyway, and a young female tribal had come inside, greeting her with a loud chuff.
"Shouldn't I put a loincloth on?" she had asked, as the girl had dragged her towards the door.
The girl had ignored the question, and so she had been brought outside, not a stitch of clothing on her, the sunshine beaming down over her such a strange and yet delightful sensation.
She had felt self-conscious at first, as the group of children behind her were fascinated with her, but their eyes were not focused solely on her breasts and sex, nor did they seem intrigued or scandalized by her bruises or the splotches of semen on her. So, that self-consciousness had receded.
And now here she was, walking past the other huts, towards the larger hut ahead of them.
When their strange little group passed the larger hut, she noticed that the clearing that had held the feast and the subsequent orgy was now serving as a thoroughfare. Orcs ambled about in different directions, some with others, some by themselves. Some were also naked.
Huh. Guess it doesn't matter then that I am.
Every orc greeted her enthusiastically, with grunts, nods, or both. She nodded back and smiled politely at each one, feeling less weird about her public nudity the more she saw of it from others.
The girl led her along the thoroughfare, and after a few minutes, the path began to slope downwards.
Halfway down that slope, Gwennalyn glanced over to the right, and saw a lazily flowing river. As the slope aimed down back towards level ground, the riverbanks came into view; orcs were gathered there.
When the group reached level ground, the girl dragged her to the right, towards a tall basket sitting in the shade of a tree with drooping branches. Inside the basket were what looked like flat, white rocks. The girl let go of her hand, grabbed one, and held it out.
Gwennalyn took it and examined it.
Is this...soap? Huh.
The girl pointed to the river. Some orcs were in the shallows, while others were lounging on the sandy bank. A line of small trees stretched along the edge of the water, providing shade for more orcs.
"So, this is where you were bringing me." the princess said the girl. "You were showing me where to bathe."
Not that you understand me.
The girl grunted.
Or me you.
The girl gestured to the soap and mimed scrubbing her chest.
"Okay then."
Soap in hand, Gwennalyn nodded her thanks, and padded towards the river.
The water was warm, and perfectly clear, the river floor visible, sparkling around her legs and feet. She waded deeper until the water was waist high. The bathing orcs greeted her exuberantly. Most were bathing themselves, but some had children or infants, and were paying attention to them.
"Morning, princess," came a voice from behind her.
She turned to see Mazin, the king's courtesan, wading over.
"Good morning, Mazin."
"Did you sleep well?"