Chapter 6: My Lady
The human girl had woken up a nameless servant, and gone to bed a consort to the orcs.
A turn of events so strange she didn't know if she believed it herself, despite the fact it had happened just yesterday.
In the moments before she was fully awake, she thought maybe it had all been a strange dream. Perhaps she had fallen asleep reading one of Master Marcus's more obscene travel journals, like the one where he spent four pages detailing a clan of snake women with human like breasts.
Fou
r pages! With
pictures
. One of the only volumes with any drawings at all, crude as they were. The man had strange priorities.
She remembered because she had re-read it several times, and even copied some of the drawings onto scrap paper.
But, eventually, she rubbed the sleep from her bleary eyes and reality came into focus. She had awoken in a spacious animal hide tent, wrapped in the soft arms of a woman. Four soft arms, to be more specific. Daisy's and Amelie's. The smaller womans snoring had sounded like the dying groan of an ogre, but she found it to be quite comforting. It reminded her of home. She used to be able to hear Marcus snoring all the way from her quarters in the kitchen. It had made her into a sound sleeper.
Sound as she was, she had awoken the night before to a horrible clamor coming from outside the tent. Intrigued, she had taken a peek and beheld a cluster of orcs, snarling and bellowing as they struggled against each other. She hadn't been sure if the squirming masses were meant to be mating with, or attacking one another. And if they were mating, she couldn't tell if it was meant to be enjoyable or not. It had frightened her a little.
It hadn't looked anything like what she had read in her human romance novels, at least.
She spent the morning resting in the tent. She couldn't remember the last time she had slept in so late, or spent so long in bed after waking up. Daisy had given her the day off before puttering off to find her mates. With nothing else to do, Rosemary had been more than content to take a nap.
After the third nap, she had started getting restless and hungry, so she ventured out of the tent. The camp fascinated her, as it was in a constant flurry of activity. Gigantic orcs hustled every which way, carrying dead animals, whole trees, and even humans. She wanted to see them all. But hunger compelled her towards the huge cookpot near the middle where familiar human women stood, preparing dinner.
An odd looking orc stood watching over the women as they cooked. She had uncommon honey blonde hair, cut shorter than most and pulled back into a half ponytail. Her pointed ears were quite large and round, and her skin was a distinctly light sandy green shade. She was quite stocky, and wore large bracers on her arms and shins. She also wore, incredibly, a massive metal breastplate with an odd lip. Her brown horns were smooth and fairly short.
Rosemary rarely saw the orcs wearing armor, and usually what they had was mashed together from human forged suits, pieces attached to leather shirts and furs. This one had clearly been custom made. The strange orc stood over the humans protectively, staying alert for signs of potential danger. Rosemary waved up at her and she nodded curtly but said nothing. When the orc turned she also noticed an absolutely massive and very lethal looking mace at her side.
The area surrounding the cookpot was tightly packed. Orcs hustled all around it, putting together fires and skinning large carcasses. She weaved past them closer to the cookpot and was relieved when they ignored her, aside from a few stares. They seemed too intent on their work.
She found Amelie and Daisy there, chopping vegetables and meat. Hana was there too, but she stalked off to get more water when the girl approached and didn't return. Rosemary was too distracted by the bruises covering the slight womans arms to feel slighted.
The other two smiled at her invitingly and Amelie pointed to a chopping block and knife.
"What are these ones?" Rosemary asked as she reached into a huge basket and pulled out an odd wrinkly mushroom. It was very large, and strange looking, but she had never seen it before. The bright orange color made her uneasy. Usually that meant they were poisonous.
"It's a
kräfta
mushroom," Daisy responded briskly. "They're really good! But you have to cook them first, or else you'll shit yourself to death."
Rosemary put the small piece she had been about to eat back onto the board and stared at it suspiciously.
"Here, let me show you."
True to her word, Daisy showed her how she sliced the whole thing in half before chopping it into large cubes. She also carefully removed the yellow gills of the mushroom, tossing them aside. Rosemary copied her and was surprised that the soft and pale flesh on the inside had a very pleasant smell. Kind of salty. She didn't dally, for the tiny blonde readily scolded anyone she thought wasn't keeping up.
"Skölar, is there any more wood for the fire?" Daisy addressed the tall orc woman. She nodded and left, returning shortly with an armful of massive logs.
They continued, chopping mushrooms, huge carrots and large purple roots. They grilled cubes of meat, and then the mushrooms before adding them to the huge simmering cauldron. A mixture of fresh herbs, salt, and what looked to be bone broth followed. Around them, the smell of several other cookpots filled the air.
The smell made her hungry, and seemed to brighten everyones spirits.
She reached into her pocket and retrieved the slightly wilted sprig. She pulled it in two, tucking one half behind her ear and tugging the soft leaves from the other half before tossing them into the pot as well. The orcs who were watching her looked confused. Maybe even a little offended. She ignored them.
After leaving it to cook, they ladled heaping portions of stew into round loaves of stale bread that had been hollowed out. She had to cradle hers in her lap, for it was too large to hold in one hand. They dribbled a splash of thick cream on the top, with chopped onions and pepper. She quickly devoured the entire bowl. It was hot and delicious. And reminded her of home.
She supposed this was her home now. It didn't seem to be the hardship she had originally imagined. Everyone was smiling, chatting and generally having a good time as they ate, revitalized by the tasty meal. They sat in groups together, huddled around the firepits spread throughout the camp, passing around steaming cups of some acrid smelling drink. She gnawed on her bread, now soaked with broth, as she watched them quietly.
Once they had all settled down and were nearly done eating, Naga finally joined them. She had been the last to fill up her bowl, and sat on a log turned on it's side a ways away from the group. She was easy to spot, towering over even the largest kull. Rosemary watched her curiously. She ate quickly, as if it were her first meal of the day, and went back for seconds before finishing off the bread bowl as well. Guards occasionally came by to give her reports and she nodded at them, waving them away. Orcs offered her cups of whatever they were drinking and she politely declined, content to sit and watch the fire on her own.
The light of the flames reflected golden brown off her deep black hair, which she pulled from a tight bun and let fall loose across her face. She tucked it behind one of her long, pointed ears, and her golden jewelry twinkled merrily in the flickering light. She looked happy, but exhausted. Her shoulders sagged as she slumped over, an elbow dug into one of her thighs and her chin propped on her hand.
The human plucked up her courage and approached the orc, looking right into her large yellow eyes. They gazed back at the human curiously, a small smile forming at the corner of her mouth.
Awkwardly, Rosemary offered her the rest of her own giant bread bowl, with only a small section chewed away. Naga seemed surprised, but took it graciously. She reached for the humans outstretched hand with her unoccupied one.
"
My lady
." The orc murmured as she encased it in her palm. She kissed the top of it delicately. Rosemary blushed in surprise at the human endearment, but resisted the urge to break the intense eye contact.
"I am no m'lady, Master S'karsnaga. Just a human girl."
"And I am no human
Master
, human girl. You care for us, prepare our food, mend our clothes, and grace us with your presence. While you are with us, you are a lady, and you'll be treated as such. Or is that not what a human lady is?" The orc grinned dangerously.
"Yes, but..." The human muttered, her eyes darting away.
"Is that not your job here?" Naga continued, a taunting edge to her voice.
"Yes,
Master
- I mean Nar S'karsnaga." She answered obediently. She didn't like this.
"Then that is how you'll be treated. Unless you wish otherwise?" The orc was definitely teasing her now, her head was tilted and her grin had widened.
The human girl became more red in the face and withdrew her hand.
"It's not proper." She muttered, looking down at the dirt. She didn't like being made fun of.
"Have it your way, little lady." The orc chuckled before ruffling her hair under her huge hand. The contact nearly knocked her off her feet. She swayed and regained her composure.
"My name is
Rosemary
now." She insisted, more firmly this time. She put both hands on her head to protect it from further ruffling.
"You found a name?" The orc smirked. She seemed deeply amused by the beet red girl before her. "That is good, it would be confusing if we just kept calling you
'human girl'
all the time. There are so
many
human girls, how will you know when this one wants you specifically? Now tell Naga, what is a
rose-mary
?"
She stiffened her shoulders up, assuming a more dignified position. "It's an herb used in cooking. But it has a lot of other uses as well. It's kind of spicy, I think you would like it. If we ever find some I'll bring it to you." She remembered the sprig tucked behind her ear and reached back to grab it.
