Niizkka'Lor Stonefist -often referred to as Nikka by her human patrons- stood at her grinding stone, sharpening a recently-crafted bastard sword. The female orc kept her forge and her stand of various wares situated in the city square, where she could catch the attention of as many potential customers as possible. The other human merchants and vendors who kept their goods and wares on their own stands nearby still mistrusted her because she was an orc, but she thought nothing of it. She minded her own business and let the mistrustful humans glare at her occult appearance as much as they liked.
Nikka had been part of the Orc Empire that had invaded the human kingdoms four summers prior. For centuries, the orcs had quarreled with each other for various reasons, but only recently had they seen fit to invade the nearby human lands as a unified force. A warlord named Magmad Splitskull had managed to somehow convince the clans to stop squabbling over scraps long enough to attempt to invade and plunder the human kingdoms. As Nikka remembered, things had gone well for a while, until the humans had regrouped and scattered the less-disciplined orc fighters before they could reach one of the human capitols, killing Magmad the Mad, and throwing the invaders back into the hills.
Nikka had been taken captive when she and her comrades had invaded this very city four years prior, around the time that the spearhead of the orc invasion had been broken. The city of Raven's Rook, while of little strategic value, seemed like a fine target ripe for plunder from a distance. Nikka and her meager band charged the city without siege weapons, shouting their warcries and chants and managed to batter their gate down...only to find a large battalion of armored humans waiting for them. Many of Nikka's fellow orcs were run down by the armored mounted knights and Nikka herself was taken prisoner along with a small handful of others.
Afterward, Nikka had been interrogated and held prisoner in Raven's Rook but was eventually released due to the information she provided on the movements of her clan and because of her skills as a laborer and a smith. She'd been raised to craft weapons, armor and other metal and leather goods since she was just a young pup in the Stonefist clan, and she'd become damn good at it over the years. She displayed her craft to her human captors firsthand and they'd been impressed enough that her life had been spared, though she'd been confined to Raven's Hill as a prisoner and laborer for a time.
In truth though, Nikka had not really hated her captivity. In fact, her situation was much preferable to living in the orc villages and strongholds. Given the meals and bedding (both meager by human standards but posh luxury by hers), Nikka found that human captivity was preferable to orc freedom.
Though, her situation may have been better than other orc prisoners of war who'd been thrown into labor camps due to the fact that she hadn't resisted or caused trouble in her captivity. She'd been very forthcoming with information she gave to the human soldiers about the war and that had surely earned her some points with the humans of Raven's Rook. Nikka, after all, had never had much sentimental loyalty or devotion to her own people. Sure, she was strong-willed, hot-blooded and green-skinned -traits that nearly every orc possessed- but she didn't care much for the clans or their selfish ambitions. The only reason she'd ever joined Magmad the Mad's doomed invasion in the first place was because her only other course was to become the fifth wife to some bumbling orc chieftain to be ridden like a boar time and again before he grew tired of her.
And so, Nikka stayed in Raven's Rook and smithed and crafted weapons and armor for the human legions until the war finally winded down and ended altogether. Her continued cooperation with the humans of the city and their lord, Reginald Steelhands, eventual earned her conditional release from her captivity and free reign to roam the city, provided she stayed out of trouble. About a year later, she garnered enough favor with the people due to her skills with the smith (the previous smithy had been a tired, washed-up old man) that they let her stay in the city as their blacksmith and paid her for her services, despite the fact that she was an orc. She had to pay her taxes to Lord Steelhands and the crown like the other merchants, but the humans had otherwise left her to conduct her work unmolested since then.
Nikka wiped a sweat from her brow as she sharpened the blade of the sword before her. Humans passed by to observe her at her work or glance at her wares; small children would point and make remarks about her small tusks and green skin, giggling, while their parents frowned and rushed them away. Nikka simply shrugged and went back to work, this time to craft a hilt for one of her swords.
After a while, Nikka huffed and halted her work for a few moments to take a break. She took off her blackened smithy gloves and drew up a skin of water to take a drink, observing the bustling town square where local humans and some foreigners were buying wears and merchants shouted about, trying to attract attention to their stands.
Nikke glanced nearby at her reflection in one of the nearby panes of windows. Nikka had always reasoned that she was attractive, at least by human standards; her pale green skin and short tusks gave her nature away, but her black hair was not as unkempt as one would expect, nor did her skin have any noticeable blemishes that marked her as an "ugly orc."
She supposed that she'd been attractive enough by orc standards as well, given that many young warriors had made advances toward her and a chieftain or two had even wanted to claim her as a clan wife. They would come to her, boasting about how many human skulls they've collected in their years of battle and so forth. Big fucking deal, thick-skulled both'rogs, she thought. She'd killed just as many adversaries, human and orc, as they all had, and had been just as capable a warrior as any male orc that she'd ever met. And yet, because of the way male-dominated orc society imposed its traditions, she would have the preordained destiny of becoming some arrogant orc's mount, to be filled with his seed and bear him sons until he grew tired of her and moved on to another orc wife?
Nikka had denied all of her orc suitors' advances up until the day she was captured and thrown into human society. In fact, she'd rarely ever considered the notion of a mate whilst among the orcs or the humans, even on those occasions when her "heat" came upon her. Most orc males she'd met had been too arrogant and stupid and most human men she'd ever met were too soft and chivalrous for her tastes, and would likely not even give a second thought to an orcess like her anyway.
She'd nearly given up on any hope of mateship...until the day that she first saw him.
By him, she was referring to Sir Desmond Steelhands, the Lord of Raven Rook's second son. Sir Desmond was a young knight, twenty-one years old, and a seasoned veteran of the war with the orcs. Though she didn't see him at the time, Sir Desmond had supposedly mounted the defense of Raven's Rook against her orc clan the day that they attacked the city. She hadn't fought him, but she had heard that he'd killed many of her former clansman singlehandedly.
Aside from his stellar military career and renowned feats throughout the kingdom, Sir Desmond was considered to be one of the handsomest men in Raven's Rook, if not the entire kingdom as well. He had flowing golden locks of hair -the kind that ladyfolk liked to run their fingers through- as well as a firm, stocky build and a strong face, deep, intelligent blue eyes, and a kind personality to compliment it all. Better still, Sir Desmond didn't flaunt his fame or boast about his courage as other pompous silver knights liked to do. Sir Desmond had killed orc chieftains and countless clansmen, but he never sang songs about his own glory or walked around with pretty maids and highborn ladies wrapped around him. He went about his business modestly and with dignity, unlike how his arrogant father had went about his knighthood in his youth.
Nikka had heard many human ladyfolk whisper and giggle about Sir Desmond and was always overcome with jealousy. It was no secret that Nikka was no human lady and likely had no chance with the likes of Sir Desmond, but it still made her angry that such pretentious and pompous highborn ladies thought that they had the right of him just because their fathers were the lords of this castle or that castle.
How many battles have you won and enemies have you vanquished, stupid borsh't wenches? Nikka thought disdainfully. Though she hadn't always agreed with all orc traditions, the complexity of human mating patterns never ceased to confound her. How could such weak, superficial ladies like these highborn human women ever hope to win a mate merely by reciting poetry or playing the harp?!
Just as she found herself thinking of the dashing, handsome knight, a procession of riders came streaming in through the main gates and into the courtyard. The song of a silver horn took up the riders' arrival as many knights with flowing banners strode into the town square and peasants and commonfolk cleared a path for them. Toward the front rode Sir Desmond, full armor regalia and all with his golden hair flowing out of his helm and with a greatsword sheathed onto his back.
Sir Desmond and his twenty or so men stopped in the square. Nikka gulped and felt her heart flutter and beat a little faster when she saw the golden head of hair turned in her direction. Other ladies standing in close proximity to her blacksmith stand whispered and pointed in his direction. Nikka shivered and attempted to return to her work, but found that she was off balance when she attempted to bring her hammer down to shape the blade that she was working on.
Still, the sweating orcess attempted to return to work and forget that the hunk of a human was standing not that far from her. However, she looked up from her work when she heard more women talking and giggling with their girly, giddy voices. Nikka turned and her grey eyes grew wide when she realized that Sir Desmond had removed his helm and was walking toward her. Ladyfolk bowed and made way for him, giggling with their hands in front of their faces as he approached.
Nikka panicked, wondering why he was coming to see her in the square. She then slapped her forehead, marveling at her forgetfulness. Both'rog, how could you be so stupid! He placed an order for a new breastplate a fortnight ago! He's coming to pick it up!
Nikke dropped her hammer and put aside the sword that she'd been working on and went to one of her armor racks to find the armor that he'd placed an order for. She couldn't see him but she saw from the corner of her eye that Sir Desmond was at her stand, leaning over to look at her. She could practically feel those ocean blue eyes peering at her from behind.
