The envoy marched in silence. Four soldiers hung behind the carriage, and two flanked either side of Ghruz in the front. The sun beat down on them, but Ghruz looked to either side. It seemed only they were not affected by the heat: the elven soldiers were shiny with sweat. The orc nodded to them and broke off, slowing down to let the pure white horses pass them, tilting their head to the driver.

“I think we should take a break. There should be a river nearby,” Ghruz offered. The carriage driver shrugged her shoulders, looking dead ahead.

“I am not the queen. Speak to her instead.” Her face was blank and expressionless, but Ghruz could read the sheer contempt on her face regardless. They sighed, and knocked on the carriage door, Silviana opening up to greet them.

“Ghruz! Is something wrong?” She said inquisitively. The orc shook their head, nodding ahead of them.

“I think the heat is getting the rest of the guard,” the orc said plainly. “I’m sure there's a river nearby; we should take a break.”

Titania poked her head out and waved.

“Hello Ghruz! Are we having fun?” She grinned, and Ghruz noticed razor sharp teeth between her lips.

“Uh, yeah sure. I was suggesting we should take a break.” The orc sighed, hoping not to have to repeat themselves a fourth time. Titania frowned thoughtfully, before nodding.

“Yes. That sounds like a good idea.” She pushed her head out of a window and took a deep breath. “STOP, we are going to take a rest now. Follow Ghruz to wherever we are resting.” Ghruz gave Silviana a pleading look, but her emerald eyes lit up with glee as she shook her head. Ghruz sighed. The whole envoy was now looking at them.

“Right, uh, there’s a river about two hundred meters west. We’ll rotate the guard of the carriage for our break.” Everyone nodded, but said nothing in return. Ghruz pointed out three soldiers to follow them through the woods. Just as they entered the brush, Silviana appeared beside Ghruz.

“Mind if I join you?” She offered a coy smile, and Ghruz couldn’t help but feel like she was up to something. The orc shook their head, continuing on through the flora. Silviana began to hum a playful melody, one not unlike a song bird in spring, and a clawing sensation gripped at their heart.

“Okay, what are you up to? You seem like you are plotting something,” Ghruz said bluntly. Silviana rolled her eyes, but said nothing. She was definitely up to something.

The small group emerged from the forest into a clearing, a gentle river flowing ahead of them. Ghruz sheathed their axe, and turned around to the soldiers.

“You have half an hour. Remove your armour, cool off with the water, and be ready to switch with the other group,” Ghruz commanded. The soldiers, for the first time, seemed to relax in front of Ghruz. They began to strip off their plate, placing it neatly in the grass before kneeling beside the river to drink from it.

With a nod of satisfaction, Ghruz began to strip their breastplate, delicately working the leather clasps till it fell off, the rest of their armour following suit. They could feel a predatory gaze burn holes in them, turning around to see Silviana staring at them intensely with a wide grin.

“Can I help you?” they asked cautiously, eyebrow raised. Silviana shook her head, her grin unabated. Ghruz sighed and tossed their shirt to the side, their bare torso was laden with scars, cuts and burns. Silviana seemed to be drinking the sights in as Ghruz hesitantly made their way to the river bank.

Ghruz knelt down away from the soldiers, cupping their palms in the river to drink from it. They could hear a slight rustling behind them, and spoke up.

“If you push me in, I will drag you in with me,” they threatened.

Silviana giggled, sitting down beside them.

“Am I that predictable?”

The orc rolled their eyes, then closed them to listen to the river... getting louder and louder, ‘til it rushed with a deafening roar. They opened their eyes to see a river running red, orcish corpses, adults and children, floating down the river face down, their bodies battered and bruised, covered in cuts. A sword was held to Ghruz’s neck, one of human design, with several figures shouting obscenities at them. The human spoke something they couldn’t quite hear. It didn’t feel important, they were about to die anyway.

The blade abated for a moment, their body snapping into action as they leapt into the river, diving deep and swimming with the current with all the strength they had left. They stayed as low as possible, their burning lungs screaming for air, but they didn’t dare surface, not yet.

They felt a tug on their arm, pulling them to the surface. They gasped for air, no bodies, no blood, only a worried pair of glimmering green eyes staring directly at them.

They were further down the bank than they were a moment ago, and Silviana was at their side yelling something. They could hear the panic in her voice, but they couldn’t absorb what she was saying, the river was too loud.

They could see they were laying in grass, soaked head to toe in water. Silviana was dripping wet too, which confused Ghruz a great deal. She kept saying something to them, the river becoming quieter, and her voice breaking through.

“Ghruz? Can you hear me? Ghruz?” The orc was confused. Why was she so concerned? The orcs eyes snapped wide, and lurched forward, coughing out water. Nearby the three soldiers were standing by, glaring at her with sheer contempt. Ghruz looked back at Silviana with confusion.

“What’s going on? What’s wrong?”

Ghruz could see tears forming in the elf’s eyes.

“You.. you went deathly quiet for several minutes, then fell forward into the water.”

Ghruz nodded slowly, patting her on the shoulder.

“Yeah. Sorry. Just had… some uncomfortable memories.” Their voice was still hoarse from coughing up water. Silviana paused, before launching herself forward, wrapping her arms around the orcs neck in a wet embrace. Ghruz wrapped their arms in return, patting her back awkwardly.

“You almost drowned. I- the queen would be sad if you disappeared. Please be more careful.” Silviana pulled away, flustered and red in the cheeks.

Ghruz looked over at the soldiers, glaring at them. They rolled their eyes and looked at them with a stern look.

“Spit it out,” they grunted.

The trio hesitated for a moment, before one of them decided to speak.

“The life of the queen’s attendant is with more than yours. You should have stayed in your pen, pig,” he hissed, his voice laced with venom.

Silviana glared daggers at them, and started to get up before she could feel a large strong hand on her shoulder.

“No, I’m sorting this out.” Ghruz grunted as they stood up. They walked over to the trio, towering above them with a glare that would make the toughest man quiver in fear, and these soldiers were no exception.

“At least don't kill them!” Silviana called out.

Ghruz looked down at the man who insulted them, bowing their head in challenge.

“Fine, you want me to go back to my pen? Make me. I’ll give you all the first hit, but know if you do, I will feed you to the crows. I will snap your bones like twigs, and you will know pain unlike anything you could imagine.”

The three men hesitated for a moment, glancing at one another before a soldier threw a heavy punch into Ghruz’s abdomen, the thud echoing through the air. A second man followed suit, a forceful strike colliding with their jaw, the third man landing a kick on Ghruz’s side. The orc didn’t flinch from any of it, their glare holding.

The three men stopped in horror. Their blows had no effect whatsoever.

Ghruz threw a punch that sang through the air towards a soldier, stopping short of his face as he cried out in fear. He opened his eyes to see a grinning orc, his shoulders going limp.

“Now apologise and I’ll let this slide,” Ghruz chuckled.

The soldiers were stunned, unable to comprehend what happened, before they offered respectful bows. They didn’t speak another word.

“Good, you’ve been let off easy. If I so much as suspect you are hostile to me, that will change. The queen will not be able to protect you from me, I promise.”

The soldiers nodded their heads, embarrassed, and turned back to walk up the river bank to their armour.

Silviana stood by Ghruz, her delicate, soft hands grazing the spots where the orc was hit.

“Are you okay? Why did you let them hit you?” Silviana fussed. Ghruz took her hand softly and smiled warmly.

“Needed to send a message. I’m about done being called a pig by weaklings,” Ghruz sighed. They turned their back and winced in pain. “And no, I think I’ve got some more fractures, just couldn’t show it in front of them.”

They chuckled before immediately regretting it as their ribs ached. This only made Silviana look more concerned.

“I... maybe I should return to the queen. She’ll want to hear about this.” Silviana turned to head off, Ghruz holding her shoulder with a firm grasp.

“Don’t. I’d rather forget this.” said Ghruz.

At that moment, the sounds of swords clashing filled the air, and a warcry echoed throughout the forest.

It had come from the direction of the carriage.