GYDA

"Fuck, Jarla! What is it?" Orvar demanded after the sudden intrusion. He looked at the other orc with a near murderous expression. I recognized the bigger orc as the one that had chosen Amira last night.

If I thought Orvar looked intimidating before, now he was downright frightening.

Jarla turned around and faced the wall before he spoke again. "Sorry, Orvar. I expected you to be done with the fucking by now, but I guess you're still at it!"

I quickly wriggled off Orvar's lap, feeling embarrassed about getting caught in this intimate position. Orvar, however, grabbed my wrist when I was standing on my feet again and pulled me back onto his lap. "You stay here, woman," he whispered before he turned his attention back to Jarla. "What do you want?" he asked once more, his voice raised.

"Well..." Jarla replied, scratching his head. I could only guess he probably regretted coming here right now. "My woman has been wanting to go home for hours, as she's not feeling too well, but she refuses to leave without your woman."

Shit! I completely forgot about my promise to Amira!

"Oh, crap!" I cried out. "Amira and I were supposed to leave together! Is she angry with me?"

Jarla shook his head. "Not angry, but she seems worried. She's probably fearing that my leader broke you or something." Jarla chuckled, but he stopped laughing at the sound of Orvar's growl. "I left her with Betsy and promised to search for you. I- uh... wasn't expecting you and the commander to still be busy..."

I pulled my wrist out of Orvar's grip, and he immediately turned his attention back to me. He looked almost rejected because I'd freed myself from his touch.

"I promised Amira I would meet her in the morning so we could walk back home together. I need to get back to my family before they get worried," I explained, almost like an apology.

I'd been so caught up in spending time with Orvar that I totally forgot about time outside of this room. Amira was not once on my mind while I was with him. I'd been selfish.

A part of me didn't want to leave this place. It wanted to stay. With him. Which was absolutely ridiculous, yet felt so right. The thought that I might never see Orvar again was awful. But the other part of me knew I had to go back.

"Jarla?" Orvar then said, locking his gaze with mine. "Leave us. I'll bring her to your woman in a few minutes."

"Yes, commander," Jarla replied before he left the room as fast as he came.

"I need to pack my stuff." I crawled off Orvar's lap, and this time he let me.

He inhaled and a low guttural growl left his throat as he exhaled again and stood up himself. Before I was able to grab my bag, he'd wrapped his arms around me and pulled me so close that I bumped against his solid chest, my nose at the level of his heart. I felt it drumming against my cheek as he pulled me even closer. His heart thumped almost as fast as mine did.

He pressed his nose against the top of my head and inhaled. We stood like that for a while until he spoke again. "I want your hair," he murmured.

"Huh?"

"The hair in your bag. I want it," he replied. "Can I have it?"

I slowly nodded while inhaling his scent. His warm orc scent. The few hairs on his chest tickled my face. "Yes, you may have it," I answered.

"Good. And...is there something else you want from me except for my seed and my knowledge? Have I answered all your questions?" His big hands slid down and grabbed my butt cheeks. "Or maybe- uh- if you have more questions you could visit"—he cleared his throat—"I mean... I- I think I have told you everything."

"If I think of new things, if I have new questions to ask, I know w-where to find you," I replied, breath hitching as I looked up at him. "So I could try to visit you."

"Yes! I mean...yes, of course, you may." A little smile returned, curling his thin gray lips upward.

That smile said it all. He felt the same as I did.

I knew Mother would never allow me to come back to the mountains, though, so why was I saying this to him? "But I can't promise. My mom—"

"Hm," he growled. "But knowing you will try is enough..."

"Thank you for everything," I said.

As he pulled his hands away from me, he let them slide over my belly until his touch was gone. I felt cold already. "You're welcome," he answered. "Now come. I'll take you to Betsy, where your friend is waiting."

This time it was me pulling him closer. I did it without thinking, acting out of instinct alone, standing on my toes and closing the distance between our lips. I was not leaving this place without one more kiss.

~

"Are you really okay?" Amira asked for the third time while we were halfway through our journey home. Another few hours, and we would be home again. "Was he rough with you? Are you in pain? Should we walk slowly?" She grabbed my hand in hers. "Tell me, dear."

I couldn't get Orvar out of my head. His warm touch, his voice, his scent. His kiss. The second time we kissed—a farewell kiss of some sort—had felt even better than the first kiss we'd shared last night. Better, but sadder.

Everything was truly over now.

"No, he was not rough," I finally answered.

I sighed, wanting to laugh and cry instead, but decided to keep myself together. I'd never felt this way before. It was unfamiliar and both amazing and horrible at the same time.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Amira apologized. "I know we aren't supposed to ever talk about the mountains and the orcs and everything that happened there, but I thought you didn't care about this whole secrecy thing—"

I squeezed Amira's hand. "You thought right. I don't want to be secretive about anything. I'm just happy and sad, and mostly worried. But he wasn't rough with me. Not at all."

"Are you worried about this?" she asked, placing a hand on my belly.

"About everything..." I answered. "That too."

"Me too." Amira smiled a half-smile. "There are anxious times ahead of us..."

We continued walking. "How was last night for you?" I asked.

"Jarla and I didn't speak the entire time, so it was pretty awkward. The first time he spoke to me was when he was inside of me and cried out I was tighter than a donkey's arse. I can only hope he wasn't for real."

"W-what?" I asked, breaking out into a laugh. "That's—I don't even have words for it!"

"I know, love, but that's what he said! A moment later, he was drenching me with his seed." Amira pulled a funny face.

"That's so...romantic." I laughed.

"Romance... We don't even know what that is. We only know it from fairy tales." She sighed. "But it felt good."

"It did," I agreed.

It felt so good.

"So, what did you think about his cock?" Amira then asked, gigging. "Wasn't that the most peculiar body part you've ever seen? It looked like one of those mushrooms my mother uses for her medicine! Honestly, I was shocked when I saw the size of that thing. Especially when it stood strong."

"Amira!"

"What?"

We laughed and giggled for a good half hour or so, and I felt instantly better. We talked about the orcs, then about our future kids, then about our siblings, and then the conversation turned to our mothers.

"What is your mother like?" I asked. Amira had told me her mother traded with orcs, something my own mother would never do. She would rather die than voluntarily speak or trade with an orc.

"My mama's the best I can wish for! And yours?"

I shrugged, jumping over a rock. "She's not bad. She just has her own opinion. And as head of our family, she has the last opinion about everything."

"Is she one of those conservatives?" Amira asked.

"Very much so."

"Ugh. My grandma was like that. My mother is the opposite. She will be happy with a granddaughter or grandson."

"Then you have one less thing to worry about," I said, thinking about what I'd probably have to endure these next nine months. "I'll have to hear my mother's longing for a son every damn day until the child finally arrives. And if it's not the human grandson she hoped for... I can only hope the little one will be a girl instead."

~

"I need to go that way to my house," Amira said when it was almost dark. "So I guess we have to part here." She spread her arms as an invitation for a hug.

"Yes," I replied, giving her a big hug. "Thank you for helping me when no one else did."

"Sure, Gyda." She cupped my face. "Will you visit me? Or maybe we can meet at another place? I'd rather not visit you. People will start talking if someone like me comes over for tea..."

I wanted to tell her she could visit me, but the truth was that she wasn't allowed. Amira was right; the worst possible gossip would start if she was seen with us. I didn't care about gossip, but I didn't live alone. I had sixteen other people to consider.

"I will visit you," I answered. "At least once a week! If you're okay with that. Every Saturday, after my chores. How about that?"

"I would love that." Amira's big green eyes sparkled. "My house is over there." She pointed into the woods. "Go past the fallen tree, then to the right, and walk for another five minutes."

"Okay. I will meet you there this Saturday around mid-afternoon."

"Great!" She planted a kiss on my cheek. "Now, go home."

We said goodbye, and I resumed my trip. My house was another half-hour walk. I feared coming home. I was not only very late, but I would also return without my hair. I was anxious about a lot of things to come in the future, but right now I was mostly worried about Mother's response.