Gyda Lionrock thinks her visit to Asclan Peak is for one reason and one reason alone-to procreate and finally welcome that child of her own. She could have never guessed she would also leave something behind inside the mountains, but it was her hear...
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Until now, no orc had chosen me or Amira. That did not surprise me, as it was the girls with the longest, most luscious strands of hair who got picked first.
But there was something that did surprise me: Olivia wasn't chosen either! I internally smirked at that.
"Next!" the leader shouted like he'd been doing for the past half hour or so. He stood next to Betsy and observed what she was writing down in a big notebook. I think she wrote down the names of all the orcs and their chosen mates.
Betsy had explained to us about genes and it was suddenly so odd to realize I probably had brothers, uncles, cousins, and nephews walking around here. At home, we never spoke about them and we didn't consider them family, but by blood, these orcs were our kin.
"Next!"
I always believed—always was taught—that orcs were dumb, brute creatures. But dumb men wouldn't think things through as the orcs did. I never expected them to be so organized and was truly impressed by how they dealt with things. And I was a little ashamed I'd misjudged them too.
This day wasn't about orcs grabbing any pretty woman to breed with. Instead, their organization was like a well-oiled machine. From the orc standing outside to give us directions, to the feast that was specially prepared for us, to this moment.
"Next!" he yelled again, looking up.
Whenever he looked up from Betsy, he seemed to be looking at me. Maybe I pictured things in my head, but I could have sworn his eyes were on me half of the time tonight, and that made my heart speed up. I wondered what he was thinking when watching me.
Whatever it was, it made me more worried than I already was. While there were still more than a dozen women left, there were only a handful of orcs who had to make their choice, and I wondered what would happen if none of them selected me.
Was I to turn back home without even the chance of conceiving a baby?
What would Mother say about that? What would my sisters say? What would the neighbors say? What would every woman back in town say? The thought of going home as a failure scared me. How would it feel, coming home, and telling everybody that no orc wanted to mate with me?
Oh, Mother Moon, please look after me! I begged inside my head while seeing yet another woman get picked. The only fun thing was that Olivia was still waiting too.
"Next!"
Some relief washed over me when the next orc picked Amira. At least, my newfound friend wouldn't have to fear going home like a loser. And herorc was...okay, I suppose. He was hideous, of course, but not the most abominable creature in the room.
As she and her orc headed over to stand with the other couples, Amira's eyes locked with mine. Those eyes said it all. She was worried about me as well. I weakly smiled at her and she smiled back, just as weakly.
