Rise of the Warrior of Everfen

Chapter 70: Afraid

Literally.

She was so focused on the strangeness of how the children played here, that it took her all too long to realize Andol wasn't within immediate sight and she frowned, twisting her head back and forth as she scanned the room. Right when her heart started to skip a beat, she spotted him and relief poured through her, but it didn't stop the sweat from beading on her brow more than it already was.

She moved deeper into the room and several of the people nearby looked up at her, but she was heading towards her son now, frowning as she realized he was in the corner...alone. Except for Myre who was sifting through a couple of toys before she offered him one. He looked dejected as he silently shook his head at her. Her bright, cheerful child was as still as the others.

"Andol?"

He jerked his head up and looked at her and she didn't miss one ounce of the relief and joy that flooded his face. "Mama," he broke off and glanced towards the other women in the room before he lowered his voice and said, "Mama, are we leaving now?"

"Why are you alone?"

"Lady Erinne?" Myre looked up at her, too, pulling the toy back in to her chest as she rose quickly and curtsied. Erinne waved off the formality.

"Why isn't anyone playing with him?"

Whispering, she murmured, "I'm sorry, ma'am, the other children were afraid of him."

"Afraid of him?" She frowned, but those words wounded her soul deep. She gazed down at her son. He was looking up at her now and there was a strange look in his eyes and it felt like rejection. It broke her heart as she studied the human children again. They were watching her now. She met the serving girl's gaze again. "Why didn't you tell them he wouldn't hurt them?"

She pressed her lips together in a hard line and looked towards one of the other women in the room and Erinne followed her gaze to the caretaker who was practically glowering at her, before that woman brazenly spoke, "We couldn't risk him hurting the children."

Those words darkened and hardened her heart in seconds, fury sparking, threatening to ignite inside of her. "Excuse me?" She demanded and took a step towards the woman but Andol jumped off the floor and attached to her leg as if he was worried she was going to leave him in here alone again.

"We don't want our children playing with him." Another one hissed and her fists clenched, but with Andol clinging to her, she didn't dare leave him alone, especially as the other children looked at her with worry.

"He's a child, just like them." Somehow she kept her tone measured.

"He's an orc." One of them retorted and she wanted to cover Andol's ears.

"Milady?" Myre whispered behind her.

Rage filled her, but it felt pointless. If she raised her voice at all, she might scare the children, or worse, the women might say something worse than 'he's an orc' and she wasn't willing to expose Andol to more hate. He'd been humiliated enough as it was.

"Come, Andol, we're leaving." She stated, lifting her chin higher.

Satisfaction crossed the other caretaker's faces and Erinne wanted to shove her fist down their throats, but it achieved nothing. She'd spent so many years telling Andol of his mother's race only to have those people treat him like an outsider.

She took Andol's hand and headed for the door and heard one of them spit orc lover at her back. She didn't pause, she didn't flinch. She kept her head high and made her way out the door with her son's hand cradled in hers.

Despite that, there was a fury in her heart that weighed her down.

She was practically dragging Andol, holding her overly large belly with her other hand. She didn't expect Andol to pull back and speak. "Mama," he was stronger than he realized she was sure as he pulled her to a complete stop. She frowned and turned to look down at him. "Mama, why do the other kids not play with me?"

The pain in her heart intensified and it took all of her inner strength to keep tears from building in her eyes. Erinne sighed and squatted, setting her hands on his shoulders. "I'm sorry, Andol. I should have come with you today, the king could have waited." She should have brought him here herself and made sure he wouldn't be segregated from the other children while their caretakers fed their fears. She would've told them they were all friends, she would've encouraged them to play together.

She was ashamed of herself and of the humans in that room. Disheartened almost to the brink of tears, she longed for the days of Weeping Woman's Rock, where human and orc alike valiantly pulled together to bring peace and dreamt of a brighter future. She didn't want those days to be gone, but she was starting to see more clearly than ever before, that peace was passing. Only the gift of the Ancestors words that peace would come again allowed her to keep in her tears.

"You told me the king was very important." Andol replied to her, but she could hear the questioning tone. He was trying to understand.

"He is, he is...but...my family comes first. You come first. Before any man, woman, or king. I'm so sorry about the other children, they don't know any better. They're not used to orcs."

"But I'm part human, too, right?"

"Yes, you are, but orcs and humans...they're not being very nice to each other right now. They're mad at each other. These children think they shouldn't be your friend."

"But I'm not mad at them."

"I know," she hugged him as he struggled to understand and she hated herself for that moment. Hated herself and Cold Hammer for putting their son in this position. She would never trade her child for the world, but they'd chosen to have a mixed family, a child that would bear the burden of hate of both races. And they were bringing another one into the world, in the middle of a war most likely. It wasn't fair to her children and she hated it.

"It's because I'm different, right? Maybe if they see I'm a nice orc they won't be mad at me? And then we can be friends?"

She smiled, "Yeah, I think that—"

A screeching roar rumbled through the castle, rattling every wall and every single bone in her body. Fear leapt straight down her throat, threatening to choke her. Gut instinct compelled her to snatch Andol closer, wrapping her arms around him protectively and she scrambled backwards until her back hit the wall, pressing them against it.

She instinctively reached for a weapon that wasn't there. She didn't carry her sword, she didn't need it when she stood next to Cold Hammer and the belt tended to strain against her belly and fall down. She'd even tried carrying it across her back but it brought pain to her anyways. All she had was a meager knife tucked into one of her boots, which she could barely reach.

"Mama?!"

"Shh!" She pressed one hand over Andol's mouth.

Andol shook in her arms. "What was that?" He whispered this time, one of his hands clenching in her shirt, pulling at her. There was only one creature that made a sound like that and fear thundered through her heart. The creature, the cursed orc, it was in the castle.

***Author's Note: Thanks so much for reading! There will be a new chapter posted every Monday! Stay tuned for more Rise of the Warrior of Everfen***