Erinne smiled and bit her lip as she walked beside Wren. She had to admit, there was a certain beauty in finally being back with her people. But were they the people she belonged with? She still didn't feel like she fit in, like her heart was strangely pulling her somewhere else. She glanced towards the orc camp, not sure why she felt so much reluctance, but as she looked, she could see only humans. She couldn't see the orc camp or Cold Hammer waiting to escort her back.
"I sense a lot of turmoil within you, milady." King Wren finally spoke. "I want to help you but I can only do that if you let me."
"You already are helping." She tilted her head so she could see him in her peripheral vision as they walked. "At dinner you were kind, if I messed up and used the cutlery wrong, you were easy in correcting me."
He shrugged, "That comes natural. My father believed kings weren't just iron fisted rulers, but that true leaders were willing to teach, the most important aspect being teaching the next king."
She pulled him to a stop and stared towards a tent, watching a blacksmith shodding a horse. It was just like a blacksmith she might see in orc territory, he had all the same tools, except you didn't find many horses with the orcs, just their dire wolves. Still, the blacksmith was needed for creating weapons, refining them, giving them an edge, armor, the whole works.
Humans and orcs really were alike, they just didn't realize how much.
She turned back to Wren. "Can you tell me more about kings and lines of succession?"
"Well, we're not like orcs. We don't fight for it, the next king is the son of the current king." She snorted at his words and he did a double take to look at her questioningly.
"That's hardly true."
"Pardon?"
"How many kings fight over the throne once war breaks out amongst each other?"
"Sometimes war happens but we do not have bloody fight rings everytime the chief of our nation is wrong."
"Neither do orcs."
He scowled darkly, "Pardon?" His tone suggested it was taking all his inner strength not to get angrier, but he held his tongue, waiting for her.
"There are processes. Challenging another chief is not a simple matter, it rarely happens unless the chief's decisions are bad for the whole of the clan. Likewise, fighting a Great Chieftain takes planning. You must have three elder chiefs back you up in your claim for Great Chieftain, if you do not, then you cannot challenge him." She saw the unsettled look on his face and realized she may have over stepped, "I'm sorry, I'm just saying-"
"I know what you're saying." He cut her off, voice tight, a strangeness gleaming in his eyes, "I'm just rattled by the truth of it. Your words suggest the orcs aren't as violent as we've always believed."
She swallowed and tried slowly, "It is hard to change one's views when you have held them your entire life."
He looked around the camp and then led her to a less busy place, "Answer me this, you were taken by the orcs when you were so young, what were you taught about humans? Have you spent your life feeling like an orc warring against us? Do you agree with the orcs?"
She scowled, but it was an earnest question. He could've easily accused her of being loyal to them but instead he was asking. "You are my king."
"That is not what I asked."
She pressed her lips together for a long moment, staring deep into his eyes before she said, "Until I met Lohke I never dreamed of anything past one day being free or dead."
"Dead?"
"The orc I lived with all these years, he was not kind, sir. I have spent my entire life in a cage."
"Then why do you support them? What have they ever done for you, truly?"
"I told you Lohke's words, what he asked of me. I do not wish any child to ever see this fate again. Yes, I was caged and hurt by the orcs, but they also showed me compassion. You would be mistaken to think humans haven't harmed me, too, though perhaps less severely, I have seen their capabilities for violence against each other. We all have families, we all have children, and we all have good and bad people amongst us. Orc and human. Our anatomy is a little different, but our brains and hearts are not so far apart."
"I do find myself riveted to you when you speak like that."
Heat rushed her face in seconds and she took a partial step back, "When I speak like what?"
"With so much passion. You don't see it, but your heart beats for all of us. I believe you would fight just as hard for elf or dwarf or any other race if you believed them capable of kindness. You don't look at us, but at our hearts."
"Is that not the most important piece of each of us?"
"It is." He turned, pausing long enough for her to take his hand, and then started walking amongst the tents again. There was a group of soldiers walking down the line of tents, but upon seeing the king they drew to a halt and saluted him or bowed as he walked by. Still holding onto him, she studied them, their posture and stance, the respect gleaming in their eyes.
"Is it strange having people stop everything just to stare at you as you walk by?"
"I wouldn't know." He gave a partial shrug. "My father was a well-respected king and I endeavored to be the same. I emulated him often through the streets of our glorious city and, as prince, I was given every due respect given him. A good king, however, does his best to earn the respect of his soldiers and I have tried."
Pride filled his voice when he spoke of his father, of the city, but he was humble as he spoke of trying to be like his father and trying to be a good king. She admired his ability to be both kingly and humble. He seemed confident in who he was, yet still she found a strange lethalness in the way his hawk's eyes searched around him, animal and savage.
"Thunderfall." She said. "That is the city's name?"
"Yes. I would like to take you there one day, Lady Erinne, when we leave here, when the treaty is solidified."
For some reason that notion terrified her as another soldier bowed deeply and waited for his king to pass before he continued walking. She twisted lightly to stare and then faced forward. "What is the city like?"
"Massive." His words did nothing to ease her trepidation. "The city stretches over cobbled streets, the palace is tall, sweeping towers. My chambers overlook the city so I can see my people." He smiled and glanced skywards as if imagining it. "The sky turns, perhaps we should retire for the night? Would you consider moving to this side of the field? I could offer you a place here."
It was a kind offer that warmed her heart, but she shook her head, "If you send a messenger to Lohke, I'm afraid he may not feel as welcomed without a human there."
He sighed, "I thought you might say as much. I'll escort you back. We're not far."
She followed him back through the tents, weaving her way through until they reached the edge. There was a clear path of grass in the field that no one seemed inclined to cross. On one side were humans, on the other were the orcs. In the dying light, she could see the fires beginning to light up throughout both camps, creating shadows and echoes of laughter as they sat around preparing dinner and telling stories.
"It's calmer tonight." She murmured. "Everyone is relaxing, less worried about one attacking the other."
"The negotiations are going well. As long as Lohke and I are getting along, I imagine our soldiers and warriors will be settled as long as we are."
"So you're saying if things go south," she crinkled her nose, not wishing to continue the sentence.
"Most likely we'll dissolve into war, right here." He motioned to the space of grass that separated them. She stared across it and spotted a figure on the other side watching her. Cold Hammer. His eyes watched her and the king sharply.
A vision flashed in her mind of Cold Hammer in war with the humans. She saw him swinging his hammer, a woman falling. She couldn't quite place why the image felt so familiar, as if it were a bad dream she'd once lived. It rattled her, making her heart beat faster and she worried that the vision would come to pass if they didn't keep the peace and, if war broke out here, there was no way she, Lohke, and Wren could make it out of here alive. Between the three of them, they were the center of the treaty, they would be the biggest targets.
She didn't want to see any of them harmed. Even Cold Hammer.
"We can't let it come to war." She whispered to Wren.
"No, milady," he took her hand in his, bringing her knuckles to his lips, "we can't. I have begun to believe in the vision of peace you speak about and I want to see it through."
"I do, too." He released her hand as she spoke and she gave him one last glance before crossing the grass to Cold Hammer's side.