"My love, please, let me do that."
"I am fine, go, you promised Lohke you would go with him."
Cold Hammer came up behind her and reached for the jar she had on a top shelf. "I can stay?"
"I'm fine, I promise. I still have three months to go."
He set the jar down in front of her and one hand curled around her swollen belly. "I came incredibly close to missing one child's birth. I don't want to miss or almost miss the second. I will be here every minute."
He kissed the back of her head and she leaned backwards into his chest. He held her for a long moment and she sighed, closing her eyes. This was perfection. Exactly where she wanted to be, and ever since they'd given up their duties to Lohke and Wren, life had been better. They argued less often about the politics of their individual races and she loved this orc more with every passing day until she felt her heart might burst.
"Okay, go so that you can hurry back," she said before she changed her mind and begged him to stay.
"It should only take a day or two."
"I know, I packed you some dried meat and some fruit."
"Thank you."
"I love you, watch out for our Chieftain."
"I shall. I love you." He kissed her and called for Andol as he turned away. Andol was on the loft and he peeked down so Cold Hammer held out his arms. Andol laughed and jumped without hesitation and Cold Hammer caught him easily. The first time they'd done that she'd nearly had a heart attack. Now she was used to it and her mate never failed to catch him.
"Bye, Papa."
"Bye, you be good for your mother."
"I will."
"Will not."
"Will!" He giggled and they hugged before Cold Hammer tossed him towards the loft. Andol laughed louder as he rolled across the top of it and then peeked down with a huge grin on his face. She sighed, she hated it when they did that. It made her heart skip three beats.
"You two will be the death of me." She muttered and opened the jar. Cold Hammer gave a short laugh before he disappeared out the door, leaving her and Andol alone in the cabin. She dumped the contents of the jar into a bowl and started mixing it together, preparing bread since Cold Hammer was taking the last of it with him. His trip should only take a few days if not almost the full week, unless Lohke received bad tidings.
He was going to speak to the ancestors in the Hetana Mountains. Small skirmishes had broken out on the border and lives were being taken. Lohke and Wren were being forced to address the issue now as war fast approached them. They were no longer trading, there was no longer safe travel through each other's territories. Orcs and humans were moments from war. In fact, some would say it'd already started upon the border.
To try and prevent it, Wren and Lohke had agreed to a No Man's Land in between their kingdoms. There was a section of land cut off from both sides, a stretch where no one walked except for the wildlife. Anyone seen in the area between would be killed on sight by the enemy. She'd honestly believed the ancestors had meant they would have more time to be at peace before another war began. Instead, it'd only taken a few years for it to return.
"Mama, can we play outside?"
She looked up to find Andol peeking over the edge of the loft again. Her feet were already aching desperately, her back was pinched, and the idea of being outside on a nice pallet was comforting. "Sure, baby, you go on out, I'll be right behind you."
"Stay in the grass?"
"That's right." She nodded and tried to prepare her bread as quickly as possible. This pregnancy had been harder than the first. With Andol she had been tired and moody, but with this child she ached everywhere. Her feet and ankles were swollen before the day's end and she rarely slept the night through with the amount of pain in her back.
It terrified her that it meant the birth would be worse than Andol's, but Zevra assured her that was most likely untrue. Most likely. She couldn't help but wonder if that girl in the village had been correct the day she asked Erinne about being scared of her orc children ripping her apart on their way out.
"Okay, that's enough." She said out loud to help clear her thoughts. She brushed her hands off and moved the bread to the stones where it would cook and then made her way outside. Andol was in the grass, wrestling with Willow while Larken was standing at the door waiting on her to come out. "Hello, beautiful." She scratched underneath her chin and got sweet, happy tail wags out of it.
She dragged a bunch of soft furs down from a shelf and sprawled them out in the grass before she sat herself on top of them with a content sigh. Larken slithered in next to her and laid down and Erinne set her hand in her fur, stroking quietly while her son played. The time passed gently with Andol periodically begging to play in the creek, she would have been content to stay there all day but her luck ran out as the sun reached it's highest peak and Larken lifted her head and curled her lip.
She frowned immediately and sat up straighter, following the wolf's gaze. They received visitors from the Killerfrosts almost daily, the dire wolves never growled at them but Larken was two seconds from it. When Larken rose to her feet, hackles rising and Willow stopped playing to stand in front of Andol, Erinne knew something was wrong and clambered to her feet, nearly unbalanced by the massive bump she carried in front of her.
By the time she made it to her feet, she spotted a horse trotting through the woods and Lothar whinnied in greeting. "What the Underworld?" She pushed to her feet. Orcs didn't often have horses but this was definitely a human rider. There shouldn't have been any humans out here except for her and this moron had the king's sigil stamped right across his chest.
It was a miracle he'd made it this far, but the dangers increased if anyone saw the king's symbol on him. They were one stick throw away from the wary fully igniting and this human thought now was a good time to cross the border?
"Sir?" She stared at him, perplexed as he rode into sight and stopped at the edge of her grassy clearing.
"Lady Erinne of Lord Atmire?"
She felt her guard rising. There was a kingsman here, in orc territory despite the no man's land established by Wren and Lohke. "I am Lady Erinne of the Killerfrosts now and have been since my marriage five years ago, but yes, Lord Atmire was my father." She looked him up and down, still mounted on his horse. He was a skimpy man, surprisingly young considering he'd been sent all the way out here. "What the Underworld are you doing here?"
Andol had crept to her side with Willow posturing in front of him the whole way, making sure the newcomer stayed away. Larken hadn't moved from her side, her fur standing on end as she waited for a command.
The man blushed a little at her question and laughed nervously, "Looking for you, milady. I am here on King Wren's orders to deliver a message." He reached into his tunic and produced a letter but she was flabbergasted.
"Wren sent you into dangerous territory alone to deliver a message?"
"The orcs have been shooting down our birds. We've been trying to get letters to you for weeks."
She frowned, "Why would they do that?"
"In an effort to keep King Wren and the orcs' Great Chieftain from communicating. Any bird coming or going is being shot down." That was news to her and it stunned her to silence.
"Mama?" She glanced down at Andol as he wrapped his arms around her leg, hiding behind her instead of his dire wolf.
"It's okay, baby." She murmured and met the man's gaze again. He continued to hold the letter patiently and she sighed. "Stay." She commanded everyone softly but then to Larken she said, "If he makes a move I don't like, kill him." Larken lifted her tail higher in acknowledgement and a fierce growl rumbled out of her chest as Erinne crossed the distance to the man.
The closer she got the more she realized just how young he was. He was barely a man, peach fuzz on his face. She couldn't believe Wren would send someone so young to face the orcs. He was sizing her up, too, as she approached, his eyes resting on her belly awhile before they flitted to Andol and back.
"Scared of orc children?" She questioned when she neared him.
"No, milady, just surprised by them." His answer was surprisingly earnest and she saw no hate in his eyes, just curiosity. "I've heard tales in the courts about them but..."
"Tell me." She said, voice stern.
"I beg your pardon, milady, I'd rather not say."
"Tell me or the wolves will enjoy parts of you that you might miss."
He cringed, eyes wide, and said, "People in the courts talk about you and your orc child. They describe him as a monster. They say you almost died in childbirth because of his claws and tusks." He shook his head, "But he has none of that."
She snorted, glad to know that the courts were concerned with her child. "I hope you see fit to tell them that." She commented and held her hand up for the letter. He passed it to her, biting his lip.
"I'm sorry, milady. You have a beautiful family."
This young man was no threat to her, especially with two direwolves nearby. She examined the letter, finding Wren's seal, unbroken, and she snapped it and unfolded it. It couldn't bode well. They were on the brink of war and Wren was so desperate to get a letter to her that he sent a boy? Whatever the letter said, her family came first.
Dear Lady Erinne,
I hope this letter finds you in good health and in a generous mood. I once promised not to call on you again, but I must regretfully break said promise. I need your help. The orcs are on our borders every day, and though I try, I am losing my grip on the people of my kingdom. They want a war and I fear neither I nor Lohke can stop it. As you are human and my subject, a human with vast knowledge of the orcish ways, I need your wisdom, your advice. I wish to have you as an advisor in this war, at my side. I can reserve a seat on my council for you, you can have living arrangements placed here at the castle of Thunderfall. I understand you have a family, but it will only be for a short time, when things are more settled, you can return to your family. You may travel here with my messenger, he is your obedient servant until you arrive.
Dutifully Yours,
King Wren of Thunderfall
Erinne frowned at the letter. It was a lot to take in and immediately it weighed on her. The last part of his letter was possibly the most troubling, "Dutifully Yours," as if he was trying to remind her that she had a duty to obey him.
She was human. Or at least she used to be. But she had a family, how could he honestly write to her that she could leave them but only for a short while during the war. Some wars lasted years. Besides, she would never leave her family in a war for any amount of time unless absolutely necessary. Not to mention it was impossible right now. Traveling that far would be much too hard on her body, her child. This pregnancy had already been difficult, her feet were already swelling and she'd been sitting most of this day. Travel had cost her a lot of heartache during her first pregnancy but this time when she was already miserable with it?
"Milady," the young man spoke up. "I understand you need some time to pack and,"
"The letter says you are to be my obedient servant, I am sure he told you this?" She cut him off.
"Uh, yes."
"Good. Return to King Wren and tell him that I cannot come to him."
He frowned, brow knitting together. It took him a long minute to figure out how to proceed as he wrestled with what she just said. She was sure it was a rare thing for someone to say no to the king. "Milady,"
"Milord," she interrupted him again. "Look at me." He opened his mouth, paused, and he shifted, beginning to look very uncomfortable. She set her hand on her stomach to further bring his attention to herself. "I am with child. You can see that plainly with your own eyes. I cannot travel. If I was in the early stages, of course I would assist King Wren, but I am nearing the end."
"I...uh..."
"You're supposed to return with me, I understand your dilemma. Do you understand mine? Tell King Wren I am not coming. If he wishes for an advisor, he is more than welcome to send me letters when he needs me. I can write back just fine." She thought harder on it and added, "And I don't appreciate his suggestion that I can just leave my family behind. What kind of mother would just leave her child and husband?"
He swallowed and lifted his head higher. "Is that all?"
"Yes."
He dipped his head. "Good day, milady, I will inform him of your words."
***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***