Page 6 of Alien Orc's Prize
Two orcs – females, I was fairly certain, though they were nearly as massive as Padreth – stared down at me with bright, curious eyes. I instantly felt like an asshole, because they looked absolutely identical to me. I sternly and silently promised that I would not be some dopey human who thought all orcs looked alike. I was so focused on staring intently at them and trying to find differentiating features between their faces that I realized too late that I hadn’t made any effort to greet either one of them, or even smile.
“Maybe her translator doesn’t work,” the one on the left said, cocking her dark-haired head. The one on the right’s head followed suit, but in the other direction, creating an eerily perfect mirror image.
“No! Sorry,” I said, clearing my throat and plastering on a smile. “I understand you just fine.”
“She is recovering from the journey. Lesser species require medication to make the trip,” Padreth cut in from beside us.
Lesser… Lesser species?
Before I could parse that lovely little sentence, the two women had launched into rapid conversation, cutting each other off and finishing each other’s sentences in voices so similar I could barely keep track of who was speaking.
“I’m Neena!”
“I’m Noona!”
“We’re the prince’s-”
“-sisters!”
Sisters. Alright. Maybe they really do just look alike because of that.I felt a little better about my trouble telling them apart. Interestingly, their tusks, unlike Padreth’s bone-coloured ones, were red. Maybe all orc women had red tusks. I hoped my own white teeth wouldn’t be too off-putting.
“I’m Luna. I’m so happy to meet you.” Though I was on slightly uneven footing here, it didn’t feel like a lie. Neena and Noona really did seem friendly enough and excited to meet me, despite the whole “lesser species” thing I’d just caught wind of, whatever the hell that meant.
“Luna! It rhymes with Noona!” chirped Noona, the one on the right.
“A good omen!” Neena said with satisfaction, giving a broad smile that showed me only her large bottom tusks were red. The rest of her teeth were similar in colour to Padreth’s and my own.
A good omen?I thought as each sister took me by the hand and started leading me away from the shuttle.Dear God, I hope so.
CHAPTER 5
GALBRATH
“Your bride is here.”
I gave a grunting sort of sigh, only now remembering that today was the day of my human wife’s arrival. I looked up from the desk in my Science Chief’s office, where he’d been grimly showing me the innards of a dissected stalk of blighted wheat. Padreth watched me with clear green eyes.
“Keep working on this. Report back anything you find,” I commanded Barrett as I rounded the desk to join Padreth. Barrett bumped his thumbs to his tusks, not hard enough to prick but enough to show the required deference and acknowledgement a situation like this commanded. He bent back over his desk, his back and shoulders still strong but his hair long-gone white.
“How… Er… How is she settling in?” I asked, grappling about for some question that would seem appropriate for a husband who’d completely forgotten his wife was even due to arrive today.
“I think the journey left her a little dazed, but she rallied admirably. She’s not nearly so brittle nor sickly as I’d expected.”
Well, that boded well. She’d have to be up to the task of bearing my heir, after all.
And she’d have to be able to withstand the task of actually creating that heir.
I had to admit, I was not looking forward to the act. It felt like one more burden on my shoulders, one more task to complete. But my mother was right. I needed to prioritize fathering an heir in order to maintain stability for our people.
So I, unfortunately, would have to start mating with my new wife sooner rather than later.
Hopefully we’d only need to do it once.
“What’s she like?” I sounded irritated, nerves frayed, even to my own ears.
“Pleasant and amiable. She took her disappointment in stride when you were not the one who showed up to the wedding.”
We’d been walking down a long, stone corridor when I suddenly stopped to stare at Padreth.