Page 14 of Charmed By the Orc
“I am sorry to say that I cannot return the human to her world,” the siren began, and a gasp broke from my poor Sammy. “But,” the councilor continued as the florin kept up its tweaks, “although the human cannot travel between dimensions as my kind do, I can deliver a message to her family and let her loved ones know she is safe.”
I exhaled roughly, gravel caught in my throat. I had gotten my wish to the detriment of hers. What kind of fiend was I?
I didn’t have long to contemplate as Sammy’s shuddering sob broke me. “Thank you,” my little human said with tears in her voice, “I don’t have any family, but if you would tell my friends?”
No family?Maybe, I wasn’t such a monster after all. If Sammy had no one to return to, no true home, then I would do everything to make her happy here. Havenlore, and hopefully I, would be her family, her home.
The florin’s twittering answer was an obvious yes, even without the councilor’s translation.
Sammy let go of me and crouched in front of the florin. Whatever message she had for her friends was the florin’s secret to keep. When at last she rose, seeking my side once more, her tears had been spent. I wiped the last remnants of them from her cheeks with my thumbs.
I hugged her close. “You’ll always have a home here, and with me, if you want it, Sammy.”
She didn’t respond, just nodded into my chest as she held me tight.
“We welcome you to Havenlore, Samantha Riley,” Councilor Fizzle proclaimed. “Should you have need of anything, do nothesitate to ask.” With that, the councilors each gave a short bow and headed off toward the room where they had contemplated in private earlier. Likely done to give us some privacy and time for Sammy to come to terms with her situation, I appreciated their kind gesture. The florin too twittered one last time, before popping between the dimensions, off to deliver my little human’s message.
We stayed there in a silent embrace for awhile. Her hair tickled my nose, her natural flowery scent filling me with longing. Water pooled around my tusks, the desire for her rising hot as flames. My heart cried that I had found a fated bond. And I never wanted to let her go.
Even as I thought this, she pulled back “I’m okay, Guruk,” she assured me. Her facial expression and tension in her body said otherwise, but I wouldn’t push her to talk until she was ready. If I had my way, we’d have forever. “Let’s get out of here.”
“As you wish, little one.” I let my hand stray to the small of her back, a spot that was fast becoming my favorite and steered her toward the door.
Stepping outside the town hall into the fresh afternoon air aided in turning the events of the morning into a fading memory. A flush rose on Sammy’s neck and a hint of a smile grazed her lips.
“Itisbeautiful here,” she said more to herself than to me it seemed. Still it gave me hope for a future together.
We walked back along the main path, the villagers going about their chores as the day waned. As much as I dreaded it, we had to stop by the sheriff’s station before heading home.
Leading us in that unwanted direction, it wasn’t long before the building’s stone facade came into view. A heavy mahoganydoor, iron-bolted and slightly ajar, invited visitors inside, while a small, barred window offered a glimpse of the dim interior. I spotted the deputy, who had first found Sammy, on the slanted and shingled roof, a dark crimson nightmare among the patches of moss. And not the male I wanted to see. He leapt from his perch when he caught sight of us, leaving little space between us and him upon his landing.
“The guardian and thief,” he snarled, not retracting his wings as was polite amongst his kind. “How interesting to see you here.”
“She is no thief!” I shouted, using my bulk to force him a pace back. “And you’d do well to note that the council has declared her a citizen of Havenlore.”
“That’s right.” Sammy stepped to my side as a crowd began to form around us. “I’m one of you now.”
“One of us?” The skul-gargoyle had the audacity to laugh, a condescending sneer that turned my vision red. “Hardly.”
The affront to my little human boiled my blood. I grabbed the deputy around the throat as a booming voice echoed from above.
“What’s all this now?” Sheriff Rokhan Stonelcaw descended into the fray, skattering our audience further back. His gray skin glistened in the afternoon light as his midnight blue wings extended to their impressive span, leaving no doubt to the male’s power. He landed to the side of our scuffle, pulling in his wings and stomping forward. “Why do you have my deputy in hand, Guruk?”
The sheriff and I had always had a friendly acquaintance and a mutual respect for our roles in the village. He was known for fair dealings, having been elected three times now to office. I had no hesitation in telling him the truth of the situation. “Your deputykeeps disparaging and wrongfully accusing my human of crimes she has not committed.”
“Oh?” The sheriff eyed the skul-gargoyle with a curious stare, then turned to me. “Would you release him, so that he might speak?”
“Guruk,” a gentle pull tugged at my pants’ pocket, Sammy’s hand wrapped around the fabric, “do as the sheriff says, okay?”
I had no thoughts of disobeying. Yet, I wanted the deputy properly reprimanded for his actions. I peeled my hand from his throat, one intentional finger at a time.
“Now, then,” the sheriff yanked his deputy forward from the collar of the smaller male’s shirt, “what’s this I hear about you causing trouble?”
“Sheriff,” the deputy gasped, a rough claw massaging his throat, “the human was found reaching for the alicorn.”
A collective gasp rose among the onlookers. I speared the crowd with a scowl.
“That’s not true,” Sammy cried. Her spine stiffened under the accusation, straightening her to her full height. “I mean not exactly. It was in the game.”