Chapter 12
Clover
I didn’t spend much time looking around Zrogmul before I went to the library.
That’s where I am now, surrounded by more books than I’ve ever seen in one place.
You could fit every book in Troona’s library on one of the massive bookcases lining the walls.
They stretch so far, I couldn’t read them all if I had several lifetimes to sit in this room and do nothing but flip pages.
A lot of the books are so old I’m scared to touch them. Most are in orcish, which is indecipherable for me, but there are plenty of books I can read. I’m not sure why King Lix’tuk has so many books written in the human tongue, but I’m grateful he does.
I’m currently reading a book about King Lix’tuk, oddly enough.
It was written after The Great War by a human author who clearly didn’t agree with the Reparations Treaty.
He compares it to slavery, pointing out that humans abolished it centuries ago.
Guess he didn’t live long enough to see it become actual slavery, which it seems to have devolved into.
“King Lix’tuk was offered his choice of brides when the treaty was signed, but he declined, stating he’d never allow one to sour his bed,” I read aloud. “Much less marry one.”
The next chapter goes into detail about how humans are treated in Uzrirgard.
How they used to be treated, at least. The Reparations Penalty is mentioned.
It’s described as horrific and barbaric.
He compares it to public flogging for criminals.
Something that was deemed too cruel and abolished, just like slavery.
“Now humans don’t even care if you’re a criminal,” I mutter. “They’ll whip your entire family if you don’t let them sell you as a slave.”
I’m not sure how much of the book is true, and how much is just the author’s personal disdain for King Lix’tuk.
There’s plenty of that. Chapters upon chapters laying out orc cruelty and horrible atrocities, including The Salting.
Strangely, it doesn’t mention anything about the virus humans released or the bomb that opened a rift to the underworld.
“Weird,” I say. “Even the books in Troona didn’t leave that out.”
I don’t finish the book because I get bored reading page after page of hatred for orcs.
I return it to the shelf, choose another one, and flip through it.
It’s a book with fairy tales, and I’m familiar with a few of them.
Since I was the only one who got to visit the library regularly, I used to tell some of these stories to Abigail.
Thinking about my little sister makes me feel a twinge of sadness.
It doesn’t take much more to open the floodgates and I have to wipe my tears away once I start thinking about Rose.
I have no idea what happened to my best friend, but I don’t think she found her happily ever after with a wolf shifter.
She may be living in a nightmare much worse than Zrogmul.
Property of someone who is crueler than King Lix’tuk.
And truthfully, today hasn’t been that bad. I thought I was headed back to the whipping cross when I accidentally spit blackroot coffee all over the most powerful orc in Uzrirgard. That seemed to upset him less than my mere existence has so far.
But he’s been merciful. I can’t deny that. He chose to spank me instead of whipping me. My bottom is a little bruised, but I’ll recover. Much faster than I would have recovered if he’d cracked his whip fifty times.
I’m not sure if what happened after the spanking was an act of mercy, curiosity, or something more.
I felt how he reacted when I was squirming on his lap.
Men usually want to do more than just touch a girl when they’re aroused like that.
Maybe orcs are different. Or maybe King Lix’tuk hates humans so much I would just sour his bed.
He’d rather keep me as pet than ever allow that.
I continue down the row of shelves, looking over the books. I don’t get the chance to choose one before the library door opens and King Lix’tuk’s enormous frame darkens the doorway.
“So, this is where you ran off to,” he growls, walking into the library. “I didn’t realize you were educated enough to read.”
“I wasn’t allowed to attend school because I was second-born,” I say, turning to face him. “But my mother helped me teach myself to read. There wasn’t much else to do in Troona. They didn’t even let me work in the cactus fields.”
“Not much else to do here, either,” he rumbles. “But at least if you can read, you won’t get easily bored.”
“No, I don’t think I would ever get bored in here,” I admit.
“It’s time for lunch,” he says. “I lost my appetite for breakfast after I got coffee spat all over me, but I’m hungry now. Think you can revive a sandwich? You know what a sandwich is, right?”
“Yes, King Lix’tuk,” I say, a faint hint of a smile appearing before I can smother it. “Sorry again about the coffee.”
“There’s a dining hall to the right of the kitchen,” he says, turning and leaving the library.
I follow him until he enters the dining hall. I continue to the kitchen, once again marveling at the sight.
The sandwich is easy enough to find. Several are wrapped in clear packaging inside one of the refrigerators, labeled in orcish, but the picture on the front helps.
I put one in the Reviver, press the button I used earlier, and ten seconds later, the bread looks soft and fresh, the meat inside steaming like it was just sliced.
The cheese is slightly melted. I’m not sure what the red and green vegetables are, but they’re chilled and crisp.
The Reviver really is a wonderful piece of technology.
Once the sandwich is made, I carry it into the dining hall.
It doesn’t look much different from the hallways in the rest of Zrogmul, except there are no paintings.
Instead, the walls are lined with old orc weaponry.
Swords, axes, and hammers that are too big for me to even pick up.
Orcs have weapons much more advanced than this, but according to the old books I’ve read, they prefer more… personal combat.
King Lix’tuk meets my gaze when I place the sandwich on the table next to him. I’m lost in his dark stare for a moment, wondering if I forgot something. If he’s displeased with me in some way. Strangely, that makes my stomach tighten the way it did when I was standing on the auction stage.
“Are you not hungry? You didn’t eat breakfast either,” he growls.
My stomach flips, then settles. He’s not upset with me. He’s just… concerned?
“Oh, yes, I mean… I didn’t want to assume,” I stutter, looking down.
“That I’m going to feed you? I’m not a fucking human. If you were going to be starved, you’d be in the dungeon.” He points toward the kitchen. “Grab a bottle of grog for me while you’re in there. It’s in the fridge. Looks like liquid gold. It doesn’t go in the Reviver.”
I nod, taking it all in, listening carefully to his instructions. As I turn away, he taps the table.
“No grog for you, little human girl. Try one of the fruity drinks behind it,” he growls. “It’s what the orc girls in the city drink.”
I’m not sure whether I’m being ordered around or taken care of. Maybe both. With King Lix’tuk, those seem to be the same thing, whether I’m a gift or a pet.
I get King Lix’tuk’s grog, grab one of the fruity drinks he mentioned, and return with both drinks and my sandwich.
He’s already eating so I take that as permission to do the same.
I look at the giant chair next to him, trying to figure out how to gracefully climb up into it.
I try turning my back to it and hauling myself up with my arms, but that doesn’t work well.
I try hopping. Eventually, I hang my head and just climb up onto it with no grace whatsoever.
Once I’m seated, I dare a peek up at the king’s face. He’s staring at me with a grin on his face. I huff a little in embarrassment, and he breaks into raucous laughter, wiping tears from his eyes a minute later. I’ll need another stool.
Gathering up what dignity I can muster, I take up the sandwich. “Wow,” I say after my first bite. “This is incredible. I can’t believe you get to eat fresh food like this every day. I only got to eat food like this… well, right before they auctioned me.”
“How much did Lady Frax’mo have to pay for you?” he asks, glancing at me as he takes a deep drink of his grog.
“Twenty-five thousand gold,” I answer, swallowing hard.
It occurs to me that I don’t know if that is a high price or a low one. More money than my family would ever see, certainly. A gold coin in the bank meant you were well off in Troona. Most things cost less than ten coppers.
He chuckles dryly. “We offered to buy young human women for a hundred thousand each. Humans thought the auction would be more fun.”
“That’s horrible,” I declare.
“Yes. They are.” He downs more grog.
I pick up my drink and sip it. It tastes like strawberry agave wine, only sweeter than anything I’ve ever had.
“Whoa,” I say, my eyes widening. “Is this orc wine?”
“No. Some blended city drink,” he says. “Too sweet for most orcs.”
We eat, and I sip more of my drink. It’s stronger than agave wine. Tastes better, too. King Lix’tuk finishes his sandwich while I’m still working on mine, then downs his grog with a burp. I glance at him, and the alcohol makes me giggle before I can stop myself.
“Something funny, little human girl?” he growls.
“No!” I squeak. After a couple more bites of my sandwich, I look up at him. The sandwich is good, but there’s no way I can finish a sandwich big enough for an orc. “So, when you’re not doing… king stuff, what do you do?”
“I eat. I drink. I contemplate. Sometimes I talk to the ghosts,” he grunts. “The rest of the time, I enjoy the peace and quiet.” He side-eyes me. “Or I used to.”
“Ghosts?” I ask curiously.
“The paintings,” he says. “Most of the orcs I know have been dead longer than your parents have been alive.”
“Oh. Back home, people rarely befriend second-borns. Sometimes we felt like outcasts.” I sip my drink and take the last bite of my sandwich. “I only had one friend, really. Rose.”
“Another second-born?” he asks, standing from the table.
“Yeah. She was auctioned the same night I was,” I say, following him back to the kitchen. I lean against the counter while he gets another bottle of grog. “I don’t even know what happened to her.”
He removes the cap from the grog and takes a sip. “Do you think you would feel better if you knew? Or is not knowing more comforting?”
“Um,” I say, looking down and bending my fingernail against my bottle. “Honestly, I’m scared to know.”
“The warriors who never made it home never received proper rites to be returned to our sacred earth. Those ghosts haunt me more than the rest,” he says, sipping his grog.
I wince at that. “I guess that’s one good thing about not knowing many people.” I force a half-smile. “Fewer ghosts.”
“Perhaps,” he growls, walking toward the door. “Entertain yourself for a while. I’ll find you when it’s time for dinner.”
And with that, he’s gone. I’m alone again. Buzzed. Unsure what to do with the rest of my day. I’ll probably have a lot of days like this between nights at the foot of the orc king’s bed.
I sip my drink while I wander around, getting a little more buzzed. I’m careful not to drink too much at once, so I see most of the paintings in one of the long hallways before I finish it. I’m not sure if it counts as meeting King Lix’tuk’s ghosts, because I don’t even know their names.
Maybe one day, after I’ve been here for a while, I’ll actually be able to read a few words in orcish. Although I doubt King Lix’tuk will be as interested in helping me learn as my mother was.
Eventually, I end up in the library again. It may become my home away from home. There are so many books. So many words. Entire worlds waiting to be discovered. Including the one I grew up in. I’m realizing I never knew as much about it as I believed.
I’m reading a book about the early days of Concord City when the door opens, and King Lix’tuk walks into the library.
“At least you’re not hard to find,” he growls.
“Is it time for dinner?” I ask, looking up at him.
“Almost,” he says, sipping a nearly empty bottle of grog in his hand. “By the time you finish reviving it, I’ll be ready for more grog.”
He turns and walks out of the library, staggering just enough for me to realize he’s not entirely sober. If he’s been drinking grog since lunch, he’s probably as drunk as Rose’s dad used to be most nights. I doubt orcs are sad, mopey drunks. Hopefully they’re not angry drunks.
I guess I’ll find out soon enough.