Chapter 24
Clover
Things haven’t been this tense since I arrived in Uzrirgard.
King Lix’tuk lands his ship near the harbor. He tells me to stay onboard while he talks with the Lords and Ladies who are already on the ground.
I can see the ship in the harbor. The King told me it was being moved to the quarantine zone now.
Some sort of large tent is being assembled over it.
I can’t help feeling empathy for the women on the ship.
I’m sure they’re as scared as I was. Unfortunately, I don’t know what their fate will be.
Hopefully, King Lix’tuk will show them the same mercy he’s shown me.
I can’t hear any of the conversations, of course, but some of them seem heated. King Lix’tuk is angry. Most of the Lords and Ladies seem to be angry as well. When King Lix’tuk finally returns to his ship, I tense up, hoping I won’t get any of that anger directed at me.
“This is a fucking political disaster,” he roars, stomping to the front of the ship and sitting down in the pilot’s chair. “All the Lords and Ladies are denying involvement.”
“Do you believe them?” I ask hesitantly.
“I’m not sure. They’re always plotting,” he sighs. “But this doesn’t seem like it will do anything to further their agenda.”
“Unless someone wants you to try really hard to produce an heir,” I reason, feeling a twinge of something I can’t really identify inside me. Jealousy? I’ve never felt that before. “With that many women, your chances are a lot higher.”
“If that is their intention, they’re wasting their time,” he growls, starting the engines.
The ship rises into the air, then cuts toward Zrogmul.
I’m still worried about all the women on the ship.
If they’re anything like me, they didn’t ask for this.
They grew up knowing this could be their fate, but that doesn’t mean they’re prepared for it.
I thought I was, but I quickly learned that the world is a lot more complex than I ever realized.
“What are you going to do with them?” I ask hesitantly. “The women.”
“They’re going to be quarantined until the medical tests are complete,” he replies. “We should be able to protect ourselves against another virus or biological weapon, but I’m not taking any chances.”
“You think President Highton could have infected them with something? Something that could hurt orcs?” I ask, appalled.
“It’s possible. The initial scans didn’t show anything, so it would have to be something advanced, but I don’t trust humans. At all,” he declares. “Especially after what they did to us before.”
“That’s understandable,” I admit. “But if they’re not infected? If they’re just… normal girls? What happens to them?”
“I don’t fucking know, Clover,” he answers me honestly. “The Lords and Ladies want them publicly whipped to send a message to President Highton before we send them home.”
“Oh god, nooo!” I groan, a shudder sweeping through me. “Please don’t whip them, Your Majesty! They’re innocent. They don’t deserve a Reparations Penalty. It’s not their fault they were sent here.” I only use his most formal title when I’m really trying to win him over.
“I’m going to wait until I hear President Highton’s speech before I decide,” he mutters. “The asshole.”
The thought of all the women on the ship being publicly whipped fills me with dread. Maybe because I came extremely close to that kind of cruelty myself. King Lix’tuk spared me. I hope I can convince him to spare the women on that ship.
But that depends on President Highton’s speech. I have no idea what he will say. Neither does King Lix’tuk. When we get back to Zrogmul, he goes straight to the kitchen for a bottle of grog. I’ve never seen this much worry in his eyes.
“I don’t think I’ll be in the mood for dinner,” his tone reflects his deep concern. “I need to go to my office to work for a while.”
“The speech is at eight,” I remind him. “Do you mind if I watch it with you? I’m curious to know what he has to say.”
“We can watch it in the theater. I’ll send the feed there when it’s time.”
King Lix’tuk grabs a couple more bottles of grog and heads to his throne room. That means I need to entertain myself. I go to the library and pick up where I left off the last time I was trying to get more familiar with orcish.
It’s a difficult language and a lot more complicated than I realized.
I would have given up after a couple days if I wasn’t so determined.
Determined and bored, I suppose. My nights with King Lix’tuk are always incredible, even if there are boundaries.
I’d like to believe I’ve gotten a lot better at using my mouth. He never has any complaints.
I watch the time tick by, my attention never fully on the books because I keep glancing at the clock. When it’s almost time for the speech, I gather more grog for King Lix’tuk and a blended strawberry drink for myself. After today, I feel like I actually need a drink.
“You brought more grog. Good,” King Lix’tuk sounds appreciative as he walks into the theater.
“A few bottles,” I say. “I’m not sure how long this speech will last.”
“Me either,” he huffs.
“Any updates about the women on the ship?” I ask hesitantly.
“They’re not infected with anything. They all appear to be clean and healthy,” he growls. “I had them moved to a hotel, but they’re still quarantined for now.”
“A hotel sounds better than a dungeon,” I admit.
King Lix’tuk mutters something, but I can’t hear it.
I don’t ask him to repeat himself because the screen flickers to life.
I’ve seen a few presidential addresses before, but never live.
Sometimes the mayor in Troona would show the replays and people would stop by during the day to watch them.
This speech seems more important than any of those.
There’s a podium with the presidential seal.
There are reporters in the room. I’m not sure if they’ll get to ask questions, but there are a lot of them.
After a few minutes, President Highton walks to the podium.
He’s wearing a suit, just like he always does.
He doesn’t look much different than he did in the video we watched on the train when we were brought to Concord City. That feels like a lifetime ago.
“Two hundred years ago, terrible mistakes were made. Mistakes that we’ve paid for time and time again since then,” President Highton begins, his face almost emotionless.
“When I was elected, I promised I would do everything in my power to strengthen our ties with Uzrirgard. I believed that was the answer, but even presidents can admit when they’re wrong. ”
“He hasn’t done a damn thing to strengthen ties with Uzrirgard,” King Lix’tuk growls. “Today was the first time I’ve spoken to him since he was elected.”
“As you know, part of our penance for the atrocities our nation committed during The Great War requires we pay reparations to the orcs. Reparations in the form of our sons and daughters. That has never sat right with me, and I hoped part of strengthening our ties with Uzrirgard would allow us to negotiate new terms,” President Highton continues. “Instead, I’ve only made things worse.”
“Made things worse? How?” I ask, a little confused.
“I have no fucking idea,” King Lix’tuk grumbles.
President Highton’s emotionless stare twists into a grimace. He closes his eyes, sighs, and takes a drink of water. It looks overly dramatic to me, like he’s just trying to let his words sink in. The orc beside me downs some grog, looking rather impatient.
“The truth is painful, but unavoidable. The orcs have not changed as much as we hoped. Their cities may have advanced. Their weapons may have changed. But their appetite for human suffering remains,” President Highton says, his voice now carrying a slight edge.
“They’re still savages who want reparations for something that happened before most of them were even born.
When I reached out to try and negotiate new terms, which included an end to the Reparations Auction…
well, I’ll just show you what happened.”
President Highton turns his attention to a monitor on his left. The monitor comes on, showing the auction stage. It looks like it did the night I was auctioned. For a moment, nothing clicks, and I just assume it always looks like that.
Then I walk out onto the stage. My stomach drops before I understand why. The lights. The stage. The dress clinging to my skin. For one terrible second, I’m back there.
“Oh my god,” I say, my hand flying to my mouth.
“What the fuck is this?” King Lix’tuk snarls.
“It’s the… night Lady Frax’mo bought me,” I whisper.
The video has been edited. I realize that when there are no bids and President Highton’s dubbed voice starts saying that if nobody wants to purchase me, I’ll be sent home so I can spend the rest of my life with my family.
All the bidding is silenced. The men in the audience are clearly bidding, but that part has been dubbed over with something President Highton never said when I was actually on that stage.
“That never happened,” I mutter. “Those men were bidding on me. One of them even asked if I was a virgin.”
But none of that happens. Instead, Lady Frax’mo emerges from the shadows.
Her voice has been dubbed over as well. She demands I be turned over to her for reparations, and President Highton reluctantly agrees.
The only thing they don’t have to dub over is my terror.
My concern. That’s clearly etched on my face, just like it was the night I was sold.
“This young woman’s name is Clover,” President Highton says, the camera focusing back on him.
“She is a beautiful girl from Troona, a town very dear to my heart. I was hoping Clover would be reunited with her parents and her two sisters. Beverly and Abigail miss their sister so, so much. But the orcs wouldn’t allow it. ”