Chapter 11
GRAT
“Steady, sweetheart,” I breathed out into Khala’s ear in a whisper that I tried to make as soft as the breeze. “Pay attention to the wind. And don’t let go until you are absolutely sure your aim is perfect.”
She gripped the bow so hard her knuckles paled. Blood rushed away from her fingers that stretched the string with the fletching of the arrow peeking between them.
She had no time to waste. The horn-nosed muskrat she aimed at waddled promptly along the water's edge, ready to jump into the creek any minute. But if she shot and missed, it’d be gone for sure.
Horn-nosed muskrats didn’t stay in the open for long. They were much easier trapped than shot with a bow and arrow. They were also dangerous with those long horns on their noses. But Khala needed to practice with the weapon, and muskrat made a challenging target for her.
She bit her lip in concentration. I stayed close, with my cheek almost touching the embroidery of the ribbon around her head. She hardly ever took the ribbon off, only to wash her hair. And I loved seeing it on her.
There was a tradition in my keep for a man to give his woman a fancy ribbon along with her courting presents.
I didn’t mean to court Khala when I bought the ribbon for her at the market.
But when I gave it to her, it felt special.
The fact that she’d been wearing it ever since made it even more important somehow.
It was a good thing she seemed to be focused on the task at hand.
Because my concentration had wavered and left the moment I inhaled her scent.
As she narrowed her eyes and stilled her muscles, I fought hard against the intense desire to stick my tongue out and taste her skin…
then kiss her face…then stick my hand into the neckline of her dress and find her tits to see if her nipples were as tight as my cock was already hard.
And if they weren’t, I’d suck on them until they would be.
With a soft breath, she released the arrow. It sang through the air with admirable speed and got the muskrat in its back. It jerked towards the water.
“One more arrow!” I urged.
But her hand had already reached for the quiver. Promptly nocking another arrow, she released it too, catching the muskrat already in the water.
Dropping the bow, she ran to the creek and lunged into the stream head first.
“Khala!” I ran after her. “Leave it! We have enough meat already.”
We’d had a few good days of hunting. We even managed to fell a giant, two-tailed moose yesterday. But it wasn’t about the meat, of course. The muskrat was Khala’s first independent kill. She couldn’t let it float away.
Dripping wet and sputtering water out of her mouth, she stood up in the stream, holding her trophy by its tail.
“Got it!” She beamed.
“Yes, you did.” I reached for her, helping her out of the creek, then pulled her to me and kissed her smiling mouth.
The best luxury in the world was being able to kiss her whenever I wished and her taking all my kisses and asking for more.
“Now, I’ll need to get you out of these wet clothes and give you a bath,” I murmured, kissing her neck next.
My mind filled with all the possibilities that getting naked in the tub with her would bring.
She giggled between my kisses and swung her hunting prize, holding it by its tail.
“Now you’ll have to teach me how to make the muskrat pie.”
“I will,” I promised.
“When? Tonight for dinner? Or do you want to wait until you come back from the keep?”
The reminder on my impending trip back to the keep stirred an unpleasant feeling in my chest. But the massive prey, like the giant long-tailed moose we got yesterday, had made us run out of storage space, and I needed to take the meat to the keep or risk it getting spoiled.
I’d promised to trust Khala’s abilities to take care of herself and even defend herself if needed. That didn’t make it any easier for me to leave her at the cabin alone again.
“Are you sure you want to stay behind again?” I asked for probably the millionth time, already knowing her answer.
“I can’t come with you yet,” she reminded. “Not until we’re absolutely sure that the men from the Avilet Kingdom have left the Wetlands.”
Khala was wanted for injuring and possibly murdering a man. She didn’t give me many details, but I believed her when she swore that the asshole deserved it, and I hated the dark shadows that would fall over her face when she talked about her past.
A sharp pang of longing reminded me how fucking hard I would miss her when away from her.
“Khala…” I slid a finger over the embroidered edge of the ribbon she wore as a headband.
“Yes?” She grinned up at me, and it was all I could do not to kiss her again.
“I need to tell you something…” I swallowed hard.
My throat tightened with nerves.
The smile slipped from her face.
“What is it, Grat?”
“I…” I huffed a breath in frustration, scrambling for words like a love-struck boy. “Men in my keep often give pretty ribbons as a courting gift to the women they like…”
She blinked, lifting a hand to the ribbon. “They do?”
“Yes, and I didn’t think about that when buying it for you—”
“Oh, you didn’t?” Her expression dimmed somewhat.
“But now, I was wondering, if you would give me your permission to court you?”
Her lips moved as if she tried to contain a smile that had already lit up her eyes. “Is that what you want to do? You want to court me?”
“I do, Khala. There is nothing in this world that I want more.”
She paused, biting her lip to contain her smile and clearly oblivious to the fact that every moment she stayed silent was like a punch in my stomach.
“What does bog orcs’ courting look like? Will I get more pretty ribbons?” the little vixen asked with a cheeky smile.
“If it’s ribbons you want, my sweet thing, I’ll get you trunks full of them.”
“Will I get more kisses?” she kept on.
“As many as you can stand.” I ached to kiss her again.
“More special baths?” she asked with a naughty glint in her eyes.
“If we spend any more time in the bathtub, we may as well just live there.” I laughed, the knots in my stomach dissolving into a kaleidoscope of frantic butterflies.
“Well, I give you my permission to court me then,” she said proudly as if granting me a knighthood in a king’s court.
Happiness made me giddy. Overwhelmed by the emotion, I grabbed her in my arms and spun her around right there on the bank of the creek with the limp muskrat dangling by its tail in her hand.
It was extremely hard to leave Khala the next morning. Worry gnawed at my insides. I spent the first half of my journey trying to reassure myself by recalling every proof of how capable she was.
Khala had been happy going hunting with me every day. She’d learned new skills with enthusiasm, aptitude, and commendable speed. The muskrat had been fast, but she proved to be faster.
She had spent weeks in the woods alone before she even met me.
Sure, she had been starving and miserable, but she had survived.
And now, she had more resources than ever.
She had enough food to last her for many days.
Even if she lost all of it somehow, she’d learned how to procure food in the Wetlands.
During our hunting trips, I’d shown her many edible plants. Lots of mushrooms grew in the forest this time of year. She could hunt and fish. She knew how to use an ax, a bow, and a hunting knife I’d given her with a blade so long, it was almost like a sword for her.
I wasn’t planning to stay at the keep for long. I’d just drop the meat off, have a quick rest, and come right back to her, because there was no other place I’d rather be.
My worry eased somewhat, but my thoughts never left her.
During the second half of my trek to the keep, I fantasized about Khala coming home with me.
I couldn’t wait to tell everyone about her.
I was sure my folks would love her. She was kind, funny, resilient, and real—everything my people appreciated in a person.
I hoped she’d like our keep and its inhabitants too.
I loved parties and family gatherings with all their laughter, dancing, and great food.
I wondered if Khala would love that too.
As quiet and reserved as she often acted, I hoped she’d grow accustomed to the noise of the busy keep.
But if she ever felt overwhelmed, my big, sturdy house provided a great refuge from the noise of the crowd.
Maybe I could turn a part of the house into a workshop for her? I could add a forge with a roof and a workbench, so that she’d have plenty of space to work on all the fun things she liked to create.
Daydreaming about my future with Khala made my long trip feel shorter.
The weather was nice. I loved this time of the year.
The autumn air was still pleasantly warm during the day.
The clear sky remained more clear than cloudy, but the leaves on the trees had already turned the vivid colors of the fall.
I was in excellent spirits when I reached the wall of the keep and…stopped in my tracks in shock. A long spear rose from the ground by the open gate to the keep. A standard with a crest I’d never seen before blew in the evening breeze at the end of the spear.
It was highly unusual to leave the gate wide open like that. We didn’t fear many creatures in the Wetlands. But we didn’t invite just anyone to wander into our domain, either.
Instinctively, I stepped behind the nearest tree, staying out of sight while looking around.
Leaning to the left, I spotted a tent, then another one, then another… Someone set a whole fucking camp just to the left of the keep, and it stretched as long as the eye could see, with the tents peeking from behind every bush and tree.
Had the keep fallen to an enemy?
The tents didn’t belong to any other clans in the Wetlands. When bog orcs traveled, we made shelters from hides and animal skins. These were made from fancy colorful canvas. I also spotted a few painted caravans and horses in the distance.