You slide your wrists back into the loose wraps.

Unsure how to respond to that, I quietly put my hands back in the loose wraps and adjusted my sitting position to take the pressure off my throbbing knees.

“Thank you.” Cynthia said. “I’m not entirely sure what they’re planning to do with us, but it sounds like they will keep us…”

“So they’re not going to kill us or eat us?” I asked? “And what do you mean they will ‘keep’ us?”

Cynthia looked down in embarrassment, “From what I could understand, I think they picked us out. This wasn’t a random ****.” Cynthia thought for a minute, “Fuut chose you to take. I think she wanted you specifically. She wants you to like her.”

I looked at Cynthia, surprised. “So… what? We’re Orc Pets now? And I’m just going to be some Orc lady’s dog, wagging my tail and happy to see her whenever she shows up?”

Cynthia looked very serious. “Don’t use that word around them…”

More confused now, I snap, “What? Pet? Are we worried that they’ll get the wrong idea or something?”

Cynthia looked pensive, “No… not pet… ‘Lady’.”

“You can’t call orcs ladies?” I am still confused by Cynthia’s concern about this.

“No… you can… it’s just that it doesn’t translate how you’d think. It translates to something like… ‘Honored and worshipped bearer of the future…’ like a very loved wife and mother or something.”

“Really? From saying ‘lady’?” I was skeptical.

“Absolutely. With how rare it is to find sources to learn languages, almost every one I’ve seen opens with that as one of the first lessons.” Cynthia smirked, “And saying it to an Orc woman is akin to a marriage proposal. And if they picked us to take, I don’t know what they’d do if they already want us in some fashion for whatever this nurse thing is if we said something so… accepting and welcoming to them?”

I thought about that a moment. “Well… at least they’re female… so we don’t have to worry about them making us into ‘mothers’… right?” I chuckled nervously. “Not that orcs even like Half-Orcs… we would be the WORST ‘lady’s for them…”

“Yeah… thank goodness for that…” Cynthia said weakly. Her voice cracked slightly. I think the gravity of our situation was finally settling in.

I yawned. We were interrupted in the middle of the night, and we’ve all been running on raw adrenaline since. Something about Cynthia’s odd Orcish knowledge had put my mind at ease though. I may not know what is going to happen, but I’m probably not going to die, and it sounds like this she-orc… Fuut… picked me? The gruff voice of the shadowy intruder into my bedroom… it WAS Fuut, wasn’t it?!

“Cynthia… you’d tell me if you knew more… if they said more… about our situation, right?” I looked at Cynthia sleepily.

“Sure, Jessica. If I’m certain of anything, I’ll let you know.” Cynthia gave me an almost sad looking smile. I think the gravity of it all was beginning to settle on her. “Get some rest. I’ll keep an eye out and wake you if something happens.”

I didn’t need more convincing. My eyes closed as I drifted off to sleep.

My dream was pleasant, despite my predicament. A cute young farmhand sneaks off to court me. He is strong, but not bulky. His muscles are lean and defined. His scent is heady. He smells like animals… but also like a man… a very potent and virile man. In my dream, I find myself wanting to give my body to him, strong and capable, and wild enough to drive me to my limits over and over again.

I feel my body being shaken lightly. Yes… have your way with me farmboy… rock me to my core… the scent is stronger, potent, almost pungent. It smells like the Orcs… and at once, I realize why: they’re back. I’m actually being rocked awake!