[v2] Chapter Nineteen – In which Ark gets a much needed reality check from an unusually kind Stella.

[v2] Chapter Nineteen – In which Ark gets a much needed reality check from an unusually kind Stella.

“Ark.”

Lifting my head from against my knees, I looked up to see Stella staring down at me. Why had she come to Rushk’s cave? Was it to see if I had done to the orc what I had done to her not too long ago?Rread latest chapters at novelhall.com

“Stella. Came to call me an orc-fucker this time, perhaps?”

“Aren’t you already one? I was going to take a bath and saw you and the two weirdos having a good time with the orc that has tanned skin. Decided it could wait until later.”

“Grotte.” I said, in case Stella didn’t know her name.

“Is this how you plan on taking care of her afterwards?” Stella asked while taking a seat on the floor next to me, gesturing with her head over at Rushk who was lying quietly in her bed.

“I figured the last thing she wanted was me draping my arm over her and telling her it was going to be alright.”

“Basing that off of what you did to me?”

“I still close my eyes sometimes and remember you calling me a traitor, a goblin-fucker, and that you would never forgive me.”

“You’re still a goblin-fucker.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“It’s just lucky for you that I also happen to be something of a goblin myself.”

“You’re killing me, Stella.”

“Oh, suck it up, Ark. You did what you had to do, right... so that she can live?”

I shook my head but began to laugh. Stella shoved my shoulder and asked me what was so funny. I had thought of a strange joke that hardly fit the situation, yet kind of did in a macabre way.

“You can pick your friends. You can pick your nose. But you can’t pick your friend’s nose.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“A joke I heard a long time ago. Just found it sort of fitting for how things are around here. It’s a roundabout way of saying that I can either be right, or be happy, but never both at the same time.”

“So, then are you happy, or are you right?”

“Neither.” I answered plainly. “I told her what was going to happen... that there was a chance she’d become a goblin. A high chance she’d probably get pregnant with some kind of goblin. And that I probably couldn’t save her life a second time if she didn’t let me do what everyone else said needed to be done. She didn’t fight it. She didn’t want to let me make her feel good. She just wanted it done and over as fast as possible, and so that’s what happened. I don’t think it was the right thing to do, but hey, that’s just the human in me talking...”

I extended my hand and manifested two Runes, Wind ones, not that it mattered. I let them dance around each other for a little while before allowing them to wink out of existence.

“I want power, Stella. I want enough power to be able to say no, and fuck anyone who tries to make me do something like this ever again.”

“Oh, found your balls at last?”

“Is insulting me the only thing you came up here to do?”

“No. I came up here to make sure you’re still human.”

“Huh? What, did you think I’d turn into that goblin again?”

Stella shook her head.

“Mind if I sit on your lap?”

I didn’t have the energy to brush her off. I figured it would be quicker to just let her do whatever it is she came to do, and then go. I slid my legs down and Stella sat on my thighs, cupping my face in her hands and staring deeply into my eyes.

“It’s okay, Ark. It’s okay. What I’m going to tell you now is coming from my human half. The half you must have felt a need to leave behind with me for moments like this, so listen carefully. Okay?”

She nodded my head with her hands, forcing my agreement to listen.

“You’re an idiot. A kind, naïve idiot. Maybe it’s because you were raised as a spoiled sheltered noble boy, I don’t know. But you seem to think that the world is supposed to be this perfect, idyllic, lawful, peaceful place where everyone has some gods-given right to be treated fair and equal. That talking things out at length, about what is right and wrong, is somehow supposed to make a tribe of bloodthirsty cannibalistic carnivorous goblins change their minds on what they’ve always known since the moment they clawed their way out of their mothers. Ark. The world is a harsh, cruel place. It’s not peaceful. People lie, steal, murder, and yes... rape. And most have no problems thinking their actions justified. It’s time for you to get that through your thick skull already. Do you think for even a second that any of the goblins you’ve been captured by give a flying fuck about taking a bath? No. They don’t. Not one tiny fuck-all do they care if they smell worse than the shit-pit they all use. You know why they come to your room and use the bath? Because spending five minutes in the water makes it easier for them to get what they want from you. Tell me, and be honest, what do you think is easier? Going through all the trouble to tie you up and hold you down so they can rape you for your seed, or spending just a few moments in a small clean pool of water inside their own cave, so that you come to them, all happy as a sow in mud, and give them it freely, eagerly, even?”

“...”

“When you were first captured, do you think Prima gave a single shit about whether or not you could stomach raw bloody meat? I’ve talked with her about your early days here, when you were still tied up with ropes like I was. The only reason she went along with cooking your meat at all, was that you had said if you can eat cooked meat and clean your dick with water, you could produce unlimited healthy seed. And for the record, she didn’t believe you completely until Diana Artemis was born. When that fucking demon who captured us both paid a visit to Berry and said that your eldest brat was supposed to be some mighty huntress for the tribe, she was sold on your bullshit. But only to a point.”

I didn’t like what Stella was saying. But what I didn’t like more was that she was probably telling me the cold hard truth. I’m a reverse seed-bed. No matter what else I’ve done or have tried to do to bring civilization to the Bloodmaw, they’ll go along with my whims only to a point if it means I’ll shut up and continue giving them what they want from me. The only thing they truly want or need from me.

“I get why you raped me, Ark. I was being stubborn, but you did it anyway to save my life which I am grateful for. Did I hate it at the time? Yes. I did. I was upset for a good long while, but it’s different now. I made my choice to adapt along with the changes it brought and became a Bloodmaw. I’m alive, and I even have a daughter who I struggle with sometimes but love dearly even though she’s a total mess, not to mention also half a goblin in appearance. But that’s what the orchard pickers say... the apple doesn’t roll far from its tree.”

Stella pulled my face into her chest, her soft and tender breasts a warm and welcome pillow for my tired mind.

“I’m here for you, Ark. As your human wife, your adventuring companion, the mother of your adorable daughter, whatever you need me to be in this moment. I’m here to tell you that it’s okay. For all the good you do, that you try to do to make the world a better place, even if it’s impossible from the start to do, it’s okay. You raped an orc. It was something inevitable for her. Were it not you, then another orc would have probably done it to her eventually. Or worse, she might have successfully escaped, only to wind up getting killed by some passing party outside of the forest. Because of you, she has been given a chance she quite honestly doesn’t deserve. But you happen to think she does. If you didn’t think so, you wouldn’t have done what needed to be done to keep her alive. If she has any sense at all, she’ll figure it out. Yeah, she’ll probably hate you for a while, but that’s how it is.”

“I have. What about her?”

“She’s a Tuothoc.”

“What!?”

“Yes. These bones are blessed by her. She gave them to me freely just agreeing to let her sit on Missy for a few moments. While I’m no Shaman, I was taught how to read the bones by the one in my camp after my first mating as a war-bride for the first time. What I find interesting is that the bones say that the War Chief is a starless one.”

“What does... that mean, exactly?”

“Chazok Hruth. The War Chief will create a mighty kingdom in time. We could not be more fortunate with what has happened, becoming his war-brides. But what I want to show you is this.”

Orga Lush pointed to three bones crossing each other.

“The star of Nekses. The Iron Lord, who breaths magic into metal.”

“What about it? I don’t know the bones, Orga Lush.”

Orga Lush gathered up the bones and handed them to me.

“Go ahead, cast them.”

I did as she said and cast the bones onto the floor.

“Again, the star of Nekses.” She pointed to the three bones crossing each other.

“Yes, but what does that mean, exactly?”

“The Warchief has plucked a star from the sky and put it in your belly. Your whelp will be blessed with the touch of iron.”

“We have mated only once. There is no guarantee I have a whelp in my belly already.”

Orga Lush shook her head at me, her gaze full of pity.

“Kumosh.” She said, pointing to a few curved bones which had formed a ring.

“You will have this child in one season.”

“How can that be? It takes at least two seasons to bear a whelp!”

“It is not my place to question the bones. I am only telling you what fate awaits you.”

“Is it only me? What about Grotte or Krushka?”

“They will carry his whelps as well. But their bones only showed Guvek Kesht.”

“Guvek... Kesht? That’s... my star.”

“Yes. Like you, their whelps will be favored by the War Chief. Perhaps they will also have whelps who are stars plucked from the sky as well. Truly a great fortune to see.”

“...what about you?”

Orga Lush shook her head.

“Kah Kamon.”

“A curse?”

“I am old, Rushk. My time will come soon.”

“If he’s a starless one or whatever, can’t he break it?”

“Perhaps. But for now, the bones say Kah Kamon.”

“Do you know how long?”

“No one may know when. Only Kah Kamon decides the time one meets them.”

“Orga...”

She smiled at me before plucking up a long fat bone.

“Now that you are mated and no longer nervous or afraid, you should speak with your Husband. There are many pleasures to be had mating, and I’m sure he would love to show them to you. Enjoy your youth and mate as often as you can before your tusks fall out.”

We drank a bit more until the jar was emptied. Orga Lush then left my cave, and I was left alone with my thoughts. Thoughts of what happens next...