The Orc's Rose: Chapter Seven (special preview)

Chapter Seven:

Obresh is flanked by the Cobra Strait to the west and the ocean to the south, so the winter winds that blow through are exceedingly cold. Back home in Sothen, the winds were much gentler. Here, the bitter winds and my new home fill me with this strange, new feeling. I’m still getting used to being treated so warmly and lovingly by Ozren. There are days I even struggle to accept it. The nagging voices I’ve heard all my life are beginning to quiet, but they’re still somewhere deep inside me.

Ozren has been working hard to make sure the home is insulated for winter. He’s been sealing cracks in the wood outside and putting heavy patches of moss around the window frames. He’s even gone out and bought a thick material so I could make new curtains, and brought home some yarn after noticing I had knitting needles amongst my things.

When I ran away from Sothen, I didn’t carry much with me. I grabbed things I thought I could use, things I would need on my journey towards a new home. I had taken up knitting as a way to keep my mind busy. If I knit, I found I could cancel out most things around me. I didn’t have to listen to my father and brothers spouting their loud words and sometimes hateful rhetoric even when I was in the same room as them.

I hadn’t needed the quiet knitting provided since I arrived in Obresh, so they had been tucked away. Ozren had glanced at them once in the drawer, which must have inspired him to get  me some yarn for the winter.

“There’s a lot here! What makes you think I can use all this?” I chuckled. The yarn was thick and soft, and there were some pretty colors amongst the bundles.

“It takes a lot to make things, doesn’t it?” He asked as he took his boots off. They were covered in mud, and his hands looked chapped and rough as dirt fell from them.

“Sometimes.” I set the yarn away and watched him for a moment. “Your hands-”

“Oh hush now,” he sighed. “Happens every winter.”

I pressed my lips into a firm line. “Maybe so, but some balm or a healing salve would do wonders on them.”

Ozren chuckled. “I’ve just grown used to it. No need to fret.” he leaned back in his chair and moaned, rubbing the back of his neck.

Something was off, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. He sat in his chair and barely spoke. He usually had so much to go on about. His day. My day. All sorts of things. But he was so quiet. It was a bit strange for him. Even as I served dinner, he seemed far from present.

The silence made me nervous. Where I once sought it out, it now made me dreadful. My Ozren filled the world with noise, good noise. This wasn’t him.

“Is everything okay?” I asked.

Ozren looked up from his plate as he took a bite. “Hm? Aye, it is, my Rose. Dinner is wonderful as always.”

I gave him a serious look. “Not the food.”

He sighed heavily as he sat up and combed his fingers along his scalp, pushing his long hair away from his face. “I have some bad news, and I haven’t built up the nerve to tell you.”

My stomach sank and turned cold. It was my first instinct to think the worse, but I had been trying to break the habit. But it was the way Ozren looked that made me worry, made me cling to old habits.

“No, no,” he said before my mind could wander to those intrusive thoughts. “Nothing to do with you. Everything to do with me.” He forced an unconvincing smile. “I may have to leave Obresh for a while.”

My breath stuck in my throat. It was so close to winter! How could he think about traveling now? “Leave?” I balked. “Leave for what?”

His forced smile vanished and he looked down guiltily at the table. “I’ve been hired to build a few things along the coast. An old friend of mine contacted me a while back about it. Before I met you. The money is good, very good. And usually, this wouldn’t be an issue, except I have you now.”

“I’ll be fine on my own.” I wanted to be supportive, but this would be our first time being apart since the reaping. “Plus I have Meggie and Mr. Bodkin.”

“Maybe so, my Rose,” he chuckled. “But it is getting so cold out these days. And being from Sothen I’m sure you’re not used to the winters we have here.”

“I know,” I murmured. “But I could always go back to the Odd Strawberry if things get bad.”

He grit his jaw and huffed through his nose. “I’ll make sure to stock up all the firewood before I go. I don’t want you to have to leave your home because I was ill prepared. If a friend hadn’t asked me to do this, I wouldn’t be so conflicted.”

I smiled for him, wanting to reassure him as always. It made me nervous to think of being alone, but I knew this wouldn’t cause him such conflict if he didn’t believe in it. “You don’t have to explain things to me. When do you have to go?”

“Once supplies come in, I’ll be taking them out to him,” he answered, sounding quite sorrowful. “I’m just worrying over you, that’s all.” He fiddled with his wooden finger, twisting it this way and that then rubbing the smooth finish.

It was going to be hard. But maybe there would be some good from this. I could learn more about this world outside of Sothen. I could learn to be more self reliant, even if I had Ozren with me. I could teach myself to cook better. There was lots I could do to keep busy.

“I’ll be fine. Lonesome, but fine.” I gave him a reassuring smile, hoping it would be enough. “I promise.”

Ozren walked around the table and sat down on the bench right next to me. “That’s what worries me the most.” He kissed my hand then held it to his cheek. “I don’t want you to be lonely. I don’t want you to be cold in that big bed.” He rubbed his thumb softly under my eye.

I stroked his cheek, brushing back hairs from his face. “I’ll be fine, really. You’re the one who will be cold, building a house and all. Will you at least have somewhere to sleep?”

Ozren shrugged. “I’m used to such things.”