The Orc's Rose: Chapter Two (deluxe preview)

Chapter Two:

Meggie was right: The reaping eve was truly very busy. I had not seen so many people gathered in one place. It felt like something of a hazard. The bar was so crowded I must have bumped into every soul twice. I was kept far too busy to feel anxious, and so far, all fights had been taken outside so the tavern had not seen any yet.

“Oy! Rose!”

I looked up through the crowd to see Ozren waving me down. I hadn’t even seen him come in, let alone heard his bawdy laugh over the roar of the crowd. He was with the same young orcs as the night before who were facing away as I approached.

“I hope you haven’t been waiting long,” I told him.

Ozren placed two gold coins in my hand again. “Same deal as last night, Rose.” He tugged me close, keeping hold of my hand. His lips came close to my ear and a tingling sensation ran down my spine.

“I don’t plan on drinking too much tonight. So if you could sneak me water every once in a while this old fool would appreciate it.”

I blinked in confusion. I wasn’t sure why he would want to hide that, but I gave him a nod. With what he was paying me, I was more than happy to do whatever he asked. “No problem Mr…Ozren. No problem, Ozren.”

He grinned at me, rubbing his thumb along my hand before he let go. “That’s my Rose. If you see me tapping my stein with my lucky finger here, that means I’d like some water.” He whispered, wagging his wooden finger so it clanged against the stein.

I tapped my fingers to my lips. “Our little secret.”

After a couple of drinks, I saw him flash me the sign and I filled his cup with water. He drank what alcohol he got slowly, which was odd for anyone in the tavern that night. Curiosity was getting the best of me. He always drank to keep up with his friends. He would celebrate any little occurrence. Why was he drinking less tonight of all nights?

I saw him flash the sign again, and I could no longer hold my tongue on the matter. As I traded his stein out I leaned in close to whisper to him.

“Do you have plans tomorrow?”

Ozren’s body stiffened when I asked. He looked at me with raised brows before it clicked with him what I was asking. He laughed, leaning in towards me as I filled other steins on the table.

Ozren nodded his head towards his friends. “I will probably be working alone tomorrow, so I want to keep my wits about me. Lots of my workers will be blissful with their reaping selections.”

“Ah! I see. That makes sense.” I lifted my tray to go back towards the bar to refill my pitcher. “I almost thought you were planning on participating tomorrow.”

Ozren smiled at me. “Aside from you, who would I have a chance with?”

I thought I misheard him over the roar of the crowd. “What did you say?”

“I said, there’s no one who I would have a chance with.” He said it loud and close to my ear so I could hear him right.

“Nonsense!” I placed my hand upon his arm. “I think you’d have a chance with anyone you met.” I left him, going back towards the bar.

Mr. Bodkin began yelling at a fight that was taking place. I hurried on my way, trying to get behind the bar for an easy escape. Mr. Bodkin hopped off his perch, and I knew it was going to be a big brawl. The commotion turned loud and to my right someone was shoved and they slammed right into me. I was pushed and I stumbled backward. My tray and everything on it flew from my hands. I hit the ground, feeling the side of my head collide with the floor. My hip struck as well and it somehow hurt worse than my head.

I heard Mr. Bodkin yelling as the odd Strawberry boomed. The fight was ringing out through the bar, and I was stuck on the floor, unable to move. I covered my head, balling myself up. I wanted to get up, but I found myself unable to. I feared I would get trampled, but I was lifted from the ground. I kept myself balled up with my head down and my hands covering my ears so I couldn’t hear the yelling. I could feel myself wanting to cry but I was locked up and somehow unable.

“Look at me, hey, look at me.” A large hand gently pulled at one of my own. “Look at me, my Rose, come now.” The voice was familiar, but so much softer than I’d heard before. The hands were rough and calloused, but they were warm and gentle as they touched me.

Stomping feet sounded around the corner. “Where is she?” Meggie gasped as she ran into the room.

I blinked open my eyes and saw Ozren hunched before me and Meggie’s wall of hair at my side. I looked up at Ozren and took a breath that shuddered through my body and unlocked me.

“Are you okay? Does anything hurt?” Meggie was inspecting me for any sort of visible injury. Her hands felt so warm on my arm.

Ozren looked terrified as he waited for me to respond. Our eyes were locked and I focused on him because he felt like the only safe thing in the world. Safe, sturdy and there.

“I’m okay,” I managed to choke out. Tears rolled down my cheeks and I sniffled. “I got scared. I’m fine-” I lost my voice as I started to cry. Fat, wet tears fell down my cheeks splattering on my apron.

Meggie pulled me into her arms and stroked my back as I tried to calm down. “Thank you for getting her out of that.”

Ozren shook his head. “It was nothing. I would have done it even had she stubbed her toe.”

I sniffled and rubbed at my eyes. “Thank you.”

“Do you want me to walk you home, Rue?” Meggie asked.

I shook my head and cupped my hand around my mouth. I couldn’t inconvenience her. It was already so busy. They needed all the help they could get. My heart was pounding so hard inside my chest.  “I’ll be fine. It’s so busy out there anyways.”

“Oh no,” Ozren growled. “Don’t be acting tough now, Rose. Not when you just got the wind knocked from you.” His hands clenched and relaxed in forced cycles. His weight shifted from one leg to the other.

Meggie’s warm hand rubbed up and down my arm. “You can go home if you want to. We’re not going to lose any business if you do.” Meggie was trying her best to reassure me.

My hands were shaking. “I just need to calm down-”  My eyes started to burn again as I clenched my hands together trying to will it to stop. Even just for a second so I could catch my breath.

“I’ll take you home if you want, my Rose,” Ozren offered. My eyes snapped up to him.  “No need to worry about some work. I wouldn’t want you jumping at everybody that came too close to you. You’d spill too many drinks! ” He tried joking.

I looked away feeling even more embarrassed. Ozren cleared his throat and bowed his head. “Forgive me, my Rose.”

Meggie smiled. “That would work best, right? Ozren will get you back to The Little Gem safe and sound.”

I looked back into Ozren’s eyes. “I suppose-” I was uncertain, but the idea of having someone like Ozren around soothed the quaking inside me.

His smile softened. “I won’t let anything happen to you, Rose. Consider me your very own sword and shield.”

Meggie rubbed my back until I stood. I gathered my things then we left through the back door. In the cold night air, I could breathe again.

“Seriously, are you alright, Rose?” Ozren’s voice was deep and stern in tone. “And not just scared. If anything hurts—”

I wanted this night to end. I was so tired. “No. I’m fine. I just want to go home,” I whimpered.

Ozren sighed and placed his hand upon my back as we started walking. “Seeing you with such an expression makes me want to find those blokes and rip them apart.”

I shook my head. “It’s not worth that.”

“Aye, maybe so. But-” He stopped himself and laughed. “As long as you are alright. But if you were to command me to act in revenge for you, nothing and no one could stop me.”

I lifted my head to look up at him. He stood so much taller than me that I felt petite by his side. I glanced back down and saw his hand by his side. I wanted to reach out and hold it, but that was far too intimate for what this was.

“Where are you staying, my Rose?”

“I have a room at the Little Gem.”

Ozren nodded. “I know the place. I built it. Mama and I go way back. It’s because of building that place I was able to build my lumber mill.”

Surprised, my eyebrows rose and my voice squeaked. “Really?”

His smile was soft as he gazed ahead. “Aye, I was so young back then, I had no right to build an entire house. Mama trusted me though, and I still make repairs to the place when she asks.”

“How many of the houses around here have you built?” I asked.

Ozren sighed and rubbed his jaw. “Well let’s see. Quite a few actually. Built the mill myself, a couple of the businesses near it,” he mumbled. “I’ve been working on my own home for a long time.”

I was awed. “Is it such a big place?”

Ozren chuckled. “It isn’t that it is big. The structure itself is finished and I live there, but I’ve been adding on to it as of late. Another room here, another there. One morning I woke up and I realized that it felt incomplete.”

“How so?”

He looked down at me, his eyes focusing before looking away quickly. “Something about it felt empty. I’m not sure how to explain it.”

I knew something about a home feeling empty. It didn’t matter how big or grand it was or however many people lived within the walls. Despite all its wealthy trappings, my old home felt about as spacious and cold as a cave.

“A home is more than walls and what fills it. A home is supposed to have heart, and a warm, comforting feeling in it. Otherwise it’s just a building,” I said.

“That’s right. I suppose a heart is missing from mine.” Ozren stopped at the door of The Little Gem. “How are you now?”

My hands had stopped shaking and I hadn’t even noticed. “I believe I’ll live,” I said jovially. “Thank you, Ozren. You’re really my knight in shining armor tonight.”

He turned his head away and scoffed. “Don’t think about it. I did what anyone would do.” He patted the top of my head. “Be careful out there tomorrow. Don’t go out and get yourself scooped up by just anybody.”

“I don’t think I have to worry about that,” I murmured. “You get home safe yourself, and don’t work too hard tomorrow. If no one shows, you should just take the day off too.”

“Maybe I will.” He opened the door for me. “Good night, my Rose.”

“Goodnight, and thank you again, Ozren.”  As I went to my room I was surprised by how quiet the boarding house was. Usually there would be some people up or some sound leaking through the walls. But it felt like the whole place was asleep as I went to bed.

Whatever the reason, I fell asleep harder than I usually do and I woke up late in the afternoon. I had planned on going to The Odd Strawberry early to make up for the time I missed and helping to clean before opening. I rushed through my routine, with no time to tie back my hair, I ran out the door in a casual state of disarray.

I suppose in my panic and worry I had forgotten what today was. After leaving the boarding house and stepping onto the main road there were people lined up along the streets and in front of the businesses. Some were cheering and waving bouquets high up in the air as orcs walked down the center. Applause and laughter rang through the air as the bells of town hall began to toll. The Reaping was happening! Orcs are walking through town in a cluster and more are coming from the entrance to the woods. Some people had run out into the street and were being  picked up by orcs already! Others were plucked from where they stood and tossed over another orc’s shoulders.

“They do seem happy,” I said to myself. “I bet with the right one, it could be romantic.” I pushed myself along the street until I came to the place I needed to cross. As I stepped out an orc broke from the procession and came right towards me. I looked to the woman beside me, expecting to see her snatched up. Instead she looked directly into my eyes with a look of awe.

I turned back to see Ozren standing right before me. The look on his face was grim but as our eyes locked he broke into a big grin. I said nothing as he grabbed me. His large hands held my hips firmly as he lifted me from the ground and placed me over his shoulder. I was frozen. I looked back at the woman who I had been standing beside. She grinned and tossed a bouquet that hit me directly in the face, then plopped back down onto the street. What the hell was that for? This moment of embarrassment snapped me back to what was happening. The thing I had feared most was happening! I didn’t want this so I began to struggle. I tried to turn around or fidget in Ozren’s grip, but he had me held fast over his shoulder.I tried to yell, but fright and the roar of the excited crowd drowned me out.

“Are you comfortable up there, my Rose?” He asked.

“What’s going on? Don’t tease me, Mr. Kogan!” I kicked my legs but I was afraid to hurt him. “I have to go to work! Put me down.”

“Nuh-uh,” Ozren chortled. “I’m not setting you down until we’re home.”

My mouth flopped open like a landed trout. “Home?”

“I have it all nice and pretty for you, my Rose. I told you last night how I’ve been adding on recently. Well, it was all for you. I even got us one of them nice big beds so I don’t suffocate you when we snuggle.” He patted the back of my legs in a reassuring way.

“Snuggle?” I choked out.

“Why so surprised?” Ozren’s chipper tone morphed into one of confusion. “I thought, well, last night we both seemed to be on the same page.”

“What page?” I pushed at his arm looped around my waist. “Put me down, right now!” I slapped his meaty forearm. “I mean it!”

“Not until we get home, Rose. That’s the tradition, and as my first and last time doing it I want to do it right all the way through.”

More fear was now creeping in. I hadn’t wanted to participate in this reaping at all! I didn’t think anyone would want me for that. But maybe I had misled him in some way? No, if he misunderstood that was his fault. Why was this happening?!

“Please, Mr. Kogan! Why are you doing this?” I cried out and hit his shoulders.

“Because you’re my Rose,” he said with a sigh. “Once you see the house I know you’ll understand.”

I stopped fighting and put my hands upon his back, lifting myself up slightly so I could look at the back side of his head. Rather than argue, I decided to remain quiet. If anything were to happen I could always go looking for Meggie. I eased back down watching the forest stretch out from his back.

“Here we are!” Ozren announced after a long while. He opened up a gate, shutting it as we walked through. There was a trail leading up from there that turned into a set of stairs. Once he had climbed those, he set me down upon the ground with a great smile and a puffed up chest.

“Home sweet home, my Rose!” Ozren announced proudly.

I turned around and his hand fell upon my shoulder. Standing in a pool of sunbeams was a stone cottage. The stones ranged in size from as small as pebbles to slabs from boulders. Around the front was a garden with plants like beans and gourds already growing. To the side there was a clothesline where a blanket was hung and catching the breeze. There were stacks of stones around the other side as well, hinting at the building he spoke of the previous night.

Ozren’s hand squeezed upon my shoulder. “I usually build my houses with lumber, but I decided to use stone this time as a challenge for myself! Do you like it?”

“It’s very nice.” I spoke with a warble in my voice. “But-”

“Then let me give you a tour!” He swept me off my feet, carrying me to the house. The front door opens into a kitchen and dining area where a fire has been lit. A cauldron bubbled and hissed over the flames.

“You won’t have to worry about anything today. I intend to take care of you until you get used to it all,” Ozren boasted. “Although if you are a bad cook, I rather like cooking. Maybe if you’re better with books you can work at the mill!” He chuckled.

“Now come here.” He led me into a room adjacent to the kitchen with wide, cheery windows filling two walls. The sunlight poured in, making it warm and cozy.

Ozren took a deep breath. “I just made this. Took me ages, too!” He walked in ahead of me to show off a wall attached to the house that is covered with shelves with sparse books on them. “Was told women enjoy special rooms like this. Thought you might like it!”

I’m still a bit in shock. In fact it still felt like that bouquet of flowers was hitting me in the face. “It certainly is nice. The way you were bragging about your building skills last night I should have known you’d make something so welcoming.”

“You think so, Rose?” Ozren rubbed his chin. “I’ve been trying to make this feel like a home. You really think it’s welcoming?”

“If it has your personality in it, it does.” I shyly looked up at him. “That’s the kind of person you seem like anyways.”

Ozren grinned. “I’m glad to hear you say that, my rose, because the next room is my favorite in the whole house.”

I was a little shocked when he took me to a bedroom. The bed is massive, taking up most of the space. It’s covered with furs and blankets, and pillows I could sleep on comfortably. The windows are covered by thick curtains, so the atmosphere is dark and warm.

“I want to spend as much time here as possible!” Ozren laughed.

Blood drained from my face and I slipped out from under his hand. I stepped aside, and bumped into the wall. Ozren turned to see what I was doing and I quickly scooted aside.

“This is all very nice. But I think I really need to go.”

Ozren looked pained. “Why would you need to go? This is your home.” He came after me as I walked backwards into the kitchen. My heart was pounding and a clamminess was forming on my hand.

This was not what I wanted at all. This was why I left home: to avoid this very circumstance from befalling me. And now I felt constrained to an extreme.

“I don’t think it’s right. Your home is very nice, really. And you’ve built it so well.” I hit the kitchen table and stood still.

Ozren stood in the hallway, keeping a distance between us. “I made it for you.”

I ducked my head down.

Ozren’s eyes darted about as he searched for the right words to say. His mouth hung open, then he closed it and set it into a firm line. “I’ve been working hard to make this old place a home ever since I first laid eyes on you, my Rose. If it’s not enough for ya, then I guess I ought to get back to work. Good thing I got all those stones leftover. I can easily make you a closet to fill with clothes.”

Ozren walked around me, heading towards the door where he took off his shirt and tossed it over a dining chair.

I turned and yelped. “That’s not what-” My voice broke as I saw that wall that was his chest. I couldn’t speak as I took in his skin and the hair that covered his pecs, and that trail from his belly.

Ozren grunted, taking a tool belt from the wall. “I’ll work off another finger if it needs to be that way. I won’t rest until you’re happy! That’s how this works.”

I bit down on the side of my cheek. This wasn’t right. I didn’t know him! He didn’t know me but he had done all this for me?

“My Rose, you will have everything you need, and even some things you don’t.” Ozren placed his palm on the top of my head. “Ozren keeps his promises, that he does.”

“You don’t need to do all that. Really. Ozren, it’s very nice, but-” The words caught  in my chest and I couldn’t bear to say them.

Ozren knelt before me with his hands upon my shoulders. “What troubles you now?” His voice was tender and sweet. “You scared of me? Nothing to be scared of. I may look like a bully of a thing, but I roll over to get my belly petted like any dog.”

He brushed his knuckles against my cheek. “Why, you’re probably tougher than old Ozren here. Bet you could take me down easily.”

Tears fell from my eyes as I blinked and Ozren’s whole expression and demeanor changed. Everything about him softened. His expression is pained as his hand rested upon my cheek and neck.

How could I explain it to him? How could I tell him I wasn’t pretty enough or special enough for this sort of attention. Let alone the affection he was alluding to. He deserved to know the truth. “I’m not worth all this.”

“Now, now, my Rose,” he whimpered. “Don’t cry now. You’ll make me cry too with them… sad eyes and… rosy cheeks and… that cute little pout. No. No.”

I brought up my hand to wipe my eyes but his gentle touch was faster to it. Despite the roughness of his palm, so filled with calluses and scars from years of work his touch was feather light.

“I’m sorry.” I knew I sounded pitiful, I couldn’t control it. I wanted to be flattered and taken by his charms, but I was so afraid. I had been treated ‘well’ all my life, but I had to pay for that life with humiliation and name calling. Things like this were never given freely to me.

Ozren’s touch moved aside the tears then pushed back my unkempt hair. His eyes had grown wet, and his breath shuddered out of his chest. “Nothing for you to apologize about, my Rose.” He swallowed back his tears. “You tell me what's causing all this, and I’ll do my best to chase it away.”

What was this? His eyes and the way they looked at me, I wanted to be allured and drawn in, but I had to keep my guard, it was the only way I had survived this long. But why was he looking at me like that?

I forced a smile onto my face and sighed. “I’m sorry if you got the wrong impression. Or if I gave you the wrong impression. Your home is beautiful and anyone would love to be given it.”

Ozren’s brow furrowed. “You don’t?”

“It feels like a mistake to place it in my hands so easily,” I murmured. “From what I’ve heard about the reaping and what it means, I don’t think I’m fit for such a thing”

Ozren shook his head. “I make lots of mistakes, that I know. But I don’t think I could have possibly gummed this up. The moment I laid eyes on you I knew in my gut you’d be in my life forever. It took my breath away, it stole my heart until I heard your name.”

He then made a face and rubbed the back of his neck. “Granted, I misheard it and I thought your name was Rose. But once I heard your real name those sparks started all over again inside my head, but once I started calling you Rose, I couldn’t stop.”

I had often wondered why he called me his Rose.

“I have worked since then towards this day because I knew. I didn’t make a mistake in choosing you, my Rose. Would it help if I called you Rue instead? What can I do to make you believe me?”

I had my skirt balled up in my fists, and I didn’t realize how tight I was holding it until that moment. I swallowed a painful ache in my throat then tilted my head back up. “Because I’m not worth all this effort. I’m short, I’m fat, and I’m not beautiful-”

“Hold that tongue of yours!” Ozren whispered to me in a gentle warning tone as he grabbed hold of my shoulders. “Even if I mistook your name for Rose, you are a rose to me still. You are a rose, my Rose. You’re beautiful and delicate, lovely as a fresh peach.” He cupped his palm around my cheek. “Who filled you with such ideas that you were anything but wonderful?”

“Home,” my voice cracked. “I was the butt of every joke, even when they wanted to marry me off. It was like they wanted to unload me onto a groom the way one would unload manure onto a field. I was still—” I sniffled as Ozren kissed my temple and forehead. The affection was so welcomed that it caused fresh tears to flow.

“No, never. What can I do to convince you?” he whispered. “I ain’t saying words to hear myself talk and I wouldn’t lie to you.” His thumb swept under my eye to move aside the tears. “My Rose, not to be a crass lout, but the first time I saw you I had the dirtiest of thoughts. I thought about how wonderful that ass of yours would feel in my lap.”

More than my face grew warm with those words. “Don’t try to tease me.” I look down feeling a smile play on my lips.

“But I’d like to,” he said with a grin, despite his own hurt. “Often and with lots of laughs involved. I want to make you smile, my Rose. I’m serious though. I thought how plush those thighs of yours would feel against my ears.”

“Mr. Kogan!” I covered my face with my hands. No one had ever said such things so close to me before, although I had read them in books I shouldn’t have been able to find.

“You call me Ozren. But know this, my Rose: that’s something I’m willing to earn. I am not into taking things that don’t belong to me. I don’t jump unless you tell me to.”

More than relief rushed through my body, the panic and unease I had felt began to lessen considerably. And while I still wanted to remain guarded, Ozren’s words had seemed to reach through to me. I did not think he was trying to make me a joke like my family did, but doubt lingered.

I took hold of his hand and accepted the look in his eyes. “Do you still want me here?”

Ozren kissed my forehead. “More than anything, my Rose.”