Those Who Dream of Orcs

Clover and Ouhgan Chapter 3

          Clover ran down the hall, tears raining from her eyes uncontrollably. Though she didn't want to bed Lord Ouhgan she couldn't deny she wanted to get close to him and she never thought he would turn her away.

When she reached the foyer she lost her footing and fell to the ground and sobbed uncontrollably. She didn't even know why she was crying. She didn't want to seduce lord Ouhgan she was no good at these types of things, but Lord Delancey had ordered her to. But one thing was for sure,  Lord Ouhgan had rejected her.

"Clover!" The harsh voice of her master called out. "What are you doing here instead of Ouhgan's bed?"

"He," she tried to choke down her tears, "he didn't want me."

"Clover," Delancey closed his eyes. "Gaining Lord Ouhgan's favor is very important,"

"He didn't want me, master he insisted I leave, there was nothing-"

Delancey would not hear her excuses. He grabbed her hair and slammed her head on the ground. Blood pooled under her head. Her eyes drooped and looked past Delancey and never moved again. He dragged her from the house.

Clover came too when she felt the cold snow soaked through her dress. Her head was pounding but she fought against Delancey anyway. He didn't say a word when she started to struggle, he just gripped her hair tighter.

          Clover's body was numb and the blood streaming down her face blinded her. The last thing she saw was Delancey standing over her. His knuckles were bruised and Clover's blood dripped from them.

"Throw this trash out, I have no further use of it," was the last thing she heard her master say as he wiped his hands of her blood.

Her eyes closed, heavy from the pain of Delancey's fists and his rod. Her eyes burned from the blood draining in her eyes.

Her thoughts turn to Ouhgan and what he was doing at this very moment. Was he thinking of her like she was thinking of him? Of course, he wasn't, why would he?

          The pain soon turned into cold, the cold turned into freezing cold. But Clover was too beat up to move, she was struggling to breathe as it is. Moving would be impossible, she couldn't tell anymore but she was sure her ribs were broken, an arm and a few of her fingers, and her eyes were so swollen she couldn't see anymore.

But what did it matter, Clover was dying. Beaten by her master then thrown out in the dead of winter to freeze. She thought about Ouhgan, she wanted to see him one last time, but she wouldn't get the chance before the cold overtook her body. She felt tired, then numb until she felt nothing.

          Ouhgan's breath danced on the chill of the soft glowing light of twilight.  He tucked his tunic tighter around him to try and stay warm.  He had been patrolling the perimeter. He wasn't able to find anything but he was sure Delancey was up to something.

When he saw the sun peek over the horizon a yawn escaped his lips. He had been out looking for hours, and for what. He didn't even know. His hands were chilled to the bone and he turned to head back to the manor when something caught his eye.

In the glare of the rising sun, he saw something blue halfway buried in the freshly fallen snow. It was out of place and as he walked closer he knew why. It, she shouldn't have been there. Little Bird.

He ran over to her and pulled her frozen body from the snow. Her face was covered in black and blue bruises and what wasn't covered in bruises was turning bluer from the cold. She felt like ice, and Ouhgan couldn't tell if she was still alive.

He scooped her up in his arms and ran to his room. His heart was pounding as he frantically pulled blankets from his bed and wrapped her in them as tight as he could, then he cuddled her in front of the fire.

He stared down at her wide-eyed looking for any signs of life. But there was nothing, how long had she been out there in the cold? He had been too late. If only he would have seen her sooner.

"Please don't be dead," he whispered.

Clover's eyes slowly opened for a moment, then closed again. She had responded to his voice, she was alive. He smiled to himself with a sense of relief. She was alive now, he just had to keep her that way.

He needed to warm her up, he would examine her completely later for now keeping her warm was his priority.

He added more logs to the fire and cuddled her closer. He dried her hair and removed her wet clothing. When he saw bruising near her ribs he knew they had to be broken. But any broken bones she had couldn't be reset now. Her body was still frozen to the bone.

He didn't have any clothes that could fit her so for the time being he just kept her wrapped in blankets.

         It was past noon when Ouhgan heard a light tap on his door.

"Come in," Ouhgan called.

"Boss," Nash replied as he entered through the door. "Where have you been-" his heavy voice trailed off when he saw Clover.

"What happened? Is that Little Bird?"

Nash glanced down at Ouhgan then at the tiny little body in his arms, hoping it wasn't Little Bird, but he knew it was.

"Is that Little Bird?" He asked again.

"Yes,"  his heavy voice echoed through the room.

          Ouhgan hadn't moved from Clover's side since he found her. He sat on the floor next to her never taking his eyes off her, even when Nash spoke to him. After all, this was his fault, this happened to her because of him. Her voice echoed in his ear, "please don't send me away." Looking at her batter body he realized that she was begging for her life and not to spend the night with him.

He didn't even have to ask what happened? Or who did this, he already knew.

          Nash had never seen Ouhgan so angry. His eyes stayed fixed on Little Bird and his right hand balled in a fist.

"Is she alive?"

"For now,"

"Ouhgan, what happened?"

With that question, that was the first time Ouhgan took his eyes off Clover.

"She came to me last night, and I turned her away."

He closed his eyes and took in a long sharp breath.

"I didn't know," he continued. "I didn't know, she-"

"Delancey did this then?"

Ouhgan turned his eyes back to Clover and nodded his head.

"Boss,"

No one knew Ouhgan longer than Nash. His eyes,  the tension in the room that flowed from him. Nash had never seen him this mad before.

"What do you want me to do?" Nash asked.

"Delancey, I don't trust him. I never trusted him but even more so now. He's up to something, watch him." Ouhgan ordered.

"I'm on it, boss, Little Bird didn't deserve this," Nash said, heading towards the door without another word.

"And,"

Nash stopped and turned towards Ouhgan.

"I need a drink,"

"Understood," Nash replied.

When the door closed and they were alone, Ouhgan's eyes focused on Clover once again.

          He had been watching her for hours without any changes. The sun was beginning to set and Clover wasn't getting any better and Ouhgan wasn't getting any soberer. She was shaking uncontrollably and Ouhgan was nearly finished with the ale that Nash had managed to find for him.  He took one last gulp of his ale stared at Little Bird for what seemed like an eternity, then stripped off his clothes.