Those Who Dream of Orcs

Clover and Ouhgan Chapter 4

          Ouhgan tried to rub his headache away as he stared wide-eyed and dazed at the ceiling as he tried to blink his hangover away. His mind wandered back to last night trying to remember what happened. Had he broken his marriage vows and bedded another woman?

He lifted the blankets and Clover was sleeping peacefully. Her naked body draped on top of his. She was holding on to him tight. How did they even get into this position? He had drunk a little the night before but not enough that he wouldn't remember taking another woman into his bed.

Her body was small and warm, and Ouhgan would never admit that he liked the feeling of Clover's small frame on top of him. But if his wife saw him, she would have his head. He carefully maneuvered Clover so she was laying next to him instead of on top of him. He took a deep breath and tried hard to remember what happened last night.

He was sure he had only taken her to his bed to warm her. He would never take advantage of her and when she was fighting for her life. But he couldn't remember what happened.

And the harder he thought the more his head ached. He looked down at Clover one last time, she was still sleeping. Her body was no longer cold to the touch and she wasn't shivering.

Her face was swollen and bruised, but despite what she had endured the night before, she seemed to be resting peacefully.

"I wonder what she's dreaming about," Ouhgan smiled.

He eased out of the bed and reached for his clothes and began to dress when there was a knock at the door.

Nash walked in just as Ouhgan was adjusting his trousers. His eyes fell on Clover who was lying motionless in Ouhgan's bed. From her bare shoulders peeking out from under the blankets, she seemed to be naked. Nash's eyes darted back to Ouhgan.

"What is it?" Ouhgan said.

"Oh, uh... Delancey is calling for you,"

Ouhgan sucked his teeth and frowned. That bastard was the last person he wanted to see right now.

"Did he do that to her?"

"Yes," Ouhgan hissed.

"Little Bird didn't deserve that," Nash replied.

"No, she didn't,"

"This Delancey is no good Ouhgan,"

"What did you find out?"

"This," Nash handed Ouhgan a letter.

Ouhgan read the letter in its entirety. A low groan rumbled in his throat. He turned the letter over, it had been sealed with a hummingbird crest.

"I found the letter in his office," Nash said. "So, what do you want to do?"

Ouhgan turned and looked at Clover one last time. This girl is trouble, he knew that the first time they met. But what Lord Delancey has done can not go unpunished.

          Ouhgan crumbled the letter in his fist and stormed down the hall, the wooden floor squeaking under his heavy steps. Lord Delancey had been waiting in his office when Ouhgan entered. The sight of Lord DeLancey made his blood boil and his mind wandered back to finding Clover's badly beaten and frozen body.

"Ah, Ouhgan I-"

"She didn't deserve that,"

"What was that?" Delancey asked.

Ouhgan eyes narrowed as he glared at Delancey. His lip curled up as he presented the letter that Nash found.

Lord Delancey's eyes widened and glazed over with fear. He frantically began to pull drawers out one by one searching for the letter that was once there.

"Don't bother," Nash said. "I pulled that letter from your desk myself."

"Lord Ouhgan let me explain,"

"The letter explained it perfectly," he said.

He grabbed the edge of Lord Delancey's desk and threw it across the room. Delancey's eyes followed the desk as it flew through the air and crashed against the wall.  Within seconds of the desk crashing, Delancey felt a thick calloused hand wrapped around his neck and lifted him from his chair.

"How arrogant of you to think you could come here and take my land,"

"No! My lord," Delancey choked out.

"Now you're trying to tell me my eyes deceive me. The arrogance of your kind knows no bounds, I can read just fine," Ouhgan hissed.

His massive hand squeezed tighter and tighter around Delancey's neck. How he so wanted to kill him.

"My Lord!" Opal screamed.

She had come running when she heard the loud commotion coming from his office. She was horrified when she saw Ouhgan, that massive orc chieftain choking Delancey.

With the few breaths that were able to escape Ouhgan's powerful grip. He pleaded for his life. His face went from red to blue and his eyes began to bulge from their sockets. His frantically kicking feet slowly came to a stop as Ouhgan stared deep into Delancey's eyes as he was dying. He never turned his intense gaze from him.

Finally when he was satisfied he released Delancey and he crumbled to the ground. Grabbing at his neck he frantically gasped for air.

"My lord," Opal ran to his side and tried to comfort him.

Ouhgan stepped towards Delancey and he scurried to his feet and backed away. He was terrified of the orc so much he couldn't contain his bladder and with his bladder flowed his tears.

Ouhgan's cold piercing eyes sent chills down his spine and nearly stopped his heart. He wanted to spring to his feet and run for his life but he was frozen with fear.

"What will you do Boss?"

Ouhgan's lip curled up into a satisfying grin. He knew exactly what he was going to do.

"I'll do to him what he tried to do to me." Ouhgan smiled wide and laughed.

He grabbed Delancey by his hair and dragged him out of the office, down the hall, and through the streets of his manor for all his vassals to see.

He was humiliated, as he pleaded and begged for mercy from the orc, tears flooded his eyes, snot poured from his nose and everyone could see he had wet his trousers.

He dragged lord Delancey to the front gate of his manner and with a powerful throw sent him flying through the gates.

He landed with a loud thud face first in a pile of snow.

"Your land now belongs to me," Ouhgan ordered.

Delancey was utterly humiliated, he sat there in the snow head down shoulder-slumped tears streaming down his face in silence. His vassals dropped everything, abandoning everything they had to escape the orcs.

Delancey glanced up at Opal, he expected her to follow him as she always did. But she turned away from him and refused to even look at him. Opal rejecting him made his heart shatter. He couldn't bear it, he dropped his head in his hands and wept as Ouhgan declared himself lord of his manor.