The Gardener and The Orc

Chapter 9

[Okay, this chapter and chapter 10 are some serious world-building. I won't judge you if you are skipping around just for the smut! Check out Chapters 4, 5, 7, 11, 12, and 13 if so. I hope to resume all our smutty adventures in chapter 11! Not gonna lie, I'm gonna be Mary-Sue'ing it up over here in this segment and begin info-dumping my nuerodivergent ass' dream sustainable permaculture utopia, ahaha.]

"Your Master is counting every word, pet. Keep talking, ach? I will mark you for each." "Mark. Me. How." "How would my pet prefer? Teeth marks or hand prints?" "I'll have you on your hands and knees *begging* before you lay another finger on me." Gods, did she really say that to him? Mortified, Lilith replayed the encounter in her head over and over again as she rode ahead to Portstown to ready the Estates for her orc guests.

She had an hour at most before the caravan of wagons arrived. Her staff appeared utterly baffled at the news that the guest quarters on the fourth floor were to be readied for a group of orcs, and that she expected them to arrive shortly after the wagons returned. But no one dared challenge the sanity of it -- business was business, and they regularly hosted during negotiations.

Lilith stormed through her room, a whirlwind of clothes being tossed around left in her wake as she peeled off her riding attire and opened every dresser drawer and armoire door in an attempt to find something suitable to wear. Her frustration had finally worn off by the time she settled on an outfit, and she decided that the remainder of this visit would be pleasant and conflict-free. She could rebuff his advances without resorting to driving him mad until he lost interest in what was supposed to be unattainable -- her gut twisted at the idea it truly wasn't if their last two lurid encounters were anything to go by. But Lilith's focus had to be on expanding her trade routes and finding new lucrative partners in business... and ideally helping to make amends with the orcs.

If the gems and ornate metal-smithing were consistently the quality she had seen thus far, she'd have an entire market cornered in valuable orc-made wares and an iron-clad economic venture in her uncle's eyes, being the singular supplier of goods to Orc Mountain in return. It was a smart investment, and any shipper or tradesman who would pass on this opportunity was a gods damned fool. Morrow's was 10 times larger than any competitive importer or exporter and could easily withstand the mark on their reputation that accompanied openly dealing with orcs. If anyone could take on the risk, it was them.

When Kors appeared at her Estates suite door, livid that she had invited them to stay and ridden off without another word, she flatly told him as much. He was more reserved after the exchange, especially when Lilith pressed one of the uniquely and intricately faceted gems into his hand. "Consider this an engagement gift for you and Ilianna. It'll make for a lovely ring." He was at a loss for words, staring at the sparkling sapphire and the way the lower facet carvings danced in the face of the stone. "If you could please relay this information to the rest of the Estates, I would greatly appreciate it. I have no time for redundant conversations, and will not tolerate any whispered questioning of my decision to move forward with supplying Orc Mountain." She suspected word would pass through the town rapidly, and she would need to write to her Lord uncle before the day ran out, but she expected very little resistance from him.

Lilith appeared more Lady-like than anyone had seen her in ages, but it had been equally as long since they had hosted any negotiations. She had kept her gold septum ring in but brushed out her hair so that it fell in loose deep-brown waves spilling over her shoulders and down her back. She wore a stark white silk blouse with bishop sleeves billowing around her upper arms before being tightly secured by gold button-lined cuffs that went from her wrists to halfway up her forearms. Over that was a deep golden-yellow velvet dress, a thick black silk belt cinching it in at her lovely waist to accentuate her ample curves. Her skirts were not overtly voluminous, just enough to give the dress shape, but the hem had a fine layer of dust from her pacing in the street in front of the Estates' booths while she awaited the orcs' arrival. A small black fur stole was wrapped across her upper back and secured at her shoulders with two gold brooches that matched her sleeve buttons, and the pendant of her long gold chain necklace finally made an appearance. It was an oyster half-shell, the mother of pearl side facing out with a large steely-gray pearl sitting atop it. The opposite side had been polished down into a smooth surface and plated with gold, set with clusters of different sized amethyst, pale green tourmaline, and vibrant blue alexandrite.