Zorroku and Peaches

Original Part 1

Zorroku and Peaches

Part 1- Worth Her Salt

At dawn you awoke out of a deep sleep when you heard riders coming into the village. They came right past your house, and circled it a few times. Speaking in a language you didn't know or understand. The sound of heavy draft horse hoof beats pommeling the ground woke you up and gave you a start. You and your sisters all seemed to stir and sit up at the same time to the same disturbance. Your twin Grace shared a worried glance through the lightening darkness of the early part of the dawn. As you alyou both got up and got your little sisters, who were twins as well and only six and made sure they were tucked safely under the bed and hidden just in case as you and Grace lit a tiny candle and quickly got dressed before you heard your father's knock on the door.

"Bella, you're needed." Your father, Micha bid urgently before you slipped out of your room.

"Yes Papa?" You asked, trying not feel as panicked as you were inclined to feel. Hoof beats, especially right next to your house, extra especially when you weren't expecting them was not a good sign.

"I need you in the kitchen, make a very good breakfast also a very big breakfast and some sweet fruit and honey cakes." Your father ordered as you frowned in confusion as to why but nodded in understanding and slipped quickly into the kitchen to get to work, pulling up your long auburn curly hair so that it wouldn't get in the food and rolled up your sleeves and set to work before your mother joined you.

"What do you need?" Your mother asked before you told her what you needed help with before she got to work too while your sisters were safely locked into their room, Grace keeping your sisters calm so they wouldn't start crying and draw attention to themselves.

Your father was the head village elder of this human "village" when in reality, it was only a small collection of other human families that found themselves in servitude to the Warchief and his family that was inside a much larger orc village, it was not uncommon to get woken up and expected to churn out a feast that evening- at the drop of a hat at your house, usually this brought you joy, to host people and give them great food but there was an edge to both of your parents and your stomach could only knot. Your mother was usually half way through telling you what was going on by now but she wasn't saying anything which to you said she didn't know what was going on either, then your father came in, carrying in three freshly slaughtered goats, already beheaded, gutted, skinned and their legs below the knee already taken off too.

"Papa? What's going on?" You asked him as you quickly grabbed your good spices and slathered the flesh with them before he put them on the spit in the fire place.

"An alliance was just now struck between us and the Thunder Herd Clan, the two warchiefs and their sons are coming to have breakfast at our house and discuss the details." Your father answered. Usually your warchief would come to you days or even weeks in advance so you could get things prepared and ingredients gathered for proper feasts for new alliances, so this was out of the ordinary. That and alliances were never struck up with the Thunder Herd Clan, not unless they had decimated your army of warriors first and the survivors tried to strike up an 'alliance' usually slavery or servitude so they wouldn't be slaughtered too. For the Black Wolf White Rock Clan to strike up an alliance with them first without going to war meant...you didn't know what that meant, but you had a job to do and you needed to do it as well and as fast as you could.

"How many sons?" You asked and your father just shrugged, not knowing the answer but considering the variables of two warchiefs and at least the three sons your warchief had including at least one son on the other side and considering orc's appetites, three goats wasn't going to cut it. "We'll need at least three more goats then." Was all you could say in response before your father nodded and left again to get your older brothers who were in charge of the herds to get more animals slaughtered. For some reason, your warchief, Khagra, of the Black Wolf White Rock Clan, the orc clan that ruled your overall village really liked your father and considered him a friend and for the human pocket within the clan village, your father's house was where all the political alliances the Warchief liked to conduct them. It was the best house in the human village but that was solely for Khagra's bragging rights that even the humans in his village did so well, it also helped negotiations to have a nice place to eat and do business, it was considered almost neutral because orcs liked to protect their private dwellings but could open up anyone else's and if negotiations didn't go well and the other clan wanted to start war immediately right where they were, at least the warchief's house and his family wasn't ground zero.