Page 22 of Lonely Orcish Girl

As he set foot on the road, he hesitated. Almost two weeks had passed since he had left Stagmoor. Reed had no idea how long it would take him to complete all the things he had to do. It could take another two weeks or even a whole month. The longer it took, the more Katuri would be convinced that he had left her for good. She would suffer alone, thinking that she had been rejected yet again in her life. That he had abandoned her. That he was no better than the spoiled, bored elf.

Determined, he set out on his way… to Larrant. His farm could wait another day or two.

I must stick to the original plan: go to town and bring a gift for my girl. To win back her heart, he thought with a spark of hope and some dark humor. But it was something to hold on to.

In a way, the last weeks of his life were coming full circle. But this time, he was sure what the right thing to do was.

CHAPTER SIX

By the time Reed arrived in Larrant, it was getting dark. The market was closed, of course, and the town was becoming more and more desolate. It was strange and even a little scary for him since he had only known this place in daylight. In such a small settlement, there was no nightlife like in the big cities, which he had only heard stories about anyway. In Larrant, he might encounter guards or thieves after dark. And he had no wish to meet either of them.

He needed to find a place to stay overnight, but he didn't want to go to an inn. First, he preferred to save his money, and second… it would just feel very strange for him to sleep in a bed. Almost wrong, as if he didn't deserve it. That's why he snuck into one of the stables and hid in a maze of haystacks.

There, he sat down and leaned against the soft, dry grass. This was quite comfortable for his tired body, but his mind was far from relaxed. He sank deep into thoughts that tore at his heart. But he lingered in them anyway, thinking about how to approach what he was about to do.

His thoughts immediately returned to Katuri. He wondered what she was doing now, if she was thinking of him too. Whether she was suffering, whether she was crying, or whether she was feeling lonely and betrayed. It made his heart ache again.

He thought about her reasons for seeing their parting as final and looked at it in a different light. Katuri didn't want his pity or to be a “second choice”. She tried to guard herself with pride and, in this way, preserve her dignity. Katuri had experienced so much humiliation and pain back then, in the situation with Ehrendil, that she wanted to avoid similar circumstances at all costs.

So his original idea of bringing her a gift suddenly seemed really stupid. Childish, or even insulting to her. He sensed that she didn't want half-measures.

"I don't want you to leave."Even if those words had slipped out accidentally, it was the most important thing to Reed. Because it meant she wanted to be with him. And he wanted to be with her. They both wanted the same thing, and yet…

As if it were that simple, he thought bitterly, but then it occurred to him that it could actually be easy.

He just needed to ask her to live with him. No ifs, ands, or buts. It was the right time for him to act like a responsible man. One might have said that it was unlikely for anyone to mature within barely two weeks, but Reed really saw it that way. He felt like a completely different person than before he disappeared into the woods.

He knew what to do—he would go back to Katuri and ask her to come with him to his village. He was even happy about this prospect, but then doubts crept in.

What if she didn't want that either? Or what if she wanted to be with him but stay in her house? Could he give up his life in Stagmoor for her? At first, he thought he could leave those people in a heartbeat without regretting it, remembering the situation with Jolene, but then it occurred to him that there were others who were still his friends. And there was his farm with the nice, big house, the large piece of land, and the small orchard. Even his chickens. All of that was worth a whole lot.Undoubtedly, it was a better place to live than in the middle of the forest.

And then he thought about how he would react if Katuri agreed to go with him, but the people in Stagmoor rejected her.

He knew well that she had already experienced rejection. In fact, he realized that she had been rejected all her life! Over and over again! Too small as a child among orcish children. Too soft for orcish men, too wild for her elven lover, and too… redundant for her whole tribe. Now, the next rejection might be waiting for her if she lived in a human settlement. Given the rumors about orcs that circulated among the people, they might just be afraid. Some could also hold prejudices or simply be ignorant.

On the other hand, he remembered that one old orc hunter who had traded with his village when Reed was a child. Maybe some people would remember that too and wouldn't be shocked at the sight of Katuri?

Reed sighed deeply, for he was tired of all the thinking. Just as he was about to fall asleep, he made a decision—he wouldn't get the answers to any of these questions if he didn't give it a try.

***

The shouts of the stable hands woke Reed, and he quickly got up and slipped out of the building. Fortunately, no one saw him, as he would rather not get into trouble. It was better not to let his hiding place be discovered, for he thought that he might need it again.

Although he had slept well, he felt dejected. It was the first night he’d spent without the warmth of another person’s body. Without Katuri. He found it hard to believe he’d gotten used to sleeping with a woman so quickly, and that now, sleeping alone was so unpleasant.

Hunger began to bother him, so he pushed the depressing thoughts away and decided to take things one step at a time until he was ready to return to Katuri and then to his village, hopefully with her by his side. He headed straight to the market.

While slowly strolling between the stands, occasionally biting into a sausage and looking at what the farmers had to offer, he suddenly heard someone calling his name. Abruptly, he turned around and saw Matzie, a girl from Stagmoor! The sight of a familiar face was so unexpected that Reed froze for a moment.

Matzie also looked completely surprised.

"Reed! What… what are you doing here? Where have you been? Everyone's been so worried! Especially Joseph! We thought something bad happened to you!" Matzie mumbled, barely articulating her words. The girl had large front teeth that gave her the appearance of a groundhog and caused her speech impediment.

"Ah! I got lost in the woods during the storm, but luckily, someone helped me. I was very sick for the past two weeks, but this person… healed me," Reed explained, scratching his head uncomfortably. Matzie listened to him, but she seemed absentminded.

So, he added, "Soon, I will be back in Stagmoor with this person."

"I'm glad you're okay," Matzie said, blinking rapidly and looking confused.

---