Page 26 of The Orc Chief's Baker
“I thought her and Govek were broken up.”
“They are.”
“I’ll give him a what for if he tries to touch her again.”
Trinia barely managed to prevent a snort. Govek could flatten this little boy with his big toe.
“She’s going to the trade today. I saw her looking all prettied up. She going to meet someone?”
Trinia rolled her eyes. Of course, Tobbis would have a crush on her sister. Just about every teenage boy in town did. “She wants Govek back.”
“What?” the boy shrieked so loud his voice cracked.
“He’s going to be the next chief of Rove Wood Clan,” Trinia remarked carefully. “Or have you not heard?”
“I heard. I thought they were bad jokes!”
“Well, according to my sister, it’s not. And she wants to be matriarch of Rove Wood, so...”
“What the blast does she even see in that beast anyway? All he’s got is a raging, dangerous temper and a hideous crooked nose.”
“It’s probably the muscle. Most women like a man who’s fit.” Trinia mused over how fit the orc from the woods was. He was a little leaner than Govek, a little less intimidating.
And he was probably one of the warlord’s fighters. Her stomach twisted up again.
“You’ve got no room to be arrogant.”
Trinia snapped from her thoughts. “Excuse me?”
“You think you could get someone with muscles looking like you do? You could stand to skip a few meals.”
White hot anger flashed down Trinia’s spine and her palm itched with want to slap the mouth right off this wretch’s face. Her voice took on a deadly low tone. “Excuse me.”
“N-nothing.” The boy actually shrank away a bit and Trinia gritted her teeth. Slapping him would do no good in the long run. Even if it would feel mighty fine right now.
Tobbis hurried over to her cart and lifted the handles. He wouldn’t even meet her eyes as he adjusted the weight of it. She walked to the back to load up the last few bags.
“You aren’t thinking of riding, are you?”
“And what if I did?” she said low and slow. “You saying you’re so weak you can’t even pull a full cart? No wonder Yerina doesn’t give you the time of day.”
The boy went so red she almost felt bad, but he just turned his head away and muttered something under his breath that he was lucky she didn’t catch. Then he began to pull.
Trinia’s mood was dark as she picked up her basket of cookies and creams.
This would be a very long walk.
By the time they returned to the meeting place, the village gates were open and the group was heading out. They both hurried to catch up.
The Rove Woods were lovely this time of year with bright orange and red leaves streaming down from a crystal blue sky. The sunshine dappled the world in color and the bright green moss growing on all the rocks was covered in dewdrops as the warmth melted away the hard freeze from the night before.
And beauty was completely ruined by her walking partner. Between shooting her scornful looks and muttering slights she couldn’t quite hear under his breath, Trinia was starting to wonder if it was even worth it to bring her cart at all. She could have bundled everything for the warrior orc and carried it herself.
But what was done was done and she certainly wasn’t going to waste any time. She set a grueling clip, wanting the walk to be over as soon as possible.
She couldn’t stop thinking about how to convince the warrior to make the pans for her. The sketches were tucked safely away in her skirt pocket. The sweet buns and cookies were carefully placed on her cart. Would he like them? Should she have made something else?
Would one of the prettier girls in the village turn his head instead?
