Chapter Six

Adam went about his tasks in a daze. He turned in his shield and blunted sword and then went off to the locker rooms. There, he removed his plate armor and underpadding. His plate, helm, and padding, he shoved them all into his locker and slammed the door shut. He didn’t even bother to shower. He simply splashed some cold water on his face and threw on a hoodie and a pair of sweatpants. His muscles and bones ached. His body was damn near spent. He had performed half a dozen tourney matches in half as many hours. All that work, down the drain…

Disqualified. 

The word rang through his mind like a bell. Weeks, months of hard work, of sweat and bruises and blood, all washed away by a single word. Adam felt numb. At least until he caught sight of Jen and… her sister. 

They were waiting for him in the hall outside the locker room. And when he laid his eyes on them, there came a surge of emotion. But Adam bit his tongue and said nothing. He would not cause a scene. His parents raised him better than that.

“Adam!” Jen rushed up to meet him, concern clear in her wide, blue eyes. “I am so sorr-”

“Not here.” Adam told her brusquely. “Outside.”

Jen pressed her lips into a line and gave a short nod. 

Adam then turned his eyes on the she-orc called Sayla. Taller and more muscled than Jen, she was of a similar height to Adam, though he remained more solidly built about the arms and shoulders. She had attacked him - with real daggers - and gotten him kicked out of the tournament. Adam knew he was well within his rights to share some colorful words with her. But his sharp tongue was dulled in his mouth as he got himself a closer look - unspoiled by the rush of combat.

Tall and gray-skinned, Sayla cut a striking figure. She was beautiful like her sister, Jen… But also not at all like Jen. She had an orcish beauty, true, but leaned closer to orcish than to beauty. The only softness Sayla possessed was set upon her chest and her thighs and rear. Everything else was muscle. Where Jenakka was toned, Sayla was firm. Where Jen was graceful, Sayla was powerful. And with her scant clothing - she was still dressed in but sweatpants and a sports bra - there could be no mistake that she was a woman. 

Adam could only glare at her. And Sayla glared back. But even with her clear enmity, she followed him out of the arena right beside her sister.

It was past sundown by the time they made it outside. The evening breeze was cool against his skin, the beads of sweat on his brow and the back of his neck becoming cold pebbles. Adam frowned, clenching his jaw.

They reached the bottom of the steps leading to the parking lot. Adam turned around, thinking to give the orcish girls a piece of his mind. But before he could even open his mouth, Jen slapped her knuckles against Sayla’s muscled arm. His girlfriend’s pretty face was twisted into a fierce snarl.

“Are you out of your mind?” Jen’s voice split through the silence. Adam flinched and so did Sayla. The green she-orc was nearly shrieking as she gestured wildly back towards the arena. “What were you hoping to accomplish back there?”

“Me?” Sayla scowled. Even with her sister’s fury in her face, the gray amazonian did not back down. She crossed her firm arms under her breasts, the black glyph tattoos shifting with her muscles. “I was doing your job for you!”

Jen looked incredulous. She narrowed her eyes, her head craning forward.

“Excuse me… What?”

“I came all this way to check on you and you’re playing cheerleader for human boys pretending to be warriors. What a wonderful way to spend the time that our clan doesn’t have.” Sayla was on the offensive now, stepping up into Jen’s space. She poked a finger into her sister’s chest, her hard voice lowering into a harsh growl. “Especially when your task should have been completed months ago.”

Adam watched as his girlfriend took a step back. Jen pursed her lips, inhaling deeply through her nose. Her next words came calm, but only barely so.

“This might be a bit difficult for you to grasp, sweet sister, but it takes more than a day to test a prospective chieftain’s compatibility.” There was that word again, Adam noted. Chieftain. The title they kept using for him. “And it takes even longer to cultivate it. You almost ruined a year of my hard work, Sayla!”

Adam took a deep breath of his own. With both hands, he rubbed his temples. So many thoughts were racing through his mind. So many things had happened in the last half hour. He had been kicked from the tourney. His girlfriend’s sister just tried to kill him - or perhaps test him? And his girlfriend might not even be his girlfriend, if the implication of her words were as bad as he feared.

Still, the two she-orcs continued to spit venom at each other.

“All of that hard work will be made worthless if we don’t install him as our chieftain.” Sayla said forcefully. “Are you deaf, sister? Our clan doesn’t have any time to waste. We are weeks away from being-”

“Stop.” 

Adam didn’t shout, but that single word came crisp, clear, and firm. Both of the orc women turned to face him then. And he stared them both down.

“Adam-” Jen started, remorse in her eyes.

“Listen, human-” Sayla snapped, fire in hers.

“No.” He spoke again, his voice hard and sharp as steel. “Quiet. The both of you.”

And the two she-orcs remained quiet. Adam gave a low huff through his nose. He locked eyes with Jen. Then he did the same with Sayla. Neither seemed prepared to interrupt. So Adam went on and seized control.

“I can tell that what you’re talking about is important to the both of you.” He continued, keeping his tone level in spite of the frustration that boiled deep within. He jerked his thumb towards the arena. “But that tournament back there was important to me. I spent months earning my spot on those lists. And you just got me disqualified.”

Sayla didn’t seem overly impressed. But Jen clearly felt enough guilt to look ashamed. The green she-orc broke away from Adam’s gaze, her eyes lowered as she approached the young noble. She reached out and took one of his hands, running her thumb gently over his rough knuckles. 

“Adam… I’m so, so sorry that we ruined your big day.” Jen spoke tenderly, fervent in her repentance. Even angry as he was, Adam was stirred by the passion in his girlfriend’s voice. The darker side of his mind even felt a small thrill, an anticipation for what could potentially be a night of intense “I’m sorry” sex. But Adam quickly forced such thoughts to the far back of his mind. Jen continued, gesturing towards her clan sister. “Sayla hasn’t spent a lot of time outside of the orcish territory. She’s not familiar with tourney rules and all that stuff. And she never told me she was visiting. I was as surprised to see her as you were, Adam.”

“One of the clan was going to come looking for you eventually, Jenakka.” Sayla cut in gruffly. The gray-skinned warrior gave them a cold stare, though Adam noted her eyes were locked on him specifically. “You told us that you found a beyond ideal prospect. The matriarch was beyond curious.”

“See, that’s the other thing…” Adam said flatly. Jen stared up at him with her big, blue eyes and the young human found it incredibly difficult to remain stone-faced as he was. But growing up with a father with high expectations had taught the youngest Casterman the value of discipline. He frowned at Jen, his face tight and stern. “You’re calling me a prospect. Your sister called me a chieftain back in the arena. I’m getting pretty tired of people talking about stuff like I’m supposed to know what it means. Because I don’t.”

Jen bit her lip, once more looking ashamed as she drew back a step from Adam. Sayla’s cold expression remained unchanged, but there came no sharp words from her lips. Adam’s eyes drifted back and forth between them. Neither she-orc argued against his complaints.

“I think I’m owed some answers.” Adam continued on, pointing at the ground. It was a gesture he’d seen his father make whenever he scolded him or his brothers. For some reason, it just felt right for Adam to do. “So the three of us are going to sit down and you two are going to tell me just what the hell is going on.”

Jen looked away, her fingers clasping together before her lap. Sayla simply shrugged.

“You’re right, Adam.” Jen said quietly. She gave a small nod, hugging her arms to her body. Then she turned her eyes back onto him, meeting his gaze. Her eyes were glassy, like she was near tears. It was like a knife to Adam’s heart. “It’s time I told you the truth.”

“If we’re all going to sit down and talk, can we do it somewhere that has food?” Sayla asked tersely. Both Adam and Jen turned to stare at the gray she-orc, though Jen in particular looked positively vexed. Sayla appeared unfazed, giving another small shrug. “I haven’t eaten since I got here.”

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The food court was closed - as Adam expected this late into the evening. But fortunately for Sayla’s growling stomach, there was a 24-hour diner nearby. It was a cozy, on-campus restaurant with the late-night bookworm in mind. Certainly not the type of place a rough and wild she-orc would seek out of her own volition. But it would have to do.

Murren’s Diner glowed in bright blue letters above the front doors. The three of them filed in. Inside, the restaurant was sparsely populated. Just the staff and a couple of other customers besides Adam’s odd party. It was just as well. Adam never liked having serious talks out in public.

The three of them took a booth at the far end of the dining floor, out of earshot of any potential eavesdroppers. Sayla got her food, roasted pork with potatoes and gravy. Jen ordered herself a milkshake, vanilla with whipped cream. Even Adam took part in their small feast, getting himself a stack of pancakes. Disqualified he may have been, Adam still worked up quite an appetite during his bouts in the arena.

So the party of three ate their food and the two orc sisters told all to the young human noble.

Adam said nothing while Jen and Sayla talked, listening intently while they explained Clan G’Kalis’ unique situation. When they were done, Adam’s stack of pancakes was thoroughly demolished… And Adam himself was still very, very confused.

“You want me to be your clan’s chieftain?” If it sounded ridiculous in Adam’s head, it sounded even worse when he said it out loud. He could hardly believe the words that were spilling from his lips. But the two orc women sitting across from him nodded their heads.

“Yes.” Said his girlfriend, the clan scholar of G’Kalis. Jen was idly playing with the straw that came with her milkshake, stirring it around inside the now-empty glass. “These last few months you’ve proven to be an ideal choice-”

“Beyond ideal.” Sayla cut in, snorting. Her own plate of food was similarly bare to Adam’s. The gray-skinned she-orc leaned back in her seat, crossing her firm arms. “That was the exact phrase my dear sister used.”

Adam noted that Jen’s cheeks were colored a darker green then. He would have thought it was cute if he wasn’t blindsided by the absurdity of his situation.

Jen leaned forward then, clasping her hands together over the tabletop. She stared intently into Adam’s eyes. It was what she did whenever she wanted to show Adam she was serious.

“You’re young, you’re healthy, you’re strong. You’re well educated. You’re trained as a swordsman.” Each thing she listed off, Jen punctuated by bumping her hands down onto the table. This time it was Adam’s turn to blush. It was a special thing to have a pretty girl list off the things she liked about him. “You’re already familiar with orcish culture and customs. You’re respectful, too. You’re perfect, Adam.”

Flattering as her words were, there remained a measure of doubt in the back of Adam’s mind. He really wanted to believe Jen. But the ugly truth was that she had kept this from him for months. She lied about the nature of their relationship. So how could Adam be sure she was interested in him for him and not because her family was desperate?

“So that’s why you were dating me.” Adam muttered, frowning. “You needed to make sure I really was as perfect as you believed.”

“No! I mean… Yes.” Jen winced, pressing her fingers into her forehead. She let out a huff of exasperation. “I won’t lie to you anymore. I was sent here on a mission for my clan. And getting close to you was part of that mission.”

Adam remembered their dates then. He remembered all of her hugs and kisses. All of the cute texts she would send him in the middle of the night and the early morning. All the nights she spent in his bed… And the nights he spent in hers.

“You must love your clan very much if you were willing to do all that just to get close to me.” Adam said blithely. Inwardly, he chided himself. The words cut more than he intended.

But Jen took his sharp tongue in stride. She reached across the table and took his hand in hers.

“My clan is my life.” Her voice came firm and passionate. Adam knew then that she spoke the truth. “And I want you to be part of it, Adam. Do you know why it was so easy for me to spend all this time acting like your girlfriend? It’s because I wasn’t acting.”

“If it was only about the job for her, she wouldn’t have wasted so much time with you.” Sayla grumbled beside her. Jen shot her gray sister a glare… But Adam noted there was a softer look in his girlfriend’s eyes as well. Thankful, perhaps?

“Shut up.” Jen snapped at her clan sister. Then she turned her gaze back towards Adam. “I’m sorry that I kept the truth from you for so long. But I do love you, Adam. That’s the truth.”

So maybe Adam Casterman was a sap when it came to pretty girls with sweet words. Lots of young men were much the same, he was certain of that.

“I love you too, Jen.” He said, wearing a small smile. The tourney was shot, sure. But Adam much preferred a girlfriend to a trophy. Even if that girlfriend came with a lot of orcish baggage.

“You’re not mad?” Jen asked, a hopeful smile of her own spreading across her green face.

“No, I’m still pretty pissed. I just don’t see the point in causing a scene.” Adam answered truthfully. He gave a short, dry laugh. He poked his fork at his empty, syrup-glazed plate. “So… This chieftain business… I’d basically become your husband, right?”

“That’s a bit of an oversimplification. A chieftain has other duties beyond the women he’s bonded with.”

“But functionally that’s what I’d be to you.” Adam pressed.

Jen pursed her lips, leaning back in her seat.

“Yes.” She eventually answered.

Adam let the word hang in the air. He let it play over and over again in his head. He glanced from Jen to Sayla, noting the taller she-orc looking upon him expectantly. Then he took a deep breath.

“You know… with humans… usually it’s the man who asks the woman to get married.” Adam said after a moment, not unkindly.

Jen shifted slightly in her seat. Even Sayla sat up straighter.

“Are you… saying yes?” Jen asked tentatively.

Adam’s face tightened. He poked at his plate again, drawing his fork around in circles. He took another deep breath, this time through his nose. For a moment, he just looked at Jen, taking in the tiny peculiarities of her face. Her bright blue eyes, the subtle tusks poking up from her bottom lip, the wild strands of red hair that came loose from her braid. He’d spent almost a whole year becoming familiar with the amazing little things about Jenakka G’Kalis. Was he the kind of man who could spend the whole rest of his life with her, too?

“I’m a young man…” Adam eventually started, drumming his fingers on the table top. “Only a couple years into university. Marriage… Becoming a chieftain… This is a pretty big decision for me to make. So I’ll need to think about it. I need to think about a lot of things.”

“You’d better think fast, then.” Sayla said bluntly. “If we don’t have a new chieftain confirmed before the month is out, Clan G’Kalis will cease to be.”

Adam didn’t have any kind words to placate her. He doubted his words could placate her. So he said nothing. He rose from his seat then, trying not to look at the disappointed expression on Jen’s face. He pulled out his wallet, snagging enough bills to cover the food plus the tip for their server. He tossed the money onto the table.

He headed for the exit, but Adam made sure to touch Jen’s shoulder as he passed her. She turned to look up at him, expectant and hopeful. Adam just didn’t have it in him to break her heart.

“We’ll talk more tomorrow, Jen.” He said with as much sincerity as he could manage. “I promise.”

Then he was out the door. And his mind remained racing with thoughts, no less a storm than when the evening began.

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