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She had been bound hand and foot for three days now. The brute of an orc would untie her to let her pee, but kept a collar on her for that. A collar! Like she was a dog! He didn’t say much. She knew he had been hired to abduct her for a rich old miser who wanted a young bride to have his way with. But other than that, this asshole orc hadn’t said much.
Worse! He didn’t even have the decency to be a proper asshole! He was carefully feeding her from his plate. He cuddled her close at night to keep her warm. He kept the others from touching her. He was actually being a proper gentleman. Except for the part where he abducted her to sell her into a marriage that would be little more than slavery.
She had begged him not to do this. She cried herself to sleep each of the three nights. He had said nothing, merely stroking her hair until her sobs quieted.
This morning, he got her up, and tied the rope around her neck and took her to a pond to bathe. He sat on a rock, idly sharpening a knife and keeping the other mercs in his troop from spying on her. When she was finished, he wrapped her in a blanket and sat her in front of the fire to carefully brush her hair. It was strangely comforting. Right up until one of the others commented about making her pretty for her future husband.
Then she started to cry again. She was past the sobbing point. All she had left were silent hopeless tears.
He had dressed her in a blue gown of softest lambs wool, and carefully braided her hair into a crown. Then he sat her on his horse and delivered her to the Lord.
And now she was standing here, her arms pinned behind her back at some vile priest performed a marriage ceremony while her ‘husband’ cackled. The got to the ‘I do’s and she resolutely kept her mouth shut. The orc pulled a knife and held it to her throat.
“Say it,” he ordered.
What choice did she have at that point? It took her a while. Was death really the better option? The knife pricked at her flesh.
“I do.” she whispered.
The orc grunted and sheathed his knife.
The priest left after the old man had kissed her with his mouth full of rotting teeth. She staggered back and fell against the orc, who caught her easily.
“Let me get you your bounty,” the Lord cackled. “You did even better than I expected.”
The orc grunted. “We would stay for the wedding feast as well.”
The man laughed again, “Won’t be having one. Why waste the food? There is no one here.”
The orc nodded. “What about the servants?”
“I have none. This bitch is here to care for me and my house. What more do I need? She will obey or I will beat her until she does.”
The orc nodded again. He stepped forward to take his bag of jewels. Then he pulled the lord close and covered his mouth and nose. The man struggled and eventually went still.
The orc carried the lifeless body up the stairs, pulling me on my leash behind him. He stripped the corpse and lay it in the bed then untied me and knelt before me.
“My Lady. Congratulations on your marriage. You are now one of the wealthiest women in the land. It is a shame your husband died after consummating the marriage. A wife and widow all on the same day. Still, he was very old.”
I stared up at him, completely dumbstruck.
“You could, of course, go back to your family, but you weren’t exactly well cared for there. Or you could stay here and rule.” Now he looked up, “Will you be needing a Captain of the Guard?”