[Queen of Orcs 01] - King's Property Read Online Free PDF

“Yes.”
     
    By the time Dar and Memni had ladled out the last of the porridge, it was dusk. The other women had departed. Memni looked inside the kettle as she and Dar carried it back to the cook tent. “If you scrape the sides,” she said, “there’s enough for your dinner.”
    “What about you?” asked Dar.
    “I have my soldier,” said Memni. “He’ll give me something.”
    The cooking tent was nearly deserted when Dar and Memni returned. A lone woman was cleaning up, and a paunchy soldier watched her. When he saw Memni approach, he held out a handful of cooked roots. “Hey, bird,” he said. “Got some supper here.”
    “Aren’t you sweet,” said Memni.
    “Ya might get some,” he replied, “if yar sweet ta me.”
    “I’m always sweet to you, Faussy.”
    “Come ’n’ prove it.”
    “Soon as I change,” said Memni, heading for the bathing tent. “Dar, you should change, too.”
    Dar looked at the porridge kettle and hesitated. “I’m going to eat first.”
    The woman glanced up from her scrubbing. “You can only wear those robes while serving,” she said. “Don’t worry about the porridge. It’ll be safe.”
    “Thanks,” Dar said, and followed Memni.
    After Dar changed into her shift and washed the robe, she returned to the kettle. To her dismay, the woman was washing it. “You must be Dar, the new scabhead,” said the woman, who had a round, pleasant face with kind eyes. She appeared Dar’s age, though her brand was old enough to have faded to a pale, raised scar. She was also very pregnant. The woman smiled and held out a cooked root in addition to a bowl of crusty porridge. “I saved these for you. I’m Loral.”
    Dar took the food. After an exhausting and terrifying day, Loral’s kindness felt overwhelming. Dar started to thank her, but burst out crying instead. Loral watched sympathetically as Dar struggled to stifle her sobs. It took a while before she succeeded. “I never cry,” said Dar, feeling embarrassed, “and now I’ve done it twice today.”
    “I cried for a whole moon after they took me,” said Loral.
    “Everything has been so…” Dar paused to suppress a sob. “…so horrible.”
    “You’ll get used to it,” said Loral. She gave Dar a hug. “Eat. You must be starving.”
    “I am.”
    Loral watched Dar devour the root, then hungrily scoop the porridge from the bowl with her fingers. “You needn’t eat like an orc,” she said. “No one will take it from you.”
    Loral didn’t speak again until Dar finished licking the bowl and her fingers. “I rescued your bundle of clothes. I’m afraid someone trod it into the mud.”
    “On purpose?”
    “Of course. You’re lucky she didn’t toss it in the fire.”
    “Why would anyone do that?” asked Dar.
    “The men fancy new girls, and that stirs up trouble. Everyone’s afraid you might take their man.”
    “Except you.”
    Loral laughed ruefully. “No man wants a plugged womb-pipe.”
    “Well, I want no man,” said Dar. “So no one should worry.”
    “You may not want one, but you need one. Where will you get shoes, if not from a man? Women have no share in the plunder. Only through a man’s generosity…”
    “Generosity?” said Dar. “Don’t make me laugh! The only thing a man gives a woman is a big belly. Nothing else comes free.” Dar recalled her suitors, who seemed to think a wife’s sole purpose was to serve their needs.
    “That’s the way of the world,” Loral said. “We’re subject to men.”
    “My father’s favorite lesson,” said Dar.
    “Why so bitter?” asked Loral. “It’s natural for fathers to teach about life.”
    “There was nothing natural about his lessons. Even beasts show more restraint.”
    “But men aren’t beasts,” said Loral. “They’re the masters here. You’d best look for a generous one.”
    “Have you found such a man?”
    “Perhaps,” said Loral, “if I bear him a son.”
    Dar looked dubious. “And that’s how I should live my