▪️B A L D U R▪️

There was something almost hypnotic about the way Khagra's large hand looked against Izara's exposed thigh.

His index finger glided along the edge of the black leather holster that held her dagger and I did not miss the way in which he would intentionally touch her thigh. The colour of her skin reminded me of the Veluntina flower that grew high up in the mountains, its petals had an interesting brown-bronze shade that was beautiful when fully bloomed.

My body jolted, appalled at where my thoughts had unexpectedly gone. I was thankful when Khagra's soft, teasing laugh pulled my attention back to the situation at hand.

"Let the human defend herself first before you condemn her. I'm sure Izara has an explanation, don't you, my dear?"

Narrowing my glare at her, I snapped, "Well? Explain yourself!"

I did not miss the way her brown eyes rounded briefly before she seemed to collect her thoughts. In that moment, she stopped struggling against Khagra, her body seeming to relax against his. It was interesting to see the wide range of facial expressions she could convey in such a short amount of time.

With her gaze now focused on me, she spoke, "It belonged to my mother; she died when I was just a baby. I keep the dagger on me at all times since it helps me feel close to her."

"Do you know how to use it?" Khagra asked.

"I do," she replied.

Scoffing, I said, "Really now? You must not know how to use it very well, otherwise your face wouldn't be carved up the way it is."

Khagra's eyes widened as he looked at me from over her head.

I could see from the look on his face that he was stunned by what I had said, but I was never one to mince my words. And yes, I could acknowledge that perhaps it was a bit rude of me to point out her scars. But if Izara planned on living in the castle, she would need to have a thick skin if she was going to survive the candour of my people.

No sooner than the words had left my mouth, I observed the way Izara immediately frowned at me, her anger out in the open for all to see. I had to admit, I was trying to rile her up on purpose, wanting to see how she would react.

In my experience, humans often lied, pretending to be something they were not.

The other handmaidens would have tried to hide their emotions from me, wanting to get on my good side. Not Izara though, which I must confess was intriguing, but at the end of the day, she was still a human and therefore could not trusted.

Before I could give the notion anymore thought, Izara's voice pulled my attention.

"With all due respect, Your Majesty, I was fifteen when I got these scars and I'll admit that I wasn't as good defending myself as I am now. Granted, since it was a fae attack, I can't say that I would escape unscathed now either. There's no shame in admitting one's weakness and if you're going to hold that against me, then you're not the Orc warrior I thought you were."

Khagra grinned, clearly impressed by her response, but I was not buying it, even if her next words surprised me.

"I thought that battle wounds were seen as a badge of honour to the Orcs, the scars serving as a permanent reminder that they had survived. Do you not have any scars yourself, Your Majesty?"

"Of course, I do!"

"Then why are you shaming me for mine?" Izara asked, the valour in her voice rendering me speechless.

"She's a feisty one, I like..." Khagra commented, his smile widening.

Flashing him a frown, I moved my Vharg closer, my knee just grazing hers, "Is that anyway to speak to your King? I should use that little dagger of yours to cut out your vile little tongue!"

"Apologies, Your Majesty. I was just under the impression that you valued honesty. I've heard of your disdain for my kind and I can't say that your sentiments aren't unwarranted but–"

"Let me guess, you're not like most humans?" I sneered before adding, "Save your words, Izara, I won't believe anything that you say."

"That's fair, I wouldn't have expected any differently. After all, a person can proclaim anything, but to really see who they are, one must look at their actions. Hopefully in time, my actions will show you that I'm not the kind of human you have already judged me to be," she said, her eyes never wavering from mine.

She was a bold one, I would give her that.

I did not miss the way Khagra's left hand moved to her waist, as if he sought to comfort her. My fingers flexed against my Vharg's reigns, for my best friend's seemingly fast allegiance to her grated on my nerves and I glowered at him, to which he winked back at me in return.

It was then that I noticed Khagra's right hand had moved from the leather holster, his long fingers slowly inching higher up her thigh every so often.

The man was absolutely shameless, but I was not surprised that Izara was letting him touch her, no woman stood a chance against Khagra's charms, especially a human. Which only proved my point that she was not as different as she was making herself out to be and I silently wondered how long it would take before she would end up in his bed.

Pushing the image of their writhing naked bodies out of my head, I huffed out, "You may keep your weapons, but just know that if you seek to try and harm me or anyone under my protection, I won't hesitate to end your life."

"I understand, Your Majesty," she reacted with a bow of her head.

Grunting, I added, "Also, another piece of advice... You shouldn't wear your emotions so blatantly out in the open."

"Why not?"

"People will think that you're weak."

Izara let out a breathy laugh before replying, "Then I suppose that would be their problem, no?"

Before I could answer, the unexpected sound of her slapping Khagra's right hand echoed loudly in the forest around us.

"I just promised the King not to harm anyone, why would you make me go back on my word?"

Slightly taken aback, he asked, "What do you mean?"

"What, you think I haven't noticed your hand moving higher? Don't make me take this blade out and stab you!" Izara grumbled.

Pulling her tighter against his chest, he grinned against her ear, "You promise? I don't mind a bit of pain with my pleasure."

"I can assure you that there will be no pleasure to be had here!"

Her words were laced with contempt while she wiggled her body against him, trying to get out of his hold. However, given the glint in my best friend's eyes, I just knew that her hostility would only serve to arouse him.

Khagra grunted at her movements, before saying "Are you sure that I can't convince you? I would give you very strong and capable children."

His declaration shocked both Izara and myself.

Truthfully, I could not tell if my best friend was joking or not, knowing how adamant he was about not having children anytime soon. Yet here he was, seemingly promising to give Izara something that many female Orcs and humans alike would give anything to have and he only just met her.

What the actual fuck? I silently asked myself.

Maybe he had too much to drink before we left the castle, because I had no idea what game he could possibly be playing at. However, it appeared as though Izara was not interested, her body twisting even more aggressively now, still attempting to move away from him.

Her brows creased as she said, "If you can't keep your hands to yourself, I will walk the rest of the way."

"Apologies," he responded and quickly removed his hands from her body.

Khagra's eyes sparkled as he turned to look at me and I could tell that her boldness turned him on greatly. No one had ever refused his advances before, and I wondered just what Izara was up to and how long she could keep up the act of playing hard to get.

Exhaling, I turned away from them, "We need to move, we've wasted enough time as it is."

A few hours later, we were back at the castle.

Khagra had insisted that I gave Izara a room that was located near to ours. He claimed that if she was to be a handmaiden to him, it would be more convenient for her to be nearby.

When I had argued that there was an entire section where the castle staff comfortably resided and that she should sleep there, he had instantly countered. Khagra claimed that with Izara being close, if he needed her for anything, especially during the night, she would be easily available.

Given this development, I had immediately regretted giving her to him.

With a knowing grin, he had wasted no time in stating what her duties would be. Even though Izara would be learning and assisting our healers in their day-to-day tasks, Khagra also made sure to state that she was to serve me breakfast and dinner, ensuring that I would see her daily.

Fuck!

It looked like I would be having a human handmaiden after all, I grumbled to myself.

Just thinking about how my best friend conned me, I silently groused while glaring daggers at the back of his big head, watching him give her a tour of her new chambers.

The room was decently sized with floor to ceiling windows, and decorated similarly to the rest of the other chambers on this floor. Equipped with a desk, large bed as well as a sitting area in front of a grand fireplace, it certainly was not the accommodations usually given out to servants, but I only had myself to blame for that.

"Is this really my room?" Izara asked while taking in the large space.

Khagra opened his mouth to reply, but I beat him to it by saying, "Would you rather sleep with the dogs outside?"

"W-what? No, it's just–"

"That can easily be arranged..." I threatened with a scowl.

Quickly jumping in, Khagra shook his head, "Don't mind him. Yes, this room is yours. Is it to your liking?"

"More than! This is beautiful, thank you so much!" Izara gushed, seeming genuinely grateful.

"Get some rest, I'll come get you in the morning and we can have some breakfast before I give you a tour of the castle. Then I'll introduce you to Crothu and Dura," Khagra instructed before we turned to leave.

"Excuse me, Your Majesty, I'd like to ask a favour."

Inwardly groaning, I looked over my shoulder, "What is it?"

Izara's fiddled with her fingers, "Would it be hard to find out the name of the Orc who helped me against the fae attack ten years ago?"

"Why would you want that?"

"I wish to thank him for saving my life."

There was no way that I could hide the look of shock that appeared on my face. Whatever I thought Izara was going to ask of me, it certainly was not that and I heard Khagra's grunt of approval as he stood next to me.

"I'll see what can be done," was all I said before exiting the room.

My hands clenched at my sides as I walked down the corridor, my feet stomping on the stone floor while my best friend followed.

As soon as we entered my chambers, no sooner than Khagra closed the thick wooden door behind him, I quickly moved and pushed him up against wall. He gasped slightly while my right hand closed around the front of his throat as I leaned in.

"What in the fuck was all of that?" I snarled in his face.

Khagra let out a breathy laugh, "Admit it, she's not what you expected. You like her..."

"Fuck you!"

"Gladly."

Roaring, I squeezed his throat for a moment before letting go, stalking away from him as I began taking my clothes off, throwing them chaotically onto the floor.

"Don't be like that, Baldur–"

"No, seriously, fuck you, Khagra! You're allowing yourself to be blinded by her beauty!"

Arching a brow, he asked, "Oh? So, you're admitting that you find her beautiful?"

"Don't go putting words in my mouth..."

Of course, I was not oblivious to how attractive Izara was. Even with the raised jagged scars that ran down the left side of her face, there was no hiding that she was indeed very beautiful. Not to mention the generous curves of her body were enough to entice any male, but I quickly pushed the thought away as Khagra continued to speak.

"I think that it's you who's blinded."

Rolling my eyes, "Please, spare me the lecture–"

"No! You're going to listen to what I have to say, Baldur. You're my best friend and I love you more than anything. But sometimes, when you allow the memories of what happened to fester, you let your pain poison you."

The fact that Khagra was raising his voice at me, I knew that he was pissed.

Perhaps I had been a bit careless with my behaviour tonight. I had to be, if he was reacting in such a way.

"Shit, you can become so damn unpleasant to be around at times, it's like you're a completely different person and I would hate to see these overwhelming emotions take over permanently and affect your ability to continue being a great King to those residing on the isle," he stated, in a calmer tone.

I knew that he was right in what he was saying, but it was not as if I chose to be this way.

Did I want to be an insufferable bastard? Of course not!

Unfortunately, where my emotions were concerned, in all honestly, I just could not help the brooding mood swings that occasionally affected me. Especially whenever I thought about humans and what they were truly capable of.

One thing was for sure though, I definitely needed to get a handle on the intense hate that I sometimes felt lashing at my insides. The last thing I wanted to do was to turn into a cruel and merciless ruler.

"I understand what you're saying, don't worry, I'll be fine, I promise."

Khagra nodded and said, "See that you keep that promise, because I don't know if you realise it, but you're allowing your hate to consume you and it's beginning to cloud your judgement. I know that you may not physically lash out at the humans within the castle, but tonight, you definitely took things too far."

Glancing over at him, I asked, "What are you talking about exactly?"

His hazel eyes gaped at my bare torso for a moment before he responded, "You know very well that it was uncalled for, the way you brought up Izara's scars. You were extremely cruel in how you treated her. From the moment you laid eyes on her, it was if you went out of your way to deliberately be mean to her."

I frowned at his words, wondering why he seemed so protective of her.

Snorting, I kicked off my shoes, "Look, I can admit that I was out of line, but Izara's feelings are of no interest to me. Just because I agree with you on some things where my behaviour is concerned, don't expect my typical interactions towards humans to change."

Khagra sighed and shook his head disapprovingly, while continuing to listen.

"Besides, she didn't seem bothered by my comment about her scars or with anything else that I said tonight for that matter."

"That's probably because she's used to being treated like shit most of her life! Did you not see her bitch of a step-mother insulting her right in front of us?"

Shrugging, my voice sounded indifferent, "I'm not surprised, that's just how humans are–"

"Not all of them, and you know this!" Khagra interjected before continuing, "I mean, Izara's family didn't even give her a chance to say goodbye to them. I can't even imagine what it was like for her living in that house."

Once naked, I got into bed and said, "Again, not my problem."

"Gods you're being a right prick tonight."

Arching a brow, I asked, "Speaking of pricks, are you going to just stand there all night or are you going to come and suck me off?"

Khagra scowled at me before he began taking off his clothes.

——————————

A/N: 👀