Joining Her Harem Ch. 05

Thinking back to the fight Sumara rushed them for me. I had been shot and was on the ground. She moved to the thick of the fighting to keep them away from me. "I am sorry you had to put yourself in danger for me."

"I would do it again. You are my little goddess." Sumara smiled and kissed my forehead.

"You should not call me that. It is blasphemous." I scolded, in a not too serious tone.

"So no issue with the term itself. I half expected you to complain you were a boy." Sumara said the hint of sarcasm was evident.

I blushed and buried my head into her chest, unable to reply.

"I will stop calling you if it bothers you." Sumara offered, sensing my reaction.

In my quietest voice "no"

"What was that?" she smirked knowing what I had said.

"No, it does not bother me when you do it." I stammered. "I mean if you like it."

"So you want to be my goddess and have me pray to you for my salvation." Sumara could not contain her chuckle.

"See now you are making fun of me." I huffed pushing on her.

"I am sorry. I will stop...for now" Sumara pulled me back into her. We sat like that for a while. Fay was eyeing me after a while so I called her over and had her sit with us as well. The day moved slowly. I continued to watch the orcs's behavior. Nothing stood out. The guards looked as bored as the rest of us. It was lunch time before long. The human woman from before came down and offered food to the guards. She did not seem to have any extra for the prisoners. After getting their food one of the guards took a firm handful of the woman's back side. I could plainly see her giggling in response. She did not seem upset or try to force the guard to release her. If anything she seemed to enjoy the attention. She leaned into the guard and I could see his mood lighten. He then scooped the woman off her feet as she laughed and he took her upstairs. The other two smaller and most likely younger orcs groaned their jealousy.

I turned to Sumara. "That interaction seem off to you?"

"It is not the reaction I would expect of a woman about to be ravaged by an orc warrior. It seemed like she was excited to be taken to be violated." Sumara said laughing.

"Don't be crude." I scolded. "I mean it almost does not seem like she is even a prisoner."

"Don't get ahead of yourself. She could just be playing a part to survive. Being owned by a higher status orc would offer her some protections." Sumara stated, the joking tone leaving her voice.

"See seemed to be a great actress then. The goblin girl also seemed very affectionate toward the orc that carried her away." I countered.

"Naw goblin's are all crazy, don't put too much stock in how they act." Sumara huffed.

"Cannot be that crazy, they are one of the few monster races that the Kingdom of Glaine allows in their cities." I pointed out a widely known fact.

"Well that is because they are the best tradespeople around. All the best gear and buildings are goblin designed." Sumara followed up.

"Something just feels off. To be blunt, I had half expected it to be an orgy down here." I guestrued to the cells with all the village girls. "If what I have been told about orcs is true." I knew my voice cracked at my last statement.

"You are not wrong. However, there is a pecking order. It could be they are being saved for something or the boss is not back yet to decide what happens." Sumara stated plainly.

It was good that Sumara came to the same conclusion about the boss that Silvia had. It meant that was more likely to be a real fact. It did not change anything really. Even if all the facts about orcs are not accurate we were still in a bad spot. We had killed maybe twenty to thirty orcs when they captured us. That would likely have consequences. Even if these orcs seemed to be treating their prisoners better than their reputation would suggest.

The rest of the day was just as slow moving as the morning. The guards made a change just after lunch. The number was still three so it did not seem like they would be changing that today at least. As dinner time approached I saw the two women appear again with a pot and bowls. This time they were followed by the large orc from earlier. He called over one of the floor guards to walk with them.

The process was similar to how breakfast was done with the goblin girl passing out the bowls. When they came to our cells it switched over to the guard who started to pass out the bowls. When I went to get mine the large orc called out. "Not her." and he pointed to me.

The guard pulled back and did not hand me a bowl. Sumara growled obviously upset at why I was not allowed to eat. The guard finished passing out the food. The large orc spoke again.

"Everyone against the wall. Except you." His eyes fixed on me. Sumara did not listen and stood in front of me.

Shifting his eyes to her the orc spoke "Do as your told half breed."

"I am her sworn protector. I cannot allow you to hurt her." Sumara referred to me as a girl, likely not to confuse the issue.

"Half Breed, if I wanted to hurt her you could not stop me. Your death will not help her. Stand down before I am forced to make you." His voice was even. It did not sound like he was angry at Sumara's defiance. He was merely stating the facts of the situation.

Sensing this would get out of hand quickly I needed to act. The orc was correct. If we did not comply he could force us to. We did not stand a chance if we had to fight back from inside the cage. I had no choice but to comply. I rested my hand on Sumara's arm and stepped forward. "Please do as he says. We don't stand a chance if we fight back now."

"Sure we do. Just burn this place down." Sumara did not seem like she would back down.

"I cannot do that. I could cause too much collateral damage. I cannot be sure the fire would not hurt the prisoners." I knew that my new spell was powerful, but it was still new. I did have a good understanding of it yet.

"Who cares about everyone else? We could get out." Sumara said, her eyes narrowing.

I backed away horrified by her statement. "I care." I snapped at her. "Now to the wall as you are told."

Sumara's face told me that she regretted her statement. She focused her eyes on the large orc and went back to the wall with the others. The guards opened the cell and entered. I was flanked by the guards but they had their backs to me, instead choosing to face the others along the wall. Then the two women entered the cell.

"Greetings, I am Alice and this is Rixxa." Alice the human woman spoke to me in a calm voice that did not seem to fit the situation.

"Just Rix, only grumpy, call me Rixxa." Rixxa gestured to the large orc next to her.

I hesitated for a moment but it was clear they were waiting for me to respond. "Sorry... I am Ranz."

"Ranz, we came to thank you for your assistance yesterday in helping Rix." Alice's tone continued to be calm causing me to be uneasy due to how much tension was in the room now.

"Silvia did more to help then I did. She stopped the attack."

"You no smart. Guards would stop attack. Silly elf only cause me more pain." Rix blurted out in her broken dialect.

Alice it seemed sensed clarification was needed. "Ranz, while the elf... Silvia... I think you said, did offer assistance. It would have happened either way. Likely with less additional strain on poor Rix. You on the other hand did something that no one here can do. You saved Rix weeks of recovery time."

"It was only right that I offered assistance. Rix did not deserve to be treated that way. She was just doing what she was told to do I am sure." I tried to imply they had no choice, that they were prisoners like me.

"See you dumb. Rix chose to feed scared girls. They not used to orcs. They not know, they big softy like grumpy." Rix smiled as I heard the large orc grunt.

Alice again offered clarification. "We find the female prisons respond better when we care for their needs. It does not prevent the need for guards, but it makes what comes next easier."

I asked the obvious follow up. "What comes next for them?"

"Their decision of course, our mistress will provide that to them... and you when she gets back tomorrow. She will be very interested in a girl with your talents." Alice smiled at me. I still found it unsettling but I was having a hard time feeling any malic behind her smile. I did take the opportunity to correct Alice.

"I am a boy."

Alice did not seem surprised but Rix was not able to hide her expression.

"No you not. Prove it." Rix reached for my robes and started to pull them up.

I must have changed every color of red. This reminded me again I was not wearing anything under my robes. I forced my robes down to prevent the goblin from pulling them up.

"Please stop, you will just have to take my word for it."

Rix looked at me with a tilted head. "Words not real. I can not take them."

Alice giggled a little at Rix's confusion. "Either way. You may find that it intrigues our mistress even more. Now as a token of our appreciation, would you join us both for dinner." Alice stepped aside and gestured toward the cell door.

I tentatively walked through the cell door. I am not sure but it felt like a trap. I mean why be so nice to me, I am their prisoner. My 'ally' was why Rix got hurt. Was this a plan to get information out of me? Was I really being taken to dinner? My mind was swirling with so many possibilities I must not have been able to hide my worried expression.

"Relax sweetie. This is a good thing." Alice said as she walked next to me. She led me up the stairs and to a small room. A table had been set up. The food that was laid out was basic. However, it did include a small helping of meat. Alice helped me to a seat and then she and Rix joined me. I noticed only the large orc followed us in, He stood behind me. I glanced back a few times feeling his eyes on the back of my neck. Alice had started to prepare a plate for me when she saw me looking back.

"Goodness Griz. Find a better place to stand." Alice giggled.

"See they scarey, but he no mean it. He just trying to protect us." Rix chimed in.

"This one killed more of our warriors than any of them. I do not think the Mursha would be pleased with the liberties you are taking." Griz's voice boomed from behind me. He still did as Alice asked and moved to a corner in front of me. This did not stop him from staring daggers at me, but who could blame him. I had killed many of them in the last fight.

"Agree to disagree my dear man. I suspect she will be pleased when she returns." Alice answered back, her voice remaining calm and cheerful as it had been.

Trying to ease the tension. "I think I get it. Sumara could be like that with me. I know she means well but I could imagine it would be intimidating to be on the other end of her anger."

"Ah she your owner. Too bad for her she not protect you." Rix's statement hurt me more than I think she meant it too.

"She is not my owner. She is just a friend." I picked at the food on my plate.

"Then who is your owner?" Rix

"No one. I am free... well I was." I sighed.

"Ranz, you misunderstand. Rix is asking who is your leader. To orcs and goblins, owner, leader, mistress all basically mean the same thing. It is who is responsible for you. The person whose job it was to protect you." Alice again came to my aid with clarification.

I winced at that definition. Technically it would be Landis. That thought turned my stomach. I then thought of Sumara. While not being the party leader she protected me more than anyone else. Would I consider her my owner as Rix suggested?

"Thank you for that Alice. Then yes Sumara would fit that definition."

"That is too bad. She would have fit in nicely around here. She seemed to care for you." Alice said.

Worried by Alice's shift in tone for the first time I blurted out. "Wait, what does that mean?"

Alice looked troubled as she attempted to explain "Ranz, orc leaders do not normally allow other leaders to integrate. It is not good to have someone under you that could try to take over."

Worried that I may have inadvertently put a target on Sumara's back, I became concerned. I wanted to deflect that responsibility on to Landis now that I knew it could cause trouble. Before I could say anything I became concerned that Landis's action may reflect on all of us if he was our leader. I hoped we would not be here long enough for that to matter. With any luck we would be free before their mistress returned.

The tension was thick after that. Alice and Rix distracted me from that by asking me about my history. They mostly seemed very interested in my time at the temple. I would try to steer the conversation to their relationship to the orcs and this mysterious mistress that I assumed was Mursha. Alice was always the one to deflect my questions. She and I both knew what I was doing but she would not give anything away. She finally just said it plainly. Her Mistress would want to talk to me and make the situation clear herself.

Once we finished eating I was escorted back to my cell and wished a good evening. Sumara and Fay were the first to greet me as I entered.

"Are you ok they did not hurt you did they." Sumara pulled me close and at first I thought she was just getting handsy but she instead seemed to be checking me for injury. Fay was standing next to her just as concerned.

"No, they wanted to thank me for healing Rix, with dinner." They both looked at me confused. "The goblin girl." I said. This did not clear the confused looks from their faces.

"They cooked you dinner?" Fay was the one to ask.

"I am not sure. it was already prepared when we arrived." I answered without thinking.

"That is not what I meant... it's not important. I am glad you are back safe with me." Sumara pulled me close again.

Her statement of being safe snapped me back to my conversations earlier.

"Sumara, I may have made a big mistake."