NOVEL WEB Chapter 10 – The great banquet (Part two)
"Please don't, princess. T-that doesn't sound like a good idea." The handmaiden nervously stutters, holding Francesca's arm.
"Why not?"
"Just look at him! He..." She lowers her voice to a whisper, the grip on the princess getting even stronger. "He is a savage! He is more beast than man..."
"Oh-hoh, he is indeed... Look at his arms, he could snap a person's neck like it was a toothpick..." The princess giggles, slowly sliding one hand across her thin, delicate neck. "So exciting!"
"P-princess, I beg you to reconsider this..."
"Let go of my arm right now, servant. I remind you that I'm your princess and you must obey me." Francesca smugly orders, excited grin fixed on her pink lips. "I will speak with who I please and do what I please, neither you nor my father can tell me what to do."
"I... but..." The handmaiden worriedly stumbles over her words, taking a deep breath and letting go of the teenager's arm. "As you wish, princess." She sighs, defeatedly lowering her gaze to her feet.
"That's better. Stay here." She purrs, hurriedly starting to walk towards the animalistic orcish ambassador...
Francesca coldly ignores the people trying to strike up a conversation with her when they see her pass close, not even bothering to look in their direction. Her sight focused on a very special target. "Greetings, mister orc! I'm princess Francesca, my father rules this country. I've heard you are an ambassador coming from the lands of Garro, may I know your name?" She does an elegant little curtsy, feeling even smaller now that the orc is right next to her.
"Oh, hey! I'm Orok." The orc casually talks, now chewing on a piece of grilled lobster. "What's up?"
"Orok. What an exotic name!" She coquettishly smiles, twirling strands of her long ginger hair around one of her fingers.
"Gahaha, yeah, I guess." He covers an unpolite burp with his hand. "Hey, kiddo, hand me that." He then unceremoniously points at a plate of mashed potatoes close to the girl.
"K-kiddo?" Francesca raises one of her eyebrows in shock, her previous smile gradually vanishing. "I'll have you know that I'm not a kid, ambassador. I'm an adult woman. I turned eighteen a few months ago."
"Gahahahahaha! Yeah, right!" The orc mockingly chuckles. "No girl over the age of twelve uses frilly dresses like that. And you are so tiny! But don't worry, you'll grow up soon."
"I said I'm not a kid! And I already know that I'm short, you don't have to mention it!" The princess frowns, clenching her fists, her breathing getting more and more agitated. "I'm the very mature, beautiful, adult princess of this country and I will not tolerate you-"
"Yeah, sure. Now give me those potatoes." Orok interrupts her.
Francesca gasps. This might be the first time in her life someone interrupted one of her rantings... or plainly disrespected her. Her cheeks reddening in anger, lower lip trembling as she pouts. "Y-you can't order me around like that! I'm the princess! Y-you should-"
"Hurry up, kiddo. Do it."
Thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump. Francesca's heart violently slammed against her tiny chest and what felt like electric shocks instantly whizzed across every inch of her nubile body. W-what the hell was that? And why is every part of her consciousness yelling at her to obey the gigantic orc? I-is this what she was really looking for when she approached him...? With shaky hands and big doe-like eyes, the princess grabs the plate of mashed potatoes and silently places it in front of him.
"Thanks! Good girl." The orc smirks, gently patting the top of her head like she was a little puppy before starting to devour the potatoes. The princess melts in the spot, letting out a tiny yelp as an unknown sensation of utter pleasure burns on her lower tummy. Why does it feel so good to... obey? And why is she now craving more...?
"Do you... Do you n-need anything else?" The princess softly asks in a barely audible tone of voice, twiddling with her fingers.
"Yeah, bring me wine! The most expensive one you can find, Gahaha!"
That sensation again, Francesca's whole body heats up. T-there is no way the servants feel this good when they are ordered around, right? Is it... is it just her...? The princess gingerly nods her head, walking away to fulfill the request. Maybe the first time in her life she selflessly does someone a favor...
The orc ambassador finishes the plate of potatoes and contently sighs, patting his stomach... Before noticing a familiar face in the distance. Captain Juliette voraciously stuffing her mouth full of food with the same eagerness as the orc, crumbs and spills of non-alcoholic drinks all around her.
Orok stands up from his table and walks towards her as fast as possible. "Hey! You still have to show me your abs!" He loudly demands.
Juliette's body instantly tenses in surprise, eyes going wide as she almost chokes on her food. "I-I-I don't know what y-you are talking about." She says between coughs, gasping for air.
"We fought and I kicked your ass really easily. Now don't be a sore loser and lift your shirt!"
"K-kicked my ass?!" Juliette finally manages to put an end to her coughing fit, deeply frowning and gritting her teeth. Her little dorky lisp more notable than ever. "I'm the strongest woman in Malena, I've never lost a fight!"
"Gahaha, do you have memory problems? You lost against me."
"I TRIPPED!" Juliette yells as she furiously slams her big fist against the table, causing the nearby guests of the banquet to glare in her direction...
Embarrassed by her outburst, the captain clears her throat and removes her hand from the table. Her cheeks fully red as she continues to speak in a softer tone of voice. "I-I tripped over a branch, that's why I fell. The mere idea of me losing against some orc is ridiculous!"
"Alright..." The orc sighs. "Let's fight again, then. Without weapons, only using our fists... But now if I win, I also get to lick those cool abs, Gahaha!"
"L-lick?!" Juliette blushes, shocked expression on her face. "W-why do you want to lick my stomach?!"
"It's hot as fuck! Don't need any reason other than that, to be honest."
The blonde woman huffs. "I-I'm not going to fight someone without a reason. I'm the Captain of the military, not a vulgar brawler." She sighs, waiting a pair of seconds before continuing to talk in a whisper. "And Olivia scolded me for fighting you... She is scary when she is angry, I don't want her to get mad again..."
"Come on, don't be a chicken. Fight me!"
Juliette sighs and rolls her eyes, continuing to bitterly eat in silence, trying to pretend that the orc pestering her doesn't exist.
"Chip-chip-chip." He mockingly flails his arms up and down, imitating the wings of a chicken. "Chip-chip-chip."
"That isn't going to work. I'm not a little kid." She bites on a piece of meat, aggressively chewing on it. She tries to keep ignoring the orc... but she isn't able to contain her desire to retaliate. "And I'm not a freaking chicken! Stop that!"
"Chip-chip, I'm Juliette the chicken, chip-chip."
Juliette's amazonian body vibrates in contained rage. "Grr! I said I'm not a-"
"Chip-chip-cheeep!"
"That's enough!" She stands up from the table, looking straight at the orc's red eyes and furiously grabbing the collar of his shirt. "Fine, we'll fight! And when I win I'll have you telling every guest in here that captain Juliette is the strongest woman in Malena and definitely NOT a chicken!"
"Gahaha, deal!" Orok smirks.
The captain roughly drags the orc ambassador toward the outdoor gardens of the castle. A tranquil, beautiful place completely filled with plants of different colors and scents, fireflies restlessly roam across the large area and birds relax on the various tall trees scattered around. A fountain lays in the middle of the garden, water energetically flowing down with utterly calming sounds... Luckily, the place seems empty at the moment...
Juliette and Orok stop at an empty grassy space close to the fountain, their improvised wrestling ring for tonight. They stand at a small distance, one in front of the other. "You are going to regret this." The blonde huffs, stretching her strong arms and cracking her knuckles.
"Nah, I don't think so. I really want to lick those abs!" The orc chuckles, removing his vest and rolling up the sleeves of his shirt.
"S-stop talking about my... abs like that!" Juliette blushes yet again, clenching her fists. "They are not supposed to be... attractive... they are supposed to be proof of how strong I am!"
"Well, I think abs are cute! I like all kinds of tummies, to be honest. My sla-, assistant has a really adorable-"
"ENOUGH TALKING!" Juliette shouts, adopting a well-trained combat position. "Ready?!"
"Sure! Gaha, let's go!"
