Skin Deep: Epilogue
#7 of Skin Deep
Seems I have been getting some feedback on this story. A lot of people have been messaging me and asking why I ended this here. The thing is, I didn't plan on ending the series, just this segment. I have a few other stories I want to write and then I will come back to our trio. However, just to whet your appetite, I wrote this short epilogue to give you a little preview of what is to come...enjoy!
EPILOGUE
Druhma looked over the cart that carried the extent of her worldly possessions. Most of the things were related to her chosen career. Pots, pans, ladles and more were stacked as neatly as possible in the back of the cart's cargo bed. Rusula, the heavily muscled Orcess from the slave block, pressed a cone-shaped funnel to Druhma's abdomen and listened to the smaller end. The plump Orc rubbed her belly on the other side from Rusula's head and cast her mind back to the term the healers in Ogrimmar had used as they condemned her to exile.
Barren. It was an ugly, dirty word that destroyed both her life and her heart with one short utterance. Unable to provide offspring to bolster the ranks of the Clan, the elders had exercised a little used law and sent her packing into the wilderness. Druhma had wandered for months till she ran across a raiding party in the forest. Convincing the party leader to take her in was relatively easy and it wasn't long before Druhma found herself in Shady Vale. From there she had worked her way to her ownership of the bakery by falling back on something she loved to do, cooking. The years rolled by and Druhma gradually began to accept the rather vicious hand that fate, or nature, had dealt to her. Once in a while, when her bed was empty and her mind drifted, she would look back and wonder what life would have been like if she could have had children. Those were the nights when she awoke the next morning in a pool of tears. Now, she smiled and continued to rub her stomach as Rusula stood.
"Yep. Yer 'bout six fortnights. Loud 'n clear."
Three months. Exactly the time she had first bedded Ren and Belune. The memory of that night still sent a delicious tingle through her loins. She smiled even wider and thrilled down to her toes when she felt the small nudge against her circling hand as the new life stirred inside her. There was no doubt as to who was the father, so Ren and Belune were in for a BIG surprise. As the Orcess continued to grin, Rusula packed up her medical tools and smiled at Druhma.
"Evry'on knows who tha daddy must be. Whatcha gonna do now?"
Druhma reached for a folded paper in the pocket of her cloak. As her fingers stroked the parchment, she smiled back at the brawny Orc.
"I think I'm going to pay him a visit, once I'm out of here..."
Rusula chuckled and gave her a quick squeeze.
"Good luck t'ya. Gimme a holler if'n yer ever back this way."
"I will Rusula, thank you."
The muscular female nodded and walked away, leaving Druhma alone with her thoughts. The busty Orc pulled the folded paper from her pocket and smiled as she remembered how she received it. Somewhere out in the woods, Ren had waylaid a group of his old students and forced one of them to hand carry a note. Druhma had been quite surprised when the towering young Tauren named Rhuno had approached her hesitantly and shyly handed her the paper. That had been a week ago from now, and a week after the couple had left. Druhma opened the paper and read the words again.
Dearest Druhma,
_ I hope this letter finds you well and in anticipation of our upcoming reunion. Ren and I have been very successful in our search for a new home. Using the money we made from selling the Pyrestone and Amethyst from the cave, we were able to buy a large inn located on a road between StoneTalon Peak and Zoram'gar Outpost. Ren has included instructions on how to find us._
_ We both miss you every day. Ren and I lie in our bed at night and wonder how you are doing. In the last few months we have grown fond of the times we spent with you. This inn seems so empty without you here. We have decided that you have become family, and we want you to come home. So, if you can, please make haste and come to us. We have plenty of room for your belongings. Ren jokes and hopes you will help with the cooking but I tell him I don't care if you don't want to cook, I just want you here. He laughs and tells me that is his wish as well. He misses you so much._
_ So I will sit here with my big belly and wait till I can hold you close again. That will be the day when our family is whole. Till then, be careful and always remember..._
_ We love you._
_ Belune and Ren_
Tears fell like gentle rain on the paper, already stained from when she had read it earlier. To belong to a family, to be loved, it was what she had always wanted. Now here were the two people she had come to love extending a hand and offering her fondest dreams. She carefully folded the note and the accompanying map and put it back in her pocket. A gentle cough from behind had her spin in place to see two familiar figures, one of which held a bundle in his arms.
"Brulliard! Sergic! What are you doing here?"
The Belf mage cradled the bundle in his arms and smiled at Druhma.
"We wondered if you wanted to meet the newest addition to our family before you left."
The Orcess leaned in close and looked down into the bundle. A small, chocolate furred face yawned sleepily and gazed back at her with startling green eyes. Druhma laughed and looked up at the pair.
"What a beautiful baby! You picked a Tauren?"
"Yes we did. Her name is Rennabel."
The Orc gave him a knowing grin.
"Rennabel, eh? So you miss them too?"
"Always, my dear. One cannot taste something so good and pure without longing for it for a very long time afterwards."
Sergic smiled and nodded his head at Druhma's stomach.
"I understand your family is about to get bigger as well."
The Orcess smiled and rubbed her stomach.
"Yes it is. I was told a long time ago I couldn't have children. Now I have been blessed."
"Blessed issa good way'a sayin it!"
The trio turned to see Lirrak strolling up the street. The Goblin stopped and patted Druhma gently on the stomach, and then smiled up at her.
"I been readin bout tha Shield what got Bel preggers. It were said tha Shield only need be close by ta work its magic!"
Brulliard frowned at him playfully.
"We can tell you are excited, Lirrak. Your accent is atrocious."
Lirrak ignored the mage and continued to speak to Druhma.
"Now Bels gotta keep tha Shield on'er body causa what tha demon did but ya only needed ta be nearby fer the magic ta plant'a seed inya."
Druhma smiled down at him.
"The magic may have helped, but Ren did all the planting."
"Yah, yah. No big secret there. Ya gonna go see'em?"
"Yes I am. They need to know."
"Well g'luck t'ya!"
Brulliard bounced his baby Tauren and nodded in the direction of the gate.
"May we walk you to the gate, my dear?"
"Thank you, yes."
The group turned and started up the street. Druhma hooked one hand in the halter of the closest horse and led the cart beside her. Before long, as they passed the Rod & Cup, Atog, the huge, double-headed Ogre, emerged from a side street and headed towards the entrance to the inn. Behind the enormous figure two smaller forms trailed along, each wearing an ornate silver collar with a small chain leading back to the bracelet on Atog's wrist. Druhma recognized the plump Tauren who normally accompanied the Ogre but the second figure stopped her in her tracks with surprise. It was the same Goblin prostitute that had been bothering Ren for weeks. The diminutive figure bounced along happily, grinning and rubbing her hand on the chubby Tauren's back. Druhma turned and looked at Lirrak in shock. The Goblin just shrugged his shoulders.
"What kinna say? She volunteered fer it!"
The Orcess just shook her head in disbelief and kept walking up the street. When the group reached the gate, she crawled up in the seat of the cart with a grunt and turned to the rest of the party. Sergic stood with his arm around Brulliard's shoulders, gazing down into the bundle he held and whispering in the Belf mage's ear. Druhma had heard her customers talking over the past month. Apparently, the loss of Mal'therius and Gareth on the town Council had formed a huge power vacuum. Brulliard had stepped forth and seized the reins, now that he was one of the most powerful mages in the village. Under the Belf mage's directives, the Council had foregone their ambitious plans for conquering Azeroth and settled for keeping the current status quo. With Brulliard's new status came recognition and the addition of Rennabel to his family. Seeing the adoration in the eyes of Sergic and Blood elf mage, Druhma held little doubt as to how well the child would be loved.
Lirrak stood a little apart from the couple, watching them fawn over their new charge. He was smiling and rubbing his hands together in happiness. Druhma knew from talking with her customers that the Goblin had renewed his relationship with Rusula. Every night for the last two weeks, Lirrak had been dropping by her quarters and staying through till morning. Goldoon, her heavyset Orc neighbor, had complained constantly about Rusula demanding, in great detail, that her "hubby" and the Goblin service her throughout the entire night. The Orcess smiled as she saw Lirrak glance over his shoulder in the same direction that Rusula had left earlier. With a chuckle, Druhma snapped the reins to get the cart going. The sudden movement captured the group's attention as they looked up at her. She smiled and waved.
"You take care now, ok?"
The rest of the group all waved and shouted their good-byes as Druhma passed through the gate and started across the plain. As she settled into the gentle swaying of the cart, she pressed her palm to her tummy and smiled.
Somewhere out there, her family was waiting.