Ascension of the Monster Queen

The young Orc smiled back at Nessa after taking a deep breath and feeling relaxed.

"He is not my real father, he took me in after he left his village, we were not brainwashed by them as yet, I had no home, no where to go and I was very hungry, he told me that I was the son he never had, he loved me like his own but once we started doing that guy's bidding, everything changed."

"I tried my hardest to fight it and succeeded little by little, but all of his emotions to fight it were not enough, everytime he managed to break free from the guy's grip, he would literally torture him using his feelings against him and pull him back under his control, after that there was nothing I could have done to help, if only I could, he would still be alive..." He said and Nessa sighed before turning to face Zilrud who smiled at her while holding onto his nephew's arm.

"I believe you blame yourself, am I correct?" He sighed and lowered his head in response to her question.

"He asked me to look after you guys, what happened to him wasn't your fault and he wouldn't want you to blame yourself, none of this was any of you guy's fault, he loved you until his last breath, he left them with you, you are a brave young Orc and I trust that you will understand that, these things happen in life, how you deal with it is up to you, I am going to tell you one last time, it's not your fault, are you listening to me?" He looked at her and smiled when she asked.

"I understand loud and clear, thank you, lady Nessa, I really appreciate it," He responded and she smiled.

"Please take a seat; it's almost night, and the food will be ready in a few minutes," They sat down, and she sighed before lowering her head.

'They used his feeling of having a good home against him, they are worse than monsters, I will deal with them myself if necessary, I will not let what happened to the Orcs happen again,' Nessa thought, and Liya looked at her.

"Lady Nessa," She said and Nessa looked at her then smiled.

"What is it, Liya?" She asked.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yes, I am fine, don't worry, let's just finish cooking, I am hungry," She responded and Liya chuckled then they continued cooking.

They finished cooking after nightfall and everyone took their fair share of the food, but Nessa noticed the Orcs weren't moving an inch and smiled.

"Hey, come on, grab your things and get your food," She said and the young Orc looked at Zilrud before returning his gaze to Nessa.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Yes, I am sure, come on, get going," She responded and he smiled, then the Orcs began taking their food and Nessa exhaled deeply.

"Lady Nessa, please go eat," Dalia said as she grabbed Nessa by her arm and pulled her under the tent them placed her to sit down and Nessa smiled.

"Dig in, I know you're hungry, but even if you're not, you should eat, you worked hard today," Dalia said before sitting down, and Nessa chuckled before starting to eat her dinner.

"Ah, this tastes so good, nice and warm," mumbled Nessa, and they laughed.

"What is it? Why are you laughing?" She asked.

"You were really hungry, the way you came off just now was funny," Liya responded and Nessa smiled.

"Well, I was indeed really hungry," Nessa said and they nodded when she noticed Riley was eating the food, but while doing so, she looked as though she was lost in space and Nessa had an idea as to why she was like that.

"Riley, are you okay?" Nessa asked and Riley glanced at her then smiled and nodded.

"Yes, I am okay, the food tastes really good, it's somehow nice and soothing, thank you all," She responded.

"You are welcome, you need to relax and get some fresh air when you are done, it will help clear your mind from certain things," Nessa said and Riley looked at her, understanding what she meant.

"Yeah, I know, and I'll get some fresh air, I think it'll be good for me this time," She replied, and Nessa and the others nodded, knowing she was concerned about what happened to Kurson and whether or not he was okay.

While eating, Nessa noticed Zilrud's nephew was spacing out and she sighed.

"What are you thinking about?" Nessa asked and he glanced at her and smiled.

"Just about our future," He responded.

"Then stop thinking about it, I've already made my decision," She said as he stared at her and the others looked at her, wondering what decision she had made about the Orcs.

"What decision, Lady Nessa?" Dalia inquired, and Nessa looked at her before turning to the chief and chiefess as Fana approached them and bowed her head.

"I believe we should begin discussing the courses we will be taking," Fana suggested.

"That sounds like a good idea, but we need to know which path we will take," The chief spoke up, and the chiefess agreed.

"How about we get right to it, lady Nessa?" The chiefess asked, and Nessa smiled.

"I think we should start as well, we can't afford to waste any time, but let me finish my food first, I'm still a little hungry and need to regain most of my energy," Nessa responded, and they smiled at her.

"It's okay, we understand, you used a lot during your fights and got hurt, you should rest a little, take the next couple of days easy, lately you have been training a lot and I know that helps in many more ways than one but you have to think about yourself a little, am I right guys?," The chiefess asked.

"I am with her on this, she is right in every possible way, lady Nessa, there is nothing wrong with taking things a bit slow," Riki responded and Nessa smiled before she continued eating her food.