Page 18 of Charmed By the Orc

I chuckled, a deep rumble that vibrated through my chest. “Pancakes it is, then.” I reluctantly released her from my embrace, though the warmth of her presence lingered.

As I rose from the bed, I glanced back at Sammy, her hair tousled and a sleepy smile playing on her lips. The sunlight caught the glimmer in her eyes, and I felt a swell of pride. She was mine, and I was determined to protect and cherish her always.

I stood in the doorway with just one problem. I had no idea what pancakes were.

Sammy

Two hours and four tries later, Guruk and I figured out how to make pancakes from scratch. Having used only boxed mush before, I didn’t think it’d be that hard to determine the flour to sugar ratio.

I was wrong.

With flour covering us from head to toe, we sat to a quite breakfast of pancakes and eggs. The latter being a far simpler fair to cook than the pancake fiasco. Even though it was closer to lunch time, I wouldn’t trade the sweet hours beforehand for anything.

At last, I had a home, and a love to match. If only I could see my friends again, my life would be perfect. Sure I couldn’t be a gamer in this world, although I’d bet the villagers might enjoy some tabletop fair. But I had so many passions I’d love topursue that when weighed against the gift of finding Guruk, the streamer career seemed little trouble to give up.

Setting aside the meal, I rose from the table and stood beside his chair. Taking his hands in mine, I said, “Thank you for giving me a place to call home.”

“It’s always yours.” He rose, tugging me into his chest. “I love you, Samantha.”

“It’s Sammy.” I laughed and rubbed my nose against his skin. “And I love you too.”

The sweetness of the moment rolled through me like the warmest of summer suns, until…

A crash from outside drew our attention. We looked at one another and then raced each other to the door. Our thief had returned, and this time, the creature was fully visible.

As we ran toward the pen, a small being no bigger than a rabbit was floating above Inara’s head. It had a squat body and long limbs with a hooked nose and large eyes.

“An imp!” Guruk cried, grabbing his ax by the pen’s outer fence. “I’d suspected as much.”

The creature didn’t halt its movement, even as Inara swatted at it with her horn. With a cry of victory, it wrapped its grubby hand around the alicorn’s horn.

“No!” I shouted, hoping to catch the imp’s attention. But it ignored me, fighting with Inara who bucked and whinnied her indignation.

“Get away, you!” Guruk hopped the fence and rushed toward the trespasser. With a yelp and a pop, the thief disappeared again. “Blasted, fiend. You won’t be getting far this time.”

By the time I caught up, the imp had vanished and my orc was consoling the alircorn.

“Don’t worry, Inara.” He patted her neck. “Now, we know what he looks like, Sheriff will be on him in no time.”

Her horn glowed in what I imagined was agreement. The soft purplish light cascaded along the grass, highlighting sparkles in all the green.

“What’s this?” I knelt to investigate, running my hand over the blades to catch the tiny specks and holding them to the light.

Guruk circled my wrist in a delicate grip. “Hmm, looks like alicorn dust. Hope our thief didn’t run off with any.”

“Alicorn…” My mind whirled. A churning kicked up in my stomach. “Dust?”

“Yes.” He knelt beside me, rubbing the dust along my skin. “Its said to have magical properties.”

I muttered aloud as a memory rose to the surface, “You need to collect the magical dust from its horn to achieve your mission.”

“What’s that, Sammy?”

“The game!” I cried, jumping to my feet. “I was supposed to collect the dust.”

“Whoa now.” Guruk gripped my shoulders. “What are you talking about exactly?”

Inara nudged my side as if giving me support. I pet her neck, the dust from her horn glowing on the back of my hand. Excitement tore through me. “In the game I was playing with my friends, the mission was to find an alicorn and collect the dust from its horn.”

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