“I… we… well… um…” Luna stuttered.
Slowly the young girl moved her hands up along Luna’s head before Luna grabbed and held them in place.
“Please don’t be scared, I’m not going to hurt you,” Luna pleaded softly.
The child showed a nervous expression to that as Luna gently let her hands go, the young girl then slowly moving her hands up to the top of Luna’s head, where they came in contact with her antennae. The child gasped as she felt the insect appendages on the monster’s head and trembled in fear.
“You… you’re a monster!”
“Please,” Luna begged. “I promise I’m not going to hurt you, don’t scream or cry, please don’t cry! I just wanted to help you. I didn’t want you to get hurt or to drown! I just wanted to help! Please don’t cry, don’t cry, little girl! Just… just please don’t start crying!”
Luna started sobbing uncontrollably as the child showed concern before the young girl slowly moved her hands back down to Luna’s face, touching the cheeks and mouth to get a picture of the sorrowful expression on the butterfly monster’s face. She could hear Luna crying, and could feel the facial movements showing the monster’s remorseful frown.
“I just wanted to help you,” Luna wept. “I didn’t want you to get hurt or to drown. I’m sorry, please don’t scream at me! I’m not a bad monster, I’m not!”
“Are you crying?” the child asked softly. Luna whimpered and nodded, with the child feeling the monster’s tears on her hands. “You’re… you’re sad?”
“I’m sorry,” Luna whimpered. “I don’t want to scare you. I just wanted to help you. You were going to drown in the river, so I flew over and lifted you up. I just wanted to help.”
The child just stared at her with a stunned gaze while slowly moving her hands around Luna’s cheeks.
“I was saved… by a monster?” Luna sniffled and nodded while Falla watched the young child carefully. “Why did you save me?”
“What do you mean why? You were going to drown. I couldn’t just let that happen.”
The child looked at her curiously then cocked her head slightly to the side in question.
“But I’m a human.”
“I don’t care,” Luna said shaking her head. “You’re still so young, you didn’t deserve to die, that wouldn’t be right.”
The child remained silent for a while then slowly looked to where she heard Falla from then back to Luna.
“Who are you two? What are you two?”
“My name is Luna, and this is my sister, Falla,” Luna said softly. “We’re… we’re known as giant butterflies to you humans.”
The child looked at her with wonder as Luna helped her stand again.
“Butterflies? You’re a butterfly monster?”
“Yes, we are,” Luna said gently. “But we don’t harm humans, really. We’re not going to hurt you at all. I’ve never harmed a human in my entire life.”
Slowly the child reached her hands out and felt Luna’s head then down to her shoulders, the girl then walking around the monster and feeling along her body to her wings. She showed a curious expression as she gently ran her hands along Luna’s wing, with the sisters watching her as she used her hands to feel out the shape and size of the wings.
“Wow, you have wings.”
“Yeah, we are butterfly monsters after all,” Falla pointed out.
As the child felt along Luna’s wing to the edges Falla watched as the young girl showed a curious expression while she made out the body and form of her savior.
“Look, kid,” Falla said glancing away. “We’re just going to go now, okay? We’re not going to hurt you or anything.”
“But, Falla,” Luna said shaking her head. “We can’t leave her here. It’s not safe.”
“What do you expect us to do?” Falla asked. “We can’t just take her with us and keep her, not to mention that if we’re seen with her like this we’re dead. I mean look at her.”
Luna stood up and looked down at the young girl who was looking back and forth between the sounds of their voices. Falla shook her head and looked at her sister while gesturing to the child.
“She’s got blood all over her from her dead family, and we’re two monsters. If any humans see us like this they’re going to think we killed her family, they’ll hunt us down and behead us for sure.”
“But… we can’t just leave her alone,” Luna pleaded. “She won’t last long out in the wild all by herself.”
Falla groaned and looked up while holding a hand over her eyes.
“Luna, I get that you want to help her, but we’re not the ones who can.”
Luna looked down to the young girl with concern, the child looking up to her with watery eyes that didn’t focus on the monster at all.
“Why are you trying to help me?” the girl asked softly.
“Because I don’t want you to get hurt out here,” Luna answered with a small smile.
“But I’m a human, and I’m a girl, why would any monster care about me?”
Luna knelt down and gently held the girl by the shoulders.
“I’m sorry monsters ate your family, I really am,” she said softly. “But I’m not like them. I’m not a bad monster, really. When I saw you fall into the water I knew I had to save you, it was the right thing to do.”
The child looked towards the sound of her voice with wonder as Luna gently wiped away the girl’s tears.
“Please don’t be afraid of me, I just want to help you.”
“You… you do?”
“I do,” Luna said with a warm smile.
“What is wrong with you?” Falla asked with disbelief. Luna and the child looked to her as the butterfly monster was shaking her head slowly. “Are you crazy? Are you trying to get us killed? Look at her. If we’re seen by other humans with her then they’ll try to butcher us. We’re already in danger near humans as it is, but having a child with us? That’s insane!”
“But Falla…” Luna said worriedly.
“But nothing!” Falla shouted out. “I get you want to help the kid, and you did, you saved her from drowning. But we can’t help her anymore. We can’t be seen with her, and we certainly can’t protect her from monsters out here in The Outerlands, we’re not fighters, remember?”
Luna looked to the child then to her sister with hopeful eyes.
“But, what about Daniel and his friends? Can’t they help her?”
Falla paused for a moment then jumped with a gasp.
“Wait a minute, Daniel!” she exclaimed before looking around quickly. “What if those two man-eaters find him? Dammit, we need to find him before they do, he can’t make good on his promise to me if he’s dead.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Luna said looking back to the young child. “They can protect this girl, they can help her.”
“What are you talking about?” the girl asked.
“We know people,” Luna said hopefully. “A human just like you and a group of monsters who travel together. They’re strong, and friendly, they can help you.”
“Help her?” Falla said in disbelief. “Luna, we need to find Daniel so he can-” she started before looking at the young child curiously. Luna watched her with a whimper as the young girl turned towards Falla’s voice, with the butterfly girl eyeing her over carefully for a moment before a curious smile came across her face.
“So he can help this young girl, yes.”
“Really?” Luna asked. “Then you agree we should help her?”
Falla nodded slowly while eyeing over the young human. She walked over and gently held the child by the shoulders, gently brushing the girl’s hair before looking to her sister with an eager smile. She glanced to the child then kneeled down to face her.
“My dear child, what’s your name?” she asked gently.
“Emily. Emily Winterbloom,” the girl said softly.
“What a lovely name,” Falla praised. “Emily, would excuse us for one moment? I need to talk to my sister
about… a personal matter. It won’t take but a moment.”
Emily nodded slowly as Falla stood up and took hold of Luna’s hand, walking her further away from the child while Luna looked back to the young girl then to her sister with a curious expression.
“Talk to me about what?”
Falla led her away from the girl then turned to her with a bright smile.
“Luna,” she whispered eagerly. “If we keep this girl alive and well, and tell Daniel we’re trying to help her find a new home, he may think we’re good monsters. He might trust us then.”
Luna looked at her curiously then up as she seemed to think about that, with Falla waiting for a response with an expectant smile.
“Um… so?” Luna asked looking back to her sister. Falla show a dull expression then glanced to the human girl who was looking down at the grass while holding her hands together.
“Luna, listen carefully,” Falla said slowly. “If we can get Daniel to think we’re trustworthy we might get a chance to be near him when he’s alone. Think about it. We’ll stay with them the entire time we’re looking for a home for this girl, he’ll think we’re good monsters who only care about the child, and he’ll let his guard down. Once he does we can nab him and get his seed.”
“But what about Triska and the other girls?” Luna asked shaking her head. “They won’t let us get him, they never do.”
“Not at first, but if we play the part of babysitters for this girl they may let their guard down as well. This is our chance, this girl is our ticket to getting a free ride on Daniel,” Falla said with a wink. Luna thought about it then looked to Emily.
“But… what about her?”
“Like you said,” Falla said with a glance to Emily. “With Daniel and his friends she’ll be safe. And I’m sure they’ll find a home she can stay at during their travels. The important thing is that we keep Emily with us to get closer to Daniel. Once we get his seed we can leave her with him, they’ll be fine.” Luna looked back to her with wonder as Falla nodded with a sly smile on her face.
“Daniel will think we’re noble monsters if we take care of a child, and with that we can get closer to him.”
“So… we use Emily to get closer to Daniel?” Luna asked worriedly. Falla smiled weakly and shook her head.
“I wouldn’t say use,” she reasoned. “We are protecting her from danger and helping her find a safe home. We’re helping her, Luna, and she’s going to help us too. Even if she doesn’t know it.”
“Well, okay,” Luna said softly. “As long as she’ll be safe.”
“Don’t worry,” Falla reassured her. “Daniel and his group will watch over her, they’ll find her a new home.”
“Okay, so what should we do first?”
“We need to be nice to Emily and get on her good side,” Falla said looking to the human girl with a smirk. “If she speaks highly of us to Daniel then that will help us get even closer to him faster.”
The sisters nodded then walked back over to Emily, the girl looking towards the sound of footsteps in the grass approaching her.
“Emily, I’m so sorry about what happened to you,” Falla said gently as she knelt down in front of the young girl. Emily showed a saddened expression as Falla wiped a tear away from the girl’s cheek. “You poor thing, it just broke our hearts to hear what you went through. It’s a miracle you made this far on your own, you’re so lucky.” Emily nodded and looked down with a whimper before Falla smiled a bit and held a hand on the girl’s shoulder.
“Emily, I know we’re monsters, and that you must hate monsters after what happened to your family. But, please believe us when I say that my sister and I want to help you.” Emily looked towards the sound of her voice as Falla gently took hold of the girls’ hands with hers. “We’re not bad monsters, Emily. I pray you can believe me when I say that. My sister saved you from being washed away in the river because she wanted you to live, we both do. I don’t know if you could find it in your heart to trust two monsters like us, but please, let us help you.”
“You want to help me?” Emily asked softly.
“Of course I do,” Falla promised, holding a hand to her chest. “We giant butterflies adore children. We hope to have daughters of our own someday after all. We may not be strong on our own, but we know of some travelers who are. If you’ll allow us, we’ll help you find them, they’re not too far from here. They can help us find you a new home, one where you’ll be safe again.”
Emily remained silent as she just stared in Falla’s direction, with Falla glancing away with impatience for a moment before looking back at the child with a gentle smile.
“Please, we promise to watch over you like you were our own daughter.”
Emily looked down for a moment then back toward Falla.
“You mean it?” she asked worriedly.
“Emily, I would never lie to you. You can trust us.”
Emily whimpered then quickly hugged the butterfly girl, with Falla holding her with a sly smile.
“Okay, if you say so,” the young girl said softly.
“There there, we’ll take good care of you. I promise,” Falla said glancing to Luna with a wink. Luna nodded with a warm smile at them, with Falla then standing up and looking down to Emily with a smirk.
“Now then, we need to find Daniel and his friends. They’re going to be our protection from those bad monsters out here.”
“The man-eaters,” Emily breathed out with fear.
“Yes, but don’t worry, we’ll be flying up over the land, they won’t be able to get you. You’ll be perfectly safe.”
“Flying?” Emily asked. She trembled and looked down while holding her arms around herself. Luna smiled gently at the girl and walked over to her, kneeling down and holding her close.
“It’s okay, I’ll carry you myself. It’ll be fun,” Luna said gently as she picked the girl up into her arms, with the child’s legs hanging over one arm while her body was held close with the other. Emily clung to Luna tightly and trembled a bit before Luna nudged her head with her nose. The child looked up towards Luna’s face as the butterfly girl smiled gently at her.
“Don’t worry, I won’t let you go. I’ll take it nice and slow for you, okay?”
Emily nodded then held onto Luna tightly. Luna fluttered her wings then gently took off into the air, with Emily clinging to her nervously as she felt them rising up higher into the air. Falla chuckled then followed after, watching as Luna carried the human child in her arms while they flew off in the direction Daniel’s caravan had gone earlier. As they flew over the forest and up into the air Falla had a slick smile on her face, her wings fluttering behind her as she kept pace with her sister.
‘Once Daniel thinks I’m some kindhearted girl, he’ll let me get closer to him out of trust. Then his seed will be mine.’
*****
Rolling along a worn path a caravan was moving at a steady pace, being pulled by a single white horse with a human at the reins. Daniel watched as Lucky continued on the path of dirt and grass while trees and hills passed by on both sides, the sun shining through some clouds above as the travelers made their way across the land.
Inside the caravan Triska was looking down at a map she had set on the floor, with Specca beside her and going over their planned route through The Outerlands. Alyssa was sitting on the other side of the map and looking at their path while drumming her fingers against the skull ornament on her staff at her side. Next to her Squeak was tilting her head curiously as she looked at the map, not seeming to understand what anything on it meant too well as she listened to her friends talking.
“So we’re not too far off from the village of Eston,” Specca concluded. “But we’re still a ways off from reaching the elven forest.”
“This is taking so long to get there,” Triska complained. “Especially if we zig and zag around The Outerlands like this.” She traced out their planned route with her finger, which was anything but a straight line.
“A straight
shot would be idea for time,” Specca admitted. “However we need to explore more of The Outerlands on our way there. Remember, you came across an ant girl nest where one wasn’t supposed to be. There could potentially be other monster races along the way to the elven forest we could find, and every bit helps Daniel’s cause.”
“The more ground we cover, the more monsters we could find,” Alyssa reasoned. “Still, this route is going to add much more time to reach the elves, here’s hoping we find others who can help us.” She blinked then showed a dull expression as she glanced to Specca.
“Um, Specca?” The girls looked to her as she pointed to something. “Tell me we’re not traveling way out there just for a lake.” The girls looked to what she was pointing at, a lone lake on the map that was far off from their route.
“Well,” Specca replied sheepishly while glancing away from the girls. “We need to explore everywhere we can, right?”
“That’s going to take two days to get out there,” Alyssa mentioned. “And another two days to get back to our planned route, and there’s nothing else remotely close to it."
“Leave no stone unturned, as they say,” Specca commented with closed eyes.
“Then why are we ignoring here, here, and here?” Triska questioned as she noticed that Specca’s route swerved and avoided three areas by a large margin. Specca glanced to the map then looked up with a shrug.
“To dry and barren there.”
“Specca!” Alyssa shouted out, with the nixie flinching then looking to her nervously. “You’re just having us go anywhere that has a river or lake near it. We can’t limit ourselves to areas that have water.”
“But it’s a good route though, I worked really hard on it,” Specca whined.
“We’re also missing this place to check out,” Triska mentioned while pointing to a section of the map.
“Here too,” Alyssa added while pointing to another.
Squeak pointed to another part of the map that had been carefully avoided by the nixie’s route with a squeak.
Specca looked around at the girls with a flustered huff and shook her head.
“But… but we can’t go everywhere out there, there’s just not enough time… we can’t…”
Chronicles of Eden - Act III Page 5
