Chronicles of Eden - Act III

by Alexander Gordon

  The girls just looked at her with dull stares.

  “Leave no stone unturned, as they say,” Alyssa repeated flatly.

  “But, Triska,” Specca nervously said. “You just said it’s taking a long time to reach the elven forest. If we extend our route to all of those places that’ll double our time at the very least.”

  “And in doing so we may find more proof for Daniel’s case with the queen,” Triska replied with a raised eyebrow at the nixie. “I want to get to the elven forest soon, but I don’t want to miss an opportunity to help Daniel along the way.”

  Specca stammered something then looked to Alyssa with a nervous smile.

  “But, Alyssa, we don’t have enough provisions to last an extended trip as it is. If we change the route we won’t be able to stock up on supplies in some of the towns when we need them, and I know you don’t care for little meals such as simple sandwiches and water.”

  “We have enough food,” Alyssa retorted. “I can get more food from home, Triska can hunt for food, we’re not going to starve out here. And yes, I don’t care for what Triska considers to be a full meal-”

  “Hey!” Triska barked out at her. “I don’t see you whipping up an elaborate spread every day!”

  Alyssa paused for a moment then continued.

  “However, this isn’t a joyride out here, we’re helping Daniel with his quest, remember? For that I’ll deal with Triska’s poor cooking.”

  “Poor cooking? Excuse me if I don’t use magic to make everything perfect!”

  “Aw, you think my cooking is perfect? That’s so sweet of you to say,” Alyssa giggled with a happy smile at the girl. Triska growled and reached back for her sword, with Specca grabbing her arm with both hands and struggling to keep the girl from unsheathing her blade.

  “But… but… what about Squeak’s nest?” Specca asked while trying to hold Triska. “We can’t take too long getting to the elves and then to Rockhelm, Squeak’s nest is moving closer to Ashwood as we speak, remember?”

  “And we need more proof for Daniel’s case to show the queen of Rockhelm!” Triska yelled out at her. “Which we can get by searching all the areas we can on our way to the elven forest. Now let go of me so I can show Alyssa how my sword tastes!”

  “Triska, stop, no swordplay in the caravan!” Specca pleaded nervously.

  Alyssa shook her head then looked to Squeak who was eyeing the map with worried eyes.

  “We have time, Squeak,” Alyssa assured gently, with the ant girl glancing to her with a quiet squeak. “We have time, so we need to use it to get as much proof for Daniel’s case as we can for his queen.”

  Squeak nodded and looked down to the map while Triska finally gave up and yanked her hand away from Specca with a grunt. Triska glanced to Specca then to Alyssa with a scoff before looking down to the map.

  “We need all the help we can get for this, so we search anywhere we can. We need to explore every option we have, the elves alone won’t be enough for us.”

  “Squeak’s nest has time still,” Alyssa reminded them. “It would take months at the very least for them to be in range of Ashwood, we need to make good use of our time and find any races we can to help us.”

  Specca looked around at the group then down to the map with a pout.

  “But those other areas are so dry,” she whined.

  “Specca,” Alyssa and Triska sternly said together, with a squeak from Squeak as well. Specca flinched then nodded with a sigh.

  “Fine, we’ll change our route to cover more ground,” she said in defeat.

  Triska nodded then glanced up to Alyssa, the witch watching her with a smirk on her face.

  “Anything else you want to compliment me on?” Alyssa asked sweetly. Triska gave her a small glare for a moment then smiled and leaned back on a pillow against the wall.

  “Yeah, there is,” she replied. “I’m impressed you’re taking being picked to go last so well.” Alyssa looked at her with a frustrated scowl as Triska crossed her arms and twitched her eyebrow with an arrogant smile.

  “I thought you would be rolling around on the floor, crying and whining about how unfair it was, but you haven’t done that. Good for you.”

  Alyssa trembled a bit with anger then glanced towards the back of the caravan, with the other girls looking over as well. Near the back wall was Daniel’s section, with his bag full of books set near the corner while his sleeping blanket was neatly folded and resting with the pillow for the day. Alyssa gulped silently then glanced to Triska, seeing the teen looking at the boy’s sleeping area with a proud smile as she knew what tonight held for her.

  “So what if I was picked last?” Alyssa snapped. “There’s nothing wrong with saving the best for last.”

  The other girls looked to her with annoyance before Triska smiled smugly at her.

  “Yeah, keep telling yourself that.”

  Alyssa clutched her staff in her hands tightly with a quiet growl then looked down at the map, trying to get her mind off of being chosen to go last in the girls’ solution to their unresolved feelings for Daniel.

  At the front of the caravan Daniel glanced back to seeing the girls sitting together, and thinking about what they had come up with to settle their fight over him peacefully. The proposed solution was fair, although a bit unconventional, and each girl agreed to it completely, with Daniel giving the final okay as he felt there really wasn’t any fighting it. Each night the girls would alternate with who could sleep with him. And by sleep with him, it wasn’t meant to involve intimacy if the boy didn’t want to do anything like that. Essentially each girl would be sleeping under the same blanket as him, right next to him; however they couldn’t go further than that unless Daniel made the first move. They could talk to Daniel, but they couldn’t touch or hold him unless he initiated the same gesture first. This would give Daniel quality time with each girl, letting him see how he felt being close to them one at a time, and allow him to gauge how strongly he felt for each one. During these nights the other girls could not intervene or disturb them, no matter what may transpire, so a blanket would be hung down like a curtain to separate Daniel and the girl of the night from the other three. That meant if Daniel did indeed choose to go further with the girl he was with on that night the others would have to allow it since it was his choice.

  Of course, there were some rules the girls had to follow for this truce. For one, they had to sleep in clothing, not be naked under the sheets with Daniel. Secondly, they had to respect his feelings and decisions, and if he didn’t feel like getting more intimate with the girl at the time then that was final. Third, Alyssa and Specca were forbidden from using their charming magic on him, for obvious reasons. Fourth, Squeak couldn’t use her saliva as a way of enticing Daniel. If he kissed her, fine, otherwise she couldn’t use it as a means of seducing him. And of course she couldn’t use her pheromones to sway Daniel’s mind about her either. Lastly, if any of the girls broke the rules then they wouldn’t get another night with him like this again. This arrangement would continue until Daniel made his choice on who he really wanted to be with, with each girl hoping that he would pick them come their turn with him.

  Daniel slowly glanced from one girl to the other, still not sure if he felt true love for any of them rather than just a friendship. The contenders for his heart had played rock-paper-scissors to decide the lineup. Specca had won to go first, with Triska afterwards, then Squeak, and with Alyssa then going last.

  ‘Every night I’ll be sleeping close to one of them, it’s still so wild to think about. Oh man, how am I ever going to choose among them?’

  He looked to Specca, the nixie brushing her hair gently behind her ear as she was writing on the map again with a new route for their travels. Her tail curled up slightly behind her while she laid on her legs, her petal skirt just barely covering her private area from view. After a moment she glanced to him, seeing the boy watching her, and then smiled a little as a faint blush formed on her cheeks. She looked back down to
the map as she thought about the human she was in love with, and remembered her turn last night with him.

  *****

  Inside the caravan the lantern hung up in the middle provided the only light, with the day having come to an end as the travelers had stopped for the night. Lucky was resting in a bed of tall grass that Alyssa had prepared for him, with Daniel gently brushing the horse and thanking him for working so hard for them. Inside the cabin the girls were busy preparing for the night, with Specca and Triska hanging up a thick black blanket to separate the back end of the cabin from the other girls. Alyssa was spreading out her sleeping blanket on the floor near the front while Squeak once again just curled up into a ball with her blanket pulled over her, the girl’s antennae sticking out from under it along with her abdomen as the ant girl got comfortable in her typical sleeping position.

  “Alright, Specca, you ready for this?” Triska asked as they made sure the blanket was hung properly from a few hooks.

  “Oh yes, I’ve been counting the seconds until tonight,” Specca squealed eagerly as she pulled the blanket aside and looked at where she would be sleeping that night with Daniel, the boy’s sleeping mat and pillow set already along with a second pillow for Specca.

  “You do know he snores at night, right?” Triska reminded.

  “Yes, Triska,” Specca quipped with a cocky smile at the girl. “We’re all well aware of that little quirk of his. However that won’t stop me from being near him.”

  “Betchya she makes it five minutes then gives up,” Alyssa commented while fluffing her pillow.

  “Hey! I wouldn’t give up Daniel for anything, not even a little snoring.”

  “A little? Oh, that’s cute,” Triska said with a laugh.

  Specca glanced to her with annoyance then to see the other girls watching her questionably, with Squeak peeking out from her ball.

  “Say what you will,” she stated. “You will not scare me off from this in the least. And just to remind you all, when we go back there together none of you can disturb us, for anything.”

  “Unless the cabin catches on fire, we won’t bother you at all,” Triska reassured as she started unrolling her sleeping blanket.

  “You’d better not, or else you forfeit your own turns with him.”

  She looked back to her sleeping arrangements then quickly rushed over to the front of the cabin, peeking outside to seeing Daniel gazing up at the stars near Lucky.

  “And you’d better remember that you can’t touch Daniel unless he touches you first,” Triska reminded with a narrowed glance at the nixie. Specca giggled and held a hand to her cheek.

  “But if he does you can’t stop us from doing anything.”

  Triska dropped her pillow down and looked to Specca with a raised eyebrow.

  “What makes you think he will do something with you?”

  “I can hope,” Specca said softly. The other girls watched her curiously as she stared at Daniel with a small smile on her face. “I can hope, hope that he’ll warm up to me more. All I can do, all any of us can do, is hope.”

  The other girls glanced to each other from that remark then back to Specca as she watched Daniel with loving eyes. The nixie then jumped with a squeak and quickly scurried back towards the curtain, the other girls watching as she fidgeted her hands together in front of her before seeing Daniel climbing up onto the ride.

  “Okay, Lucky’s sound asleep,” he said as he entered the ride. “How are we all doing in here?”

  He stopped and looked around to seeing Triska, Alyssa, and Squeak watching him with small smiles while Specca was facing away still towards the black curtain.

  “We’re all set for the night too,” Triska said with a shrug.

  Daniel nodded slowly as the three girls just continued to stare at him then looked to seeing Specca still facing away from him.

  “Specca? Are you alright?”

  Specca nodded and glanced back to him with a timid expression, her tail swaying gently behind her as she tried to control her breathing.

  “Yes, just… a little nervous.”

  Daniel looked around at all the girls as Specca slowly turned to face him.

  “Um, are you all sure this is how you want to settle this? You’re… all okay with this?”

  “Y-Yes, I’m sure,” Specca quickly insisted. “I don’t mind that the others get their nights with you, just… as long as I get mine. I want us to have a chance with being together.”

  Triska and Alyssa glanced to each other then back to Daniel.

  “Unless you want to make your choice right now, then this is how it has to be,” Triska reasoned.

  “Yeah, this is the only fair way of letting you spend quality time with each of us,” Alyssa added with a weak smile. Squeak nodded with a few squeaks while still curled up in her ball. Daniel looked around at them then to Specca, the nixie jumping a bit then glancing to the curtain.

  “Do you… still want to sleep… with me, Daniel?”

  Daniel glanced around at all the girls then smiled a bit at the nixie.

  “Well, if you’re all okay with doing this, then I’ll give it a try as well.”

  Specca nodded quickly with an eager smile while the other girls looked to each other, all of them trying to hold back their frowns. Daniel started making his way back towards Specca, with the nixie then pulling the curtain aside and moving back into the private area. As the boy got to the curtain Triska looked to him with a small smile.

  “Daniel?” He stopped and looked back to seeing her lying down on her pillow with a gentle smile. “I love you, sleep well.”

  Daniel looked at her with wonder then to Alyssa as the witch lay back on her pillow as well.

  “I love you too, Daniel. Sweet dreams,” she said with a wink.

  Daniel smiled and glanced to Squeak, the ant girl squeaking at him a few times with a timid smile. The boy looked around at the three girls, seeming to hesitate as he opened his mouth to say something.

  “I know you can’t say it back, it’s okay,” Triska assured. “I just wanted to tell you. After all I’ve waited to say those words to you for so long.”

  “I’ll be dreaming of you all night, just like I always do,” Alyssa said with a cute smile as she curled up in her blanket.

  Squeak merely squeaked something as she peeked out from under her blanket, with one of her antennae poking out from under it as well.

  Daniel smiled at the girls then looked down as he tried to think of what to say, with Specca waiting on the other side of the curtain and listening for his response carefully. After a moment Daniel nodded and looked around at the girls.

  “Sleep well, all of you,” he said gently, then went behind the curtain. The other girls breathed out quietly then looked to each other with concern, none of them looking forward to playing the waiting game through Specca’s turn.

  Behind the curtain Specca was smiling bashfully at Daniel, her tail swaying gently behind her as she held her hands together in front of her. Daniel smiled at the girl while rubbing the back of his neck, glancing down to their sleeping area then to her again while feeling his heart beating faster at the thought of her being so close to him during the night.

  “So… should we… get ready to sleep?” Specca asked timidly.

  Daniel looked to their sleeping blanket for a moment then shook his head at the nixie.

  “Well, I’m not too tired yet, are you?” The girl looked at him curiously then slowly shook her head.

  “Well, not quite. No.”

  “Good,” Daniel said with a wink. “Then, there was something I thought we could do together that you might enjoy. Something that would let us get a lot closer with each other.”

  Specca’s eyes went wide as she stared at Daniel with surprise, a faint gasp escaping her mouth as she questioned what she just heard him say and whether she merely imagined it. From the other side of the curtain a thump was heard followed by two more.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Triska whispered with d
isbelief.

  Daniel chuckled and pulled the curtain back to see Triska, Alyssa, and Squeak lying on the floor while looking up at him with stunned expressions.

  “First off, we can hear you,” Daniel said playfully. “I thought the rules were you couldn’t disturb us.” Triska stammered something while looking at him with disbelief before the boy shook his head with an amused smile at them.

  “And also, were you all eavesdropping on us just now? I thought we were entitled to our privacy.”

  The other girls opened their mouths to speak then just froze, with Specca looking to them questionably.

  “What were you girls doing?” Specca inquired.

  “Well…” Triska said nervously.

  “We… just…” Alyssa stuttered with a weak smile.

  Squeak smiled nervously and shrugged in response.

  “You all wanted to do this, didn’t you?” Daniel reminded. “Well, then that means you have to give us our privacy tonight, right?”

  The three girls nodded slowly while Specca crossed her arms with a raised eyebrow at them. Daniel nodded and looked to Triska with a calm smile.

  “Goodnight, Triska,” he said expectantly. The girl slowly sat up and looked at him with worried eyes. The boy glanced to Alyssa and raised an eyebrow in question.

  “Goodnight, Alyssa,” he said knowingly, with Alyssa glancing to Specca then back to him with concern. Daniel smiled and looked to Squeak as the three girls sat up on their knees.

  “Goodnight, Squeak,” he said kindly. The ant girl squeaked a few times then looked to Triska and Alyssa, both girls watching Daniel with worried eyes.

  “Daniel… I…” Triska said softly. Daniel reached over and unhooked the lantern from the roof, then smiled calmly at Triska.

  “Goodnight,” he said before pulling back into his part of the cabin, the curtain dropping to show an orange glow on the other side from the lantern. Triska, Alyssa, and Squeak sat there in silence as their side of the cabin became dark, the three girls then slowly returning to their sleeping spots while wondering what Daniel was going to do with Specca.

  Daniel hooked the lantern up next to the window in the back of the cabin then looked to Specca with a curious smile, the nixie watching him with a timid expression now.