"What the hell is this, how can they all be so goddamned tired anyway?" Falla shouted as she looked between the sleeping monster girls with disbelief. She and Luna ran out of the cabin and looked around again while Lucky continued just look around casually while standing still. All that was seen around them were thick veils of fog while the sky above was dark and cloudy.
"What do we do now? They won't wake up at all. How are we going to find Daniel if we don't even know what happened here?" Luna asked while looking back down to Triska and Alyssa, the two girls sleeping quietly in the grass next to the caravan. Falla and Luna looked at the fog drifting around them cautiously, both of them feeling like there was something else nearby that couldn't be seen. Falla slowly shook her head then glanced to her sister.
"Luna, I don't think we're alone out here."
*****
Triska yawned as she held a hand over her mouth, sitting in the driver's seat of the caravan while holding Lucky's reins. The horse was running along a dirt road at a brisk pace, with fields of tall grass and old trees passing by while the sky above was starting to get cloudy. Small wisps of fog were beginning to creep through the landscape as Triska looked around with a calm expression. She glanced back to seeing the others sitting inside the cabin, with Daniel reading his monster book while Specca and Alyssa were sitting on either side of him looking at the book as well. Squeak was sitting across from them, sitting on her legs with her abdomen sticking out to the side, and watching the boy with a gentle smile.
"This is amazing, Specca, I can't believe you wrote all of this from memory alone," Daniel said as he turned the page.
"It was nothing, Daniel, really. I'm just glad to be of some service to you," Specca bashfully said, holding a hand to her cheek with a soft blush. Alyssa looked at the nixie with a dull glance then up to Daniel as she scooted closer to his arm.
"But, Daniel, I know about lots of monsters too. I was going to be your guide out here before she was, remember?" she asked holding onto his arm and bouncing up and down with a pouty smile. He chuckled as he looked over to her while Specca gave the witch a dull glance.
"I know, Alyssa, and I'm still thankful you're out here helping us as well," he said kindly. Specca smiled bitterly at the witch then held onto Daniel's other arm.
"Don't be jealous, Alyssa, it's nothing against you personally. It's just Daniel needs a more knowledgeable guide out here in the wilderness," she said arrogantly. Alyssa held in her growl as she forced a smile, holding Daniel's arm tightly.
"I'm not jealous, Specca, I'm glad you're with us on this trip. And I absolutely don't mind protecting you as well from other monsters and bandits, after all I am Daniel's guardian out here," she replied through bared teeth. Squeak pointed to herself with a dull expression and squeaked a few times, once again being ignored as Specca and Alyssa kept staring at each other with forced smiles. Triska was just looking back at them with a raised eyebrow while Daniel was trying to keep his eyes on the book and not the obvious tension between the two girls.
"For your information, Alyssa, I don't need your protection. Daniel's the only protection I need out here," Specca said proudly.
"I am?" Daniel asked nervously, glancing to the nixie. She nodded and rested her head on his shoulder with a gentle sigh.
"Yes, I only truly feel safe when you're near. If it wasn't for you I might have perished in Ashwood during that monster attack, you're a real knight in shining armor, Daniel," she said softly. He smiled curiously as the nixie looked at him with adoring eyes. Alyssa growled then hopped onto Daniel's lap, hugging him close as she shot Specca a glare.
"That's nothing, Daniel saved my life by fighting off a bunch of wolves, he nearly died trying to save me. If anything he's my knight in shining armor," she asserted firmly.
"Hey, get off of him, both of you!" Triska said looking back to the girls with annoyance. Alyssa looked over to her as she clung to Daniel's chest.
"Excuse me, Specca and I are having a private conversation, do you mind?" she asked simply. Triska growled loudly then gasped, her eyes widening as she stared at something. Alyssa looked at her puzzled then over to see Daniel holding Specca close and kissing her, the nixie's head being held by his hand as she stared at him with surprise. Squeak stared at the sight as her jaw dropped while Alyssa trembled in shock.
"D-Daniel?" she stuttered in disbelief.
Daniel kissed the nixie then leaned back, with Specca staring at him with a deep blush.
"Daniel…" she said under her breath.
"I had no idea you felt that way about me, Specca, why didn't you ever tell me?" he asked gently as he slowly ran his fingers through her hair. Everybody watched with surprise as he held Specca with his arm and brought her over onto his lap, knocking Alyssa off as he kept his eyes fixated on the nixie. Alyssa tumbled back then shakily sat up as she stared with disbelief while Squeak and Triska slowly shook their heads with mortified expressions. Specca looked up at Daniel as he held her with both of his arms, her head resting against his shoulder as she held onto his chest.
"Daniel… I…" she said quietly.
"I'll always protect you, my beautiful nixie," he said as he pulled her close to him. She gasped quietly as tears started to form, her tail twitching as she clung to him tightly.
"Daniel… I love you," she said before he pulled her into a kiss, the nixie wrapping her arms around the back of his neck as the other girls stared in shock.
"No… no! Daniel!" Alyssa cried out, breaking down into tears as Squeak shook her head while crying. Triska stared in shock at the sight of Daniel kissing Specca, her heart feeling like it was run through with a rusty dagger. She trembled while breathing heavily then reached towards him with teary eyes.
"DANIEL!" she screamed, jolting out of her dream as she looked ahead with wide eyes while breathing heavily. She blinked then saw Lucky ahead of her, the horse still pulling the caravan along the dirt road. Triska caught her breath then quickly looked back behind her, seeing the others sitting where they were before and all staring at her with surprise.
"What? What is it?" Daniel asked as he held his monster book in his lap. Alyssa and Specca looked to him as he was sitting between them then back over to Triska with puzzlement. Squeak was just looking at Triska curiously as she sat across from the three like before.
"You… um… I…" Triska stuttered as she looked from him to Specca then back to him again. After a pause she breathed out and shook her head.
"Nothing, never mind," she said holding a hand to her head.
"Are you ok, Triska?" Specca asked curiously. Triska nodded and smiled with relief at them.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just… a bad dream," she said before looking down with a shudder.
"About Daniel?" Alyssa asked with a raised eyebrow. Triska glanced to her then looked away with annoyance.
"I said never mind, it's nothing," she snapped firmly. Alyssa giggled then hopped up onto Daniel's lap with a playful smile.
"How could you have bad dreams about him? I only have good dreams about him at night. Well, sometimes they're bad, but those can be good too," she purred while looking into his eyes. Daniel smiled nervously as the witch bounced up and down playfully on his lap while Specca and Squeak watched her with discontent.
"Hey, get off of him this instant," Specca demanded pulling on the witch. Alyssa clung to Daniel's chest and looked over to her with annoyance.
"I was only reassuring Daniel that there's nothing wrong with dreaming about him, even if Triska claims to have nightmares about him," she reasoned assertively. Triska looked back to the witch with anger as the fog outside started to build more.
"I never said I had a nightmare about him! And get off of him, Alyssa, right now!" she yelled out. Alyssa looked over to her with a dull expression.
"You screamed out his name in terror after having a 'bad dream'. I would call that a nightmare, and to tell the truth I'm a bit hurt knowing somebody had a nightmare about Daniel. He's the reason I have sweet dreams now, and no
thing could be better than dreaming about him," she said assuredly. Triska growled and shook her head with frustration while Specca and Squeak narrowed their eyes at Alyssa.
"For the last time, I didn't have a nightmare about-"
"Is that true, Alyssa?" Daniel asked. The girls all looked to him as he was watching the witch with a curious expression. Alyssa nodded as she held her hands to his chest.
"Every word," she said softly. Daniel looked at her with wonder then slowly held the girl around the waist as he smiled gently at her.
"Alyssa, I never knew you felt that way about me," he said softly. Alyssa jumped with surprise as he held her close, the witch then showing a gentle expression while the other girls stared with shock.
"Daniel? What are you doing?" Triska asked in disbelief. She cringed slightly as she felt the pain in her chest again; feeling like a knife was going through her heart.
"It's true, Daniel. You mean the world to me, I couldn't live happily without you," Alyssa confessed with a blush forming. Daniel smiled and gently held a hand to the back of her head.
"Did you cast a spell on me, Alyssa?" he asked softly with a smile. Alyssa slowly shook her head as the other girls stared at them with stunned expressions.
“No, why?” she breathed out.
"Because you look more enchanting now than before," he said pulling her closer to him. She shakily breathed out as her blush intensified, staring at him with adoring eyes.
"Daniel… I love you," she said before he pulled her into a kiss, wrapping her arms around him as the others watched with mortified expressions.
"No, Daniel! Daniel!" Specca cried out as she tried to pull the witch away from him. Alyssa held out a hand and waved the nixie off, in doing so causing the girl to fly back and slam into the other wall. Squeak tried to rush towards them, the witch again flicking her hand to the side while still kissing the boy deeply. The ant girl was thrown to the side and slammed into the rear of the caravan while Alyssa held Daniel in her embrace. Triska stared with wide eyes at the sight, feeling like the wind was knocked out of her. Slowly she started crying as she shook her head.
"No… no… you can't… not her… not you… you can't!" she cried out. She shook with frustration and sorrow then screamed out.
"DANIEL!" she cried out, jumping forward slightly and waking from her dream. Once again she was sitting at the front of the caravan, staring ahead with wide eyes while breathing heavily. Lucky was still running along the dirt road with the same sights being seen passing by. Triska quickly looked back inside the caravan, seeing everybody staring at her with surprise from her outburst. Daniel was holding his book again while Specca and Alyssa were sitting on either side of him. Squeak was sitting across from them just as before, her antennae twitching slightly as she stared at the human that screamed suddenly.
"What? What is it?" Daniel asked.
"Are you ok, Triska?" Specca asked curiously. Triska looked at them with a stunned expression before her eyes darted around slightly as her senses came back to her, then breathed out as she closed her eyes.
"It was just a dream. It was just a bad dream," she thankfully said with relief.
"About Daniel?" Alyssa asked with a raised eyebrow. Triska looked back to her with a dull expression and shook her head.
"No, it was a bad dream about… never mind, just forget it," she grunted before looking back ahead. The others looked at each other curiously as Triska leaned back against the caravan while breathing out slowly. She looked up at the cloudy sky as it started to get darker, the light slowly fading around the land as fog began to build up nearby.
'I should have known it was just a dream, that they both were even. No way would Daniel pick one of them like that.'
She smiled slightly as she closed her eyes, feeling her mind settling down as Lucky continued to pull the caravan along the dirt road.
"This is amazing, Specca, I can't believe you wrote all of this from memory alone," Daniel said from within the cabin. Triska opened her eyes slightly while she had a blank expression.
"It was nothing, Daniel, really. I'm just glad to be of some service to you," Specca bashfully said. Triska blinked then slowly glanced towards the cabin.
"But, Daniel, I know about lots of monsters too. I was going to be your guide out here before she was, remember?" Alyssa asked with a pouty tone. Triska looked ahead and shook her head, trying to shake off the bad feeling that was once again starting to build inside of her.
"I know, Alyssa, and I'm still thankful you're out here helping us as well," Daniel said kindly. Triska looked back into the cabin with a careful eye, seeing Specca and Alyssa holding onto Daniel's arms and smiling rather forcibly at each other.
"Don't be jealous, Alyssa, it's nothing against you personally. It's just Daniel needs a more knowledgeable guide out here in the wilderness," Specca said arrogantly. Alyssa held in her growl as she forced a smile, holding Daniel's arm tightly.
"I'm not jealous, Specca, I'm glad you're with us on this trip. And I absolutely don't mind protecting you as well from other monsters and bandits, after all I am Daniel's guardian out here," she replied through bared teeth. Squeak pointed to herself with a dull expression and squeaked a few times, once again being ignored while Triska watched the scenario from her dream play out again.
"No… it can't be…" she said quietly.
"For your information, Alyssa, I don't need your protection. Daniel's the only protection I need out here," Specca said proudly.
"I am?" Daniel asked nervously, glancing to the nixie. She nodded and rested her head on his shoulder with a gentle sigh.
"Yes, I only truly feel safe when you're near. If it wasn't for you I might have perished in Ashwood during that monster attack, you're a real knight in shining armor, Daniel," she said softly. He smiled curiously as the nixie looked at him with adoring eyes. Alyssa growled then hopped onto Daniel's lap, hugging him close as she shot Specca a glare.
"That's nothing, Daniel saved my life by fighting off a bunch of wolves, he nearly died trying to save me. If anything he's my knight in shining armor," she asserted firmly. Triska stared with a stunned expression as she heard the girls having the same argument word for word from her dream, feeling that uneasy sensation building up again while the fog around the caravan started to become thicker. She then looked to Daniel, fearing if he too would act the same way as in her dream. He smiled curiously at the witch, then calmly lifted her up and set her back down next to him.
"I appreciate that, Alyssa, I really do. But I just did what was right by protecting you, I would have gladly done that for any of you here, just like I did so with Specca," he said looking back over to the nixie. She blushed and nodded as Triska smiled in relief, thankful he wasn't about to kiss either of the two like before.
"You're still the most caring and perfect human I know, Daniel," Alyssa said holding onto his arm with a gentle smile. Specca jumped a bit then quickly grabbed onto his other arm again.
"Yes, and you'll always be my knight in shining armor," she said gratefully. He chuckled as he looked between the two while Squeak rolled her eyes. Triska breathed out in relief then showed a dull smile as she watched Specca and Alyssa continue to hang onto the boy.
"Ok you two, I think he gets the message. You can let go of him now," she said through a forced smile. Specca and Alyssa glanced to her then reluctantly let go of Daniel as he smiled slightly. Triska watched the two girls with a dull expression then started laughing softly to herself, the group looking to her as she shook her head with amusement.
"What's so funny?" Alyssa asked.
"Nothing, it's just… for a minute there I thought he was going to kiss you two," Triska mused with a smirk.
"Kiss us?" Specca asked with a blush, the nixie then looking to Daniel timidly while Alyssa raised an eyebrow at Triska. Daniel looked at the two monster girls curiously then over to Triska with an amused smile.
"What? Why did you think I was going to do that?" he asked. Triska laughed and shrugged.
"I know it's silly, it's just… that's what my nightmare was about. I dreamt that you… kissed each of them," she confessed with a small laugh at the end. Specca and Alyssa looked to Daniel then back to Triska.
"Why is that silly? …and what do you mean that's what your nightmare was about, how is that a nightmare?" Alyssa asked with annoyance. Daniel chuckled and shook his head.
"I wasn't going to do anything like that, Triska," he said calmly. Triska nodded and looked down with a small smile.
"I know, I just thought-"
"Why would I kiss them when Squeak's kisses are the best?" Daniel asked curiously. Triska nodded once then froze in place, the girl then slowly looking up to him as he had a calm smile on his face. Specca and Alyssa were looking at him with wide eyes while Squeak smiled arrogantly at them.
"Wh… what did you say?" Triska breathed out nervously.
"I said why would I kiss either of them when Squeak's are the best?" Daniel said looking over to the ant girl. Triska stared at him with wide eyes as the feeling in her chest worsened, again feeling like a knife was run through her heart. She and the other girls looked over to see Squeak smiling seductively at Daniel, blowing him a kiss then giving him a wink with a simple squeak.
"What… what are you talking about? Daniel?" Specca asked worriedly. Squeak crawled forward on her hands and knees towards Daniel, the girl slowly putting her hands on his chest as he held her close.
"What the hell, Squeak?" Alyssa asked in disbelief. Squeak glanced to her with a smirk then looked back at Daniel with adoring eyes.
"Such a strong beauty, and yet so fragile and caring on the inside, not to mention her kisses are unlike anything else in Eden. Why would I want any other girl as my mate?" Daniel asked as he gently ran his fingers through her hair to the back of her head. She squeaked softly as she gazed into his eyes, wiggling her hips and abdomen slightly as the other girls stared with shock.
"You can't… you can't pick her. Daniel, please…" Specca begged as she started to cry. Triska stared with disbelief and heartache as she watched the boy she loved hold the ant girl close to him. Squeak moved closer to his lips and squeaked softly.
chronicles of eden - act I Page 75
