"How… can you…" she said in a ghostly voice, her hands and legs slowly darkening and crumbling into black ash. Daniel breathed heavily as he held a hand over his chest wound, glaring down at her as she slowly wavered. After a pause Daniel geared back with the dagger.
"This nightmare ends now," he declared, before swinging down and jamming the dagger into the skull of the monster. It let out a hoarse screech before dropping back, collapsing and shattering into black dust as Daniel watched it with a cold glare. He struggled to remain standing for a moment then dropped down onto his knee, breathing heavily as he looked down with closed eyes. Slowly he wavered then started to fall back, his world fading to white as he lost consciousness.
*****
The nightmare screamed with a horrible shriek, thrashing around as the girls looked up to it with surprise, all except for Triska who remained next to Daniel, holding him close and weeping quietly. Daniel's spectral image vanished as the nightmare started to dissolve into black smoke, with the girls watching it carefully.
"What's happening?" Luna asked nervously as she quickly hid behind Squeak. Falla scrambled back away from the wall while Alyssa and Specca watched the wailing monster with cautious eyes, a few tears still dropping from their cheeks as they saw the nightmare howling in agony. Its skeletal tail started to dissolve into smoke, trailing up towards its body as it yelled out with a ghostly cry. It flailed around before looking down to Daniel with a sharp gasp, the monster staring with wide eyes at the boy as its body turned to smoke and billowed away through the ceiling of the caravan. The girls all stared at where the monster had vanished then looked down to Daniel and Triska.
"No… is he… is he…" Specca whimpered nervously. Triska choked back her sobs and slowly leaned back from her embrace, looking at Daniel with sorrowful eyes.
"Daniel… I love you…" she said softly. Slowly Alyssa, Specca, and Squeak all laid down and rested their heads on his chest, all closing their eyes with sorrow. Triska looked over to them, the girls all holding onto his shirt as they wept quietly.
"I love you, Daniel," Alyssa said softly.
"As do I, Daniel," Specca sobbed quietly.
Squeak nodded and squeaked as she nuzzled against Daniel's shirt. She paused for a moment then jumped up with a quick squeak, staring down at Daniel with wide eyes. Triska looked at her with a slight amount of curiosity then over to see Alyssa and Specca quickly jumping up as well, both looking down at Daniel with surprise.
"What is it?" Luna asked. Specca quickly held a hand over Daniel's heart, her eyes widening as Alyssa put her ear to his chest.
"His heart… it's beating," Specca said looking to Triska, who jumped with surprise.
"He's breathing, he's breathing again!" Alyssa cheered out as she sat up and looked down at Daniel with amazement. Falla and Luna looked closely to seeing Daniel's chest slowly rising and lowering with each breath. Triska stared with an open mouth then looked to Daniel, seeing his mouth opened slightly as he was breathing again.
"D-D-Daniel?" Triska stuttered out with shock.
Slowly Daniel opened his eyes, groaning quietly as he started to come to his senses. He blinked a few times as his eyes adjusted to the dark interior of the cabin then saw four girls leaning over him, all staring at him with stunned expressions.
"Daniel," Alyssa breathed out as she smiled with tears in her eyes.
"You're… alive," Specca said with great relief.
Squeak started crying with joy as she squeaked a few times.
Daniel blinked then slowly looked over to Triska, the girl staring at him with loving eyes.
"Triska?" he asked softly. Without wasting a moment Triska quickly lunged down and kissed him, holding him close as a few tears of joy dropped from her cheeks. The other girls watched with surprise as Triska kissed him passionately, overwhelmed with emotions at seeing him alive once again. After a while she leaned back and looked down with longing eyes at Daniel, who was staring up at her with wonder.
"I… heard…" he breathed out.
"What I've wanted to tell you for the longest time," Triska finished with a warm smile. Daniel looked at her with wonder as she gazed down into his eyes.
"I love you, Daniel, with all my heart," she said softly. Daniel stared back into her eyes, rendered speechless by her words.
"I love you too, Daniel!" Alyssa cried out, lunging down and embracing the boy. Triska stumbled back with surprise as Alyssa held onto Daniel tightly, looking at him with loving eyes.
"I love you, Daniel, I do I do I do, it's true," she said softly before kissing him, the boy staring at her with surprise. Triska growled loudly through bared teeth then yanked the witch off of Daniel, holding her up and glaring at the girl with fury.
"Hey! Daniel and I were having a heartfelt moment, what the hell do you think you're doing?" she roared. She and Alyssa then looked over as Squeak was heard squeaking numerous times, nuzzling against Daniel's cheek with a loving smile as he was glancing to her with a surprised expression still on his face. Squeak then pulled Daniel into a kiss, with him staring with surprise at first before relaxing and showing a glazed look in his eye.
"SQUEAK!" Triska and Alyssa yelled out with shock.
Squeak pulled back from her kiss and smiled lovingly at Daniel, squeaking happily before being quickly yanked off to the side by Triska and Alyssa. Daniel blinked a few times as the euphoric sensation washed through his lips and mouth, his world blurring slightly before returning to normal. As he began to see clearly again, with his mind still reeling from the powerful kiss by Squeak, Specca gently guided his gaze over to her, the nixie lying on her legs next to him and gazing into his eyes with a loving smile.
"Don't you ever scare me like that again, Daniel, my heart couldn't bear to be parted with you," she said gently before pulling him into a kiss. He watched with wonder while Triska, Alyssa, and Squeak, the girls having halted instantly in their three-way struggle, stared at them with surprise.
"SPECCA!" Triska and Alyssa shouted out along with Squeak's loud squeak.
Specca leaned back from her kiss and smiled at Daniel. He stared at her speechless before Luna quickly jumped onto his lap and looked at him with an eager smile.
"Can I get a kiss too? Please please please?" she asked hopefully, bouncing up and down on his lap. Daniel just stared at her with bewilderment before Falla knocked Luna off of him, the red eyed butterfly girl then quickly taking her place on his lap.
"I'll have you know that I woke up your friends for you before they died, as well as figured out where you were being hidden by that nightmare. Now, seeing as how you're in my debt, own up to your promise and give me your seed," she demanded, crossing her arms with a stern expression. Daniel just stared at her for a moment then slowly glanced around. Luna was looking at Falla curiously while the other girls were staring at her with a combination of frustration, rage, and disbelief.
"What… just happened?" Daniel asked slowly.
*****
The fog slowly started to disappear around the caravan as sunlight began to pierce through the clouds above, the dark and hazy weather gradually receding as the day returned to normal. The lingering power from the fallen nightmare eventually vanished, restoring the surroundings to their original, peaceful state.
"This is bullshit!" Falla screamed out into the air, the girl struggling to move as she was bound down on the grass by green vines. Her wings were unable to flutter as she kicked around through the grass franticly, growling and shouting while her hands were tied down to her sides. As she thrashed around, unable to sit up or break free from the magically summoned weeds, Luna was kneeling down next to her, watching her sister with worried eyes.
"Don't just sit there, Luna, get me out of this mess!" Falla yelled out. Luna blinked then looked up to Squeak who was standing behind her with her arms crossed. The ant girl glanced to her and merely shook her head with a blank expression, with Luna then looking back down to Falla.
"Um, sorry," she said before looking do
wn with remorse.
"Don't listen to her, I'm your sister! Don't let them tie me down like this!" Falla shouted out.
"You tied yourself up before, how's this any different?" Alyssa asked flatly as she walked up to them, holding her staff in one hand and a plate of cookies in the other. Luna glanced to her worriedly then back down to Falla who was snarling and kicking around on the ground. Alyssa shook her head then handed the plate of cookies to Luna.
"Here, Luna, as thanks for helping us," Alyssa said kindly. Luna looked at the plate with wide eyes then to Alyssa.
"For… me?" she asked quietly. Alyssa nodded with a small smile.
"You two helped us back there, so, this is me saying thank you," she said with a shrug.
"What? She gets cookies and I get tied down? This is complete bullshit!" Falla roared as she struggled to free herself. Luna looked to the plate of cookies with wonder, then back to Alyssa, then back to the plate.
"Really? Those… are for me?" she asked softly.
"Yep yep, I made them mysel-" Alyssa started before Luna snatched the cookies from the plate and started munching on them with a deranged smile, shoving them into her mouth with both hands.
"COOKIES!" Luna screamed as she savagely ate the living hell out of the chocolate chip snacks. Alyssa and Squeak stared with wide eyes while even Falla had stopped her struggling to watch as her sister devoured the cookies, laughing manically while twitching.
"Holy… shit, you could lose a hand in there," Alyssa said quietly as she stared at the girl with a stunned expression. Luna finished eating and quickly licked her fingers clean, then looked to Alyssa with wide eyes of wonder. Before Alyssa could run away in fear Luna quickly hugged her close with a twisted smile.
"I LOVE YOU, ALYSSA!" she screamed before laughing hysterically. Alyssa just stared at her with a shocked expression while Squeak slowly shook her head with wide eyes still. Alyssa trembled and nodded with a nervous smile.
"I… like you too, Luna… ok?" she asked shakily. Luna laughed wildly for a moment then looked down to Falla, letting go of Alyssa who promptly darted behind Squeak.
"Oh, I'm sorry, did you want one too?" Luna asked curiously, her persona appearing to have returned to normal in the blink of an eye. Falla just looked at her with frustration.
"No, what I want is not to be tied down for being a hero!" she yelled out.
"You tried to strip Daniel down naked while demanding he give you his seed a short while ago, how does that make you a hero?" Specca inquired, walking over to the group while watching Falla with an accusing stare. Falla growled then glared at her.
"He promised me!" she shouted out.
"Is that why he kept yelling out 'stop'?" Specca asked flatly.
"I saved all of your lives!" Falla argued loudly.
"And we spared yours after you tried to strip Daniel down and rape him in front of all of us. We even brought out cookies for you as a show of gratitude for what you did," Specca said waving over to Alyssa.
"Um, actually, Luna… ate them all," Alyssa said glancing to Luna.
"COOKIES!" Luna shouted out, looking around with a deranged smile again. Specca looked at her with surprise while Alyssa franticly shook her head.
"No, Luna, no more cookies! All gone!" Alyssa cried out. Luna stopped instantly, blinked, and then looked down with a saddened expression.
"Aw, I like cookies," she said softly.
"What… is wrong with her?" Specca asked carefully, adjusting her glasses as she examined Luna.
"Where do I begin?" Falla said flatly. Squeak just watched Luna with a raised eyebrow then looked over to see Triska walking towards them from the caravan. Alyssa and Specca looked over to Triska as well, noticing that she was walking with a slow stride while looking down with closed eyes.
"Triska?" Specca asked softly. Falla and Luna looked over to the human as she walked up to the group. Triska kept her head hung down with closed eyes, her hand trembling slightly at her side for a moment.
"Is Daniel still in shock after what Falla did to him?" Alyssa asked, looking back over to the caravan. Triska twitched slightly then looked over to her with frustration and teary eyes.
"After what Falla did? After what Falla did? How about after what you all did!" she shouted out. The girls all looked at her curiously as she trembled with anger.
"What we all did?" Alyssa asked puzzled. Triska looked at her with teary eyes and shook her head.
"I finally confess how I feel about him; I finally tell him what I've been dying to tell him for years! I finally tell him I love him, and what happens then? You all interrupt us with your damned confessions too, what the hell is wrong with all of you?" she roared. All the girls jumped a bit and looked at her worriedly as she shook her head with tears dropping from her cheeks.
"Daniel couldn't even form a sensible word after all of that nonsense, all he did was just keep looking from me down to the floor constantly as he struggled to say anything! You ruined everything for me; you ruined what was supposed to be a magical moment for both of us!" Triska shouted out.
"Hey, hold on, Triska, we were all glad he was alive, we had every right to express how we felt with him too," Specca argued firmly.
"Yeah, who are you to tell us we couldn't say we love him too?" Alyssa demanded, putting a hand to her hip. Squeak nodded and squeaked something that was presumably in agreement.
"Now you know how I feel with all of you getting in my way of what's rightfully mine," Falla spat out with discontent. Triska slowly looked over to her with a furious glare, causing Falla to slowly lean back with a cautious expression.
"Not one more word out of you Falla, or so help me…" Triska growled through bared teeth. Falla watched her carefully, making a quick glance to the girl's sword then back to her eyes again.
"Besides," Alyssa said, getting everybody's attention. She glanced to the caravan then down.
"You told him first, isn't that what you wanted?" she asked softly. Triska looked at her for a moment then down with teary eyes. Specca and Squeak looked down as well as everything fell silent.
"What do we do now?" Specca asked quietly, slowly holding her arms around herself.
"He knows how we all feel, all we can do now is wait for our answer," Alyssa reasoned softly. Squeak glanced to her then looked down again with a quiet squeak. Luna looked around at them curiously then tilted her head in wonder.
"Um, can I ask you something?" she asked softly. The girls slowly glanced to her as she looked over to the caravan then back to them.
"How come you all love him so much?" she asked curiously. The girls all looked at her with gentle gazes then to each other.
"They probably just want his seed as well," Falla grunted. The girls twitched at that then glared over at her.
"Shut UP!" Triska roared. Falla scooted back in her bindings, staring at the girls with surprise. Triska clenched her fist as she trembled with frustration.
"I love Daniel, I have since we were just kids. He's not like other boys, not even close. He's the bravest and smartest guy I know, and there isn't any other out there that's more attractive than him. I love everything about him, from the way he snores at night, to how chivalrous and caring he is even with monsters like you, to how he has the courage to chase after his dream no matter how suicidal it may seem to others. He's exactly what this world needs, somebody who isn't afraid of what's out there, somebody who can make a real difference by seeing past what everybody else can't. He means everything to me, and I'll follow him to the ends of the world and wherever else he might go. I would kill to be his mate, Falla, I would give anything to be his, even my own life," she declared proudly. Falla stared at her with wonder then over to Alyssa who stepped forward.
"I'm a monster, Falla, just like you. I've followed my nature blindly in the past, charming and hexing men into giving themselves to me. I was alone, all alone in this world, and not even the foolish men that I bewitched brought any comfort in the slightest. I was blessed, unquestionably, by meeting
Daniel. Even after I tried to take him by force, even after I assaulted him like some mindless creature of Eden, even after I treated his friends so harshly, he kept me by his side. He trusted me, believed in me; believed that I could be more than a monster driven by lust. It's because of him that I'm standing here today, because of him that I've never felt more alive, because of him that I've gone against my very nature to breed to stay by his side. No matter how much I crave him, no matter how much I desire him, I will never cast a single charm on him, I will never hex him into being a mindless slave, and I will never do anything to betray his trust that he has in me. I love him with all my heart, with all my being. And know this, Falla, for as long as I shall live, I will never mate with another human being, ever! The only one I want to be with, the only one I want to give me a daughter is him, him and him alone!" she yelled out with energy. Falla stared at her with a stunned expression then looked over to Squeak, the ant girl stepping forward as well.
Squeak started squeaking sternly at Falla, waving her hands around as she gave a long and one of the most heartfelt and touching speeches ever told. Even the other girls glanced to her, listening in as the ant girl squeaked repeatedly while showing frustration in her teary eyes. Triska, Alyssa, and Specca watched as Squeak poured her heart out while squeaking in a very stern yet shaky tone, showing them exactly how she felt. Even with the language barrier between them, it was crystal clear how Squeak truly felt about Daniel; she loved him with all her heart. After the long speech was done Falla just stared at Squeak with a puzzled expression. Luna blinked then tilted her head slightly to the other side.
"Um, could you repeat that, you lost me," Luna said curiously. Squeak glanced to her and growled quietly before Specca stepped forth.
"She made her point perfectly, just as we all have. We're not traveling with Daniel to steal him away, or to merely gain his seed to breed with. We're traveling with him because we believe in him, we care about him. We love him. I myself have never felt more drawn to a human before, and I've spent a lot of time around them. Not because I was hunting for a mate, but because I loved their world. I wanted to stay with them, even though I'm a monster, even though I knew that they would cast me away if they found out what I was. I used to think that's how it was always going to be, hiding who and what I was from everyone just so I could live among them, until I met Daniel. Not only did he share my beliefs and hopes, but he was also so daring and brave when danger struck. If it wasn't for him I would have perished back at Ashwood, I would have been lost without a doubt. But he saved me, a human saved my life. And not because he thought I was a human, but because he genuinely cared about me, monster and all. I love him, Falla; there isn't a doubt in my mind about that. You could show me every man there is in Eden, and I will turn them all away without a second thought. Daniel is the only one my heart will go out to, the only one I see as my soul mate," she declared assuredly.
chronicles of eden - act I Page 82
