“We look different than others do, we don’t like to be seen as we are,” the raven one said sadly.
“We don’t wish to frighten others by our appearance,” the blonde said shaking her head. Squeak looked at them curiously then to Daniel while squeaking a few times, the boy looking over the two new girls and their outfits.
“You two look like you were on your way to a ball or something, how did you get way out here?” he asked. The two girls looked to him with whimpers and started walking towards him.
“We’re lost,” the raven one said sadly.
“We’re alone,” the blonde whimpered. The group watched as the two girls walked up to Daniel then looked down and away while each holding a hand out to him.
“Please, help us, we don’t know what to do or where to go,” they said together in perfect unison.
“Wow, how did they do that?” Specca asked curiously. Alyssa and Squeak shrugged while Triska looked at the new girls with wonder at hearing them say that sentence in perfect sync. Falla however was watching the new girls carefully, her eyes glancing from one to the other as she thought about something. A moment later she jumped a bit then pointed to them.
“Wait a minute,” she said with the sudden realization. The group turned to her as she pointed from one girl to the other before looking all around at the campsite.
“You two were here when this all happened, you saw what happened? Did you see if there was a giant butterfly like myself here? Was there?” she asked desperately. The two new girls looked to each other curiously then at Falla.
“A giant butterfly?” the raven haired girl asked.
“Yes, she’s my sister, we’re looking for her out here and I need to know where she is. Please, I have to know if… if… if that was her or not!” Falla cried out as she pointed to the skeleton over by the stone altar. The two new girls looked over to the cadaver then to Falla as the butterfly whimpered while watching them with anxious eyes. After a moment the blonde looked up thoughtfully with a gentle hum.
“Hmm, you know, now that I think about it, I believe I saw a girl with butterfly wings flying away from here last night,” she speculated. The group looked at her with surprise as the raven haired girl nodded in agreement and looked down with a hand held to her chin.
“Why, yes, I believe you are correct, sister. There was one that got away,” she said, the last part seeming to sound rather distant.
“Really? Are you sure? Which way did she go, please tell me!” Falla cried out. The two new girls looked around curiously then pointed off in the direction the group had arrived from.
“That way, we think,” they said together. Falla looked off into the distance with growing hope for her sister while the rest of the group watched the new girls curiously.
“How do you keep talking together like that?” Alyssa asked.
“Listen, that butterfly girl you saw leaving here, did she have anyone with her?” Triska asked carefully. The two new girls looked to each other then to her curiously.
“With her?” the raven one asked.
“I don’t remember, I thought she flew off alone,” the blonde said with a shrug.
“She was traveling with a young human girl, or at least we believe so. Did you see such a child here last night?” Triska asked urgently. The two new girls looked down in thought then back to her while shaking their heads at the same time.
“I don’t recall,” the raven one answered softly.
“Sorry, we don’t know,” the blonde said sadly. Triska and Daniel looked to each other with troubled expressions then back to the girls.
“What happened here last night, what did this to the lycans?” Daniel asked looking around the ravaged campground. The two new girls sighed and looked down with troubled frowns.
“They were all killed by two very bad monsters,” the raven one said softly.
“We hid to survive the night, hearing dying screams and horrible howls all too well,” the blonde added with a tremble.
“Monsters did this to them? But what kind were they, and where did they go?” Triska asked urgently. The two girls looked to her and shook their heads.
“We do not know, we came upon this area at a rather unsavory time,” the raven haired girl answered.
“Yes, we had to hide in order to save ourselves, we have no weapons with which to fight with,” the blonde said while raising her hands up defensively.
“So the monsters that killed them, they’re still out there somewhere right now,” Specca said looking around nervously. Falla shook her head then looked back to the others with desperation.
“We have to get going, Luna was flying back that way towards us the whole time, we must have missed her,” she ordered while pointing to where they had come from.
“What about the human child? What if they got separated, what if that poor young girl is wandering around alone out here?” Specca asked while looking around with growing concern.
“Forget about that brat, my sister needs our help!” Falla shouted out, pausing for a moment then jumping a bit as the group looked to her with accusing stares. She then smiled nervously and shook her head.
“I mean, I’m sure Luna has her, she wouldn’t let the little brat- I mean, darling, out of her sight for a moment,” she politely reassured.
“You don’t care at all about the human girl, do you? You just wanted us to help find your sister,” Specca said with her hands at her hips.
“What? No, that’s not true, we were trying to bring that girl to you for protection, honest,” Falla pleaded.
“Why were you doing that? What were you hoping to gain in bringing us the girl?” Alyssa asked sharply. Falla smiled nervously as she hesitated for a moment then shook her head slowly.
“Nothing, we just wanted to-”
“Oh save it, we’re not buying it. I bet just Luna wanted to help the girl on her own, she’s kindhearted like that when she’s not being led astray to help you with your stupid plans to get to Daniel,” Triska barked out. She blinked, looked to Daniel, then back to Falla with narrowed eyes.
“Hold on, this was all part of some plan to get Daniel, wasn’t it?” she accused. Falla let out a weak laugh and smiled worriedly at her.
“What? That’s crazy, how would this get me closer to Daniel? I just wanted to do something nice for that poor little girl, that’s all, I mean her parents were killed by those two man-eaters and then she nearly drowned in the river before Luna saved her-”
“Luna saved her? I thought you said you both saved her,” Specca questioned carefully. Falla opened her mouth to speak before stopping as the group watched her with dull stares.
“Falla, you never cared at all about the human child, did you?” Daniel asked flatly. Falla hesitated then smiled weakly and shrugged.
“Hey, at least this proves I wasn’t lying about her, right? I told you, didn’t I?” she reasoned shakily.
“You just wanted us to help you find your sister and used the child’s disappearance to guilt trip us into helping you,” Specca accused with a stern expression.
“I wouldn’t say guilt trip, per se, I mean the child is lost and in need of protection. So, technically, I didn’t do anything wrong by leading you all out here to find her,” Falla reasoned carefully while glancing away from everyone.
“I knew you didn’t care about the girl at all,” Triska snapped.
“Hey, you thought I was lying about the child being real this whole time, so… you know, apology accepted,” Falla retorted with a shrug. Triska growled and reached for her sword before Daniel grabbed her hand and held her in place, the boy shaking his head slowly at Falla.
“There’s no sense in reasoning with her, she’ll never change,” he pointed out, with Triska giving Falla a dull glare as she slowly lowered her hand. Daniel breathed then looked around the area carefully.
“Still, that means Luna is out there somewhere, and might have that little girl with her. What matters is finding them and making sure they’re ok,
” he reasoned.
“So you’re still going to help me find my sister?” Falla asked hopefully. Daniel looked to her with a dull stare while at this point the two new girls were watching them all curiously.
“We’re going to help you find them, but we’re doing so for Luna and Emily’s sake, not for you,” he declared sternly. Falla looked at him for a moment then nodded with a small smile.
“Ok, I’ll take it,” she said softly. Daniel just looked at her with a dull expression for a moment then over to the two new girls with a small smile.
“Um, anyway, are you two alright now?” he asked. The two new girls slowly nodded while remaining silent. Daniel glanced around as everyone fell quiet, feeling a little uneasy as he knew he should ask something else but worried about how the other girls would take it. After a moment he sighed and smiled weakly at the two strangers.
“So, I don’t suppose you have friends or a ride anywhere near here, do you?” he asked, with the two new girls slowly shaking their heads and the others looking to Daniel with concern as they knew where this was going. Triska looked back to the caravan then sighed before glancing to the two new girls.
“Well, we can’t just leave them out here, can we?” she reluctantly asked.
“Sure we can,” Alyssa said quietly, with Specca whipping with her tail, the witch jumping with a small yelp as the nixie stepped forward with a tired smile.
“Listen, we will be traveling towards the village of Eston while searching for two others who are lost, if you’d like… you can come with us, we’d be happy to give you both a ride as far as the village,” she offered.
“What? We’re taking them with us too?” Falla complained.
“If it wasn’t for Luna being in trouble out here with a human child in her custody you wouldn’t even be riding with us,” Triska snapped at her. Alyssa rubbed her rear with an annoyed expression then looked at the new girls worriedly.
“Um, hold on, we don’t know anything about them,” she pointed out. Squeak nodded with a few quick squeaks, the ant girl eyeing over the two newcomers with concern as both of them had shapely figures. In fact, except for the hair colors and lengths, they both appeared to be the exact same physically.
“You would help us like that?” the raven haired girl asked softly.
“We don’t know what to say, that’s so generous of you,” the blonde agreed with a small smile.
Daniel nodded slowly then glanced around at the others, all of them showing some concern at the thought of two more girls traveling with them like this. Falla groaned then looked down with a hand over her eyes.
“Fine, whatever, they can ride with us, let’s just get going before Luna flies further away from us,” she reluctantly agreed with.
“Again, you’re not in charge here, and you’re lucky we’re even letting you come with us at all!” Triska shouted out at her. Alyssa looked at the two new girls carefully then slowly pointed to them.
“What are you hiding behind your masks? Show us,” she requested. The girls slowly looked to each other then around at everyone as all eyes turned to them. After a while of silence the blonde slowly held a hand up to her mask before the raven haired girl reached over and grabbed her hand.
“If we do, promise you won’t make fun of us,” the raven girl said softly.
“Make fun of you? Why would we do that?” Specca asked.
“Promise us,” the two new girls implored at the same time. The group looked to each other then back to the girls with nods.
“Ok, we promise,” Triska agreed.
“We don’t judge others by who or what they are, that’s not our way,” Daniel said with a gentle smile. The two new girls hesitated then slowly reached up and took their masks off, with the group watching with curiosity that turned into absolute wonder. The two new girls looked around at the group with timid expressions, with their hair gently fluttering in the breeze as all fell silent around them. Although they appeared to be ordinary girls all around they each had a very unique feature.
“Oh my…” Specca said quietly.
“Your… eyes,” Triska said with awe.
The new girls’ eyes weren’t comprised of a single color, but rather four colors swirled together around the irises. The raven haired girl’s eyes were blue, red, green, and white, while the blonde haired girl’s eyes had the colors purple, pink, yellow, and black.
“I’ve never seen eyes like those before,” Alyssa said curiously.
“That’s… freaky,” Falla commented with unease. The two new girls looked at her with scowls.
“You’re mean,” the raven haired girl said with a bite.
“At least we don’t have giant bug wings on our backs,” the blonde snapped. Daniel raised a hand to Falla as the butterfly girl opened her mouth to shout something back, the girl halting and glancing to him as he stepped toward the newcomers.
“Don’t mind her, she’s always like that. Honestly though, that is a very special gift you two have, I’ve never known anyone to have eyes colored like that,” he said with a kind smile. The two girls smiled softly at him then showed some concern.
“Thank you. But, are you not afraid of us? Or leery? Or upset?” the raven girl asked curiously.
“Yes, most people see us like this and think we’re strange,” the blonde girl mentioned.
“Well, they definitely give you a unique flair, but I wouldn’t call you strange at all. I think ‘special’ fits you two more suitably,” Daniel reasoned with a gentle smile at them. The two girls smiled a bit then looked around at the others who were all watching them curiously.
“I must admit, they do give you a very special appearance, certainly nothing to be ashamed about,” Specca agreed with a nod. Squeak merely squeaked something while looking between the two new girls with wonder.
“Are you two… by chance… monsters?” Triska asked curiously. The two newcomers looked at her with hurt expressions and backed up a step.
“Why would you say such a thing?” the raven haired girl whimpered.
“That’s so cruel, you’re just like the mean bug,” the blonde snapped before her sister held her close.
“Hey, I’m not a bug, I’m a giant butterfly!” Falla barked out. She blinked then shook her head with a stern expression.
“I mean I’m a monster, not some little bug!” she corrected since her previous statement did nothing to defend her.
Triska waved her hands defensively and shook her head with a worried smile at the two newcomers.
“I’m sorry; I meant no disrespect with that, really. I was just curious, that’s all,” she pleaded. The two new girls whimpered then put their masks back on, with the group watching them with concern as they turned away from everyone.
“You think we’re freaks,” the raven haired girl said softly.
“You think we’re monsters,” the blonde said sadly.
“No, we don’t, really,” Daniel assured with a worried smile.
“Way to go, Triska, once again you failed to stop talking one sentence earlier than you should have,” Alyssa commented flatly.
“Oh come on, it was a harmless question, and I was genuinely curious, that’s all! I wouldn’t care if they were monsters or not, I just wanted to know!” Triska cried out. Specca shook her head and then walked over to the newcomers with Squeak, gently putting her hand on the raven haired girl’s shoulder. The newcomers looked to them with frowns as Specca smiled gently at them.
“We don’t judge anyone here for who or what they are, and we certainly won’t pass judgment on you two just because you have unique eyes. Please, you’re more than welcome to come with us if you’d like, we won’t leave you out here all alone like this,” Specca said kindly, with Squeak nodding with a small squeak as well. The nixie smiled knowingly and held up her hand, showing her scales to the girls.
“I used to hide what I was, and I hated it. You two don’t need to hide with us,” she assured. The two newcomers looked at them curiously as Specca and Squ
eak gently removed their masks and put them in the girls’ hands.
“Please, what are your names?” Specca asked. The raven haired girl smiled gently and turned to face her.
“My name is Jovian, and this is my sister, Jacqueline,” she introduced while gesturing to herself and then her sister.
“Hello,” Jacqueline said softly.
“It’s nice to meet you, my name is Specca, this is Squeak, the witch behind us is named Alyssa, and the one leading our journey is Daniel. You’ve already met Triska, and unfortunately you’ve also met Falla,” Specca said kindly while waving around to everyone, with the last part having a flat tone as she gestured to Falla who scowled at her. Jovian and Jacqueline looked around at the group then to Daniel curiously as he waved to them.
“Leading your journey? Journey for what?” Jovian asked.
“We’ll explain on the way, it might take a while to do so,” Daniel said with a small shrug.
“Ok, fine, they’re coming with us; can we please get going now? Luna’s getting further away from us by the second,” Falla asked with exasperation. Daniel rolled his eyes then looked around the area as the sky was turning to night.
“Alright, we should get going then. We won’t be traveling for long though, it’s getting late and we need to stop soon for the night. Let’s put some distance between us and this graveyard and then we can prepare some dinner before turning in for the day,” he announced. The girls nodded and started making their way back to the caravan, with Falla quickly running ahead while Triska, Specca, Squeak, and Alyssa followed after. Daniel started to walk after them before Jovian spoke up again.
“Daniel?” she asked. The boy stopped and looked back to her while the other girls except for Falla glanced back to them. Jovian and Jacqueline looked to each other with warm smiles then to the boy as they walked up to him.
“Thank you, for your kindness,” Jovian praised gently.
“Yes, thank you,” Jacqueline agreed. Daniel smiled and nodded at them.
“Of course, we’re not bandits after all, we’re here to help,” he assured.
“We see that now, it’s good to know we’re safe with you and your friends,” Jacqueline said looking over to the girls. They all smiled a bit and nodded while Falla was watching them impatiently from the driver’s seat on the caravan.
Chronicles of Eden - Act 2 Page 34
