“You’ll be fine, I promise, just take me to my old house, please?” Emily pleaded with a sad smile back at her. Luna looked at her with concern then to the village, not seeing any sign of humans walking about from there but knowing that if any saw her, especially with a human child, she would be in serious danger.
“I don’t know, I really shouldn’t get close to a human village like this,” she said shaking her head. Emily showed a troubled frown for a moment then smiled hopefully at her again.
“Then fly me to my house, please?” she asked.
“Fly you to your home? I thought you didn’t like flying,” Luna said curiously.
“I don’t, but it means I get more time to spend with you, right? Besides, if we fly over the town you can see for yourself that nobody will notice you,” Emily reasoned. Luna fidgeted as she contemplated her choices then looked to Emily with worried eyes.
“Well… ok, but if I see any humans I’ll have to stop and fly away, I can’t be seen by anyone here,” she agreed with.
“I promise, nobody will see you,” Emily reassured.
“Alright, if you say so. One last flight for the day then,” Luna said with a small smile as she picked up Emily. The child giggled then held onto her with a loving smile.
“Thank you, Luna. My home is a blue house with a yellow second floor, there’s a small balcony you can land on that leads right into my room,” she explained. Luna nodded then flew up into the air, getting some altitude before she started to fly over towards the village. Being high up in the sky Luna saw the village having a few dozen small houses and shops with dirt roads leading through the town, with one entrance near them and another leading out the side of the village towards a forest in the distance.
“Ok, um, do you remember where in the village your home was?” Luna asked as they started to fly over the entrance.
“It’s near the center of the village, next to the main road,” Emily answered.
“Near the center, of course,” Luna sulked. She quickly looked around at the village below her, watching for any movement or signs of people. However nothing was moving or making a sound, there were no villagers walking about, no smoke coming from chimneys, no horses or carriages riding about, no children playing, nothing was seen at all as the village appeared completely deserted.
“Where is everyone?” Luna asked curiously. Emily remained silent while holding onto Luna, having a small smile on her face as she kept her eyes closed. Luna flew over the village then spotted Emily’s house, the dwelling having blue painted walls on the first floor while the second had yellow painted wood with red shingles on the slanting roof. And on the second floor was a small balcony with a door and window leading into the building along with having a small rocking chair facing out towards the road.
“There’s your home, I see it,” Luna said with a smile. Emily giggled as she held onto Luna, the butterfly girl then carefully flying down and landing on the terrace gently. She set Emily down and looked around at the village, seeing not a single human or animal anywhere in sight. Emily slowly walked towards the door while keeping her hands held out, coming up to it and opening it with a sigh of relief.
“Good, I was worried I locked it before we left,” she said before she opened the door and walked in. She then looked back to Luna and waved her over.
“C’mon inside, it’s ok,” she said before she walked further in.
“I really shouldn’t, I can’t be seen in a human village like this, they would kill me for sure,” Luna said shaking her head quickly.
“No they won’t. Come on, I want you to see my room,” Emily called out to her. Luna whimpered with a troubled frown then quickly darted into the building and shut the door. Inside she saw they were in Emily’s room, with the normal accommodations of a bed, dresser, small table and chair, and a little wooden chest at the foot of the bed being seen. The walls were colored pink while the floor was a soft white carpet. Light shined in from the window illuminating the interior while on the walls were three candlesticks that were melted down to their bases. Luna watched as Emily slowly walked around her room, seeming to know exactly where she was going and what was around her even though she couldn’t see.
“Here’s my bed, and my dresser, and here’s the door to the hallway, oh and over is my toy chest, and over here is my table that I used to draw on. I could never see the pictures myself, but I was told I did a good job painting even though I’m blind,” Emily giggled as she went all the way around the room. Luna smiled gently at the girl then looked around with a curious eye at the place.
“It’s so nice, I’ve never seen what the inside of a human home looks like,” she complimented.
Emily slowly walked over to her wooden chest and knelt down before it, opening the box and feeling around inside with a calm smile on her face.
“I remember packing up some of my belongings when we were here last, the rest of my valuables I kept in here, like my own little treasure chest,” she said playfully. Luna walked over to the window and looked around at the village curiously as she still didn’t see any sign of anyone.
“Is it always so quiet here? I don’t see any humans out there at all,” she commented.
Emily sifted her hands around in her box then pulled out a ragged doll, the toy having only a few clumps of white hair with a dirty cloth dress on it.
“Yeah, it’s been very quiet for a while now,” she said before she quietly ripped the head off of the doll. She smirked as she held the body upside down and started shaking it as Luna looked back to her with a raised eyebrow.
“How come? Where is everyone?” she asked.
“They’re all dead,” Emily replied casually before a ring fell out of the doll along with some cotton, the trinket having a silver band and a round yellow gemstone on it. Luna looked at Emily with surprise as the girl felt around on the floor for the ring then picked it up, a smile of relief coming across her face.
“Dead? What do you mean dead?” Luna asked with disbelief.
“I mean they’re all dead,” Emily answered before she slipped the ring onto her right hand’s middle finger. A soft glow came from it as the girl gently rubbed the gemstone with her palm. Luna stared at her with surprise as the girl slowly stood up and turned to her with a happy smile.
“I told you humans wouldn’t be seeing you here after all, how can they when they’re all dead?” she giggled.
“I don’t understand, why are they all dead? And why are you smiling about this?” Luna asked nervously. Emily looked up thoughtfully with a shrug.
“Well, the women and children were killed since they weren’t needed, and the men were raped to death,” she said simply. Luna stared at her speechless as the child giggled and looked to her with a playful smile.
“That’s why I decided to leave this village for another, no more men after all,” she reasoned.
“Wha… what are you saying? What do you mean that’s why…” Luna said shakily. Emily giggled before she started walking towards Luna, the butterfly girl backing up against the wall as the ground around Emily started to turn dark as if cast in a deep shadow.
“I mean after I raped them all to death I was tired of waiting for more to show up, so I decided to move to another place,” she explained. Luna stared at her with wide eyes as the child giggled and waved her hand towards her dresser, with the drawers opening up and clothes flying into the air in a circle above the room.
“Emily? What are you saying? What’s going on here?” Luna asked nervously. From the ground two long black tentacles made of sludge started to slink up through the dark shadows around Emily, with Luna staring with fright at seeing the slender limbs wavering about and rising up from the floor. On the ends of them bulbous yellow eyes slowly formed, the two eyeballs turning around for a moment before looking to Emily. The child looked to each one directly with eyes that didn’t seem to focus on anything, using one hand to casually brush her hair while she gave a mocking sneer.
“Wow, my hair is so
filthy, I’ll have to take a bath later,” she laughed, and then turned to Luna who was watching her with a stunned expression.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Luna, I should probably explain,” Emily said with a weak smile. Luna looked to the floating clothes in the air then to the tentacles with the eyes on them, and then to Emily with an open mouth as the girl shrugged modestly.
“You see, I’m not human either, I’m a witch,” she admitted.
“You… you’re a witch?” Luna asked with shock. Emily nodded then took off her dirtied dress, tossing it aside before holding her arms out. From the swirling clothing above a few flew down and appeared to wrap themselves around the girl, dressing her on their own while Luna watched with wonder. The two tentacle eyes watched Emily while never blinking, witnessing as she dressed herself with a magical torrent of clothing. After a moment the rest of the clothes flew up then dropped down around the sides of the room, with Emily now standing dressed in white shoes with black laces, black stockings that went up to her knees, white underwear, and a black shirt with side tails hanging down over the girl’s hips. She had black shoulder covers with dark blue trimmings on them held together with a silver chain across the middle, and a white scarf that she left hanging loosely down behind her.
“There we go, how do I look, Luna?” she asked turning to smile at Luna. The butterfly girl just continued to stare at her with shock, words failing her as the tentacle eyes also turned to look at her.
“You… you’re… a…” Luna stuttered nervously. Emily nodded with a giggle then shrugged with a coy smile.
“Yes, I’m a monster, just like you,” she said softly. Luna glanced to the tentacle eyes with a nervous whine, seeing the two strange eyestalks just staring at her constantly, before Emily shook her head while holding a hand up.
“Don’t be afraid, those are my doing, I summoned them so I can see,” she explained. Luna blinked then looked at the strange eyes with puzzlement.
“What? They… let you see?” she asked.
“Yep yep, with my magic I can summon them again, I’m very skilled with summoning creatures from the underworld, and these special tentacles allow me to see with their eyes,” Emily said gesturing to the strange limbs. Luna looked at the eyes with shock then to Emily while pointing to her.
“Wait, hold on here, you’re a witch?” she cried out.
“Yes, I am, I just told you, plus I thought seeing all this would be even more proof for you. Hey, what’s wrong, are you ok?” Emily asked curiously.
“I don’t… I don’t understand… I thought… but you were…” Luna stuttered. Emily, or rather the tentacle eyes she summoned, stared at the girl while Emily had a curious expression on her face, the witch then giggling as she gently ran a hand through her hair.
“Sorry about not telling you, I was afraid if you knew what I was you might not have trusted or helped me. You’re not mad, are you?” she asked with a worried smile. Luna looked at her with wonder then to the strange limbs, then back to the witch with concern.
“I’m not… mad, just… surprised. I never knew you were a witch this whole time,” she said shaking her head.
“I’m sorry, but you were my only chance at surviving out there in the outerlands, I didn’t want to scare you away if you knew the truth. I lied about being human, yes, but not about being in trouble. Those two man-eaters really did kill the humans I hexed into taking me to Ashwood, they were going to eat me too,” Emily said sadly. Luna blinked then looked at her with disbelief.
“Hexed? You hexed those humans into helping you? They weren’t really your parents? You just put a spell over them?” she asked. Emily nodded with an amused smile.
“Of course they weren’t my parents, they were just some travelers that came through this town, so I decided to use them to go someplace where there were more men for me to have sex with. It would have been strange for a child to just wander into a city alone, so I used those humans as fake parents so nobody would suspect that I was a witch,” she reasoned. Luna’s eye twitched a bit as she stared at the witch with a stunned expression.
“Um… but… huh?” she squeaked out. Emily nodded then looked down with a solemn gaze.
“It was horrible, those damned monsters killed those humans before they could take me to the city, and what was worse was they took me by surprise, I had my other focuser off at the time during my nap and I couldn’t get it back before I was forced to run for my life. I had to leave it behind while I ran in fear of being eaten alive,” she said sadly while gently rubbing her ring with one finger. Luna glanced to the ring then looked at Emily with bewilderment.
“Your… focuser?” she asked.
“Yeah, the other ring I had like this one, it’s what lets me use my magic. Luckily I always like to have a safe refuge to retreat to in emergencies, so I left this one here in case I ever needed to come back. I was even luckier that we ended up here of all places, it’s almost too perfect, now I have my magic again, and it’s all thanks to you,” Emily said gratefully. She paused then held her hands out in front of her, with the eyestalks leaning closer and examining them for her.
“Still, I’ll have to go back and grab the other one I left behind, no sense in leaving it out there,” she mentioned casually with a shrug. Lowering her hands she then smiled at Luna, with the tentacle eyes turning to her again, causing the butterfly girl to tremble slightly in fear.
“But thank you for bringing me here though, now I at least have my magic again,” Emily said happily.
“Um… you’re… welcome?” Luna replied nervously. Emily giggled while she just faced Luna with a blank stare behind her eyes, with the tentacle eyes swaying around as they gazed at the surroundings without ever blinking.
“This is indeed a great turn of events, but it still pales in comparison to me finding you, Luna,” she said, with the two eye tentacles then focusing on the butterfly girl again. Luna looked around at them worriedly then to Emily with a nervous smile.
“Me? Why?” she asked shakily.
“Luna, I meant what I said, I love you, you’re so special to me,” Emily said gratefully. Luna looked at her curiously as the witch walked up to her and held her hands.
“I never had anyone, anyone, care about me so much before. It was the most incredible thing I’ve ever felt. Not even my own daughters make me feel that way. Hell, they never even come to see me anymore, I don’t think they care about me like you do,” she praised. Luna blinked then looked at her with an awkward smile.
“Daughters? You… have daughters?” she questioned.
“Why yes, I have seventeen of them,” Emily replied with a nod. Luna looked at her with surprise as the witch tilted her head with a coy smile.
“Truth be told, I’m 139 years old, and I’ve had many daughters in that time, with hopefully many more to come,” she explained with a wink at the end. Luna stared at her with an open mouth as she was rendered speechless, with Emily then showing a gentle smile and shaking her head slowly.
“But you, you’ve made me feel so loved, so happy, more than I ever thought possible. I mean it, Luna, I truly do love you so much,” she said softly. Luna looked at her with a mixture of wonder and concern then slowly smiled a bit.
“Well… I… um… don’t know what to say,” she hesitantly replied with a small shrug. Emily hugged the girl tightly with a happy sigh, with Luna nervously looking to the two eye tentacles that kept staring at her. Emily nuzzled against Luna’s chest with a giggle then stopped as she showed a curious smile.
“Are you ok? You look a bit tense,” she said knowingly. Luna jumped a bit and looked down to her then back to the tentacle eyes, both of them just staring at her while swaying around slightly. Emily smirked as she looked up to Luna while holding onto her still.
“Don’t be afraid, just think of those eyes as my eyes, they are after all allowing me to see you for the first time,” she pointed out. Luna looked to her curiously as the witch backed up and just stared through her with a blank gaze while the e
yestalks slowly moved closer and around the butterfly girl to examine her.
“You’re so pretty, Luna, I was so curious about what color your wings were and what you really looked like. You really are so beautiful,” Emily complimented. Luna trembled a bit as the eyestalks kept turning and angling around her then smiled nervously at Emily.
“Thank you… um, Emily, but this is kind of… scaring me,” she said shakily.
“Aw, don’t be scared, Luna, you’re as safe as can be with me, now that I’ve got my power again I’m going to protect you for a change,” Emily giggled. Luna looked at the two monstrous eyestalks with concern then to the witch.
“Emily, what did you mean that… you killed humans here?” she asked worriedly. Emily’s expression changed to a curious one as Luna slowly shook her head.
“Did you really kill people?” Luna asked. Emily showed a saddened smile and nodded, with Luna gulping silently with growing concern.
“Yeah, I did. I didn’t mean to kill the men though; I just got carried away humping them for their seeds. Turns out you can hump a human to death, hee hee!” Emily giggled with an adorable smile. Luna stared at her with a stunned expression as the witch looked down while holding her arms behind her and gently kicking with one foot, acting like a naive child who was being questioned for doing something wrong.
“I wanted to get as many of their seeds as I could, so I raped them, and then I did it again, and again, and again, and again. Most of them died from exhaustion, and the rest I forgot to feed,” she said with a shrug.
“Emily…” Luna breathed out, shocked to hear that Emily had killed humans without seeming to really care. The witch nodded slowly then looked to Luna with a hopeful smile.
“But I never touched the women and children here, honest, witch’s honor,” she said holding a hand up as a promise. Luna looked at her carefully then glanced to the window.
“Then… what did? How did they all die?” she asked. Emily giggled then walked over to the door, opening it and waving for Luna to follow. After a moment to collect her bravery Luna slowly followed after, seeing Emily standing out on the balcony while two more eyestalks had sprung up from the ground near her. The eyes turned back to Luna while never blinking, with Luna looking at them nervously then to Emily as the girl was facing towards the road ahead of them while her hair gently swayed in the breeze.
Chronicles of Eden - Act 2 Page 48
