“You people are only causing more problems wherever you go, your stupid plan won’t work and you’re going to get yourselves killed following that boy. Do me a favor and keep your asinine ideas to yourself, don’t you dare corrupt my sister with your dreams that won’t come true,” she scorned before walking over to her sister, kneeling down and holding the girl with concern as Luna continued to cry in her ball. The other girls looked to each other with concern as the sounds of Luna’s sobbing were all that was heard in the silence.
“I don’t want to do it, I don’t want to, I don’t want to be like that,” Luna whimpered.
“Luna, yes you will, you have to if you want a daughter, it’s what we do,” Falla gently said.
“No,” Luna whined before crying again, with the other girls looking to her with growing concern as they all started to wonder if their dream of peace between humans and monsters really was just that, a dream.
Triska then shook her head slightly before looking over towards Eston, watching as a large portion of the village was now on fire.
“Daniel, what are you doing over there?” she asked worriedly.
“Should we go after him, I mean the town is on fire, we shouldn’t leave him alone like this, should we?” Specca questioned. Squeak shook her head and pointed down at the ground below them with a firm expression, with the girls looking to her before Alyssa slowly nodded.
“Daniel told us to stay here and wait for him to come back, so that’s what we should do,” Alyssa reasoned softly. Triska slowly breathed out and nodded.
“You’re right, we need to trust in what he’s up to, he’ll be back in no time. He knew what he was doing when he left, and Kroanette is with him, I trust she won’t do anything lecherous with Daniel, so let’s just try to get done what he asked of us in the meantime,” she tried to reassure them with.
“He doesn’t know what he’s doing at all, he’s an idiot,” Falla scoffed, with the other girls looking to her with discontent again.
“He is not, he’s just what the world needs, somebody who can bring an end to the fighting once and for all!” Alyssa yelled out with energy.
“He knows what he’s doing out here, we all know and believe that with all our hearts. He’s going to change Eden for the better, mark our words,” Specca snapped with a flustered huff.
Squeak merely squeaked something at the butterfly girl with a stern expression as she waved her hands around in indecipherable signals. Triska nodded and looked over towards Eston, watching the burning village with hopeful eyes as the other girls turned their attention towards it as well.
“If anyone can put an end to the fighting in this world, if anyone can really get humans and monsters to live in peace with each other, it’s Daniel.”
*****
The night sky above was barely seen through the branches of old trees as Kroanette raced along a darkened path through the forest, with Daniel holding onto her waist as he rode the centaur towards the village of Rystone that lay further ahead. Small beams of moonlight shined down from above here and there, revealing the dirt road while all around them the darkened forest remained shrouded in shadows.
“Seriously, are you sure you want to do this? It’s not too late to turn around,” Kroanette mentioned while glancing back to Daniel. The boy shook his head as he kept watching ahead of them, having a firm expression on his face as he prepared for what he was getting himself into.
“I can’t go back without getting Charlotte’s approval, we need their help with making our case known,” he stated.
“Why are you so intent on talking to monsters about peace anyway? You do realize that such an idea is utterly preposterous, yes?” Kroanette questioned.
“No, it isn’t. Monsters and humans can live together it they try, they don’t have to fight and kill one another, I know they can, so somebody has to try and make it a reality,” Daniel argued.
“But why you, why are you doing all this?” Kroanette asked as she looked back ahead.
“Because if I don’t then nobody will,” Daniel reasoned.
“I’m sorry, but I just don’t see such a thing happening. Humans and monsters can’t coexist peacefully, you’re going to get yourself killed with this quest of yours,” Kroanette said shaking her head. Daniel smirked and glanced to her.
“Kroanette, you’re helping me right now and being friendly with me, you realize that, yes?” he mused. The centaur chuckled and shook her head.
“Don’t mistake my offering you a ride to your death like this as anything more than a fair gesture for you helping me with my delivery. Like I said before, centaurs don’t try to rape humans out in the wild, we don’t have to since we’re given men without any resistance or trouble for our services in the monster community. I have no problem with you, Daniel, you do have some mental issues as far as I’m concerned, but I bear no ill feelings towards you. Still, I can’t see you living much longer with such radical ideas in your head,” she reasoned before glancing back to him with a sympathetic smile.
“I don’t want to see you die, but if this is what you wish to do with your life, then so be it,” she said with a shrug before looking back ahead while running along the road.
“You really don’t think humans and monsters can live together in peace, do you?” Daniel asked.
“Not at all,” Kroanette replied while shaking her head. Daniel nodded and looked up with a distant gaze as they traveled through the darkened forest.
“Well, I guess we’re about to find out if what I dream of really can come true or not,” he reasoned, with Kroanette glancing back to him for a moment before looking ahead again.
The two made their way through the old forest along the dirt road, both of them remaining silent as Daniel contemplated how this would end for him and Kroanette just waiting until she could bolt back towards her home to get knocked up. Daniel tried to gather his thoughts the best he could, knowing that this was the big moment for him. He had talked to a royal monster once before, Squeak’s queen had at least allowed him to continue his quest with complete skepticism about his success after he was nearly used for their breeding selection, however that wasn’t exactly a victory for his quest. Queen Victoria only agreed to talk about such things as peace if the humans were ready themselves to do so, which at the moment they weren’t, and in the meantime the ant girls that she ruled over would continue living the way they always did. The only thing that changed for him from that was he gained Squeak as an ambassador of sorts for the nest, which didn’t help too much since the girl couldn’t even really speak on her own behalf.
Now Daniel was facing a more dangerous confrontation with a monster race. Whereas the ant girls were at least friendly and allowed him to leave on somewhat good terms, the witches of Rystone wouldn’t be so kind to him, especially Charlotte. To have a community of witches backing up his cause would be a huge help to his case for the queen, likely even more so than the ant girls’ nest, but in order to gain that he would have to risk his very life to merely talk to the witches, and to also try to convince Charlotte that peace could be possible when she had already deemed that it couldn’t. He was already ordered never to come here, and was known by Charlotte to have Alyssa with him, which only caused more doubt in trusting his words with the alpha. Still, he knew he had to do this; he had to try and appeal to Charlotte with everything he had. The morale of his friends had dropped severely, he was one step further away from completing his quest without this monster race, and Alyssa felt a painful guilt for being a reason as to why Charlotte ignored his words. He had to set things right, he had to score a victory for his quest, a real victory to show himself and his friends that what they were doing could be done.
No matter what, he couldn’t take no for an answer, not now.
Kroanette raced along the dirt road for a long while before coming to a stop, with Daniel and herself looking ahead at seeing that they had exited the forest and were now in front of the witch village Rystone. The place certainly fit the profile
for where witches lived, with the tall, slender buildings having oddly steep roofs while the dwellings were made of dark colored bricks and red painted wood. A few windows of the homes were lit with warm green and blue glows, the place having a very unnatural and creepy vibe to it just by looking at it. There were lampposts throughout the town along the roads that had fires lit to show no witches walking about or seen within the village, with only an unsettling silence being heard as not even the wind was blowing nearby. A black steel fence surrounded the town which seemed to be about half the size of Eston from where Daniel and Kroanette were standing, while surrounding the village were old trees and small banks of fog that drifted around slowly. The dirt road below them slowly shifted to a cobblestone street that led into the village, with Kroanette taking a deep breath before she began walking towards the town along it.
“Last chance to turn around, I don’t see any witches yet, we can probably still get you out of here if we go now,” she offered somewhat nervously.
“I’m not backing down from this,” Daniel stated decisively.
“What’s your plan here, if I may ask? Just knock on some doors and see if they want to talk?” Kroanette asked more nervously as she trotted into the village, the centaur looking around quickly as she couldn’t see any sign of the local witches yet.
“I need to find Charlotte and speak to her, where do you think the alpha would live?” Daniel asked looking around.
“How should I know? She’s the leader, right? She probably lives in the biggest house here, that’s how I was planning on finding her to deliver that artifact to her,” Kroanette reasoned while keeping on guard.
A black cat suddenly meowed sharply as it ran past them, with Kroanette hopping back with a yelp while trying to force a brave expression. The cat raced over into an alleyway where a rustling sound was heard, with Kroanette and Daniel then looking around carefully as it was still silent in the village.
“Ok, seriously, I don’t want to be here anymore, let’s go,” Kroanette whined.
“You would have had to come here anyway to make your delivery, what’s so bad about being here now?” Daniel asked.
“Because now I’m here with somebody who is not liked by the witches and wants to speak to them about a crazy idea that none of them want to hear, and I’d rather not get caught up in all this and be killed all because I’m seen with you,” she replied shakily.
“You have your bracelets to protect you from magic, you’re the safest one of us here,” Daniel pointed out.
“Yeah, blunt force and magical spells won’t work on me, though I’m pretty sure a village full of witches along with an alpha could conjure up something to kill me with rather easily, and I’d rather not wait and find out what that something is,” Kroanette snapped back at him. Daniel sighed then climbed off of her back, the centaur then looking to him with concern as he smiled and shook his head gently at her.
“Alright, then you can go, you don’t have to be here like this with me. I’m sorry to have you do so much for me; I don’t want you to get hurt with what I’m here to do. I’ll go on ahead, you can return to your home,” he said kindly.
“Daniel, I’d really rather not leave you here like this, are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Kroanette asked worriedly.
“I’ll be fine, no need to worry about me. Hurry up and leave before you’re seen, and thank you for all the help. I hope you find what you want in life waiting for you back in your home,” Daniel replied before he started walking down the street, with Kroanette watching him with wonder before she looked behind her then back to him again.
Daniel slowly glanced around at seeing building after building he passed by as he made his way towards the middle of the town, seeing not a single witch or hearing anything all the while knowing very well he was being watched. After a while he glanced behind him and realized why he felt that way, seeing Kroanette slowly following after him while watching the boy constantly.
“I thought you wanted to leave,” Daniel questioned shaking his head.
“I promised to take you to my mother, and damn it all, I’m not going to break a promise. The legendary courier Kroanette doesn’t fail in her deliveries or backs down from her word,” Kroanette boasted proudly. Daniel smiled weakly to that as the centaur walked over and turned him around to face her, holding him by his shoulders as she smiled down at him. The boy tried to keep his eyes focused on hers as he was now extremely close to her large breasts that bounced just slightly before him.
“I’m taking your crazy self to my mother even if I have to drag what’s left of you all the way,” she mused with a smirk.
“Thank you, Kroanette, I-” Daniel started before the girl held her arms close to her chest, pushing her breasts up and out towards him which caused his eyes to almost bulge out as well. The centaur then gently grabbed one of her golden bracelets and slid it off her arm, with Daniel then watching with wonder as she rolled up his sleeve and slipped the bracelet up onto his left arm. Lowering his sleeve over the trinket the centaur then winked at him.
“Hopefully this will keep you standing long enough to say what you want to say before they rape you to death,” she reasoned. Daniel looked to his arm as he felt the golden bracelet in place under his shirt then to Kroanette with a curious smile.
“Thank you, I’ll be sure to return it after I’m done here,” he promised. Kroanette nodded before she looked around, hearing some rustling and faint giggling in the shadows of the town.
“I think they’re coming, we’d best find the alpha’s residence and quick,” she urged, the two then running down the road together as they made haste deeper into the village. The two ran along the road as houses and buildings they passed started to light up inside, the strange colors and faint sounds of giggling causing the two travelers to feel uneasy as they knew they were being noticed now. The sound of girls laughing started to escalate as the two raced through the streets before they came to a large plaza with a few steel poles sticking out in the middle, the black metal poles standing higher than Kroanette with skulls adorning the tops. Suddenly all grew quiet as Kroanette and Daniel looked at the skulls with growing concern.
“Ok, that’s not making me feel any better about this,” Kroanette mentioned. Daniel then looked around to seeing the connecting roads and paths to the plaza having slinking shadows creeping around them then over to a large manor that stood before them, the three story building having a balcony at the top with a black sheet draped over the entrance while the windows had small green lights coming from within. The front entrance to the building had two stone statues of skeletons that appeared to be strung up against the wall by black chains, the two being across from each other while the grand double doors to the estate were seen between the stone cadavers with torches set next to them with crackling yellow flames.
“And that’s just making me feel worse,” Kroanette commented shaking her head as she looked at the skeletal decorations to the building.
“That looks to be the biggest place here, we might have found it,” Daniel reasoned while looking up at the tall building. He and Kroanette crossed the plaza and approached the front entrance before stopping, both of them suddenly getting a very bad feeling inside. Slowly they turned to see a witch walking up behind them, the little monster having a blue and black dress on while holding a staff that had a black crow perched at the top.
“What do we have here?” the witch mused playfully with a creepy smile, her blue eyes going from Kroanette over to Daniel before she eyed him over with an intrigued murmur. She giggled as she walked up to them before shaking her head with an innocent smile.
“I’m sorry, are you lost?” she said before giggling to herself.
“No, we’re not-” Daniel started before laughing was heard all around them, with him and Kroanette then looking to seeing dozens of witches walking into the plaza, all of them dressed in various outfits and colors while some held staffs with strange and creepy looking trinkets on them and others held
wands with colorful gemstones glowing softly on them. All of them were watching Daniel with vexing smiles as they gathered around the front of the manor, with the boy praying that the magic bracelet he had hidden under his sleeve would be enough to keep him safe for now. The witch before them giggled and walked closer while Daniel smiled nervously at her.
“We’re not lost, I wanted to come here,” he assured.
“Really? That’s great, not many humans do you know. Welcome to Rystone,” the witch greeted with a curtsy, her eerie smile remaining locked onto Daniel the whole time.
“So, what brings you to our lovely home?” she questioned.
“He wishes to speak to your alpha about something very important,” Kroanette said while gesturing to Daniel. The witch before them looked at Daniel curiously for a moment then burst out laughing, being followed by the others behind her laughing and watching the boy with lecherous eyes.
“Oh really? Well how about you talk to me instead, what’s on your mind, little human?” the witch asked with an amused smile on her face.
“Sorry, but I need to speak to Charlotte about this. Please excuse me,” Daniel said shaking his head before he turned to walk towards the door.
“Hold it!” the witch behind him yelled out, waving her staff towards him as the crow perched on it leapt off with a caw. The ground below Daniel then lurched back like a rolling wave, tossing the boy back into a tumble while Kroanette watched with surprise as the stone bricks rolled along with a sharp wave before landing back down into place with a crackling rumble. Daniel rolled over into the plaza before landing on his back, with the witch then hopping down onto his lap with a cold look in her eye.
“How do you know the name of our alpha? Who are you?” she asked. Kroanette watched the boy with worried eyes then looked around to seeing all the witches staring at them with cold stares, none of them laughing now while they were watching the boy and centaur closely.
“I’ve met her before, I need to talk to her about something important,” Daniel said while watching the witch on him carefully. The crow above squawked before it landed down above Daniel’s head, the bird cawing at him as the witch set her staff down on the ground and smirked at the boy.
Chronicles of Eden - Act 2 Page 73
