“No, I’m sorry Falla’s plan got ruined again, this isn’t what she planned on happening,” she sobbed, with Falla blinking then glancing to her questionably while the other girls looked at her with puzzlement.
“Plan? What plan?” Alyssa asked.
“Falla wanted us to save Emily so Daniel would trust us and let us get closer to him, she could have gotten him alone and then his seed if he trusted her,” Luna sobbed, with Falla then smiling nervously at the other girls who watched her with dull stares.
“Of course, I knew it,” Alyssa said flatly.
“Hey, that’s not… I mean, I wanted to save the poor brat too,” Falla nervously stammered. Luna trembled then broke down screaming and crying, with Falla looking to her with surprise as the broken up butterfly held her hands to her face and shook her head.
“Luna? Hey, c’mon, it’ll be ok,” Falla tried to reassure her with.
“Yeah, don’t worry about telling us this, we had a feeling from the start Falla was up to something,” Triska said with a shrug.
“It really is no surprise to hear that she only wanted Daniel’s seed and didn’t care about a human child,” Specca mentioned with a dull glance to Falla.
“No more! No more!” Luna cried out shaking her head.
“Luna?” Falla asked worriedly. Luna wailed in sorrow then grabbed her sister by the shoulders, shaking her with a pleading expression and teary eyes.
“I don’t want to rape a human, I don’t want to rape anyone, I hate it, I don’t want to live like this!” she cried out before breaking down and sobbing into Falla’s chest, the stunned sister then weakly holding her before looking to the others with discontent.
“Goddammit, look at what you did to her! Now she thinks raping humans is bad!” she yelled out.
“Raping humans is bad,” Alyssa said flatly.
“She has a conscience, that’s a good thing,” Triska pointed out dryly.
“If only you could be more like your sister, there would be hope for you yet,” Specca asserted.
Luna sobbed uncontrollably and shook her head in her sister’s chest before leaning back with a twisted smile on her face and wide eyes, laughing hysterically all of a sudden while shaking Falla by the shoulders.
“I HATE WHAT I AM! I CAN’T FIND JOY IN LIVING LIKE THIS! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” she laughed as everyone stared at her with surprise, the butterfly girl then shoving her face into her sister’s bosom again and crying out of sorrow while Falla just watched her with bewilderment. Specca paused for a moment then slowly shook her head.
“Ok, perhaps you would be best not being like her in a few other ways,” she corrected.
“What the hell is wrong with her anyway?” Alyssa asked. Falla blinked then looked to the girls with discontent while holding her sister close again.
“What’s wrong with her? What’s wrong with you? We’re monsters, we need to rape men to get pregnant, if we don’t we’ll die off! Stop confusing my sister with your stupid ideas!” she shouted out.
“They’re not stupid, Daniel’s idea of peaceful coexistence is going to save countless lives and make Eden better all around!” Triska shouted back.
“You don’t need to rape humans to get their seeds, if you show love and compassion for them rather than treating them so callously then they would be more inclined to choose to be with you on their own free will,” Specca insisted. Falla growled then shook her head while shutting her eyes.
“Dammit, humans will never want to mate with us willingly, we’re monsters! That’s never going to happen and you know it!” she yelled out.
The girls started to argue with her again before all looking over to the side as Kroanette galloped towards them. The centaur ran up to the group of girls before looking back to Eston with a worried expression, with Triska and her friends then standing up as they saw the centaur was alone.
“Kroanette, where’s Daniel?” Specca asked. Kroanette looked back to the girls, glancing from one to another before stopping on Alyssa, the witch watching Kroanette carefully before the centaur took a steady breath forced a calm and collected expression on her face.
“Daniel has asked that I take all of you into Eston to meet him, right now,” she informed.
“What? Why is he still there, that place is burning to the ground,” Triska asked urgently.
“Why did he even go back there anyway?” Alyssa asked.
Squeak pointed to Eston and squeaked something while shaking her head.
“Listen, Daniel will explain everything to you, I promise. For now, you all need to come with me right now, time isn’t something he has to waste,” Kroanette replied while holding her hands up defensively. She turned around and motioned to her back, with the girls looking to each other confusedly then back to her as she sighed impatiently.
“Right now,” she ordered. Triska and Specca quickly hurried over and hopped onto her back, with Triska holding onto Kroanette’s waist while Specca held her arms around the human. Alyssa ran over to Lucky and quickly hopped onto him along with Squeak, the ant girl holding onto the witch who grabbed hold of the horse’s reins.
“What’s this about, Kroanette?” Specca asked.
“You’ll see soon enough,” the centaur replied as Alyssa rode Lucky up next to them.
“Wait, what about us?” Luna asked curiously. The girls looked back to seeing Luna watching them with a troubled frown while Falla was still holding her.
“Daniel only requested that they come to see him, you two may wait here,” Kroanette said before running off, with Alyssa quickly following after her. The butterfly sisters watched the girls ride away towards Eston before Luna looked to Falla with worried eyes.
“Falla, what’s going on?” she asked. Falla shook her head and stood up, helping her sister stand up as well as she watched the others riding off towards the village.
“Who cares, nothing but trouble follows them wherever they go. Let’s go, Luna, we’re out of here,” she said before fluttering her wings.
“What? We’re just going to leave and not say goodbye?” Luna asked worriedly.
“Yeah, that’s the plan. Let’s get going,” Falla urged while waving away towards the forest nearby. Luna looked over to seeing the riders getting closer to Eston then down with concern as her hands fidgeted together.
“But, what about Daniel?” she asked.
“Forget about that human, he’s insane, absolutely insane. I don’t want his seed anymore, it’s not worth dealing with all this crap and you being even more confused hearing about their stupid ideas,” Falla scoffed. Luna shook her head and faced her sister while backing up a few steps.
“They’re not stupid, they’re right. Raping humans is horrible, we can’t do that to the men we find, we just can’t,” she pleaded. Falla sighed and looked to her with frustration.
“Yes we can, we have to if we want to get pregnant. Luna, I know you’re confused right now, you’ve been through a lot, but-”
“No! I don’t want to be like this, I don’t want to rape anyone! Do you have any idea how horrible it was for me when I was raped?” Luna cried out with tears forming in her eyes. Falla looked at her with remorse as the butterfly girl held her arms around herself and backed up a step.
“It was horrible, it was the most horrible and painful experience of my entire life! I don’t want to make anyone endure such a thing, I would hate myself forever if I did!” she cried out in sorrow.
“Luna… this is how we are, this is how life works in our world. We’re monsters, we have to get a man’s seed however we can, and that means taking it by any means necessary, you know this,” Falla reasoned hopefully. Luna looked off towards Eston as her wings fluttered behind her then to Falla with a determined expression.
“Daniel doesn’t think we have to, I’m going to talk to him about it right now,” she declared before quickly flying off towards the village.
“Luna!” Falla called out before she followed after, the two girls flying towards the burning to
wn with Falla trying to catch and stop her sister, and with Luna desperately trying to reach Daniel to learn how she could avoid being like the monster that treated her so horribly.
Riding along a road in Eston a group of girls were making their way through the empty town in haste, with Kroanette leading them and Alyssa following after on Lucky. Triska and the other girls grew more worried about Daniel with each step further into the town they took, all of them wondering what was going on and why he had sent for them like this. After a while Kroanette came to a stop in front of a home that had a lamppost lit before it while its windows were closed with a soft glow coming from behind the white curtains.
“What is this, what are we doing here?” Specca asked as Kroanette motioned them towards the home.
“Daniel? Daniel!” Triska called out as all the girls quickly got off their rides and ran towards the residence. She barged through the door before they all ran in together, right before they all came to an abrupt stop in the living room as they saw Daniel sitting in a chair across from them and Apoch and Astreal standing off to the side while holding their staves at their sides. Daniel seemed to have been in deep thought before he looked to them with a jump from the outburst, a small smile coming across his face at seeing them which then slowly vanished as he stood up from his seat. The girls looked around at the home with confusion before over to seeing Apoch and Astreal walking over to either side of Daniel.
“Wait, what’s going on here?” Specca asked nervously.
“Apoch, Astreal,” Alyssa breathed out fearfully as she backed up a step.
“Daniel, what’s going on, why are they here, and why are you?” Triska asked as her hand slowly reached back towards her sword. Squeak slowly reached back to grab her pickaxe before Daniel held his hands out defensively and shook his head.
“Wait, don’t draw your weapons, please don’t start a fight, they’re not here to do anything like that,” he pleaded. The girls glanced to him then to the witch sisters who just watched them with amused smiles.
“What is this, Daniel? Why are we here?” Triska asked as she slowly lowered her hand, with Squeak then doing the same. Daniel breathed out as he contemplated what to say while from behind the girls Kroanette entered the residence, having to duck slightly to get through the doorframe before she watched Daniel with a curious eye as she too was wondering what he would choose to do now.
“The truth is, I didn’t come back here to Eston to look for anything, I went to Rystone, to speak to Charlotte again,” he admitted, with Triska and the girls jumping with surprise from hearing that.
“What? You… what?” Triska cried out.
“Why would you do such a thing? And why didn’t you tell us that’s what you were planning on doing?” Specca asked shaking her head.
“Because I didn’t want any of you to be in danger in case the talks didn’t go well, I didn’t want any of you to risk your lives to try to speak to her when it was my responsibility to do so,” Daniel answered.
“Daniel, what were you thinking going into a village full of witches on your own? Are you crazy?” Triska demanded with frustration.
“I had to, Triska. I had to try and talk to her, we needed their help, we needed their support, I couldn’t take no for an answer. This is why I came out here, to speak to monsters about peaceful coexistence, so I did just that,” Daniel asserted. The other girls looked to Apoch and Astreal as they stepped forward while having bored expressions on their faces.
“Ms. Charlotte wasn’t quite pleased about his refusal to do as she said earlier, however she has made it clear that she’s interested in Mr. Daniel’s case due to his sheer persistence,” Apoch announced.
“I’d call it stubbornness, but either way, she allowed him to at least present his… beliefs to her in front of the entire village of Rystone,” Astreal added. The other girls quietly gulped in suspense then looked to Daniel as he smiled weakly.
“I talked to her about it, and although there were some fierce rebuttals at first, she does seem genuinely interested in the idea now,” he agreed. The other girls jumped with surprise before smiles slowly formed on their faces.
“Oh my god, Daniel, are you saying…” Triska said hopefully.
“Did she agree to help us?” Specca asked eagerly. Daniel paused for a moment then slowly shook his head, with the other girls watching him with growing concern as he glanced to Apoch, the witch along with her sister shaking their heads in unison.
“I’m afraid Ms. Charlotte isn’t quite convinced that such an idea of man and witches living together peacefully can truly happen, despite Mr. Daniel’s insistence,” Apoch stated softly.
“Yes, such a thought of witches and humans living happily together ever after, it just seems like fantasy bullshit to her,” Astreal agreed with a shrug. The other girls looked to Daniel with sorrow before he held up a hand and shook his head quickly.
“Hold on, this doesn’t mean we’re out of luck here. Charlotte just doesn’t believe this can happen, she doesn’t believe humans could ever willingly choose to be with and mate with a witch, after all that’s never happened before. But she is willing to give us a chance to prove it,” he explained.
“To prove it? How?” Alyssa asked. Apoch and Astreal giggled and looked to her with slick smiles.
“Alyssa,” they said together playfully, with Alyssa looking to them with worry as the sisters tilted their heads in opposite directions of each other.
“You’re going to prove it with him,” they finished. Alyssa and the other girls looked at them puzzled then to Daniel as the boy slowly breathed out while looking down at the floor.
“She’s willing to talk more about my idea with me, and to consider helping us, provided we show her that a human can and would in fact mate with a witch willingly,” he explained. Slowly the other girls looked down to Alyssa as she pointed to herself.
“Wait… Daniel, are you saying…” Alyssa said slowly. Daniel nodded and glanced up to her.
“As proof to Charlotte that peaceful coexistence is possible between our races, she wants you and I to… do it, with each other,” he confirmed, with all the girls staring at him with shock and open mouths as they couldn’t believe what they just heard. Apoch and Astreal giggled then pointed to a grandfather clock nearby which read 11:24, the two girls then speaking in perfect unison.
“You have until midnight to receive Mr. Daniel’s seed, Ms. Alyssa, otherwise there shall be no peace between witches and humans.”
Chapter 23
Daniel’s Decision
In the world of Eden, sometimes one would be faced with a difficult decision, being asked to choose something of great value amongst other tempting offers as well. Perhaps they could only pick one treasure among a rare and priceless collection as a reward or gift, or maybe choose one and only one delicious treat with the others then being given away to those who also desired them. Even though all the choices were enticing and considered to be worthwhile by themselves, sometimes choosing one and only one was nearly impossible. The thought of losing that which wasn’t chosen, the idea of whether or not the one picked was the right selection, or even still the dread of not being able to choose again once a decision was made, sometimes it was just too difficult to bear.
After all, it wasn’t as if choosing them all was always an option.
*****
“WHAT?” Triska and Specca cried out with shock, while Squeak merely squeaked loudly with a stunned expression as well. Alyssa stared at Daniel with an open mouth as words failed her; while behind them Kroanette glanced from one girl to the other as she was curious how they would take hearing such a thing.
“What do you mean she wants you and Alyssa to do it? What the hell are you talking about?” Triska shouted out. Daniel nervously waved his hands around in front of him as he saw Triska, Specca, and Squeak staring at him like he was crazy while Alyssa continued to remain frozen and speechless.
“Wait, before you all freak out over this-”
�
��WE’RE ALREADY FREAKED OUT! You just brought us here to tell us that you need to have sex with Alyssa for the witches to help us, this isn’t what we expected to hear at all!” Triska yelled out with more than apparent frustration.
“How could she ask you do to such a thing? This isn’t fair of her, she can’t tell you to do that with Alyssa just to prove yourself, that’s not right at all!” Specca argued while stomping her foot.
Squeak merely pointed to Daniel then to Alyssa while squeaking something, her words not being understood but based on the expression on her face it was clear she was anything but pleased to hear such a thing.
Daniel paused as he closed his eyes, knowing that how the girls were reacting was pretty much on par for them given the circumstances, and then looked at them with empathy as he slowly shook his head.
“Listen! This is why I had you all come here, I wanted us all to talk about this!” he called out. The girls all watched with extreme concern as he held a hand to his head and looked down while trying to figure out how to say what he wanted to say without the girls breaking out into a rather vicious fight.
“I want to state that this isn’t how I pictured any of this going, ok? I never planned nor asked for this, I never anticipated even being faced with this kind of decision, alright? I wanted you all here so we could talk about our options and for all of you to agree on what we should do, because I can’t make the call here alone,” he explained before looking to them with concern.
“Daniel, are you actually considering this? Are you really thinking about having sex with Alyssa just to prove a point to Charlotte?” Triska demanded while grabbing her hair with dread. Daniel breathed out then looked around at all the girls, seeming to struggle to form any words before he shook his head and turned to Triska.
“Triska, the truth is I don’t know what to do. I care for all of you, I really do; you all mean the world to me. And that does include Alyssa,” he said before looking to Alyssa, the witch blushing brightly and holding a hand to her cheek.
Chronicles of Eden - Act 2 Page 78
