Chronicles of Eden - Act 2

by Alexander Gordon

“It’ll kill me?” Triska asked with disbelief.

  “Should you not drop it right away, yes, only a virgin may wield that sword. The same goes for the Hellfire’s Edge, the legend for that sword states that if a virgin tries to use it they shall be burned alive by the fires of hell,” Specca clarified. The group looked to each other curiously then to Charlotte as the alpha turned to walk towards the door again, the witch thinking about Daemon from the night before as a faint blush appeared on her cheeks.

  ‘So you’re still a virgin, my dear Daemon. I promise to help fix that next time we meet.’

  “So the only way we can kill Jovian and Jacqueline is to have those two swords to strike through their hearts,” Daniel concluded while looking down with concern.

  “And none of us can even use one of the swords now,” Triska pointed out shaking her head.

  “Not to mention there’s no telling where the other one may be, or if it’s even real as well,” Alyssa added with growing concern.

  “What will we do if we come across the gemini again?” Specca asked nervously.

  “You’ll die,” Charlotte said simply as she got to the door, and then glanced back to them with a smirk.

  “I’d stay away from the wastelands to the east, that’s where we sent them off to. You cannot kill those two; you can only run or die from them. Now then, Daniel, my generosity with you and your companions has ended this morning, so please leave my land, or else we’re going to have a problem,” she reminded expectedly. Daniel jumped a bit then smiled nervously and nodded a few times.

  “Yes, of course, we just… um, need to figure out how we can do that first,” he said, with Charlotte slowly raising an eyebrow to him.

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  “Not to dig Alyssa in deeper, but she sort of broke our caravan getting us here,” Triska mentioned while glancing to Alyssa, the witch looking down with remorse and closing her eyes.

  “It was an accident,” she whined.

  “You are the accident,” Apoch and Astreal hissed at her.

  “Hey, we’re not blaming her for what happened, she just made a little mistake, that’s all,” Daniel reassured holding his hands up defensively.

  “Mistakes that cost lives often come from her being nearby, are you sure you wish to travel with that witch while on such an important quest as yours?” Charlotte questioned. Daniel looked to her with a firm expression and nodded as he stepped closer to Alyssa, holding her close at his side as she looked up to him with wonder.

  “I couldn’t imagine going on without her, none of us could. No matter what may have happened in her past, or what the future holds for her, I will never cast her away,” he declared, with Alyssa smiling happily and nuzzling against his side. The other girls smiled gently at the witch then looked to Charlotte while nodding in agreement. Charlotte just watched Alyssa with question then simply shrugged.

  “Your choice, however I want you all out of my land right now, so off you go,” she ordered.

  “Aren’t you listening to us? We’ll gladly leave, but first we have to fix our ride or find a replacement for it here in town,” Triska argued. Charlotte stared at her with a blank expression then glanced outside into the street at something.

  “You mean that ride?” she said gesturing out into the street. The alpha and her two helpers walked outside with everyone following after, all of them then seeing with surprise that their caravan was parked outside in the road with Lucky already hitched up to it. The wheels looked as good as new and even had black steel rims covering the wood for added durability, with the cabin itself having a bright yellow and red paintjob now and looking as good as new. The four corners of the caravan seemed reinforced slightly as well, being slightly larger and having stainless steel covering the edges.

  “Wha… is that our caravan?” Daniel asked in surprise. Charlotte nodded as Apoch and Astreal slowly walked around the ride in opposite directions, the sisters examining the wagon from all sides to make sure nothing was out of place. It appeared to be in perfect condition now, although there was no longer any open window in back.

  “Consider this a small gift, Daniel, for providing me such entertainment with your visit,” Charlotte said casually. Daniel and Specca walked up to the side of the caravan and looked around at the wagon with wonder while Squeak just rubbed her eyes to make sure she was seeing this correctly. Alyssa ran over and smiled happily at seeing her horse again while Triska hopped up onto the front seat and looked inside, the girl then gasping with even more surprise as she noticed something drastically different.

  “Oh my god!” she exclaimed, with everyone looking to her as she poked her head into the cabin.

  “Triska? What is it?” Daniel asked as the others walked over towards the front.

  “What did you do?” Triska asked looking to Charlotte with shock.

  “Just added a little fine touch to the inside, a witch’s flair if you will,” Charlotte replied with a shrug.

  “What? What do you mean?” Specca asked as she quickly hopped up and looked inside, right before she gasped in surprise.

  “Dear lord,” she said before entering the ride. Daniel looked around at the girls with growing curiosity then followed after into the cabin with Triska, Alyssa, and Squeak while the other girls watched from outside.

  Inside the caravan Daniel and his girls noticed something very different indeed, mainly with the fact that the living space inside was far larger than it appeared from the outside. They could all now easily stand up with room to spare above their heads as the cabin was as spacious as a small house. Walking around together they saw that the floor was a polished black wood while the walls were a soft white with crimson floor molding and corners. The ceiling above had some wooden rafters and support beams crossing overhead while the roof was pointed upward with slanted sides rather than having a curved top as the caravan did from the outside. Their belongings with their bags and blankets were set off to the side near the front corner, all neatly folded and arranged, while now there was a large bed set against the rear wall with a gray carpet below it, the bed having white sheets and pillows set on it with enough room for Daniel and all four girls easily to sleep together in it. The back corners had flower beds with blue and white roses growing out of them to provide a nice touch to the interior. There was no longer any window in back; instead the only light being cast inside the living space was by two lanterns hung from the ceiling near the bed. An elegant couch with red cushions was on the right side of the room while on the left there was a table with four chairs set around it along with a glass vase with a bouquet of wild flowers set on top.

  Specca walked over and sat on the bed with a look of wonder on her face, feeling that it was soft and comfortable to sit on, while Triska rummaged through her duffel bag to find that all her belongings were still in there. Squeak looked around with bewilderment as she couldn’t understand how the inside of their caravan was now so big, yet from the outside it looked the same as before. Alyssa slowly walked around inside the living space while words failed to form in her mouth, seeing that this amount of dimensional magic was above even her own ability.

  “What… how is this possible?” Daniel asked with wonder.

  “It was no trouble actually,” Charlotte mentioned from behind, the group looking to seeing the alpha looking in through the entryway while smiling amusedly at Daniel.

  “When we saw your ride had such a small living space, we thought this would make it easier for you to travel with your girls,” she said with a wink. Daniel blushed then looked around to seeing the girls smiling at him, none of them about to argue with that. Charlotte nodded then looked around at the interior with a casual eye.

  “The living space in this little ride of yours has been extended, however it will only remain as such as long as the four tethering beams are not moved or damaged,” she explained while pointing to each of the four corners of the caravan. The group looked to each one then back to Charlotte as she lightly shook a finger at
Daniel.

  “Should any of the corners be damaged or removed, the spell extending the living space will collapse, and everything will be forced together when the cabin reduces to its true size,” she warned.

  “That sounds like it could be bad,” Triska said worriedly.

  “In other words, everything will be crushed together, and you along with it if you’re inside at the time,” Charlotte clarified as she held her hands together forcibly.

  “That sounds very bad,” Specca agreed nervously with a nod.

  “We’ll be careful with that. But thank you so much, this is amazing what you’ve done here, I can’t believe it even when seeing it with my own eyes,” Daniel praised as he looked around at their increased living space with awe. Charlotte giggled while watching him with an amused smile.

  “Don’t thank me, Daniel, thank Apoch and Astreal, this was their doing,” she mentioned before hopping off of the ride. Daniel and the girls looked to each other then quickly headed out of their new living space, each of them jumping down off of the front seat as Apoch and Astreal finished walking around the ride with their inspection.

  “Everything is in order, Ms. Charlotte,” they said together in perfect sync.

  “Thank you, both of you, for what you did to our ride. How were you able to make it so big in there like that?” Triska asked with a curious smile. Charlotte smirked and gestured to the sisters as they smiled arrogantly at the travelers.

  “Altering and manipulating reality is their specialty, they are the finest dimensional witches in all the region,” she praised, with the sisters bowing humbly to her.

  “Thank you, Ms. Charlotte,” they said together.

  “Dimensional witches?” Daniel asked. Alyssa nodded as she looked from one sister to the other, both girls glancing to her with discontent again.

  “They can alter the laws of reality to a great extent. Teleportation, manifestation, and manipulation magic are what they excel at,” she explained. Daniel nodded as he remembered how Astreal could manifest swords out of thin air with her magic while Apoch could create an unbreakable shield with hers, both sisters being highly skilled with levitation and summoning spells and also being revered by their fellow witches in Rystone.

  “I see, you two are indeed powerful witches, it’s an honor to have met you both,” Daniel commended while giving a slight bow. The sisters merely nodded once before glancing to Charlotte as the alpha waved to the caravan.

  “Your kind words aside, it is time for you to be off. You have much work to do before we can meet again under good terms, so I suggest you get to it,” Charlotte said expectedly. Daniel nodded then looked to his girls with a determined smile.

  “She’s right. Grab your things from inside, it’s time we set off,” he agreed, with Triska, Squeak, and Alyssa nodding before running back into the home to gather their belongings. As they did Specca smiled and bowed gratefully to the alpha witch and her assistants.

  “Thank you, for giving us a chance to prove ourselves to you,” she said softly. Charlotte smirked then started walking away, with her helpers following after with snooty huffs.

  “Don’t make me regret it; I’d hate to think of this as a waste of my time. I’ll be keeping an eye on you, Daniel, don’t disappoint me,” Charlotte said arrogantly, with Apoch and Astreal then spinning their staves around and trailing a sparkly blue and green light from their crescent ends. The two girls struck their staves together overhead with a loud clank, causing a bright flash of light to flare around them briefly before fading to show they were gone. As the swirl of dust and dirt dropped down from where they were a moment ago Daniel scratched the back of his head with a curious expression.

  “That is some very powerful magic indeed, glad they’re somewhat on our side now,” he said with a weak smile. Specca nodded then looked to him with excitement.

  “Oh, Daniel, this is fantastic, we’re one step closer to bringing peace to this world. I just knew you could sway their minds with your beliefs, you were incredible,” she gratefully praised.

  “Thank you, but we’re nowhere near close to being done yet. Charlotte agreed to help us, if we find at least five monster races to also stand with us before the queen. We still have more work to do before we can really celebrate,” Daniel said while looking at where the alpha witch vanished with a determined expression.

  “Perhaps I can be of assistance with that,” Kroanette spoke up, with Daniel and Specca turning to see the centaur walking up to them. Triska, Squeak, and Alyssa ran back out of the house, having their sword, dagger, pickaxe, staff, and hat once again before watching as Kroanette approached Daniel with a hopeful smile.

  “I do have to escort you to my mother still, with any luck you may have another race that could stand beside you before your queen,” she reasoned. Daniel smiled calmly and nodded at the centaur.

  “Thank you, Kroanette. I know you don’t believe in what we’re trying to do, but-”

  “Oh, but I do believe in what you say, I really do, Daniel,” Kroanette sincerely insisted. Daniel looked at her curiously as the centaur smiled gently at him.

  “I heard you last night, with how you took three monster girls to bed with you, and… well, made love to them of your own volition. At first I couldn’t believe it, a human actually chose to mate with a monster willingly, but it was true, everything you’ve been saying, you actually proved it can be done. I was impressed, Daniel,” she complimented, with Daniel smiling nervously and glancing to Specca as she blushed and held onto his arm timidly. As the nixie’s tail slowly coiled around his leg Kroanette then gestured over to Luna, the butterfly sisters watching him curiously as the centaur looked to Luna with an approving smile.

  “And on top of that, this one here truly opened my eyes to the evil that is behind raping humans. Truthfully, I never took into account how the human felt about it, I only saw myself receiving a daughter afterwards and living happily. But this one told me about the horrors of what it is like to be raped, how any monster that does something so dreadful to another is no better than a Darker One,” she mentioned, with Daniel and Specca looking to Luna with wonder as the butterfly girl nodded with a timid expression.

  “Luna? Is that true?” Daniel asked.

  “She said that?” Triska asked curiously.

  Luna whimpered then rushed over and hugged Daniel, burying her face in his chest as he and Specca watched her curiously.

  “Yes, it was the most horrible thing I ever experienced. I never knew that’s what I would be making a human feel if I raped him, I never knew I was being so bad, I hated it so much. Please, I don’t want to be a bad monster, I don’t want to make others feel so horrible in their lives, I just want to have a daughter,” she pleaded as she started crying. Daniel held her with concern then looked to Kroanette as the centaur nodded while setting her hands at her hips.

  “When I thought about it like that, I realized that stooping to the lows of a Darker One would not be acceptable for me, so I discarded Charlotte’s receipt for my delivery. I will not be raping any human in my life, and I would appreciate you speaking to my mother to help convince her of this belief as well,” she explained.

  “You got rid of your receipt for your delivery to her?” Specca asked with wonder.

  “But that was your ticket to getting pregnant, you earned that by making your delivery,” Triska mentioned with a raised eyebrow. Kroanette shook her head as she looked at Daniel with a timid smile.

  “Raping a human against their will, that wouldn’t be a kindhearted thing to do, would it?” she reasoned, with Daniel slowly shaking his head as he smiled at the centaur.

  “Kroanette, I’m proud of you, you turned down that chance to get a daughter in order to become a better woman in life,” he praised. Kroanette jumped a bit with a quiet gasp then looked down while holding a hand to her cheek.

  “You called me a woman, not a monster,” she said softly.

  “Well of course, that’s what you are,” Daniel assured, with Kroanette
looking to him with a curious smile as she blushed slightly. Daniel then looked to Luna as she whimpered in his chest while holding onto him still.

  “And I’m proud of you too, Luna,” he said gently, the girl slowly looking up to him as she sniffled.

  “You risked your life to try to save a human child who you thought was in danger, you realized that raping humans isn’t right and don’t want to do such a thing to others in your life. Luna, you are a good girl, and you became that way all on your own,” he praised kindly. Luna looked at him with wonder then smiled a little.

  “You mean it? I’m a good girl? I am?” she asked hopefully. Daniel nodded before Luna hugged him tightly and started laughing like a lunatic, with everyone but Falla watching with wide eyes as the girl had an extremely twisted smile on her face.

  “I’M A GOOD GIRL! I’M A GOOD GIRL! YAY! I FEEL SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” she screamed as she laughed out of control.

  “What is wrong with her?” Kroanette asked shaking her head.

  “What isn’t wrong with her at this point?” Falla muttered before she growled loudly and stomped her foot with a frustrated glare at Daniel.

  “Goddammit! Enough of this horseshit, you people are all out of your minds!” she yelled out.

  “No, I believe the only one of us here that’s mentally ill is her,” Kroanette said pointing to Luna, the butterfly girl laughing hysterically for a while before she looked at Daniel with adoring eyes.

  “Does this mean I’m a kindhearted girl as well?” she asked gently. Daniel blinked then slowly nodded with a nervous smile.

  “Sure, sure you are, Luna,” he said, hoping that wouldn’t set off the special monster again. Luna sighed happily then nuzzled her nose against his.

  “I am? Then can we have sex too? I won’t rape you, I promise,” she said happily. Everyone blinked and just stared at Luna before Daniel’s girls narrowed their eyes at her.

  “Wait, what?” Triska asked sharply.

  “Why would you assume Daniel would have sex with you now?” Specca inquired. Luna giggled and looked to her with an eager smile.