Chronicles of Eden - Act IV

by Alexander Gordon

  Kroanette held a finger to her chin and let out an interested murmur before nodding slowly.

  “Alright, Daniel,” she agreed. “Since you asked so nicely. Though may I ask what it is you need to return to that town for? It is burning to the ground as we speak after all.”

  “I’ll explain on the way.”

  “Daniel? What are you going there to get?” Triska asked.

  Daniel looked around at the other girls with a reassuring smile and shook his head.

  “I need to check on something before we go anywhere. Please, just focus on your tasks for the night, I’m counting on all of you.”

  Then he showed a concerned expression and walked over to Triska, kneeling down in front of her and placing his hand on her cheek. The girl stared at him with wonder as he smiled kindly at her.

  “Keep everyone safe while I’m gone, Triska,” he said before he kissed her, the girl then closing her eyes with a quiet sigh as she relished the gesture. To her surprise he even used his tongue with the token of affection, with her heart beating faster as he truly gave her a real kiss. The other girls watched with surprise before he leaned back and gently caressed the girl’s cheek.

  “Daniel,” Triska breathed out.

  Daniel then moved over to kneel in front of Specca and held a hand to her cheek.

  “I know you can solve the mystery of what they are, we’re in good hands with you guiding us,” he said before kissing her, the nixie’s eyes fluttering before closing as she got lost with the feeling. Her tail slowly swayed behind her along the ground as she felt the boy’s tongue slowly rolling over hers. The other girls watched him with wonder as he then leaned back and winked at the nixie before moving over in front of Squeak. He held a hand to her cheek as the ant girl watched him with adoring eyes and squeaked quietly.

  “Make sure everyone stays here and safe until I return. I know I can count on you while I’m gone,” he said before kissing her, the ant girl closing her eyes as the other girls watched with puzzlement as he kissed her. Daniel felt the powerful euphoric sensation of her saliva washing through his mouth, his mind struggling to remain focused as Squeak sighed happily from the tender kiss. The boy then leaned back and blinked a few times before smiling kindly and rubbing her cheek gently.

  “Daniel, what’s this all about?” Triska asked as the boy then walked over and knelt down in front of Alyssa, the witch watching him with worried eyes while she wiped her tears away.

  “Don’t you ever think for a second that I regret having you with us, with me, or that you came with us on this journey,” Daniel assured before he held Alyssa’s cheek, the witch taking hold of his hand with hers as she sniffled.

  “But, Daniel, I’m-”

  “You are the famous and powerful Wildfire Witch, and I’m damn grateful to have you by my side,” Daniel said before he kissed her, the witch then holding onto his shoulder as she closed her eyes and relished the sensation. She felt her heart beating faster as the boy actually used some tongue with her, taking her by surprise as he was being more forward than he had been in the past. Daniel then leaned back and smiled gently at her, the girl slowly opening her eyes and looking at him with wonder and a small blush on her face.

  “Daniel,” she breathed out.

  Daniel stood up and walked over to Kroanette before he glanced back to the girls, all of them staring at him with wonder while Falla was just watching him curiously.

  “Stay here until I get back, I shouldn’t be long,” he ordered, with the girls just slowly nodding while they were rendered speechless by his actions. Daniel then looked to Kroanette while gesturing to her back.

  “May I?” he kindly asked.

  “Oh, you have the decency to ask first. I’m impressed,” Kroanette mused before lowering down on her legs onto the ground.

  Daniel smirked and carefully got onto her back, holding onto her human waist with both hands as she stood up again. The boy then glanced to the other girls and nodded before they took off towards Eston at high speed, with Daniel then having to hold his arms around Kroanette’s waist to keep from falling off.

  “Okay, that was weird, right?” Triska asked unsurely.

  “What got into him?” Alyssa asked looking back to the others.

  Specca shook her head then quickly reached into Daniel’s bag and took out the monster book.

  “I’m not sure, but he’s counting on us to do our part here. This quest isn’t over yet, and I’m not going to give up now if Daniel isn’t,” she reasoned before quickly looking through the pages, desperately trying to figure out what Jovian and Jacqueline were before Daniel returned.

  Triska nodded then looked to Alyssa with a small smile and shrug.

  “Well then, want to give me a hand with dinner?” Alyssa glanced to her as the teen waved back to the caravan. “I’ve got my supplies in my bag still, we could use those and anything you could think of to get something ready for everyone. What do you say?”

  Alyssa looked down for a moment then nodded slowly.

  “Sure,” she replied softly.

  The two stood up and walked towards the caravan while Squeak moved over to sit next to Falla and Luna, the ant girl watching as Luna remained asleep in her sister’s lap. Falla gently brushed her hair then glanced to Squeak, with the ant girl smiling worriedly at her then looking to Luna with concern.

  Riding further away from the campsite Daniel was holding onto Kroanette tightly as the centaur galloped quickly towards the village. The centaur certainly lived up to her reputation as Daniel could easily tell that she was much faster than Lucky or any horse he had ever been on, which was good in the sense that he was making good time with his errand while also bad in the sense that there were no reins or straps to hold onto with the monster girl as she ran very fast along the dirt road.

  “Alright, Daniel, what are we going back here for?” Kroanette asked looking back to Daniel, the boy watching as they passed the sign for Eston and made their way back towards the burning village. The fires had spread throughout the empty town on one side, with the buildings crumbling into fiery piles of ash while smoke and embers were drifting up into the air.

  “Head straight down this road, to where we were before,” he said as the centaur galloped along the dirt road.

  Kroanette raced through the town with a small dust cloud trailing behind her, with Daniel looking around at where he and his friends nearly met their end a little while ago. The two arrived in the middle of the town, with the fires burning nearby and lighting up the area around them with a warm glow.

  “Okay, now where to?” Kroanette asked.

  “Head north, that way,” Daniel said pointing down a road.

  Kroanette quickly raced off in that direction while Daniel looked ahead with a solemn expression, the two passing by darkened and lifeless homes of the village while the roaring of the fires behind them was heard. After a while the two exited the village and continued along a dirt road that stretched out towards a darkened forest up ahead, with Kroanette showing a puzzled expression before she came to a halt.

  “Wait, hold on, we just left the village,” she pointed out, looking back to Daniel with confusion.

  “I know, keep going this way,” Daniel answered.

  “But I thought you wanted to go there for something, is that not true?”

  “That’s not the village I need to visit, we just needed to pass through here first.”

  Kroanette looked forward at the dark and creepy forest ahead of them, then back to Eston as the warm glow from the fires lit up the area around it, and then to Daniel with a careful eye.

  “Daniel?” she questioned cautiously. “You are certainly not talking about going to the village of Rystone, are you?”

  “I am,” Daniel replied, with Kroanette jumping to that and looking at him with surprise.

  “What?” she yelled out. “Are you mad? We’re not going there, are you trying to get us killed?”

  She turned around and started to run back towards Esto
n before Daniel slapped her rear, the centaur screeching to a halt with a yelp before looking back to him with surprise and a faint blush.

  “Stop,” he sternly ordered. “I need to go there, I have to see Charlotte.”

  The centaur trembled slightly before shaking her head with a flustered expression.

  “Okay,” she said while glaring at him. “First off, don’t you dare spank me again, got that?”

  Daniel blinked then smiled weakly and nodded.

  “Um, right, sorry about that,” he apologized with a small shrug.

  “And secondly,” Kroanette continued. “Rystone is full of witches, witches who don’t want you there, remember? Why in Eden do you wish to go there?”

  “Because I have to try to talk to Charlotte again, I have to get them to help us with this.”

  “Daniel,” Kroanette slowly said as if trying to reason with a stubborn idiot. “You’re trying to venture into a village full of witches and an alpha witch, how do you not see the stupidity in this?”

  “I know it’s stupid,” Daniel said looking back to the forest with a distant gaze. “That I may not ever come back. But dammit, I have to try! I can’t just walk away from this. This is why I’m out here, why all of us are out here. I’m not going to fail in what I started.”

  “Daniel,” Kroanette said while slowly shaking her head. “Please, reconsider this. If you go-”

  “I have to go there, we need this!” Daniel shouted out at her. The centaur watched him with wonder as he seemed to be on the verge of breaking down. “We’re out here to find monster races to talk to, to gain support for our idea of peaceful coexistence, to have proof to show the queen that this can be done, to enforce great change in this world. It’s a crazy idea, I know, it sounds simply impossible to be realized. We’re fighting against the odds to do this, to put a stop to the fighting, to create real peace in this world. And to do that we need all the help we can get.” He then looked towards the knoll further away to the side of Eston, seeing a small flicker of light that he knew was their camp.

  “You saw what being told no to by Charlotte did to them. It crushed their morale, it made Alyssa feel like she was at fault for everything, it made them all lose faith in this and start to fight with each other all over again. We need this. We have to have something to show that what we’re trying to do, what we’re fighting for, isn’t just a fool’s dream. That it can be achieved.”

  “Daniel,” Kroanette said with a worried smile. “If you wish to speak to monsters about your beliefs so badly then I’ll take you to my mother. You can talk to her all you want and you won’t be at risk of being raped to death. You don’t have to go to Rystone anymore, it’s not worth it.”

  “No, I have to go there,” Daniel insisted. “I can’t take no for an answer, especially with the witches. We need this victory, to bring on a powerful monster race for support. It’ll help keep everyone going with our journey, especially Alyssa. She blames herself for Charlotte saying no to me, she thinks she can’t help me at all anymore because of this loss, that witches will never help us now because of her. I need to show her that she’s wrong, that she hasn’t cost us anything.”

  “But, Daniel,” Kroanette protested. “You’ll be in the middle of a village full of witches, along with an alpha witch. My bracelets surely won’t protect either of us from all of them for long.”

  “Then just drop me off at the outskirts of the village,” Daniel countered. “I’ll walk from there. You don’t have to lay your life on the line for this, but I do. This is my quest, the reason I’m out here in the first place. I’m not going to just walk away and accept defeat. Charlotte needs to listen to me, she needs to understand, and I’m not leaving until I make my case with her in full.”

  “You walk into that village alone and you certainly will never leave again, you are correct,” Kroanette replied dryly. She looked over to the knoll then to Daniel with concern.

  “Those kisses you gave the girls… those were in case you didn’t come back, weren’t they?”

  Daniel nodded and glanced to her with worried smile.

  “Just in case.”

  Kroanette looked at him with sympathy then towards the forest that led to Rystone.

  “Are you really prepared to die so soon in your life? A human walking right into a village full of witches, that’s suicide no matter how you look at it.”

  Daniel nodded and looked to the forest with a distant gaze.

  “We need this. I have to try with everything I have to win their favor with us, I can’t just accept no for an answer.”

  Kroanette sighed then glanced to him with a dull expression.

  “You won’t last five seconds there,” she mentioned flatly.

  “So if I break five do I get a reward?” Daniel quipped with a glance to her.

  The centaur smiled slightly and shook her head before slowly turning to face the forest.

  “If you make it longer than five seconds I’ll be sure to speak highly of you to my mother while you remain in Rystone as the witches’ pet.”

  Daniel smiled lightly to that comment then held onto her waist.

  “Just let me try to talk to them, it’s the whole reason I’m out here in the first place. If this idea really is impossible and if I really am just a fool in this world, then whatever happens to me in that village is what I have coming in life for dreaming about this.”

  Kroanette hesitated then sighed with annoyance while shaking her head.

  “Fine,” she reluctantly agreed. “I’ll take you to the village. But if things don’t go well I’m getting the hell out of there, with or without you, understand?”

  Daniel nodded with a gentle smile as she turned to look at him with an accusing eye.

  “I mean it,” she stressed. “You’d better speak well to those witches in the short time you’ll have before they try and rape you to death. I’m not in the mood to relay your final act in life to your friends back there.”

  “I’ll do my very best, you have my word,” Daniel assured.

  Kroanette looked back ahead while breathing out slowly.

  “Here’s hoping that word isn’t your last,” she said before taking off along the road towards the forest. As they traveled towards the village of Rystone further ahead Daniel glanced back to seeing the knoll his friends were on drawing further away, the fire from their camp disappearing from view before they entered the forest together.

  ‘And I hope those kisses I gave them weren’t the last as well.’

  Chapter 8

  Don’t Back Down

  In the world of Eden there were many visionaries that saw different futures for their people. To grow and survive in the world, to prosper and become stronger as a whole, these were the goals of those that became leaders and philosophers for their kind. Whether it be to call for war in order to protect their land, or perhaps appeal for change to be made in their community for the better, these were the ones that wanted what was best for their people, and weren’t afraid to speak out loud to do so. However, sometimes they would be met with criticism, doubt, or possibly resentment if their ideas seemed too senseless or risky, with some even being treated like outcasts because of it. When faced with ridicule, rejection, and possibly even death, this is when true visionaries would stand out from the rest.

  Only they would be willing to die for their beliefs.

  *****

  Under the night sky a group of travelers were gathered around a campfire, with their white horse standing near their broken caravan while casually looking around at the surrounding landscape and nearby village of Eston which was on fire still. Sitting near the campfire Specca was going through Daniel’s monster book with a sharp eye, trying to unravel the mystery of what Jovian and Jacqueline really were. Going through the book there were plenty of entries of monsters that could be found in the world, however nothing about a monster that couldn’t be killed. Next to her Falla was sitting down with Luna laying on her lap, watching her sister with distress whi
le Luna continued to sleep. Beside them Squeak was watching the sleeping butterfly girl with gentle eyes, waiting for her to wake up along with Falla.

  And across from them Triska and Alyssa were cooking a stew together, with the pot being hung over the fire by a twisted green root that appeared to grow straight up out of the ground then hook back down to hold the container in place perfectly by its handle. Triska rummaged through her duffel bag she had next to her while Alyssa stirred the stew with a wooden spoon, the witch just staring at it with a distant gaze as she wasn’t really focused too much on cooking.

  “Alright,” Triska said before she started to put some seasonings in the stew. “Let’s see here, this should help give it some nice flair.”

  She smiled in content at seeing it bubble slightly in the pot then glanced to Alyssa with worried eyes as the witch continued to just slowly stir without saying a word.

  “Alyssa?”

  “Hm?” Alyssa merely replied with without even looking to the girl.

  Triska showed a worried smile and laughed a little.

  “I hope this stew isn’t too ‘boring’ for your tastes,” she mentioned playfully, then watched as Alyssa just kept slowly stirring the food while not responding or even glancing to the girl.

  “Alyssa?”

  After that got no response she turned to Specca and Squeak, the two looking to her with concern as well while Falla continued to watch her sister still.

  “Alyssa,” Triska gently said. “What happened in Eston with Charlotte wasn’t your fault.”

  “Yes it was,” Alyssa quietly replied.

  “No, it wasn’t. Charlotte didn’t want to talk to Daniel because she thought his idea was crazy, not because you were with us.”

  “If I wasn’t there he might have gotten their help,” Alyssa said before closing her eyes. “He might have gotten all witches in Eden to help him. Instead he’s told to never return again, and all because I’m with him. I cost him so much just by being near him.”

  “That’s not true,” Specca defended. “If it wasn’t for you being there she might have killed all of us and took Daniel away to rape him. It was because of you and your horse that Charlotte had a change of heart.”