Chronicles of Eden - Season II - Act I

by Alexander Gordon

  “I’m telling you, I only heard the truth from her,” Falla insisted. “I can’t believe it either, none of us can. But that doesn’t change the fact that when she said it… it sounded like an honest answer.”

  “But isn’t Stonegate a bad monster city?” Luna worried as she sat beside her sister. “That’s what we knew about it, right? Lots of bad monsters live there, don’t they?”

  “Everyone knows that, Luna,” Alyssa said, tiredly rubbing a hand down her face. “Clover has even been there before. She’s seen Stonegate with her own eyes. Kroanette knew nothing but horror stories about that place for what they do to centaurs. The city is a nesting ground for the worst troublemakers monster races have to offer.”

  “But Calam seemed so nice,” Pip mentioned, popping her head up from between Falla’s breasts. “She and her boobies seem nice to me even though they came from Stonegate. They cuddled me so well. They weren’t bad boobies at all.”

  “That is why we’re confused, Pip,” Specca explained. “Calam seems like a wonderful person. She didn’t appear to be deceitful with us and behaved so politely in our company. We’re just puzzled how someone like that hails from someplace like Stonegate.”

  “There’s something strange about that place,” Alyssa pondered. “Calam living there is a mystery alone, but there’s also the fact that something huge is hidden right below the city with a powerful magical barrier. They’re hiding something big there.”

  “But a sanctuary?” Specca questioned. “That just can’t be. Maybe it’s a hideout for those degenerates to seek shelter from the likes of monster hunters, sure, but a sanctuary to help the needy? That can’t be what she meant. Could it?”

  “She wouldn’t say,” Falla pointed out. “That was all we could get out of her before she begged us not to speak another word about it. Apparently just the fact that we know something is hidden beneath Stonegate is enough to make her anxious. The whole thing seems suspicious.”

  “Daniel? What do you think?” Luna asked. “Do you think Calam was telling the truth?”

  “I think,” Daniel slowly said, seeming to return from his deep meditative state and shift his gaze onto the burning fire. “Calam may have been telling the truth. From what we heard I think Kroanette is in Stonegate just like she said. At least I want to believe that.”

  “But do you think it’s true there’s a sanctuary under the city?” Specca asked before eating her roasted fish.

  Daniel watched Snapper sleeping in his arms with a distant gaze, falling silent as he felt a growing sense of warmth and relief from holding the child. The girls watched him with curiosity as he didn’t answer the question, rather he shakily took a breath to fight back tears that were trying to form in his eyes.

  “When Squeak died,” he spoke with a trembling voice. “I felt… I felt as though Jacqueline had run her sword through me as well. The pain… the agony… the heartache I suffered in that moment was something I can’t even begin to describe. I felt as though I lost a part of myself that night. As though I lost something irreplaceable in my heart. And I did.”

  The girls lowered their heads as they began to show similar looks of remorse and sorrow, all attempting to hold back their tears as well from the memory of their fallen ant girl.

  “I can’t bear the thought of losing any more of my family,” Daniel continued, showing the girls a small smile that didn’t conceal his grief. “All of you. My mates. My loved ones. My family. I knew when I got back I couldn’t lose anyone else no matter what. To do so would kill me inside. Ever since I’ve been pushing myself to the limit to find Kroanette, to get her back so I could keep all of you safe. I couldn’t accept the notion of losing her as well, I wouldn’t let it come true.”

  Looking down to Snapper he gently caressed her cheek and brushed aside her hair, watching the youngling sleeping quietly in the fire’s light while feeling his love towards her growing by the day.

  “All of you girls mean the world to me. I love each and every one of you, and as your mate it’s my responsibility to look after you, to take care of you, to protect you. And as Snapper’s father it’s my duty to watch over her all the same. I would gladly fight and give my life for you girls, something I’m not afraid of doing anymore.”

  “You mean the world to us too, Daniel,” Alyssa promised. “So much more than that even.”

  “But we don’t want you dying for us,” Falla said shaking her head. “You were incredibly brave going to Green Haven to save the elves from The Sisterhood, but the entire time you were gone we were freaking out and fearing the worst. We were so scared we might lose you.”

  “We’re sorry for making you stay here,” Luna worried. “We know how much you wanted to go to Stonegate yourself. But… we just…”

  “I know,” Daniel said standing up, slowly rocking Snapper in his arms as he smiled at the girls. “It was too dangerous for me to go there right now. I understand why you were so insistent about me staying here. The risk of it being a trap was far too great.”

  “Even having the other girls go there is incredibly risky,” Specca mentioned, tossing her stick onto the fire and gently wiping her lips. “Triska, Kitten, Clover, Star, and Reiko are the most suitable ones to take on such a dangerous mission, but even so… if things go wrong…”

  “They can handle themselves,” Falla assured. “Triska and Kitten are never to be reckoned with, Clover is absolutely terrifying when she gets mad, Star’s untouchable, and Reiko is nearly unstoppable. If Calam is lying about Kroanette being there then Stonegate’s going to be in serious trouble when those girls find out.”

  “I want to believe what Calam told us,” Daniel said. “That’s why I wanted to go in the first place. Why I even allowed the other girls to take that gamble in my place. I cannot lose Kroanette too, I just can’t. We can’t. If there’s even the slightest chance that she’s alive and in Stonegate then I choose to believe she is. She has to be.”

  “And… if she’s not?” Luna feared. “What if… if she’s…”

  “Losing Squeak pushed me to the edge, Luna,” Daniel solemnly told her. “I never felt so much anger and rage within me before. I felt no sympathy or mercy towards the gemini after what they did, or any of The Sisterhood for that matter. I’m normally the forgiving type and try my best to remain tolerant of others and their nature, but I can only take so much before I have to say no more and draw my sword. If Calam or those in Stonegate have harmed Kroanette in any way…”

  He turned his gaze down to Snapper who remained still in his arms, his eyes then moving to his right hand that he held up and flexed slightly as he felt an ominous chill briefly running along it.

  “If they harmed my mate, or any of those girls who are going into that city, I will make them pay for their crimes. I’ll do to them what I did to the gemini. And there won’t be anything, not even you girls, that will be able to hold me back.”

  The girls watched him staring at his hand with a focused look, his eyes then turning down towards Snapper as she twitched slightly in her sleep. Gently brushing her hair he admired his adopted daughter, the feeling in his hand from what lay hidden beneath only subsiding slightly as he still felt as though his inner passenger was watching him in continued silence.

  “Let’s instead pray for the best right now,” Specca softly said. “Daniel’s right. We can’t give up hope on Kroanette being alive. If there’s any possibility that she’s in Stonegate then we need to hope that it’s true, and that she’s in perfect health.”

  “She better be,” Alyssa warned. “Or else I’m burning that city to the ground.”

  “Calam wouldn’t lie to us, would she?” Luna asked. “She was telling the truth, right Falla?”

  “I think so,” Falla mused. “Still, there’s too much about her and Stonegate that’s suspicious. The only way we’re going to know for sure is when the other girls investigate the city.”

  “I hope Calam wasn’t lying,” Pip worried. “I like her. And her boobies. I don’t want her
to be our enemy.”

  “Me neither, Pip,” Daniel said, slowly shaking his head. “Me neither.”

  “An ant girl that can use magic,” Specca pondered. “I shudder to think what it would be like having her as an enemy. The chaos she could so easily cause for us, not much could compare to that kind of trouble.”

  “You fucking bitch!” Felucia shouted out from inside the carriage. “Get back here and die! I’m going to tear you apart!”

  “Wanna bet?” Alyssa muttered as the group looked back towards the doorway. A desperate cry was heard before Doku rushed out of their home with fluttering wings.

  “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” she cried out, racing over to the campfire and quickly hiding behind Daniel. “Please forgive me!”

  “You’re fucking dead, bird!” Felucia roared, running out the doors and searching around quickly with a furious expression.

  “Don’t hurt her, mother!” Cindy whined from inside. “She makes really yummy food! And she’s my friend! I like her a lot! Please stop!”

  “What is going on now?” Alyssa demanded as the girls stood up.

  “Keep it down, would you?” Falla hushed. “Snapper is sleeping, you’re going to wake her.”

  “You!” Felucia yelled at the trembling harpy behind Daniel. She started to run forward before Cindy rushed up from behind and grabbed hold of her, the two wrestling and stumbling about before dropping to the ground.

  “Don’t hurt her, mother!” Cindy begged. “You can’t hurt my friends, it’s not nice! Please stop this!”

  “I’m going to kill you, bitch!” Felucia yelled with murder in her eyes.

  “Please be quiet you two,” Luna hushed. “You’re going to wake Snapper.”

  “Too late,” Specca sighed. Sure enough Snapper quickly started squirming around in Daniel’s arms and cawing loudly, the startled youngling snapping her teeth and buzzing her wings as she was suddenly ejected from her slumber.

  “Alyssa, would you please?” Daniel grunted as he tried to hold Snapper still.

  “With pleasure,” Alyssa said, summoning her staff into her hand and waving it towards the two wraiths. Felucia was yanked up into the air with Cindy falling off her onto the dirt, the elder sand wraith yelling and thrashing in her rage while Cindy slowly sat up and watched her suspended mother with worried eyes.

  “Put me down! I’m going to kill that fucking bitch! You can’t run from me, you filthy bird! I’m going to rip your wings off and shove them up your ass for what you did! You’re going to pay for-”

  “Enough!” Daniel shouted out, with all the girls halting and turning to him. Even Snapper froze with a small gurgle as she watched Daniel with rapid panting. With a slow breath Daniel focused on keeping his composure, taking a moment to hold Snapper close to his chest and gently rub her back as she murmured and clacked her teeth while fidgeting in his arms.

  “What is the problem here?” he carefully asked. “And keep your voices down. Snapper was enjoying a lovely nap before you came out here yelling at the top of your lungs.”

  “She tried to feed my Cindy more of that disgusting crap you call food,” Felucia barked out. “After I specifically told her to stay the fuck away from my baby.”

  “Doku, what happened to your foot?” Falla asked, with the group then noticing the harpy limping on one leg with the other flinching above the ground.

  “It’s my fault,” Doku whimpered. “Cindy said she wanted to eat more of the cake I made. I started to give her a plate before Felucia… reminded me how she felt about Cindy eating our food. She grabbed my foot before I could pass Cindy the plate and… she threw it and me away from her. I should have remembered how she felt about such things, I’m sorry. I just wanted to make Cindy happy.”

  “She hurt you?” Daniel sharply demanded, turning back to Felucia with a stern look while she was still glaring at Doku.

  “It was my fault,” Doku insisted shaking her head. “I shouldn’t have gone against her wishes like that. I deserved it. And I only broke a few plates when I crashed into the counter, it only made a small mess. I can clean it all up right away.”

  “She threw you into the counter?” Falla gasped.

  “You hurt Doku?” Specca breathed out in disgust. “You threw her around in our home? You monster. How could you hurt her of all people?”

  “That does it!” Alyssa yelled with glowing eyes. “I’ve had enough of her! I’m throwing her in the fire right now!”

  “No!” Cindy cried out. “Don’t throw her into the fire, Alyssa! Please! She’s my mother, I love her!”

  Falla and Luna rushed over to hold Doku up by her wings, with Pip quickly zipping out of the butterfly’s chest and into Doku’s where she hugged the harpy with a worried frown.

  “Are you okay, Doku?” Pip sadly asked.

  “I’m fine, Pip,” Doku said before cringing in pain. “It’s just a small sprain. I can fix it. Really, it’s nothing to get upset about.”

  “Oh yes it is,” Daniel spoke up. “Alyssa, put Felucia down.”

  “But, Daniel!” Alyssa whined. “You heard what she did! She can’t get away with treating Doku like that! That was totally uncalled for! Plus ever since she came here she’s been nothing but a wretched motherfu-”

  “Alyssa,” he sternly repeated. Alyssa growled and reluctantly waved her staff aside, dropping the sand wraith onto the ground with a hard thump. Giving Snapper a kiss on her forehead Daniel then handed the youngling over to Specca, the nixie holding the child close with Snapper clinging to the girl’s shirt with her claws while keeping her eyes on Daniel still.

  “Goddammit, I hate you people!” Felucia yelled as she stumbled back onto her feet.

  “Leave, Felucia,” Daniel ordered, clutching the handle to his blade at his side. “Right now. You are no longer welcome here.”

  “What did you say to me?” Felucia snapped. “Who the fuck do you think you are telling me what to do? You think I give a fuck what you say to me? What the hell is a smelly human like you going to do? Huh?”

  Without pause Daniel yanked out his sword and slashed it down through the log at his side, the blade tearing through the wood with a sizzling strike while cinders and small flames erupted from the cut. Felucia stared at the burnt slice in the log with surprise then saw Daniel holding his crimson edged sword at his side with a harsh glare at her.

  “Your sword… it’s enchanted,” Felucia realized.

  “Astreal made it to serve me well in combat,” Daniel warned. “It’s no Hellfire’s Edge, but it can burn whatever it cuts into very well nonetheless. Leave, Felucia. Right now, or else.”

  “Are you threatening me?” Felucia scoffed.

  “Yes I am!” Daniel yelled, holding his sword out towards her. The sand wraith gasped and backed up as Daniel stepped closer, with the girls around him watching in awe as he looked ready to strike the woman down if pressed further.

  “I’ve already lost one mate! Another could possibly be in mortal danger if not worse! And more of my mates are crossing into dangerous territory and could be under attack at any moment! I’m already dealing with enough as it is, so if I hear you threatening to kill my beloved Doku, seeing that you had the audacity to harm her in any way, I am not going to stand aside and allow you to get away with it! My patience with you is at its end! You’ve been rude to my family, you’ve been rude to me, and you harmed my mate! I want you to leave right now!”

  “You can’t tell me to leave,” Felucia argued. “Not when you’re keeping my baby from me.”

  “Do not test me, Felucia,” Daniel warned. “I may be out here on a mission to bring peace to Eden, but right now all I care about is keeping my family with me in one piece. You attacked my mate. You hurt her. You threatened to kill her in front of me. You’ve expressed nothing but contempt for all of us. I have enough to deal with already, I don’t need you making things worse around here. If this is how you’re going to be, you’re going to leave right now and take your horrible manners with you.”
<
br />   “And if I don’t?” Felucia sneered. “Then what are you going to do, little man?”

  With a quick flick of the wrist Daniel swiped his sword in front of the wraith, slicing off her nose with a sizzling crunch. The woman screamed and dropped back onto her rear, holding her face and shaking her head in pain.

  “Mother!” Cindy cried out, rushing over and holding onto the wailing sand wraith.

  “Daniel,” Specca softly spoke.

  “You actually hit her,” Alyssa said in wonder.

  “That was just a small scratch for a sand wraith,” Daniel said, with Felucia looking up at him with wide eyes from behind her hands. “And a fair exchange for you harming Doku like you did. I’m not fooling around with this, Felucia. If you or anyone else attack my mates, my family, then I am going to retaliate with more than just sharp words. I’ve already lost one of my beloved mates. I will under no circumstances lose another or bear witness to them being harmed. Am I understood?”

  Felucia merely stared at him with panicked breathing while Cindy held onto her.

  “Am I understood, Felucia?” Daniel sternly repeated.

  The sand wraith slowly nodded without saying a word.

  “Please don’t burn her anymore, Daniel,” Cindy begged. “Please. She’ll be good. I promise. I promise she will. She just hasn’t learned yet. She doesn’t understand how to behave yet.”

  “If you really think she can behave herself in our company, then I’ll grant her one more chance. But only one more chance. If she harms a single hair, feather, or wing on any of my mates ever again, then she is gone. I’ll personally kick her out of here if that happens again.”

  “She’ll be good, Daniel,” Cindy swore with eager nodding. “I promise. I’ll teach her to be good just like you taught me.”

  Daniel nodded then slid his sword back into its sheath with a click, something Felucia stared at in stunned silence before looking up to him as she slowly lowered her hands. The blackened scar across her face was slowly crumbling away as her body began regenerating what was burned off. She had a frustrated scowl as she appeared to be holding her tongue with speaking back at Daniel, glaring at him with evident anger and also fear as he showed a harsh scowl back at her.