“Apologize to Doku right now, and start behaving better in our company,” he ordered. “This is your last chance, Felucia.”
“Please say you’re sorry, mother,” Cindy begged. “Do as he says.”
“You’re taking his side?” Felucia asked her in disbelief. “He just burned off my nose!”
“You hurt Doku,” Cindy frowned. “You’ve been mean to everyone. You had that coming.”
“You can’t be serious, Cindy! I will not-”
“Say you’re sorry, mother,” Cindy pleaded as she hugged her. “Please say you’re sorry. I don’t want you to leave or get hurt, I want you to stay with me. With us. Please, be a good girl. Try to be good for me, please.”
“Cindy,” Felucia whined. Her daughter held her with a whimper and nuzzled her cheek, the elder sand wraith grumbling in aggravation before seeing everyone watching her closely.
“We’re waiting, Felucia,” Alyssa warned.
“I don’t recommend testing Daniel’s already high amount of patience he’s had with you,” Specca added shaking her head.
“We live in his home by his rules,” Falla factually stated. “Do as he says or else get lost.”
“Say you’re sorry to Doku right now,” Pip ordered.
Felucia growled at Daniel before turning to Doku, the harpy limping with her foot as she watched the angry sand wraith from behind her bangs. Glancing to Cindy who was weeping into the side of her head Felucia heavily groaned in frustration before looking down with a bitter scoff.
“...I’m sorry,” she muttered.
“To her, not the ground!” Daniel shouted, with Felucia and Cindy hopping with squeaks from the outburst.
“Okay, okay,” Felucia quickly insisted before showing Doku a rather unpleasant grimace as she apparently had to use a bit of willpower to force the words to come out. “I’m… sorry.”
“It’s alright, dear,” Doku replied lowering her head. “Think nothing of it.”
Falla and Luna helped the harpy sit down on a log while Felucia slowly got to her feet with Cindy holding onto her. Looking behind him Daniel observed Doku holding her wings over her injured foot, a warm light coming from beneath the feathers as she focused her magic to heal herself.
“I will always do everything I can to protect these girls,” he said looking back to Felucia. “I mean it when I say I love them with all my heart, that I will care for them and provide wonderful futures for them. I mean it when I say I cherish each and every one of them and I will gladly fight, and even die if need be, to keep them safe. And that includes your daughter.”
“How sweet,” Felucia mocked. “That doesn’t change the fact that I think you’re out of your mind.”
“That is the common consensus about me,” Daniel admitted with a shrug. “But it’s not stopping me in the slightest. I’m out here to prove a point to everyone; that we don’t have to kill, attack, or rape each other to survive. We can live together as allies and help each other survive. These girls are proof of that, Felucia. They share the same dream I do; a world where we can truly coexist in peace.”
“You’re crazy,” Felucia scoffed. “You’re all crazy. I can’t believe my Cindy is being brainwashed by all this. She thinks eating food is okay, she treats that swarm like it’s her own child, and she talks about loving you. Sand wraiths don’t love humans. And humans don’t love sand wraiths.”
“I love Cindy,” Daniel stated.
“Sure you do,” Felucia snapped. “I’m sure you love how she looks, how naïve she is. I’m sure you love that a lot. You just want to persuade her into being another sex toy, don’t you? Just like you did with all these girls. Just like what you’re probably thinking of doing with that little swarm when she gets bigger.”
“That is my daughter you’re speaking about!” Daniel shouted, with Felucia jumping back with a yelp as Daniel marched up to her. “Those are my mates you’re speaking about! My family! Let’s get something clear right now, Felucia. I love these girls for who they are! I want to be their mate because I want to give them a better future where they’re not treated like monsters, abominations, or sex-crazed demons! I want them to be happy! I want them to be accepted for who they are! And I want to be Snapper’s father because I want to raise her to be a joyful child, a loved child, one who isn’t treated like a monster!”
“But she-”
“Felucia!” Daniel yelled, with Felucia backing up against the carriage with a nervous cringe. “I don’t care if you hate me. I don’t care if you choose to think of me being nothing but a fool. I don’t care if you speak ill about me all day. But if you talk about my family, my mates, my daughter like they are monsters, like they are the same as those horrible demons that took my beloved ant girl from me, then I swear I will burn your mouth off for good!”
Felucia merely stuttered something in response as Daniel stared so deeply into her eyes that she felt like he was peering into her soul with the chilling gaze of a Darker One.
“These girls are my mates because I love them,” Daniel sternly said. “Snapper is my daughter because I want to be her father in life. And Cindy is not a doll made for my pleasure. She is a wonderful person, a kindhearted soul, and someone who I want to protect and treat like a queen in this world. And if anyone speaks about her with such disrespect, like she’s just a monster and nothing more, or even worse, tries to harm a single grain of her beautiful sand, then I will use more than just words to stop them. I have a sword on my hip and another living inside me, and you can be damned sure I’ll use them both if I have to in order to protect my loved ones. Get it through your head; Cindy is my mate because I love her!”
“Daniel,” Cindy fondly said. “I love you too.”
“You… you’re serious?” Felucia softly asked. “You truly love my daughter that much?”
“I do,” Daniel promised her. “For each mate that I take as my own, it’s my responsibility to take care of and love them with all that I have. Cindy is no exception. I stole her heart when we first met, she entrusted it to me with true love and care, and as such I will protect it with my life.”
“But she cannot give you a child,” Felucia reminded him. “It’s not in her nature to breed like other women do.”
“I’ll still cherish her,” Daniel reasoned. “I’ll do what I can to make her happy, fulfilled, and have a wonderful life. If there really is no other way for her to have a daughter unless she murders others, if she’s truly incapable of having a child with me in the conventional manner, then so be it. I’ll still love her and keep her close just as she is. The light she has within her is precious, and I’ll do everything I can to help it shine.”
“Daniel,” Cindy said rushing up to him, holding onto his arm and nuzzling close to his shoulder. Felucia stared at Daniel in stunned silence, seeing him gently holding onto Cindy and giving her head a kiss. They then turned to Felucia and awaited her response, which was her failing to form any words in her mouth as she felt greatly confused about what she was seeing.
“We don’t have to be bad girls anymore, mother,” Cindy promised. “We don’t have to kill everyone we meet. It’s so much nicer having friends and family like this than being alone and hated.”
“But we’re sand wraiths,” Felucia argued. “We can’t live like this.”
“Says who?” Cindy retorted. “I like living like this. I like being with Daniel and the girls. I like feeling this happy. So why can’t I? Why can’t the rest of our race?”
“Because it’s not natural! It’s not right!”
“Then I don’t want to be right,” Cindy replied shaking her head. “This is how I want to be. This is where I want to be. If anyone else thinks it’s not right then they’re just stupid.”
“But… Cindy,” Felucia tried to protest. “Sand wraiths can’t… they just can’t…”
“What if they can?” Daniel questioned, with Felucia staring at him in bewilderment. “If there was a chance for your people to live better lives, to not be feared or ha
ted, to actually have allies and friends in the world, wouldn’t you want them to have that?”
“But that will never happen.”
“Did you ever think a human could love a sand wraith?” Daniel asked, getting a curious look from the woman. “Did you ever think a human could love a witch? An ant girl? Or even a centaur? Did you ever think you would find someone like me in the world? Did you think someone like me could even exist?”
“I can honestly say no,” Felucia admitted shaking her head.
“So how can you be sure of what will never happen then?” Daniel smirked. Felucia opened her mouth to speak before falling silent. Looking down she tried to process what he said while Daniel looked around at his mates who were all smiling at him with adoration.
“He proved us wrong too, Felucia,” Alyssa mentioned. “We never thought humans like him could exist. We never thought an alliance between our races was possible. We never thought we could be this happy with a human before. We never did, until we met him.”
“An alliance between our races is most called for in these dark times,” Specca lectured. “Even you sand wraiths would benefit from having humans and other races as friends rather than enemies.”
“You’re not a monster, Felucia,” Daniel spoke up, looking back to the sand wraith who quietly returned his gaze. “You’re not what I would call a monster. You’ve just been living your life the only way you knew how. You’ve only wanted what’s best for your daughter. You have the ability to love and empathize with others, at least with her. You’re nothing like the monsters that kept you prisoner in Green Haven and tortured you. At least, you don’t have to be like them if you don’t want to.”
“I may not be like those assholes in The Sisterhood,” Felucia carefully reasoned. “But nobody is ever going to look at a sand wraith and see anything but a dangerous monster.”
“Cindy!” a young girl called out. The group looked over to the side to see a group of elves walking up the hill towards them from the encampment, with Sheal alongside them while running ahead was a young elven girl with her braided ponytail of golden locks swaying behind while her green eyes were beaming with joy.
“Cindy!” she called out with a big wave. “Cindy!”
“Yanee?” Cindy wondered with a smile. She squealed and quickly ran towards the child, holding her arms out wide as she rushed over and plucked the young girl up in elated embrace. “Yanee! It’s you! It’s so good to see you again! How are you?”
“You remember me?” Yanee anxiously asked as she held onto the wraith. “You really do?”
“Of course I remember you. You were the little girl I met in Green Haven. The one who that mean witch was bullying. I haven’t seen you in so long. I wasn’t sure if you would remember me or not.”
“She’s been talking non-stop about the one who saved her from The Sisterhood,” an elf spoke up as they approached Daniel’s group. “And also pestering us every day to come up here and say hello to you again. We thought it would be alright if she came up for a moment to pay her respects to you.”
“I’m so glad to see you again,” Yanee whined, burying her face in Cindy’s chest. “I wasn’t sure if I would have ever gotten the chance to say thank you for what you did. You’re my hero, Cindy.”
“You don’t need to thank me,” Cindy assured, kneeling down and letting the child stand on the ground. “I’m glad you’re doing okay. I’m happy you and your people are safe now.”
Felucia stared at the sight of her daughter holding the child in a tender embrace with disbelief before Daniel walked up next to her and crossed his arms with a playful smirk at her.
“What was it you were saying, Felucia?” he asked, getting only a silent look from the woman as she was unable to form a reply. Daniel chuckled at seeing her stymied with her argument before walking over to Cindy and the elven child. As he drew closer Yanee looked up to him with eyes of wonder, slowly drawing back from Cindy as the human approached the child and knelt down to face her.
“So you’re Cindy’s friend I take it?” he kindly asked. “It’s nice to hear she was able to help you during that unfortunate night. And it’s good to see that you can still smile even during these tough times.”
“Are you…” Yanee breathed out. “Are you Lord Daniel Sorres?”
“Lord?” Daniel questioned with a confused smile. “My name is Daniel, yes, but I’m no lord.”
“It’s really you,” Yanee marveled with sparkling eyes. “You’re him. You’re the one who saved us from The Sisterhood, the one who fought their horrible leaders.”
“Well it wasn’t just me that came to the rescue,” Daniel chuckled. “I had plenty of help from my family and friends.”
“It’s Lord Daniel Sorres!” Yanee squealed, right before she lunged forward and hugged him tight. Daniel laughed a bit as he held the child with one arm before looking around at the elves with a puzzled smile.
“What is she talking about? I’m not a lord.”
“Don’t be so modest, Daniel,” a ranger politely replied. “You saved us from a horrible nightmare and bravely fought off The Sisterhood on our behalf. You even challenged their mighty leaders to combat and prevailed. You freed us. Did you really think we wouldn’t hold you in high regard for all that you’ve done?”
“But I’m not a noble of any descent,” Daniel insisted. “I’m just another human in Eden.”
“You’re much more than that to us,” an elf promised, with all of them then kneeling down before Daniel and his group. The girls walked closer from behind while watching in awe as the elves humbly bowed to Daniel, with Sheal quietly stepping aside while also having her head lowered as she timidly watched him from under her bangs.
“What’s going on?” Specca asked.
“Why are you all bowing to him?” Falla wondered.
“They think he’s a noble,” Felucia said in disbelief.
“But I’m not a noble,” Daniel again insisted. “Really, I’m not. And you certainly don’t need to treat me like one. You don’t need to do this.”
“Sheal? Do you know what this is about?” Alyssa asked.
“I was surprised to hear it too,” Sheal admitted with a shrug. “Everyone is speaking about him like that now. Everyone I talked to down there is praising his name like he’s a god.”
“What were you doing down there?” Luna wondered. “Why did you leave earlier? You just seemed to slip away after the others left for Stonegate.”
“I went down to the elven encampment to insist that I be punished for having been with The Sisterhood.”
“You wanted them to punish you?” Specca asked.
“I used to be part of The Sisterhood,” Sheal shamefully said, lowering her head. “I don’t deserve all the kindness you’ve given me. I don’t deserve such gifts. I thought the elves would eagerly agree to exact revenge upon me for what happened to their home. But they didn’t. They refused to touch me.”
“We would never harm a friend of Lord Daniel Sorres,” a ranger told her. “We told you this many times. If he has accepted you into his circle and treats you as one of his own, then so shall we.”
“But I’m a salamander woman!” Sheal hoarsely cried out. “I was part of your home’s invasion. My own sisters were the gemini’s personal guards. How can you bear no animosity towards me after everything that happened? Why won’t anyone punish me for my actions?”
She dropped to her knees, hitting the ground with her fists as she furiously shook her head and sobbed regretfully in self-loathing, her tears turning to steam almost instantly as they came out. Everyone witnessed the salamander crying out in frustration, with Daniel gently releasing Yanee and walking over to the upset woman. Looking up to him Sheal’s fiery eyes appeared almost watery with tears, however only steam was coming out from the corners due to her natural body heat.
“I asked to bear the consequences of my horrendous actions against their people,” she whimpered. “I begged, even. Yet they would only tell me I was forgiven becau
se Lord Daniel Sorres forgave me. Because your mate Clover forgave me. I don’t understand, how can you treat me so kindly after what I did? How can anyone? I treated the elves so poorly. I even burned some at the command of the gemini. Doesn’t that mean anything now?”
“You did make mistakes, yes,” Daniel acknowledged. “First with choosing to believe the lies of The Sisterhood, then allowing them to use you against their enemies and prisoners as their pawn.”
“I told Squeak I was the enemy, yet she refused to leave me behind,” Sheal said shaking her head. “And now her man is showing me mercy even though I’m unworthy. Please, this is cruel. I don’t deserve any of this, I don’t. I can’t live with this guilt. I need to pay for what I did, I must. Please, you have to do something to me. Anything.”
“Very well,” Daniel replied, taking out his sword with a metallic ring. Everyone jumped a bit as Sheal sorrowfully gazed at the crimson blade in his hand, her glowing eyes slowly moving up to his face as he showed a solemn expression towards her.
“Daniel?” Specca worried. “What are you doing?”
“Please don’t hurt her,” Doku begged. “She’s sorry for what she did.”
“You’re not really going to… behead her… are you?” Falla nervously asked.
“Daniel?” Pip squeaked. “Please don’t kill her. I like her. And her boobies.”
“Do it,” Sheal breathed out. “All I can offer is my life in penance. I can’t live with the guilt any longer, it’s eating me up inside. Let me die honorably, don’t let me die as one of those monsters from The Sisterhood who have no soul or integrity.”
Daniel held the blade down by the side of her head, the salamander whimpering and shutting her eyes as she braced for death. Without a word Daniel then lightly knocked her head with the flat side of his sword, the clunk startling Sheal who dropped onto her arm before she quickly held a hand to her head.
Chronicles of Eden - Season II - Act I Page 20
