The witch put on her hat, took a moment to straighten it, then tapped her staff on the ground twice that caused a swirling radiance of light to bleed out from the impact along the grass to the two high-standing pillars of root and vine. The tops curled inward and pulled the curtain away to the side, with the crowd carefully watching what was about to be revealed while Specca was growing a little worried for what she may soon see. As the curtain was moved aside everyone grew silent with hushed murmurs and gasps, with the elves and even Specca and little Snapper staring at the girls who were presented before them in awe.
On the left was Rolian, dressed in a dark blue maid outfit comprised of a corset top with white frills, long arm sleeves, a lace choker, a frilly white headband, and a white apron lined with blue trimmings and a pouch that snuggly held her precious Juggy inside. The arachne giggled and bashfully waved to the crowd while gently running a hand through her long silver hair.
In the middle was Sheal, dressed in a dark corset and white frilled skirt of similar design, with a new scarf now being a darker red with burned ends along with a similarly colored maid headband atop her head. The salamander woman lowered her head with an embarrassed whine while keeping her hands held together in front of her dress, her fiery eyes nervously looking around at the crowd that stared at her in awe as she trembled slightly before them.
And on the right was Felucia, the stubborn sand wraith groaning in humiliation as she stood in front of everyone in a maid outfit of her own. Dressed in white heels with long black stockings, the sand wraith had a flowing thigh-high blue skirt with white trimmings, complimenting her skimpy top and shoulder covers of the same design. Atop her head was a frilly white headband, around her neck was a single blue lace choker, and her face was bright red with shame and perhaps bottled-up rage as she struggled to hold still in front of everyone. Cindy could be seen nearby as she slowly stepped away, smiling lovingly at her mother who didn’t show even a fraction of her enthusiasm for the elder wraith’s new attire.
“What… what the?” Specca breathed out. “Alyssa? What have you done with them?”
“I was getting them ready to make amends with everyone and clear their consciences,” Alyssa explained. “Weren’t you listening to that speech I just made? These girls made mistakes in their lives and they want to make up for it. Simple as that.”
“I never said I wanted to make up for anything, you little bitch!” Felucia yelled at her, with Alyssa paying her no mind.
“But… I thought you were going to punish Sheal,” Specca questioned.
“I am,” Alyssa said with a shrug. “She’s going to be serving the elves as their maid in compensation for all she’s done against their people. What better punishment would there be for her?”
“Well… we all thought that you were… going to… you know…” Specca said before tapping her rear. Alyssa stared at her in silence for a moment before the nixie stepped closer. “You know… like how you usually punish us when one of us acts out? Like you always do? You know? In the butt?”
“Specca,” Alyssa scolded shaking her head. “I couldn’t do that to these girls. I hardly know them. It wouldn’t be right for me to shove anything up Sheal’s ass after she just got here, the poor girl is suffering enough with internal guilt and pain as it is. I wouldn’t even know where to shove it with Rolian, and I wasn’t about to go exploring as that would be rude. And Felucia wouldn’t feel pain from such a thing so that would be utterly pointless to do to her.”
“That… does make sense,” Specca had to agree with. She watched the three maids standing before the crowd of elves that were starting to whistle and call out to them in teasing manners, with only Rolian seeming to enjoy the attention.
“But where did you even get those outfits from?” Specca wondered.
“Don’t worry about it,” Alyssa replied shaking her head. “I just had to do a little tailoring to some clothes I made a while ago.”
“You made those? Why?” Specca asked. She saw the witch merely watching the three maids without saying a word or making eye contact, and after briefly thinking it over Specca peered closely at the witch with a scrutinizing gaze.
“Alyssa? You weren’t by chance planning on making any of us wear those, were you?”
“Well…” the witch sheepishly replied. “Doku does take care of our home and meals all the time, so I just thought…”
“You made Doku maid uniforms to wear?” Specca scolded. “Alyssa! She is not our maid, she’s our co-mate!”
“I thought she would have liked them,” Alyssa reasoned with a shrug. “They’re cute and Doku seems to love pampering us, I thought they would be the perfect gift. I mean look at them. Doku would have looked amazing in those, don’t you think? I made all three for different occasions, and each of them would have been wonderful on her. Really, giving her so many gifts like that, I would have been spoiling her if anything.”
“You’re unbelievable,” Specca sighed. She then noticed Snapper cawing and waving her arms at something, that being Cindy who walked up and gently took the swarm into her arms with a playful giggle.
“Snapper,” she cooed as the swarm started viciously mauling her shoulder and chest. “Aw, I missed you too. You’re just so cute, just like mother is right now. Thank you so much for making her that pretty dress, Alyssa.”
“Thank you for holding her down and forcing her to put it on, Cindy,” Alyssa kindly replied.
“She was stubborn at first but I got her to behave,” Cindy proudly stated. She started kissing Snapper’s forehead and nose, to which the young swarm bit off hers with eager chomps. “Hee hee, I’m happy to see you again too, Snapper. Were you playing with the elves and eating lots of yummy food? I actually haven’t gotten to eat anything yet since I came here, mother was being difficult and it took forever to get those clothes on her. Is the food here tasty?”
“Snapper’s been enjoying everything the elves have been giving her,” Specca said with an amused smile. “As soon as they learned Snapper wasn’t our pet but rather Daniel’s daughter, well, they couldn’t have been more eager to please the little dear and spoil her with attention and love.”
“Who wouldn’t love this adorable baby?” Cindy squealed as she hugged the swarm close, with Snapper’s muffled growls and chomps being heard as she chewed into the wraith’s chest. “She’s so cuddly and cute and amazing!”
“Hey!” Felucia shouted, gaining their attention. “Just how long am I supposed to keep this crap on anyway?”
“This is so mortifying,” Sheal whined. “I just want to burn these wretched clothes off my body right now.”
“I love this!” Rolian cheered with a hop. “I want to always wear these pretty clothes! Don’t we look so adorable, Juggy? Weee!”
“All of you are to keep those on!” Alyssa shouted as she marched over to them. “You wanted to make amends for what you did? You wanted to prove you’re good girls? You wanted to be accepted as nice people? Then this is how you’re going to do it!”
“I never wanted to do any of that!” Felucia shouted.
“How many innocent people did you devour in your life, Felucia?” Alyssa demanded. “Hell, how many have you killed this year alone? More than I can count on my fingers I bet. Enough to make Cindy cry at the mere thought of, am I right? And I’m willing to guess it wasn’t just for the sake of breeding either, you ate them because you thought it was fun, didn’t you?”
Felucia opened her mouth to violently protest before she saw Cindy watching her with a worried frown, coddling Snapper close to her who was now coughing out sand and buzzing her wings.
“And Sheal, you wanted to apologize to the elves you wronged, didn’t you? You wanted to make up for the mistakes you made with joining The Sisterhood, right? Then this is how you’re going to do it. Both of you are going to serve the elven community as payment for your actions and poor life choices. They’ve been through hell and could use the help and comfort of others to see them through these difficult times.
So that means it’s time for you two to start cleaning up your lives and helping others like good people.”
“What about me and Juggy?” Rolian asked curiously.
“You look absolutely adorable in that outfit, Rolian,” Alyssa sweetly told her, with the arachne bouncing and giggling happily. “And I’m sure you would love to show these elves that you’re nothing like the mean arachne from The Sisterhood, right? So you can join Sheal and Felucia by helping the elves in their hour of need and keeping your webbing out here with them and not inside our lovely home. Doesn’t that sound like fun? Won’t Kroanette be so happy to see what a nice girl you are when she returns?”
“Yay!” Rolian cheered with giddy dancing. “She’s going to be so happy when she sees what a good girl I am! Don’t worry, Alyssa, me and Juggy will make the elves super comfortable and take extra good care of them, you can count on us!”
“I knew I could,” Alyssa agreed with a thumbs-up.
“I couldn’t help but pick up an ulterior motive in that persuasive reasoning, Alyssa,” Specca dryly mentioned.
“Do you want her making more webs in our home or not?” Alyssa flatly asked her.
“Do your very best, Rolian,” Specca eagerly applauded the arachne with a thumbs-up of her own. “Show the elves that arachne can be their friends by doing whatever it is they need help with around here. I believe in you.”
“Thank you, Specca!” Rolian giggled as she hopped on her feet. “Thank you, Alyssa! This is the best day of my life! I love having so many friends and nice people around me! This is way better than it was with those mean jerks from The Sisterhood.”
“I’m seriously starting to wonder about that!” Felucia shouted. “This is horseshit! Why should I act like a fucking slave for the elves when I had nothing to do with The Sisterhood wrecking their home? Why should I do a fucking thing to help these people?”
“Because you’ve been a bad girl, mother,” Cindy sternly told her, much to the elder wraith’s surprise. “You’ve killed so many people in your life. I’ve seen you eat humans, humans who will never get to see their friends and family ever again. You were mean to them. And you’ve been mean to Daniel and the girls ever since you came here. You need to learn to behave just like Daniel said and be a good girl!”
“Are you fucking serious?” Felucia scoffed. “This is crazy! I don’t want to do any of this shit, I never agreed to it and I never will! I’m taking this ridiculous outfit off and burning it at once!”
“Be good and make up for being so mean or I’ll hate you forever!” Cindy shouted, halting Felucia who had begun to pull off her top. “I don’t want a mother who’s bad and hurts people and never says she’s sorry! I don’t want you to be like that!”
“But… Cindy,” Felucia whined.
“Cindy wants you to atone for all the bad things you’ve done in your life, Felucia,” Alyssa lectured her. “The same thing Sheal wants to atone for, and… well, Rolian is just Rolian. But you two need to do this to start making amends for all the wrong decisions you’ve made in your past.”
Felucia opened her mouth to speak before the witch pointed her staff at her with glowing purple eyes.
“And keep this in mind, Felucia. Daniel’s patience is already close to its end with you. If you continue to make trouble and refuse to accept responsibility for your life choices, you’ll be kicked out of here in no time. Cindy learned to value life and be kind towards others, this is your last chance to do the same. You are going to be caring and considerate with these people, you are going to help comfort them after the hellish ordeal they have been through, and you are going to do it with a goddamned smile on your face, got it?”
Felucia growled as she clearly bit her tongue with speaking out against the witch.
“Felucia? Don’t make me repeat myself,” Alyssa warned. Felucia glanced to Cindy who was nodding at her with a worried frown, the elder wraith slowly breathing out in aggravation before struggling to hide her scowl at Alyssa.
“Yes… ma’am,” she forced out between her teeth.
“Good,” Alyssa replied with a nod. She looked over the three maids then turned to the elven crowd as they were smiling amusedly at the sight. Rolian was giggling and turning around to look herself over, stumbling and tripping over her own legs in the process. Sheal was struggling to keep still with a shameful grimace on her face, her head lowered and hands shaking as she felt all the elves staring at her. And Felucia was stomping her feet and growling to herself as she worked very hard to contain her anger in front of her daughter.
“Elves of Green Haven,” Alyssa called out with a fanciful wave of the hand. “Their lives and future are in your hands. In reparation for their actions against you and so many, please accept their willing subservience to you and your community. Really, we insist you take them off our hands. Hopefully they will be able to redeem themselves one day and finally-”
“Wait, hold on,” an elven woman spoke up, raising her hand and shaking her head. “No disrespect intended, but we can’t accept this gift.”
“What?” Alyssa asked as she and the other girls showed confused looks.
“We can’t accept these maids as ours,” a ranger said shaking her head. “We appreciate the thought and generosity behind your gift, but we’ve already received too much kindness from you people already. You saved us from slavery, you rescued us when nobody else would have, and your friends have already been spoiling us by assisting with our hunting and treating the injured.”
“Your succubus watches over us at night,” another mentioned. “Your shaman has healed our wounded and lifted our spirits after we felt so crushed by our loss. And your human… Lord Daniel Sorres… he defeated The Sisterhood in combat and blessed us all by saving our asses before those monsters and even Eden itself threatened to be our end. We’re already forever in your debt after all you’ve done.”
“We can’t possibly accept such a gift as these… very unique maids,” a woman insisted with a worried smile. “Not after we’re already indebted to you so greatly. If anything, this is the sort of gift we should be giving you in thanks for your help.”
“But… it’s really no trouble,” Alyssa said waving to the three girls in question. “Really, they want to do this.”
“No I don’t,” Felucia snapped, before Cindy ran up and whacked her head.
“We understand that you want to make our lives better,” an elven woman gently praised. “And you have by leaps and bounds that we can never truly repay you for. But this is simply too much, we can’t take anything more from you. Not after you’ve already given us so much.”
“If those three are seeking redemption in their lives,” another spoke up. “I’d say serving Lord Daniel Sorres and his family would be the best way for them to go about it. They should be his maids, not ours.”
The elves quickly started agreeing with that notion while Specca and Alyssa showed noticeable concern with that suggestion.
“What?” Alyssa exclaimed. “No, no! Daniel doesn’t need any maids in his home. He already has Doku.”
After Specca quickly whacked her head the witch straightened her hat and laughed nervously at the crowd of elves.
“What I mean is he already has those who take care of his home and family. He doesn’t need any maids serving him. Really.”
“Those three should be serving Lord Daniel Sorres,” a ranger declared. “He’s the one who saved all of us, he would be the one they should submit to. If anyone could bless them and pardon their ways of the past, it would be him.”
“I agree!”
“Make them serve Lord Daniel Sorres!”
“They should be kissing his feet, not ours!”
“It’s decided then, the maids will henceforth serve Lord Daniel Sorres and his family!”
The elves cheered in agreement while Alyssa face palmed, Specca stammered some form of protest, Rolian looked up curiously in thought, Sheal pondered such a notion with heavy focus, and Felucia merely stared at the crowd
of elves in disgust.
“Serve him?” she repeated. “Oh hell no. Like fucking hell I’m going to serve that sack of shit and his crazy family.”
“Mother!” Cindy scolded. “Don’t talk about Daniel like that. He’s the best guy in the world and he’s really nice to me. He loves me and I love him. You need to start treating him and the girls better, you’re always so mean to them.”
“I am not going to be his fucking maid!” Felucia yelled at her. “Who in their right mind would want to do that?”
“I’ll do it!” Rolian cheered, raising her hand much to the disbelief of Alyssa and Specca. “I’ll be his maid! He was really nice to me and allowed me to stay in his home, me and Juggy are super thankful for that. I’ll be his maid and show him I’m a good arachne and I absolutely love him for letting me be a part of his home and family.”
“WHAT?” Alyssa and Specca cried out.
“I’ll do it too,” Sheal announced, with the witch and nixie staring in shock at her. “His loved one saved my life when I thought I was lost. He allowed me to stay with his family and treated me with compassion and forgiveness. If it wasn’t for him coming out here on his quest… I would have been lost in Green Haven. I will show my gratitude for all that he’s given me, for all that his family has given me. Such kindness, mercy, and a chance to live again; I shall not squander these gifts. I shall serve Lord Daniel Sorres with the highest of honors and I swear I shall atone for my sins by his benevolent grace.”
“You don’t have to do that, Sheal,” Specca insisted.
“I want to,” Sheal quickly told her. “I want this horrible weight on my soul to be lifted. I must do what’s right and repent for my horrible choices in the past. Lord Daniel Sorres said I was to seek redemption with the elves who I have wronged, and they have chosen my fate; to serve Lord Daniel Sorres with the life he so graciously bestowed upon me. And I shall do just that.”
Chronicles of Eden - Season II - Act I Page 41
