chronicles of eden - act I (18 page)

"Um… are you two even listening to me at all?" he asked nervously.

"The back here isn't that big, so one of us is
going
to have to sleep next to him. It can't be helped after all. He trusts me with him, why not let me sleep next to him tonight? Unless you're saying
you
want to sleep with him," Alyssa said with a sly smile. Triska opened her mouth to speak again, and then glanced around. The witch was right, with all three sleeping in the back somebody would have to be near the boy in some way. Triska looked around worriedly then to Daniel.

"Um… again, we could just make camp outside," Daniel said, glancing towards the back and outside at the rolling plains.

"No no, we want to make good time with our quest if we have a long journey ahead of us. Besides, are you saying you
don't
want to sleep next to me? I'll be a good little girl, I promise," Alyssa said sweetly. Daniel looked at her nervously then around at the carriage. Triska bit her lip then glanced at the witch.

"That's not what I'm… I mean I just want…" Daniel stuttered.

"Hee hee, you're so cute, Daniel. Don't worry, I promise I'll be good while you hold me close. Unless of course, you want me to be
bad
," Alyssa purred. Daniel jumped a bit and shook his head worriedly.

"I… I can sleep next to you, Daniel. I won't do anything bad," Triska said softly. He looked to her curiously as Alyssa giggled a bit.

"Really? And why should you be trusted near him but I can't be?" Alyssa asked with a smirk.

"Because I'm not the one that tried to force herself on him earlier," Triska pointed out with narrowed eyes at the witch. Alyssa smiled bitterly at her then looked to Daniel.

"Well, it's up to you, Daniel. Which one of us do you want sleeping next to you?" Alyssa asked curiously with a smile. Daniel slowly looked around.

"Well…" he said nervously. Triska looked to him with worry then to Alyssa.

"Or if you prefer, you can sleep between us. Would that give you pleasant dreams, having each of us lying so close to you together?" Alyssa asked with a cute smile. Triska jumped a bit then shook her head.

"No way, he's not sleeping next to you at all!" she cried out. Alyssa giggled then looked to Daniel with a curious smile.

"Hee hee, seems like she wants to sleep next to you only, Daniel. So, what's it going to be?" she asked while batting her eyelashes. Daniel looked between the two girls worriedly as the carriage bounced slightly on the dirt road.

"I don't know… um…" he said hesitantly looking around while rubbing the back of his head. Triska looked at him worriedly then to the witch.

"I'll make sure you sleep well, Daniel, I promise," Alyssa said with a wink. Triska looked at her with narrowed eyes then glanced to the floor of the carriage. She shook her head then jumped over and hugged Daniel closely.

"You can't sleep next to her, Daniel, you won't be safe," she pleaded. He looked at her with surprise as she kept her eyes down at the floor.

"I won't try anything with you while you’re asleep, you trust me right?" she asked softly. Alyssa looked at the girl with a scowl as Daniel nodded.

"Well, of course I trust you, Triska," he said gently. She looked up to him with worried eyes as she held onto him tightly.

"Then… let me sleep next to you. Please," she said quickly.

"So you
don't
trust me, Daniel?" Alyssa said with a sad smile. He looked to her worriedly as Triska glared at the witch while holding Daniel closely.

"I don't trust you at all, Alyssa, there is no way you're sleeping next to him ever!" Triska shouted out. Alyssa glanced to the girl with a dull glare then to Daniel curiously.

"But, Daniel, you did promise you would consider me. Doesn't that mean you trust me?" she asked innocently. Triska looked at the witch carefully then to Daniel.

"What is she talking about? Consider her for what?" she asked cautiously.

"Consider having me as his mate of course," Alyssa said happily. Triska gasped and looked to the witch with wide eyes, then to Daniel.

"What? His mate?" she cried out. Alyssa giggled and nodded.

"Yep yep, he promised to consider me as a possible future mate," she boasted. Triska stared at Daniel with shock as he smiled nervously.

"Well… I did sort of… say that…" he slowly admitted. Triska looked at him with disbelief then down.

"No… why would you say that? You couldn't mean that, Daniel. She… she did put a hex on you didn't she? She did do something! I knew it!" she yelled before looking back to Alyssa with a glare. The witch giggled and shook her head.

"Nope nope, he said that on his own free will. He promised to consider me as a possible mate," she said proudly, then looked down with a soft smile.

"It was his words that helped me keep in control when I started to succumb to my inner nature. I owe everything to him, and as such I will gladly become his mate," she said with a small blush. Triska looked at the witch with horror then to Daniel.

"A mate? With a
monster
?" she said shaking her head.

"My name is Alyssa," Alyssa said with a dull glare at her.

"No… tell me that's not true, Daniel. Tell me you didn't mean that," Triska begged. Daniel opened his mouth to speak and hesitated, then looked at her with remorse.

"Well… I…" he said slowly. Triska looked at him with devastation then to the witch.

‘No… this can't be. She's taking him from me… she really is taking him away from me!’

"No… you can't even consider that, Daniel, how could you?" Triska asked urgently, looking back to him with a few tears forming.

"Why shouldn't he? I'm going to take very good care of him after all. He'll be perfectly safe with me and I'll always make him happy. And I'm quite experienced with what men like most so he's in for a real treat," Alyssa said with a wink at the boy. Triska trembled then shook her head with closed eyes.

"I'm the best choice for his mate, and I'm going to prove it to him," Alyssa said proudly.

"Again, I said I would
consider
it, Alyssa, that doesn't mean-" Daniel started before Triska held him tightly and shook her head.

"You can't, Daniel, you can't let yourself be taken by a monster like that, you just can't!" she cried out.

"I do have a name you know," Alyssa flatly stated with a dull expression.

"You can't, Daniel, you just can't do that! How could you even think about doing such a thing?" Triska cried out while looking at him with fearful eyes.

"Why can't he? What's wrong with him being with a girl that can take care of him like I can?" Alyssa asked with discontent. Triska looked back to her with anger then to Daniel. He shook his head and looked to Alyssa.

"Again, Alyssa, me saying I'll consider it doesn't mean-"

"No please, Daniel, let me take care of you instead!" Triska shouted loudly. Daniel and Alyssa looked to her as she started crying while holding him.

"I'll take care of you… please let me. I promise, I'll take care of you far better than some monster ever could. Please let me be yours instead!" she pleaded with a few tears starting to form in her eyes.

"Triska," Daniel said softly with wonder. Alyssa narrowed her eyes as she clutched her staff tightly.

"My name is
Alyssa
," she said with anger. Triska looked at Daniel with pleading eyes and shook her head.

"I promise, Daniel, give me a chance to prove myself to you. I can't just let you be taken by some monster like that! You mean too much to me to let some monster just have you as her mate! Please, Daniel, I lo-" she started before she was thrown forward and out of the carriage by a magical force with a scream, over the horse that stopped suddenly, and crashed into the ground. Daniel watched with surprise as Alyssa stood up on the front seat with her staff clutched tightly in her hand, glaring at Triska with glowing purple eyes.

"My name is ALYSSA!" she yelled while waving her staff. Triska slid across the ground at high speed and tumbled into a violent roll off into the grass, tumbling to a stop as she coughed.

"Alyssa, stop!" Daniel called out as the witch jumped off from the carriage and landed on the ground. Green vines crawled out and around her feet as she walked towards where Triska was shakily getting up.

"Stop calling me by that name, 
human
, I'm not some lowly monster. I'm a witch named Alyssa. Alyssa! And if anybody is going to be Daniel’s mate it's going to be me!" she raged. Triska growled as she unsheathed her blade, holding it with both hands as she narrowed her eyes at the witch. A few tears were still falling from her face as she dashed towards her target with a furious yell. She swung down towards the young witch with a powerful strike, the sword stopping short of hitting her as the witch's staff glowed orange. Green vines whipped around and snapped at the teen, the girl jumping back and swiping at them with her blade. She cut a few while Alyssa just glared at the girl with purple glowing eyes.

"You can't even stand up to me, human, what makes you think
you
can protect him out there?" Alyssa demanded as she waved her staff, again throwing Triska's sword along with the teen over into a tumble off to the side. Daniel jumped out of the carriage and started running towards them.

"Stop this, both of you!" he called out. Alyssa shook her head and waved her staff back; creating a burst of magical energy that stopped and pushed him back to keep him away.

"She needs to learn a lesson, Daniel, about respecting us
monsters
and our selection for our mates," she said with a bite. Triska got up and growled loudly at the girl, holding her sword tightly as a few strands of hair fell down before her face.

"He will NEVER be your mate, Alyssa! I'd die before that would ever happen!" she yelled out before running towards the witch again.

"That can be arranged," Alyssa said while waving her staff forward, the magical force yanking Triska’s sword along with her back into a tumble. The witch then waved her staff to the side and threw Triska sideways into another tumble onto the grass. Triska coughed as she rolled to a stop then climbed back to her feet.

"You won't keep him from me… no way in hell will I ever let any monster keep him from me!" she shouted out with a glare at the monster. Daniel watched his friend sprint towards Alyssa again with her sword held back and a few tears falling from her face.

"You stupid girl, you can't defeat me. You can't even get close to me," Alyssa scoffed as she waved her staff to the side, once again causing Triska's sword to veer off and throw the teen into a wild spiral onto the ground. Triska rolled around then collapsed down onto the grass as Alyssa shook her head.

"You can't protect him with that sword, can't even protect yourself from a
monster
with it either. How could you ever hope to guard him out there against those that would truly rape him to death?" Alyssa demanded with discontent. Triska slowly climbed to her feet as Daniel watched with worried eyes.

"Please, I'm asking you both to stop this," he called out.

"I'll guard him… I won't let anything happen to him. I'll guard him with my life from anything the world sends our way!" Triska shouted out, the girl then racing towards the witch with her sword held back. She ran forward before again being pulled sideways by her sword yanking away with great force, throwing her into another tumble and crashing into the ground. Alyssa shook her head with annoyance as she watched the human lie there.

"He wouldn't last a day out there with you and your worthless sword," she scoffed. Triska slowly got back up with a groan as she grabbed hold of her sword tightly. Daniel watched her with worried eyes as she shakily got back to her feet and looked to the witch with a glare, her breathing heavy while she refused to stay down.

"My sword will guard him from monsters like you… I won't let any of you lay a hand on him… you hear me? Never!" she shouted before she raced towards the witch yet again. A green vine whipped out from the ground and grabbed her ankle, dropping her to the ground as her sword flew forward. The blade stopped in midair and floated there as more green vines ripped out from the dirt and wrapped around the teen's arms and legs. They held her down on her knees as Alyssa walked forward, her staff glowing orange as the sword floated alongside her.

"You can't even protect yourself, there's no way you can be trusted to protect Daniel out there. I won't allow anything to harm him, and that includes your foolish ambitions," she said coldly. The sword floated up then aimed down at Triska who watched with wide eyes. A vine wrapped around her neck and tightened as Alyssa narrowed her eyes.

"He's mine to protect, Triska. And I'm going to start with getting rid of you before you kill him with your blind dreams of being his
protector
," she said with anger. Triska choked as the vine around her throat tightened and looked up with weary eyes at her blade which was pointed down towards her, the girl held tightly by the vines from the ground as the witch prepared to finish her off.

"STOP THIS NOW!" Daniel yelled out. Alyssa looked over to see him glaring at her with rage as he walked up towards them.

"Daniel…" she said softly.

"Alyssa. Let her go. Now!" he demanded sternly. The witch stepped back with worry as she glanced to Triska.

"But… Daniel…" she pleaded.

"I said let her go NOW!" Daniel yelled out with anger. Alyssa slowly nodded then waved her staff, in doing so the vines around Triska let go and sunk back into the dirt. The sword dropped to the ground and struck into it as Triska wavered on her knees. She fell forward before Daniel knelt down and caught her, holding her gently. She looked up at him with a weak expression as he held her close, her eyes slowly focusing as she could breathe again. Daniel then looked over to Alyssa with a deep glare.

"How dare you treat her like that. Don't you ever, EVER attack her like that again, do you understand me?" he shouted out. Alyssa looked at him with saddened eyes as Daniel held Triska close to him.

"She's the one that always stood up for me back home, who was always there for me when I needed help. She was the only one in the village besides me that believed monsters like
you
could exist, that we could form relations with those that were kindhearted," Daniel said sternly. Alyssa looked at him with remorse then to Triska.