Chronicles of Eden - Act III (32 page)

“Have you seen Luna? Have any of you seen her?” she asked desperately. She was instantly thrown back into the tree by a magical force, the girl slamming against the bark before green vines whipped up from the ground and ensnared her ankles.

“How many times must we tell you, stop chasing after Daniel!” Alyssa yelled out as she and the other girls walked over towards the tree. Triska held her sword out towards Falla, the butterfly monster leaning back and looking at the blade with worried eyes, while Specca and Squeak just watched her with discontent.

“What’s your plan this time, Falla?” Triska inquired with narrowed eyes.

Kroanette looked at the scene with confusion then glanced to Daniel.

“So, you and this girl are
not
on good terms?” she questioned with a raised eyebrow. The boy sighed and walked towards Falla, gently pulling Triska back while the girl remained ready to lunge forward with her blade.

“Falla, what are you doing here?” he asked looking at the butterfly.

“I’m looking for my sister, have any of you seen her?” Falla asked quickly.

“Isn’t she always following you around?” Specca asked plainly.

“I don’t see how this is supposed to get Daniel’s pants off,” Alyssa commented flatly.

“This isn’t a game, witch! My sister’s missing!”

“Missing?” Triska asked while keeping her blade held out.

“Yes, missing, she’s been gone since yesterday. I’ve been looking for her and that little girl since then.”

“Little girl? What little girl?” Specca asked.

Falla looked to her then to Daniel with pleading eyes.

“We found a human child, in the woods, after you left us back there. We’ve been trying to find you so you can help her, she’s all alone out here,” she explained. The group looked to each other then to Falla carefully.

“A human child? Way out in The Outerlands like this?” Specca questioned.

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard of, a human child wouldn’t be wandering around The Outerlands alone,” Triska argued.

Falla looked to her with concern then pulled out Emily’s bloodied shoe from behind her, the group looking at it with surprise as she tossed it to Daniel.

“She wasn’t alone, until monsters ate her family,” she said sadly.

“Oh my god,” Specca said holding a hand over her mouth as the group stared at the shoe in Daniel’s hand, the boy tilting it around slowly and seeing it having bloodstains all over it.

“Okay, this is a rather elaborate ploy to get Daniel’s pants off, I’ll give you that,” Alyssa said glancing to Falla with discontent.

“This isn’t a trick,” Falla pleaded. “Her name is Emily Winterbloom, she’s a young girl, has long brunette hair, blue eyes, very dirty clothes with blood on them, and she’s blind.”

“She’s blind?” Daniel asked.

“Why don’t you just say she’s wearing an eye patch too, or has a scar on her leg?” Triska mocked. “Seriously, what kind of flimsy story are you trying to push on us here?”

“I’m telling you I’m not making this up!” Falla yelled out while shaking her head. “We were trying to find you because you would be able to help the child more than we could; we were trying to do what was right! We stopped at a clearing because she was hungry, so I left to find food while Luna watched over her. When I came back they were both gone, all that was left was that kid’s shoe.”

“Do you think she’s telling the truth?” Specca asked looking at the shoe with concern. Daniel watched the butterfly girl carefully as she whimpered and looked at him with pleading eyes.

“Please, I’m begging you to help me.”

“The last time you begged me to help you it was all just an act,” Daniel scorned. “Why should we believe you this time? You could have found this shoe anywhere, at the very least I’d like to think that even
you
wouldn’t go so far as to harm a child’s parents to get to me.”

Falla looked around at everyone then to him as they all waited for her answer.

“How is this a plan to get your pants off?” she cried out. “I’m asking all of you to come with me, not just you, Daniel. For crying out loud, something happened to my sister, I need your help!”

“I would like to believe her,” Triska dryly said. “But her history of being a deceptive little rat isn’t something I can just forget about.”

Falla looked to her with desperation and shook her head.

“Fine, don’t do it for me, but what about Luna? I thought you liked her, you gave her cookies last we met, think about her. And what about the child, what about Emily? You can’t just turn your back on a kid in need, can you?”

Triska looked down with a solemn expression while slowly lowering her sword, not saying anything back to her. Falla looked around at the group with frustration then to Alyssa.

“If you’re not going to help me, then fine, don’t. We were trying to bring the kid to you so you could help her, you know, protect her, find a home for her, but I guess none of that matters to you. If you’re not going to do anything then just let me go, I still need to find them.”

Alyssa looked at her cautiously then to Daniel, the boy looking at the shoe in his hand while thinking about his options. After a while he breathed out then looked at Falla with a sharp glance.

“Where?” he asked, with Falla then looking at him curiously. After that got nothing out of her he spoke up again. “Where were they before they vanished?”

Falla looked around at the surrounding landscape then over towards where the group had come from.

“Um, it would be that way. I don’t know how far though, I’ve been going all over The Outerlands in this direction searching for them.”

“In this direction?” Specca asked. “Why in this direction?”

“Because this was the way we were originally going to find you,” Falla reasoned. “If Luna was running scared I figured she would try to meet up with all of you as well, hopefully she would have flown this way.”

Daniel looked back towards where they came from then to Falla with an accusing glare.

“Normally I wouldn’t believe you. I don’t trust you, Falla,” he derided. “But if there’s even a chance a young girl is in danger I will not just walk away. However, if we find out you’re lying, that this is another one of your tricks…”

“No tricks, I swear,” Falla pleaded shaking her head. “We were trying to do the right thing by helping Emily, we knew she would be safe with you. Please, my sister is missing, you have to help me find her.”

Daniel watched her with a glimmer of sympathy for a moment then looked to the shoe again.

“Alyssa, let her go, we’re heading back to look for them,” he said, with Triska slowly sheathing her sword while Alyssa waved her staff to the side, causing the vines to let go of Falla’s legs.

“Hold on,” Kroanette said while raising a hand. The group looked to her as she shook her head at Daniel. “I still have my appointment to keep, and even if this one is telling the truth about a missing child I’m afraid I have a job to do. I have to reach Rystone and deliver the artifact as promised, that is my priority.”

“I know,” Daniel agreed. “You have your duty as their courier, I didn’t expect you to follow us on this search.”

“But, Daniel,” Triska said worriedly. “What about meeting her mother? This would be a great step towards your cause.”

“I know, and I still want to meet her,” Daniel agreed. “But we can’t just leave a young girl and Luna out there, especially if something may have happened to them. I’m not going to take a chance on their safety. Kroanette, your job is to deliver your parcel to Rystone, you don’t need us for that, and you can even reach the village faster without us slowing you down. All the more reason for you to go on ahead without us.”

“But about meeting my mother,” Kroanette mentioned. “I did promise to take you and wish to make good on that.”

“And you can,” Daniel assured her. “Head to Rystone and make your delivery, then we’ll meet you outside of Eston after we’ve found Emily and Luna. By the time we reach the town you would have already finished your job anyway.”

Specca thought about it then nodded with a smile.

“Yes, that would work,” she mused. “She would have to travel past Eston to reach Rystone. By the time she does so and doubles back to Eston we should likely have arrived after we’ve found the young child. We could even try to find a home for her in the town, she would be safe there.”

“Alyssa won’t have to risk going near Rystone at all then,” Triska said looking to Alyssa. “And then we can still go to meet Kroanette’s mother afterwards.”

The witch looked down in thought then to Daniel with a small smile.

“I suppose that does work out for everyone, not like I wanted to go near Rystone at all to begin with.”

Daniel nodded then looked to Kroanette with a calm smile.

“We’ll meet you just outside of Eston, then you can make good on your promise.”

Kroanette smiled curiously at him as she holstered her whip at her side.

“Going through such lengths all for a child you don’t know, how very noble of you. Perhaps my mother will be interested in meeting with someone such as yourself after all.”

Daniel smiled modestly and rubbed the back of his neck in response.

“Here’s hoping I don’t disappoint her, or embarrass myself with what I wish to speak about,” he said half-jokingly. Kroanette smirked a bit and shook her head.

“Well, I wouldn’t worry about the first part at least,” she said before double checking her saddlebag. The artifact was still secure inside after Specca had quickly sewn the hole closed earlier, the strange relic giving off a faint blue glow briefly that made Kroanette feel more uneasy about having it with her. She then looked back to the group with a small smile.

“Very well, I will meet you all at Eston after I make my delivery. I wish you luck in your search for that child,” she said kindly, then glanced to Falla with a raised eyebrow. “You however need to work on your social skills more. They’re quite deplorable.”

“Again, you almost ran into me, I was just taking a nap down here!” Falla barked out at her.

Kroanette shook her head with discontent at the butterfly girl then waved to Daniel with a smile.

“Take care, Daniel. I expect to see you again in my future very soon,” she said before she took off running, the group watching as the centaur galloped across the field of grass with her tail swishing behind her. Daniel and Triska face palmed while Squeak showed a puzzled expression, the ant girl looking back behind them then to Kroanette with a small squeak before Alyssa rolled her eyes then called out to the centaur.

“You’re going the wrong way!” she yelled out. Kroanette skidded to a halt then looked back towards them curiously.

“Eston and Rystone are
that way
!” Alyssa shouted out while pointing back behind them. Kroanette slowly looked around for a moment then back towards them while scratching her head.

“Are you sure?”

“You are the worst cour-” Alyssa started to yell before Daniel quickly held a hand over her mouth and kept her close, the boy shaking his head with a weak smile at the centaur.

“Yes, it’s that way, just stick to the trail and you should be fine.”

Kroanette nodded then ran back towards the group, with everyone watching as she galloped past with her breasts once again bouncing around with great force. Daniel kept looking ahead to avoid eye contact with the jiggling bosom while the other girls watched with dull expressions as the centaur galloped up the hill back towards their caravan before running off along the trail. Daniel then let go of Alyssa while looking back to seeing the centaur racing off into the distance and out of view.

“Seriously, she is the
worst
courier ever,” Alyssa muttered.

“Do you think she’ll be alright on her own?” Specca wondered.

“She has no navigational skills whatsoever. We’ll never see her again,” Triska said flatly.

Squeak nodded with a squeak while Daniel wondered if his only chance at meeting the centaur empress would indeed become lost in The Outerlands once again. Falla looked around at the group then waved towards the trail behind them.

“Hey, are we going to go find my sister and the kid or not?” she barked out. The group glanced to her with annoyance, the girl then backing up nervously from them.

“I still don’t like the idea of her riding with us,” Triska mentioned.

“If we do not find this Emily you speak of, you are going to be in
very
serious trouble,” Specca warned, with Squeak nodding in agreement to that.

“I’m telling you the truth,” Falla pleaded. “If we find my sister we’ll find Emily too, you’ll see.”

Alyssa narrowed her eyes and walked towards the butterfly girl.

“Put your hands together.”

“What? Why?”

“I said, put your hands together,” Alyssa repeated.

Falla glanced to the others then slowly put her hands together in front of her. Alyssa struck her staff into the ground, sticking it there before she held her hands together as well. The group watched as a small glow came from her sleeves before she parted her hands and formed an intertwined blue and pink ribbon. She then quickly wrapped it around Falla’s wrists and tied the girl’s hands together tightly, with Falla watching her curiously as the witch coiled the ribbons around together before tying them into a knot at the top, leaving two small lengths of the fabrics hanging down.

“Just in case you get any ideas,” Alyssa said as she picked her staff back up.

“For what? Bondage?” Falla asked flatly.

Alyssa twitched at that then growled at her.

“No, in case you thought of doing anything with Daniel!”

Falla glanced to the ribbons holding her hands together, then to Daniel, then to the witch with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah, this is only
giving
me ideas about doing things with him, just so you know.”

Alyssa huffed then grabbed the hanging ribbons before walking the butterfly girl towards the caravan.

“Just stop talking,” she muttered.

“Aren’t you going to use a ball gag to make me?” Falla quipped with a smirk.

“Just shut up!” Alyssa shouted out as she led Falla up the hill.

Daniel shook his head then motioned for the others to follow as he started walking towards the caravan too. Squeak quickly walked after him while Triska and Specca looked off to where Kroanette had disappeared from view.