Chronicles of Eden - Act V (57 page)

“Oh, yeah, there it is,” she said with a small shrug.

“Hey, do you hear that?” Luna asked holding a hand to her ear and facing it towards the tree. The others stopped and listened, slowly picking up the sounds of many voices echoing out inside the royal home.

“Sounds like something’s going on in there,” Falla said glancing to her sister. “Well, no sense waiting out here. Let’s go.”

The sisters led the way with Daniel, Triska, and Complica following after, all of them walking through one of the grand archways and into the corridor lit with small fluorescent blue flowers and vines that were growing out of the walls and ceiling.

“Look at those flowers,” Triska softly said with wonder. “I’ve never seen flowers like those before.”

“Don’t eat them it burns when you do that you’ll get very sick I know I tried a few times I mean they tasted okay and everything but afterwards it felt like I ate fire I hated it so don’t eat them,” Complica warned shaking her head.

“I will keep that in mind, thanks.”

As they ventured deeper into the tree the sounds of many butterfly girls started to grow louder, with the corridor finally reaching a large hollowed hall inside the grand tree. Lining the sides of the cylindrical room were tangled vines and giant flowers which were growing from the walls, many having softly glowing petals of florescent light and all of them serving as pews and seats for hundreds of giant butterflies who were all talking with tones of concern and dread. In the center of the hall a small waterfall was seen falling into a pool with glistening ripples and flowers floating in it. The water was falling from above where it was too dark to see any higher in a smooth and gentle pillar from the top of the hall, with its graceful descent causing small rainbows to bloom to the sides from the light by the vibrant flowers all around.

“That’s a lot of giant butterflies,” Triska mentioned.

“What’s going on?” Luna asked looking around at seeing so many of her sisters there. “The entire village must be gathered here.”

Daniel and the girls slowly walked out from the corridor into the assembly hall, with the voices of the butterflies all around quickly fading as they took notice of the travelers. As they made their way towards the small pond in the middle of the room Daniel glanced around at seeing all eyes locked onto them, the silence filling the hall making him and the others feel uneasy.

“Mother?” Complica called out looking around. “Mother, are you here?”

“Is that Complica?” one of the butterflies said with hushed tones.

“The princess is back!” another called out, with the crowd suddenly calling out to their princess with enthusiastic cheers.

“Mother?” Complica shouted out as the group now stood next to the pond and waterfall.

From above someone swooped down from the shadowy top of the hall, with all the butterflies growing silent as the winged figure spiraled around the falling water before slowing and gracefully touching down on the ground next to Complica. Daniel stared in awe at seeing a giant butterfly extending her wings out before them. The elder matriarch stood in dark blue heels while wearing an elegant skirt made of red and purple flowers that swayed around her hips down to her knees, her bust which Daniel swore was as big as Kroanette’s if not larger was covered with a brown and yellow embroidered shawl that was draped over her shoulders, and her long purple hair flowed down past her shoulders while several brightly red colored flowers were set in her hair near her antennae. Her dark green eyes rested on Complica while a joyous smile came across her face, her wings fluttering once behind her while which were not only larger than that of the normal giant butterflies but also colored with black edgings around their red and white segmented insides along with having glittery dots all over them.

“My baby!” Florence cried out before she snatched Complica up in her arms and held her close, with the young girl’s head nearly being enveloped in the woman’s breasts. “Oh my dear Complica, I’ve been so worried about you! I was afraid I would never lay my eyes on your perfectly adorable smile ever again! Oh my dearest daughter, I’m so happy you came back to me!”

“Can Complica breathe like that?” Triska asked pointing to the child as she was squirming about in her mother’s embrace.

“No,” Falla and Luna answered with a simple shake of their heads.

Florence swayed her daughter’s weakly flailing body around in her loving hug then froze as she laid eyes on Daniel and Triska, her smile then shifting into a fierce scowl.

“So,” she hissed holding Complica away from them and closer to her, with the young girl now weakly tapping on her mother’s breasts to get her attention. “You humans are the ones that dared touch my precious little girl. How
dare
you show yourselves here! Get out! Get out of my grove, get out this instant!”

All around the other butterflies booed and hissed at Daniel and Triska as the two humans looked around at all the mean glares they were now getting.

“And this is off to a great start,” Triska muttered shaking her head.

“Wait,” Falla insisted holding her hands up. “They didn’t take her, they saved-”

“And
you
,” Florence scorned her. “What are you doing here with them? And with your troublesome sister no less. Was all of this your fault? Did you bring these humans here so they could touch my baby girl? Every time you two show up something has to go wrong, this is all your fault isn’t it?”

“Wait a minute, we didn’t do anything wrong,” Falla defended nervously.

“My baby girl was kidnapped and I’ve also received word that swarm are breeding close to our home. I bet it was you two that brought all this misfortune upon my beautiful grove!”

“How the hell is swarm being nearby our fault?” Falla cried out with disbelief. “You can’t possibly blame them on us as well!”

“Um, Florence?” Luna spoke up with a weak smile and raising her hand.

“What?” the monarch snapped at her.

“Your daughter is turning blue just like her hair,” Luna said pointing to Complica. The monarch blinked then looked to seeing Complica slowly falling limp in her chest.

“
AH!
” Florence screamed before she quickly pulled her daughter away from her suffocating mounds. Complica gasped for air again and again while staring at her with wonder. “My poor baby, why don’t you ever say anything when that happens? You know how much I love to smoother you with my love and affection.”

“How can she say anything?” Falla questioned. “You’re always shoving her face first into those things.”

“Enough!” Florence yelled out at them while holding Complica close enough so she wasn’t being pressed into her bosom again. “Not another word from you two. You’re just lucky you didn’t cause my baby girl to get hurt with the trouble you caused, otherwise I’d have your wings.”

“Her getting kidnapped wasn’t our fault either,” Falla argued with annoyance. “Quit blaming everything on us just because Luna’s my sister. We had nothing to do with her getting kidnapped or her wings getting clipped.” She then gasped and slapped a hand over her mouth as Florence stared at her with wide eyes.

“Um, Florence?” Luna nervously said, with the monarch slowly glancing over to her. “Complica…
did
get hurt before she was saved.”

“What are you talking about?” Florence softly said before looking to her daughter. She then noticed the young girl had a saddened expression while her wings were drooping low behind her. “Complica? What’s wrong? What happened to you?”

She slowly set the girl down before the princess backed up a step, with all eyes in the hall watching as she turned around held out a few tatters of her wings to either side. All the butterflies gasped in horror as Florence stared at her daughter with total shock.

“No,” the monarch breathed out before she shakily dropped to her knees and reached out to touch her daughter’s severed wings. “No… Complica…
NOOOOO!
”

Daniel and the girls watched with remorse as Florence cried out in agony while holding the tattered remains of Complica’s wings with her trembling hands. All around the other butterflies gasped and started crying as they saw their princess’s wings had been cut.

“MY BABY!” Florence shrieked before she held Complica close from behind. “No! My beautiful baby’s wings! No! Oh, Complica! What did those monsters do to you?”

Falla and Luna lowered their heads in sorrow as well before Florence stumbled back to her feet and grabbed Luna by the throat, choking the girl with fury and tears in her eyes.

“What did you do? This is all your fault! What did you do to my baby? Every time you show your face something goes wrong! You’re nothing but a curse!”

“Stop!” Daniel yelled out as he ran over and yanked the woman’s hands off of Luna’s neck, the girl clinging to his arm coughing and looking at her monarch with watery eyes. “Don’t you dare hurt them, they didn’t do anything wrong.”

Florence glared at them with rage before glancing over to Complica as the young princess ran over to her and shook her head.

“They didn’t hurt me, mother. They saved me. Triska came and rescued me.”

“Triska?” Florence questioned looking to the sword wielding teen. “But what happened to the neko I hired to bring you back, Complica? She was supposed to bring you to me herself.”

“She ran away,” Triska explained. “After the swarm appeared they surrounded us. Tabitha assumed Complica was doomed and couldn’t be saved, so she fled to save herself. I was the one who stayed and defended your daughter.”

“You?” Florence asked eyeing the girl over with a scowl.

“She saved my life, mother,” Complica whimpered before running over and hugging Triska. “There were so many swarm and they were mean and they were going to eat me but Triska fought them all off I saw it myself she didn’t let any of those swarm touch me she’s my hero please don’t be angry at her mother please she’s my best friend.”

Florence and the butterflies of Flairwood watched the princess crying into Triska’s chest then looked at the human with wonder as she gently held Complica with one hand.

“You saved my baby’s life?” Florence asked softly.

“I did, and I didn’t do so for any reward or bounty. I did it because I wanted to, I wanted to help her,” Triska reasoned before looking down to Complica’s limp wings. “I only regret not having been able to reach her sooner.”

“Florence,” Daniel spoke up, with the monarch glancing to him carefully as he stepped forward. “Do you know why those other humans kidnapped her?”

“They said something about being rich,” Florence said thinking about it.

“Complica lied to them about what giant butterflies can do,” Daniel explained. “She told them she could make rocks into gold. That’s why those men took her away, why they cut her wings so she couldn’t fly away from them.”

“What?” Florence said looking to her daughter. Complica sniffled and turned to her with a few nods.

“I messed up my bait, mother. I wanted to bring those humans home for you to make more sisters for me with. I meant to say other giant butterflies can make rocks into gold, I screwed up and then they took me away because they wanted me to make them rich.”

“Oh, baby,” Florence said with a saddened face. “I can’t believe that happened. That’s one of the easiest baits to use for humans.”

“That’s not the point!” Triska shouted at her, with the butterflies jumping from the outburst. “Don’t you get it? All of this happened because she lied to them! That’s what the problem here was, not that she messed up the lie!”

“If she never lied to begin with she never would have gotten hurt,” Daniel reasoned with her. “This whole thing could have been avoided if giant butterflies didn’t lie so much to humans.”

“I’m sorry, but just who are you?” Florence scoffed at him with annoyance. “And what do you mean by giant butterflies lying so much to humans? Are you insinuating that my beautiful subjects are deceptive little rats similar to that of witches?”

“Bull’s-eye,” Falla dryly said.

“Shut your mouth,” Florence snapped at her. “How dare you side with this human before your monarch!”

“But we are bad monsters,” Luna insisted, with the butterflies around the hall booing and scoffing at her in derision. “We lie to humans all the time. That’s all we learn to do in school, how to lie and tie up men so we can rape them.”

“Don’t listen to that one,” Florence said shaking her head at Daniel while waving Luna off. “She’s crazy. I mean she’s literally crazy. Talks nonsense all the time.”

“It’s no secret to mankind that giant butterflies lie through their teeth,” Triska mentioned with a raised eyebrow at the woman. “That’s how you catch your men, with your
bait
.”

Florence glanced to her with an uneasy growl before Daniel looked around at all the butterflies who were watching him carefully now.

“Look what happened to your princess,” he called out gesturing to Complica as she watched him with worried eyes. “Look what happens when your lies catch up to you. Had she been honest with those men they never would have touched her. Had she known lying was wrong she never would have gotten hurt. How long before your lies catch up to you?” All the butterflies glanced to each other worriedly as Daniel then turned to the monarch with a careful eye.

“I get it, I understand why you teach your young to lie like she did. I know you think you have to lie and use force to get a man, to get pregnant, to keep your race going. But you don’t.”

“Whatever are you talking about?” Florence asked glancing up and away from them.

“I’m talking about all the men that live here under manipulative pretenses. I’m talking about all the men you deceive into being with you just so you can hump them for their seeds.”

“There are no men in Flairwood,” Florence carelessly said as she examined her fingernails.

“Yes there are,” Falla mentioned, earning a harsh glare from the monarch.

“There are lots of human men here,” Luna agreed. “And they all think and believe something that isn’t true because we lie to make them stay with us.”

“No, there
aren’t
,” Florence sternly told them before looking to Daniel with a small shrug. “Sorry, no humans here.”