Chronicles of Eden - Act V (59 page)

“No, not yet,” Daniel said looking back to the monarch. “You’re dependent upon them to continue your race right now, you have no other way of doing so, and they’re not exactly being harmed staying here. They’re not, right?”

“We would never hurt them,” Florence promised raising her hands defensively. “The worst they could get is some rope burn if they squirm too much in bed in their binds. That’s all. And we do have lovely soothing cream to take care of that for them.”

Daniel nodded slowly to that then looked around at all the butterflies watching him within the hall, all of them remaining silent while their wings fluttered every now and then.

“The ant girl nest has humans still they need for breeding, and I’m sure the witches have humans held in their homes as we speak. It wouldn’t be fair to ask you to let your only way of surviving go without any guarantee that mankind will give you a chance. For now you can keep the humans you have here, you need them after all. However don’t bring any more in, no more lying from now on.” He turned back to Florence as she watched him with a curious eye.

“Still, if you would be so kind as to stand with us before my queen and help put an end to the fighting and lying between us, then you wouldn’t have to keep men here like you are anymore. If peace can be achieved between us then you’ll tell all the humans here the truth and let them decide for themselves if they wish to stay or not.”

“I don’t think they will want to after we deceived them like we have,” Florence worriedly mentioned.

“Maybe not, but at least you’ll be honest girls. And that could bring more men to you, willingly.”

Florence looked down with closed eyes for a while, seeming to be thinking about her options, and then glanced up to Daniel with a raised eyebrow.

“What makes you believe in this when the rest of your race doesn’t?”

“Because a monster saved my life when I was little,” Daniel answered, with the monarch looking to him with wonder as he nodded and remembered the rare monster from his childhood. “One that many think is evil and lustful, nothing but a horror to the world. I know it isn’t, and I know those like you can’t be either.”

Florence looked to Triska then to Falla and Luna, the three girls watching her carefully while Complica walked over and held her mother’s hand. The monarch sighed quietly and looked down to her daughter, shedding another tear as she saw the girl’s wings lifelessly hanging down behind her, then looked to Daniel with a saddened smile.

“Humans are the ones that crippled my daughter, I know not all of your kind can be trusted,” she said before showing a sorrowful face and nodding a few times. “But you saved her, and even speak the words of love to two of my subjects. Do you really believe your kind can accept us, that my daughter will have a future with humans being her friends?”

“I do,” Daniel promised. “If you show the world you’re kindhearted and can control your inner nature, then I have no doubts about us living together in peace.”

“Very well then, Daniel,” Florence said looking to her daughter. “If you can see to it that humans will accept us for how we are and choose us willingly to be with, that they will treat my daughter like the princess she is, I’ll see to it my people will treat your kind with respect. You have my word.”

“Does this mean you’ll stand with us in Rockhelm?” Falla asked.

“I will,” Florence answered with a smile at them. Daniel and his girls showed great joy from hearing that as the monarch looked around at all the butterflies in her hall with a calm smile. “If it means my subjects won’t be alone in this world, I’m willing to give this a try. Send word to Flairwood when you need me, and I’ll be your proof for my race.”

“Thank you, Florence,” Daniel said with a humble bow. “We need all the support we can get to be heard with this. Your contribution is greatly appreciated.”

“However,” Florence stated looking back to him with a firm chin. “I don’t believe my assistance with your quest is enough to pay for what you have done for me. You saved my daughter’s life, brought her back to me, allowed me to hold her once more. I truly do owe you for all that you’ve done.”

“For the record, I saved her life,” Triska spoke up raising a hand. “Just want to be clear on that. Yes, Daniel is working to bring peace to Eden, but I was the one fighting off the swarm to save Complica last night. A little credit this way would be nice.”

“Very well,” Florence said walking up to her with a proud stride. “You have earned my respect as well, Triska was it?”

Triska nodded while Daniel and the other girls watched the monarch curiously as she held her hands out to her sides.

“Then I shall bestow upon you the greatest treasure in all of Flairwood,” she declared, with all the butterflies in the hall gasping and watching their monarch with awe. Triska glanced around at them questionably then back to Florence as the woman stepped back from her.

“Um, you don’t have to go that far,” Triska said with a small smile. “A simple thank you will do.”

“Nonsense. You’ve earned this reward. The neko I promised this to shall never obtain such a treasure in all her life, but you will have it for all time.”

“Uh… okay then?” Triska said with a curious smile.

“Now then, behold your reward!” Florence declared before, to Daniel and Triska’s surprise, promptly ripping off her shawl and skirt which she tossed to the side. Triska stared with wide eyes at seeing the monarch posing to show off her body while Daniel watched with bewilderment. Falla and Luna quickly covered his eyes with a hand each while Complica smiled in awe at her mother. All the butterflies in the hall stared at their monarch with hushed gasps of wonder, silence filling the chamber while Triska felt confused beyond reasoning.

“What… are you doing?” Triska finally asked in disbelief.

“Triska, remember what I said to you earlier?” Falla mentioned. “Giant butterflies pay for services with beauty.”

“You’re looking at the most valuable treasure in all of Flairwood,” Luna explained. “Our monarch’s sheer beauty.”

“Beauty,” Triska repeated as she watched the monarch posing herself proudly before her.

“Gaze upon perfection,” Florence stated humbly. “Let it burn its image into your mind for all time.”

“You’re so pretty, mother,” Complica adorningly praised.

Daniel sighed as he figured he shouldn’t be seeing this anyway while Triska slowly eyed the woman from head to toe before she shook her head slightly.

“Let me get this straight,” she carefully inquired. “You were going to pay Tabitha, an experienced assassin and mercenary, for finding and retrieving your daughter, with her being allowed to see you naked?”

“That is correct,” Florence boldly replied.

“Then it’s a good thing I’m seeing this and not her,” Triska reasoned crossing her arms with a raised eyebrow at the lady. “Because she would have straight up murdered you.”

“Beg your pardon?” Florence questioned with a glance to her.

“She was expecting gold, or jewels, or anything else but a naked woman,” Triska explained. “She would have cut
your
wings off and likely shoved them down your throat.”

“Yep,” Falla said with a nod.

“I would think so,” Luna agreed.

“That would have been ugly,” Daniel said with a nod while the sisters were still covering his eyes.

“Wait, she would have
what
?” Florence asked looking at Triska with worry.

Triska face palmed while Florence looked around at everyone with confusion and concern. Luna and Falla glanced to each other and smiled weakly then looked to Daniel as he was making no effort to remove their hands at the moment.

“I don’t understand,” Florence moped while looking down to her large assets. “How would the sight of these not be enough as payment for anyone?”

Triska sighed and peeked at the monarch between her fingers, watching as the butterfly was genuinely perplexed about the thought of her naked body not being enough.

“Where do I begin?”

In the world of Eden it was common for those that spent a lot of time together to develop a strong relationship or bond with each other. Maybe they overcame adversity and grew closer because of it, discovered the true nature of each other which they came to appreciate, or found something mutual that they loved so much. From starting off as friends, rivals, strangers, or even enemies, they could grow to care and cherish each other all the same, valuing one another so much that perhaps they even saw themselves as family more than anything else. It didn’t matter what their differences were or how they came to meet.

Sometimes it would just seem so right that they belonged with one another.

*****

Kroanette galloped through the forest, hooves running along the grass and flowers swiftly, as she searched for any sign of the perverted fairy who had flown away. She saw no glimpses of blue light nor heard the fairy’s tiny voice as she ran deeper into the woods.

“Pip!” she called out before coming to a stop, her eyes frantically searching for the little monster to no avail. “Pip, come back! Pip!”

Only the rustling of the leaves above her was heard as she listened for any clue where her tiny companion had fled.

“Dammit, Alyssa,” she grunted with frustration. “You didn’t have to be so cold to her.”

A few birds chirped as they flew above the trees, with Kroanette watching them slowly fly overhead with growing concern.

“I hope they didn’t see her,” she prayed before quickly trotting off into the woods again. “Pip? Pip! Please answer me!”

Again she was met with only the sounds of the forest as she ventured further away from the trail and their campsite. Sunlight came through the branches and leaves above in scattered rays while a few squirrels raced along the forest floor before up into a tree, the animals disappearing into the leaves while Kroanette glanced around her with worried eyes.

“Pip? Please come out.”

“Go away,” a tiny voice sadly replied.

“Pip? Where are you?” Kroanette asked looking around quickly.

“I’m all by myself, like I belong.”

“You don’t belong alone, Pip. Please, come back to the caravan with me.”

“I’m just a pest to them,” Pip moped. “They don’t want me with them.”

“Yes we do,” Kroanette insisted as she stopped walking, her eyes carefully peering around at the grass in fear of her accidently stepping on the tiny monster. “We want you to stay, please come back.”

“Alyssa doesn’t want me to come back.”

Kroanette lowered her head then slowly sat down on the grass. She wasn’t sure how to defend against that as she felt Alyssa didn’t want her around either. After a while she noticed Pip out of the corner of her eye, seeing the tiny fairy sitting on a tree branch above and to her side while her wings were drooped low behind her. She had her legs tucked up to her chest and was holding them close while watching Kroanette with a teary eye.

“I won’t make her mad anymore,” Pip said slowly shaking her head. “I’ll leave you all alone.”

“But what about Daniel?” Kroanette asked hopefully. “He wants you around, he wants you to stay. Don’t you want his seed anymore?”

“I want his love,” Pip sadly said, with the centaur watching her with wonder as the fairy sniffled and looked up at the sky through the leaves. “I don’t want to be alone anymore. And I don’t know what to do with his seed once I get it. But I do know I want to be with him. He makes me happy, he makes everyone around him happy, and I want to stay with him so we can be happy together.”

“You feel the same way I do, Pip,” Kroanette sympathized.

“You don’t know what to do with his seed either?” Pip asked her curiously.

“No, no,” Kroanette replied with a small smile. “I know what to do with it, but… it doesn’t seem as important to me now.”

“How come?”

“I used to think having a daughter would be the most joyful thing I could experience, and although I’m quite certain when I do finally have one of my own I’ll be so thrilled, the thought of being around someone like Daniel seems so perfect in itself. He’s not like other humans at all. He cares about us monsters, wants to help us, treat us like equals, and even calls us girls like we’re normal just as he is. He stands up for us, defends us when nobody else would. When I’m around him I feel so… so…”

“Happy,” Pip finished, with Kroanette nodding and looking up to her with a gentle smile.

“I do. I understand what Alyssa, Specca, and Squeak feel, how they can rise above their normal instincts to seduce and rape Daniel for his seed. I see why they’re so devoted to him. He brings out the best in monsters that he meets. He makes them feel complete, even without having to give them a daughter.”

“It’s more than that,” Alyssa said from behind. Kroanette and Pip quickly turned to seeing the witch standing in the shade while looking down with closed eyes. “He saved us. He saved me from being another rotten witch in Eden. If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t have anyone, I might even be dead by now.”

Kroanette and Pip looked to each other worriedly then to Alyssa as the witch slowly started walking towards them with a solemn face.

“When he saved my life from those wolves, when he stood by my side and refused to let me succumb to my inner nature, he showed me just how perfect he really is. I can’t live without his love, I need him forever. All the girls do. Squeak’s been dedicated to Daniel since the moment he picked her out of all the ant girls in her nest. Specca’s been smitten by him since he risked his life to save hers during a monster attack, saving her while knowing she was a monster from the start. And Triska’s been fixated on him since they were both little, she’s always believed in everything he’s said, she would never let him fall or stand alone in the world.” She walked up next to Kroanette with a pained expression, seeming to be fighting back tears as she clutched her staff with both hands.

“He made us all believe in his idea of peace, and we wanted to give him that. But mostly we wanted to be his, to have his love.”

“You all do have that,” Kroanette pointed out. “You all have his love and each other.”