“I’m sorry if I frighten you,” she sadly confessed. “I know my appearance is rather… terrifying for most to behold. If… if this is too much to look at I can dispel the image for you.”
“No, you don’t have to do that,” Triska insisted. She looked over the reaper’s form then glanced back to the girls, seeing Luna and Falla holding in their trepidation the best they could while Star and Doku were obviously holding their tongues as they appeared a little surprised and unsure how to speak. Specca carefully adjusted her glasses as she eyed over the reaper, the nixie opening her mouth to say something before failing to form any words. Only Snapper appeared to be fine as she was still waving her claws around at Doku’s face while giggling to herself. Turning back to Twilight as an awkward silence filled the air Triska slowly stepped closer, with Twilight quickly taking a few steps back with a whimper as she lowered her head.
“I can see it on your faces,” she sadly spoke. “You’re afraid of me now, aren’t you? I’m sorry, it wasn’t my intention to scare you by revealing myself, I only wanted to be honest about who and what I was… oh, this was a bad idea. I shouldn’t have had this room made, I shouldn’t have been so foolish and-”
She quickly stopped with a startled jump as Triska held her close, the reaper staring over her shoulder with a hushed gasp as the girl tenderly embraced her. The cambion held the trembling reaper in her arms, the feeling of actually holding a living, breathing person being completely believable despite having just witnessed the manifestation forming right before her eyes a moment ago.
“Triska Raylight?” Twilight quietly asked.
“You don’t have to be afraid,” Triska gently assured her. Stepping back she pulled the reaper’s hands out from behind her, holding them in front of the nervous woman while looking over the sharpened claws that were part of the monster’s being.
“I look like a demon from hell,” Twilight lamented. “My feet… my hands… my horns… heck, even my hair is colored red like blood. I’m a monster.”
“No you’re not,” Triska argued shaking her head. “All I see before me is my friend. Someone who has earned my trust and respect. I’m glad I can finally meet you in person, that I can tell you this to your face so you know I’m speaking the truth. It’s a little unreal actually. Your hands, your body, it feels like I’m really touching you right now, like you’re actually here.”
“It’s as close to being here as I can get,” Twilight reasoned with a small smile. “This body you see before you is only a magical construct, a doll if you will, that isn’t so much alive as it is created from the elements of this room by magic. It can only exist here in this special chamber with these crystals focusing their power into it. Still, I wanted to meet you too, so to speak, and this was the only way I could do it. Even though… it’s just a replication in my worrisome image.”
“You look beautiful.”
“Please don’t patronize me so,” Twilight begged. “Look at me. I look like a demon from the tip of my horns down to my grotesque feet. My hands bare claws that I’ve only ever used to peel fruit with, but many will easily place judgement that I use them to peel flesh instead. I’m a monster, and even though I’ve never had a human man between my legs before in my entire life, all will condemn me for supposedly wanting nothing more but to change that merely because of what I am.”
“Don’t talk about yourself like that,” Triska insisted. “You’re not some nameless, lustful monster of Eden. You’re not a slave to your carnal desires or guilty of harming others. Please, Twilight. You’re not a monster. Not to me. Not to any of us.”
“She’s right,” Doku agreed as she stepped forth. “To be honest, the little bundle of energy in my wings right now has given us more pause with looking past what monsters can appear to be in this world. You did startle me a bit, I will admit that and I’m sorry for being inconsiderate like I was with not saying anything, but you don’t frighten me, Twilight. I promise.”
“Us too,” Falla said as she and her sister walked closer. “Sorry, I saw the horns and claws and I sort of jumped to stupid assumptions for a moment. You do have a bit of a… intimidating appearance at first glance, but not scary. Really, it’s not an issue at all now that I remembered who it is I’m looking at.”
“I’m sorry for being so rude,” Luna apologized. “You’re not bad looking at all, Twilight. It was just a little surprising to see you like that, but not in a bad way. I mean it. I still think of you as my friend, I do.”
“You merely caught us off-guard a little with your… unique features,” Specca reasoned with a weak smile. “We weren’t expecting that, but we should have better prepared ourselves and not acted so apprehensively like we did. I’m sorry, I really am. There’s nothing at all wrong with how you look, Twilight. Please believe me when I say that.”
Star nodded and meowed at Twilight a few times as she seemed to be saying something along the same lines as her co-mates, with Triska smiling at the girls then noticing Snapper cawing at Twilight now while waving her claws at her.
“Even Snapper thinks you’re not scary,” she told the reaper with a smirk. “Sorry, Twilight, but if you can’t scare a swarm you’re really not all that frightening.”
“Is that so?” Twilight softly giggled. “Well I suppose I can’t be that bad if the little darling isn’t afraid of me. And, what of Kitten? Does she approve of me as I am?”
Triska glanced to the side as she fell silent, with the girls watching her curiously as she paused for a moment before nodding at the reaper.
“Actually, she really likes your appearance. Says you look great and remind her of hell, so I guess coming from her that’s a compliment.”
“I’m glad to hear she approves as well,” Twilight spoke in relief. “I don’t want to lose any of you as my dear friends, you’re the only ones I have besides my two little helpers. I’m… I’m really happy to hear you don’t find me… repulsive or scary. I was so afraid that when you first laid eyes on me you were going to rush out of here and seal that door as fast as you could.”
“We wouldn’t treat you so callously like that,” Triska assured as she rested a hand on Twilight’s shoulder. “Thank you for showing us what you look like and trusting us. I promise you’ve lost no friends on this night, if anything we’re just glad to finally meet you in person.”
“As I am with you,” Twilight dearly said. She smiled around at the girls as they nodded in agreement then showed a puzzled look as she peeked past them. “Um, is Daniel Sorres not here? I was so looking forward to introducing myself to him like this. Is he outside? Apoch, Astreal, could you please go fetch him so we could… wait… wait a moment, I don’t see him within the study… nor around it. Where is he?”
“That’s something I wanted to know,” Triska mentioned as she turned to face the girls. “When I woke up my sword was missing. Where’s Daniel and where’s the Hellfire’s Edge?”
“About that,” Specca hesitantly said, looking down at the floor with nervous eyes before glancing up to the two puzzled girls. “He’s not here, Triska. Nor are the other girls.”
“I can see that,” Twilight mused, her image showing a cautious look now. “Kroanette, Clover, Squeak, Pip, Cindy, Alyssa, they’re all missing. Where is everyone?”
“Kroanette is still missing?” Triska asked in surprise. “Are you kidding? She still hasn’t found her way back here yet? Is that why Daniel’s gone, did he and the girls go looking for her?”
“Not exactly,” Luna said with a cringe.
“Then where are they?” Triska demanded. “Why are they not here? Did they take my sword with them? Why would they do that?”
“We’ll explain everything,” Falla promised as she held her hands up defensively. “Just… please try to keep calm.”
Triska and Twilight exchanged cautious glances then watched the girls closely, with all of them looking to one another with uneasy frowns as they were pretty sure what they had to say wasn’t going to be met with calm underst
anding.
*****
With a painful groan Kroanette slowly came to, her breathing ragged as she had trouble taking in air while her head ached with a horrible throbbing sting. Coughing heavily she felt her lungs straining inside her chest, her hacking only getting worse as she tried to sit up only to then be quickly held down again by someone. Opening her eyes everything was blurry and dark, the sounds of wheels clacking underneath echoing out against the gloomy woodland that slowly passed by overhead.
“Wha… what-” she gagged before coughing heavily again. A pair of strong hands held her down against a wooden floor and kept her facing something that had a thick floral aroma, her eyes shutting tightly at first as she struggled to draw a breath before she slowly relaxed and managed to get air inside her again. Opening her eyes a little she saw a bowl sitting on silk cloth in front of her face, the strong flowery scent coming from the abundant mists it had rolling out of it.
“Don’t stop breathing in those vapors,” a woman’s voice warned. “They’re all that’s keeping your throat from swelling up all the way and choking you to death.”
“Wha…” Kroanette coughed out, the centaur trying to sit up again before the strong pair of hands forced her head back down and kept her near the misty bowl. “What’s going on? Where am I? What happened to me?”
“What’s the last thing you remember?”
“The last… thing…” Kroanette wheezed. “I… I don’t know. I was running through a field. I was running as fast as I could when… when…”
Slowly she started to regain her vision, her eyes glancing up and widening as she saw two gremlins sitting before her. She started shaking with a whimper as she tried looking around, her terror quickly rising as she realized she was on a rickety wooden cart that was slowly making its way through a darkened forest. The moonlight above came through gaps in the woodland with a soft, warm glow, while fireflies lit up here and there all throughout the jungle as insects were buzzing and chirping amidst the peaceful looking scenery.
“Where am-” she whined, her voice quickly failing from seeing not only that she was lying in a wagon with two gremlins and small clumps of hay littering the floor, but also that her front right leg was bound in a splint with a noticeable break being seen between the bloodied sticks.
“Oh my god!” she cried out, the centaur tying again to get up before the set of hands forced her down with a hard thump. “My leg! My leg!”
“Don’t move!” a gremlin warned, with Kroanette coughing and trying to breathe again. “Keep inhaling those vapors if you want to live.”
“You’re in no condition to move right now,” the other said shaking her head. “You’ve got a broken leg and you’re poisoned with some very nasty toxin. Sit still and keep breathing in that mist if you want to get through the night.”
“What did you do to me?” Kroanette whined. “Where am I? What happened?”
“You don’t remember?”
“I remember heading towards Ruhelia,” Kroanette gasped as she cringed in pain. “I was running… and then… and then I was fleeing from… from…”
Slowly she looked to the gremlins with horror, seeing both of them watching her curiously while she finally took notice that the cart was being pulled not by a horse but instead a large ogre. The lumbering brute trudged through the darkened woodland while pulling the wagon with both hands, with her having a furry shawl made of what appeared to be a whole bear worn around her shoulders and leather pants that were sloppily sown together.
“The Sisterhood,” Kroanette remembered. “I was running from you monsters. I remember now, you degenerates ambushed me. You found me again and chased me like I was an animal!”
“Degenerates?” a woman laughed. Kroanette looked to the side and saw a troll walking alongside the cart while shaking her head with a smirk. “Ah, how many times have we been called that lately?”
“And then what happened?” a gremlin asked with a curious grin.
“I was running,” Kroanette nervously said. “You chased me. I heard screaming, and then something horrid smelling was blowing against me, and then… and then… I think I tripped or… I fell. I fell down a hillside and… and…”
“Slammed right into a tree,” the troll said, smacking her axe into her palm while the gremlins chuckled. “Boom, crack, leg split open and you were down for the count. Talk about bad spills if you ask me.”
“You were lucky you didn’t break your neck,” a gremlin pointed out shaking her head.
“And even more lucky we got you away from The Sisterhood,” the other mentioned with a raised eyebrow.
“Lucky?” Kroanette yelled at her, taking a moment to cough heavily before glaring at the gremlins again. “How is being captured by you accused murderers lucky in the slightest? Do I look like I’m thankful at all for this? You poisoned me and broke my leg, you filthy, despicable, vile, motherfu- wait, what was that last thing you said?”
“You were lucky we got you away from The Sisterhood.”
“Got me… away from them?” Kroanette confusedly asked. “Wait… you’re not with The Sisterhood?”
“Whoever said we were?” the troll quipped.
“Just because we’re gremlins, trolls, and ogres doesn’t mean we’re in league with those psychopathic savages,” a gremlin pointed out.
“But…” Kroanette slowly replied. “But then… who are you? What happened to me?”
“You don’t remember, do you?” a gremlin wondered.
“Who do you think saved your ass?” the other said with a grin.
“Saved… wait, you two saved me?” Kroanette bewilderedly asked.
“Not us,” they said, both of them then glancing to the one sitting behind the centaur. “She did.”
Kroanette blinked then slowly turned her eyes to try and see for herself, her head still being held in place by a strong hand while the other kept her down by the shoulder. Taking a shaky breath Kroanette managed to turn her sights just enough to see who was behind her in the moonlight, her eyes widening as suddenly she remembered what happened that night.
***
“AHHHHH!” Kroanette cried out, the centaur gripping the grass and tree she had crashed into while feeling her leg having been snapped in two. “MY- MY- AHHHHH! This can’t be happening! This isn’t happening to me! What did I ever do to deserve this?”
Coughing heavily she felt her lungs burning for air, her neck feeling swollen while her vision was fading in and out. Taking a few deep gasps she slowly sat up against the tree, her horrified eyes going from her broken leg to the hill she had tumbled down then over to where monsters were approaching from the shadows. Three trolls, a gremlin, and an ogre drew closer while watching the trembling centaur with vicious glares, the monsters stepping out into a small clearing in front of their crippled prey as she strained to move and breathe properly.
“Look what we found,” a troll laughed. “What are the odds we would find such a tasty looking treat galloping about through our neck of the woods?”
“Just in time,” another chuckled. “I’m starving, and nothing’s more delicious to eat than a fat centaur. How very fortunate for us one would happen to come our way just in time for dinner.”
“Wait,” the gremlin cautioned. “Looks like she’s ill. I believe my sister used a more lethal poison in her bag to bring her down.”
“Is she safe to eat?” a troll asked.
“If we roast her first she should be okay,” the gremlin reasoned with a shrug. “A pity, they’re supposed to be best when eaten raw. Still, at least we’ll get to eat the whole thing. Had my sister used an explosive bag to take this one down we would only get bits and pieces that we could manage to find amongst the grass.”
“That’s okay,” a troll mentioned with a hungry smile. “I don’t mind if we roast her first. I hear they’re best fresh and they scream a lot when you eat them alive, but I’m not too picky about how we eat her. A meal’s a meal I always say. Let’s cook her up.”
; “Put her out of her misery and get a fire going,” another troll ordered, the monsters then moving towards the centaur who continued to gasp for air and stare with horror at her imminent demise.
After taking two steps the monsters stopped as the rattling of chains was heard, the sound echoing through the woods around them before suddenly stopping.
“What was that?” a troll asked. Without warning a chain whip snapped out from the shadows behind, ensnaring the monster’s neck and yanking her back with a scream. The grunts quickly turned to hear their friend shrieking before a heavy crunch was heard, with the troll’s severed head then flying through the air and dropping into a roll in front of the surprised monsters.
“What the fuck?” the gremlin cried out.
Kroanette took heavy breaths while struggling with the pain her body was in, her eyes also locked onto the troll’s head in disbelief before she saw someone racing out of the shadows towards the remaining monsters.
“Who’s there?” a troll demanded, right before a large pickaxe spun through the air and struck into her skull with a hard crunch. The monster stumbled back with the massive digging weapon lodged in her head and reaching down through her body, its steel giving off a gleam in the moonlight while its chain-link strap dangled and clacked as it swung in the air. Almost immediately afterward the second troll took a hard punch to the face, the powerful hit destroying her jaw which blasted off into bloody pieces while the monster was thrown clear across the field into a tree with bone-cracking slam.
“Who the hell are you?” the gremlin cried out as she stumbled back. She and the ogre stared at the assailant with surprise, they and Kroanette all seeing an ant girl having appeared and killed the three trolls in less than a minute. She was dressed in knee-high black boots, her black tunic being ripped over her large bust and going down to her waist where it met with her matching miniskirt that snuggly hugged her hips. Her dark gloves had steel plating on the fingers, knuckles, and backhands, with her long dark brown hair reaching down past her back to her black colored insect abdomen. The ant girl’s similarly shaded eyes were set in a stern glare at the remaining monsters as her antennae twitched slightly above her head, the newcomer being seen clearly in the moonlight as she stood in the field while having dirt smudges all over her body. She reached out and grabbed her pickaxe from the wavering troll, sharply pulled it out with her arm flexing its muscle and letting the monster drop dead with a thump, then snapped her chain-link whip at her side while her stern scowl never faltered.
Chronicles of Eden - Act XII Page 47