“You fucking bug!” the gremlin yelled as she reached for her belt with her alchemic bags. In a flash the ant girl whipped her chain through the air, snapping it around the gremlin’s arm before she yanked back and ripped the monster’s limb right out of her shoulder.
“AHHHH!” the gremlin screamed as she fell back in horrible pain. “YOU BITCH! YOU FUCKING BITCH! GODDAMMIT! AHHHH! SMASH HER, YOU IDIOT!”
The ogre roared as it lifted its club, taking a heavy swing and smashing it into the ground as the ant girl quickly dodged aside. The newcomer twirled her whip around and quickly snapped it at the brute’s face, slicing a gash down her cheek and taking out an eye. Stumbling back with a painful howl the ogre held her hands over her face, screaming something in a slurred tirade as she wavered and dropped down to her knee. Lowering her hands she saw the ant girl whip her pickaxe over towards the gremlin, spiking the monster’s remaining arm into the ground as the wounded fiend screamed in agony. The ant girl glanced to the ogre without so much as a squeak, watching the brute roaring at her before it stumbled forward and reached out to grab hold of the girl. With a mighty leap the ant girl jumped over the clasping hands below her, the agile fighter touching down on the ogre’s arm then running up towards her face. Kroanette stared with unblinking eyes as the ant girl snapped her whip around the monster’s neck then struck her fist, followed by her whole arm, into the monster’s remaining eye, the ogre screaming in pain as the newcomer showed a stern scowl and plunged her arm deeper into the brute’s skull. The ogre stumbled back and waved her arms around in distress, all while the ant girl held firm on her face with her chain and didn’t budge at all. With an enraged roar the ogre reached up towards the ant girl with both hands before she suddenly jerked with a hoarse gasp, the monster twitching and starting to spasm uncontrollably as she dropped to the side onto her back and groaned in agony. The ant girl jammed her arm in deeper, paused for a moment, then yanked her hand back out with a spurt of gore following in its wake. The gremlin and Kroanette stared with wide eyes as they saw the ogre falling limp while the ant girl stood up atop its face with a bloody chunk of its brains in her hand.
“Good… lord…” Kroanette breathed out.
“She ripped her fucking brains out,” the gremlin whined. “Who the hell is that girl?”
The ant girl tossed aside the gore, snapped her whip into a coil that she then holstered at her hip, and hopped down from the dead brute, the lone fighter tearing off a strip of the ogre’s loincloth to wipe the blood off her arm with while the gremlin and centaur nearby were paralyzed with shock. After cleaning herself off the ant girl walked over to the gremlin, setting her feet down heavily on either side of the trembling monster’s head and looking down at the fiend with a cold glare.
“Please…” the gremlin sniveled. “Please have mercy. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”
The ant girl slid her ankles closer on either side of the monster’s neck, the silent fighter merely watching the whimpering monster for a moment before she jerked her feet to the side, snapping the monster’s neck with a loud crack and one last jerk of her leg. Pulling her pickaxe out from the fallen gremlin’s arm she held the heavy weapon over her shoulder, her eyes then glancing over to Kroanette as she was starting to feel lightheaded and dizzy. She saw the ant girl walking towards her while other figures began approaching from the woods behind, the world then growing dark and quiet as the centaur finally collapsed against the tree with a rattling gasp.
***
“It was you,” Kroanette realized, seeing the black-tunic ant girl seated behind her. “You saved me from them.”
“We took care of the others that led you astray,” a gremlin mentioned. “But Diago here was the one who saved you from the last of them.”
“She carried you back to our convoy all by herself,” the other said, with Kroanette again having her head forced down to face the medicinal steam in front of her. “The gremlins that attacked you used a pretty bad poison to bring you down. We’re keeping you stable with what we have until we get back home.”
“Home?” Kroanette coughed as she felt dizzy again. “Did you say you’re going home? Where are we going? Where… are you… taking me?”
She took a few deep breaths before collapsing again, her breathing becoming slow and ragged as Diago kept her head close to the wafting mists that slowly flowed off the side of the wagon beside them.
“Think she’ll make it?” a gremlin asked.
“Maybe,” the other guessed with a shrug. “We’re not too far from Stonegate. She may make it past the night.”
“Doc should be able to fix her up,” the troll commented, gently running her hand along her axe while examining the sharpened weapon. “Same for the ones in back. They were just lucky we found them before it was too late.”
“Boy are they in for a surprise awakening,” a gremlin laughed, with her sister doing the same as they watched Kroanette sleeping before them. “Not going to lie, it’s funny to watch every time.”
Diago gently brushed the centaur’s hair while holding her head close to the billowing mists, not a squeak being made by the silent ant girl as she slowly eyed over the sleeping girl before glancing behind. As the ogre pulled them along in their cart another one was marching behind on the trail, the lumbering brute also clothed in crude scraps of leather and animal hide while watching the fireflies floating about nearby. In the wagon she lugged behind her were a goblin and troll, the two seated in front of the cart while lying in a blanket behind them were two human men and a young boy who quietly stirred in the tattered rags they still had for clothing while clearly being unconscious.
“Three more,” the troll remarked as they watched the humans sleeping. “And a centaur too. Not exactly what we were looking to get, but it’s nothing to complain about.”
“We got weapons,” the goblin mentioned, turning her eyes towards a third ogre walking behind them with her cart filled with boxes and some opened crates that revealed swords and maces sticking out. “More weapons. And some gold. Not bad. Not bad at all. Sisterhood have lots for us to take tonight.”
“I wish we could have given them more in exchange,” the troll bitterly said. She breathed out then moved closer to the humans, pulling the blanket up over the young boy as he softly murmured in his sleep.
“Treating this boy like a seed dispensary,” she scorned. “I want to give The Sisterhood a whole lot more in return than just a swift death.”
Chapter 15
Price of Heroism
In the world of Eden, battles were waged time and again by both humans and monsters alike. Lives were lost, homes were destroyed, blood was spilled; there rarely was anything beautiful or glorious about it. To add to the misery that war brought was the fact that not everyone would return from the conflict. Word of one’s passing would sometimes travel back to friends and family, a truth that was often painful and soul-crushing to receive. The passing of a loved one in such a way would only be considered tragic and heartbreaking to those that cherished them.
Only a real monster would take delight in the agony and sorrow of others.
*****
Inside the new communal chamber Triska and Twilight were staring at the girls in shock after they had been told of a few things happening in their absence. Apoch and Astreal were sharing similar reactions while Snapper was once again trying to reach Doku’s bangs as she cawed and snapped her teeth in innocent bliss.
“Daniel and the girls went to Green Haven?” Triska cried out. “To save the elves from the same monsters that wiped out Kroanette’s home?”
“Essentially, yes,” Specca agreed.
“And you just let them go?” Triska shouted in disbelief.
“She’s yelling like she used to again,” Luna whined as she jumped behind her sister.
“I think she’s feeling better,” Falla nervously mentioned.
“We didn’t have any right to stop them,” Doku implored.
“You just let Daniel travel into the
middle of a monster filled forest where the same murderous savages that destroyed Ruhelia and Kroanette’s people are currently invading!” Triska yelled at her. “You had every reason to stop him from going there! And letting him take the Hellfire’s Edge with him? Daniel’s never used that sword before, he’s not ready to handle something like that yet; it could very well kill him by accident before any of those monsters can get their hands on him!”
“I’m sorry, but we couldn’t stop him,” Doku insisted, cradling Snapper closer in her wings as the swarm was now trying to crawl further into her bosom to get away from the extremely loud cambion. “He refused to stand idly by while innocent monsters were being enslaved and forced to endure the same fate as those poor centaurs. Who were we to tell him he couldn’t come to their aid?”
“His fucking mates!” Triska cried out. “For crying out loud, you just let our man walk into a hostile environment with a horde of bloodthirsty monsters waiting for him! How could you let him go like that? How could you let our mate do that without so much as trying to stop him?”
“Because we believe in him!” Falla shouted back. Triska fell silent as the butterfly stepped forward with a worried expression. “It’s not like we were thrilled about his decision to go, and we did try to protest it at first, but we had no right to force him to stay here when it was for his very quest that he decided to go there.”
“He came out here to help us monsters,” Specca reasoned. “To show us not only that we could control our inner nature but also that humans could indeed reach out to us as equals in this world. He insisted on going, Triska. No, that’s not what happened. He told us he was going. He never asked for our permission, he decided on it himself because this is what he came out here to do. To help save us and our people.”
“Daniel wanted to go help the elves,” Luna added peeking over Falla’s wing. “He didn’t care how dangerous it was, he only wanted to help them however he could. He wanted to show them that humans could treat them as allies, that humans would fight for them when they needed help. That’s why he went with the girls, so he could fight for them and be proof of his own beliefs.”
“We are terrified for what might happen to him, Triska,” Doku admitted. “Him and all the girls that bravely went to Green Haven to save those elves from a horrible fate. But we had no right to tell him he couldn’t go, that he couldn’t stand up for those people. Our mate isn’t just a visionary that Eden sorely needs, he’s also a knight that fights for us and our kind. That is the path he has chosen in life, and as his mates we could not stop him from following that path.”
Triska lowered her head while struggling to agree with their statements, a hand shakily being held to her head as she became fearful for Daniel and her family’s safety. She then glanced to the side and paused for a moment before showing bewilderment as someone else voiced their opinion on the matter.
“You too?” she asked, with the girls watching curiously as Triska slowly shook her head. “You’ve got to be kidding me. You too?”
“Is Kitten speaking to you now?” Doku asked. “What is she saying?”
“She’s agreeing with all of you!” Triska exclaimed. “Why? Why in Eden are you taking their side in this? Daniel’s-”
“Made his decision,” Kitten argued as she stood next to the cambion in her mind with crossed arms and a firm expression. “You heard the girls. He didn’t ask for your permission with this, he made his choice and it was final.”
“He’s in mortal danger!” Triska cried out. “He’s not ready to go into a battlefield or fight an army or even swing the Hellfire’s Edge at all! This is crazy! He’s not ready for-”
“That’s not your choice to make!” Kitten yelled at her, silencing Triska who stared at her in surprise. “My master is out here for a great purpose, isn’t he? That’s what you’re all trying to assist him with, right? To save monsters in Eden? To help give them a better future? To bring monsters and humans together as allies? Isn’t that what you’re all fighting for out here?”
“Why are you bringing all of that up now? Aren’t you the least bit worried about him? That’s your master out there!”
“I’m frightened to death,” Kitten softly replied. “Of course I am. My master is my entire world, Triska. And I’m sure he’s all of yours as well. What do you want me to do? Head over there and drag his ass back here against his will and wishes? Keep him locked away in this stronghold of yours and never let him come close to any other monsters besides the ones he’s taken as mates?”
“Kitten…”
“I live to serve my master and make him happy. To make all his dreams come true. To be worthy of being his lover one day and not just someone he barely tolerates having around. If this is what my master chose to do, what he adamantly desired to do no matter what, then I’ll be damned if I get in his way. I have no choice but to have faith in him, that he will return to us and that he will succeed.”
“But he can’t…”
“You once told me to trust him,” Kitten reminded her. “Trust him with Reiko and Cindy being around. Trust him with meeting monsters in this world. Trust him with whatever decision he makes. Because if he feels there’s a chance we could form peaceful relations with monsters and wishes to make that a reality, we need to have faith he can do it and let him try.”
“But… but…”
“Don’t you have faith in him, Triska? Aren’t you his devoted mate? Don’t you trust in your mate’s decision?”
Triska stared at her in stunned silence, seeing the expectant look Kitten was giving her as she awaited her reply, then slowly looked around at the girls as they were all trying their best to show brave, hopeful faces despite their own fears for Daniel’s safety.
“He can do this,” Specca insisted. “They all can. I believe in them.”
“So do I,” Falla agreed.
“Me too,” Luna added.
Star nodded and meowed in agreement.
“We have faith in our mate,” Doku assured. “We have faith in our family. That’s something we can never lose, Triska. We can’t, not if we’re to hold together in this dangerous world.”
“I guess… when you put it like that,” Triska slowly conceded. “I do believe in Daniel, I’ve believed in him ever since we were little. I just… I just can’t get over that he would actually take up arms and head into a danger-zone like that.”
“Our mate isn’t the same as he was when he first started this journey,” Specca reasoned. “He’s grown, both in mind and strength. Doku’s right. He’s our knight, Triska. He’s ready to fight for all of us, and our people.”
“The elves needed a hero to save them,” Falla said with a worried smile. “They got the best one in Eden to answer their call.”
“He can do this,” Luna insisted. “I know he can. Plus he has the other girls with him. They won’t let anything happen to him. They’re all going to return to us. All of them, and the elven people that they’re going to save.”
Star nodded and meowed a few times, with Triska watching her with a slight smile before lowering her head as she slowly breathed out to help calm her nerves.
“You’re right, all of you are right. I need to have faith in him. This is what he came out here to do. I… I just never pictured him being as bold as this before. Taking the Hellfire’s Edge and heading off to rescue an entire village of elves, it’s so astonishing to know that he would actually do that.”
“I always thought of him as a knight in shining armor,” Specca mentioned with a timid smile and blush. “He’s missing the outfit still, but he’s certainly proved himself worthy of my first impression of him.”
“He really would fight for us,” Falla praised. “And our people. We truly do have the best mate in all of Eden.”
“We really do,” Luna agreed with a warm smile. “We’re so lucky he found us.”
Star lowered her head and nodded with a soft meow.
“He is certainly the best mate we could have ever asked for,” Doku
said before looking down to Snapper as the swarm was waving her arms at her again with a wide smile. “And I dare say the best choice for a father with raising this little bundle of joy.”
The girls fell quiet while thinking about their mate who they all hoped would return quickly to them that night, the silence then being broken by Twilight walking around them and towards the witch sisters with her feet clacking against the stone floor. While lost in thought about their man the girls didn’t notice Twilight standing before the quivering witch sisters while having an absolutely furious expression on her face.
“You were supposed to be watching him,” Twilight quietly spoke through bared teeth. “You were supposed to be keeping a close eye on him while he was in this dangerous land.”
“We’re sorry, master,” the twins shakily said.
“What were you two doing all this time?” Twilight softly growled as she struggled to keep still. “How could you be so careless and allow Daniel Sorres to venture into a goddamned warzone? Why were you not watching him as I ordered you to?”
“We’re sorry, master,” Apoch quietly apologized. “We had matters to attend to in Rystone.”
“Ms. Charlotte tasked us with some important errands,” Astreal tried to reason with. “We finished them and hurried back here as soon as we-”
“Charlotte?” Twilight hissed. “Charlotte? Have you two already forgotten who is your master? You serve me, not that stupid witch. My word is the only word you two need obey, the only one you must always obey.”
Chronicles of Eden - Act XII Page 48