Hollia stared at her in awe as the sand wraith cried and held onto her, watching as the dangerous and unstoppable monster actually refused to harm her now thinking she was pregnant.
‘I can’t believe that worked, I was merely taking a chance that she would believe such a lie. She truly won’t harm a child?’
“I don’t understand,” Hollia said shaking her head. “Sand wraiths devour everyone they come across, they kill monster and human alike without remorse, yet you won’t harm an unborn child?”
“I can’t do it,” Cindy whined while smothering her face against the centaur’s side. “Don’t you worry little baby girl, you’re not dying today!”
“I don’t know what to say,” Hollia marveled. “Seeing you actually caring for another life like this, I never thought a sand wraith could show such a heart. Perhaps there is a glimmer of a soul inside you after all.”
“Don’t you worry little baby girl,” Cindy cooed while gently rubbing Hollia’s side. “I’ll wait until you’re out of there and then I’ll eat your mommy. You’re going to be just fine, I’m only going to kill her, I promise.”
“A very small glimmer,” Hollia flatly added.
Cindy sniffled and whimpered while caressing the centaur then jumped with a gasp.
“Wait, we need to get you medical help,” she realized. “You can’t die by your poison now. You have to let your baby be born before you die.”
“You are absolutely right,” Hollia eagerly agreed. “Please, go look for another shaman, and don’t eat this one. I’ll wait here and-”
“No!” Cindy argued. “I can’t leave a baby out here like this to die with her helpless mother. I’m not letting that baby out of my sight!”
“But you can’t see her,” Hollia mentioned glancing down to her body. “My baby is inside of me, remember?”
“No buts,” Cindy asserted as she stood up and set her hands at her hips. “I’m taking you someplace safe and where we can heal you. That baby isn’t dying on my watch. I need to make sure her mommy stays alive and well so she can be born.”
Hollia blinked then cocked her head to the side in question.
“Are you seriously saying you’re going to protect me now?”
“Of course,” Cindy answered with a bold smile. “I can’t let anything happen to that cute little baby, she hasn’t even been born yet. I’ll get you someplace safe and have you fixed up in no time. After you have your baby I’ll eat you up. Then I can be on my way again in no time.”
“Um,” Hollia slowly replied. “I do appreciate your sudden and rather peculiar protective nature of my unborn child, however you do realize that it will be quite some time before I give birth, yes?”
“What do you mean?” Cindy confusedly asked. “Babies are born in a few minutes. It won’t take you long to pop that child out.”
“I believe you’re a bit confused,” Hollia insisted with a weak smile. “Sand wraiths breed quickly, your offspring are born right away from your own being. However for centaurs and other living creatures it takes months to give birth to our children.”
“MONTHS?” Cindy screamed out, grabbing her hair and staring at Hollia with wide eyes. “You mean you’re going to be pregnant for months?”
“Well, yes, that is how it works for us.”
Cindy’s eye twitched a few times before she dropped down face first onto the ground with a long whine.
“No! I can’t wait around for months to kill you! I have to find her now! This is horrible!”
Hollia watched the wraith crying like a child on the dirt in front of her with a raised eyebrow, the centaur quietly taking another bite of her apple and shaking her head slowly as Cindy kicked her feet and flailed her arms around in a fit.
“I know what you mean. This is a terrible situation for both of us,” Hollia agreed while chewing her food.
“What am I going to do?” Cindy wailed as she rolled onto her back and kicked her legs about. “I can’t wait around for months, but I can’t kill you now either. I don’t know what to do! This sucks!”
Hollia finished eating then tossed away the apple core and gently took hold of Cindy’s hand that was moving around, the sand wraith stopping with her tantrum and turning to the centaur with saddened eyes as she sniffled a few times.
“What is your name?” Hollia kindly requested. “We’ve been stuck together for days but I never thought to ask until now.”
“Cindy.”
“I see. My name is Hollia. I’ll make a deal with you, Cindy. One that will solve both of our problems.”
“A deal?” Cindy sniffled as she sat up and wiped her eyes.
“Yes. Please, help me get to sanctuary so that I may not only be cured of the illness that I’m plagued with but also find a safe place to give birth to my only daughter. Help me do this, Cindy the sand wraith, and I promise you that after my baby girl is born I shall take my own life in your name.”
“You will?”
“Yes. That way we may let my beautiful daughter be born, and then your prey will have died just as you wished. Your mother will never know about you letting me live, for I shall be dead long before she ever finds me. You can leave me in a safe village and continue on your way just as you want to, and you can be assured that I will not live a day more after my daughter is born. What do you say?”
“Do you promise to kill yourself for me?” Cindy whined. “Mother would be mad if she found out I let you live after you were cured of your poison.”
“I’ll drive a dagger through my own heart, just for you,” Hollia promised with a calm smile. “You need not worry about that. Just please, help me find a safe place to live the remainder of my days so that my daughter may be born, and then I’ll end my life for you.”
“Okay,” Cindy said holding out her hand. Hollia glanced to it then to the wraith curiously. “As long as you promise, I’ll trust you.”
“I promise,” Hollia agreed shaking the wraith's hand.
“Alright then, it’s a deal,” Cindy declared standing up. “So now we need to get you someplace safe and make sure that poison doesn’t kill you and your baby.”
Hollia slowly got up on her three good legs, a strained grunt coming from her mouth as her front leg which was broken ached severely. She breathed sharply through her teeth while holding the limb off the ground the best she could, a tear dropping down her cheek from the pain while she wavered with her balance.
“Your leg is still broken,” Cindy worriedly pointed out.
“Yes, I was suspecting as much,” Hollia snapped before holding her leg with one hand. “I fear this will never heal right. If fortune would be so merciful to shine upon me perhaps I could find someone to heal this properly, at least I shall hope for such luck. Otherwise I may never run again.”
She took one step forward with a hop before stumbling to the side, her eyes shutting tightly as she struggled with the wounded leg before she realized she didn’t fall over.
“Careful,” Cindy warned while holding the centaur up at her side. “Don’t drop the baby.”
Hollia watched in awe as the sand wraith was able to hold her up with one arm held around her human waist, the adolescent girl having more strength than what was seen by her physical appearance.
“Thank you, Cindy.”
“Where can we take you to be safe?” Cindy asked as she slowly helped the centaur out from under the canopy. Hollia gave one last fleeting glance towards her ruined homeland before turning away as she felt the pain from seeing her fallen kingdom overpower that of her broken leg.
“The monster village of Walbruk,” Hollia answered pointing ahead of them. “It’s to the west of here. I should be able to spend my days there in peace and hopefully find someone to help heal my body.”
“Let’s get going then,” Cindy urged as she guided the centaur towards their new destination. “I have to find her still, so the sooner I can leave you there the better.”
“Who is it you’re trying to find anyway? I’m rather
curious at this point. That and I need to talk about something to keep my mind off the agonizing pain my leg is in.”
“My mother and I are looking for someone,” Cindy explained while aiding the wounded centaur with her steps. “A witch who is wanted by her mother. We’re going to find her and be paid lots of gold for it.”
“I see,” Hollia replied while limping along next to her. “So you’re just trying to make a living with this hunt of yours. And who is this witch that you’re being sent after?”
*****
“Alyssa,” Daniel spoke up, drawing the attention of the witch as he stood next to the carriage. “Are you doing alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Alyssa softly answered before turning her gaze up at the sky again.
Daniel watched as the witch had only a faint smile on her face, her expression and eyes conveying that she wasn’t fine but merely saying such to keep everyone from feeling sad for her. He glanced around to see the other girls talking while the butterfly sisters and Pip were running about nearby then climbed up onto the front seat and sat next to the quiet witch.
“Is there anything I can do to help that smile you’re forcing right now become more genuine?” Daniel gently asked as he held the girl with one arm.
“I’m sorry,” Alyssa said while nuzzling against his side. “I’m trying to smile again.”
“You don’t have to apologize, Alyssa. I know you’re hurting still. We all do. And we’re here for you. We just wish we could do more to help you.”
“You already are,” Alyssa gently sighed as she held onto him. “I know I’ve been distant from everyone these past few days. I don’t mean to bring you all down like this, and I’m sorry for that.”
“We understand what you’re going through. Take all the time you need to recover from your ordeal. Just know that I’ll do anything to make you feel better.”
“We’ll do anything to make you feel better,” Triska corrected.
Alyssa looked over across Daniel’s chest to see the girls gathered near them, with Falla and Luna running over behind them before Falla tackled her sister and swiped the bag of insects from her. The sisters then turned to Alyssa and smiled weakly while Pip flew around them laughing playfully still.
“We’re here for you, Alyssa,” Kroanette promised. “We’re family after all.”
“You have our support,” Specca assured her. “However you need it.”
Squeak nodded and squeaked something with a warm smile on her face.
Daniel smiled at his mates as they voiced their care for Alyssa then noticed Clover merely watching the witch with a blank expression. The elf shrugged and lowered her head while keeping her bow and quiver close to her.
“You’re pretty tough,” Clover admitted. “Losing your daughter and keeping your composure like this. If I lost my kid I’d be a real nightmare to be around for a long time.”
“And to think she’s such a ray of sunshine now,” Falla dryly mentioned as she and her sister walked over to the group. She then turned to Alyssa and shrugged with a small smile. “But she’s right. You’re pretty strong-willed to keep going like this. I don’t know how you do it.”
“You haven’t even been crying,” Luna added curiously. “I’d be bawling my eyes out for weeks at least if I lost my daughter, but you’ve been keeping it all in.”
“Are you going to be okay, Alyssa?” Pip worriedly asked as she fluttered over in front of the witch.
“I’ll be fine,” Alyssa assured, holding out a hand for the fairy to touch down on. “I’ve been crying on the inside these past few days, I’ve been dealing with the pain just like I did the first time I lost Ember. No, not like the first time. This time it was different.”
“It hurt you in a quiet way,” Daniel sympathized.
“Part of me felt like I lost my baby again, and the other part… felt like I only lost a memory of her. The witch who tried to kill me, the one who hurt all of you, she was my daughter. And at the same time… she wasn’t the same baby girl I remembered.”
“We’ll help you get through this,” Daniel promised, gently resting a hand on her shoulder. “If there’s anything we can do, you let us know.”
Alyssa slowly breathed out as she lifted Pip into the air, the tiny fairy fluttering off her hand before the witch covered her face and took a few calming breaths. After a moment she quickly hopped over onto Daniel’s lap and kissed him, catching him by surprise for a moment before he held her close with his mates smiling at seeing the two together. When the kiss ended Alyssa rocked her head back and sighed before gently brushing Daniel’s hair and showing a familiar coy look on her face.
“There is something you can do,” she mentioned with a twitch of her eyebrow. “It’s been so long now, I’m not sure I can wait any longer. I’m starving on the inside.”
“Doku’s making lunch right now,” Luna said with a shrug. “You can eat with all of us in a little bit.”
“I don’t mean I’m hungry for food. My inner nature is getting a little anxious. It’s been so long since I felt that fire inside of me, and I think I could really use it now to help me feel better.”
“Really now?” Daniel mused with a smirk. “Well I was respecting your feelings and giving you your space, Alyssa. But if you think I need to keep you closer again then I suppose I have no choice.”
“I’ll feel a lot better again with your love,” Alyssa purred, then glanced to the other girls. “All of your love.”
“I think we can arrange that,” Triska chuckled crossing her arms.
“After lunch we’ll spend some quality time together,” Specca proposed with a wink.
Squeak squeaked something with a sultry smile at Alyssa along with blowing her a kiss.
“I’ll be in the bathing room with earplugs in and a washcloth other my eyes,” Clover muttered looking away from them.
Alyssa gave the elf a dull glance then turned her focus to Kroanette as the centaur was watching Pip who was now wedged in between her breasts with her legs kicking about above the girl’s cleavage.
“All of your love,” Alyssa repeated.
Kroanette turned to her with a curious expression before slowly showing surprise. Alyssa nodded and glanced over to the butterfly sisters who were watching her in wonder.
“When you say all of us…” Falla slowly questioned.
“I mean all of Daniel’s mates,” Alyssa answered. “All of my co-mates. Or if that’s not specific enough, everyone but Clover and Doku.”
“Oh darn,” Clover dryly retorted. “I didn’t make the cut. My life sucks ass.”
“Us too?” Falla asked with an eager smile. “Really? We can… join you this time?”
“We can have sex with Daniel now?” Luna said hopping up and down.
“Well, that is up to him,” Alyssa warned with a careful eye at Daniel. “I mean you can’t force yourselves on him, he has to choose to take you to bed. What do you say, Daniel?”
“Hmm,” Daniel hummed while looking up at the sky. “That is a big decision. Girls, what do you think I should do?”
“I say they can join us,” Specca voted with a coy smile at Luna. “I hear giant butterflies taste delicious between their legs.”
Squeak nodded and squeaked something at Falla with the same look, causing the sisters to smile bashfully to that and blush while their wings fluttered behind them.
“What the hell,” Triska mused with a smirk at Kroanette. “I’ve already made love to monsters with you, Daniel. A few more won’t hurt.”
“I’m really worried about you, Triska,” Kitten sighed in her mind.
Kroanette lowered her head with a timid smile and a hand held over her chest from those words while Pip popped out of her bosom and fluttered in the air.
“What about me? Can I play too?”
“You’re his mate too, Pip,” Alyssa reminded her.
“Yay!” Pip cheered with a hop. She flew at Daniel in a blue blur, then before reaching him turned around instantly and shot
over into Triska’s shirt. “Boobies! Yay! Hee hee!”
“Pip?” Triska asked with a weak smile. “Don’t you love Daniel too? Now would be a good time to show that you care about him.”
There was a pause before Pip shot out of the teen’s shirt and raced over to Daniel, quickly hugging his chest and fluttering her wings.
“Daniel! Yay! Hee hee!”
Daniel laughed at his tiny mate as she smiled brightly up at him then looked around at seeing Kroanette and the butterfly sisters smiling hopefully at him.
“I suppose I do need to express my love for all my mates. They are my responsibility after all.”
The three girls jumped in excitement while Alyssa held onto Daniel’s arm and nuzzled against him along with Pip. Specca and Squeak walked over to Triska’s sides and watched the butterfly sisters hopping about with amused smiles while Kroanette trotted over near the carriage to take hold of Daniel’s hand. He held hers and winked at the centaur before seeing Clover just standing still with her head lowered, her cowl hiding her face while her frown was seen under it.
“Clover?” Daniel asked. The elf slowly glanced up to him as he let go of Alyssa and hopped down next to her. The other girls quieted down and watched as he gently rested a hand on her shoulder.
“Clover, it’s going to be okay. Just put what happened back there behind you.”
“You still haven’t clarified what happened to her,” Kroanette mentioned. “You said something was amiss with the locals?”
“What was so bad about them?” Alyssa wondered as she jumped down next to them.
“What did you see out there?” Specca asked Triska.
Clover glanced to Daniel’s hand then to him with a dull expression. She then noticed a small gleam in the woods nearby behind him, her eyes focusing on it carefully while Daniel said something else to her.
“Clover? Did you hear me?” Daniel said as he saw the elf keeping her attention off him.
Clover’s eyes fixated on a small glimmer that came from the shadows before she quickly dodged to the side and tackled Alyssa down to the ground. Almost instantly a bolt flew past and struck into the ground between Luna’s feet, the butterfly screaming as she jumped back while everyone else stared at the arrow in surprise.
Chronicles of Eden - Act VIII Page 6