“We’ll give you your space,” Triska said as she gathered her things. “Just know that your family is here for you, and we love you.”
“Thank you, Triska,” Alyssa replied as she turned to face her daughter’s resting place. She lowered her head and closed her eyes, taking a shaky breath as she came to terms with finally losing her baby girl.
Triska gently patted the witch’s shoulder then left her to grieve, glancing back to her co-mate with a remorseful eye as she walked away before she sat down next to Daniel.
“How is she doing?” Daniel asked.
“I guess she’s doing okay,” Triska reasoned with a shrug. “This whole thing has really shaken her, I think she’s more in shock than anything right now. She just needs some alone time to deal with this.”
“Poor Alyssa,” Luna whimpered.
“I wish it didn’t have to be this way,” Falla said shaking her head. “Why did Ember charge Alyssa like that? Why couldn’t she just listen to reason?”
“There was too much anger in her,” Kroanette answered with a sigh. “The poor dear must have had a horrible upbringing without her mother. She never had a chance of opening her heart again.”
“She mentioned she was raised by goblins,” Specca recalled. “Those horrible monsters couldn’t have been kind to her, even as a child. I can’t imagine the horrors they forced her to endure.”
“She’s finally at peace,” Daniel distantly said while looking up at the sky. “After the hell she went through in her life, I hope she can rest easy now.”
“Daniel,” Doku breathed out as she began to stir. The group watched the harpy slowly opening her eyes with a weak groan. “What… what happened?”
“You saved Alyssa,” Daniel praised her. “Thank you so much for keeping her with us.”
“Are you alright?” Specca asked worriedly. “You pushed yourself so hard; you could have seriously hurt yourself expending so much of your reserves like that.”
“Alyssa’s okay?” Doku quietly asked.
“Yes, she’s alive and well, thanks to you,” Daniel gently replied.
Doku smiled softly and nuzzled her head in his lap while closing her eyes.
“I’m so glad I made you happy, my dear husband.”
Daniel jumped with a startle and watched as the harpy snuggled closer to him with a soft giggle. He then glanced around to seeing all the girls watching Doku sharply except for Pip and Luna who had curious expressions on their faces. Clover however was looking down at her ragged cloak with more interest and didn’t seem to pay any mind to the harpy’s declaration like the other girls were.
“What was that, Doku?” Specca sternly inquired.
Doku froze and remained silent, hiding her face in Daniel’s chest while the girls narrowed their eyes at her.
“Doku?” Triska repeated before pulling the harpy back from Daniel’s chest. She brushed Doku’s bangs aside to show the girl was glancing down and away from everyone while not saying a word.
“I don’t think I heard you correctly,” Falla said with a stern smile. “No, I couldn’t have heard you correctly just now. You didn’t just call Daniel your husband, did you?”
“Yes she did,” Luna told her. “You didn’t hear that?”
“I heard it,” Pip said raising her hand.
“Doku,” Kroanette lectured while crossing her arms in discontent. “Daniel is not your husband. He is our mate, not yours. Do you understand?”
Doku remained silent for a while before blinking then looking up at Daniel.
“Um, where’s Cilia? Has she come back yet?”
“Don’t change the subject,” Specca snapped with her hands set at her hips. “Daniel is not your husband, Doku. You’ve been a fantastic help to us since we’ve met you, we would hate for our good relationship with you to end because you tried to steal our man away.”
“I’m not stealing him away,” Doku insisted at her, then curled closer to Daniel and hid behind her wing. “He’s your husband too.”
“He’s only our husband!” Triska shouted at her. She blinked then shook her head with a flustered huff. “I mean he’s our mate! We haven’t gotten officially married yet, none of us have, and that certainly includes you!”
“I know that,” Doku sheepishly replied. “I know we haven’t gotten married yet.”
“And you never will,” Falla stressed through her teeth.
“Is she going to join Daniel’s harem too?” Pip asked excitedly.
“Wow, she is?” Luna asked in wonder.
“What?” the other girls shouted at them along with a loud squeak from Squeak.
“Hold on here,” Daniel called out holding his hands up. “Before you girls start a fight let me clear this up. Now listen to me, Doku, we’re not-”
“I promise I’ll be a good wife!” Doku pleaded as he clung to his chest and started sobbing. “I know your other mates are far more attractive and useful than I am, but please give me a chance to prove myself worthy of your love! Please, Daniel!”
“Doku,” Daniel sighed as he held the weeping harpy in his arms. “Please stop crying. I don’t want to be mean here, it’s just-”
“I’ll be good! I’ll be good! Please, please, please!”
“Fuck, they’re so desperate for a man,” Clover muttered shaking her head.
“Doku, let go of our Daniel,” Triska sternly ordered.
Daniel tried to pry the harpy off him, the girl instantly clinging to him again after she was pushed back. She held her wings around him and buried her face in his chest, nuzzling herself as close to him as possible. Luna and Pip watched her curiously while the others were showing growing ire from the harpy’s clingy nature.
“What is the matter with you, Doku?” Specca demanded with a twitching eyebrow. “Daniel is not your husband. And he will not be your husband. Now let go of him this instant or else we’re going to be very upset with you.”
Doku trembled while holding onto Daniel still, the other girls watching her closely as she continued to stay close to him as she whimpered quietly into his chest.
“Doku,” Triska sternly said.
The harpy hopped onto Daniel’s lap and snuggled closer, her legs hugging his hips while he tried not to remember that she wasn’t wearing any underwear under her skirt.
“Doku,” Kroanette growled through bared teeth.
Doku nuzzled herself as snug as she could in Daniel’s lap while keeping her wings around him, her head resting on his shoulder with her bangs covering her eyes.
“Doku,” Specca harshly said as the girls clenched their fists in frustration.
The harpy remained still as she clung to Daniel on his lap, the other girls tensing up before Daniel held out a hand to stop them from charging the poor girl. He carefully parted Doku’s bangs to see that she was watching him with a timid expression as she held onto him.
“Doku,” he gently said. “Please try to understand that I’m not-”
Doku’s eyes began to water as she whimpered, with Daniel pausing before continuing with a forced smile.
“That I’m not… we’re not…” He stopped again as the harpy’s lip quivered while she watched him with the most innocent eyes he had ever seen in his life. “We’re… you can’t… please don’t… um…”
The other girls waited for Daniel to continue as he stopped again, all of them seeing him struggling with saying anything more that would break the harpy’s heart. He glanced around to all the girls then back to Doku as she sniffled and gently nuzzled her head against his shoulder.
“I mean, I do appreciate everything you’ve done for us, and I do like you, but…” Daniel reasoned before halting as Doku continued to stare at him with watery eyes.
“Don’t break her heart,” Pip whined with a frown. “You’re making her sad.”
“I don’t want to,” Daniel defended looking up to avoid seeing the harpy’s face. “Why do I have to be the bad guy here?”
“Don’t make her cry,” Luna pleaded shak
ing her head.
The other girls watched Doku with dull stares before Alyssa slowly walked over to them. The witch was looking at the harpy with a blank expression, seeing the feathered girl holding onto Daniel while sitting on his lap and her skirt pulled up just enough to show everyone she was naked under it. Daniel closed his eyes and shook his head, knowing there was no way Alyssa could not be feeling any anger at seeing this scenario.
“Doku,” Alyssa simply said, with the harpy turning her head to face her. “Anything you want us to say to Cilia for you when we find her?”
“What do you mean?” Doku asked softly.
“I mean while we’re finding her you’re going to be buried over there next to Ember,” Alyssa answered pointing behind her. “Sorry to say that’s going to happen now. So, any last words you want us to relay to Cilia for you?”
Doku stared at her in silence for a while as she remained in Daniel’s lap with her wings around him. She then tilted her head slightly with a worried smile on her face.
“Are you feeling better now after I healed your wounds?” she nervously asked.
“That’s not going to save you,” Alyssa flatly replied.
“I am sorry about Ember, I really am.”
“Only making it worse for yourself.”
Daniel sighed as he looked up with a hand held over his eyes. With a tired groan he rubbed his face then looked away as he was all too familiar with this scenario and how it would usually end up resolving itself. He then jumped a bit as he saw something that caught his eye, with all the girls noticing his reaction before looking over to the side to seeing Apoch and Astreal walking towards them.
“Apoch. Astreal,” Daniel said as the twins approached them with perfectly symmetrical steps and hip movements. He blinked then looked around at the sky carefully as he recalled a voice he had heard earlier during the fight.
“Twilight? Are you here?”
“I was beginning to think you had forgotten about me, Daniel Sorres,” Twilight’s voice spoke to everyone in their heads.
“Twilight? She’s been here this whole time?” Triska asked tensing up.
“I heard her talk to me earlier before fighting Ember,” Daniel said turning his eyes to the mysterious woman’s helpers. “I was wondering when you two would show up again.”
“It appears as though our warning to you went unheeded,” Apoch mused as she eyed over Alyssa.
“We told you Ms. Ember was dangerous,” Astreal added as she glanced around at the burned field. “It looks as though you found that out the hard way.”
“I never doubted your warning,” Clover mentioned. “But like anyone here listens to me.”
“Clover, shut up,” Specca hushed her while watching the twins carefully.
Apoch and Astreal walked over towards Alyssa with their staves held at their sides, both looking over Alyssa’s condition as she backed up a step from them. After hesitating for a moment she slowly bowed to them with a nervous frown.
“My… my ladies,” she spoke softly.
“We’re not in Ms. Charlotte’s presence right now,” Apoch said shaking her head. “You don’t have to bother with the formalities.”
“Is it true what our master has said?” Astreal inquired. “Is Ms. Ember really dead?”
Alyssa closed her eyes and nodded. The twins glanced to each other curiously then back to Alyssa as they knelt down and each rested a hand on her shoulders.
“You’ve done some horrible things in your past, Ms. Alyssa,” Astreal solemnly said. “However, losing your daughter’s life isn’t something we have wished upon you for your sins.”
“For what it’s worth, we are sorry for your loss,” Apoch softly assured her before they stood up again.
“Thank you,” Alyssa said looking up to them.
“And we are sorry for your other loss as well,” Astreal added with a remorseful glance to Daniel.
“Our other loss?” he asked puzzled. “What do you mean? The rest of us are alright.”
The sisters approached him as everyone watched with growing concern, with Astreal then reaching into her pocket and taking something out to which she presented to Daniel in her hand. Everyone gathered around to see the witch holding out a tiny black ribbon, one that Doku started breathing shakily upon seeing.
“That’s…. that’s…” the harpy whimpered.
“Cilia’s,” Triska gasped.
“Where… where’s Cilia?” Luna nervously asked.
“I am terribly sorry,” Twilight spoke in a saddened tone. “My vision from here is very limited and difficult to maintain. I only caught a fleeting glimpse of your dear friend before it was too late.”
“No,” Doku breathed out as Astreal gently handed off the fairy’s ribbon to Daniel. “What happened? Where’s Cilia? Where is she?”
“A bird found her not too far from here,” Apoch softly told them, the group staring at her with surprise as the twins shook their heads at the same time.
“Our master informed us of her danger,” Astreal said with regret. “However we arrived too late. When we got there… that was all that was left.”
“Cilia,” Pip whined with teary eyes.
“She got eaten?” Specca gasped with a hand over her mouth, the twins nodding solemnly to that while remaining silent.
“No,” Doku whimpered as she started shaking. The group watched as she started crying, her unseen gaze staring at the ribbon in Daniel’s hand as she felt her heart breaking. “Cilia… no. She can’t be… no. No! Cilia!”
She broke down sobbing and buried her face in Daniel’s shoulder, her painful cries tearing at the group’s hearts as the harpy softly wailed her fallen friend’s name. Even Clover showed sympathy from hearing the dire tale, the elf knowing the pain Doku was going through all too well.
“No, she can’t be gone,” Kroanette said shaking her head. “Please tell us this is some sort of joke you witches play to toy with others.”
“Now you’re being quite rude,” Apoch and Astreal scolded her together. “This is no joke. How dare you accuse us of such things.”
“Cilia!” Doku softly cried out. “No, I was going to take her home. I was going to take her home!”
“Doku, I’m so sorry,” Daniel gently said as he held the girl.
“Cilia, no!” Pip wailed before hugging Kroanette’s chest and crying. The centaur tenderly held a hand to the fairy’s back while watching her cry with remorseful eyes.
“This day is absolutely dreadful,” Kroanette mourned while shaking her head.
“I am sorry,” Twilight spoke again. “If only I had seen her sooner, I could have had my helpers bring her back to you safely. And it appears you’ve all suffered greatly before even hearing this horrible news.”
“We’ve had a fucked up morning, yes,” Clover agreed.
Daniel leaned Doku back and gently wiped her tears away before brushing aside her bangs, her watery eyes watching him as she shakily whimpered in sorrow.
“I’m sorry, Doku. I really am.”
“Don’t let me go, Daniel,” she begged as she quickly hugged him again. “I need my husband now more than ever! Cilia! No! Waaaaaaah!”
Daniel held the harpy while looking over her shoulder with a weak expression, seeing the other girls staring at Doku with frustration and remorse as they seemed to contemplate berating her again or comforting her from the loss.
“Doku,” Triska groaned through her teeth. “You… he… but… ah, goddammit.”
“She is making it very difficult for us to be angry with her about this,” Specca commented as they watched Doku nuzzling close to Daniel while her naked rear rubbed against his lap.
Alyssa grumbled and pulled on her hair while struggling not to lash out at the heartbroken harpy. Squeak opened her mouth to squeak something at the grief-stricken girl then sighed and lowered her head as she felt what she was about to say may have been too mean given the circumstances.
“Daniel, do something,” Falla urged while Luna was
crying on her shoulder.
“What am I supposed to do now?” Daniel asked her while waving his hands around behind Doku.
“Don’t break her heart!” Luna wailed while hugging her sister close. “The poor girl, losing her friend like that, this whole day is so terrible!”
“We’ll deal with her misguidance later, Daniel,” Kroanette sighed as she gently patted Pip’s back. “For now, just help the poor dear through this. I don’t think any of us have the heart to correct her now.”
Doku nodded and held Doku close, the harpy crying into his shoulder while keeping her wings tightly around him. The other girls watched Doku with sympathy then turned to Apoch and Astreal as they slowly gazed around at the charred field.
“I believe I spot what remains of a wheel from your caravan,” Astreal mentioned with a glance to Daniel.
“What happened to the ride we gave you as a gift on behalf of Ms. Charlotte?” Apoch inquired with a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah, about that,” Daniel said with a sigh. “Ember… sort of blew it up.”
“More like she totally blew it up,” Clover mentioned.
“I see,” the twins replied looking to each other carefully. “That is most unfortunate indeed.”
“Daniel Sorres,” Twilight spoke again. “I am truly sorry about all the hardships that you and your loved ones have endured. I am glad however to see that you have stepped up as their knight and protected them just as you promised you would. It could not have been easy for you to draw your blade against Alyssa’s daughter, but your reasons were just and noble, and you owned up to your vow of protecting those you hold dear. I’m truly impressed with you.”
“Thank you, Twilight,” Daniel said looking up, as if she was watching them from above somewhere. “I didn’t want to fight her like that, I didn’t want any of this to turn out like it did, I just wanted to protect my family.”
“I’m scared, Daniel Sorres,” Twilight worriedly said, with the group growing curious from her words. “I’m trapped in my prison, and I’m scared that whoever opens it will take everything I have and am for horrible and nefarious purposes. Whoever opens my seal, I fear that they may not be of noble and genuine heart, that the power and knowledge that lies trapped with me will fall into very wicked hands. I believe, I really do, that you are the one I need to save me.”
Chronicles of Eden - Act VII Page 58