“Classified, sir.”
“Classified?” VelRyan wondered with a curious look. “I see. Sounds important. So, may I ask what your intentions are?”
“My… intentions…” Arial slowly replied, blinking a few times before showing discomfort. Everyone watched as she looked to her claws that were beginning to melt and crack apart, the ice shattering and dropping off her hands that flinched and shakily lifted up before her. She started having trouble breathing, evidenced by her rasping gasps, before she looked up behind her at the sun that was shining down upon them.
“Are you… okay, Arial?” VelRyan asked. He saw the angel wavering atop her feet before wearily holding an arm up to shield her face from the sunlight, her wings flinching and dripping water as they rustled behind her.
“What’s wrong with her?” Bermuda wondered.
Arial coughed and flinched from the sunlight radiating down upon her, the intense rays and warmth feeling like they were smothering her, despite the weather hardly being considered hot on that particular day to everyone else.
“Are you alright?” Max asked, stepping up beside VelRyan. The girl turned to him with a dazed look, her eyes struggling to focus as she failed to form a reply with her faint breaths. She then turned to Lelu and Grace behind him, the angel trembling a little as she tried to summon her strength with a determined look coming over her. The girl weakly growled as she formed a few icicles on her fingers before they broke off and melted, her breathing becoming more strained while her voice could barely escape her throat.
“You…” she uttered, reaching out for the two girls as she slowly stepped forward. However that was as far as she could go before she stumbled forward and collapsed against Max. Holding onto his shoulders the angel panted and struggled to stay standing, her wings slowly drooping behind her as she clung to the boy with what strength she had left.
“Watch it. Hey, are you okay? What’s wrong with you?” Max asked, holding the girl up as she slumped against him. She looked up into his eyes with an exhausted expression, her eyes barely focusing on the boy while she slowly climbed up onto her feet.
“It’s… so…” she breathed out, pausing for a moment before her eyes rolled around in her head. “So… hot…”
With that she fell forward, taking Max down to the ground with a thump. Lelu and Grace blinked before gasping in shock, both of them along with everyone else seeing the angel lying atop Max with her head against his, and her lips against his as well. The boy was staring with wide eyes at the girl who appeared to just be barely conscious, her eyes slowly focusing on who she was now kissing before she leaned back with a quiet gasp. She trembled with a faint blush forming on her cheeks while her wings shook behind her, a stunned look she had being shared with the boy underneath her.
“No… now… I’m… even… hotter…” she softly whined. Before Max could say a word the girl collapsed atop him, her head resting on his shoulder this time while her wings finally dropped to her sides. Stunned, Max just stared straight up into the sky as he felt the girl lying on him. Slowly he looked over to see Lelu fuming with jealous rage, Grace appearing to be doing the same, Bermuda shaking her head a little with a puzzled look, and VelRyan who carefully knelt down beside them and gently rested a hand on the sleeping angel’s head.
“What just happened?” Max asked.
“It seems we have another unexpected visitor joining us,” VelRyan mused, studying the unique monster who had fallen into their laps, or rather Max’s to be more precise. Max looked at the sleeping angel atop him with wonder before seeing Lelu and Grace getting closer to him with furious looks.
“Um, girls?” he said with a nervous smile. “Is… something wrong?”
“YOU KISSED HER!” the two yelled out together, their voices carrying far and wide across the monastery and echoing off the nearby mountain cliffs, once again startling the residents of Shadow’s Refuge as they could almost feel another cloud of foreboding wrath forming near them again.
*****
Standing on the balcony of a shimmering palace made of gold and silver, three angels were looking down over the elegant railing at what just transpired with mortified expressions.
“Hazial,” an angel whined with a nervous look at her companion.
“This isn’t happening,” Hazial bemoaned, holding a hand to her head and ruffling her long, golden locks.
“You fucking idiot,” Dorva snapped at the angel.
“I didn’t know the sun was her weakness!” Hazial cried out.
“Heat is her weakness, you stupid bitch!” Dorva yelled at her. “It clearly says in her papers that she, just like all snow angels, are only to be dispatched to locales with cold climates! But you didn’t do that, you just sent her down to that cozy mountain range in the middle of summer! For fuck’s sake, she’s as weak as a human child when exposed to that much warmth!”
“Why didn’t she mention anything to me then?” Hazial demanded in a fluster. “The little brat didn’t object to going down there, why didn’t she mention that it would be a suicide mission for her?”
“The same reason no angel questions their orders from their superiors. She’s not supposed to! If you tell her to jump she’s not going to ask why, she’s going to ask how high! They trust that their superiors know what they’re doing!”
“Get her back,” Hazial shakily ordered the third angel who was nervously biting her fingernail. “Send someone down there right away and-”
“We can’t!” Dorva argued, yanking the angel over to her. “You know our law! You assigned this task to Arial; it falls on her shoulders and her shoulders alone! Unless she personally comes back to us and requests help with her mission, we cannot interfere! We cannot interrupt an angel’s assigned task once it’s officially begun! We can’t send anyone else down to that area until she finishes her job! She’s the only one who can handle the situation now thanks to you!”
“Oh, this is bad, this is really bad,” the third angel fretted. “If Valentina finds out Arial was sent to kill her, she’ll tear that kid apart. Arial can’t beat her with her energy being sapped like this. What are we going to do?”
“We can’t do anything!” Dorva yelled at her. “We’re screwed now thanks to Hazial’s lack of brains! All we can do now is pray Arial escapes that place and returns to us before Valentina realizes what happened. And we’d better get down on our knees and pray extra hard that nothing bad happens to that snow angel in the meantime. It is a royal bitch to breed those angels; if we lose even one then our superiors are going to be fucking pissed!”
The third angel broke down crying in a panic while Dorva scowled at Hazial, the blonde angel flipping through the papers she had with a devastated grimace.
“And if that happens, I know who I’m pointing the finger at, Hazial,” Dorva threatened before walking off. The third angel quickly flew after her while Hazial dropped the papers at her feet and looked down over the railing at what she had done. After a long silence in which she realized just how badly she screwed up, the angel managed to utter the only thing that came to mind.
“Oh… goddammit.”
Chapter 12
The Centaur’s Return
In the world of Eden, there was no greater power than that of love. It was something that could bring others together with such force and conviction, that could bring out one’s true self better than anything else, and could unite souls together if the bond was strong enough. It was something that could keep hope alive and make the impossible possible. Love was more than just an emotion for many, a dream for some, and even a weapon for a few. Even if they were separated, their love could pull them back together, no matter the distance or obstacles between them.
If they were truly in love with each other, then nothing could ever keep them apart.
*****
Standing on the overlook of the grassy knoll, Daniel surveyed the elven community that lay stretched across the fields below. Hundreds of women and children, all living another day wit
h freedom and renewed spirits thanks to him and his family who were considered to be their renowned champions over the tyrannous Sisterhood. The sunny weather and warm breeze that passed by brought a proud smile to his face and a flutter of his cape as he stood there, knowing that the elves were not only free from their shackles of slavery, but also they now had thoughts and dreams of what he hoped to bring to all races in Eden; a life of peaceful coexistence with each other and prosperity for all of them.
“I wish Squeak was here to see this,” Daniel softly remarked to himself. “They wouldn’t be here with us today if it wasn’t for you as well, my beloved ant girl. I hope one day everyone will know your name and what you gave for the cause.”
“I’ll never forget her name,” Sheal said from behind, walking up beside the man with her hands held together in front and tail slowly waving in back. “Or what she did. You and your family took me in, and you reignited my hope for a better future for my people. But it was Squeak who truly freed me from The Sisterhood and showed me a brighter path.”
“I suppose she did,” Daniel agreed, glancing to her with a small smirk. Sheal was watching him with a nervous frown, the woman gulping before looking down with remorse.
“Sorry again,” she apologized. “I didn’t mean to cause trouble this morning.”
“Why, whatever do you mean?” Daniel asked with a raised eyebrow.
***
“Master! Please don’t die!” Sheal screamed out, much to the surprise of nearly everyone in the bedroom. The girls around Daniel were awoken with a startle to hearing the salamander woman crying out in distress, all except for Specca who remained sound asleep, and after a second to realize they weren’t dreaming anymore they quickly saw something that seemed so crazy they questioned if they were indeed awake then.
“Master! Master!” Sheal yelled loudly, the salamander woman straddling Daniel on the bed while shaking him relentlessly by his shoulders. Although he too was woken up quite suddenly by his newest maid, he wasn’t able to offer any proper reply to her concerns as whatever he tried to say was slurred from the constant heavy motions he was forced to move in.
“He’s dying! Please don’t let him die!” Rolian cried out, hanging from even more webbing now covering the ceiling and watching Daniel with watery eyes.
“Good, stop interfering with fate!” Felucia yelled out, the sand wraith holding her daughter who was holding a young swarm in her arms. Cindy and Snapper watched Daniel going up and down rapidly on the bed with curious looks while the other girls were showing noticeably more alarm with what they were seeing.
“What the hell are you doing?” Alyssa cried out.
“Why are you shaking him like that?” Falla demanded. “What is wrong with you?”
“Master, please try to hold on!” Sheal begged, shaking the man constantly despite his desperate and incomprehensible pleas for her to stop. “Don’t panic, you’re going to be alright! What are you all just sitting there for? Do something, can’t you see he’s in distress?”
“Yeah, from you!” Alyssa yelled, waving her arm and throwing the salamander woman clear off the bed with a magical force. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Daniel, are you okay?” Doku fretted, rushing over to the man as he sat up with a dazed groan. Before he could speak Rolian dropped onto the bed, yanked his head back, and forced him to drink from her jug that he flailed about from.
“Drink from Juggy!” Rolian pleaded. “Hurry, it’ll make you feel better! Juggy always makes me feel better when I’m sick, I’m sure she’ll do the same for you! Hurry! Drink up!”
“Have you all lost it?” Falla cried out grabbing her hair.
“Stop trying to drown my husband in your booze!” Doku demanded in a fluster, flapping her wings at Rolian to shoo her away. Daniel managed to push aside the jug and gasp for air as he coughed and sputtered the beverage out of his mouth and lungs.
“Well, this has been a fun morning,” Felucia smirked as she watched him trying to catch his breath.
“Daniel?” Cindy wondered. “Are you okay?”
“No, I’m not okay,” Daniel argued, wiping his face and looking around at the maids in disbelief. “What is going on here? Why are you both freaking out like that?”
“Are you okay? Please tell me you’re okay!” Sheal begged, scrambling back onto the bed, knocking aside Falla and Luna and rushing over to hold onto the man. “Please, speak to me, master!”
“Sheal, I’m fine,” Daniel stressed with her. “Aside from being woken up in a bizarre and chaotic way, I’m fine. What makes you think I’m in danger?”
“You sounded like you were dying,” Sheal whimpered.
“Dying?”
“You were making the most horrible noises,” Rolian whined, hopping about on her legs. “I never heard anything so terrible in all my life. We thought you were dying from a fatal disease or something.”
“What? Horrible noises?”
“You sounded like you were choking, really painfully,” Felucia plainly told him. “It was this terrible noise coming from your mouth, like a groundquake that was destroying an entire city or something similar. I would have done something to help, but… I don’t know anything about healing people, so I just opted to watch. That and I honestly didn’t care.”
“Making noises with his mouth?” Doku repeated, with the girls exchanging blank looks with each other while Specca was still sound asleep beside them.
“Oh for crying out loud,” Alyssa growled, lowering her head with a hand held over her face. “You mean his snoring? That’s why you two were acting like idiots just now, because he was snoring?”
“Are you serious?” Falla groaned.
“What’s snoring?” Sheal asked. She blinked then looked around to seeing Daniel sighing and lowering his head, Rolian still fretting about his health while she slowly started drinking from Juggy, and Felucia showing a slightly puzzled look as well. Cindy and Snapper had innocent and curious looks while the other girls were displaying more tired and exasperated ones at the salamander woman.
***
“I am so sorry again, master,” Sheal raspingly insisted. “I thought you were in mortal distress and… I panicked. I didn’t know what to do and I thought I was going to lose you. I’m sorry for my horrible behavior.”
“That’s alright, Sheal. You were just worried about me. I guess I should have warned you that humans snore sometimes when they’re sleeping. I haven’t the foggiest why some races out there are completely unaware of this fact, but I’m starting to think I might need to weave it into my future talks with those I extend a diplomatic hand to.”
“You’re far too kind to forgive me so much,” Sheal worried.
“Yeah, he really is,” Alyssa muttered, walking up beside them. Sheal started to say something before the witch held up her hand to silence her, then took hold of Daniel’s while gazing out at the elven people below them.
“I awoke this morning to find my man being assailed and bestridden by a salamander woman who has no underwear on beneath her erotic maid outfit,” she spoke up, earning a nervous look from Sheal while Daniel tried to forget about the fact that Sheal’s warm crotch had been pressing against him that morning.
“And was joined by her fellow idiot in crime who forced my beloved mate to drink that disgusting crap she carries around with her all the time.”
“To be fair,” Daniel spoke up. “It didn’t exactly taste horrible. Luckily for me Rolian wanted me to drink from it, so I was fortunate it tasted pretty good. Not exactly something I wanted to drink so early in the morning, it was a bit heavy and spicy, but it could have been worse I suppose.”
“A moot point, Daniel,” Alyssa said shaking her head. “I watched my man being ravaged by two impulsive maids, we had to deal with Specca vomiting on the bed when she finally awoke from her slumber, we’ve had the growing problem of finding even more webbing on our ceilings thanks to Rolian, and during breakfast we had Felucia yelling at us nonstop about how we c
orrupted Cindy who only wanted to eat with us. This entire morning has been rather… tiresome.”
“I can go speak with Felucia about her behavior,” Sheal offered.
“Already done, Sheal,” Alyssa firmly said. “We had a lovely talk with her, Daniel and I, though I question what good will come of it. What I’m trying to say is I’m not in a happy mood right now. So the fact that you’re still standing here as you are, rather than being properly disciplined by yours truly in a manner that would make you pray for death, is nothing short of great restraint on my part and Daniel’s insistence that such actions are not necessary for this one instance. Do you understand how fortunate you are right now?”
“Y… yes,” Sheal nervously replied.
“The next time you mount my man, for whatever reason; the next time Rolian decides to spread more of her goddamned webbing in our home; the next time Felucia opens her big fat mouth; the next person to push me even in the slightest today is going to be very sorry. So count your blessings I’m trying to be a good little witch for Daniel, never speak of what happened this morning again, and keep your fucking pussy off of my Daniel at all times. Got it?”
“Yes, Alyssa,” Sheal quickly said, nodding to that. “I understand completely.”
“Thank you, Alyssa,” Daniel mentioned. “For your understanding and forgiveness.”
“I really am too forgiving and lenient,” Alyssa sighed, shaking her head. “It’s a curse I’ve always had to bear.”
“Is that a fact?” Specca dryly asked, the nixie slowly walking up beside her with a deathly look on her face. “I seem to recount several instances that would say otherwise.”
“Are you okay, Specca?” Sheal worried.
“Do I look okay, Sheal?” Specca morbidly asked before holding a hand to her head. “Ugh… I’m never drinking again. Never ever.”
“Good,” Alyssa commented. “I’m sure Doku will approve of that after she gets done changing our sheets.”
“I’m sorry,” Specca whined, tiredly holding her glasses as she struggled with her hangover. “I never should have partaken in their drinking last night. I don’t know what came over me. I just had one little sip and everything after that became a blur. How does Rolian drink that stuff every day and still be able to walk?”
Chronicles of Eden - Season II - Act II Page 37