Act IX

by Alexander Gordon

  “Are you alright?” Kroanette worried.

  “I’m fine,” Daniel coughed to the side with a few tears in his eyes. “It’s just really… strong. Wow, that’s got a real kick alright.”

  “Pathetic, Mr. Daniel,” Apoch mocked. “You barely had any.”

  “I’m sorry, I just couldn’t do it.”

  Apoch chuckled then drank the whole glass of the wine, with everyone watching in wonder as she calmly downed the beverage then set the glass down with a clink.

  “Delicious,” she said with a wink.

  “I didn’t think you were supposed to drink wine like that,” Specca commented. “I always saw others taking it more slowly rather than gulping it down.”

  “You don’t want to drink this slowly,” Apoch warned shaking her finger at Daniel. “Hesitation doesn’t end too well, as I’m sure you noticed.”

  “Nothing lowlier than a man who hesitates,” Astreal chuckled.

  “I was wondering when you’d start heckling me again,” Daniel weakly admitted.

  “Not heckling,” Apoch corrected shaking her head and pouring another glass. “Just testing.”

  “Testing? Testing what?”

  “A better question is what do you have to be upset about?” Astreal sharply asked. “We gifted you with this luxurious living space, we’re offering to help you with your quest for peace, and you have all of these girls fawning over you. For a man with so many mates in his life you are acting so poorly. What in Eden is the problem here?”

  “Those girls are not his mates!” Falla argued pointing over to the three sitting further away from them.

  “Neither is she,” Specca added with a finger held towards Cindy. “However she isn’t the one that we’re troubled about right now.”

  “Well, in a way we are,” Falla mentioned with a shrug. “I mean she is a sand wraith, so that’s something we’re concerned about. But still, those two over there are the big problem.”

  “Two?” Apoch questioned with a glance to the side. “There are three girls over there.”

  “One of which is a jinx,” Astreal chuckled. “It should be no surprise that she’s causing problems for you all.”

  “No, she’s not, as surprising as it is,” Kroanette corrected. “It’s the fact that Doku and Clover both confessed they love our mate. That’s the problem here.”

  “But didn’t we already know Doku loved Daniel?” Luna wondered. “I didn’t think that was a secret.”

  “I knew about it,” Pip admitted holding her hand up. The tiny fairy fluttered around above Squeak’s head while nodding at the group. “I did know that. Honest. I really did.”

  “The problem we’re having is where does this end?” Triska shouted slamming her hands down again. “How many girls are going to fall for Daniel, and how many are we supposed to share him with? Okay, I’m just going to put my thoughts on the matter out there right now. I don’t give a crap about sharing him with Doku, alright? I don’t. Honestly, at this point she’s pretty much family already. We all like her and she’s adorable. I can understand her joining us, I can. But Clover? No way!”

  “I agree,” Specca commented standing up. “If it were just Doku then I could see myself allowing it. She is a kind and caring girl, we’ve all seen that. And I don’t think having her join us would be that bad. But the principle of the matter still stands. This is yet another girl we would be sharing with our Daniel. How many more are going to want to be his? When are we supposed to draw a line and say it’s too much?”

  “And for the record we’re never sharing him with Clover!” Alyssa shouted over at the elf. “Hell would freeze over first!”

  “I hate my life,” Clover quietly muttered as she rested her head down on the table.

  “They would really be alright sharing Daniel with me?” Doku sniffled. “They’re too kind and selfless. I… I don’t deserve such generosity after the trouble I’ve caused them.”

  “Just shut up and take the ticket to be with Dan while you still can,” Clover grumbled.

  “I see,” Apoch mused before turning to Daniel curiously. “Is it you do not want those girls as your mates?”

  “I can’t keep taking more mates, that isn’t right,” Daniel answered shaking his head.

  “You didn’t answer my question. Do you want these girls as your mates, yes or no?”

  “I can’t do that with them.”

  “Stop avoiding the question, Mr. Daniel,” Apoch sternly retorted. “Yes, or no. Do you want those girls as your mates?”

  Everyone turned to Daniel as he stammered some form of nonsensical reply, his eyes going over to Doku and Clover then to Star who tilted her head curiously then over to his harem who were all watching him carefully.

  “Quit babbling!” Astreal ordered standing up. “Stop hesitating with this. Answer my sister. Do you want those girls as your mates? The harpy, the elf, do you want to have sex with them?”

  “No!” Daniel cried out, with Doku and Clover cringing from that.

  “Do you not like them?” Apoch questioned.

  “No, that’s not it. I do like them,” Daniel defended, with the harpy and elf again looking at him curiously.

  “Then what is the problem here?” Astreal demanded. “If you like them and they want to be yours then why not take them? You’ve claimed every other girl here as your sex toy, why not them as well?”

  “Don’t you dare talk about my girls like that!” Daniel yelled out. Everyone jumped, the witch sisters included, as well as a big leap from Cindy who was startled from his outburst, as Daniel glared at the sisters with anger. “They are not sex toys. They are my family, my mates, and the ones I love in this world. I would never treat them so callously as you seem to think, they all mean the world to me and I would defend them to the death if I had to!”

  “But not them?” Apoch asked pointing to the three girls to the side. “Is that the defining factor to being your mate? You would only defend those you love and wish to be with, yet for them you wouldn’t?”

  “No, that’s not true. I would fight to protect them, I wouldn’t want anything to happen to them either.”

  “Then what is keeping you from taking them as your mates?” Apoch and Astreal asked together. “What is holding you back from claiming them as your own?”

  “Because I have no right to!” Daniel declared.

  All fell silent in the hall as Daniel slowly breathed out then gently pet Cindy’s head, the wraith trembling in his arms while hiding her face. She peeked up to him with a whimper as he smiled worriedly and shook his head at her.

  “I’m sorry for yelling, I know it scares you. Please forgive me.”

  “Did I do something bad again?” Cindy whispered.

  “No, you’ve been a good girl. You’ve done nothing wrong, I promise.”

  “You have no right to?” Apoch and Astreal repeated.

  “How can I keep taking more and more girls as my own like this?” Daniel asked them with genuine concern. “How can that be fair to those I’ve already given my heart to? The only reason that I have so many mates right now is because I honestly couldn’t bear to be separated from them. They all make me so happy in life. And they also love being with each other, I’m the luckiest guy in the world because they don’t mind sharing me with one another. We all want to be together, that’s why this has worked out for us.”

  “So what’s the problem with a few more joining your harem?” Apoch wondered.

  “Because I don’t deserve more mates, I’m barely worthy of having the ones I do have already. Each one is special and precious to me, each one is invaluable. And I try my best to love and spend time with them all equally, I don’t want anyone to be sad or feel left out. But I can’t keep taking more girls as my mates, that’s incredibly selfish of me and not fair to them. They shouldn’t have to keep sharing me with more and more girls simply because I like them.”

  “So you do want to be with the elf and harpy?” Astreal asked with a curious smile. “You do
like them?”

  “I love having them with us. Doku’s been a saint for us, always taking such good care of us like we were her family. She bends over backwards to please us, so much so that we have to keep telling her to stop and take it easy so she doesn’t overwork herself. And as I’m sure you’ve noticed she’s a fantastic cook, she made everything you see on the table here.”

  “You did all this?” Apoch asked the harpy.

  “Um… well… yes. I hope you liked it,” Doku shyly replied.

  “Indeed I have. You are a very talented chef,” Apoch commended.

  “And Clover…” Daniel continued before pausing, with the elf watching him closely while biting her lip. “Well, she’s been rather loud, rude, and hard to deal with many times in the past.”

  “I feel dead inside,” Clover quietly mourned as she lowered her head.

  “But even so, I wouldn’t want her to leave,” Daniel admitted, with the elf quickly looking back to him in surprise. “She’s been a fantastic guardian for us. Because of her arrows and fortitude she’s saved the lives of many of my mates, often when nobody else could have. I feel safe with her near, because I know that if anything dared to threaten us she would shoot it dead without batting an eyelash. She’s a kind and wonderful person underneath her harsh exterior, that much I can see without a doubt. She is a beautiful girl on the inside, something she can’t hide from me.”

  “Dan…” Clover breathed out in awe.

  “Interesting,” Astreal speculated. “So even though they wish to be yours, and sound to be very nice to you, you do not want them to be your mates?”

  “I told you before, I can’t keep taking more mates as my own,” Daniel reasoned. “It’s not right, and it’s not fair to those that I’ve already given my heart out to. They shouldn’t have to keep sharing me with more girls, what they’re doing for me already is more than ever could have been asked of them.”

  “Mr. Daniel,” Apoch spoke up as she set the bottle on the table. “Our master wants us to help you however we can. She has great faith in you, and wishes to be of assistance with any problems you may have. As such we’ve dropped by today to make sure everything is going well while she’s resting.”

  “And it appears everything is not going well,” Astreal continued as she walked over to Doku and Clover. “Never mind that you have a dangerous sand wraith sitting on your lap or a jinx that will likely bring all manner of chaos into your life, it seems to us that these two are causing a sliver in your group that is most troubling.”

  “But don’t despair,” Apoch assured as she walked over to the two girls as well. “We are under orders from our master to aid you and we shall do just that. We’ll handle this problem for you, all you need concern yourself with is tending to those you have chosen as your mates. They are your only responsibility after all.”

  “Wait, what are you doing?” Clover nervously asked as the witches smiled coldly at them.

  “We’re removing Mr. Daniel’s problem,” Astreal answered before the witches tapped their staves on the floor, the sharp clacking sound echoing throughout the hall while a bright glow flared up beneath them. The light traveled along the witches’ feet up to their arms then down to their hands before streaking through the air toward Doku and Clover.

  “What the fuck?” Clover cried out as she tried to scramble away, only for the light to become taught around her neck and yank her back.

  “What are you doing?” Doku gasped as she tried to fly off to the side, only for the same binding light to ensnare her neck and pull her back to Apoch.

  “Doku, Clover!” Daniel called out as everyone stood up. They saw the lights flash brightly and whip about before shifting into colorful chain links that were held by the witches and attached to steel collars on the elf and harpy. The chains quickly wrapped around the two girls, binding Doku’s wings to her sides while Clover’s chains crossed in front of her chest.

  “What is this?” Clover yelled as she thrashed about, only for the collar to zap her with a yelp and drop her down onto her knees.

  “Please, let me go!” Doku pleaded before the same happened to her, the harpy’s wail of pain inciting further anger in the group as they glared at the witch sisters.

  “What are you doing?” Daniel shouted out. “Stop that!”

  “Let them go at once!” Specca demanded.

  “Don’t hurt them!” Pip whined.

  “Relax, you can all enjoy your meal,” Astreal casually said while waving her staff back. Everyone except for Daniel, Cindy, Kroanette and Star were forced back down to their seats by the magical force. Pip tried to fly through the air before she was thrown down into the centaur’s cleavage, her tiny legs kicking about above them as she became stuck in the soft mounds. As the girls tried in vain to stand back up again against the magical force Astreal giggled and glanced back to them with a smirk.

  “Just sit tight, alright?”

  “We’re only helping Mr. Daniel,” Apoch explained while gently brushing the feathers of the trembling harpy.

  “Get this thing off me right now or I’ll fucking kill you!” Clover yelled at Astreal.

  “One more word out of you and I’ll make the collar so small there won’t be any room for your neck,” Astreal threatened, with Clover gasping in shock. “Now, down on all fours like a good girl.”

  Clover trembled in anger before she coughed as the collar shrunk a little on her.

  “Down, girl,” Astreal ordered again.

  With a frustrated growl Clover slowly got down on her hands and knees while glaring at Astreal.

  “Good girl,” the witch cooed while rubbing the elf’s head, getting an infuriated snarl out of her. “Who’s a good girl?”

  “Please don’t do this,” Doku begged.

  “It’s alright,” Apoch reassured her. “Not like you had any future here anyway. I’m going to take you back to our alpha, she’s absolutely going to love your cooking.”

  Star instantly appeared near the witches and lifted Apoch up by her shirt, yowling loudly with a fierce look while Kroanette ran over and grabbed hold of Astreal’s staff.

  “Let them go this instant!” Kroanette ordered, with Star hissing loudly with her tails whipping about behind her.

  “Oh look,” Apoch giggled. “Seem like they want to play.”

  “I suggest they don’t,” Astreal warned. “Or else the collars will tighten to be rather… unpleasant for these two girls.”

  Star and Kroanette jumped with stunned expressions before Doku and Clover choked a bit as the collars shrunk a little with a small metal screech. The jinx and centaur quickly let the sisters go and backed up nervously while the elf and harpy strained to breathe properly. Astreal laughed and tilted her head playfully as the jinx kept her hands close to her chest, taking a moment to shake a finger at the cat before waving her hand towards the bound girls. The collars relaxed slightly around their necks, allowing them to breathe again to which they then gasped for air a few times.

  “Now then. Down, kitty,” Astreal ordered, with Star quickly warping back over to her seat and having her head lowered.

  “Back up, right now,” Apoch warned, with Kroanette quickly trotting back away from them.

  “Why are you doing this?” Alyssa demanded as she struggled to get off her chair.

  “Because these two girls are causing Mr. Daniel trouble,” Apoch declared. “They must be removed from his presence so he can focus on his goals properly again.”

  “Yes,” Astreal agreed as she yanked on Clover’s chain, the elf coughing and grunting before she started crawling behind the witch who led her toward the exit. “So that’s what we’re doing. Let’s get these two out of Mr. Daniel’s sight so they won’t disturb him anymore.”

  Apoch pulled on Doku’s leash, leading the whimpering harpy after her sister while the girls continued to struggle getting out of their seats. Daniel and Cindy ran around the table and stopped in front of the witches, with the twins merely smiling amusedly at him.
/>   “Let them go now!” Daniel ordered.

  “I don’t know what’s going on but I think you’re being bad girls,” Cindy scowled.

  “Bad girls? Us?” Astreal laughed. “Hardly. We’re doing what must be done for Mr. Daniel to be happy.”

  “He has chosen all those he wishes to be with,” Apoch reasoned. “Any more and it will only cause him problems. These two can’t be allowed to distract Mr. Daniel with their words of love, especially if he doesn’t want to accept them.”

  Clover whimpered and looked up to Daniel with watery eyes while Doku had tears running down her cheeks. Daniel shook his head and stepped forward with his arms held out to his sides.

  “Stop, you don’t understand-” he got out before he was thrown to the side by a magical force.

  “Daniel!” Triska cried out as he tumbled about and crashed into the wall. Cindy and Kroanette quickly ran over and knelt don’t next to him, shaking the dazed boy with worried expressions as the witches led their prisoners towards the archway.

  “Now now, Mr. Daniel,” Astreal giggled. “We understand perfectly. You can’t take any more mates in life, however these two are causing ‘issues’ with the girls you have taken as yours. Therefore these two troublemakers must be taken away so as not to bother you anymore.”

  “Don’t worry, we’re not going to kill them,” Apoch promised as they got to the archway and looked back to the group with cheerful smiles. “Ms. Doku here will certainly be a welcome helper at our alpha’s home. She’s such a fabulous cook, and… hmm, do you by chance know how to clean as well?”

  “Um… well… yes?” Doku nervously answered.

  “Splendid. A skilled maid is hard to come by. You’ll be a valuable asset to our alpha indeed.”

  “Asset?” Doku breathed out in despair.

  “And you,” Astreal mentioned with a sly grin down at Clover. “You’ve been a pain for Mr. Daniel, haven’t you? I think you need to atone for such behavior towards him.”

  “Atone?” Clover shakily repeated.

  “You can start by kissing our alpha’s feet,” Astreal said with a lick of her lips. “And then work your way up from there.”