Act IX

by Alexander Gordon

  Star meowed with a scowl at the twins, baring her fangs slightly in her evident anger with her favorite timepiece being broken.

  “It was all in the interest in helping Mr. Daniel!” Apoch and Astreal defended. “And we did, he needed to quit being so indecisive with those he cares about.”

  “Why did that bother you to begin with?” Triska asked. “Since when are you concerned about his personal affairs?”

  “As we said before, our master wishes to be of assistance to any problems he may face,” Astreal reminded her. “We stopped by to make sure he was happy and doing well.”

  Falla watched them carefully as Apoch nodded and gestured to Clover and Doku.

  “He was troubled by his own conflicting emotions with these two, and that was causing distress amongst you all. So we acted to remedy the problem, for both his benefit and your own.”

  Falla slowly shook her head as she realized something about the twins, the two girls nodding at the group then at Daniel with proud smiles.

  “You’re welcome,” they smugly said in unison.

  “Still telling her.”

  “But, Mr. Daniel!” the twins whined hopping up and down.

  Daniel held a hand out to halt them, the two girls stopping and watching him with worried frowns as he looked over the court with a tired sigh.

  “For now, please clean up the mess you caused. I do thank you for helping me accept my own feelings and choices, but you still caused quite a commotion with my family and almost killed me in the process. We’re going to have a little talk during lunch about your methods of helping me, despite how well-intentioned they may be.”

  “But, but, but,” the twins nervously stuttered.

  “You heard my man,” Alyssa said, with the sisters glancing to her with dull expressions. “Put everything back the way it was, and then join us for lunch and a little talk about what you nearly did to him.”

  “We helped him,” they both muttered in unison.

  “Doku? Wake up,” Pip said poking the harpy’s breast again. “Wake up. Wake up. Please wake up.”

  “Triska?” Daniel asked his mate. “Would you take Doku to the bedroom to rest? We can’t leave her on the floor while we go eat after all.”

  “Alright,” Triska said before walking over to the sleeping harpy. “But given how fragile she is I’m expecting her to pass out again real soon when she remembers you’re her mate, probably right away when she wakes up.”

  “Probably,” Daniel agreed with a shrug. He glanced over to see Clover watching him with timid eyes before she lowered her head and looked away to hide her face. “Clover? Are you alright?”

  “Yeah,” she said before peeking back at him with a smile. “Better than alright now, thanks to you.”

  “Again, you’re welcome,” Apoch and Astreal mentioned as they walked off to the side.

  Daniel rolled his eyes then motioned everyone to follow him to the dining hall, with Cindy holding onto his hand and merrily skipping alongside him while the girls watched her curiously. Triska shook Doku a few times, then shrugged before lifting the harpy up and carrying her towards the bedroom with Pip still nestled in her bosom. The other girls followed after Daniel and Cindy while Star remained behind with her saddened eyes on the broken grandfather clock, with Falla pausing for a moment and looking back to the twins with a careful eye before leaving as well.

  After everyone had left Apoch and Astreal walked over beside the jinx while waving their staves around precisely, the stone ornaments glowing softly while they used their magic to undo the damage their skirmish had caused. Broken tiles and plaster moved back to where they came from and melded into place while Astreal’s swords vanished into thin air with metallic whines. The scorched walls and floor reverted back to their normal appearance while the holes in the ceiling faded away to leave not a mark behind.

  “Don’t worry, Ms. Star,” Apoch said as she waved her staff towards the clock. In doing so the timepiece creaked and shifted about as broken clockwork within it reformed into place. The glass that was cracked and broken apart came back together while the wood molded into proper form once again. With a tap of Apoch’s staff on the floor the clock began ticking again while the pendulum gently swung side to side.

  “We wouldn’t leave your clock in such a poor state,” Astreal assured while Star smiled happily at seeing her clock working again.

  “After all,” Apoch continued with a casual glance to her fingernails. “We wouldn’t want to upset the Bloodcat of VanEllovan.”

  The twins then saw Star staring at Apoch with horror and an open mouth, the sisters giggling and tilting their heads playfully while watching the jinx’s reaction.

  “Did you think we didn’t know who you were, Ms. Star?” Astreal slyly asked. “That you could leave behind your past and have it be forgotten so easily?”

  “I take it Mr. Daniel doesn’t know, does he?” Apoch curiously wondered. Star shook her head with a faint meow, the fright she had in her eyes telling everything to the twins. “You wish to keep that a secret from him? What’s wrong? Are you afraid he won’t forgive your past sins as he has with the others?”

  “He forgave that sand wraith,” Astreal mentioned with a shrug as the twins started slowly circling the stunned jinx. “And she’s a few killed people before.”

  “He forgave Ms. Alyssa,” Apoch added. “And she’s killed many witches in her time.”

  Star gulped and shook her head with quick mews. The twins laughed and stood before her with slick smiles on their faces as the jinx held her hands together in a pleading manner and meowed desperately at them.

  “Of course the number of lives you’ve claimed is much higher,” they coldly stated in unison. “Isn’t that right, Ms. Star? Compared to the blood on your hands, Ms. Alyssa is a saint.”

  Star looked around to make sure nobody else was nearby to hear then shook her head quickly at the twins with pleading eyes.

  “Don’t worry,” Astreal assured her. “We’re not going to tell him. It would be in our best interest if your past never came up with him either.”

  “After all we want you two to get closer,” Apoch giggled as they approached the jinx. Star nervously looked between the two as they motioned her to kneel, the girl hesitating for a moment before slowly getting down on her knee before them.

  “The more love he has the better,” Astreal reasoned as she gently pet the jinx’s head. “That’s the whole reason we came here after all.”

  “So go ahead and try to earn his love,” Apoch urged while petting the cat’s ear. “Join his harem. Be the kindhearted girl he wants you to be. Become his lover.”

  The twins chuckled then leaned close to Star’s ears, the jinx’s fearful eyes set forward while her mouth quivered with a faint meow.

  “Hide your past the best you can,” the sisters spoke together. “Because if he ever finds out just how much bloodshed you’ve sown with your claws, he’ll never let you have his love. Ever.”

  Star whimpered and closed her eyes as the twins gently pat her shoulders while walking by, the sisters giggling while heading towards the dining hall to join Daniel and the others. After a pause the jinx stood up with hands held close to her chest, a nervous whine escaping her mouth as she looked over to the ticking clock nearby.

  “Star?” Triska asked from behind. Star jumped and quickly looked back with a meow to see the cambion walking towards her with Pip fluttering near her. “You coming to eat with us?”

  Star nodded quickly and meowed then looked back towards the clock, hiding her nervous frown from the two girls while her tails slowly swayed behind her.

  “Okay then,” Triska slowly said before heading towards the dining hall. “Well, come join us whenever you want.”

  “What about Doku?” Pip asked.

  “She’ll join us too when she wakes up.”

  “What about her boobies?”

  “I’m quite certain they’ll come also,” Triska giggled as the curious fairy circled her a few times
.

  As they left Star took a shaky breath, eyes watching the moving pendulum of the clock while the gentle ticking echoed in her ears. Only this time it wasn’t bringing her joy, wasn’t making her worries vanish, wasn’t making her feel the slightest bit better. This time Star couldn’t focus on the timepiece that was usually her comfort in the world, as her fear of her past catching up to her began to once again creep over her like a dark shadow.

  With a quiet meow she took a slow breath then started walking towards the dining hall, hoping with all her might that the sisters didn’t tell Daniel or the others about where she had come from before meeting them.

  Or what she had done.

  *****

  Inside the cottage at Trixton Pass a quiet whimpering sound of a heartbroken girl was all that could be heard. Sunlight passed through the windows and rested on various armor, weapons, and a young centaur who was lying on the floor, her feet tucked in close to her body while she hid her face with both hands. Lelu continued to cry as she had been doing for quite some time now, her pained snivels and stutters for air never ceasing as she felt her world having come to an end from everything she lost.

  Her cries of despair weren’t going unheard however as another in the room was keeping a close eye on the centaur in silence, from a safe distance and behind a rounded shield of course. Max kept low to the ground while keeping the armor held before him, peeking over the top at the monster while he tried to keep his body from shaking. Trying his hardest he kept his breathing steady and quiet, doing his best to not sound afraid as he struggled to gather enough courage to take a step towards the centaur.

  “Oh, man,” Max groaned while slowly inching closer to the girl. “Why is this happening to me? And now of all times when all my sisters aren’t here?”

  Carefully moving towards the crying monster Max kept the shield held in place before him, covering the view of his body while peeking over the rim with nervous eyes. Glancing around the room he could see all manner of weapons lying about and within reach.

  “Okay, you can do this, Max. Just… grab something, anything, and… kill it. It’s crying, it’s afraid, you can do this. Just… be a man.”

  Lelu wept uncontrollably on the floor while keeping her face hidden behind both hands. The dying shriek her mother had made earlier echoed in her ears along with the terrified screams of her people during the day their land was invaded and destroyed.

  “Mother… why… why… mother… please come back…”

  After a while she slowly peeked through her fingers and saw Max standing before her with his shield, the boy watching her with wide eyes from over the top of the barrier while in his hand and held up high was something that glinted in the sunlight. Lelu shakily scooted back against the shelf behind her and stared in fright at seeing the human poised to attack her, then showed both fear and confusion as she saw what he was preparing to strike her down with.

  “A… spoon?” she nervously asked. Max merely glanced up to the spoon he was holding, a frustrated groan escaping his throat before he looked back down to the centaur and shakily nodded.

  “Y-Y-Yeah,” he stuttered out. “That’s r-r-right.”

  Lelu looked around at seeing swords, spears, axes, daggers, and many other sharpened armaments nearby then stared at Max in terror while slumping back against the wall.

  “You’re going to slay me with a spoon? Is that… even possible?”

  “You’re damn right it is!” Max shouted out while trying to hide his embarrassment at his choice in weaponry against a monster.

  ‘Why did I grab this anyway? What is wrong with me? There are literally all sorts of weapons around me right now, why… why was this even out here to begin with?’

  “You think I can’t kill you with this?” Max yelled while waving the spoon around in the air. “Don’t underestimate what a monster hunter can do! You… monster!”

  “No, wait!” Lelu begged shaking her head. “Please, don’t spoon me to death! Don’t spoon me!”

  “What the hell are you even doing in here anyway?” Max demanded. “You know what happens to monsters that dare come into our home? Do you?”

  “I’m sorry! I didn’t have anywhere else to go! Please spare me! I don’t want to die so early in my life!”

  “So early?” Max repeated. He looked at the centaur’s large breasts with confusion then cocked his head in question. “Wait, how old are you?”

  “I’m only twelve years old,” Lelu whimpered.

  “Twelve?” Max exclaimed.

  “Yes, I just turned twelve last month. Please, don’t kill me.”

  “You’re one year younger than me?”

  “Um,” Lelu slowly replied. “Well… if you’re thirteen, then yes, I’m one year younger than you.”

  “You can’t be younger than me,” Max argued shaking his head.

  “Why not? Twelve comes before thirteen.”

  “Look at the size of those!” Max said pointing his spoon at the centaur’s chest. “They’re so big!”

  Lelu looked down to her bosom with puzzlement then to him with a shrug.

  “So?”

  “Twelve year olds don’t have boobs that big!”

  “Really?” Lelu questioned looking back down to her chest. “But all my friends had larger boobs than me back home.”

  “What?” Max bewilderedly replied.

  “Teresa had much bigger ones than I,” Lelu mentioned curiously. “But she was a year younger than myself. I actually thought mine were small for my age.”

  “Small?” Max cried out.

  “Well, yes,” Lelu unsurely answered. “Don’t human girls have breasts like these?”

  “Not at your age! Hell, my older sister Mae’s aren’t that big, and she’s much older than me!”

  “Really?” Lelu wondered. “Why is that? Everyone I’ve known always developed their breasts at an early age. My mother’s were bigger than mine when she was my age, everyone always said so.”

  “Bigger?” Max repeated while lowering his shield. “How can that be possible? You’re lying, there’s no way that could be true.”

  “I’m not lying, why would I? Honestly I’m rather jealous of that fact, not proud of it. Mine were always considered small back home. I thought something was wrong with me.”

  Max stared at her chest in stunned silence, trying to wrap his mind around the fact that apparently all centaurs were busty beyond belief, while Lelu was looking at her chest with a curious eye as she questioned her own endowment. She held her arms under the mounds and squeezed them together before bouncing them a few times, something that Max’s eyes followed while twitching slightly.

  “So… is this normal? Or not?” Lelu asked him with concern.

  “Um… well… uh…” was all he replied with.

  A long while of silence passed as Max gazed at the centaur’s bosom while she awaited his answer. Slowly a blush formed on her cheeks before she timidly turned her head away.

  “You’re… really staring at them,” she mentioned, prompting Max to jump with a startle before he rambled some form of nonsense in a panic. “Do you… like them? Do you like big breasts?”

  “Well, I mean, yes. I mean no! I mean, yeah, but only because… not because… but you’re… and they’re… seriously, only twelve years old?”

  Lelu nodded before glancing to the spoon in his hand. Slowly she bowed low to the ground while looking up at him with pleading eyes, her breasts being pressed against the floor and threatening to burst out from her clothing with the way they stretched over them.

  “Please, have mercy upon me, fearful monster hunter. I’m sorry for intruding, I had nowhere else to go. I beg of you to spare me, I’ll do anything you ask if you do. Please, have mercy.”

  Max shook his head to regain his senses before again holding the shield before him and raising his spoon up high.

  “What the hell are you even doing out here anyway? You don’t belong here, monster!”

  “I’m sorry,” Lelu be
gged. “My mother and I were running from those gremlins, we’ve been on the run for days. We just came across your home by accident, honest. Those monsters chased us all the way here from Ruhelia.”

  “Ruhelia?” Max repeated while keeping on guard. “That’s the centaur kingdom to the east, isn’t it?”

  “It was.”

  “Was?” Max asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “It’s gone now,” Lelu mourned, with Max showing surprise to that. “A few days ago a horrible army of demons invaded our home. They burned our fields, destroyed our homes, and killed every centaur they could find. Even our empress was slain… they… they strung up her body in front of the palace like a trophy!”

  “Are you serious?” Max wondered. “The centaur kingdom was destroyed?”

  “We fled there with many of our sisters. It was chaos, we didn’t know what to do, where to go, we weren’t ready for any of this. My mother and I traveled this way as fast as our hooves could take us, yet those wretched monsters followed us every step of the way here.”

  “Ruhelia is really gone?”

  “Yes,” Lelu wept. “My home is no more. My people… I don’t know where they would have run off to, or even if they escaped. My mother… she’s dead, killed by those gremlins. I have nothing left in this world.”

  “I don’t believe it,” Max softly spoke in awe.

  “Please, spare me,” Lelu begged holding her hands together. “I’m so sorry for intruding upon your home. I never wanted to come out here, I never wanted any of this to happen. I’m so scared, I implore you to show this centaur mercy. I’ll do anything you ask.”

  Max looked her over before holding his spoon out to her face, the centaur squealing in fright as she pressed back against the shelf. He struggled to keep his composure while glaring at the girl, her fearful eyes watching him without blinking while she kept as far back against the wall as she could. With a quick look around the room Max growled loudly before stepping back and waving her towards the door.

  “Just get out,” he ordered. Lelu glanced to the doorway then back to him while trembling nervously. “Get out of here, monster! I don’t want to deal with you. Killing you would just make a mess, and I’ve got enough to do around here besides mopping up your blood! Just… go! Get out of here, and never return!”