"This is your only warning, Squeak, Daniel's mine. Got that? You stay away from him, and you and Lucky won't have a problem," Alyssa threatened with a narrowed glance. Squeak looked down to the horse for a moment, then shook her head with a firm expression as Triska glanced to her with a raised eyebrow. Alyssa looked at the ant girl for a moment then back ahead.
"Fine, suit yourself," she said with a shrug. She cleared her throat then winked at Triska, then looked back to her horse with a fearful expression.
"Lucky! Bandits!" she cried out. The group looked to the horse as it neighed loudly and bucked around, crying out as its eyes turned blood red. The horse bucked forward and threw Squeak off of him, the girl flying into the air and crashing down next to Daniel. Lucky's hair shifted from white to black as skeletal wings emerged from his back, the tail igniting while smoke came from his mouth and nose. His eyes glowed a deep red as the demonic horse cried out, looking around for any sign of the bandits. Although it didn't see any around the area it snarled and bucked around as its wings arched behind it. Daniel and Triska looked at the demonic horse, then over to Squeak as the ant girl was staring with wide eyes at the creature while lying on the ground.
"What's going on? What bandits?" Daniel asked looking around quickly.
"I thought I saw some, they were right over there!" Alyssa said pointing towards a nearby hill. Daniel looked around the area carefully as Triska smiled smugly at seeing Squeak staring at the horse with fear. Alyssa glanced to the ant girl then smirked.
"He saw something that he didn't like, that's for sure," she accused firmly as Lucky bucked around and neighed loudly with smoke coming from his mouth.
"I don't see anyone out there, Alyssa. Get him to stop, he's scaring Squeak to death!" Daniel pleaded as looked down to seeing Squeak staring up at the horse while lying on the ground. He kneeled down and shook her by the shoulders, the ant girl remaining unresponsive as she stared at the demonic horse with unblinking eyes. Triska giggled quietly and winked at Alyssa, who held in her giggle with a hand over her mouth. She then looked to Squeak with a reassuring smile.
"I'm sorry, Squeak, something must have spooked him, he's a very sensitive horse after all," she said sympathetically. She hopped over to Lucky and started cooing him gently while Triska walked over to Daniel and Squeak.
"Sorry about that, Squeak, false alarm. You ok?" she asked gently. She blinked then looked at the ant girl curiously along with Daniel, both of them seeing her staring at Lucky with wide eyes still. Daniel waved his hand in front of her eyes and got no reaction, then sighed.
"She's gone again," he said tiredly. Triska smirked then looked back to Alyssa as the witch was calming her horse down, the animal slowly shifting back into its normal form as Alyssa looked over to Squeak.
"Oh dear, is she ok?" she asked worriedly.
"Lucky scared her into a comatose state again, the poor thing," Triska said with concern. Daniel stood up and looked around carefully.
"I don't see any bandits nearby, are you sure you saw some around here?" he asked looking back to Alyssa. The witch looked around with a worried expression.
"I thought I did, I'm sorry, Daniel. I must have been seeing things," she said with remorse. Daniel nodded then looked down to Squeak with concern, the ant girl frozen in fear still as Lucky had scared her senseless. Alyssa looked at the girl with a raised eyebrow then smiled slightly with a shrug.
"Well… at least she didn't-"
"Yeah she did," Triska said flatly as a small puddle of urine formed below the ant girl.
*****
Lucky was standing off to the side of the dirt road, back in his normal form after Alyssa had calmed him down once again. The witch and Triska were watching Squeak, the girl who was curled into a small ball on the ground while Daniel was sitting next to her. The ant girl was trembling with fear still while Daniel gently brushed his hand through her hair, her quiet squeaks being heard as she kept her eyes shut tight.
"It's ok, Squeak, it's ok. He wasn't going to hurt you," Daniel said softly as he stroked the girl's hair gently. She trembled still while hiding in her ball, having her legs held up to her chest. Daniel sighed and looked over to the others.
"Are you sure you saw bandits in the area? I didn't see anyone at all," he questioned.
"I thought I did. I'm sorry, Daniel, I panicked," Alyssa said with a giggle. Daniel looked at her curiously then raised an eyebrow.
"You panicked from seeing bandits? You slaughtered them easily enough last time, since when are you afraid of human bandits?" he asked simply. Alyssa paused for a moment then laughed weakly.
"Well… um…" she said slowly. Daniel looked at the two girls carefully then showed a dull expression.
"You two did that on purpose to scare Squeak, didn't you?" he asked flatly. He looked down to see Squeak nodding while still remaining curled up.
"What? No, we didn't," Alyssa said worriedly.
"Yeah… that was all Alyssa's idea, not mine," Triska said raising her hands up defensively.
"Hey!" Alyssa yelled out at her.
"Hey nothing, I'm not taking any blame for this one, you were the one that wanted to scare our new friend," Triska reasoned. Alyssa growled with frustration then pointed at her accusingly.
"You told her to ride the horse with the same intention!" she yelled out.
"No I didn't, I didn't know what you were planning. This is all on you, witch," Triska argued firmly.
"Enough!" Daniel called out. The girls looked to him while Squeak peeked up at him. He shook his head then looked down to the frightened ant girl.
"Do you know what this is about, Squeak?" he asked gently. She slowly sat up then looked to the two other girls with discontent. She started squeaking while pointing to them, waving her arms around with indecipherable hand signals while the travelers watched her curiously. Daniel just stared at the girl as she finished her speech then looked down with a sigh.
"I have no idea what she just said, but somehow I feel like I can take a good guess," he said flatly.
"She's lying Daniel, don't believe a word she's saying," Alyssa said urgently.
"How can you know that when none of us even have a clue as to what she just said?" Daniel asked looking at the witch with a puzzled expression. Alyssa opened her mouth to speak then glanced to Squeak, the ant girl sitting up and glaring at her. Daniel glanced to her then to the witch with a dull expression.
"She seems to be blaming you for something, Alyssa, care to tell the truth?" he asked flatly.
"Um… well…" Alyssa stammered worriedly.
"I want the truth, don’t lie to me. Why did you have Lucky scare her to death again?" Daniel asked sternly. Triska and Alyssa glanced to each other then back to him with worry.
"She… she said that she wants to be your mate," Alyssa said softly. Daniel looked at her curiously then over to Squeak, the ant girl eyeing him with a timid expression.
"Squeak, is that true?" he asked. She nodded while watching him with hopeful eyes.
"But why? Why me?" he asked curiously. She turned to face him while sitting on her knees then started pantomiming while squeaking in a firm tone. She motioned waving her finger around in a bossy manner, and then nodded with an eager smile. The group glanced to each other then back to the ant girl, all of them watching her repeat the same motions. Then she started pointing around like she was counting something, then pointed to herself and hopping a bit with joy. The group just looked at her curiously as she smiled expectedly at Daniel, waiting for him to say something.
"So… anybody know what she's saying?" Alyssa asked slowly. Squeak rolled her eyes then repeated the same motions, the group watching her closely as they tried to figure out what she was attempting to tell to them.
"I think the first part… is her acting out her queen's order to her," Triska guessed carefully. Squeak pointed to her and nodded with a squeak.
"Her queen's order?" Daniel asked.
"Her queen ordered her to follow you and do as you say, to be your proo
f. But the second part… I'm not sure what she's saying," Triska said with a shrug. Squeak shook her head and squeaked with frustration, then waved her arms around again as the travelers watched her curiously. She pantomimed pointing around as if she was counting something then to herself, hopping up and down with a joyous smile. Daniel looked at her curiously then to the other girls.
"Um… I got nothing still," Triska commented while shaking her head. Squeak pulled on her hair with frustration then repeated the same motions again, the group watching her closely.
"I think… she's saying that she's happy Daniel picked her out of all the other ant girls," Alyssa said with wonder. Squeak nodded eagerly while scooting closer to Daniel. Triska looked at her with wonder then to Daniel.
'That's why she wants to be his mate. From her eyes… he picked her out of every worker in her nest. He could have picked any worker he wanted, and he chose her. No wonder she was so willing to fight us for him, she must feel like the most wanted ant girl ever.'
Daniel smiled at her as she smiled bashfully at him.
"I see, well I'm glad you're joining us on this journey as well, Squeak, but me choosing you doesn't mean I did so because I wanted to mate with you," he explained gently. Squeak looked at him with heartbroken eyes and squeaked softly, then looked down and away as she trembled a bit.
"Hey, I didn't mean it like that. I'm not saying that I never would, or that I don't like you… it's just…" he said nervously. All the girls looked at him carefully as he looked down in thought for a moment. Squeak moved forward and hugged him, squeaking softly as she held onto him. He looked ahead at the two other girls watching him worriedly, and then glanced to the ant girl that was nuzzling against his cheek.
"I'll tell you what I told Alyssa, that I would consider any kindhearted girl to be my mate in life. Human or monster, I wouldn't judge by what they were, only by how they were," he said gently. Squeak slowly leaned back as he smiled at her. She looked at him with hopeful eyes and squeaked softly, her antennae twitching slightly. He slowly stood up and helped the ant girl up to her feet, then looked around at the others. All three girls were watching him with hopeful eyes, seeming to be waiting for him to say something.
"This needs to stop, you hear me? We're supposed to be trying to get monsters and humans to coexist, how can we do that if you all keep fighting with each other?" he asked with exasperation. The girls looked at him with worried eyes as he sighed.
"We haven't even gotten to Ashwood yet, and it's been nothing but constant fighting and bickering amongst you all. This is crazy; we're supposed to be setting an example by coexisting with each other, that's why we're out here in the first place. How can we convince other monsters to coexist with mankind if we can't even do that with ourselves?" he asked while shaking his head.
"But, Daniel… we… I…" Triska said while glancing to the other girls. Daniel shook his head and held a hand up to silence her.
"Triska, you wanted to come with me to help our kind see that monsters could be trusted, didn't you? Then please, you have to get along with the ones that we meet who do want to coexist. Alyssa and Squeak are the first ones that we've come across that agreed to try, you have to try as well," he said looking at her accusingly. She opened her mouth to speak, then down with remorse. Daniel glanced to Alyssa who showed a nervous expression.
"Alyssa, you were the first monster that agreed to be my proof for my beliefs, that we could coexist peacefully. Well, Triska is human; you haven't exactly been coexisting with her peacefully this whole time. If our two races are to become allies, that would mean witches would have to be trusted by both our men and women," he said shaking his head. Alyssa glanced to Triska then down with closed eyes. Daniel breathed out then looked over to Squeak.
"Squeak, please understand that when I chose you to come with us, it was only because your queen offered that I take one of her workers with us as proof from your race. That and the fact that you knew how to defend yourself was why we asked you to come along with us. I'm not saying I don't like you or that I didn't want you to come with us, it's just that… I haven't really thought of any girl to be my… mate yet," he admitted gently. Squeak nodded and showed a timid expression. Daniel looked around at all the girls with a bit of concern as they were all remaining silent.
"I'm going to Ashwood to prepare for my journey. I'm not giving up; I'll never give up with this cause. I need to try, no matter what. I just know monsters and humans can coexist, that we can live together peacefully and help each other survive in this world," he said hopefully. He looked to each girl then shook his head.
"If you want to join me still, then you'd better be ready to stand by my beliefs that we can coexist. Because if you can't coexist with each other, this trip is doomed already," he pointed out. The girls looked at him worriedly then to each other, all of them wanting to help him while having him pick one of them as his mate in life. After a moment of silence Squeak slung her pickaxe behind her then looked to Daniel with a hopeful smile, squeaking once and nodding in agreement. He smiled slightly from her gesture then looked to the others while Alyssa walked up to him.
"I'll be your proof and guardian, Daniel, I mean it. You can trust me and my kind, I'll show you that," she reassured softly.
"Does that mean you'll keep Lucky under control?" Daniel asked raising an eyebrow. Alyssa smiled a bit and nodded, then glanced to Squeak.
"Yeah… sorry about that, Squeak," she said softly. The ant girl looked at her for a moment then slowly nodded. Alyssa smiled then looked back to Daniel.
"I can get a little overprotective of Daniel… but I'll try to work on that," she said with a slight giggle. Daniel smiled at that then looked to Triska, the others also doing so as she was watching Daniel with a gentle expression.
"Triska?" Daniel asked softly. She then smiled slightly and walked towards him.
"Daniel… I… you know I'd never leave your side," she said walking up to him. Smiling softly she looked down, brushing a few strands of hair away from her face.
"I'll help you on your journey, just like I wanted to from the start. I won't leave you to face this by yourself," she said gently. After a pause she then glanced over to the two other girls.
"But… I would like to make one request," she said looking back to Daniel. He looked at her curiously as she smiled gently at him.
"I get a kiss too," she said softly.
"What?" Daniel said with a jump.
"What?" Alyssa yelled out.
Squeak just squeaked loudly with a jump as well.
"Hey, it's only fair. Squeak kissed you, twice even. Hell, even Alyssa got a kiss from you. I should get one as well," Triska accused, putting her hands to her hips with a stern expression. Daniel stammered something as Squeak and Alyssa looked to each other with surprise.
"But wait, why… a kiss? Here? Now? But…" he stammered. Triska looked at him with worried eyes and walked closer to him.
"You said you'd be fair in considering any kindhearted girl, well… this should make things even with all of us," she said softly.
“What? But… wait, you mean…” Daniel said nervously. Triska smiled and slipped her arms around his neck, looking at him with a gentle smile.
“If you’re going to consider them as possible mates Daniel, you need to do so with me as well,” she said before pulling him a kiss. Alyssa and Squeak stared with wide eyes as Daniel looked at the girl with surprise. She held onto him around his neck as she had her eyes closed, finally feeling what it was like to kiss the boy she was so in love with. After a while she backed up and looked at him with gentle eyes and a slight blush.
"Triska…" he said quietly.
"Fair's fair, Daniel," she said with a timid smile. He looked at her with wonder as she stood before him, taken aback by her sudden gesture.
"Triska!" Alyssa yelled as she aimed her staff towards her. Squeak reached back for her pickaxe before Triska looked over to them with an arrogant smile.
"What's the problem? Both of yo
u stole a kiss from him as well; I'm only evening the playing field. Besides, he deserved to know what a real kiss was anyway," she said crossing her arms before her. Alyssa and Squeak looked at her with frustration then over to Daniel as he was still staring at Triska. She glanced to him and smiled gently, her blonde hair with its blue streaks flowing behind her in the breeze. Daniel opened his mouth to speak then stopped as he seemed to fail with forming any words. Triska giggled as she saw that her kiss had left Daniel speechless then winked at him.
"Just consider me too, Daniel, after all you promised to consider any kindhearted girl," she said with a nod. Alyssa looked between the two then to Daniel with urgency.
"That's not fair, I should get a kiss too!" she cried out as she tried to run towards him. Triska grabbed her by the back of the collar and held the witch in place with a stern expression.
"Like hell you get one, you already stole one from him before, you're not getting another!" she shouted. She then looked to Squeak as the ant girl took a step towards Daniel.
"Don't even think about it, Squeak, you already got two kisses from him!" she yelled out at the girl. Squeak glanced to her with a curious eye then back to Daniel, the boy just staring at Triska still with wonder. He blinked then looked down in thought as Triska and Alyssa started rolling on the ground yelling and cursing at each other, with the human trying to yank away the witch’s focuser and with the witch yanking on the human’s hair. Daniel slowly held a hand to his lips, and then looked back at the bickering girls.
'Well… didn't see that coming.'
*****
With the sun high up in the sky the group of travelers were heading across the rolling plains towards the city of Ashwood. Daniel was walking ahead of the group deep in thought, his eyes not really focusing on the road before him. He was on his quest to try to unite the monster and human races in peaceful coexistence, and even had two types of monsters volunteering to go with him as his proof that it could be done. However, he was also dealing with the fact that all three girls that were traveling with him wanted him to choose one as his mate. There was the witch, Alyssa, who had been smitten by the boy's noble and caring heart. The ant girl, Squeak, who desired the human that chose her over all the other ant girls in her nest. And then there was Triska, the swordswoman that was his childhood friend and had been like a rough sister to him during his youth. Yet it seemed now that she may not see him like a brother, but instead as something more.
chronicles of eden - act I Page 32