Chronicles of Eden - Act V

by Alexander Gordon

  “Ember the Hellfire Witch?” she derided with anger. Slowly she showed a look of wonder as she held a hand to her chin. “That sword she has… it couldn’t be… no, that would be too much to believe.”

  As the smoke and ashes around the scorched field slowly drifted about Charlotte looked up and watched as sunlight started to pierce through the haze from above.

  “Alyssa, the fires you’ve spread are beginning to burn wildly once again.”

  *****

  Outside their caravan Alyssa was pacing around in circles while constantly swinging her staff down at the ground, her frustrated shouts growing louder and louder as she kept trying to open the gateway back to her home. However each and every time she did nothing happened, and with each and every failure Alyssa began to fear the truth as to why that was.

  “No! Open up! Open up, you have to!” she cried out before stopping and looking down at the grass nervously. “Oh no. This isn’t good. This isn’t good at all.”

  After a while of silence she shut her eyes and dropped to her knees while fearing the worst for her home.

  “Maybe Charlotte and the others found it. Maybe they finally found and destroyed it for good. My home… my mother and I’s home… it can’t be gone. No, I can’t accept that. Maybe… maybe we’re just too far away right now, maybe that’s why I can’t go back. Maybe…”

  “Alyssa!” Daniel called out from nearby.

  Alyssa looked over to the side and saw Daniel approaching with Triska, Luna, Falla, and a cat girl who was looking down with frustration and embarrassment.

  “Daniel?” Alyssa asked getting back up onto her feet. “What are you doing back here so soon? And who’s that?”

  Daniel and the girls walked up to her before Alyssa noticed the boy’s pants were wet. She glanced to the cat girl questionably for a moment then to Daniel while pointing to his damp clothes.

  “Did you pee yourself?” she asked with disbelief. “Daniel, I know meeting the monarch is a big deal, but… really?”

  “I did not pee myself,” Daniel defended while waving his hands before him. “Why would you even think I would do something like that?”

  “He didn’t do that,” Triska dryly said pointing to Tabitha. “She did.”

  Alyssa looked at Tabitha bewilderedly then to the others while the cat girl glanced to her with a low meow.

  “She peed on Daniel?” Alyssa demanded before glaring at Tabitha. “Who the hell is this girl?”

  “Long story,” Triska said looking to the caravan. “Daniel, go ahead and change into new clothes, we’ll wait for you here.”

  “With pleasure,” Daniel replied as he walked past them towards the ride.

  “Okay, what is going on here?” Alyssa asked while watching Tabitha closely. “Why are you all back so soon and why did this girl pee on Daniel?”

  “It was not my fault!” Tabitha yelled out. “He scared me!”

  Falla held a hand over her mouth to hold her laughter in while Luna smiled amusedly at Tabitha, the cat girl growling angrily as she avoided eye contact with the group. Triska sighed and waved her hand down to get Alyssa to drop her attack stance, the witch reluctantly doing so while keeping a close eye on the newcomer.

  Inside the cabin Daniel changed out of his wet pants and started to pull some new ones out of his bag. As he did he glanced over and saw Pip still sleeping on the table.

  “She must have really exhausted herself getting us here like that,” he reasoned to himself before he got dressed with new underwear and pants. As he started to put his boots back on he heard someone scrambling to board the caravan. Looking over towards the entryway he saw Alyssa charging through the curtain, skidding across the floor on her boots, then rushing over and tackling him down. After a moment to regain his senses he saw Alyssa sitting atop him while seeming to be on the verge of tears.

  “You tried to have sex with some strange cat girl in the middle of town?” she cried out.

  “No,” Daniel dryly replied. “I did not try to have sex with some strange cat girl in the middle of town, Alyssa.”

  “You had her bent over in the street and were humping her, weren’t you?”

  “I was not humping her, who told you that?” Daniel called out towards the doorway.

  “Could have sworn you were,” Falla called back. “Must have been my imagination.”

  “Falla!”

  “So… you didn’t try to have sex with her?” Alyssa whimpered while wiping a few tears from her eyes.

  “No,” Daniel assured as he sat up and held the witch close. “I only pinned her down and detained her as part of a deal to prove we could handle ourselves in a fight. That’s all.”

  “So that’s why she peed on you?” Alyssa asked curiously.

  “Yeah, I sort of lied and said there was a lycan behind her to throw her off guard. I got the jump on her, but unfortunately that lie freaked her out a little.”

  “How come you pinned her down like you were going to have sex with her?” Alyssa asked puzzled.

  “Well I know of one particular hold that works on your girls rather well,” Daniel reasoned with a smirk. “I’ve had lots of practice with it so I thought it would be my best chance at detaining her.”

  Alyssa giggled a bit then looked down with a pout before glancing up to him, seeming to be trying to hide her smile again.

  “If you ever have another girl held against you like that again I’m going to be mad, and not just at her.”

  Daniel nodded with a light chuckle then kissed her, the girl holding onto his shirt and closing her eyes from the tender moment. When the kiss ended Daniel winked at her then glanced to the entryway with a raised eyebrow.

  “Um, did you do anything to Tabitha?”

  “Only what had to be done,” Alyssa flatly replied.

  Daniel showed some concern to that then headed over toward the curtain with her, both of them looking outside and seeing Triska, Luna, and Falla looking up at something under a nearby tree. Alyssa giggled and hopped down onto the ground while Daniel jumped down beside her with a tired sigh as he saw his witch at least didn’t straight up murder Tabitha in her jealousy.

  “That’s gotta hurt,” Triska commented as the group saw Tabitha suspended up in the air by thorny green vines from the tree branches, all of which were wrapped around her body and holding her tightly in place with her legs tucked up and her arms tied together behind her. A vine was taught between her legs and around her ass while another was strung around her breasts and neck. The cat girl was meowing weakly while she couldn’t move her head as the vines were holding her forcibly, her eyes glancing down to the group while she slowly swayed a little above them.

  “Alyssa,” Daniel groaned as he held a hand over his face.

  “She’s lucky that’s all she got,” Alyssa muttered.

  “But she didn’t do anything wrong,” Luna worriedly said.

  “She touched Daniel very inappropriately,” Alyssa scolded loudly at the bound cat girl. “This is what happens when she does. Got that? You hear me?”

  Tabitha mewled softly and whimpered as her hands and tail flinched.

  “But Daniel pinned her down,” Luna pointed out. “He held her like that.”

  “Don’t care,” Alyssa flatly replied.

  “Alyssa,” Daniel said glancing to her from behind his hand. “She’s working with us on something very important for the giant butterflies’ monarch.”

  Alyssa looked to him then back to Tabitha as she remained quiet for a while before she tilted her head slightly.

  “So you’re saying I can’t hit her like a party favor with my staff?”

  *****

  Inside the caravan Daniel and the girls were gathered together after Alyssa had reluctantly freed Tabitha from her thorny binds. After Triska had helped the cat girl limp into the caravan while she mewled in pain the group explained to Alyssa the situation in Flairwood with the missing princess and about who Tabitha really was. Daniel and Triska were seated at the table whi
le Alyssa and the butterfly sisters stood near them, all looking at a map next to the sleeping fairy showing the surrounding forest as they planned where to begin the search.

  “I hate you people,” Tabitha hissed as she lay on the couch while looking up at the ceiling with a dull stare. Her swords were resting near her while the girl picked out thorns from her fur and tossed them away with low growls.

  “Alyssa said she was sorry,” Triska reasoned with a shrug.

  “She apologized to the floor and mumbled the entire sentence,” Tabitha snapped at her.

  “Take what you can get,” Alyssa scoffed while eyeing the map.

  “I didn’t do anything wrong!”

  “You peed on Daniel! That’s very wrong!”

  “He scared me!”

  “Yeah, about that,” Triska mentioned as she glanced to Daniel. “How did you know that would even work with her?”

  “I recognized what she was,” Daniel said looking over to Tabitha, with the group watching as the new girl hissed at them with annoyance. “Wasn’t hard to figure out. She’s a neko.”

  “Neko?” Luna asked tilting her head.

  “A cat monster,” Alyssa explained as she watched the neko with a dull stare. “Just like their animal counterparts they don’t like dogs too much, and lycans are the wolves of Eden. It’s no surprise she would be scared to death of one being nearby.”

  “I wasn’t scared!” Tabitha shouted out with frustration. “I mean… I was, but… oh never mind! The point is it wasn’t my fault he got his pants wet earlier!”

  “Anyway,” Daniel said looking back to the map. “I remember reading about them. It’s said they are commonly hired by others as assassins or mercenaries, what with them being very light on their feet and stealthy.”

  “Mercenaries?” Triska asked looking at Tabitha questionably.

  “I prefer adventurer,” Tabitha retorted before she picked a thorn out from her thigh and flicked it away. “I’m not bloodthirsty or focused only on killing things.”

  “But they are greedy,” Alyssa mentioned, with Tabitha glaring at her again from that. “You can hire them to do almost anything for some gold, although having them kill others is what they’re mainly employed for.”

  “Hey!” Tabitha snapped as she stood up and walked over to them. “I just said I’m not some bloody murderer! I’m a proud traveler and adventurer of Eden. I don’t just take jobs to spill blood. I do this for the excitement as well as making an honest living.”

  “So you didn’t take the job from the monarch in hopes you could kill some humans?” Alyssa asked skeptically.

  “I took the job to help save a little girl as well as make some money,” Tabitha hissed at her. “What’s wrong with that? After this job I’ll be able to afford all the men I want.”

  “What?” Triska asked confusedly.

  “Nekos buy all their men at monster markets,” Alyssa explained crossing her arms with discontent at the new girl. “They could easily ambush and rape men by force out in The Outerlands, but they claim to have pride and only purchase the finest men honestly from other monsters.”

  “What’s so dishonest about us paying for our men?” Tabitha demanded. “And you’re one to talk, witch. I’ve seen plenty of witches buying and selling virile men before.”

  “Well we’ll be putting an end to that very soon!” Alyssa shouted at her. “You can be sure of that! And for the record I’ve never bought a man before in my life!”

  “What do you mean putting an end to that?”

  “It’s not something you’ll ever understand,” Alyssa snapped before looking back to the map. “It’s going to be hard enough to change my sisters’ ways in Eden, but I know nekos will never change. Your loyalty can be bought with a single gold coin, you don’t care about others at all, and you never will.”

  Tabitha grabbed her and threw the witch across the room onto the couch with a loud yowl. Alyssa stumbled back onto her feet and glared at the neko with softly glowing eyes as Tabitha slowly walked up towards her.

  “You speak as if nekos are the devil, and I don’t quite care for it,” Tabitha hissed. “You think all we care about is gold? You think we feel nothing for others at all? Look who’s talking! I’ve never met an honest and caring witch in all my life and I know I never will. All you little rats are the same, using your magic to hex and allure men with your youth all while selling your magical spells and potions for the highest bidder. I know damn well you witches sell and buy men just as much as we do, who are you to talk down to me like you are?”

  “I don’t do anything like that!” Alyssa yelled out as she summoned her staff over into her grip. “And I know my sisters are misguided in this world, I’ve seen that firsthand! I used to be just like them! But that’s going to change, we’re not going to let them be like that anymore!”

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “We’re going to instill peace between humans and witches, that’s what!”

  Silence filled the room as Tabitha just stared questionably at Alyssa. After a while the neko tilted her head with a small meow.

  “What?”

  “Just what I said, we’re going to put an end to all the fighting and raping between our races, between all the monster races in Eden if we can. I’m not going to let my sisters be the horrible monsters that the world thinks they are any longer.”

  “…what?”

  “That’s why we’re out here,” Daniel spoke, with all eyes turning to him as he walked over to Tabitha. “We’re traveling Eden to talk to all the monster races we can, to see if they will be willing to give peaceful coexistence a chance and to put a stop to all the fighting between us.”

  Tabitha just stared at him with a blank expression while her tail slowly swayed behind her.

  “You want… monsters and humans… to live together in peace?” she questioned slowly.

  “Yes. We already have some supporters in this very room. Not to mention an ant girls nest’s queen and an alpha witch will be willing to stand with us as well if we find more who wish for peace. That’s why we came to Flairwood, to talk to monarch and see if she would be willing to give peace a chance between us.”

  Tabitha raised an eyebrow at him then glanced to Luna and Falla while remaining silent.

  “It’s true,” Luna said in agreement. “I don’t want my sisters to be like Darker Ones and rape others, it’s horrible. I know what it feels like to be… to be… it’s just horrible. We can’t let them keep doing that, and Daniel is here to help.”

  “As hard as it is to believe, it’s true,” Falla added. “We brought him here to talk to our monarch about his beliefs.”

  “His… beliefs?” Tabitha asked.

  “If a girl, monster or human, is kindhearted and caring towards a man, then the man will choose to be with that girl willingly,” Luna explained. “And it works, we’ve seen it. Daniel chose to have sex with Alyssa over there, as well as two other monsters who travel with us. If we’re nice to humans they’ll want to be with us out of love, we don’t have to rape them to get pregnant.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Tabitha said shaking her head.

  “She won’t get it,” Alyssa scorned. “Nekos don’t love anything but gold.”

  “Shut your mouth, brat!” Tabitha snapped at her. “You don’t know me, you don’t know anything about who I am.” She then looked to Daniel carefully before slowly walking around him.

  “You seriously want monsters and humans to get along?” she asked with a smirk. “Why are you doing this, what’s in it for you?”

  “See?” Alyssa accused pointing to her. “All they want is something in return, that’s all they care about.”

  “Shut up!” Tabitha yelled at her. “It’s a simple and reasonable question. If not out of insanity, which I wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case, then why does he want such a thing as monsters and humans living together in peace?”

  “Because we can help each other,” Daniel
answered, with Tabitha stopping and looking to him curiously. “There are some monsters in this world, like the Darker Ones, who can’t be reasoned with, who are truly evil. But not all monsters are like that, we don’t all have to be enemies. We have much we can learn and help each other with, we can grow stronger together rather than always fighting each other.”

  “Why do you think we demanded to come with you?” Triska mentioned. “We want to help save the princess not just because we genuinely want to help the poor girl but also because we want to prove to the monarch that humans can help them if we become allies.”

  Tabitha looked around at them with a blank expression before turning to Daniel, her eyes just staring into his for a while she remained silent. She then glanced away from the group and shook her head a little.

  “Yeah, I’m sure the monarch will love to talk to you after humans kidnapped her daughter,” she dryly said. “Good luck with that, and your little… quest. Anyway, if you’re so damned insistent on coming to help me find her then so be it, I just want to get this job over with, so don’t get in my way. And also don’t expect me to split the reward with any of you.”

  “We won’t,” Daniel assured with a simple smile.

  “Wouldn’t dream of coming between a neko and her gold,” Alyssa flatly said. “I’ve heard that’s the best way to lose a hand in Eden.”

  “You’ll lose your tongue if you don’t shut up,” Tabitha hissed at her.

  “Where is your gold anyway?” Alyssa asked curiously. She eyed the neko over and saw her carrying no bags or pouches of any kind. “You don’t have anything on you but your swords, I thought nekos always kept their belongings on hand.”

  “I have my ways,” Tabitha quipped with a sneer at her. “Let’s just say my belongings are safe and sound where only I can reach them.”

  Alyssa scoffed then walked past her towards the table. Before she got there she swung her staff behind her, causing Tabitha to be thrown into a tumble over onto the couch. The neko slumped down against it with a growl as Alyssa glanced back to her with discontent.