Chronicles of Eden - Act IV

by Alexander Gordon

  “If I’m going to love any of them, it’s not going to be just because they can shine in the bedroom. It’s going to be because they truly captured my heart with everything they are and have.”

  The sisters looked at him curiously for a moment then nodded with gentle smiles.

  “I see,” Jovian replied. “So this is indeed the only way it can truly be settled for you.”

  “Wow,” Jacqueline commented. “You have all these girls who want you and you’re still trying to be fair and noble about choosing.”

  Daniel looked around to seeing the other girls smiling at him and nodded in agreement.

  “I’m certainly trying my best in doing so.”

  “That certainly speaks highly about you, Daniel,” Jovian complimented. “Having all these girls who are ready to give themselves to you and you hold back from taking them on the spot.”

  “Yeah,” Jacqueline giggled. “I guess you really are a gentleman. Not many other guys would be able to resist so many female callers. These girls sure are lucky to have you.”

  “We sure are,” Specca said softly, then quickly hugged Daniel close with his arm going between her breasts. “You really are like my knight in shining armor, so chivalrous and brave. I’m so thankful to have you in my life.”

  Daniel looked to her with a jump and a weak smile, but before he could speak Alyssa leapt over and clung to his arm and shoulder while having a giddy smile on her face.

  “I can’t wait for our night together, Daniel!” she cheered while bouncing against his arm. “I promise it’ll be the best night you’ve ever had, yes it will!”

  Daniel looked to her with a nervous smile before Squeak lunged forward and hugged him tightly around the waist, the other girls looking to her with surprise as she squeaked up at Daniel with loving eyes while holding onto him. The sisters smiled amusedly at the sight while Jovian leaned back against a pillow.

  “She says her whole heart belongs to you, Daniel. Now and forever,” Jovian relayed.

  Daniel looked around at seeing the three monster girls smiling at him with adoration then over to seeing Triska growling with anger at them.

  “What do you all think you’re doing? You can’t just hang all over him like that! Get off of him!” Triska yelled before she darted back into the cabin and tackled them, with Daniel and the four girls rolling around with shouts and squeaks while the sisters merely watched them tumble about on the floor. Alyssa and Specca held onto his arms for dear life while Squeak refused to let go of his waist, with Triska trying to push and kick them off as they all struggled to knock each other away as well.

  “Yep, lucky for them,” Jacqueline repeated.

  “Not so much for him,” Jovian commented as the two watched Daniel trying to plead for the girls to calm down, his words doing nothing at all to stop them of course.

  *****

  Flying through the air Luna was carrying Emily in her arms, her wings fluttering gently in the air while the sun shined down through a few passing clouds. Emily was holding onto Luna while keeping her face buried in her chest, with Luna looking to her with a curious smile as they crossed over a few small wooded areas and rolling streams below.

  “Emily, are you alright?” Luna asked.

  “I’m alright, I just don’t like flying that much,” Emily said shaking her head.

  “It’s okay,” Luna giggled. “I mean, you can’t even see how high we are anyway. For all you know we could be just above the ground right now.”

  Emily slowly looked up to her with her dull eyes then turned her head as if she were gazing around at the surrounding world.

  “Yeah, I guess that’s true.”

  “Just think of us being right above the ground, that way you won’t be scared,” Luna suggested with a smile.

  “You’re so good to me, Luna,” Emily said dearly. “I don’t want to be without you ever.”

  Luna looked at her with wonder as the two stopped in the air, the butterfly girl holding the child gently in her arms as Emily nuzzled her head against the girl’s shoulder.

  “You’re so nice to me,” Emily praised with a loving smile. “And I feel so happy with you, I don’t ever want to be without you.”

  Luna felt a sense of warmth from her words as she held the child, a gentle smile forming on her face while a few tears welled up in her eyes.

  “Emily, that’s so sweet of you to say. I’m so happy being with you too.”

  “You’re going to stay with me, right?” Emily asked worriedly. “You’re not going to ever leave me, are you?”

  “Emily,” Luna said softly. “I would love to, I really like you, but you belong with humans. I can’t stay with you in a human village.”

  “I don’t want to say goodbye to you,” Emily whimpered. “I want you to stay with me, please.”

  “I don’t want to say goodbye to you either,” Luna said with a saddened smile. “I just want you to be happy and safe. It’ll be okay though, you’ll be happy and safe with people like you. You’ll see, it’ll be for the best.”

  “No, I don’t want you to go, I don’t ever want to lose you. I love you, Luna.”

  Luna looked at her with a small gasp as the child turned her dull eyes up to her.

  “I love you, Luna,” Emily repeated gently.

  “You… love me? But I’m a monster.”

  “You’re not a monster,” Emily reasoned. “You’re my best friend. I love you, please don’t ever leave me.”

  Luna started to speak before Emily whimpered and held onto her tightly, the child closing her eyes as a few tears rolled down her cheeks. The giant butterfly looked at the girl with wonder then a gentle expression as she tried not to cry herself.

  “Oh, Emily,” Luna said softly as she held the child close.

  “Stay with me, forever,” Emily whimpered.

  Luna looked at the girl with concern then around at the surrounding horizon as she flew in place above a grassy field.

  “Emily…”

  “I’m never going to let you go, Luna. Never,” Emily said quietly while holding onto the monster.

  Luna held the girl close as she closed her eyes, wishing she could stay with the child as well. After a while she leaned back with a teary-eyed smile and shook her head gently.

  “Hey,” she kindly spoke. “I promise I’ll come visit you, how does that sound? We can meet outside of your village and talk and play again, we can still be friends.”

  Emily remained silent as the butterfly girl then started to fly off again while trying to force a smile on her face. After flying a great distance Luna slowly flew down and landed on a branch of a tall tree, overlooking the surrounding landscape as she took a few deep breaths.

  “Wow,” she panted. “I’ve never flown so far before for so long, this is tough.”

  Emily looked up to her with worried eyes as the butterfly girl surveyed the area with growing concern.

  “I’m starting to get worried though,” Luna said sadly. “I haven’t seen any sign of Daniel or his friends, or even Falla. What if they went in another direction? Or what if we got turned around? Or what if they went in another direction and we got turned around?”

  “Do you see anything around us at all?” Emily asked.

  Luna looked around for a moment with growing distress as she held the child dearly.

  “Well, I see trees, a big rock, the sky, some clouds, a village, some more trees, a cute little squirrel, and some more trees.”

  Emily looked at her curiously as Luna just turned her head and gazed around at the nearby landscape for a moment before she blinked then looked ahead to seeing a human village further away. She could see a cluster of buildings that were set in the middle of a large clearing with a forest further past it, the human residences being made of wood and stone while there were smooth dirt roads leading into and out of the village.

  “A village? A village! There’s a human village!” Luna cheered.

  Emily pouted and clung to Luna while shaking her hea
d.

  “No! I don’t want you to leave me! I don’t want to go there!”

  “But, Emily, you’ll be with your own kind there. You’ll be safe and have a home and be able to live a normal life.”

  “I don’t care!” Emily cried out. “I don’t want to lose you! I’ll only go if you come with me!”

  Luna held her with a troubled frown as the child clung to her chest with a whimper.

  “Emily, I’m sorry,” Luna said shaking her head. “I can’t do that. Humans… won’t like me being there. I can’t live there with you.”

  She then fluttered into the air holding onto the child while Emily shook her head quickly.

  “No!” Emily screamed. “Don’t leave me there, please! Don’t leave me, Luna!”

  Luna started to cry as she flew towards the town, with a wooden picketed fence surrounding the small village and a large wooden sign adorning a post next to the entryway by the road.

  “I’m sorry, Emily,” Luna whimpered. “But this is for your own good. I want you to be happy and safe, and this is the only way to do it. I can’t protect you out here on my own.” She flew over the clearing before she dropped down next to a tree and held Emily close, crying as the child cried into her chest.

  “Please don’t be mad at me,” she sobbed as she dropped down onto her knees. “I love you too, I really do.”

  Emily looked up to her with teary eyes as she held onto the monster.

  “You do? You mean it?”

  “Yes,” Luna dearly replied. “I really like you, you don’t hate me for how I am, or make fun of me, or want to hurt me just because I’m different. You’re my best friend! Actually, you’re my only friend!” Emily looked at her with wonder then closed her eyes as Luna held her close.

  “And it’s because I love you that I want you to be happy, no matter what, so I have to do this. Please don’t hate me, you’re going to be happy here.” She whimpered then looked ahead to the sign that was in front of the entrance into the village.

  “The Village of Eston. That’s your new home, and it looks-”

  “Eston?” Emily said with a jump. Luna sniffled and looked to her as the child looked around quickly with surprise. “Eston? Did you say Eston?”

  “Yes, that’s what the sign over there says,” Luna said wiping her tears away. “Listen, I’m going to point you in the right direction and then you just keep walking straight, okay? You’ll walk right into the village and then somebody will help you. You’ll be fine.”

  Emily looked down in thought for a moment then to Luna with a smile.

  “Luna, Eston was my old home, before I left towards Ashwood.”

  Luna looked at her curiously then over towards the village that was so quiet and peaceful.

  “Really? This was your old home?”

  “Yes,” Emily said with a big smile. “I left here to move towards Ashwood. This is amazing, I can’t believe we managed to end up here of all places.”

  Luna showed a saddened smile and turned Emily to face the village entrance.

  “I’m glad,” Luna said with a whimper. “Then you’ll certainly be fine here, I’m sure of it. Just walk that way and you’ll be back home, Emily.”

  Emily shook her head and grabbed hold of Luna’s hand as she stood up.

  “No, I’m not going alone. Come with me, please.”

  “Emily, I can’t, humans can’t see me. I shouldn’t even be this close to a human village. It’s dangerous for me.”

  “You’ll be fine, I promise,” Emily insisted with a smile back at her. “Just take me to my old house, please?”

  Luna looked at her with concern then to the village, not seeing any sign of humans walking about from there but knowing that if any saw her, especially with a human child, she would be in serious danger.

  “I don’t know,” she said shaking her head. “I really shouldn’t get close to a human village like this.”

  Emily showed a troubled frown for a moment then smiled hopefully at her again.

  “Then just fly me to my house, please?”

  “Fly you to your home? I thought you didn’t like flying.”

  “I don’t, but it means I get more time to spend with you, right? Besides, if we fly over the town you can see for yourself that nobody will notice you.”

  Luna fidgeted as she contemplated her choices then looked to Emily with worried eyes.

  “Well… okay,” she slowly agreed. “But if I see any humans I’ll have to stop and fly away, I can’t be seen by anyone here.”

  “I promise, nobody will see you,” Emily reassured.

  “Alright, if you say so,” Luna said before picking up Emily. “One last flight for the day then.”

  “Thank you, Luna,” Emily said holding onto her. “My home is a blue house with a yellow second floor, there’s a small balcony you can land on that leads right into my room.”

  Luna nodded then flew up into the air, getting some altitude before she started to fly over towards the village. Being high up in the sky Luna saw the town having a few dozen small houses and shops with dirt roads leading through it, with one entrance near them and another leading out the side of the village towards a forest in the distance.

  “Okay, um, do you remember where in the village your home was?” Luna asked as they started to fly over the entrance.

  “It’s near the center of the village, next to the main road,” Emily answered.

  “Near the center, of course,” Luna sulked.

  She quickly looked around at the village below her, watching for any movement or signs of people. However nothing was moving or making a sound, there were no villagers walking about, no smoke coming from chimneys, no horses or carriages riding about, no children playing. Nothing was seen at all as the village appeared completely deserted.

  “Where is everyone?” Luna asked curiously.

  Emily remained silent while holding onto Luna, having a small smile on her face as she kept her eyes closed. Luna flew over the village then spotted Emily’s house, the dwelling having blue painted walls on the first floor while the second had yellow painted wood with red shingles on the slanting roof. And on the second floor was a small balcony with a door and window leading into the building along with having a small rocking chair facing out towards the road.

  “There’s your home, I see it,” Luna said with a smile.

  Emily giggled as she held onto Luna, the butterfly girl then carefully flying down and landing on the terrace. She set Emily down and looked around at the village, seeing not a single human or animal anywhere in sight. Emily slowly walked towards the door while keeping her hands held out, coming up to it and opening it with a sigh of relief.

  “Good, I was worried I locked it before we left,” she said before she opened the door and walked in. She then looked back to Luna and waved her over. “C’mon inside, it’s okay.”

  “I really shouldn’t,” Luna said shaking her head quickly. “I can’t be seen in a human village like this, they would kill me for sure.”

  “No they won’t,” Emily said before she walked through the door. “Come on, I want you to see my room.”

  Luna whimpered with a troubled frown then quickly darted into the building and shut the door. Inside she saw they were in Emily’s room, with the normal accommodations of a bed, dresser, small table and chair, and a little wooden chest at the foot of the bed being seen. The walls were colored pink while the floor was a soft white carpet. Light shined in from the window illuminating the interior while on the walls were three candlesticks that were melted down to their bases. Luna watched as Emily slowly walked around her room, seeming to know exactly where she was going and what was around her even though she couldn’t see.

  “Here’s my bed,” Emily explained. “And my dresser, and here’s the door to the hallway. Oh and over here is my toy chest, and here is my table that I used to draw on. I could never see the pictures myself, but I was told I did a good job painting even though I’m blind.”

  Luna smi
led gently at the girl then looked around with a curious eye at the place.

  “It’s so nice, I’ve never seen what the inside of a human home looks like.”

  Emily slowly walked over to her wooden chest and knelt down before it, opening the box and feeling around inside with a calm smile on her face.

  “I remember packing up some of my belongings when we were here last, the rest of my valuables I kept in here, like my own little treasure chest.”

  Luna walked over to the window and looked around at the village curiously as she still didn’t see any sign of anyone.

  “Is it always so quiet here? I don’t see any humans out there at all.”

  Emily sifted her hands around in her box then pulled out a ragged doll, the toy having only a few clumps of white hair with a dirty cloth dress on it.

  “Yeah, it’s been very quiet for a while now,” she said before she quietly ripped the head off of the doll. She smirked as she held the body upside down and started shaking it as Luna looked back to her with a raised eyebrow.

  “How come?” Luna asked curiously. “Where is everyone?”

  “They’re all dead,” Emily replied casually before a ring fell out of the doll along with some cotton, the trinket having a silver band and a round yellow gemstone on it. Luna looked at Emily with surprise as the girl felt around on the floor for the ring then picked it up, a smile of relief coming across her face.

  “Dead? What do you mean dead?” Luna asked with disbelief.

  “I mean they’re all dead,” Emily answered before she slipped the ring onto her right hand’s middle finger. A soft glow came from it as the girl gently rubbed the gemstone with her palm. Luna stared at her with surprise as the girl slowly stood up and turned to her with a happy smile.

  “I told you humans wouldn’t be seeing you here after all,” Emily giggled. “How can they when they’re all dead?”

  “I don’t understand,” Luna said nervously. “Why are they all dead? And why are you smiling about this?”