“Altering and manipulating reality is their specialty,” Charlotte clarified. “They are the finest dimensional witches in all the region.”
“Thank you, Ms. Charlotte,” Apoch and Astreal said bowing to her.
“Dimensional witches?” Daniel asked.
Alyssa nodded as she looked from one sister to the other, both girls glancing to her with discontent again.
“They can alter the laws of reality to a great extent,” she explained. “Teleportation, manifestation, and manipulation magic are what they excel at.”
Daniel nodded as he remembered how Astreal could manifest swords out of thin air with her magic while Apoch could create an unbreakable shield with hers, both sisters being highly skilled with levitation and summoning spells and also being revered by their fellow witches in Rystone.
“I see,” Daniel said while giving the girls a slight bow. “You two are indeed powerful witches. It’s an honor to have met you both.”
The sisters merely nodded once before glancing to Charlotte as the alpha waved to the caravan.
“Your kind words aside, it is time for you to be off,” she ordered. “You have much work to do before we can meet again under good terms, so I suggest you get to it.”
Daniel nodded then looked to his girls with a determined smile.
“She’s right. Grab your things from inside, it’s time we set off,” he agreed, with Triska, Squeak, and Alyssa nodding before running back into the home to gather their belongings. As they did Specca smiled and bowed gratefully to the alpha witch and her assistants.
“Thank you, for giving us a chance to prove ourselves to you,” she said softly.
Charlotte smirked then started walking away, with her helpers following after with snooty huffs.
“Don’t make me regret it,” Charlotte replied. “I’d hate to think of this as a waste of my time. I’ll be keeping an eye on you, Daniel. Don’t disappoint me.”
As they walked away from the travelers Apoch and Astreal spun their staves around, trailing a sparkly blue and green light from the crescent ends of their relics. The two girls struck their staves together overhead with a loud clank, causing a bright flash of light to flare around them briefly before fading to show they were gone. As the swirl of dust and dirt dropped down from where they were a moment ago Daniel scratched the back of his head with a curious expression.
“That is some very powerful magic indeed. Glad they’re somewhat on our side now.”
Specca nodded then looked to him with excitement.
“Oh, Daniel,” she anxiously praised. “This is fantastic. We’re one step closer to bringing peace to this world. I just knew you could sway their minds with your beliefs, you were incredible.”
“Thank you,” Daniel said while looking at where the alpha witch vanished with a determined expression. “But we’re nowhere near close to being done yet. Charlotte agreed to help us, if we find at least five monster races to also stand with us before the queen. We still have more work to do before we can really celebrate.”
“Perhaps I can be of assistance with that,” Kroanette spoke up, with Daniel and Specca turning to see the centaur walking up to them. Triska, Squeak, and Alyssa ran back out of the house, having their sword, dagger, pickaxe, staff, and hat once again before watching as Kroanette approached Daniel with a hopeful smile.
“I do have to escort you to my mother still,” she reasoned. “With any luck you may have another race that could stand beside you before your queen.”
“Thank you, Kroanette,” Daniel said with a kind smile. “I know you don’t believe in what we’re trying to do, but-”
“Oh, but I do believe in what you say,” Kroanette sincerely insisted. “I really do, Daniel.”
Daniel looked at her curiously as the centaur smiled with wonder at him.
“I heard you last night,” she explained. “With how you took three monster girls to bed with you, and… well, made love to them of your own volition. At first I couldn’t believe it, a human actually chose to mate with a monster willingly, but it was true. Everything you’ve been saying, you actually proved it can be done. I was impressed, Daniel.”
Daniel smiled nervously and glanced to Specca as she blushed and held onto his arm timidly. As the nixie’s tail slowly coiled around his leg Kroanette then gestured over to Luna, the butterfly sisters watching him curiously as the centaur turned to Luna with an approving smile.
“And on top of that,” Kroanette mentioned. “This one here truly opened my eyes to the evil that is behind raping humans. Truthfully, I never took into account how the human felt about it, I only saw myself receiving a daughter afterwards and living happily. But this one told me about the horrors of what it is like to be raped, how any monster that does something so dreadful to another is no better than a Darker One.”
Daniel and Specca looked to Luna with wonder as the butterfly girl nodded with a timid expression.
“Luna? Is that true?” Daniel asked.
“She said that?” Triska asked curiously.
Luna whimpered then rushed over and hugged Daniel, burying her face in his chest as he and Specca watched her curiously.
“Yes,” she desperately pleaded. “It was the most horrible thing I ever experienced. I never knew that’s what I would be making a human feel if I raped him, I never knew I was being so bad, I hated it so much. Please, I don’t want to be a bad monster, I don’t want to make others feel so horrible in their lives, I just want to have a daughter.”
Daniel held her with concern, watching as Luna cried into his chest, and then looked to Kroanette as the centaur nodded while setting her hands at her hips.
“When I thought about it like that,” she explained. “I realized that stooping to the lows of a Darker One would not be acceptable for me. So I discarded Charlotte’s receipt for my delivery. I will not be raping any human in my life, and I would appreciate you speaking to my mother to help convince her of this belief as well.”
“You got rid of your receipt for your delivery to her?” Specca asked with wonder.
“But that was your ticket to getting pregnant,” Triska mentioned with a raised eyebrow. “You earned that by making your delivery.”
Kroanette shook her head as she looked at Daniel with a timid smile.
“Raping a human against their will, that wouldn’t be a kindhearted thing to do, would it?” she reasoned, with Daniel slowly shaking his head as he smiled at the centaur.
“Kroanette, I’m proud of you,” he praised. “You turned down that chance to get a daughter in order to become a better woman in life.”
Kroanette jumped a bit with a quiet gasp then looked down while holding a hand to her cheek.
“You called me a woman, not a monster,” she said softly.
“Well of course, that’s what you are,” Daniel assured, with Kroanette looking to him with a curious smile as she blushed slightly. Daniel then looked to Luna as she whimpered in his chest while holding onto him still.
“And I’m proud of you too, Luna,” he said gently, the girl slowly looking up to him as she sniffled. “You risked your life to try to save a human child who you thought was in danger, you realized that raping humans isn’t right and don’t want to do such a thing to others in your life. Luna, you are a good girl, and you became that way all on your own.”
Luna looked at him with wonder then smiled a little.
“You mean it?” she asked hopefully. “I’m a good girl? I am?”
Daniel nodded once before Luna hugged him tightly and started laughing like a lunatic, with everyone but Falla watching with wide eyes as the girl had an extremely twisted smile on her face.
“I’M A GOOD GIRL! I’M A GOOD GIRL! YAY! I FEEL SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
“What is wrong with her?” Kroanette asked shaking her head.
“What isn’t wrong with her at this point?” Falla muttered before she growled loudly and stomped her foot with a frustrated glare at Daniel. “Goddammit! Enough of this horseshit,
you people are all out of your minds!”
“No, I believe the only one of us here that’s mentally ill is her,” Kroanette said pointing to Luna, the butterfly girl laughing hysterically for a while before she looked at Daniel with adoring eyes.
“Does this mean I’m a kindhearted girl as well?” she asked gently.
Daniel blinked then slowly nodded with a nervous smile.
“Sure, sure you are, Luna,” he said, hoping that wouldn’t set off the special monster again.
Luna sighed happily then nuzzled her nose against his.
“I am?” she asked softly. “Then can we have sex too? I won’t rape you, I promise.”
Everyone blinked and just stared at Luna before Daniel’s girls narrowed their eyes at her.
“Wait, what?” Triska asked sharply.
“Why would you assume Daniel would have sex with you now?” Specca inquired.
Luna giggled and looked to her with an eager smile.
“Because I’m a kindhearted girl who doesn’t rape people. Daniel said he would choose any girl who is like that to have sex with, right, Daniel?” she said looking back to Daniel who just stared at her with a stunned expression. After a moment he managed to get out a single word with a confused smile.
“Huh?”
“He’s not having sex with you, Luna,” Triska snapped sternly. “He’s our man.”
“Yeah, we’re not sharing him with anyone else,” Alyssa added. “He’s ours and ours only.”
Luna looked around at the girls with worried eyes then to Daniel as she held onto his shirt.
“But I thought if I was kindhearted you would like me and knock me up on your own free will, isn’t that how this works?”
Daniel shook his head as he gently removed her hands from his shirt and held them before him.
“Luna,” he gently spoke. “I said I would choose any kindhearted girl to be my mate, and I did. I chose Triska, Alyssa, Squeak, and Specca to be with me because I love them.”
“So why can’t you love me too?” Luna asked hopping up and down a bit. “What’s wrong with one more?”
“It’s not that simple, Luna,” Daniel replied with a weak smile. “It’s great you’re a kindhearted girl now, and I’m glad you’ve learned that raping others is wrong. But… I mean, we don’t even really know each other, we haven’t had time to get close to one another or-”
Luna quickly held him close and pressed her face against his, seeming to squeeze him tightly while she smiled hopefully.
“Is this close enough?” she mumbled against his cheek.
“Not what I was going for at all,” Daniel replied before he tried to push Luna away, the girl holding onto him still as if for dear life.
“Luna,” Specca said with a forced smile. “Just because you’re kindhearted doesn’t mean Daniel is going to have sex with you. Being kindhearted and caring of those around you is how you would get humans to accept you as you are, that’s what he was trying to teach you.”
Triska ran over and yanked Luna off of Daniel before holding her back while forcing a smile as well while Alyssa and Squeak rushed over to Daniel’s sides.
“Okay,” Triska firmly stated. “Let’s just get something cleared up here. We’re the only ones who get to sleep with Daniel. He chose us because he loves us, so as a kindhearted person you need to respect that and not get so close to him.”
Luna looked to Daniel curiously then to Triska with a worried smile.
“So if I can get Daniel to love me too by being nice and doing as he says, then I could mate with him?”
“No,” Alyssa argued. “You can’t have sex with Daniel at all. He chose us to be with because he loves us.”
Luna looked down in thought for a moment then to her with a hopeful smile.
“So if he chooses me because he loves me for being a kindhearted girl then I can mate with him?”
“It’s just going in one ear and out the other,” Specca groaned while shaking her head.
Kroanette nodded then walked up towards Daniel with an alluring smile, the other girls watching her with concern as they all saw the way she was looking at him.
“I believe what they’re trying to say is that being kindhearted and caring isn’t all there is to it,” she mused curiously. “We monsters must respect the man, and only if there is love between us is it alright to have sex with each other. Is that correct?”
Daniel and the girls looked to each other then to her with weak smiles and nodded while backing up a step together.
“Yes, that’s right, you got it,” Triska quickly agreed with.
“And for that love to form,” Kroanette continued while looking up in thought. “Quality time with each other must be spent to create that special bond, because it cannot be forced, yes?”
“Yep yep,” Alyssa said while holding onto Daniel’s arm. “Only those Daniel loves and who love him could have sex with him, that’s the only way it would be alright.”
“You can’t force a human to feel such a way,” Specca added while holding onto his other arm. “It has to come naturally, that’s how love works.”
Squeak squeaked something while smiling nervously at the centaur, trying to say something as she held up a finger while shaking her head a bit.
Kroanette nodded then looked to Daniel with a knowing smile.
“So what that means is if Daniel and I spent quality time with each other-”
“No,” Triska argued shaking her head.
“-and truly got to know each other and felt closer with one another-”
“Wrong, wrong!” Alyssa cried out shaking her head.
“-that he and I would feel love form between us-”
“You’re not getting this at all!” Specca exclaimed while holding onto Daniel’s arm tightly.
“-and then it would be alright for us to have sex should he choose me as his mate,” Kroanette finished, with Squeak frantically squeaking with frustration as she shook her head. The centaur nodded as she looked down in thought for a moment then smiled curiously at Daniel while placing a hand to her chest.
“Well then, it’s a good thing it’s a long way to my home. We’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other better, Daniel,” she said with a wink.
Daniel stammered something nervously before Luna giggled with a joyous hop.
“I can do that too!” she cheered out excitedly. “I’ll be nice and do exactly as Daniel says. I’ll be a good girl! I’ll be so good that he’ll love me for sure! And then he can give it to me from behind!”
“He’s going to do no such thing to you!” Specca shouted out.
“You’re not listening to anything we’re saying!” Alyssa yelled with frustration.
Luna hopped around with playful laughter then gasped and looked to Daniel with wonder.
“Wait, we can take you to our home too!” she exclaimed holding her hands to her head. “You can talk to the other giant butterflies about how not to rape others. You can convince them all to be good girls too! Would you, please? Please?”
Daniel and his girls just stared at her with stunned expressions before he blinked and tilted his head slightly.
“Huh?” he asked again.
“What?” Falla yelled out. “We’re not taking him to our home! That’s a horrible idea!”
Luna looked to her with worried eyes and held her hands together in pleading manner.
“But, Falla,” she whined before a few tears started to form in her eyes. “The others need to hear this. They need to know that what they’re doing is wrong. Besides, I don’t want our sisters to be like Darker Ones. Please, Falla, we need his help.”
“Oh no, don’t start that with me,” Falla argued while stomping her foot. “Tears will not sway me this time, Luna! We are not taking this nutcase to our home, and we’re certainly not going to help him spread his wild theories with anyone else!”
“But, Falla!” Luna whined loudly. “Please! We have to help him! And he needs more monsters to have as
his proof, right? He needs five more kinds of monsters otherwise that witch won’t help him.” She looked to Daniel then back to Falla with urgency as she held up six fingers.
“We can help with that, we’ll be the first race he can have to stand with him!”
Falla just stared at her with bewilderment while Daniel and his girls glanced to each other questionably.
“We actually already have an ant girl nest that wants to help,” Specca mentioned. “So technically you would be the second monster race to help us.”
“And you’re holding up six fingers,” Alyssa pointed out with a raised eyebrow.
“I would be glad to assist Daniel with traveling anywhere he needs to go,” Kroanette offered with a hopeful smile at Daniel. “And of course to help sway my mother into joining his cause as well. It would be an honor to be allowed to do so for him.”
Daniel and his girls looked to her nervously then to Luna as the girl held up seven fingers at her sister with a desperate smile.
“You see?” Luna pleaded. “If we help him then we’ll have all the monster races he needs, that’s all eight.”
“Your math is just horrible,” Specca commented shaking her head.
“Where is she getting eight from?” Triska asked with confusion.
“And she’s holding up seven fingers now,” Alyssa added.
Falla looked to Daniel with anger then to Luna as she saw her sister smiling worriedly at her with a few tears running down her cheeks.
“Luna…” Falla growled while shutting her eyes.
“Please, Falla,” Luna begged. “I believe in him, I want to follow him and help him. I really do.”
Falla opened her mouth to yell at her, halting as Luna backed up with a fearful squeak, then sighed and looked down while holding her head.
“I promised mother I would watch over you out here in the world,” she muttered to herself. “If that wasn’t her last request before she died I would have been so happy, I would have… arg! What makes you even think Daniel could convince our race not to rape humans anyway?”
“Daniel can show them that they’re wrong in doing such a thing, I know he can,” Luna insisted.
“And if he can’t?” Falla snapped at her. “Luna, everyone at our grove knows you’re not exactly the brightest thinker, but if you go back and start talking this nonsense then you might be banished from home forever, and me along with you!”
Chronicles of Eden - Act IV Page 47