“They don’t mean nothing,” Charlotte argued shaking her head. “I haven’t let you two die in over 50 years, I don’t want you two to ever go through that again.”
“It makes no difference,” Apoch said with a shrug. “Should we die we shall simply return shortly afterwards.”
“You know this as well as we do, Ms. Charlotte,” Astreal reassured. “Think nothing of what may have happened to us before.”
Charlotte glanced between the two then up at the sky above, seeing a few clouds drifting by while a bird soared through the air.
“Are you ever going to explain to me-” she started before feeling a cold chill run down her back. Slowly she looked back to see the twins watching her with stern smiles on their faces.
“Ms. Charlotte,” they both said with a playful tone. “You know we cannot speak about that, remember?”
“So you’re never going to say, are you?”
“It is of no concern to you,” Apoch assured with a wave of her hand.
“Every time we come back we tell you this,” Astreal reminded the alpha with an expecting tone.
Charlotte nodded and walked between them, passing the twins who watched her with amused smirks before going into her study towards her desk and chair. The sisters followed as the alpha pushed her chair aside and looked down at the fragment of Eden that was resting on the desk surrounded by books and parchments.
“The others will be yours soon, Ms. Charlotte,” Apoch promised her. “It is only a matter of time.”
“And then your dear swordsman will come running, just as you planned,” Astreal giggled. “He’ll have no choice but to give himself to you if he wants them back.”
“Yes, I can’t wait,” Charlotte softly replied as she slowly ran her fingers along the artifact, having a distant gaze in her eyes that Apoch and Astreal took notice of.
“Ms. Charlotte, is something wrong?” the twins asked together.
“I don’t know, is there?” Charlotte said turning to face them while leaning back against her desk. “You two have been my trusted assistants for so long, you’ve always been there when I needed you, and I typically feel as comfortable as can be around you. I don’t ask many questions about you two, and we all know there are many unanswered ones that I’ve been wishing to have answered.”
“Ms. Charlotte,” Apoch spoke while closing her eyes and slowly shaking her head.
“We told you not to ask this again,” Astreal expectedly said while crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow at the alpha.
“Can you blame me for wondering?” Charlotte asked while eyeing the two sisters carefully. “Every time you die you appear again, as good as new, with full memory of what your previous selves had when they died. I don’t understand-”
Apoch and Astreal quickly stepped forward and held the alpha back against her desk, each sister holding onto her arms and leaning close to her ears as she felt the same cold chill run down her spine as before.
“Shh,” the sisters gently hushed her. “No more.”
“Please,” Charlotte quietly said while closing her eyes.
“No. More.”
Charlotte was held in place by the sisters for a moment longer before the twins stepped back and smiled calmly at her. The alpha glanced from one to the other, a look of unease on her face as the sisters tilted their heads the same way while keeping the same posture as each other.
“Do you have any other orders for us?” Apoch politely asked.
“Otherwise we shall resume our hunt for Ms. Ember,” Astreal informed in a professional tone.
Charlotte looked between the two sisters then shook her head and waved them off towards the door. The twins bowed to the alpha then walked away together, steps in perfect sync while even their hip movements were identical to each other. When they got to the door they paused then looked back to see Charlotte watching them with a small smile.
“I trust you two,” Charlotte acknowledged. “You have never let me down before, always worked so hard for me, and have cared for the witches of this village just as I have.”
“Thank you, Ms. Charlotte,” the twins replied with happy smiles.
“Do you trust me?” The sisters then watched her with curious eyes as the alpha showed a concerned face for them. “Is knowing what I wish to know a problem for you? Is that why you can’t say? Because you don’t trust me to know?”
“Ms. Charlotte,” Apoch warned while narrowing her eyes. “Do not speak more about this.”
“Then just promise me that if you can tell me one day, that you will,” Charlotte requested. “If the powers that be allow for it, then you’ll say.”
Apoch and Astreal glanced to each other then back to the alpha, both showing solemn expressions while remaining silent. Charlotte sighed then sat down in her chair and eyed the artifact on her desk.
“That will be all then, ladies,” she said waving them off again.
The twins walked out of the study and closed the doors behind them, silence filling the room as Charlotte found herself more interested in a mystery that had been right in front of her for years rather than the prospect of having one of her swordsman’s treasures. With a quiet breath she looked towards the doorway then up at the ceiling, her mind focusing on a question that she had been asking herself for so long now.
‘While I am thankful my helpers always return, I can’t help but wonder who keeps sending them back to me.’
*****
Outside of the caravan Kroanette was gently brushing Lucky after having finally calmed the horse down from earlier. Lucky grunted softly with a slowly swishing tail as the centaur pat his nose and head before turning her eyes towards their ride, curiosity once again getting the better of her as she then walked over and popped her head in through the curtain to see the rest of the group seated around the table. Falla and Luna were sitting on the edge of the bed together after they had finally come to again and watching as Pip was circling the room above them as she always liked to do.
“She’s pretty strong for such a tiny girl,” Luna nervously commented.
“Yeah, good thing she’s on our side,” Falla said before they looked at the others with concern as they were talking about something else that made the butterfly sisters feel uneasy.
“So wait a minute,” Clover said while eyeing over the relic in her hands. “What you’re telling me is that this isn’t a divine treasure from the gods but rather a piece of something?”
“Essentially, yes,” Specca agreed. “We don’t know exactly what it is or what it’s used for. But we do know that many are after those pieces, they’re supposed fragments of what’s called the Key to Eden. That succubus wanted them, Charlotte wants them as well, and there’s even a swordsman who wields the Archlight’s Blade who is searching for them. They all wish to collect those things for some purpose.”
“Yeah, about that,” Clover mentioned glancing to her with a raised eyebrow. “The Archlight’s Blade isn’t real; you do know that, right?”
“Yes it is, we’ve seen it,” Specca insisted.
“Right, sure you have. Next thing you’re going to say is that there are such things as gemini in this world. Cut the crap, what are you really trying to get at here with my priestess’s treasure?”
“We’re not making this up,” Specca defended. “It’s the truth. And gemini are real, we’ve seen them ourselves.”
Clover laughed at the girl then looked at her artifact while shaking her head with an amused smile.
“Who do you think I am? I don’t believe in crap like immortal monsters and legendary swords. Those are just children’s tales, nothing more.”
“Multicolored eyes,” Triska carefully said, with Clover slowly looking to her with a fading smile. “One of them has red, blue, green, and white colors in her eyes, the other has yellow, purple, pink, and black in hers. They both speak in perfect sync with each other, and cannot die by any physical or magical attack thrown at them.” Clover quickly glanced around at the group and saw
they all had serious faces then back to Triska as the teen slowly shook her head.
“We watched them kill an alpha witch, survive a deathmare cutting through them with its deadly scythe, and all of us hacking and burning them did nothing to stop those two. They always got back up, always resurrected without a scratch, and always laughed at us while taunting that they were going to eat us alive. A Darker One with two bodies, but only one soul.”
“The fuck?” Clover breathed out as she tried not to show any surprise or fear from her words. “You didn’t see anything like that, you couldn’t have. They’re not-”
“Yes they are,” Daniel interrupted her, the elf looking at him with a slight amount of unease as he showed discontent at remembering the twisted sisters and their haunting laughter. “We came across them, not knowing what they were. But they revealed themselves and tried to kill us all just for fun. Charlotte even confirmed what they were. Gemini are real, Clover. There are two of them out there right now.”
“You think you can scare me that easily?” Clover retorted with a forced laugh. “I’m not buying this crap, and I don’t believe what you said about this either. This is a one-of-a-kind relic that has been given to my priestess by the gods.”
“Eight-of-a-kind,” Specca corrected. “There are eight of those pieces. Look at it, Clover. It’s a fraction of a sphere. It’s a part of something more.”
Clover blinked then looked at the artifact carefully, tilting it around in her hands while trying not to believe their words.
“I was hired to bring a piece just like that to Charlotte,” Kroanette spoke up. “It brought all manner of death and pain after it. I was fortunate to be rid of it, since as you can see it attracts a lot of very dangerous individuals.”
“You had one of these?” Clover asked her with disbelief.
“Yes, it was found by witches in the south, and they hired me to deliver it to their alpha as she wished to have it. I was not informed of anything about what it truly was, either because they themselves did not know or wished not to say. But I was lucky to have met everyone here when I did. Had I held onto that thing any longer that succubus would have come after me for certain.”
Clover looked at her artifact with concern then glanced around the table, seeing all eyes on her while Pip was still circling the room above as she continued to giggle happily. Luna and Falla walked over and stood behind Daniel while looking at the fragment with concern, both knowing that it was a beacon for trouble.
“Get rid of that thing,” Falla urged. “It only brings misfortune.”
“It’s giving me the creeps just seeing it,” Luna said hiding behind Daniel’s back. “Can’t we just throw it away and be done with it?”
“We should give it to Charlotte,” Triska suggested. “It would help us get on her good side more, and she even offered a reward for it.”
“That sounds like a good idea to me,” Alyssa agreed. “That succubus may not be chasing it anymore but I don’t think I want to find out who else might come for it.”
“I can already think of a few that might,” Specca reminded her. “That swordsman, Daemon, and those monsters that follow him. They’re sure to come after it soon.”
Squeak nodded and squeaked while looking at the artifact with worried eyes.
“I’d recommend being rid of it right now,” Kroanette insisted. “Throw it outside and leave it here, we shouldn’t get involved with any of this.”
“Fuck that!” Clover shouted at them. “I’m not getting rid of this, I’m taking it back to my home and giving it to my priestess as are my orders! You’re not scaring me into giving it up just like that. Gemini and swords made by angels, all of that is just bullshit! This is a one-of-a-kind treasure and it belongs in the hands of my priestess. End of story!”
“But, Clover, didn’t you just hear-” Specca started to say before Daniel raised his hand and silenced her, all eyes turning to him as he nodded slowly at the elf.
“It’s yours, Clover,” he decided. “You earned it after all you’ve been through. I know how much it means to you, how important it is that you take it back to your priestess. You can keep it, we won’t stop you. But you need to understand that you are in danger with it.”
“From gemini?” Clover scoffed.
“No, they weren’t after those things at all as far as we could tell. But others are, and they’re not playing around with finding them. If you want to keep that with you then fine, but hide it. Hide it, and don’t let anyone else see or know of it. And when you get it back to your priestess please warn her that others are going to be coming after it.” Clover watched him carefully as he showed concern and held his hands up defensively.
“I don’t want you to get hurt, Clover. And none of us want to steal it from you, if anything we just want it as far away from us as possible. If you really want it then please take it, just be careful.”
Clover turned her eyes down to the artifact in her hands while remaining silent. Everyone watched as she slowly tilted the relic around and eyed it carefully before she glanced up to Daniel again.
“This is going back home to my priestess, no matter what,” she declared, then turned her gaze down and away from the group while holding the relic close to her. “Once she has it again you can tell her what you told me, what she decides to do after that is up to her. Even if I wanted to get rid of it I just can’t do that.”
“We understand,” Daniel assured her. “We’ll talk to her about it. Just do your job and take it back to her like you were going to.”
“Fantastic,” Specca groaned while holding a hand to her head. “As if traveling with Clover isn’t tiresome enough, now we have to take that thing with us as well?”
“Fuck. You,” Clover retorted while not making eye contact with anyone.
“If Daemon or anyone else comes looking for it they can deal with Clover,” Triska reasoned. “She wants to keep it, she can fight them for it.”
“If Charlotte finds out we have it then we’ll have to give it to her,” Alyssa pointed out. “We can’t keep that thing from her if she knows we found a piece.”
“Again, she can talk to Clover about that,” Triska said while watching the elf with a raised eyebrow. “We’re not getting involved with it. That thing is Clover’s property and problem.”
“Like hell anyone is taking this from me,” Clover muttered looking down to the artifact with discontent.
“I’d imagine they would need to fight very hard to get it from you,” Daniel agreed with amusement. Clover merely glanced to him for a moment then back down to her artifact while remaining quiet. She blinked then looked back to Daniel with puzzlement.
“Hey, hold on. You never told us how the fuck you did what you did earlier,” she reminded him. “It’s hard enough to believe there are such things as gemini or legendary swords out there and that this isn’t a divine relic, but I still can’t believe I saw you taking on a succubus like that and winning.”
“Yeah, tell us about it, Daniel,” Alyssa eagerly asked him as all eyes turned to the boy. “How did you do all that? I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
“Daniel, what happened to you?” Triska asked with wonder.
Daniel chuckled and rubbed the back of his head as all eyes were on him before Pip flew down towards Triska’s bosom. To everyone’s surprise Triska snatched the fairy in her hand without even looking before the tiny monster could dive down into her shirt. Pip froze with a squeak then looked at Triska with wonder as the girl glanced to her with a smirk on her face while holding the fairy in her hand.
“Pip, not now. I want to hear what Daniel has to say,” she amusingly said.
“Triska, how did you catch her like that?” Specca asked with disbelief as everyone watched her curiously.
Triska blinked then looked at Pip confusedly as she wondered that herself.
“I… don’t know. I just… did, somehow.”
‘That was weird. I just knew to catch her, like I saw her even thou
gh she was moving so fast.’
“Boobies,” Pip pouted while looking down at the teen’s bust.
Triska looked down to her chest with a small smile then shrugged and turned to Daniel as she let the fairy go, with Pip then gently landing down on her shoulder and staring at the girl’s breasts with a frown.
“Lucky catch I guess,” Triska reasoned. “But what you did earlier wasn’t luck, it couldn’t have been. Spill it, Daniel. What happened with you?”
“Well, I just reacted,” Daniel said looking down while replaying the event in his mind. “When that demon held Triska like that I was so angry, I knew I had to do something to save her. I didn’t care that I was facing against a Darker One, I put everything I had into my magic to beat her.”
“That’s right,” Clover remembered as she glanced around at the other girls. “They all got really turned on and dizzy when you did that.”
“I focused with everything I had to attack that demon,” Daniel explained while looking to his hand, remembering the sword of light he had manifested then. “I saw the stars of light in my mind more quickly that time. The first was Alyssa’s, it gave me the boost I needed in power to form my sword as fast as I could.”
“Really? That was from me?” Alyssa asked with a timid smile.
“It was, I could feel the surge of power from her own magic pouring into mine. Then I charged the succubus with all my might. I was able to move so quickly, just like a certain centaur I know,” Daniel continued before glancing over to Kroanette with a smirk, seeing her jumping a bit with a blush from hearing that.
“Me? I helped you do that?” she asked with a growing smile.
“Who else here could have given me that much of a speed boost?” Daniel chuckled. “I felt your spirit aiding mine, it let me move so fast without any problem.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Kroanette bashfully said holding a hand to her cheek. “I’m thankful I was able to serve you in battle, Daniel.”
“It wasn’t just you,” Daniel said looking to Squeak with a wink. “Somebody else contributed their aura. I was actually able to attack that demon with enough power because of your spirit, Squeak. I could feel your star in my mind giving my muscles the strength to push on with my attack.”
Chronicles of Eden - Act VI Page 15