chronicles of eden - act I (34 page)

"Is this true human? Have you honestly considered mating with this witch on your own accord?" Victoria asked curiously. Daniel looked at the young witch standing next to him. She looked like a young girl at first glance; however he knew she was far older than she appeared. Still, she was a monster, one that had hexed and used men for sex just like the rest of her kind. A monster that, despite her nature, was fighting her urges to help him and to be with him. She watched him with hopeful eyes, waiting for his answer.

"Daniel…" she said softly. He looked at her for a moment then nodded with a gentle smile.

"Yeah, I have," he said softly. Alyssa smiled brightly and walked up closer to him.

"Really? You mean that? You'll… really mate with me still?" she said eagerly.

"What?" Triska's voice yelled out from nearby. Everybody looked to seeing the human and rescued ant girl walking into the chambers, with Triska staring at Daniel with shock. She had her sword sheathed behind her while the ant girl was holding her bloodied pickaxe still.

"Triska, you're back," Daniel said with a smile.

"I take it you were successful in ridding my nest of those accursed ant-lionesses then?" Victoria asked curiously.

"Never mind all that right now, what the hell do you mean you'll mate with her?" Triska yelled out while pointing to the witch. Alyssa smiled happily and hugged Daniel tightly around the waist.

"It's all in the interest of coexistence of course, that and we're so perfect for each other after all," she said sweetly. Daniel jumped a bit at that and looked between the two girls nervously. Triska growled and then ran over and yanked the witch off of the boy, the monster being tossed back as Triska glared at her.

"We've already been through this, Alyssa; you are
not
going to be mating with him! Not now or ever!" she yelled out.

"Hey, he said he would do so on his own free will, you can't get mad at me because I'm the girl he wants. He's made his choice, deal with it!" Alyssa yelled out.

"Wait, I never said that exactly," Daniel said weakly.

"He didn't choose you! And like hell he's going to mate with you!" Triska yelled out loudly.

"But, Triska, I never said that was my final decision, only that I would consider it, just like I did before," Daniel reasoned worriedly. She looked to him with pleading eyes and shook her head.

"But, Daniel, you can't mate with her, you just can't," she begged.

"And just why can't he mate with this witch?" Victoria demanded. Everybody looked to her as she crossed her arms with an accusing stare.

"Are you saying that he can't merely because she's a monster? Is that why he can't choose her as a mate?" she asked sharply.

"What? No, that's… I mean sort of… but…" Triska stammered as she looked back to the witch. Alyssa growled and glanced to the queen.

"Shut up, Triska, we're trying to show them that men can willingly choose us monsters as mates, you're not helping Daniel’s cause here," she growled out in a hushed tone. Triska blinked and looked back to the queen as she scoffed at her.

"This is why coexistence will not work, Daniel. In order for us, or any monster race, to ally with you we will still need men to breed with. That can never be avoided; it's the only way we can survive. Should we ally with your kind that would mean your men would have to willingly choose to mate with us, something that obviously would be too much to ask of. The men alone would likely not agree to such a condition, and it's more than apparent your women would never allow it," she said firmly. Triska jumped a bit and looked to Daniel, the boy looking down with worry.

"Wait, that… that's not true," Triska said looking back to the queen.

"Way to go, Triska, why can't you ever stop talking? Just once, shut the hell up!" Alyssa yelled out at her.

"But wait, that's not it at all. I didn't mean it like that," Triska pleaded.

"Then what is the problem with Daniel choosing a witch for a mate? Or any monster? Are you saying that you would be ok with him choosing a monster as his wife?" Victoria asked with a raised eyebrow. Triska looked to Daniel then back to the queen with worry.

"Well… I'm… it's just… he's…" she stammered as she fidgeted.

"He's perfectly fine choosing a monster like me as a mate, isn't that right, Daniel?" Alyssa asked looking to Daniel with hopeful eyes. He looked between the two girls nervously as the queen watched him carefully.

"Well… I mean, I did say I would
consider
it," he said rubbing the back of his head.

"Consider it?" Victoria asked with a scoff. Daniel nodded and looked back to her.

"Well yes. The truth is, human or monster… I would be fair in picking a mate in life to either of them. I know that some humans can act like real monsters, and some monsters can have a heart like peaceful humans. I told Alyssa that I would consider being her mate, just as I would consider being any kindhearted girl's mate in life," he explained. Victoria looked at him curiously while Alyssa smiled happily at that. Triska however showed frustration and looked down, wishing to speak her feelings on the matter yet not able to bring herself to do so.

"Interesting. So you would really choose to mate with our kind… provided they show 'heart'?" Victoria inquired curiously. Daniel looked down for a moment then nodded. Alyssa smiled and walked back over to him, shooting Triska a quick glare before looking back to Daniel with caring eyes.

"Yes, just because your kind are monsters, it doesn't mean that we cannot coexist together, or feel deeper emotions for each other," he reasoned looking back to the queen. She watched him carefully then leaned back with an intrigued expression.

"So you're saying that if one of my workers showed you 'heart', and could control herself properly in your presence, then you would consider her to be a future mate in life?" she asked. Triska and Alyssa looked to Daniel as he jumped a bit.

"Well… I suppose if you put it like that…" he said glancing back to the group of ant girl workers behind him. The rescued ant girl was among them as they were all watching him curiously. Alyssa and Triska glanced to each other worriedly then back to Daniel as he shrugged slightly.

"I suppose if… we felt something more for each other, that would be a possibility. To tell the truth though I haven't really thought about them like that," he said with a nervous smile. The queen nodded with a curious expression then held a finger to her chin.

"I must say, human, you are indeed a unique thinker. And what does your own kind think on this matter? Do they share your beliefs?" she asked. Daniel looked down with concern and shook his head.

"I'm afraid they are difficult to reason with. I've tried to tell them that your kind could be trusted, but they don't see that. They only see the monsters that have been kidnapping and raping our kind for so long," he confessed with regret. Alyssa looked at him worriedly then down while Triska showed concern for her friend. The queen nodded with a blank expression then tilted her head slightly in wonder.

"Then what are you doing out here if your kind has already spoken against such an idea?" she asked. He looked back to her with determination.

"I'm out here to prove my beliefs to the world. To find those that are willing to join us as allies, and to show my race that you're not just lustful monsters. I'm out here to find those like you that would be willing to give peace a chance," he stated. Victoria looked at him with a slight amount of surprise.

"You mean you chose to go out into the world alone in hopes that we would accept your ideas, with no support from your own kind?" she asked.

"Hey, I'm here with him. I believe in Daniel, that's why I'm on this trip with him," Triska spoke up. Daniel glanced to her with a smile then looked back to the queen.

"Somebody from my kind has to try to talk to your race and to others as well. The mere fact that we're even
having
this conversation is proof that my theories are correct," he said assuredly. The queen looked at him with wonder for a moment then smiled curiously.

"Well, Daniel, I'm impressed. Perhaps you would be a suitable mate for me after all, somebody who could provide strong-willed children for my nest," she admitted. The travelers looked at her with surprise and worry as she laughed a bit, the monster then looking to Triska.

"However, it seems my worker has brought you back in one piece, which I believe means you were successful in getting rid of those pests, correct?" she asked. Triska nodded with a bold smile.

"Yeah, we took out all of them in that tunnel. Your nest is safe from them for now," she assured. The group looked back to the rescued ant girl, the monster nodding with a squeak as her comrades stared at her with wonder. Triska looked at her with a proud smile then to the queen while pointing to the ant girl.

"Your worker even killed a few of them. She was scared of them, but she fought well and showed the ant-lionesses that your kind isn't so weak-willed to not fight back," she said. Victoria looked at her with surprise then over to the worker, with all the other ant girls staring at her with wide eyes. The ant girl squeaked proudly and held up her pickaxe, still dripping with the blood from her fallen enemies. The girl pantomimed swinging the axe around and squeaking bravely while the other ant girls stared at her speechless, listening to their comrade's tale of how she killed the underground predators.

"Really? My own worker killed those things?" Victoria asked in wonder. Triska nodded and looked back to the ant girl as the monster was holding her weapon up proudly, all while the crowd around her was squeaking wildly with amazement.

"Yeah, it was great to have another fighter down there with me," she said. Alyssa and Daniel looked at the ant girl with wonder then back to Triska.

"You two… really killed them all?" Alyssa asked softly. Triska nodded and smiled arrogantly at her.

"You seem surprised. Did you really think I was a weak human or something?" she boasted with a smirk. Alyssa looked at her with wonder then nodded.

"Well yeah, I always have," she said simply. Triska twitched at that then glared at the witch with anger.

"Hey! I told you I was Daniel's protection out here in the world didn't I?" she yelled out.

"Yeah, and that didn't do jack against me," Alyssa said with a raised eyebrow. Triska growled then reached for her sword as all the ant girls and queen were watching curiously.

"You know, for a witch who doesn't have her focuser you sure talk big," Triska threatened as she gripped her sword's handle. Alyssa jumped a bit and looked at her worriedly while Daniel looked to her curiously.

"What? You don't have your focuser?" he asked. She looked to him and shook her head.

"Well… no," she said softly. Triska nodded with a firm expression.

"That's right, and without it she's powerless. So stop talking like I'm the useless one here, Alyssa. I'm the one that helped keep this nest in one piece, I'm the one that did so in order to free Daniel, and I'm the one that did so because I'm going to protect him from the real Darker Ones out there," she declared. Alyssa looked at her with frustration then down.

"What happened to it? Did you lose it?" Daniel asked. Alyssa shook her head then looked to the queen with annoyance.

"No, those ant girls took it when we fell into their tunnel, along with all our stuff," she said accusingly. Victoria merely raised an eyebrow at the witch, not saying a word about the matter. Daniel looked to the queen then around at the other ant girls.

"They did?" he asked. He looked back to the queen as she didn't seem to react at all.

"You stole from us?" he asked in disbelief. She shrugged in response and glanced away.

"Well, we do scavenge what we can from above; it’s part of our way of life after all. Any tools or weapons we can find help strengthen our nest while any gold or riches add to our wealth for trade with other races," she said simply.

"Please, could you return our things to us?" Daniel politely requested. The queen looked back to him with a raised eyebrow. He glanced to Alyssa with concern then back to the queen.

"Please, all our belongings were in those bags, her focuser as well. She's powerless without it. Please, could you return them to us?" he asked again. Triska glanced to the queen as Alyssa nodded eagerly. Victoria sighed and then glanced away.

"I've already agreed to listen to you, Daniel, as well as let you go free. Yet you still ask for more," she commented.

"He's asking you to return what you stole from us!" Alyssa shouted out.

"You can keep her focuser if you want, I just want our bags back," Triska said, shrugging with a smirk.

"Hey!" Alyssa yelled out.

"What? I'm Daniel's protection out there remember? Not you," Triska said with a narrowed glance at the witch.

"Hey, don't start that again you two, please. Not now," Daniel pleaded.

The queen looked at the travelers then rolled her eyes, then snapped her fingers and glanced to a nearby guard.

"You, go fetch their belongings and have them brought here immediately," she said simply. The guard squeaked then ran off down a tunnel. Victoria looked back to Daniel and smirked slightly.

"You did say please after all, so I suppose I can return the kindness," she said. Daniel smiled and bowed slightly at the queen.

"Thank you, Queen Victoria, I knew you were a trustworthy ruler," he said politely. She smiled proudly and nodded.

"Well, you did help us with dealing with those ant-lionesses, so I suppose I can't be too cruel to you," she reasoned. After a pause she then looked at Daniel with a serious expression.

"However, even after listening to your ideas, Daniel, I'm not sure peace between our races can exist," she solemnly said. The travelers looked at her worriedly as she shook her head.

"I applaud your courage, boy, I do. And for what it's worth, I wish you luck on your journey. However, we have no guarantee that mankind is ready to coexist with
us
, and we cannot risk losing our means to breed on such a gamble," she explained. Daniel looked at her with concern then down.