chronicles of eden - act I (35 page)

"The men we have here in our nest will remain here, as will any others we find nearby. It is our nature after all, and we cannot just abandon our way of life on a mere hope you have. Especially with mankind having already rejected the idea of living with us," Victoria said shaking her head, her voice having a slight amount of disappointment in it. Triska looked to Daniel worriedly as Alyssa looked down with concern.

"But… is there really no way for us to get along?" Daniel asked looking back to the queen. Victoria looked at him curiously as she held a finger to her chin.

"You really are something, boy; it appears I have lost a potential breeding mate after all. Still, I'm afraid that as long as mankind still treats us as nothing more than monsters, peace is simply out of the question," she reasoned.

"But we're trying to find the proof that mankind needs to see reason, to see that you can be our allies. That's why we're traveling the lands looking for monsters like you," he pleaded.

"Proof you say?" she asked raising an eyebrow. Alyssa nodded and stepped forward.

"Yes. I'm proof that coexistence can be done," Alyssa said hopefully. Triska nodded and glanced to the ant girls nearby.

"Your kind is adept at tunneling and digging, I'm sure mankind could use your help with their mining for minerals and resources. And we can help keep those ant-lionesses from infesting your nests, along with the other monsters that your kind has difficulty keeping away. Our soldiers are more combat experienced and capable than yours, we could help protect you," she added. Victoria looked at the two then to Daniel.

"We can make this work; I just need to show my people the proof they need. If I can get more races of monsters like Alyssa's to stand with us, then maybe that would be enough to get my people to see that we can live together,” Daniel pleaded. Alyssa glanced to him at that remark then looked down and away, biting her lip slightly.

“I know breeding would be an important factor in our alliance, but I'm sure that we can work something out if we try together,” Daniel said hopefully.

Victoria eyed him curiously for a moment then looked down in thought. The travelers watched her as she pondered his words carefully, the queen then slowly looking back to him.

"I'm sorry, but until we can be guaranteed our own survival we cannot risk losing what we have," she said shaking her head. The travelers looked at her with worry then down.

"However…" she continued, with the travelers then looking back to her curiously.

"I can give you something to aid you in your quest," she offered.

"You can? What?" Alyssa asked. The queen glanced to the ant girls behind the travelers.

"Take one of my workers with you, as your 'proof'," she said. The group jumped a bit then looked back to the ant girls, all of them watching the travelers with wonder.

"What? Take one with us?" Triska asked in surprise. The queen nodded and leaned back in her seat.

"Yes. Take one to aid you in your journey, as a token of my willingness to listen to mankind when they are ready to talk about coexistence," she said simply. Daniel looked back to her with wonder as the queen smirked a bit.

"You don't mind do you, Daniel? By all means, I ask of you to pick any one that catches your eye. I will give them the order to assist you on your journey however you see fit. And, while you're choosing, try to pick one that could possibly be your mate if at all possible," she said with a curious smirk. Triska and Alyssa looked back to her with wide eyes as Daniel jumped a good foot in the air with surprise.

"What?" he said loudly.

"His mate?" Alyssa and Triska cried out.

"Of course, after all, should he choose to mate with one of my workers of his own free will, it will help relations with our races. I'm sure all the ant girl nests would be moved if a human
chose
to be with our kind, and it would likely help your own race see reason as well," Victoria suggested with a nod. Alyssa and Triska looked at her with wide eyes then to each other. Daniel stuttered something before the queen held up her hand to silence his nonsensical babble.

"I am not requiring you to choose one as a mate, Daniel, only that you at least take one with you as the proof that you need. Of course, should you choose to mate with her that would be even more
proof
that our kind can coexist," she explained. Daniel looked at her with a stunned expression then over to the ant girls. They were all looking at him bashfully as they fidgeted a bit, none of them seeming opposed to becoming his traveling companion.

"Um…" he said unsurely.

"Wait, is this necessary?" Triska asked worriedly. Victoria glanced to her with a raised eyebrow.

"Is there a problem with him choosing one of my workers as a mate?" she demanded. Triska looked from the ant girls to Daniel worriedly as he glanced to her.

"Well… um…" she said hesitantly.

"Um…" Alyssa said as the two looked at all the ant girls, both hating the idea of even more competition forming for the boy's heart. All the ant girls had shapely figures and lovely faces, and were watching Daniel with bashful smiles, something that he was wishing he didn't notice.

“But… I thought that ant girls can’t get pregnant, so how could any of them be an actual mate to Daniel if they can’t provide children?” Triska asked with a nervous smile. Alyssa closed her eyes and slowly shook her head.

“They can’t get pregnant… unless they’re separated from their nest,” she said with regret. Triska glanced to her awkwardly as did Daniel.

“What do you mean unless they are separated from their nest?” Triska asked worriedly. The queen watched the witch with a raised eyebrow as Alyssa breathed out and looked over to the ant girls with concern.

“If they are separated from their nest for a prolonged period of time their bodies become fertile, allowing them to become a new queen for a new nest. It’s so that if they are stranded from their home, or the only survivor of their nest from an attack, they can make a new nest and keep their race from dying out. If one of those ant girls follows us away from the nest and distances herself from her queen, her body will believe her queen is dead, then she’ll be capable of becoming… pregnant,” Alyssa explained. Triska and Daniel looked back to the ant girls as they were still watching Daniel closely while the queen nodded slightly in agreement to what the witch had said.

“That is correct, witch; whoever Daniel picks could become an actual wife for him. So I ask again, is there a problem with that?” the queen asked carefully. Triska opened her mouth to speak then paused, knowing that any excuse she could come up with would only hurt Daniel’s cause.

Alyssa gulped and then slowly glanced to Triska.

"No, there's no problem with that, right, Triska?" Alyssa asked through a forced smile. Triska glanced to her then to the ant girls.

‘You've got to be kidding me, now we have to take one of them along with us too?’

"Well…" she said softly.

"I thought you wanted proof for his beliefs, to show your kind that we can coexist. Well, I'm literally handing over just that, something that I would never do for any other race. I'm letting you take along one of my workers for your quest, show some gratitude, girl," Victoria scoffed. Triska looked at the ant girls worriedly then to Daniel, the boy eyeing over the selection of monsters he had to choose from.

"I guess… when you put it like that, we could use more proof for the world to see," he said scratching his head. Triska opened her mouth to speak but stopped, unsure of what she could say in protest without causing problems with the queen and hurting Daniel's cause.

"And it's not like you're being forced to marry any of them," Alyssa pointed out nervously. Triska slowly nodded with a worried expression, not liking all the attention Daniel was getting from the group of candidates. Daniel looked around slowly and stepped closer towards them.

"Well… let's see then," he said softly. He looked from one ant girl to the next, all of them appearing the same and smiling at him bashfully. Some had longer hair, others were a little shorter, but they all appeared to be nearly the same. As he got to the last one who was holding a pickaxe he stopped.

"You managed to fight those ant-lionesses with Triska, didn't you?" he asked curiously. The ant girl squeaked and held her pickaxe proudly, with her comrades glancing to her curiously. Daniel nodded and smiled at her.

"That was incredible of you to do that. I’m glad you overcame your fear of them and were able to help keep your nest safe. You should remain here, your nest could use more brave fighters like you," he said kindly. The ant girl looked at him curiously as her antennae twitched a bit. She looked to the pickaxe in her hand then to Triska, the teen smiling at her.

"He's right, they're going to need you here after all," she agreed. The ant girl squeaked softly and looked back to Daniel with a curious expression. He smiled at her then looked at the other candidates.

"Well… I guess any one of them would be proof, so…" he said as he started walking towards them. He held out his hand and pointed across the line of girls, each one watching him with an eager smile. He stopped at the last one in the line, since he couldn’t really tell any differences between any of them to begin with, with the girl smiling brightly in anticipation.

"Wait," Alyssa called out. Daniel looked to her as the witch was eyeing the rescued ant girl carefully.

"Actually, I think the one that fought those ant-lionesses would be a better pick, Daniel," she suggested. Triska and Daniel looked to her curiously while the queen raised an eyebrow in question.

"What? But why?" Daniel asked looking back to the rescued ant girl, with the one he was still pointing to shooting Alyssa a death glare with bared teeth. Alyssa smiled weakly and rubbed the back of her head.

"Well… I mean it is dangerous out there with the Darker Ones, so the one you pick should be able to defend herself if need be. She's the only one here that can do that, so logically she's the only one that would be safe above ground with us," she reasoned nervously. Triska looked at her puzzled then to the rescued ant girl.

"But her nest could use fighters like her, she should stay where she's needed," she said. The ant girl Daniel was still pointing at nodded eagerly to that. Alyssa calmly walked over to Triska then yanked her down by the arm to whisper in her ear.

"Yes, but the one that you were with fought alongside you, which means maybe she'll listen to you when you tell her to back the hell off from Daniel," she whispered sternly. Triska blinked then looked back to the ant girl, the monster just watching them curiously.

"You saved her life, she owes you. Use that to keep her away from Daniel," Alyssa said before looking back to the ant girl. Triska nodded and smiled a bit.

"On second thought, Alyssa's right. It's dangerous up there with where we'll be going, an ant girl that knows how to fight would come in handy if we run into trouble," she agreed with an eager smile. Daniel looked at the rescued ant girl then back to his friends as the one he was pointing at growled quietly with anger.

"Um, what were you two whispering about?" he asked.

"Yes, do share," Victoria asked crossing her arms before her. Alyssa laughed nervously and shook her head.

"It was nothing, I was just… reminding Triska that she saved that ant girl's life. Maybe that ant girl can help… return the favor someday," she said with a shrug. Triska nodded with a nervous smile and shrugged as well. Daniel looked at them curiously then to the rescued ant girl.

"But… doesn't her nest need her now?" he asked while lowering his arm, the candidate he pointed at before nodding again worriedly.

"If having a worker that can help you survive along with helping prove your beliefs would be needed, then we can let that one go with you. I believe we'll manage without her, even though she may have braved the tunnels with your friend I don't think the rest of my workers are in similar spirits to fight," Victoria said looking to the other ant girls then to her guards. All of them glanced to the queen with nervous expressions from that remark. Victoria sighed then looked back to Daniel.

"Don't worry; we will handle ourselves just fine in her absence. When an ant-lioness infestation occurs we normally seal off the tunnel and branch out further away from the area. We may lose living space for a time, but we'll survive just like we always have before," she proclaimed, waving her hand to dismiss the comment. She then looked at Daniel with a small smirk.

"However, should you manage to persuade your kind into coexisting with us, I would imagine we would have all the help we would need with them, am I correct?" she asked expectantly. Daniel smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, we'll help you. I promise," he assured.

"Well, I just might hold you to that promise then," the queen said with a nod. She then looked to the rescued ant girl with a calm expression.

"You, follow this boy and do as he says. Help him achieve his goal in this world with gathering the proof that he needs," she said in a commanding tone. The rescued ant girl looked to her with wonder as the other ant girls looked at the chosen one with surprise. The ant girl squeaked softly then looked to Daniel. He smiled gently and nodded at her as Triska and Alyssa glanced to each other with forced smiles.

"If that's ok with you, we would appreciate your help with this," he said kindly. The ant girl looked at him with wonder as her antennae twitched a bit.

"You are representing our race now in the interest of peace, do not let us down," Victoria said leaning back in her throne. The ant girl squeaked softly then slowly walked up to Daniel. He smiled gently at the girl then looked down in thought. After a pause he looked back to the queen.

"Your majesty, if I may make one small request of you," he asked. The queen looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Not too far from here is the village of Edgewood, my hometown…" he said worriedly. Triska jumped a bit and looked to the queen.

"That's right, our home is near here," she said with concern. Victoria looked between the two then glanced away.