Chronicles of Eden - Act V (56 page)

After all these rulers did want what was best for their daughters.

*****

At long last Daniel marched forward to meet another monster ruler of Eden, the monarch that reigned over the giant butterfly home of Flairwood. He had been preparing what to say to the respected leader, knowing his words would either bring another ally to his ideal of peaceful coexistence or cost him another race for his quota needed by Charlotte. He walked with a steady stride down the dirt road of Flairwood, a stride that was actually more off-balance than steady with him constantly being tugged side to side by two overzealous butterfly sisters.

“Remember to stay focused, Daniel,” Luna urged as she tugged him over to the side with his arm being nestled between her breasts.

“She’s going to be
very
naughty with you,” Falla purred as she pulled him over to her, again holding his arm as close to her chest as possible in the process.

“You have to convince her to be good like you did with us,” Luna pleaded while pulling him back to her.

“We’ll do anything you want to show we want to live with you peacefully as well,” Falla offered as she pulled him back towards her again.

“All our sisters are counting on you,” Luna reminded him as she yanked him over.

“You have our full support though, don’t you worry,” Falla promised as he rocked back over towards her.

“Are you ready?” they both asked as they held onto his arms tightly with anxious faces.

Daniel stopped and slowly looked over to Falla’s slick smile she had then to Luna’s twisted smile while her eyes were twitching then back behind to him to where Triska and Complica were following them. The young butterfly was watching them curiously while holding Triska’s hand, the teen smiling amusedly at Daniel and slowly shaking her head.

“Still don’t think you have a harem, Daniel?” Triska asked innocently.

“Why aren’t you helping me?” he plainly asked.

“Why? They both seem eager to help you with this.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Daniel said shaking his head.

“Did you want me to cut their hands off or something?” Triska asked reaching up and grabbing her sword. All the girls looked to her with surprise as she watched Daniel curiously.

“No, I don’t want you to do that,” Daniel answered, with Triska glancing from one butterfly sister to the next before lowering her hand.

“You asked for this, Daniel,” Triska reminded him. “You wanted to return their feelings and keep them with you, so you have to take responsibility.”

Daniel nodded and looked to the two sisters as they clung to his sides more closely now while watching Triska carefully.

“We’re not crossing a line by doing this, are we?” Luna asked.

“I thought we were allowed to hug him and such now,” Falla said looking to Daniel worriedly.

“You can,” Triska said before raising an eyebrow at him. “But if he can’t walk straight then maybe you’re holding onto him too much.”

Falla and Luna jumped a bit then quickly let go and backed up while Daniel smiled weakly at them.

“I do appreciate your confidence in me,” he assured them, with the two girls then smiling at him again. “Thank you both for helping me get here.”

“It was our pleasure, Daniel,” Luna eagerly said.

“We always had faith in what you were doing,” Falla added with a cheery smile at him.

“Really?” Triska spoke up with an accusing smile at her. “I don’t recall you voicing such faith in him before.”

Falla laughed weakly to that before looking down and away while fidgeting her hands together.

“I still don’t understand why you want to talk to my mother,” Complica said looking at Daniel with puzzlement. “Did you want to help give me more sisters?”

“No, nothing like that,” Daniel answered with a small laugh. “I want humans and giant butterflies to get along. I’m here to talk to her about us becoming friends.”

“Friends?” Complica asked looking up to Triska.

“Like how I came to save you,” Triska explained with a gentle smile at the girl. “Friends help each other when they’re in trouble. Right now humans don’t like giant butterflies too much, and giant butterflies don’t have many friends they can call on when they’re in danger. We want to change that.”

“I don’t understand still,” Complica said shaking her head.

“You will,” Luna assured her. “Daniel and your mother need to talk about these things, Complica. It’s really important.”

“We don’t want any more of our sisters being hurt because of lies like what happened to you,” Falla mentioned. “Things need to change around here, and he’s going to help that happen.”

Complica looked around at them with curious eyes before Triska tugged her hand and got her attention.

“C’mon, let’s get you home. I’m sure your mother misses you very much.”

“By the way,” Daniel said glancing to Luna. “What is your monarch’s name? I should address her properly when we first meet.”

“Her name?” Luna asked looking to him curiously. She and Falla exchanged glances then both turned to Complica. “Complica, what is she calling herself this week?”

“What? This week?” Triska asked looking to Complica.

“Florence,” the young girl answered.

“What do you mean by this week?” Daniel questioned.

“Our monarch changes her name nearly every week,” Falla explained with a shrug. “Whenever she learns about a new name that sounds fancy or beautiful she demands to go by it until she finds the next.”

“Last week she was going by Madeline,” Complica mentioned. “And the week before that it was Josephine.”

“She changes her name every week?” Triska asked with wonder.

“It’s easier for us just to call her our monarch,” Luna explained with a weak smile and shrug. “For us that’s okay with her mostly, but Daniel had better call her by whatever name she picked out this time.”

“So, Florence then,” Daniel concluded with a thoughtful nod. “Alright, let’s go return her daughter and then have a little chat.”

After taking one step forward Falla and Luna quickly reattached themselves to his arms, again pulling him side to side as they continuously voiced their unwavering support and for him to remain focused on his goal no matter what. As he took one uneven step after another Triska giggled a bit while walking behind them with Complica still holding onto his hand.

“How come you all like him so much?” Complica asked up at Triska.

“Because, Complica,” Triska said glancing down to her with a warm smile. “We couldn’t bear to live without his heart. He’s one of the good humans out there, you should know that.”

Complica looked at her curiously then ahead to Daniel as he slowly yet surely made his way towards the back of the village where the royal tree was, his mind trying to focus on winning over the monarch and not on the attractive butterfly girls that kept hanging onto him every step of the way.

*****

Back at the caravan Alyssa was sitting on the seat of the ride, leaning back with a dull expression on her face, hat angled downward, staff lying across her lap, fingers lightly drumming on the relic’s wood, and an annoyed sigh coming from her mouth as she tried to be understanding of Daniel’s feelings and the other girls’ as well.

“I do hope Daniel succeeds in winning over the monarch,” Kroanette said while keeping her eyes on Flairwood anxiously. She then glanced next to her at Alyssa while standing beside the caravan, getting no reaction from the girl at all.

“What do you suppose he’ll say to her?” Kroanette asked, again getting no reply from the witch.

“And what about Specca and Squeak? Do you think they’ll have luck at the market getting our provisions?”

Alyssa remained quiet while seeming to ignore the centaur altogether. Kroanette watched her for a moment then looked down and away while gently holding her arms around herself.

“You really don’t like me now, do you?”

Alyssa glanced to her while remaining silent then looked over to seeing Pip flying circles around one tree before zipping over to another. The tiny fairy giggled and swooped around the trees nonstop while Alyssa rolled her eyes and looked ahead again with a quiet grumble.

“I could go and search for Lucky,” Kroanette offered hopefully at the witch. “I’ll head out right away and-”

“We’re not wasting more time searching for you when you inevitably get lost then,” Alyssa said shaking her head slowly. “Just stay here and be quiet.”

“But what about Pip?” Kroanette asked looking towards the fairy, or at least trying to as the fast moving monster flew around tree after tree while giggling to herself. “She could find our horse very quickly, I’m sure of it. With how fast she can fly-”

“Lucky is not
your
horse,” Alyssa sternly told her. “Lucky is
our
horse, as in Daniel and his
mates.
And we’re not sending Pip out there after Lucky; if he’s running scared then she’ll only scare him more. I’m going to be the one going out there to find him, I will just as soon as Daniel gets back and I don’t have to watch over you two.”

“Alyssa,” Kroanette defended while showing concern. “You don’t have to be so cold towards us now. We’re not-”

“You’re just more girls after my Daniel,” Alyssa scoffed looking down. “I always had a feeling you would fall for him, I was just hoping we could get to your home and be rid of you before you did.”

“Alyssa, now you’re just being mean.”

“It’s just because of your stupid boobs he likes you so much,” Alyssa grumbled, crossing her arms and looking away with a pout. “If it wasn’t for those you wouldn’t be able to seduce him like you did.”

“I didn’t try and seduce him,” Kroanette insisted as she trotted over in front of the ride. “I’ve been a very gentle and kindhearted centaur with him. I haven’t made one inappropriate move towards him at all.”

“You keep waving those damn things around at him,” Alyssa snapped pointing to the centaur’s breasts. “Every time you try to hug him he’s always threatened to be sucked into those things.”

“I can’t help how I am,” Kroanette reasoned while holding her arms around herself. “Alyssa, I’m trying to genuinely be nice to him, I’m trying to show that I have a heart, just like he wants.”

“He wanted us!” Alyssa yelled out at her. “I was fine sharing him with Triska, Specca, and Squeak; they’re like sisters to me. Triska is the most stubborn and loudest person in the world, but dammit she cares about me so much she tried to attack a Darker One just to save me. Specca’s been an invaluable help to us traveling out here, and she’s so damn nice and caring to me I grew to love her too. And Squeak… I have no idea what she’s saying to this day but I know she’s the most dependable and trustworthy girl around. She’s always there to help if we’re hurt or need help.” She then pointed to Kroanette while standing up on the seat, her eyes filled with anger and a few tears.

“But then you girls came along! You’re not sisters to me; you’re just monsters that got in our way of being alone with Daniel! Falla and Luna just wouldn’t leave us be after they found him, they were nothing but pests! You’ve slowed us down again and again with always getting lost, and you flaunt your gigantic boobs in front of him all the time, making us look worse in comparison! And Pip is the most annoying monster I’ve ever met in my long life!” Kroanette stared at her with an open mouth and stunned silence as the witch tried not to break down, the little monster whimpering and shaking her head at the centaur with shaky breaths.

“Everything was perfect before you all insisted on coming along. I always worried you girls would get into Daniel’s head, that he might start to feel something more for you all, and I was right. I didn’t want what we had to change, I wanted it to last forever, it was how we were supposed to be. But now he feels something more for you all, like how he did with us, like how he was only supposed to feel with
us
. The only reason I’m alright with you all getting close to him now is because it might help him learn to use his magic more, your damned love actually helped bring out his power. If it wasn’t for that I would never have agreed to let you bitches come near him!”

The centaur watched her with a hurt expression and stunned silence then glanced to the side and jumped a bit. Alyssa slowly looked over and saw Pip hovering next to her, the fairy’s eye watering up while she held her hands close to her chest.

“Pip,” Alyssa said softly before the fairy shook her head then quickly flew away into the forest crying.

“Pip!” Kroanette called out. She started to run after the fairy before stopping and looking back to Alyssa with discontent. “What is so wrong with sharing him with us when you’re already doing so with three others? We’re not taking him away from any of you; we just don’t want to be without the one who means more to us than anything!”

She took off into the woods in search of Pip while Alyssa shut her eyes and lowered her head with a frustrated growl. The witch slumped back down onto the seat and threw her staff to the side, the relic striking into the dirt and sticking upright while she held her hands to her face and tried to steady her breathing. After a while she lowered her hands and glanced towards the woods where the centaur and fairy had disappeared.

“Nothing’s wrong with it,” Alyssa quietly said before looking down with worried eyes. “Even though there should be there isn’t. And that’s what I’m worried about.”

*****

After a slow trek with Falla and Luna holding onto him the entire way Daniel and the girls stood before the royal tree of Flairwood, with Daniel and Triska looking up with wonder at seeing the enormous timber towering above them. It reached high over the other trees in the village and seemed to have its own number of glowing lights that the grove had within it floating about around its leaves. There were a few balconies built into the trunk of the grand tree that stuck out with some branches here and there while around the base were large archways with flowers blossoming all around the entrances near the large roots that burrowed into the ground around it.

“Wow,” Triska softly said. “So this is your home, Complica?”

“Yeah I live here I’ve lived here my whole life it’s a big tree isn’t it I don’t know how it grew so big before but wow did it get big hey want to see my room you can its way up there can you see my window?” Complica said pointing up while hopping about on her toes. Triska peered around at the side of the tree before them, seeing a few extended terraces and windows amongst the large branches, then smiled weakly and nodded.