Chronicles of Eden - Act V (8 page)

“Two days?” Pip whined.

“Yes, two days,” Falla repeated while crossing her arms and looking up with a dull gaze. “Of course we would have been there sooner if they weren’t stopping all the time to fuck their man.”

“Falla,” Triska, Specca, and Alyssa snapped at her along with a stern squeak from Squeak. Falla looked around at them then smiled nervously and held up her hands again.

“I mean, make love,” she shakily corrected.

“If we got there today would that make Daniel happy?” Pip asked.

Everyone looked to her with puzzlement as she hovered in place and glanced around at them.

“Huh?” Triska unsurely replied.

“It’s impossible for us to reach Flairwood today,” Specca said shaking her head. “There is no way to travel that far that fast.”

“Would it make Daniel happy?” Pip asked again. “Would it? Tell me!”

“Yeah, I’m sure he’d be ecstatic to get there in one day,” Alyssa mocked with a raised eyebrow. “Of course that’s not going to happen. There’s as much a chance as us just magically arriving at Flairwood today as there is with you becoming Daniel’s mate, Pip. And that chance is zero.”

“Where’s Flairwood?” Pip asked quickly. “Show me a map! Show me a map! Show me a map!”

“What are you going on about this time?” Triska asked tiredly.

Pip quickly flew over and got in front of her face, with Triska stepping back as the fairy showed a stubborn scowl at her.

“Show me a
map
!” Pip shouted out. As she did the air around her glowed with a golden light briefly, with the group glancing to each other then back to the fairy with caution now.

“Um… Specca?” Triska asked looking to the nixie with a weak smile. “Do you have the map with you? I think she really wants to see it.”

“Okay, just hold on,” Specca said holding a hand out towards Pip to settle her down. She carefully got out the map of the area and laid it out on the table, with Pip flying over and looking down at it with a sharp eye.

“Where’s Flairwood?” Pip asked again.

“Right here,” Specca answered pointing to the village marker on the chart, and then moved her finger over to another part of the map. “And that’s where we are. So as you can see there is no feasible way for us to-” Before she could finish Pip raced out of the cabin in a blue blur, the group then looking over to the curtain as it wavered around from something having passed through it.

“-get there today,” Specca finished.

“What has gotten into her?” Alyssa said shaking her head.

“I blame Luna,” Triska growled while turning to the butterfly girl, the others doing the same as Luna pointed to herself curiously.

“Me?” she asked worriedly. “What did I do? Oh no, did I not explain our mission correctly to her? Did I say it wrong?”

“I’m going to kill you,” Triska flatly stated. “I’m going to do it and everyone will understand why I had to do it.”

Outside the cabin Daniel was staring with surprise as Pip had suddenly raced over in front of his face and was holding a hand out towards him as she hovered in place.

“Stop!” she cried out. “You have to stop right now! There’s no time to lose!”

“Pip?” Daniel exclaimed as he leaned back in the seat.

“What are you talking about?” Kroanette demanded as she ran alongside the caravan. “We most certainly will not stop right now. We’ve stopped enough for today.”

“Please!” Pip begged loudly. “I have to help you, let me help you! Pretty please!”

“Pip, stop it,” Daniel said as he tried to wave the fairy away, the tiny monster then flying around in front of his face while pleading for him to stop. “Knock it off, Pip! Quit it, I can’t see where I’m going! Alright, alright! I’m pulling over, just stop already!”

Kroanette growled loudly as Daniel snapped the reins and steered Lucky over to the side of the road onto a small grassy clearing. Pip flew around in front of Daniel then quickly looked all over the area in haste as Triska and Alyssa poked their heads out from the entryway.

“What are we stopping for?” Triska asked.

“Pip, what are you doing now?” Alyssa yelled out.

“This one is seriously testing my nerves,” Kroanette warned as she grabbed her whip and snapped it at her side.

“Pip, what is this about?” Daniel asked with a groan.

Pip looked around quickly then flew over in front of Daniel’s face, leaning really close towards him while holding her hands together in a pleading manner.

“If I help you reach Flairwood today will you promise to take care of me?” she desperately beseeched.

“What?” Daniel asked bewilderedly.

“What in Eden is she talking about?” Kroanette grunted.

“Please, Daniel!” Pip cried out before clinging to his chest. “Promise you won’t let me be alone! Promise you’ll take care of me! Promise you won’t let the fairies go away forever!”

Daniel stared at her with confusion then looked to the girls with a raised eyebrow. Triska sighed and hung her head low while shaking it slowly, Alyssa growled while pulling her hat down over her face, and Kroanette crossed her arms impatiently while tapping her rear hoof on the dirt.

“Pip,” Daniel sighed as he looked back to her and tried to show compassion for the fairy. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you or what you’re talking about, but you have to calm down. Whatever is bothering you, know that we’ll try to help if we can, alright?”

“Does that mean you promise?” Pip asked looking to him with watery eyes. “Please? Don’t let me be alone in the world.”

“Pip, you’re not alone in the world. We’re here with you.”

“I’ll take that as you promise,” Pip whimpered with a smile on her face. “Just remember you promised me.”

The fairy quickly flew up and examined the caravan carefully then started flying in circles around the wagon at high speed, the blue trails of light winding around while the shimmering specks from the fairy’s flight trailed behind her. Daniel and the girls looked around with confusion as Pip flew faster and faster around the ride before a large casting circle appeared on the grass below them, the brightly glowing blue and golden lights shining up while the unique markers of the fairy’s magic appeared in several intertwining rings within the circle.

“Wait, Pip? What are you doing?” Daniel called out.

“What’s going on?” Triska nervously asked.

“Whatever you’re doing, Pip, stop it right now!” Alyssa yelled out.

“What manner of magic is this?” Kroanette questioned while keeping on guard.

“I am helping!” Pip cheered out as she rapidly flew around the caravan. “I am helping! I am helping!”

“What the hell are you doing?” Triska shouted out.

“Helping!” Pip called out before the blue trial of light streaked down and landed in the casting ring, the bright lights then flashing with a blinding flare. Everyone shielded their eyes as the ground below them lit up like a star, followed by a gust of wind quickly blowing through the area.

“What’s happening?” Kroanette shouted as she stumbled to the side while holding her arms across her eyes. After a while she slowly lowered them and opened her eyes, seeing that the entire caravan and Lucky were now gone.

“Wha… what… what the hell?” she cried out looking around with shock. There was no sign of Daniel or the girls anywhere while where the caravan once stood was now an empty road with a very confused centaur standing in the middle of it.

“Hey! Where did you all go? Daniel? Triska? Anyone?”

Kroanette scampered around in circles in a panic, frantically searching the surrounding area for her friends yet finding she was all alone.

“WAAAH! Where are you guys?”

*****

Daniel shielded his eyes with his arm as the blinding flash lit up everything around him. He felt the caravan jerk to the side abruptly before Lucky started neighing in front of him.

“
Ah
! Pip!” Alyssa shouted out while covering her eyes as well. “What did you do?”

Slowly the bright light faded away, with Daniel and the girls carefully peeking around before opening their eyes to seeing they were surrounded by lush trees that weren’t there before. Lucky was bucking around and whinnying as his hooves scampered in the soft dirt, the road they were on seeming different while instead of being near some woodlands and hills they appeared to be in a dense forest. Below the caravan a scorch mark was burned in the shape and design of Pip’s large casting circle, small traces of red and golden light shimmering from it briefly before fading away.

“Wha… where are we?” Triska asked.

“What happened out there?” Specca asked from inside the caravan.

“Um… you’d better take a look at this,” Daniel said as he, Triska, and Alyssa hopped off the ride, all of them looking around with wonder while a few birds flew out from the trees above.

“This seems strange,” Alyssa commented while carefully glancing around.

“This isn’t the path we were on,” Triska cautioned while slowly pointing around. “This… isn’t even the same woods we were in.”

From the cabin Specca and Squeak came out from the entryway, both of them halting then looking around quickly as they noticed the drastic change in scenery.

“What in Eden?” Specca asked while quickly rubbing her eyes before shakily adjusting her glasses.

Squeak showed a confused expression and squeaked a few times as she noticed all the large and healthy trees growing on either side of the path.

“What just happened?” Alyssa asked.

“I’m not sure,” Daniel said scratching his head. “Pip? Pip, where are you?”

The girls looked around and saw no sign of the fairy while Specca and Squeak hopped off the ride, all of them then taking notice of the large burn mark under their caravan.

“Um… is this good? Or bad?” Triska carefully asked.

“That’s the spell Pip used just now,” Alyssa clarified. “It scorched the ground in doing so. Only extremely powerful spells actually brand their casting diagrams during use.”

“So… good or bad?” Triska asked again.

“Where are we though?” Specca asked looking around. “And where’s Kroanette?”

“Kroanette?” Daniel asked looking around. “Kroanette! Are you out there?”

“She’s not here, Daniel,” Alyssa cautioned, with everyone looking to her curiously while Luna and Falla poked their heads out of the cabin with curiosity. “She had her enchanted refraction bracelets on, remember? The spell Pip used couldn’t touch her. She didn’t come along for the ride.”

“Come along for the ride?” Triska asked. “I still don’t understand, what just happened? Where are we?”

“Falla,” Luna gasped with her hands over her mouth.

The group looked to seeing the butterfly girl leaning over the edge of the front seat and looking behind the caravan while Falla fluttered up to the roof and landed on it, staring with wonder at the same thing her sister was.

“It can’t be…” Falla softly said.

Everyone slowly walked towards the back of the caravan as Luna and Falla fluttered over and landed down next to them, all eyes witnessing with awe at seeing the path leading away down a hill in the forest towards a large enclave surrounded by giant overarching trees. Sunlight managed to pierce through some of the grand trees and branches, shining down into the grove revealing dozens of smaller trees grouped close together that had green vines strung up between them. Specks of yellow and green light floated around inside the vale while a flock of birds took flight from the top of the tallest trees above the shrouded grove.

“Is that…” Specca asked in wonder.

“Flairwood,” Falla said with a warm smile.

“Home,” Luna added with a few tears of joy forming in her eyes.

“I don’t believe it,” Triska softly said with awe.

“But how did we get here?” Specca asked shaking her head. “Flairwood was two days away from us. How did we get here in two
seconds
?”

“Pip,” Daniel replied softly, the group looking to him then back to the caravan as he quickly ran over to it and searched for the missing fairy. “Pip? Pip, are you here? Pip!”

“How did she do this?” Triska asked with disbelief.

“That spell she cast,” Alyssa said looking down to the burned marking under the caravan. “She… she just teleported all of us with her magic.”

“Pip, where are you?” Daniel called out as he walked around the front of the caravan, with Lucky finally calming down and grunting as he shook his head slowly.

“How could she teleport all of us like that?” Triska asked. “Could you have done that, Alyssa?”

“I can only open a gateway back to my home in Ritherwood,” Alyssa replied shaking her head. “And it’s really hard to do so with a loaded wagon, and even harder to do the further away from Ritherwood I am. But I can’t just go anywhere I want in the world like that. I can only go home and then back to wherever I left from, that’s the only teleportation spell I know.”

“So then how did Pip just take us all the way here to Flairwood, caravan and all, without having known where it was before looking at a map?”

“Look at the ground!” Alyssa shouted at her. “Her magic
burned
the ground with its casting ring! That means its way more powerful than what my teleportation spell can do! None of my magic creates a ring that scorches the ground, and my magic is used to control fire!”

“Her power is greater than Alyssa’s,” Specca explained. “I had no idea fairies possessed such magic. It was one thing to throw Falla into the air before, but this… this is simply incredible.”

“Where is Pip anyway?” Luna asked looking around curiously. “And where is Kroanette? Where did they go?”

“Pip!” Daniel exclaimed, the group then looking to him as he knelt down and held his hand over something on the ground with wonder.

“Daniel? Did you find her?” Triska called out before all the girls rushed over to him. As they did they saw Pip lying on the dirt before Daniel, seeming to be unconscious while her wing twitched slightly.

“Pip? Is she okay?” Specca said worriedly.

Daniel slowly picked Pip up in his hands before standing again, him and all the girls watching as the fairy groaned quietly before peeking to him with a tired eye.

“Pip?” he gently asked. “What did you just do?”