Chronicles of Eden - Act 2 (95 page)

“I wish to speak to a grand ruler of a monster race such as yourself, and will not be scared or chased away from doing so by anything. Please, my grace, I traveled all this way to see you, I stand before you unarmed with no intention to start a fight, all I want is a moment of your time,” Daniel requested with a humble bow. Charlotte drummed her fingers on her thigh for a moment before she started walking towards the boy.

“Alright, this bothersome issue is going to end tonight,” she said before she snapped her fingers, the sound being heard like a deafening clap as Astreal’s swords shattered into a sparkly dust. Astreal jumped and watched with surprise at the sight of her magical blades being dissolved as Charlotte waved her wand to the side, causing the broken bits and chunks of the court to slide and roll back into place while the pieces of the metal poles were thrown off to the side and out of the way.

“You are by far the most annoyingly persistent human I have ever seen. I’m not sure if I respect or despise that about you, I just can’t tell. Still, you at least have the
decency
to address me properly, although that’s not enough to forgive you for disregarding my orders which were crystal clear. Now then, seeing as how you just won’t shut up and leave me alone, and I’m already standing here along with the entire village, let’s just get this over with, shall we?” she stated dryly before stopping in front of him. Daniel watched her carefully as she gave a gentle wave of the hand for him to speak.

“So then, Daniel, I’m listening. Go ahead, speak to me, speak to all my sisters, speak loudly so those in back can hear you as well,” she mocked before resting her hand at her hip with a cold glare at him.

“Speak, and make your words count, because once you’re done talking, I’m going to kill you right where you stand.”

In the world of Eden, sometimes the odds just weren’t in the favor of those faced with dire and incredibly difficult situations. The will to stand and fight could be there, the desire to push forward and succeed burning ever brighter, and yet even then it was possible to be faced with failure in the end, if only because realistically the chances of success were almost non-existent. In times such as these, all one can really do is try with all their might to win, to give it their all and pray that it will be just enough. Although often the outcome is to suffer defeat when faced with overwhelming odds, to be pushed aside and ignored when one voice alone wasn’t enough, sometimes an opportunity to seize victory would present itself. If one was fortunate enough, there may just be a path to succeed against all odds, a path that would be laid out right before them in plain sight.

However, that didn’t always mean that it would be an easy path to take.

*****

Silence filled the plaza as Daniel stood before Charlotte, the alpha watching him with a cold look in her eyes while surrounding them the witches of the village kept watch on the human that their alpha was allowing to speak. Kroanette glanced around to seeing all the little monsters keeping a sharp eye on Daniel, the centaur knowing that if he did not choose his words carefully there would be no escaping this situation. Charlotte casually glanced to her wand as she flicked it gently at her side before her eyes returned to watching Daniel with a piercing stare.

“I’m waiting,” she said expectantly. Daniel nodded slowly as he kept his eyes on the alpha, knowing that whatever he said now would either bring about the end of his journey and his life or possibly allow him to see another day with the girls. After taking a quiet breath he slowly kneeled down on one knee to face the witch, watching as she kept her eyes on him with hardly any interest.

“I realize that you have no reason to think that humans and monsters can live together peacefully, let alone humans with witches. Man has killed many witches in the past just as your kind has killed ours, the idea of us living together isn’t something that would have crossed any witch’s mind, let alone yours,” he started, speaking loudly enough to reach those that were listening nearby. Charlotte merely watched him without moving or saying a word, with Daniel then glancing around to seeing all the witches watching him in silence.

“You are an alpha witch, one of the strongest witches of your kind, and a leader over those in your region, such as them. You want what is best for your people, to lead them, to guide them, to protect them. They respect and look up to you because they know you will do what is right for them, as a fair and just ruler, am I correct?” he stated as he turned back to Charlotte. The alpha witch merely gave a single nod while remaining silent; with Daniel then smiling a little as he saw the witch was at least listening to his words.

“Nobody, not even a Darker One can tell you what to do, my grace, for we both know that your title of being an alpha isn’t misplaced. I saw you ward off a succubus like it was nothing, I’ve felt the raw magical power you possess and seen what you can do with it merely to toy and provoke those around you, I have no delusions in believing anything other than you can handle yourself just fine in this world,” he complimented, which still got no reaction from the alpha. Daniel breathed out quietly then slowly gestured around to the witches surrounding them.

“But what about them?” he asked. Charlotte merely glanced around to the witches briefly before looking back to him with a raised eyebrow, with Daniel then shaking his head slowly with a worried smile.

“How many witches live in this village under your watch?” Daniel questioned.

“68,” Charlotte replied.

“And how many are in this region that recognize you as their alpha?” Daniel asked.

“289,” Charlotte answered. Daniel nodded then showed a troubled frown.

“How many of them can you protect on your own, on this very night?” he asked. Charlotte just watched him silence, with Daniel then shaking his head a little.

“Those that are before you are safe from harm, after all you are certainly not to be angered let alone challenged in terms of power here in your own village. But those that are further away, those that may be under your watch with magic are still too far to be helped by you personally, who can they turn to in their hour of need?” Daniel asked.

“If you have a point you’re building up to, please hurry and get to it now,” Charlotte scoffed while crossing her arms. Daniel stood up and looked around at all the witches as they were watching the boy with bored or dull stares.

“My point is that witches don’t have anyone to turn to but their alphas in their time of need, do they?” he reasoned with a shrug. He started walking towards the crowd; with all eyes following him as he walked up to the witches then started pacing to the side along the edge of the gathering of little monsters.

“Here in Rystone they’re safe, after all they have an alpha watching them. But what about when they leave this village, or even still, what about those who are further away from here as we speak? Witches out in the region, all on their own, and not exactly treated kindly by both humans and monsters they come across, what are they to do when they run into trouble and have nowhere to seek help?” he asked.

“What makes you think we need anyone’s help?” a witch near him snapped with discontent. Daniel stopped and glanced to her as the girl stepped forth and tapped her staff on the ground a few times, with strange blue streaks of light twirling up from the impact briefly.

“Do you think we’re helpless or something? Ha! I wouldn’t run from anything out in the outerlands, I would show them what happens when they mess with a witch should they even look at me funny!” she declared, with the witches around cheering out in agreement. Daniel nodded and knelt down in front of the girl with a calm smile on his face.

“I take it you’re skilled in your art of magic, aren’t you?” he asked.

“Of course I am,” the witch boasted arrogantly.

“A human such as myself would pose no problem to you at all, would he?” Daniel mused with a smirk.

“I don’t know, a human like you likely couldn’t give me very strong children, and that is a problem,” the witch quipped, getting a round of laughter from the crowd while Kroanette just continued to watch Daniel with worried eyes. The boy chuckled and nodded a bit as he looked down and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Yeah, I know, I’m not very intimidating am I?” he replied.

“Hardly, I mean you have no muscle, no weapons, nothing at all. What reason would anyone have to fear you?” the witch mocked. Daniel nodded slowly then glanced to seeing the witch having a bright green gemstone adorning a silver necklace over her neck, the trinket being the only piece of jewelry she had on.

“You want to know what reason you would have to fear me?” Daniel asked plainly. The witch giggled and leaned closer to him with a smug grin.

“What?” she sneered. Daniel then swiped the girl’s necklace from her neck, the witch gasping and holding a hand to her chest as Daniel stood up and held the relic up in the air.

“What if I do this?” Daniel asked casually.

“You… give that back!” the witch yelled out with anger.

“Make me,” Daniel said with a smirk. The witch fumed with rage then swung her staff at him, the boy catching it and holding it there while watching the girl amusedly.

“What’s wrong, you were so confident a moment ago, what happened?” he mused playfully.

“You jerk, give that back! That’s mine!” the girl yelled out. Daniel shook his head then knelt down to face the witch, the girl watching him with frustration while the witches nearby were glaring at the boy.

“You see?” he asked gently. The witch looked at him curiously as he slowly held the necklace out to her.

“What happens if you lose your focuser? Or if somebody takes it? Or even worse, what if your magical reserves are low, too low to cast a spell?” he asked. The witch looked to the necklace then slowly rested a hand on it, with Daniel letting go of her staff before he took the necklace and reattached it around the girl’s neck for her.

“If you lose that, you’re just another little girl in Eden. Powerless, defenseless, and alone,” he reminded kindly. The witch looked down to her gemstone then to him with wonder.

“How did you…” she asked softly.

“If you’re referring to how I knew that was your focuser, it wasn’t hard to guess, it was the only obvious piece of jewelry you had on that could have come from Witch’s Mountain,” Daniel pointed out in jest. He then stood up and smiled gently down at the witch.

“If you’re talking about how I knew that was your weak point, everyone in Eden knows that. Humans or monsters, very few don’t know that if you take a witch’s focuser from them they can’t cast magic then,” he finished. The witch looked at her necklace curiously then back to him as he turned and started walking over toward Charlotte again.

“Every witch, even an alpha, needs a focuser to use magic. Every witch, even an alpha, has a finite amount of magic they can use without having to rest. And every witch, even an alpha, is considered to be untrustworthy, sneaky, dangerous, lustful, and nothing but a monster in this world,” he announced, glancing around to all the witches before turning to Charlotte with concern.

“Every witch, my grace, has nobody to help them when they are hurt, lost, stranded, or in danger. Every witch, in Eden, is alone,” he finished.

“What are you getting at?” she inquired.

“You don’t have to be alone, no witch in Eden has to be treated like a nameless monster, to be hunted down and killed in the wild, to be known for being the troublemakers of the world. My grace, we don’t have to be enemies with each other, and there is much we could gain from living together in peace,” he implored.

“What in the world is this human talking about?” a witch called out.

“Yeah, who is he, my grace?” another asked with confusion. Charlotte slowly walked around Daniel while watching him with a cold stare, the boy remaining still as he watched her circling around him.

“This human, isn’t like the others in this world, I can assure you of that. He’s far stupider, weaker, and generally crazier than your average human. For you see, this human here, who goes by the name of
Daniel
, thinks witches and humans can live together in peace, that we can all coexist happily with each other!” she called out with a bite. The witches around the plaza started laughing and looking at Daniel with amused smiles while Kroanette continued to watch Daniel curiously.

“Live together in peace? What madness is this?” a witch called out, with Charlotte waving to her with a smug grin at Daniel.

“Looks like he got a
baaaad
potion from somebody, wasn’t from me though!” another witch called out with a laugh, with Charlotte waving to her expectedly while keeping her eyes on Daniel.

“Is that why he’s here, to talk about us living together? Send him over to my home, he can live with me then!” another laughed, with Charlotte chuckling in amusement while eyeing over Daniel as he kept a solemn expression on his face.

“Don’t send him to mine, I don’t want the seed of a madman, my daughters would be fucked up for sure!” another called out with a laugh, with Charlotte nodding in agreement before she turned around in a graceful spin to look at the crowd that surrounded her with an amused smile.

“Maybe he’s right though, what if humans take
all
our focusers away from us? Oh no! We’ll be helpless!” she called out while feigning fright, getting the crowd to burst out laughing. Charlotte stopped her spin and graciously bowed to Daniel with a mocking smile at him.

“Oh please, Daniel, don’t let us die! We need you to save us!” she sneered, with Apoch and Astreal falling to the ground laughing as they held their sides.

“Ok, this isn’t going well,” Kroanette commented to herself as she watched all the witches laughing at Daniel. The boy slowly glanced around to seeing all of the monsters laughing and pointing at him then looked to Charlotte as the alpha stood up while watching him with an amused smile.