Chronicles of Eden - Act VIII (52 page)

“Thank you, Clover,” Daniel said, with the elf looking back over her shoulder to see Daniel smiling kindly at her while holding Specca.

“I don’t think any of this is worth thanking me for,” Clover pointed out shaking her head.

“You tried to make breakfast for us the best you could, gave Doku a much needed break, and you even saved the last fish for Specca. I think that’s worth thanking you for.”

Clover lowered her head as she felt she still fucked up royally with her efforts, a single nod being made to acknowledge his words yet doing nothing to hide she didn’t believe them. Daniel gently sent Specca off towards the table, with Triska guiding her to her seat as the nixie kept her saddened eyes on the last of the fish they had, then walked over and rested a hand on Clover’s shoulder. She slowly glanced back to him with a tear seen in her eye before she quickly wiped it away.

“Come join us,” he encouraged. “Let’s eat the meal you made for us together.”

He then began fixing up a plate with a salad and bread while the other girls watched him curiously, a calm smile on his face as he casually prepared the dish from what was spread out on the counter before his eyes took notice of the charred lumps on the cooking tray.

“I don’t think those made the cut,” he jested with a smirk.

“I don’t know if any of them did,” Clover admitted in remorse.

“I’ll split mine with you,” he offered, earning a surprised look from her. “It’s the least I can do.”

“What do you mean? You don’t need to share anything with me,” Clover reasoned shaking her head.

“I want to,” he insisted handing her the plate. “You’ve been through a lot this morning and tried very hard in here to cook for us, at least it sure looks like you tried hard in here. I want to say thank you for putting up with us this morning and doing so much.”

Clover looked to the dish in her hands then to Daniel in wonder as he motioned her over to the table. He walked over to it along with the other girls, all of them sitting down at their seats then watching as the elf remained motionless in the kitchen.

“It’s okay, Clover,” Daniel assured. “Please, come sit with us.”

After a pause Clover slowly made her way over to the table, sitting in front of Daniel and looking down at her meal in silence. Daniel chuckled and cut his mutton in half, a curious look coming over him for a moment before he smiled and handed half of it to Clover.

“See?” he said, with the elf glancing to the meat he was giving her. “It’s only burnt on the outside. The rest of it turned out okay.”

Taking hold of the mutton Clover eyed it in awe, seeing that only the outer part of the meat was charred while the inside was cooked properly.

“It’s okay,” she softly said.

“It may look rough on the outside,” Daniel reasoned with a shrug. “But what’s on the inside looks great to me.”

Clover blinked then slowly looked to Daniel, seeing him winking at her before he began eating the meal. The other girls watched him for a moment then started eating as well, all of them noticing that the food may not have looked too appealing before but it still tasted good.

“It’s not really that bad,” Kroanette admitted with a shrug.

“Indeed,” Doku complimented. “I think it’s quite delicious.”

Alyssa chewed the meat a few times with a murmur then shrugged and glanced to Clover.

“I guess you only burned part of it, that’s not so bad. Triska used to serve us worse before we met you.”

“Hey!” Triska shouted at her. “What do you mean I served worse? I never burned anything I made for you! Well okay, there was that one time, but still!”

“I’m right across the table from you,” Alyssa said shaking her head. “You don’t need to shout. And as for you serving us worse, remember your rabbit stew? Because I sure do.”

Specca and Squeak nodded while glancing to Triska, the teen growling and sitting back in her chair while muttering something to herself. As Triska poked at her food with a grimace Specca began eating one of the fish she had with a faint smile on her face.

“It tastes so good,” Specca softly praised. “Thank you for saving these, Clover.”

“Wow,” Luna gasped as she and Falla looked at their bread in surprise. The group saw them picking at their rolls as they seemed to notice something different about them before Luna pulled out a beetle from hers.

“There are bugs in these,” Falla marveled.

“What?” Alyssa exclaimed before coughing out a bite of bread she was eating.

“Bugs?” Daniel asked looking at his roll carefully. “There are bugs in them?”

“Oh lord, I just swallowed,” Kroanette groaned holding her throat with a disgusted face.

“Relax, it’s just in theirs,” Clover explained, with everyone looking to her in surprise as the elf glanced to the sisters. “I saw the jar you keep your snacks in and… thought I’d give your rolls a bit of flair.”

“You put these bugs into our bread yourself?” Falla wondered.

Clover nodded in silence, with the butterfly sisters looking at their unique bread in awe as they saw a few beetles had been pushed into the rolls. Falla slowly lowered her bread with remorse then smiled a bit at the elf.

“Thank you. I… I am sorry about-”

“Don’t want to talk about it,” Clover quickly interrupted shaking her head. “Ever. Just don’t bring it up and neither will I.”

Falla nodded and looked to the tasty roll she had with a gentle smile while Luna began savagely devouring hers with maniacal laughter and wide eyes. Clover then glanced to Alyssa, the witch returning the look while chewing her mutton.

“Trust me, I’ll never speak about this morning again,” Alyssa promised, with Clover nodding in agreement to that.

“My my,” Daniel commented. “Preparing Specca’s fish the way she likes it and adding Luna and Falla’s favorite snacks to their breakfast. That was really kind of you to do that for them, Clover.”

“Yeah yeah,” Clover sighed lowering her head. “I tried to be creative with this but… that was as much as I could come up with. I’m just not much of a cook.”

“I can teach you,” Doku offered, with Clover glancing to her curiously. “I don’t mind at all. If you really wish to learn how to cook, for whatever the reason, I’ll be glad to help you.”

Clover slowly nodded and looked down to the slice of mutton she had in her hand, carefully tilting it around as if examining the outcome of her cooking attempt while deep in thought about something that was poking into her mind. Her eyes then caught sight of Pip fluttering near her, the fairy watching her with a curious smile and shimmering specks of light dropping behind her. Clover eyed the fairy for a moment then smiled a bit and looked back down to her meal.

“I’ll feed you after we eat, okay?”

“Really?” Pip eagerly asked, with everyone watching Clover in wonder as she nodded while just staring at her food.

“I offered to make breakfast for you all, and that includes you,” Clover reasoned with a quick glance and smirk at the fairy.

“Yay! Thank you!” Pip cheered before quickly flying forward and hugging the elf’s chest. “I love you, Clover, even though your boobies are really small!”

“You could have left it at thank you,” Clover flatly replied.

“Why are you being so nice?” Triska asked. Clover glanced to her as the teen was watching her with a puzzled expression. “Seriously, where is all this coming from?”

“I must admit I’m a bit surprised too,” Kroanette added. “What’s come over you, Clover?”

Clover slowly looked around at seeing everyone staring at her, with Alyssa raising an eyebrow in question while taking a drink, Luna showing the elf a deranged smile with a twitching eye, Falla taking a bite out of her insect roll with a curious look, Daniel eating part of his mutton while watching Clover interestedly, Triska showing a cautious expression as she eyed over the elf, Kroanette chewing her salad and waiting for an explanation, Doku smiling kindly at the elf while knowing exactly what had come over her, Squeak sitting sideways on her chair while watching her with curiosity and lightly twitching antennae, and Pip who fluttered off her chest and landed down on the table in front of her with a tiny giggle.

After a long silence Clover shrugged and took a bite out of her mutton, eyes turning back to Daniel as she seemed to lock into a stare with him while chewing her food. His words echoed in her head, renewing her hopes of being seen in his eyes as more than just a traveling companion.

“What’s the big deal?” she asked before swallowing and showing a faint smile on her face. “After all, I just look rough on the outside.”

In the world of Eden it was often required to stand and fight for those who were important or loved. Defending them from a dangerous enemy, protecting them from any peril that drew near, shielding them from harm no matter how difficult or dangerous it would be. To lose those who were so precious would be a fate worse than death, and the mere thought of being separated from them would give even the most gentlest of cats the will to fight like ferocious lions. It didn’t matter if those they were caring for were good souls or not, if they were right or wrong, or even if they had done great or evil things in their time. As long as they shared a close bond, a loving connection, that was all that was needed.

Love could give anyone the strength to fight against anything.

*****

“Star,” a woman called out playfully.

Inside a large mansion a jinx was mewing happily to the rhythmic ticking of an elegant grandfather clock, the finely crafted timepiece standing at the end of the entryway foyer while a plush red carpet was laid out leading towards the double doors of the estate. Candlelit lamps adoring the walls and overhanging chandeliers with dozens of softly burning tapers illuminated the gothic architecture of the stylish manor while moonlight from the sky came in through a few stein glass windowpanes in the angled ceiling high above the floor.

Sitting on the soft carpet that she lightly padded with her hands Star watched the swinging pendulum swaying gently inside the clock, her twin tails swaying about behind her while she was dressed in a fine silk blouse with her skirt neatly resting down over her thighs without a single tear.

“Star.”

The jinx kept her eyes on the timepiece, following its movements constantly while she cocked her head side to side in sync with each gentle tick that echoed out from the clock.

“Star.”

She was happy as she mewed to the beat of the clock, not a single concern being in her head as she enjoyed another peaceful day inside her home.

“Star.”

After one more swing the pendulum then came to a stop, the clock becoming still and quiet as everything fell silent in the hall. Star mewed curiously as she saw the weight had stopped, something that had never happened before and puzzled her. She moved closer to the clock and meowed again, waiting for it to start moving again which it didn’t. Slowly she held out a finger and hesitated for a moment before tapping the glass, which caused it and the entire grandfather clock to crack apart with a loud snap. Quickly looking behind her with fright Star meowed loudly before everything flashed to white, the sound of the woman’s voice sounding off again as a hazy echo while the world faded away around her.

“Star…”

“Star?” Daniel asked, seeing the jinx looking down with a saddened frown as she sat before him. Standing in front of the cat in the main court Daniel scratched his head as the girl appeared to be lost in thought about something and didn’t hear him saying her name a few times.

“Star? Are you listening?”

Star blinked then looked up at him with a curious mew.

“I said it was very rude of you to eat all the fish like you did, especially since they’re Specca’s favorite,” Daniel lectured crossing his arms. “If you’re hungry we’ll gladly get you something to eat, but don’t just eat everything you can find in our home. Alright?”

Star slowly nodded and lowered her head with a single meow. She then jumped a bit as Daniel pet her head, her eyes quickly looking up to seeing him smiling kindly at her.

“I’m proud of you, Star,” he said, with Star mewing quietly in response. “You demonstrated self-control this morning and didn’t try anything bad with me. You surprised me, but mostly you amazed me. I’m really glad to see this side of you.”

Star meowed with a bright smile while quickly reaching out and grabbing hold of his crotch using both hands, his smile slowly fading as the jinx mewed at him with gently swaying tails.

“Star, self-control, remember?” he dryly reminded her.

The jinx looked to what she was cupping in her hands then glanced to the side, seeing the other girls standing together while staring at her in silence. Luna had a curious expression on her face, Doku was slowly shaking her head with a frown, and the other girls were showing anger in their eyes as they glared at the cat who was fondling Daniel in front of them. Only Clover and Pip weren’t present as all fell silent in the hall except for the gentle ticking of the grandfather clock. Star blinked then slowly lowered her hands with a nervous smile at the girls before Daniel chuckled and pet her head some more.

“Just try to keep in control of yourself, Star,” he encouraged. The cat looked up to him with a curious mew as he winked at her. “I have faith that you can do it, just as I had faith that there was a kindhearted girl inside you.”

Star watched him with eyes of wonder as Daniel smiled at her before he headed over towards the other girls with hands held up defensively and words of reassurance that everything was fine in order to keep them all from charging the cat. While he tried to calm down the girls Star turned her head to the grandfather clock next to her, watching the swinging pendulum and hearing the rhythmic ticking that became pronounced in her ears. She turned to face the clock as she sat before it, the sight and sound of the timepiece once again drawing her into a memory that she always became lost in.

“She grabbed you,” Specca growled in discontent.

“It was done on reflex,” Daniel reasoned with a weak smile. “Star just got a little excited. But she let go, all on her own. She’s learning to control herself. It’s alright.”