Chronicles of Eden - Act VIII (8 page)

“You don’t have to apologize, Alyssa. I know you’re hurting still. We all do. And we’re here for you. We just wish we could do more to help you.”

“You already are,” Alyssa gently sighed as she held onto him. “I know I’ve been distant from everyone these past few days. I don’t mean to bring you all down like this, and I’m sorry for that.”

“We understand what you’re going through. Take all the time you need to recover from your ordeal. Just know that I’ll do anything to make you feel better.”

“We’ll do anything to make you feel better,” Triska corrected.

Alyssa looked over across Daniel’s chest to see the girls gathered near them, with Falla and Luna running over behind them before Falla tackled her sister and swiped the bag of insects from her. The sisters then turned to Alyssa and smiled weakly while Pip flew around them laughing playfully still.

“We’re here for you, Alyssa,” Kroanette promised. “We’re family after all.”

“You have our support,” Specca assured her. “However you need it.”

Squeak nodded and squeaked something with a warm smile on her face.

Daniel smiled at his mates as they voiced their care for Alyssa then noticed Clover merely watching the witch with a blank expression. The elf shrugged and lowered her head while keeping her bow and quiver close to her.

“You’re pretty tough,” Clover admitted. “Losing your daughter and keeping your composure like this. If I lost my kid I’d be a real nightmare to be around for a long time.”

“And to think she’s such a ray of sunshine now,” Falla dryly mentioned as she and her sister walked over to the group. She then turned to Alyssa and shrugged with a small smile. “But she’s right. You’re pretty strong-willed to keep going like this. I don’t know how you do it.”

“You haven’t even been crying,” Luna added curiously. “I’d be bawling my eyes out for weeks at least if I lost my daughter, but you’ve been keeping it all in.”

“Are you going to be okay, Alyssa?” Pip worriedly asked as she fluttered over in front of the witch.

“I’ll be fine,” Alyssa assured, holding out a hand for the fairy to touch down on. “I’ve been crying on the inside these past few days, I’ve been dealing with the pain just like I did the first time I lost Ember. No, not like the first time. This time it was different.”

“It hurt you in a quiet way,” Daniel sympathized.

“Part of me felt like I lost my baby again, and the other part… felt like I only lost a memory of her. The witch who tried to kill me, the one who hurt all of you, she was my daughter. And at the same time… she wasn’t the same baby girl I remembered.”

“We’ll help you get through this,” Daniel promised, gently resting a hand on her shoulder. “If there’s anything we can do, you let us know.”

Alyssa slowly breathed out as she lifted Pip into the air, the tiny fairy fluttering off her hand before the witch covered her face and took a few calming breaths. After a moment she quickly hopped over onto Daniel’s lap and kissed him, catching him by surprise for a moment before he held her close with his mates smiling at seeing the two together. When the kiss ended Alyssa rocked her head back and sighed before gently brushing Daniel’s hair and showing a familiar coy look on her face.

“There is something you can do,” she mentioned with a twitch of her eyebrow. “It’s been so long now, I’m not sure I can wait any longer. I’m starving on the inside.”

“Doku’s making lunch right now,” Luna said with a shrug. “You can eat with all of us in a little bit.”

“I don’t mean I’m hungry for food. My inner nature is getting a little anxious. It’s been so long since I felt that fire inside of me, and I think I could really use it now to help me feel better.”

“Really now?” Daniel mused with a smirk. “Well I was respecting your feelings and giving you your space, Alyssa. But if you think I need to keep you closer again then I suppose I have no choice.”

“I’ll feel a lot better again with your love,” Alyssa purred, then glanced to the other girls. “All of your love.”

“I think we can arrange that,” Triska chuckled crossing her arms.

“After lunch we’ll spend some quality time together,” Specca proposed with a wink.

Squeak squeaked something with a sultry smile at Alyssa along with blowing her a kiss.

“I’ll be in the bathing room with earplugs in and a washcloth other my eyes,” Clover muttered looking away from them.

Alyssa gave the elf a dull glance then turned her focus to Kroanette as the centaur was watching Pip who was now wedged in between her breasts with her legs kicking about above the girl’s cleavage.

“
All
of your love,” Alyssa repeated.

Kroanette turned to her with a curious expression before slowly showing surprise. Alyssa nodded and glanced over to the butterfly sisters who were watching her in wonder.

“When you say all of us…” Falla slowly questioned.

“I mean all of Daniel’s mates,” Alyssa answered. “All of my co-mates. Or if that’s not specific enough, everyone but Clover and Doku.”

“Oh darn,” Clover dryly retorted. “I didn’t make the cut. My life sucks ass.”

“Us too?” Falla asked with an eager smile. “Really? We can… join you this time?”

“We can have sex with Daniel now?” Luna said hopping up and down.

“Well, that is up to him,” Alyssa warned with a careful eye at Daniel. “I mean you can’t force yourselves on him, he has to choose to take you to bed. What do you say, Daniel?”

“Hmm,” Daniel hummed while looking up at the sky. “That is a big decision. Girls, what do you think I should do?”

“I say they can join us,” Specca voted with a coy smile at Luna. “I hear giant butterflies taste delicious between their legs.”

Squeak nodded and squeaked something at Falla with the same look, causing the sisters to smile bashfully to that and blush while their wings fluttered behind them.

“What the hell,” Triska mused with a smirk at Kroanette. “I’ve already made love to monsters with you, Daniel. A few more won’t hurt.”

“I’m really worried about you, Triska,”
Kitten sighed in her mind.

Kroanette lowered her head with a timid smile and a hand held over her chest from those words while Pip popped out of her bosom and fluttered in the air.

“What about me? Can I play too?”

“You’re his mate too, Pip,” Alyssa reminded her.

“Yay!” Pip cheered with a hop. She flew at Daniel in a blue blur, then before reaching him turned around instantly and shot over into Triska’s shirt. “Boobies! Yay! Hee hee!”

“Pip?” Triska asked with a weak smile. “Don’t you love Daniel too? Now would be a good time to show that you care about him.”

There was a pause before Pip shot out of the teen’s shirt and raced over to Daniel, quickly hugging his chest and fluttering her wings.

“Daniel! Yay! Hee hee!”

Daniel laughed at his tiny mate as she smiled brightly up at him then looked around at seeing Kroanette and the butterfly sisters smiling hopefully at him.

“I suppose I do need to express my love for all my mates. They are my responsibility after all.”

The three girls jumped in excitement while Alyssa held onto Daniel’s arm and nuzzled against him along with Pip. Specca and Squeak walked over to Triska’s sides and watched the butterfly sisters hopping about with amused smiles while Kroanette trotted over near the carriage to take hold of Daniel’s hand. He held hers and winked at the centaur before seeing Clover just standing still with her head lowered, her cowl hiding her face while her frown was seen under it.

“Clover?” Daniel asked. The elf slowly glanced up to him as he let go of Alyssa and hopped down next to her. The other girls quieted down and watched as he gently rested a hand on her shoulder.

“Clover, it’s going to be okay. Just put what happened back there behind you.”

“You still haven’t clarified what happened to her,” Kroanette mentioned. “You said something was amiss with the locals?”

“What was so bad about them?” Alyssa wondered as she jumped down next to them.

“What did you see out there?” Specca asked Triska.

Clover glanced to Daniel’s hand then to him with a dull expression. She then noticed a small gleam in the woods nearby behind him, her eyes focusing on it carefully while Daniel said something else to her.

“Clover? Did you hear me?” Daniel said as he saw the elf keeping her attention off him.

Clover’s eyes fixated on a small glimmer that came from the shadows before she quickly dodged to the side and tackled Alyssa down to the ground. Almost instantly a bolt flew past and struck into the ground between Luna’s feet, the butterfly screaming as she jumped back while everyone else stared at the arrow in surprise.

“What the hell was that?” Falla cried out.

Daniel watched as Clover rolled to the side with her bow while quickly drawing out three arrows from her quiver, the elf coming to a stop on the ground and aiming towards the woods. She fired the arrows in a tight line over into the trees, the three whacks sounding off along with a girl’s scream.

“Who the fuck did that?” Clover yelled out as she grabbed her quiver and quickly slung it over her back before drawing out an arrow to take aim with.

Lucky neighed and bucked about in a panic, the group slowly backing up towards the carriage doors while Clover quickly moved her aim around at the woods on alert for the unseen shooter.

“What happened?” Luna whimpered while staying close to Falla.

“Someone tried to pick off Alyssa,” Clover grunted while shifting her sights around the area quickly.

“How did you know that was going to happen?” Daniel asked while holding Alyssa close, the witch catching her breath while staring in surprise at the bolt that nearly killed her.

“I saw the tip in the sunlight,” Clover said while keeping on guard. She quickly looked behind as a twig snapped, the group then turning to see a figure dashing out from the bushes towards them in haste.

“Let them go!” Milly yelled while holding a large double-sided axe back to strike with.

She raced towards Specca and Luna before Squeak quickly jumped in front of them and whipped out her pickaxe from around her back into her hand, the ant girl then swinging up and blocking the heavy downward slash from the hunter. The loud clank and the way Squeak braced from the hit showed how much force was used in the attack, with Milly quickly swiping her axe to the side in a quick twirl using one hand before swinging it around and knocking Squeak’s tool aside with great strength.

“Die, monster!” Milly shouted as she swung downward again to split Squeak in two.

With a loud clang her axe struck against Triska’s sheath as the cambion blocked the hit with her covered weapon. The sheath cracked and splintered from the hit while the blade it held within stopped the axe from going through.

“Milly! What are you doing here?” Triska exclaimed.

From the trees a bright flash of blue light streaked out and crackled through the air as it closed in on Luna and Falla. The sisters screamed before Kroanette quickly darted in front of them and shielded herself with her arms, the magical bolt flying at the centaur before quickly being deflected up into air without touching the girl. Another blast of magical energy shot out from the trees at Kroanette, the centaur keeping in front of the girls and shielding them with her enchanted body. The bolt flew towards her then blew up in a bright flash a foot away from her body, the hazy light and smoke swirling around briefly before Mika charged through with her claymore held back to strike.

“You can’t guard yourself from me!” Mika threatened as she swung forward with her long blade.

“Whoa! Stop!” Kroanette cried out while dodging back from the swing. She took off running to avoid another swipe from the sword before halting as two bolts streaked by in front of her face. “WAAAH! What’s going on?”

“Knock it off, asshole!” Clover yelled as she fired into the woods where the shots came from.

“Stop it!” Mae hollered back. “I’m on your side!”

“Mae? Was that Mae?” Daniel called out.

Mika quickly swung her blade around at Luna and Falla, the two stumbling back onto the ground to avoid the attack before holding each other in fear as the hunter lifted her sword back to slash down at them.

“Wait! Please don’t hurt us!” Falla cried out.

“We were finally going to have sex with Daniel!” Luna whined while holding onto her sister tightly.

“You’ll never rape that man!” Mika roared before swinging down towards them.

“Don’t!” Pip wailed as she quickly flew over before the sisters and held her hands out, forming a bright blue and green casting ring that shielded them from the strike.

“Mika, wait!” Daniel called out as the hunter pressed her blade against the crackling energy barrier.

Mika held her hand against the casting ring as it glowed with a bright cerulean and golden light. The magical barrier crackled before shattering with a loud snap, the spell being destroyed while Pip was sent flying back trailing smoke with a tiny scream.

“Pip!” Luna cried out as the tiny fairy bounced across the ground into the carriage.

“We’re trying to help you! Run away!” Milly ordered before grabbing Triska and shoving her aside. She quickly swung around with her axe towards Squeak, with Triska ducking and darting back from the wide arc while Squeak dropped to her knees and dodged the attack that whizzed right over her head.

“Milly, stop!” Triska barked out before rushing over and pushing the hunter against the carriage.

“Leave them alone!” Alyssa yelled as she held her hand out to stop Mika’s sword in place, right before it would have struck into Falla’s head. The two sisters screamed while holding each other out of fright while the hunter turned her glare towards the witch who was holding a hand back to keep Daniel behind her. A whip then snapped around Mika’s arm, the girl turning her glare over to Kroanette who was showing the same disdain for her presence and actions.

“Drop your weapon,” Kroanette ordered.

A bolt struck through the whip with a snap, the centaur stumbling back before another hit into her rear thigh. As she screamed and dropped to the ground Clover returned fire out into the woods, striking a tree with a whack while a shadowy figure darted away in the woods.