chronicles of eden - act I (20 page)

"She sleeps just like a little kid too. Hard to believe she's a monster when you see her like this," he whispered with a soft smile. Triska shook her head slowly and glared at the witch.

‘She's nothing but a monster, Daniel, a sneaky, underhanded, little witch.’

"So what was it you wanted to tell me earlier?" Daniel asked quietly as he looked back to his friend. Triska looked to him with a jump as he just watched her curiously. She smiled softly then glanced to see Alyssa peeking at her again with one eye. After a pause Triska looked to Daniel with a timid smile.

"Well…" she said softly. He watched her curiously while Alyssa narrowed her eyes at the girl.

"What is it?" Daniel asked. Triska glanced to the witch for a moment then to him with worried eyes.

"The truth is… I've been meaning to tell you something… for a long time now," Triska said as she tried to remain calm, looking at the boy with a deep gaze as she could feel her heart racing. Daniel watched her with wonder while Alyssa glanced from Triska to him quickly. Triska paused for a moment, trying to say the words that kept escaping her mouth.

‘Say it. Tell him! Now's your chance!’

"Tell me what?" Daniel asked curiously. Triska looked at him as she focused on what she desperately wanted to say then smiled gently at him.

"You see… Daniel… the truth is I… I lo-"

Suddenly the carriage bumped again, the three in back bouncing up slightly from the jolt. Daniel looked ahead with a startled expression while Alyssa glared at Triska with purple glowing eyes. The teen glared back at her then looked to Daniel with a gentle smile.

"Daniel, I-" she started before the carriage jumped again with Lucky neighing outside. Daniel looked around worriedly as Triska glared at Alyssa, the witch smiling slyly as she gently held onto Daniel's arm.

"I hope Lucky can really get us there in one piece without Alyssa driving," Daniel said worriedly.

"Me too," Triska said with narrowed eyes at Alyssa, the witch holding in her giggle and winking at the girl. Triska held back her growl then looked to Daniel with worried eyes, with him looking back at her curiously. She knew Alyssa wasn't going to allow her to say those words now, even if the she could gather the courage to say them herself. After a pause she smiled softly at him.

"I'll… tell you tomorrow," she said softly. He looked at her curiously and slowly nodded as she glanced away with a soft smile.

"Um… ok…" he slowly agreed with. Alyssa glanced back and forth between the two while keeping her head against his chest, then narrowed her eyes at Triska again. Daniel leaned back against his backpack and looked at his friend curiously as she smiled at him, wondering what Triska wanted to tell him but couldn’t.

*****

As Lucky continued his trip towards Ashwood silence had again filled the carriage. Daniel was asleep as he was propped up against his backpack, dreaming peacefully, and thankfully not snoring since two other girls were in close proximity. They of course were wide awake and staring each other down as the carriage rocked a bit during its journey. Alyssa was lying against Daniel with his arm held gently around her waist, keeping her eyes on Triska with discontent. Triska was leaning against her duffel bag as she had her arms crossed, the blanket somewhat over her as she glared at the witch. They both glanced to Daniel then to each other as the carriage rocked slightly.

"Just what were you trying to pull there?" Alyssa asked under a whisper.

"I should ask you the same thing. Oh, and how's your back doing?" Triska asked with a hushed tone. Alyssa smirked then gently held onto Daniel's arm that was around her waist.

"Feeling
much
better now. He’s so comfortable to cuddle up with," she said with a smug grin. Triska growled at the girl as Alyssa held back a giggle.

"Really, that's amazing since we keep hitting all those big bumps out of nowhere," Triska pointed out accusingly. Alyssa snickered then shrugged while glancing to the back opening of the carriage.

"Yeah, what are the odds right?" she said playfully. Triska drummed her fingers on her arm for a moment then shook her head.

"Enjoy the night, witch. There's no way I'm letting you take him from me. Come tomorrow I will tell him how I feel, and you won't stop me," Triska stated quietly.

"You honestly think he'll even consider you over me? You flatter yourself. I've had plenty of men chase after me, most of which I didn't have to charm either," Alyssa said arrogantly.

"So Daniel's just another mark to you?" Triska accused sharply. Alyssa glared at her as she growled quietly.

"No, he's going to be my mate. He's going to choose me because I am the best choice for him. You think telling him how you feel will make a difference? You foolish girl, I won't let anybody take my Daniel away from me, especially some loudmouthed human like you," she hissed.

Daniel murmured a bit and shifted his head, the girls looking to him quickly as he mumbled in his sleep. After he fell quiet again the girls looked back to each other with fire in their eyes. They had made the point crystal clear to each other; they both wanted him as their mate. Alyssa genuinely wanted the boy to choose her, since if she only wanted him to breed with and nothing more she could have easily swiped him away using force. Triska wanted the boy just like she always did from the start, determined to finally tell him how she really felt and not to let any monster get in her way.

"He will be mine," Alyssa said with narrowed eyes. Triska shook her head and glared at the girl.

"No, witch, if anybody is going to be his mate, it's going to be me."

In the world of Eden, women of humanity not only had to protect their men from being taken away by monsters, but also had to compete with each other in finding a mate in life. Either by sexual allure, commendable strength, or any other means available to them, they needed to make themselves known in the eyes of the man they wanted. However, there were stories and rumors of men choosing to be with monsters willingly, either out of lust or genuine love. Should a woman find a man she desired, one that had others after him, either human or monster, they needed to fight to win him over. Either by using brute force, or underhanded trickery, there was always one golden rule to this conflict.

All's fair in love and war.

*****

The sun was starting to rise over the horizon as another day began. Clouds gently rolled by in the sky while a few birds flew through the air above the rolling plains. The tall grass around the hills swayed slightly as a calm breeze swept around the land. And a white top carriage was riding along a dirt road with a white horse in front just as it had been doing the entire night.

Inside the carriage Daniel was sleeping against his backpack, sitting up against it with his head hung down. He was sound asleep with a witch sitting in front of him, being gently held by one of his arms as she slept peacefully with a small smile on her face. They had a blanket over their laps, with her staff lying on the floor next to the girl. Across from them Triska was sleeping against her duffel bag, having a blanket pulled around her as she dreamed about the boy she wanted to confess her feelings to. Slowly she opened her eyes and started to sit up, rocking a bit with the carriage as she awoke from her dream where she once again failed to tell Daniel how she felt. She rubbed her eyes and yawned quietly, then stretched out as she blinked a few times to clear her vision.

"Not the most comfortable way to travel, but it works," she admitted to herself. Looking over to Daniel she smiled softly, watching him dream as his head rocked slightly while the carriage was in motion. Triska smiled at seeing him then showed discontent at Alyssa, the witch still being gently held while she was asleep.

‘That should be me with Daniel… not that little rat.’

Triska held back her growl then looked out ahead of the carriage. Lucky was still going strong, just as Alyssa had said he would.

"We should be arriving at Ashwood today at this rate. That horse really does have endurance," she said in wonder as she watched Lucky continue on his run without seeming to tire. Whatever the witches did to turn him into part demon certainly gave the horse incredible stamina. Triska then looked back to Alyssa with a narrowed glance.

‘She may have helped us get to the city quickly, but like hell she can keep following us like this.’

Daniel yawned and slowly opened his eyes, shaking his head slightly before looking around as he woke up. He blinked then looked over to see Triska smiling at him.

"Hey, good morning," he said, rubbing an eye with his free hand. He then looked to see Alyssa still sleeping in front of him, her hands gently holding onto his arm as she smiled softly. Daniel smirked then looked to see Triska staring at Alyssa with narrowed eyes. She looked back to him then smiled quickly.

"Good morning. Did you sleep alright?" she asked quietly, not wanting to wake the witch up just yet as she knew the monster would keep her from speaking freely him. Daniel nodded and looked towards the front of the carriage.

"Yeah, I slept ok. Wow, Lucky's still going, I just hope he at least stuck to the right path," he said with a nervous laugh. Triska smiled slightly then watched the witch carefully again. After a moment she looked back to Daniel with a curious smile.

"Say, Daniel, about last night…" she said softly. He looked to her as she glanced away timidly.

"What I was trying to say to you… before we kept getting interrupted…" she said, slowly looking back to him. He watched her curiously as she felt her heart start to pick up again.

‘Ok… you can do this… just tell him. Tell him before-’

Alyssa yawned and slowly stretched out her arms, groaning softly as she started to wake up. Triska looked to Alyssa with annoyance as the witch slowly opened her eyes then back to Daniel, who was still watching his friend as he waited for her to continue.

"Triska? What is it?" he asked. Alyssa blinked a few times then looked up at Daniel, smiling brightly as she held onto his arm.

"Good morning, Daniel. Did you sleep well?" she asked sweetly. He looked to her and nodded with a weak smile as she giggled. She held his arm and snuggled up closer to him under the blanket, glancing to Triska with a quick smirk.

"I slept so well with you holding me, thank you
so
much, Daniel," she gloated, the witch then looking up to Daniel with a cute smile. Triska held back her anger the best she could while Daniel just rubbed the back of his head with a nervous laugh.

"Well… glad to help I guess. Um, Alyssa?" he asked. She looked up at him lovingly while Triska narrowed her eyes at seeing something.

"Yes, Daniel?" Alyssa asked playfully.

"Could you please… move your…" he said worriedly.

"Let go of his crotch.
Now
," Triska said through bared teeth. Alyssa looked down and smiled innocently as she slowly pulled her hand back up from beneath the blanket, right over his lap. She giggled then looked up at him with a wink.

"Just making sure you slept well, Daniel, and… I'd say you did. Was that because of me? Were you dreaming about me, Daniel?" she asked coyly. Triska growled then reached back for her sword. Alyssa glanced to her as she held out her hand, the witch's staff hopping up and being caught instantly.

"Wait, hold it!" Daniel called out. Both girls stopped in place then glanced to him. He looked between the two then sighed.

"Please don't start the day off with another fight. We all just woke up, don't go through this again," he said tiredly. Both girls glanced to each other then back to him. He shook his head then looked back to Alyssa.

"No more of that, Alyssa, you said you wanted me to consider you as a mate, right? Then you need to-" he started before the witch smiled happily and hopped up onto his lap, holding him closely from around the neck.

"Is that what you were dreaming about? Mating with me? Oh, Daniel, you read my mind!" she cheered. Triska yelled as she drew out her sword, glaring at the witch with fury.

"He was not dreaming about mating with you, Alyssa! Get off him!" she raged before swinging her blade towards the witch. In a flash the sword yanked away and flew out the back of the carriage, with the teen holding onto it still. Daniel watched Triska crash into the path behind then looked back with a dull expression to seeing Alyssa bouncing energetically on his lap.

"Can we, Daniel? Can we, can we, can we? Please?" she asked eagerly. He just looked at her with a deadpan expression then up with a sigh.

"Alyssa…" he groaned. She stopped and looked at him curiously for a moment, then back to see where Triska was dashing after the carriage with her sword drawn out. Alyssa breathed out and nodded, then reluctantly clapped her hands to get Lucky to stop.

"Fine. But in all fairness, if I hadn't thrown her out she might have hacked you into two as well. I mean, I'm really close to you. You know,
really
close," she purred while looking back to him with a coy smile, leaning closer to him and batting her eyelashes. Daniel shook his head then looked back to the witch.

"Alyssa, if you're going to come with us then you need to keep under control. I'm trying to trust you, but you're making it incredibly hard," he said tiredly. She looked at him with wonder as he stared into her eyes. After a pause she bounced once on his lap then smiled innocently.

"Yeah, I know, I can feel it," she said softly.

"Alyssa," he said firmly. She looked at him with a pouty smile and nodded, then slowly scooted back and sat down in front of him. Daniel nodded then looked to Triska who was climbing back into the carriage.

"Sorry about that. Are you ok?" he asked. She nodded slowly while watching Alyssa with narrowed eyes.

"Daniel, I don't think we should be bringing her along with us. She can't keep in control of her nature," she warned, sitting down next to him while keeping her eyes on the witch. Alyssa glanced to her then away with a scoff as Daniel leaned back against his backpack with a sigh. Triska kept her sword in her hands as she eyed the witch closely, her fingers drumming on the handle of the blade slowly. Lucky started to run again while Alyssa just looked at Triska with a dull expression.