Chronicles of Eden - Act V (46 page)

“Your name is Clover. I don’t call you ‘elf’, do I?” Daniel questioned.

“Alright then,” Clover growled. “
Kroanette
belongs to me. I saved her from being the toy of some bandits in the woods and as such she owes me her life.”

“While I do thank you for saving her from those bandits I will not allow you to take her away,” Daniel replied shaking his head. “She is not yours in any way.”

“What, is she
yours
?” Clover scoffed. “Are you laying with this fat ass at night or something?”

“Tonight I am,” Daniel retorted, with Kroanette’s legs wobbling before she dropped to the ground staring at him with a deep blush.

“What?” she squeaked out.

“I’m sleeping out here tonight, under the stars and all,” Daniel said looking up at the sky. “Both to give the other girls a quiet night to recover from their day and also to make sure you don’t take Kroanette away while we’re asleep.” He then looked to the elf with a stern glare while Kroanette was quietly stuttering some nonsensical babble.

“And she is not fat, how dare you speak about her like that. I’m truly shocked and disappointed to see that elves are really as crass and disrespectful as you are. That really is a shame.”

“Like I give a fuck what you think about me,” Clover snapped. “And I need her to give me a ride back to my forest; she owes me that much after all I’ve done for her.”

“Perhaps if you would show a little civility and heart with others we might have been persuaded to give you a ride,” Daniel said looking down to Pip and gently brushing her hair away from her face. “I’d much rather help a kindhearted girl in this world than a hateful monster.”

“You want me to beg?” Clover demanded with anger. “Is that it? Should I get down on my knees and suck you off right now for a ride home?”

“I’d honestly prefer it more if you would cut the attitude and stop treating my friends like dirt,” Daniel retorted at her. “So are you going to apologize to everyone here for your behavior or are you going to leave now?”

Clover growled at him with fire in her eyes while Kroanette stared at Daniel with wonder. Not since he stood his ground before Charlotte had she seen him display such bravery and fortitude in the face of a dangerous monster, nor made her heart flutter like it was now. After a while Clover snarled and looked down while shutting her eyes.

“Alright, fine,” she muttered. “I’m sorry.”

“To them, not the ground,” Daniel ordered.

Clover glared at him with fury then slowly breathed out and glanced to Kroanette while remaining silent. Her lips curled as if she was trying not to speak before she grunted and crossed her arms before her stubbornly.

“I’m sorry about before,” she forced out between bared teeth.

“Apology not accepted,” Kroanette quickly replied shaking her head. Clover glared at her before shifting her eyes to Daniel.

“Well, she never had to accept it,” Daniel reasoned with a shrug. “But it’s a start for you.”

“Are you going to give me a ride back home then?” Clover demanded.

“We’ll talk that over with the rest of the girls tomorrow,” Daniel said glancing back to the caravan. “It’s their say as well whether or not we let you ride with us. For now though you need to go in there and apologize to all of them for your foul behavior. And be quiet, Complica is likely still asleep.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Clover growled out. Daniel looked back to her with a stern eye, the elf grumbling to herself before looking down with trembling hands. “Are you
kidding
me?”

“No, I’m not. Get going and say you’re sorry to them. If you do that, you can sleep on the couch rather than out here. Otherwise you can just leave.”

Clover muttered something to herself before marching off towards the ride with a scowl on her face.

“Clover?” Daniel said, with the elf stopping and glancing back to him with a narrowed eye. “Why are you so upset now? Is it because you lost your treasure to Tabitha earlier?”

“That is one reason, yes,” Clover grunted with discontent.

“You don’t have to be so mad at everything. If we find Tabitha we’ll get you two sorted out, I promise you that. There’s no reason for you to act so cold to the world around you.”

Clover growled out something before walking off towards the caravan. As she reluctantly climbed aboard while muttering to herself Daniel turned to Kroanette as the centaur was watching the elf head inside.

“We’re not really going to let her come with us, are we?” she nervously asked him.

“Only if she behaves herself,” he answered with a shrug. “That and apologizes to the girls for before.”

Inside the cabin Clover was standing before the curtain while all eyes had locked onto her. The girls were in the middle of getting undressed while Complica was sleeping quietly in the bed under the blanket with Falla asleep next to her. Silence filled the cabin as everyone just stared at Clover while the elf glanced around the interior with a raised eyebrow.

“Alright, this definitely looks bigger on the inside,” Clover noticed before walking towards the girls as they remained still and stared at her.

“What are you doing in here?” Triska asked carefully. “Didn’t Daniel tell you to take a hike?”

“He said I could sleep on the couch tonight,” Clover carelessly replied. “Oh, and sorry about before or whatever.”

The girls all exchanged glances as Clover walked over to the couch and eyed it with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah, this was worth spitting that out that for,” she grumbled.

“Wait a minute,” Specca asserted while sitting on the bed. “You are not sleeping in here with us.”

“Hey, the guy said I could,” Clover said with a shrug before she dropped her bow and quiver onto a chair near her. “Take it up with him if you’ve got a problem with it.”

“Daniel said you could sleep on the couch?” Alyssa questioned.

“Yeah, Daniel, whatever,” Clover mumbled as she dropped herself down on the sofa and laid back while crossing her boots over the end. She yawned and rested her arms behind her head against the cushion while closing her eyes, paying no mind to the other girls staring at her like she was crazy.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Triska snapped. “Get out of here, you can’t-”

“Keep it down or you’ll wake the kid,” Clover mentioned before turning her head toward the back of the couch.

The others just looked to each other then to Clover with discontent before Specca sighed and shook her head.

“We’ll deal with her tomorrow. Let’s just put an end to this fretful day,” she suggested tiredly.

The other girls reluctantly nodded and continued to undress for the night. Only Complica and Falla had their clothing on still while the others got into bed naked since they were accustomed to sleeping that way with Daniel, except for one of them who everyone took notice of.

“Um, should I not have gotten undressed too?” Luna asked looking around at them before glancing to Falla worriedly.

“It doesn’t matter, Daniel’s not here with us,” Alyssa reasoned with a shrug. She then eyed over Luna’s figure as the girl was sitting up at the head of the bed with the cover over her lap. “How did you fill out like that eating only bugs anyway?”

“I don’t know, I just did,” Luna softly replied looking down. She slowly slid down under the cover next to Falla and looked to her with worried eyes as the sleeping butterfly remained quiet and still. Squeak carefully crawled over above them then licked Falla’s wound a few more times before she smiled a bit at Luna.

“Thank you for taking care of her,” Luna softly said before looking around at the others. “Sorry to be a bother like this.”

“You’re not being a bother, Luna,” Specca reassured as she slid down under the covers next to her. She took off her glasses and set them down above her pillow before resting her head with closed eyes. “Just relax and sleep well.”

Alyssa got under the covers next to the nixie, having only her necklace on now, then gazed up the ceiling while having a troubled frown on her face.

“I hope Lucky comes back to me again,” she softly prayed.

“I’m sure he will, he’s a loyal horse after all,” Triska said as she got into bed next to Complica. Almost as soon as she lied down next to her the young princess scooted over and held her arm across Triska’s chest. Triska watched her with a small amount of surprise as the butterfly held onto her in her sleep then smiled curiously before glancing over to the other girls.

“You must have made her feel so safe before,” Luna praised softly. “She doesn’t want to let you go.”

“I suppose her image of humans isn’t completely tarnished in this world,” Specca mused.

Squeak nodded then let out a small squeak with her yawn before she curled up into her usual ball above Falla’s pillow.

Alyssa showed a small smile at seeing Complica nuzzling against Triska then laid back and waved a hand in the air. The lanterns above went out with quiet sizzles as the fire in them was extinguished by her magic. Everything inside the ride fell silent as the girls rested for the night, with each of them slowly drifting off into slumber one by one. As they did Clover glanced over to them from the couch, watching with her nocturnal vision as the girls fell asleep together. After a while she too fell asleep, a small quiet grumble escaping her lips before all became silent inside the cabin.

Outside the caravan Daniel and Kroanette gazed out at the grove of Flairwood nearby, seeing the softly glowing lights floating about within the large canopy while above the stars twinkled in the night sky.

“It’s quite a sight at night, isn’t it?” Daniel mused with a small smile.

“Indeed,” Kroanette said as she and Daniel walked away from the caravan and under a large tree together. “I’ve never seen anything quite like this before.”

Daniel watched the lights gently drifting about in the grove then looked to Pip as the fairy was still sound asleep in his hands.

“Thank you for coming through for us, Pip,” he quietly praised.

Turning around he then watched as Kroanette slowly rested down against a soft bedding of grass beneath the tree, the centaur still gazing out at the colorful blooms of light while lying down on her side. Her legs tucked in close to her body while she propped her head up with her arm and elbow as she watched the village of Flairwood with a peaceful smile on her face. She then turned her eyes to him as he stood there watching her in silence.

“Are you sure you’re alright sleeping with me tonight? The others won’t kill me in my sleep, will they?” she jested with a weak laugh.

“No, you’ll be fine,” he chuckled before walking over and lying down on the grass next to her. She rested her head on her arm while keeping her eyes on him, watching as he gently set Pip down on a small flower that cradled her head like a pillow.

“As lively and energetic as she is during the day, she sleeps so peacefully, just like a child,” he mused before resting his head down on the grass and watching the lights in Flairwood.

“Do you believe she really is a Darker One?” Kroanette asked with concern.

“No, I don’t,” he answered honestly. “But there is no hiding that she has some powerful magic at her disposal.”

“What if Clover spoke the truth? What if Pip loses control of her power?”

“We won’t let her,” Daniel said turning his head to the centaur with an assuring smile. “We’ll help her if she stumbles and falls, we won’t let her be alone out here.”

“You really are too caring,” Kroanette giggled softly.

“I know, it’s a curse.”

“No it isn’t, it makes you very desirable,” Kroanette insisted gently.

Daniel murmured amusedly to that familiar saying then looked back ahead at the floating lights. Kroanette watched him with adoring eyes for a while then smiled a little as she carefully scooted closer to him.

“Truthfully, I’ve wanted to lay with you for some time now,” she admitted, with Daniel looking to her curiously as she closed her eyes and smirked slightly. “Not like I ever could. After all I can’t get inside the caravan with my ‘fat ass’. I couldn’t even lie on the bed with you without breaking it.” A small forced laugh came from her mouth as she suddenly felt embarrassed to speak about her desire with him.

“You’re not fat, not at all,” Daniel assured her. She opened her eyes and saw him smiling kindly at her while he had his arms resting back behind his head. “You’re a very lovely girl, Kroanette, from head to hoof. I wouldn’t change a thing about you.”

“Daniel,” she spoke softly while feeling her heartbeat picking up in her chest.

Daniel smiled at her then noticed her gazing deeply into his eyes. A few strands of her hair dropped down over her face while the ribbon in her hair ruffled slightly in the breeze. The two fell quiet while staring at each other, with each passing moment causing Daniel to feel his own heart beating faster. Kroanette glanced to his lips then back into his eyes before slowly leaning closer to him and reaching her arm over to hold onto his chest.

“Daniel, this may be the only night I get to lay with you. If so, then I hope you’ll forgive me for speaking my mind before it ends.”

“Kroanette?” he asked as she drew closer to his face. She stopped short of their lips touching as a few tears welled up in her eyes. Hesitating at first she then slowly moved her hand up to hold onto his cheek while a saddened smile came across her face.

“I love you, Daniel,” she confessed before kissing him. While she closed her eyes and cherished the moment with him Daniel stared at her with surprise, his eyes then slowly closing as well while he remained still on the grass. Slowly he lifted his hand up and held hers, but before he could do anything else Kroanette broke the kiss and moved her fingers to rest over her lips.

“I’m sorry, Daniel. I know I’m crossing a line, but… I had to say it,” she whimpered before hiding her face with both her hands and turning her head to the ground. Daniel watched her cry softly to herself, feeling a sense of guilt knowing he was the cause of her sorrow. He then rolled over onto his side and held Kroanette close, the centaur burying her face into his chest while holding onto his shirt as he closed his eyes and gently caressed her head with one hand.