Chronicles of Eden - Act VIII (7 page)

“More days?” Cindy whined. “But I can’t wait any longer, I need to get going and find her still.”

“Then you’d best set out in search of someone to cure me,” Hollia lamented before taking a bite of her apple. “I do so wish to put an end to this suffering of mine, and you’ve waited so long for your meal. You deserve it, and quite frankly I’m feeling rather shameful for making you wait this long. Go and find a shaman before I die, and then you can eat me once I’m healed.”

Cindy quickly looked around in a panic then scrambled out of the canopy in haste. Hollia giggled to herself as she ate her apple while watching as the wraith ran off from the shelter.

“I should have thought of that long ago. Now all I have to do is slink away while she’s out searching for a healer that’ll she’ll never find.”

“Hello!” Cindy called out, with Hollia perking her ears up in surprise. “I’m looking for a shaman. Do you know where I can find one?”

“Why yes,” a girl’s voice replied. “I’m actually a doctor myself.”

“What?” Hollia gasped. “Who in Eden is that?”

“My name is Bella Orivea, professional adventurer and healer,” the girl proudly spoke. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“What the hell is she doing out here?” Hollia growled in frustration.

“I’m actually lost, I was looking for the village of Taron and I think I took a wrong turn. Could you help me?”

“I’m doomed,” Hollia whined in despair. “This is it, I’m going to be eaten alive by that sand wraith.”

“AHHH!” the healer cried out. “Stop it! No! Let me go! Oh god, you’re a sand wraith! Get away! Stop eating me! No! AHHH!”

Hollia froze with a stunned expression as she heard the shaman screaming in agony nearby. After the painful cries finally subsided all fell quiet, with Hollia unable to say anything as she was rendered speechless by what she just heard. Shortly after Cindy slowly walked back over and stood before the centaur, her expression being of remorse while she gently kicked a stone with her foot and kept her eyes down at the ground like a child who was caught doing something wrong.

“You found a shaman out here?” Hollia slowly questioned, getting a single nod out of Cindy. “And then you
ate
her?”

Cindy again nodded with a saddened frown at her, with Hollia simply staring at the wraith in disbelief. A long while of silence passed between them before Hollia lowered her head and held a hand over her face.

“Do you eat
everyone
you meet in the world?” she dryly asked.

“Uh huh,” Cindy softly answered.

“I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised,” Hollia flatly remarked with a weary glance at the wraith.

“So… are you feeling better yet?”

“No, I am not feeling better yet. You just ate the only one who could have made me feel better.”

“Well hurry up and get better some other way,” Cindy whined with a stomp of her foot. “I wanna go now.”

“Just where is it you are so impatient to depart to anyway?” Hollia droned before taking another bite of an apple. “You know you could just go and let me die here if you’re that eager to get going, I won’t stop you.”

Cindy narrowed her eyes at the centaur and approached her with a low grumble. Hollia leaned back nervously as the wraith knelt down and grabbed her shoulders, peering closely into the centaur’s eye with a determined gaze.

“Are you
really
sick? Tell me the truth,” Cindy demanded.

“Tell you the truth?”

“Yeah. Don’t lie to me. Are you sick or not?”

Hollia blinked and glanced around while Cindy waited for her response then lowered her head in shame.

“Well, the truth is…”

“Yeah?” Cindy barked out.

“The truth is… I…”

“Yeah?” Cindy snarled as her cheek and neck shifted to coarse sand.

Hollia sniffled then looked at her with watery eyes and shook her head.

“I’m not only poisoned, but I’m pregnant as well.”

“You are?” Cindy exclaimed.

“Yes,” Hollia whimpered as she turned away with a hand held over her eyes. “I was hoping to be a happy mother, but so much tragedy has befallen me, it’s simply horrible to think my baby girl may not live to see the world. Life is so cruel.”

“You mean you’ve got a baby in you? Really?” Cindy asked with saddened eyes.

“Yes,” Hollia answered with a nod. “I swear on my life, I’m pregnant with a beautiful baby girl.”

Cindy sniffled then started bawling as she dropped down and hugged the centaur’s lower body. Hollia watched her with a peek as the wraith tenderly rubbed her belly and cried while shaking her head.

“No, that’s not fair!” Cindy whined. “I can’t eat you now, I don’t wanna eat a baby too! Babies are so cute!
Waaah
!”

“You mean that?” Hollia asked in wonder. “You truly won’t eat me now that you think- I mean, now that you know I’m pregnant?”

“I can’t eat a baby,” Cindy sniveled. “I want to have a daughter of my own, I wanna be a mommy and I wanna love her forever and ever. I can’t do it, I just can’t kill a little baby girl. They’re just too young and cute to kill.”

Hollia stared at her in awe as the sand wraith cried and held onto her, watching as the dangerous and unstoppable monster actually refused to harm her now thinking she was pregnant.

‘I can’t believe that worked, I was merely taking a chance that she would believe such a lie. She truly won’t harm a child?’

“I don’t understand,” Hollia said shaking her head. “Sand wraiths devour everyone they come across, they kill monster and human alike without remorse, yet you won’t harm an unborn child?”

“I can’t do it,” Cindy whined while smothering her face against the centaur’s side. “Don’t you worry little baby girl, you’re not dying today!”

“I don’t know what to say,” Hollia marveled. “Seeing you actually caring for another life like this, I never thought a sand wraith could show such a heart. Perhaps there is a glimmer of a soul inside you after all.”

“Don’t you worry little baby girl,” Cindy cooed while gently rubbing Hollia’s side. “I’ll wait until you’re out of there and then I’ll eat your mommy. You’re going to be just fine, I’m only going to kill her, I promise.”

“A very small glimmer,” Hollia flatly added.

Cindy sniffled and whimpered while caressing the centaur then jumped with a gasp.

“Wait, we need to get you medical help,” she realized. “You can’t die by your poison now. You have to let your baby be born before you die.”

“You are absolutely right,” Hollia eagerly agreed. “Please, go look for another shaman, and don’t eat this one. I’ll wait here and-”

“No!” Cindy argued. “I can’t leave a baby out here like this to die with her helpless mother. I’m not letting that baby out of my sight!”

“But you can’t see her,” Hollia mentioned glancing down to her body. “My baby is inside of me, remember?”

“No buts,” Cindy asserted as she stood up and set her hands at her hips. “I’m taking you someplace safe and where we can heal you. That baby isn’t dying on my watch. I need to make sure her mommy stays alive and well so she can be born.”

Hollia blinked then cocked her head to the side in question.

“Are you seriously saying you’re going to
protect
me now?”

“Of course,” Cindy answered with a bold smile. “I can’t let anything happen to that cute little baby, she hasn’t even been born yet. I’ll get you someplace safe and have you fixed up in no time. After you have your baby I’ll eat you up. Then I can be on my way again in no time.”

“Um,” Hollia slowly replied. “I do appreciate your sudden and rather peculiar protective nature of my unborn child, however you do realize that it will be quite some time before I give birth, yes?”

“What do you mean?” Cindy confusedly asked. “Babies are born in a few minutes. It won’t take you long to pop that child out.”

“I believe you’re a bit confused,” Hollia insisted with a weak smile. “Sand wraiths breed quickly, your offspring are born right away from your own being. However for centaurs and other living creatures it takes months to give birth to our children.”

“MONTHS?” Cindy screamed out, grabbing her hair and staring at Hollia with wide eyes. “You mean you’re going to be pregnant for
months
?”

“Well, yes, that is how it works for us.”

Cindy’s eye twitched a few times before she dropped down face first onto the ground with a long whine.

“No! I can’t wait around for months to kill you! I have to find her now! This is horrible!”

Hollia watched the wraith crying like a child on the dirt in front of her with a raised eyebrow, the centaur quietly taking another bite of her apple and shaking her head slowly as Cindy kicked her feet and flailed her arms around in a fit.

“I know what you mean. This is a terrible situation for both of us,” Hollia agreed while chewing her food.

“What am I going to do?” Cindy wailed as she rolled onto her back and kicked her legs about. “I can’t wait around for months, but I can’t kill you now either. I don’t know what to do! This sucks!”

Hollia finished eating then tossed away the apple core and gently took hold of Cindy’s hand that was moving around, the sand wraith stopping with her tantrum and turning to the centaur with saddened eyes as she sniffled a few times.

“What is your name?” Hollia kindly requested. “We’ve been stuck together for days but I never thought to ask until now.”

“Cindy.”

“I see. My name is Hollia. I’ll make a deal with you, Cindy. One that will solve both of our problems.”

“A deal?” Cindy sniffled as she sat up and wiped her eyes.

“Yes. Please, help me get to sanctuary so that I may not only be cured of the illness that I’m plagued with but also find a safe place to give birth to my only daughter. Help me do this, Cindy the sand wraith, and I
promise
you that after my baby girl is born I shall take my own life in your name.”

“You will?”

“Yes. That way we may let my beautiful daughter be born, and then your prey will have died just as you wished. Your mother will never know about you letting me live, for I shall be dead long before she ever finds me. You can leave me in a safe village and continue on your way just as you want to, and you can be assured that I will not live a day more after my daughter is born. What do you say?”

“Do you promise to kill yourself for me?” Cindy whined. “Mother would be mad if she found out I let you live after you were cured of your poison.”

“I’ll drive a dagger through my own heart, just for you,” Hollia promised with a calm smile. “You need not worry about that. Just please, help me find a safe place to live the remainder of my days so that my daughter may be born, and then I’ll end my life for you.”

“Okay,” Cindy said holding out her hand. Hollia glanced to it then to the wraith curiously. “As long as you promise, I’ll trust you.”

“I promise,” Hollia agreed shaking the wraith's hand.

“Alright then, it’s a deal,” Cindy declared standing up. “So now we need to get you someplace safe and make sure that poison doesn’t kill you and your baby.”

Hollia slowly got up on her three good legs, a strained grunt coming from her mouth as her front leg which was broken ached severely. She breathed sharply through her teeth while holding the limb off the ground the best she could, a tear dropping down her cheek from the pain while she wavered with her balance.

“Your leg is still broken,” Cindy worriedly pointed out.

“Yes, I was suspecting as much,” Hollia snapped before holding her leg with one hand. “I fear this will never heal right. If fortune would be so merciful to shine upon me perhaps I could find someone to heal this properly, at least I shall hope for such luck. Otherwise I may never run again.”

She took one step forward with a hop before stumbling to the side, her eyes shutting tightly as she struggled with the wounded leg before she realized she didn’t fall over.

“Careful,” Cindy warned while holding the centaur up at her side. “Don’t drop the baby.”

Hollia watched in awe as the sand wraith was able to hold her up with one arm held around her human waist, the adolescent girl having more strength than what was seen by her physical appearance.

“Thank you, Cindy.”

“Where can we take you to be safe?” Cindy asked as she slowly helped the centaur out from under the canopy. Hollia gave one last fleeting glance towards her ruined homeland before turning away as she felt the pain from seeing her fallen kingdom overpower that of her broken leg.

“The monster village of Walbruk,” Hollia answered pointing ahead of them. “It’s to the west of here. I should be able to spend my days there in peace and hopefully find someone to help heal my body.”

“Let’s get going then,” Cindy urged as she guided the centaur towards their new destination. “I have to find her still, so the sooner I can leave you there the better.”

“Who is it you’re trying to find anyway? I’m rather curious at this point. That and I need to talk about something to keep my mind off the agonizing pain my leg is in.”

“My mother and I are looking for someone,” Cindy explained while aiding the wounded centaur with her steps. “A witch who is wanted by her mother. We’re going to find her and be paid lots of gold for it.”

“I see,” Hollia replied while limping along next to her. “So you’re just trying to make a living with this hunt of yours. And who is this witch that you’re being sent after?”

*****

“Alyssa,” Daniel spoke up, drawing the attention of the witch as he stood next to the carriage. “Are you doing alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Alyssa softly answered before turning her gaze up at the sky again.

Daniel watched as the witch had only a faint smile on her face, her expression and eyes conveying that she wasn’t fine but merely saying such to keep everyone from feeling sad for her. He glanced around to see the other girls talking while the butterfly sisters and Pip were running about nearby then climbed up onto the front seat and sat next to the quiet witch.

“Is there anything I can do to help that smile you’re forcing right now become more genuine?” Daniel gently asked as he held the girl with one arm.

“I’m sorry,” Alyssa said while nuzzling against his side. “I’m trying to smile again.”