Making monster girls 4 f.., p.16
Making Monster Girls 4: For Science!, page 16
“You won’t have to do that!” Valerie shouted. “I have… this!”
The feline-woman reached into the small pouch at her waist, rummaged around inside it for a second, and whipped out a long strip of cream-colored fabric. The swatch flew through the air like a flag for a second and then dropped to the floor limply.
“Is that…” Josephine murmured. “Part of her bandage clothing?”
“Yup!” the ash-blonde nodded proudly. “She had a bunch of them! A whole mountain of spools of them and all of the used ones piled up in a mess on the floor. I grabbed the smallest one I could find and took it with me. I know I wasn’t supposed to steal anything, but I don’t think she’ll notice this piece missing.”
“Good job, Valerie,” I chuckled, reached over, and petted the top of her head.
“I wasn’t sure why I stole it,” the cat-girl snickered. “I kind of thought that I wanted a souvenir after my first mission by myself, but then… I had this itching feeling that we would need it. I don’t know why, but I had the urge… no, the need to take it.”
“Well, we’re all delighted that you did,” I chuckled. “It if weren’t for you, we wouldn’t be able to find Kelara on our own. Let’s return to the manor for now. I have a big map of the city that came with the manor, and we can plot out places where we think that Kelara might be.”
“Oh!” the ash-blonde shouted. “There was one thing in the letters between the Queen and Kelara that stood out to me, but I couldn’t puzzle it out by myself.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“The Queen said that if Kelara were found out or needed help, she should go to the ‘Crying Tree,’“ Valerie explained. “I’d never heard that term before and didn’t understand it. Charles, do you have any idea what it could be?”
“A secret hideout, maybe?” I murmured. “Josephine, you’ve grown up in this city all of your life and know all of its layouts. Have you heard of this ‘Crying Tree?”
“There’s an old legend… well, more like a scary story about a ‘Crying Tree’ on the outskirts of town,” the heiress mused. “But we all thought it wasn’t real because it’s passed around so much that the moral of the ‘story’ became convoluted.”
“So, what’s the legend of the Crying Tree?” the ash-blonde asked.
“Well, it’s said that long ago,” Josephine explained. “Right after women started to develop powers, there was a couple that refused to go along with the new set of rules that barred men and women from marrying. They’d been together since they were children and couldn’t stand to be apart, but one of Edony’s ancestors kidnapped the man and forced him to work slave labor along with all of the other males in the city.”
“Oh no,” Valerie sighed. “That’s so horrible. Was it Olvia? I’d actually came to like her from all of the stories that Edony tells about her… She doesn’t seem like that bad of a person except for making men a lower station than all of the females.”
“Yes, Olvia wasn’t all bad,” the blonde heiress nodded. “But she did more harm than she did good. She may not have directly put men into the position they’re in today, but she started the domino effect. But no, it wasn’t Olvia who did this… I think it was a woman named Eleondra, but I could be wrong.”
“What happened next?” Daisy asked.
“Well, the man managed to sneak out of the camp at night,” Josephine went on. “And both of them would race through the forest and meet at a specific tree. It didn’t have a name before all of this, but it stands out because it’s an oak tree and a linden tree twisted together into an eternal knot. They’d meet there and stay there all night until the sun started to just peek out over the horizon. The man would return to the camp, and sadly, the woman would return home alone. This went on for months the story says, and they never got caught until eventually…”
“They did,” Valerie squeaked.
“By Eleondra herself,” the blonde heiress murmured. “She’d tightened up the security at the encampment, and the guards realized he was missing. Eleondra waited outside of the camp in total darkness and watched as he snuck out through the forest. She followed him and found the pair at the intertwined tree and… and…”
“She killed them, didn’t she?” Daisy murmured.
“Yes,” Josephine whispered. “But only the man…”
“Why would she do that?” I asked. “If she were so angry with the both of them, you’d think she’d take both of them out…”
“She wanted to make both of them suffer,” the heiress explained. “So, she killed the man slowly in front of his lover and when he finally died… she released the woman out into the city. Weeks went by, and the woman secluded herself in her house until finally one night, she snuck out. She made the long trek through the woods in her wedding dress, and by the time she reached the intertwined trees, she was covered in mud, sweat, and tears. The woman threw herself down to the ground at the base of the trees and sobbed there for hours. The story says that she stayed there for weeks on end, and eventually when her lover never returned to her even though he was dead, she pulled out a silver dagger.”
“Oh, no!” Valerie cried.
“She laid down at the roots of the tree,” Josephine went on. “And slit her throat. The woman’s blood boiled out like a fresh spring and sunk into the roots of the intertwined trees. Everyone believes that the man’s spirit heard his lover’s cry and returned to the place where he was killed. The woman’s spirit rose from its body, and the two of them implanted themselves within the knotted trees. Now they say that if you visit the intertwined trees, you’ll hear the lovers’ voices and unseen spirits will viciously attack you. I would say it’s a bunch of silly old stories, but there are reported cases of aristocrats and men going out there late at night and were attacked. One of my childhood friends had her eye gouged out when she got too close, and now she can’t see out of her right side.”
“They have every right to be angry,” Daisy barked. “They were unjustly killed…”
“Charles, do you think that’s the place?” the bear-girl asked.
“It could be,” I nodded. “But we should check it out to be totally sure. If the Queen instructed her to go there, then there must be a reason. Maybe the letters aren’t enough anymore, and the Queen sent another spy to relay the information between them.”
“I think that’s what’s happening,” Valerie nodded. “All of the letters from the Queen are from a few weeks ago before Kelara showed up in Edenhart.”
“So, she has to have someone relaying messages back and forth between the two of them,” I nodded. “Josephine, do you have any idea where the Crying Tree might be?”
“No,” the heiress sighed. “Absolutely no idea. A few of my old friends did, but they all moved away or weren’t speaking to me anymore. I’m sure the Duchess would know, but… she’s not here right now.”
“Well, I think we should return to the manor,” I uttered. “I have a few old maps of the city in the basement, and we can go over them together…”
“That sounds like a good idea, Charles,” Daisy agreed. “We certainly can’t storm off like Edony and scour the whole town without having any idea of where we’re going.”
“Couldn’t Daisy just… ya know, smell the fabric and track her from here?” Valerie asked.
“Sure,” the bear-girl shrugged. “But then I’d get to the drive, and the trail would run cold. If she were on foot, I could, but if she’s riding inside of a carriage, no way. I can only track people through smell if they are walking or close by. I’m assuming that her carriage took her back to her home and then… who knows where she went. Kelara was definitely suspicious of us, and I doubt she’d wait for Edony or us there.”
“Dang,” the feline-woman grumbled. “It’d be nice if you could.”
“But,” I stated. “If we find out where the Crying Tree is, Daisy could track her from there and sense out anyone else if they’re around.”
“Alright,” Josephine uttered, stood up from the table, and brushed off her skirt. “Should we head out? I think we should leave as soon as possible, think of any place where she could be, and come up with a plan.”
“This is sooo exciting!” Valerie giggled. “Not only are we going on another mission, but we’re getting a new monster-sister! Ahhh! We’ve been waiting for this moment for soooo long! Just wait until we tell Rian! She’s going to be so happy! Oh! Oh! Oh! Josephine! This is your first transformation, too! Oh, my goodness, this makes me so, so happy!”
Josephine’s lips pressed into a firm line, her cat-like orange eyes flitted to the floor for a second, but she quickly cheered up and grinned over at feline-woman. I knew that the heiress was upset that it wasn’t her turn to be transformed yet, but she understood my reasoning behind it. Josephine had power in this city that Daisy and I didn’t have, and we could use it for the betterment of our family. I would turn her eventually, but now all of us knew it wasn’t the right time.
“The nix is beautiful,” the heiress smiled. “And I bet our new sister will be even more so.”
“Ohhh!” Valerie wriggled in her seat, stood, and then skipped to the door. “Let’s hurry home and then track down Kelara! I’m so happy, Charles! We finally get a new sister, and we get to love her just like Daisy, Rian, and Josephine! Oh! Josie, just wait until you see the transformation! It’s so stunning! It’s like a magical light show, and light glows all around the room, and then Charles’ machine starts smoking and--”
“It looks like what I imagine an aurora looks like,” Daisy interrupted. “Colors flash through the air like fireworks, and this loud humming starts. It rises in pitch until it sounds like a single note, and then lengthens to an entire chorus of voices. Right as you think it’s over, all of it comes to a crashing crescendo and--”
“And then you have to close your eyes,” the feline-woman interjected. “Because the lights get so bright that Charles says it could damage your eyes. So then, you have to wait patiently as the room falls silent, and all of this heat is hitting you from all directions. Then Charles goes to Compartment C, opens up the door, and brings the new monster-girl out. We don’t follow him because it’s kind of like… hm…”
The ash-blonde tapped on her chin thoughtfully for a moment, but Daisy spoke for her. I took the bear-girl by the elbow, placed a hand on Josephine’s waist, and guided all of them toward the door. I kept an eye out for any stray guards, but it seemed all of them had been called away to aid Edony in the search.
“They imprint on Charles,” the bear-girl explained. “It’s integral that he’s the only one who goes in and brings them out because it solidifies their connection. After that, he brings them out, and we get to meet them for the first time.”
“And then Charles does the examination!” Valerie giggled. “Then we either pick out clothes for them or make them! Annnnnd then we all pick out a name, or they pick out their own! You probably heard, but Charles picked out my name. I picked out Daisy’s, and she liked it so much that she kept it! Rian was the only one who picked out her own name.”
“That’s so interesting,” Josephine murmured. “You already explained it to me once before when I first arrived at the manor, but you didn’t tell me everything about the experiment. Do either of you remember the transformation?”
All four of us stepped out of the hall, and I turned my head toward the staircases behind us, but still, there were no guards in sight. The carriage Edony had ordered for us sat in front of the stairs outside, and we slipped out of the front door without anyone noticing. We climbed into the coach and barely had time to close the door before the driver pulled away from the duchy.
“Little bits and pieces,” Daisy uttered. “Not a lot but like a snippet of copper walls and the corrugated door with the little window.”
“Really?” I asked. “You remember that?”
“Yes,” the stunning bear-girl smiled. “I don’t remember anything important except for those tiny details.”
“What about you, Valerie?” I probed. “Do you remember anything from the transformation.”
“Mine is a bit different,” the ash-blonde replied. “I don’t recall seeing anything, especially not the inside of the machine, but I remember being in a small space and being overwhelmed with this comforting… warm feeling. It started at the top of my head and the tips of my toes. It spread throughout all of my body until I was curled up in this tight little ball of comfort and then… the doors swung open, and I saw Charles for the very first time.”
“I remember that, too,” Daisy sighed dreamily. “He was so kind and sweet… I knew from the moment I laid my eyes upon him, he was the man that I was meant to spend the rest of my life with. And then I was introduced to Valerie and A.B., and I became part of the family.”
“Rian’s introduction was definitely the funniest,” the feline-woman giggled.
“What happened?” Josephine asked.
“Well, as we said,” the cat-girl explained. “Once the experiment finishes, Charles goes to the compartment and opens to the doors, but that didn’t happen with Rian. Charles tiptoed closer to the doors, and right as he reached them, they blasted open. Rian launched herself out of the compartment and landed on Charles. She acted as if she were going to attack him, and all of us were losing our minds. Then she kissed him, and everything was alright!”
“That would’ve been so scary,” the heiress gasped. “Charles, did you expect anything like that to happen?”
“No,” I chuckled. “Especially not when all of my other monster-women came out calmly. Rian is… a firecracker for sure. Her personality is like none other that I’ve seen before, but I shouldn’t really be surprised, not all of my women are going to be the same. I wouldn’t want them that way… They’re so special in their own ways.”
“Awwwh, Charlie-poo,” Valerie giggled, scooted across the seat, and gripped me by the arm. “You’re the sweetest man that we have ever met! What would we do without you?”
“Well, you’d probably be in a harlot prison,” Daisy chuckled lightly. “And if I were still Delphine, Charles would be one of my consorts right now.”
“Maybe not a consort,” I snickered. “I would’ve never let her do that to me.”
“From what we heard,” the bear-girl shook her head. “She got pretty close.”
Josephine turned her head, leaned against the window of the carriage, and stared out at the passing businesses. The heiress licked her lips, but their corners pulled down into a slight frown as if she were deeply concerned.
“What’s the matter, Josephine?” I asked.
“Nothing, really,” the blonde aristocrat whispered. “I’m just a little worried about what’s going to happen. Will Edony find Kelara? What will happen if she does? Will Edenhart be attacked and overrun with war? I know that Edony has a small army of brutes collected in case that happens, but… I’m sure it’s no match to the royal cavalry. I don’t care for the Duchess or her family, but I’d hate to see Edenhart end in a plague of fire.”
“She won’t,” I assured her. “Edony may have her guards and an army on her side, but she has no idea where Kelara might be hiding. If Kelara sees that the Duchess has dispatched her men, she’ll know that we’re onto her… and that’s if she hasn’t realized it yet.”
“But what will happen if we find her first?” the honey-blonde murmured. “The outcome may be the same… The Queen won’t stand it if the Duchess killed her precious consort. Even if we do find her, we have no idea what type of powers she has… and she could hurt one or more of us.”
“There’s no need to worry,” I soothed. “Everything will work out. If it’s one thing I’ve learned during my life, everything eventually finds a way to end peacefully.”
“Aren’t you tired of fighting?” the heiress asked. “Aren’t you tired of battling everyone just to survive in this horrid world?”
Daisy and Valerie glanced at each other for a second, and then they giggled softly. Daisy scooted forward in her seat, leaned over, and placed a hand over Josephine’s. The bear-girl gave it a tender squeeze and smiled sweetly over to her sister.
“We’ve gotten used to the fighting,” the brunette explained. “And it’s not that we’re tired of it, trust me, we are, but we’re fighting for something that we all believe in. We’re tired… we’re exhausted… but we push forward and face everything that steps into our paths, and I’ll tell you, nothing has been strong enough to bring us to our knees. Delphine threatened to take Charles away from us, Ortensia planned to have Charles imprisoned, and now, we have Edony breathing down our necks. There were plenty of times that we thought it was going to be the end, but we outsmarted all of our adversaries at the last second. I understand that you’re afraid… but you’re so strong and just as powerful as Valerie, Rian, and I are. Together… we can take on anything that tries to attack us.”
“D-Do you really think so?” the heiress asked. “But what if it’s the Queen? What if--”
“Even if it is the Queen,” I broke in. “We will handle it as a team. If we find Kelara and subdue her, we’ll have a brand new monster-girl on our hands. That’s four monster-women in total, and eventually, the Duchess will become one, too. Then once I have control over the whole city of Edenhart, you, too. There is no need to worry, my love.”
“It’s just… all so uncertain,” the blonde aristocrat gasped. “What happens after we take over Edenhart, Charles? You know that the Queen won’t allow you to keep control over it.”
“I’ve been thinking about this for a very long time,” I stated, leaned back in my seat, and crossed my arms over my chest. “And I’ve pondered what to do once Edony is out of the way and I have total control over the city. I figure… there are a lot of women out there like Edony, don’t you think?”
“Of course,” Josephine nodded. “Every city has a leader. Maybe not a Duchess, but mayors and such.”
“If I were able to transform my machine into something more… portable,” I pondered. “Maybe something like a… compartment on wheels, no, that just sounds silly, but you get the picture. We’d be able to travel to other cities and take them within a few days. We arrive in the town, set up shop, maybe as a traveling alchemist, and take down all of the powerful aristocrats. Once all of them are part of our family, we transform their leaders and take the cities for ourselves. We move around a lot, so the Queen won’t know our exact location, and if she finds it out, we kill anyone who’s sent after us.”
