Making Monster Girls 3: For Science! Page 15

  “It’s so huge…” the imp-woman sighed. “You see every inch of it… even from this far away because of all of the lanterns. You see all of the footmen, too… I wonder if she’s leaving yet, or if she’s already departed.”

  “Knowing the Duchess,” I grunted. “She won’t leave until after the party’s started. She always has to be ‘fashionably late’ to parties… even her own. Every time she invited me to one, she expected me to be there on time, but she wouldn’t arrive until thirty minutes later.”

  “That’s rude,” Valerie hissed. “You have guests. They’re waiting for you! You should be there on time to greet them!”

  “I guess it’s a popular practice for aristocrats.” I shrugged. “I haven’t been to a lot of other parties, but from what I’ve heard, it’s a common occurrence.”

  “Despite my dislike for the Duchess,” Daisy murmured. “I have to admit, she has a gorgeous home, and she takes good care of it. I assume that it’s been passed down from generation to generation, correct?”

  “Yes,” I grunted. “Edony’s family basically built Edenhart from the ground up. I heard that her great-great-great-great-grandmother bought this enormous plot of land, built her duchy, and then built a city around it.”

  “They must have a lot of money,” the feline-woman whispered. “To literally build a town and then be the predominant rulers in that city to this day.”

  “Yeah, I guess Edony’s family is pretty important…” I agreed. “It’s always been that way. Edony’s mother was the Duchess before her, and so on and so forth since the town came into existence.”

  “It’ll end with her,” Rian stated cryptically, I turned and glanced over my shoulder at her.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “Her family line,” the imp-woman uttered. “It will end with her. After we’re finished with her, there will be no more rulers of Edenhart… no more rulers over the world… except for us, Charles and his monster-women. We will be the ones they answer to, men and women. There will be no classes, no aristocrats, and certainly no more Duchesses.”

  “That was… heavy,” Valerie chuckled nervously. “I know we’re all thinking it, but to hear it said out loud… it all seems a little too real.”

  “Well, it’s not going to happen anytime soon,” I chuckled. “So, put that thought away for another day, alright? The Duchess may be doing something sneaky, but she’s not a direct threat to us, but if there ever comes another day where she is, I will give you full permission to do whatever you want to.”

  “How much farther until we get to Josephine’s?” Valerie exclaimed.

  “About ten minutes,” I smiled. “We’ll be there very soon.”

  My women kept quiet for the rest of the ride. Our wagon tilted upward as we journeyed deeper into the mountains, and in the distance, we could hear the crash of an enormous waterfall. I turned my head toward the noise, smiled softly, and then cracked the reins hard against the horses’ backs. We came over the crest of the hill, and finally, Josephine’s massive manor came into view below.

  I would’ve guessed the house was about the same size as the Duchess’, if not, only a fraction smaller. Golden light spilled out of the two-story windows, and behind them I could make out the shifting silhouettes of other aristocrats as they milled about the party. The manor overlooked the expansive lake, and in the middle of the water was a tiny island with a single weeping willow, a small structure for shade, and an abandoned rowboat on the shore.

  “Ohhhhh,” Valerie gasped. “That’s gorgeous. It’s even prettier than Edony’s and Delphine’s.”

  “Look at all the pretty flowers Josephine had planted out front,” Rian gasped. “And all of the trees, everything looks so good.”

  “I wish we lived here,” the feline-woman murmured. “I love our house, I do, but this is just so preeeeetty and feminine. Our house… it just has a masculine feel to it, yeah, we’ve found dresses in the attic, but it looks better suited for a man.”

  “Hey,” I chuckled. “What’s wrong with our house?”

  “Too dark, not enough windows,” Valerie smiled. “The curtains are all dark colors.”

  “Too much wooden paneling… all over the house,” Daisy added. “I don’t mind it in one room, but all over the house? It’s too much.”

  “What about you, Rian?” I guffawed. “Any complaints about our house?”

  I glanced over my shoulder, but the imp-woman wasn’t looking back, she leaned against the opposite side of the cart, her hands pressed to the wood, and her eyes were wide with wonder. She wasn’t looking at the house, but something in the water, and I turned in my seat to take a look. That’s when I saw it, too, the light emanating from the water. It wasn’t the light of the moon reflecting off, but something different. The water rippled for a second, the light changed from bright white to a subtle blue, but I could still pinpoint it with my eyes. Then, I heard it… the soft sound of singing, and I could tell from this distance away, it wasn’t coming from the party or anywhere down the road.

  It sounded… almost human.

  “W-What is that?” Rian gasped. “D-Do you see it, too?”

  Chapter Twelve

  The sound came again, a soft whisper of a voice off in the distance, but it was different than the average speaking voice, there was something strange to it. Almost as if the voice was far away, or blocked by something like a barrier. Valerie and Daisy’s head snapped in the direction of the lake, their eyes widened, and the feline-woman’s chocolate brown ears snapped to attention.

  “I heard it that time,” the cat-girl whispered. “What… what was that, Charles?”

  “I don’t know,” I uttered. “But it’s something in the lake. Do you see that light? It might be difficult. It changed color just a second ago.”

  “I saw it the moment we pulled onto the drive,” Rian admitted. “At first, I thought it was just a reflection from one of the windows of the manor, but… it’s too far away from the house for that, and it’s on the other side of that small island, so there’s no way that the light would reach this far.”

  “Any idea, Daisy?” I murmured. “You’re our current mythical and average beast expert.”

  “There are a few possibilities,” the brunette grunted. “Possibly a kappa, bunyip, grindylow, water nymph or a nix… Those are only a few that live in lakes such as this.”

  “Do any of them emit light like that?” I asked.

  “I’m not sure,” the bear-girl breathed. “The only ones that I can think of that can change colors or produce light are nymphs and nixes, but others could, too, I suppose.”

  “What should we do?” the red-skinned woman asked. “Should we get out and investigate?”

  I glanced over my shoulder at the drive behind us and listened in the distance for any sound of trotting horse hooves, or the crash of a moving carriage, but the night was silent except for the sound of soft singing. I pressed my lips into a firm line, grunted under my breath, and then pulled back the reins. The horses neighed and fought against their harnesses for a second, but rolled to a stop in the grass.

  “There we go,” I grunted.

  I hopped out from the driver’s seat, offered my hands to Daisy, and then helped the brunette down.

  “Thank you, Charles,” the bear-girl murmured.

  “No need to thank me,” I chuckled, hurried to the back of the cart, and helped Valerie out next.

  “Thanks, Charles!” the ash-blonde bubbled.

  I offered the black-haired beauty my hands, but she shook her head and hopped out by herself. All three of my women took off toward the water’s edge, but Valerie was the first to reach it. Daisy and I followed after them, but the bear-girl stood a little behind me, held tightly onto the sleeve of my jacket, and peeked over my shoulder.

  The water’s surface was absolutely still with no movement from underneath, but the voice was louder. The bright light underneath the surface pulsed with such an intensity that I squinted my eyes against it in the d
arkness. Every few seconds, the glow would shift under the water, either going deeper in the lake or higher toward the surface, and I stood on my tiptoes as I attempted to get a peek at what was there.

  “What do you think it could be?” Rian asked. “I’ve heard about mermaids. You told me about those, Daisy, but this is a lake… there’s no way that a saltwater mermaid could be here.”

  “I can’t see it clearly enough to tell what it is,” the bear-girl whispered. “If only I could get a little closer.”

  “Well, we only have a few options to find out,” Valerie giggled. “One of us could tread through the water…”

  Both Daisy and Rian glanced at their sister, examined what they were wearing, and then shook their heads. The ash-blonde sighed softly, grabbed the train of her skirt, and stepped toward the water, but then I grabbed her by the arm and stopped her from going any further.

  “What was the other option, then?” I asked. “I can’t let you go into the water, not in your costume. Can you imagine how horrible it would be to show up at the masquerade covered in murky lake water? The aristocrats would laugh us out of there, but not only that, it would embarrass Ms. Josephine. I’m sure that you don’t want that to happen.”

  “You’re right,” the feline-woman grumbled. “The only other option is to ask Josephine what’s in her lake. She might not know, and that’s why I was going to go in there to get it.”

  “Well, we’ll ask first, alright?” I chuckled. “There’s no need to go and ruin your dress right now.”

  “Oh, I wasn’t going to ruin my dress,” the ash-blonde assured me. “I was going to take my dress off and then wade through the water in my skivvies.”

  “No, no, no,” I laughed. “That’s even worse. Other aristocrats could show up here anytime, do you want them to see you in your underwear?”

  “Not particularly,” the blonde grinned. “But I don’t really care. This will be the first and last time they ever see me, so why not give them a show?”

  “Why don’t we get back in the wagon,” I offered. “Then we can go to the party and then ask Josephine what’s in her lake. We can mention that we saw the changing light and heard singing.”

  “That’s a better idea, Charles,” the cat-girl giggled. “Let’s do that, alright, Rian, Daisy, let’s climb back in and get to the party.”

  I guided all three of them back to the wagon, helped them in, and then slid into the driver’s seat. Thankfully, no other aristocrats had come along the road while we were investigating the water or when we climbed back into the wagon. I slapped the reins against our horses’ backs, pulled along the drive, but kept my eyes trained on the same spot where the light changed once more to deep emerald green. I wondered what it could be. Another mythical creature? Or some sort of algae in the lake? But even if it were just algae, that wouldn’t explain the humanoid voice we’d heard.

  Valerie, Daisy, and Rian crowded around me after I pulled into an empty space in front of Josephine’s.

  “Turn around, turn around,” Valerie bleated. “It’s time to put your mask on!”

  “Am I not allowed to see what it looks like?” I chuckled.

  “Well, yes, but not until we’re inside. I think that Daisy picked out the perfect one!” Rian giggled.

  “The tailor shop I went to told me that all of their masks are one of a kind,” the brunette explained. “No one else in the city will have an exact copy, so it’s an original. I can tell that whoever made this worked very hard on it.”

  “They were quite skilled, too,” Rian commented, looked down into the white box, and grinned. “Look at all the colors. It looks so lifelike as if it will take a breath of fresh air, sniff at the wind, and then turn tail and disappear into the forest.”

  “But what is it?” I chuckled. “I want to see it, too. That’s not fair.”

  “I think it’s alright if we show him now,” Daisy uttered. “He’s going to see it anyway.”

  “Alright, alright,” Valerie chuckled. “It was my idea to hold off anyway, but you’re right. He’ll pass by a mirror and see it the second we’re in there.”

  Daisy took the box into her hands, shifted until we faced each other, and then offered the container to me. My eyes focused on the full-face mask in the box, as Rian had said, the colors were so realistic that it looked almost lifelike.

  “A wolf,” I uttered.

  The snout was long and pointed, rows of shiny, yellow fangs jabbed out from underneath the sloping jowls, and long whiskers stabbed out in different directions. I traced my finger over its hard surface, relished the smooth, silky texture for a second, and then lifted my head to them.

  “But why?” I asked. “Why a wolf?”

  “Wolves are protective creatures,” the gorgeous brunette explained. “They keep their young and their mates close to them at all times. They care for the pack, no matter what, no matter the threat or danger that surrounds them.”

  “I see,” I chuckled. “You chose it because I protect all of you?”

  “Wolves are also dangerous,” the bear-girl warned. “They have sharp teeth to tear, strong jaws to rip open their prey or enemies, and claws to destroy anything in their path. You are like the wolf, Charles, you’ve protected us, but you’ve also killed those that stood in our way. That’s why I chose the wolf mask. It suits you better than it does anyone else.”

  “Oh,” I grunted. “I… I didn’t expect that.”

  “Daisy explained it to us earlier when she showed us your mask,” Valerie smiled. “We thought that it fit you perfectly.”

  “I may not know a lot about wolves,” Rian started. “But you’ve never backed down from a challenge yet, Charles, everything that happens you take in stride, may it be a new threat or a hiccup in our plans, you never back down no matter what.”

  “Thank you,” I breathed. “This… this actually means a lot to me. I didn’t expect my mask to be so well-thought-out, but I will hold this memory close to my heart, always.”

  “Aw, Charles!” the ash-blonde squealed. “You’re so sweet. You’re going to make me cry!”

  “No crying,” I tittered. “This is supposed to be an exciting night for the three of you, and I don’t want to spoil it by making you cry.”

  “But it’s not sad crying!” the cat-girl protested. “It’s happy crying! We love being with you so, so much!”

  I reached into the box with both hands, lifted the mask out, examined the surface for a bit longer, and then placed it over my features.

  “I will help adjust it.” Daisy turned me around, tied it off with the thick ribbon, and then smiled.

  “You look…” Rian gasped.

  “So handsome!” Valerie gushed. “Oh, Charles, you look absolutely dreamy in that mask. It pairs so well with your suit, too. You look just like a masked prince from my dreams! Well, the masked prince always ends up being you anyway, but you get the point.”

  “Charles,” Daisy gasped. “You look so handsome, so rugged. It almost makes me want to take you into the bushes and… and…”

  “I feel exactly the same,” Valerie nodded. “It makes me want to strip off all of his clothes, drop down on my knees, and drink from him.”

  “Why even bother going into the bushes?” Rian giggled. “The back of the wagon would do fine for me. Just bend us over the side and breed each of us, Charles.”

  “While I’d love to do all of those things to each of you,” I laughed. “We do have a party to attend, with lots of aristocrats milling about. I’m sure if we did those things, someone would surely see.”

  “You’re right,” the feline-woman sighed. “Not only that, but you’re supposed to be Daisy’s consort, so it’d be indecent if you were seen with anyone else.”

  “That’s true, but these women don’t want to see any of that while they’re out in public,” I smiled, slid from the driver’s seat, adjusted my mask, and then helped Daisy down.

  I came around the side of the wagon, helped Valerie down, and then Rian. I brushed off
the skirts of their dresses, smiled to each of them, and then turned toward the enormous manor behind us. It looked even larger than before, towering up to four or five stories above our heads, footmen raced around the gravel, and as we got closer to the front door, aristocrats in costumes filtered in through it. I sighed softly, offered Daisy my arm, glanced back at Valerie and Rian, and then took a step forward.

  Once we stepped into the crowd, I was able to pick out a few familiar faces behind the masks. I didn’t know them, but I’d seen them enough to know their names and a little of their backgrounds. Their voices surrounded us, idle gossip filled my ears, but I ignored it and pushed on through toward the enormous ballroom. A man in a suit stood at the door, he glanced at us, cleared his throat, and then leaned toward us.

  “Names, please,” the servant asked.

  “Ah, yes,” Daisy stepped forward. “Daisy Browning, and her consort, the doctor and accomplished scientist, Charles Rayburn. These are my cousins, Valerie Donahue, and her sister, Rian Donahue.”

  “Region?” the servant murmured.

  “Yes, the Donahue’s are from the West.”

  “Thank you, Mistress,” the manservant nodded, turned on his heels, entered into the ballroom, and cleared his throat. “Announcing Ms. Daisy Browning, her consort, the doctor and a-accomplished scientist, Charles Rayburn. Accompanying them are Ms. Browning’s cousins, Valerie and Rian Donahue from the West.”

  All heads turned to face the stairs that descended into the massive ballroom. I held Daisy’s arm tightly in my own, threw back my shoulders, and stepped down the stairs gracefully. Whispers exploded up through the crowd, their eyes stayed heavily on Daisy at first, shifted to me, and then the two women behind us. Valerie and Rian moved gracefully, their heads held high, their eyes sharp, and their movements fluid and dignified. All four of us stepped off the stairs, moved through the crowd, but I paused as I examined the massive crowd around us.