Queen was getting good at walking like a zombie. Her arms were always in front, ready to catch her should she fall, and her walking motions were exaggerated to the point of being laughable. But I didn’t laugh. Not that Queen walking like an abnormally large baby wasn’t funny, but I was busy thinking about our next moves.
As a whole, our new Mind situation wasn’t debilitating in any way, rather just a change that we would have to adjust to. Since Queen and I could work in tandem essentially at will, it just meant that I actually had more of my conscious mental faculties to focus on things other than laying eggs and whatnot. I still had to make it work, of course, but the Mind part was up to Queen now. If anything, I was happy she’d be able to take an active role in that sort of stuff, it being her original purpose and all. But it would be strange to only be able to manifest my power through her new body.
Much of my thinking, often rudely interrupted by Queen’s shouts of triumph and subsequent desperate splashing, centered around how best to manage Yelah’s body. If I thought about it as a vessel for my Mind, it honestly seemed pretty awesome. Ignoring the limitations on our Mind usage I had, having a remote-controlled point where I could use our power at will was actually kind of a game changer. We could walk her into Yiwi and exert our influence even more directly, or even do something like venture to Lemonholm to take care of business. I wasn’t limited to sitting my butt in the hive all day, just spitting out eggs!
On the topic of spitting up eggs, though, that was at the forefront of my thoughts. We were already quite busy, with a mountainous to-do list, but most things were either being taken care of or pending, thanks to something out of our control. The forest restoration was soon to be properly underway, once the fernen began to move back in, our hold in Lemonholm was shaky, but otherwise about to bear fruit, the squad who went to Lemonholm were well on the way, and the various projects being undertaken by our bees were progressing nicely. As for things out of our control, well, there were an uncountable number of those. I had no choice really but to plan and take them in stride. But of all the things that had to be done, now that Queen inhabited another body, the next major task was looming. And she was the one who apparently had the key all along.
“Yes, I do think it was my thoughts preventing us from creating new queens, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that we have yet to level up the skill to the required level. Which is itself part of the problem. Is it the coveted level 4, the one we have been prevented from reaching after all this time? Or am I wrong, and the requirements to reach level 4 are actually so absurd?”
Considering that Queen existed, meaning her mom was able to reach the level to make queen eggs, I highly doubted that the level requirements were so insanely prohibitive. It was entirely possible that, although level 4 was the one we were being blocked from reaching, level 5 was the actual level we needed to arrive at, and her feeling had just begun to block our progress at that point.
“That is actually how I have been feeling, too. In my opinion, we will be able to create new queens once we achieve level 5. It is just that level 4 happened to be blocked off. Even so, we must still break past this barrier, and then discover the requirements to reach the level after. It will not be so simple as creating a massive number of eggs, of that I am certain.”
Queen spoke as she walked, forcing herself to put her arms down to give off a more natural vibe. Her movements were shaky, but she was picking it up quick. For the first time in a long time, as I watched her nervous stomps slowly transition to a confident stride, I was reminded of the way we appeared in the Vulch’s white world. That was the only time I saw Queen as her original Mind meant for her to be. Regal. Majestic. Powerful. Compared to me, a wisp of smoke. Practically a dark fart.
“Oh please, you are not a fart. Give yourself some credit. At the very least, you could be a light breeze, or a cloud of gnats. Perhaps a dust bunny.”
The comedy club was back in business with this new body of hers. But the situation with our Mind made that original image comparing Queen and myself truly tough to swallow. Was this some sort of restoration of the status quo? Of how things were meant to be? Where I was the chump and Queen was the one who was meant for greater things? Or was it just some highly unfortunate bout of cosmic irony? Perhaps I was giving myself too much benefit of the doubt, but the latter would be pretty par for the course.
A shadow loomed over me, and I looked up to see Yelah’s eyes looking down at me. Queen had already become so adept that she had jumped from the river and jogged to where I was floating. I noticed the strangest thing; it seemed like her pupils were a bit fuzzy. Like they had been squished awkwardly, and were taking on some sharp edges. Almost akin to a hexagon.
She still needed some work on appearing natural, though. Each of her movements, while improved, still felt forced and uncomfortable. Sometimes I had wondered what it would look like for a creature that disguised itself as a human, knew how humans acted, and yet still wasn’t really a human would look like emerging ominously from the woods, but I needn’t imagine any longer. The horrific creature was already standing here, staring daggers into my very essence as a human being.
“Good to see my duet at the comedy show hasn’t totally collapsed. Now we should go. You no longer have to perform your solo act. It is finally my time to stop being your mirror to bounce material off of and have my own time in the spotlight.”
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Despite her clever callbacks and tacky metaphors, Queen was sweating bullets standing outside the window to our room of the central hive. None of the bees had noticed her yet, even though several of them were working inside the hive right now. The whole way here, she had been reciting, by heart, the words she planned to say and the things she wanted to once she met the bees for the first time. She’d been planning this moment since we first birthed Beatrice, and despite that, she was having her first mental crisis as a human. Good for her!
“Beatrice will be here any moment now. Oh, why her? She’s the most complicated one to deal with. I still haven’t perfected my speech for her to demonstrate all of our shared virtues and my graciousness. Perhaps we could start with someone easier. For instance, um, Beau, perhaps? She would be sure to appreciate being the first to meet me.”
Right. She was also the most likely to not notice your existence for a solid ten minutes. Beatrice was our firstborn, so it was only natural for her to be the first to meet her other mother. It wasn’t planned or anything, but she also happened to be the most level-headed. And it would also be funny seeing Queen try to deal with Beatrice directly. Bee knows how much trouble I had, and lucky Queen had only ever had to deal with her through the Enno-filter, so now she had nobody to hide behind.
“You smug prick! All you want is to embarrass me!”
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“Mother?”
Queen made a choking sound and snapped her neck towards the new voice. There, in all her glory, was Beatrice, ready and waiting to turn Queen into a pile of mush. I did notice that her ‘glasses’ were slightly crooked. She’d been running herself ragged trying to deal with the tumultuous inner circle of bees the past few days, not least of which included the Valkybees that Bedivere was allowing to spar freely. A lump formed in my throat, considering it was my fault the most influential bees were currently undergoing something of a revelation. I could only hope that I could now find the strength to put myself in front and take responsibility.
Beatrice, usually dismissive of humans, slowly turned her head towards Yelah. It was subtle, considering her range of vision meant she didn’t actually need to turn her head to see her at all, but it spoke to how confused she really was. For a moment, nothing moved. Beatrice’s mental gears kicked into overdrive, trying to understand what was going on. Eventually, all she could do was say two words.
“Also Mother?”
It had given Queen enough time to steady herself. Now, at the moment of truth, her heart steeled itself and her body responded. Our Mind was clear as glass, made smooth like an unnatural ocean. She stepped forward, ready to give her big speech. Beatrice’s, while imperfect, was particularly long, I knew. It was designed to be a test of her wit while simultaneously demonstrating Queen’s own, showing Beatrice from what part of us she had emerged from. Truly, it was an ode to all things Beatrice and Queen, lauding efficiency and planning and an innate curiosity that drove them to into a fervor, much like the kind that brought Beatrice’s maps to life. In all honesty, I couldn’t help but admit that the speech was beautifully crafted, something I was almost jealous that a bee could conceive of when I could barely conceptualize a ‘thank you’ to the convenience store clerk. All of Queen’s prepared speeches for the bees were like that, but Beatrice’s was a thinker. Studying great speeches over a decade ago in high school sure did come in handy for something. It was smart, beautiful, perfectly succinct yet verbose, and masterful in its design, a work of art sure to impress even the stony countenance of the frightful Beatrice.
Queen immediately threw it in the trash.
“Good work, Beatrice.”
Said bee was frozen in place as Queen used new human arms to wrap her in a tight embrace. It was picturesque, though maybe it was only beautiful to me because I knew what a beat-up, soggy, depressed-looking human woman hugging a dog-sized bee meant. I watched with pride as Queen finally got what she had so desperately craved. And it seemed that, for Beatrice, who was melting into the admittedly outputting soft flesh and warm-blooded hug, the same wish was coming true.
“Thank you, Mother.”
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“Good work, Beck.”
“Good work, Bess.”
“Good work, Belle.
“Good work, Bedivere.”
“Belial. Behemoth. Belphegora. Beryl.”
The line that had formed stretched into the forest. Queen spared no expense, hugging each bee for as long as they wanted, not rushing or cutting one short a single time. After that first hug with Beatrice, confused about the annoying water pouring from her eyes, Queen was determined to do the same with every bee in the hive. Not as a big group hug, but a one-on-one special moment.
Unfortunately, the only one who could organize such a thing had become something of a blubbering mess. Those three words had taken the impenetrable Beatrice and wrung her like a soaking towel, and Queen had no remorse for her actions. She simply made the announcement of her arrival through the Link and waited as every bee in the hive instantly dropped what they were doing to swarm towards the central hive, desperate to meet the rumored second mother. I mean, what could possibly be better than their beloved Mother, who was, unfortunately, in a bit of hot water with a few select bees at the moment? How about two?
It was a bloodbath. For the first time since they were born, Beck stopped humming to listen to Queen’s three words. Bess turned into a frozen statue. Belle regressed back into a newborn child, and Bedivere’s stoic act lasted only halfway through the ‘work’ before he crumpled like wet paper to the floor. There were similar stories for each subsequent bee, no matter how young or old they were in hive time. Buzzes of desperation echoed from the faraway bees, from Bella and the others stationed at Yiwi, to the cries of the recovering, traveling Lemonholm squad. To them, Queen promised that they would meet without seconds to spare; the Lemonholm squad once they arrived and the Yiwi bees as soon as the Lemonholm squad returned.
Each bee reacted differently. Funny that even with this, they were unique. The Valkybees were similar to Bedivere, trying to be stoic, but they broke down differently. Behemoth just stayed silent, breaths shallow. Belial freaked out and started flying around to burn off energy, and Belphegora plopped down and started wailing so loudly some trees probably got uprooted. Contrary to what I expected, Beau wasn’t oblivious to Queen, and although she tried to start yammering about her inventions, as soon as Queen touched her, it was like all her breath suddenly escaped her lungs for the next hour. Becky was like Beck: silent. But she also started slamming her legs into the ground once she let go of Queen, like she was curing the world for every moment she hadn’t spent with her other mother. And Bessie was, funnily enough, the total opposite of Bess, twitching so violently I was almost concerned she would need to be hospitalized, though it turned out she was just making tiny holes in the ground to put her legs in and ease her excitement. Completely normal.
There were so many. Beryl was oddly normal, just crying, with a peculiar tendency of patting Queen on the back over and over. Bend was interestingly muted, unlike his fellow warriors who cheered and whooped and sobbed uncontrollably, though he lost control of his strength and would have crushed Yelah’s bones had I not interfered with my Mind. Not that either he or Queen noticed. Each unnamed worker and warrior was decidedly less distinct than the named ones, though why that was I couldn’t say. But that wasn’t implying they weren’t unique. They were; each bee had their own mannerism or word of appreciation or form of crying or laughing or breathing. They were just less… exaggerated. And Beatrice was still laying on the ground, her legs tucked in, looking into the sky and occasionally, under her breath, muttering the same words of thanks she had first spoken over an hour before.
All the while, I floated behind Queen, thinking to myself. I felt Queen’s radiant happiness as if it were my own. Technically, I suppose it was. Maybe that wasn’t fair, since this was what she wanted. Needed. And I was taking part in it despite it not being mine to partake in, intruding on her moments. That was what I was, wasn’t I? An intruder. But that couldn’t be considered my fault. It had just happened. I had to do what needed to be done, and I’d continue having to do so. If anything, Queen wouldn’t even have had the opportunity to have this wish fulfilled if I hadn’t butted in on her death in the first place.
Who was I to both create and fulfill her wishes?
The breeze whistling through the broken forest quieted for only a second before picking up again, stronger than before. Queen’s hadn’t been the only life my appearance here had turned upside down. The hive I created. The vultures. All the people in Yiwi. Yelah. The fernen. Now Lemonholm, and those Somuian Knights. There was a chance the Knights would succumb to their injuries, but I found it unlikely. Whether because of them, the MIS, or the inevitable break in the news of Yiwi, I was sure to come into conflict with more humans eventually. For now, things were stable. Finally. Not that I expected them to stay that way. Whether it was weeks or months or years, Somuia would come crashing down on the forest. And I still had to be wary of everything besides. Dreva was a mystery, Rikitan a wildcard. I tried to enjoy the pleasure of Queen’s moment, but I couldn’t. I could only think of what needed to be done.
For the first time since my arrival in this world, I asked the CBU for a particular favor. I wanted it to hide a thought from Queen. Not a big one, as I knew it had encountered trouble with such tasks in the past. Just something small.
Surprisingly, it was quick to agree, and ready almost immediately. As if it had done such a thing before. Quickly, as Queen had all focus on her merciless slaughter, I gave the CBU my thought, to lock away and throw away the key so that Queen might never know it passed through my head.
‘I will be the little cloud she needs. No matter how dark or smelly. We will do what needs to be done. Effectively. Efficiently. Endlessly.’