A slave in on the loose! The nurses released in faked panic. Is he here for revenge? The followers whispered. Their antennae stood up, leaking scent bordering around mischief. They were cooking something bad and were clearly up to no good.

I’m her guard, Princess. I explain, but my desperation only amused her.

Now isn’t that funny. She scented. It's the first time I’m seeing a guard who might need a guard to guard him. Her followers didn’t forget to share their amusement, but they weren’t so concerned with me. Their only target was Princess Tiny. I really couldn’t figure out what she had done to earn their anger… other than being bold and brazen...

The first royal princess tried to influence me. Leave, she said, drowning me in an overloading amount of pheromones. Go back to being a worker. She doesn’t need you.

I was tempted, but I resisted the temptation. It wasn’t easy, but knowing what she was doing made it easier to block her out of my mind. It was a mental battle. The winged one was surprised by my resistance and increased her attention upon me. I swayed. Somehow I had learned to do this, but I was not good enough. I almost gave up when Princess Tiny washed my head with a drop of water. ‘Always keep water with you. It can help in so many ways.’ Everyone knew that, but it was so common a saying no one believed it. Thank the shade Princess did.

You go back to your holes and leave him alone. Princess had enough of their banter. He’s mine.

I fell for her. At that moment I knew I would do anything for her; Even if it meant running away from the colony with her in pursuit of danger — I would do it.

The winged ones let out amusement. I hated them more.

Just perfect: A broken guard for a broken Princess. The first female tried to pat Tiny’s head but she swatted her antennae away. Enjoy your freedom Tinsey-Tiny-Toy. The day we fly is the day you get chained to the ground. We’ll see how you retain that fire then. She exchanged and left; her followers went right after her. In haste they followed the first female, forgetting about us, and disappeared into the newly dug temporary burrows.

Are you all right? Princess asked me when I should have been the one asking after her health.

I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you better.

Don’t worry about them. Most of them are not even going to make it. She said. I wondered what she meant. I would have understood had I seen a festival of rebirth, but it wasn’t far and I was in no hurry.

The guards checked us for signs of infection and finally allowed us entrance into the queen’s chambers.

We passed the gate and the doorkeeper placed her coin-shaped head back into the entrance slot, blocking it once again. I thought a worker's life was tough, but a door guard’s life was absolutely colorless. They were birthed specifically for the purpose of blocking the entrance to the queen’s chambers. The worst thing was their absence of antennae! They could only feel physical touch and nothing else. Though limited in actions, they played a vital role in protecting the queen because their coin-shaped heads were strong as stone and almost unbreakable. A door guard can’t be pushed back once it locks its limbs, giving better protection than a stone block ever could.

Cold as the door guard's story was, the Queen’s chamber was warm and open. It wasn’t just a large cathedral, but the heart of the city. Its fall meant the city’s fall. Obviously, it had to be kept at nominal levels of temperature and humidity at all times. Caretakers were busy at that. My stiffness reduced simply by entering her abode. There was no greater honor than meeting the queen, but I couldn’t get excited after what had just happened. From the egg piles, I conquered the Queen hadn’t stopped laying just yet. As a matter of fact, she laid another string of warm pearl white eggs right in front of us, which the nurses disinfected and their helpers carted to the seven and sometimes eleven head tall piles, by the wall.

These eggs wouldn’t hatch in the circumstances. They would need to be baked at about forty degrees Celsius for three to five days of wet heat. Once they turn brown, they would require constant warmth of thirty to thirty-five degrees Celsius for the seed to grow into a larva. But it could only be done in the tower. The workers would be frantic to complete the repairs for the next couple of days.

A few nurses rushed to decontaminate us with their saliva. They pumped the herbal saliva through every nick and crony of my skeleton, leaving no plate unturned and no crack unchecked. They asked us to wait after the procedure, for the queen was being fed. I wouldn’t have liked being interrupted while feeding either, so I understood.

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The queen was still the same: Large, carefree, and accompanied by her consort of servants and playthings. The glow bug looked healthier than yesterday. He lit up upon noticing us. She was playing with the touch me not plant, kicking it the moment it relaxed, making it retract and curl its leaves again.

We stood alone in a silence that seemed heavier than the pain of being humiliated in front of the whole community. The chamber being as large as it was didn’t help contain my emotions either. It only amplified the question buzzing in my mind. In the end, afraid of spilling the grains at the wrong moment, I toughened my chest and laid the question bare in front of the princess.

Princess… I called her with a touch of my antennae on her chiseled jaw. Why did you ask me to call you Tiny? Don’t you hate being called small?

She didn’t react at first, but soon she was telling me everything.

Because the ones you called winged ones —I’m keeping the naming sense just so you know— might be harsh, but they speak the truth.

Princess—

No, hear me out. You asked the question, so it’s only natural that you hear the answer, too. She waited for me to accept, which I did with a nod. I am small, tiny in fact. I cringed, but she continued unfazed. I am not even half the size of a normal royal female. And I have no wings. It’s natural that the other females of my caste don’t consider me one of them. Nobody likes those who are different. You of all should understand this.

Of course, I did. Why wouldn’t I? Hadn’t the worker's unions acted similarly toward me? Well, they hadn’t especially gone out of their way to make fun of me, but they had indeed turned away after knowing that my thoughts and motivations were different from theirs.

But why call yourself by that derogatory term? Why ask me to call you tiny?

To keep me aware; to remind me of what I am. You see, you can run, she said, speaking to me, telling me I was wrong in the way I had handled my situation. I had hidden away in a tunnel instead of confronting the workers and the supervisors. I should have fought for my rights. They had told me to stay quiet and I did without question. What if I had the same confidence and fearlessness as her? What if?

She continued. You can run, but you can’t hide. And there is no stopping once you start running from your problems. Her antennae stopped moving and fell to the ground. It was clearly a heavy topic and a burden for her, but she told me her thoughts without holding back and it made me respect her more.

The others think my size and winglessness is a problem. I don’t think so. They taunt me believing it affects me, but it really doesn’t. I might not have wings outside, but the wings growing inside me are bigger and stronger than the set they’ll ever possess. My ambition is all I need. I’m okay with being wingless and frail if I can continue moving around the world without being interrupted.

Alright, I said. She hadn’t left room for me to comment. I could only let her words sink in and digest them slowly over the course of my time with her. Her thoughts were deep for someone her age, which might also be the reason why she had been handed such freedom of movement. We were two blades of grass with similar roots, but where I had bent to the weight of the dewdrop she had absorbed the drop and grown to stake her claim at the sky.

It wasn’t long after when the Queens’s caretakers called us. The queen greeted and touched our heads to initiate scent communication. The princess was no longer angry and was respectful and honorable with her request, which the queen listened but denied.

These are difficult times, daughter. The queen scented. You must understand your importance. With the tower out of order and the next generation delayed, the danger looming over our heads is larger than a mere flier in the sky. For such reasons I can’t agree to let you go. Not this time.

Princess didn’t back down. But I have to meet the explorers. She pressured. I truly believe we need to investigate the 47th city or our nonchalance will stir the future out of our control!

Do you have any proof, daughter?

I have a gut feeling. Princess answered with complete confidence; as if that was all she needed, gut feeling. We have to investigate the termite origins and send a delegation to the far city. We need to find out what’s happening out there. The longer we idly sit in the dark the larger will be the damage. What happened to the fire must not happen to the embers or one day only ash will remain. Princess pushed, but the queen was not fazed. Her eyes did grow hazy for a second before light returned to them.

You have found a way with words, daughter. But I have more worries about the near tomorrow than the far future. A delegation that far won’t be small, but we have neither the time nor the soldiers to spare. The workers are already spread thin to patch the tower and strengthen the tunnels; while the soldiers have to scavenge for black wood and fire moss to keep the city heated in the meantime. I’m afraid, between these duties and the protection of the city there are no free hands to help your noble cause.

The queen stayed adamant to her decision, causing Princess to unfortunately retreat. She bowed her head and was about the break the connection when the Queen pulled her back.

Remember my child: You are not alone anymore. You don’t have to do everything by yourself. A queen only needs to command. She said and removed the connection. She touched the back of her neck and the caretakers, already used to her commands, pushed us away to take care of her needs.

Princess looked toward me, antennae buzzing and we came out of the queen’s quarters with a plan.

We decided that she would meet the commander, to see if he agrees to send a few probing expeditions in the regions near the mountain where the ant and the termite were found. And I would travel to the surface and sniff the explorers out of their hiding place. Princess doubted the commander would agree, but she believed in me. Her heavy touch told me I had no choice. I had to find the explorers or there would be consequences.