June and Florance Lyns had to be tired of sitting around while war raged outside the hive’s territory, Regina figured, but it wasn’t like they could do much about it. Still, it probably explained why they looked a bit frustrated, or at least tense, when they welcomed her today.

They met in Forest’s Haunt, once again. It was closer to the hive’s current campaigning area than her main base, and Regina had other reasons for a visit. Their enemies might attack here, or at least try to, so dropping by to talk to Baron Neralt and the drones in charge of the local defense wasn’t exactly wasted time.

Regina had come riding Winged Drone Mounts with Max and a group of bodyguards. They were simply much faster than trying to travel on the ground, even if it was probably more conspicuous as a mode of transportation. Right now, the mounts were guided away to a pasture set up outside the village, and they’d have fresh mounts for the next flight, if she decided on it. Most of the bodyguards Max had assembled peeled away as well, although more drones in the village would keep an eye on her and effectively replace them. Ever since their trip underground and the encounter with the foreign Delvers, Max had really taken her security seriously. Although it might just have something to do with the fact the hive had the resources and manpower for it now.

Regina still found it a bit funny that she was apparently getting a personal guard, after becoming sort of a real queen, according to the outside world, anyway. Maybe. She wasn’t certain about how other people saw the hive, but there had definitely been a bit of a shift, probably triggered at least in part by the increase in the hive’s numbers and their effectively winning against the gnomes.

“Your Majesty,” Florance Lyns said, “this is an unexpected honor. May I ask to what we owe it?”

“Hopefully not too unexpected, Lady Florance,” Regina replied with her best polite smile. “I would hate to think that my care is so unreliable. I have, after all, taken responsibility for your health and welfare, and I’ve come to check on them.”

“We appreciate it,” she replied, and Regina had to hide her surprise. “My June has been getting worse.”

Regina straightened her spine as she focused on the seriousness of the situation. “So I’ve heard,” she said, looking at June. “Has it gotten any worse since your last checkup with our healers?”

“Not at all,” June answered, looking a bit annoyed. “I’ve had much worse days.”

“The assumption is that the relief my previous treatment brought has lapsed and your condition returned closer to your previous baseline,” Regina said. “Would you say that seems accurate?”

“Yes, Your Majesty, that is what it feels like.”

“Then if you would allow me?” She gestured.

At June’s nod, Regina stepped closer and laid a hand on her shoulder at the curve of her neck, carefully moving aside the fabric of her tunic to touch bare skin. The skin contact wasn’t necessary, but it did help.

Regina closed her eyes as she focused on what her magic was telling her. She’d gotten a little better at this, even though she still wished she had some modern tools, or even just a proper microscope. Still, a basic diagnostic scan was easily feasible. She could tell that June wasn’t in any immediate danger, first off. The pattern did look rather like what she’d found the first time she’d looked. Not just a respiratory infection, but a little more complex. She’d question her about her symptoms in detail later, just to be sure, but there was only so much that could tell her.

Instead, for now, Regina called on her magic and shaped her mana, using Greater Heal, to clear out any blockages she could find, drain away accumulations of viscous fluid, carefully add some water in selected spots, and even more carefully adjusted the balance of ions and encourage June’s cells to do their work properly. Experience had shown this wouldn’t hold for long, not without deeper changes she wasn’t sure how to make even if she wanted to risk it, but it should help for now.

Finally, after spending thousands of points of mana and she wasn’t sure exactly how much time, Regina withdrew again, opening her eyes and stepping back from her patient. Apparently, it had been long enough that Florance had sat down and several drones had started hovering nearby, although Regina had been too focused to notice.

“How do you feel?” Regina asked.

June took a deep breath, and then visibly brightened. “Much better, thank you, Your Majesty.”

“I have some more questions. Have you felt more tired than usual lately?” Regina began.

For the next few minutes, she quizzed her patient about her condition and activities. One of the drones at the edge of the room had brought out pen and paper and was noting the answers down. Since they clearly wanted to learn, Regina made a point of being thorough and even explained a few details of her reasoning. Unfortunately, it didn’t bring to light anything she hadn’t already expected.

“May I ask, Hive Queen Regina?” Florance spoke up after she’d finished for now. “Do you see a path to curing my daughter of what ails her?”

Regina suppressed a sigh. She wasn’t about to get angry at a concerned mother, even if the question was a bit inconvenient from a political perspective. They had every right to ask, as patients she was treating.

“I am still entertaining several possibilities,” Regina said. “It’s best not to be hasty about things like this. We can certainly keep her symptoms at bay, for now. True rehabilitation is a harder issue.”

“Why is that?” June asked. “If you do not mind talking about it? I’d like to know what my prospects are for getting rid of my frailty, if it’s possible.”

Regina sighed. “It may be that this is simply something you were born with,” she told her. She’d have to simplify quite a bit here. “That would make it trickier to heal. If not, I’m confident it won’t take long.”

“But you think she could be healed, even if it was something given to her at birth?” Florance asked, her tone and expression hard for Regina to interpret.

“Of course,” she said. “Genetic defects are not an insurmountable obstacle. We may simply lack the means currently to deal with them as might once have been possible, but that hardly makes it impossible. If nothing else, we will be able to do it eventually, once the proper prerequisites are met.”

That was a bit optimistic, Regina admitted to herself, but it wasn’t like she was wrong. Sure, there’d been some conditions even her old world hadn’t been able to treat, at least fundamentally, but they also hadn’t had magic and there’d been a lot of progress in the last few decades.

“I see,” June said, exchanging a look with her mother. She looked a bit hesitant.

“I am relatively sure it is not a bacterial infection, at least,” Regina said. “At least not any remotely familiar one. It might still be a viral infection, although would I tend to say otherwise. I will need several sessions and to have your condition monitored closely.” She glanced at the other drones, healers she’d only interacted with rarely, since most of their senior ones were still with Lyns’ army. “I’ll also teach our healers what I expect so we can properly assess everything even when I cannot be here.”

“Of course,” June murmured. She actually smiled at the healers. “My thanks.”

Regina touched the three drones’ minds as well, feeling their subdued eagerness and a variant of pride she’d felt from drones before, but found hard to describe in human terms.

“Now,” she said, turning to the mother. “I would like to check up on you as well, Lady Florance.”

The noblewoman clearly didn’t like that idea particularly, but her pregnancy was too important to her for any reluctance. “Of course, your Majesty, thank you,” she said, dipping her head.

Regina repeated her previous actions, touching Florance’s shoulder and focusing on her magic senses. “Everything seems to be in order,” she finally said, withdrawing after a few minutes. “Your baby is as healthy as can be, as far as I can tell. Have you had any complaints regarding your health?”

Florance’s shoulders visibly loosened as some tension left her. Considering her previous miscarriages, Regina couldn’t blame her. “No, this one has been rather easy,” she said, then hesitated. “That said, if it would be possible, I’d like to send for a midwife from our lands. It would do wonders for my peace of mind.”

“I’ll see what might be done,” Regina said noncommittally. Her first impulse was to refuse, or at least give a colder ‘I’ll take it under advisement’, but she did want friendly relationships with them. She’d at least consider it.

“Of course, as you think best,” Florance murmured courteously.

“That reminds me, I hope your accommodations have been satisfactory?” Regina asked. “Is there anything you require we have not seen to?”

“Not at all, you’ve been gracious hosts,” June answered.

“Good. I advise regular light exercise, Lady Florance, and a balanced diet. My drones should be able to tend to that. Actually, the same recommendation would go for you as well, Lady June.”

“May I continue with fencing lessons, Your Majesty?” June asked.

“I don’t see why not,” Regina smiled. “Some of the warrior drones might want to spar with you and pass on a few lessons. I’d have no objections, just try not to damage them,” she added with a teasing smile.

June laughed softly. She did look a lot better, in a way Regina knew didn’t solely have to do with her physical health.

Relief, trickled into her mind. Joy. She’s starting to enjoy her stay and feels invigorated now that she doesn’t have to worry about her health suddenly worsening and keeping her in bed.

Regina smiled. She hadn’t deliberately tried to look deep into her guests’ minds, since they were her patients and it seemed unprofessional at best, but she hadn’t tamped down on it either. She took it as a good sign that emphatic insights were coming easier to her. It was something she’d have to learn to control tightly and only use deliberately, of course, but it still showed she was getting better at this.

She stayed to talk with the two noblewomen for a while, since it felt pretty rude to just leave. They were quite polite, as expected, and Regina minded her manners as well. She figured this was good practice, if nothing else. She also got some practice with her psychic power, so there was that as well.

They both hinted at communication with the marquis and Kiara, subtly pushing for more freedom in that, unless Regina was mistaken. She smiled and echoed the proper niceties, but she wasn’t going to stop having drones read their letters. The two were, after all, hostages. It would be stupid not to keep an eye out. And letters might be slow and inefficient, but she still had them carried by her flying drone couriers, so they really didn’t have much to complain about. She wouldn’t trust them with magical communication means that easily, not without more understanding of the subject and some precautions.

Regina didn’t plan to stay for too long, though. She had a lot to do. Her latest Template’s first clutch had just hatched, and she wanted to talk to them personally. She could already tell they were what she’d expected: actual flying combat drones. Their lean, comparatively slight builds and big wings were clearly made for flight, but they were also a Warrior type and stronger than they appeared. With some projectile weapons, or even just javelins, they’d be a force to reckon with on the battlefield. And as sapient drones, they could command flocks of Swarm Drones, so it would take pressure off her Evolved and newly sapient Winged Drones.

The newest letters from Kiara and Marquis Lyns had also been brought to the village, and Regina read through them before visiting his family, but she still needed to answer.  Baron Neralt was being very nice about them more or less taking over parts of his house, but Regina wasn’t going to impose too much, so she’d do the paperwork at the interim command center the drones had set up outside the village proper. On the way there, she could also take a look at the village’s industry.

Unfortunately, before she could finish making her goodbyes to Florance and June Lyns, Neralt himself burst in on them. They were still in the small parlor in his manor, so he had every right to be here, of course, but he’d usually know better than to interrupt a conversation like this. And judging by the look on his face, he had a reason. So Regina broke off what she was saying and turned to face him, raising an eyebrow. “Baron?”

“Your Majesty.” He offered a quick bow, almost distractedly. “I just received some rather surprising news, and I judged it was best to pass them on to you immediately.”

Regina tried for a controlled expression, not wanting to show surprise or dismay in front of their guests. “I see,” she said calmly, then turned to them. “If you would excuse me?”

Neralt cleared his throat. “Actually, it might be best to ask the ladies’ opinion,” he said hesitantly, then held out a folded letter.

Regina’s eyebrow climbed even higher, but she stopped herself from saying anything and instead just took the letter and read through it.

At first, she was a bit confused why he considered this so important. Then she recalled the map of the surrounding countries, even calling on the psychic link and the information the Keepers stored there, and placing the indicated locations. This letter was clearly written by a business partner of Neralt’s, not a friend or very trustworthy source. Still, considering her scouts and letters from her allies had mentioned a few other things as well, this started to take shape into … something.

“Lady Florance,” she began, looking at the noblewoman. “If I recall, was your daughter Kiara not supposed to marry into the royal family of Esemen?”

Florance didn’t quite manage to hide her surprise. “Indeed, Your Majesty,” she answered.

“How far along did these plans progress?”

The woman visibly hesitated, then sighed and started talking. “Not to any official stage. We did not even make the attempt public, although knowledge seems to have spread anyhow. And their enthusiasm for the notion had started to wane, when I left.”

Regina nodded, frowning. “It seems there are troop movements along their borders,” she told her. “Their merchants are also acting in ways that might indicate fear of coming hostilities. What does that tell you?”

“You believe they want to intervene in the war?” Florance frowned. “This might just be some manner of civil strife of their own, Your Majesty. If not, however, I am afraid I cannot be certain what their goals might be.”

Regina nodded, suppressing a grimace. She hoped it was just some internal squabbling, or something relatively harmless to them. But, if not — and maybe even if there was serious trouble, anyway — shouldn’t Marquis Lyns have known about it and told her? It seems like either Lyns is keeping secrets that might be important, or their talks are even worse than we thought and they’re cutting him completely out of the loop, which suggests they’re not about to start interfering for his sake …

Regina folded the letter back up and rubbed the bridge of her nose. She should have known better than to think she had a handle on everything.