The answer was a terse no, and then the captain walked away with his squad, leaving me wondering why in the shade I had done that. It was an act of desperation I believed, of trying to make a way where there was none. The feeling, it was an odd sensation, echoed in my chest. It was a pretty serious throbbing.
Princess was distressed and desperate and the new connection between us was letting me experience all of it as her royal guard. I followed the throbbing to find her. It was a pretty useful thing, unlike another that had only brought me hardship since the day I had acquired it.
I found her silently standing in a corner of the twenty-fifth floor, solemnly staring at the queen’s quarter. She made no movement when I approached her, but I felt her stirring inside. Maybe my presence calmed her down, but the storm boiling through our connection entered a period of rest.
Princess, I opened the dialogue and let it hanging as such. I wasn’t the right person for this kind of situation, but I had also gone through something like this. So even though I didn’t know what to say, I knew what not to say. And that was enough.
She looked at me with her big oval eyes and let the scents flow. What are you doing here? She asked.
I should be the one asking you that, princess. I countered.
I picked over when she didn’t continue. From what I recall of my worker days, sitting back and lazing is the worst thing one can do when their heart is in a disagreement with their mind. It actually makes you go slightly mad.
She cocked me an eye and I gave her a smug shrug with my antennae.
How long are we going to stay here?
We’ll stay here as long as it takes.
Then it’s alright. I commented going to stand beside her. I believe we’ll be leaving soon.
What makes you think so? She bit.
I told her the truth. Because your antennae have started waving above your head again and you are no longer desperate.
There was a lull in our conversation during which we watched a nurse throwing a tantrum over something or another, a soldier approaching a caretaker for water and being refused, the same nurse being abusive and being carried away by a bunch of young soldiers; and a pair of soldiers from the lower floors stopping to point at us, becoming amused over something, and leaving for the upper floors.
Maybe the spectacle amused her or calmed her, but she was the one to initiate the conversation next.
Do you think what we do matters in the larger scheme of things?
That’s rhetorical. I truthfully answered. All I know is that we both have a future here. You will be the secondary queen and I’ll be your royal guard, standing outside the entrance and identifying everyone who asks for your audience.
She passively waited, her heart struggling over something. I gave her the time she needed to settle her feelings. It took her a while but it wasn’t long before she was decided. Then she went forward to blow away my perception of her.
I don’t want to be a secondary queen. She said and carried onwards without checking out my condition after that sudden shock that she had delivered me. I want to create my own city and rule a piece of land. I want to have children that call me their mother. I want to have wars with others. Expand my region. I want to do everything that a queen can do, and more. I want to create ties with the other species. I want to grow flowers and have the bees cultivate them. They’ll give me honey and I’ll protect their flowers. And I want beetles to give us fertilizer. I want to ride the hornets, and use wasps for espionage. I want to have a tower made of a material so strong it can’t be broken into. I want to farm grains. I want to do all of that. None of which I can accomplish by becoming a secondary queen.
When she finished and looked at me I was standing tense, with my lone mandible stretched to the limits. My antennae were erect above my head and I was sitting on the ground with my rear legs bent and weight on the abdomen.
Her heart thumped with pure desire. She had just told me her innermost desire, her dream. It was no time to be in shock. I had to say something. She was looking at me for a reaction. I gave a reaction; one that made her cringe with every sentence.
But-But what about the chamber you had me-the workers dig? You commissioned it! You asked the queen for permission and the union for workers. It was all you! Why would you ask it to be made if you didn’t want to use it?
She turned solemn; the spark of interest dimming again. This connection between us was too bold and spilling. It was making me try to run away from her to save myself from her onslaught of emotions, but I stayed. I had to know her reason.
Do you think I asked it to be made? Why would I do it? It is all her fault. I felt her hatred. If her true desire was pure warmth, her hatred was a burning fire. The first princess made the queen agree and even forced the construction on me so that she can laugh at me if I end up messing the construction.
Why didn’t you tell me…? It’s not your place. I thought she would say it but she didn’t.
Now you know. She said instead. So what are you going to do about it?
I—
She interrupted me before I could begin. I was thankful because there was nothing I could say. I could do nothing to help her or me.
Forgive me. She scented. You don’t have to say anything. It isn’t a matter than can be solved anyways. The festival of rebirth is almost upon us. Finding out what’s wrong in the 47th city is important not just for me but also for our city. It’s the only way I can help the city before being bound to this one place forever. I want to at least do this one thing before the time comes.
My heart skipped a beat. I wished I could help her someway.
The system reacted.
My wish was heard.
A suitable candidate has been detected for Greed’s vessel. Would you like to proceed?
ERROR
Action can’t be completed.
Greed is at tier zero. No slots are available.
(Number of slots depends upon sin tier.)
I understood the intent, but not the reason behind its appearance. Had the system reacted to my desire? No, it was clearly talking about Princess TInbuji. I had asked for help and it had reacted. Everything was clear other than the last part.
Analyze: Greed’s vessel: As the master of Greed, you are allowed to have a few chosen subordinates. They will connect with the system under you, and will even have a chance to form their own shards of greed and inherit some of your strengths.
There was nothing here that said she would be harmed. If it was this I could help her. I could help her connect to the system, and then, and then what? I wasn’t confident about the system myself, but to tow her into this… was the risk worth it?
I didn’t have to think about it right then. I couldn’t yet make her a vessel anyway. But I could think about the problem so I wouldn’t hesitate to make the decision when the time came. So I put it to the back of my mind until the time came.
However, I decided that we had enough of sitting around doing nothing for a day. Ask a worker to work hard and it will be spiteful; ask him to stop working and it will curse you on the spot. I had enough of gloominess.
Want to go to the surface? I asked her, standing up, ready to move.
Why? What’s at the surface?
When I was still a digger —it stung differently to admit that my life was on a different track than the one I had imagined— I enjoyed leaving the narrow tunnels and the tight corridors to take out the trash and feel the wind on my face. The openness called me —though I hated the pit and still do.
Don’t us all. She mused. I had her attention.
So why don’t we go out for a bit? It will be a nice change of pace. I know you want to.
It’s all right. She said, but she was wavering. Her antennae were starting to return back to their dancing pattern. She needed a push, something to make up her mind. I didn’t have much, but I knew if anything would work this would be it.
Don’t be afraid. Her antennae rose sharply and head turned to face me. You taught me to look beyond the walls that society creates for us. Let me show you what I found.
She finally agreed.
The plan was to go to the surface and fell the wind, but I changed the plan upon seeing the behemoth shadow cast by the tower. We climbed the tower. She was skeptical but followed without complaint. At the funnel-shaped top wind blew strong and hard. It forced us to latch onto the tower so we wouldn’t get blown off.
However, the experience wasn’t simply a struggle. It was excitement made real and joy brought into reality. It was a time and place away from the burdens of our society; where I was myself, and Princess was happy again.
A few seconds in and my sight was already being colored in different characters of multiple shades.
Stand your ground, soldier. Fight the wind! Try as it might, don’t let it force you to kneel, don’t let it blow you away. Hold your head high and fight the wind!
You have acquired a new skill: Aerodynamic.
You have acquired a new skill: Iron claws.
[Aerodynamic][Tier-1][Lv-1/10][Passive]
[Your body grows in a way that makes it easier for the wind to flow around you, making you aerodynamic.]
[Reward: You gain .1 points in constitution for every skill level gained.]
***
[Iron Claws][Tier-1][Lv-1/10][Active]
[The skill improves our claw strength.]
[Effect: it activates when you clench your claws.]
[Reward: You gain .1 point in strength for every skill level gained.]
This … pretty dangerous. Princess scented. I didn’t… you… adventurous.
I am not! I scented out loud, but the wind blew most of it away. It was true. When did I have time for such scandalous endeavors? This was a spur of the moment thing; nothing more.
She came to my side and touched my antennae since the scented conversation wasn’t working. It’s beautiful. She said. The tower has always been here, but none of us ever stopped to think of it as anything more than a tool. I can almost see the whole world from here. Thank you for bringing me here.
I wished I could share her view of the world.
For me, the world was a grey canvas with only the center colored. The rest of it was not more than an amalgamation of blurry lines and distorted sketches. My sight only worked at close range, almost only a few heads distance at best. I didn’t know if it would improve with time or not, but at that moment I would have given anything to see from the princess's eyes.
We promised each other to climb the tower every day, not knowing that our next time there would be the last time we would be seeing each other.
For now, it was all happiness and sunshine until Princess noticed something. Her olfactory senses were far sharper than mine, and so was her sight. It was no surprise that she was the one who found a group of ants approaching the city from a distance.
Not long after a gust of wind dragged some foreign scent along to the top of the tower, solving the mystery. We had guests.
***
There were rumors of scouts from the 43rd city contacting us, but nothing concrete. I had heard about it in passing while dazed from sleeping too long or maybe a period too short. This group was a build-up in that direction.
It was surprisingly a delegation from the 43rd city, Nadiea-kande-Ji. We made it to the surface just in time as they reached the entrance to the city. Soldiers had already gathered to receive them. A royal captain was in a conversation.
The embers from the 43rd had stubbier legs —they said it allowed them to float on water— and an overall larger abdomen than us. They had brought frog meat as a gift, which the soldiers happily received. The most surprising thing about them was their leader himself; he was not a royal male, but a common soldier, an old one with battle marks littering his whole bulky body. The most striking among them was the star-shaped burn mark in the middle of his forehead. It was offensively in your face.
Why was he leading in the place of a royal male? Seeing him arguing with the captain from our side was enough to show why he was chosen.
Listen, lad. We have come from far away. And we are very anxious. We have to meet her highness right now. As I would like make to the journey back before sundown. Listening? We don’t have the time for games. There are policies made for these kinds of things, right? He addressed the rest of his cast who nodded in response.
One of the more average soldiers, an adviser, recited the policy he was talking about from memory. During the 3rd generation war to expunge the remaining termites from our land, her highness Agnee promised our Mother Nadiea help to kill the frogs, especially after a sudden shower, in return for providing war resources.
They had come bearing help to hunt the frogs that had leaped out of the river and made base around their city after the rain. The sudden thunderclouds had affected more than us.
During peaceful times our soldiers would have voluntarily gathered, however, since we were at war with the termites, protocols needed to be followed so we wouldn’t end up sending away soldiers needed to protect our boundaries.
They asked to meet the commander since that’s what the rules suggested, but the commander was away and even though the committee stood in his place, the supreme authority for such decision resided solely in the hands of the queen.
They were taken inside, but kept on the first floor and asked to wait. The leader of the delegation, whom I named star, for his graphical scar, showed strong verbal dissatisfaction, but it led to nothing as the soldiers were also in the right.
Princess’s had an idea and she shared it with me.
That’s reckless. I told her and was smugly ignored.
She had asked the explorers for help and was denied. The queen had advised her against it since there were no troops to be sent so far.
Now she had decided to hatch a ride. She rushed to the troops from the 43rd. They were pretty depressed and tired, but their captain turned when he sensed a female scent. Obviously, he wasn’t expecting her out of the city, venturing the surface.
I don’t know what he was expecting, but what princess asked him and his troops did send him into thinking.
Do you have any recent news from the 47th city? Anything you can share.
Wh-what? No, they haven’t contacted us since the fall and we have been too busy to contact them with the frogs and the rain, recently. Why do you ask? My presence and the scent I had only puzzled him more. He looked at his troops for help. They were as overwhelmed as him. Our soldiers were equally at loss from the exchange happening.
Do you by some coincidence know the way to the 47th city?
I-I might have been there one or two times before. He was slowly starting to realize where the conversation was heading.
Can you take me there? He looked like he had guessed right when she asked that.
He spoke confidently. He must have known the way or he wouldn’t have said so. Or he could have been faking it. Can I ask why?
I believe think there is something wrong with the city. I also believe the termites might be responsible.
Has there been any report of termite sighting lately?
No. His troops said after a discussion.
That doesn’t matter. I ask you if you can take me there.
Only if you help us,
Do you want to meet Mother? Follow me. She said and started walking, not waiting to hear the response.
She was excited once again, desperate still, but also greedy.
The soldiers stared at me, questioning what had just happened.
She can meet the queen at any time. It’s her birthright. And she can take anyone with her. I was telling the soldiers and letting Star pick up the clue.
Of course, he said and we were rushing after the princess: The delegation leader, Star, and I. His soldiers were taken to one of the many waiting chambers on the first floor for rest and feeding. They wouldn’t have been allowed to meet the queen anyways.
Can she really help me meet the queen?
Of course, I said, doubtful over his question. Who doesn’t know that about a Princess's birthright?
I was told I might have to wait a few days before getting to meet her highness Agnee. The advisers gave me frog meat to bribe the soldiers. He shook his head in disgust. If a soldier could be bribed with meat there wouldn’t be any cities standing. Why did they think soldiers ate the meant first? It was a ridiculous opinion.
Ridiculous was his contempt for his own advisers and the openness about it. That was a punishable crime in Agnee-Rath-Ji, which he obviously didn’t know. And he wasn’t finished yet, but I was also interested. He was from a whole different city, a city that allowed its soldiers to lead the charge! I intently listened to him talk about his city.
They even advised me do to anything I could to get help, short of creating a commotion. Another experience less advice, but they can’t be blamed either. The frogs have really caused us a lot of distress this time. He slowed his pace, letting Princess take a small lead. He might have found himself in trouble over this if I wasn’t with him. He didn’t seem to realize.
You might not know this but our poison is very thin when compared to yours. It works when hunting small beings, but a frog is just too much for us. And this time a whole family of them came after the rain and took residence in the valley of bugs where we usually hunt for food. He kept going. If we don’t get help soon we might have to take some really drastic measures.
Princess was again stopped by the royal guard guarding the queen’s chamber. She argued that she was bringing an important guest from another city to meet the queen, and the guards were perplexed.
The royal guard was quick to ask me an explanation. He was different from the workers and the soldiers. While they ridiculed me, he didn’t. I wondered if it was because I was also a royal guard, just like him.
I pointed an antenna at my companion. He nodded and called Star forward. They followed the procedure —checked his identity and asked the reason behind the visit— and tapped the coin door in a hurry. He even gave us a small salute before allowing us entry.
The queen, however, was really busy.
She looked unhealthy. Last time she had only laid five eggs in our presence. But now she was laying one every few seconds. A group of caretakers completed their shift and another took their place, constantly massaging her abdomens and back without a break. The nurses were disinfecting both the eggs and her anus, which was starting to look inflamed. Her playthings had been removed, the chamber laid bare. But no matter the tiredness or the pressure she looked determined.
That is until she was told of our presence. She hadn’t even noticed us! It was not a good indication.
Why have you come? She didn’t even greet us neither stopped laying eggs.
We have a delegation from the 43rd city at our steps asking for help, mother.
Queen finally spared us a glance and called Star forward. Instead of opening a scented channel she directly went into internal connection with him. She looked devastated when their antennae separated, and released the scent of remorse, causing a short panic between her caretakers.
Why didn’t you come sooner if the situation was this bad? She asked the veteran soldier. You waited and this is the result. How many have you lost uptill today?
The male shivered and the queen pounced. Regardless, we will help you. But we’ll take everything we catch.
We agree. The soldier solemnly responded.
Star waited to be released, but Queen Agnee had one more question for him. How is Nadiea? She asked.
Mother is… desperate.
Queen sent one of her advisers with the soldier to help him recruit soldiers for the mission. He waved goodbye and thanked the princess before rushing out, tagging the adviser along. He really must have wanted to get back before sundown.
Princess stepped up to request permission to join the delegation, but the queen stopped her before she could take her second step.
I know what you want, daughter. She scented. I’m proud to have birthed you who dare put her life on the line for my colony. But I can’t accept your proposal. I can’t let you go.
NO! Princess bellowed out, but the queen continued despite her outbreak.
I would have been happy to agree, even help you in your mission if you had come to me with your knowledge before the wood eaters raided our home. But call it out of love or need, I can’t let you go now. You’ll have to stay.
You can’t stop me! Princess said in anger. Anyone can join a delegation for help. It takes volunteers and I’m volunteering.
No, you are not. Queen gave her verdict and did something that none of us believed would happen. She took away Princess's passport. The action broke the hope Princess was holding onto.
You can’t do that! Princess proclaimed. It was no longer desperation that I felt from her, but remorse.
Hold her. Queen ordered her caretakers. I scared one off her, but the others took her to one of the side chambers. They glared at me when I tried to enter, but allowed once the queen gave me permission.
The chamber wasn’t a prison, but an incubation pod that had piles upon piles of white eggs lined against the walls.
Princess was pacing around. For better or for worse she wasn’t breaking the eggs in anger. That would have been the highest crime possible, one punishable with death. She wasn’t alone. There was also a nurse beside her in the chamber, disinfecting the eggs and checking their temperature
She was smoldering inside, but outside she appeared collected. I had thought a few things to calm her, but she was in no need of such assistance.
What took you so long? She scented and pushed through without waiting for my reply. I want you to find help. Get someone who understands our cause. Go to the fortieth floor. Master will know what to do. We need to cover all perspectives, someone to work on the clue that none else is working upon. I believe the termite raid was a distraction. And they are planning something very big this time. Someone has to go check out the 47th city. It has to be done. If nothing’s wrong then it’s all good, but if there is even a single chance of trouble we need to figure it out before it’s too late.
I’ll go. I said out loud, surprising her as much as myself.
What? No! That’s not what I meant. Not to even consider how you will get there? What will you even do when you are there? What can you do? Don’t be foolish.
She said and they weren’t just words. I felt her heart trumping inside her, the same way I had felt upon learning that I had broken my mandible. Though desperate, she didn’t want me to put my life in danger. But her impatience only made my path clear to my eyes.
No. I told her. I’m going. I’m going to hitch a ride with the delegation to the 43rd city, and then I’ll find a way.
I was decided.
