You better control your pheromones when in the hive. I don’t want you to end up with more holes than you already have. Barry said.

Very funny, It wasn’t; it was offensive.

Nah, maybe a few more holes will help you relax. Calm down. The bees know you are a friend. They wouldn’t be carrying you, otherwise. Right, marshal thirty-five and thirty-seven?

The marshals —I had taken to the names too keenly— were annoyed and irritated. One carried me, and three carried Barry holding him from the front, mid and back because he was heavy. All that exquisite armor was bound to weight him down.

I’m calm. I told him. I was not calm. If anything, I was excited and scared, also nervous.

I was surprised to find that the bees weren’t a single bit interested in the moth’s carcasses. They left them out to rot. Well, Madhuri had the feast of her life. I could only hope she wouldn’t overdo it.

The bees were frightened of her, and it didn’t help that she wanted to follow me. She had agreed to stay away from the hive, but that had come at the expense of me having to butt heads with her, literally; I didn’t feel right about it. Seriously, though, I even got two skills out of the exchange and a dent in my forehead. Just kidding; it was simply a concussion and a normal head-splitting ache.

As for the skills, well, I was not too excited about them. Since the more I had the closer I would get to my second trial. However, I couldn’t see any way out of this loop. If anything, I only needed to be selfless and could enjoy the strength and opportunity that the skills presented. But that was the hardest part of it all. I had been more selfish in this one night than my entire life. The second trial was bound to be tough

Yeah! We are gonna break that skull and break that bone and we gonna do it without a weapon in hand!

You have acquired a new skill: Martial arts mastery.

[Martial arts][Lv-1/10][Tier-1][Mastery]

[It’s an art of self-defense.]

[Effect: Skill: Head butt unlocked.]

***

[Head Butt][Lv-1/10][Tier-1][Active]

[Heads are hard and they can break a lot of things. Just make you don’t hit something too hard or you might end up with a fracture or two, alright? Peace.]

It was Princess Tinbuji’s dream to visit the bees. She wanted to form a partnership with them. I made sure to take a souvenir for her.

Thousands of workers bees hung from the hive, sleeping.

The hive itself was not protected by an outer wall. The workers protected it with their bodies, which was a bit too extreme for me.

The hive was fundamentally different from an ant colony. The bees did not hide like us. They were fearless, mostly, and buzzing. The buzzing was everywhere. Even at night when they were supposed to be asleep. I guess it was a special night.

I wondered how they controlled the temperature and humidity. I tempted Barry into talking, which obviously didn’t take much.

They buzz. He said. That’s all they do. To warm or cool the hive, to give directions, to warn or excite others, to ask for food; they do all that by buzzing.

It’s not as simple as that. Marshal thirty-fifth was vexed. She almost dropped Barry when he ignored her, but the others pulled him up.

From outside the hive looked like one giant structure, but there were free spaces in-between every comb. It was mostly made up of hundreds of deep hexagonal cells, each half the size of a bee and equally deep and yellow in color. The hive was but a queen’s chamber scaled up to size.

They use these cells for everything, from laying eggs to storing honey. The bees are obsessed with them.

I’m saying again. Don’t make fun of the hive. These things are not so simple. Eggs are only laid when the temperature is warm, and the cells that are used to store honey cannot be used for other purp— He’s not listening, is he?

Barry was once again looking away. He either didn’t like her or he didn’t care.

I was listening. I let her know. She was not happy.

The colony was quickly going back to sleep. It’s what they do at night. Barry said. What about you lot? Do you have some off time?

I shook my head, not knowing that it was a trap. We don’t really sleep.

That explains why you are always on the edge.

The workers parted to let us in deeper. A few were chewing something and using it to repair the hive. Well, at least those awake were.

Its honey wax, Barry explained. He pointed an antenna at a worker; she was sucking drops of condensation from the back of another worker. That was the honey wax he was talking about, a by-product of the honey that Princess wanted so badly. The worker collected the wax and started chewing it.

I asked Barry why she was doing it, but his knowledge was clearly lacking. For this and that, He said, not shy of laughed at. I would have let the topic drop if Marshal thirty-fifth hadn’t come to the rescue, again.

Chewing makes the wax soft and malleable. The other marshals motivated her and she continued. Malleability is important to keep the combs thin and flexible. The hexagonal form only appears after the wax solidifies. Marshal thirty-four and six rubbed her back in affection, causing her to look away. But her vibrating abdomen let known her happiness to everyone.

Still, I was surprised that there were no chambers, tunnels, or farms, but only honeycombs and the cells. Many of the cells had larvae growing, topped full with something sweet and thick, others had eggs at the bottom, while a few were empty and some were sealed off with honey wax.

The marshals dropped Barry into a cell that was larger than most, to complement his large body, and called workers who filled it to the brim with something grey and sweet.

It’s a royal jelly bath. You just wait. I’ll be up by the time the sky grows light.

Have a speedy recovery. I wished and was taken further in, deeper where the queen was working.

Marshal thirty-seven dropped me close to her and took rest behind. A few workers rushed to her with offers of food and other services. She was asked while I was force-fed and meticulously cleaned, by not one but three aggressively enthusiastic workers. It was the most harrowing experience of my life. They were not gentle and pulled my limbs every way to stretch and clean the most intimate of place. They smelled of flowers from up close, but with jaws like theirs, they were nightmare incarnates. I was only able to keep my sanity because I knew they didn’t eat meat.

I later learned that most of the workers had never left the colony. I was the first foreigner they were meeting on a friendly basis, and that was the cause behind their zeal. I felt like a ball of fuzz when they were done with me. One pushed me toward the queen, and then raced away following her companions to pester the queen to sleep.

Welcome, little traveler. The queen buzzed her wings and touched my head. She was slender and mobile, unlike queen Agnee, my mother. She was only slightly larger than a normal worker, a giant for me, and had a red-colored abdomen. She had no caretakers, feeding and massaging her.

You have done me an invaluable service today, child of Fire. Tell me how I can repay the favor and I will see to your needs. She scented that while pumping an egg into an empty cell, after which she moved onto the next cell, asking me to come along.

She was large enough to walk over the cells, but for me, they were not less than inescapable traps. I managed somehow by keeping my balance on the footpaths that the top adjoined cells created.

I am lo-lost — I almost fell into a cell but didn’t let the experience startle me into inactivity— your highness. I said. It would be kind of you if you can point me toward the city of embers.

You have fallen far from the fire, child. It would be a perilous journey back. Won’t you accept my offer to stay?

That’s very generous of you, your highness, but I am on a mission. The fate of my city depends on me. For that, I would have to decline your offer.

That’s unfortunate. She said. Her eyes glowed with a glint of something sinister, but she blew it before it could catch fire. Maybe the thought was the reason that she decided to reward me? I would never know. Now go, rest. I heard you have never tasted honey before? Well, now you can.

That was my reward: a cell of honey. She also gave me some passport pheromone, enough of it to last for the next couple of days. Finishing our dealing she let the workers drag her away. They were reluctant to let her wait any longer. The night was growing older by the second and her days were already long enough. They didn’t want her to tire out.

Since I was left to my own device, I decided to roam around, and sightseeing. However, it soon became apparent that the beehive was much less interesting than an ant colony. It was abundantly chaotic but structurally bare. Having lived in the narrow confines of our dark tunnels, the differences were enough to keep me from getting bored. I knew the hive would grow hectic in the day and the thought planted an eagerness in me that was simply wonderful. The last few days had been too bleak and dreary in comparison.

I was thankful for the opportunity and a worker showed me to the cell of honey that was rewarded to me.

Wasn’t I worried about taking a souvenir for Princess Tinbuji?

Well, she would have to believe me once she tasted the honey. It was an absolutely wonderful delicacy! Honeydew had nothing on it. Barry didn’t know how to describe it. Honey was liquid happiness. So sweet, so nutrition’s, so slimy, and there was enough of it to drown me three times over. That was enough honey to last exactly a hundred ants the whole shading day!

I didn’t dare eat more than a single drop, but even that proved too much for me. Gone was my tiredness and worries. Energy coursed through me, bringing me the strength to do anything. And it was a sustained rush; unlike the short burst provided by honeydew.

The honey gave me so much focus that I ended up spending a large part of the night watching a worker repairing the hive wall. But when the high faded, it also took the happiness along with it and left a void in me. The bees were used to honey's adverse effects, whereas I was left drained and tired.

Feeling lonely I went out, saw Madhuri nestled on a branch nearby, and took a seat close by. I couldn’t sleep. I missed my city, Princess and safety. It felt like such a long time ago when I had dreamt of becoming a harvester. Life before it was all but a blur at this point. So many things had happened. However, the adventure was worth it. What I had witnessed and gone through were not common experiences. Princess would agree with me.

Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet, fool. A female droning entered my senses and a shiver went down my back. I looked around, but couldn’t find anyone.

A tongue swiped the back of my head, while the droning came again. You smell of Barry. What happened to him? Are you the food that he’s caught for me? That’s sweet of him.

I saw her. She gleamed under the moonlight. There was barely a buzz about her. She was long and slender, and silent as the night. Thin long legs allowed her to silently move around. Her colors were too monotonic, too metallic. She was a wasp of the parasitic family —an ants worst nightmare.

I ran without looking where I was going.

There were stories about those of her kind, there are always stories. But this one I had personally witnessed.

There was a nymph that had been injected by one during my caretaker days. I remember feeling fearful of the wasp, staying vigilant at days. That nymph died a painful death as the wasp larvae slowly ate her from the inside and tore out of her.

She easily caught and pinned me to the ground. Heart pounded. I had only thought of charging when she curled her abdomen toward me, bringing the hair-thin ovipositor out and pointing it at my abdomen. She was taunting me. Still, want to run? She asked. I fizzled, considered my options, and melted like frost under sunlight to her warning. There was nothing I could do than to let her lead me around.

Eventually, she got off my back.

Where’s that fool, Barry?

He’s recuperating.

Recuperating? Bah, is he in a royal jelly sleeping?

Yes? Was there something wrong with that? Perhaps.

Hmm, I thought you were lying. Well, anyways. I’m hungry.

Please don’t eat me. That wasn’t me being submissive. A wasp was not an opponent I could deal with. I didn’t have to try to find out. She was an apex predator that killed spiders to lay eggs; I was still just an ant.

Then bring me, honey.

No need. He’s not one of your toys to boss around, Bella. Barry came. Wings buzzing, he was slowly flying toward us. He looked much better since the last I had seen him, healthier. He’s a friend. And we don’t eat friends.

You look good. She buzzed her wings to laughter. And he joined her.

That moment screamed at me to mind my business and stop intruding between them, but I stayed firm out of fear of being chased by a parasitic wasp.

Did you bring the honey?

How could I not? Barry buzzed and she rushed him.

She literally disappeared and appeared in front of him.

Oh no! Would she kill a friend? The thought arose in my mind.

A gust rushed through the tree, playing with the leaves as the two entered a passionate mouth to mouth exchange. I had never seen anything so erotic in my entire life. Their antennae coiled around each other as they stood straight releasing sexual emotion. Wings flapped and they slowly rose into the air, jaws moving in a familiarly motivated manner. Bella wrapped her body around Barry’s and held him tight with all her legs. They continued the exchange mid-air until Barry pulled away. The sexual tension tuned into a heated stare, which Bella broke by floating back to the branch.

He introduced her as a friend from his previous life when he used to travel the forest with his band of misfits. I finally got a chance to ask him about his family, and he was not reluctant to share.

They are dead. He didn’t shy away, but I felt bad for digging out the old wound. I apologized, but he buzzed to denial.

That’s just how life is. You can’t morn for the loss forever. Yesterday it was them, tomorrow it will be me. You can’t stop living out of fear. Anyways, this is my home, now. He said, proudly. I’m a proud guardian of the hive.

But you are a hornet and this is a beehive. Don’t you yearn to return to your home?

I do yearn —He admitted— but for the friends that I lost. You see, home is somewhere you are happy and loved. He looked at the hive behind and then at Bella. And I couldn’t have been happier anywhere else.

The wasp quivered and they had another mouth to mouth exchange. This time she returned some of the honey back to him, causing her abdomen to shrink and his to swell, slightly.

Bella asked us if we would like to go on a stroll. She had found a very good beetle to munch. Barry claimed to be tired, which I doubted. He seemed energetic enough to me.

She turned to me. How about you? She asked. Want to catch a beetle with me? I dare you to admit to having done something so exciting in your entire ant life.

I killed a frog! I retaliated. It just came out of me. My shading antennae acted up at the wrong time. I tried to do damage control, but the devil was already out.

And we survived a spider. Barry added, causing Bella’s eyes to shine. They literally started glowing. Well, it happened in my mind at least.

And Madhuri listens to him, follows him like he’s her mother.

Who did you name now?

Her. Barry pointed to Madhuri and Bella instantly grew infinitesimally more interested in me.

She brought her face close to mine, staring through me. Her jaw faintly smelled of honey, which made my stomach slightly tug at my insides.

I shuddered.

Start telling. She said and I was retelling my life story to two giant predators, both of which grow more and more interested with every chemical word that I released. Even I felt shivers just recalling everything.

Some tales are fabricated to scare the listeners; while others are recalling an accident or an event. Then there are some stories that bring glory to the listeners, like embers conquest of the termite lands. I didn’t realize it then, but I was also writing an epic with my actions, one that would be known to everyone from an ant to a bee and even beyond.

But my story was still in the making, and I still had a lot of work ahead of me.

You are pretty far from home, little one. Bella scented, and then stirred, remembering something that got her excited. She stated buzzing, eager to act. I just remembered. She said, excitement getting the best of her. It took her a few moments worth of time to come around, but it was worth it because she held the key to my conundrum. I can get you to this city you want to visit.