A bee gives off different pheromones for different things. These scents can range from letting other bees know where home is or letting others know the hive is under attack. It's kind of like a natural perfume except bees have no concept of perfume or why one would spray themselves to smell better. I tried to explain it to them one time. I even sprayed them with some Chanel No. 5. I was stung abruptly.

* * *

The Queen entered through the hole in the great tree. It was so strange to see this place empty. Even as the other bees poured in around her, there was still an eeriness to the hollowed out space. When her scout had come back and told her of her finding, the queen could hardly believe it. The scout talked of a lone tree that towered over a young forest. Its body blackened and all of its limbs eaten by fire, except for those spared by the flames at the very top. One last remnant of an ancient forest. She thought back, in all the hives she had ruled she had moved many times. And yet here was this scout describing a place she had rarely thought of but never forgotten. The place of her birth. The scout had informed her how it appeared the residents had starved. The few residents remains found, were clustered together and buried up to their stingers in comb. The queen nodded. Was it true, could it be, Burntwood? She hadn't even seen the place yet, and she was already calling it that. Burntwood, It felt good to say. If it was, it meant the residents of Burntwood had all died. It brought up mixed emotions. She was saddened by their demise, yet she was excited at the finding. So excited that she told the scout to tell everyone they would head out at once. Even if it was late, she couldn't wait.

A swarm was gathered, and they left that very evening. Goodbyes were rushed, but they had been planning this for a while so most everyone had already said their goodbyes multiple times over the last few days.

They had left so late that they had to spend the night in the branch of a tree. That was fine with the queen, it gave the scouts less time to find another place to live. Sure they had already planned their destination, but once the swarm was out of the hive all bets were off, as bees would second guess and start looking for other places to live. If these bees could convince the majority of the swarm that their location was better, there would be no changing their mind. Luckily that wasn't the case and by morning the bees were eager to move into a location with walls. They flew off toward their destination, not reaching it until the next day. It didn't even matter, here she was in the heart of Burntwood the most magnificent of all hives. Even if the bees who were there now didn't know it, she did, and she was excited to be back.

The bees worked clearing the hive and comb of any foreign objects or repairing broken sections. Others worked gathering pollen and nectar to fill the parts of the comb that had already been cleared. Even then the comb reached downward into depths not yet explored. The inside of the tree was so large many of them wondered how they would ever fill it. By that evening they were so exhausted that they collapsed around the queen. She looked around at her children many of them already falling asleep.

It was a young, tired, bee that spoke up.

"Why did we build our hive so high off the ground? Wouldn't it be better if we built it closer to the flowers?" she asked.

The queen looked at her. "We didn't always have our hives high in trees. No, far before the times of Haella, we used to build them on the ground," she replied

"Why did we change?" asked another bee.

The queen looked around cautiously, "I guess I can tell you. You see, one must be careful not to be over heard telling this story."

"Why?" asked a bee.

"There are those out there who don't like to be talked about. Some who are still bitter about how events played out," she whispered with a smile.

"Who?" they asked.

"Well, listen to the story and you shall see," said the queen.

All the bees nestled in a little closer as she began her story.

* * *

Maybee sat high in a tree collecting pollen and nectar from the blossoms of a cherry tree. She looked out over the great fields and forests as Juai shown bright, in the sky. Down below her, a bear muzzled through a patch of blackberries. Maybee flew down and landed on a birch branch overhanging the berries.

"Hello Wahushi, how goes life?" Maybee asked.

"It goes good, Maybee, just tying to get my fill, before Juai leaves us," Wahushi replied.

"Juai leave us? Why would she do that? She has been here before me and will be after I'm gone."

"You didn't hear, Maybee? Juai must leave to take care of her sister, who is sick. Juai told me herself."

"What will happen to us?" Maybee questioned.

"I don't know," Wahushi stated.

A perplexed and confused Maybee flew off without even saying good bye. Wahushi didn't mind, he just went back to munching the sweet berries of black. It would take many to fill his tummy and he had quite the task ahead of him.

Maybee continued to fly until she reached the tip top of the tallest tree in the whole forest. It was there that she cried out with the tiny voice of a bee.

"Excuse me your highness, but I request an audience with your graciousness," Maybee asked.

Juai gave a slight laugh, "Oh Maybee, there is no need to be so formal. What is it you want?"

"Is it true you are leaving us?" Maybee asked.

"I'm afraid so, but don't worry, I won't be gone long," Juai comforted.

"What will happen to us?" Maybee asked.

"You will be fine, my dear. Just go to sleep and I'll be back when you wake."

"When do you leave?" Maybee asked, not comforted by Juai's words.

"I leave here shortly, my sister needs me. I do hope you will come to see me off."

"Of course," and with that, Maybee bowed to Juai and flew off to inform the hive of what she had found out.

That evening, or for the first evening ever, all the animals came out of their homes to wish Juai a safe journey and a quick return. Words were said and tears were shed, but they could not prolong the inevitable and Juai had to leave. They all waved and said their goodbyes. Juai turned her back to them to hide her own tears as she crossed over the mountains, but the sky betrayed her, as her tears splashed the clouds and painted the sky with golden hues. When she was gone they all hung their heads and started back to their homes.

Wahushi turned to Maybee and said, "My dear friend I will see you after I wake, and Juai returns home."

"Until then, sweet dreams my friend," Maybee replied.

With a friendly nod between friends, they went their separate ways. Each worried of what was to come as the sky grew dark. By the time Maybee got to her hive the sky had gone almost completely black, and the land had begun to grow cold. She landed on the ground and looked at the waxen dome.

* * *

The queen paused, knowing from experience that this part of the story tended to confuse those that hadn't heard it before.

"You see, when you build a hive on the ground, you have to build the comb upward, not downward like we do now."

The look of confusion in her audiences eyes told her she needed to keep going.

"When you build you comb upward, it has a tendency to fall over. So you need to tie it together at the top. What you end up with is a series of comb that arcs into what looks like a large mole hill of comb."

The other bees nodded and let out sounds of realization.

"Like a wasp nest, but on the ground, and made out of wax." She looked out over them, they clearly didn't know what she was talking about, but she figured it would be enough to give them an idea. She continued on with her story.

* * *

Inside the hive the other bees had already started to gather for warmth. Two bees stood at the entrance of the hive.

"What are you doing? Are you not going to join the swarm?" Maybee asked.

"I have asked them to stand guard. I'm worried what will happen in Juai's absence," The Queen replied.

Maybee bowed and continued on, nuzzling her way into the huddled swarm. She would sleep and when she woke, it would all be over. All she had to do was close her eyes. So that is what she did, but she found it difficult to fall asleep. She pitched and yawed, eventually falling victim to the soothing buzzing of the hive and fell into slumber.

It was a hustle and a bustle that woke her. Maybee looked over at the commotion as bees gathered around the entrance. A faint light crept in through the entrance to the hive.

"What's going on?" asked Maybee.

She received no answer.

"Is Juai back already?" she asked through a yawn.

Still no one replied.

She pressed her way through the crowd until she reached one of the guards. She bumped the guard rather harshly.

"Hello?" she asked with an abruptness.

The guard stood looking up in awe. Maybee looked up. In the darkness of the sky was a pale seductive face.

Maybee felt as if her essence was leaving her body. The face in the sky was so enchanting it was all she could think about.

Far away in the distance she heard a small voice. She couldn't tell what it was, nor did it seem important. Again the voice cried out to her, this time louder. She looked back to see where the voice was coming from. She could see another bee pushing her way past the crowd, yet she seemed almost a world away. As the other bee looked up Maybee tried to cry out, "DON'T!" but her voice came out a murmur. Instead Maybee turned and pushed her back inside. The other bee shook her head and looked at Maybee.

"Don't go outside! Don't let anyone go outside!" Maybee said with a weak voice. The bee nodded and Maybee went to work pushing and pulling as many as she could away from the door, careful not to look up.

"I see you young one, you can't ignore me," a voice whispered on the wind.

Maybee almost looked up but caught herself and rushed inside the hive leaving a few bees still outside.

"Who are you?" asked a petrified Maybee.

"I'm Haella, the goddess of darkness."

"What do you want?"

"I want nothing more than what I deserve. I want you to forget about Juai. Haella shall be your new goddess."

"Never. Juai is our friend, we would never forget her," Maybee said.

"You will eventually, little pretty, for Juai is never to return. Now come out of your home and let me look upon you."

"You lie. Juai wouldn't leave us. She promised she would return," Maybee cried out.

"And you believed her? You sad foolish child," Haella scolded.

Maybee could see a warm glow appear from the horizon even as she cowered in the hive.

"Juai returns even as you lie. Your time is up and I wish to see you no more, Goddess of Darkness."

Haella turned away from the emerging light and fled. "This is not the last time you will see me."

"You have no power here now, leave before Juai burns you from the sky."

With that Haella escaped over the mountains just as Juai crested over the horizon.

"Juai, you're back," Maybee exclaimed as she rushed out to greet her friend.

"Of course I am. I told you I would be. You never had anything to worry about," Juai said in a comforting tone.

"But, we do," Maybee said, and she filled Juai in on what had happened. When she finished, she looked at Juai and said, "But, you're back now and we don't have to worry about Haella returning, because you will never leave us again."

With sad eyes, Juai turned to Maybee and said, "I'm afraid I must, my sister is still sick. I came back to say goodbye to you all."

"You can't! What will happen to us? We will die that's what will happen."

"I'm sure you're just overreacting. This Haella is probably not as bad as you're making her out to be."

Disgusted, Maybee flew back to her home. As she arrived Wahushi approached her hive.

"Hello my dear friend, I hope your day is going better than mine," Maybee stated.

"It goes good, just a little hungry. Why is yours so bad," asked Wahushi.

"I just talked to Juai, and she is planning on leaving us for good," Maybee told the bear.

"Who is Juai?"

"What do you mean, who is Juai? She wasn't gone that long,"

Wahushi sniffed the air, "What is that delightful aroma? I've been following it for a while."

"Aren't you listening to me? Juai is leaving us," Maybee said bluntly.

Wahushi's nose led him to Maybee's hive, "This is where it's coming from. What is it?"

"That's my hive, my home," Maybee stated.

Wahushi took a bite out of the golden honeycomb.

Maybee screamed, "What are you doing?" As other bees from the hive came pouring out confused.

"Oh, it's delicious," Wahushi mumbled blissfully through a mouthful of honey.

All the bees cried out begging him to cease, yet Wahushi carried on.

Maybee landed on the nose of the great bear. "Wahushi, you are my oldest friend, please stop," Maybee pleaded.

Wahushi just laughed, "You are not my friend. I don't even know you." With that, Wahushi took another big chunk of honey comb in his mouth and walked off. Maybee's hive lay decimated.

"What are we to do," one of the bees cried out.

"We have to rebuild," said another.

"Yes," others agreed, and they started to reconstruct the damaged hive.

Maybee stood, shocked, watching the bear walk away, "Not here. Take the queen to one of the high branches of a nearby tree, to make sure that Wahushi can never do this again."

The other bees did as she said and took off with the queen in search of the branch that would become the base for their new home.

Maybee flew off toward Juai. As she flew, she saw a fox chasing a rabbit, a spider trapping a fly, and a snake eating a mouse. At that very moment a bird swooped down and tried to pluck her out of the sky.

"Juai," she shouted. "Juai!"

Juai turned, her face in distress.

"Juai, what is going on?" asked Maybee.

"I don't know. Everyone is fighting and none of them will listen to me. They don't even know who I am," cried Juai.

"Wahushi said he didn't know who I was. This has something to do with Haella, I know it," stated Maybee.

"How?" asked Juai.

"I have no idea. It's just strange that she showed up, and this all happened."

"Well, if you find out anything else let me know, and I'll try to find out as much as I can before I have to leave," Juai said.

"You're still leaving us? You can't, not with everything that's going on,"

"I don't want to leave, but I have to. My sister is still sick, and she needs me."

"But, we need you," Maybee cried out.

"I know, and that's why I'll be back. I really will, but I can't be at two places at the same time."

"I understand," Maybee said, broken. She started back toward her hive then turned around, "I'll let you know if I find out anything."

Juai nodded and Maybee continued on with a sigh.

It didn't take long for her to find the new hive, as it was not far from the old one, and the air was thick with the perfume of her sisters. She landed on the branch where the construction was taking place. Another bee stood beside her watching.

"Why aren't you helping?" asked Maybee.

"I tried, but they told me to stop. They said I didn't know what I was doing," the bee replied.

"Really?" said Maybee quizzically. "Well, follow me I'll show you what to do. You're not doing any good out here." Maybee led the other bee into the comb.

That evening when Juai left, very few animals turned out to see her off; a couple rabbits, a skunk and some moles. Maybee flew down and tried to talk to the rabbits, but they were so skittish and scared she couldn't get anything out of them. She tried the skunk, but she knew even less than Maybee, and the moles didn't even know anything was going on, so a disheartened Maybee returned to her hive along with her fellow bees. On the way home she ran into the Queen.

"Have you seen anything out of the ordinary?" asked Maybee.

"Ordinary is a strange word in these curious times," The queen said.

"It is indeed, my queen. Just a while ago I met a bee who couldn't build. Imagine being of gathering age and not knowing how to build comb."

"That must have been one of the bees left outside with that goddess of darkness," said the queen.

"Left outside?" asked Maybee.

"Yes, you pulled a bunch of bees back into the hive, but a few were left outside when you couldn't get to them. The ones you pulled back inside snapped out of their trance and are perfectly fine, for the most part. Some of them have forgotten some little things, but nothing major."

"And the ones that were left outside?" interrupted Maybee.

"They seem to have forgotten everything about being a bee. It's all very strange," said the queen.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know," Maybee said.

"Not your fault," the queen added.

"Haella must have done something to them. She must have done something to everyone. That's why no one remembers anything."

"That's a good possibility," said the queen.

"Please, I ask of you to spread the word. Tonight no one is to look up. Everyone is to sleep in a cell, head first. They are NOT to come out until I say. Make that part very clear. We have to be very careful, our new hive has no walls, just comb hanging from a branch." Maybee asked.

"Indeed, it shall be done" and the queen flew off to inform the rest.

Word spread fast and before Haella could show her skeleton face, each bee had buried themselves inside a waxen chamber. Every one except Maybee who stood alone, under a lone hanging leaf, in wait for the alabaster demon. She didn't have to wait long, the last trace of Juai had barely left the sky before Haella crept out of hiding from the other side of the world.

Haella took a look around her kingdom of darkness and noticed the new hive hanging from the branch.

"Why is it you have moved your home my little bees?" asked Haella.

There was no reply.

"Why won't you talk to me? You all have your butts pointed at me. It's very impolite. I hope you're all doing well. Please, come out and face me. I won't hurt you," said Haella.

"We're on to you. We know what you did," said an angry Maybee.

"Oh, and what was that," asked Haella.

"You made everyone forget."

"So I did," laughed Haella. "Who am I talking to? Come out and face me."

"We're not falling for it. You're not going to get us," stated Maybee, still hidden under her leaf.

"I'm sure it's for the best. Now if you will excuse me I have some gifts for my more loyal subjects. Too bad, I would have really liked you among them. Alas, perhaps next time," Haella turned away from the bees and moved across the sky.

"Can we come out now?" asked a younger bee.

"No, we must wait for Juai to return," Maybee said.

With lingering fear they all settled in for the night. They in their comb, Maybee huddled under a leaf.

She woke some time later to a scraping sound. She peered from under her leaf, Juai shown bright in the sky. Maybee looked around but saw nothing. The sound of scraping continued and seemed to vibrate through the tree. She looked down. Wahushi stood at the base of the tree scratching at it.

"What are you doing?" asked Maybee.

"I see you moved that sweet hive of yours," Wahushi said.

"Far out of your reach, Wahushi." said Maybee.

"We shall see about that. Haella gave me some new claws."

He showed them to her. They were much longer than she remembered.

"I've been sharpening them on your tree here, but it's time I gave them a try."

Wahushi wrapped his arms around the tree and dug in his claws. He continued to hug the tree, inching himself upward. The motion disrupted the bees who were still sleeping. He reached over and grabbed a limb, pulling himself up. The other bees came out to see what was going on. Wahushi climbed the tree with a new found confidence. Bees began to swarm around the bear yelling for him to stop. He laughed at their attempts to thwart him and continued upward.

"We have to stop him," cried one of the bees.

"How?" called back so many more.

"You can't," laughed Wahushi.

Maybee flew at full speed ramming herself into the bears forehead. Wahushi paid no heed. Again and again she threw herself at the bear. Wahushi ignored her as easily as he ignored the others. He pulled a giant paw back and swiped, but instead of hitting bees he hit the hive. The hive broke free from the limb and fell, colliding into several branches before hitting the ground. The bees stare in shock as they were once again homeless. Wahushi made his way back down the tree.

"What do we do now?" a bee asked

"I don't know. We need a place to hide," said Maybee.

"Where are we going to hide?" asked another

"I don't know. Send out some scouts. I'm going to go see Juai. Just find somewhere," said Maybee.

She flew off as Wahushi devoured the hive that now lay on the ground. She didn't have to go far before she ran into Juai who was also on the move.

"I was just coming to see you," Juai said.

"Wahushi has destroyed my home again," cried Maybee. "Haella gave him great claws to climb the tree."

"I'm so sorry."

"Don't be sorry, do something."

"That's what I came to see you about. I have brought special seeds back from my sisters that will steal Haell's power." Juai said.

"Great we must use it at once."

There is a problem with the seeds. It doesn't just steal Haell's power but mine as well."

"Then it is useless," said Maybee with a heavy heart.

"No, you were right, we must use it," said Juai.

"I won't lose you, Juai. You mean too much to me, to everyone. Without you the entire world will die."

"It will not steal all of my powers, just as it will not steal all of Haell's. It will only subdue them and only when I am here. I will be fine. I have already been going around preparing and trying to correct the things that Haella has done, like Wahushi's great claws. I have already given the rabbit long ears and powerful legs, the skunk a scent that no other can rival. As for you I have stingers that will poison, but you must be careful, for if you use the stinger you will die."

"Why would you give us something that would kill us if we use it? We need to protect ourselves." Maybee asked.

"Indeed you do, but this way it will ensure that you use them as a last resort, and only to protect others. I will not be responsible for giving gifts of destruction as Haella has."

In a humbled tone Maybee replied, "I understand, thank you."

"Now gather all the other bees. Not from just your hive but all of them. Even grab the mason bees and the bumble bees. But be cautious Haella has turned some of the hives and they are more dangerous than you can imagine."

"How will I know if Haella has turned them?" Maybee asked.

"You can tell them by their slick hairless bodies and their attraction to death and filth," Juai said as she set an enormous pond lily on the ground. As she placed it down, what appeared to be little green pods spilled from its closed petals. "Go and tell them to meet me here.

Maybee did exactly as Juai had asked. She went to her hive to tell them what Juai had said but when she got there, she only found a few bees scavenging what remains they could salvage.

"Where is the rest of the hive?" asked Maybee.

One of the bees looked up her mouth full of honey. "They found us a new home," she mumbled in excitement.

"Where?" inquired Maybee impatiently.

"Follow me. I'll show you." The bee took off leading Maybee to their new home.

When she arrived, she found her sisters entering an exiting a hole in a tree. She entered the tree to find that it had been hollowed by time.

"How do you like it?" asked the queen.

"It's perfect," said Maybee, her voice full of astonishment and wonder.

"I thought so too," added the queen.

"Please, though, we must gather everyone. I have word from Juai."

The queen gathered the hive and Maybee informed them of what Juai had said, then had them fly out and tell the other hives the same. In no time at all there wasn't a bee in all the land that hadn't heard and begun to gather in the great field where Juai waited.

She looked upon all the small bees who knelt before her with tears in her eyes. In front of them she placed small green pods no bigger than the bees themselves. As she set them down each pod opened up into orbs of soft white.

"Before you are the seeds that can put an end to Haella. I need each of you to grab one and carry it high into the sky, farther than you've flown before, and when you can fly no more, I want you to let them go. Do you understand me?"

They all nodded.

"Then go," she commanded in a trembling voice.

They fell upon the orbs, grabbing one of the long white haired seeds and ascending toward the sky. Maybee held back, and instead, went to Juai.

"I will miss them all, you must tell them that." Juai uttered through her tears.

"I will, my Highness," Maybee said bowing her head as the beloved queen faded and shrank with each grain carried into the sky.

"Don't ever let them forget," came back a whisper, and then she was gone, leaving just a small circle of light where she once ruled.

Maybee flew back down toward the pods where bees continued to carry seeds into the sky. She took a closer look at the seeds. She had never seen anything like them before and there were so many of them. She took hold of it by the spine and pulled on it. It broke free from the seed with ease, and as she looked at the pointed end of the spine, she knew immediately what it was, a stinger.

"What do we do now," asked a honey bee who stood on a nearby flower.

"We wait."

Each bee released its seed and the winds in turn grabbed them and carried them even further into the azure. Then they returned and gathered around Maybee and the remaining orbs.

She told them about the sacrifice that Juai had made and of her last request. They mourned the loss of their friend and watched as her body continued to sink lower in the sky. One by one they left with heavy wings, but not before they grabbed a stinger from the remaining seeds.

Maybee was the last to leave flying down hearted, back to her hive. When she arrived, she was amazed just how much construction had been completed in her absence, however her amazement was quickly muted as she realized how low Juai sat in the sky and just how soon Haella would appear. She looked up toward the opening in the tree. A hush fell over the hive as others did the same. With great care, bees crept toward the opening peering outside. They watched as Juai sank beneath the mountain and shades of red vanished behind encroaching darkness. They gasped in wonderment as the grains shown through the blackness speckling the sky in points of white. On the other side of the world emerged Haella. Each one of them held their breath as she came into view. They began to feel lightheaded and even a little confused, but it was a pale version of Haella that manifested before them and they were able to keep their wits.

A faint voice whispered on the winds, "What have you done to me?"

"We have ended you," said Maybee.

"This will not stand. I will have an eye and a tooth for this," Haella screamed in whispers.

"You will have nothing," Maybee laughed.

The other bees cheered and went back into their hive where they gathered tightly together and the queen told them stories until they fell asleep.

The next morning Maybee was once again woken by a sharp scraping at the base of the tree.

She joined the other who had collected at the opening.

Below them Wahushi climbed the tree.

"I'm warning you turn around, there is no honey for you here," Maybee declared.

"Ha, I don't believe you little one," Wahushi said as he climbed even higher.

The bees swarmed the mighty bear, but he ignored their plight as he climbed higher. They butted heads with him but he continued on course reaching the opening of the hive. Maybee looked at the stinger that she had fastened onto her like a tail, then at the bear who was reaching into the tree. She backed up and let out a bloodcurdling war cry as she flew at the massive bear, and up his nose. She planted her tail like stinger in the soft tissue of the bear's nose as Wahushi let out a massive sneeze. Maybee shot from his nose and slammed into a tree. Wahushi let out an agonizing roar as he grasped his snout, but lost his grip on the tree and fell backwards. He clambered to grab hold of something as he bounced off and slammed into every other limb on the way down before crashing into the ground. A battered Maybee picked herself up from a limb and made her way to the bear through shambled flight. Wahushi opened his eyes, which grew very wide at the sight of Maybee standing before him.

"I think it's time you left," said Maybee.

"I would agree with that," replied Wahushi, his voice snuffled from a swelling nose.

With that he took off, running with the lumber of a very sore and wounded critter. The other bees cheered in victory.

Maybee collapsed on the ground and closed her eyes as she waited for death. It wasn't long till darkness overtook her. When she opened her eyes again, she found the other bees huddled around her. She looked down surprised that she wasn't dead and found her stinger still attached. The other bees carried her back into the tree and laid her down on the soft decaying floor of the hive where she slept for an entire day.

* * *

"That is why we build our hives off the ground," said the Queen.

"Why didn't Maybee die," asked a bee.

"If she died, there would be no more stories," said the queen.

"No really, why could she sting and not die?"

The queen looked at the young bee and cocked her head to the side, "I've always like to think that it was because she wasn't fully able to plant her stinger before Wahushi sneezed her out."

This answer seemed to satisfy the bee.

"If Haella has no power, why were you afraid to tell the story?" asked another.

"Indeed she does still have power, just not as much as she once had. In fact, it is said that if a bee is found outside when Haella rises she will forget her way home," said the queen.

Murmurs rose throughout the hive.

"Not tonight. Another time. Now go to bed, my little ones. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow.

She smiled, even with her having grown up here, this place had never felt so much like home.