CH 6.1: Botched Executions

Orb pulled me towards her on the branchway, though I still carried far more momentum than was safe. I urged my wings to work, to stiffen, to create drag, to do anything to help minimize the impending impact. I was heading straight towards Orb now, some concern evident on her face. I screamed, she frowned, and my wings did basically nothing.

I collided with Orb, both of us falling to the branch in a heap. I found that her spider half (from her waist down) was soft and covered in something akin to fur, which helped cushion my collision considerably. However, we found ourselves in an awkward tangle, with my face squarely on her chest, and my legs somehow straddling her.

Before she climbed back to her feet, she laughed, more similar to a silver bell ringing than anything else. “Is Her Highness enjoying herself?” She asked.

“I’d be lying if I said no,” I said, unwinding myself and standing back up. “Thank you for saving me…I didn’t realize some wasp would try murdering me.”

As I complained, Waz flew down to us while he held my walking stick in one hand. “As I recall,” Waz said, “Her Highness granted my actions consent.”

I scoffed and turned to Waz. “Not to push me off a fucking cliff!” I advanced on him and ripped the stick from his hand, and I threatened to cane him. Just a few good whacks would show him, I thought.

“Is flight not a benefit?” Waz asked, making a chattering sound with his mandibles.

“Did you see me flying?” I asked. “Because all I did was fall, and I would have gone kersplat, if not for Orb,” I turned towards her. “Thank you for saving me, by the way.” She waved me off, still smiling, though it didn’t touch her eyes.

“I saw a brief moment of sustained flight,” Waz answered. “Regardless, Her Highness is here now, and we have much to cover.”

He tried to lead me along the Branchway, towards the trunk. But I wasn’t budging.

“No way,” I said. “I’m not going anywhere with you. You think I’m stupid?”

Waz winced towards Orb, likely asking for help. But I doubted that Orb would take that psycho wasp-kin’s side.

“While his methods may have been questionable,” Orb said, “The intent was correct. We are to train Her Highness...” I couldn’t believe it, she was honestly going to take his side?

“You think attempted murder is called training?” I asked them. When they didn’t deny it, I added, “You are all insane.”

Waz clicked, but Orb waved him off, and she answered instead. “Dangerous words, were it not for Her Highness's Lineage,” She said.

“You all keep saying that kinda shit,” I said. “It doesn’t make sense. What Lineage? This is literally my first day here, in this body. I don’t know any of you. This is such fucking bullshit.” I started storming off, away from the trunk, further out along the Branchway, out to who knows where. I stopped about ten steps away when Orb skittered along the side of the branch and intercepted me, blocking my path. I stepped backwards, worried the giant insect lady would hurt me, and my back hit Waz. Fuck. They had me trapped, unless I dove for it. But I didn’t know how to fly, and I wouldn’t trust that lesson so soon after my first failed attempt. Waz was clicking his mandibles more frequently than before.

“We would never harm you,” Orb said softly. “But perhaps I could explain?” She asked. I nodded. I didn’t have any other choice really, besides jumping to my death, which I put down as a maybe. She continued. “Most cannot remember before their Rebirth, not if they have persisted more than several Seasons, and nor can I. But I remember enough to know some differences, from the before, which I may share to help introduce Her Highness more appropriately.” Orb gave Waz a dirty look, throwing some shade his way for some reason unknown to me. “One difference, one profound difference, is that we have no form of conception, reproduction, or fertilization.” She paused, letting that sink in. It didn’t seem like a big deal to me.

“So what,” I said.

Orb sighed. “It changes the concept of family, from being who one hatches from an egg, to being who one claims as one’s own.”

Ok, I guess that could make sense. If no one had natural birth, then people could adopt. Yeah ok. But they would still be adopting kids. And what is this business about hatching from eggs? Orb might not be all there, if that’s where she thought people came from.

“Do my words hold merit thus far?” She asked. Waz nodded, but I shook my head.

“Yeah no,” I said. “You’re saying the Queen adopted me?” I asked. Orb waved her hand slightly, also shaking her head at the same time. Ambiguous. “But that doesn’t fly,” I said. “I’m an adult. And I didn’t agree to getting adopted...”

“Did Her Highness not choose this Rebirth?” Waz asked this time. “Perhaps the Trials have changed from that which is recorded…”

“No,” I said. “I guess I did choose this race...But that doesn’t mean I agreed to being part of someone’s family! No one mentioned that shit!”

“That was consent though--” Waz started to exclaim, in that smug ‘I-told-you-so’ kind of tone, when Orb waved him to silence.

“Ordinarily, Her Highness would be correct,” Orb said. “However, please understand the rarity of your position. Due to the unfairness of the Trial, no one prior has joined Her Majesty this Season. Or the last Season. Or the Season before that.”

“But...why?” I asked. “The Trial honestly didn’t seem that difficult. And the race did seem fairly overpowered...You think others already knew they’d look like absolute garbage? How would they? Unless they had more information than me...Maybe that Pug dude didn’t tell me all the facts? I knew that guy was sketch…” I thought outloud, ignoring the pained expressions on Orb’s and Waz’s faces.

“The Queen’s Race was blockaded by Kain, the Wolf King. He and his ilk.” Orb finally said. “That worthless man disputed Her Majesty's dominion of the Fey.”

“And because of this Kain-bro,” I started, speaking without thinking, “The Queen hasn’t had any new Fey, and since that’s the equivalent of kids, she’s going baby-crazy, and has latched on to me? That’s what you're saying? Cuz that’s fucked up.”

Orb and Waz both winced.

“Treason…” Waz muttered.

“I would recommend not repeating that,” Orb said. “But I believe that the sooner we train Her Highness, the sooner she may depart upon this task, thus perhaps alleviating some of these issues?”

“I mean, I don’t really have a choice here,” I said.

“There is always a choice,” Orb said, as she started to lead me back towards the trunk, where I presumed more training would happen. “Now tell me, your Path is the Walking Stick?” She asked. Waz nodded on my behalf. “A shame. We shall have to fixe that.”