That did not go as planned but after the stories that I heard and her reaction to how I treated my friends and family said enough. The problem was that I wasn't sure what I could do about it short of removing the head, but I should have kept my cool.
"Ashia? Are you okay?" Miasma asked as she came up close to me.
The other girls were staying back to wait, and I wasn't sure what I was. I should have sucked it up and just went inside, but I was truthful with the words I had told the Queen.
If I would have gone inside there, and I saw what I knew that I would find. Things would have gotten a lot worse than me just getting angry and leaving.
"I am okay, but I am a bit disappointed with the way I handled that," I said, but then Miasma took me by my shoulders and looked me dead in the eyes with her beautiful purple eyes.
"No, you handled that better than any of us could even believe. You couldn't see behind you, but when you spoke up for us and called us all your family, we heard you. Ashia, maybe you aren't like other rulers, and at first, I know that everyone tried to make you into that kind of person, but you're not. Now, I, for one, am thankful that you never listened, and I am sure that everyone feels the same," Miasma said with a smile and then hugged me and gave me a kiss.
I was shocked, and before I could make sense of any of this, Miku appeared with Rixie. Then Will and John appeared, and everyone formed a semicircle around me.
"So, you do not think that it was wrong for me to act out like that?" I said without being able to think of anything else with everyone looking at me.
"I think that the fact that we didn't just do what you said and take all her people might have been a mistake, but I can see why you don't want to get into this right now. Still, it will be hard to sleep at night knowing that there are some people that live like slaves," Will said, shrugging his shoulders.
"How do you know that they all feel like that?" I asked and narrowed my eyes at Will, whose smile broke.
"Sorry, I had to bend the rules a bit, and I went and talked to people… and I brought one back… okay, it was only fifteen of them…." Will said as he looked around the room.
"Huh? No, you did not just go kidnap some of her people… did you?" I asked with one of those, are you fucking kidding me expression.
"You can't kidnap the willing! Listen, Queen, I know you don't know me very well. I would never do something that would affect the well-being of our people or break the rules if I didn't think that it was vital. I will take any punishment for this, but hear me out," Will said as he walked up to me and then kneeled down in front of me, bowing head to me.
I was shocked and unsure what I should say, but he had proven himself to be kind and helpful in the past. If he felt that it was this important and worth risking a fight with another race, then I would hear him out.
"Yes, tell me the reason you left my side after I asked you to stay by me," I said, but then Bob walked up beside him.
"I went with him; I put a tracker on him just in case. Some of us Raccoons have heard stories about it, but because of their location, no one really checked. Someone who has to request a contract for it, and no one really cares about them that much. Different story when you get up inside the shit," Bob said, but Will was looking at him dangerously.
"You put a tracker on me?! I thought you were… dammit! Who are you!" Will growled, but then Bob put his name tag back on, and Will blinked. "I really dislike you sometimes, you know that? That is way too powerful; I was ready to kill you!"
"Boys, let's get to the point; the others aren't back yet, so speak up fast!" I said, and both nodded to me.
"They only feed the workers what they need to produce, and they keep them all locked up in the glass bubble cells. Is that enough? I have all fifteen in the Clinic right now being looked at and taken care of," Will said straight-faced.
"DAMMIT! Gah, we do not need this right now! We need to go and deal with the Predators," I said, running my hands through my hair in frustration.
"Sorry, you know just as well as us that we don't get to pick when bad things happen. I know this is not part of the plan, but now it is going to have to be; this isn't just a couple people in some city. I would guess that there are about two thousand people locked up and being used like animals. Are you okay with this?" Bob asked me, and I rolled my eyes at him, and he smiled.
"Of course I can't, and I know neither of you would have either so, none of this matters. Everyone needs to get upstairs right now to the navigation floor and ordered Ryan to bring the Queen up with him and bring everyone up," I ordered and then turned to Riza and Joni, who nodded to me, and my wives came up to follow me.
This was not the way it was supposed to go, but it never was. Still, there was no way that I could take that many people right now, but something that Thanos had said to me was starting to itch at me.
"Do you think it wise to take their Queen hostage?" Xani asked, running to catch up with me.
"She isn't the real Queen, or at least she isn't the one making the choices. I think that this is the best way to figure this all out," I said as I walked to the Honey Gate, feeling very irritated.