Chapter 52: Counsel and Deli-Bee-ration

Chapter 52: Counsel and Deli-Bee-ration

Belissar stood in silence in front of the Bee Memorial, gazing up at the names on the pillar. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

He had panicked at the thought of meeting the Tower Lords. He could still remember the smell of smoke and blood from that day. He could still hear the screams of people he had known his entire life as the soldiers cut them down. He could still feel the pain from when the arrow pierced his back. He reached to scratch at his back, though he couldn’t reach the exact spot.

He had rushed in his panic and bees had died as a result. If he had spoken with the bear people from the very start, he would have learned that he had plenty of time. The bear people hadn’t even heard of humans, much less Tower Lords. Who knows how long it would be before he met one again, or if he ever would?

So...was there a reason for these bees to have died? Did he truly need to grow as quickly as he had? Couldn’t he have waited? Couldn’t he have learned magic first, and then participated in the fight directly? Or maybe traded with the bear people for one of their bows, now that he remembered they had archers. Couldn’t he have done more?

He opened his eyes and then reached up to touch the names. But as he did, the bee carvings moved, and one of them flew as if to land on his finger. His eyes widened. His heart burst in his chest as his vision began to blur.

He rubbed his eyes and then glanced over to the beehouse as he heard a crackling noise. He saw the wounded soldier there, stirring up her mana. A wing made of yellow lightning appeared on her back. She tried to swing it around like she did her original wing, though she did not manage to take flight.

Belissar took another deep breath and closed his eyes once again.

“Right...”

He reminded himself once again that the bees did not regret their sacrifice. In the case of the soldiers, fighting and, if necessary, dying for the hive was what they were born to do. And though the cost was high, the Tower and the bees had grown through this. Belissar only needed to look up into the skies of the Flower Meadow to see the soldier bees practicing new movements and formations in response to the latest battle. He could look to the flowers where countless worker bees continued their tireless gathering. He could watch the newest queen as her hive took shape, as workers from a nearby hive arrived to assist her.

He couldn’t change the past. He couldn’t fix mistakes he had already made. All he could do was to do better in the future. The battles were fought. The bees had fallen. The rewards had been gained. What Belissar needed to do now was ensure that it was worth the cost.

He stepped back from the memorial and glanced around until he found Niobee.

“Hey Niobee, can you ask the queens when would be a good time to meet? I’d like to speak with them, though I don’t want to interrupt their work.”

“Ok!”

Belissar watched as Niobee flew off. He decided first things first...he wouldn’t act alone. He had missed critical information by ignoring the bear people when he rushed to prepare for the Tower Lords. At the very least, he wanted to see what his bees thought of their home.

The First of the Fifth didn’t even wait for the Conduit to finish her dance. She rushed out of her hive and soared through the air.

The King was calling for her. He desired her counsel.

She immediately dropped everything to rush to his side...and then froze in the air.

The Firstborn and her council of brutish queens were already there, surrounding the King, likely filling his head with all sorts of nonsense. She nearly charged them at them.

And then worse, she saw the Fourth of the Seventh and her own kin. The queen she had born, along with all the other queens of the Apiary. She had been the last to arrive.

A betrayal most foul.

But she was the Firstborn. She had resolved to defend the lands of the King. She aimed to build the greatest army bee-kind had every seen. And most recently, she had failed. So, she pressed onward, and spoke her mind.

Belissar watched as the largest of the queens gave an answer.

“Army not strong enough.”

He smiled. It was a simple answer, but it was an answer. Indeed, the soldier bee army had weaknesses that needed to be addressed.

“Um, can you think of anything that might help fix that?”

The queen stood still for a while before slowly beginning another dance.

“More soldiers, bigger soldiers. Need queen that can raise. Need better queen.”

Belissar rubbed his chin and nodded. A moment later, another queen, the largest from the Apiary, flew in front of him and began a dance of her own.

“More flowers! More nectar means more bees! New bees!”

Belissar nodded at that.

“That’s a good point, those medicinal bees really helped.”

All the bees froze at this point. Soon, they slowly began to dance.

“More flowers is good.”

“Soldiers should be tougher.”

“Should be faster.”

“Mana flowers best!”

“More palaces!”

Soon, each of the queens was dancing their own dance. Some of them even began conversing with each other. Belissar nodded as he tried to take in all of their suggestions. Slowly, ideas began to form in his mind. He couldn’t help but grin.

He knew asking the bees was the right choice!