Scene 6 "The Little Great Half-Blood Princess".

I like to wake up first and see how my little brother sleeps holding my hand, even between dreams I imagine that it is the hand of our dad or mom. It is more than a year ago abejoide that they left, maybe I should have prayed harder at night, especially the part of "deliver us from our visible and invisible enemies", they say it was one of the invisible ones that took that sad day to half of the hive, suddenly those who had left that working day began to get sick and in that same day, the brightness of his body vanished

... I saw it all.

I saw how the workers who are known as the tireless workers of the kingdom who really generated the wealth of our lands and keep the bellies of all insectopia full, said goodbye to their flowers humming in a song that became silence, I saw how the soldiers, the bravest and best trained of the whole kingdom, returned after finding nothing and no one to fight against, with terror in their eyes they coughed, I saw how they dropped their golden spears because they lost the strength of their bodies and began to tremble on the ground until they found peace, a very painful peace.

I watched as my parents came back, flying, talking and calling an emergency meeting, at the time they looked fine, but the urgency in their voice said something was wrong inside them and they knew it. My brother and I hid as we liked to do and then jump out and surprise daddy when he came home, but that night he didn't come back, neither did my mommy, I only remember hiding for a long, long time without having anyone to surprise, and falling asleep without having someone to hold my hand, I took my little brother's and that's how we slept since then and that's how we woke up too, because it's less scary, because that way I feel less lonely.

Finally I decided to get out of bed, everything yesterday seemed like a bad dream, I wanted to tell everyone but I had to hurry, today is the big day of my coronation, my grandmother had left ready my golden dress with black inlaid with sparkling diamonds, it was the same that my mom had when she was sent to our kingdom, she

was coming on exchange from her own country, the Inhospitable Plain of the Biznaga, desert abejoids are smaller and close in color to sand, our kingdoms often exchange members of royalty to strengthen the bonds of friendship, and this was the dress she had for her welcome banquet.

Since I was still a little big, I have adjusted it myself, my mommy spent a lot of time at her sewing machine, I must have inherited that gift of sewing, we no longer have servant bees, our staff was reduced, even being royalty we must now do everything by ourselves, like waking up, dressing, cooking and even holding hands.

I cooked some quick and delicious pollen burritos with honey for my brother and me and ran to get dressed, I have always liked to be punctual, this is not something a royal girl should do alone, but my Abu is the queen, she is busy all day with panalacea matters, I must hurry to learn... as my daddy used to say:

-Time waits for no one.

-And since time waits for no one, not even princesses, if I am not able to take care of myself and my brother today, how could I take care of the whole kingdom tomorrow? We finished preparing as best we could and ran off with pollen burritos in our mouths, hand in hand, towards the great imperial hall.

-What's wrong, Vaini? Why are you holding my hand so tightly and we're going so fast? Are you afraid? I will always take care of you sister...-

-It's not fear Vinz, it's nervousness, and I will always take care of you too, but I have to give my coronation speech and you know I don't like to speak in public, besides I have to tell you what happened to me last night.

-I know! I'll get under the table and I'll tell you what's coming next.

-You can't even read well, but stay close, so I'll make sure you don't get into mischief. You look good in that beret of a pa...

-Princess, come in and have a seat.

-My girl, my precious Vanilla of the Sunflower Kingdom, the official coronation, for which you had prepared with so much effort, I'm sorry to tell you that it will have to wait, but I want you to hear this, it's about time to get involved.

-At the emergency meeting, there was the general of the army of the sunflower kingdom, who was called Stinger because he earned that name for being the only soldier who survived of those who went to investigate that night a year ago when prayers were not enough.

In the next seat, there was the oracle, the new one, because the previous one who was already very old also died in the tragedy that took my parents, the oracles know things about the future, or something like that.

Continuing with my gaze the tour of those present, I was struck by the sight of a foreigner, she was beautiful, an elegant and sophisticated woman, with black hair, and wings just as dark but with a velvet sheen, of the species of nocturnal butterflies, she introduced herself as the Monarch of the kingdom of flowers, Palomara the nocturnal, she was undoubtedly the most interesting woman I could have ever imagined.

And completing the round table, was the person in charge of keeping insectopia standing, despite all the calamities that occur every day, respected by many, hated by many others, the most important person of all insectopia, the busiest, but for Vinz and me she was just our Abu, the one who told us bedtime stories even though she was dying of exhaustion.

-Sit next to me and for now just listen without interrupting," said my Abu in a strange voice.

-We are sorry to be the cause of postponing your official coronation as princess," said the oracle with a dry voice and without congruence with his expression, he was a thin, tall and rather ugly man.

-So you are the famous Vanilla, you look a lot like your mother, you are even a bit prettier, and your young boy so tender so soft, so full of energy, you wear that old beret just like your father's, that's right children, I knew you well, but that was many years ago, it's a pity I couldn't talk to them on this visit, I would have liked to hug you both and wrap my wings around you, like in the old days, we were really very very close.

-I didn't know what that last one meant but it seemed out of place, maybe it was an adult joke or something, but I had to answer him and get him to stop talking about them because he was doing it with a mocking tone that annoyed me.

-I plucked up my courage, and against my fear of talking to strangers, I managed to tell him,

-As you may know, my parents are now harvesting the flower fields of the kingdom of the most all...

-I really tried, I wanted to answer her with elegance, with propriety, diplomatically as a future queen, but those halting words were all I could manage to say before my voice broke, it was not only her calculated words, it was also her tone of voice, something was hidden in the silences and spaces in her speech, the micro gestures of her face in combination with the gestures of her hands, it was too perfect, too rehearsed, it was not normal, something was not right.

-shh shh shh Vaini, look at my watch

-Said my untimely companion while she whispered to me with little discretion, showing me her wrist, it glowed with a phosphorescent green tone, then I remembered that this was another of her inventions, a magic detector, it meant that someone in that room was using her powers, it had to be her, it was then that I remembered that the abilities of the inhabitants of the kingdom of flowers, included affinity of mental control, but this that I feel, that grows inside me, is more organic, it is more refined, it has not come all at once, it is rather subtle, now I understand it, it must be

She is manipulating my emotions, altering my little heart, is that possible, such a power would be classified as a weapon of mass destruction.

-Slowly, an enormous sadness invaded me, a despair so great that I had never felt something similar, I do not want anyone to experience that, I began to breathe in an agitated way and no matter how hard I tried my eyes and nose not to cry, it was useless, soon my whole face was full of tears, the anguish pressed my heart with such force that it was not compared with any physical pain that at my young age I have experienced, now I understand the phrase "your heart broke", whoever says that nobody dies because of that pain is very wrong, that was precisely the most dangerous part of this magical attack, in front of me, on the boardroom table, there was a solid gold feather, with a sharp shiny tip, I was invited to take it, and take it for a walk to my fragile and childish neck, with that I would surely end this feeling, and at last I would be free of this pain, I wanted to stop my hand, but a part of me wanted to let go, and end all this, I took it, and while my hand trembled and resisted to what my body and heart was asking, I could only laugh.

-Hahahaha hahahaha hahahahaha aaaa, tickle, laugh, Vinz was tickling my ribs, tickling me to annoy me was something he often did, that simple break in the atmosphere broke the spell for a moment, thanks little brother, your annoying personality saved me. was it just a coincidence, could it be because of that note hidden in his hand in Abu's handwriting?

-As General Stinger prepared to explain the reason for the emergency meeting, I was slowly recovering.

-I will begin by apologizing to the beautiful princess for having stolen her crowning day and forcing it to be postponed, the present emergency meeting is of utmost importance, as you all know, the population of the sunflower kingdom vanished by 50% overnight, the abejoids have a responsibility to all insectopia, to provide the main force of pollination, cultivation and harvesting of food, which are distributed and exchanged in the other kingdoms, the kingdom.

I am speaking in the past because to date, those reserves have almost reached their end, in a matter of weeks, they will be completely empty, and the 5 million bee-eaters that are still alive will begin to experience the hunger that we tried to stop without success in the rest of the insectopia, I know it was your ideal my queen, that we will help as much as possible with our reserves, to all the allied kingdoms, but the shortage has increased with the fall of the flower kingdom, at the hands of the demons, those creatures have gone completely out of control.

-And that's why I'm here," said Palomara the witch who almost succeeded in killing me, as she stared at my Abu.

My brave people of warrior pollinators, like yourselves, we had managed to single- handedly keep the demons of the valley at bay, but a few years ago, from the Montevarius mountain, more and more infernal creatures emerged, worsening the already difficult situation, until on a dark night, we lost our homes, we were massacred in a night battle, and even though we nocturnal butterflies are stronger during the night, we were no match for such an amount of demonic hordes, creatures of all types and sizes with war skills impossible to overcome carried out a carnage with all my people, only a few managed to escape, Since then, I have traveled every corner of insectopia following the crumbs of my kingdom, looking for ways to rebuild and recover what was taken from us, alfin I have come to the conclusion that only by helping others with their problems, I can at the same time, help my exiled people now nomadic, during my travels, I have gotten to know very closely the different leaders of the other kingdoms, I even dare to say that after our pleasant talks alone, I have managed to know what exists in their hearts, but I have left the cherry on the cake for the end, my dear queen, and now my wings have brought me to meet her. -While that witch was talking I could see Vinz's watch glowing but this time I felt normal, it was my Abu who was receiving the attack, from my position I could see his hands under the table, my Abu had a kind of elastic band tied on his wrist while with the other hand he was stretching and pulling it with his hands.

He released rhythmically, so that not only the tickling interrupted the spell, but also a constant physical pain seemed to counteract it.

-I must say that it is a great honor to be in front of the great queen of the Glorious Kingdom of the Sunflowers, I have always admired how she has managed to unify insectopia through trade treaties, peace agreements and those diplomatic tricks, even for so many years, but time always takes its course, and age can weigh, I am here to help your majesty, in fact I represent the Alliance of Peace Kingdoms.

-I'm here to strengthen ties and invite the Sunflower Kingdom to join us.

-That's the signal.

-shouted the Oracle, getting up to walk and kneel pathetically in front of the Palomara Monarch.

-The prophecy the prophecy is being fulfilled, it is clear now, like the water in that crystal jar, the prophecy says:

"The morning after a shooting star rises through the firmament reaching the red moon, peace will be born, in the form of bonds of new friendships."

-Last night was the last blood moon in several years, and both I and other followers of the prophecy remained attentive watching the sky at all times, we managed to see clearly as a strange shooting star flew from the ground to the moon itself, without respecting the ordinary movements of a shooting star that usually fall but never ascend, and now the next morning a new friend appears with a message of peace, this is so beautiful, I can only cry at her feet or great lady, with her words still echoing in my heart I can assure you that the prophecy is being fulfilled, listen all present, we must accept the proposal because it is written, because the signs have been fulfilled to the letter.

-When the oracle began to get up, my Abu was quicker, and took us out of the room in the blink of an eye, behind the door sticking our ears we could only hear how the oracle raised his voice and begged us to join him,

-We must unite, we must unite, we must unite, we must unite WE MUST UNITE

WE MUST UNITE! - to the point that he began to shout loudly then angrily, until the voice no longer sounded like his, then it was heard as a glass shattered, water fell, coming out a little under the door, after which a great cry of pain was heard, then the scream we must join became a gurgling whisper to silence, a deathly silence, which was interrupted by the sinister voice of the Monarch Palomara, while the pool of water that reached our feet turned red we managed to hear before running away.

-But what an unfortunate incident, I think we will have to continue this meeting at another time.