Tether

Sun was once again an unwanted witness to the whole battle and had decided to not interfere at all and take his leave instead, leaving an overly enthusiastic moon behind.

The night had come, and it brought peace and serenity with it. All the horrors of the previous day were washed away, and the whole sunflower field shimmered with countless fireflies. They looked like stars playing hide and seek among the stalks.

Just below the surface was a scene that was not so pleasant to look at though. The demon girl was caged, and her accomplice was with her. Khadija was crying and begging the bees to let her talk to the queen. And they were ignoring her just like they did the day before.

"Look, we have to get back home. Or our parents will definitely kill us," Isra said, looking at the bees. With calm, calculating eyes.

"Ah, better for us then." One of the soldiers who were keeping them guard said

"You know. I had a friend in Nector #1 who you put to sleep. You don't know what our suffering is, and a creature like you can never understand either." It got overly emotional after saying the last part.

Isra rolled her eyes.

"Isra, just tell him that you're sorry." Khadija said

"Okay, I'm sorry." To this, the bees flinched. Not in their wildest nightmares did they imagine a scene like that. Demon child apologizing?

A messenger of the queen arrived at the cells wearing blue and golden robes and stood right before the bars. He cleared his throat, and from a scroll, he read

"Your highness Golden has demanded that all the accomplices in today's battle stand trial."

Then it looked at the guards and continued.

"At once!" To this both guards scrambled and very cautiously unlocked the cage.

"Thank God," Khadija sighed with relief.

**************

The throne room instantly got filled with murmurs and gasps as Isra stepped into it. There were thousands of bees watching, and they all looked scared. Her each step brought dread to their hearts. And behind her was the cloud. Whistling carelessly and poking Isra with his paws.

She was ignoring him completely. Behind Qatan was the crow. Why was the crow there? No-one knew. He may have just twitched himself into the line, and behind the crow were Khadija and #212. They were talking with each other and having a grand time.

Khadija held the soft fluff from the cloud in her hand, and #212 was standing on top of it. No one knew why the supposed enemies were getting along so well, but no one bothered either. Soon, the attention of the crowd shifted to the throne itself as the Queen arrived. The whole crowd was filled with tranquility and peace.

As long as she was there. No one would be able to hurt them. No matter what kind of monstrosity the grand hall hosted, Queen Golden was their tether. And the bees were hers to protect. Isra had her eyes lowered as they all formed a line to stand for their supposed trial and judgment.

The mood was somber in the grand hall. No one spoke or buzzed. They were all waiting for the queen to begin. And then the trial started.