Buzzed Schemes and Honeyed Dreams

Big, fluffy orange and pink clouds flew over Mr. Sherjan's house, casting an endless stream of huge shadows. It was 3 in the afternoon, and both parents were asleep; that could only mean one thing.

Isra stood on the kitchen counter barefoot, trying to retrieve tea leaves from the cupboard. Meanwhile, Khadija was eating an apple. The girls had decided to treat themselves to a tea party, a moment of celebration and future planning. Their deviousness was paying off.

But what were they doing?

Isra had learned an interesting fact after the last incident. The bees had some kind of contract with the Baadal Billi. They were allied. They even went so far as to do a surgical operation for it. Isra also knew where the bees were.

Isra also had fire and countless maniacal evil ways to blackmail them. But the problem that remained was how to get them to talk again.

She knew that they could talk because #212, the bee, had talked to Isra.

But she had figured that out as well. If the bees were in direct contact with the Baadal Billi, Isra could hear them. So before she let Baadal Billi go, in the 'emotional hug' when she was crying and sobbing, she had taken a small, tiny part of fluff from it. That it wouldn't notice. Now, all that remained was to talk to the queen bee.

After tea, they planned to perform a surgical operation, precisely near the sunflower fields. Khadija had already made anti-bee clothes and helmets, and everything was meticulously planned.

They held a small meeting, discussing tadpoles, buying new fishes, and expressing their dislike for Haniya. However, they didn't talk about the plan. Their understanding had surpassed mere words. So instead, they remained calm. After tea, both got up, geared up, and opened the front door to walk out. Their parents were sleeping, and this was indeed the perfect time to do something crazy.

 ************

The queen was a magnificent sight. Her wings reflected a huge array of beautiful colors, making her look more like an angel than a bee. All the other bees dwarfed in front of her. The only thing close to her size was Baadalbilli.

She emitted an aura of authority and something to revere. It wasn't that she looked unapproachable, but being in her presence demanded extreme caution with one's words and actions, extreme formality, and reserve. Unfortunately, such complex words were not part of the cloud's vocabulary.

"Well, well... If it isn't your highness Golden," the cloud spoke.

Queen Golden gave the cloud a glance and completely ignored him, continuing to talk to her servants.

"WELL IF IT ISN'T-" the cloud spoke loudly.

"Yes, I heard you the first time. Drop the act, Qatan."

Baadalbilli was his affiliation, and Qatan was his name. No one knew about it until the queen casually announced it to everyone; now, even #212 and others were aware. Murmurs rose from the ranks.

"That Qatan? Could it be him?"

"Silence," the queen spoke, and everyone obeyed, even though her voice was too low for them to hear. It was as if she held external pressure on each one of them, and they couldn't say no to her.

"Qatan, why have you come here? I will give you 10 seconds."

"I know where the vine is, Golden. I know its location. Give me your best ops team and help me strike down a certain person. And I'll take you there myself. You know what the vine will do, Golden. This whole field will be leveled if it's not here in time. The mold stands empty, and everyone here in this room is standing on the door of death."

As Qatan pointed to all the bees in the room, the situation had gone from tense to awful. No one knew what Qatan and Queen Golden were talking about, but it had something to do with this tribe's extinction.

"You lie!" Golden exclaimed.

"This couldn't be. For years, we have sent countless expeditions to retrieve the vine. No one returned. No one even knows if the vine is, in fact, real. I don't trust you, Qatan," she said.

To this, Qatan took out a small black, gray, and violet leaf from its mouth and threw it to Queen Golden.

"Why do you think I specifically asked #212 not to take me to the hive yet?"

"We were not even going to let you i-." 

Qatan interjected Queen Golden midsentence and kept talking.

"Golden, this hive is like my family."

"No, we're not," someone spoke from the crowd.

"Silence!" Queen Golden was furious now. Qatan sighed and continued.

"Just trust me this once, Golden."

By now, Queen Golden had lost composure, and the hall was filled with an inexplicable feeling of dread. She hovered to Qatan and somberly looked at him for a few seconds.

"Take Nector#1 with you and the bird. Do whatever you want. But know this if you betray me again, Qatan. I will destroy every single fiber of fluff you've hidden under there."

"Understood and thank you," Qatan spoke softly.

"Now go," the queen said.