Team Insaaf

Under a myriad of dimming stars, an ocean of sunflowers gently swayed with the wind. Evening had brought another present of calm serenity to the whole field. Fireflies played happily among the stalks, and other nocturnes followed on the ground. The day had been just like any other day—peaceful and happening.

Not for everyone, though; for some, it had been quite the contrary. The company stood gray, dull, and shocked upon hearing the whole tale from Queen Golden. It was too much to digest. Who knew such worlds of magic existed beyond their realm?

The girls had always been limited to small shenanigans, and they were having a hard time digesting how they had been conned into an impossible quest somewhere off the face of the earth that included creatures of all kinds. So they were looking at each other silently with second thoughts. But Isra was not someone to back off. She was as sturdy as the will of the queen.

She gathered some courage and walked forward.

"Queen Golden, what happens if the war starts?" Isra asked innocently.

"When the war starts, if the war starts, it will ensue chaos that extends beyond the borders of the magical realm. That's why we haven't attacked openly for our claim in the past because the repercussions were too great."

She took a pause and said,

"But it can't be avoided now. Let's hope your team gets the vine out in time. So we can avoid bloodshed."

Isra accepted the answer and stood back.

Qatan, who was eerily silent during the whole briefing, raised his fluffy paw to speak.

"If it starts Golden, I will not take any part in it. I like bees, but not to the extent of fighting a war for them. I want to make that clear so that later there's no disappointment."

"Agreed, the whole company will be disbanded the instant the war starts. Only those obliged and directly involved will respond." Queen Golden replied

Commander Buzz stepped forward.

"I will now form a team officially and assign the name, so listen up."

He continued after looking at each of them.

"The team will be called Insaaf, and Khadija will be its leader. The others will be assigned their roles by her upon reaching the Twilight Groves. You will all follow her strategy and never break command. Always remember, there is a difference between consultation and rejection."

He continued.

"She will have direct contact with our HQ there and an emergency channel to Queen Golden as well. The mission is of a covert nature, so the priority will be not to draw any attention and disassociate yourselves from the bees using all means necessary until discovered."

"Any questions?" Commander Buzz spoke.

"Yes, why me, sir? Surely Qatan or #212 are far better at leading the team," Khadija said.

"Queen Golden insisted on this personally, so if she believes that you can be a better commander than them, then you will be. We all trust her decision."

Khadija accepted that explanation and settled back.

And just like that, the brief ended. It was time to depart.