Mia didn’t know everything her Queen did. Despite the danger and exhaustion of their journey, it had been obvious that Regina was looking forward to meeting humans. Now that they had, Mia couldn’t help but wonder why. The humans in her Mother’s memories had to be very different than this, because these ones were a little underwhelming.

Not that she was going to say anything. The humans had taken them in, after all, and while Mia really didn’t like the feeling of being dependent on someone outside the hive, she knew it was still better than taking their chances with the monsters outside. Besides, it wasn’t her place.

Still, as she looked around the castle, she couldn’t help a little voice in the back of her head saying that a properly run Hive would never be this dirty and disorderly. She could see some care and organization, in the way the soldiers were stationed at the gate and on the battlements, and what looked to be caches of supplies or ammunition distributed. There were barrels of water from the river, presumably for putting out fires, as well as buckets of arrows and munitions for the siege weaponry she saw on the corner towers of the fort. Some men in armor that generally looked fancier than the others were walking around, probably knights or officers. There were also a few women bustling around, wearing simpler clothing without armor.

Mia looked around for a moment, trying to pick out a good target. Tia was already approaching one of the women, while Max and Tim were heading for men in armor. She didn’t see her Queen, but she knew she was still behind her.

Then Mia started walking, heading towards an older woman whose clothing looked a bit finer than that of the others. The human was even wearing a short sword on a belt. She stood close to the entrance of one of the buildings in the courtyard, beside the main keep, talking to another human female. As Mia watched, the other woman left, and her target turned, then paused as she saw her coming.

Marianne Neralt — Level ? Lady

The hive was to gather information, so Mia suppressed her hesitation and smiled at her as she approached. “Hello, ma’am, do you have a moment?” That was polite, wasn’t it?

The woman frowned slightly. “I suppose so,” she answered. “You are one of those demihumans from the forest, aren’t you? I thought you were quartered in some part of the cellars.”

“We are,” Mia answered. The smile was hard to keep up, especially with the twinge of pain from her right side. It had gotten better, but she knew her right work-limb wasn’t fully healed yet. “At least, I assume so. It’s a dank basement, anyway.”

The human’s frown deepened. “I see. What can I do for you, girl?”

Mia hesitated for a moment, quickly running through the information they wanted to gather in her mind. Regina was curious about the language they spoke, but it probably wouldn’t be smart to just outright ask about that. Then they needed general information about the humans and the region, and about this fight.

A deep, bellowing roar resounded from behind them and she heard human men crying out for a few moments before there was a hissing sound and the noise stopped.

“How is the battle going?” she asked. “How long until it’s finished?”

The human laughed. “Oh, if only I knew. Beast hordes can take a few days or a week.”

Mia cocked her head. “This isn’t the first monster horde you’ve seen?”

“Of course not.” The woman narrowed her eyes. “How old are you, girl?”

“Oh, I’m … five, I think.” Mia resisted the urge to smile at herself. It was five days, of course, but the human wouldn’t know that, so she should assume she meant years!

The woman blinked, apparently surprised. “Really? Five? Your people must be odder than I thought. But I suppose that explains why this is your first monster horde, they do come every five years.”

Mia nodded. Five years sounded like a really long time. At least it was good her hive wouldn’t have to worry about another horde for years.

“What’s this castle called, anyway?” she asked. “And there’s a village near here, right?”

“This is Fort Forest’s Watch. Our village is usually called Forest’s Haunt, but its proper name is Neralt village.” The woman glanced around. “Where’s your mother, child?”

“Uh, probably still in the cellar room, I think,” Mia said. That wasn’t quite a lie. She didn’t know for sure if her Queen had left it, after all, although she was probably out here somewhere, too.

The human frowned. She looked suddenly disapproving. “I’d heard you were a group of adolescents.”

“Yes, I guess so?” Mia scratched at her work-limb. That was a stupid question.

The woman shook her head. “I think I see your big brother standing by the smithy, there. Why don’t you go to him, child?”

Mia opened her mouth, then paused as she saw the way the woman was looking away. She reluctantly took a step back. The human obviously wanted to leave. She probably wouldn’t answer any more questions. “Alright. See you later, ma’am.”

“… Perhaps, girl.”

Mia walked away. She did see Max standing by a building made of stone with a big chimney. She walked slower this time, trying not to jostle her injured arm. Mia felt like she hadn’t done so well back there. Hopefully, the others had more luck.

Coming up to him and with the human’s comment in mind, she noticed that Max really was bigger than her. Only by a few centimeters, and he didn’t exactly look much older, but still. That only made sense, since he was the oldest drone in their hive. He extended his right blade-arm and Mia brushed her left work-arm around it, returning his greeting.

“What did you learn?” he asked.

Mia quickly explained the few facts she’d gotten from her conversation. Max nodded.

“I heard that they come every five years, too,” he said. “I also learned that the fighters here are a mixture of militia from the locals, soldiers from the kingdom and adventurers.”

“This probably isn’t the only fort they have, is it?”

Max nodded in agreement. “Probably not. This area belongs to a kingdom and I got the feeling they sent soldiers to other castles along this defensive line the elf mentioned, too.”

“Maybe there are more villages further back,” Mia suggested. “You wouldn’t build a heap of stones like this just to protect one village, would you? I mean, maybe these humans would, they don’t seem like the most efficient people.”

Just then, the ground shook slightly and a streak of burning light arched across the sky, but it fell to pieces before it reached the walls of the castle, showers of light raining down beyond the walls until she couldn’t see them any more.

“Maybe one of the others found out more about that.” Max sighed. “I can’t help feeling uneasy about all this.”

“I suppose you’d rather we had taken shelter with the elves,” she said, raising her eyebrows at him.

Max winced slightly, lowering his eyes before he raised them to meet hers again. “Yes,” he agreed quietly. “I know that I spoke out of turn when I asked them. It’s just …”

Mia bumped him with her work-limb again. “Hey, it’s okay, our Queen wasn’t angry at you,” she said. “I mean, I wouldn’t have dared, but she did put you in charge when she’s gone. So you’re basically her second-in-command, right? It probably is your job to speak up, sometimes.”

Max smiled a little. “Thanks, Mia. Yeah, I was just trying to help. It’s not my place to speak for her, but she is our Hive Queen. There are some things a Queen shouldn’t have to say, you know?”

Mia nodded, grabbing his right hand. He was right. The idea of their Queen reduced to asking for help from strangers of another race made her feel bad, like she tasted something bitter in the back of her throat. She didn’t know if Regina would have done that, and she certainly wouldn’t judge, but she was glad it wasn’t an issue.

Max was smart. Probably smarter than drones usually were, at least young ones. He did what was best for the hive, even if it wasn’t just fighting. She felt a little proud of him and resolved to live up to his example. Maybe she wasn’t as smart, but she could still do her best for their Hive, couldn’t she? And their Queen had so few drones right now that they all had to do their best, so she could really rely on them.

They shared a look, and she knew they were thinking the same thing. The feeling of failure still burned in her insides whenever she thought about it. They’d lost their home, the place they’d been born and where they’d been building a settlement. Even if their Queen didn’t seem to care much, Mia couldn’t let it go that easily. It was the only place she’d ever really known. Except for this castle. Which was not as good.

Suddenly, the roar of the battle intensified. She glanced up, watching as what looked like all of the siege engines fired at the same time. Then she tensed up when she saw the monsters headed for them. She couldn’t look beyond the walls, but something was picking off the soldiers from the battlements. After a few seconds, there was a loud roar, and the earth shook so badly she almost stumbled. She grabbed onto Max to stabilize him, looking at the gate with wide eyes.

Something crashed against it. Then a shadow passed over it, and she looked up. The human who’d brought them here was flying on his wyvern, fighting flying monsters. But there were more, a pack of three wyverns coming from the direction of the forest. Mia squinted. Was there a shadow on the back of one of them, or was that just a trick of the light?

They closed in and she saw two of the wild monsters diving at the tamed one with the mage. The other wyvern flew over the castle and crashed into the keep. The whole castle shook again. As if on cue, another roar sounded from outside, and something crashed into the gate again. She heard the telltale sound of splintering wood.

Max bristled, extending his blade-arms. He took a step forward as if to shield her.

Mia grabbed onto one just above the blade. “Max, where’s Mother?”

His eyes flickered around their surroundings. “Back there, I think. Let’s go!”

The two of them turned and ran, not sparing another glance for the fight at the gate. Even so, Mia heard more footsteps and more crashes. A fireball arched overhead. Then there was the sound of screaming metal and more bursting wood, and the heavy thumping of Trolls or other monsters. Her nose told her there were a lot of monsters, and they were coming closer.

They didn’t find Regina near any of the other buildings, although she did see Tim and Tia, who seemed to have met up. Max and Tim gestured at each other for a moment, then the two others ran to the left and Max guided Mia to the right, a simple search pattern.

Mia looked around frantically, trying to find any sign of their Queen. Why did they all leave her alone? Stupid! She mumbled curses at the fact that the humans all seemed to be taller than them. Many of them were running towards where she knew the monsters were pushing into the fort, but a few just seemed to be running nowhere, panicking.

Finally, they found Regina behind the building with the door to their basement room. She turned to Mia and Max, a relieved smile on her face. The human man in fancy armor who she must have been talking to rushed off without even saying goodbye.

“My Queen,” Max gasped as they met up. “What do we do?”

Regina grimaced as she looked around. “I don’t think we have much of a choice. We might need to fight our way out.”

Mia straightened up. She wasn’t much of a fighter, but if these monsters wanted to get at her Queen, they’d have to go through her, and she wouldn’t make it easy for them!