After they arrived back at the base, Regina kept an eye on Ria, both metaphorically and literally. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Ria was more … fragile than she tried to pretend. She’d have probably seen it without the psychic link. If nothing else, it was clear that being separated from the hive was traumatic or at least a burden. Luckily, the other drones realized it as well without her having to say anything. As they got settled in at the base, Ria always had someone close by, ready to offer a shoulder to lean on but careful not to crowd her.

Regina felt a bit … conflicted about all of this. On the one hand, she had hundreds of children. She couldn’t afford to pay close attention and give comfort to every one, and she already felt vaguely guilty for giving special attention to some of them.

On the other hand, they were her children. She was their mother.

In hindsight, the way they’d avoided calling her that because of her obvious discomfort with the idea must have been a bit of an emotional stressor as well, something that should have been more obvious to her. But if I’m honest, that discomfort - has faded. Maybe I’ve just gotten used to the idea?

She still wasn’t sure what she should do about it, how she should act. She had to strike some middle ground between normal human family dynamics and alien insectoid hives. Although, thinking about it, she couldn’t be the first Hive Queen to run into this conflict. Especially since, from what she’d gathered from Galatea, Leian and even Alianais, this was apparently normal for them. The others had to have some solutions or common practices for it. One more thing she’d lost out on by basically being stranded in this place and time as the only one of her kind. I wonder what kind of cultures the old Hive Queens would have been from originally?

Regina shook her head and dismissed that thought, focusing back on her surroundings and the task at hand. She wasn’t going to solve this, or at least sort out her feelings, right now.

The main priority at the moment was getting everything squared away regarding the negotiations and diplomacy in general. Regina focused on that while she made a quick stop by the hatchery and then returned to her rooms. She felt that they were past the most difficult parts, but she didn’t want to screw up now.

At least the war should be pretty much over, with Nerlia surrendered and the Esemen withdrawing, except for the Cernlians. Marquis Lyns should be handling them. But Regina knew better than to assume that he would manage everything without bothering her. With her luck, she’d have to fight off the next challenger for him in a few weeks. Or against him. Or maybe the gods would start screwing around again.

She was a bit dissatisfied that she’d actually dealt with the Esemen without getting to the bottom of their connection to said gods, although Nightsen’s admission as good as confirmed what she’d suspected, and actually gave her a few details to work with. She didn’t really want to engage them more closely just for the chance of finding out more, so she’d have to be content with more normal diplomatic (or espionage) attempts at information gathering.

Regina distracted herself by watching the Esemen prepare to head out, at least as far as she could tell. She’d need to send someone - with a proper, large escort - to settle details, but she was glad to see they were going to be gone soon. It would still leave her to deal with Whitor, and other local nobles, but she’d be in a good position for that. The hive was much better off than it had been at the start of this war, if nothing else.

It didn’t even surprise Regina when the System popped up another notification before her eyes. Clearly, she had gained some Experience for her diplomatic endeavors.

You have leveled up You may now select another Ability

Regina made sure nothing required her immediate attention and sat down in a comfortable posture on her bed before she focused on the notification, directly pulling up her new choices.

You may now select your seventh Class Skill. Please choose one of the following: Hive’s Magic: Your magic is the core of your strength. The growth of your mana pool due to the existence of your drones will receive a boost. Your mana regeneration will also improve, scaling with both your level and theirs. With higher levels of mastery, you will find it easier to cast large spells or to cast two spells at once. Hive’s Paths: Your Hive’s diversity is a key to its strength. The Evolution paths open to your drones will increase in variability. Rare Classes have a slightly higher chance of being selected for Swarm Drones. At higher levels of mastery, you may direct their growth more directly, setting goals for your Hive’s Swarm. Queen’s Body: Your soul needs a strong shell. Your body will be strengthened, in proportion to the number of drones around you and their physical Stats. This includes the functioning of your vital organs. The effect will fade with distance. You will also be more resistant against arcane attacks. Flight will be easier and drain less mana.

Absentmindedly, Regina stood up and started to pace as she considered the choices. She would have expected to see Hive’s Paths again, and wasn’t surprised it was here. It also seemed like a natural choice. It would probably synergize well with her newest unlocked Template. She wondered what she could do with the Form Drones with this Ability. New and more forms, more precise control, stopping or modifying it at any point in development? The possibilities she imagined were tempting, she had to admit.

She wasn’t sure about the other options. They were both new and familiar, in a sense. She’d started to see a bit of a theme in the Ability choices the System was giving her. They tended to focus on one area like her physical body, or flight, her magic, the psychic link, or the hive or its numbers. Although Leian or whoever determined these had clearly decided to mix things up a little bit. If I don’t choose either of the new options, one of them will probably show up again, but I don’t know which, she considered. Is there anything I can’t afford to lose out on? Not really, she decided after a minute of thought.

None of it was particularly critical, so she decided to give herself a bit of time to think about the choice — although she was inclined towards Hive’s Paths — and instead focused on other concerns.

She’d need to shuffle her drones around again, and it was a bit hard to decide how large a part of her forces she should keep in the respective areas. She definitely needed to discuss it with Ben and the others. For now, regardless of the details, the commanders would probably have to be recalled or shuffled around as well. Regina would like to have Ben back with her, and Tim if possible. On the other hand, Tim could also use a bigger command. Janis was still juggling several balls and might be more useful as a diplomat going forward, at least for now. Besides, having her around to talk to June might not be a bad idea, either … Perhaps she could even contrive to send her to Cernlia to meet Kiara when the opportunity arose.

Regina paused as another thought struck her. She closed her eyes again to focus on the psychic link and a few Winged Drones further away from her position. She hadn’t talked to the Delvers since they’d shown her the old medical buildings. And now might be a good time for it.

At least she wouldn’t have to worry about the Esemen striking her in the back, as soon as they were actually gone, and it might be more advantageous to talk to the Delvers before everything was completely settled in Cernlia.

Regina frowned. Ben wouldn’t like the idea. She could send another one of her drones, of course, but - that wouldn’t do for what she wanted. Her own identity was kind of central. She’d probably have to prove that she really was a former human from before the Cataclysm, and that would be a little hard to do remotely. Well, harder.

Regina sighed and made a mental note of it, then contacted a few drones and asked them to look into it. For something like this, she should involve her hive, not just force through a decision and leave them to pick up the slack. Especially since she was kind of starting to lose sight of some of the details, even just for their ‘international relations’. There was just too much.

Reminded of her human connections, Regina checked on Zephyr as well. He was still in prison, which was good. Also asleep currently. He’d been sleeping a lot. She wasn’t sure if that was because of the prison thing or if he was still just not in good health. She’d had a few drone healers coming by in the meantime, very carefully, when he was sedated, but they’d been inconclusive. Stress and signs of minor illness were one thing, it didn’t mean that there were any lingering aftereffects, but it didn’t not mean that, either.

Regina chewed on her lip, considered paying him a visit, before she withdrew her focus. She couldn’t justify that risk, not after what had happened last time. At some point I have to reduce some risk, I guess. She smiled to herself, then stood and stretched a little, before she focused on her magic. She could use a bit of training.

After Conjuring a few different metals and different kinds of synthetic materials in various shapes, Regina hesitated. She had a lot of mana these days, and her Conjuration was going well. But her real advantage were probably not the System-given Spells, but her own skills and the magic she could do without that help.

And one of those advantages was scrying. It was still a mana sink and tended to give her headaches, so she didn’t use it that often. Besides, Galatea was much better at it. But Galatea had been busy lately, and she wouldn’t get better if she didn’t practice. Besides, it had been a while since she’d talked to Kiara, instead of just reading a letter. They’d both been busy.

Regina winced and tried to ignore the headache building up as she tried to connect the magic properly. She really was a bit rusty with this. The mental picture she got shook and flickered slightly, although she managed to stabilize it well enough. Kiara was actually pretty far away currently, since the Lyns army had managed to make reasonably good time through the eastern part of Cernlia. They were still not close to the edge of her range, but farther than they’d been before. She pushed through, focused on Kiara, and made the scrying link take hold.

Kiara met her in the middle again, after a short while. They had a bit of routine by now, so it wasn’t too difficult to make things so Regina could see her clearly. Although she looked like it took a lot out of her.

On second thought, it probably wasn’t the scrying. Kiara had never seemed to be that bothered by it before. Today, she did have dark circles under her eyes. One side was half-concealed with makeup, along with streaks of slightly different shading on her cheeks. It looked like she’d been halfway through washing her makeup off. Her hair was slightly damp and held back in a simple ponytail. More than that, though, Kiara sat with a slump she would not have expected from her.

Regina almost blinked. “Kiara?” she asked, more tentative than she intended.

Kiara straightened up. “Hive Queen Regina,” she greeted her, sounding the same as usual. “Good afternoon to you. It is a pleasure to see you again.”

“Likewise,” Regina said. Oh, screw it, might as well. “Are you doing okay?”

Kiara frowned slightly. “Of course, I am very well, why do you ask?”

Regina just shrugged a little. “You look like you’re under a lot of stress,” she said honestly. “If you are, I can completely understand. The situation can’t be so easy to deal with.”

The young woman just stared at her for a long moment, before she slumped again a little. “Yeah,” she muttered. Regina didn’t even know she knew that word. “I suppose you could say that.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Regina asked. Dammit, she liked Kiara.

“I don’t think so. It is not something you could do something about. Or should, I suppose. It’s just — I don’t like some of the things my father is doing.”

“What kind of things?” Regina asked. That sounded like something she might need to know about.

Kiara shrugged slightly. “A few things,” she said. Then she exhaled and shook her head. “Have you talked to June, Milady?”

“Of course. I’m not sure if she’s told you yet, but we went on a little expedition and I think I’ve found the cause of her issues, or at least a big clue.”

Kiara didn’t look surprised, just nodded. “In her letter, she speaks highly of you. She seems to really like you,” she commented.

Regina smiled. It was completely genuine this time. “I’m glad to hear that. I like June a lot, too. She’s a great student and I think she’s got a bright future.”

“And how is my mother?”

“Well, last I heard. The pregnancy is going as expected, with no unforeseen complications.” Regina hesitated for a moment. “Regarding the baby, Kiara, you should —“ she paused. “Well … nevermind.”

Kiara looked at her, and Regina could practically see the gears turning in her head. “Of course,” she said.

“Well, I can assure you they’re both safe, and with the war nearly over, they won’t be in much danger, either. On that topic, it looks like I’ll negotiate a proper truce agreement with the Esemen, involving them withdrawing and abstaining from attacking us for at least a year.”

“That’s good news.”

They spent the next few minutes talking, catching up on what was happening on both of the fronts. Despite the serious subject matter, Kiara appeared to relax a little as the conversation went on.

“Regina,” Kiara finally said, a little abruptly. “You should look into your food stores. I don’t like the way Father is rationing the food. The people … might need some help.”

Regina tilted her head. This had obviously been bothering Kiara. “I will.” That was not good news.

“And, I don’t like the way he’s treating the people fleeing their homes because of the war,” Kiara said, almost looking past her. “I thought Nicholas was bad with the way he herded the refugees, but …” she trailed off and shook her head.

Regina scowled. “I’ll look into it,” she said. At Kiara’s look, she raised a hand reassuringly. “Relax, I won’t do anything stupid. But maybe I can help, if only by applying a little influence.”

Kiara nodded. She looked relieved. And no wonder, if what’s been going on is what it sounds like. She has to be rubbed raw on the inside, with her father and her upbringing and what’s happening in such a war all pulling at her.

“We’ll see what we can do,” Regina said, then hesitated. “If you ever need my help …”

Kiara smiled. “Thank you.”

Hey, you might be the closest friend I have outside the hive. And wasn’t that a bit of a sad realization.

“We’ll make sure things work out,” she said.