In the middle of that vast garden that the white lady had claimed as her own, a young mantis lay defeated at the feet of a pale-skinned warrior, which emanated as much elegance as mystery through her dense clothes and her crown of hair that fell down. The mantis was defeated, but not subdued and even with the fire of resentment shining in her eyes, she dared to shout at the one who had brought her down.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Kill me!" The girl shouted furiously.
"Mai! Le'mer should not seek her end so vehemently. Nahlo, nahlo" The strange way in which this female spoke denoted that she was a foreigner, she did not seem to master the language of the place very well.
"Only the end awaits a mantis that has been defeated. I can no longer present myself to mine! Kill me and save me the shame, will you?"
"Che' doesn't want to end a girl so young, che' can't"
"You are cruel... You destroy my life and then you don't want to repair it"
"Le'mer had responsibility, invaded the gardens of Meled 'Queen' Che' had to stop her, it's not her territory, but che' doesn't like violence and doesn't want such a young girl to end Moina. Wai Le'mer doesn't go home with her family? They sure worried.."
"Moina is dead?" The way she spoke made it a bit difficult for her to understand. "It doesn't matter. If they see me in this state and guess my defeat before the sworn enemy, nothing good will hold my destiny"
The silver knight cocked her head curiously.
She knew the brutal customs of the mantis, but she did not understand them. How could they condemn someone just for losing? Everyone goes through moments of weakness but that does not mean that someone is weak. She looked at the girl in front with grief. Poor mantis, someone so young did not deserve to see her future shattered by so little. After all she was Ze'mer, one of the big 5, few or none could match her in strength. The girla was doomed to defeat from the moment when they started fighting
She sighed and made a decision. She couldn't leave her abandoned to her fate. What kind of knight would she be if she did? Perhaps Driyya scolded her for such an act of folly, after all this girl belonged to the tribe that opposed her beloved king, but she simply could not leave her, something in her yelled at her to help her. She reached down and extended her hand to the mantis.
"Come. Che' will take care of Le'mer until she gets well and can return home, nobody will know le' lost. It's a promise. What is Le'mer name?"
The mantis looked at her with a puzzled expression, almost as if she thought she was crazy. But in her desperate situation she had nothing to lose. She knew it was a dishonor to accept help from an enemy, but at the bottom of her heart, she wanted to live and if this strange knight offered her that opportunity, she would put all her hopes on her. She extended her claw and trusted blindly.
"My name is Clover."
........................
Ogrim opened his eyes waking up from his reveries. For an instant an old memory that he believed lost had resurfaced in his mind. The first encounter between her dear friend Ze'mer and that mantis that would later be her lover. That was an inevitable tragedy that nobody could foresee. He wish he could have done something in that time, but as always he didn't realize anything. The dramas always went around without him noticing and by the time he finally realized, it was too late, all help was useless.
If he had intervened perhaps that girl would not have died and Ze'mer would not have been consumed by sadness. He couldn't even help her fulfill her last wish. It was Hollow who delivered that precious gift to Clover's grave helping her Ze'mer rest in peace. That was another of the faults that the poor beetle carried on his back, he was a lousy friend, he was never for those who needed him. That was why he was now so determined to be useful, and he focused all his energies on the training and education of the young vessels, that was the wish of his new king and he intended to give his life to it.
Although educating those kids was a challenge.
The progeny of the former Pale King presented several unexpected peculiarities, including a naturally childish and naïve character. Although each vessel had a unique personality, they all shared a longing for the game, curiosity and the lack of seriousness so common in children. Fortunately, the king was much more mature than his siblings, but at times he had his falls where he showed his carefree nature. At least both the queen of the Deepnest and the queen of Green Lands were his sisters and they were patient with him, well... Hornet not so much... It was still shocking for him to see that little spider scolding his sovereign.
The dung beetle looked up at the mantis that lay moored in a completely motionless wood and at their mercy. Around her the four vessels watched her curiously, talking to each other about something he couldn't guess. They really looked like children. He had to scold them several times to prevent them from Sting the mantis with sticks and not getting close to touching her. She was unconscious but could wake up at any time, and that was not a very polite behavior with a stranger.
However, in contrast to the candor of his students, Hollow showed a hard and cold attitude. It was very rare to see the knight in that state, he was usually cheerful, affectionate and perhaps somewhat impertinent with his friends and family, with strangers he used to be stoic and silent, but whatever the situation, he was never aggressive. However now it seemed that he was going to kill the first one to come forward.
Well, in part he understood him. The only thing that could alter Hollow was someone harming his family and having caught this mantis preparing to attack them obviously get him mad. Surely he would have killed her if he hadn't recognized her... A Mantis Lord... Killing her would have meant a big problem... Maybe even a declaration of war.
What they least wanted at that time was to enter into conflict with anyone, and in case there was a disagreement with the mantis tribe, the most affected would be Clare, since her territories were the ones with the easiest access for them and unfortunately, the Young root was the one who was in the worse condition to respond to an attack, mostly they would depend on the protection that Hallownest Heart could give them.
Ogrim shook his head trying to remove those gloomy thoughts. He had to be positive, maybe things could be fixed peacefully to avoid problems, and who had incurred the infraction was the mantis. She was the one who entered into foreign territory without announcing herself and proceeded to attack their inhabitants. The Queen of Green Lands was the one who should be offended by such an intrusion, if they decided to condemn the Lord, the mantis should not object. Even so, the first thing was to find out what was happening and for that they needed her to wake up.
They had already been waiting for the Lord to react for a couple of hours, apparently Hollow had exceeded with his attack, he could have really killed her. Fortunately they managed to cure her a little with some bottled water from the hot springs, but that was not enough and she would need more rest. Poor Mantis, facing Hollow's anger was not easy.
Suddenly an applause distracted him. Kairi was drawing his attention while Cliff pointed to the captive jumping with excitement. Hollow made a dash and in a second he was in front of the insect with his nail outside ready to attack at the slightest threat. In Ogrim's opinion he was exaggerated, her ties were firm and she could do nothing.
The beetle approached the place. as none of the children could speak (In an easily audible volume), it was his turn to act as a mediator.
Orchid regained consciousness afflicted by the burning pain that ran through her entire body. As far as she remembered, she had never felt such extreme pain. She opened her eyes and for a moment her blurry gaze was only able to distinguish spots. She had to blink several times before clearing her vision and noticing the nail that was a few centimeters from her face.
After the initial shock, she quickly intended to take her own weapon to face her attacker, but it was then that she realized that she was tied to a wood. She squirmed to free herself, but the ropes were too tight, she was trapped and subjected to the will of her aggressors, one of whom was her silent knight. Some discomfort settled in her stomach, she knew there was no reason for this but... Somehow this made her feel hurt.
"Very well, I see that you have woken up" said Ogrim, presenting himself to the mantis that gave him a glacial look. Perhaps she was at a total disadvantage but not because of that she was going to be humiliated.
"....." Orchid refused to say a word.
"Ahem... I suppose you have already realized your current situation, you are bound and surrounded by skilled knights"
At first, Ogrim was a little surprised by the expression of disbelief that the mantis dedicated to him, although it made more sense when he turned to see and found that one of the skilled knights was tickling another.
"Kairi stops bothering Chari! And behave! You are no longer children!" The involved made a slight bow as an apology "Ahem... As I said, it is in your best interest to cooperate, because you find yourself at a disadvantage and things may not end favorably for you... We already noticed that you are one of the Lords of the mantis, which makes your presence in these lands very suspicious..."
"I came here on my own. My tribe has nothing to do with this matter" she hastened to clarify.
"Oh... I see..." It took Ogrim a couple of seconds to recover. "And what were you doing in the Green Lands?"
"Hunting"
Ogrim noticed that Hollow's grip on his nail had hardened and trembled slightly, it was surely the rage for the fact that this mantis saw his siblings as mere hunting prey.
"Did you intend to hunt these guys?" The mantis took her time before answering.
"No. I just watched them, they seemed curious. Another creature is the objective of my hunt"
This response seemed to relax Hollow a little, but not enough for him to stop being suspicious of her or to lower his weapon.
"Then you have another objective... However, a foreigner like you cannot hunt in these territories without the authorization of Queen Clare, that is a crime"
Orchid cursed silently. She forgot to take that detail into account. Hallownest's new political situation divided into five different kingdoms meant that she could no longer move freely. In the past, she could wander and hunt through all areas without worrying too much about permits and things, the only law that governed them was to have the strength to survive, but these silly modern laws complicated everything. Having to ask permission to hunt? Who could imagine such idiocy! But well, these were the methods that the weak kings had invented to favor the survival of the scum. They had already proven how pathetic the Queen of Deep Nest was, surely the ruler of the Hallownest Heart would be the same.
".........?" Lumis looked at Ogrim questioningly.
"What are we going to do with her?" He wanted to check the question. "Well, I'm not sure. As this incident occurred in the Clare's territories, it should be she who decides the fate of this mantis. However, we are her military force, so we could take the attribution of punishing this intruder"
"........" Lumis gestured to the beetle asking him to stoop.
The vessels could speak at a low and almost inaudible volume, they usually used their own sign language to communicate, but occasionally when they needed to express complex ideas or explanations, they asked others to come closer to be able to speak to their ears, as it was in this case .
"Mmm? Interesting proposal, very interesting indeed Lumis" Ogrim straightened and turned his eyes to the captive who looked at them curiously. "You... As one of the Lord who rules in Fungal Wastes, you are their representative and a figure of high political importance... I suppose that by the meeting you had a few days ago with the Queen of Deepnest you'll be aware of the interest there is in the mushrooms that grow in your territory and of the intentions of establishing an agreement to obtain the permits of its extraction"
Orchid became pale when she heard this. They planned to use her as a currency to negotiate a deal. But how vile! However, the mantis would never allow foreigners to invade their lands or establish agreements with anyone, even if it was at the cost of her live. No one would move a finger to save her and would not mind letting her die. She would not reproach them for anything, because she would do the same in her situation.
However, what worried her was the idea of being presented to her tribe by displaying her as a trophy and demanding the agreement. That would be a total humiliation! The worst of the worst, she would win the contempt of everyone and would probably be subjected to horrible torture before killing her.
Expelled from her position as Lord, captured by the enemy and used as currency, her life was over, definitely over. She moved herself trying to free herself from her bonds desperately, she was not going to let them use her, at least that shame should be avoided.
"Oh, you better not bother trying to free yourself" Ogrim pointed out. "We make sure to tie you well, so don't try anything. In addition, Hollow is looking at you, before the slightest suspicious movement he won't hesitate to hurt you"
Although that should have been a deterrent threat, it was extremely attractive for the mantis. She was already determined to die to keep what little she had left of honor and to die at the hands of the sensual silent knight would be an interesting addition. The truth, for a moment she considered the twisted idea, but in the desperate situation in which she was, in reality it didn't matter much anymore.
"We will take you to our king where you will be locked up until we decide what we will do with you."
Obviously to move her to where Big was, they had to untie her, so this was the only opportunity she would have to do something and avoid her dire destiny.
She stood very still in faux submission and cooperation while the three-horned vessel approached to untie her. At his side in an extremely protective posture, Hollow did not take his eyes off her and kept the silent threat of his nail. She didn't look away either and with glacial expression she waited for the appropriate moment.
Cliff had already finished unleashing the mantis of the wood, however he kept her hands firmly tied, in addition to this, the mantis's weapon was well guarded by Lumis. Theoretically she should not be able to make any movement, but they had underestimated her.
Cliff who was barely a rookie in training could not be compared to a professional killer like Orchid.
The mantis made a rapid movement with which she threw the vessel to the floor, however he did not release the rope with which he held her hands. But Orchid did not care, what she was looking for was something else. Hollow immediately reacted to her actions and proceeded to attack her. The mantis did not oppose, she wanted this, she longed for the edge of his stinger to take her life, so she exposed her bare chest to the deadly wound, but Hollow's reflexes were sharp and he had no desire to end her life. At least not yet.
The nail pierced the shell of the insect, but it did not sink to the depth necessary to kill her. She tried to push harder for the weapon to bury in herself, but Hollow backed away by ripping it from her body.
Orchid fell to her knees weakened by the pain and the blood that escaped from her chest in the face of the horror of all the spectators.
"Kill me... Kill me at once..." She said in a choked voice.
"Miss!" Ogrim shouted in alarm. "Quick! Bring another bottle of hot springs water, we can't let her die"
"It's useless." The mantis looked at them resentfully. "It's useless! I won't serve you for your negotiations. My sisters would rather let me die before accepting a deal with you. Right now I'm just a hindrance to them. So don't believe you will achieve something by keeping me alive! Just... Kill me..."
Ogrim was sad to hear those words, apparently, even with all the years that had passed, the mantis society remained the same, ruled by brutality and strength, where there was not even the slightest affection even between relatives. Poor unfortunate Mantis, if what she said was the truth, it would probably be best to kill her as she asked. What a tragic end for the one who was once a sovereign, but it was the most honorable end she could have.
Ogrim was about to take out his own weapon when he noticed that Hollow was starting to act somewhat strangely. Then a shiver ran down his spine sensing what was about to happen. Hollow's lack of common sense was about to cause a disaster!
There were many things that Hollow did not understand about the world, the mantis society was one of them. They were not a race of insects with whom he had had a close relationship, normally he was just passing through their village and never intended to interact with anyone. Everyone talked about the brutality of the mantis but he could not understand it at all. It was simply that it was unthinkable for him that someone was willing to let their sister die without even making a minimum attempt to save her.
That was why Orchid's statement had broken his heart. Poor Mantis! Surely she must be destroyed by the rejection of her relatives.
In less than three seconds Hollow put together a whole movie in her head. It didn't cost him much to relate Orchid's rejection to her poor performance during the battle against Hornet. Surely they expelled her and in his mind he could imagine the poor mantis crying disconsolately, wandering through the tunnels of Fungal Wastes, looking for food, alone sad and abandoned. Then the poor Mantis would reach Green Path where she would find these siblings in the middle of their training. He could almost see her wanting to scream in frustration at the envy caused by this united family. Surely that's why she looked at them with such intensity!
She was a poor soul in disgrace, without a helping hand to help her, who was now in such a state of despair that she only wanted to die of sadness. Hollow himself already wanted to cry at this tragic story that had been invented.
That is why the knight at that time dropped his weapon and knelt before her. Orchid just looked at him suspiciously waiting for his next move, which was a warm and affectionate hug. The mantis face dyed red as she felt a suffocating heat surrounding her. Then she perceived how the silent knight approached his face to her ear and with his soft and whispering voice he said.
"From now on I'll take care of you"