The war between the mantises and the spiders had already broken out and it was proving to be an event as horrible as it was cruel. Corpses of bugs from both sides were added to the old carcasses from the battles of yesteryear that still remained in the field, as a reminder of the ferocity of the war, but those aged bodies were not enough to deter the bugs from taking up arms again. The supposed offense of the mantises had been too serious.
But unlike previous fights, where a lot of mindless insects succumbed to the mantis' power, the current confrontation was tilted in Deepnest's favor. The spiders were fast and skilled, little by little they were gaining ground and forcing their adversaries to retreat. Not even with the Lords fighting along with the tribe was it able to cope with the threat, or the silent knight who now looked like a bloodthirsty monster.
Actually it was not only him the problem, the spider queen and her consort were magnificent adversaries, they really underestimated them when they met them. All the mantises thought it would be an easy victory, killing the queen automatically marked the defeat of Deepnest and for that same many rushed against her seeking glory and honor, but only found pain and death.
After the first lives lost, the mantises opted for a more defensive posture, seeking to contain her and waiting for the appropriate moment to launch a deadly attack. But this did not seem to arrive, the enchanted thread of the queen was an impenetrable wall that danced at will and burned them on contact. But there was a brave male willing to take the risk of killing her and he had a plan.
Tash was determined to have the glory of victory, it was the only way for Lavender to forgive him after kidnapping her. Now he could no longer be in her presence because she immediately sought to kill him. If now she had ceased in her desire to murder him it was just because they were at war and they needed every available mantis to fight, particularly strong individuals like him.
Ready for everything, the male grabbed one of the shell from the floor and using it as a shield he launched himself at Hornet. The magic golden thread hit the dead shell and managed to cause minor burns to the mantis, but it was nothing compared to the damage taken by the corpse, this took Hornet by surprise. The flow of soul in her weapon ceased, something visible by decreasing in brightness, this was the signal Tash needed to attack. He seized the silk and ripped it apart with the edge of his claws, leaving the crossbreed vulnerable for a moment.
Hornet reacted well by putting her needle in front of herserlf in a perfect deffensive maneuver, that male was not enough to subdue her, but she did not have the ability to take care of him and at the same time pay attention to the two females that were coming over her. She lowered her defense for a moment to repel the two mantises and Tash pointed his claws at the spider's heart.
That deadly edge was approaching Hornet's chest, she caught a glimpse of it. Her life passed in front of her eyes, she thought sadly of her family and friends, her kingdom and the offspring she lost, she did not want to die, but....
Right at the last moment, the one who lurked in the shadows looking for her moment to show herself dropped. From the ceiling of that cave Ania broke off and threw herself on the mantis causing horrible damage to his chest. Tash immediately pushed her away and stepped away to reframe his offense.
The spider turned to look at her former master and her heart broke at the anger in her eyes. Hornet did not know how to feel about it, she was in front of the creature that almost killed one of her daughters, the servant who was loyal to her for so many years, who betrayed her in the worst way and who now saved her life.
The sneak attack of a mantis reminded her where she was and the situation she was living, she had no time for her personal conflicts, her priority now was to win.
.....................................................................
The adrenaline of the battle fought kept her moving, but with each passing minute the additional energies were depleted and the pain in her body appeared. Orchid was exhausted, all she wanted was to lie down and sleep for a while, but this was not the right time, she was dirty with the blood of her adversary, in a wild territory, the well-being of her tribe was in danger and she had three grubs in her charge that required attention and care.
Unfortunately her body was in no condition to keep up with that rhythm without a break, her already weakened legs buckled under her weight and the mantis fell to her knees. Her companion ran to help her, he was scared, both for the well-being of his lord, and for the fact that without her he did not know how to escape from that jungle.
"My Lord! Are you okay? Are your injuries very serious?"
"Don't worry Cris, I'm fine... Just... Exhausted..."
"Well, let me disagree. Perhaps you stopped the bleeding from your leg with those plants but it needs to rest, or a more professional medical help"
"But there is no time for that, I must take the children with their mother." Orchid managed to stand up with some difficulty.
"In your condition, I don't know if you are capable of reaching the village as you are, or of protecting the young and yourself. Remember that we are going to a battlefield. If the spiders see you with the babies in a cage they could react badly thinking the worst."
"You're right... I can't go there with the children under these conditions..."
She took a few moments to think of an appropriate plan of action, but in her state just standing already required a lot of effort, much more complicated was for her even think of something. Although she tried to concentrate her mind began to wander in thoughts confused and meaningless where every image she saw evoked some distant memory, but somehow that managed to be useful. The path of her eyes crossed a thorny branch that triggered a relatively recent memory.
She surveyed her surroundings as if she hadn't been busy in it for the last 15 minutes, but with this second glance she was able to recognize the site, she knew it and was near a place where they could help her without asking too many questions.
"Cris, I know what to do, come, help me a little."
Leaning on her companion, they made their way through the jungle until they reached a rustic path that led them to a lost hut in the confines of that jungle, a place where two artists had taught her an important lesson.
The urge to attend to his lord made Cris forget all discretion or respect, he kicked the door of the hut and forced himself inside, but as soon as he entered he regretted not having knocked first, because he had to witness an uncomfortable scene that involved two beetles kissing.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Without saying anything, he quickly left the hut slamming the door.
Cris, quite disturbed, sat outside the house where Orchid with the children were waiting for him, his pale and distressed countenance did not go unnoticed.
"Uh... are you okay?"
"I saw... two beetles kissing..."
"Yes, I forgot to tell you that the occupants are a couple."
"But they are two males! Males cannot have children from each other!" Cris didn't understand why her Lord was so calm.
"Of course. What happens is that here the bugs don't necessarily pair up to have babies, sometimes they pair up just to share life without having children and you can do something like that with any type of bug."
"That is weird..."
"Yes, maybe a little, but when you understand the situation a little better it is not so much."
At that, Sheo came out of the hut with a furious face, but all trace of anger vanished when he saw a badly injured Orchid along with the male mantis and three grubs in a cage.
"Orchid?! But what happened to you? NEIL! COME QUICKLY AND BRING LIFEBLOOD BULBS!
The timely attention of the two males with the appropriate implements made Orchid recover quickly, her wounds were closed without the possibility of new bleeding, adding a couple of new scars to her collection. But that was not important, now she was recovered, still with the fatigue weighing on her body but with her willpower she would obtain energy to run to the tribe.
"Thanks for your help, now I must go," Orchid said as soon as she felt better.
"Wait! Are you just going to leave like this without even giving us an explanation? We help you recover, it is the least we deserve, besides, where do you intend to go with those caged children? What are you doing Orchid?" Sheo exclaimed worriedly.
"The hatchlings... You're right..."
She watched the babies for a moment and then the two beetles. She was embarrassed to ask for more favors but she didn't have too many options. She opened the cage from which she took the three babies and handed them to the painter.
"What does this mean?"
"Well... These babies were kidnapped and this brought a misunderstanding and serious problems... But now I'm going to fix this whole thing. Could you take care of them for a while? I promise you that their mother will come looking for them in a few hours."
"These babies were kidnapped? And now you give them to us?"
"I swear to you that you will not have any problem, I will fix everything so that there are no more misunderstandings, if I do not take them with me it is because I am going to a dangerous place and I cannot allow anything bad to happen to them. Please believe me!"
Sheo scrutinized the mantis for a few moments, searching her features or expression for the trace of a lie, but there was nothing suspicious, just anguish and longing. For another person she would never have agreed to such a favor, but Orchid was not just anyone.
"Okay, I'll trust you, don't make me regret it."
"Yes! Do not worry! Everything will be fine."
"I hope so, for the record Orchid, if I agree to this it is only because you are Hollow's mate and if he chose you, it must be because you are someone he can trust."
"I'll take it in account".
Cris, who did not know these insects at all, he had limited himself to waiting next to them in silence without issuing any opinion or comment about what they were saying, until he heard that Orchid was the Hollow's mate. He had to stifle a cry and hide hisdiscomfort until they were within a safe distance to question her Lord.
The only Hollow he knew was that silent creature that had defeated his leaders long ago. Weren't they talking about him? No, that was impossible, surely it was a mantis that shared a name with him, Orchid would never do something so horrible and disgusting as mate with a foreigner, much less have babies with him. But despite the confidence, he needed to get the thorn off himself.
The mantis said goodbye to the males and took Silky's cloak with her as proof that she had found the babies. Then they hurried away to fulfill their mission, but Cris's head was in chaos and he needed to clarify his doubts, so as soon as they were at a safe distance from the hut he confronted the female.
"My Lord... I don't want to sound disrespectful and I know this is not the best time but I need to know the truth. Do you have a mate here?" Did you have children?
Orchid took a few seconds before answering, unable to meet his eyes, but with absolute resolution she cleared up his doubt.
"Yes... During the time I was away I had babies with a male from the area."
"And who is he? Why isn't he with you now? What kind of mantis is him? Do you intend to take him to the tribe?"
"He is not a mantis Cris, he is a foreign insect, he is Hollow, the silent knight who defeated my sisters and me."
Cris recoiled in shock, he couldn't believe what he had heard. That must be a lie!
"Why..." he asked in a shaky voice.
"Because I fell in love."
"Not! No no no no! Of all the mantises you cannot have succumbed to that disease!"
"It is not a disease."
"Of course it is!" Cris was getting more and more upset. "It is a disgusting disease that makes people foolish and weak, forcing them to make stupid decisions and neglect their strength to lead lives of idleness and waste."
"That's not true, they're just myths ..."
"People in love never admit they have a problem!"
"To think that I was just like him" Orchid thought. Despite that, she steeled ehrself to try to explain her position.
"Love doesn't make you weak, but it brings out the strength or weakness that you have inside. Whoever is really strong, will be able to carry their feelings without affecting their decisions, will maintain their firm position and do the right thing, even if their heart hurts."
"And is that possible?"
"You... Do you think I'm weak?"
Cris was not sure how to respond to that, after the battle he had witnessed he could call her anything but weak and she seemed to have such a clear head that no one would say she was in love, but still he could not accept it so easily, she had committed a sin.
"Your offspring..."
"Yes... That is another matter, I will not lie to you, I did not want to have them... It was never in my plans but... I am not sorry, I can no longer regret it."
"Crossbreeds will come out..."
"Only half of them... Look... I can't explain to you in 5 minutes what took me months to understand, nor can I change your way of thinking with an emotional speech, that's why... I leave the decision to you. If you want to follow me, I will be delighted to have you among my allies, but if not... I will bear the consequences, I am prepared to face everything that comes, be it rejection, hatred or... Death... But for the record, I won't leave without a fight."
Cris only kept silent chewing on the anger and disappointment that he carried inside, a part of him refused to believe what he was hearing and another accepted reality and looked for the right moment to jump on top of that mantis and kill her. But he more than anyone else he was a rational person, capable of analyzing things carefully to arrive at the best conclusion.
"As if I could assassinate you... As if I could do something... You say you let me decide, but in reality I have no options, I do not have the ability to defeat you in combat, and even if it were possible, you are the only hope I have left to save the tribe, you have the contacts and the strength to command respect and make yourself heard, on the other hand I am just a poor mantis who was too cowardly to die in battle." He fell to his knees in frustration. "How I hate myself right now, how I hate having to depend on a traitor."
Orchid couldn't deny that those words hurt inside her, but she remained firm and authoritative, as she befitted a Lord.
"Then stand up and follow me, I will show you my vision of things, I promise you that you will not regret staying true to me and that one day you will understand me. Now we go!
.................................................. ..............................
The battle was becoming clearer, the mantises were falling, their victory was impossible, the great army was reduced to just a small handful of individuals and they had receded so much that now the combat was fought in the very room of the Lords, in addition to the warriors only remained the mantises that were in the upper floors of the village taking care of the newborns.
The weariness of the warriors was also evident, they hardly had the energy to continue and they could hardly stand up, something that did not go unnoticed by the enemy who in an act of mercy (although for the mantises it was a mockery), they ceased his attack.
Now both groups were on the alert for any attack from the other, but it was obvious who was in the best position to respond. It was then that the army of spiders split in two, making way for the queen who traveled the path that had been opened for her, approaching the Lords themselves. Her gesture was arrogant, but at the same time there was great pain, something unusual for a leader who had victory in her hands
"It's the end," the half-breed declared.
The Lords did not say a word.
"Now having you already defeated, I demand the answer to the question that your partner refused to answer. Where are my children?"
The mantises looked at each other confused with the question, did the queen have children? Since when? Was all this mess because she couldn't find them? Who was the partner she was talking about and what did they have to do with it?"
A sensible decision would have been to try to clear up that misunderstanding and offer help in the search for the lost children, they could have ensured their survival with such an action, but mantis pride prevented it, they were not willing to accept defeat and in an act childish and stupid sealed their fate.
"But what a pathetic mother, unable to care for her children, blames others." Lily snapped, seeking to harm the mother's heart.
None of the mantises rebuked Lily, they were willing to die rather than live in dishonor. The furious half-breed raised her needle to punish that insolent mantis, but before she could deliver the killing blow two individuals fell from the ceiling. The force of the fall raised a thin cloud of dust and forced Hornet back. The spider immediately took an offensive attitude but as soon as she saw who it was she did not know how to react.
In front of her was Orchid, next to another mantis that she did not remember. Now knowing the true identity of the mantis she could no longer look at her in the same way, she was a leader, part of the tribe with whom she was at enmity and at the same time the girlfriend of her brother. Hollow would never forgive her if she hurt her, she could almost feel his gaze pinned on her back watching every move, he was able to oppose her in order to protect her.
On the other side, the tribe was also stunned, after four months the missing Lord returned, but something about her was different, now she no longer wore her crown, and her royal mantle had been replaced by another new very fine fabric. Despite her no longer wearing the symbols of royalty, she looked more regal than ever, proud, powerful and lethal. Had she returned to turn the fight in their favor? Because she looked strong enough to beat the spider queen.
"Orchid..." Hornet hissed. "Don't think I'll hold back from harm you for being..."
"I would not expect you to do it, it would be disrespectful, but it is not to fight what I have come" She interrupted before she could complete the sentence and reveal her secret.
"Then?"
Everyone, spiders and mantises were waiting for her response.
"I've brought the answer you need." She pulled out Silky's cloak that she had previously obtained and tossed it at Hornet's feet.
"Silky!" The mother yelled, throwing herself to the ground to pick up the precious cloth.
"I found your children, all three are alive, I have left them in Green Lands in the artists' hut."
"How..."
"I don't know, I don't know what caused them to end up in Green Lands but we mantises were not responsible for this and finding out the truth is a task that falls to you now. Having clarified this matter, I demand that you leave our lands."
"How can I trust you?" Hornet was afraid of cruel disappointment.
"If what I said turns out to be a lie I'll give you my head." Hollow gasped, Hornet herself couldn't believe what she was hearing. "But if my words are true, I demand a public apology and a compensation for the damages caused."
"So be it, I give you my word."
The conversation was far from friendly, so no one bothered to say a decent goodbye, the spiders turned around ready to leave the scene, but there was one individual who refused to leave. Hollow stood in the middle of the room questioning the mantis with his eyes, waiting for her to run into his arms as usual so they could return home together, but this time it wouldn't be like that, he sensed it and she knew it. .
They could not speak openly about theirs, that secret could not come to light, so Orchid resorted to the only resource she had, the few words that she had learned from the sign language of the vessels.
"Take care of them, I love you, bye" was all she could say.
With a crying heart the knight turned and prepared to follow the rest of the arachnid army that had already left the room.
Now there were only the confused mantises in the room who had witnessed the scene without fully understanding what was happening, all had their eyes fixed on Orchid waiting for an answer, although none had asked a question yet.
"I have returned" was the first thing Orchid said. "I have returned to regain my place as Lord."
No one was in a position to talk about the civil war yet, but before anyone could even suggest the idea of fighting, Orchid decided to set the record straight.
"Why did you leave?" A young mantis that had recently lost its wings dared to ask
"I went looking for the strength and I found it," she declared proudly.
Then she took out her great trophy, the hunter's claw. She threw the huge finger in front of her sisters who stared at it in amazement.
The mantises huddled to observe the finger, some hisses of admiration accompanied the whispers that escaped from their mouths, no one in their life ever saw a finger of such size, the being that possessed it must be huge and powerful, it was incredible.
"Orchid. Did you defeat this being?" Lavender asked.
"I defeated him, Cris is my witness."
"It's true, I witnessed every blow, every maneuver, it was... A magnificent battle..."
Murmurs ran through the room, impressing comments and praises towards the lost Lord, a renewed admiration had awakened in the people who were now willing to accept their leader and obey her, she had returned, she had saved them and she had brought with her the proof of her power. He deserved all the respect and much more. No one would question her leadership anymore, they were happy and satisfied with her. That's why all of them, including Lily and Lavender, stood up and bowed to her, honoring her as the most powerful mantis in the tribe.
Orchid remained standing with pride and arrogance, this was what she years ago always dreamed of, the highest aspiration of her life. But now it tasted like a bitter victory, she only wanted to return with her mate and her eggs, but for the sake of maintaining the balance of power in the tribe that would no longer be possible, now she only had to be strong, to overcome the pain and hold the tears that she wanted to shed.
.................................................. ..............................
As Hornet set her feet in her own territory, she looked for Quirrel and Hollow who came to meet her, once she was sure that they were well, she located Ania, who like the others ran to her queen expecting a warm welcome after having saved her life, but instead she found only pain.
Hornet leapt on her with her needle in her hand and with tremendous brutality thrust the tip of it into the joint of her leg, then ripped of away from the base of her. Ania cried for mercy, but her punishment was not over yet, a second leg was snatched from her with the same force as the previous one.
The spider was now lying on the ground in full view of everyone, some looking at her with pity, others with disgust, she scooped up her remaining legs in fear for them and trembled in her place when she caught a glimpse of Hornet's red cloak.
"Please my queen... I beg you..."
A heartrending scream tore through the air, drops of blood slid down the spider's face, pouring from the place where her upper two eyes had previously stood. Overcome by her pain, she took two of her remaining legs to her face while she whimpered for mercy.
"Why my queen... Why are you doing this to me?" The image she projected was pitiful. "I saved you life...."
"I've taken it into account Ania, that's why I took two legs and two eyes from you instead of your life. Saving me is not enough to redeem you from the harm done to Ren. It's not that you just tried to kill her, you tortured her, you made her suffer on purpose, you had no mercy on her... And I don't think you really regret what you did to her... I don't see you sorry for it." She crouched down until she was level with the spider. "Would you be able to accept Ren? Would you be able to recognize that what you did was wrong?"
She only got silence for an answer.
"I want you to leave, I want you to go away. I never want to see you again in my life! Get away from this realm and never come back! Because I swear that if I see you again I will kill you."
"No, please no! Don't exile me! Think of all the years that I have served you! I am faithful to Deepnest! I saved your life! I helped that mantis find yourchildren! I supported you in battle! I..."
"Enough! Get out of my sight!"
At a signal from Hornet two of her devotees forcibly took her to lead her out of the realm to serve her sentence. Life for a crippled spider was complex, her future was not very promising.
And yet despite everything, it hurt Hornet to have to do that, it was amazing how Ania managed to break her heart over and over again. She closed her eyes to keep from seeing her as they dragged her out of her and didn't move until her screams stopped being heard. It was then that her husband's embrace surprised her.
"Are you okay?" He asked worriedly.
"I will be... I hope... Now, I must go get my children."
"Go Hornet, I'll take care of everything."
"Thanks"
She dared to give him a fleeting kiss before leaving and as soon as her cloak was out of sight, Hollow fell to his knees and began to cry, he had been holding on not to disturb his sister, but it had already been too much for him.
"Hollow..." Quirrel ran to help him, the vessel clung to him crying desperately.
"Orchid left me... Orchid left... Orchid..."
.................................................. ....................................
Hornet was running through the jungle with her heart beating with all its might, she had all her hopes pinned on the clue that Orchid had given her, this had to be real, she couldn't have lied to her, she had to get her children back, she didn't want to take her life, everything had to go well.
Anguish settled in her stomach as she spotted the hut and desperately kicked the door open.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"
"WHY ARE WE SCREAMING!?"
"Sorry, it's customary."
Almost shyly and shaking from head to toe Hornet muttered.
"My children... Where are my children..."
"Oh, are they yours?" Neil asked.
After saying that two little heads peeked through his beard and Hornet was finally able to breathe easy.
"Silky! Chester!"
The mother hugged her children while she shed tears of joy, her emotion was so great that even the children burst into tears as they clung to her in despair fearing to lose her again. But it was obvious that she would soon notice that a girl was missing.
"And Ren? Where is she?"
"Ren? Ah yes, the sleepy one, I have her here."
Sheo pointed to the pocket of his apron where a small lump could be seen, the mother approached to look inside it and there she found the girl in a ball.
"Ren!"
The pill bug responded to her mother's call and she immediately uncoiled herself to burst into tears just like her siblings. Hornet immediately picked her up to give her her well-deserved hug
"My children... My babies... You are finally with me."
Both males were moved by the scene, Sheo almost held back the tears.
"How beautiful... Of all the possibilities we never imagined that those children would be yours, they are adorable."
"Ah, thanks for looking after them, sorry if they caused you some inconvenience."
"Inconvenience? No way! They are adorable and well behaved, we had a great time painting together."
"Did they paint?"
"Oh yeah, there's their artwork." Neil pointed to a pile of paint-stained papers and paw marks.
"Of course they all finished full of paint but it was fun," Sheo added, "but don't worry, we already bathed them and fed them, we were making them sleep when you arrived, although with the little one it was not necessary, it was enough that I put her in my pocket for her to close her eyes, she's lovely."
"Wow..."
Hornet observed the scene, the children clean and well cared for, the drawings to show that they had a good time, two adults happy to take care of them, a quiet and secluded place and no political interest involved. A very interesting idea came to her mind.
"Uh... Guys... I don't know if it's too daring of me, but seeing how well you took care of them... I don't know... Could I ask you to take care of them again one day? Of course I will pay you for your services... Only if it is not too much trouble of course..."
"WE WOULD BE DELIGHTED!" They yelled in unison