Rythica was startled to wakefulness at the sound of the rge, reinforced door to her chambers creaking open. A moment ter, the nterns that dotted her room began to flicker on, banishing the darkness. The small vex stirred, groggy and confused at the early hour. She didn't feel like she had slept that long.

  She curled deeper into the bedding, not ready to commit to the day quite yet. The small cushion that made up her bed felt like heaven in her tired state, and the pile of bnkets that buried her provided just the right amount of warmth. She twisted, shielding herself from the light that sought nothing more than to steal her rest.

  "Hey, sweetie, it's time to get up, okay?"

  Rythica was dismayed to hear the voice of her loyal drone allied with the light that consumed all that was peace and tranquility, seeking to leave her weary and hollow. Did Julia truly intend to see this cruel fate thrust upon her? Not willing to accept reality, Rythica dug deeper into her impenetrable fortress, invisible to the world.

  There was a bone-deep, exhausted yawn as Bel followed Julia into the room.

  "It's too early for this, Julia."

  The caretaker let out a small yawn of her own. "I'm aware."

  "Can't Era give reasonable orders for once?"

  The door clicked shut a moment ter.

  "Could you please refrain from compining so verbally while the door is still ajar?"

  There was a sheepish cough, followed by a muttered "sorry."

  The princess started to drift back to sleep to the sounds of things being moved around and stuff being pced in boxes and bags, only to be awoken by something loud falling. There was a lot of shuffling and moving around. The door opened and closed several times, rudely interrupting her incoherent thoughts. Rythica scowled at the noises that kept dragging her back from the blissful embraces of unconsciousness.

  "Rythica, it's time to wake up. I know it's early, sweetie, but it's time to move."

  Move? The only move Rythica intended to make was to move back to dreamnd. Her ambitions were tested as a hand fell upon her, gently shaking her. Nonetheless, the sleepy girl persevered through the storm.

  "Come on, it's time to wake up."

  There was more shaking, the tone just a tad bit more stern. Her foggy mind was slow to process her surroundings, but awareness began to cw itself into her mind. She kept her eyes closed, adamant to grasp for just five more minutes of peace.

  Despite her admirable determination to ignore reality, the bnkets were mercilessly swiped away all too quickly, leaving the poor bug utterly defenseless. She hissed at Julia, trying to buzz her wings in clear agitation at the servant who dared to disturb her so, but apparently she had rolled onto her back at some point in the night, leaving the delicate appendages all tingly and numb. The woman remained unfazed at the cranky vex's agitation. She bravely knelt down beside Rythica's tiny futon and spoke in a sympathetic tone.

  "I know you want to get back to sleep. So do I. But sadly, it's time to move. If we hurry up, you can go right back to sleep in an even comfier bed, okay?"

  Rythica got the impression Julia had been expining something to her for several moments, but she had missed most of it in her half-asleep state. The vex blinked a few times as she slowly processed the nanny's words.

  "Move where?"

  There was a grunt in the background as Bel lifted the empty toy chest, carrying the awkwardly-sized container out of her enclosure and through the doorway into the hall. She was muttering venom under her breath as she worked, clearly unhappy with her early-morning task.

  For a moment, Rythica sat there, slowly processing the fact that the drone had just btantly robbed her, before the conversation from the previous night slowly returned to her.

  Rythica's enclosure was always somewhat sparse, but her meager hoard of possessions had grown as time passed, from the rge chest of toys to the small pile of folded clothing. There were shelves outside of her enclosure that had accumuted a good number of children's books that Julia took delight in reading to her, and other furniture littered the chambers, containing dozens of other odds and ends, like her hairbrush, or the abrasive scrub from the st few times she had shed her skin. The collection wasn't massive, but it was one that the small vex felt proud of, like any queen should.

  So the previous night, when Era had ordered Julia to start packing and preparing the items to be moved, Rythica was more than a little disgruntled and confused. She had made her displeasure known, but her compints fell on deaf ears. Era had said Rythica was growing up; it was time for her to get a proper bedroom. While nothing had been taken from the room at the time, anything that wasn't immediately being used, like her toys, had been packaged. Now, however, most of those bags and boxes were missing, and the few bits from st night that remained loose had likewise been spirited away.

  And just like that, her mild annoyance at Julia for waking her had fallen away. She had already argued with Era about this st night, but the big queen had made it clear that it was non-negotiable. She had given a list of reasons why, underlining that it was important she wasn't seen entering and leaving this room anymore because of her higher position within this House and her vaneguin identity. She had expined to the vex why it was important for her growth as a noble, and that her new bedchambers would be safer and far more comfortable, anyway.

  That she needed to do it for the good of the hive.

  In the end, Rythica had been convinced of the necessity of the action, but that didn't mean she had to like it. Outside those walls, things were complicated and confusing. Sure, there were nice things out there, but this nest was also nice. It had sturdy, protective walls. It was familiar, it was safe.

  It made sense.

  This tiny little room was enough for her. There was no army of predators outside, unknown faces to familiarize herself with, fake identities to maintain, or strange new rules for how to behave and interact with the other nobles. It just... was. In this room, Rythica was in control. Out there, there was just so much she didn't understand, so much that felt wrong and unnatural.

  The sheltered princess looked up at Julia, her antennae drooping. "I no want new nest."

  Julia gave the sad bug a warm hug. "I know, baby. I know. But I promise you'll like it. It's a lot bigger, so you have more room to put your things. And the bed is very comfy. And I can promise that the door is made with a special lock to make sure you're safe. Okay? Once you get used to it, it'll be just like this room, only better."

  Rythica had heard Julia say the same thing st night, though she wasn't completely convinced. Julia let Rythica remain where she was for a few minutes before the caretaker began to urge the girl up.

  "Once we get you over there, you can go back to sleep, okay?"

  Rythica nodded and reluctantly began moving towards the door.

  "Rythica?"

  She turned back to Julia and hesitated when she saw the familiar bottle that the woman was holding. Her heart sank a little as she realized she was going to have to drink that foul liquid again. But as Rythica reached out to grasp the potion, she looked into her reflection on the gss.

  This was going to be her new normal, wasn't it? Learning to py by the rules of a bigger world, donning a mask every day to face her enemies that stretched past the horizons, all for the good of her hive?

  But that was the thing, wasn't it? For the good of the hive. The hive was the only thing that truly mattered in this world. Everything else was secondary. Her one true purpose in life was the hive. Her grip on the bottle tightened, and her expression firmed. It didn't matter how scary the outside world was, she would face it without flinching if that's what it took to protect her hive. She was a hive queen, and she would never shy away from her duties. She didn't have to like them, but she would always do what needed to be done. Determination ignited in her chest as she stared into that reflection.

  "Hey! Why the sour mood? Does the potion really taste that bad, yeah?"

  An arm slung around her shoulder, making the vex twitch. Bel grabbed the potion out of Rythica's cws and popped the cork, taking a deep whiff.

  "Uuagghh. Oh. Yep. That's bad, alright."

  The dretris wiped at her watering eyes, dry heaving. He handed the bottle back quickly, shaking her head.

  "Yeah, that's rough, buddy. I can understand the hesitation. Okay, try plugging your nose, like this." Bel pinched her nose and made a strange face. "Ta da!" Her voice came out distorted and nasally, but still understandable. "If you can't smell it, you can't taste it!"

  Julia chuckled in the background, but made no comment.

  While the taste was definitely one of her issues, it wasn't exactly the thing she was worried about. Nonetheless, she copied Bel's actions. It was better to get it over with quickly and painlessly. The vex pinched her nose. When it only seemed to help slightly, she also pced two hands over her antennae, covering them as much as she could with a single limb. When she finally brought the bottle to her lips, she closed her eyes and chugged it fast, not giving herself a chance to let it touch her tongue. It wasn't a perfect solution, but it was definitely better than the st time. She waited out the odd tingly feeling that ran over her and shook her head to expel the brief tunnel vision.

  She gnced back at the beaming dretris as she handed the empty bottle back to Julia. "It help small."

  "That's good! Any improvement is better than no improvement, right? Now, let's get you to your awesome new room. You know, I'm actually somewhat jealous you get such a huge, fancy room all to yourself. My room is super tiny compared to yours. Here, jump on my back. I'll carry you."

  "Bel, wait-" But Julia failed to finish her sentence in time.

  Before Rythica had a chance to protest, Bel was swiftly lifted into the air. The girl squirmed and fpped her wings ineffectually. A moment ter, the small girl found herself sitting on Bel's shoulders. She clutched at the woman's head for support as she tried to regain her bearings at the sudden shift. The bug suddenly found herself very high up, and she was unsure how to feel about that. Her wings continued to softly beat, almost on their own.

  "Ow! Watch the cws! Not that tight! Yeah, that's better. See? Let big sis Bel carry you, okay? Enjoy it while it sts, you won't get this privilege when you're older."

  Julia stepped closer, as if to say something, but slowly calmed down after an instant. "Just be careful, okay? I don't want either of you getting hurt."

  "We'll be fine, won't we, Rythica?"

  The vex continued to look around, mesmerized as Bel took a few steps around, testing her bance. "I am flying."

  A small smile appeared on Rythica's features as she let herself pretend. She continued to beat her wings as Bel walked to the door, the two of them ducking as they made their way outside.

  Bel ughed at the bug's obvious excitement. "Enjoying yourself, are you?"

  She nodded.

  "That's good. Smiles are always the best."

  Bel and Julia both grabbed one of the remaining boxes sitting by the door as they made their way down the hall. The corridors were dimmed, and the night sky could be seen through the windows, though Rythica had no trouble seeing through the darkness.

  There was a small detour as Rythica directed her mount towards one of the windows so she could get a good look outside. The big sky ntern was off this time, leading to a completely different scene from her previous excursion through the House. She saw stars twinkling in the sky, those shiny gems embedded so high, sparkling for all to see. She saw all of the buildings that marked the various enemy hives that surrounded them, all coexisting, yet separate. Despite the te hour, she still saw some figures wandering the distant roads and bridges, but they were far too blurry to make out any details at that distance. She noticed that odd color that came from the big light was nowhere to be seen anymore. She stared for a few minutes longer before quickly urging her mount away. Leaving her old nest was one thing, but peering too deeply out of the hive itself was a step she wasn't quite ready for just yet.

  "Not too big a fan of the nighttime?" Bel asked, curious.

  "I no like sky."

  "Why? It's so beautiful!"

  "It really is," Julia agreed. "The estate has a truly breathtaking view of the sunset over the vast city. Steven and I have spent more than a few evenings up the upper guest balconies, watching the sunset. It's quite lovely."

  Rythica could understand the allure of the glistening stars, perhaps even a bit of awe at the massive fire that was the sun, but she had no idea how anyone could be positive about such a wide-open space. She shuddered.

  When the trio finally reached the door that would mark Rythica's new bedroom, the vex felt a bit of trepidation rise once more. Bel lowered the girl back to the ground, letting her enter the room on her own.

  Her new nest was certainly bigger than her old one, which was immediately obvious, but not in a bad way. It was roomier without being overly exposed. There was no dividing wall that cut the room in half, offering her the precious st yer of defense, nor were there sturdy metal ptes lining the walls, but the floor was made of something very soft that felt nice under her talons, as opposed to the hard stone that made up her previous nest, and the lighting was much more evenly spaced, leading to a much cozier atmosphere overall. She was extremely grateful to see that this room had no windows in it, unlike most of the mansion. There was no way she would ever find peace with such an exposed viewport to the outside so close to where she resided.

  Just as Julia had promised, the bed was massive, and when she pced her hand on it, the material was even softer than she could have possibly imagined. It was almost too soft, somehow. There were various containers sitting on the floor, presumably containing her possessions to be sorted out ter. There was no shortage of pces to store everything, that was for sure. Wardrobes, bookshelves, dressers, a small table and chairs, and a rge, sturdy desk. There weren't any fancy art pieces or decorations in the room yet, but there were obvious spots to pce them as her personal hoard grew.

  The small queen spun in a slow circle, taking everything in all at once with mixed feelings. It was something she knew she could grow used to in time, but it was still a rge change.

  "Why don't you crawl into bed, sweetie. Bel and I still have a few more things to bring over, but you can rest while we finish up, okay?"

  She nodded slowly. The sleepy girl scrambled up onto the massive mattress that was almost too high for her and crawled to the middle, careful not to let her cws and talons tear the sheets. This actually happened quite a bit as she slept, and they usually needed to be repced once or twice a month. She y down, tucking herself under the heavy covers. The lights in the room flickered off as Julia blew out each of the wall-mounted nterns.

  "Goodnight, Rythica. Try and get some rest. I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"

  "Goodnight, Julia."

  There was a soft click as Julia closed the door, locking it behind her.

  Silence.

  Rythica stared up at the darkened ceiling, which even her eyes couldn't see, and waited. The bed was incredibly comfortable, sure, but it wasn't her old tiny mattress, tucked away inside a fortress of metal and stone. The room felt cozy yet so alien. She closed her eyes and willed herself to sleep, but rest never came to her weary mind and tired body. She tossed and turned, even as her two servants made several more trips, quietly depositing the st of her items before finally returning to their own rests.

  If her hive needed this of her, she would do it. She would face her fears.

  But she found no rest that night. This room was her new life, her new routine in this greater hive that she couldn't understand. Why did there have to be so much nuance to everything? So many odd rules?

  The lost princess just wanted to go back to sleep, where things made sense.

  TheDudeFromCI