Author's Note: We got given a beautiful image of a bee sitting in a yellow flower for another one of those photo-inspired challenges, and this is what I came up with…
Her time with the League had taught her to value the smaller, perhaps subtler things in life. Not everything was one big game or show, and it was the little things she had come to appreciate more than the large. It was things like dew on the grass; the individual stars in the sky; the way a bird darted across the treetops…
… Or this small, working bee, striving away to make something of himself as he gathered his produce from a beautiful yellow flower. In her admiration, the name of the flower had escaped her, but she smiled at it, and cocked her head slightly.
Mina Harker had been with the League for some time now; months, at least, if not bordering on a year. They had undergone many dangers, and deadly ones at that, and almost lost their lives at least once, if not more so for certain members. They had saved people, and lost them, unfortunately, but for the most part, they were successful in their missions. After they had been instated as an actual team by the Queen and the government, they had seen fit to strive… just like that bee. It buzzed contently to itself as it flittered here and there inside the flower, collecting what it needed to fulfil its workload.
It was things like this now that enlightened her. Back when she was perhaps younger and more naïve, it was larger things she looked to for intrigue and the like; shows of strength and cunning in her husband and her associates; her friend Lucy's extravagance and mischief; the incident with Dracula. While the latter had been in no way entertaining for her in the positive sense, she had to admit that some small part of her had found it thrilling; the excitement of the chase and the mystery. At the time, it had seemed so fulfilling.
Now… she wasn't so sure.
As the bee hovered, checking to see if he'd collected all he could carry, heavy with what would soon become honey, he fluttered his thin, powerful wings… and then flew away. Mina's bright eyes followed the small worker bee, and a smile graced her full lips. Part of her wondered what awaited that bee in the next few hours, or days or weeks.
It was the smaller things she treasured now.
Things like spending time with her friends, even if only in silence. Things like standing in this park, admiring these beautiful but frail flowers. It was things like this that she lived for when her mind wasn't solely devoted to the importance of a mission, such as putting an end to wicked experiments, or saving innocents from slavery, or stopping a war.
Mina turned her head from that beautiful yellow flower, now lighter thanks to the bee, and looked across the way, seeing the children playing, their parents keeping close guard over their loved ones.
A sad smile touched her face this time as she played the observer, turning her body to seem more at ease and less suspicious. Staring over one's shoulder was no doubt a foul sign to any concerned parent on the lookout for danger, and she did not want to ruin their happiness.
She had lost her own family to such horrors… she almost envied these people for the simplicity with which they carried out their days.
Mina's husband and son were both gone to her now, never to be seen again unless she was to believe in Heaven. She didn't know what she believed any more, but a small part of her wanted to hold onto that faith she had lost long ago… when she'd lost Jonathan. With him had gone her trust in all things religious. When she'd lost Quincey, there hadn't even been a flicker of it left.
But it hurt to think about it, and she had been enjoying the peaceful silence of the afternoon. She almost hated herself for ruining it, even as a voice called gently to her from near the gates. Turning her head, she saw Tom Sawyer, and he smiled to her. She had agreed to meet him at this time, she remembered then, and with one last glance at that flower, she made her way over to him, and left the park.
"You okay?" he asked after seeing her expression, perhaps forlorn or nostalgic.
Mina eyed him calmly, and nodded. "Yes, Tom, thank you."
After a moment, he furrowed his brow with concern, cocking his head very slightly. "You sure?"
She nodded, and smiled. "Yes, thank you, I'm fine."
Taking Tom's hand in her own, she led them away from the park.
It was the little things she treasured…