As time went by, Reyna grew to be a very interesting subject for the Locust to watch. She was very sneaky and playful, especially with the younger Locust.

Her mother gave her her own private chambers when she was seven and had palace guards specifically to wait on her hand and foot.

Despite this, though, Reyna didn't always enjoy being treated like a Princess. Her palace guards, while helpful to her, also got in the way quite a bit. They wouldn't let her into certain parts of the Hollow in fear she could hurt herself, and they even kept her from seeing her mother on some days.

Myrrah used to have these problems as well, but her anger and higher title made the Locust quickly back off. While Reyna could control some of the Locust, they would ignore her in favor of the orders given by the Queen.

But, nevertheless, Reyna still enjoyed living in the Hollows. She could read both Tyran script and Locust Runes thanks to her mother and the Kantus'. She was also fluent in Tyran and in Locust tongue, with the latter being contributed to growing up around the creatures and gradually learning their language.

Reyna loved exploring the parts of the Hollow that she was allowed to, and even sneaking off into the forbidden parts when her guards were distracted.

Reyna also started to grow into a beautiful young woman. Unlike her mother, she had chocolate brown hair but she shared her mother's brown eyes. Reyna almost always wore her hair in a braid, similar to her mother, except her braid was always on her shoulder, not tied up elaborately.

One night, after getting in trouble yet again for exploring, Reyna was being tucked into bed by Myrrah and asked a question that the Queen hoped she never would.

"Where's my father?"

Myrrah's expression didn't change, but Reyna clearly heard the small sharp breath her mother took in. "What makes you ask that my princess?" Myrrah asked.

"Mother, I've explored a lot of restricted areas of the Hollow. I know how our subjects reproduce. The small whelps are made by Berserkers and Drones mating. All of the Locust have parents in some form, and that's what I'm asking. Where is my father?"

Myrrah's expression still didn't change, but Reyna noticed how her mother was blinking more to cover for her uncomfortableness. "Your father was a human, and that's all I wish to say about it," Myrrah responded.

"But-"

"Enough Reyna," Myrrah interrupted. "Can we please not talk about it?"

Reyna went silent for a minute and then thought of a new question. "Why are we fighting us?"

Myrrah looked at her daughter confusingly and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Why are we fighting other people?"

Myrrah hesitated a bit before sighing again. "We are fighting the humans because we have no choice," she told her daughter. "If we don't fight the humans, then we are going to lose to another more powerful force."

"The Lambent?"

Myrrah looked at her daughter questionably and Reyna replied, "I saw some of them when I was sneaking around."

"Alright. Yes, the Lambent. We are fighting the humans in order to win. If we win, we can rule the surface and not have to worry about the Lambent down below."

"But why don't we just tell the people that? Why do we have to fight?"

"Do you know why we were placed underground in the first place, my daughter?"

Reyna thought about the question for a minute before shaking her head. "We are underground because of those wretched humans," she said. "The humans saw what overexposure to Imulsion did to them, but they ignored it and forced the subjects they had doomed away. I was one of the only humans who cared about them, and they regarded me as their Queen. We found a tunnel in the mountains that allowed us to visit Nexus and we took over."

Reyna's face screwed with concentration as she tried to process all of this information. "So the people are the reason we're down here? And that's why we are fighting them?"

Myrrah nodded her head, and another thought occurred to the young Locust Princess. "Are there any good humans?"

Myrrah thought about the question for a minute before replying, "No there aren't. I once knew a single good human, but he passed away some time ago. None of those humans on the surface deserve any mercy at all."

Reyna yawned and lied down, and Myrrah pulled the covers over her daughter's body. "Goodnight Reyna," she said softly.

Reyna yawned again and closed her eyes as she said, "Goodnight Mom."

Myrrah then carefully left the room and turned off the light before gently closing the door.

This chapter ended up being a bit longer than I had intended, but I think it was sweet nonetheless. And I do believe that Myrrah would lie, or at least speak half truths, to Reyna so that she didn't ask questions or get suspicious about her past.