A/N: First chapter of recovery is here! Thanks everyone for being so patient. Please let me know what you think!
The winter had been painstakingly slow. As with every rainy season, the colony spent their time sealed up in the anthill. Minor disputes over ration amounts, plans for the upcoming spring and summer seasons, and other mundane life events filled Princess Atta's days.
She spent the rest of her time worrying about Flik.
As much as she tried not to think about him, he always crept back in her mind. In her darker moments, she wondered if he was even still alive. She would usually splash cold water on her face to drown out the thoughts in her head.
This morning was another day of dark thoughts.
What if they don't bring him back? What if they've killed him?
No, he's still alive. He has to be.
She was about to go find some water when Dot entered her room.
"Dot, what are you doing up this early? Shouldn't you still be asleep?"
Atta was surprised to see her little sister in her room, not only because it was early, but also because she had been distant with her since the night Atta sent Flik away.
Atta waited for Dot to speak, but her sibling seemed to have lost her courage.
"Is it true we're unsealing the anthill tomorrow?" Dot asked eventually, her bottom lip trembling.
Atta was taken aback. The council wasn't making that announcement until later today.
"How did you know about that?" Atta asked skeptically.
Dot looked sheepish for a moment, but then regained her bearings.
"I overheard the council meeting yesterday," responded Dot with assertion.
Atta wanted to scold her little sister, but the guilt that had been eating away at her for months kept her silent.
After a few moments, Atta responded simply.
"Yes."
Dot let out a little breath before she spoke again. "Are they coming back?"
Atta knew where the conversation was heading, and the trepidation she was feeling built in her stomach.
Hesitantly, she replied, " It's been getting warmer."
Dot, though young, understood the implication of her sister's response. The grasshopper's usually showed up at the end of spring to collect the offering. This year was different.
"Will they bring him back?" Dot's eyes began to well with tears.
Atta didn't know what to say. It was the same question she had been asking herself all winter. In the end, all she could do was answer her sister honestly.
"I hope so," whispered Atta.
Dot turned to walk out of the room but stopped short.
"The night of the party, why did you send Flik away?"
Atta felt her body go cold. All the baggage she had been carrying since last fall was being unpacked all at once.
Dot stared at her expectantly. Before Atta could respond, Dot added, "He didn't mean it you know. He just wanted to help." Dot furiously wiped away her tears, embarrassed to cry in front of her older sister. She wasn't a baby anymore.
It hurt Atta to see Dot cry. After she told Flik to leave, she had felt terrible. In the moment, she had been angry and embarrassed. If she had just let him stay, they could have continued with their old plan to use the bird, and maybe Hopper wouldn't have taken him.
As these thoughts ran through her mind, she remembered Dot standing before her.
"What he did jeopardized the colony." Atta paused before continuing.
"And I . . . I was hurt." Atta's own eyes began to well with tears, but she didn't wipe them away.
When Atta didn't say any more, Dot blinked away the last of her tears before exiting the room.
The next day was frigid. Even though it was officially spring, snow still lined parts of the ground. Winter had stayed late this year. Because it was cold, the ants wore garments akin to robes. They were made out of cotton, feathers, and other soft materials and dyed in rich colors. Some of the workers were complaining that it was still too cold to forage or do any outside work. Atta had persuaded the council to unseal the anthill early since the temperature was rising outside. They didn't know when the grasshoppers would be returning, and they all agreed that it was better to be prepared.
The Queen had instructed the colony to deliver what little surplus of food they had to the offering stone. It wouldn't be much of an offering, but it would show Hopper they meant well.
The Queen, Princess Atta, Dot, and the council stood at the base of the offering stone. They were planning the upcoming spring harvest when a loud blare cut through the winter breeze.
It was the alarm for the grasshoppers.
Everyone began to panic, running without direction in fear until the Queen spoke up.
"Everyone remain calm. Nothing has been able to grow all winter, so they can't expect an offering this soon. Try to stay together."
The ants clustered together as instructed by their queen, lining the perimeter of the open space.
Within a few minutes, the grasshoppers' figures blocked out the sun as they began their descent. Once they touched down, the only sound that was made was the wind as it whirled through the air. Hopper stood at the front of his gang. His face was inscrutable, but his figure was menacing enough.
"Good morning everyone. Happy spring," said Hopper in a level tone. The words were pleasant. His tone was not.
"I trust we have no problems this time."
"No, everything has gone smoothly," replied the Queen courteously.
"Good," said Hopper with a cheerful emphasis. "I'm glad we were able to sort things out." Hopper glanced over at the meager offering.
"I promise you, there will be no more issues."
"Well, I'm happy to hear that. I think we've effectively fixed the problem you've been having, your Highness."
At this, Atta winced. Taking Flik away is what Hopper considered fixing the problem. It hurt to think of Flik that way, even though in the past, she thought the same thing. The guilt over her responsibility in all this was consuming her. Sending him away on that suicide mission was what started everything.
"Since everything is going so well, I'd hate to reintroduce complications back into your lives."
Atta and the Queen tensed. He was clearly talking about Flik. Did they dare hope he was still alive?
"We won't let anything happen this time. I promise. I'm so sorry for what happened," said the Queen pleadingly.
With a nod of the grasshopper leader's head, a tall, greyish grasshopper emerged from the center of the group. In his hold, was Flik.
Relief flooded her chest when she saw him, but was quickly replaced with shock when she saw the state he was in. Flik could barely stand. The tall grasshopper was holding him up by arm. Flik's body was mottled with bruises of different stages, and the colors from the marks masked his usual sky blue exterior.
The grasshopper suddenly threw Flik down onto an icy patch of snow. The only sound that was made was his impact with the ground.
Dot let out a piercing shriek and then began bawling uncontrollably. Her mother picked her up in an attempt to comfort her and stroked the back of her head.
Atta instinctively took a few steps forward. She came to a stop when she noticed Hopper giving her a hard stare and Dot screaming behind her.
Now that she was closer, she could fully see the terrible state Flik was in. His face was so heavily bruised that his left eye bulged unnaturally. She could see blood begin to mix with the white of the snow, and she felt guilty for thinking the colors looked beautiful together.
Hopper continued to glare at her until she caught his eye again, and she sheepishly looked down.
The colony collectively tensed at the sight of Flik, not in sympathy but fear. They had never cared for Flik, but the thought that something similar could happen to them sent waves of terror over them. Their attention quickly turned back to the grasshopper leader.
"Take this as a sign of my good nature. See to it that there are no further problems or there will be worse consequences than what you see here," threatened Hopper. With that, Hopper's wings began to beat and he shouted, "We'll see you ants at the end of summer with the usual quota. Let's ride!"
The grasshoppers shot into the air and were quickly gone, leaving the small offering untouched. The only sign of them having been there was the sound of wings thundering in the distance.
As soon as they were out of sight, Atta hurriedly advanced towards Flik. She could hear the colony murmuring in shock and her mother and the council attempting to calm everyone down. Once she reached Flik, she knelt down beside him and took a quick assessment. He was in even worse shape than she thought. He lay on his stomach with his face turned and his hands on either side. Long gashes ran down his back, and the blood from them steadily dripped onto the snow.
Atta gasped when she saw his wounds. Having a broken exoskeleton was not good, especially this time of year. She hoped that it wasn't as bad as it looked.
She quickly took off her robe and draped it over him, then gathered him up in her arms. Upon being moved, Flik groaned and winced in pain, but didn't open his eyes. She rose to stand and when she did, she noticed how unbelievably light he was. He couldn't have weighed much more than Dot.
Atta called for Dr. Flora, and with careful steps, she carried Flik into the anthill.
Once inside, she made her way along the winding path to the infirmary with Dr. Flora trailing after her. The hospital wing was empty except for two nurses tending to an ant with a cold. Atta found an empty flower bed in a secluded corner of the infirmary. She gently laid Flik down and removed her robe, unveiling his battered frame. Seeing the shape he was in broke her heart. His abdomen, back, face, and left hand were caked in dry blood. She needed to clean him before tending to his wounds.
Dr. Flora was already heating water and fetching washcloths and bandages to tend to Flik. She brought the supplies over and set them up on a nearby leaf table.
"Your Highness, you don't need to trouble yourself with this. I can take care of him," said Dr. Flora earnestly.
Atta had been fretting over Flik all winter. When the grasshopper brought him out, she was so relieved he was still alive. She needed to make sure it stayed that way. Besides, she didn't want anyone else to see him in his current state.
"No, I'll help," she replied. Atta dipped the cloth into the water. With slow, careful movements, she cleaned away the dried blood on his back. When she pulled the cloth away, she saw that his exoskeleton was indeed cracked along his back. She was hoping that his injuries weren't as bad as she thought.
"Dr. Flora!" Atta exclaimed.
Upon examination, Dr. Flora drew back and muttered, "Oh, dear."
Dr. Flora quickly exited, and entered the supply room. When she returned, she held a small parcel in her arms.
"We'll need to use bonding salve on that."
Dr. Flora opened the parcel and removed its contents. She dipped her fingers in the salve and gently applied it to the gashes.
"Can you lift him a little, dear?"
Atta quickly did as she was told and gingerly raised Flik by the shoulders. He made small sounds at being moved, and she tried her best to cradle his head to her chest.
Dr. Flora quickly applied bandages around his torso so that it was completely wrapped.
"Let's take a look at the rest of him," said Dr. Flora.
Upon further inspection, they discovered that his left hand was also broken. His face and the base of his abdomen was swollen and bruised. His left eye was crusted in blood, and his flesh was exposed at the wrists and ankles. Atta couldn't believe how hurt Flik was.
What have they done to him?
"We should finish cleaning him up and then we'll tend to his injuries," cut in Dr. Flora.
Atta nodded in reply and went to clean his face while Dr. Flora assessed his other wounds.
As delicately as she could, she wiped the blood from his face. With the blood gone, Atta could see a visible crack that ran from the side of Flik's eye down to his cheek. It resembled a tear streaming down his face. Atta gasped when she saw the scar. The thought of a permanent mark on him made her eyes well with tears.
Dr. Flora spoke again, snapping the princess back to the current task.
"His hand is broken. We'll wrap it for now, but it will have to be set if it's to heal properly," said Dr. Flora solemnly.
"Will that hurt him?" Atta asked as she tried to regain her composure.
"It will hurt, but we'll try to make him as comfortable as possible."
They continued their work until Flik was completely bandaged. Dr. Flora applied the salve to his wrists and ankles before dressing the wounds. When they were finished Flik appeared to be asleep.
"Let's let him rest for now. We'll take care of his hand and redress his wounds after he's gotten some sleep."
The princess grabbed a blanket from the supply closet and then returned to Flik's bedside.
With care, Atta pulled the blanket over him and let him rest.
