Atta didn't know whether to be in awe of Flik's bravery or ashamed of his stupidity. She watched as he rose to his feet and stood before Hop with his fists clenched at his sides. The highest part of his antennae didn't even reach the grasshopper's chin.

"My friend doesn't want to come out right now," Flik said. His voice was steady, but even from several inches away Atta could see his knees shaking. "But she wants her crown, so you need to give it back."

Hop tilted his head as his gaze roamed over the ant before him. The expression on his face looked more like amusement than anger. Beside him, Thumper pawed at the ground and gave an impatient snort.

"If she wants it enough, she can come out and get it herself," Hop replied, rubbing his fingers over a frayed part of Thumper's leash. His eyes flickered again to the hole Atta was peering through, and he smirked when their gazes met. "Besides, maybe my brother wants it more."

Behind them, the pudgy grasshopper — Molt — wrung his hands together. He looked visibly distressed by the entire situation, which was only made more comical by the sight of her tiny crown atop his large head.

"Well…" Flik said slowly. "I'm sorry that your brother can't keep it, but she's the princess and she needs it more than him. So you have to do what she says."

If he was close enough for her to reach, Atta would have smacked him again and not felt bad about it this time. Why would he tell them who she was? They'd probably already guessed thanks to the crown, but still. It was always more risky to be a known member of royalty.

Hop took a step forward, forcing Flik to take several back as the grasshopper's shadow fell over him. The amusement was gone from Hop's eyes, replaced by something that made Atta's heart pound with fear.

"I don't take orders from ants," he said, his voice dangerously low. "Especially ones I can't see. So you can either move and let me speak to the princess myself, or I can have Thumper move you for me."

Then he snapped his fingers.

Thumper lunged forward with a snarl. Flik yelped and stumbled backwards until his back was against the stalk. Thumper's gnashing teeth were only centimeters from her friend's chest when Hop tugged on the leash, holding him in place.

This only frustrated Thumper more. He shrieked and strained even harder towards Flik, who squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head away.

Hop chuckled. "Don't be scared! He just wants to play."

Atta pressed her hands against the inside of the stalk. It was thin enough that she could feel the warmth of Flik's trembling body against it, his heart thumping through her fingertips. Why wasn't he running away?

And then it hit her.

He was trying to protect her.

Something stirred inside of Atta. This sweet, strange ant, the one she'd punched in the face and slapped out of anger in the same hour, the ant she'd ignored for years because of a dumb school project that didn't even matter in the grand scheme of things, was risking his life for her. He was putting himself between her and an insect almost twice the size of him, one with a pet that could easily rip his limbs off if it wanted to, when all she'd really done was be mean to him and complain about how hard it was to be a queen.

He'd told her she didn't have to be a queen for him. And yet, here he was, demanding that these grasshoppers give back the crown she didn't even want. The one she had lost.

Before Atta could think too hard about what she was about to do, she found herself climbing up through the tunnel and emerging into the sunlight.

"Hey!"

All four of the insects below her looked up. Thumper's clawed hands were frozen in mid-air before Flik, who was staring at her with terror in his eyes. She tore her gaze from his and fixed it on Hop instead.

"You can see me now," she said, glaring down at the bully. "And I order you to leave him alone."