A Bug's Life: The Ant Queen

Chapter 7

Belly Of The Beast

It was a wonderful bright day at Ant Island: the sun was beaming, the birds sung beautifully, the flowers danced, and the bees hummed happily. Springtime was about, and everything was vivid with the colours of its flowers, lush with all its greenery, and the soft breeze caressed through them all.

Sitting alone on the leaf of a clover, swinging her legs as she wistfully gazed out into the colourful landscape of grass and flowers, was a little lavender ant, with a leafy tiara atop her head, her antennas curly and cheeks chubby.

As she continued to admire the breath-taking view, young Atta sighed deeply to herself, feeling the inner desire to explore the outside world, despite it being a dangerous place for an ant princess like herself, as described by her mother. The more she wondered about it, however, the more her mind filled up with curious thoughts.

Overcome with curiosity, deciding that it wouldn't hurt exploring at least a little bit of the outside, Atta climbed down the clover's stem, and soon made her way towards a huge boulder; looking down, she could see the turbulent flowing water grazing against the cliff. "Come on, wings! Fly for me!" Atta tried to buzz her sparkling wings in a reckless attempt to get herself across the river. She got herself flying, but her wings had faltered, causing her to fall onto the boulder's side and slip off as a result.

Falling to what could've been her demise, the screaming Atta had luckily grabbed onto a small root sticking out of the cliff. Staring down at the flowing river below made her whimper with fright; even if the long drop wouldn't kill her, the moment she would touch the surface, any attempt to get out of the water would be for naught, as she'd be trapped, struggling before eventually drowning. "HELP! HELP! SOMEONE!" Atta called out desperately for help, in hopes that someone would come along and hear her screaming pleas.

Strolling through the clover forest, with grass blade straps around his shoulders, attached to his leaf backpack, and in both his hands a leaf parchment and a flower filament pencil, was a tiny skinny blue ant.

Tapping his head with the pencil, and his eyes down at his parchment, young Flik pressed his lips into deep thought, as he was drawing up a sketch depicting a contraption made from sticks and stones; he looked up once every second to ensure he wouldn't bump into anything or anyone.

"HELP! HELP! SOMEONE!" startled by the screams of distress, Flik snapped around to see where they were coming from. Running in the direction of those pleading screams, he was now at the boulder, and he'd be astonished to find who was screaming for help; not only had he recognised them to be the princess of the colony, but also one of his classmates in Mr. Soil's second grade class.

"Princess Atta?! Is that you?!" shouted Flik, surprised to see her down at the cliff side. "Flik? Oh, thank goodness you're here! Can you help me?" Atta called back to Flik, relieved that someone had answered her pleas for help. "Sure thing! I can get your mum!" Flik suggested, to which Atta quickly protested, "No! Don't tell mum! I'll be in big trouble!" "Well, what else am I supposed to do?!" annoyed by his inquiry, Atta shouted back, "I don't know! You're the smart one, figure it out!"

After a bit of pondering, Flik's fingers that were on his chin were then snapped, as an idea had sparked within him, "I got an idea! Just hang on!" "Hurry, please!" Atta began to panic, as the root was slowly beginning to tear off.

"Here! Grab on!" Flik had thrown down a rope, made from tied-together grass blades, to which Atta instantly took hold of and was then pulled up, back onto the boulder, safe and sound. "Thanks Flik. You're a lifesaver," touched by her gratitude, especially coming from a pretty-looking princess, Flik simply gave Atta a beaming smile, as if to say "you're welcome".

"So, what were you doing down there?" Flik enquired, which made Atta twiddle her fingers sheepishly and her eyes downcast. "Well... I might've... Maybe tried to go out... there..." Atta timidly pointed to the grasslands, before twisting her mouth into a frown, as she turned her head and eyed down at her wings, "But I slipped off this rock, all because of these stupid wings!"

"Atta, you do know it's dangerous out there, right?" this caused Atta to snap back at Flik out of annoyance for him stating the obvious, "I was just curious, okay? Don't judge me!" "O-o-of course I'm not judging you! I-I-I'd never judge a princess! I promise!" defended Flik, waving his hands frantically, reassuring Atta that judging someone like her was never his intent.

"Okay, okay. Let's just hope mum doesn't find out about this," Atta thought aloud, as she paced back and forth; she would then regret thinking out loud the instant she heard a voice call out, "Find out what exactly?"

Atta went stiff like a rock upon hearing that voice, realising that it belonged to her mother. She slowly gazed up to see the Queen, a middle-aged purple ant crowned with a pink flower, in the air with wings humming, descending to the ground with a stern look on her wrinkled face. "Mother! W-w-what are you doing here?" stammered Atta, wringing her hands together, as she flickered her eyes everywhere. "I could ask the same of you, along with your new friend here," eyeing Flik in question, as the inquisitive Queen bent down a little, with hands on her knees.

"Atta tried to fly away from Ant Island to explore the outside, your highness," Flik spilled, which made the Queen immediately snap onto Atta with a scowl, "You what?!" "FLIK!" Atta angrily yelled at Flik for snitching on her, making him slap his hands over his mouth, wide-eyed.

"I'm sorry! It just slipped!" squeaked Flik, to which the Queen simply kneeled down to his level and placed a hand on his shoulder, with a reassuring expression. "No need to be sorry, darling. If anything, I should thank you for telling me what my daughter has been up to."

"Now, you wouldn't mind leaving us? I'd like to have a word with Atta alone," the Queen grimaced at Atta, making her gulp hard nervously. "Yes, yes of course, your highness," Flik gave a respectful slight bow to the Queen with his head, before offering Atta an apologetic look, "I guess I'll see you around, princess. And um... Good luck."

Once Flik had left the scene, the Queen shifted her gaze towards Atta, glaring at her, "As for you, young lady, what were you thinking?! Haven't I told you about the dangers of the outside?! There are birds, snakes, and bigger bugs out there! You could've gotten yourself hurt!" "I-I-I'm sorry, mother! I-I-I thought I could-" Atta tried frantically to explain herself, but the Queen wasn't having any of it. "Thought you could do what? Fly out there alone, and make me feel bad that I couldn't save you in time?" that made a lump grow inside Atta's throat, causing her to stumble her words, "N-n-no! I-I-I just-"

"I don't want to hear any more excuses!" the Queen had cut her off, having enough of Atta's excuses, "Because you deliberately disobeyed me, I want you to go to your room, and don't come out unless I say so! Now!" "Y-y-yes, mother," Atta turned and began running towards the direction of the Anthill, with eyes closed tightly, tears trying to squeezed through. The Queen just stood there for a brief second, before facepalming to herself, stifling a regretful groan, feeling that she could've handled the situation better.

Atta was now in her royal chamber, lying face down on her dandelion bed, and sounds of her muffled sniffling filled the room. Although she didn't mean to put herself at risk by trying to venture out to the outside, she was only just curious to see what was out there, and then she'd come straight back as if she hadn't gone.

When sounds of her leaf curtains rustling were heard, Atta paid no mind to them, feeling too afraid and ashamed to face anyone at that moment; even when she felt someone sitting down beside her on the bed, Atta hadn't budged an inch. "Atta..?" upon recognising her mother's gentle voice, Atta simply replied with a muffled "yes?".

"Listen, honey. I came to apologise for reacting the way I did back there; I know you were just curious, but... I do hope you understand why I was furious with you. I was only worried that something bad would've happened to you," explained the Queen, softening her tone, trying to make Atta understand that she only feared for her safety, afraid that she might've gotten hurt, or even worse, mauled by either a large animal or a bigger insect.

The long bit of awkward silence between her and her mother was finally broken, when Atta spoke faintly, "Mum?". "Yes, dear?" answered the Queen, as Atta followed up with, "Am I a screw-up?" "Atta..." the Queen muttered under her breath, but before her hand could gently place itself on her, Atta jolted up from her bed, catching her off guard. "No! I mean, a queen is supposed to be perfect, right? So, how can I be one if I'm going to keep mucking up like I did today, or other times?" all the Queen could do was watch her daughter, putting herself down, with sympathy.

"Atta, look at me," the Queen gently cupped Atta's face with her hands, as she began to explain, "There's no such thing as "perfect". Nobody's perfect. Not even me. You have to understand that queens are not born; they're made."

When she was met with a blank stare from Atta, the Queen continued, "Okay, let's put it this way: what happens to a tree, after it had caught fire?" Despite being puzzled by a burned tree being brought up at random, Atta took her time to think, before finally answering, "It gets... burned?" "Mm-hmm," the Queen nodded her head slightly, offering Atta a gentle smile, "But it also heals over time, with the help of a little rain, and some sunshine."

Still perplexed by what her mother was trying to get at, Atta asked, "But... what does that have to do with me becoming queen?" to which the Queen followed up with, "Well, think of it this way, Atta: just like how a tree can heal itself from being burned, not only can you become queen if you learn from your mistakes, but also be better." Feeling her heart being warmed by the sentiment, Atta crashed herself into her mother's chest, wrapping her arms around her waist, as she said, "Thank you, mother." "You're welcome, daughter," the Queen had kindly returned her daughter's embrace with her own, drawing a little smile across her face.

As Atta buried her face in the Queen's chest, everything went dark. However, once she slowly opened up her eyes again, expecting to see her mother there, she had instead found herself back in the present, now an adult, sitting against what felt like a spongy wall; darting her eyes around, Atta touched the sides to see if they were rocky, but once she felt them squishy, her eyes shrunk upon recollection and realisation that she was inside the bullfrog's stomach, although thankfully not yet digested.

Once her eyes had finally adjusted to the darkness, she saw all the walls lined and squiggly, and she could barely hear what sounded like a heart pumping. Unaware, her foot had come into contact with a small puddle of acid, which caused Atta to blurt out in pain, clutching her foot while jumping on the other, after she'd touched what felt like boiling water. She was then met with a huge pool of bubbling acid, piping hot, at the bottom of the stomach.

"It's the time of ya life, so live it well!" sang a deep and masculine voice, whilst whistling a melodic tune, "'Tis the time of ya life, so live it well! We may only go 'round this one time, as far as I can tell! So it's the time of ya life! It's the time of ya life, 'tis the time of ya life, so live it well!"

Humming to himself against the corner was a small chunky black cricket, his maroon face lit by a glowing mushroom beside him, his strong arms and spiny legs yellow with a little green, and atop his head was an acorn cap; other than his long antennas, above his lip were a pair of tiny palps, resembling a moustache.

Having to listen to those ironic lyrics infuriated Atta, feeling as though the world was mocking her at that point, after having what she considered to be the worst time in her entire life: she'd driven away Flik, lost her mother, her sister and majority of her workers kidnapped, and now she was inside the belly of a bullfrog, where she would be slowly digested, with no one to save the poor ants from being devoured by those nasty hornets.

Spotting an opening above, Atta attempted to hum her wings, only to hiss out in pain, as they were crooked and damaged, probably from being forcefully pushed down the throat by the bullfrog's swallow. This prompted her to instead crawl up the lining wall to get up to the hole, but not before being called out by that same deep voice she heard earlier. "I'd not use the front door if I were ya, 'cause this blob would just push ya back in," the cricket reminded, implying that he himself had already tried to escape through the bullfrog's mouth, only to be swallowed back in.

"Well, how else can I get out?" demanded Atta, to which the cricket replied rather nonchalantly, "Ya ain't goin' nowhere, 'cause once you're in here, there ain't no way out." "Oh come on! That can't be it! This can't be it! I need to get out of here!" seeing how Atta was getting more and more desperate in finding a means to escape the stomach, the cheeky cricket repeated, "Did I stutter? I said there ain't no way outta here!"

"Great, this is just great! Just as things couldn't get any worse, I'm now stuck here! In a frog's belly of all places!" ranted Atta, as she forced herself against the lining wall and slid down to her abdomen. "Seems as though I can't do anything right," said Atta, as she bowed down her head and her antennas hung, feeling defeated, now sitting with her knees up with elbows on them.

"Hey, ya shouldn't be pushin' yourself down like that, Curlin's," the cricket tried his best to cheer her up, but it proved fruitless. "Why shouldn't I? All I-" Atta had stopped mid-sentence, perking up her antennas, as she lifted up her head to face the cricket, "What did you just call me?" "Curlin's. 'Cause, y'know, your feelers, the way they're curled up like that," the cricket commented, "Ain't seen a bug with those. Aight with me callin' ya that?" This made Atta look up at them instinctively; it was strange of a country bug like him to comment on her curly antennas, and yet she felt rather complimented, as to him, she was a one-of-a-kind bug. "I... suppose so," responded Atta, rubbing the back of her head with one hand.

"Name's Charlie by the way, here to spread the "Good Word"," the cricket had introduced himself as Charlie, while putting much emphasis on those last two words.. "The "Good Word"?" Atta inquired, tilting her head to the side, curious by his idea of the "good word". "Yep. Y'see, it's a philosophy. Like mah paw and gramps, 'tis mah job to teach sad folks that it don't matter how short a bug's life is; they should have the time of their lives, to live them well!" Charlie explained with pride in his voice, raising up one finger in assertion.

"Oh really? Wonder how that's working out for you," scoffed Atta, as she rolled her eyes playfully, seeing how he was here in the bottom of the bullfrog's stomach as she spoke. "Eh, most of 'em don't take for it, which is fine. I mean, I'm just some singin' crick after all, which no one takes seriously anyhow. And as ya can see, I'm havin' quite the time of mah life right here! It won't be long till I turn into fly food," Charlie sighed, as he lowered his head and antennas in disappointment, as he only wanted to communicate a positive message about enjoying life to jaded bugs through his singing, just to be ignored and seen as nothing more than an annoying, overoptimistic cricket who had a silly outlook on life.

"Oh, I see," Atta couldn't help but feel a little bad for Charlie, as his story sounded quite similar to Flik's, as he also wanted to help people, only to be pushed away and have his creative ideas disregarded by her and the colony.

"But 'nough me beatin' 'round the bush, what 'bout ya? I told ya mah story, I feel it's only fair if ya tell me yours. So, lay it on me. I'm all feelers," after hearing Charlie wanting to be told her story, Atta reminded him, "Well, my story is quite a long one, to be frank," not wanting to burden him with her problems.

"Ah, It don't matter. If we're goin' to be in here, might as well pass the time, instead of just sittin' here, waitin' for the expected," Charlie insisted, encouraging her that since It'd be a long while till they were fully digested, they might as well use that time to get to know each other. "Okay..." Atta would then go on to tell her story to Charlie, with his attention locked onto her, and his antennas listening intently.

To be continued...

Quick Author's Note

Hey guys, FireAntKing2311 here, and chapter 7 is finally here.

Here, we get a flashback to Atta's childhood, and we're introduced to a new character called Charlie. I couldn't wait to introduce him to you all, as he's partially inspired by Randy Newman himself, the guy behind songs such as "You've Got A Friend In Me", and of course, "The Time Of Your Life"; as a matter of fact, I'd pick him to voice him, if not then I'd go with Danny DeVito, who you'd recognise him voicing Phil from Hercules and Penguin from Batman Returns.

Now that that all the new characters have been introduced, such as Thistle, Nettle, and now Charlie, I just want to ask you all what you think of them thus far.

Also, just a bit of a heads up, I'll be taking a bit of a break from the story, as I would need to focus on my college work, and I need to properly plan out chapter 8, as I feel it's going to be the longest chapter so far, as it's going to involve a reunion between characters, we're going to meet the circus bugs again, and we're going to see them try coming up with a plan to save the ants from the hornets. With that being said, it'd probably be split into two parts, just like chapter 4, depending on how much I'll be writing.

I've said my piece, and I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

FireAntKing2311, out.