A Bug's Life: The Ant Queen
Chapter 10
Long Live The Queen (Part I)
After turning away from an argument of worries and indecision, Atta was by herself, with her face downcast and arms clutched against her chest and a soft groan escaping her mouth; she thought she'd found herself being alone, until she was approached from behind by Charlie and then Flik.
"Hey, Curlin's? Somethin' the matter?" questioned Charlie, after being left puzzled as to why she had walked away seemingly out of nowhere. In spite of not turning around to face him, Atta responded rather regretfully, "It's just that... Maybe this was a mistake coming here." Flik's eyes bugged out in bafflement upon hearing this, "Now why would you think that?"
When Atta finally decided to face both Flik and Charlie, she began to explain, "Flik... On that night I told the colony the truth of why you left, all I saw were faces of disappointment, including theirs." As Flik listened more to her explanation, the more he'd noticed how sorry she sounded, just by hearing the shame and guilt in her tone. Atta resumed, "It was like I... Like I took their friend away from them. All because I lied to you from the very beginning. So, I don't know if they're going to listen to me."
Once she dropped her arms to her sides and lowered her head towards the ground, a crestfallen Atta soon felt her shoulder placed with a hand and her chin being gently gripped by warm fingertips, bringing her face back up to Flik, who was giving her a sympathetic look. "Atta, they saw me with you. The way I see it, you brought their dear friend back to them, Because of that, they'd be willing to hear you out," reassured Flik, "Plus, just because it's your plan, doesn't mean you have to do it alone; we're all in this together. For the colony, and for Dot. I think it's about time you realise that you, like me, are an ant, not an island. Follow me?"
After taking a moment to process every word Flik had put across, Atta felt as if her heart was being touched by those words she found encouraging, relieved by the fact she didn't have to carry this burden of saving her little sister and workers alone, "I do, and you're right. Thank you." Flik gave her a warming smile, before offering his hand to her, "C'mon, let's do this. Together."
"Together," Atta repeated in agreement, as she took his hand, and the two ants soon made their way back to the circus bugs, hand in hand, while Charlie, whose antennas were interested in their pep talk the entire time, followed not too far behind. Actually impressed by the choice of words Flik had shared with Atta, Charlie thought only to himself, "Not bad, Flik. Not bad..."
Coming back to the circus bugs, and they were still in their own tempest over how their approach towards rescuing the ants should be, since hornets were much more malicious and dangerous than the grasshoppers. Eventually, their maelstrom of debating would then dissipate, when Charlie hollered, "Aight! Everyone, hush up!" Once the circus bugs had their attention focused onto him and the two ants, Charlie looked to Atta and gestured for her to say her piece, to which she simply whispered to him, "Thanks." Clearing her throat, she announced, "I know how we can save the ants from the hornets."
"Have you lost your mind, your highness?" Manny chided with worry, "You're talking of us heading into hostile territory!" "Which is why we all need to contribute to make this plan work," Flik spoke up, appearing beside Atta. "He's absolutely right!" agreed Slim, as he pointed up one of his fingers in assertion, to which nearly all the circus bugs nodded in assent, while some of them were still scratching their chins in doubt. It was until Rosie came up to the ants and asked rather enthusiastically, "So, what do we do first?"
As Flik grabbed his chin with his fingers, humming to himself in deep thought, Atta had set her sights on what appeared to be two blue boxes with "Mr. Casey's Cookies" written on the sides, which happened to be P.T. Flea's circus wagons, as they were wheeled with cardboard discs and had two brown millepedes fitted with reins in front. With her head cocked to the side and one of her eyebrows and curled antennas raised, Atta drew a small grin across her face, as an idea she found brilliant had been concocted.
Cheerfully hopping out of the circus tent came a hairy flea wearing a little top hat, who was counting a bunch of tiny green leaves he was holding, beaming at them as he boasted to himself, "Look at this! Look at all this money I've made! Heh heh! I've really made "Flaming Death" the top act in the business! And it's all thanks to-" His gratitude to the circus bugs was unfortunately cut short, expecting to find them outside the tent, only to find no one was there. "Huh? Where are they?" P.T. Flea started searching around for them, until he took notice that his circus wagon and his millipedes were missing as well. "And where's my wagon?! My girls?! Ah! I've been robbed!" P.T. Flea shouted hysterically, as he frantically investigated the area around him.
When he saw his two firefly assistants standing close by, whose jobs were to be the shows' spotlights, he immediately jumped right into chewing them out, "You two! Where are those losers?!" The two fireflies then pointed to the sky rather nonchalantly, and when the angry flea looked up, he saw the circus bugs already taking off into the horizon, along with his wagons and millipedes.
"Hey! HEY! GET BACK! GET BACK HERE!" despite his furious attempts in going after them, P.T. Flea gave up shortly after jumping barely a metre, realising that they were already too far in the air to catch up. "Why didn't you stop them?!" P.T. Flea asked the fireflies angrily, only to have the two glance at each other and him with confusion, finding themselves unsure of what words they could conjure up to reply.
The agitated flea spouted, as he waved them off and hopped his way back to the tent, grumbling to himself, "Ooh boy, they better come back with a good explanation, or so help me they get a pay cut!" After their hot-tempered boss left the scene, the fireflies simply stared at one another and shrugged.
Leave nothing behind, Leave nothing behind, Leave nothing behind, Shall we hornets dine!
The heart of the Hornet's Nest was pounding with many drums, beaten aggressively by the hornets with their sticks; every fast beat rhymed with the syllables of each lyric, complemented by an ominous melody created by the low humming of their whirring wings.
We were flying about our day, On our never-ending quest, For a new place we could call home, And there it was!
Such beauty had caught our gaze, As an island was perfect to nest, But those pesky ants got in the way!
Ever since we'd laid eyes on it, Hunger's driving us with craze, As our craving's held us sway!
Whatever shall we hornets do?
As the verse allowed itself to be sung with her own deep voice, which most would find to be eerily haunting yet beautifully bewitching to their inquisitive antennas, Thistle strode around the great hall, passing by several dried leaf tables that were seated with her listening drones.
Leave nothing behind, Leave nothing behind, Leave nothing behind, Shall we hornets dine!
Her singing the first line would the second line have the drones chanting it, by which were signalled to do so when they saw one of Thistle's antennas uncurling itself with a hand placed against it, before they were finally joined in towards the end of the chorus by the queen they regarded dearly.
Only was I a princess, Who ever wished to help her swarm, Find someplace else for us to nestle, But we could not!
All because of those meagre ants, And Hopper coming to their aid, Along with his pesty grasshoppers!
Every time would Thistle sing about the island itself, which the ants happened to have already called it their home, "Ant Island", she would recall being that desirous hornet princess, who'd found herself entranced and her eyes twinkled with wonderment by what she saw as something out of this world, as well as fitting for her swarm to rebuild with a new nest and a fresh beginning.
Whereas whenever she'd bring up either the ants or even the grasshoppers, Thistle's speaking with awe and wonder would be distorted by her envy and distaste of them; her nostalgic smile twisted into a nefarious frown, as Thistle growled through her grit teeth, and her eyes warped into a murderous glare.
But now with that brute dead, And his gang having fled, The island's finally within our grasp!
As when their sights lay on us all, The ants scatter with faces grey, Then they're cornered with no way,
Whatever shall we hornets do?
Leave nothing behind, Leave nothing behind, Leave nothing behind, Shall we hornets dine!
As Thistle drew out the last word with her powerful singing, with every raise of one of her hands, the louder her drones went with their rhythmic chanting, along with how more intense the other hornets had gotten with their incessant beating of the drums.
We hornets shall dine! We hornets shall dine, And leave nothing behind!
Such raw passion had the ecstatic Thistle prolonging the ending word of the verse, as she hovered in the air, spinning with arms fully stretched out and eyes closed, before at last concluding the composition with two lyrics that would have the banquet finally commence.
Dig in!
Flying backwards to her monstrosity of a throne, a heap made entirely with countless sticks and twigs, twisted and bundled together and stretching out like arms, and Thistle settled down upon its seat rather comfortably, despite it looking the most uncomfortable chair to sit on. Staring down at every one of her hornets in the hall, Thistle's ashen face grew wide with a devious grin that would make anyone shake with fear and uncertainty, as her imposing grandeur towered them all; she felt proud for coming this far towards achieving her desire of claiming Ant Island for herself once and for all, as well as composing such a song that her ruthless ego found catchy and the drones engaging.
In front of the drones were the tables placed on top with hundreds of bark pieces, plated with limbless bodies of the many unfortunate ants that had lost their lives to becoming a hornet's meal, supplemented with grains, nuts and berries.
Feasting their eyes on what they had been served had saliva dripping from the hornets' mouths, as they licked their lips vigorously; because of how impatient their growling tummies were getting, the hornets began stuffing their faces like there was no tomorrow.
Thistle snapping her fingers had a drone appear with a droplet of nectar in a coiled-up leaf chalice, and a large nutshell bowl with a mountain of ant arms, legs and antennas, much to her delight. Holding the chalice by its stem and snatching the bowl from the hornet's hands, Thistle waved them off with a hand, shooing them, before then reclining herself against her throne, with one leg overlapping the other and her bowl of limbs resting on her lap, as she slurped her sweet and delicious nectar with pleasure.
Hanging down from above her was Dot caged in a ball of sticks, struggling hard as she desperately tried to gnaw off the knotted grass blades holding the cage together, assuming it would fall apart like it did the last time she did it. Nonetheless, because of how tightened they were, probably due to extra measures being taken to ensure she wouldn't escape her little prison, it was no use for her.
"Aww, you hungry sweetie?" patronised Thistle, after her notice had been caught by Dot's futile attempt to break free, "Here, let me give you a hand!" Seeing an arm being offered to her by Thistle, Dot saw how the hand was creepily reaching out to her, as if whoever that hand belonged to was still begging for help. Watching the frightened little ant mewl, as she cowered in her cage from a grisly sight, had Thistle snickering, as she bit the hand off the arm, deliberately crunching it in a cruel manner.
Not able to stand being subjugated to watch as her fellow ants get devoured by the ravenous hornets any longer, Dot curled herself up into a ball and began weeping feebly, managing to choke out faintly, "Flik, please hurry..." All she ever wanted was for this nightmare to end. However, the only thing she could do at this point was hope that Flik would come rescue her soon, before she would become Thistle's dinner.
Soaring across the barren desolate lands, whilst being accompanied by some of his flying friends, was Dim using his strong feet to carry the circus wagons, and the millipedes being reigned by Slim. Mounted on top of him was Flik, directing him, and beside him was Atta, who found herself mesmerised yet felt unsettled by all the bleak and dark scenery.
Because of how blackened the parched earth was from the furious blazes, when Atta gazed down below, it was like staring into darkness itself, in spite of the crescent moon illuminating the ground as brightly as it could from above the night sky. As the screaming winds howled their way past her, Atta was sprinkled with flakes of ash, to which she simply brushed them off.
"So how far is it?" asked Slim, raising his voice over the loud thrumming of Dim's wings flapping repeatedly. "The Hornets' Nest is in that direction! It has to be!" Flik replied back aloud, pointing outwards in the same course they were flying. "But not to worry though! We'll make it there just in time; I'm sure of it!" he explained with his enthusiastic sense of optimism and assurance.
What would catch Atta's sight, though, was Nettle slouching on the far edge of the wagon's side, with lower arms on her knees and upper hands supporting her downcast face, looking crestfallen and even afraid. Seeing how distant Nettle was from the other bugs, curiosity had Atta leave Flik's side, unbeknownst to him since he was more focused on finding the Hornets' Nest. Making her way towards a seemingly down Nettle, and Atta had passed by Charlie, lying on his back, with one long leg over the over, as he hummed and sang softly to himself with eyes shut, "It's the time of ya life, so live it well. 'Tis the time of ya life, so live it well."
Taken by surprise when she heard her name, Nettle whirled around too see Atta with a concerned look standing before her, asking, "Is... Everything okay?" "Oh? Oh! Uh... Yes! E-e-everything's fine!" Nettle stammered nervously, twiddling her fingers as her eyes darted all over, "Fine and dandy, yeah! I-I-I'm fine. Fine..." Despite Nettle's desperate attempts to convince her that nothing was wrong, however, Atta knew better than to take her word for it, judging from how agitated and fidgety she was acting.
"You're afraid of her, aren't you?" Atta inquired further, earning herself a silent nod in response. "I see..." understood Atta, discerning how nerve-racking it must've been for Nettle about the prospect of having to again face her monster of a mother, especially considering the fact that Thistle had tried to have her executed with the nutcracker; this brought back the gruesome memory of witnessing one of her workers meeting their grim fate at the hands of that device.
Come to think of it, Atta couldn't even begin to wrap her head around living with a bug as wicked as Thistle, much less being around her; just the thought of having that terrible insect as a mother made Atta's stomach turn with contempt and disgust.
After a long moment of awkwardness between the two bugs, Nettle eventually spoke, "Atta, I owe you an apology." Taken aback by what she had said, Atta simply asked, "For what?" "Just everything. I didn't even want any part of this, but I had no choice," explained Nettle, expressing remorse for every wrongdoing Thistle had committed against the ants and even her own swarm, feeling she had been forced to play along as her daughter.
Atta hadn't noticed till now, because by the time the two princesses met, she was too focused on what was at stake, but catching a glimpse at the slash marks on Nettle's cheek had that fact cemented into her mind; she concluded in her mind that, judging from how gashed the scars appeared, Nettle must've stepped out of Thistle's line once and consequently had her face met with her mother's talons.
"Nettle... Your mother's misdeeds are not your fault," assured Atta, doing her best to comfort the hornet princess with reassurance that her mother's actions weren't hers and beyond her control. "Then why do I feel it is?" argued Nettle, "When I wear that crown, I'll be seen as no different to her, all because I'm Thistle's daughter. But honestly... Who can blame them?" Staring off into the distance, as a defeated sigh escaped her mouth, despair had taken over Nettle's mind, burdening her with the responsibility she would have to bear as being the offspring of a tyrannical queen, whose subjects had been oppressed and abused throughout her reign.
Unexpectedly, Nettle felt a gentle hand placed on her shoulder, prompting her to lift her face up to see Atta looking at her with sympathy and pity, as she started, "You know, a wise queen once taught me: if a tree can heal from fire over time, so can we better ourselves from our misfortunes. Putting it in a nutshell, your mother's fire is burning down your swarm's tree, but if you learn from that, it's you who can begin the healing process. And... You don't have to do it alone."
Upon a short moment of reflection, what Atta meant had finally dawned on Nettle, giving her a grateful smile, to which she shined back graciously; it didn't matter she was a hornet, Atta felt content in knowing she, as a princess herself, had steered another princess in the direction she needed to become the best self possible.
Atta also knew that from the heavens above, her mother was watching her with pride, and if she were here, she would say, "Well done, my daughter. You have helped another princess in need. Not only were you chosen my heir, you've proven yourself more than worthy. I knew you would. For that, I am proud."
It wasn't long before both the ant and hornet princesses, as well as the other bugs, would then hear what they'd been awaiting and dreading the entire journey, "Guys! We have arrived!"
To be continued...
Quick Author's Note:
Hey guys, FireAntKing2311 here, the first part to chapter 10 is here at last. Apologies for taking so long with this one, been dealing with life as per usual, but I'll get on working the second part of this chapter, though it'll be a long while before it's finished, as I said in the last note that since this is the climax of the story, I want to ensure that this will be the best climax as it can be, while tying up any loose ends.
So yeah, expect in the second part that Atta, Flik and company will be sneaking into the Hornets' Nest, trying to free Dot and the remaining ants from the clutches of Thistle and the hornets. The second part will also have the final confrontation between Atta, pretty much this story's hero, and Thistle, this story's villain, so stay tuned for that.
Did I also forget to mention that Thistle sang a song in this one? Well yes, I wrote a Disney Villain song (well, sort of) for Thistle, as I wanted to showcase more of her narcissistic personality.
That's all I have for now, enjoy reading the first part, and I hope you're preparing yourselves for the second part.
FireAntKing2311, out.