The Honeyed Hive

Celica smiled gently "Alright...that sounds like a plan." She cuddles Amy a little bit more before setting the cat down "I'm going to get dressed properly, then go talk with Marcy a little bit...and see how my heart feels about a decision."

Amy mewled pawing at Celica lightly before nuzzling into her side as the pair left the room. "That's a cute cat though... I know this is all serious and fucked up stuff is happening but..." Mist smiled at Celica before hugging her friend tightly. "I am so happy you finally let yourself love someone."

Celica nodded with a small smile, leading the smaller bee to her room where she got on some normal clothes "Yeah...it is a nice feeling." She rests a hand on her chest "I'm afraid of losing this feeling...I'm scared of what changes Lucy might have been put through...and I'm scared that it all happened so fast too."

Mist bit her lip before looking to the side. "She was probably taken to the royal jelly room... Marcy had been developing it with Edel... to hopefully make a new queen once they got a successful volunteer." She shook her head before leading Celica to her room. Quickly darting inside before coming out after a minute holding Lucina's gun. "I think she would want you to have this..."

Celica winces "I don't know...she did not seem to be too attached to it." She runs her fingers over the weapon "I really don't like guns." She sighs before sliding the weapon into her jacket pocket. "I don't think I can use this...but I'll hang onto it."

"I feel like she was probably lying about not caring much about it... it had a name engraved on the handle that Mary said was their dad's name. She might not like guns but that one was clearly important." Mist then led Celica down to the transition chambers. Marcy's full transformation had just wrapped up at this point as her antennae grew in. "Marcy! We have problems sweetie..."

Marcy groaned as she got out of the tub, rubbing her shoulder cautiously, looking like a full bee version of herself. "What happened sweetie...and Celica?" The royal guard frowns and looks at the note "Queen Edel...appears to have taken drastic measures...and we believe she could have forcibly taken and changed Lucina...I have been requested to join both of them for breakfast in the morning...and she left me this note telling me to stay away."

Mist walked over getting a towel to help Marcy dry off. "Sweetie I've already put Robin to bed for the night, and I promised that I'd help Celica in any way possible... Do you know how we could bypass the queen's pheromones? If we can't do that I don't know if we can even help your sister." She frowned, able to see the tears forming in Marcy's eyes. "Sweetie... did you know about this."

"I...had my suspicions. Lucy's changes were odd and fast. And she made me swear not to tell...but Queen Edel...is dying...probably has a month or so left at best...I know she has been getting desperate." She looked down "In theory, if we found a match, such as Lucy, she would be able to transition in no longer than an hour in a royal jelly transition chamber." Marcy sits down and rests her face in her hands "I shouldn't have had sis come here...I should have gone to her home and talked to her about things there."

Mist frowned, wrapping her arms around Marcy. Rocking her partner gently while looking up at Celica. "So... what are you gonna do now? It's been too long since she's disappeared... in all likelihood Lucina is gone... and a new Queen has been born in her place..." She took a deep breath. "I don't think the queen would erase who she is but I don't doubt that the queen has changed her in major ways."

"I talked a lot with Edel about this method of creating a new queen. The base personality still must exist, or they would most likely suffer a mental breakdown...however there are many things that can be altered. First is Sis's fear of bees...fear itself cannot go away, especially of such a phobia. Instead, she likely re-routed it to some other fear...Then sis was very devoted to the truth...that will always be a part of her but is likely twisted into a way for the hive. The thing that scares me most...it actually does not take that many changes to a person to in theory make them suitable for a position as queen...and I know Edel wouldn't want to take Lucina from us necessarily either...I just have no idea what results would happen from what could have been done."

Mist took a deep breath before nodding. "I'll go in and talk to them. We can use the hive communication system to allow you two to talk to them from a distance... then all we can do is hope Edel sees reason now that she's already technically gotten what she wants." She went over to Marcy's workbench and grabbed two walkie-talkies. Tossing one over to Celica. "I know you two can do this... and Marcy I love you... you made a mistake but we will fix this." With that Mist buzzed her wings flying out of the room and down the hall.

Celica winces and collapses, rubbing her eyes as she looks down "Marcy...No matter what, I know I need to be with Lucy...I have no idea what is going to happen though." She flinches as the newly changed bee hugs her, just rubbing the larger bee's back "I understand fully...just hold out faith."

Mist soon arrived at the queen's chambers laughing because the guards had fallen asleep due to the effects of the pheromones. "Well, at least I can get in." She then shoved the door open. The lights in the room were off as she could see a slightly larger than her bee laying in Edel's arms. "Mother... What did you do."

"What I had to Mist...what I had to." She looks over at the smaller bee. "Celica is a smart girl...I know she figured things out...did Marcy tell you...about how long I have left?" Edel brushes the hair of the smaller queen "There was no more time to test for another to be a potential match...no time at all...and you know what happens to a hive without its queen."

Mist walked over to the bed and simply held out the walky-talky. "Yeah I know you did what you had to... but now we are doing what we had to." She couldn't bring herself to look Edel in the eyes as she just stood there. "I don't hate you mom... we just don't want to lose who Lucina was, what did you DO to her... if you're really gonna be gone soon we need to know... Celica was crushed by the way..."

Edel nods "I modified her fear of bees to of being alone...her memories of the past are blurred...she can still remember some...but others are much like dreams of another life." She frowns "Right now, she is finishing her adjustments...but by morning, she will begin getting her urge to take her mate...and I know she still loves Celica greatly." She smiles "Perhaps...over time, Marcy will be able to help Lucy remember more clearly...but to start off, she just knows what she loves and cares about...and that the hive will always protect her...help her feel safe."

Over the radio, Marcy could be heard sobbing. "So she doesn't remember dad anymore? You made her forget everything?!" Marcy had to be held by Celica who just felt stuck. Angered by Edel's behavior but also wanting desperately to just be with HER mate. Mist reached out gently petting Lucy. "Edel... you need to think about what you did. Really I know it is because you were worried about leaving us all without a leader but this was... not ok." She looked up at Edel with tears flowing. Unable to describe how hurt that her mother had made her feel by doing this without talking to anyone else. "You could have told all of us... you could have had, US help you with convincing Lucy... we thought you were just going to lose your sight. You didn't present it as an emergency to anyone... you didn't meet her on her own level. If you had promised to pay off her and her sister's debt in exchange for all of this responsibility she may have just agreed! You could clearly see she had a good heart... I just hope you didn't taint it."

"She will remember all parental figures in her life...every single one of them shaped her." She frowned "I made a decision, could there have been a better outcome in another way? Maybe...but given how drastically she responded when the slight mention was brought up...then watching her quick panic...I could not take chances...I can't let any of you get hurt...I can't let her get hurt." Edel sighed "Marcy, you were injured...very badly...if the bullet had hit just a little closer to your chest instead of your shoulder, you could have had a pierced lung or heart...she may have reacted worse to being pressured by people who she loves and trusts...given what we already saw."

"That wasn't your choice to make for her..." Marcy mumbled over the speaker. "You can't blame her for being traumatized... that's unfair and you know it. Your guards could have just opened the door... I watched them stand there instead of letting her out to calm down... you never intended to take no for an answer... and we know that now." She took a few shaky breaths. "And that's something you can't ever take back."

Edel nodded "No, it isn't, I can never take it back." She sighed "I took that choice from her, and I made one of my own to ensure the continued safety and prosperity of the hive after I am gone. This is the one remaining trait that Lucina had...that none of you do." She sighs "To be a leader...to TRULY lead and be queen...you must have it in you to do something bad...to look at your options, and be able to pick the morally bad one and be able to live with it. All of you are such wonderful giving people...Lucina is too...but that is what she has, that none of you do."

Mist sat down on the bed before pressing into Edel's side. "I... mom..." She gripped the queen's side pressing her head into it to hide the tears. "I just wish you had told me... about you running out of time. I was in your last brood before... the sickness... so having you hide that honestly is what hurts the most." At this point, she just turned the walkie-talkie off. Wanting to just be with her mother after that explanation had been given.

Edel rests a hand on Mist's back "I'm sorry sweetie...part of my job is keeping up a strong exterior for the sake of the hive...everyone looks up to me as a leader...to keep the peace. I couldn't tell anyone...in fact, I didn't learn about my time limit until once while working on the chamber...Marcy saw me cough up blood." She sighs "I made her promise not to tell...I couldn't let this information get out...not only for the internal security of the hive...but external as well. The fact that I lived through their engineered sickness...scared those bad humans into not attempting anything...if they knew I was sick...who knows what kinds of actions they could take." Edel lets out a quiet sob "I don't want to leave any of you...but I have no choice in the matter."

Mist just quietly cried with her mother. Holding her like if she let go she might just vanish into thin air. "I... understand why you did it, mom... I'm hurt because it was my mate's sister but... if I'm being honest if I didn't have an emotional tie to her I probably would have helped myself." She then looked over at the sleeping Lucy smiling softly. "Is she at least gonna be happy? And... Do you have any wishes for when you pass mom?"

"She will be happy...like I said, her mind will be clouded to start off...to allow her to adjust to being queen before memories come leaking back...along with some true final words from myself. She will know she had apiphobia, but that it has been shifted...she will just start off like a peppy princess learning her place in the hive during what time I have left." She wraps an arm around Mist and holds her close "As for my wishes...I want all of you to be happy...do not mourn my passing when it comes, embrace the future, and lay me to rest once that time comes." She closes her eyes, and a single tear drips down "If we had a reasonable amount of time left...I would have tried other options first...but the first wave of tests and gathered info took 4 months...and I don't have that kind of time left."

Mist just weakly nodded along nuzzling into Edel more. "We will all do our best to make things as good as possible... then when she's ready I'm sure Lucy will be an amazing queen and a wonderful mom... I just hope we manage to get the cure to the other hives before they lose their queens..." She sniffled slightly as Lucy rolled around in her sleep clearly on the edge of waking up from all the noise.

Edel smiled "I know you all can...though this will all be on Marcy and Lucy...This will all rest on them...and perhaps if that takes too long, another wave of testing can find other candidates before the queen's pass." She strokes Lucy's hair, before looking down at Mist "I am so happy you found love...while this program brought extra attention onto us...it has also let me see so many of our numbers find genuine love...my personal wish for you...is that you and Marcy will do whatever makes you two as happy as can be...love my granddaughter Robin with all of your heart...and continue working towards a brighter future."

"Of course mom... I love her more than the world." Mist chuckled a bit before scooting over to take Lucy out of Edel's arms. "Now... I know it's late but you should have a conversation with Celica. This is the last time you'll have a chance to apologize without her being forced to see this... I'd recommend not missing it." She gently rocked Lucy who just nuzzled more into the woman's arms.

Edel nodded before taking the walkie talkie "Celica...Marcy, I'm going to come down...we need to talk." She slowly got up and glanced at Mist "Thank you for being so good at caring...and don't take this the wrong way...I'm glad you did not qualify to become a queen...it would irreparably change who you are." The queen buzzes out of the room, stopping to gently pet each of her sleeping guards before continuing on her path.

Mist looked down at Lucy after that last comment before sighing and just pulling the younger bee against her chest. "I know mom... oh do I know..."

Marcy was sitting now in the dining hall, having chosen the throne in the center of the room as the best place to meet with the Queen. Being the largest room and least likely to have the pheromones overwhelm her and Celica. "This isn't gonna be good... Celica... if you wanna hide and go get Lucy I won't blame you."

Celica shook her head "No...I need to be here for this." She clenched her fist, ready to almost snap...although the tension left her body once Edel entered the room, the queen's sluggish movements...paired with her even more drained appearance signaled just how wrong things were. "Hello...you two shouldn't need to worry about what I can do...I burned out almost all of it earlier." She shakes a little bit and collapses into a chair...not even making it to the throne.

Marcy winced at this before walking over to the chair. Starting to observe Edel's state. "Ma'am I might be... infuriated by your behavior but... you look bad." She started doing some basic checkup stuff. "You didn't look this bad yesterday... how much did you use on sis to break her? It had to be way more than I told you you're allowed to."

"If I had to gauge it... let's say 40% more than you told me I should push." She chuckles weakly before groaning and holding her stomach "I understand you both are angry with me...but as one request for this conversation, can we please just...speak quietly and give me time to put thoughts together...everything hurts quite a bit more, and it feels like I have a constant headache that is just always on the peripheral." Celica frowns, gently rubs the gun in her pocket, and nods as she takes up a guard's position right behind Marcy, keeping her eyes locked on Edel.

Marcy goes and grabs a rag that is wet placing it on Edel's forehead to help with the headache. "You've got a lot you need to say... I'll take partial responsibility for this happening given I knew your situation but..." She looked back at Celica frowning. "You just took someone's love away..."

Edel shook her head "You girls were too emotional and did not hear me out earlier...her memories are clouded right now to help her take in everything about being a queen...the more her mind processes that information, the more she will adapt and come back to who she is. Let's just say, Queen Lucy, and Lucina, are both the same person...but Lucina is asleep to help Queen Lucy process her capabilities...I may have gone too far, but she is the first human to queen conversion...and our minds must be capable of handling a lot about our biology and the status of the hive."

"I didn't say she was gone forever, I just said you took her." Marcy glared up at the woman. "This was a really important time for both of them and given 'Lucy' as you put it is going to be looking fervently for Celica to breed as soon as she wakes up... you did more damage than you think." She glimpsed back at Celcia noticing the bee's hand in her jacket. "Being coerced like that could be one traumatic for Celica, and two when Lucina comes back traumatic to her."

Edel nods "I know...and that is why we are talking now." She looks at Celica "While our minds were together, I could feel her raw love for you...sure she is scared of things not working out...but I can tell you it is pure, just like the love shared between Marcy and Mist." The queen takes a labored breath "Yes, she will not be able to control her initial instincts, she WILL need to go through with it...and her control on her pheromones will basically be non-existent. This first time will be like a drug for you Celica...but after that, you should adjust to it. The best thing you can do...is to go in ready to go under, and just let your heart guide your body...instead of your mind." The guard weakly nodded, squeezing the gun a little tighter. "Once everything comes back to her, as long as you continue to show that you are ok with it, I believe Lucina will be fine."

Marcy just sat out of the way at this point observing the situation before taking a deep breath. "Celica if you don't want this you can tell me... we could have her just work with a volunteer tomorrow given her amnestic state." She then looked back at Edel. "And if she decides to do this you're gonna show up to take care of both of them once it's over."

Edel nodded "I know, it is my job...my true last job to nurture the next queen." Celica clenched her eyes and pulled the gun out, aiming it, though her hands shook. Edel smiled "Celica...I know you are one of my royal guard...but I also know that you specialize in self-defense more than sheer offensive actions...If you feel like the only way to fix this is to shoot me, then shoot me...It may make Lucina's recovery take a little longer, but I will accept that punishment." Celica teared up, slowly lowering the gun a little more "Mom...why didn't you wait...to talk to all of us?" Edel frowned "Because Lucina wanted to talk to me...without anyone else there...and she pushed the issue...and I refuse to lie to anyone." She pushed herself to sit up a little more "In doing so, she began to panic, and things would have become worse...so I had to push earlier than I wanted...My original goal was to have her go through the week, then talk calmly about my condition and remaining time...but I had to act then to ensure that there would be a next queen to save the hive."

Marcy looked between the pair before grabbing the gun out of Celica's hands. "Don't lie to her..." She then pointed the gun at Edel. "Tell her that you were drugging LUCINA!" She teared up at this point as tears were filling her eyes. "Tell her that you were slipping her royal Jelly with my help!"

Edel nodded "I was, it was my personal test based on what I had observed in others. When she first grew so much fuzz, I knew I needed to sneak a little in to make sure. That is what solidified my surety that Lucina was capable of becoming a queen." She looks Celica in the eyes "You may not want to hear this, but I would do it all over again...to ensure that all of you have a future to look forward to. Once queens are dead...with no replacement, a sense of dread overcomes all in the hive...and they will rapidly lose motivation to keep living, soon starving out. These choices are things that must weigh on a queen...I will never apologize for having done an action, though I will say I am sorry that it needed to happen." She then looks at Marcy "I will not ask for forgiveness...but I will ask...for once Lucina is ready, find a cure for the other queens...Your sister's genetics now hold the key...and you just need to find a way to apply it...to save our species as a whole...and if you discover any other humans who qualify, try talking to them in a better way than I did, and line them up with the other hives if it will take too long."