//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: I am Not Your King! // by Black Butterfly //------------------------------// “Mine was done first, so I put it here first! You can put yours elsewhere!”   At the entrance of the arts and crafts room of the hive, two changelings faced off at the opposite ends of a moss-covered boulder, each holding a self-made vase in their hooves. “King Thorax said I could put mine here once it is done and it’s done now!”  “It doesn’t matter that yours was done first, Junevile!” the blue changeling argued, putting their vase on top of the boulder. “What?! My name is Pelipa! Junevile is teal!” exclaimed the very green-colored Pelipa. “Can’t you see I made this vase specifically for this spot, Aellyth?” She plunked her equally green vase on top of the boulder and pushed it forward to nudge the blue vase off. Aellyth pulled back her creation in fear of seeing it fall off and glowered. Pelipa claimed the now free boulder and grinned back, smug. What then followed was an awkward wrestle between the two, attempting to break each other’s hoofwork while they jabbed and hissed at each other.  The noise soon drew the attention of other changelings from the room behind them and a small crowd gathered. The quarreling changelings didn’t care about the audience and continued their war over the vases.   Meanwhile, some distance down the hall, Thorax made his way back from the latest therapy group. Why was it when most of their old problems gone —especially the biggest over hunger— did changelings come up with so many more smaller, newer ones?  Even something that should be simple like picking a color came with questions. ‘What color should I be?’ ‘Is it okay to look different every day or would I even want that?’  and ‘What if someone didn’t like how I looked?’ As their leader, Thorax thought the best thing would be to start a Color Identity Management session where changelings could talk about such things openly. He was about to pass by the tunnel that lead to the arts and crafts area when he heard the growing commotion there. Sighing, he turned towards the arguing voices. “What’s going on here?”  For an answer to his question, a vase flew over the gathered spectators and sailed right at him. He managed to somehow catch it by letting himself slump onto his haunches and holding both of his forelegs up in defense. The fighting pair stopped in mid scuffle, frozen at the sight of him through a now split crowd of colorful spectators.  “Ugh… that was a close one,” Thorax said and placed the vase on a nearby rock before he got up and made use of the path created by the spreading crowd.  There was silence from everyone around when he walked through the crowd though when he reached the two fighters they both began to talk at once.  First they blamed each other, then they started speaking quicker and quicker to try and drown out what the other was saying. In the end Thorax couldn’t understand either of them. Thorax lifted a hoof. “Stop,” he said quietly.  The two continued on as if he hadn’t said anything at all.  He cleared his throat and repeated himself, this time loud enough for them to hear him. “Stop it! I can’t understand either of you!” Finally that shut both arguing changelings up. Though their angry looks now blamed each other for upsetting their leader. “One at a time,” Thorax suggested. So far so good, he thought. Now he just had to pick either of them to begin so he could get an idea of what they were fighting over. The blue changeling he had spoken with just yesterday, so maybe her. “Aellyth, why don’t you tell me your side first and after that we listen to Junevile—” “Pelipa! My name is Pelipa! Seriously, we don’t look that similar.”  “Sorry! Sorry. To be fair, you two do change a lot…” Thorax turned to the other changeling and forced a smile. “So Aellyth.”  “Well… you remember when I asked you if I could put my vase here yesterday, right? So I finished it and when I wanted to put it up, she had put hers there, in my spot!”  “Only because I was there first, and I didn’t know we could reserve spots for our crafts to be displayed!” Pelipa immediately shot back, making Thorax face-hoof internally.  How did his mother solve these issues? How did she make them listen and actually do what she said? They were starting to argue again already. Should he be more intimidating? No. That couldn’t be the solution. He blinked. “Yes,” Thorax confirmed, “I said you could put your vase there.” He looked back at Aellyth and smiled. “But, I never said that meant other changelings couldn’t, though. You see, the boulder is quite big. We could put three or even four vases full of flowers there, so why don’t you just put both there?” The spectating changelings began to mumble and whisper among each other and the vasemakers exchanged a confused look, as if they were slowly processing the idea for the first time. “I guess I wouldn’t mind…” Pelipa said before she looked down at the green vase in her embrace. Aellyth remained quiet at first but when she noticed that all eyes were on her she nodded. “Okay.” “Great!” Thorax chirped, buzzing over to the vase he had caught earlier to carry it over to the boulder.  Pelipa got up and placed her vase next to it, smiling. “We should have thought of this option right away,” said Aellyth sheepishly. She walked to Pelipa and reached out a hoof in apology. “I agree. Maybe we can pick some flowers for the vases together, too?” Pelipa suggested, hoof-bumping the other before she looked at Thorax, “I’m so glad you are our King now. Queen Chrysalis would have made us fight for the spot.” “Or she would have smashed both vases, most likely,” added Aellyth with a giggle. Thorax’s smile had left his lips the moment he heard the word ‘King’. Suddenly the joy of solving the situation was compromised by this one word. He wasn’t a ‘King’, he didn’t even have a crown! He just made sure his hive mates worked together. “King Thorax?” Aellyth asked with concern, noticing the change in his expression.  Thorax tried to smile. It was a poor, forced smile. “I… uh… I would prefer if you just called me Thorax. I’m not your King.” “But you totally are!” Pelipa countered, and looked around the crowd. “Everyone in arts and crafts thinks so!”  “King Thorax has a nice ring to it!” A male voice came out of the crowd behind Thorax.  Every time the title was used was like a jolt going through Thorax. Only now did he realize that he’d been the center of attention of the hive, not just the two changelings fighting. He didn’t want to disappoint his fellows, but he couldn’t accept the title.  “Listen, I—” he began but soon was interrupted by another changeling. “We should make it official!” Another voice came from the left of him.  “Listen, everyone!” Thorax repeated loudly, and turned towards the crowd. “I’m honored you want me as your King, but I’m not even doing that much. I’m just… keeping us together!” “Yes, like a King! No other changeling would be fit for the title like you, King Thorax,” Aellyth said from behind him and he turned back to her, frowning.  “Maybe we should have a coronation? That would make you feel more like a King,” Pelipa added. Her words sparked a wave of cheers through the crowd, making it hard to say anything against it immediately. When finally the room was quiet enough for him to answer, Thorax did so with a sigh. “I will think about it. But please, for now, don’t call me King, okay?”  Aellyth raised a hoof and grinned. “Long live King Thorax!” she shouted and the colorful gathering of changelings all around cheered on.