//------------------------------// // Coronation // Story: Memories of a Changeling // by ZeroCore //------------------------------// When I was still a worker sleep was just a resting period, a time to rejuvenate myself. I had no visions, no strange feelings, just rest, as if I didn't even exist when my eyes were closed. I'd sit there in that state—between being real and not-real—wondering when I would wake up. I suppose it's another thing that was part of the old me. A few passing thoughts drifted in and out of my mind. I began to remember the visions that I'd had before my tiring flight to Queen Scarlet's chamber. It worried me; I didn't really want the thoughts to return. I just wanted to sleep, to stay in this calm void, but unfortunately that wish didn't come true. My ears perked up as I heard a noise. It approached, and I waited, dreading what world or time it would take me to. “There must be some other way...” “There isn't, I've told you this before. Why won't you listen?” It started out different this time. There were no lights, no images, just sounds. Two voices argued in the dark all around me. I looked about, trying to pinpoint where they were coming from, but they just echoed and darted about the emptiness that encircled me. The sounds continued as I sat there, hoping the noise would go away. “It must remain as it was,” the first voice said, “for if we disrupt things it will only lead to our destruction! I've tried to tell you this again and again; we must remain as we are, now and forever.” It almost sounded like it was sobbing... “It wasn't like that before and it doesn't have to be like that now. You know this,” the second retorted. “We were together once, and can be one more. If the stone can be retrieved-” “That stone is lost!” I recoiled slightly as the first voice shouted. “It is gone, now and forever. It. Will. Not. Be. Returned. Why can't you see that? The past is gone and won't come back no matter how much you may wish it so. The prey are just that; they're prey, and their well-being comes second to that of our Swarm, or do your own kin not matter to you anymore?!” The first voice trembled slightly, becoming more and more agitated—angry—as the argument continued. “How dare you?!” the second retaliated. I cringed as the hissing, crackling sound of combat magic sung through the air. Each blast bent and stretched the void around me. An image started to form. There was a dimly lit room with two Changelings inside, one standing proudly and the other lying crumpled on the floor. The walls were stained green, various ornaments were torn and destroyed, and small flames jumped in rage as they ate away whatever they could latch onto, their burning noise joining the chorus of the first Changeling's spells. “You cannot win this,” the standing one spoke, her voice quick and aggressive like the flames. “It is lost to us, and apparently so are you .” “You would strike me down?” the second said, sounding close to sobbing. “You would kill me? To think, we used to care for each other so much...” “Be silent, you,” the first hissed. Her voice made me shiver; in just three words she'd made it as if the flames had turned to ice. “You claim to live for this Swarm, to want to see it improve and grow...” Hearing the fury in her voice made me feel as if I were covered in slime, like I'd fallen into the elixir vats and pushed under the surface. Her words didn't flow from her mouth, they dripped from it. “And yet look at what you've done here,” the first spat. “You sent my guards—my soldiers—out searching for some ancient artifact that may very well have been destroyed eons ago while the rest of our swarm lies hiding in our Hive, starving to death as you're out gallivanting after a several thousand-year-old rock! You have squandered our resources, have gotten our kin captured and possibly killed while I've been here trying to keep our Swarm stable. I can say quite well that I've been looking after us. You however...” A crack of magic thunder split the air as the Changeling on the floor was sent crashing into the wall behind her. “Maybe,” the first said, “you should have though things over more thoroughly.” “I...” the second Changeling rasped, her body still pinned to the wall by the first's aura. “I know you don't really believe this. You know I'm right, and I'll prove it... I will... see... us rebuilt... to what we were before...” “Oh?” “Even... if,” the second continued, “I have to stop you... I'm sorry... I really am...” The battered Changeling's horn began to glow, her aura steadily building as she siphoned love energy from the Hive. “Don't make me laugh,” replied the first. With a crackling blast, both Changelings let loose their power. The room lit up for a moment as their magic collided, singeing and burning everything that wasn't already consumed in flames. What scared me most was not their power, but their faces. For a moment, as the vision flickered and fractured in the blast, I caught sight of who they were. Against the wall was the Queen from my metamorphic visions, the one who the younger Queen Scarlet had sat with. It was her own mother, Hydelidae. “And... th-the other...” I whispered to myself. “Was...” The light quickly faded, the flames turning to darkness. My vision cleared, and before me were two red eyes staring straight at me. “Chrysalis?” Queen Scarlet spoke. I screamed as my eyes snapped open. Around me were my Queen's various belongings, her odd ornaments hanging off the walls of her chamber. The burning brass light still hung above me sending its dim light across the room. A silken fabric was beneath me; I still sat on my Queen's soft sleeping cushions. I was back in my Matron's quarters. “Chrysalis?” Queen Scarlet repeated. I adjusted my eyes and saw my Matron sitting in front of me, her expression once again calm and gentle, although mine was anything but. I didn't need to see myself to know that my eyes were pulled wide open and my mouth stretched downward slightly as an emotion—fear—crept into my body. “Another bad dream, I see?” My Queen asked, her voice quiet and concerned. “Dream?” I asked. “You mean those...” “The visions you have when you sleep,” Queen Scarlet quietly interrupted, “are called dreams. Creatures with true emotions have them during their slumber.” I didn't respond, my eyes turning away from my Queen. “I'm sorry I didn't tell you before you slept, but Chrysalis, the things you see in your sleep, your dreams, are not just a passing phase of your metamorphosis; you'll have them nearly every time you sleep. Sometimes they're harsh, sometimes they're gentle, but remember this; they're not reality, just figments made up by your mind.” Just figments... Queen Scarlet would never... Memories of my latest visions—dreams—came quickly back to me; I remembered the fire, the shouting, the heat, and Queen Scarlet's fury against her own Matron. It's not reality... But why would my mind—I—conceive such a thing? “Care to tell me about it?” She asked. My head perked up, my expression still the same. “It helps sometimes,” My Queen reassured. Queen Scarlet's eyes dropped downward slightly. “I can remember talking to my Queen about my first dreams,” She continued. “It helped to take away some of the pain when I was getting used to having them. If you want, I could listen...” “No,” I interrupted, “I'd... I'd rather not talk about it for now, if that's acceptable.” “Alright,” Queen Scarlet softly spoke, once more giving me her full attention. My Queen's expression became more energetic. She quickly stood up and made her way to her chamber's exit, motioning for me to follow. “If you ever do wish it,” she said, watching me slowly—and clumsily—stand, “be sure to let me know if you do want to talk about something.” I nodded. “Oh, and Chrysalis,” Her mouth didn't move... Mind-sharing. “Ah, I see you remember,” Queen Scarlet's thoughts echoed. “I know this all is very sudden, but try to keep up. There are many things for you to learn now that you're a Queen.” My matron and I stepped out onto the ledge outside of her quarters, the two of us looking down over the bustling network of Changelings working in the Hive below. At least this remains the same. “You need never worry about that,” my Queen thought, looking at me. “In one way or another, our Swarm will always remain.” “Moving to the vats...” a voice rang out. “Heading out. Guard rotation is in progress,” another joined in. They were different from Queen Scarlet's. They were smooth, yet quick and lacked the energy or emotion of my Matron's. “I must go this way,” another joined in. “Too slow; I must move faster,” interrupted one more. They're like mine used to be. “They're the voices of your siblings,” my Queen thought. “Remember, unlike the two of us they cannot hear another Changeling's thoughts, just as you once were unable to do.” “Yes,” I said, aloud, “none of us could. We would just think of a simple command or task, and then our pheromones would deliver... the...” I paused as I realized it; I had not smelled the Hive's pheromones, even while out in the open central shaft. I inhaled briefly. I could still smell the scent-based language of the Hive below but it was... different; diluted in a way, like it had been mixed with steam or mist. The messages felt distant, farther away, and harder to understand. It was like standing in a crowded hall or near the edge of an over-worked vat; the messages were blended, mixed, and hard to discern from one another. My head drooped as I tried to focus on the scents. I felt like my stomach had been twisted into a knot; I could barely make out one conversation from another. So another part of me is gone too... “Chrysalis,” Queen Scarlet spoke as she walked towards me, “I know you're still used to your old ways of life.” I felt my Queen's hoof slide under my muzzle. She gently lifted my head up, turning me to face her. Queen Scarlet's calm expression shifted slightly; the sides of her eyes turned downward but her mouth's edges still rose slightly. “In time though,” she said, her hoof dropping back to her side, “You'll master these new ways too. As goes your pheromones, don't worry, you'll be able to regain that with time. It will take a while but rest assured it will be an ability you will have again.” “I hope so,” I whispered to myself. I tensed slightly as a quick buzzing filled the air. In a quick red flash, Queen Scarlet jumped off the stone ledge and took to the air. She leaned her head back slightly, her mouth's edges turned upward again. “You have things to learn, Chrysalis,” she called. “Follow me, if you think you're up to flying.” I breathed deeply as I stood up, my wings starting to move as I walked towards the edge. “Remember what she said,” I said aloud to myself. The distance is the barrier... I willed them to move. The light pressure in my back muscles started, just as it always had as I willed my wings to move faster. My own buzzing joined Queen Scarlet's. My will to fly, my channel... The Hive's towering heights came into view again as I looked over the ledge. I grimaced slightly, but forced it back as I saw my Matron's lively expression looking back at me. And I, the water... “Now,” I breathed, “flow...” I barely noticed leaving the ledge. Just as my mind had envisioned it, I lifted off from the platform and into the air, my wings keeping me aloft without fault. I paused slightly; my own mouth had curled upwards a bit. “Well done,” my Queen said, drifting over to me. “Queen Scarlet,” I began. My Queen tilted her head slightly. “Where did you learn that?” I asked. “How did you learn to envision yourself... flowing?” “That,” she replied, her voice drifting up and down in pitch, “is a secret.” Her remark confused me, as did her tone. My Queen sighed, letting her face regain its normal appearance. “And that is called humor,” she said, placing a front limb on my shoulder. “It's one more lesson that you must learn before you accept your role as Queen, a time that, I fear, might approach a bit more quickly than I'd hoped.” “What do you mean by that?” I asked, my heartbeat fluctuating—fear—as I listened. My Queen sighed, sensing my anxiety. “I should tell you, Chrysalis, before anything else happens,” she began, “that up until now your status as a Queen has been kept secret from most of the Hive; only I, my drones, and a few guards know. Before you can really begin to grow and learn about being a Queen, and begin truly adapting to your new station, you should be... introduced, in a way, to the rest of the Hive.” “Introduced?” “They need to see you, hear you, and know you, not just as their kin, but as their Queen,” my Matron continued. “In a few hours I will assemble our Swarm at the place where I first noticed you, the meeting ground where I call all our Changelings whenever I must inform them of something of the utmost importance.” I wondered for a time after that moment if my chitin had turned gray for a second after my Queen had said that. I felt fear, and the diluted pain in my stomach, at the thought of my entire Swarm focused on me and me alone. “I can see this unnerves you greatly,” Queen Scarlet said after a short pause. “Don't worry; I was as well.” I briefly looked to the side before focusing on my Queen again. “You had to do the same?” I asked. “Quite a long time ago, yes,” she replied with a grin, “and I imagine it wasn't nearly as well performed as the speeches you're used to hearing from me.” I couldn't help but grin as well; perhaps emotions were easy to spread among those who could feel them. “Well now,” my Matron continued, “that isn't for another few hours yet. I still have another lesson for you. Follow me; I think it's time we practiced your mind-sharing a bit more.” My Queen led me downward through the Hive's central shaft. We kept to the side, occasionally hiding in a few rocky outcroppings and disused combs. Queen Scarlet assured me it was to keep me hidden from any workers who may be flying by. As the Hive buzzed with life around us we gradually made our way to the more busy sections of our towering home. This level sat just above the vats, my old task, and was where guards watched over the workers, ensuring order was kept. Queen Scarlet motioned for me to look over at a group of workers stirring the still-fermenting passion elixir. “Steady... Steady...” the one thought, stirring the thick, rich fluid. “Stir... Stir...” another mind repeated. “Drift...” a third added. “Steady...” “Stir...” “Drift...” The thoughts came one after another, almost synchronized. The minds of the workers, although separate, formed a pattern as their motions melded together, forming a sort of rhythm as they spun and mixed the elixir. “Steady... Stir... Drift... Steady... Stir... Drift...” the group repeated. I felt my head nod slightly as the workers' thoughts repeated and cycled. The mental chorus reminded me of the beating I had heard when flying up through the Hive's main shaft shortly after I'd emerged from my cocoon. The thoughts of the workers below us, although not quite as entrancing, still held a beat of sorts. The strangest part of it is that it felt familiar in a way, as if I'd heard it before but never really took the time to notice. “Maybe thoughts aren't all that flows,” I thought. “And maybe you're a better learner than I was.” I looked over to my Queen, her face holding a strange expression. Her one eye was slightly more open than the other, her brow half raised and half lowered, with her mouth's edge curved up slightly. “You're not trying to make me jealous, are you?” she added directing her thoughts to me. “Jealous?” I mentally replied. “My Queen, I'm not trying to make you do anything; I'd never presume to...” “Chrysalis, relax,” Queen Scarlet interrupted, rolling her eyes, “it was merely a jest.” I felt my head tilt slightly. “Let's hope you can learn more about emotion as quickly as you could figure out the Hive's natural patterns.” We rose to the air again, the still faint smell of pheromones drifting about. We began to drift towards a group of guards near the Hive's entrance, my Queen doing well to keep us out of sight of the others. Settling down near a group of the red-tinted changelings, my Queen and I shuffled out way behind a rocky outcropping, staying out of sight all the while. It made me wonder just how many times Queen Scarlet had done this, sneaking about the Hive. Could she have been watching us all this time? My thought provoked a small noise from my Queen. “Maybe I have and maybe I haven't,” she thought in my direction. “But for now, watch.” I turned my focus forward. The guards went about their duties in a timely order, pacing rhythmically back and forth in front of the Hive's entrance. Red chitin shimmered slightly in the light shining in from the outside, the guards not seeming distracted by the brightness. I started counting their steps. One, two, one, two... Always synchronized with each other. I felt my head nod slightly with the steady hoof beats of the guards as they tirelessly patrolled. Every now and then a few more guards would join in as three or four would leave, heading off to rest or patrol another part of the Hive. The new arrivals would fall in line without missing a beat. One, two, one, two... Always keeping perfect time. “My old task,” my Queen thought. “We constantly patrolled from sunrise to sunset and sometimes longer, never losing our rhythm. Even eating was done to a pace.” “So you were a guard,” I said, my Queen's red chitin now suddenly an obvious clue to her past. The guards suddenly froze. I felt a chill go through me as Queen Scarlet pulled me tighter back behind the rocks. The guards cautiously smelled the air, gazing around in place as they sought out my voice. Seconds felt like minutes as they scanned about. “Careful,” my Queen thought. I noticed a faint scent drift away from my Queen, her translucent wings gently wafting it towards the alerted guards. As the pheromones reached their target, the guards relaxed slightly. A few moments passed, and with a slight shudder all the guards returned to their tasks, the Hive's entrance once more filled with rhythmic pacing. I relaxed a bit, a small sigh escaping my mouth. “You really need be more careful,” Queen Scarlet said. “Guards are very proficient at detecting the faintest sounds.” I nodded. I followed my Queen's gaze back to the guards as a pack of hunters suddenly landed. Striding in through the Hive's entrance, these blue-banded changelings hesitated only for a moment as the guards checked them over. I smelled their pheromones, mixed and muddled as they still seemed to me; the guards were... curious, cautious... and anticipated frauds. It wasn't until one hunter muttered a phrase to a guard did the others back away. With a nod from their red-clad siblings, the hunters took off once more, flying down towards the vats to deliver the supply of love that they had pilfered from our prey. I remember seeing hunters on occasion. At the vats, they would stop off every now and again, regurgitating the love they had accumulated in their journeys across the world beyond the Hive's walls. They never stayed long, and rarely spoke to any of the workers. Mostly they just arrived, dropped off their love, and left. I never really wondered before what went on in their lives; I had merely been content to know that they brought love into the hive, collecting it from our prey, congealing it from energy to liquid form, and then leaving it in the care of the workers. My Queen and I sat for some time, waiting for the hunters to return. As they did, several crawled into sleeping combs that sat near the Hive's entrance whilst others headed back out into the world. “You'll see more of them in the future,” Queen Scarlet thought, slowly making her way back towards the Hive's interior. She motioned for me to follow. “My Queen, I'm sorry about before,” I thought, following my matron away from the guards. “What's that?” Queen Scarlet thought. “I can't quite make out your thoughts; it's getting rather noisy!” I noticed my Queen take to the air. Darting swiftly around the Hive's walls, Queen Scarlet began to make her way from ledge to ledge, staying just out of sight of the many eyes of our Swarm. As she grew more distant, I noticed it became harder to hear her thoughts; the constant sounds of the swarm—the buzzing and chattering of changelings—drowned out her mind. “Keep up!” I barely managed to make out. “You'll have to follow me if you want to stay in contact!” With a quick breath I took to the air, hugging the walls of the Hive tightly as I followed my matron. We darted and flitted about, our unseen flight about the Hive growing faster as I struggled to keep pace. “Chrysalis,” my matron thought, “do you remember what I said earlier?” “Regarding?” I thought back, ducking behind a ledge. We continued on, our flight taking us lower and lower into the Hive. “I believe I mentioned something about speeches earlier,” Scarlet thought. “Yes, I recall that.” We passed a few more rocky pillars. “Well...” she thought, suddenly coming to a stop mid-air. As I reached Queen Scarlet's side, my eyes beheld a sight that will always be with me. We had stopped in one of the first places I'd ever experienced my emotions; the Queen's platform in the Hive's core. Surrounding us were score upon score of changelings, each summoned mid-flight by my Queen's pheromones. I felt my heart race. I had never had so many eyes upon me before. “It is time,” my matron said, guiding us both to the pedestal below. “My children, my Swarm,” Queen Scarlet's voice rang out, “there is someone you must all meet, as you must all come to know her quite well.” I was awash with fear and tension as my Queen's words echoed through the Hive, yet at the same time I felt something deeper, a small spark of confidence in the middle of the panic. “She is someone who holds equal status, and soon equal power, to myself, and should be treated as such. Now, for the first time ever, allow me to introduce Queen Chrysalis, fifth Queen of the High Swarm and your newest sovereign!” A thousand voices chattered in salute as my matron stepped back slightly, allowing me to take the stage. I swallowed, feeling a lump in my throat—fear—as I made my way forward. “T-to all of you,” I said, a twinge of nervousness in my voice, “my siblings, my sisters, it is my hope that I am worthy of your respect and loyalty. Fear not, for even though I have yet to fully grow to my station, I pledge myself to you as your newest Queen.” I looked over my shoulder, hoping Queen Scarlet was still there. To my immediate relief, my matron was, and better yet was nodding in approval. “Remember this, my subjects, I stand here, now and forever, with all of you.” One by one, each changeling began to stomp in applause as chattering voices filled the air. Their applause was reassuring, even if it did lack any real emotion. “Not bad,” Queen Scarlet thought to me. “Not bad at all for a first time.” I felt my mouth curve upwards at the edges. “There is still yet another lesson for you to learn though, Chrysalis,” my matron continued. “It's time you learned more about emotion. I have a task for you, your first real task as Queen.”