The three of us ceased to move, blink, and flutter our wings, and instead stared at the wide open entrance to the Hall of Queens. When no one emerged from the darkness, only Krennet was conscious enough to remind us it didn’t hurt to breathe every now and then.
“Skallit, go get the others! Quickly!” he said. “Iqqel, don’t just stand there like a clustered pony! Make way for the Queen, she’ll be here any minute!”
We waited.
The minutes dragged but the Queen was not coming, which gave Skallit and the rest of the confessors just enough time to arrive and get rid of wrinkles marking their ceremonial robes. There was about twenty of them, males and females, all dressed in purple and gold, all glancing at the entrance with their violet eyes. Krennet was just talking to some more prominent Speakers when I realized I was the only one without the proper attire. Fortunately I wasn’t entirely unclothed since Skallit gave me a blindfold and told to fasten it around my hoof like a bracelet, with the seven rings facing front.
“Consider yourself a confessor intern,” he said.
I could not tell whether he was joking or not because Krennet rebuked us for talking too loud. As a matter of fact, the voices of everyone else brought together were a mere whisper compared to his barking, but no one dared to cut in his screed on what was fast-approaching. I had to admit he was a skilled wordsmith, because over the course of this entire time he kept pulling out new synonyms for defining the moment as important.
Somewhere between ‘imperative’ and ‘paramount’, we heard the steps resounding from the dark passage.
“Positions! Positions!” Krennet said, to which we formed a semicircle, with Krennet himself in the middle and me right next to Skallit at the end.
You could tell a lot about the newcomer by the pace at which she was approaching. The intervals between her steps were even and she never once stopped in her tracks, suggesting she was in excellent physical and psychological condition, yet she didn’t feel the need to exploit either to rush to the exit. The way her hooves kept hitting the stairs sounded like someone knowing exactly where she was heading and who would she meet at the end of her path. She already knew we waited for her, and she probably savored those last moments of keeping us in the dark, because we only had a hazy idea of who were we waiting for.
We stretched our right forelegs to the front and leaned into a bow, but where Krennet and others awaited their new Queen, I prepared myself to greet my friend as she would return from the Hall of Queens.
She never did.
The character who emerged from the shadowy corridor resembled the old Queen in her physique, still twice as tall as the average changeling, but at the same time she was different from her. She appeared much younger with her sleek, raven black carapace and shining fangs, and her captivating green eyes had nothing of the judging stare so innate to her predecessor. While the previous Queen had shades of deep blue in her short mane, this one had her mane long and cerulean which brought to mind a gossamer veil gently falling along her neck down to her back.
She was beautiful, regal, and imperious, but she bore no semblance to Cecily. I tried to recall the places in which she had holes in her legs and compared those against the look of the Queen, but my memory failed me. Not because I had forgotten, but because I never took notice of such a trivial thing.
Maybe I should have. Maybe then I’d know why my heart was beating so fast.
The Queen continued her unhurried walk. She maintained her posture which, however dignified didn’t strike me as the bearing of someone wanting to prove she was better than the rest of us. On the contrary, she seemed curious, and she took a few seconds to look at each and every one of us individually. I did not dare to look her in the eyes, I just couldn’t. I had a hard time believing just a few hours ago she used to be Cecily with whom I could spend my time.
When she lined up with me and the changeling at the other end of our group, Krennet walked towards her, his face almost sliding on the floor. Under different circumstances I would say it was fun to see him not acting all bossy and important in his own domain.
The Queen noticed his approach.
“Who are you, Speaker?”
That voice! It sounded like several entities talked at the same time, yet each slightly out of sync with one another. One of those strings tangled into the Queen’s speech belonged to Cecily, of that I had no doubt. I would recognize that gentle timbre anywhere, even though it lost its usual joyful note and was slightly deeper. I could hear her! A shiver of excitement traveled down my spine, then back again to my head where it suggested I should jump and hug this new Queen, this Cecily wrapped in a different body.
I exhaled. She said four words and my legs decided to go on strike. Way to go.
Krennet raised his head. “My name is Lilo-Krennet, a humble Speaker devoted to the Hall of Names. I was the one who was conducting your Ceremony when you were called to the Hall of Queens for your Metamorphosis,” he said. “First and foremost, it is my duty to ask: what is your name?”
“I am Chrysalis, the Ninety-ninth of that name,” the Queen replied. “As the rightful successor to the Swarm Throne of the mighty changeling Hive Chrysalis, I have come to provide for my subjects, watch over the clusters, and guide the Seven Castes through the ever-changing nature of our kin. May they all flourish, and may their dedication and prowess only grow in the years to come.”
I felt a new respect for Krennet. When I found myself dumbstruck with the fierceness and conviction of such an introduction, he remained composed enough to reply with a respectful bow and formed a more cohesive greeting than I would ever utter.
“Salutations, my Queen! In the name of your subjects I bid you welcome,” he said. “The clusters rejoice in your arrival, and the Seven Castes are eager to follow as you will lead us through the changes. May your reign be long and prosperous, Ninety-ninth Queen of Hive Chrysalis!”
Chrysalis nodded. “I lived through the lives of my predecessors and witnessed the things they had seen, but it is now time to turn our gaze towards the future,” she said. “To honor our ways, I will require a Speaker to announce my arrival to the Hive. Are the candidates ready, or will you be the one to herald it?”
An unpleasant sensation twisted my stomach. Standing before the Queen alongside older and much more experienced Speakers put me at a disadvantage, because statistically speaking at least some of them had a chance of proving a superior material for the royal advisor. Krennet said he needed time, which meant he wanted to talk my case with the others. He was the most important confessor around, but he wasn’t the only voice representing the Hall of Names.
To make things worse, Krennet was a formalist to the bone, and he probably told me he’d consider my request to make me feel better. That’s what a Speaker like him would do. Was he after the advisor job himself? I wanted to shake those dark thoughts off my head, but the logic behind them was sound, and I could not deny them. He was not going to recommend me, that was the sad truth. Even if he did, it didn’t mean the Queen was going to choose me over other candidates.
I regretted not having a backup plan for that. From here on now, I will have one for any contingency.
When Krennet finally spoke, I was on the verge of collapsing.
“My duty is to this place, my Queen,” he said. “However, there is someling I would like to recommend.”
At first I thought he pointed at me, but his hoof seemed to be stretched towards Skallit. That’s not terrible, I guess. Perhaps through him I will get my five minutes with the Queen, or at least I’ll drop him a list of all the things Cecily wanted to come true. I turned to the new royal advisor to congratulate him, but he spoke first.
“Go on,” he silently said. “Your Queen is waiting.”
“What?”
“The decision’s been made when you were out, but Krennet didn’t want to make you feel you’re getting your chance just because you asked for it.”
“What!”
“Will of the ancestors, Krennet’s good mood, the majority of votes. Pick one but just go already!”
Skallit gave me a slight kick in the rump, and my legs started working again. What was happening? Where was I? I must have spaced out because when I looked up there was Queen Chrysalis towering over me. She looked me in the eyes, and I lost myself in hers. I pursed my lips in anguish which pierced my heart like a burning javelin, knowing that my best companion did not recognize me, and that I could not recognize her no matter how hard I tried. I could see no warmth nor the spark of joy which I remembered all too well, but I had to admit I admired this new look of Cecily—no, not Cecily, but Queen Chrysalis. I better get used to it as soon as possible.
Chrysalis looked over my head. “Only one, Lilo-Krennet? I believed it was customary to offer me a choice,” she said, then turned back to me. “Do I know you?”
I glanced at Krennet who just shook his head slightly.
“I don’t think so, my Queen,” I replied. “My name is Lili-Iqqel of the Speaker Caste. I would like to offer my services to the Swarm Throne as your assistant or whoever else you shall require me to be.”
Chrysalis frowned. She cupped my chin in her hoof and moved my head to the sides, as if to evaluate me. She took notice of the purple and gold blindfold. “Hmm. You look young, but you do bear the symbols of the Hall of Names, and you are, as I can see, a Speaker,” she said. “The only question is, what makes you think you are the best candidate for this position?”
With no actual qualifications, untested advisory skills, no previous experience in the government sector whatsoever, but with a reference from Krennet and the support of at least some of the Speakers around me, I could do only one thing.
Flee.
“This will only take a second, my Queen,” I said, warming up my wings. “Well, more like thirty, the one has already passed. It’s just a figure of speech, you know, but it’s so imprecise if you ask me, which makes you wonder why we’re still using it, we should instead—my point is, don’t go anywhere!”
I flew up a couple of levels back to the cavity in which my first Ceremony of Names took place.
There!
My satchel was still here, placed at the pedestal of the reddish statue of Keki-Feldora. I finally understood why she was portrayed without a weapon or a banner, and looking upwards with serenity painted in her eyes. She was looking up to her Queen for whom she was ready to give her life. I thanked the ancestors I happened to live in the times of peace.
“Sorry, can’t stay right now,” I said. “Got to do what you did but with less, you know, dying.”
Twenty-eight seconds from breaking from the bottom of the Hall I was back by Queen Chrysalis. I noticed Skallit smiling, Krennet rolling his eyes, and the Queen herself tapping her hoof with impatience.
“So, you are back after all,” she said, frowning. “I find it strange for someling keen on becoming my advisor to keep me waiting. Would you care to explain what is this object you’ve brought?”
“My Queen, it took quite some time since you’ve entered the Hall of Queens,” I said, taking out a pony treat which lost only some of its shape, but hopefully none of its sweet taste. It certainly looked like it could fight off any hunger for one blissful moment, and I had to engage all my will to not devour it myself. Like Keki-Feldora before me, I intended to provide sustenance for my Queen. “Are you by any chance hungry?”
It occurred to me that I was betting it all on a blasted sweet roll. Krennet was right. I really was reckless.
Chrysalis giggled. Ancestors, what a wonderful sound that was! “Hah! You’re an intriguing one, I give you that,” she replied. “Yes, as a matter of fact I am starving. I wish my past form had eaten something prior to the Ceremony.”
You ate most of that picnic basket yourself, my Queen, but you wouldn’t remember that.
I knew I remembered it all.
I could remember the caring timbre of your voice when we first met at the nymphery. A careless drone just knocked over my tower—it felt like the end of the world at the time—but you told me not to worry, and that together we will build an even higher one. We quickly ran out of blocks, so we started coloring our carapaces much to the distress of our caretakers. Fun times.
I could remember the excited look in your eyes when we got assigned to Blackstone together. You said that with a lot of older mentors to befriend we would be like a large family. I did not know the meaning of the word back then, and many other words you kept picking from the Feeders, so you explained it was like having a group of changelings you cared about while they cared about you. We decided to care for each other, and you said that made us sisters. You said I was the best sister you could ever dream of.
I could remember the hesitation in your moves earlier tonight. First you were outraged at that drone’s attitude towards me, which wasn’t such a big deal, but you stood up for me nonetheless. You were then going to tell me something important, but when Skallit came we had to part. What was it going to be? Did you have something special planned for just the two of us after our Ceremonies? Were you thinking about me in ways I discovered I was thinking about you?
Chrysalis took a bite of the sweet roll. She chewed it for a moment, savoring every shade of sweetness the ponies applied to it. I swear, if she’s not going to like it I will find the confectioner who made it and drown him in molasses.
“This tastes… acceptable. You’re thinking ahead. I like that,” she said, swallowing the rest of the treat much to my relief. “Very well, then. Since there are no other candidates, I appoint you, Lili-Iqqel of the Speaker Caste, the First Advisor to the Swarm Throne and my personal assistant. I believe you are aware of your first duty for tonight?”
“Naturally, my Queen. I will be honored to announce your arrival.”
“Let us not keep my subjects waiting any longer,” Chrysalis replied, then allowed a slight smile to dance on her lips. “After you, Speaker.”
The semicircle of confessors broke into two rows and set a path for the Queen and I to follow. On one side I saw Skallit who looked like he was about to start waving his hooves in cheer, but Krennet kept his usual appearance of a pensive sage. He eased his frown only when our eyes met, and nodded appreciatively, for once without a trace of admonishing me for my behavior. If he believed I could make a good assistant for the Queen, then perhaps it was worth listening him for a change.
As I was leading the way under the luminite ceiling and up the steep stairs, I felt my eyes burning, but this time it was but a simple reaction of the body which I could overcome rather than a drastic change send by the ancestors. I inhaled deeply and refused the tears from wetting my cheeks any further. I straightened up, raised my head high, and followed the dark corridor towards the exit from the Hall of Names. The buzzing outside became more audible the closer we got to its source, a swarm of changelings of colorful eyes awaiting the one I preceded. When they saw me, the small Speaker as I headed towards the elevation from which the speeches of the confessors were given, they subdued their buzz. It was but a calm before the storm of cheering and applause which I knew would arise the moment I would introduce them to my friend, the Queen.
Cecily once told me about her ultimate dream. Her dream was to have us and the ponies living together, free of needless antagonism, with them visiting our Hive like tourists and us allowed to enter their cities without lies and subterfuge. It might take years for such a future to come true, but I was in no rush. She also shared a bunch of her minor dreams with me, so I could start with something simple, like establishing Cluster Whitefalls and setting up a school there. Cecily always liked the idea of schools more than our tried and true mentorship system, so perhaps it was worth investigating this pony concept further. For her.
Who knows? Perhaps one day our races will sign a treaty in recognition of each other’s worth and uniqueness. Myself, I need to find out if I’m as skilled at speaking as I am at thinking. I seem to have the ancestors backing my resolve, though, so if such is their will, I intend to serve my Queen with pride and treasure her precious dreams as my own.
Because I have a promise to keep.