There is much to say.
Where to begin... From myself, I suppose. I am not the usual type of being you would encounter. I'm not a pegasus, earth pony, or unicorn. I am something of a different sort, a Changeling, a being that feeds off the love of our prey. Our forms vary, and bend to our will, yet even amongst a race of shape-shifters, I stand out. My name is Chrysalis, Fifth Queen of the High Swarm, and these words shall mirror my memories.
My dwelling, my citadel, is known as the Hive, a massive fortress and larder which my ancestors built long ago. Inside, many Changelings make their lives as they scurry about, making the needs of our swarm a reality. Honeycombs coat the stone and membrane walls that form outward from an enormous central shaft. Great forms of wax and rock meld together, forming lattices of armor that stretch to the uppermost heights of the Hive. From within, it resembles what our prey would call a city. From without, it towers into the sky like a castle bulwark.
The Hive is our home and cradle; it is where we all are born. Every Changeling of my Swarm, from drone to Queen, is sired, hatched, and reared here within these rock and wax walls. For most, the path from egg to adult is predictable and brings little in the way of wonder. Queens, however, are far from the majority. Whereas most are born once, we come into this world twice.
It was strange for me, becoming what I am. I was born under normal circumstances for a Changeling–emerging from a sealed honeycomb, drying my wings, waiting for my first orders, and taking flight soon after. I quickly learned how to perform the tasks I was born for by my older sisters of the Swarm. I wasn't born a powerful guard, a cunning and savage hunter, or, Swarm forbid, a drone, whose sole tasks included mating and running errands for the Hive. No, I was a more common breed.
I was an average worker, my carapace a slick black and my eyes a dull green. I was brought into the world standing at an average height, with an average wingspan. My magic abilities were minimal, and I had just enough of an aura to ensure the elixir was the proper consistency. I never questioned my place in the swarm, never sought anything greater, and I had no desire to.
I worked the fluid vats, the great mixing honeycombs that dominated the Hive's lower levels. With my fellow workers, I prepared the love collected by the hunters for consumption, blending the very base of love itself into passion elixir, the food that sustains all Changelings. This was my existence–completely and fully what I had expected out of life. I buzzed about, performing my duties to Swarm, Hive, and Queen, not giving it another thought.
It was, as I had thought, how it should have been.
One day, however, something changed; I first noticed it when war broke out between our great Hive and the Eastern Swarm, our more aggressive neighbors. Their leader, a young and volatile Changeling, had made an outright threat against our mother and matron, Queen Scarlet Cocoon. Fighting erupted between hunters, the minor battles occasionally getting in the way of acquiring necessary resources. The conflict seemed quite superfluous to most; to them it was merely a waste of food and personnel. I occasionally overheard pheromone-based chatter between the other workers. Although most of it was the same–they'd wonder about when the fighting would be over–I slowly began to listen in more and more.
“Any news on the conflict?” A fellow worker asked, her expression blank.
There was a brief pause before her colleague responded, “Negative.”
These short bursts of communication were all I originally heard. Two Changelings working the vats would bring it up, give a brief reply, and then carry on with their duties. Initially I ignored it, and let the conversing sounds and aromas go through my senses and out again. But something happened; it, whatever it was, started.
“Has any conclusion been reached?” I overheard a worker say one evening.
“Negative,” the reply came. “Reports of casualties were confirmed.”
“Casualties?” I breathed, my voice stammering a bit.
With a quick twitch, both of the other workers looked at me. Their gaze seemed somewhat aggressive, like how a guard would stare down down a trespasser. As they stared at me, I felt myself recoil slightly, my hemolymph pulsing faster through my carapace. I became more unsteady, as if I'd collapse if they kept their leering eyes on me.
"What is it? What do they want?!" I thought, my mind frenzied. "Wait..."
I'd spoken out of turn.
It wasn't usual for Changelings to intrude on their kin's conversations. It was far from punishable, but still wasn't common as it tended to waste time. Normally I would just accept this and continue, but something kept me from it; an odd sensation of heaviness in the back of my mind appeared when I tried to push the issue aside.
“Correct,” my sisters said in unison.
I quickly forgot about the odd reaction as their words registered in my thoughts. I slowly turned my head away as the others continued on with their tasks. A soft sigh escaped my mouth. Just the thought of my kin being destroyed seemed to make me move slower.
“Perhaps this is why I wasn't born a guard.” I thought.
For the rest of that day I moved somewhat slower than usual. I tried to increase my speed, but the will to do so wasn't enough. My work lagged behind, and when my time of rest had come I noticed several unfilled honeycombs sitting near my station.
I began to suspect something was wrong with me.
I spent the night in my assigned resting comb, a small hexagon hollowed out of the lower section of the Hive's side wall. I let my limbs go limp as I tried to relax. My mind was full, and for the first time, I noticed it. To my chagrin, I had no idea what it truly was. The odd reactions, my lessened speed and drive... I had no idea, not a single clue.
My head perked up as I felt the membranous wall shift and bulge next to me. I peered out from my resting comb, watching as a Changeling I was quite familiar with wiggled into hers. We were both workers, our emerald-green eyes yet another set among the countless numbers of our closest kin.
“Ebony?” I whispered through the wax, my voice feeling slightly softer.
“Yes?” she replied, her tone as flat as all the others. “Chrysalis, is something wrong with your voice? I would recommend you to have it looked at if so.”
“I'm starting to wonder if I should.”
“Rest might be helpful,” Ebony said. “Sleep for now. Perhaps it will be healed by morning.”
The wall between us pulsed less as Ebony's breathing slowed. As she drifted off to sleep I tried to put the odd thoughts from my mind. It took some time, but sleep eventually came for me as well.
Something wasn't right.
I didn't know what, but I could feel that I wasn't in the Hive anymore; I was somewhere else!
I opened my eyes to find myself in a surreal world. All around me I saw gray fog, strewn debris, and a dull sludge that coated the landscape. Tall hills rose up from the north and south, all of them smothered by the strange flowing refuse that spread around me. I was confused as a light rain drizzled through the air, but I neither smelled it nor felt it as it splashed against my exoskeleton. I felt my pulse skip a beat; whatever had sent me to this alien land had apparently brought along my odd reactions as well.
I felt my breathing grow heavier, my heart beat faster, and my senses become heightened. I didn't think myself safe where I was. I felt exposed being away from the walls of the Hive. My eyes darted left and right, trying to pick out the towering walls of my fortress home. Instead I saw nothing close to it; I saw just a vast, barren, dead landscape that stretched into a winding valley.
A gurgling noise–like polluted running water–began to sound around me. I felt my eyes stretch open wide as the flowing muck stirred. It swirled and twisted, flowing around itself as a perfectly spherical eye floated to its surface. It glared at me, scrutinizing me as if to pierce my hide with its gaze alone. I felt myself tense for a moment, growing stiff in the joints for some reason as my heart rate soared. As more eyes bubbled up from the sludge, I took to the air, my wings beating as fast as I could make them. The sludge was partly blown away as I ascended, its eyes staring at me as my wings' gale forced it to retreat.
I didn't know where to go. I had no bearings, no landmarks, not a thing that could guide me back to the Hive. Out of options, I darted down the valley, trying to escape that staring ooze.
A loud moan sounded from behind me as I flew. Craning my neck around, I saw the living slime pour through the valley, shrieking and groaning as it went. My gaze turned back forward, trying to find some way to escape that crawling monstrosity. Ahead of me, I noticed the valley widen and open up into a broader landscape.
Along the open ground lie dozens of still forms. They resembled Changelings, but were different somehow. They were thicker, with bodies coated in a fibrous substance. Their wings looked Changeling enough–each airfoil made of transparent membranes with a dull blue tinge–but were more symmetrical than those of my kin, and were tipped with smooth, wide curves. All of them were laying still in the midst of the gray. As I flew over them I realized that they were also lightly coated in remnants of the sentient sludge that had attacked me moments ago.
I hovered over to a nearby body, the thought of the rampaging muck fading from my thoughts. Her form looked stiff, dead, and lifeless. The threadlike material that coated her form appeared matted in areas that the sludge had stuck to, and her half-lidded eyes glazed over with a ghostly white.
“What are you?” I breathed as I looked the corpse over.
I cut my inspection short as I saw movement in my periphery vision. I jolted backwards as I noticed the gray land swirl around me, mixing in with itself as it manifested more of that horrid slime from before. Eyes bulged out of the living mass as drops of it fell around me, mixing with the rain. I tried to back away, but found myself surrounded. I began to panic, my heart racing faster.
I vaulted into the air, my wings beating as quick as I could make them. I felt my eyes water as I soared upwards through the rain and sludge around me, the sky becoming a hazy torrent as I struggle to escape.The rain billowed, and I shook as the cold sank into me. My eyes stung, and the world around me became little more than a mess of sludge and water. A faint whimper left my mouth; I was lost, completely ensnared in the storm.
"Help!" I called out, confused and shaking. "Someone, please get me out of here!"
A dull rasping wheeze drifted through my ears, the noise just barely louder than the storm. As I wiped the debris from my eyes I cringed; I was met with the glowing white gaze of the body I had seen on the ground a moment ago, the corpse's eyes no more than a hoof's length from the end of my snout. It shrieked at me, its loud voice filling my ears. I recoiled, forcing myself away from the undead being as it continued its piercing noise.
I covered my ears, trying to block out this howling monster. I tried to look away, but something stopped me, a sort of curiosity that forced my attention despite my urge to flee. At first I thought it was just a trick of the rain, but I noticed something about the creature; I saw its thread-like coating melt and slide away. Like a melting piece of ice, its outer layer dissolved in the rain, revealing a Changeling's thick and chitinous hide. Its wings rotted as holes appeared in its legs. Its eyes widened, segmenting in a regular hexagonal pattern as the metamorphosis ended. Blackened limbs thrashed about as it flew towards me. Sharpened fangs gnashed at the air, moving closer and closer to me as its wail echoed through my ears.
My eyes snapped widely open as I felt my breathing pounding inside my abdomen, a dull pain soon following. Scanning around, I found myself once again in my sleeping comb, the wax holding me tightly. Ahead of me, Ebony waited by its entrance, my colleague looked at me as I lay there in that awful state, her expression blank and her voice nigh toneless.
“You look as though you're suffocating.” Ebony stated, her voice plain but urgent. “Do you need help?”
“No.” I replied, trying to slow my breath. “No, I'm alright.”
“I would request a new sleeping comb.” my nest-mate added. “That one seems to be too small for you."
“Now then.” she continued. “It is close to our scheduled work period. We should stop by the feeding grounds before anything else.”
I silently nodded, following Ebony as she vaulted upward.
My colleague flew ahead of me towards the feeding grounds, a large and flat section of honeycombs where passion elixir was rationed out on a daily basis. Normally I would have been right alongside her, but now I found myself unable to keep up. The memory of last night was still fresh in my mind and the more I thought about it, the more I noticed how it'd made me react oddly, like how I had when I overheard those other Changelings the previous day. That place I was in was equally troubling. I had no idea how I could have possibly left the Hive, traveled there, and somehow gotten back in what felt like an instant.
"I-it... must not have been real," I thought. "Just an odd hallucination, or something of that sort. It must have been..."
But even if it had been nothing more than a figment of my mind, it didn't change the fact that it had felt real enough.
We soon landed in the feeding grounds, joining the many other workers there. Three guards patrolled about, dishing out the rations of elixir to the waiting Changelings. Ebony and I waited our turns for our meals and lined up with the others.
“Diplomacy?” I heard a worker buzz out.
“Correct,” another replied.
I looked over my shoulder as I overheard them.
“Negotiations... With the East... Peace-talks...” several others chimed in.
They had my full attention. I looked around as other workers joined their conversation. Peace-talks... it was not a common phrase amongst Changelings. Negotiations were usually an exchange of resources or territory. Talk between neighboring Queens was almost unheard of.
“Ebony,” I began, “are you hearing this?”
“What of it?” Ebony replied, her mandibles now filled with passion elixir. “It's irrelevant; the Eastern Swarms would not dare attack the Hive.”
I didn't respond. I was too busy with my meal.
“They couldn't win,” she concluded, downing her mouthful, “even if they are half the beings they claim to be. Our forces are too strong. They would be overrun.”
I still had no reply. I felt another bout of strange behavior sweeping through my mind. My eyes were somewhat closed, my head lowered, and my attention elsewhere. It felt as though everything other than the Hive's future was distant to me. Even Ebony, one of the few individuals that I had repeatedly been around, felt as though she were miles away, despite being right on the other side of the same hexagonal honeycomb.
“Are you still not well, Chrysalis?”
My head shot up as I heard my name.
“I... am fine.” I lied.
Ebony merely stared at me. Her eyes seemed to look straight through me, as if my outer shell was transparent. My fellow Changeling's look was that of curiosity, the sort she'd usually give an unknown being who'd entered the Hive. She smelled the air, her nostrils flaring slightly. Exhaling, Ebony nodded her head slightly and shifted her gaze to meet mine.
“For a second,” she breathed, “I could have sworn your pheromones smelled the same as...”
A loud buzzing cut her off; a sickly-sweet smell followed it.
Ebony craned her neck around, aiming her sight at the noise; I followed suit. She merely stared at the Changeling hovering near us, but something made my eyes widen and caused a small stirring in my thorax. This Changeling was not the usual pitch-black that most were. It was different, and even in the pale light of the Hive their carapace stood out.
The Changeling before us was blue and golden, their chitin a sapphire hue mixed with streaks of fine yellow. The odd one's wings matched the amber lines that ran though its exoskeleton, ending in thin, solid tips that formed sharp points of goldenrod membrane. This Changeling was bigger than most, and what startled me more than anything was its smell and voice.
“Her highness requests that all assemble at the core at once,” the drone spoke, its voice coming out deep and dry.
Ebony merely nodded, her clicks and smells attuned in acknowledgment as she flew off into the Hive.
The reactions took hold of me again. I couldn't believe how calm she'd just been. It's a rare sight when drones are seen outside of the Queen's personal chamber, and it's rarer still when they actually speak, much less deliver a message straight from the Queen herself!
As the drone flew off, I couldn't help but stare. There was something mesmerizing about seeing a male Changeling that I just couldn't ignore. The drone’s sleek form, deep voice, and long, powerful wings drifted through my thoughts. For a split second, I felt the hemolymph work its way into my face, tinting my head with a dull green shade. I shook my head quickly, forcing my green life-fluid back into my abdomen. It didn't take long to return though. Images of that gold and blue being came back to my head as details of his figure washed over my thoughts.
“W-what in the world?” I breathed, shaking my head once more. “What was that about?”
Trying to put the odd sensation from my mind, I flew off towards the core as I heard the buzzing of my sisters soon erupt from all corners of the Hive. I kept calm as I flew, the odd reactions I had becoming a mere oddity in the back of my mind.
Several smells drifted through the air as I flew.
“Keep up.”
“Move faster.”
“Too slow.”
They all had the same meaning.
Looking around, I noticed I was flying somewhat slower than I had imagined. I increased my speed as I saw the others begin to overtake me. Eventually I matched up with them once more and continued along, their pheromones of disapproval dissipating shortly afterward.
“What is wrong with me?” I thought, seeing my head was slightly lowered.
I lifted my gaze as a strong scent floated through the room. It was sweet, gentle, and nurturing; it was the kind of smell that larva awoke to on their first day of life. One by one I noticed my kin also fall under its soothing influence; their wing beats slowed and their forms descended through the air, each landing softly on a platform of softened wax. All of us knew it well, and I breathed in the wafting aroma as I joined my siblings on the floor. The wonderful scent was the maternal pheromone of our Queen, and soon her highness, our mother, appeared atop a high pillar of wax-coated honeycombs in the room's center. We all looked up and screeched a saluting cheer, for before us was our matron and ruler, Lady Scarlet Cocoon.
She landed atop a pedestal of ancient stone and honeycombs, the dull platform accenting her sparkling red chitin. Long webs of semi-translucent magenta membrane draped off her head and rear, slightly resembling the odd cluster of stringy material from the beings in my dream. Her wings were broad and long, each easily one and a half times her body length, and tipped with an ornate crimson edge.
I watched as our matron gazed over the swarm, her expression a calm smile. I tried to stay alert, but our Queen's bright red gaze was hypnotizing. At the time I didn't understand what it was. Her expression, a thing that Changelings regarded as trivial, held my attention like the Queen would cradle a hatchling. Between her gentle grin and enchanting aroma I found myself becoming more relaxed than the others; I had fallen into a frame of mind that reminded me of sleeping soundly in a soft, fresh comb.
“My children,” Queen Scarlet's voice echoed, “I personally thank each and every one of you for your patience in this trying time.”
The horde was silent and attentive, unblinking and steadfast. They watched with an almost blank look in their eyes, the same look I remembered myself possessing not more than a few days ago. I couldn't say I wore the same expression; I was wrapped in the Queen's words. An awe came over me as I listened. It was a sensation like none I'd felt before.
“The growing threat of our neighbors to the East has dwelt in my mind for some time now.” She continued. “However, I have remained firm in my decisions; negotiation is preferable to war, and communication preferable to separation.”
Such a big decision, and yet she made it seem so easy.
“Rest assured, I will endeavor to find an end that benefits us all.”
And said with such grace...
“Stand resolute, for a new day will dawn, and with it a better future.”
As our lady's words ended, the horde slowly dispersed. One by one my sisters returned to their stations; the guards left for the exterior, workers retreated into the mixing vats, and soldiers returned to their rounds. All were soon where they were before, all but one.
I found myself unable to move, still amazed and awestruck by the beauty of our Queen and her words. Her highness had spoken for no more than a few minutes, but those few minutes I remember well.
“Incredible...” I whispered.
Before I could take to the air I felt the cool ground slam against my back. I looked up in shock as the slight pain of the impact coursed through me; a drone had pinned me to the inner chamber's floor.
He looked me over as my eyes went wide, the male taking curious sniffs at me. I could feel myself tremble slightly, similarly to how I felt in that odd vision the previous night. I had heard stories of prey doing this. They would start shaking when the hunters revealed themselves. Their eyes would go wide, their hearts race, and they might even scream until every drop of love was completely drained from them. I never thought, even for a moment, that I would come to know this sensation. I never pictured that I would be, what I heard the hunters call, afraid.
“You smell... interesting.” the drone croaked.
“What do you mean? What is that aroma?” his fellows soon replied.
I watched the drones encircle me, and felt each one leering at me with their widened eyes. I saw them get closer, felt their breath... it was too much.
I screamed.
No, that's too light of a word.
I shrieked, overwhelmed with a drive to force them away.
My eyes snapped shut as I tried to shut out the images of the drones. I was confused, breathing heavily, and shivering. I felt my body go cold as panic shot through me like a poison dart.
And then, in an instant, it ended. The drones retreated, the horror stopped, and I heard a voice that, at the time, I came to identify with safety.
“Open your eyes, little one.”
I slowly lifted the chitin shielding my vision. My eyelids felt heavy, but eventually I managed to force them to slowly open. Meeting my gaze was the gentle figure from moments ago. Queen Scarlet's gentle eyes cut away at my negative reactions, the taller Changeling lifted me up in her strong aura. As she lifted and lowered me, I rolled from my back and sat down, never breaking eye contact with the Queen as she continued that beautiful grin.
An instant later, the fear drained away completely as the Queen's mystic aura vanished. I looked up at her calm expression as drops of water beaded under my eyes.
“Huh?” I gasped, wiping the moisture away.
It was the first time I'd ever cried. It wouldn't be the last, unfortunately, but at least my first tears were sweet instead of bitter.
“Are you all right?” the Queen asked, the dull glow of the Hive's luminous fungus radiating off her splendid form.
“Y-your highness, I... I...” I sniffed. “I don't know what just happened.”
Queen Scarlet looked me over. She paced about me for a moment before sitting down, smelling the air about me as she did. Her eyes widened slightly and then closed, her normal expression returning shortly after.
“Something wonderful happened,” she replied after several seconds, “although you might not understand it just yet.”
“No, I don't understand.” I continued rubbing my moistened eyes. “What is wrong with me? What is making me react differently like this?”
“Hush now,” the Queen whispered, “it's alright. It will take some time to fully grasp, but you have a gift that few of your sisters can truly comprehend. But first, I'm curious; what is your name, little one?”
“Chrysalis.” I responded, my throat somewhat sore. “I'm a worker near the upper ledge.”
“I'll never let that name leave my memory, Chrysalis.” Scarlet said, her voice as gentle as ever. “But for now, please, try to forget about that... incident with my drones. They tend to be a little over-reactive at times.”
I heard a faint buzz to my side as the Queen's sentence ended. Three drones, the very ones that had attacked me, bowed to the both of us before flying off back to the Queen's private chamber.
“So, your Highness, what should I do?” I eventually asked. “These reactions have been...”
“True emotions.” Scarlet interjected.
“Emotions?” I replied.
“The 'reactions' you mentioned. I think they're something more than that.”
Lady Scarlet took to the air, her long wings beating rapidly.
“Chrysalis,” she called, “follow me, and try to keep up!”
I nodded as I flew up to join her. As I approached, I became slightly confused as her Highness' expression changed. Her grin grew slightly wider as her eyes squinted at me.
With a quick vault upward, Scarlet bolted ahead of me. I gasped as I saw her glide and soar throughout the upper levels of the Hive, her wings glistening as she flew.
“Catch me if you can!” I heard her call.
In the past, I would have reacted differently. I would have thought this to be insanity. I would have merely waited for new orders, gone back to my station, and carried on with my routines, but now... I felt the reactions, my emotions, flow through me as her Highness' challenge met my ears.
I felt myself take on her grin as I watched her dart and flutter about.
And I simply couldn't resist.
“I'll do more than that!” I called back, feeling my wings beat faster.
Lady Scarlet darted to the side as I flew up to join her. A warbling sound escaped her mouth as the two of us hovered about.
“What was that?” I asked, not sure what to think of her sound.
“It's called laughter,” She spoke. “Now don't fall behind.”
She led me further up the Hive's central shaft. As we flew, I looked down at our home, and for the first time realized that it was captivating to behold.
Dense clusters of combs hung from the walls, glowing in the dull light of many fungal pods. Bits of reflective crystal spread the light around, illuminating everything from the upper layers to the vats below. Lines and groups of Changelings drifted through the open core as others clustered about on the walls and floors. The black, green, and gray blended together, forming an ever-changing prism of life.
As I gazed down, I felt my eyes moisten again. Queen Scarlet's eyes closed as she smiled, my matron watching as I rubbed the fluid away.
“Incredible.” I breathed.
“And now you know, my child.” Lady Scarlet grinned, floating closer to me.
I looked up at her, my expression confused.
“Behold, Chrysalis,” she spoke as we both looked down. “This is your first glimpse of true beauty.”
It felt like an eternity. We hovered there for some time, watching the Hive move, breathe, and live. I felt my heart beat faster, and worried that it was some horrid reaction, but as Queen Scarlet flew next to me, I realized that this was nothing detrimental; it was awe, and wonder. As I looked down at the hive, I wished that Ebony was there with us. I wanted her to see just how amazing the Hive looked, how breath-taking it really was.
As her name came into my mind, I thought back to my nest-mate. She had always been near me, physically and in my mind. She had learned with me, worked with me, and at that moment I wanted her to feel these reactions and see our home from the air.
“You're thinking of someone, aren't you?”
I turned towards my Queen and nodded, only to be puzzled further as Scarlet shook her head.
“Come, follow me.” she spoke, turning towards the Hive's towering ceiling.
I joined her as we touched down on a disk-shaped platform high above the rest of the Hive. From the platform I made out a geodesic hemisphere. It was dull in color and very smooth, and not possessing a single honeycomb upon its surface. Eight drones guarded the only entrance, a few of them appearing a bit too familiar. I cringed slightly as I walked past them and into Queen Scarlet's personal chamber.
“You need not worry,” the Queen said, glancing at her drones. “I'm certain they've learned their lesson by now.”
A thick door closed tightly behind us. As my eyes adjusted to the dim light of her highness' quarters, I felt my jaw drift open slightly.
It certainly had not been what I had expected. Within Queen Scarlet's chambers were items clearly not of Changeling design. Various slabs of what I thought was very thin wax lie strewn across a dull brown table, symbols stretching over their surfaces. Stone arches, completely free of comb and fungus, reached up towards the dome's ceiling. A burning flame shown from within a reflective case as the assembly hung from a chain, shining its amber light across the room and casting flickering shadows across many surfaces. Odd, colorful objects hung from the walls, some depicting what appeared as strange living things. The centerpiece of the room was an oblong, somewhat ornate... thing. It appeared soft and spun from some sort of delicate material, its purpose made clear when her majesty sat down on it. With the Queen in the center of her room, it looked oddly complete; an otherworldly gem flickering in the light of the small flame hanging above.
“What is all this?” I asked,nearly gawking at all the odd fixtures.
“Various things I've acquired over the years,” Scarlet replied. “Remember, my role as Queen can take me to many places and give me many obligations and duties. Sometimes I must even lead other Changelings directly in their tasks, including hunters.”
“You've worked along with the hunters?”
I was awestruck. I never doubted that Changeling Queens were powerful, but to work along the hunters was a job for only the most capable of our kind. No doubt a Queen could accomplish this, but to put a matron of a Swarm at risk was almost unthinkable.
“Never mind that for now,” Scarlet sighed. “Come here; there is still much you don't know.”
I walked over to the Queen's odd seat. Gently tapping my leg against it I found that it was indeed as soft as I thought. I stepped up onto it, nearly losing my balance as the fabric curved beneath me. To Lady Scarlet's amusement I tripped, my face landing in the conforming material.
“I don't think I've ever seen bedding quite like this.” I laughed along, sitting up.
“It's silk,” the Queen grinned.
For a second, I felt my earlier meal work its way into my throat.
Silk?! What monster makes their bedding out of the fibers larva are wrapped in?
“Relax,” She chuckled. “It's not Changeling silk at all; it's a completely different material.”
A shudder and sigh went through me as I looked back down at the bed. Despite it being the silk of another kind, the thought of using the thread of a larva for such a thing seemed repulsive.
“I imagine you're still wondering a great many things, Chrysalis.”
“To be honest, yes,” I replied, my attention snapping back to her. “I'm not sure what's happening to me. Just a few days ago I was another worker churning the vats, not questioning anything. Now I find myself with these reactions, these emotions, and resting with you in your private chamber.”
“When we were flying I had asked if you were thinking about someone.” Queen Scarlet said.
I nodded.
“Chrysalis, besides the two of us, have you seen anyone in the Swarm that behaves like you have been?”
“To be honest, no, I haven't,” I spoke, thinking about my kin.
After a long sigh, the Queen continued.
“It's because they cannot,” Queen Scarlet breathed, her voice softer than before. “I can tell that you seem to have a new perspective on that one you'd thought of before. You want to be near her at times just for the sake of it; you consider her a friend.”
“A what?” I asked, my head listing slightly to one side.
“A friend,” Scarlet looked downward. “Someone that you care for, and wish to see succeed merely because you do.”
“Did you ever have a friend, your Highness?”
“A long time ago,” She said, rubbing her eyes, “but not anymore. They are, unfortunately, long gone from this world.”
I felt my heartbeat slow slightly, my eyes also beginning to grow wet. I had barely known emotion for a few days, yet for some reason I thought that I could begin to understand what our swarm's matron was feeling. She looked up at me, her calm smile ever present on her face. She wrapped her front wing over me, a little to my surprise, but as she held me I felt calm, my heart rate picking up again. As I draped my smaller wings over hers she began to hold me tighter.
We sat there in the grasp one-another for some time; the hanging lantern's glow diminished slightly as its fuel began to run dry.
“Thank you, Chrysalis,” Scarlet whispered, her magic already enveloping the lantern.
“It's all right, your Highness,” I laughed, watching her pour more fuel into the fire, “I think that both of us needed that.”
“I'd say you were right,” she giggled back.
One question still hovered over my mind as the Queen sat down next to me once more. For some reason, a part of my mind didn't want to ask it. Emotions were such new things to me, and yet so mysterious.
“Something on your mind?”
“Well, actually,” I stammered, “I was wondering something.”
The Queen looked at me, curious and attentive.
“If most Changelings cannot feel emotion,” I asked, “why can we?”
“I'm glad you asked,” she smiled. “It's true that most of our kin cannot feel as we do. In truth, Chrysalis, only Queens can truly emit, perceive, and understand true emotions.”
“B-but that makes no sense, I'm not a Queen like you. I'm just a worker, one of the thousands that the Hive has.”
“Not for long.”
As if triggered by her quiet words, the room around me began to dim. I felt oddly tired and weary, my body feeling almost undone. I collapsed over into Queen Scarlet's odd bed, my eyes slowly closing as I looked up at her.
The Queen lowered her head to mine, a soft, rhyming set of words escaping her mouth. They flowed together like a stream of water, drifting in and out of my ears like a soft current.
“Your Highness, what is that sound?” I asked, my voice dull and raspy.
“It's called a lullaby,” Lady Scarlet whispered. “It's something you sing to ones you care for before they fall asleep.”
“Fall... asleep...” I muttered.
I felt myself go rigid and tense as my eyes locked shut. As I fell into the deepest sleep I had ever felt, I heard the Queen's soft words dance about through my thoughts. Whatever was happening to me, I felt protected and safe. With my Queen, my mother, watching me, fear had hesitated to show itself. I was quite lucky for that too...
My metamorphosis had begun.