//------------------------------// // Chapter Three - And its news is captured / for the queen to use! // Story: One For The Archives // by ArtaFactia //------------------------------// "Queen Chrysalis," Arta breathed. Chrysalis nodded, chuckling darkly. "Indeed. I am glad to see that I have not been forgotten." She slipped off her throne and slowly stalked towards Arta, licking her fangs. Arta shrank back, only to bump into the other changeling. "Thank you for bringing her, Chalcedony. You may leave. I will call you when I am done with Arta here." Chalcedony nodded and bowed, then made herself scarce, closing the door of the throne room behind her. "Wh-what are you g-going to do w-with me?" Arta trembled as Chrysalis approached, looming over her, standing the same height as Celestia. Chrysalis chuckled again, then produced a pair of glasses with a flash of magic, perching them upon her nose. Another flash of magic made a small sheaf of papers appear, and Chrysalis began to peruse them. Arta raised an eyebrow, watching the changeling queen read. Seeing her like this, bespectacled and studious, put the pegasus at ease. "Um...Queen Chrysalis?" Chrysalis looked up from the papers and met her gaze with fully expressive eyes, a visible pupil and iris there rather than just the solid lens of the drones. "Firstly, you will say 'my queen' if you wish to address me," she said, her tone matter-of-fact. "Secondly, what I am going to do with you now is to conduct your interview." "My...interview?" She asked. Chrysalis sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yes, your interview. For the archivist position." Arta's jaw dropped, and Chrysalis reached forward to lift it back up, caressing the mare's chin and cheek in the process. "Though, to be honest, I had already chosen you. There were no other applicants. The advertisement in your paper? It was only in your copy of the paper. The position is yours, dear. Still, one must follow due process, and so here we are." When no answer was forthcoming, she sighed again and leaned in, hooves on either side of Arta's face, pressing her muzzle to that of the poor, confused mare, her long, powerful tongue forcing its way into Arta's mouth. That seemed to get a response, and Arta squirmed in confusion, feeling Chrysalis' tongue caressing and squeezing her own, leaving a sweet flavour in her mouth. Arta's squirming gradually died down, and she soon found herself hungrily responding to the kiss, her whole body warm and tingly. When Chrysalis pulled away, Arta leaned forward, wanting more. She was forestalled by Chrysalis' hoof on her snout, and she let out a soft whimper. "Now, now, pay attention like a good girl and you'll get more of that." "O-okay, Chrys—err, okay, my queen." Arta quickly backpedalled as she saw Chrysalis shoot her a stern look, only for that face to soften back into a smile, lidded eyes staring at her through the lenses of her glasses. With a soft chittering titter, she resumed her perusal of Arta's CV. "So, you've done archival work several times, I see." Arta merely nodded, murmuring a soft 'yes, my queen', which drew a gentle purr from Chrysalis. "These letters of reference are quite impressive, especially one from Celestia herself!" Chrysalis' voice was strained with a mixture of excitement and derision, her eyes narrowing slightly as she thought of the Sun Princess. "I should very much like to know anything about the Canterlot Royal Archives that you can recall. Not now, of course, but eventually." Arta hesitated, but then slowly nodded her head, ears laying flat. "Recalcitrance will not earn you any favour, dear." Arta nodded again, this time more quickly. "Good." "My queen, may I inquire as to what exactly I am archiving?" "Of course. I have royal archives of my own...well, 'archives' is a very loose way of putting it. A mess of scrolls, parchments, and slates is more correct. The archive room has not been organized and catalogued in several generations. You have your work cut out for you." Chrysalis leaned forward and kissed Arta between the eyes. "But I have faith in you. I know you can do this. Um..." Now it was Chrysalis' turn to look a little unsure. "...there is one little detail...err, no, not so little, to be frank...that I must mention." "And what is that, my queen?" She asked, tilting her head, intrigued. "You won't be able to archive at first because...everything is written in Xzchth." "...come again?" "Xzchth." "Is that a sneeze, or...?" "It is the changeling language!" Chrysalis shouted, slamming her hoof down hard on the green floor. Arta winced and flattened her ears to her head again. "In future, you will do well to be more respectful. 'A sneeze', she says." Chrysalis shook her head, then fixed her fierce eyes upon the trembling pegasus before her. "Everything is written in the Xzchth language, as well as in the Xzchth script. You will need to study and learn our language before doing your archiving." "But...that...no doubt that will take a long time, even with me being a quick study, my queen. How long do you suppose I will be here in the hive?" Chrysalis chuckled again, once more giving Arta that devilish, fanged smile. She leaned in and licked Arta's snout, then whispered into her ear. "Oh, indefinitely. You're not leaving. Ever." Arta's blood suddenly ran cold, and she skittered back, moving away from Chrysalis. "N-no...no...y-you c-can't...I've got—" "I can and I will. And don't kid yourself, Arta. There is no pony waiting for you. Look inside you, you know it to be true! A few acquaintances, perhaps. But you've no spouse or significant other, no close friends, no siblings, and your parents, well...they are no longer with us." Arta screwed her eyes shut, trying to fight back the tears and the sobs that threatened to break out with the mention of her parents. A few years before they had both died in a freak flying accident. Because of that incident, Arta rarely flew anymore, a pegasus making herself mostly earthbound, wings tightly furled at her side. Moments later, she felt gentle chitinous hooves around her, and she let the dam crumble, sobbing into Chrysalis' chest. "Shh...there...let it out, Arta...don't hold back..." "I MISS THEM SO MUCH!" Arta shouted, though her words were muffled by Chrysalis' chest, and slurred from crying. It had been a long time since she'd cried like this; the last time she cried this hard was immediately after the fatal accident that left her alone in the world. She knew her parents would pass sometime, but not that early, and not in such a horrible way. Chrysalis gently nuzzled her and ran a hoof through Arta's mane, cooing and chittering, urging her to cry until she was all cried out. "H-how d-did you know?" "Because I researched you. I was looking for a pony who was unattached, whom I could take with little notice. I sent my scouts to dig up as much information on you as I could. Do you remember that census pony who came by a few weeks ago? Yes, that was one of my changelings," she said softly, caressing Arta's cheek. "I dug deep. I invaded your privacy. I even had my scouts even break into your house when you were out." Chrysalis shushed Arta with a press of her hoof. "Yes, I laid you bare before me. Are my reasons selfish? To some extent, yes. But not entirely." She removed her hoof and Arta quietly looked up at her, waiting to hear more. "You were lonely. You may be introverted but you still wanted someone to be there for you, with you." Her mouth fooled fiercely with Arta's mouth again, the mare moaning softly into the kiss as lips and tongues writhed together. Chrysalis kissed her until both were breathless, pegasus and changeling queen panting for air. "We...*huff*...are your...*puff*...family now. Will you...*huff*...accept us?" Arta hesitated for a few moments. Much as she hated to admit it, Chrysalis was correct. Any family that remained she hadn't had contact with in years; they were virtual strangers. And making friends? She wasn't all that good at doing that, much to her chagrin. Chrysalis waited patiently, catching her breath, smiling affectionately at her. Would she accept them, the changelings, as her new family? Her heart beat a little faster as she considered the proposal, and Chrysalis purred again, her wings buzzing softly on her back. Arta let out a soft sigh, then nodded firmly, lifting her head high to look Chrysalis squarely in the eye. "Yes. Yes I will, my queen. I...I will," she murmured, giggling softly. "Excellent! You have no idea how happy I am to hear that." Chrysalis wrapped one hoof around the pegasus' side, and then her other hoof sought out Arta's mane, gently tussling it, making her squirm happily, giggling even louder. "It seems you've a language to learn, then, yes?" "Yes!"