#212 had an extra jump to his maneuvers today; it seemed like instead of being utterly shocked like he was when he first heard of the news, he was also a bit relieved and excited.
The matter was conveyed to Queen Golden, and he was now administering the girls' combat training. Khadija had once again chosen the bow; it seemed like marksmanship was her forte, while Isra chose a scythe.
Khadija knocked an arrow and shot it at a piercing speed through a makeshift target; it stretched her arms backwards, making her groan in pain, but she withheld. After all, this was the exact purpose of Ishaar's weapons; to make the users familiar with stances more than skills at first.
"You should rest a bit now," #212 said, flying close to her. She had been doing surprisingly well with the bow. The effect of Ishaar was the lowest with the one she was holding, and still more than thirty percent of her arrows had landed right on the spot. Considering this was only the first day of practicing, Khadija was going to be a menace if she kept up the same pace.
The same couldn't be said for Isra, though; it seemed like the girl completely lacked interest in aimlessly practicing if some mischievous scheme and instant reward weren't involved.
"This is pointless," she said to #212 as she swayed the scythe over some small shrubs, and it reluctantly mowed them down. Even the scythe wasn't content with being in her hands.
"No, it's not, and where is your sparring partner?" #212 asked.
"What sparring partner?" Isra said, smiling mischievously.
From behind the bushes came forward a small stick insect-like creature holding a tiny wooden stick as a sword, not more than a few inches taller from the ground. It wimped forward, totally avoiding any accidental eye contact with Isra, who was looking at him constantly.
"Laathi, you were told to spar with her; why aren't you sparring?"
To this, the small, poor stick insect broke down, fell on its knees, and started crying. It cried, and small green leaves popped up on top of its head. A second later, they turned black and fell down. Apparently, Isra had already traumatized Laathi to such an extent that the poor little fella broke down.
"What did you do?" #212 asked Isra
"Oh, nothing; we were just talking about things and life when he started crying, left his sword, and hid behind bushes," Isra said.
"No!" Laathi spoke, its voice comically shrill.
"She monster, She says she will use Laathi as a toothpick and then break him. She then pick up small wood stick and break it infront of laathi. Laathi will not fight her sir, sorry" The small stick insect gathered some courage and picked himself up and walked back to the shrubs.
"Laathi, wait," #212 said.
"Sir, please no," Laathi insisted.
"Laathi, you are the best swordsman we have in the grove; please, and Isra, show some respect; he is more than 100 years old." #212 spoke in a mild, harsh tone to Isra, which made Laathi reconsider as he turned back and looked at her, then he looked at her stance, she was holding the scythe completely wrong.
'Everything is wrong with this girl' he thought to himself, then shouted at Isra to straighten up. Due to its tiny voice, the sound was extremely shrill, and it sounded very funny. Isra couldn't control her laughter; even Khadija laughed from the distance. Small scarlet leaves popped on top of Laathi's head.
"Sir, can I hit?" he asked #212, who was resignedly looking over them.
"Yes, please just do whatever you want; teach her," he said.
In the next moment, with the speed of wind, Laathi reached up to her cheek and flicked it with his tiny wooden sword, and it turned red. Isra darted back, and her laughter completely changed with disbelief and anger now.
"Very good," Laathi said.
********************
Queen Golden and Haniya were walking on a pathway until they reached an open area that had a huge golden cascade of falling honey. Towering some fifty meters into the air, the sheer scale and height of it defied any logic or reasoning. Haniya knew that either she was dreaming or she wasn't in the hive anymore.
"Queen Golden, am I dreaming?" She asked.
"No, you're not; this is our ambrosia." Queen Golden replied, she had decided to let Haniya stay with her on the royal procession, and this was the first monument the queen had decided to visit.
"But, are we still in the hive, or did we.. switch places?" Haniya was dumbfounded; her mind was denying the existence of such a giant cascade existing under the sunflower field; there just wasn't enough space, apparently, that is what she told herself.
"We are still in the hive, child. One of the two gifts the parvaaz bestowed the bees with was expansion. With the help of its ancient magic, we could expand on space—space that outwardly would look smaller otherwise. Take this hive as an example. This cascade isn't the only wonder; it's one of the smaller monuments," she said, her tone as usual, extra kindly to Haniya.
"You mean there are more... monuments?" Haniya asked sheepishly; she was utterly impressed by the bees. The thought of settling here in the hive forever had crossed her mind several times.
"Yes, the hive, you will see, is a place worth saving, Haniya," the queen said.
"Oh, and can I ask one last question?" said haniya
She had been confused about the proper reverence and did not know when to stop or start or what was appropriate with the queen, so she was very gently experimenting, and so far nothing seemed to upset the queen.
"You can ask as many as you want, child." The queen replied
To this, Haniya felt warm.
"You don't seem too worried about the team anymore; is everything alright? What did #212 say?" She asked.
Queen Golden stopped and looked up, her gaze distant.
"Let's just say an old friend has woken up again, and as long as she's there, she's with them. There is no power in the whole Sehraye-Shomal that can now harm the team, so yes, I am relieved and happy. Let's hope things turn out better now."
"Yes, let's hope so," Haniya said.
"And also, can you give me a gallon of honey when I go back home? My father owns a bakery, and he will be delighted to glaze donuts with it." Haniya asked innocently.
"Only one gallon?" Queen Golden said it in a whimsical tone.
"Well.. he will get suspicious if I bring more than one, so for now, only one," Haniya replied.
Queen Golden laughed.
"You can have as much as you want, child," she said.