It rained heavily that day; it seemed like even the clouds were weeping.
All the colors had faded from the grove, tapestries of green, lilac, and red now appeared only in shades of grey and black.
Thousands of raindrops, carrying tears, fell on the wet soil, bearing hundreds of questions. Isra stood silent, her heart tucked away in some dark bitter place and her head bowed down. She felt like she had lost the most precious thing in the entire world. She felt like a big part of her was torn away.
Khadija, stood by her side. They had built a grave for Qatan and a monument behind it.
Behind them were an array of birds of prey lined up to pray tribute, drenching in heavy rain. Raindrops fell from their metal beaks down to grey and dull earth.
Aatish stood some distance away, her orange—the only color visible in the entire grove or, better yet, the entire sehra. It seemed like the entire life force propelling the sehra forward had been taken away brutally.
#212 walked forward from the crowd, struggling with the weight he felt to his steps. He stopped infront of the wet gravestone, 'May you find your Rest Qatan, A friend like none other - The entire bee community.'
#212 plucked out a crimson feather from his wings and placed it around the grave.
"May you find light wherever you are, old friend," he said making Isra who was standing behind him, cry out in pain. Other birds followed his example; they each placed a feather around the grave, covering it from the rain.
The dark queen then walked forward, and the grave was lifted high and expanded. All the feathers changed to lilac flowers that emitted a deep, surreal light and filled the atmosphere with the most beautiful scent.
Hundreds of tiny Lilac and blue specks of light appeared ontop of the grave and shimmered, illuminating it with a subtle diffused light.
"I will miss you, Qatan," Isra cried loudly. Her words carrying insurmountable pain.
"I will miss you. Please tell me you're not gone. You always come back, Qatan, so why does it feel like this time you will not?" she shouted.
"Come back, please." She put her hands and kept weeping. Her tears reflected purple under the light of the flowers, her grey eyes had a deep spark of lightning dancing within them.
*******
It was a dark day; a blanket of sadness and sorrow had shrouded the worlds.
Moments after the announcement of war was made, Queen Golden received the news of Qatan's demise.
Standing before the gateway room; her heart was already filled with deep despair, and this revelation added to the burden.
'Rest well, Qatan. Your courage will resonate throughout eternity, and your sacrifice will lead to a new dawn. I will make sure I am there to see it through,' she thought to herself.
Then she closed her eyes and appeared before Buzz; her speed was unimaginable. It felt like she was the wind itself at times, only a thousand times more refined. And that hurt her more.
What good were her powers if she could not save the creatures under her care? She felt embarrassment nestling deep within; trailing her thoughts away to chaotic tendencies. This was the first major incident and attack that had happened during the dawn of her reign.
Deep down, Queen Golden felt naive and young. She was not Queen Ember; her mother was a warrior and a diplomat like none other. After today's attack, her lack of experience had struck her across her face.
She looked up from the floor and locked gaze with Buzz.
'Why do I need to use diplomacy anyway when I can use force?' Chaos took over her mind for a second, and that was all the time that was needed to push her off the cliff.
In the next moment,
Buzz was pushed against the wall, and his right arm tore free; then his head started caving in. Queen Golden stood before him. Then she released the pressure.
"I will only ask you once," she said in a low, plain tone.
"Give up the information we require, and don't be mistaken; you are not living to see another day. The grade of your information will decide how you will die." The queen emanated an aura of deep menace.
"Even if you try, Golden, you can't. Kaairvan accords don't allow you to hand out punishment on your sadistic whims."
Queen Golden sighed.
Then she broke through Buzz; he died instantly.
'What is the difference between you and the damned sovereigns now?' Qatan's voice flashed through her mind, pulling her back to reality. The cage looked like a mess, and she felt mortified upon realizing what she had done; she then disappeared.