Aatish knelt before Zar-e-zameen and everyone, while Amawas sat behind, unable to speak properly. Her entire left side was solidified.
"I know the pain my sister has caused you all, but she is my sister. I have never seen her this wounded in centuries. Please, I beg you, let her stay in the grove. Let her stay with me until she is healed. She will be under my care, and if she does anything, you are free to extract the price from me."
Zar-e-zameen kept silent.
It was #212 who spoke.
"You hold a special place in the grove, Lady Aatish. You are free to reside here for however long you want. But this creature, she almost killed the girls. She almost killed me. How can we even think of letting her near the girls and trusting her?"
Aatish stayed silent for a moment then spoke.
"I understand your frustration. There is no justification for the wrongs she did. I am not asking you to forgive her. Just let me look after her until she recovers." Aatish was seconds away from crying.
Amawas laid back, seeing everything but unable to talk.
The dark Queen, who had remained silent for some time now, spoke finally.
"The Twilight Grove was built as a shelter for creatures. It was built as a defiance against the sovereigns and their tyrannical rule. If Amawas can prove that her loyalty does not belong to the sovereigns anymore, she is free to reside here. Otherwise, I will kill her."
"She cannot speak," Aatish protested.
"Her words wont be necesary" replied the dark Queen.
The harsh but just words made Aatish's heart sink low as she looked back at her sister.
Amawas understood and stood up with great effort and limped closer to the dark queen. When she was side by side with her sister, she bowed down and threw her head against the ground.
The dark queen then spread her wings, and in the next moment, Amawas slept. The dark queen entered her mind through her dreams.
Everyone stood by waiting patiently. Haniya felt anger bubbling up inside her for this despicable creature who had almost killed her sister.
After some fifteen minutes, Amawas woke up, and the dark queen settled back.
"I will allow her to remain here until she is recovered. After that, she will relocate herself from the grove. Also, she is bound by her word to me that no harm will come to any of the inhabitants of this grove."
Amawas looked up and nodded.
Aatish sighed in relief; the decision of the Queen was absolute, and no one, despite their differences against it, spoke out.
*************
The next day, the grove woke up slowly from a deep slumber; everyone woke up late, even the dark queen, except Gimpi. He had been up since 4 am collecting materials for breakfast. He was going to feed Honeysoup to Amawas as well.
Gimpi lingered near her; she laid leaned against a tree, her dark eye following tiny Gimpi as he carefully placed the pot near her. And bowed down.
"Lady Amawas, please drink this herbal honey juice." Gimpi had yet not noticed that her entire left side was stone. Due to her darkness, it was almost impossible to see the difference.
Instead of going away, he stood waiting.
He was not going to leave until she actually drinks it.
Amawas nodded a no, and that made Gimpi feel disheartened.
Khadija was practicing with #212 nearby, the snake still lingered on her arm but she kept it hidden under the cuffs. The bees had been working hard in the grove, making complex clothes for the girls, from vembraces to frocks. The girls had never seen anyone craftier than the bees.
They would gather silk and cotton-like materials all day from different sources in the grove, then the material would be transported by carrier bees to the seamstress bees. And a day later, they would give something new to the girls to wear.
Khadija took position, knocked an arrow, and pulled the string back, then she closed her eyes and shot. The arrow completely missed its target. It had been days since she had been training the same moves over and over again.
Amawas was sitting by, looking at her failing. Her yellow eye tracing the arrow as it would pierce through the air. She was getting eager to see it actually hit the target too.
Khadija knocked another arrow and positioned herself, then shot. It was too high instead.
Amawas's one eye twitched in anticipation.
Khadija shot another arrow with her eyes closed, and the arrow slithered through the air just at the last moment, changing its direction and hitting the target. Khadija opened her eyes and screamed in excitement.
Amawas laid back satisfied. She did it for herself and not Khadija.
***********
A few days passed like this; Isra and Haniya completely avoided Amawas, and #212 stayed away as well. Aatish would spend time with everyone, open-hearted and always cheerful.
It was late afternoon when Amawas walked to the Dark Queen and summoned everyone. She bent down and bowed her head in gratitude; she had mostly recovered and could speak now.
"I have never been shown such kindness before. This grove is truly something else," she said.
Such words looked extremely weird coming out of her mouth.
"I want to repay it; I want to make up to everyone if it's possible. Then I will go away, if you just allow me," she continued.
The dark Queen nodded.
"Let me assist the bees in retrieving their artifact. I know exactly where the vine is kept and how to get it. I want to show my gratitude by aiding the bees recover it." She said with her head still bowed down.
#212 dialed the antenna comm instantly; this was news he could not dare miss reporting.
"Tell Queen Golden - " and he narrated everything that was happening.
After a while, the antenna comms buzzed.
"Queen Golden says, you are to reform the team Insaaf under Khadija's leadership, including Amawas as well; see if you can get Aatish to help you too. If Queen Hira has actually entered Amawas's dreams, then this is all the guarantee we need. You will gather everyone and report back to me; wait for your next instructions." These words left #212 speechless; he silently flew to the Dark Queen and announced them to everyone.
Haniya tried to protest, but Isra caught her hand. She stopped.
Amawas nodded.
Aatish, who was sitting beside Khadija, nodded as well, and just like that, a new Team Insaaf was made in the grove, of highly unlikely members, ready to embark upon the mission.