My training under Anastasia, a newly appointed commander in Queen Celeste's army, would be starting soon. However, I first needed to observe the rigorous training to understand what was expected of me and what I had gotten myself into, Ari said to himself.
"We are here. This is where ants who enlist in the army train. They will stay here until their training is completed, which will determine their standing in the army. To put it simply, if they fail the final task, they become wardens, are stuck on guard duty, or become workers. However, if they succeed, they will join the expedition squad as either Privates or Private First Class, depending on how much knowledge they demonstrate in battle," said Commander Anastasia.
"So their military hierarchy is similar to ours. That's really surprising," Ari thought to himself.
"Come on, pick up the pace! If you want to be soldiers in the army, at least try to look like it!" shouted Seth.
"But sir, we've been running for three days straight! We're exhausted!" said an ant recruit.
"I don't want to hear any excuses! Anyone who stops will have to hold up this rock that weighs fifty times our weight for three hours! I want to see those feet moving!" Seth commanded.
"Commander Seth recovered quickly from the beating he took from Vladimir."
"Yes, he's doing well these days. Not a hundred percent recovered, but I'm glad he's still alive," said Anastasia.
"How so?" asked Ari.
"If he had passed away, I'd be the only commander this colony has."
"Wow, so you mean to tell me there are only two of you?"
"Yes. Initially, Vladimir and Seth were the only two commanders, and there were three lieutenants, including myself, thirteen Corporals, fifty lance Corporals and a total of five hundred privates
"This colony's army may be small, but they have a lot of experienced soldiers," Ari thought to himself.
"Vladimir was supposed to be promoted to captain, but he refused and continued watching over Tanya. To think that he betrayed the queen's trust," said Anastasia.
"Hey, Ari! How's it going? Everything alright?" asked Evelyn.
"Yes, I'm fine. How does it feel to be a full-fledged worker ant and free from prison?"
"It feels good, and it's all thanks to you that this happened. I owe you one."
"It's all good. Just do your best and stay out of trouble, okay?"
"Yes, and I'll make sure Grandpa doesn't cause any mischief either," said Evelyn.
"To think I used to despise them so much, and now I'm growing fond of them— their bonds, their hard work. Before I died, I had no friends except Keiko, and I felt lonely. Maybe that's why my view of them has changed— because I'm not alone anymore," Ari thought to himself as he sat down on a rock.
Lost in his thoughts, Ari suddenly heard a familiar voice calling out to him.
"Ari, can we please talk for a minute? It's really important," said Tanya.
"What's wrong?" asked Ari.
"We haven't spoken in a while, and a lot has happened. I still feel guilty for what I did. You poured your heart out to me, telling me nothing but the honest truth, yet I let logic get the better of me because I had known Vladimir my whole life.
"To make matters even worse, I said all those horrible things to you. I was manipulated by the ant I had trusted for so long. If it weren't for Anastasia, who saw through his facade and placed her trust in you, our colony would be gone by now.
"In the end, you still rescued me from Vladimir, despite me not trusting you. I'm so sorry, Ari."
"Don't be sorry, Princess. You did what you thought was right— trusting the ant you had known your whole life over an imprisoned stranger. You couldn't have known he was planning to betray all of you, so it's not your fault," said Ari.
"So… you don't hate me, then?" Tanya asked softly.
"I have no reason to, so don't worry, Princess."
"Please drop the formalities. I want you to call me Tanya if that's alright with you."
"Wait a minute… why did she look so cute saying that? I mean, she's just an ant, right? Is it the human features on her giving off this beautiful image?" Ari thought.
Just as he was about to call Tanya's name without formalities, a loud noise alerted the colony to danger.
"Princess, get to the colony now! I have to go check it out!" Ari shouted as he ran off.
Upon arrival, he saw that Anastasia, Seth, and five hundred other military ants had been dispatched and were prepared for battle. To his surprise, there was only one ant.
"Who are you, and why have you come to our colony?" Anastasia asked bluntly.
"My name is Ruth, a commander serving under Queen Helena. As for the reason I'm here, my queen has requested a meeting with your colony to negotiate General Ivan's return in exchange for resources. As proof of my sincerity, I came alone. I can't take on so many of you at once," said Ruth.
"And why should we agree to your request? So you can rebuild your strength and attack us again?" asked Anastasia.
"I know what we did was wrong, but if we want to survive as a colony, we need Ivan," said Ruth. "Please give it some thought and discuss it with your queen. Remember to tell her how much we are willing to offer. You know where our colony is, so please show up."
With that, Ruth left.
"Alright, everyone remain on standby," said Seth as he and the army took off to their designated positions.
"Let's go to their colony, Anastasia," said Ari.
"What? Are you insane? They attacked our colony! Why should we trust them? Plus, we have to consult Queen Celeste first. Who do you think you are, barking orders at me?"
"Just trust me. I believe the queen will love my plan since both of our colonies will benefit," said Ari.
"Fine, but if this all goes south, I'm killing you before they kill me," said Anastasia.
"Thank you for being so understanding. You know, that's one of your most beautiful traits," said Ari.
"Shut the hell up," said Anastasia as she punched Ari, blushing.
Upon arriving at the colony, they ran into Ruth, who was ecstatic that they had agreed to attend the meeting. She invited them to meet her queen.
"Queen Helena, these are the ants sent to represent Queen Celeste in this meeting."
"So they at least want to hear us out. That's good," said Queen Helena.
"Listen, I know we attacked your colony, so you don't have to believe me. But we were tricked into it by a strange ant who covered himself and only appeared at night.
"He used our lack of food to manipulate us into thinking that conquering you would make us better off. Instead, it has only worsened our situation. Our army is depleted, and we are nearly defenseless without General Ivan.
"Now, with what little resources we have, we want to free Ivan so that he can serve our colony once more. Please consider it, and forgive me once more."
"I'm afraid I'll have to refuse your request and make a counterproposal," said Ari.
"A counterproposal?" asked Queen Helena.
"We'll only free Ivan if you agree to form a treaty with our colony," said Ari.
"A treaty? What does it entail?" asked Queen Helena.
"Well, for starters, there will be no more war between our colonies. We will aid each other in times of crisis and function as one," said Ari.
"Are you insane? Queen Celeste would never agree to this," said Anastasia.
"Just trust me. I'll convince her somehow."
"In our current situation, that proposal seems like the only option we have. Plus, it's for the best. I've decided to agree to your terms," said Queen Helena.