Path of the Hive Queen

“I will not be able to keep this link up for much longer,” Regina warned.

She’d already psychically sent the same warning through the link in question. Subtly, since she didn’t want to distract many of the people in it who were still focused on important work.

“Understandable,” Max said. “You’ve already kept it up for a long time, and I know the Imitation Link is harder.”

Regina hummed. That was true. Ironically, it wasn’t even because it was very mana-intensive. Even though it absolutely was. She simply had a huge mana pool; though it was getting emptied by this effort, at a noticeable pace. She didn’t think she’d been this low on mana for a while, even if she still had a quarter or so left, probably. But it was the mental strain which was starting to catch up to her. Keeping this Ability’s mental link active for so long was simply getting impossible. Especially at this size, covering so large a distance. Regina was already in pain; it wasn’t just a headache, it felt like it radiated outward into her shoulders and the rest of her body, too. She could still think clearly, but she didn’t want to risk pushing it too far.

"You have still not found Destan?” she asked. Mostly, she was speaking aloud in order to distract herself. But there were also a few people present who weren’t part of the psychic link, or even in her current link, so it didn’t hurt to include them.

“We’ve investigated two potential sightings, but they turned out to be false alarms, my Queen,” Jen answered.

She’d only been here for a short time, but Regina had wanted to take the opportunity to speak to her personally, after Jen was no longer needed on the streets. For her part, the operation here in the capital seemed to have gone off without much of a hitch.

Which wasn’t too surprising. They’d been extra careful to allocate enough troops and resources, and their information was probably the best here. It was an important node, being the center of government, but also where the Empire was strongest. Regina wasn’t worried about the capital. It was the more outlying parts that concerned her.

“In total, four conspiracy leaders have escaped us,” Max added. She could tell he felt a bit antsy, but he was the one who’d decided it was more important for him to stay and watch over her instead of commanding his Star Guard in the field — or the streets, as the case may be — so he really only had himself to blame.

“And that’s only the ones we know about,” Jen muttered.

Regina grimaced. It was worse than she’d hoped. Given how often members of this conspiracy seemed to have departed their homes and hometowns only hours before investigators knocked on their doors — minutes, sometimes — she suspected some information had leaked. She just wasn’t sure where the worst leak was, and she wasn’t confident in finding out in time to affect this operation. Well, not that it would; the operation was pretty much over now.

“Make sure the police is given their descriptions and details, and that the public is informed, too,” she ordered. “There’s no point keeping it quiet for now. Instead, we should put up wanted posters. And maybe offer a bounty.”

“I can get a recommendation from Daine or his people,” Jen offered.

“Good, do that.”

Regina closed her eyes, looking back into the link. People had been starting to drop out of it so they could get some sleep, which had helped a little. She should remind some of the others to do the same. And maybe do so herself. She was already tired. For now, though, she watched their new prisoners, looked at the paperwork people were dealing with, got an updated tally of the police raids, and checked in on the injured.

Eventually, Regina warned them she would drop the link, before scrambling her focus and dissolving it. The relief stopping the Imitation Link provided was immediate. A strain she’d gotten accustomed to eased, and it was like a heavy weight was lifted from her. The pain she felt eased a little, but she still had a headache.

She should go straight to bed, Regina knew that. Still, instead of being sensible and doing that, she informed the others she would head down, and then quickly queried the psychic link for the best route to her destination.

Of course, Max followed her. When she looked at him and raised an eyebrow, he only shrugged. Your safety takes priority, he said.

I have other bodyguards, she pointed out.

Max mimed clutching at his heart. Mother, you would prefer someone else instead of me? Don’t tell me I’ve been replaced in your affections?

Perish the thought, Max.

He hummed slightly. Also, you might not be the only one who wants to do this. They didn’t betray only you.

That was a good point. Regina nodded and sped up slightly, ignoring how Max beckoned two other drones to join them. She wasn’t going to protest against his usual overprotectiveness today, given the circumstances — if the conspirators had any kind of plan in place, however long a shot it might be, their actions today could well trigger it.

Regina had not been here before, although she had seen the place through others’ eyes, so she knew the way. Of course, they probably should have left the compound entirely and crossed two streets to the police precinct closest to the palace, if not another one in the city. But due to the circumstances — and, to be honest, because she’d known she would do this — Regina had ordered a few of their prisoners brought here instead. There were cells near and underneath the guard quarters, which had been placed in a side wing and as part of the underground areas of the palace. By now, they were several stories deep under the earth. It would make escape attempts difficult.

Their coming was anticipated, but security measures were waived for no one, so Regina had her identity checked and waited for Max to get his weapons back at the guard post. Normally, he’d have to stow them there, but it wasn’t like Max losing his weapons would make her more safe here. Regina paid more attention to the minds she could sense in the cells, though. There weren’t many of them; these cells were generally unused. She hadn’t even wanted them, it was one of the things the planners had added without her input, but admittedly, it was convenient now.

She was grateful that Max didn’t complain about her going here in person. It was something she needed to do herself. Sure, she could have sent a drone; though she didn’t have any of her purposefully-made speaker drones here — she didn’t need them in the capital. So she’d have to have another drone speak for her. But it wouldn’t be the same. It felt fitting to handle it like this, just herself and her oldest drone, like a callback to before she had had a proper hive or any real power.

They walked past a few cells, two of them occupied by people, who immediately stood up and expressed their surprise. The cells had transparent plastic windows, two each, so it was easy to see into them. Regina ignored these prisoners, though; she was only here for one person.

Finally, she stopped in front of her target and looked at Baron Elric Neralt. He stood up as well, but he didn’t say anything, just looking at her. Regina could tell he was afraid, though. His mental shields weren’t bad, but they weren’t perfect, and by leaning on them focusing on it, she could get a taste of his thoughts. She could have forced her way past them and seen all of his thoughts and deepest secrets, but she didn’t. That was not a line she would cross this easily. Instead, Regina only glanced at Max, who cast his defensive shield Ability on her (again) before he lowered the smaller window, allowing them to talk without actually entering the cell.

“You know, Neralt,” Regina said contemplatively. “It’s ironic. You were the first person in this day and age to offer me, us, shelter. Well, except maybe for Zephyr. But still, you were part of what showed me that humans in this world weren’t so bad, after our little encounter with the Delvers. And now, the Delvers are my most loyal followers … and you are a traitor.”

Neralt didn’t answer, he only gazed steadily at her.

“Nothing to say for yourself?”

“I did what I had to do, what I believed was right,” he finally responded.

Regina clicked her tongue. “That’s an easy excuse.”

He scowled slightly. “Why are you here? Come to gloat?”

“You’ll address your Empress with a little more respect!” Max glowered at him.

Neralt looked at him, then back at her, and bowed his head. “My apologies. Come to gloat, Your Majesty?”

Regina wasn’t really entirely sure why she was here, but she wasn’t going to tell him that. “No,” she said instead. “I have more important things to do than gloating over an easy win. But I want answers. Why did you do it, Lord Elric? I don’t understand what you would hope to gain. So, why?”

He frowned at her, but his expression looked more defensive than anything. “I already said, I did what I believed was right.”

Regina mentally nudged Max to keep quiet, and made sure to keep calm herself as she repeated her question. “Why?”

He hesitated, and for the first time, she was able to sense some uncertainty from him. It looks like I’m not the only one able to remember how loyally he served me, after all.

“… Because you would not be stopped otherwise,” he finally replied. “Even if I had not evidently fallen from your favor, I know I would never have managed to convince you. You are too set in your course, my Empress. I had few good options, and this was the only way forward I could see. I had to act in the interests of preserving our world, even if I knew the risk of chaos and death was high, and I would have preferred not to do it in a time of war. But we play the hand we are dealt.”

She frowned. “You believed I needed to be stopped?”

He was still speaking hesitantly, and she wondered if he’d ever even expressed this out loud to someone else before. “Do you not see where your path is going? You must. It is your intention. You, Hive Queen Regina, are so wrapped up in the world you once came from that you are trying desperately to recreate it, to warp this world into a reflection of your dream, even if that means you have to shatter it first. You are holding the torch to burn down the world so you can gather the ashes and shape them into what you desire. Never mind that it will never work — the ashes won’t form what you want. You’ll drown the world in war, chasing an illusion, but you’ll only shatter the pillars of society and leave us broken.”

Regina held her breath for a moment before she exhaled softly. “Fancy words, Elric. But there’s little substance in them. I have not burnt anyone, or burned your libraries or idols, or attacked anyone who hasn’t given me cause. I have sought peace, not war.”

“And yet, it is endless war you have condemned us to. The people of the world won’t simply submit to your rule, and the gods are already rallying them against you. They won’t stop there. You’ve cursed us to bleed either ourselves or the world dry trying to force it into an unnatural shape.”

They were quiet for a minute as she considered his words. But while Regina felt a chill at them, while she knew she would be dwelling on them at night, there was still something … wrong about what he said. She did not actually believe the picture he painted for her. Well, of course she wouldn’t, if his accusations were true; but still, it didn’t fell like this quite held up.

“And what made you care, Baron?” Regina asked. “What changes are these, that you hate so much? That changed your mind? Don’t pretend you’ve always felt like this,” she waved her hand, not wanting to put it into words. “I’ve looked into your mind deeply enough to know you believed in our cause once, or were at least genuinely loyal.”

“It started with the gnomes,” Neralt said slowly. “Or, perhaps, when you made a young commoner girl your daughter and heir, elevating her beyond all reason. I like Janis, of course, and I didn’t mind, but it was a strange decision, Your Imperial Majesty. But when I was put in charge of a city in the Gnomish Confederation, occupied during the war, I saw how your empire operates. I participated willingly, of course, and we did well. We made sure the people there, the gnomes, were cared for. But your drones dismantled many systems they had in place, and the city was … changed. When I returned after the war, it was even more apparent; it never went back to how it had been before.”

“Of course it didn’t, we wanted to make things better,” Max said.

Neralt sighed, as if his philosophizing was some kind of burden. “It wasn’t just that. I didn’t realize it at first, because the Gnomish Confederation went back to how it used to be, more or less. But the way you organized the Empire made it clearer. You kept pushing the envelope. Nothing is ever good enough, not for long. And you’re undermining the core of Cernlia’s social stability. It’s deliberate, I know it is. You want to elevate everyone to be on the same level, by casting everyone down. That’s how your schools work. Today, knights and lower nobles are still the backbone of the administration, filling your high positions, but as soon as more commoners get the education you give them, they’ll be pushed out, replaced by loyal youths from anywhere. Similarly, your laws are keeping the old nobility in place, in name, but completely bypassing them, shrinking how much we can actually do, pushing us into the positions of mere landlords. And who knows what’s coming after that.”

Regina crossed her arms. That was surprisingly perceptive of him. “It’s your own status you’re concerned with, then,” she said, not addressing his points in detail. He wasn’t exactly wrong, after all. “I assume you feel like we pulled your town away from you, too.”

“Of course you did. You made my home a town and made me a glorified steward,” Neralt snapped, agitated for once. But he calmed himself down quickly. “That’s not what it is about, though. I am not pursuing a petty grievance, I’m trying to do what’s best for my people.”

I think you might believe that, but I’m not so sure it’s true, Regina thought. “I’m sure,” she said sarcastically. “And you felt you couldn’t voice your concerns to me?”

“You would’ve dismissed them, my Empress,” he stated with certainty. “I approved of the changes and the progress you’ve brought, but your ideals, your republican goals, are too much. I was afraid you’d simply take my position if I did anything openly.”

“Then what do you want, really?” Max interrupted. He was glowering at Neralt. “All of the technological progress, the factories and goods, the knowledge, and the old nobility still on top? With no changes to the social order? Do you think that could work?”

“It would at least make us less of a target for everyone else,” Neralt snapped. “And why shouldn’t it work? We’ve guided these lands for centuries. We even handled this transition. You do not need to cast us down to make things better. That’s a choice.”

Regina laughed despite herself, shaking her head. It was slightly bitter, she realized. “Oh, you poor naive darling.”

Max snorted, recognizing the reference. “You missed something rather obvious,” he pointed out to Neralt. “Don’t you know who Regina is? Or was, in the past?”

Neralt looked confused. “A doctor? What does that have to do with anything?”

“And do you know my name?” Regina asked, leaning against the wall and tilting her head. “How many people do you think had a ‘von’ in their name, in my home country?”

His eyes widened slightly. “I had heard it was a sign of nobility, but the Delvers are prone to come up with many things. But if you truly were a noble yourself, shouldn’t you understand?”

“The one who doesn’t understand here is you.” Regina sighed. “We weren’t nobility anymore. Hadn’t had special privileges since before my birth. And yet, there were countries out there who would have had precious few people remaining with a name like this. Have you read about the French Revolution?” She gestured emphatically. “And here I was, growing up privileged with an easy path to a very respected career. It was really the best my family could’ve hoped for. Because there are several ways to go to where society ends up, Baron. One of them leads through guillotines. Now that’s a route I could have chosen to pursue. Believe me, being pushed into ‘irrelevance’ and trading direct political power for economic power is the best-case scenario for your class. And I know it can work; it worked for my home, after all.”

“Not that it would be your ideal scenario,” Max put in.

“No, I do love democracy enough that I would prefer true equality of opportunities. But it’s something I can live with,” she acknowledged.

Neralt shook his head. “You’re delusional,” he said. “Or crazy. Regardless, you’ve admitted it and proved my point. But it doesn’t matter, anyway. You would have to win your war to be able to force your way on the people of this world, and you won’t.”

Regina frowned again. “You’re confident of that?”

He looked up, meeting her gaze squarely. “When I spoke of the rest of the world fighting, did you think I was lying?”

And damn it, but Regina had a feeling she knew what he meant.

“It would be too late for you either way,” she said evenly. “We probably won’t see each other again, Lord Elric. Your former service deserves some consideration — and your mother is loyal, it would be poor repayment for it to execute her son. We’ll see what I decide. You may consider your life choices in the meantime.”

Then Regina turned and walked away. She didn’t even feel tempted to turn around and glance back.

“Mother?” Max muttered once they left the corridor and were out of earshot.

“We need to find Galatea, and look at a few things,” Regina replied. “Hopefully, we have some time. How fast can they move armies, after all?”

Or, how well could they hide them? Hopefully, not too close to the Empire.