For the Queen

The following is a story of two brave warriors who fought valiantly to defend their queen in her time of need.

As he did every day, Steve roamed the area with vigilance. It was barely noon, but he had already completed a dozen probes without incident. Even so, it wouldn't catch him off guard. If anything, it made him extra alert; trouble was bound to come at any moment. As he scanned the field ahead of him, he noticed Arthur buzzing towards him.

“All clear, sir,” said Steve, enthusiastically, “I’ve checked the rosebuds, the dandelions, and did three laps beneath the picnic table.”

“Of course, it’s clear, Steve,” moaned Arthur, annoyed, “It’s always clear. It’s clear every single day, yet you panic like any disturbance could be—”

“PERSON!” interrupted Steve, flying around in circles, “There’s a person coming up the hill. Sound the alarms, sound the alarms! Run to the queen!”

Steve started flying towards their hive, but Arthur caught up to him quickly and impeded his path, causing a minor collision.

“How many times do I have to tell you, Steve? Not every person is trying to kill the queen!”

“That’s the most suspicious looking person I’ve seen in my whole life,” said Steve, staring off into the distance.

“You’ve been alive for three days!”

“And this will be my last if we don’t stop him!”

Arthur shook his head and dragged Steve back over to the dandelions to continue their post. His patience was growing thin, and he was already planning his second letter to Commander Gar looking for a new assignment. He couldn't take another day of this. He would be heading straight to the Owl’s Nest for some cold nectar after his shift.

“Let’s just take it easy and see what he does,” said Arthur, watching quietly as the man walked towards the picnic bench. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a—

“—Box! Brown Box,” screamed Steve, as though this meant something, “He’s got a brown box!”

“Yes, and it’s probably just his lunch, Steve. This is a park. People bring brown bags with lunches in them everyday, remember?”

“GUN! I bet he’s got a gun,” screamed Steve, wailing around in circles again and accidentally knocking some pedals off a nearby flower, “HE’S GOING TO SHOOT THE QUEEN!”

Arthur turned back to their tree, hoping no one near the hive heard his partner’s unnecessary commotion. Satisfied, he turned back and noticed Steve flying straight towards the person, who was beginning to open the top of the box.

He caught up to him before the picnic table and dove into his wings, causing both of them to crash into the ground beneath the bench. They wrestled, but Arthur was stronger and able to subdue Steve within a few seconds. He waited until Steve stopped struggling before speaking.

“Are you calm now?”

“Yes.”

“Can I let you go, and we can talk this through?”

“Yes.”

As soon as Arthur loosened his grip, Steve started flying away once again, causing Arthur to grab him and hold him tighter than before. He let go after another minute, relieved that Steve stayed put this time.

“And what’s your grand plan, Steve? What if that guy does have a gun, what are you going to do?”

“So you admit he might have a gun?”

No … just … what would you do if he did?”

“I’d sting him!” screamed Steve without hesitating, “I’d sting him and he’d leave and never come back. Queen Kellogg would be forever grateful and the hive would—"

“—Shut up for a second, Steve,” said Arthur, flapping his wings together out of annoyance, “Do you know what happens when we sting people?”

“Of course. I’d be a hero with all the other bees and then maybe Veronica would finally notice me tonight at the Owl’s Nest. She’s been talking to Bobby lately, but I really think that—"

“—We die!” screamed Arthur, exasperated, “If we sting someone with our stinger, we die a big fat stinking death.”

“NOOOOOO,” said Steve with a horrified look upon his face.

“YESSSSSSSS. Did you pay attention at all during the seminar?”

“Of course. I’m not an idiot.”

“And what did they say happens if you sting someone?”

“Uhh, well … the guy was talking with an accent and it was hard to really pick up what they were getting at and Veronica was wearing that short yellow and black striped shirt with the—"

“—We die, Steve. That’s it, game over.”

“That can’t be right. If every bee that stung an intruder died, we would need thousands and thousands of warriors to protect the—” Steve’s eyes lit up and his wings started to shake with fear as he began to realize the truth, “—Oh.”

“I’m sorry I had to be the one to tell you,” said Arthur. He took his wing and placed it gently on Steve’s back. “But that’s why you can’t sting every little threat that comes near our hive. You have to be selective. Especially if you ever want a chance with Veronica.”

He winked and nudged Steve, who began to smile, but as he did, his mouth opened wide and his eyes bulged out with a look of sheer horror, “We’re going to die.”

“No, we’re not,” said Arthur. After a moment, he realized Steve’s eyes weren’t staring at him anymore. He looked up and a saw a giant, soulless shoe bearing down on him. Just before it crushed him to pieces, he flew threw the air away from the picnic table.

As he soared over fields of grass, he realized his wings weren’t actually flapping. Instead, Steve was carrying him through the air. They crashed-landed near the dandelions, and Steve was gasping for breath.

“Steve, you saved me life.”

“And now I must go save the queen,” replied Steve, taking one last gulp of air before flying back towards the picnic table. Arthur was still frozen on the ground as he watched his savior take off with fervor unseen in his three days of his life.

He gathered himself quickly and took off towards the table, but he wouldn’t be able to catch up this time … Steve was a goner. He watched on, horrified, as Steve swooped below the giant swat of the man’s sunburnt arm. Steve plunged down like an Olympic diver (their hive had taken third place in the Buzz Games the previous week) and swooped into the brown box, out of sight.

Before Steve emerged from the box, Arthur flew towards the human’s balding head and hovered by his nose. The man’s hand darted up towards him, but he dropped at the last second, causing the hand to slap the man across the face. Arthur breathed a sigh of relief as Steve flew out of the box and took off for the dandelions; his distraction had worked.

He dodged a second swat before fleeing the scene. When he caught up with him, Steve was already laying atop one of the flowers, gasping for air and shaking with adrenaline.

“Was it a gun?” asked Arthur.

“No,” said Steve, clearly relieved. Arthur exhaled as well.

“So, I was right all along. He brought his lunch with him, didn’t he?”

“No, it wasn’t lunch either. It was just some sort of cannister. You were right, nothing to worry about.”

Arthur had sunk next to him on the flower, but he jolted up now.

“What did the cannister say?”

“I haven’t the slightest clue,” said Steve, still struggling to get the words out between labored breaths, “I can’t read.”

“You can’t read?”

“I’m three days old for honey’s sake! No, I can’t read.”

Arthur’s eyes turned towards the man, who was getting up from the picnic table now. It happened slowly, like a scene out of a movie (they sometimes showed movies in the park). The man reached into the brown box and grabbed the cannister. The words were facing away from them at first, but as he walked around the bench, they came into view one at a time.

“R … A … I …—"

“D,” finished Steve, “Rad! It says rad! It probably has some honey in it or something else that’s totally—"

“RAID!” screamed Arthur, frantically rising from the flower, “It says RAID. He’s trying to kill the queen!”

“Kill the queen?" said Steve, seemingly puzzled that he had been right for once, "I TOLD YOU! WE NEED TO ALERT THE HIVE!”

Steve, who wasn’t always the best in emergencies (save for that time a few minutes early when he saved Arthur's life), started flying around in circles frantically. If someone were watching, they would have assumed one of his wings was broken.

He only stopped when Arthur caught him by the shoulder and held him steady.

“Steve,” said Arthur, squeezing even tighter, “There’s no time. We must go ourselves … we must save the queen.”

“For the queen,” whispered Steve.

“FOR THE QUEEN,” screamed Arthur and Steve as one before flying off towards the human.

Arthur and Steve were noble warriors and had always been ready to die for their queen when called upon. It was what they were born to do. They fought valiantly that day, and due to the man’s undiscovered bee allergy, they drove the human away with their stingers and saved their hive. Their story would be told around every branch and flower in Huckleberry Park for years to come.

Because of their bravery and selfless actions that day in the park, their queen went on to live another 200—

—hours. It was the amount of time it took for the man’s coworker to come back and exterminate the entire hive, killing every single bee in their colony.

Except for one. And he would have his revenge.