Hiverson emotionally retreated into himself under the stinging words of the others. Social errors were very hard for bees to deal with; after all, colonies are very closed circuits, and one mishap could result in a negative reputation among the hive. “Silver-Honey Hiverson”, the colony would soon be calling him. That is, if the colony survived; at this point, this seemed doubtful.
“Children, listen.” Everyone stopped laughing immediately and turned back towards the center. The Queen’s sweet voice had finally taken precedence over the chaotic chamber. Embarrassed as he was, Hiverson was glad that he’d helped her.
“The Silver Honey may be a myth, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a grain of truth to it. Even if the honey is a myth, there may be something else up north – something that can stop the Skells. This hardworking drone may not have offered us a cure, but he’s offered us a chance. After all, we managed to stop the Skells somehow ten generations ago, did we not?
Her logic was more or less sound, and the bees continued to listen.
“For this reason, we make a proposal. Three bees will travel north and search for the hive with the Silver Honey -”
“Wait a minute… where would the hive even be?” a bee pointed out. “I mean, it’d probably look different somehow, but we can’t just search the entire North for it, can we?”
“Oh, IknowIknowIknow!” Another bee hopped up and down erratically, as if he was about to explode. From the bee’s energy and tone of voice, Hiverson recognized him as Beeter.
“Oh, do you know something of the hive’s whereabouts, Beeter?” the queen inquired.
“Yeahyeahyeah! So, I was outside this one morning, and I’d already collected the day’s share of honey, so I decided, ‘Hey, I should fly around a little and see the North!’ So I flew around and around and then I saw this weird hive. It looked like a regular hive, but silver! I wanted to go check it out, but I decided not to because it was almost time for lunch. So I flew home and had lunch – the honey was delicious that day!”
“Wait a moment. You flew to the North without permission or accompaniment? Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? You could’ve been attacked by the Blood Cardinal, or possibly by something even worse!”
“Yeah, I could have asked, but that would be boring! I’d have to fly slowly, and then I couldn’t go as far.”
“…*sigh*. We’ll discuss this incident later, Beeter. In any case, do you remember the direction of this Silver Hive?”
“Yeah! It was in the North!”
“We know it was in the North. Be more specific!” The Queen’s patience was being stretched to its limit. Beeter tended to have that effect.
“Okay. It was, uh… itwasthisway!” Beeter launched into a frenetic waggle-dance. He moved so quickly that it was almost impossible to read his movements.
“Slow down, for God’s sake!” the Queen shouted.
Beeter stopped for a moment. “…ugh, fine. You don’t have to be so grumpy about it, you know.” He resumed at a slower pace. It was still much faster than a typical waggle-dance, but now the other bees could interpret the specific direction.
“Good, good.” The Queen calmed down a bit, although she was still frazzled. “Now, as we were saying, three bees will travel north to search for the Silver Hive. The rest of us will try to manage the situation as best we can; we cannot send more, unfortunately, as the colony could lose stability if too many bees are lost to the Skells. Dearest child, as this undertaking is your idea, would you do us the honor of being the group leader?”
Hiverson didn’t have very much to consider. After all, this was his idea, and he couldn’t back out of it now. Besides, he owed it to the colony to see the situation through to its end. “Yes, my Queen. I will do my best.”
“I’ll go too!” Beeter piped up. “Better than staying here, after all. I can’t wait to fly all ov- I mean, explore the Silver Hive!”
“Good, good. Who shall be our third volunteer?” The Queen looked around at the assembly of bees. No one said a word for the longest time; the plan still seemed like a fool’s venture at best and a death wish at worst, especially with the Blood Cardinal prowling the skies.
Finally, a small, timid voice emerged from Hiverson’s right. “M-my Queen?” It was Barnabee’s voice; Hiverson had become so engrossed in the situation that he had almost forgotten about him.
The Queen turned her head towards Barnabee. “Yes, child? Will you venture forth for our hive as well?”
Barnabee took a step back. He was shaking now, just as he had been when he told Hiverson the bad news. Hiverson didn’t blame him; this would not be a safe journey, and in all truth he was scared too.
“Don’t worry, Barnabee,” Hiverson whispered. You don’t have to do this. Someone else will join the group, and then we’ll find that honey. You’ll be fine, and Charlie will be fine too.”
These words seemed to resonate with Barnabee. His shaking slowed, and he took a step forward. He looked up at the Queen.
“O-of course I’ll go,” he declared. “My friend has the Sk-skells, and… and I’m not going to let him die! I-I’ll do whatever it takes!”
“Wonderful! Now venture forth, my children, and make our colony proud!”
The other bees began cheering. The cheers made Hiverson feel good, although he knew that the same skepticism was still prevalent among the colony. Beeter danced the waggle-dance again, and the three bees flew to the North with the steady wind at their backs.
Read more on Cole’s Corner. Short Story. Part 2. “Bees: the Search for the Silver Hive”…