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Tea With The Queen Bee
Elle
Watson didn't need friends. What Elle wanted was attention. She knew
it. Everyone knew it. For her, being the queen bee meant everything.
Being the queen bee, the most popular girl, meant hiding who she
really was. For people to hold that against her... who were they to
judge? They had no idea what her life was like. And it was none of
their business.
She
wandered into the woods blindly. The humidity caused her to sweat.
Her blond hair frizzed out from the moisture. She took off her
stylish straw hat and fanned her face with it. Honestly, the humidity
wasn't the only thing making her perspire. It was the dare. When she
completed the dare she would have everyone's attention. No one would
ever call her out or cut her down again.
The
trees were getting denser. Once she reached the darkest part of the
woods she would find a place to sleep, taking pictures to prove she'd
stayed the night, and return to those who dared her. Her bravery, her
nerve, would silence them all.
There
it lay. A fallen tree covered in undergrowth. It was hard to see.
This had to be the darkest part of the woods. No light help
illuminate the fallen tree. This would be where Elle slept tonight.
As
she approached for her picture someone came out from behind the
fallen tree. The mass of overgrowth had hidden the stranger from
Elle's view. She stopped dead and dropped her camera. The stranger
wore black clothing from head to toe. Over the stranger's face snugly
fastened was a rubber white rabbit mask. The beady black eyes watched
her, waiting for her next move.
Elle
started to feel dizzy and she realized she was holding her breath.
When had she done that? She let it out, feeling the burning in her
lungs subside. Without removing her gaze from the stranger she bent
down to get her camera. The stranger held up a black gloved hand.
Elle stopped before her fingers could wrap around the camera.
A
deep voice came from the mask, the chin moving up and down as if a
real face. “Arrogance brought you here, child. You shall leave with
modesty.”
From
behind multiple other trees came more bodies all wearing black and
white rabbit masks. Six in all surrounded Elle. A normal person would
run by this point, but Elle had never been the bravest girl around.
Doing the dare was for attention, so faking the bravery came easily.
However, in this type of situation the attention could mean her life.
She
stood up slowly so as to not startle the rabbit clan. When people
wore masks it usually meant they were hiding their identity which led
her to believe they wished to cause her harm.
The
wind kicked her hair out of her eyes. She could see the first
stranger more clearly. The wind made the ears of the mask twitch as
if they were moving on their own. She needed to convince them to let
her leave. If she saw the stranger's face maybe they would all give
up this sudden attack.
“I
came because of a stupid dare,” she swore. “I don't want drama.
I'll leave.”
“Yes,”
agreed the first stranger. “You will leave. With modesty.”
What
did that even mean? Hearing more judgmental words from people who
didn't know her made her more upset. Her fear dropped slightly. She
stood a little taller, finding it easier to talk to them. “You
don't know me. I don't have to listen to this.”
The
stranger squatted so low his butt touched the dirt. With one swift
bound the stranger flew through the air and landed directly in front
of Elle. It happened so fast she didn't have time to scream. The
stranger stared at her straight in the eye. He stood so close Elle
could see her reflection in his eyes. It was then that she noticed
the mask wasn't made of rubber. It had real fur.
“Miss
Watson,” the real rabbit spoke, “you shall forever be trapped
within these woods. You will never escape. The only way to change
your fate... is you must go meet with the Queen Bee.”
His
threat made her blood run cold. She took a step back. How would
anyone keep her in the woods? She knew her way back. Did they intend
to hold her hostage?
Elle
crossed her arms. His words were also ironic. For someone who had no
problem judging her he should have known that she was
the queen bee. Everyone answered to her. “I don't have to do
anything. And you can't keep me here.”
The
other rabbit men chuckled. The first one replied by saying,
“Arrogance brought you here, child. You shall leave with modesty.”
“You
said that,” Elle reminded, feeling like this was all a cruel prank
by the same people who dared her. “I'm not scared of you. I'm going
home.” She turned on her heels and left the way she came. No dare
was worth this. She wouldn't be made a fool.
As
she departed the six rabbit men repeated the same three words over
and over. “Arrogance to modesty. Arrogance to modesty. Arrogance to
modesty.” The repeated it until their voices were a soft hush in
the distance.
*
* *
Elle's
pulse could be seen on her neck. Hours had passed and she still
couldn't find her way home. The darkest part of the woods continued
getting darker. It seemed to grow, consuming the entire thing. Maybe
those rabbit men were right. Could she actually be trapped in the
woods? The undergrowth got thicker the farther she walked. Fog
started to encroach on her. The darkness mixed with the fog gave a
blue tint to the woods.
She
took a moment to gather her thoughts. She couldn't be trapped in the
woods. Sooner or later she had to find the edge of the trees. Home
had to show up eventually. If she gathered her thoughts and made a
plan she would find her way out.
Changing
her course, Elle continued her hike. The undergrowth started to
diminish. That was good. Less beneath her feet had to mean she was
close to home. All that lay before her were a few bunches of
mushrooms and dead leaves.
And
a little girl in a chair.
Elle
stopped and stared at the girl. She wore a blue dress and black
stockings. The chair looked old, the soft cushion lumpy and
discolored. Her blond hair hung scraggly on either side of her pale
face. Her eyes were looking down, wet. Black mascara ran down her
cheeks. On her lap sat a white tea cup on a saucer. Hands
trembling, the girl lifted the saucer with one hand and with the
other raised the cup to her lips.
Before
her lips touched the rim, she turned her eyes up, looking at Elle. In
a soft voice she said, “I'm not important. No one cares about me.
That's why we're here.”
Elle's
eyes narrowed. This girl looked familiar. Something about her stirred
bad memories. Elle had one question. “We?”
The
girl closed her eyes and took a sip of her tea. “If you don't meet
with the Queen Bee,” she began, “you'll never escape these
woods.” She sniffed as the steam from the tea made her nose run.
Slowly she looked back up. “We'll stay this way forever.”
Elle's
breath caught in her throat. This little girl... was her. This was
Elle as a child. She remembered that blue dress. It was her favorite
dress when she was a child. Her mother had hated bright colors and
every time Elle wore it her mother would shout at her, curse at her.
One day her mother threw it away, ripping it from her little fingers.
Such a bitter memory... all because of a blue dress.
Little
Elle stood up, setting the teacup on the chair. She walked around the
chair and then stopped, looking back at Elle. “Don't let me make
you do the wrong thing. Go to the Queen Bee.” At the end of her
words a gust of wind picked up, swirling around Little Elle. Leaves
and twigs were caught up in the cyclone. Elle's hair whipped in front
of her face, blocking her view of the child. When the wind died down
and she could once again see, the girl was gone.
That
encounter convinced her. Somehow she'd gotten trapped in
the woods. No prank could cause a vision of her as a child. Whatever
the reason behind her imprisonment she needed to fight her way out.
The only clue she had was finding the Queen Bee. That offered little
help. What did they want from her? All she could think of when
hearing "queen bee" was a popular girl and a literal bee
hive queen bee.
How
long had she been lost in the woods? The forever darkness hazed her
time. She would die if she didn't solve the Queen Bee riddle. She
decided to walk. After all, so far her walking had led her to two
oddballs ushering her down the same path. If she continued maybe
someone else would hand her a clue.
Arrogance
brought you here, child. You shall leave with modesty.
*
* *
When
Elle's skirt started sticking to her legs from the sweat running down
them she knew she needed a rest. Perhaps her plan of walking until
finding someone wasn't the correct course of action. She sat down
under a low hanging branch, pulling her legs to her chest. She shut
her eyes, once again gathering her thoughts. Something would work
out. It had too.
A
buzzing sound filled her ears. She shot her eyes open and saw a bee
darting around a group of flowers. Her jaw dropped, her lips curling
into a smile. “A bee,” she whispered. “Finally.” Elle stood
and slowly approached the insect. This whole thing made her feel
stupid. What could a tiny bee do for her?
“Um...
bee? Queen Bee?” Then she remembered something about the queen bees
of a hive. They never left the hive. This was most-likely a worker
bee. Still, a bee was a bee. If she followed it maybe she would find
the hive and then the queen.
Two
bells, like bike bells, chimed to her left. She turned her head to
see what caused the sound. Her eyes bulged and she had a second to
dive out of the path. Two large penny-farthings rattled by, leaving
her in the dirt. She flipped onto her back and watched as the bikes
turned and came back her way.
“Watch
where you're going!” Elle spat, slapping dirt and crumbled leaves
off her palms. Her eyes focused on the careless riders. After all the
weirdness of the day this shouldn't have surprised her. Even so, she
found herself gawking at the sight of two aye-ayes riding on the
large bikes. Their saucer eyes stared at her as they rode passed.
Their middle fingers rapped on the bike handlebars, making an
earsplitting sound.
Elle
covered her ears. How were the primates operating the bikes? Their
little legs couldn't reach the peddles. Regardless, the bikes turned
and they circled Elle over and over again. “What do you want?”
She desperately wanted to escape. No doubt the bee had fled at the
sight of the little beasts.
For
some reason the aye-ayes decided to stop their ride and they both
dismounted the penny-farthings. They scurried down the large wheels
and stood on either side of Elle. They tapped her in a rhythmic
pattern up and down her arms. Elle wiggled under their touch. “What
are you doing? Stop!”
“Looks
like a job for the Queen Bee,” the one on the left deduced. Its
voice sounded wild and excited.
They
can talk. Of course they can talk, Elle thought. The one on the
right laughed wildly. “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” it started to say, the
voice matching the others. “The Queen Bee will fix her.”
Left
sniffed her cheek; Right played with her hair. Elle took a risk and
stood up as fast as she could. Right held tight to her hair and
raised up with her. Elle's head stung from the added weight on her
hair. “Ouch! Get off me!”
Right
moved from her hair to her shoulder, smiling with those long,
rat-like teeth. Left remained on the ground but still spoke to her.
“The hive isn't far. Find the Queen Bee. She'll help you.”
“Help,
help help,” repeated Right. The chipper primate hurried back down
to the ground and the two of them climbed back on their
penny-farthings. Pointing with their skinning middle fingers, they
said together, “That way. You'll find the Queen Bee. Hope you like
tea.” With that they rode away, vanishing in the everlasting fog.
*
* *
Elle
had a set direction. Elle took the said direction. She only wished
she had a more clear direction. This whole thing felt like a dream.
Humanoid rabbits, talking aye-ayes, Little Elle. Crazy. That's all
this was. This all seemed like a fairy tale more than real life. Red
Riding hood, Snow White, Alice In Wonderland; she'd always hated that
one.
Elle
came to a fork in the road. A large tree split the path in two. She
gazed upon the massive tree in awe. She'd never seen one so big. But
she had to put the sight out of mind and chose which path to take.
“Great, am I going to have to solve a riddle to chose the correct
one?” Elle griped mockingly. She blew out a huge huffy breath and
closed her eyes. Lifting her finger, she pointed back and forth to
each path. “My mother told me to pick the very best one and you
are—”
A
loud rumble cut her sentence off. She shot her eyes open and saw a
section in the large tree's trunk parting. Bark and leaves tumbled
from the tree, raining down on Elle. Today wasn't a good day for Elle
to get squished by a tree. She backed away, moving to the side.
The
opening section came to a stop. A faint glow radiated from it. She
squinted her eyes, hoping to get a better look. Something began to
emerge from the tree. Something huge. Elle whipped behind a nearby
tree and held her breath. Buzzing. She could hear buzzing. This time,
however, the buzzing was deafening.
A
shadow swallowed her up, the buzzing directly above her. She squatted
down, her butt inches from the dirt. And then she heard the voice.
“Hello, Miss Watson. I've been expecting for you.”
Elle
gazed up, her mouth falling open in shock. So, when they all
said to meet with the Queen Bee, Elle thought, They
really meant...
Hovering
above Elle was the largest bee she had ever seen. Slowly it came down
to stand in front of her. Two big, black eyes filled her vision. The
two antennae ticked Elle's forehead. They felt like pipe-cleaners.
Elle fussed, pushing the objects away.
“Elle.
It is you.” The voice sounded monotone with a slight hum. It had a
higher pitch leading Elle to believe the was, in fact, the Queen Bee.
The large eyes backed away, giving Elle space to examine the rest of
the insect. The mandible, the mouth looking thing, opened and closed
as it spoke. “I know you are able to speak,” she informed.
Elle
tried to make her mouth form words but the sight of the bug stunned
her into silence. The Queen Bee shook her head, which was more like
shaking her whole body. “Very well. Climb on my back and we'll have
tea.”
Tea?
The bug drank tea? Elle blinked a few times, trying to wrap her head
around the situation. The Queen Bee turned and Elle spotted the large
stinger. A picture of that stinger sticking into her flesh flash to
her mind. The hairs on her arm stood up. A stinger that size would
surely kill her.
The
Queen Bee stared at her intently. Her request started to look more
and more like an order. To avoid angering the massive bug, Elle
obliged. Her skin crawled as her arms ran along the hairs on the
Queen Bee's back. Elle held her breath and gripped the hairs as
tightly as she could. Falling from a flying bee would also end her
life.
The
Queen Bee took flight and Elle let out a yelp. That didn't stop the
bee from gaining altitude. Higher they went until the Queen Bee
entered the opening in the tree. She landed and told Elle she could
get off. She obeyed without hesitation.
Elle
thought she'd see sap running down the sides of a hollow tree, or
honey rather. But instead she found herself standing in a beautiful,
carpeted hallway. Pictures of the Queen Bee hung on the walls.
Smaller bees, regular size, buzzed about, ignoring their new visitor.
The
Queen Bee walked down the hallway towards a large wooden door at the
end. Elle followed. Once at the door a group of the smaller bees
worked together to open the door. They all bowed to their queen
before zipping away. The Queen Bee gestured with one of her many legs
towards to room.
Elle
entered the well-furnished room. Round tables were set up around the
space covered with white linens. The olive walls were plain save for
a few paintings of well dressed women, seemingly from the 1800's.
Only one of the tables had been set. A white tea set sat immaculately
on the table near one of the walls. A vintage vase garnished with red
and pink carnations sat off to the side of the tea. In the middle of
the setup were two plates of crumpets. The window near the table let
in a glow of light, giving the table the perfect amount of shading.
The
Queen Bee walked to the table and started pouring tea. Her large eyes
focused on Elle who had stop in the threshold. “Take your seat,
Miss Watson.”
Elle
swallowed but did as instructed. She removed her hat and awkwardly
sat down. Her legs never made it fully under the white table cloth.
The Queen Bee passed her a crumpet with one of her legs not currently
pouring tea. It slid over the table, creasing the linen slightly. The
light from the window showed off the many hairs on the creature's
body. It made Elle's arm hairs stand on end.
The
Queen Bee watched her as she finished pouring the tea. “Aren't you
going to thank me?”
Elle
blanched and lifted the crumpet. “T-thank you, Your Majesty.” All
she could think about was that giant stinger. As long as she kept the
Queen Bee happy it wouldn't sting her.
Elle's
reply pleased the Queen Bee. She sat on her chair and watched as Elle
took a bite. The melted butter warmed her throat. It calmed her.
Maybe now the Queen Bee would tell her what was happening. What sort
of world had Elle stumbled into?
The
room reminded quiet for a few minutes. Only the sound of Elle chewing
and sipping filled the space. After a while the Queen Bee spoke.
“Miss Watson... what do you know about the bee?”
Her
question confused Elle. The bug wanted to know that? That couldn't be
the reason Elle was trapped in the woods. She lowered her tea cup,
clearing her throat. “They are fuzzy bugs that like to smell
flowers, make honey, and sting people.” She realized her tone may
have sounded snippy or sarcastic and she feared the stinger would
penetrate her.
But
the Queen Bee remained seated, seemingly unfazed by Elle's remarks.
She took a sip from her tea cup and patted her face with a napkin.
“Those are all true. Miss Watson,” she allowed. “However, we
bees are so much more than that.” Her wings started to flutter and
the Queen Bee lifted into the air. Elle sat back in her chair, her
face going white as a sheet.
The
Queen Bee flew to a door at the back of the room. Inside the door
were old movie reels and a projector. “Please, come watch this.”
Elle
swallowed but did as instructed. She moved to the door as the Queen
Bee fitted the projector with one of the reels. In the back of the
closet was a blank wall where the film would show. With the flip of a
switch the film lit up the wall. Elle saw hundreds of bees buzzing
around, pollinating flowers, dancing with others in their hive,
making honey.... Somehow they looked less scary on film.
No
sound came from it so the Queen Bee narrated.
“You
are not so different from the bee, Elle. You want to be noticed for
your accomplishments. You wish to work hard. You care about those
around you. And yet, somehow you lost yourself. You ignore all of
that and act out. We bees know how humans feel about us. We are
feared and therefore stomped on. Pushed around. However, if we were
to stop what we do best just because people don't like us or respect
us... the world would loose many of its resources. And so, we carry
on, despite what humans think. We are humble.”
Despite
all that, Elle couldn't understand what it had to do with her. The
Queen Bee could see the questions in her eyes. “Elle... what do you
want?”
It
seemed like such a little inquiry. Elle stared at the giant bee
wanting to smash it with a giant shoe. “I want to go home.”
“Yes,”
the Queen Bee allowed, “but what do you want out of life?”
Elle
pressed her lips together. “I want people to stop assuming things
about me. I want people to respect me. I want real friendship without
having to work for it.” As she spoke tears started to spill her her
cheeks. She couldn't stop them. Embarrassed, she turned her face
away.
The
Queen Bee turned off the projector and waited for Elle to dry her
tears. When Elle was ready she faced her. “What are you trying to
do to me?”
“I
want you to see that you don't need to push people around to be the
Queen Bee,” she replied. “We bees don't let the arrogance of the
world stop us from doing what we were born to do. I don't push my
workers around. They work and assist me because I earned it. I could
easily be replaced by another Queen Bee, but I haven't been. My
modesty wins out.”
Arrogance
to modesty, Elle remembered. She understood. Hopefully she
understood. Elle had nothing to prove to anyone. People could think
about her what they wanted. None of it was true, and none of it
mattered. If she was a good person she would gain good friends.
The
tears flowed once more but this time Elle didn't turn away. A simple
nod from the Queen Bee and Elle knew she could leave the woods. She
bowed to the giant bee and ran from the room.
*
* *
She
ran until she reached the edge of the woods. Before stepping over the
border Elle stopped and stared. She had no photo evidence of her
adventure. No proof of her stay. If she walked out of the woods now
then she lost the dare. People would mock her. They would assume she
was a liar and a coward.
Elle
stepped confidently out of the woods.
