Ari gripped the resin bars, the hard surface biting into his palms.
Why do I even want to help them? His teeth ground together.
I hated them… didn't I? The bars held firm, reminding him he was trapped.
Shouldn't I just let them fight their own war—and use the chaos to escape? What's compelling me to tell her? Was it Evelyn—kind to me even through her suffering? Or is it because I'm an ant like them now, finally seeing from their side? Or the princess, making sure I eat while her own guard, the highest military order, manipulates her every move?
His mouth parted, but no words came.
She looks just like Keiko…
Ari's eyes narrowed at the crack in the wall. He remembered Vladimir's meeting with the hooded ant in the lower tunnels.
Who was that? Whatever the case… I feel something pulling me toward saving this colony. Ari closed his eyes.
I don't understand it. I don't know how to explain it. But something inside me has changed… and I don't know why.
As the ants' work shift ended, faint footsteps approached his cell. Princess Emilia returned, just as she had the day before, carrying the promise she had made.
In her small arms were two plump berries and several chunks of meat—more than she usually brought.
"Ari… sorry it took me this long."
She lowered her voice, then brightened.
"But to make up for it, I brought two berries and more meat for you. So eat up, okay?"
Her soft smile lit her face as she gently set the food inside the cell in front of him.
"Thank you… for this. I don't know why you're so kind to me," Ari said, his gaze lowering, hesitation in his voice.
He didn't touch the food.
"Aren't you hungry? If you have something on your mind, feel free to tell me," Emilia said, tilting her head with curiosity.
Ari hesitated, then drew a deep breath. His eyes fixed on her, voice low and stern.
"Listen… Princess. You might not believe me, but Vladimir is not the ant you think he is."
"What do you mean by that?"
Emilia's antennae stiffened, her face caught between surprise and confusion.
"Last night… a couple of hours after you left, I heard him."
Ari's voice dropped lower.
"I saw Vladimir in the tunnel routes near my cell. He was plotting with ants from a neighboring colony."
His gaze hardened.
"They plan to invade this one. To raid your food supply. He's doing it all for a high-ranking position… and a steady stream of food."
"You liar…" Emilia whispered, her hand pressed to her chest, head lowered.
"I've known Vladimir for as long as I can remember—fourteen years. There's no way he would plot against our queen. He's been serving her since before I was born. He is her most trusted friend and soldier. There's no way… you're lying."
Her voice trembled.
"I thought you were different from the other prisoners. But I guess I was wrong."
Emilia looked up once more, her eyes fixed on him.
Ari stepped closer, his hands clenching the bars.
"I know it's hard to believe a prisoner you've only just met—someone telling you something terrible about the ant you've trusted your whole life. But it's the truth. I saw it with my own eyes, through a crack in the wall. If we don't act… everyone here will die!"
Emilia trembled at his words, her body shaking.
"But... that can't be... Vladimir would never do such a thing," she whispered. "He's kind to me… kind to everyone in the colony."
Everyone except me, Ari thought bitterly, but he kept those words to himself.
"If I'm wrong… nothing will happen."
Ari's voice pressed low, steady.
"But if I'm right… it will save us all."
He leaned closer, eyes sharp.
"There's nothing to lose if I tell the queen. Please… do it for the colony's sake."
Emilia's eyes flickered, doubt and fear crossing her face. She pressed her fingers to her lips, weighing the consequences of her next move.
After a brief pause, she spoke.
"I'll be right back."
Her face was unreadable as she turned away. The sound of her footsteps echoed down the tunnels, fading quickly as she left the prison cell in a hurry.
Ari's heart pounded against his ribcage.
I wonder where she's going… His breath caught.
If she confronts Vladimir about what I just said, then I'm dead… and so is the colony.
Panic crept into his chest as he paced the cell, gnawing at his lower lip. After a few minutes of waiting, Emilia finally returned.
In her arms was a cylindrical block of resin, heavy enough that her hands shook as she carried it. She stopped at the cell, breath quickened. Sweat ran down her neck and onto her exoskeleton.
"How did you get your hands on the key so quickly?" Ari asked, shocked.
"It was easy. The warden was slacking off—he's sound asleep," Emilia said.
She pushed the resin block into the hole, twisting it until the lock loosened. The cell door creaked, shifting open.
"Thank you… for believing me, Princess," Ari said, stepping out of the cell.
Emilia's fists clenched at her sides. Her heart screamed to reject his words—to cast him away as just another liar trying to save himself. But another voice, smaller and trembling, whispered:
What if he's telling the truth?
"Vladimir is like family to me… he's never once let me down."
Her antennae drooped, a tremor running through her body.
"But… if I ignore this, and you're right…"
She bit her lip hard enough to draw blood, the weight of the colony pressing down on her shoulders.
"If I do nothing, and something happens… I wouldn't be able to forgive myself either."
"I hate this," she whispered bitterly, her voice cracking. "But… I'll listen to you for the sake of the colony. If you're lying… I'll never forgive you."
"I'll accept that."
Ari's voice steadied, resolve hardening in his chest.
"Now… take me to the queen. I'll tell her everything."
Emilia quickly guided him through the dim tunnels of the prison, the earthy walls pressing close around them. Each turn they made forced them to hug the shadows tightly, their breathing quiet as they avoided the wardens patrolling the pathways.
The distant clicking of their armored feet on the dirt was enough to make Ari's chest seize in anxiety. As they slipped around a corner, the sound of approaching footsteps made Emilia stiffen.
Without hesitation, she dragged Ari by the wrist and shoved him into a shallow crevice in the wall, barely wide enough for them to squeeze in. A faint blush spread across Ari's face as he looked down at Emilia.
He shifted his weight slightly, keeping his movements small as the wardens walked past them. The sound of their armored feet echoed against the dirt packed floor.
Emilia leaned a little closer beside him.
"That was a close one," she whispered.
Her breath brushed lightly against his shoulder as they watched the wardens continue down the corridor, completely unaware of them.
After slipping past several more guards, ducking behind stones and weaving between stone pillars, they finally arrived at the queen's chamber entrance. Emilia pointed toward the guarded path ahead.
She turned and faced Ari, lowering her voice.
"This is the throne room. The Queen is inside."
Two ant drones stood on either side, their stinger spears held upright. The metal tips caught the light from the torches along the walls.
"However… to even reach her, you'll have to get past her servants," Emilia continued quietly. "Those drones with the stinger spears. They're strong..."
"How do you plan on getting past them?" she asked. "Even with my authority… I doubt I can help."
Ari stepped out from their cover, after taking a deepbreath. Emilia looked at him confused.
"Thank you for leading me here. I'll take it from here."
His stomach twisted, but he forced himself forward.
"Ari, no,"
Emilia reached toward him, fingers trembling.
"What are you thinking? They won't hesitate to kill you."
He didn't stop. Her hands hovered in the air for a moment, then fell to her sides, powerless. The servants guarding the chamber noticed him immediately.
Their eyes narrowed, and their bodies stiffened. One of them stepped forward. The tip of his stinger spear leveled at Ari's height.
"You—you're a prisoner, aren't you?" the servant barked. "What the hell are you doing here? And how did you get out of your cell?"
"That doesn't matter," Ari said firmly, his eyes steady with resolve. "I need to speak with the Queen. It's an urgent matter—one that could decide the fate of this colony."
"Insolent prisoner!" the drone snarled, his stinger spear slicing through the air as he lunged at Ari.
Ari's instincts kicked in. The spear rushed toward him. He jerked sideways at the last second, his armored feet scraping against the dirt as he forced his body out of the way.
The jagged tip brushed past him and scraped across his upper arm. A sharp sting spread through the spot. A thin line of crimson appeared along his brown exoskeleton.
That was close, Ari thought, his teeth clenched while his heart pounded in his chest.
Another guard sprang into action, charging low, his spear aimed to gut Ari from below. Time slowed.
Ari's breath caught in his throat as he forced his legs to respond, shoving off the ground and vaulting into the air. The spear missed him by a hair's breadth, the rush of wind brushing past his abdomen as he barely cleared the strike.
"He's fast!" one servant growled, tightening his grip, sweat glinting on his brow.
The servants moved in tandem now, stepping with practiced rhythm, their weapons poised to trap him in a deadly cross. Ari's breath grew ragged.
His muscles screamed in protest, still sluggish from days of imprisonment, but his mind blazed, sharp and desperate. But before they could strike again, Emilia suddenly dashed forward, planting herself between Ari and the armed servants.
"Stop! That's enough!"
The servants halted mid-swing, startled. Their eyes flicked between Emilia and Ari, disbelief clouding their faces.
"Princess Emilia, what is the meaning of this? Could it be that you were the one who set him free?" one of them demanded, struggling to keep his composure.
"I order you to stop attacking him and just give him a chance to talk to the queen. Everything will be clearer then."
"We can't just let this insolent fool waltz into her domain and do as he pleases," the first servant spat, his grip tightening on the stinger spear.
"Let him through," a calm, commanding voice echoed from the Queen's chambers.
The drones flinched, turning toward the voice.
"But, Your Highness… he's just a lowly prisoner. I can't just—" one stammered.
"Did I stutter? Are you questioning my authority?"
The Queen's voice cut through the chamber, sharp and commanding. The drones snapped to attention.
Weapons lowered in strict obedience, they stepped aside without hesitation, slamming their spears into the ground and clearing a path for Ari and Emilia. They stepped into the large chamber.
Blue-green bioluminescent fungi lined the walls, their faint flicker casting shifting light across the throne. Queen Celeste sat upon it, her clear wings folded neatly behind her, catching the glow and reflecting it in sharp, defined lines.
Her left arm rested against the carved resin armrest, while her right hand propped her cheek, her gaze calm and calculating. Emilia and Ari came to a stop just before the throne.
Emilia shifted uneasily, glancing at the Queen, while Ari's stomach tightened and a flicker of fear ran through him.
Queen Celeste… still as terrifying as the first day I was imprisoned here, he thought, his hands trembling.
He clenched them tightly, forcing himself to stand firm.
"So we meet again, mysterious ant," Queen Celeste said, her voice calm but piercing. "I see my daughter has taken a liking to you. She has never spoken with a prisoner—much less set one free to approach me directly… or so I believed. Tell me, what makes an ant like you so special?"
Her gaze fixed on him, sharp and unreadable, waiting for his answer.