It was enough. She had had enough of this wait, this desperate clawing at the small morsels she was given, for she refused to eat before her children.
Hive Queen Vespa was starving, worse than the rest of her Hive. For some reason, the usually plentiful Kingdom's Edge had been barren of prey.
The Hive was suffering, and had even started rationing out the honey saved for winter. She saw no choice other than to take a band with her, crates full of Hive-made products.
She hated relying on another kingdom for her survival, but had no choice this time.
Reluctantly she travels to the City of Tears, arriving to her surprise of seeing it rainless.
She gets permission to use one of the lower floors for negotiations as she waits for the Pale King to be alerted to her arrival.
@queen-vespa
(OOC: Answer when you feel like it.)
*Hearing the commotion from downstairs, she appears from the door, seeing the Queen, which was.. surprising, she hadn't seen Vespa in a long while*
Vespa..?
She's surprised to see the pale root up and about. Last she heard she retreated back to her gardens. She must not have kept up as much as she should have.
Vespa bows to the divinity, one of two she would show such honor.
"Fair met, Queen of Hallownest. I'm surprised you are unchained. I did not hear of your return. Your husband must certainly be thrilled, as am I for you were always pleasant conversation."
Indeed, but the reason in here is.. not much out of choice..
And we are exes now, but still friends we, just have gone our separate ways.
The Reason the pale king is not here, is because..
He is in a coma, its a long story from what i could tell..
What did you need, Queen Vespa?
All of it was new information, which shocked her greatly. Why hadn't anyone informed her of this? That was the biggest question on her mind, but the goddess wanted to get to the point.
"My Hive is struggling. There has been an unexplainable sharp decline in prey throughout Kingdom's Edge. Our scouts feel it too. We are now starving, or eating our honey supplies meant for winter to survive."
She did look quite thin. Like her life had been stripped out of her, making her color fade.
"I have been unable to produce new eggs, I simply lack the nutrients. So, I come here, swallowing my pride, to hopefully trade for food."
The bees with the crates pop them open, revealing a large selection of hive-made items.
"The few wasps of our colony have made paper that your scribes usually like. Not like something with less quality. We also have wax candles scented with flowers. We even bring honey, hoping to trade up."
Finally, a single box is pushed to Vespa, which she opens in front of the White Lady. Inside laid an assortment of knives, daggers, nails and needles. Their telltale hexagonal patterns shows the craftsmanship with which they were made.
"And finally, I am willing to depart with gear of hivesteel. Though weapons of our smithing technique is something I dislike seeing in the hands of others, I have no choice in this famine. I can only beg that I get a good deal, because I trade not only for food, but for our survival."
Goodness..
*This was..not at all good..*
*Hallownest had slowly been building up, but also still needed alot of materials and food for all the new bugs that had come from the destroyed city..*
This is.. grave news, what all do you need? I will make sure we can be able to find what you need, I do not hope for you to starve yourself.. or for your hive to perish..
Vespa sighs.
"The Hive is independent. I do not expect donations, which is why I came to barter. Still, I admit our situation is dire. Some of us have even taken on hunting the pink worms in your sewage system, but those rooms are making my hunters sick."
Queen Vespa looks out over the crowd that had formed. She buzzed to a guard, who then said that the goods were sold in stock, not to individuals.
"I can't help but to starve myself. The Hive is my people and my children. I know that I am the one who should eat the most, as I am Queen and responsible for the Hive's longevity. I am the sole reproducing bee. But I can't help but hurt thinking of my children, stomachs empty, desperate for food. I can't help but visit the larvae, even though I know their cries will only make me desperate. I can't help but order the rations of food heading to the young, for I can't live with seeing them starve."
She sounded close to tears, like a desperate mother wanting so badly for her children to eat before herself.
"If I die, the Hive dies unless another female takes my place. In this famine, nobody will have that strength. So, I know I should let the unimportant workers and drones starve. The larvae...but I can't."
**Food.. They can't give all of it, but.. the thought of the bees starving made her chest tighten**
Alright, we shall accept your barter, and we will give you Enough Food For Your Hive, but, hmm it is odd that the creatures near there have stopped reproducing.. very odd..
