A New Queen

Chapter 1

      Lauren slowly wandered through the beekeeping fields, taking in the crisp fall air and vibrant tree leaves. The bees buzzed excitedly past her as she tried to balance the large jars of honey in her arms, swerving around the small piles of dead leaves that had made their homes there.

      Dean had urged her to get a wagon to hold the jars multiple times, and, a few times, she had considered it, but she always came to the conclusion that she wouldn't spend her money on a wagon until she actually dropped a jar.  

      As she finally reached the small shed where all the honey would be stored before sale, she looked around the room with a sense of pride. When she had flunked out of college, her parents had never thought that she would be able to make something of herself. She still remembered the pitying looks on their faces whenever she came back from her "hobby".  They weren't the type to outright discourage her; more the silent type that would instead leave job applications on the table.  She still remembered the astonished looks on faces when she had first showcased the bright white walls calm and gray shelves stocked with golden honey. She still cherished that day, when she saw something on their faces that she hadn't seen in years. Pride.

      She sighed and delicately placed the collected jars of honey on the shelf, noting the abnormally large amount of space available before slipping back out to continue the harvest. 

      "Done collecting from Hive 1?" a voice startled her out of her work. Dean. She had figured he would be gone this time of day, but his dedication to following her around like a bored child always amazed her. " I could help if you want." 

      A few months ago, this would have been polite, endearing, maybe even cute, but with how many times he had spent trying to spread meaningless gossip instead of working like he was supposed to, Lauren instead found this aggravating. She didn't need his attempts to spread stories, or his meaningless commentary on how she there was a more efficient way to do something that she had been doing for years.

      "No thanks, I've got it all covered, Dean." she said, tone laced with aggression. "You can head back home now, if you want."  

      Before he could answer, she walked away in a clear effort to end the conversation and before he could follow, she was gone.

      After collecting from all of the hives, Lauren decided to circle back to Hive 1. Throughout the year, it had become clear that Hive 1 was having problems with the new queen. Under the new queen, the number of bees had largely decreased. This then resulted in a lack of honey and a lower quality of life for the entirety of the beehive. 

      During the year, she had hoped that the problem would take care of itself. And even though it was gruesome, she had come back to the hive several times hoping to find the queen dead. This was, after all, what happens in all hives. If the queen fails to preform her job, she will inevitably be killed by a rival. But, for some odd reason that Lauren could never really place, the queen bee was always alive and well when she returned. 

      She thought of having to do this made her feel as though a dagger was being shoved through her heart, but she had to do this; both for the good of her livelihood and for Hive 1.  

      She reached the hive and gently opened it, beginning to look for the Queen.  It didn't take long to find her, a large bee, frail for her age. Delicately picking her up, she removed her from the hive and placed her in a cage before quickly closing Hive 1.

      She was going to hate this part. She grabbed the bowl of soapy water and hesitatingly dropped the old queen into it, feeling like crying as she heard the cage hit the bottom before beginning the slow drive home. 

      

When she finally reached home, exhausted, she opened the front door. It took her awhile to notice the sound and find where it was coming from, but when she found it, an odd sense of dread filled her.

      It was a bee.