Written in response to the Science Fiction Smackdown prompt in Tevun Krus vol. 94: https://www.wattpad.com/1136716362-tevun-krus-94-10th-anniversary-special-ready-for-a
Prompt instructions were to write 300-500 words of science fiction, in English, in response to the image I've included at the end.
Total length: 441 words
Aemette of the Wheel
Princess Aemette pulled herself up the rough wood surface. The first rays of the rising sun touched the glistening waves of the river. Aemette was far above the city now, but she was still aware of its sleeping streets, and of the jewel-like palace that towered over the main square. Her palace. Or it would be, if she made it to the top of the wheel before all her sisters.
Aemette knew she was born to be queen; she was born to climb the wheel and prove herself, then descend in glory to rule the city, to marry, and to have a daughter who would one day be queen herself. It was Aemette's destiny; Aemette was sure of it. And there was only one, small trial she needed to overcome in order for all her desires to become reality.
Climbing the wheel had been a tradition from time out of mind; it was how a queen proved she was worthy to rule. It was the only method of selection that had ever been acceptable to the workers and soldiers alike. The wheel itself was older than the city, perhaps even older than the river. The storytellers said it had been built by the Ones Before, but Aemette could not imagine intelligent beings so large that they could build the wheel. The structure had to be natural, she thought, a sport of a tree grown into a remarkable shape. It did look like a wheel, after all – it had a hub, and a rim, and spokes –but no real wheel could be so large that the royal palace would be crushed to dust were it in the wheel's path.
I will be a good queen, Aemette thought to herself. Wise. Gracious. Fertile. The people will be prosperous. Still she climbed; she was no longer aware of her sisters climbing with her. She seemed to have left them behind. The wood had given way to cold metal and finally, she found herself on the rim. She scurried, as fast as her legs could carry her, to the highest point.
Fora moment, Aemette looked down. The river glowed red-orange. Aemette admired the city, looking like a doll's house as it came to life in the morning sun. Then, four limbs clinging to the metal surface, two raised to the sun, Aemette clicked her mandibles in elation. As her new wings burst from her back, she released the scent, a chemical message on the wind:
I AM AEMETTE OF THE WHEEL, QUEEN OF THE ANTS.
Spreading her wings, Aemette began the long descent back to the city, and to her coronation feast.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
