Dawned

Chapter 13

Joseph, Basil, and Tasha arrived at Sarah's palace. They quickly passed through and went to the wasp nest. Tasha stayed behind with Sarah, saying she would head back to Cheshire City and meet them there later. Basil and Joseph continued to the wasp nest. But when they got there, it was chaotic. Apparently, the Nightcrawlers finally got fed up with the wasps, and a fight broke out. Joseph and Basil helped Varnic get control of the wasps, but even when they stopped the fight, the wasps were still riled up. Joseph then asked about his wasp.

"I'm not too sure what that means." Said Varnic. "I was never told about this, and I've never seen it before. I suggest going to the Spiders Quarry. They have information, they should be able to tell you what it is." Then, another fight broke out. Basil handed Joseph his wasp and told him to give it to the spiders. Basil stayed to help Varnic control the wasps. As Joseph passed through the Blue Woods, he told the guards that were waiting for him at Sarah's castle that he was going to go another way, and that they could close the tunnel. The guards nodded, and walked back through the opening in the webs. The tunnel closed, and Joseph walked on. He entered the Dark Woods, and knew he was close. As he passed by the bee nest, he snapped back.

The last few hours had been a blur, and Joseph had been on autopilot. He wondered why. Was he bored? He thought about it. His wasp. He had been waiting for eleven and a half years, hoping to get some answers. But it didn't answer anything. The thing he was focused on for his entire time here, didn't change anything. It was the exact same thing as before. He arrived at a part of the forest that wasn't as dark, and was filled with webs. He checked them to make sure they weren't sharp. They were sticky.
He had arrived at Spiders Quarry.

He walked forward, and decide which way was correct by the slope of the ground, as the ground sloped more the closer he got to the Quarry. Then he found it. A large hole in the ground, about thirty feet wide and eighth feet deep, with several layers of webs all the way down. He approached it, but didn't see anyone. "I came here to find out about my wasp." He called out. "I brought my friends wasp, he told me to give it to you. Is anyone there?"

Spiders began crawling in his leg, and wrapping a strange blue web around his feet. He felt drowsy, and this feeling became stronger the more they wrapped him in the web. His vision faded, and he felt himself fall into the quarry.

***

Sarah was eating her dinner with Tasha. Her guards had prepared her favorite: sliced potatoes, a salad with Lakecrest leaves and iceberg lettuce, and salted sweetbread. The two of them finished their meals, and Sarah gave Tasha a hug as she left back towards Cheshire City. She went upstairs, and before she went to bed, she picked an Evening Lindal. She then ate the one that she picked yesterday. It was picked after dusk, so it was bitter: just the way she liked them. A guard then opened the balcony doors.

"My apologies ma'am, but it is late. I would prefer if you let me escort you back to your room." Sarah agreed. "I was heading to my room, I was just picking a snapping grandma." She liked to call them snapping grandmas because it confused everyone else. She had a reason for her fancied nickname, but she would never tell. She arrived at her room, and wished the guard goodnight. She laid down in her bed, and fell asleep.

After a few hours, Sarah woke up to a loud sound. She lit a fire in her fireplace, and the moss lit up. In a cracked hole in the wall, was a creature; the assassin. She felt terrified, but then she remembered her wasp. "Mary?" She asked. The assassin didn't move. "Mary is that you?" Sarah took a step closer. The assassin listened, but didn't move. "I'm sorry for what I did. I didn't mean to take it from you." She continued to walk forward. "I wish we didn't do this. I hate fighting." She got so close that she was right in front of it. "Please, could we talk? I could get us some Evening Lindals, and we wouldn't have to fight. I'm very sorry."

The creature smiled, and then the hand that held its knife shot forward. It had struck her raven doll, and stopped. Sarah looked in despair. She then watched as a piece of metal emerged from the stomach of the beast, then retreated back in. The creature fell, revealing Hector behind it. "The assassin has been dealt with. I will dispose of it now madam." Sarah stared at it. It's mouth was blacker than it's body, and had a dark red blood flowing from it, along with the wound in its body. "No," she said. "Give then a burial."
"But madam-"
"Hector, give them a burial. One for royalty. And don't cut corners on it." Hector stared at her in astonishment. "Before the bee arrives." Once Sarah said this, Hector picked up the body of the creature and ordered other guards to create a royal burial.

When they finished, Sarah went to the cemetery. The body had been buried, and Evening Lindals had been planted around the grave. Sarah sat there and waited. A bee flew up to the flowers, and began buzzing around. It then flew onto the ground and tried digging into it. Sarah had requested that the body was not buried deep. She sat up, and grabbed the small golden crown off of her head. The bee had made its way to the creature. Sarah placed the crown on the tombstone. She adjusted it as the bee fell asleep. The ground in front of the gravestone began to sink. "I'm sorry for taking it from you." Sarah said. She walked away, back inside, and to her room.