Oppression {A Bug's Life AU}

Chapter IV: Broken Deal

Flik sprinted across the bridge, eventually reaching the palace doors. But he was immediately halted by the two guards, in which he expected to happen. He took a few heavy breaths as one asked what he was doing and why he wasn't back in his home.

"I need..to speak to Princess Atta." He spoke breathlessly, but also anxiously, as he knew that any moment, the Grasshoppers would see there was no offering. And lord only knew what would happen then.

"The princess does not have time to speak to commoners at the moment." The guard said, "You are to return to your home immediately."

"It's an emergency!" Flik said in a pleading tone, then lowered his voice as he begged with his eyes, "Please."

The guards exchanged a glance, before deciding that if it was truly dire, then it was worth disrupting the rulers. "Fine. I will escort you to the princess." He nodded.

"Hastily, preferably." The blue-haired worker said as he was led inside the palace doors. Flik was immediately overwhelmed as he stepped inside, following the guard at a respectful distance. Though he was beyond terrified as to what would surely come, his eyes had wandered around the interior of the palace. He'd never been inside, almost no commoner ever had before—unless it was for a serious reason. He found the decors and appearance lovely, like nothing he'd ever seen before. The stain glass windows, the paintings on the walls and ceilings, the hand-stitched tapestries, the long red carpet that led them to a different room. Flik had grown accustomed to living a somewhat peasant life, so seeing the royals' home was surreal to him.

Of course, he didn't have much time to admire the beauty of the palace, as there was a dire situation on his hands.

The boats of the Grasshopper clan stopped when reaching the shore of the large island. They were a relatively moderate sized clan, but the number didn't matter so much to them as the strength of their members. Most of them were tall with light, sickly green hair and dull eyes, wearing armor and capes with their clan's symbol somewhere on their clothing.

However, there were two that appeared differently than the rest, to symbolize that the were not just ordinary members. One was a bit chubbier with longer light brown greasy hair, who was slower than the rest, and had a horrid skin condition. He was the less intimidating clan member, and was really only apart of it since he was the leader's brother.

The clan stepped onto the shore of the island, then made their way up the stone steps that led up to the main village. As expected, everyone was hiding away in their homes, not daring to disturb their visitors even by greeting them, as that was not apart of the deal.

Some of the ant hybrids peaked out their windows from behind curtains, just to have a quick glance at their allies as they stormed through the path of the village. Not a word was spoken, just the stomping of their boots and the clamping of metal weapons in their holsters.

As the Grasshoppers got closer to the other end of the island, right near the regal palace, they narrowed their eyes at the table that had clearly fallen over. "What in the hell..?" One of them asked.

They all sped up their pace to approach the table, glancing around it for signs of the food that was supposed to be placed atop it. But they soon came to the realization that there was none. They could have just assumed that something happened to the collection, considering the table was knocked over. But the Grasshoppers were not reasonable men. They jumped to the conclusion that the ants had foregone the offering on purpose, perhaps to defy them.

"Oh those little pests!" One Grasshopper groveled, clenching a fist.

"We will not stand for this!" Another declared.