The Queen Bee
“And so you must all remember, though those are dark times, we must remain vigilant. Heed not the clamors of the people wishing for the return of the Queen Bee. They are still deep in their materialistic ways, willing to embrace paganism if it benefits them. We must remain strong in our worship of the Lord and believe in a new age of enlightenment. Amen.”
“Amen.” Chanted Apolline with the other nuns.
“Night falls. We must retire to our rooms in meditation.”
The flock of black-robed women got up and flooded out of the church and into the cloister. Apolline followed. She was one of the youngest here, but certainly no less devout than the old and wise. She was raised by lay sisters from the tender age of three, and place under care of the convent since she was eight. If she was ever rebellious, Apolline scarcely remembered it. The sisters always took good care of teaching and nurturing her faith, and though she worked in the gardens, her heart was most at ease while praying. It was thus natural for her to join her teachers into a life of worship. She had completed her novitiate less than a year ago and was under her temporary vows. She fully intended to take her solemn vows when the time would come.
The light of the sun was indeed fading, Compline had been observed, and it was high time to go to the dormitory. Yet, the voice of the Abbess stopped the young nun in her stride.
“Sister Apolline !”
“Yes, Mother Superior ?” Replied she, turning around.
“I would like you to welcome Sister Aurore into our flock. She had a hard journey and it wouldn’t become us to leave her alone on her first night.”
“Certainly, I’ll be happy to.”
She bowed in respect. Aurore had come a bit after Sext, the noon prayer. It hadn’t been a surprise, as her arrival had been announced. She came from a convent from another part of the country that had been ransacked by bandits. Apolline’s heart twitched at the very thought of such wretches that would pillage a place of worship.
Without a word, the two nuns obeyed the Abbess and retired. During the walk, Apolline looked at her charge.Aurore was similar to herself. She was young, graced by God with a delicate face, and wore the black and white habit.
“I was surprised”, said the new arrival. “I am accustomed to Compline being much later.”
“Alas, sister, we can barely light the church after dark. We reserve our scarce resources for the Matins and prefer saying Vespers and Compline before night falls.”
“Do you not have candles ?”
“Not enough. You see, the town of Meliflor is cursed by the lingering shadow of a pagan idol. The bees refuse the people their bounty. Wax is rare these days.”
“How terrible. I read that your town had been a thriving pastoral community... A pagan idol ?”
“Yes. The Mother Superior mentioned her after Compline. The Queen Bee.”
They had reached Apolline’s cell. It was spartan, containing only a table with a Bible and a bed of cloth filled with straw. The young devout lit up the oil lamp in her cell. A suitable means of lighting for an enclosed space, not for a whole church.
“So, the Queen Bee...Local legends say she is a Fey being who rules over the bees. She looks like a woman but has wings and hovers over the ground. Her eyes are compound, and her beautiful blond hair boasts two antennae. She gived the town a bountiful resource of honey and wax at no cost of labor. It was a boon for agriculture and trading...But as customary with Faes, it came with a price. At random intervals, averaging around three years, the Queen Bee would venture out of her meadows and into the town, and pick one beautiful young woman to follow her into her dwelling.”
Apolline did the Sign of the Cross and whispered “In Nomine Patris et Fili et Spiritus Sancti, Amen.” before continuing.
“The poor girl would never return as herself. She would become forever the Queen Bee’s thrall. In fact, she would be one of her workers, and bring to town the bounty of her new mistress.”
“What a horrible fate...”
“Yes, those foul creatures defile Creation...But the word of God progresses. The day will come when no lamb of God will have to fear the Fae. I pray for it.”
“And I shall too, Sister Apolline.”
“Already she has been banished to the Faerie mists. An order of holy knights came to cleanse her, and her powers were nothing against faith.”
“This is a relief, yet shouldn’t be. The power of our Lord is obviously superior.”
“Indeed. It’s just a shame her banishment had to anger the bees so much. It’s been more than twenty years and the community suffered so much from the backlash of this just cleansing...But enough about the Queen Bee...The convent has some specificities due to the scarcity of wax...”
The young nun spent some time explaining how life was like. It wasn’t all that much different from any nunnery, aside from the early offices of the Hours, and the access to the library only possible by day. They got their sustenance by trading with the town. Embroideries, tapestries, illuminated manuscripts, as well as basic commodities like ale and vegetables. All in exchange for simple bread and whatever candles the town could spare. And of course, the convent provided medical care wherever townspeople needed it, as well as religious education for young girls. As a convent-raised orphan, Apolline herself had some talent at managing some of the most rebellious, and though she didn’t have any charge per se, she did assist some of the matrons by playing the role of the gentle big sister the girls could bond with. She couldn’t wait to take her solemn vows so she could fully commit to guiding the young towards salvation.
“Were you always in the care of the Church ?” Asked Aurore.
“Yes. It seems my parents could not bear raising me. I was found abandoned in the outskirts of town when I was three. The only information the lay sisters could coax out of me was my name. It seems I had forgotten everything else, including my parents’ identities. It is sad, but I don’t know their motivations. I cannot judge.”
“You’re too good, Sister.”
“In any event, I think I explained everything you need to know...We should go to sleep. I’ll accompany you to your cell, it has been prepared in advance.”
And so she did. After taking her leave from Aurore, Apolline got back to her cell and read a few pages from her latin Bible. It really was those simple moments of pious contemplation she enjoyed the most. But it was dark, and she would have to get up early for the Matines. She undressed, revealing her blonde hair and busty silhouette, and got into her night gown. She lied down on her rough bed and soon drifted off to sleep.
She was woken by wind on her face. Which was, to say the least, unusual. But when she opened her eyes, she found with horror that it was the least disturbing thing about her environment.
She wasn’t even in her bed. She was in a seemingly endless meadow, without any tree, building, or even moutain discernable over the line of flowers. The moon was at its full, shining a soft light over the unnatural landscape.
Shocked, the young Apolline reacted the only way she knew how : In prayer. She had no idea which one would fit in this situation, and settled on the most straightforward one, if only to focus her faith in this trial.
“Pater noster, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur Nomen tuum. Adveniat regnum tuum. Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo et in terra...”
“Now now, Apolline, your God has no power here.”
The nun, still in her night gown, turned around and extended her crucifix foward. She was stunned to see that the heathen that dared interrupt her prayer was none other than...
“Sister Aurore ? What in the Lord’s name ?!”
“I confessed I lied. I am not sister Aurore. I merely took her place...”
That’s when Apolline noticed. Around Aurore, or whatever dwelled in this form, flew bees. She wasn’t the least afraid of their stingers. The painting was all too clear to the young devout. It was Her. Contrary to legend, her hair was raven black, but there was nonetheless no possible confusion. She had come to corrupt her. The creature’s traits showed a seemingly honest smile, but she would not be fooled.
“Do not take a single step, foul creature !”
“Do not be afraid, Apolline. I merely wish to help you discover your true goal.”
“I will not worship a being from outside Creation ! I only have love for the Lord !”
“I ask you not to worship. I only ask you to free yourself and join us in the flowery meadows.”
Despite her cross held high, the Bee did not stop. What worked in God’s Kingdom didn’t work here.Terrified, Apolline watched her close the distance. In desperation, she closed her eyes and resumed chanting the Pater Noster. To no avail, as she soon felt a drop of honey fly inside her moving lips, and kissing her tongue with its savory sweetness. It was smooth, yet heavily syrupy, and its stickiness seemed to contaminate Apolline’s entire body. Her prayer broke down into a slow slurring as her body relaxed against her will.
“Oh Lord, save me from this Devil’s pawn...”
“I assure you, there is no Devil involved...The Faerie existed well before such concepts came into existence. Lie down, Apolline. Lie down and let us change you.”
The Queen Bee guided her paralyzed body down on the soft grass, which felt more comfortable than any bed she slept in. The poor young nun was beyond panicked. The Fae being was as powerful as it was unnatural. She could not muster an inch of resistance as it peeled away her clothes.
“Stop it, for the love of all that is good !”
“For the love of all that is good, I will proceed, my beautiful.”
Bees swarmed around them, but didn’t seem hostile in the least. They were like little specks of gold softly buzzing around. The Queen’s delicate touch quickly removed the last of her garments. Apolline, servant of the Lord, was stark naked. In front of an abomination, no less. She was profoundly ashamed.
Yet, it was merely the beginning. The Fae lowered her mouth on hers, and kissed her on the lips. Apolline tucked her lips inwards to escape the assault, but she felt something harden. The kiss was only intended to put a gag of solid wax on her mouth.
“As much as I love your voice, hearing it spew nonsense hurts, my dear. Now then...Let us transform you.”
To Apolline’s horror, the Bee lowered her hand down to her most intimate place. Teasing its outer folds. The nun began to cry. That monster would violate her. Render her impure. Yet, the expert fingers conjured forth sweet sensations. Warmth. Yearning.
“Pleasure is in your nature, Apolline. Listen to your little flower, it wishes to be gleaned...”
She put all her focus into thinking about the Holy Word, rather than let her perceptions acknowledge the Queen Bee’s teasing.
“Just...Like...this.”
She visited her temple with her tongue, and the inviting simmering became an eruption of extasy. Apolline, who was never touched there in her life, let out a muffled scream. She wanted to escape, to find shelter somewhere, anywhere, but she couldn’t move a iota. As ashamed as she was of the impious pleasure, though, she could distinctly feel something far darker happening. An energy invaded her, making her whole body tingle.
“You feel it, don’t you beautiful ? You’re changing. becoming one with us.”
Apolline began to cry. What had she done to deserve this ? A creature from beyond God’s kingdom was defiling her very being. She could feel it. Her body was being transformed. In what way, she could not be sure, and in fact, she could not be less interested in knowing. She focused on prayers. Pleaded for help, over and over, but only the Queen Bee’s tongue answered. The poor nun closed her eyes as fiercely as she could, unable to bear seeing herself change.
Bees gathered on her generous bosom, feeling far more like a gentle caress than a swarm of insects had any right to be. It only accentuated the unholy delight. Even if she resisted its call in mind, she mere fact of feeling it in her body within this plane of unreality was enough for the Fae. It was doing whatever she wanted. Apolline felt pain on her skin, in her bones, in her eyes. But nothing compared to the extasy.
“Yes...The pleasure controls you. It reveals what you truly are...”
Still, her mind remained hers. If she could remain loyal to the Lord, she hoped, maybe her soul could still be saved after her body was so defiled. Maybe that’s what the Queen Bee was after : the pure soul of a holy woman. What other reason was there for risking entering the convent, where she could be banished by God’s power at the slightest doubt ?
Focusing on her thoughts, however, did nothing to quell the pleasure her shamefully lewd body was feeling. Like waves during a rising tide, the heat crashed down on her consciousness, radiating in her womb, each time stronger than before. She tried to scream out the energy, keep it from accumulating, but her absolutely unexperienced body knew nothing about control. The Fae’s tongue was an imperative stronger than anything she had ever known.
“Come now, and accept.”
It was coming. What was to become of her ? Would her mind be vanquished in an instant of bliss ? Would she only open her eyes as a thrall ? Apolline was afraid. Deathly afraid. But the peak hit. She shuddered, screaming all she had in her lungs against the gag of wax. Her body accepted the pleasure. In every instant, it sang its joy. It subsided, slowly, but Apolline’s body was still acting like possessed. Still, it moved. She hasted to regain control over it, and tore the gag away, quickly getting away from the foul being.
“Cease smiling, you wicked beast ! My mind and my soul are still my own ! God has allowed me to resist your temptation, foul Queen Bee !”
To the young devout’s surprise, the Fae laughed.
“Ha ha ha ha ! Did you think I was...Did you think I was enthralling you ? The Spring forbid !”
Apolline looked at her, perplexed.
“I’m not the Queen Bee, Apolline.”
The fake Sister Aurore pointing the finger at her, and spoke with gravity :
“You are.”
Apolline wasn’t sure if she heard the wicked beast correctly. It couldn’t be. But she looked down, to be sure...
And let out a bloodcurling scream.
“WHAT IN THE ALMIGHTY’S NAME ?!”
She was floating. She was standing well over the ground, going up and down, her feet dangling. Her feet...She had no feet ! In their place were hideous insectoid talons, covered in a black chitin that covered her legs up to the knees. She realized she could see far more than just in front of her. Somehow, she saw her sides, where two large, transparent wings flapped at blinding speed, making her float. When had she opened her eyes ? Never, she realized. Her sight returned during the orgasm without her consent. When trying to close them again, Apolline came to know she no longer had any eyelids. The compound eyes that now protruded from her sockets were ever vigilant and saw her sides without her having to turn her head.
She was a cross between a human being and a bee. A monster.
“What have you done to me ?! Speak, heathen !”
“I only shed away the mists that gave you a human appearance, my Queen. This is what you always were.”
“This cannot be ! I am a faithful daughter of God !”
“No, my Queen. When the knights slew you all those years ago, with the help of those crosses that disrupt the flow of the Dreaming, you did not die. As an eternal being, you merely spent some time in the Mists and reformed into a safe shape. A human baby girl. Something no fanatic would ever suspect. But when the church came to raise you, we, your faithful flock, were lost...We refused to be tamed by those who imprisoned you.”
As much as Apolline hated it, it made sense. She was found a few years after the Queen Bee’s banishment. All her life, the town suffered the bees’ wrath. Plus, her own name, the one she said herself to the sisters...Apolline. Apis and pollen. One could hardly choose a better human name for bee-like Fae...
“Then...What are you, if not the Queen ?”
“Merely a fairy sprite, bees come together to take human shape for a day and a night. We sought the Spring Court’s blessing in order to profit from the arrival of the nun named Aurore, and thus rescue you.”
“You could not enter the convent without being invited.”
“Just so, my Queen.”
“But...I am not your Queen...Even if I have this monstrous body, I...”
Suddenly, Apolline’s mind flashed with countless visions. The Mists. The Dreaming. The endlessly growing gardens of the Spring Court. Her Domain. She screamed as hundreds, thousands, an infinity of years filled her mind. Fae were infinite. She was infinite. She had always existed, and will always exist in the Mists. She is one of those of her kind who choose to live in the Rigid Lands, but in the Mists, they are Gods in their domain. Ever since the humans appeared, she had flown over the meadows around them, curious of their restlessness, and of their fleeting and fragile nature. She saw them grow, invent mechanisms to compensate for their weaknesses. She saw them approach her little darlings, curious of the sweet nectar that sometimes dripped from the hives.
She saw their need for assistance, and struck her Contract. The golden bounty of the hives without any need for cultivation in exchange for their most striking females. It was a good contract. The town grew, and grew, and attracted traders from faraway lands, making progress and expansion possible. They soon had so many lovely girls that their side of the Contract barely meant anything, whereas her side required so much more work for her bees.
She had thus sent word to the local Lord, to renegotiate a fair Contract. Afraid, perhaps sensing in Apolline an ill intent that wasn’t there, he only sent those knights in response. Those awful knights whose faith froze down the flow of the Mists. She was defenseless and couldn’t save her material form from the crossbow bolts as she tried to fly away.
Twenty-three years in the midst of those strange beings. It was but a flicker in her existence, and yet it had meant everything to her. Apolline was the devout young nun. Apolline was the Queen Bee. Neither of those two could fathom each other, and yet, she was both.
“My queen ?” Inquired the sprite, worried.
“Yes...Yes, my little darlings. I remember. I am whole again. Did the Court send you on this quest ?”
“Yes...They lent us several charms to aid in your recovery. We were so afraid they would crumble to dust past the walls of the convent.”
“The nuns are not the knights. They strive for charity and aid, not exclusion. Their faith is strong, but by no means as noxious.”
“We see.”
“Come. We must depart. I hope the Court has not assisted you merely in order to punish me for mingling with the rigid ones.”
“Of course, my Queen.”
Apolline flew in a loop, sprinkling dust around and closing the Mists pocket, bringing back the dark, austere cell. She gathered the leftover Mists to fashion a fitting yellow and black garment. She contemplated the concealing habit she had worn for years...Years...Strange, this word was clear as day for the nun, but meaningless to the bee. Both sides would need time to adjust. She took the habit, and opened the cell, flying into the cloister. The moon floated high in the sky, every human here was fast asleep.
“Let us avoid unnecessary grievances. Come, my dears, reclaim your true form.”
The fake Sister Aurore bowed, and faded away, leaving behind a small cloud of honey bees. The Queen extended her hand, inviting them to rest on it. When they did, she breathed a puff of pollen.
“Go apply this on their lips. They will forget all about us.”
The bees silently agreed, and flew all around the convent. Apolline simply flew over the walls. She saw, once again, the town from on high. Familiarity. It was like she had never left.
Gabrielle was terrified as the rocky paths in the farmlands progressively gave way to flowers of the wilderness. It was a path of no return, yet she had no choice. The whole town depended on it. For more than two decades, the first and foremost wealth of Meliflor for generations. All thanks to a contract with a Fae that had lasted for centuries. Without the bees giving honey incomparable to human apiaries both in quantity and quality, the town just plain didn’t have the means to support its own weight. Those two last decades had been struggling against a slow but sure death. Lots of families had already bid farewell to their cradle, and fewer caravans passed through each passing year. More men, women and children went to charities each winter.
So when the Queen Bee finally returned to the castle one morning at dawn, the Lord, Gabrielle’s father, did not hesitate one second before throwing himself on the ground, asking for forgiveness for having sent the inquisition after her. He had tried to justify himself, how the whole town was suspected of conniving with the Devil for years. But the Queen Bee, a beautiful blonde woman with beastly traits, only had this to say.
“I am not blind to the plight of your people, but I cannot help the Rigid without a binding Contract.”
“Yes, yes, I understand. We only want your plentiful honey and wax, like before. What are your terms ? We will understand if it is steep. But Meliflor needs it.”
“They are thus : Do not ever call any hostile or Christian force against me or my flock. I will claim the beautiful daughters of your town as before, though at a quicker pace to replace those I have lost. And the first one shall be your firstborn daughter, Lord of Meliflor.”
“I...see.”
“You have until the sunset to send her to my meadows. If you do not, I will return to the Mists and the bees here will forever be restless. Farewell.”
And thus, she left. But Gabrielle’s father didn’t take long to send her. They had no choice. Gabrielle was afraid, but she had always suspected she would be part of the Contract if the Queen ever returned.
she was so lost in memory, she didn’t notice she was now in the middle of the meadows. The town was still in sight, but she was in Her domain now. Gabrielle adjusted her jeweled hairpiece and swallowed. She walked forward. For the good of her people. Quickly, she saw bees. They stayed well in front of her, unthreatening. The Lord’s daughter followed.
Strangely, the field of flower became more dense as time went on. Then, they arrived at a huge swarm of bees, that cleared in the middle, revealing some manner of portal. Now at least certain this was where she had to go, Gabrielle went on, and walked out of the human world.
Before her stood a path obstructed by giant bee talons and spikes of crystallized honey. However, those pointy obstacles opened before her. Time flew differently. Gabrielle thought she had walked for the same distance as to circle the castle, but when she looked behind, there was no exit in sight.
When she looked before her again, here She was. The Queen Bee.
“So the contract is sealed.”
“Y...Yes. Treat me well, Queen Bee.”
“Of course. And please, call me Apolline.”
She waves her arm, and they’re instantly transported in a flower garden at the center of a gigantic beehive. Walls of combs stretched higher than a castle, and longer than a town. It did not take much thought for Gabrielle to realized she was in the Fae’s world now.
“Well...I am here now...What are you going to do to me ?” She asked the Bee, apprehensive.
“You are no longer a Rigid one. You have joined the flowing of the mists. You will change. It is better if you do not ask how.”
“Come to think of it...Where are your former thralls ? The ones from...before ?”
“Taken away by other Faes once my Domain became defenseless. You will be the first one of this new generation.”
Without warning, the Fae joined her lips to Gabrielle’s in a sensual kiss. Appalled by the sapphic assault, Gabrielle forgot her duty to the town and violently backed off, chanting the first holy words she could think of.
“Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui Iesus.”
The Queen Bee only smiled, and interrupted Gabrielle’s prayer when she took a second to draw breath.
“Sancta Maria, Mater Dei ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.”
“You...” Hesitated Gabrielle. “You know the Ave Maria ?”
“And the Pater Noster, and the Gloria Patri, and every catholic prayer there is. I have been a nun, human child. And though God cannot, by my nature, mean anything to me, I am probably more Christian than you are, at least in part of my being.”
She emitted a buzz, and several swarms of bees came, becoming beautiful naked women in a flash. They began to gather around the confused human and remove her noble garments. She was too confused to react. The Queen Bee, a Christian ? She had been slain by the inquisition. How did this make any sense ? Apolline saw her turmoil, and softly caressed her skin.
“It is time for you to change now.”
“I don’t want to.”
“But you will. I told you, you are no longer Rigid. Not as flowing as a true Fae, but flowing enough for Whatever you do or experience here to change your very nature forever. Such is living in the Mists. I am simply going to shape you into a beautiful gatherer. You gave yourself to save your town. You will have the chance to provide to them yourself.”
Gabrielle’s mind was able to recognize the Fae was not nearly as vengeful as she had the right to be, but still...She had been sacrificed to become something completely alien. She couldn’t help but feel atrocious despair, despite the softness of the bee-women’s touch.
Once again, Apolline kissed the young noblewoman, only this time she didn’t have the strength to resist, and tasted the honey-sweet taste of the Fae’s lips. she felt drowsy, and fell into her arms. The Queen Bee flew higher, steadily cradling her in her deceptively strong arms, and carried her to a honeycomb her size.
“You will not feel any pain. I promise you, Miel.”
Gabrielle did not answer. She let herself be put in the honeycomb. Miel ? Well, of course there was honey everywhere, they were in a giant beehive. Once she had placed her, feet first, Apolline flew away, and swarms of bees came to seal the comb with wax. As naked as she was, Gabrielle did not feel chilly in the slightest. On the contrary, the inside of the enclosed space was filling with warm, liquid honey. Maybe it was the Fae’s kiss, but she didn’t feel afraid, even when the sweet treat covered her face. She continued to breathe normally, and she breathed in the honey just fine. Quickly, her entire comb was filled, and she laid there, content, breathing calmly, as if all was fine in the world.
Honey filled her lungs and her mouth, imposing on her its incomparable sweetness. She had been born after the Queen Bee’s disappearance, but now that she could taste the nectar, she understood how it could have been the driving force of Meliflor’s development. Nothing in the world tasted better.
Gabrielle lost track of time almost immediately. She could feel a million of little shivers on her skin between two breaths. She heard voices, but none of them spoke at the same pace. When she thought, it was like a mouse trying to push away a mountain. In the comb, she lost all sense of being human. She saw the bees gleaning from countless flowers through the honey that filled her universe. She saw the Queen looking lovingly over her. She felt the tingles on her skin going deeper and deeper. She felt the honey seeping into every crevice of her being and melding with it. When her skin stopped tingling, she suddenly felt pleasure beyond imagination, an all-encompassing delight that spoke to her through her flesh.
“You are Miel, the immortal servant of the Queen Bee Apolline. You are honey itself. A being of sweetness and pleasure. You belong with the bees are are your mistress’s treasure. You love and desire her. You love and desire femininity in all its forms.”
It wasn’t a voice. The feeling of pleasure itself carried this meaning. All was possible in the Queen Bee’s domain, and Miel was experiencing it. She forgot her finite, human life. A far greater sense of purpose and belonging was taught to her. She could be the provider for the Rigid town of Meliflor. She could be the first lover of her Queen Apolline. She could be the guarantee for all the bees to a smooth, smoke-less harvest.
And she desired it will every bit of her soul.
“Awaken, Miel.”
Miel opened her eyes to see that her comb had been opened. Her Mistress was flying in front of it.
“My queen...” She said in a lustful whisper. “I did not remember you so beautiful.”
“I told you you would change.” She replied, taking her into her arms.
When she was cleaned of all the honey, Miel still looked like she was slathered in it. Her whole skin had the brown-golden shine of the bee’s nectar, and her formerly black hair now looked like strands covered in pollen. But she cared little about how she looked. She was consumed with desire for her Mistress. “Right after pleasuring the Queen”, Miel thought, “I will finally be able to uphold her contract. Provide the Rigid town with my element.” She had no sense of who she had been. She was a part of the Queen Bee’s domain. Nothing else mattered. Nothing else was quite as splendid.
But before she would service the Rigids, Miel wanted to service her Mistress. She followed her into a huge flower, watched her removed her yellow and black garment while resting on it, and, with a smile, began to worship.