Revelations
The HiveWing market level was clean, orderly, and wealthy. Expensive, high-quality stores had honeycomb rooms on the edge of the Hive walls. The rest of the stores were set in the middle, like a maze of vendors. The floors were not dirty like in the SilkWing market and there were many windows lighting the vast space, the waves from the sun reflecting on all the busy surfaces down below.
The market took up two floors so no HiveWing felt cramped while shopping. The ceiling was high and covered in lanterns hung similarly to the ones on the lower levels (except there were more of the lanterns, and looked to be higher quality glass).
While Carpenter was at school, Aeshna had sent Silverspot to get groceries and a few other things she wanted. She had given the orange and silver SilkWing a pouch of scales but warned that if she tried to steal from her, she’d have her arrested for life. Silverspot believed Aeshna’s cold words– not that she would have stolen.
Pavon walked next to Silverspot, a brown fiber bag hanging from her neck to hold groceries. Silverspot had bumped into the purple dragon at the jewelry store, and they had decided to finish their outing together.
They were in the center of the maze-like stalls, dragons rushing about trying to finish their errands. Although the majority were HiveWings, there was a fair amount of SilkWings too, probably sent by their mistresses or bosses.
“Pavon..” Silverspot started. “I need to ask you something else about partners,” she said, her voice slow and unsure. She also looked around them to make sure no dragon was listening; none were.
“Clearsight! Did your partner show up? Why didn't you say so when you first saw me? This is exciting ,” Pavon gushed.
Silverspot hadn’t told her friend right away because… well, she didn’t want to accept it herself, and telling another dragon would make it true.
“I’m sorry, it’s just… I’m not too happy about it?” She sighed, shaking her head. The queen’s letter went to the forefront of her mind, and Silverspot had to ask her question to Pavon soon or she’d explode.
“Pavon, does the Queen ever force dragons to have eggs?”
Pavon’s eyes grew wide. “Not among anyone our age. Maybe to older partners who haven’t reproduced yet…” she thought out loud. “Why?”
Silverspot looked away from Pavon’s probing eyes.
“Did she—?” Pavon was cut off by Silverspot’s pained look. Silverspot could only guess how crestfallen she must have seemed to render her friend speechless.
“What are you going to do? Well– I mean– you have to, but– Clearsight, I’m so sorry,” Pavon eventually got out. Her words completely reflected what Silverspot was feeling.
She sighed before responding. “It’s fine. I– I’ll become gravid. I have to, right? I can’t say no to the Queen.” Silverspot looked at Pavon, filled with sorrow.
“Do you want to talk about it more?” the purple and orange SilkWing asked, concern etched across her face.
Silverspot shook her head. It was too busy in the market and she worried they would be overheard. If she were to talk more about the subject she was bound to insult the Queen. She also didn’t want to be vulnerable with HiveWings around, dare they find her presence annoying.
“Let’s just finish our shopping. I still have to buy Aeshna a few pounds of meat from…” Silverspot pulled out a piece of parchment from her own bag. “From, ‘Boxelder’s Butchery’,” she finished, putting the list away.
Pavon looked at Silverspot one more time, trying to descry something in her expression. “All right, I need to go there as well. Boxelder’s is very high end, and all the HiveWing’s on our floor tend to shop there. They get fresh meat daily and even serve cooked meat for HiveWing’s in a hurry,” Pavon told Silverspot.
Silverspot appreciated Pavon’s explanations. There were so many stores and vendors that she would have gotten lost in a tail twitch’s time if she hadn’t met Pavon early on.
After navigating their way through a few more streets, the butchery stood tall in front of them. The store was on the Hive’s wall, connected in a honeycomb shape to the other important stores. A big glass window had the store’s logo painted on (in black cursive script) and allowed curious shoppers to view into the front room and see the meat being sold.
Following Pavon, Silverspot entered the store. The smell of raw and cooked meat assaulted her senses and she fought down a gag. Being vegetarian herself, the answer to why HiveWings ate other living things evaded her.
The store was filled with HiveWings. One, perceivably the owner or an employee, was behind the long counter talking to another dragon. Three other HiveWings were looking at a glass case full of pink and red meat.
When Silverspot saw the animal products she had to look away. Burning filled her throat but she forced the bile downwards.
“You get used to it,” whispered Pavon.
The two SilkWings stood in the line slightly angling their heads downward to appear subservient, as the HiveWings like when SilkWings were inside their stores. Silverspot found it ridiculous, but life in a Hive had gotten her used to it.
Finally, it was their turn. Pavon graciously let Silverspot go to the counter first. Grabbing her list of groceries tightly in her hand, Silverspot opened her mouth to tell the HiveWing what Aeshna wanted.
At the last minute, the HiveWing looked behind Silverspot and friendly called out to an entering HiveWing. The words were taken from Silverspot as she got ignored. She was roughly pushed aside as the new HiveWing, a golden-colored dragon, spoke to the worker.
“How’s it been, Boxelder?” the HiveWing asked.
“Good, good, like any other day. You?”
“Same goes for me.”
“So, what can I get for you?”
The dragons continued to talk, but the noise stopped registering as words to Silverspot. Rage ran through her talons. She wanted to shove the rude HiveWing back and show him he couldn’t just push dragons around. She wanted to yell something, anything, but her mouth stayed nailed shut.
‘Stay calm, do as you’re told,’ she internally said like a mantra. She didn’t want to get kicked out of the store and displease Aeshna, or even worse, be paralyzed and sent to Misbehavers Way. She especially didn’t want to disappoint her parents. They wanted her to have the best life possible, which means she had to follow the rules and blend in with the crowd.
When the golden HiveWing finished ordering and received his products, Silverspot quickly filled in the space he had left at the counter. Boxelder sighed and pushed his glasses closer to his eyes from where they had slipped down.
“What do you want?” he said, his tone brash.
“I work for Miss Aeshna and she would like…” Silverspot then listed pieces of buffalo, chickens, and cows, which seemed to take one hundred moon cycles.
After hearing that Silverspot was working for Aeshna, Boxelder perked up and acted much more politely. Silverspot tucked that piece of information in a pocket in her brain: inform HiveWngs who you work for first, so you get respect.
Boxelder’s gloved talons picked up pieces of meat, wrapped them in wax paper, and placed them in a bag for Silverspot.
The whole time, Silverspot wanted to crawl out of her scales and fly run away. The anger had been washed from her chest and all that was left was a feeling of anxiety and being defeated.
Once both SilkWings were outside the store, Pavon laughed. “I totally thought you were going to do something stupid when that HiveWing pushed you,” she said.
“I wanted to,” Silverspot admitted. “Don’t you think it’s unfair that they can treat us like that but if we did that to HiveWings we’d be arrested?”
Pavon swung her head to look around them before leaning close to Silverspot and whispering, “Of course it’s not fair, but we can’t do anything about it, so might as well try to make the best of the situation.”
That was exactly what her mother and father would say, surprisingly one of the only things they agree on. That didn’t make it any easier to swallow. All of Silverspot’s life, she had accepted her fate, but now that she was actively living it, she found it much harder than expected. For the first time in her life, she wanted to do something about it . She wanted to fight back. That was crazy and dangerous and impossible. She shook the idea from her mind.
Back from the market, Silverspot took off the many bags hanging from her neck and placed them gently on the counter inside Aeshna’s house. The counters in the kitchen were white and gray marble, very nice and much different than the webs Silverspot was used to. The HiveWings had tree-stuff cabinets, and rooms , and so many more things that Silverspot couldn’t believe.
She put the fruit in the fruit bowl, the meat in the icebox, and the spices in the spice rack. Lastly, she delicately removed the scale pouch from her wrist and placed it on the counter, where Aeshna would see it.
Just as she finished up, Carpenter bounded into the room.
“Did you get peaches?” he asked, looking around the kitchen.
Silverspot nodded. “They are in season and look very ripe and delicious.”
“Cut it up for me,” Carpenter said.
Once again, Silverspot was shocked by his rude nature. It would take time to adjust to being talked to like that by a dragonet. No please or thank yous, just an order to someone he sees as less than him. With a fake smile, Silverspot took a peach and sliced it into sections. The juice dripped onto her talons, although she tried to avoid it. She set the peach slices on the counter in front of Carpenter. The small HiveWing munched loudly on the juicy fruit.
“Are you doing anything fun in school?” Silverspot asked, trying to make conversation.
Carpenter grumbled. “ No , we are doing short stories and I hate writing.” He had a dramatic, anguished expression on his face, probably to get sympathy from Silverspot.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Silverspot said. “You know, I quite enjoy writing. It was my favorite thing when I was your age.” She wondered if she was being too bold and personal by saying that. It was too late to take it back, even if she wanted to.
“Ugh, I don't care. I just want to go to the park, my friends are waiting for me.”
“Okay, well if you ever need help or want to bounce ideas off of someone, I’m here.” Silverspot really wanted to get a better relationship with the dragonet. Not only to earn more respect as a dragon, but also to teach Carpenter to treat dragons kindly.
“Whatever.” He rolled his eyes very dramatically. “I’m going to the park, you can come if you want, I don’t really care.”
“Hold on!” Silverspot said, stopping Carpenter from continuing to the door. “Let me just finish wiping down the counters and then we can go. Alright?”
A few heart beats passed in which Carpenter looked at the door like he was pained to be inside, ready to bolt, but instead he slowly sat down and nodded his head. Looks like he can be controlled , Silverspot thought with a smile.
The way through the halls was much more familiar to her, and Silverspot did not need to depend on Carpenter to know where she was going.
Pavon was not at the park, and there were only a couple other SilkWings watching their charges. Silverspot knew none of them. Carpenter ran off without so much as a goodbye, leaving Silverspot alone with her thoughts.
Earlier, she had avoided talking to Pavon about her situation more than what she had originally told her. Part of the weight had lifted from her shoulders, but heavy dread still clung to her. Knowing what she had to do was different from accepting and being okay with it.
She brought up her memory of Admiral. She followed the curve of his eye and studied the colors of his scales. She remembered his voice and thought hard. Could she have a life with this dragon? She tried to shove down the unhelpful, agonizing feelings of being forced into the partnership, and alternately tried to focus on her possible futures.
Could she wake up next to Admiral? Parent a dragonet with him? In every situation she thought of it all felt mandatory and lonely. It just wasn’t right.
A navy and red face peeked through her mental screen. Burnet was beautiful, and even more, Silverspot had physical and emotional reactions to her.
Excitement slowly built up in her scales. Burnet had said, ‘It’s time for me to go… but I might see you tomorrow?’ meaning she wanted to see Silverspot again. She had no idea why , they hadn’t had much time to talk. A spark of hope lit as Silverspot wondered if Burnet felt the same way she did. Either way, she planned to go back to the restaurant, ‘24 Hour Fruit’, that night.
Her silver spotted wings fluttered slightly from built up energy in her system. It had been a long time since a dragon had made her feel this way. A desire to write a poem about the situation inched its way into Silverspot’s mind. Perhaps she would focus on her feelings of hopelessness surrounding her partner and life as a SilkWing and add a pit of relief and beauty of a new dragon. It could be elegant, if Silverspot worded it right.
Silverspot kept her secret poems about her life folded neatly and stacked in a pile tied together with a string of twine. Writing had always been a reliable escape to her; a way to express her emotions without getting in trouble. Angry at HiveWings? Write. Sad about failing expectations in school? Write. The words invariably comforted her like a bucket to collect her many tears.
Silverspot’s talons ached to move across parchment, but she was working and didn’t have access to her materials. At that moment she was feeling very grateful that her parents had given her such a thoughtful goodbye present. The paper, even though so far away, tucked in her web, was calling to her. She could imagine how the rough texture would feel as she caressed it with her talons, brushing it clean. Her new blue ink would look oh so captivating against the cream paper, like the night sky had been melted and put in a bottle just for her.
Anxiety scraped the insides of Silverspot’s stomach. In front of her stood the wide door that would lead into 24 Hour Fruit, the building in which she had met Burnet. If she had understood correctly, the friendly navy dragon should be inside. The time of day was almost the exact same, maybe a little later. Aeshna had made Silverspot redo the floors, which prolonged her dismissal.
Silverspot took a deep breath and opened the door. The inside looked just as it had the day before, a slight comfort. The yellow, orange, brown, and silver SilkWing scanned the dragons in the room. A few SilkWings were sitting together talking over drinks, but the majority were sitting by themselves. To Silverspot’s relief, Burnet was sitting at a table bordering the opposite wall. She was looking Silverspot’s way.
The two dragons made eye contact and Silverspot felt her heart skip a beat. Embarrassed, she looked down at her talons, but started in Burnet’s direction.
“I was worried you weren’t going to come,” Burnet admitted when Silverspot arrived at her table.
“My mistress held me a bit longer tonight, I’m sorry,” Silverspot apologized, feeling guilty for keeping this dragon waiting.
“No need to apologize!” Burnet said earnestly. “Here, sit down,” she offered as she gestured to the empty spot across from her.
Awkwardly, Silverspot shuffled into the spot and sat down on the floor.
“So, what did your mistress have you doing?” Burnet asked, slightly leaning her sleek neck closer to Silverspot.
“She was absolutely convinced I had missed a spot on the floors of the living room even though I couldn’t see anything, so she made me re-mop the whole house! I swear I did it thoroughly the first time,” Silverspot told Burnet. She had made sure to clarify that she had in fact done the mopping properly originally, in case Burnet thought she wasn’t capable of basic skills. She did this even though a certain feeling told her that Burnet didn’t seem like a dragon who’d judge like that. SilkWings had a bit more freedom to speak about certain subjects on their own levels and in SilkWing owned stores, allowing Silverspot to rant about Aeshna and unfair treatment.
Burnet laughed. “Wow, HiveWings like that are so obnoxious. My boss sounds like that too. ‘Why is this connection not a 90 degree angle? I told you that they all had to be perfect. I’ll have you put on Misbehavers way if you don’t fix this!’” she mimed. “Of course, I measured it and it was at a 90 degree angle the whole time and he was just crazy.
“Can they really send you to Misbehavers Way for that?” Silverspot asked, horrified.
Burnet shrugged. “I doubt it. Maybe if they had enough respect in the community they could get away with it, but a lot of the times HiveWings find moving paralyzed SilkWings a lot of work. I’ve yet to experience it, thankfully.”
“Do you get threatened like that a lot at work?” Silverspot asked, wanting to know more about Burnet’s life.
“Yes but only because Rottnest, my boss, has it out for me.” Burnet’s antennae flicked in annoyance.
Silverspot leaned forward, becoming entranced by Burnet’s way of speaking.
“You see, I want to become an architect, which you probably know is almost unheard of for SikWings. We are mostly always only workers. Rottnest feels threatened every time I have an idea that would improve the build. He acts like me having dreams is an attack against all HiveWings.” Burnet rolled her eyes.
“That sounds frustrating,” Silverspot said, showing her sympathy. “I bet you’d be a great architect.”
Burnet beamed at Silverspot. “You think so? I mean— you’re only saying that out of friendliness, but maybe I could show you my designs some time?” Burnet rambled.
“I’d love that.” Silverspot wanted to jump with glee. Getting to know a new dragon, specifically Bunet, was making her feel on top of the world.
“Now that you know what I want to do with my life, what are your big dreams? What hidden goals do have that you can’t accomplish because of the way we live?” Burnet asked, sounding genuinely interested.
Silverspot thought of her writing and her desire to become an author. While architecture was something necessary for everyday life, writing was a pleasure, a time suck. Or at least that’s what her teachers had always said.
“I- I want to be a writer.” Silverspot looked at her talons, afraid of what the beautiful face in front of her might reveal. Although it seemed Burnet was a character that praised innovation, there was still a chance that she could hold reading and writing below hands on activities.
“That’s awesome!” Burnet blurted out. “What do you like to write?”
Silverspot glanced up, surprised. Burnet spoke with so much life and interest that Silverspot was at a loss for words. Even her friends at school had made fun of her side hobby. The only people who were supportive were her parents, and Silverspot believed that was just because they wanted to make up for fighting all the time.
“Oh— I like writing poetry and realistic fiction the most.” She blushed, still embarrassed.
“You should bring some of your work sometime, I’d love to read it. I was never much one for elegantly using words, so it’s a lovely miracle when I find dragons that are.”
Silverspot nodded her head even though she’d rather die than let someone read her writing. Even her parents weren’t allowed that privilege. What if I let Burnet read it and she’s disgusted by my awful writing and never wants to speak to me again? Silverspot fretted.
Burnet must have sensed a shift in Silverspot because she said, “If you don’t want to share your writing with me, you don’t have to. I understand if it’s personal.”
Silverspot lifted her gaze to meet the deep teal eyes that were Burnet’s. “Thank you,” she said softly. Never before had this level of respect been given to her. She felt like she was swimming with the stars.
The conversation lulled for a moment before Burnet cleared her throat. “So, do you… have a partner?”
Silverspot felt her organs plummet. She wondered if her scales changed color, because it felt as if all the blood in her body stopped moving. “Ye— yes, I do,” she said sorrowfully.
“I’m sorry for mentioning it,” Burnet said, concern pinned on her face. Reaching across the table, Burnet grabbed one of Silverspot’s talons. The light touch tingled and lightly lifted her mood.
“I’m fine… I just have… complicated feelings about my partner.”
“I don’t know what exactly you’re going through, but I feel the same way about my own. He… how do I say this? Isn’t right for me.”
A glimmer of something positive attached itself to Silverspot’s heart. It sounded like Burnet really did understand.
“And… I hope I’m not over-sharing, but it turns out my situation is even worse than I originally thought. I have to… do something that I don’t really want to do. And if I don't, I will be punished.”
The similarity between Burnet’s situation and Silverspot’s was weird, but Silverspot pushed that knowledge away and clung to the empathy forming in her chest.
“It’s ironically funny that you say that,” Silverspot started, “because I’m going through the exact same thing.”
Silverspot could see relief on Burnet’s face and the dark blue and green dragon continued. “You see, Admiral isn’t a bad—”
The world stopped moving. Silverspot felt as if the tile underneath her dropped away. Did she just say Admiral ? Her thoughts were racing a million miles in twenty directions.
“What’s wrong?” Burnet asked with worry.
“Did you say your partner is Admiral?” Silverspot asked, trying to slow her breathing simultaneously. Of course there were probably many Admirals in the world, but the similarities were now too much.
“Yes… Why?” Burnet pulled her talon away, a questioning look in her eyes.
“Blues, teals, and greens? Dumbly optimistic?” Silverspot continued to ask, her alarm growing.
Burnet's eyes widened in a sudden realization, answering Silverspot’s questions. They had the same partner.