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Honey Never Spoils : Series

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In the Garden of Eternity, there were two main members of royalty; there was the Rose King and the Bee Queen. Mind you, these two did not rule it together, but separately. The Bee Queen was ruler over all animal life within the garden, responsible for protecting both plant and animal life within the garden's boundaries and keeping peace inside the garden; while the Rose King was ruler over all plant life within the garden, responsible for guiding the development of the garden to keep it well and being the one who negotiated with nature outside of the garden's boundaries to keep it secluded and safe.

But it is not these two that this tale focuses on. This tale focuses on me. I am another member of royalty within the Garden of Eternity. I am the Bee Prince Grandiur. I am the only male member of bee royalty. Despite this fact, I am utterly useless. I know how to do nothing, because I am not allowed to learn any skills. I was not allowed to learn any skills because I was a stingless bee amidst honeybees. The fact was that I could do the work that my colonymates did, but the truth was that I couldn’t do any of those jobs nearly as good as them.

So, to protect me from feeling like a failure, my adoptive mother, the Bee Queen Bebe, had forbidden me from learning any of the skills required to do any of the jobs done by the others in the colony. The job she had then appointed me with was “royal gossip”. That basically meant I sat around all day, chatting with her to keep her company when she wasn’t busy, and silently loathing my forced uselessness when she was busy.

At this moment today, she wasn‘t busy. “Why do you make so many drones that you don’t want to mate with? If you don’t want more males to mate with, what’s the point of making them and then making them do the jobs of the female workers?” I asked, my head propped up on my hand as I stared at her.

“Well, for starters, I rather like making men do women’s work. It’s quite entertaining,” she said, smiling smugly to herself. I opened my mouth to ask not what her other reasons were, but if she would not find it even remotely entertaining to see me doing some real work. Unfortunately, she went on before I could ask. Or, rather, she went on because she knew what I was about to ask, as I brought it up every chance that I got. “Besides, I just love being surrounded by all these pretty, young boys!” she exclaimed suddenly, smiling brightly, “Don’t you?”

I snapped my mouth shut swiftly, blushing softly as I turned my gaze back out the window to watch the other bees working in the colony. “If you like being surrounded by them so much, why don’t you like mating with them all?” I asked finally, rather obviously avoiding answering her own question.

I slid my gaze back to her now, as I always found her expressions rather entertaining when she was speaking. “Ah, well, more than I like all these pretty, young boys being around me, I like all these pretty, young boys being with each other,” she said, putting a finger to her lip thoughtfully as she stared at me. We both just stared at each other for a beat, each of us trying to figure out just what the other was thinking. “…That’s why you’ll be nice and gay for mommy‘s sake, right?” she exclaimed suddenly, now using her finger to point at herself as though I had forgotten she was my mother.

“Mother!” I exclaimed, my blush no longer soft but now burning brightly.

“What’s the matter? You don’t want to be gay to make mommy happy?” she asked, pouting now.

I groaned as I dropped my face into my hands, half struggling to remove my blush and half struggling to understand her thinking. “Aren’t you happy enough just having me around to talk to? Why do you so suddenly want me to be gay?” I asked finally, giving up on understanding her thinking on my own.

There was a pause, during which I very slowly lifted my head up and raised my gaze back to her. She began to speak only when I was again looking at her. “…I am very happy having you around to talk to, Grand,” she said, her smile soft and loving now, “I’m not so self-centered that I cannot see that you are not nearly so happy as me, though.” My hands, which had been poised to again catch my head and hide my face if I became overcome by embarrassment, fell limply to my sides now as my jaw fell open in shock.

I had missed the fact that she had caught that. I thought she had missed the fact that my constant mentioning of my uselessness was more than just a teenage phase. She continued to smile at me as she went on. “I’ve been giving it a lot of thought, and I thought that perhaps the reason that you’re really so unhappy is that you have no one to keep you company. I know that’s why I was so upset before I had you. I mean, I had the company of my many mates, but I didn’t have the kind of company that you provide me,” she said.

“So, naturally I got to thinking that maybe you’re in need of the kind of company that I can’t provide you as your mother,” she said softly. There was another pause now, and then all at once her smile became exuberant again. “Naturally, I came to the conclusion that if you’re gay, you’ll also be happy! So, you need to be gay for your own sake, and happy for my sake! Because no mother can be happy if her children are unhappy!” she exclaimed.

We both just stared at each other for a beat. Now that I knew exactly what she was thinking, I had no idea what to think myself. I couldn’t tell if her thinking was logical or insane. Before I could figure out what to think, she all at once jumped up from her seat and bounced over to me. “Well, anyway, I decided that today is the day you shall finally take your first overseeing flight with me!” she declared as he grabbed up my hands with her own excitedly.

“I’ve gone on flights through the colony to observe the workers with you before,” I said, staring at her blankly.

“No, silly! Today is the first of the month! That means today’s flight isn’t merely to oversee the colony, but all of the garden! This will be your first time leaving the colony since I adopted you and brought you here!” she declared. I might have fallen over in shock at this declaration, except just then she dragged me to my feet and out of the room, being eager to get started on today’s flight. Needless to say, I still had no idea what to think or how to feel about her wanting me to be gay, but I did know that I should feel very nervous about the flight for today—mostly because I was thinking about all the things that could go wrong during it.



I wasn’t sure if I was more in awe or afraid as I looked all around, struggling to simultaneously take in all of the new sights and keep up with the flight group. Not having been out of the colony in so long not only made me want to go slower so that I could get a better look at everything, but it made me go slower simply because I wasn’t used to flying at such a fast rate or for an extended time.

My wandering mind and eyes were dragged around by my mother as she all at once slammed into me, almost knocking the both of us right out of the air. Before I could even begin to panic and wonder what was the matter, she shared with me what was on her mind all too happily. “Ah! Look there! Look there! See that, Grand? Those two pretty plant boys are making out!” she shrieked, shamelessly pointing in the direction of a pair of very entwined ivy boys.

“Doesn’t seeing them expressing their love for each other make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? Doesn’t seeing them sucking face so openly make you want to find a nice honeysuckle and suck on him a little? Doesn’t in, darling?” she went on, caring as little about the fact that our entire group was gapping at us as the two ivy boys cared that we were gawking at them.

“Mother, please, restrain yourself! You’re a queen!” I declared, blushing so hard that I was redder than a rose.

“Don’t you want to be a queen, too, to make mommy happy, honey?” she asked without missing a beat. I, however, did miss a beat. Many beats, actually. Not just heartbeats, either, but also wing beats. I didn’t even realize I had stopped flying until I started falling. I was too startled by the fact that I was falling to even think to start beating my wings again.

Thankfully, I had released my mother in my great shock, so I was not dragging her down with me. And fortunately, one of the bees in our party wasn’t so stunned that he couldn’t swoop down and snatch me up in midair, saving me from what would undoubtedly have been a very nasty crash landing. I was snapped out my shock only as my savior did an abrupt change of direction, shooting back high into the air a split second before the both of us smashed into the ground.

I let out something of a gasp, suddenly grabbing onto him as my heart and wings both started beating again—though the latter stopped beating again quite quickly of their own wish, not yet wanting to carry my weight again. Apparently, my wings felt safer with another bee holding me up in the air than doing so themselves. Or maybe they were too tired after so many sudden shocks in a row. Or maybe they were just lazy. Either way, they didn’t feel like resuming work again right away.

“Bee Prince Grandiur! Prince Grandiur! Your majesty, sir, please, are you okay?!” a voice exclaimed quite closed to me. Though my shock had left me, it had done so only that a stupor could settle in on me. I was snapped out of the stupor as well now, though, as I looked up and realized it was my savior speaking.

“A-Ah, I…I’m fine,” I said weakly, almost uncertainly—and certainly not convincingly.

“Grandiur!” came a voice that was a hundred times more worried than his. I swiftly turned my eyes and attention away from him, finding my mother as she came to a screeching halt just short of slamming into us. “Oh my goodness! Your wings—They aren’t beating—I’m so sorry! I must have hurt them when I hit you! When I knocked you off balance that must have thrown your wings off beat! I almost killed my own son! I’m so sorry, Grandiur!” she sobbed out, frantically flitting about me as she swiftly switched back and forth between clasping her hands to her face in horror and holding them to my face to confirm that I wasn’t hurt.

“N-No! No, mother, you don’t have to be—it wasn’t your fault—it was just me! You didn’t do anything! My wings are just tired! I’m just tired! I’m sorry for frightening you! I-It’s okay, though! I’m okay!” I exclaimed quickly, not wanting her to continue freaking out and thinking it was her fault. I mean, even if it had been because of her, it was obviously only an accident. She hadn’t meant for it. I knew that, just as I knew that she would never forgive herself if she knew it had technically been her fault.

“Oh, Grand!” she exclaimed, suddenly throwing her arms around me, somehow managing to hug me without pulling me from the arms of my savior.

“Sarce, good catch,” said another of the bees—the commander of this group of royal guards, I believe, and possibly also the commandant of the entirety of the Garden of Eternity guardian army. He was speaking to my savior, right?

I turned my eyes up to the guard still holding me. So this guy was named Sarce? I turned my eyes back to my mother, giving her a squeeze—I had returned her hug automatically—before pulling back slightly so that she would look at me. “Come, please, calm down, compose yourself,” I said softly, working up a smile for her sake, “Honestly, mother, you look so silly crying so much over a son you haven’t even lost yet.”

“Don’t call your mother silly! I was frightened for your very life!” she exclaimed, giving me an upset look now as she hugged me harder, refusing to relinquish her hold on me.

“You gave us all quite a fright, Prince Grandiur,” the commander said now. He smiled softly now, though I couldn’t tell if it was due to relief that I was feeling okay or due to amusement at my mother’s melodramatics.

“So much so that not a single other one of these idiots made a single motion to save you,” my savior, Sarce, growled as he glared at his fellow guards, save for his commander. The others all gave various gestures of shame ranging from nervous laughter to cringes disguised as smiles to sheepish neck-scratching. My mother, on the other hand, looked as though she might start sobbing again at any second, having not forgotten that fact that she, too, had been too stunned to try to save me, even when she had been the closest to me.

“Ah, well, it really only took one, now didn’t it?” I exclaimed with my own nervous laughter, cringe of a smile, and sheepish scratching of my neck. “Besides, I can’t really blame them any. I myself was too shocked to do anything,” I added, just to be sure my mother didn’t start blaming herself. I would rather admit that embarrassing fact than have her begin bawling again.

“Oh, Grand, my poor little baby!” my mother blurted out, hugging herself to me tightly again.

“Mother, please, you’re not being very queenly,” I said weakly.

“This really is no way for the Bee Queen to be behaving,” the commander stated flatly, drawing his mouth into a tight line, “I guess it can’t be helped. With the queen so discomposed and the prince so tired, we’ll have to return to the colony. We won’t be able to finish the flight today.”

“This will be our first time turning back since the day we found the Bee Prince as a baby,” Sarce stated, not speaking quite as flatly as his commander. His words struck me hard. It was a good thing he was still holding onto me, because I was shocked stiff a second time upon hearing that. I had no idea that they had canceled their flight and returned the colony when they found me. My mother had never mentioned that part. I had always just assumed that after she decided to adopt me, they resumed the flight and finished it up before heading back.

Abruptly I pushed my mother away, holding her firmly at arm’s length. “There’s no reason for the flight to be canceled. Mother just needs a moment to compose herself, and then we can continue on,” I stated, speaking just as flatly as the commander had.

“But your wings still aren’t working, honey,” my mother said softly. She released me now only to reach past me and tentatively touch my wings. They didn’t budge. They didn’t beat even a single time. They really had called it quits. That still didn’t mean the flight should be called off, though.

I brushed her hand away from my wings with a quick but kind motion of my own hand. “Then I simply shall remain here to rest for awhile, while you continue on. It’s not necessary for me to participate. If I begin to feel better, I’ll catch up with you. If I don’t begin to feel better, I’ll simply wait here for you to come back around to head back to the colony with you,” I stated as though it were the most simple solution in the world—and, really, it was. It would require for more effort to be expended to let everyone know that the Bee Queen wouldn’t be coming through today and to then reschedule for another day, than to simply go on as was normal without my pointless presence.

“But, Grand—” my mother started to argue, but I cut her short.

“Allow me to put this another way, mother: I refuse to return to the colony if you won’t resume the flight,” I stated, smiling brightly now.

“Grand!” she exclaimed, looking simultaneously shocked by what I said and terrified by the thought of it.

“It’s your choice, mother,” I said without missing a beat.

“What do you mean, saying it’s my choice?! Of course I have to say I’ll finish the flight, if you’re going to say it like that! You know I would rather never return to the colony myself than have you never return with me!” she exclaimed.

“Good. So you’ll be going. Go on now, then. You’re already behind schedule,” I said, making a little shooing motion now.

My mother looked like she had the notion to argue further, but a motion from the commander cut her off. She pouted her lip out now, giving me an upset look to see if she could get me to give in with just that. When I only continued to smile at her, she finally turned away from me, giving in to me and going on her way. “Sarce, you will remain with the Bee Prince Grandiur,” the commander said, these being the only parting words we received from any of the party before they resumed their flight.

Sarce and I continued to hover in midair, watching them until they were little more than specks in the distance. “…You really are your mother’s son,” he said out of the blue.

I looked up at him curiously, finding that he was already staring down at me—and realizing that he had actually been watching me the entire while in which I had been watching the flight group go. “I beg your pardon?” I said, uncertain of what he meant.

“You say the darnedest things, and with such a perfectly innocent look on your face, as though you’re unaware of the oddity of what you’re saying,” he said, smiling as he stared down at me.

I stared up at him for a beat, and then looked away quickly as a blush rushed across my face. “W-Well, it’s not like I’m always like that—or ever like that, really. But I just knew she wouldn’t take me seriously if I acted serious, because I kind of seem ridiculous when I act serious, so I had to act, um, strangely to be taken seriously,” I half mumbled my embarrassing explanation.

“Oh? Is that so?” he asked. I took a quick peek up at him, seeing that his smile was slowly but surely shifting into a smirk. My quick peek swiftly shifted into not-so-subtle peering up at him, waiting for him to say something more. He definitely had something else to say, with such a look on his face. Probably he was only hesitating because he wasn’t quite sure if he could say such a thing—whatever it was—to the Bee Prince.

With my blush finally fading, I felt comfortable facing him and openly staring up at him now. “You can feel free to speak freely to me,” I stated simply and shortly, trying hard to sound serious. My blush was as quick to return for a second round as it had been to come the first time around as his smirk grew and he let out a snort that was a failed attempt to keep from snickering. “See? That’s why I can’t be serious,” I muttered as I looked away, a soft scowl following the bright blush back onto my face.

“Ah, I apologize,” he said swiftly.

“Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault that I seem ridiculous when I try to appear serious,” I said.

All at once Sarce suddenly spun me around in his arms, now holding me with my chest to his chest, as opposed to our previous position of my back to his chest, so that I had to face him. “It isn’t that—I wasn’t apologizing for thinking you seem ridiculous. I was apologizing for feeling that you look adorable,” he stated, appearing to be most serious—but seeming absolutely ridiculous.

“You can’t be serious,” I stated flatly, looking away again. Just because he could make me face him didn’t mean he could make me look at him. Or, so I thought, until he suddenly slid one arm from around me to take my face in his hand and make me look at him. Having almost fallen to my death a few mere minutes ago, it was only natural that the feeling of half of my current support slipping away caused me to jolt forward in a panic, throwing my arms around him and then smashing my face into his neck.

That had been the intention of my panicked instinct, at least. However, as I jolted like that at the same time as he was making me look at him, the result of his actions combined with my reactions was me throwing my arms around his neck as he turned my face towards him, and then the both of us smashing my lips into his. What followed that was solely the result of my reaction and therefore entirely my fault.

In an instant I went from throwing myself into him to throwing myself away from him. The stupidity of such a course of action was lost on me until the last second, at which point it was too late as I was already flying through the air—and then falling towards the ground. Unlike the last time I found myself heading rapidly towards the ground, I wasn’t frozen stiff in shock. My wings found their willingness to work quite quickly, sending me flying right back up even faster than I had been falling.

Of course, seeing as Sarce had shot right down after me, that meant that I was flying up at him just as quickly as he was flying down at me. So, yes, we collided in midair. While the collision was fairly shocking, it was more the fact that it knocked the wind and our senses out of us that made us now go tumbling towards the ground together. My heart beat once, my wings beat twice, and then we hit the ground before I could even close my eyes.

Though I didn’t even have the time to bat an eyelash, Sarce enough time to reach for me—but not enough time to actually reach me. His hand was just a hair’s breadth away when we hit. Yet, somehow, when the dust settled down, as the pain settled in, I found that I was lying on top of him. How had I ended up on top of him on the ground when I had been below him in the air?

“….Sarce…?” I asked uncertainly, pushing myself up off of him and then pulling myself up his body. He didn’t bat an eyelash—didn’t even open his eyes. No reply nor reaction. “Sarce…?” I asked again, tentatively touching one of his crumpled wings. His wing didn’t beat—he didn’t even flinch. Could he even feel that? Had…Had the crash crippled his wings? “….Sarce?” I barely whispered this time, swiftly moving my hand to his neck to check for a pulse. I couldn’t feel any heartbeat. He didn’t even look like he was breathing. H-Had I killed him?!

My own heart stopped dead at that thought. I had just killed one of the thirteen greatest guardians of the garden. That thought now jump-started my heart, tears jumping to my eyes as I jumped to my feet in horror. I had been laying on a dead man! I had been sitting on a dead man! I had been touching a dead man! And he was only dead in the first place because of me and my stupid and my uselessness! He had died because I was too useless to even fly for myself!

Just as my heart and the contents of my stomach jumped up into my throat to choke me, suddenly Sarce’s leg shot out, sweeping my own legs out from under me. It was only because my heart and stomach were choking me that a scream didn’t escape me, being choked by the other two things trying to escape me and then being swallowed forcefully as shock now choked me.

Though I had been knocked off my feet, I didn’t hit the ground, being caught by Sarce as he suddenly sat bolt upright. The shock left my face at the sight of the smile on his face, and then the smile left his face as he saw the tears in my eyes. “Oh my! Did I frighten you too badly? I apologize, Bee Prince Grandiur. I didn’t mean to scare you straight into tears,” he said swiftly, giving me a concerned look now.

I stared at him for a beat, my brain refusing the process his words. What was he saying? He had not meant to scare me so badly that I cried? Did that he mean it had been an accident that he scared me at all, or that he had intended to frighten me, only to a lesser extent? “I’m pretty good at playing possum, don’t you think? Not just by not breathing, but making myself seem injured more greatly than I really am and actually stopping my own heart,” he said, now offering up an almost apologetic smile.

Before he could bat and eyelash, I had slapped him straight across the face. “Y-You were just pretending to be so hurt—just playing dead?! What in the world is wrong with you?!? Why would you do that to me when I’ve already almost died multiple times today—when we both really could have died just now!?” I said, both screaming the words with horror and shouting them with fury.

I shoved up away from him, but found that my legs had joined my wings in their protest of today’s events. Thankfully, Sarce easily caught me in his arms again as I collapsed back to the ground. Unfortunately, I didn’t particularly want to be in his bloody arms and in his blasted lap at that particular moment. Seeming to be aware of that fact, he crushed me to his chest, keeping me from making any further failures of attempts to get away from him.

“I-I’m truly sorry, your majesty. It was just a joke—a tasteless, thoughtless one. I just—I got too comfortable. I dismissed too much of my composure. It’s a prank I’ve played—playing dead—on my squadmates many times. I didn’t stop to think about the fact that you are obviously not accustomed to such crude, cruel humor,” he said, bowing his head in shame even as he held me so closely.

There was silence now, aside from my harsh breathing, as I continued to watch him with upset, untrusting eyes. After several seconds of strained silence, the mistrust left my expression, leaving only the tears in my eyes and wounded look on my face. “J-Ju…Just don’t do it again. I…I was r-really scared that I had gotten you killed—really upset thinking you had died because of me,” I said, my words very weak and wavering.

My heart, which had been thundering strongly all along, now slowed it’s pace, feeling as weak and unsteady as my voice, as my legs—as every part of me, actually. I was really a mess. I wasn’t lying. I honestly had been very horrified by the thought that I could have cost Sarce his life. I really was greatly upset that such a brave bee and great guard would risk losing his life over a useless brat of a bee like me.

Sarce lifted his head and raised his eyes only now, a smile alighting upon his features once more. “Ahaha. Don’t worry, your majesty. It takes more than a crash-landing to kill me. I’m not one of the best bees in the Garden of Eternity’s guardian army for nothing, you know,” he said, his smile growing into a grin, “Besides, I would be very honored and more than happy to die to protect our precious Bee Prince Grandiur. You’re very important, you know.”

Now it was I who bowed my head in shame, unable to face him when he said that. “Pfft. Yeah, right. I’m not important—not useful—at all. Your death would be more honorable if you were to die while protecting the “precious” nectar used to help make the food used to feed the colony than if you were to die by saving me from my own stupidity,” I muttered bitterly under my breath. I didn’t even really mean to say it aloud, but I couldn’t keep from speaking what I was thinking aloud just this once. I figured I was safe since I was speaking so quietly—but, I hadn’t taken into account our very close proximity or that he was paying attention to me very closely.

It came as a great surprise to me when he suddenly grabbed my face and made me look at him again. Thankfully, there was no accidental contact between our lips this time. Unfortunately, he made it clear that he had heard what I’d just said. “Pardon me for being forward, my prince, but I feel that I must point out that what you just said is absurd. The only way I could possibly die a more honorable death than dying while saving you would be dying while saving the queen. And, in all honesty, even then it would be debatable whether or not meeting my maker in that manner would be the better choice,” he stated boldly.

“You—What are you talking about? You’re the one that is saying absurd things! That makes no sense! Not a single bit of it—but especially that last part! Nothing could be more honorable than dying to protect your queen! If it were picking between which of us to save if both of our lives were at stake and you could only save one of us, you would choose my mother, would you not?!” I all but snapped the words, taking offense to the notion that my mother would be less important than I. It was only common sense that the life of the queen—the lifeblood of the colony—would be vastly more important than anyone else’s life, especially that of a pointless prince.

“I would not,” he stated without missing a beat.

“Don’t be impudent! Don’t be an idiot! Of course you would! She is the queen! Disaster would befall the colony without her! No, not even just the colony—the entire of Eternity! Even if there was someone who could take her place, everything could fall to ruin!” I shouted, my face flushing with fury. Had he hit his head too hard when we crashed?! He had to be out of his mind to be saying such things! It was unbelievable, and almost unforgivable! Especially coming from a guard so high in rank! It was honestly only because he was so high in rank that I would even consider forgiving speaking such absurdities, such stupidities.

He shifted his hand now, switching from cupping my face to gripping my chin; and what a tight grip it was! I flinched ever so slightly, and he took that as a sign that he had my full attention. “I am going to assume that you are unaware of just what the colony and, by connection, this garden were like before you came into the picture, into the garden, into all of our lives,” he stated very sternly, “Working on that assumption, I will tell you that, quite frankly, we were on the brink of disaster back then.”

“The queen, for some reason nobody, not even she herself, could comprehend or change, was constantly and deeply depressed. Though she still tried her very best for the sake of us all, and though we all tried our very best for the sake of she, we could not manage to make things as peaceful and perfect as they once had been many decades before then. Because the colony could not manage well, by consequence none of the garden could manage even slightly well,” he explained, his tone calm but cold as he recalled those times for me.

“Even the Rose King was helpless to halt the descent into a depression that was overcoming the Garden of Eternity as a whole. All of his efforts were useless, because this garden cannot be made successful or maintained successfully without the combined effort and power of both the Rose King and the Bee Queen. They both must be at their very best and constantly have cooperation and coordination in order to make this place as perfect as it is today—as it was before that time when her majesty grew undeniably depressed,” he went on.

“…And then….then, when the queen was at the height of her depression, when the garden was at the lowest it ever had been in all of its lengthy existence….that was when we went out on the overseeing flight during which we ran—or, rather, flew across you,” he said, a very small, soft smile coming onto his face now, “…The instant the queen saw you, she knew exactly what it was that had been missing from her life. She did not hesitate to call for me to fly down and fetch you from the ground for her—back then, in that time, it was too unsafe for her to dare do such a thing herself.”

“Once we saw the look that came to the queen’s face when I handed you over to her, we all knew exactly what we needed to do. Commandant Send did not hesitate to call the flight off and have us return to the colony. And so we did an about-face and went right back to the colony, with the queen cuddling you the entire time. The effect that the sight of her being so sincerely happy for the first time in a long time had on everyone in the colony was instantaneous,” he said, his smile growing just slightly as he spoke.

“Within a mere month of bringing you back to the colony, the entire garden was flourishing again in a way it had not in countless years. And everybody in all of Eternity knew that it was because of the Bee Prince Grandiur that we were once again doing well, that we were once more able to be productive, to have peace. And everyone to this day still does know that the garden is only able to so well because we have you, because your mother has you,” he went on.

“I fear to imagine what would become of us all if we were to lose you; but, at the same time, I already know—we all are aware—that something truly terrible would happen to the garden if we were to lose you. And that is that not only would the queen inevitably fall into another depression because she lost her beloved son, but the garden as a whole would unavoidably descend into disaster because we lost out dearly loved prince,” he said.

“While it would be a lie to say that the Bee Queen could be easily be replaced, I can honestly say that we could manage to move on, though it would be very difficult at times. If we were to lose the Bee Prince, though, we would be doomed. Nobody could possibly replace you in your mother’s heart—we would lose her to her depression, and then we would have lost both of the two most important people in this colony. There would be not even the slightest hope of struggling through such a situation. We would be unable to continue on if we lost both our dear queen and our precious prince,” he said, his smile growing slightly sorrowful now.

“Because you are so precious to us all and so necessary to our vitality; that is why, if you were to ask any guardian in our army—anyone in the garden at all, actually—that they could say honestly and honorably that, if they had to choose, they would save the Bee Prince rather than the Bee Queen,” he said, a softly loving feeling replacing the sorrow in his smile, “…And because you are so special to me and the person I love more than my own life, the life of anyone else in this garden, and the life of this garden altogether; that is why, if you were to ask me, I can honestly and honorably say that, if I had to choose, I would save you over your mother, over myself, and over anyone else.”

While my face was no longer flushed from fury, it was still coloured very brightly due to an unbelievable amount and disbelieving feeling of embarrassment. My breathing might have been harsh, had I actually been breathing at all. As it were, I was just staring at him in astonishment at that load of information and due to an overload of emotion. If I was not most mistaken—which I very well may be—he had just confessed his love for and to me.

While my brain had been willing to process all that he had said relatively easily, it was unwilling to provide me with a response. So there was nothing now other than me staring at him and him watching me. Suddenly then, he released my face and bowed his head with shame once again. “I apologize, your majesty. I have once again placed aside too much of my composure and discarded how you might feel about all of this, consequently being far too forward and frank with you. I beg your forgiveness for this incident, even as inexcusable an outburst as it was,” he said.

I stared at him for a beat, my wings suddenly beginning to beat softly, flittering thoughtfully. “You were…. Were you never going to tell me? Did you never intend to let me know you felt for me?” I asked, despite the monumental embarrassment I felt at that moment. He looked up with surprise at my words, then looking even more surprised upon seeing my expression. The look on my face was a combination of my embarrassing attempt at seeming serious and my unsuccessful attempt at not seeming seriously embarrassed. I wouldn’t dare say so myself, but overall I probably looked what Sarce would call “adorable”.

“Well…that….I had thought of…perhaps informing you of my feelings….one day… But…after seeing…how you reacted to your mother’s…suggestion that you be gay…earlier today…” he said, trailing off with uncertainty and in thoughtfulness.

I lost the pathetic attempt at looking serious, shock that I didn’t even have to focus to feel coming to my face. “H-How did you know that’s why I really froze up that first time I fell?! How did you know that that caused me to fall that first time?!” I blurted out.

“I just…kind of thought…it was obvious…even after you tried to cover it up,” he said, “Actually, I also thought it was pretty obvious that the reason you gave for freezing up and falling was totally made up out of thin air to dispel your mother‘s feelings that she was at fault.”

“Was it really that obvious?” I asked weakly, looking down with both shame and worry. If it was that easy for Sarce to tell I had been lying, then I didn’t doubt that my mother had been able to tell. After all, she was my mother by having brought me up, even if she hadn’t actually given birth to me.

Sarce suddenly turned my gaze back up, this time doing so by kindly putting a finger under my chin and tilting my face up towards him. “You need not fret, your majesty. It does not matter whether or not it was you mother’s fault. As long as she knows you do not blame her, she will not blame herself. That you tried to cover up for her and for her sake alone showed that you don’t feel she is at fault, so it’s okay,” he said softly.

“Ah, if…if you say so… Okay…” I replied just as softly. I couldn’t help but still feel a small bit worried, but I trusted him. If he said my mother wasn’t blaming herself for my fall, I believed it. Still, though… “…You must feel that I’m pretty spoiled and sheltered to react so strongly and horribly to that sort of thing, even if it’s a bit startling for it to be coming from my mother,” I muttered, now turning my gaze—though not my face—away from him again.

“Actually, it’s because I know you are so sheltered that I know you are not spoiled,” he stated without missing a beat.

I couldn’t not look back at him at that. “I beg your pardon?” I said, uncertain of what he meant.

He smiled softly upon seeing my eyes return to him so swiftly at what he said. “I should think that even as sheltered as you are, your majesty, that you are aware that honey never spoils if it is kept securely sealed,” he said. As he spoke he chuckled just very softly, though I wasn’t sure if he was laughing at me or himself.

I stared at him for a moment, trying very hard to figure out what in the world he was saying. It was, as I said, very hard, as he was making very little sense. Or, well, I thought he wasn‘t making much sense, anyhow. But, then again, I was the idiot that had thought I was completely useless up until now. “…You… Are you aware that I am a bee and not honey…?” I asked uncertainly. Once again I found myself fearing that he had hit his head too hard in the crash-landing.

“Is that so? Are you sure? Because honey is the only thing sweeter than sugar, as far as I know,” he said, his smile and chuckling both growing a bit stronger.

Again I had to just stare at him for a couple beats as I thought very carefully over what he was saying to me. I really wanted to figure out if he was serious and, if he wasn’t serious, what exactly he was trying to say. “…You… Are you calling me “honey” in a roundabout, non-literal way?” I asked uncertainly. Now I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe I was the one who had hit my head, thinking and asking such a ridiculous thing.

“And I’m calling you “sweet” in a roundabout, non-literal way, too,” he said, his smile growing into a grin and his chuckling growing into laughter.

The blush that had remained on—though slowly fading from—my face this entire time now flared up with renewed brightness. “Th-That—Y-You—I can’t b-be-believe this,” I stuttered out.

“Have I been too blunt again? I apologize, your majesty. I don’t know what I was thinking—” he started to swiftly apologize. Before he could go any farther with his apology or bow his head in shame, I suddenly jolted forward and swiftly kissed him, albeit only long enough to shut him up.

I pulled back from the one-sided kiss quickly, blushing possibly even harder than before. “It-It’s okay. I’ll allow it—for you to be so brazen with me. I…I would like it if you were that way with me more, actually,” I said, switching from gazing at him to staring at the ground halfway through due to my overwhelming embarrassment.

“….Are you serious?” he asked uncertainly, hesitantly.

“I am serious. J…Just be careful not to spoil me. I would hate to become so unsweet that I would be hated and, consequently, useless,” I said, unable to bring myself to look up at him again even then.

All at once Sarce grabbed my face in his hand, turned my face up to his, and brushed our lips together in a very soft, sweet kiss. Coincidentally, this very sweet kiss was our first two-sided kiss. Or should I say it was our first two-sided kiss, and this consequently made it very sweet? Well, either way, it was a very sweet kiss; so I was understandably slightly upset when it ended due to him pulling back to discontinue the kiss while continuing to hold my face in place. “I don’t believe there is a danger of you ever becoming unsweet, my precious prince. Too sweet, perhaps, but never unsweet,” he murmured.

“In that case, I feel absolutely no shame whatsoever in demanding that you say my name—only my name—and then kiss me again—only much longer,” I stated with absolute seriousness. I was not merely attempting to seem serious, for once. I was dead serious and dead set in my demand.

“Your wish in my command, Bee Prince Grandiur,” he stated with seriousness more serious than my own. I lost my serious expression swiftly, softly scowling and blushing now. Was he mocking me? The seriousness left his face just as suddenly as it had mine, though his left a smile in it’s wake, rather than a scowl. “I still think you’re adorable,” he said, slowly leaning in for a kiss again, “Allow me to correct my statement from just a moment ago. What I actually meant was: Your demand is my desire, my precious Grandiur.”

While I was a bit miffed that he had played a prank on me again, I decided to pardon it, since he gave me what I wanted now afterwards. Besides, I had been the one who requested he not spoil me. That could be translated either as not giving me everything I wanted or not giving me only the things I wanted. Since he seemed incapable of doing the former, he clearly had no choice but to go with the latter. “Ah, I feel spoiled already,” I mumbled past the kiss, unable to keep the thought from escaping past my lips.

“You need not fret, my precious. You still taste plenty sweet to me,” he purred without missing a beat. I shortly thereafter broke off the kiss, blushing like nothing else as I stared pointedly at the ground. “You still look plenty adorable to me, too,” he laughed, hugging me to his chest now as he pressed a kiss to the top of my head.

Since I was already feeling all but embarrassed to death, I decided to go ahead and say the one thing that I knew I would die of embarrassment from saying. “…I love you, Sarce,” I mumbled embarrassedly under my breath.

It was no great surprise to me when he suddenly grabbed my face and made me look at him again. Thankfully, I didn‘t mind that he had heard me this time. Unfortunately, he still needed to return the words, which would definitely embarrass me beyond even death. “I love you, too, Grandiur,” he purred, as I had suspected he would. As I had expected, I felt so embarrassed that I couldn’t stand to look at him.

Neither of us could have speculated on my solution, though, which just so happened to be tightly closing my eyes and pressing my lips to his again. However, even as shocking as it was, he wasn’t so shocked that he couldn’t kiss back, and I wasn’t so shocked that I had to pull away. This kiss was even more sweet than the last—though definitely not too sweet. Honestly, I was kind of doubtful now that there really was such a thing as too sweet. If there was, though, with a love this sweet, we would definitely discover if it was possible for love to be too sweet eventually; and, if it was impossible, then this love would continue even after the Garden of Eternity eventually came to an end.
I have had the idea for this series for well over a year now, but I have always been putting it off until I finish some other series. I have finally come to terms with the fact that I never end anything, though. So, meh, I'm starting this series finally, just because I like it and I want to.

Sidequel: Ring Around the Rosey

Character profiles to come.

Story, characters, and everything else © Me
© 2009 - 2024 KillMePleaseGod
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oxi-moron's avatar
Very nice
your stories are always so original ^_^