It took every ounce of Mimic's willpower to sit still. She hated these boring meetings. But, of course, they had to be done. Each of the hives, four in total, had to meet together every so often to discuss matters they felt the other hives should know about. Be it cross-border affairs, threats to the hives, blah blah blah. And each of the royal families had to be in attendance and a select few of their royal guards. All of them. The lower ranked citizens of each hive were not allowed at this gathering of leaders, unless some rare special occasion occurred.. Which wasn't often.. Frankly, to be blunt, watching paint dry seemed like it'd be more fun than being in a room full of grouchy elders and guards who would kill anyone not in their hive on a dime if they were given the chance. Of course, exceptions would be made for any sick or injured member of the Hierarchy's families or guards or anything of the sort. But, as long as you could walk, you had to be in attendance.
Alter, her mother and Queen of Hypos, stood at the head of the Hypos group. She knew her daughter despised these meetings and yet she still dragged Mimic with her. Her boredom must have been showing as she felt somebody nudge her. Looking up, Mimic was met with the stern gaze of her father looking down at her. Bowing her head slightly, Mimic gave a sheepish smile, mouthing a "sorry" to him.
"Relax. We're almost done." Metsis leaned down to whisper in her ear.
She smiled up at him. Unlike Alter, Metsis would rather leave Mimic and her siblings at the hive. Personally, he didn't like the idea of nobody protecting Hypos save for a few guards. But, rules were rules, right? No matter how ridiculous they seemed. Finally! she silently mouthed to him and he smiled slightly. Metsis may be a strict parent but he definitely had a humorous side, to which Mimic was grateful. Two strict parents sounded like a nightmare.
Honing in on the conversation, hoping to pass the time more quickly, Mimic's interest was suddenly peaked as she heard one of the other Queens mention a fight or something.
"-And we'll kick your hind-ends from here to Manehatten if we have to! I won't take kindly to threats, Delirium." Echo, the queen of hive Narcissa was saying. Echo was one of the oldest changelings. Her green mane had faded with age and scars from previous battles adorned her face and hooves. She was wise, stern, and maybe a bit harsh in her words, but it was no secret she had a motherly side to her. She could be a great ally or your worst nemesis. There was no in between. Around her stood her drones, each with their own matching green manes and eyes. A stallion sat beside her, strongly built with a scar over a blind eye and a missing wing. Her grandson, from what Mimic was told. She didn't remember his name though.
From what she remembered about him, her parents had told her all about the other hive's and their monarchs and patriarchs. Echo's grandson had been raised by Echo herself since before he was born. His parents had been killed during a battle with Wraith many years ago. Ever since then, the two hives have despised each other.
Mimic simply sat confused. What threat had been said this time? Queen Delirium, of the hive Wraith, was known to throw insults and threats though nobody really took her seriously. She was more talk and less bite. However, something about her seemed different this time. She had more of an angry fire in her eyes as she scanned across the meeting place, letting her gaze rest a bit to long on the queens and kings. She seemed out of her mind as she snarled at them all, baring her broken fangs menacingly.
"Pathetic! Weaklings! You will all burn before the week's end! Wraith is the one true hive! We deserve all of this land!" Delirium's voice dripped with malice and venom as she spit out her words. There were cheers from her group. The other hives seemed to get restless though she was almost certain half of them were itching for a fight..
"Delirium, please. We've went over this before... We can live in harmony, all four of our hives. There's no sense in pointless quarrels... Remember what happened with Narcissa?" Hex said, rolling his eyes slightly. Hex, the king of the hive Halcyon, was the sole ruler of his hive. When the queen, Behemia, had died, she'd given him the title of heir on her deathbed as their son, Levius, was still too young to take up the responsibilities of running a kingdom. Now, he was only less than a year of claiming the heir.
"Unacceptable! There should only be ONE hive! And that's going to be Wraith! We'll destroy all of you, one by one." Delirium retorted.
"Delirium, that's enough. I think that's enough for today. Let us resign for the time being." Alter said, standing to leave.
"You DARE dismiss me with a wave of your hoof?! Just like that?! My voice...WILL. BE. HEARD." Mimic watched in horror as Delirium lunged at her mother, sharp, jagged teeth bared and ready to strike. Metsis pushed Alter out of the way, taking the blow full on as Delirium slashed open his shoulder and sent blood spraying onto both of them. He fell to the ground with a groan. Gasps were heard all around the cavern they were in. Alter, along with her guards, were at Metsis's side in an instant. One of the guards instantly began to treat his wound before he could bleed out.
Mimic and her siblings, who had been on opposite sides of their group, huddled up together and watched in a silent horror as they watched their father. Mimic felt the hot sting of tears on her face as she was ushered away from Metsis. As she and her siblings were taken away from the scene, she heard her mother call out, a fiery rage in her voice that Mimic had never heard before. "You attack us in this sanctuary?! I hereby declare Hypos and Wraith at war!" she snarled at Delirium, a low growl deep in her throat as she dismissed her hive.
At those words, Mimic felt her blood run cold and a chill go through her body.
What would this mean for the future, she wondered?
