A Continuing Tale Page 2

  Tallis stood at the head of the force he himself had trained and knew there was not a faint heart amongst them. He had insisted on the “U” formation after learning the enemy force would approach across this particular field, he knew the ground, he knew his men and hoped he could turn such knowledge to his advantage.

  Exactly as the sun rose in the eastern sky the enemy force lumbered into sight. Even at this distance their weapons and heavily scaled bodies glinted as they made a ponderous advance. They must have been surprised to see an assembled force facing them, but soon dismissed the puny looking defenders as being of little threat.

  Hornets, it was well known, preferred to march rather than fly, Tallis also knew that the extra weight they carried made flying difficult. He had given instructions that the flanks of his own force were to remain in position while the front ranks of the central corps were to collapse back through the second and third lines. It was a risky strategy, but if it worked, it could yet win the day for the small rag-tag army he lead.

  Urged on by Caspar, who had situated himself to the rear of the enemy numbers, the hornets broke into a run and charged the last hundred yards across the field. It was a costly mistake. The charge was meant to deliver a weighty blow to the opposition and perhaps even rip the defenders apart, but many of the hornets were beginning to tire before they reached the ranks of the waiting bees.

  At the arranged signal the defenders in the front line melted back through their own forces, thus forcing the hornets to continue their charge even further before making contact. Tallis and his immediate comrades collected the spear like thorns and clutching the missiles tightly to them, swiftly flew above the two sides as they clashed together.

  Battle was joined at last with the heavier hornet invaders pushing their way through the smaller bees, crushing and thrashing as they went. This was a second mistake since the rain of the previous days had softened the clay soil and the already tiring enemy force began to sink into the glutinous, clinging mud. As the hornets tired further their advance slowed. This was the moment Tallis had been waiting for as he made his decisive strike.

  Acting at once, the young war leader and his small band launched their wicked spikes and barbs down on to the floundering hornets whose advance had bogged down in the morass, the enemy’s manoeuvring had literally made them sitting targets.

  Some of the javelins missed their mark, many did not.

  A hornet presents a tough, armoured appearance when attacked head on. When ambushed from the air they are as vulnerable as any other insect.

  As the missiles rained down wings were pinned, bodies pierced and heads stabbed. Then the slaughter began in earnest. The rear ranks of hornets, eager as they had been to close on the bee defenders, had crowded in on their own comrades. They too floundered in the mud and fell easy victims to the flanking forces under Tallis’s direction. They sawed, hacked and chopped at the hornets, being lighter and much more acrobatic in the air, the bee army had no difficulty in negotiating the morass and fell to the task of destroying the enemy with a will.

  Vespa watched in desperate disbelief as the scene unfolded. It was unbelievable that a tiny rag-tag force of defenders could so easily overcome the mighty strength of the hornet troops, but that is what had been witnessed. “Well my friend,” Vespa said with cold detachment turning to Caspar, “It seems they’ll be no reward for me, but I’ll make sure that you, at least, will not enjoy the last laugh,” and with that thrust his deadly sting into Caspar’s chest.

  The would be consort’s last thought was that he had been so close to victory, only to be defeated once more by the unlikely Tallis. Vespa meanwhile withdrew with a small remnant of his once mighty force to lick his wounds and think twice in future about attacking a bee colony.

  Aftermath

  Queen Beetrix calmly strode down to the West field, the scene of the slaughter, where the worker force stood panting from their efforts. Tired as they were, they raised a cheer in the Queen’s honour. “My thanks to you all. Without you the colony would surely have been lost, Tallis I owe you most of all and it seems to me history has repeated itself.”

  “I had foreknowledge of Caspar’s plot only through the brave intervention of your own daughter, the Princess Bebe. Without her warning, I fear we may have lost the day.”

  “Yes! My other daughter, of course, was guilty of conspiring against her own family. I have spared Britney her life, since there has been more than enough killing, but she will be banished from the hive. Those of you who wish to may join her in exile and are free to swarm with her. She and they may go, but may never return.”

  A few of Caspar’s former high born friends, once so free with the sneers and taunts flew off at the announcement and disappeared from sight. “Now my fellow citizens, what has been demonstrated here,” Beetrix continued, “Is the capability of workers. Henceforth entry to the guards will be open to anyone, of any status. In addition, officers will be appointed on merit, high rank will no longer be the preserve of high born bees.”

  A huge cheer erupted from the workforce at this. “On behalf of the workers, I thank you, your Majesty.” Tallis replied, his heart near bursting with pride for his former work friends. Beetrix held up her hand for silence once more and the cheering died down.

  “I have two more proclamations,” she continued, “Firstly, Princess Bebe has been named as my heir. I know she will make a wise Queen when her time comes to rule.” A further cheer followed, for Bebe had always been a popular member of the Royal Family. “In consultation with the Princess, I have great pleasure in proclaiming that Tallis will be appointed the first officer of the new Royal Guard and will succeed Commander Stinger when he retires at the end of this season. Together, Stinger and Tallis will reshape the army and make it the most formidable force we have ever known. After all, Tallis is most definitely a bee to be reckoned with.”