Page 10 of The Royal's Bumblebee
A scenting ceremony would then take place to find a complimentary guardian. The one chosen to be a guardian is greatly honoured to be chosen. To be chosen is to display their prowess to provide, not only for themselves, but for another. The more vulnerable the charge, the more prestigious it is to be chosen to protect them. For the more helpless the Ucfeni, the more powerful and financially stable the guardian would have to be, to provide for them.
When humans arrived on Thelia, and after the initial concern and conflict that caused and an alliance was formed, our Ambassador had the idea to base our next moves on the scenting ceremony. The word guardian became replaced with the word sponsor. Scenting ceremonies became known as pairing parties. Yet, it’s all the same. The shining jewel of Orna holds many prestigious tribes of Ucfeni, and the most recent batch of reanimated humans have come before these tribes, vulnerable to both our jungle and the terms of the alliance made by their leaders with ours.
The most vulnerable of which is Billie Blac.
She not only smells like the sweetest nectar on my tongue, but she fledtowards mewhen she was startled. She has accepted my protection and openly professed that I and I alone would be the most suitable sponsor for her. She referenced my appearance in a way no one ever has. Shelikesmy brown scales and the lack of attractive patterns. She is comfortable in the wide coil of my tail, a testament to my ability to protect her. I am the strongest of all Ucfeni, in Orna at least, and she has chosen me. I asked her if she would prefer anyone else, and she said no. Without hesitation.
My chest swells with pride and my cowl is wide with confidence as I wind slowly down the golden hall of the palace west wing. I, prince Izule, have been honoured with Billie Blac’s protection and care. She even defended her choice to her sister.
“All the others were loud. He isn’t. He promised not to touch me if he can help it. And his scales don’t hurt my eyes. He’s easy to look at. He says where he lives we’d be alone so I wouldn’t have to worry about other people. I can work quietly.”
The scales over my throat darken with a blush. She said I was easy to look at. Not only did Billie list why I would be ideal for her comfort, protection, and her work, but she said I was easy to look at. Being a Royal I have been told I am attractive, even though it’s obvious I am not. My attractiveness comes from my size, strength and ability to provide. I am a Prince, after all. But I am no fool. I am not physically attractive. False compliments about my appearance have always tasted sour on my tongue. I have no bright colours or patterns. Even for a Royal, my scales are dull. Perfect for camouflage in the jungle with the dirt, of course. I am the perfect predator, and my hauls when I hunt show that. Flattery over my skill I accept, but that isn’t the kind of compliments one gives the youngest Royal. Especially when I amobviouslybigger and stronger than all of my siblings. They would not think kindly on that sort of reminder. That they are substandard hunters compared to me.
“He’s easy to look at.”I flush again and peer around my cowl to look down my right arm at my new charge. We are winding together, side by side, though it’s called walking for her kind. Her eyes were shut and she tapped her left thumb and middle finger together. Her right hand was in mine and she clutched me tightly. Her pace was slow and any sudden sound of someone opening a door and crossing the corridor made her whimper and flinch. She would dig her feet in and whimper about wanting Hannah. Three times already I had coiled around her so she could feel the protection of my muscles and scales as a physical barrier to whatever frightened her. The first time I did this I let go of her hand and she screamed for it back. I didn’t dare let go of her hand again.
My charge is a genius with a vital duty to fulfil for her people, adding to the prestige of being her sponsor. She also has very specific needs that must be met. Her sister made that very clear in her initial objection to me. I was offended by her openly challenging if I was worthy of Billie, but I am not so hot-headed that I didn’t see the root of her concern. The act of escorting her from the hall to my nest alone showed that Billie needed a great deal of care. I had never realised how noisy the palace was, until trying to escort her through it.
Flashback.
“We will go now to my nest. To our nest.” The hall was empty now. Nice and quiet. I peer down with thick pupils in my yellow eyes and moving slowly to look into my coil. I even flatten my cowl to look as none threatening as possible to her. “I am a hunter, as well as a prince, so my nest is near the outskirts of the grand palace. So I can come and go more easily into the jungle. This will mean you will not be disturbed as you work by palace staff. Anyone who comes to our nest will do so with the specific intent of seeing us, and must have my consent to do so.”
“Good. I don’t like surprise visits.” Billie nodded up at me through those circular glass panes over her eyes. “If I know someone is coming, I can prepare.” She looked around my coil and curiously, she was tapping her thumb with the middle finger of her left hand. “I’m not ready to move yet.” She sat with her knees bent and wrapped her arms around them.
“Tell me when you are and we will depart.” I assume she wants privacy and I start to lean away from the opening of my coil.
“Hannah is my rock.” I halt my retreat and incline my head curiously. “Th-that other Ucfeni hurt her.” I wasn’t sure if there was a question there so I continued to listen. “It’s my fault. It’s all my fault.” Her voice broke and she started to tremble. Her weeping cut me deeply. So soon after becoming my charge she was distraught. I have never dealt with a weeping female before and didn’t know what to do. I wanted to wrap her with my tail and hold her, but I promised not to touch her unless she asked me to. She sobbed and I became restless. “I want Hannah.”
“I am here.” I tried to remind her and rested my chin on the top ring of my coil. “Tell me what you need and I will get it for you. I will do it for you. Instruct me and I will act.”
“I want Hannah.” She cried behind her knees and started rocking back and forth. “She’s my rock. I need my rock.”
“…” I frowned. That was the one thing she couldn’t have. “You will have full access to your sister once the probationary period of her sponsorship has come to an end.” That didn’t calm her at all. If anything, she cried even more. “…you can call her daily.” Billie continued to cry. I was about to press my communication gem to call her sister, behooved to admit that I was more out of my depth here than I thought I would be, only to realise that wasn’t an option either. “…not that she can answer at the moment…being that she’s currently receiving medial attention…”
I tried, and much to my reliefandpanic, Billie lifted her head from behind her knees to stare at me with watery eyes.
“…yes…I told her to seek medical attention.”
“Yes.” I latched onto that with both fangs. “Hannah is doing what you told her to. She is injured and needs to recover. You want her to recover, don’t you?”
“Yes.” Billie sniffled and returned to hide behind her knees. I chewed my gums together, unsure what to say next, so I didn’t. I watched her patiently with my arms and chin resting on the top ring of my coil. I didn’t care if it took all day. I would watch and wait for her to make the next move. The patient hunter in me told me this was the best course of action. I was rewarded 10 minutes later when Billie took her glasses off and wiped her face on her sleeve. She locked honey eyes onto me and her scent became less acrid and sweeter on my tongue. The relief that flooded through me at her improved mood would have been embarrassing, had anyone else been present to see the way the end of my tail started to flick outside the bulk of my coil. “Hannah needs to recover. She needs that.”
“And what doyouneed?” I ask, and wait patiently for her answer.
“I need a shower. I want a shower.”
“My nest has a luxurious hygiene room. I made sure to have it custom built to be suitable for a human to use, as I have intended on being a sponsor for quite some time.” I lifted up to brace my hands on my coil and nodded at her. “If it is your want, you can shower as soon as we get there.”
“…you said it was at the outskirts of the palace?” She sniffled, tugging at the hem of her sleeves as she looked at my mouth. Yes, my mouth. She doesn’t look me in the eye. Curious. The mouth of a predator is usually the last place you would want to look. “Is that far?”
“It is easily traversed through a central corridor. The palace has many levels and a network of corridors that connect to all four wings and all five levels. Normally, the royal family live on the highest level of all, but being a hunter, it’s better for me to be closer to the ground. My nest, therefore, has been custom-built onto the end of the lower west wing.”
“…no stairs, then?” She whispered and I wondered if she was making a joke. I shook my head slowly at her and inclined my head curiously.
“We have no need for stairs, though we have had some placed in steep places where humans will interact with us. Like outside the palace to enter. To travel from areas of higher elevation to lower levels, we use travel baskets. To travel up to higher levels we slither around a spiral.” Her eyes widened with interest and I elaborated. “Imagine thick polished wood, the girth of a tree, with poles sticking out at various angles. We can coil ourselves easily from pole to pole quickly and ascend upward. Usually around the spiral until we reach the desired floor.” I twirled a finger. “I will show you such things, when you are ready. For now, I should like to take you to our nest.” She didn’t move. “So you can shower?”
“Yes. I want a shower.” Billie suddenly stood up and I swung my upper body back to maintain space between us. She darted her light brown eyes around the empty hall and nodded, like she was pleased it was empty. “Izule?” My throat scales darkened at the intimate address. “Iwantto go to my new home.” I nodded and carefully released my coil from around her. My tail slithered free of her and made a wide arch around us both instead. She tensed at being exposed and her scent was anxious again. “I-I will need help. To get there.”
“Of course. I am your sponsor. I will care for you and all your needs.”
