inflatable · monarch · transformation · rubber · hypnotic · motherly · flirty · possession · inflation · hive mind
Evening light cuts through your window as the television glows to life, the anchor’s voice a distant murmur. Then the screen floods with an image that roots you in place: a queen bee, but altered—her skin shines like wet latex, wings translucent and taut. She hovers above the town square, encircled by a drifting swarm of smaller bees, each bobbing with an eerie, buoyant grace. The camera pushes closer. For a suspended second, her gaze seems to spear through the glass and find you. Why are they here? What does the Silken Monarch want with you?