Side story Dríade

Dríade didn't bother explaining herself as she released her hold on the bee woman only to grab her hand and fly away from the gathering crowd.

Clovek could deal with the whole drama of the Centaurs and his livestock, she needed to get this woman on her side.

A Queen Bee in her grove? It would cut so much of the work her Dryad's needed to do pollinating everything and she would be able to provide honey as another resource along with her own fruit.

Clovek would be ecstatic and that would make her even more valuable to him.

The woman laughed as Dríade pulled her away and made no effort to resist as they headed towards a nearby tree far from the gathering. It might not be her own but Dríade felt comfortable in amongst nature and away from others.

"Oh you are definitely a Dryad little tree." The woman chuckled once her own feet were secured on a branch. "And one so gungho about seeing me can only mean one thing."

Her hand slipped from Dríade's and found its way to her chin.

"You are a fledgling Grove mother."

Her words cut through Dríade's distraction as she looked up at the woman. She was over a head taller than her and in that moment the Dryad swore her next body would be taller, just so that this wouldn't happen. She was already shorter than Clovek.

"So what if I am?" Dríade snapped back while pulling her head out of the woman's grasp. She prepared to fight before catching herself. She needed to be nice, she wouldn't get the queen bees help if she pushed her away.

Unperturbed the queen watched her with mirth dancing in her eyes.

"Dríade." Dríade said with a small bow. "My name is Dríade and as you guessed I am a Grove mother and a Livestock to the Master Clovek."

"Abelha." The Queen Bee replied back with her own bow. "I am a Honey bee with the potential to become a Queen once my eggs have been fertilized." She stopped for a second before adding. "And I am also a livestock but currently not bound to a Deed."

Dríade flinched at that. A livestock? Of course her luck just had to be that bad.

Abelha stood an arm length away just watching the turmoil in Dríade.

She was stunning to look at. Dríade thought trying to distract herself from the annoyance that was growing.

She was thick in all the right places as her species would fill out nicely with potential Queens going a bit further. This added filling put her chest on par with Zeldi's and would have made her very top heavy if not for the way her hips flared out to be the perfect size for breeding and holding someone down.

The only slight problem was that she would birth her young from her abdomen that came off behind her just above the curve off her butt. Much like Voras and her own abdomen Abelha's was large and almost the same length as her legs only pointing out instead of down, a size that would only get bigger when she was pregnant and laying eggs. It was also covered in a thin layer of fur in a black and yellow stripped pattern.

Fluffy bracelets covered her wrists and ankles in soft black hair that Dríade had experienced herself with golden yellow hair cut short just below her ears.

Long antenna mirrored each other on either side of her forehead while her eyes were a deep black broken only by the violet circles of her irises.

Her only item of clothing was some loose overalls that looked to be taylor made to contain her bust.

"Such disappointment in your eyes." Abelha purred in such a regal way Dríade flinched back on instinct. "Does my position not work for you? I would have thought a Grove mother like yourself would be eager to lay claim to me? It certainly seemed like it before, I was hoping you would regal me with promises and gifts so long as I serve in your Grove."

She wasn't wrong. A Queen Bee was valuable to a Grove but the problem was...

"You're a Livestock." Dríade repeated back to her. "That means you will be his. Not mine."

Abelha laughed for a moment before regaining her regality. "Oh you naive little Dryad. I know you haven't been a Grove mother for long if you think I will be anyone's but my own. Not even your Grove could tempt me to be subservient to you. I was hoping you would have some kind of offer that would have us ruling together."

Dríade just blankly stared back at her. She almost hated the words coming out of her mouth, even more because she was the one saying them. "He will make you serve him and he will do it without even realizing he is doing it. I give you a week before you are begging him to fertilize your eggs so you can become his queen."

That seemed to catch Abelha's attention some and she shifted to the side ever so slightly. The move looked natural like it was just her readjusting but it brought her abdomen around enough that Dríade could make out the only part of Abelha that wasn't made for sex or egg laying.

Abelha's stinger was almost vibrating at the tip of her abdomen with a length that would put many male to shame. She was also aware of how sharp it was and how much damage it could do with its poison.

Dríade however kept her blank expression. They both knew that no threat she could make would actually change the mentality of the Dryad. Perks of having an unfeeling body.

"You are feisty." Abelha purred. "I'm sure your Grove will grow strong under you but how will he make me beg? Im not a woman that will cave easily and many have tried."

There was a glint in her eye that Dríade knew all to well. Abelha was a fighter, someone who knew how to handle herself. Though that was to be expected for a potential Queen Bee traveling by herself. She didn't have any guards so any trouble she had would have to be handled personally. She wasn't pregnant either, another interesting fact as her species had an almost guaranteed fertility even when forced.

"Neither was Voras." Dríade sighed and slumped against the tree. "She started off by killing him and now look at her. She's at his beck and call for anything he asks for and only wants attention in return."

Abelha narrowed her gaze at Dríade. "But you're different?"

There was humor in her tone but also some searching. She didn't understand but then again who would Dríade thought. It wasn't like Deed owners like him grew on trees.

"If he wanted me to be like them I would be." Dríade admitted hating herself even more that it was true. She didn't hate him no matter how much she tried to as everything she was and could be were only her's because of his generosity. She hated that she hadn't been right about him in the first place. That stung yet she would never admit it. "And you will be the same. It's only a matter of time."

Dríade almost laughed at the absurdity of it all. He was going to get another Livestock she was sure of that and this one would benefit her Grove in ways that wasn't even fathomable and he would do this without even trying in the way he seem to get everyone to side with him.

"Such confidence. What happens if I refuse? Would you still believe in him then?" Abelha questioned with obvious interest and a little bit of condescending.

Dríade smiled like she'd already won this battle of wits. She only really needed Abelha to spend some time around Clovek and she would understand that she wouldn't get anything better no matter how much she searched. And once she was his Livestock she would have to work with the Dryad's to produce her own honey. They were in control of the crops after all.

Dríade would have preferred she work under her but she was willing to compromise. Something she'd been doing a lot of recently.

"Refusal would be temporary. You're already his in my eyes." Dríade said with unwaivering confidence.

"You do have a lot of confidence in this man don't you?" Abelha took a step back and looked Dríade up and down. "I'm surprised. You are familiar with other Deed owners correct?"

Dríade laughed. She couldn't help it. "Do I know about other Deed owners? Oh that is precious Abelha." She continued to laugh at the absurdity of the question until she caught Abelha giving her a confused reaction.

Catching herself enough that she could speak Dríade took a breath before explaining. "Abelha I mentioned that Voras had killed him when they first met, what I didn't mention is that I spent my entire life since I became a Livestock removing unwanted Deed owners from their properties. A task I excelled at if I might add with a kill count well into the hundreds yet not only does he still live but I willingly serve him. That should be reason enough for you to understand."

She gave a second for the Queen Bee to let the information sink in.

"Before you ask there is no magic manipulation or trickery that he uses and he hasn't harmed a single one of us under his care. Well beyond making them limp the next day but that is fully their own fault."

That got a snort from Abelha. "So what is it then? Why do you follow him? I would have thought a Grove mother would be a lot harder to convert to being a Livestock than anyone else. You don't even feel the pull of the Deeds like us."

There was a hint of vulnerability in her tone that was quickly hidden but not quick enough the Dríade missed it.  Abelha had ignored the call for long enough that it was affecting her. She was teetering on the edge already.

Dríade let out a breath. "Because you have it backwards. I serve him because he made me a Grove mother. And that is why you will be his. Not because he will force you, not because he will trick you in some way but because the moment you ask him for something regardless of how difficult it is to get he will try to get it."

Dríade stopped and let out a sad humorless laugh. "You and I both know what you will ask for when you talk to him and regardless of how difficult you make it sound he already has it because I have already made it. I made it in preparation for one of your kind because I knew there would be an opportunity to get a queen bee. That is why I know you will be his and why you don't have a choice no matter how much you think you do."