Anthology 3 Quest for a Queen: Quest for a Queen

By James Malcolm

Leap of Faith
It was late morning, the birds were singing and all but a few were still asleep. The colony had worked as hard as they played and the late night fun had taken its toll on everyone. The events of the day before were a huge success, with games and pageantry, along a few surprises thrown in.
Digger, Luna and Cocoa had slept outside near the ponds and were joined by Amy, Austin, Ricky and Chord, who were the first of early risers. The cricket was very impressed by the ants. They were everything the rabbit had said they were. He was intrigued by their creative nature and fascinated with their determination.
Id never been to a party like yours, until last night. I played so hard, and had so much fun, my legs are a little sore this morning, Chord admitted.
Weve never had a party like that before, but I know what you mean. With all the running and dancing, my legs are tired too, Ricky replied.
I may be the only one whos not exhausted. I guess its because I didnt have a dance partner, but my throat is a little dry from all my whistling, the rabbit shared.


Digger told me you guys are looking for your queen, Chord said.
We were, but weve got one now, Amy teased.
What do you need a queen for? Youve already got everything you could possibly want.
This might sound strange to you, but its the queen who needs us, Austin answered.
Nothing is strange to me anymore, not after yesterday. I hadnt considered the queen needing you, but I see your point.
We have a lot of knowledge to share, which would improve her colonies quality of life and possibly insure their survival. Every colony should have a queen and its the one thing we dont have, Austin explained.
Ive seen ants along the creek and near the woods, several times, but I dont know where they come from, Chord admitted.
Theyve crossed the meadow through my mushroom patch, too. I think the colony is somewhere along the fence line, Digger added.
I appreciate all the information. We havent decided when well resume our search, but Im sure it will be in the very near future, Austin shared.
The friends departed for home a short time later, before everyone else woke up. Life in the colony had changed forever. The city was as complete as it could be and the timetable of future projects was virtually nonexistent. They were proud of all they had accomplished in such a short time

but now the challenge was missing for some of the educated ants.
It wasnt that they were unhappy, for life had been good, but their desire had always been to find their queen. Having time on their hands gave them more thoughts about reaching that goal. They knew they had to resume their quest for a queen. They could feel the desire in their heart and soon, it would be time to leave again.
The original nine ants met with Adam and James, in a private meeting away from the colony. It was their quest and they couldnt expect the rest of the colony to participate, since they hadnt missed having a queen and done quite well. This was personal and dear to their hearts. James would have to run the colony in their absence.
Agnes was adamant about staying behind. She had experienced enough excitement for a lifetime just in reaching the barn and had no desire for the drama of a quest. She had everything she needed and wanted nothing more.
Louise was still fulfilling her dream as a seamstress and there was definitely a need for her services. She wanted to go, but her heart was in her work. Christian wanted to stay where the food was. He didnt want to worry about his next meal. Besides, he couldnt think when he was hungry.
Adam, on the other hand, wanted to go. Hed never been on a real adventure before and wanted to live it for himself, rather than hear the stories told through someone else. He begged his dad to let him go and James agreed, knowing

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 15, 2013
• ISBN: 9781483617459

James Malcolm

James lives with his wife Shellie on Harstine Island in Washington State. He is an avid fantasy fiction and lyrical poetry author working on his twenty fifth book.

Book preview

ANThology 3

Quest for a Queen

James Malcolm

Copyright © 2013 by James Malcolm.

illustrations and cover by Morgan Knowles

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Rev. date: 04/05/2013

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

119272

Contents

1 Leap of Faith

2 Vision Voyeurs

3 Old Adversaries

4 Ripple Effect

5 Pay Dirt

6 Peeping Centipede

7 Ant Napped

8 Queen’s Court

9 Big Sleep

10 Great Tree Trick

11 Nobody Home

12 Web of Fear

13 Words of Wisdom

14 Character Map

And ANTroducing

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Leap of Faith

It was late morning, the birds were singing and all but a few were still asleep. The colony had worked as hard as they played and the late night fun had taken its toll on everyone. The events of the day before were a huge success, with games and pageantry and a few surprises thrown in.

Digger, Luna and Cocoa had slept outside near the ponds and were joined by Amy, Austin, Ricky and Chord, who were the first of early risers. The cricket was very impressed by the ants. They were everything the rabbit had said they were. He was intrigued by their creative nature and fascinated with their determination.

I’d never been to a party like yours, until last night. I played so hard, and had so much fun, my legs are a little sore this morning, Chord admitted.

We’ve never had a party like that before, but I know what you mean. With all the running and dancing, my legs are tired too, Ricky replied.

I may be the only one who’s not exhausted. I guess it’s because I didn’t have a dance partner, but my throat is a little dry from all my whistling, the rabbit shared.

Digger told me you guys are looking for your queen, Chord said.

We were, but we’ve got one now, Amy teased.

What do you need a queen for? You’ve already got everything you could possibly want.

This might sound strange to you, but it’s the queen who needs us, Austin answered.

Nothing is strange to me anymore, not after yesterday. I hadn’t considered the queen needing you, but I see your point.

We have a lot of knowledge to share, which would improve her colonies quality of life and possibly insure their survival. Every colony should have a queen and it’s the one thing we don’t have, Austin explained.

I’ve seen ants along the creek and near the woods, several times, but I don’t know where they come from, Chord admitted.

They’ve crossed the meadow through my mushroom patch, too. I think the colony is somewhere along the fence line, Digger added.

I appreciate all the information. We haven’t decided when we’ll resume our search, but I’m sure it will be in the very near future, Austin shared.

The friends departed for home a short time later, before everyone else woke up. Life in the colony had changed forever. The city was as complete as it could be and the timetable of future projects was virtually nonexistent. They were proud of all they had accomplished in such a short time but now the challenge was missing for some of the educated ants.

It wasn’t that they were unhappy, for life had been good, but their desire had always been to find their queen. Having time on their hands gave them more thoughts about reaching that goal. They knew they had to resume their quest for a queen. They could feel the desire in their heart and soon, it would be time to leave again.

The original nine ants met with Adam and James, in a private meeting away from the colony. It was their quest and they couldn’t expect the rest of the colony to participate, since they hadn’t missed having a queen and done quite well. This was personal and dear to their hearts. James would have to run the colony in their absence.

Agnes was adamant about staying behind. She had experienced enough excitement for a lifetime just in reaching the barn and had no desire for the drama of a quest. She had everything she needed and wanted nothing more.

Louise was still fulfilling her dream as a seamstress and there was definitely a need for her services. She wanted to go, but her heart was in her work. Christian wanted to stay where the food was. He didn’t want to worry about his next meal. Besides, he couldn’t think when he was hungry.

Adam, on the other hand, wanted to go. He’d never been on a real adventure before and wanted to live it for himself, rather than hear the stories told through someone else. He begged his dad to let him go and James agreed, knowing the experience would be good for his son.

This would be the first time the educated ants voluntarily separated. It was sad in a way, as they had a deep bond, but everyone’s choices were respected. They would be together in spirit, no matter where they were and spent precious time together over the next couple days.

While others thought about the thrill of the journey, Walt was focused on the destination. He stayed up late making notes in his notepad and little drawings, before falling asleep at his desk. He had dreams of rafting down the creek, climbing trees and flying like a bird in his subconscious thoughts of travel.

When he woke from his sleepy time adventure, he suddenly sat back on his stool, staring at his paper. The vision of his dream was sketched on the pad in front of him. He wondered how the drawing got on the page, as he didn’t remember making the sketch. It was a crazy idea that might just work, if he could convince the others it wasn’t as crazy as it looked.

Walt picked up the drawing and ran to find Louise. He knew she could help sell his idea to the adventurers, if she helped him build a prototype. When he found her and shared his sketch, Louise gave him the strangest look, but he assured her his idea was possible. They began working together on the project and it was completed shortly after lunch.

Once the prototype was finished, Walt carefully picked up his invention and carried it to a scheduled council meeting, which he was already late for. His tardy arrival distracted Austin’s presentation to the council, especially when he entered the room with his weird looking contraption in hand.

Sorry I’m late, but I’ve been busy.

I can’t wait to hear you explain what you’re carrying, Austin spoke.

It’s an idea that came to me in a dream.

What is it? Amy asked.

This is my shortcut to find the queen.

It looks kind of silly to be a shortcut to anywhere, Ricky added.

That’s only because you don’t know what it is.

Okay, so, what is it? Austin was the second to ask.

I can’t tell you.

Walt, you sound like you’re still dreaming, Austin laughed.

I didn’t mean I couldn’t tell you. I meant to say that I have to show you what it is so you can see how it works.

Okay, then show us, Amy urged, curious about the so-called invention.

I can’t show you here, because we need more room. We’ll have to go up in the barn.

Then let’s go, so we can back to our meeting.

He led the curious council through the barn, until they reached the workbench. Walt had always said to follow your dreams and everyone was following his. Dusty and Austin climbed the leg, with the inventor, to the top of the bench, while the others remained below. Walt fiddled with his new creation and had it assembled in no time at all.

You see, it’s a kite.

I can see that, but how is flying a kite going to help us find a shortcut to the queen? Austin asked.

We’re going to use it to fly. Put your arms through the harness Austin and I’ll show you how it works.

No, you put your arms through the harness and show me. You’re the inventor.

Dusty, do you want to try it out?

I don’t think so. I’ve already landed on my face and I didn’t enjoy it one bit.

How do you know this contraption will fly, Austin asked.

I’ve already seen it fly.

Yeah, maybe in your dreams, but no one else is going to try this out until you do. You have to be the one to go first.

Walt realized his two comrades were right. It was a long fall to the floor and he had to prove his kite worked to earn their trust. He put his arms through the harness and stepped to the edge of the bench. Walt took a deep breath, convinced his invention would work and focused on reaching the double doors of the barn. He didn’t want to look down, fearing he might chicken out. When he thought he was ready to jump, he didn’t.

What’s the matter Walt, are you having second thoughts? Dusty asked.

Walt didn’t answer or even look at Dusty and Austin. He turned and slowly walked away from the edge, toward the pane glass windows. There, he stopped and spun back around again, so he facing his comrades. Walt motioned for them to move out of