Mirella ran through the shadowy woods, her pursuers close on her heels. She had been running for hours, and even with a tier three class, she couldn't last for much longer. She turned her head to see if the filthy human rogues were still chasing her, long blond hair waving through the air at the motion. She only saw shadows, but she didn't stop running. Rogues were well known for their stealth skills, and their loose morals.

  Mirella didn't have much hope in escaping, but it was her duty as the princess of her people to survive and rally their nation. Her head turned forward in time to see the towering form of a human rogue leap out from behind a tree. 'I may be fleeing, but do these human knaves truly think me helpless?' She timed her steps carefully and spun, lashing out with a powerful kick that snapped her assailant's shinbone. Then with a wave of her staff, the ground opened up and swallowed the man with a shout of pain and fear.

  She continued running, the forest silent except for her footfalls and panting breath. She was nearly out of mana, and her stamina wasn't doing much better. But the rogue's attack was only further evidence that she couldn't afford to slow down, and she couldn't afford not to take risks.

  Up ahead of her, massive pillars of silver rose towards the heavens. Mirella thought about all she knew of the Silverwood Forest, not wanting to lose her life due to her own negligence. The forest was full of giant insects and plant life, most of which were extremely dangerous local variants. The animal life was less dangerous because they kept choosing linear evolutions for some reason, making them much larger but with lower stats and potential. They would still be dangerous to Mirella in her weakened state, but she was confident in her survival skills, and her Commune With Nature (A) skill would allow her to navigate around the territories of the more dangerous monsters. Or so she hoped.

  Mirella's lungs burned, and her legs felt like jelly when she finally crossed the bright stretch of ground separating the Silverwood Forest from her ancestral lands. She risked another glance behind her and saw her pursuers cross the stretch of open ground. There were eight of them, and they were only a few dozen spans behind her. For the first time that day tears began to fall from her sapphire blue eyes.

  Then Mirella reached the Silverwood Forest. She renewed her efforts and activated her skill, reading the flow of nature around her. She weaved through the now overhanging blades of grass and skirted around the territory of a tier three bear. Soon after, she heard a roar and a shout and smiled slightly, hope rekindling in her heart.

  Mirella ran through the forest until she collapsed, leaning against the tower that was a Silverwood tree. She gasped for air, her legs shaking and refusing to support her weight. For a few moments she was sure she'd be captured, but after several long seconds she slid to the ground and lay there.

  A hand grabbed Mirella by the back of the neck tearing her cloak as she slipped out of it and started crawling away.

  "Harharhar! Can't run any more little princess?" A rough hand pressed against Mirella's back, pinning her to the ground. She normally would've used the ground to escape, but she was all out of mana. She was flipped over to see the masked form of her assailant, and he laughed again at the despair in her eyes. "Ha! That's right! All of your kind should know their place! Beneath us!"

  Mirella noticed five other men approach and felt a faint satisfaction at their reduced numbers. Then the man above her tore at her clothing, his grubby human fingers bruising her leg and waist.

  "Come on Burk, we don't have time for this." one of the men said sounding exasperated and resigned at his companion's actions. Burk did stop. When his head exploded in a shower of gore, brain matter and shards of bone coating everything to the left of the dead man. His corpse fell and Mirella saw a monster, a huge bee hovering in the air above her, it's loud deep buzz making her bones ache.

  The other five men were attacking the monster before Burk's body hit the floor. But the monster could see them all with it's compound eyes, and with a flash of silver, five more headless corpses fell to the dirt of the forest floor.

  Mirella closed her eyes and waited for death. At least she'd meet her end cleanly, instead of at the hands of the filthy humans. When she didn't die, Mirella couldn't help but peek at the monster. With more time to think, she estimated the monster to be a high grade tier three, or maybe tier four monster. It landed on the ground and started moving erratically, and when it's wings stopped buzzing she noticed a quieter, higher-pitched buzz. Mirella saw another bee land near her. It was less than half the size of the other monster, but it walked up to her without fear.

  Since the monsters weren't attacking her, Mirella decided to take a risk and activated her skill Language of Life (B) that let Mirella talk to and understand any living thing on a fundamental level that made language unnecessary.

  '*Sigh* Maybe I am gay.' Mirella heard a voice say in her mind.

  Beatrice looked down at the tiny woman laid out on the forest floor, her clothes torn and revealing various curved features Beatrice would've found attractive once-upon-a-time, even covered with blood as she was. Beatrice still thought the woman was cute, but more like the cuteness of the silver panda monsters than in a sexual way. Beatrice snuck a look at Ian and was happy to see he wasn't interested in the slightest.

  'H-hello. Please don't kill me.' Beatrice heard a woman's voice in her head, and so did Ian judging by his suddenly tense posture.

  "It's okay Ian. I think she's talking to us." Beatrice said making a calming gesture at Ian.

  "That's a she? How can you tell?" Ian asked, perplexed.

  Beatrice just gave him an 'Are you kidding me?' look, and turned back to the poor tiny woman. The woman was very short, about a quarter the height of the human men. Even so, if Beatrice were still a man, the large blue eyes, the freckles, the cute little nose, and the curved figure would've been very distracting. Instead, the woman's size kept throwing Beatrice off. Not knowing what to do, Beatrice tried thinking back at the small woman.

  'What are you exactly little lady? Some kind of fairy?'

  'I'm not a fairy, I'm a gnome. You can call me Mirella if it so pleases you.' The lady -apparently named Mirella- said, less nervously than before.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  'Pleased to meet you Mirella. My name is Beatrice, and this gentleman is named Waximillian, or Ian for short.' Beatrice was happy to find someone else to talk to, and it showed in her mind's voice.

  Mirella was surprised for multiple reasons. It was very rare to find a monster that could speak so articulately, and the monsters even had names. Most strange. At least they weren't hostile.

  'I thank you for saving me. As crown princess of the Morntham kingdom, my people are in your debt.' Mirella stood up and bowed, but she staggered and fell.

  "Ian give me a health capsule." Beatrice said to Ian, Mirella hearing Beatrice's voice along with the wiggles she was doing. The larger bee made his own motions, but Mirella only got impressions of images from Ian.

  "Of course dear Beatrice." Ian made a wax capsule appear in his claw, handing it to Beatrice. "A health capsule for the lady." He said with some humor.

  Beatrice grabbed the capsule in her mandibles and walked over to Mirella. 'Eat some of this.' Beatrice handed the capsule over and carefully tore the top off the capsule with her mandibles. The capsule was the size of Mirella's head, and she looked at it curiously.

  'Go ahead.' Beatrice encouraged.

  Mirella brought the capsule to her lips and bit a mouthful of honey. Her eyes widened and she looked back and forth between Beatrice and the capsule.

  'This. Is. Delicious!' Mirella exclaimed in Beatrice's and Ian's minds. Then her eyes widened again she saw her scrapes and bruises healing at a visible rate. Beatrice couldn't help but lift her head with pride.

  'Since you've been such a gracious damsel-in-distress o' princess of Morntham, I extend an invitation to my abode. I guarantee your safety as the queen of sweetness.' Beatrice made a little bow at the end.

  Mirella was a little wary of accepting such an offer, but she was still too weak to leave, and her saviors were trustworthy so far. And they could kill her anytime they pleased. 'I'd be happy to.'

  Mirella wouldn't have been so happy to join Beatrice and Ian if she'd thought to ask where they lived. Mirella's knuckles turned white as she held onto the side of the basket/chair Ian was carrying her in. Beatrice sat next to her, taking up most of the space. 'hehehe, this is fun.' Mirella heard Beatrice say. Mirella felt a surge of affection from the smaller bee directed at the bee named Ian.

  Mirella expected a longer trip, so she was surprised when they flew almost straight up and landed on a wooden platform sticking straight out of a Silverwood tree, a large silver door leading into the tree. Ian set down the basket and the two girls climbed out, Mirella shaking slightly in fear and exhaustion. Beatrice ran ahead of them, threw the door open, and ran in quickly. Ian entered soon after and Mirella hesitated. Then she looked over the side of the platform and staggered into the tree as quickly as she could.

  Ian closed the door behind Mirella and she flinched, expecting darkness but instead seeing a warmly lit hollow. The hollow's floor was half covered in honeycomb, and the other half was scattered with silver wood carpentry projects in various states of completion. The back wall was taken up by shelves, holding giant silver acorns.

  Beatrice walked up to Mirella and offered her a ball of slightly sticky mushy stuff, more appropriately sized for Mirella than the capsules. 'Me casa e su casa. Here, eat this.' Beatrice sent at her. Mirella took a moment to comprehend and took the ball.

  'Thank you Beatrice... What is it? And what did you mean by... Me casa e su casa?' Mirella's confusion radiating through her mind's voice.

  'That dearie, is pollen mixed with my special nutritious honey. Me casa e su casa means my home is your home, probably. Sorry if it's dirty in here. Ian does love his carpentry, and he's always leaving woodchips all over the floor.' Beatrice explained.

  Mirella thought about it then nodded. 'I thank you again Beatrice. I give thanks for rescuing me, and for the food.' Mirella took a bite of the pollen and honey, nodding appreciatively at the sweet taste.

  'Mind if I ask you a few questions?' Beatrice sent.

  'Not at all.' Mirella sent. She swept aside some silver woodchips and carefully sat down on the floor.

  'Is it rude to ask what tier you are? What do evolutions look like for gnomes?'

  'It's not rude exactly, but it is personal information. And the enlightened races don't evolve like monsters. Instead we have classes to level and evolve. I won't tell you my tier, but I will say I have a princess class.'

  'Why were you being chased?'

  'My people were attacked by the vile humans of the Keldarian Empire, and those rogues were hunting me down to... humiliate and kill me.' Mirella stopped chewing and looked towards the floor.

  Beatrice stopped asking questions for several seconds before sending some thoughts Mirella's way. 'Sorry to bring up such an unpleasant subject. I'm glad you survived. I've only had Ian to talk to for, about a month I think?'

  'Ian can talk?' Mirella's mental voice a whisper.

  'Of course he can. Didn't you hear him when he was talking earlier?' Beatrice's voice was confused, but with a touch of menace. Was Mirella implying something?

  Mirella tensed perceptibly and quickly responded. 'I got some images from him, but not any words like we're sharing.'

  Beatrice turned towards Ian where he was carving wood with his mandibles. "Hey Ian! How're you doing?!" Beatrice wiggling and waving to get his attention. Ian temporarily halted his work and wiggled back.

  "I'm doing well. And you dear Beatrice? Are you having fun talking to that little animal thing?" Ian responded, his words perfectly understandable to Beatrice.

  "She's a gnome you silly goof! And her name's Mirella!"

  Mirella didn't have any trouble following Beatrice's side of the conversation, but still only got images of movements from Ian's mind, and some small impression of his emotions.

  "Mirella. A lovely name." Ian said before returning to his woodworking.

  Mirella jolted as a spike of murderous rage slammed into her mind. She slowly turned to look at Beatrice. She didn't know what Ian told her, but something he said triggered a violent response from the smaller bee.

  Beatrice snapped her mandibles a few times. Ian looked over at her in concern, hearing the sound and recognizing it as anger. Beatrice started buzzing, using her Novice Soothing Buzzing (F) to calm herself. Mirella relaxed as the sound of Beatrice's buzz soothed her, and as the rage Mirella felt coming from Beatrice subsided.

  ...

  'Sorry. I think I've been too emotional lately. Everything was simpler when I was a worker... kind of. I was still an emotional mess, but I didn't have to deal with the possibility of... Queen stuff.' Beatrice apologized.

  'Wow. You evolved into a queen bee from a worker bee? that's unheard of! What tier are you?!'

  'That's personal information missy.' Beatrice sent in a chiding tone with teasing undertones.

  'That's fair. Hehe.' Mirella chuckled. 'Umm, will you promise not to kill me if I ask a sensitive question?'

  'Suuure? I wouldn't kill you for asking a question.' Beatrice's thoughts felt affronted, but there was understanding in her mental voice as well.

  'What did Ian say that made you mad?' Mirella flinched at a smaller spike of anger, but it wasn't murderous rage this time.

  'He said you have a lovely name.' Beatrice's mental voice was more of a grumpy mumble.

  Mirella chuckled again, eliciting a spike of outrage from Beatrice. 'Oh! I'm not laughing at you! It's just funny how obviously you cherish Ian.' Mirella explained quickly. The wave of resignation from Beatrice was a surprise, but it wasn't scary like when Beatrice was angry.

  '*Sigh* That is laughing at me. Not that I don't deserve it.' Beatrice sent with wry self-deprecating humor. 'My turn to ask a question. Do other gnomes wear little red hats?'

  'Yes. No gnome would be caught dead without their hat.' Mirella's mental voice was full of gnomish pride.

  'Then where's your hat?' Beatrice asked.

  Mirella froze, and her hand started shaking as she slowly raised her arm to touch her blond hair. Then Mirella's face turned bright red and she frantically covered her head with her arms. Beatrice didn't need a mental translation for Mirella's scream, but she got one.