XXV

Jean lifted her backpack up just a little higher as she stepped into the cave that led to the Australian Gate. She was prepared with a few changes of clothes, some emergency cash, a passport, and a cellphone that she would keep turned off unless she desperately needed rescue.

She was not prepared to see Dorone waiting for her next to the the arch. And she frowned when she did. Her eyes narrowed.

"Were you just going to leave without saying goodbye?" he asked without looking up, examining his fingernails carelessly.

Jean tossed her hair. "They know full well that I'm leaving. I told them that once all of this was over, I was out of here. It's already been two months, they're lucky I stuck around this long. I don't need to do all that emotional bull in order to leave."

"That 'emotional bull' is called being a family." he stood up from the arch and walked up to stand in front of her. Jean stuck out her chin defiantly. "Bee will worry."

"I know. It's what she does. I don't care." Jean stood her ground, glaring at Dorone. He merely looked back at her, his eyes almost uncaring.

He personally didn't mind if Jean ran out without so much as a farewell but he cared that Bee would care. What affected Bee effect Wasp, and what effected Wasp effected Dorone. That was also part of being a family.

Still, he wasn't planning on stopping Jean either. This trip had been his idea in the first place and he still believed that Jean needed to take it. That didn't excuse her from trying to sneak out in the middle of the day though. He was about to tell Jean that she needed to turn around and at least alert the royal couple that she was leaving when she spoke up.

"I'm not saying goodbye. I don't need their permission to leave, I can go at any time. That's a workers right now. We're free to leave whenever we please and we don't need to ask permission."

The four remaining gates were no longer locked with a key. To open the gates now, all a person needed was a password that was far simpler to learn and taught to all the workers. After everything that had happened, after all the drones and mites that had flooded into Nest, it seemed pointless to lock everyone back out again.

Jean was right. It was her prerogative as a worker to visit any of the outposts anytime she wished. None of the others needed to seek Wasp's approval to leave, she didn't either. It was still a bratty thing to do, leaving without saying goodbye, but Dorone couldn't deny that it was her right to do it.

"When are you coming back?"

She shrugged. "When I feel like it. There's a big world out there, who's to say how long it will take me to see it? I'll call every now and then. Like every other month or so."

Dorone rolled his eyes. "You're being a brat on purpose."

She grinned. "I sure am. Now are you moving or am I fighting past you?"

Dorone held up his hands and stepped out of the way. He watched without comment as Jean spoke the password and ran her hand along the arch of the gate then stepped back so it could open. As it was doing that, she turned slightly to look at him.

"Since you're going to go tell Phoebe what I'm doing here, you might as well tell her that I'll see her later and she better run this Nest right or I won't let her hear the end of it."

Dorone smirked. "Stop talking like you're grown, brat."

"Stop telling me what to do." she stuck her tongue out at him. She turned back to the open gate and began stepping through. At the very last moment, before her head passed through the veil, she turned back again and said with her own smirk, "Tell her that I love her, too."

Dorone couldn't stop himself from laughing as the gate closed behind her. It was perfectly timed so that Dorone had no way to say anything else to say to her. It was as much of a goodbye as Jean would give and he knew that Phoebe would appreciate it.

Jean was off into the world on her own adventure. She didn't know where she was going, she didn't know what she would find, but that was the best part. From today on, her life was unscripted and unwatched. She could go where she pleased, live how she pleased, and not worry about what anyone else was going to do with her. She was an adult now and she couldn't wait to go out there and start living an adult life.

She wasn't stupid. She knew that it wasn't going to be all fun and easy and play out like Eat, Pray, Love, but that was the best part. She was going to be poor, she was going to have to work for what she needed, and she was probably going to earn a few scars in the process.

But as she started through the newly reconstructed tunnels back to the surface in the Australian post where a friend of hers had promised to drive her to the nearest town, she felt confident and strong and sure of herself for the first time. She didn't feel like a kid anymore and it was amazing how freeing that was.

She was going to come back. No matter where she went from here, Nest was still her home. Her house was there, her family was there, and she would come back in a few years. But first, she wanted to learn who she was and everything about herself.

She stepped into the sunlight with a smile on her face and freedom in her heart.

"Found you." Dorone stepped into a quiet the basement of the palace. He had never spent much time in the palace basements because there was really nothing down there but storage room. However, Wasp had been coming down here a lot these last few weeks. It wasn't all that surprising to see him here again now.

Wasp turned back and smiled as his brother entered. "I didn't realize that you were looking for me."

Dorone shrugged and stepped to his side. They both and turned to look at Ratel's grave as they fell silent for a brief moment.

There was a newly erected cemetery in the Nest. One had never been built before because one was never needed. However, there had been a few deaths in the hive thanks to Ratel's attacks on the posts. It had been built outside of town, opposite the waterfall, with a wonderful view of the valley. It was peaceful and beautiful and though there weren't many bodies there, it was given great respect and love from the entirety of Nest.

The only body not buried there was Ratel's. After what he had done to his people, Wasp couldn't ask those who served him to accept him buried into their cemetery alongside their loved ones. At the same time, he couldn't just burn Ratel's body and dispose of it like he had done to the shades that his brother had left behind. Despite everything, Ratel was still Wasp's brother and he had felt the need to bury him as he would any other member of his family.

Which was why Ratel's tomb was here, deep in the basements of the palace where few people wandered and in a room where no one bothered to go into. The tomb was made of a dull gray stone with Gothic style decoration around the edges and in the sides. Ratel's name and dates of birth and death were carved into the top and under them was a gem that Wasp had made that flashed between black and white depending on where the light was hitting it.

He was the only one that came down here. He was the only one that cared about Ratel. Others knew that he had done this, it was no secret, but they didn't talk about it. They tried to understand but couldn't. Which was fine, Wasp didn't need them to understand. If he was the only one that would mourn his brother, then so be it.

Though once, he did come down to find one of his flowers sitting on top of the tomb. He hadn't put it there and he didn't see who did, but he had a feeling he knew who would. That his beloved would treat his brother with even that much kindness made him feel happy and loved all at once.

Dorone broke the silence first. "Jean finally left."

Wasp smiled. "I'm surprised she stayed this long. Which gate did she leave through?"

"Australian."

Wasp nodded. It was the best choice considering the few she had. Second Point was too much like home, the Caribbean was a small island that was very secluded, and even Jean wasn't foolish enough to take on an uncharted African jungle. He knew Dorone was telling him this now mostly because he didn't want to be the one that told Phoebe.

Though the queen knew this day was coming, they knew that she wasn't looking forward to it. Letting go of the sister she had helped raise would be hard for Phoebe. But even Wasp recognized the usefulness of Jean going out the way she was. No one was going to stop her.

Dorone spoke again. "So Australia is fixed, all the shades have been dealt with, and Nest is finally back to normal. Mostly. We're still way overcrowded."

"It's been easier since I unlocked all the gates though." With no Ratel out to threaten them, Wasp didn't need the locks on the gates anymore. The people of Nest were now free to live in Nest or any of the four remaining outposts – all of which had room for people that the valley did not. Thanks to that, the campground was now gone and people were traversing across continents freely.

"What's our next move?"

Wasp thought for a moment. "We'll get started repairing the damaged outposts. We'll start with Milan and move on from there."

"Percy will be happy to hear that."

"It will take a long time and a lot of work."

"Good. You get bored and antsy when you have nothing to do. How do you think we ended up with ten outposts in the first place?"

Wasp chuckled at the truth of those words. "We'll get started in the morning. We'll have to teleport to Italy and walk to the outpost remains on foot. I admit, it will be nice not to be confined to hiding under my barriers anymore."

"Did you promise me that we'd have a week long part once all of this was over?"

"Did I say that?" Wasp grinned at him mischievously.

Dorone clapped his shoulder with a laugh. "Day after tomorrow. We'll start then."

"Why?"

"Because tomorrow is Friday and it's costume night at my club. You two are coming and partying all night long. Costume night is always popular and we haven't had a good party in Nest since-"

"Last Friday?"

Dorone punched him playfully. "Don't be an ass. Just show up with her majesty and wear something outrageous. It'll be great."

Wasp laughed as Dorone turned and walked away. He remained sitting there, staring at his brother's tomb in the silence. There was no music in the basements like there was in the rest of the palace, it just didn't seem right to have it down here.

He remained standing there for a few minutes more. He didn't speak, he didn't even really think, he just kind of stood and looked at the tomb. It was a reminder of his past, of his family, of who he was in a strange way. It was important to him in ways that few could understand, for more reasons than just that Ratel's body was entombed here.

After a few minutes of just staring, he turned and walked away. He couldn't even really say that he was mourning. It wasn't satisfying to look at his brother's final resting place, but he felt no real sorrow at seeing it either. He came down here not to grieve but just to remember.

He ascended into the seldom used kitchen of the palace and left, walking through the brightly lit halls where there was gentle music playing, soft and sweet as a breeze. He may not feel sorrow or satisfaction, but he did feel a strange calmness in his heart. It wasn't a joyful feeling, but it was pleasant and peaceful.

For the first time since he had established his Nest, Wasp was free. He no longer had to hide, he could live his life in peace and without fear of being chased. It had cost him the life of a man that he called brother but he was finally able to be who he wanted without fear of prosecution.

Wasp took a deep breath as he walked through his palace. He couldn't say that he was happy with the outcome but he wasn't unhappy with it. He was accepting of what had happened and was going to enjoy the benefits even as he kept that reminder of what it had cost him.

He paused to look out one of the wide windows onto the town of Nest and smiled slightly. His people were all safe, all happy, and he had the woman he loved in his arms every night. He couldn't ask for more than that. And really, he didn't want to.

This was the life he had always wanted and now that he didn't have to fight to keep it any longer, he was going to start living it as he always wished he could.

Phoebe leaned her head against the glass of her office. She was trying very hard not to feel lonely or worried but it was proving impossible.

Jean was gone.

Though her sister had said nothing to her – to anyone – Phoebe had seen her walking out of town towards the Australian Gate. It had taken a moment for her to recognize the tiny person that had been her sister, especially with the backpack on, but Phoebe had. She didn't need to ask to know what was going on. It was not something she needed to be told. Really, she should just be thankful that Jean had waited a full two months before doing it.

That was where Wasp found her a few minutes later. He didn't need to ask her what was wrong, he could feel it through their crowns and had no problem guessing what the source of her feelings were. He simply came up behind her and placed his hand gently, comfortingly on her shoulder.

"Don't worry about Jean, Phoebe. She's going to be fine. You'll see."

Phoebe nodded and turned quickly to throw herself into Wasp's arms. He embraced her back without hesitation, stroking her hair gently. They stayed like that for a long moment.

"I'm not sad." Phoebe said at last. "I'm happy for her. I am."

"I know you are." Wasp kissed the top of her head gently and she smiled.

"Besides, I have you and everyone in Nest. It's not like I'm going to be alone."

Wasp laughed and pushed her back so he could look into her eyes. "You both are going to be just fine. Dorone invited us to his costume party tonight."

Phoebe smiled at the obvious attempt to get her mind off of Jean but she went along with it. "He's been determined that we go to every one of his weekly parties lately."

"He's just trying to liven things up around here. It's working rather nicely I think. Do you not want to go?"

"Actually...I think I don't."

He looked at her curiously and she smiled up at him.

"I think I would rather spend the night with you, in private. We haven't spent alone time together in a long time. If we're taking the night off, I would rather it be just us."

Wasp smiled and reached up to stroke her cheek. "Now that sounds like a party."

Phoebe leaned up and pressed her lips eagerly to his. He held her close, bringing her deeper into their kiss and they both smiled into it.

The Nest and their hearts were at peace.