She was magnificient to behold. She was huge – perhaps three times taller than Arnie - with grey wings folded over her massive back. The wings were patterned with lines and shapes. She had massive feelers - in constant smooth motion. She had legs, multiple legs and she gazed at her guests with an unreadable facial expression (after all how does one read the facial expression of an insect?)

"You are a moth?" Arnie asked, after finally finding the courage to speak.

"Correct." She said simply. Her voice sounded majestic and powerful. It was the voice that demanded obedience. Certain, controlling and with the right touch of friendliness.

Isabelle gasped when they saw her and the Queen looked at her. Flimgog bowed low, showing no sign of surprise, and spoke in a clear voice. "Greetings your majesty."

"You have travelled far to reach me, each with a quest of your own. Your questions shall all be answered in due course. First, let us make you more comfortable."

As soon as she said it, caterpillars appeared carrying chairs for them.

Arnie and Isabelle settled into human sized chairs, while Flimgog was given a smaller chair to match his size. Somehow, despite the height difference between them they sat at equal heights. Arnie couldn't figure it out with his physics minded thinking.

The Queen was gazing at them. No one said anything. More caterpillars were appearing and carrying trays upon trays of food. The same kind of foods eaten in the pen and pencil villages. Various shapes and colours with tastes and textures to match ordinary food.

While they ate Arnie looked around at his surroundings. The clearing was large, surrounded on all sides by the dense trees. Unlike the pen and pencil villages there were no buildings here. What he had thought may be buildings earlier were merely oddly shaped trees and gnarled stumps. Beyond where the Queen sat in front of them Arnie saw a pile of socks. It was not as large as the piles that greeted him when he first arrived in Sockland.

He thought back to that time, it felt like a lifetime since he had arrived here. So much had happened and changed and he felt that he himself had gone through a transformation. He made a mental note to ask about the socks.

When the trays were cleared away and they had eaten to their satisfaction the Queen spoke once more.

"So, I shall answer your questions now. But before I do allow me to thank you for ending the civil war in Writingshire. By banishing those Spiders you have in fact saved more than you realise for Sockland."

Arnie bowed his head slightly and Isabelle copied him.

"We were very happy to help, your majesty." Arnie muttered.

"What is this place exactly?" He said after pausing for a few moments.

The Queen gave off the impression of a smile. It was very hard to tell with her being a moth, but that's what Arnie sensed. She sounded like she was smiling.

"Well Arnie that is a very good question. It all began a long time ago when I was a caterpillar myself..."

"The mother Moth to whom I owe my life was killed by a human as she sought sustenance in his clothing cupboard. As you will know we moths eat cloth. I watched, hidden in the dark of the cupboard as it happened. And then the thought came to me..." she paused for effect and gazed at her captivated audience.

"That, you should know, is the first part of the story. I had a thought. My kind, in your world, do not think. They operate on instinct for survival. So, my having a thought was something remarkable and unusual to me.

"I thought that we needed a safe place in which to live. A place where we could feed and grow with security.

"My short time as a caterpillar had shown me that we lived in constant danger. As soon as I realised this I knew what had to be done.

"I made the treacherous journey from the dark corner of the wardrobe, across the room in which it stood and made it to the outside.

"I invoked, with the help of other beasts of the garden, an ancient magic and with that my cocoon was formed."

"Time went on where I was conscious, as the changes took place that would allow me flight. All the while my mind lingered on what was needed. A sanctuary for my race.

"When my cocoon cracked and I saw light it felt like being born for the first time. I unfurled my wings and took off into the sky.

"I emerged here in Sockland!" She gazed around at them impressively.

"So...so, that was how it all started?" Arnied asked, hesitantly.

She turned and looked down at him with a piercing gaze.

"Yes. Although it was nothing like it is now. It started with this space, an individual sock would appear and I was able to feed. But the magic was strong and it grew. More of my kind arrived and we began to grow. Villages were added, you saw Washingshire where the socks arrive and are sorted. You have met some of the various races that have sprung up.

"Over time, as we flourished, other areas began to come under our rule. As humans began to notice their socks went "missing", other items, frequently missing, began to join our population. The first pen and pencil arrived. Spoons and other cutlery. Missing needles and thread. Voices lost through illness. As well as much you haven't seen in the way of paper clips, marbles and more.

"I am the Queen of Sockland and you are in my home. Further through the trees you will find hundreds of Moths like me. We are ever growing.

"Then, recently by our standards, the spiders arrived, enemies of our kind. They hoped to take control of Sockland and feast upon me and my family. They planned to take control of the Pens and Pencils and use them, along with the paintbrushes, to achieve their end. I watched, unable to stop them and called upon the wise advice of the forest guides.

"We needed intervention, we needed help and so we summoned you."

"Summ...summoned me? You mean you brought me here on purpose?" Arnie said, taken aback.

"Of course, you and Isabelle were our hope. The Prince and Princess of Sockland."

Arnie looked at Isabelle, he saw the shock that he felt mirrored in her beautiful face.

The Queen spoke again, "Fly with me now and view the land which you have helped to save!"

She let out a noise and a moment later another moth fluttered down into the clearing.

"Come now."

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