By using logic and reason

"Matron..." Teysa began. She trailed off in the face of that implacable blank stare. The Matron's eyes were pools of ink, black on black, as glossy as a beetle's carapace. It was impossible to know for certain where she was looking, but Teysa could feel that gaze riveting her against the far wall. She could see herself reflected in those inky pools, a tiny grey thing swimming in a sea of black. What could she possibly say to such a being? The Matron was older than she, stronger, wiser, greater. She was the will of the warren manifest, a hive queen who cared for nothing in the world but her children.

She had long since transcended the frailties of conscience. The embers of her heart had cooled into stony ash. She would be persuaded by logic, or not at all.

"They... could be an asset," Teysa began. She picked up confidence as she went, more certain with each word that she was on the right path. "The warren is expanding. We could use more hands at labor. Farming, too. Why set a drider to grow fungus? Our guests can do it. Besides, they could take up arms in defense of the warren. The people who attacked us will be back. We could use more swords in defense."

The Matron stared at her impassively. Teysa felt as though she was clinging to a high stone wall, and she had just felt her grip slip. She took a deep breath and stepped closer.

The words wouldn't come. Her mouth worked silently, her throat strained, and the words wouldn't come. Her mind was empty. The Matron's presence pressed down on her like a weighted sheet, crushing even the possibility of dissent. The voice that finally crawled up out of her throat was tiny, the voice of a churchmouse caught nibbling on a candle.

"Please..."

The Matron shook her head once-- a short, sharp gesture of denial. There was a hardness to her expression that quailed Teysa, a fire in her eyes that brooked no argument. "I cannot," she said. "Hyou mussssst underssssstand, Teysa. My duty isssss not to hyou, dessssspite all hyou have done for usssss. It isssss to the warren. It issssss not perssssssonal-- but I cannot jeopardize our ssssssssurvival for thesssssssse outsssssiders. They have not the sssssssstrength to fight, or they would have been driven to our door. And the work it will take to keep them alive far outssssstripsssss the benefit they could provide. Look at them. Ragged, sssssstarving, half-dead already. Besssssssidessssss..." She steepled her fingers. "The creature that attacked ussss will want to try again. But perhapssssss he will tarry firssssssst to clean up thisssssss lot. That will buy ussssss time. Time to call our alliessssss, to reinforce our defensssssesssss."

The word "but" formed itself on Teysa's lips, and died there. Staring up into the Matron's eyes, she felt the full **** of the drider's personality boring into her. Next to her, Teysa realized, she was insignificant. She was nothing but a drone. She had to know her place. It was right to deny these drow succor. It was proper. It was what had to be done. Yes, it was regrettable, but sacrifices had to be made for the greater good. Teysa could see that now.

"So that's it?" demanded Lit'vi. She looked furious, but not surprised. "You're sending us out there to die in the dark? Je'lyn, and her child, and the rest of us... he'll kill us, you know that? Either that or the Underneath will."

"I'm sorry," Teysa said, and meant it. "But we can't feed you. We don't have the space. We don't have the water. If we tried, you would die anyways. There must be others... the dwarves, maybe, or--"

"Oh, sure," Lit'vi said. "We'll travel for miles through kobold territory and beg those money-grubbers for a handout. They'll charge us for the breath we use to beg." Je'lyn started crying, but her sister ignored her. "And you too, Lil'esh?" she said, looking past Teysa. "You're ok with this? You'll choose these monsters over your blood?"

"I..." Lil'esh looked torn for a moment. She glanced up at Jy'ven with an expression of terrible grief, then crossed the cave to stand next to her sister. "No. Of course not. If you leave, Lit'vi, I'm going with you. I'm sure the rest of the emissaries," she almost spat the word, "will join me."

"That isssssss hyour right," said the Matron coldly. "I will not imprisssssson hyou."

"Thank you for your courtesy." Lil'esh's tone could have frozen quicksilver. She bowed once, stiffly, like a puppet. "We will call upon you again if we're in the neighborhood."

The word passed along back through the crowd of drow. Accompanying it was a soft, wordless murmur of dismay. Teysa looked from face to face, but all she found were downcast, hopeless expressions. A few of the refugees began to cry. The priestesses who had borne Mish'li remained stone-faced and stoic. They lifted the stretcher again and bowed their heads.

"Bullshit!" A voice cut through the whispers and drew everyone's attention. Aliara was marching across the open space towards Teysa. Her hands were balled into fists, her chin raised pugnaciously. Fury crackled in her eyes. "Teysa, you're not telling me you're going to sit by and let this happen? That's bullshit!"

"Aliara, I... I can't..." Teysa's mouth opened and shut. "We can't take them, Li! You know that! We don't have the space or the food!"

"Bull-fucking-shit," Aliara growled. She was right next to Teysa now and quivering with anger. "If you send those people out there into the Underneath, Tey, they'll die. All of them. You know it and I know it." Je'lyn looked away and buried her face in her sister's shoulder, stifling a sob. The rest of the drow watched Aliara with somber expressions.

"It's ****, Teysa. That's all. You can talk about need, but it's fucking ****. I'm not going to watch you do this."

"Aliara, please!" Teysa hissed. "Can we discuss this later?"

"Wouldn't want to embarrass you!" Aliara shouted. "Not in front of the matron! Is she your boss now, or your mom?" She curled a lip contemptuously and looked Teysa up and down. "I didn't want to believe it, Tey, but it's true. How much of you is left in there? A memory? Not enough. Teysa wouldn't allow something like this to happen. Teysa... Teysa died in this cave. You're nothing like her."

Teysa gaped at her, her mouth moving soundlessly. "Aliara, please," she said. "Please don't--"

"Don't what? Take a stand? Have morals? Don't care?" Aliara stared at her in disbelief. Teysa was dimly aware of a ring of eyes staring at them from all around, the drow and the Matron and El'keth, but they seemed so far away. It was impossible to care about such distant things when Aliara was right here in her face.

"You know, I never used to!" the elf said. Her voice was shrill, with a touch of vibrato. "I never used to give a shit about anything or anyone but survival. I would have turned them away, too. And you know what? I was wrong, and stupid, and selfish, and it took the woman I loved to tell me that. She was right and I was wrong. Listen to her, Teysa, please. Please." She clasped one of Teysa's hands between her own and looked up at her.

"I... I..." Teysa glanced desperately over her shoulder at the Matron. The huge drider stared impassively at her, than shook her head once, solemnly, like the tolling of a funeral bell. Teysa opened her mouth to defy her, to speak up for the drow, and felt the weight of the Matron's gaze on her. Once again she was shrinking, abrading away under that endless black stare. She felt her courage dwindle and blow out. She sagged and gently extricated her hand from Aliara's. In a tiny, tiny voice, she said:

"I'm sorry, Li."

The half-elf reeled as though she had been slapped. She looked from Teysa to the Matron and her expression curdled into hatred. For a moment, she looked like she was going to leap at the drider, and the guards shifted uneasily. Instead, she spat on the ground and turned away. "You can keep my stuff," she said without looking back. "I don't have much, and my clothes probably won't fit you. But I don't want them."

After a moment, Lil'esh joined her. The drow reached out and grabbed Aliara's hand. Teysa saw her fingers flex in a squeeze. She felt a tightness in her chest, a familiar hollow ache, but her words had all left her. She watched the drow begin to turn and file out of the cavern.

The Matron stared at them without malice or hatred or pity. Her stony expression gave nothing up. Teysa, though, felt her composure crack. Her legs wobbled beneath her and she fell to the floor, landing heavily on her abdomen. Through a blur of tears she saw Aliara disappear into the press of the crowd. She reached out a hand, hoping that the half-elf would turn around for one last glimpse, but she was gone. Somehow Teysa knew hope had gone with her.