Spider King ✔️

Chapter 1 - Cave

Men are weak. Weak-minded, weak-bodied; selfish, greedy and power-hungry. Exploitable. I will wait patiently until the time comes.

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Six times Robert the Bruce had raised an army against Edward Longshanks. Six times they had fallen against the might of the English. This time he was out of options. Enemies surrounded him on all sides; the King's men hunted and harried him from the South, while John Comyn of Badenoch opposed him in the North.

What is a King without a crown? What is a King without a throne? What is a King without people who believe in him?

Robert looked up from the stone he perched upon, noticing a spider casting its web in vain against the wet rock. Again and again it swung from the roof to the wall, each time its delicate threads fell to the floor.

"What am I to do?" He said, as his chin lowered to his chest. Robert was a powerful man, but his sagging posture and hunched shoulders told a different story. He was a man in utter dejection, but he was not always like this. No, he was a warrior, a fearsome King. His muscular figure bore the remnants of countless battles fought, and his leathered skin the result of the sleepless nights planning them.

The spider tried again, this time finding a patch that stuck. Finally. Crawling back up its anchored line, it worked outwards, spinning an intricate tapestry over the entrance to the cave.

Surely I am finished. After this defeat, no one will rally to my side. Comyn has the support in the North; they will depose me, and crown that bastard King. King of my country. King of my people.

"Then fight, Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick, King of Scotland." Said a mysterious voice.

Robert shot to his feet, brandishing the enormous axe he used to split the heads of his enemies.

"Who is there?" His voice shook as he squinted in the darkness for any sign of life.

"Put down your axe, I am not your enemy."

The spider spun a single thread, and lowered itself to eye level.

Having searched every corner of the cramped cave, Robert noticed the spider in front of him, grinning as he accepted the absurdity of his mind . "I have spent too long in this cave, it seems madness has crept up on me like a cat to the unsuspecting mouse."

"King Robert the coward. Do you wish that to be your legacy?" Said the voice, directly in front of him.

He staggered backwards, frantically searching again, as though certain he had missed something.

"Yes, yes, you are not going mad, great one. Follow my thread straight and true, and there you will find me." It plucked its web with its hind legs, watching Robert's wide eyes follow the vibrating thread down till they were level with one another. "Yes, yes."

"Six times you have faced Edward Longshanks, yes?"

Robert stammered for words as he watched the tiny mouth of the spider move in time with its deep voice.

"Six times you suffered defeat at the hands of the English."

"Y... Yes." Said Robert, still in awe.

"I saw you watching me. How pitiful you looked as I cast my web. Six times I failed, each time I saw the embers of your heart fade into forgotten history."

Looking up again, Robert noticed the complex weave of organised entanglement above his head. "But you finished your web. When...?"

"On the seventh try, my web held true. A seventh time you will raise arms against Longshanks." Said the spider, spinning precariously.

"I cannot. I have no army, few men loyal to my call. I have no right to be named King."

A fanged, arachnid grin grew on the spider's face. "I can help you..."

"You are but a spider? You have no authority over the realm of men. I could crush you in an instant if I wished."

"Yet... Here I am. Conversing with a King."

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What do you think of the first chapter? Any votes and comments would be welcomed to help me improve the story before the competition deadline!