Arachnid

Chapter Three

I know it's 8een a while since I've written. A8out six days, I think. I still have not entirely mastered my psychic a8ility yet, 8ut I was a8le to muster enough power to make some low8loods work for me. I didn't make them do much. They just made the entrance of my hive large enough for Spidermom to get through. After that, she 8 them. I marveled at their work - excuse me, my work. I grew to enjoy the satisfaction of taking credit for things. In my defense, they would not have done it if I didn't make them. It's technically my own doing. There is a reason I'm setting my lusus free. I'm leaving the hive, and I'm never going 8ack. She can finally hunt for herself. Two days ago, I made my way into a near8y town. It's rather large. I had never seen so many people in one area. It's so full of life. It almost distur8s me. My main o8jective in my life right now is to find a place where I 8elong.

Signed,
Aranea Serket

I put my journal back into my satchel. Apparently, I was foolish enough to leave home without bringing any writing utensils, so I had to use the feather and ink system inside of the local library. I was never really interested in books since I never had the time to read any. Seeing them all around me now got to my curiosity.

Setting the feather back into the ink jar, I made my way over to one of the shelves of books. The entire shelf was filled up with a variety of stories for wigglers. Those definitely didn't interest me. I continued moving down the rows of shelves. There were science books, cook books, books on animals, books on the troll body.... Then, I found it. The history section. If I'm going to read, I might as well make use of it. Everything that happened in history is real and factual, and that makes them the most fascinating.

With eight books I just collected, I start to take my leave towards the door. That's when I was stopped by a voice from behind me across the room.

"I know you're not planning on stealing my books."

I turned to face an older, gold blooded troll, probably put to work by highbloods. With the disapproving look she was giving me, I knew running wasn't an option. It was only going to cause trouble for myself. I walked up to the desk where the librarian was standing behind and set the books down.

"I'm going to be checking these...." I cut myself short as I noticed the book at the bottom of the pile. The spine that caught my eye read Piracy. I took the other seven books and slid them aside. Though eight is my lucky number, this was the only one I had a legitimate interest in. "Just this one."

"Pirates, huh?" the troll said blandly. Without making eye contact with me, she scanned the book. I could tell she didn't like me too much. "Any occasion?"

"I have my hobbies. You have yours." I took the book after she set it back down and put it in my satchel. What does it matter to her what I'm doing with it? It's none of her damn business.

The librarian's eyebrows furrowed as she looked down at me with that oh-so hateful expression. Just by the look on her face, I knew she wanted to slap the smirk I had right off of me. She can't touch me. I'm much higher than her.

"Get out. I don't want to see you back here," she commanded through her teeth.

"Alright. As you wish. I won't ever come back." I walked all the way to the door before turning my head. "Thank you for the book." I waved a hand and exited the building. I wish I could have seen the dumbfounded look on her face, but I could at least have the satisfaction of knowing it was there.

I made my way down a boardwalk in search of a place to read. The quietest place I had was the tree outside my hive, but I'm never going back there again. Town life has a lot more people than I thought. I was beginning to think it would be impossible to find a place quiet enough. Well, a place that I'm not banned from. I found out the hard way that bad attitudes aren't tolerated around here, not even from lowbloods. 

Eventually, I found a place. There was an old alleyway next to a noisy pub. I didn't really expect anybody to be back there, so I went to take a look. Before getting too far inside, I grabbed a metal rod that was leaning against the wall for protection. Turning around the corner, I didn't see anybody there. The only things I saw were broken bottles and half empty cans of food. I lowered my defenses and sat against the wall in the least dirty looking spot on the ground. Finally, I could read in peace.

"'Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. Those who engage in the acts of piracy are called pirates'," I began with my poor vision.

I don't know exactly how long I had been reading, but it must have been at least a couple hours. I had learned so much about this fascinating career. There were so many different ranks of pirates, like the rigger, the boatswain, the master gunner, but the one that interested me the most was the captain.

The captain ran the entire ship singlehandedly. Anybody who denied orders or got in the captain's way was slain or kicked off the ship. I mean literally kicked off. The captain got the majority of the riches, no matter how little work they did to get it. Just everything about the captain filled my mind with fantasies.

I closed the book and put it back into my bag. I didn't notice before how exhausted I was. Without any real place to spend the day, I crawled over to an area with shade. I'd be a fool to let myself fall asleep in broad daylight.

Unfortunately, I didn't get much of a chance to rest as I heard voices from the beginning of the alleyway. I picked up and gripped the metal rod once again, certain I would need it this time. I waited in my spot as the sound of multiple footsteps came nearer and nearer, until finally, the sources of the sounds became known. Without even a first thought, I swung the rod. It failed to connect due to my arm being grabbed and squeezed with a tight grip, causing me to flinch and drop it. It probably wouldn't have hurt as much if the people hadn't been wearing suits of armour.

"Aranea Serket?" asked one of the knights through the mouth of his helmet.

"Depends who's asking," I responded, giving him a dirty look.

The second knight spoke up. "Her Highness would like to see you."

"Her Highness?" My eyes widened a bit. I knew who they were talking about, but I couldn't believe what I was hearing. What does a great, big highblood need with me? I didn't really have a choice as the knights drew their weapons. "Alright, alright," I said, putting my hands up in defeat. "I'll go."

Before I knew it, I was being led to the castle. Whatever this princess or something needed, it had better be important. How does she even know my name? I don't know her name. Everyone just addresses her as "Her Highness" or "Her Imperious Condescension".

The castle was gigantic. Even I had to admit I was impressed. There were fuchsia flags with the empress's sign on them waving from the top, which I thought was a little overboard and kind of egotistical, but it wasn't surprising from a troll with a blood colour as high as hers. I don't think there was one room in the entire castle without the fuchsia carpet leading into it. This queen really loves herself. I kept looking around as I followed the knights. I noticed that every lowblood had a sash around them representing their loyalty to the empress. Considering that, it was safe to assume that any lowblood inside this building works for her.

Finally, the knights opened the doors to the empress's room. They told me to wait while Her Highness finished speaking with a lowblood. She was sitting in a large throne of gold in probably the most bored looking position I've ever seen. Her yellow eyes were half lidded as her head relaxed on her hand with her elbow leaning on one of the arms of the chair.

Next to the chair was a different troll. His horns were tall and slightly curled, and his hair was an absolute mess. I think he also had on face paint. The troll had a terrifying expression on his face; his sharp teeth bared with eyes looking ready to kill. Around his neck was a chain attached to the wall, as if to keep him from running away. From the purple clothing and light growling noises he made as he was breathing, I finally figured out who it was. Kurloz Makara; the Grand Highblood.

Something told me this wasn't going to be a friendly meeting.