CHAPTER FIFTEEN: A cure for the spiders.
Branwell awoke to find himself securely tied to a chair, which was fixed to the floor. After he was sure there was no crawly black things hiding anywhere on him, he looked around him, he was in a very non-descript bare room, thankfully also free of crawly black things. He wasn’t unduly worried at the moment. He was unhurt, but missing all his weapons and his leather coat. He shuddered slightly as he tried to suppress the memory of the hundreds of spiders, but it was fighting back and he kept getting flashes of a black crawling mass of legs and eyes. His skin twitched whenever it surfaced, before he could push it away again. He hoped his coat was okay. He tried to think of something else to replace the crawling many legged things. Then his memory supplied him with something that banished the black horrors. Edrea, he’d seen her again, so much sooner than he was expecting too. She’d been just stunning the way she’d walked out of the twilight like that, she really was her most beautiful during the twilight and night. She’d felt their connection when they’d kissed too. She must have discovered aspects of him when their lips had met as he had of her. She’d even devised a spell especially for him too; she must have some feelings for him. Admittedly they might be feelings of hate and annoyance, but it was a start. He looked around as much of the room as he could see; it was totally empty of anything apart from him, not even a picture on the wall. He was starting to feel a bit bored, he hoped someone would be along soon to interrogate him or knock him around a bit, anything to relieve the boredom. Especially if it was Edrea.
The door opened, Branwell looked up hopefully. A tall, pale vision in black walked gracefully into the room. Branwell watched her with adoring eyes, she was carrying a small black box, which she placed on the floor near the door, and a scuttling noise came from it. But Branwell only had eyes and ears for her.
“You look even more beautiful now than when I first saw you,” he said with a sigh.
“Shut up,” she hit him across the face. “You don’t talk unless it’s to give me the information I want.”
“What I wouldn’t give you.”
“That’s more like it.”
“For you, my dark angel, I would catch a falling star; walk a thousand miles or slay the mightiest beast for any trinket you desired.”
She hit him again. “What were you doing up in the mountains?”
“Whatever it was was immaterial to meeting you.”
“Tell me, now.”
“When I first set eyes on you, your beauty hit me harder than any beast I’d ever fought.”
She hit him again. “Tell me why you were there.”
“It was eclipsed by your beauty.” He now had a trickle of blood coming from his mouth, but he didn’t regard it.
She leaned in towards him.
“You know I haven’t even started hurting you yet, you will tell me what I want to know.”
“The pain my body feels is nothing to the pain my heart feels when I’m near you.”
She leant in even closer, hissing in his ear.
“But what about fear?”
“Your scent is like the air after a thunderstorm,” he said taking a breath through his nose.
She drew a thin razor-sharp dagger from her belt and showed it to him, the light glinting off the edges, she traced the tip down his cheek and neck to his throat. Branwell unconcerned by the knife continued to look into her eyes.
“Your eyes are like twin pools under a starry sky.”
“Aargh,” she shouted in anger, slashing and tearing at his black shirt.
“Such passion,” he said continuing to be unconcerned.
She traced the knife over the wirily muscled chest and arm she had revealed. It had plenty of scars and an intricately patterned black tattoo snaking over his shoulder and upper arm.
“I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t mess my tattoo up.”
“Hmm, ha, ha.”
She strode over to the black box and tapped it with her foot, a furious scuttling noise was heard from inside.
“What do you think I’ve got in here then?” she said triumphantly.
“I’m only really interested in gazing at your beauty.”
She gave a wicked smile and reached down to open the box. She put her hand into it and out crawled an enormous black hairy spider with rows of shiny eyes; it struggled to fit on her outspread hand. Smiling evilly at Branwell she started to come towards him.
Branwell felt himself break out in a sweat and old dark images flashed through his mind as he looked at the eight-legged monster in front of him. He suddenly felt very small again, a child, he couldn’t move his arms and legs, he was stuck, trapped. But his mum and dad were with him, they would make sure everything was all right; he would be safe while they were there. The hairy black monster in front of him seemed to grow in size until it filled his vision, it was coming towards them. On the first day it took his father, sucking his blood while he was still alive. His father struggled valiantly, but his efforts, even with the strength of an Elf, were useless against the webs that held him. His struggles became weaker and then stopped. On the second day it took his beautiful mother, being human, she was already weak with thirst and hunger as well as grief at the loss of the man she loved dearly. She did not have much fight left in her when it also sucked her dry of blood. On the third day, he was rescued. Or was he. He saw the eight-legged monster coming for him, his face reflected many times in its eyes. But it was no longer a child’s face. Above the many eyes of the creature was another pair of eyes like the midnight sky, his rescuers? He was not caught in a giant sticky web like steel. He remembered the pair of dark eyes as the most beautiful he’d ever seen, he lost himself staring into them. The mouth underneath them gave a smile. “Look down at your arm.”
He did as the heavenly voice instructed. On his naked arm, he saw a large spider, his skin twitched instinctively. Looking into those big dark eyes was much more pleasant thou.
“Can you feel all eight of its hairy legs crawling over you?”
The spider had crawled up his arm and was making its way over his chest.
“Yes,” he replied. “It kind of tickles.”
“But you’re terrified of spiders,” she spat at him. “You were a trembling wreck when I caught you with them.”
He glanced down at the spider, it was only a harmless creature, and it meant him no harm, what was there to be afraid of? What had happened to him and his parents was a long time ago now; they were just very unlucky to be caught by a giant evil spider. These things happened. He’d been confronted directly with his childhood fears, been made to face his demons.
“I think you’ve cured me,” he said gratefully.
“Aarrgh,” she stormed off into a corner and stood there with her arms crossed staring angrily at him. Branwell indicated the spider still on his chest.
“Does he have a name?”
She came and carefully took the spider off him, stroking it gently, and put it back in its box.
“What are you doing with these Orcs?” he asked not taking his eyes off her.
“Now I’ve failed to interrogate you, you’re trying it on me? Don’t think I’ve given up so quickly.”
“You’re an Elf, why the Orcs?”
“A Dark Elf. Your Elf friends would not take kindly to my dark magic.”
“You’re still an Elf, don’t they make your skin crawl?”
“We have the same goals.”
“What could someone as beautiful as you have in common with something that delights in ugliness?”
“We both hate humans,” she spat at him.
“You didn’t always feel so.”
“What, how could you know I…” she stopped abruptly her hand over her mouth.
“Have I hit a nerve? When we kissed you picked up my phobia, but I picked up a few things from you too. I know you’re not totally evil like you think you are there’s good in you still.”
“Rubbish. You’re just using words to trick me, trying to
get me to free you, but it won’t work. My heart is as black as night.”
“But stars twinkle in the night. You know I cannot lie, it is the Elf in me, you know it.”
“But there is human in you too.”
“Why do you hate the humans, what have they done to you?”
“I have my reasons.”
“You don’t have to do this. Will killing them really take away your pain?”
“Perhaps not, but it’ll make me feel better.”
“Come away with me, I want to be with you, I could make the pain go away.”
“You’re pathetic if you think I would go away with you. Half Elf and half human, yet you belong to neither world.”
“Better than being in the Orc’s world. Lets go away together, somewhere away from everyone, just the two of us. I love you.”
“You’re pathetic,” she spat at him eyes flashing. “I hate you.”
“Hate is such a strong emotion.”
She hit him across the face.
“I could get used to these caresses from you.”
She hit him again. “You’re a madman.”
She walked about the room to calm down.
“You haven’t asked about your little friends,” she said in a calmer voice.
“Is this where you threaten to hurt them unless I talk?”
“So skipping the bit where I drag them in here and make the threats, would it work?”
“Do you think you could carry out your threats?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, I’m evil remember, I’ve hurt plenty of people,” she scoffed.
“I’m not so sure. The boy has the most unusual eyes, I’d look at them if I was you before you do hurt him.”
“He’s human, I’ll enjoy making him squirm in pain.”
“What is it about them that has turned your heart to hate?”
“Aaaargh.” She took a handful of his hair and jerked his head back to look into his face. “I’m evil, a dark elf through and through.”
“Whom are you tryng to convince?” he said with a smile.
She jerked his head forwards and stormed about the room.
“You really are amazing when you’re in a passion. I seem to put you in one so easily too.”
She stormed from the room slamming the door so hard the wall shook and cracked.
“What a woman.” Branwell said to the spider’s box in awe.
Edrea stormed out of the room and down the corridor trying to get as far away from Branwell as possible. Why did he put her in such a rage so easily? The man was loathsome, he drove her mad. Why was she still even thinking about him? He made her blood boil. She hated him. He was half human and she hated them. They had caused her so much pain and heartache, she remembered the time when her heart could feel, could feel love and happiness. But not any more, not again, she would not leave herself open to it again. She would never let another human close to her again. She was determined to rid this land of them to make sure of it.