She was the last of her brood to hatch in the royal nesting chamber. Her siblings had all already been plucked from their casings and into swaddles of exquisite silk hours before she had even opened her eyes. The chamber was spacious, dimly lit by a faint sapphire lantern, and drenched in utter silence. The hatchling arachne struggled to move—her legs quivering from never being used before. The only thing she could do was cry. Finally, a caretaker entered the chamber ready to clean the freshly shed casings. The caretaker froze upon seeing the crying hatchling with her somber white skin like snow and crimson pools of blood for eyes.
The child was quickly swaddled and rushed across the castle's wooden halls into the empress’s bedroom. The empress was startled by the caretaker’s intrusion, but quelled her temper upon seeing the baby wrapped tightly. The empress scuttled to the caretaker and tore the baby from her hold. She unfurled the silk wrappings and saw the last of her children. Typically, the last would be celebrated, blessed with luck, and sure to be the next to inherit. But the child was different. Her skin and carapace were bleached alabaster white, and she bore the same devilish eyes as the Witch of Glass—the great divider of the arachne clans, the most feared arachne tyrant, and the one said to be as impossible to rid from the world as plucking the stars from the sky. Yet, as the empress stared into the tear-laden eyes of her daughter, all she could feel was love.
The empress cleaved the head off the caretaker with a swift slash of her claws. As the body hit the tiles below, the empress contemplated what she would need to do to keep her daughter alive and all the sacrifices she would need to make. She walked through the halls of her castle with her baby held tight to her chest. She stopped and stared at her small kingdom under the earth, busy at work. She knew her people and what they would do to her daughter. The empress’s title meant nothing in the face of the fear of the Witch of Glass. If the people knew of her daughter… it would be the end of her reign, her life, and more importantly, the end of her daughter.
She would call her child Kixi-Hisk Eerieeske, meaning “Umbra Claimed.” For Kixi-Hisk never existed, not to her clan below the grand castle at least.
——
Eight years later…
Kixi clambered to her feet(all eight) and stretched dramatically—silently, of course. Kixi brushed her eyes with her sleeve and made her way to one of the many bookcases in her room. This one in particular held a big secret. She lay on the soft carpeted floor and pulled two books from the bottom shelf, revealing her secret spy hole out of her room. She gazed at the commotion below—her sisters were playing in the garden with their dolls and making a racket. Kixi watched as they danced, laughed, and fell into the fields. She knew not any of their birth-given names but had given them names on her own. Even from this height, she could recognize each. Some had long hair, others short. Some were fair, and some were tan. But of course, the biggest giveaway was the patterns on their abdomens. Her sisters had beautiful colors and shapes across their carapaces—like stories in stained glass. But Kixi did not have a beautiful body like her sisters. She stood and looked at her carapace. A pale blue with a soft pink… what kind of story did her patterns evoke?
Suddenly, footsteps echoed in the hall and approached her room. Kixi scrambled to place the books back. As the door creaked open, Kixi curled into a ball and threw a massive blanket over herself. She waited still like a stone and with less breath than one too. The door slowly shut and clicked into place, but Kixi knew the intruder was still in the room. Seconds passed without a noise, and she remained on guard. Abruptly, the blanket flew up and revealed the trespasser—her mother, Empress Eerieeske. The blanket fell on the two as the empress cradled Kixi tightly.
The two conversed in whispers as the empress brushed Kixi’s hair gently. Kixi clung firmly to her mother and nuzzled against her. Even if Kixi wasn’t the best with words, she knew how to feel, and today, here with her mother, she wanted to express her love. These moments were growing scarcer as Kixi grew larger, soon to end perhaps. But Kixi didn’t want this time to end. Yet, it also had to end as someone came looking for the empress. Kixi knew the two were not to be seen together, but did not know why. Perhaps it was the same reason nobody was allowed to see her—the same reason she wasn’t allowed out of the claustrophobic confines of the abandoned study.
Kixi spent most of her time alone in the study. When she wasn’t sleeping in her pile of hand-me-downs, she was reading or playing with one of her toys. The books on the higher shelves were too hard for her to understand, but she had read all the lower shelves front to back multiple times already. Her toys were simple wood and web fusions—sometimes with a plush ball attached. But there was only so much that could be done with such toys. So one day, Kixi had an idea. She disassembled her toys with her claws and sacrificed some of her clothes for the grand project. With her teeth and a sharpened splinter from one of the bookshelves, Kixi stitched together a doll—like the ones she saw her sisters so carelessly abuse. To most, the doll would appear garish, unsightly, and utterly horrifying, but Kixi saw it as the most wonderful thing in the room.
When her mother returned and saw Kixi playing with the doll, she slumped to the floor and wept softly. Kixi did not know what she had done wrong. Perhaps she wasn’t supposed to tear apart her clothes. Or possibly, it was the fact the doll resembled her mother’s sister, who had been dead for 20 years. The empress snatched the doll away from Kixi—flashing her first angry expression at her daughter. Kixi did not understand. Nor did she understand why she started to cry.
——
Six years later…
Kixi exhausted all the books in the room. Front to back, right side, upside down, and even hanging from the ceiling. She dropped onto her bed—a risky project that paid off. After several tense nights of sneaking out and snagging materials from the castle’s confines, Kixi made herself a proper bed. She sank into its soft embrace and looked at her collection of dolls and toys strewn across the floor. Since her mother had stopped visiting nearly as much, she had more time to make toys. The dolls depicted people from the books she read, her sisters outside, and those from her dreams. Though, of course, her favorite doll sat upon her throne at the pinnacle of the bookshelf—a soft replica of her mother. As her stomach growled, Kixi checked the mechanism on the neighboring shelf… it would be another six hours before food was delivered.
Kixi kicked to her feet(all eight of them) and threw on her heavy robe and mask. She had stolen the getup last year and had made great use of it ever since. She slid one of the books out of its slot and retrieved her trusty key replica. After ensuring the coast was clear, she snuck out of her room and quietly crept across the creaky floors to the kitchen. Thankfully, none of the chefs were around. Kixi quickly seized a loaf of fungal bread into her mouth before stealing a bowl of berries. She skittered out of the kitchen and back to her room. But when she arrived, she found the door open and her sisters surrounding it.
Her heart beat intensely, and her blood grew hot. She knew she wasn’t supposed to meet them, and they weren’t supposed to know about her. But here she was, mere feet away from her sisters. She felt the well of things she wanted to ask begin to burst. As she stepped closer, her sisters turned to face her. All of their eyes fell upon her at once. Without thinking, Kixi pushed the bowl of berries forward. Her sisters laughed and burst into several conversations at once. Kixi didn’t understand, but she continued forward. She once again offered the berries. Her sisters quieted, and their faces contorted. Kixi took the bread from her mouth and offered it to the group. The closest sister, Odyssey, smacked the bread out of Kixi’s hand and hissed.
Kixi picked the bread up off the floor and offered it to her sister again with a cock of her head. But this time, Odyssey pushed Kixi away and nearly off her feet. Kixi realized her mistake.
“Kixi is… offering you food. Eat it,” she whispered.
Her sisters laughed again. Kixi started to laugh as well. But as soon as she joined in, she noticed her sisters quiet down and look confused. She offered the bowl of berries again. But this time, Odyssey snatched the bowl and threw it across the hall, where it shattered. Kixi whimpered quietly. But then she offered the bread again. Suddenly, another of her sisters, Tragedy, rammed into her and knocked her against the wall. Kixi yelped and curled into a ball as Tragedy, Odyssey, and another of her sisters beat on her. She did not understand why she was being attacked. She was offering food, if anything, that is a peace offering! In the middle of her beating, one of her sisters tore her robe off. At once, her sisters stopped attacking and backed up. Through blurry eyes and ringing ears, Kixi saw fear etched into the faces and voices of her sisters.
As her sisters backed away, Kixi cried, realizing this must be why she isn’t allowed out of her room. She regretted leaving. Had she known this would happen, she would have never left. She muttered her mother’s name, and within the second, her mother appeared behind her sisters with a face of unbridled anger. She yelled for the sisters to leave and even smacked Odyssey. When the sisters had left, the empress fell to Kixi’s side and cried. She carried Kixi back to the study and cradled her until Kixi fell asleep.
——
Two years later…
Kixi sat upon her mountain of pillows in her new room. This room was much larger—an actual bedroom this time. Across the floors and walls were her books, dolls, toys, dresses, and even a few dangerous toys(knives). After her sisters had found her old room, they constantly antagonized her in it, despite the empress’s orders not to. Thus, Kixi had been relocated. Through her new spy hole, she watched her sisters chatting loudly in the garden about drama and rumors. She didn’t like her sisters anymore, but they were her only source of intel about the world outside the castle. And Kixi was starving for information. She had already read every book in the castle and was craving her next fill.
She walked past the wall of tortured dolls shaped after her sisters and stopped in front of her sketching tablet. Her latest toy was shaping up to be her biggest yet. But there was no way she could acquire the resources for it in the castle. She would have to venture outside the castle bounds for even the slightest chance of getting what she needed. She cackled upon seeing the notes scrawled beneath the design. Suddenly, someone knocked on her door. Kixi froze and waited. But once the door was knocked on four times quickly followed by three more, she unfroze and clapped twice.
The door opened, and one of her sisters stepped into the room. She quickly shut the door behind her and pinned Kixi to the floor. Her sister began attacking Kixi’s sides with her claws, and Kixi winced under the barrage.
“K-Kixi has had enough! No more tickling, Fable.” She stammered.
Her sister got off her and giggled into her sleeve. She was Fable to Kixi, but Hiroski to everyone else. Unlike her other sisters, Fable was nice to Kixi. She was the biggest of the sisters and had a heart of gold. Every few days, Fable would meet Kixi in her room, and the two would read and play together. Even though Kixi could tell Fable wasn’t nearly as invested in the playtime as she was, she still appreciated Fable taking the time to be with her.
After playing, Fable dropped onto Kixi’s bed and rolled over.
“There is going to be a festival tomorrow. Do you wanna… get out of here?” asked Fable.
“Kixi is not allowed to leave,” curtly responded Kixi.
“Everyone is going to be busy at the festival. Even Mom is going to be there. We can leave together!”
Kixi fell onto the bed next to Fable.
“Kixi can’t go. Kixi doesn’t want to upset Mother.”
“Sure, you can. And if she really loves you, she would be happy with you leaving and being free!”
“Mother does love Kixi.”
“Then why are you trapped in here?”
“Mother loves Kixi!”
“I’m just saying, if she loved you, wouldn’t she let you outside?”
“Mother does… mother does love Kixi. And Kixi loves her mother.”
“Come with me tomorrow. I know a way out of here. We can run away together and… and we can open a toyshop for you!”
“Your tempting offer will not tempt Kixi.”
“Think on it at least. Tomorrow, I’ll come back and pick you up.”
——
The next day…
Kixi pushes a fallen support beam away from a door and gently pushes it open. The door falls off its hinges and reveals a kingdom crushed by rocks and smothered in dust. Water rushes in and drowns the lowest regions—slowly rising to overtake the whole kingdom. Kixi’s voice echoes across the cavern but is drowned out by the surviving arachne crying out for their family. She navigates the ruined society in search of her mother and Fable but cannot find either. In her search, Kixi stumbles across a temple with many corpses wearing the same clothes. Realizing she needs to blend in, she finds clothes like the corpses in another room and swiftly puts them on. Among the clothes, she retrieves a scarlet veil and quickly puts it on.
As she leaves the temple, the flooding worsens, and the paths out are dropping in number. She spots a small group of arachne floating on a broken roof drifting past. Kixi scampers over to them and waves her arms frantically. She calls them to help her, but they do not hear her. They slowly drift away into the dust clouds. But this gave Kixi an idea. She quickly collected fence pieces, wove them into a makeshift boat, and used a corpse’s staff as an oar. With her vehicle ready, Kixi roared through the dusty, flooded remains of a kingdom she was part of but never saw.
Kixi eventually found her way to one of the ways out of the cavern and began her escape, unaware of what would come next. All she knew was that if she stayed back there, she would surely die. And she did not want to die, not yet.
——