A/N: Sorry this is a few hours late! Details at the bottom!
Alistair was leafing idly through book in his bedroom, in front of a roaring fire when a sudden shriek from the direction of their bathroom chamber made him snap his head up. "Ashlyn," he gasped in worry, jumping out of his chair to see to his wife. Frightened thoughts spun in his head in a mad rush in that short moment. Had an assassin found their way in? Had she fallen? Hurt herself? Before he could take more than a couple steps however, a sudden blur of red hair rushed at him and nearly toppled him. He caught her with a small grunt and held her when he realized she was shaking. "What happened?" he asked worriedly, trying to bend and see her face. "Are you alright?"
"S-spider!" was her shaky response.
A couple of moments passed as he processed her response.
Finally he gently pulled her back to look at her. "A spider?" he asked. She only stared at him with wide eyes and a watery frown. "But…we've killed scores of the giant ones. But a small one – wait. It is a small one right?" He absently wondered where his sword was, trying to figure out how in the world a giant spider had gotten in.
"Yes, yes, a small one. I mean not small, but not giant it was just…I…I hate spiders!" she cried, hiding her face in his chest again.
A sort of half snort and half laugh escaped him. "Like I said though, we've killed so many giant spiders! Why would a little one frighten you so much?"
She pulled her head back quickly enough to startle him a little. "The big ones can't hide! I mean, you can't miss a giant damn spider. They're huge. But the little ones can hide, and wait, and ambush you with their creepy little legs!"
By this time she had her hands in front of her, making what he assumed was a creepy-crawly gesture, which consisted of her wiggling her curled fingers quickly. Alistair pressed his lips together to keep from laughing. Ashlyn's eyes narrowed and she lifted a finger to bop him on the nose. "Don't laugh! They're monsters!"
"Even the little ones?" he asked, grinning.
She scowled. "Yes. Even the little ones." Then she gave a slight pout. "Get rid of it? Please?"
He chuckled. "Yes, of course, my dear. Shall I grab my sword?"
She huffed and gave him a mock punch to the arm. "Just…just get it out."
He laughed lightly again and kissed her forehead, before moving to their bathroom chamber. "Where was it, love?" he called back to her.
"In the tub!" she replied, and he looked back when he noticed her voice was closer. She was peering around the doorway, and her face was comically concerned. He managed to hold back another laugh.
However, when Alistair looked in the tub the spider was missing, and a search through the remainder of the room did not reveal it.
Neither of them slept that night.
A/N: For some reason I thought I had an extra day to write this. Ahh! And I know it's super short so in apology for the late update and the shortness, I'm going to upload another short story in maybe an hour, probably less. Stay tuned! Thank you for reading, and reviews are love!
Speaking of which, thank you Lea the Red, Jord, Foxtrotter44, and Cel for your reviews! You are superstars!