I take a minute to adjust my eyes to the light as I wake up. The light of the bonfire seems more intense than usual, though it could just be my imagination. I sit up as I wipe the sleep from my eyes before scanning the room around me. Eingyi's bedding lies at the end of the short hallway, a dead end, opposite the entrance. I assume he is out running an errand, as I do not see him in the room. Quelaag and the Fair Lady are quietly chatting on the other side of the bonfire. I had prepared a makeshift bed for myself next to the bonfire across from the fair lady, using pieces of cloth I had found before. I get up and shake the raggedy blankets off of myself.
"Good morning, stranger," the Fair Lady says softly.
"Good morning," I say. "Are you feeling better today?"
"I think so," she says. "Though I still am in a great deal of pain, it does feel as though my body has a little more vigor than usual."
"That is good," I say through a yawn. "We will give you some more of the elixir today. I'm sure it will bring you back to good health in no time at all."
I notice Quelaag looking at me from top to bottom with a judgmental gaze. I look down at myself and realize that I look like a mess. With what has happened the past few days I haven't gotten any time to wash myself. My clothes are stained and reek of swamp and sweat and blood.
"There are jugs of clean water that the servants brought in the other room," Quelaag says while pointing a finger upwards. "You may use some of it, if you wish."
Though her tone is still cold, I'm surprised at her sudden hospitality.
"Thank you," I say as I fold up my bedding and toss it against the wall.
Quelaag ignores my thanks and continues her talk with her sister. I walk past her and up the spiraling stairs, then into the large room where several jugs of varying sizes are packed at the bottom of the stairs. As I walk down to where the jugs are I notice a dark stain on the floor. This is likely where Quelaag bathes. There is no visible drainage system, though the dark stain on the floor indicates that Quelaag probably simply evaporates the water with her pyromancy.
After thoroughly washing myself for the first time in days I return to the Fair Lady and Quelaag. Quelaag leaves the room as soon as I enter, presumably to go bathe as well. I spend a few minutes talking to the Fair Lady before Quelaag returns with a jug of water and unceremoniously chases me out of the room. While Quelaag is bathing her sister, I decide to go look for more humanity. Despite having just washed myself, I once again trudge through the swamp and make my way to Firelink Shrine. I spend the day exploring the surrounding areas in search of humanity. I do not find much, apparently having depleted the supply of these areas the first time I passed through them. Once the sun begins to set, I make my way back to the Fair Lady to give her the little humanity I was able to collect. I do the same thing over the next three days, exploring more of Darkroot Garden, as well as the treacherous Sen's Fortress. Inside Sen's Fortress I speak to a man who calls himself Black Iron Tarkus. He tells me that I need to defeat the guardian of the fortress, a huge iron golem, in order to move on to Anor Londo. Although the warrior at Firelink Shrine assured me that it is the next step I need to take on my journey, my priorities lie with the Fair Lady. Every day I give her a dose of the elixir I brewed and every day I can see her becoming marginally better.
On the fifth day of the Fair lady's treatment I once again notice that the bonfire's light has become slightly brighter. The Fair Lady is also visibly getting better. Her spider-legs have begun to move and twitch. Her skin is becoming brighter and her hands are becoming less cold. She is talking to Quelaag now, as they do every morning. I watch them as they speak. The Fair Lady speaks with more fervor than usual, telling Quelaag about a dream she had last night. From what I can make out, it was her first peaceful dream in a very long time. Quelaag listens to her story intently, smiling like I've never seen her smile before. I quietly get up from my bed, not wanting to interrupt the Fair Lady's story. I step out into the large room where I had met Quelaag for the first time. Fresh jugs of water once again stand at the bottom of the stairs. I shed my clothes and wash myself with the cold water. As I dry off and redress, I notice Quelaag standing in the entrance at the top of the stairs. I don't know how long she has been standing there, but she clearly has no consideration for my privacy.
"Did you enjoy the show?" I ask her as she makes her way down the stairs.
"I think I now know why you carry such a large sword," she taunts.
She places her sword on the ground behind her and walks up to the jugs.
"The water was cold," I awkwardly say.
She ignores my words, picks up one of the jugs and dumps it over her head. Although she clearly has no sense of modestly, I still turn around while she bathes herself.
"My sister is getting better," she says.
"She is," I say. "At this rate she should be completely cured within a week or two."
"I hope you are right," she says.
The sound of falling water creates a strange ambience in this even stranger moment as I sit down at the foot of the stairs.
"You are the first person to help my sister so willingly," she says after a while. "Even Eingyi only serves her so passionately because of what she did for him."
"He serves her well, nonetheless," I say. "You also help her a great deal. She is very grateful to both of you."
"She is my sister," she says. "It's only natural for me to take care of her. I would not do the same for anyone else. Even less so for a complete stranger."
The sound of water falling on the floor stops and I hear her dry herself off.
"Normally I wouldn't either," I say as I stand up.
I turn around to see her conjure a small flame in her hand, looking at the pool of water where she was standing before. She allows the flame to grow in size, then hurls it at the water. A plume of steam hisses into the air as the flame hits the floor. The flames linger on the floor for a while, lapping up the water and spraying jets of steam into the air, then leaves the floor bone-dry as they die down.
"Nice trick," I say as I begin to walk past her.
She suddenly shakes her spider-body violently from side to side, spraying water all around her. I'm left soaked in water that smells like a wet dog. She snickers at me as we make our way back to her sister.
The next morning I'm woken by Eingyi enthusiastically tugging at my shoulders.
"Wake up, stranger!" he exclaims.
Despite the fact that I moved my bed further away from the bonfire, its light still pierces my eyes as I slowly open them. I groggily get up, holding on to the wall to support myself. I wipe the sleep out of my eyes and, to my surprise, Eingyi is standing before me. Although he is still hunched over, he is supporting himself on his feet. The eggs that were on his back are also missing.
"The Lady," he says, out of breath. "She has stopped laying eggs."
I look over to the Fair Lady, whom is once again happily chatting with Quelaag. Her face is almost glowing and her spider-legs are all twitching and moving in unison.
"She has not laid any eggs in the past three days," he says.
"You got rid of the ones you were carrying as well," I say.
"Yes," he says. "Mistress Quelaag commanded me to get rid of them. She thinks they might upset the Fair Lady."
"That's wonderful news," I say as I place a hand on his shoulder.
Eingyi vigorously nods his head in agreement. He looks over at the Fair Lady.
"Now that I can walk again, I will be able to go out and collect humanity for her," he says.
"No," I say, lightly squeezing his shoulder.
He looks back at me with wide eyes.
"I don't want you to endanger yourself," I continue. "The Fair Lady needs you here, tending to her. Besides, I do not think she will be needing humanity much longer."
