The Spider's Web

By: Ariebelle

Chapter One: Madness

A/N: Hello again! Thank you very much to my two reviewers, Skeptica and Aria DeLoncray. To answer your question, Skeptica, no, Lord Bernard does not have all that much to do with the story, except that he gave Zella a place to live and that after he died she inherited his land. So she's the lady of the town, which is an important point in this upcoming chapter. Speaking of which, let's get to the chapter, shall we?


Arania woke to her mother's screams. With a sigh, she got out of bed and tiptoed to the next room. Her mother was sitting up in bed, her eyes wide in fear. Her blonde hair stuck out like a mane around her face. She was pale and she seemed unable to speak. Arania crossed to her side.

"Mother, what is it?"

Zella seemed unable to speak. Arania took her hand. She was surprised how cold it was. Gently she rubbed it between her own. "Mother, are you all right?"

Slowly Zella shook her head. "It's coming back," she said, her voice a hoarse whisper. "It'll never really leave me, will it?"

Arania had no idea what her mother was talking about. Still, she tried to comfort her mother, using the same voice Zella had used when she was small. "Yes it will," she said. "You just need to sleep. Lie back down and close your eyes. It was only a nightmare."

Zella obediently lay down but she didn't close her eyes. "The moment I try to sleep he'll be back. His face. Haunting me. All these years. Why can't I forget?"

She sat up abruptly. "Why can't I forget? I've moved on. I've started over. But every night he still comes to me. I still hear his voice. Why can't he leave me in peace?"

"Who, Mother?" Arania was confused. This was not the first time her mother had woken up after a nightmare but it was the first time she had ever babbled like this. Normally she was a very sensible woman. Something was wrong.

"No one," said Zella quickly, in a tone Arania knew. It was the tone she used when she wanted Arania to leave her alone. It was as if nothing had happened. "I'm sorry I woke you, darling. Go back to bed now. I'll be all right."

Arania stood up, still confused and worried. "Are you sure? You don't want me to stay with you?"

"I'll be fine, dearest. Go on back to bed. You need your sleep too, you know."

"Yes, Mother." Arania went back to her room. She climbed back into bed and looked up at the ceiling. What was haunting her mother's nightmares? Zella had never told anyone much about her past. Had something happened to her before she came to Ider's Peak? It was all too much to think about. Slowly, Arania drifted back to sleep, only to be woken hours later by another scream.

It was Zella again. Dutifully Arania went to her and stayed until she recovered herself. The same thing happened twice more that night, and the next night. Arania began to wonder if her mother was ill. These nightmares had been coming for a week now. No one in the house could sleep anymore. The servants whispered and rumors spread through the village. Lady Zella was going mad, or always had been mad. After another week, Arania decided to call the doctor. It was clear that Zella needed help.

Doctor Laurence was tall and skeletally thin. He had a long serious face and dark eyes that continually flashed, as if he was angry with the whole world. He examined Zella without comment then beckoned for Arania to follow him out of the room.

"Your mother is not ill," he said. Arania opened her mouth to say something. He held up a hand. "That is to say, she is not ill physically. Mentally and emotionally, she is unstable. Certain things in her past are clearly troubling her and she needs to find peace with them."

He lowered his hand again. Arania immediately asked, "Just tell me plainly, Doctor. Is my mother mad?"

"Not quite."

"So she's going mad?"

"Perhaps. If she can make peace with her past, she will be fine. But my area of expertise is physical illness, not mental. I'm afraid there is nothing I can do for her."

He started to leave. Arania caught his arm. "Couldn't you give her a sleeping draft or something? Something to stop her from having those nightmares."

Doctor Laurence sighed. "I can prescribe a sleeping draft but I doubt it will do any good. She will sleep well at night but during the day she will still be haunted. She may see visions or talk to things that aren't there. There isn't anything I can do. I suggest you take over her duties as lady of the town. No one wants a madwoman ruling over us."

Arania lifted her hand as if to slap the doctor across the face. She blazed with anger. "So you're saying my mother is mad?"

"Either she is or she soon will be."

"In that case, we have no need for a sleeping draft. Leave the house now."

Doctor Laurence left without another word. After he had gone, Arania went back to her mother, who was sitting with Greta Longspry, weeping quietly. They both looked up when Arania came in.

"What did the doctor say?" asked Greta. She was the oldest and most trusted servant, the only one both Zella and Arania trusted.

"He said Mother is going mad," said Arania, still furious. "He said that she's going to start seeing visions and talking to people who aren't there. He said there's no hope for her." There were tears in her gray eyes. They burned but she refused to let them fall. "I don't believe him."

"Nor should you," said Greta, stroking Zella's hair gently. "Our Zella going mad? I don't think so. She's just ill. Aren't you, Zella?"

Zella did not seem to have heard. She continued crying. Her sobs grew louder and louder until they reached a high-pitched wail. She reached out suddenly and grabbed Greta's blouse.

"I didn't mean to!" she shouted. "I never meant to. I didn't know! Hildegarde, Mother Hildegarde, forgive me. Please, forgive me!"

Greta seemed taken aback but she patted Zella on the head as if she were a child. "Of course Hildegarde forgives you," she said. "You don't have to apologize anymore."

Zella let go. She slumped back in the chair, sobbing quietly again. Arania looked at Greta, who shook her head sorrowfully.

"Leave her to me," she said quietly. "I'll make sure she doesn't harm herself. You'd better go and deal with the others." She nodded toward the door.

Arania wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. As much as she wanted to deny it, there seemed no other explanation. Zella was going mad, or was already mad, and there was nothing she could do about it.

The servants were waiting in the hall. They backed away from the door when Arania opened it. Some of them tried to see past her, into the room. Arania closed the door and stood against it.

"My mother is very ill," she said. "She is not able to perform her duties as lady of the town. Until she is well again, I will be taking over for her. That means that you are to obey me without question. She is not going mad. She will recover, in time. I want no more rumors about madness. Is that understood?"

"Yes, lady." She was surprised to see the servants cowering against the wall.

"Good." She tried to soften her tone. "I will need all of your help. Mother has been running this town for ten years but I'm only seventeen. I don't know everything that needs to be done. Will you help me?"

"Yes, lady," they said again.

"Thank you."

She smiled at the servants and went back into the room. Her mother had stopped crying. She looked almost normal. "Arania, come here, darling," she said, holding out her arms.

Arania came. Her mother wrapped her in her arms and held her for a long time. Arania felt as if she had gone back to her childhood, a time when she was dependent on Mother, not the other way around. Greta left the room quietly and sent the other servants back to their duties. Let the ladies of the house have some privacy.

After an hour, Zella released her daughter. She stood up and walked to the window. Arania followed her. She saw her mother's face in the glow of the setting sun. There were wrinkles there she had never noticed before, and her beautiful golden hair was streaked with gray. Was she just naturally growing older or was this illness, whatever it was, making her age faster? Arania shook her head to clear it. She opened her mouth to suggest that her mother go to bed now but Zella spoke first, her voice once again taking on a strange tone.

"Don't come up here. I don't want to see you. I hate you! Go away! This was your fault. It was all your fault and I hate you for it! Why can't you leave me alone anymore?"

She was yelling at someone outside, leaning out the window so far Arania was worried she would fall out. She grabbed the back of her mother's dress and pulled her back. Zella collapsed on the floor. Arania ran for Greta.

It took both of them to get Zella to bed. She fought them, ripping Arania's dress and nearly knocking Greta down. At last they settled her in her room, closed the windows, and locked the door to the hallway. Arania sat down on the floor and sighed. She looked at Greta. "Did my mother ever tell you about her past?"

"Only a bit, when she first came. She said something about a man and a mother. I got the impression that she had been seeing him without permission and her mother found out when her pregnancy started showing and threw her out. But she never gave me any details. Why do you ask?"

"Something the doctor said. I don't want to believe he was right but, well, he said Mother needs to make peace with her past or she'll go completely mad."

"Perhaps if she's in a good mood tomorrow you can ask her about it. For now, you should go to bed too. I'll stay in here with your mother."

Arania hugged the older woman. "Thank you. I'll come in if I hear her. Good night, Greta."

"Good night, Lady Arania." Greta watched the girl go, feeling sorry for her. She had to grow up quickly now. She would have to be the lady. It was an awesome responsibility. But as Arania left, Greta got the feeling that she would be able to handle it. After all, she was Lady Zella's daughter. Lady Zella might be mad now but there was one thing she had never been and that was weak. Her daughter was the same way.


A/N: Hey! One more thing before I close this. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update this. Thank you so much for your patience. I will try to write more on this soon. Please review:-)