Arakhne of the Floating Mountain (#OpenNovellaContest2020)

A Gallery of Mice

Arakhne marched down the corridor, the eyeless mannequins that littered the sides seeming to follow her as she moved. The gold threads that had been woven through the fabric of the tapestries that covered the wall like ornate wrapping paper seemed to sparkle as she walked past them. Something looked different about them today, Arakhne noted. She slowed her pace for a moment; once she realized she was getting distracted, she picked up again. Even after all these years of the tapestries decorating her palace, her own work still managed to catch her eye.

"Where in the Three Realms have these two... celestial morons gone off to?!" Arakhne muttered to herself, her hand still covering her face. The redness that colored her brown skin took its time to fade; this tested Arakhne's patience.

She paused before one of the few hundred small, round mirrors that lined the corridor. Her eyes darted directly to the image of her own warm cheeks but she refused to make eye contact with her own reflection. The increased warmth in her body made her step away from the mirror, as she wondered once again what was wrong with her.

"I'm just not used to visitors..." Arakhne explained to herself as she neared the kitchen. "They've turned my palace into a madhouse and it's barely been a few hours..."

Sighing, Arakhne saw Luna, with her glistening skin hovering over her while she stroked her hair, within her mind's eye. But unlike what had happened minutes ago, the scene continued with Luna leaning down to press her lips to Arakhne's while Arakhne took the other woman's hand and brought it close to her own chest so that Luna could fondle her breast.

It was at that moment that she had turned to step across the grey marble threshold into the kitchen that Arakhne toppled forward with a thud. She had felt as if she would melt into the floor. But the fall threw her out of her daydream and she blinked several times.

"Oh shit..." came the loud voice of Soledad from what seemed to be a few meters away from her.

"Are you all right, my lady?" came the gentle sing-song from Estelle.

Looking about, Arakhne ignored the two other women for the moment as the kitchen mice squeaked to each other and approached her. She smiled at them as she pushed herself back into a standing position. One of the mice squeaked and used one of its small rags to wipe the nonexistent dust from Arakhne's knees. She hoped she would not bruise.

"I'm fine," Arakhne waved them away as she picked up the mouse and patted its head. "I hope you're not bothering my little helpers! They're very busy!"

Arakhne shook her head and held the mouse next to her ear as it squeaked away. It appeared to be... chuckling about something, which in turn caused Arakhne to respond in kind. "Oh my little Rhode, is this true?"

Soledad and Estelle exchanged glances as Arakhne looked up at them both with a soft smile and a raised eyebrow.

"Why are you looking at us like that?" Soledad asked Arakhne as the other woman placed a kiss on Rhode's head. The mouse let out a squeak that the sisters assumed was a laugh as she wiped her paws in the front of her mouse-sized apron.

"Rhode says she and my other mouse helpers enjoy your company and they've asked if you have any special dishes you want them to prepare. They love having guests and seeing new faces around here, and it's been ages since I had one person show up, let alone three. And she wants you all to feel at home, I suppose. That's a bit of a difficult request in this gods-forsaken place but she still wants to try," Arakhne replied, placing Rhode onto Estelle's shoulder.

"It is truly odd to hear you speak so kindly after you, only an hour ago, attempted to throw me from the heavens," Soledad mused with a smirk, leaning against one of the counters in the kitchen behind her. "At least Rhode does not find me a nuisance."