Chapter 7

Dash gets ready for her appointment with destiny. And she wears a dress.

The next two weeks passed in that kind of blur that only happens when you’re holding on too hard. The calm of that first night had dissipated, and my anxiety (and morbid-ness) mounted daily. One moment I was sitting on a mountain with Hugo, and seemingly seconds later I was talking to Bartholomeus about my impending confrontation with Lepsi. He didn’t seem at all surprised that Hugo had informed me about the prophecy, and his slight air of smugness lent me the suspicion that he’d planned for me to find out all along. Though the abbot still frightened me just a little bit, he was a great help in planning that final meeting.

            We decided at length that I should go the cave and confront Lepsi at the exact moment of his long-anticipated escape.  That would give the element of surprise as well as keep the damage of the nearby web to a minimum if I succeeded. If I failed, well, it really wouldn’t matter. I still wasn’t clear on the reason that none of the spiders projected to be able to defeat him even though they had done it once before. They seemed all together too reliant on ancient pictures for my liking, but that wasn’t all that different from my world.

            When I wasn’t holed up in the spectacularly ornate abbey with Bartholomeus, I seemed to be spending more and more time with Eleyn, the only one of Hugo’s siblings that I had really spoken too. We were not in any way similar, but there was something about her sweet manner and marvelous tact that appealed to me. Besides, Hugo was frequently nowhere to be found. After our argument and my subsequent decision, he’d seemed strangely distant. I had made the choice that he had professed to wanting, and yet whenever I did see him, he was grumpy and for some reason a little bit wary.

            So, I followed Eleyn around on those too-short days leading up to Lepsi’s “planned escape”. She spent quite a bit of her time weaving, and her spinerettes unfurling strands that danced in the sunlight was really quite mesmerizing. To watch the skill that went into her work, whether it was hut building or road-making, or even story “writing” was fascinating. Being a good weaver in this society was praised above all else. Understandable since almost all of the work was comprised of a very similar skillset. As a result, Eleyn, being exceptionally skilled, was highly respected throughout the web. Compounded with my status as would-be savior, we were practically royalty for those weeks.

            With seven days left, Eleyn dropped a bombshell.

            “We need to get you ready for the feast,”

            I dropped the bowl I’d been holding. It bounced on the thick, silken floor. “Feast?” I squawked. “What feast??

            Eleyn chuckled slightly at my reaction, but then grew serious. “Did no one tell you? Oh honey, there has to be a feast. Your showdown with Ademar Lepsi is one of the most prophesized and long-awaited events in the history of our race. The night before you set off to battle, we must all celebrate and wish you luck on the coming morning. The entire population of the web will attend and Bartholomeus himself will bless your endeavor. Don’t look so nervous,” One of her legs patted me on the shoulder, “It’ll all be great fun!”

            “Okay,” I agreed hesitantly, “But what do I have to do to get ready? Surely all I have to do is show up and, I guess, get blessed, right?”

            Eleyn laughed her tinkling laugh again.

            “It really isn’t nice to laugh at people. That was a valid question,” I said, slightly perturbed at my friend’s irreverence.

“So sorry, dear. But you do realize that you can’t go to a great feast in the clothes you’re wearing,” I glanced down at myself and grimaced. She was right, of course. Since arriving in this strange place, I hadn’t really been able to get new clothes, spiders not needing them and all. Eleyn had done her best to mend and modify what I had been wearing on that fateful day almost a month ago, but even so, my shirt barely reached my midriff and my shorts kept getting holes. The possible s**t factor was definitely on the rise. No way could I wear that in front of a hall of eight-eyed beings.

“You’re right. I don’t see what you can do about it, though,”

“I’ve made you a dress!” Eleyn said cheerfully with a hint of pride. “That’s what you need to do. I want you to try it on. I have it with me. Here,” With that, she bustled over to the other side of the hut, pincers clacking excitedly. When she returned, something silvery was draped over one of her legs.

            “Um…are you….are you sure that this is going to work?” I eyed the bundle apprehensively. It was clearly made of spider silk like almost everything else around. Still, I wasn’t so sure about it preserving my modesty. Spiders didn’t need to worry about proper clothes, and they probably wouldn’t care…Still. I was worried.

“Try it on! Try it on!” Eleyn was practically bouncing with anticipation, “I’ll go outside. Call me when you want to show it off,” She scuttled off, leaving me alone with the dress.

I had never been much of one for dresses myself. For one, they were impractical. No tree climbing or wresting matches with Will when I wore a dress. The other reason had to do with my mother. She had worn dresses, and like everything she did, at least to my eyes, she did it more gracefully than anyone else. She was picturesque one moment and in the next she would hike up the skirt and go playing in the mud or spill acid on it or on one memorable occasion, jump into a duck pond. She always ruined her dresses, but for some reason she kept buying them. I knew I could never master the art of dress-wearing quite as well as she had. If only she’d been there for my first high school dance…

I rubbed my eyes, angry at myself for zoning out. I told myself to suck it up, and then picked up the dress.

It was like nothing I had ever put on. Lighter than air, but strong. It would never rip. More elastic than any human material could ever be. Surprisingly, it even seemed to cover everything up.

As if on cue, Eleyn burst back into the hut, carrying on her back a full length mirror. She set it up, and I was so surprised at my reflection that I forgot to wonder where the hell she’d gotten the glass.

I would have said that I looked like a different person, but that wasn’t quite it. It was more like me if someone had put me on a magazine cover and airbrushed and photo-shopped me until the papers sold. The dress was magnificent. A shimmering silver that gave the illusion of being not quite there. Fitted around the front, but flowing in a dancing wave down my back until it flared out just below the knee. There were no sleeves. Instead the neck was formed by an elegant spider web pattern that when I turned around, went down my shoulder blades as well. I thought briefly of Katniss Everdeen, and was startled when I realized how close our stories were at that moment.

Eleyn was still clicking happily, unable to stand still as she viewed her masterpiece. “If we take in the waist just a little bit more, and we have to do something about your hair. With flowers of course. Oh honey, you look absolutely gorgeous!” I giggled sort of nervously. Eleyn sounded exactly like one of fashionistas on those weird reality TV shows that Hattie sometimes watched. Though I had to say that at that moment I agreed. It’s a strange and rare opportunity to feel beautiful, but in that moment, I really did. I could almost forget that I would most probably die in seven days time. Almost. Not quite.

Author's Note

Unedited. Sorry. At least the update is fast. R&R