Palmina of the Arachnids (Sunlight and Shadow)
Hello, I am Palmina, named of the Queen of Darkness and her daughter. I live alone in a cottage by a field. However, this lowly cottage is not where this tale begins.I first must tell you that my family has a very special heirloom; it is a set of magic bells and a small hammer. If one plays their heart song on such bells, they will call their one true love. These bells were given to my family by the very powers that watch over the universe and have been passed down for generations. The most famous of my ancestors is Lapin the Bird Caller. Third generation to receive the set, he served and personally knew the Dark Queen Palmina herself. It was his grandmother who first received the powers' gift. And it was because of his great grandfather's wicked and foolish actions that the bells were given in the first place.
You must think that to play your heart song would be simple, but it is harder than it seems. until you can master your heart's song, you will call other creatures to your side. I've seen it done. They come and they're there to stay. Each person has their own specialty; Lapin's grandmother called bears, his mother called rodents, and he, himself, called birds.
It appears I have inherited the Bird Caller's habit to take the long way around, so I'll get to the story.
I was born on a new moon on the Winter Solstice, the longest and darkest night. Because of the pitch black, my mother gave me the name of the Queen of Darkness. My father was killed by a bear when I was five years old, when I first started playing the bells. However, I did not take them seriously and would just make random melodies, anything that came to mind. I never actually tried to find my heart song until I my fourteenth birthday.
I sat outside in the cool evening with my bells, my eyes closed, trying to feel some sort of melody. Then, I opened my eyes and began to play. Not too long after, I felt something crawling on my arm. I shuddered, for it was such a creepy feeling. The crawling sensation stopped on my shoulder. As it stopped, I stopped playing and looked, to behold a spider. It was of a common breed often known as daddy-long-legs, but I did not recognize this fact at the time. I assumed that my music must have called it. So was this MY specialty? Did I call bugs? I was devastated at the thought. Bugs, I thought at the time, were gross and worthless! And I hated spiders most of all! I half brushed half smacked the spider off my shoulder and began to inch away from the spot. The spider came back and crawled back onto my shoulder. This repeated three times. It was a stubborn little thing and I finally gave a sigh in defeat.
I stood up and entered my home. I went into my room and placed the spider on my nightstand, where it promptly began to spin itself a web between my lamp and the wall. I took my bed coverings and slept in a different room; there was no way I could sleep with that spider so near my head, after all.
After a week, I was comfortable enough with my new roommate to sleep in my bed again, so I decided to try again with the bells. This time, as I sat playing, I noticed a pair of large, fuzzy tarantulas crawling across the grass towards me. I shrieked and jumped to my feet. never before had I seen large spiders such as these. I then did what probably anyone would do: run into the house and slam the door in a panic. The two hairy creatures just waited patiently at the door until I finally gave up and let them in. They made themselves at home in my room, too; one under the dresser and the other under the nightstand.
I stared, terrified, not daring to move. The deadly spider swung on its web and landed on my nose. I trembled and stared at it, as it seemed to be looking into my eyes. I imagined its jaws piercing my skin and sentencing me to the grave... It then slowly began to crawl down to my shoulder.
Eventually, I decided that to die now would be better than to have to suffer all of these spiders. I slowly raised my finger, and, carefully, poked the black widow. Nothing other than a flinch. I did it two more times, then relaxed. As aggressive as black widows are, I would be dead by now. Slowly, and cautiously, I stood up. My mother had been watching the whole time, petrified, but now she began to move again. I brought the black widow into my room, where it found itself a cozy place in the corner directly above my bed. It was a sleepless night for me, as I spent the whole time watching the new spider weave itself a web.
After that close encounter, I decided I would not use the bells ever again. My specialty turned out to be arachnids, after all.
Time went on, and I grew fond of my eight-legged companions. Sometimes, I would even let one of the tarantulas sleep on my bed, like it was always begging to do. I didn't use the bells until two years had gone by, for my mother grew ill and passed away. The house was now mine, for me and my little friends. However, with only four I began to grow a bit lonely. So I took up the set of bells and once again played. This time, I was greeted by a group of five wolf spiders crawling onto my lap. I normally would have thrown them off, but I welcomed them. I took the five inside and allowed them to choose anywhere in the house to hunt. I continued using the bells week after week, trying to find my heart song. I am still here, living almost alone.
Now you know of who I am and how I came to be the way I am now. But if you were to go to my house, I'd first have one very important question for you...
"Are you afraid of spiders?"
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