Vol2-Chapter 3: New home – Silkhariana
The door to Hania's room burst open violently.
Hania flinched, still weak, with Kofery's hands hovering anxiously near her shoulders. The morning light from the window caught the silhouette in the doorway.
"HANIA! MY PRECIOUS, TINY, RECENTLY REANIMATED BABY!"
The voice that boomed through the chamber was unmistakable. But the figure that stepped through the door was not the Lusha Hania remembered.
She was magnificent.
Gone was the demure nanny's disguise. Gone were the soft colors and the rounded, harmless edges. This was a Queen in her full glory.
Lusha's hair cascaded down her back, woven through with threads of silver that caught the sunlight and scattered it. Her gown was a tapestry of spider silk, shifting between deep violet and obsidian black as she moved. Her golden eyes glowed with an inner fire that made the room feel warmer just by her presence.
But it was the legs that truly commanded attention.
From her back, eight magnificent spider legs extended. They were longer than Hania remembered, more regal, each one tipped with a perfect, razor-sharp point that gleamed like polished onyx.
Hania's jaw dropped. "Lusha?!"
"Who else would come to greet her favorite little morsel after a two-year nap?" Lusha practically glided across the room, her spider legs clicking a cheerful rhythm on the stone floor. Without waiting for permission, she scooped Hania up, ignoring Kofery's strangled protest, and settled the girl onto her lap.
"You are so light," Lusha said, her voice suddenly soft. Her golden eyes swept over Hania's face. "We need to feed you immediately. I'll have the kitchens prepare a feast. You've lost at least a pound of adorable chub. Completely unacceptable."
"Lusha, I—" Hania started, but the Queen was already moving.
"Kofery," Lusha commanded, not even looking at him. "Inform the court that the Princess is awake. We will hold the reception in the Grand Hall in two hours. The kitchens are to prepare her favorite honey cakes. I assume they haven't forgotten the recipe. If they have, I'll have someone's legs removed."
Kofery opened his mouth, closed it, and then wisely chose to bow. "Yes, Lady Lusha. I'll see to it immediately."
He practically fled the room, his footsteps echoing down the corridor. Hania watched him go, a small part of her mind noting that he still hadn't answered her question about Dravin.
But before she could dwell on it, Lusha was already moving.
"Now then." The Queen tilted Hania's chin up with one finger. "Let me look at you properly."
Hania stared up into those glowing golden eyes. "Lusha, where's my father? Kofery was about to tell me, and then you—"
"Kofery will. Right now, you are my priority. And my priority is making sure you don't look like a skeletal ghost child when you finally see him again."
"But—"
"No arguments." Lusha stood, lifting Hania with her as if she weighed nothing. Her spider legs extended, and suddenly they were moving, gliding out of the room at lightning speed.
Hania clung to Lusha's shoulder, her weak body jostling slightly. "Where are we going?"
"To show you your new home."
"My new—"
"Welcome to Silkhariana. The Spider Kingdom." Lusha's voice rang with pride. "My territory. Your territory now, too."
They emerged from the corridor into a cavern that made Hania's breath catch in her throat.
It was enormous. The ceiling arched high above them, covered in a tapestry of webs. Stalactites hung like crystal chandeliers, each one wrapped in intricate patterns of silk that caught the light and scattered it in rainbow refractions. The floor beneath them was polished obsidian, mirror-smooth, and in the center of the cavern rose a structure that could only be described as a palace.
It was woven from spider silk, but not the fragile threads of ordinary spiders. These strands were thicker than ropes, woven together into soaring spires and delicate arches.
And everywhere, everywhere, there were spiders.
They clung to the walls, the ceiling, and the pillars. They crawled along the floor in organized patterns that Hania slowly realized were patrol routes. Some were the size of her fist, others as large as dogs, and a few were the size of carriages, their eyes gleaming at her.
Hania's survival instincts screamed at her to panic. Her reading comprehension screamed back: They're friendly. They're Lusha's. They won't eat you. Probably.
"This is the Spider Court," Lusha announced, gesturing with one elegant hand. "The heart of my kingdom. Do you like it?"
Hania swallowed. "It's... very... spidery."
"I'll take that as a compliment." Lusha's smile was delighted. She began to walk through the cavern, heading toward the silk palace. "I've had the entire South Wing prepared for you. The bed is a proper cocoon this time. I know you liked the one in the nursery, but I've upgraded. It's bigger, softer, and has a built-in vibration setting for when you can't sleep."
"You made me a vibrating cocoon."
"Of course I did. I'm a Queen. It's what we do."
They entered the palace through massive doors that opened silently at their approach. The interior was breathtaking—silk walls in shifting shades, furniture that looked like it had grown from the floor rather than being built, and windows that opened onto the cavern's glowing wonderland.
Lusha carried Hania through the palace until they emerged onto a balcony overlooking the entire kingdom.
Hania gasped.
From this height, she could see everything. The spider citizens going about their daily lives—gathering silk, tending to the glowing mushrooms, weaving new patterns into the walls. The patrol routes that crisscrossed the cavern. The distant glimmer of what might have been an underground lake.
"You had this place the whole time," Hania said softly. "All those years in the Tower, and you had an entire kingdom down here."
"Did you think I was just a nanny?" Lusha's voice was amused. "I am the Spider Queen, Hania. I rule over three mountain ranges, hundreds of caves, and approximately forty-seven thousand subjects. The Tower was a... vacation home. A place to relax and raise a tiny, chaotic human child."
"I'm not chaotic."
"You once bit your father so hard he bled."
"That was necessary."
Lusha let out a laugh that echoed across the cavern, making several nearby spiders pause and look up. "Oh, I've missed this. I've missed you." She pressed a kiss to the top of Hania's head. "Two years is far too long to be without my favorite little menace."
Hania leaned into the embrace, feeling the warmth of Lusha's silk gown against her cheek. "I missed you too," she admitted. "I don't remember much from the coma, but I remember... I remember wanting to come back."
"You did." Lusha's voice was softer now. "You fought your way back. Do you know how rare that is? Most souls, when they drift that far, they just... let go. But you held on." She squeezed Hania gently. "Noctis blood runs thick. Especially the stubborn streak."
They stood there for a moment, watching the spider kingdom move beneath them. Hania felt a warmth that had nothing to do with the cave's temperature.
"Lusha," she said finally. "I saw her."
Lusha's body went still. The spider legs behind them stopped their gentle swaying.
"Saw who?"
"My mother." Hania swallowed. "She appeared. She saved father. And then she looked at me. We locked eyes. She had purple eyes, Lusha. Exactly the same as mine."
The silence stretched. Hania could feel Lusha's heartbeat beneath her, slightly faster than before.
"Tell me everything," Lusha said quietly. "From the beginning. Don't leave anything out."
Hania took a breath.
"Promise you won't interrupt?"
"If you pause for dramatic effect, I will tickle you."
"I won't."
"Then yes."
Hania nodded and began.
She told Lusha about the memories—young Dravin, Sylvara, the graves, the crown prince, the dragon, the woman in green. She told her about the black-haired woman and the name, Hania, and how she had saved Dravin in the present. She left out the part about Truck-kun.
She told her about the portal, the chase, the moment their eyes locked, and how the woman had walked through her like she was made of mist.
When she finished, Lusha was completely still. A long moment passed before she spoke.
"That is... a lot of information."
"She looked at me, Lusha. She recognized me. I know she did. But she didn't say anything. She just... left."
Lusha's arms tightened around her. "She might not have left because she didn't care, Hania. She might have left because that's what she needed to do."
"Do you know who she is?"
"No." Lusha shook her head. "I don't know. But I intend to find out. Now that you're awake, now that the bond is stable, I can start looking."
"You think she'll come back?"
Lusha was quiet for a moment. Then, unexpectedly, she smiled. "If I know anything about mothers, it's that they can't stay away forever. She named you, Hania. She loved you enough to give you that name. She just... didn't know how to stay, maybe. I never even named any of my children other than my first one. I was naive for giving her one. But your mother did, because she loved you."
Hania felt a tear slide down her cheek. She wiped it away quickly, annoyed at herself.
"Stop that," she muttered.
"Never," Lusha said warmly. "You're allowed to cry, little moon. You're allowed to be confused, angry, and sad. You're allowed to feel everything." She tucked a strand of silver hair behind Hania's ear. "And when you're done feeling everything, you'll be ready to fight again. That's what Noctis do."
"Emberlyns fight," Hania sniffled. "Noctis brood."
"Your father broods and fights. It's a multitasking thing. You'll get there."
Hania laughed despite herself.
"Now then." Lusha's voice shifted back to its commanding tone. "Enough heavy conversation. You've been awake for forty minutes and you've already managed to trauma-dump on me. I'm impressed. But now, we are going to eat."
"I'm not hungry."
"You will be when you smell the honey cakes. I've had the kitchens working on them since the moment I felt your soul return."
"You felt it?"
Lusha's smile was soft. "We're connected, Hania. You're my child in every way that matters. I felt you return like a sunrise." She stood, lifting Hania with her. "Now. Let's go make sure Kofery hasn't collapsed from anxiety. He's been waiting two years to mother-hen you. It's adorable and pathetic, and I love him for it."
As they walked back through the silk palace, Hania looked around at the terrifying, beautiful kingdom. The spiders that patrolled the walls seemed to bow as they passed.
"You know," Hania said slowly, "when I imagined getting isekai'd—I mean, born in this world, I didn't think it would include being rescued by a spider queen and given a vibrating cocoon."
Lusha laughed. "That's because you had no imagination, little moon. I do. I have enough imagination to give a child a proper home, even if that home is covered in webs."
"Don't spiders eat their young?"
"Only the ones who don't appreciate their vibrating cocoons."
Hania grinned. Then she yawned. Her body was already exhausted from the effort of being awake.
Lusha noticed immediately. "Rest now," she murmured, adjusting Hania in her arms. "The honey cakes will still be there when you wake. Some things never change."
"Lusha?"
"Hmm?"
"Thank you for being here. For being... you."
The Queen's eyes softened. "Always, little moon. Always."
Hania's eyes drifted closed. The last thing she saw before sleep claimed her was Lusha's smile—warm and full of something that looked very much like love.