I don't know how long I have been here in the dark, but I get fed from time to time. I was still processing what the powerful entity had revealed to me. Was it really true? Is that why he was capable of doing all of these terrible things and yet able to get away with all of it? Because he's that skilled?

But that can't be true. Papa's parents are well over three thousand years old. The Evil Spider has only been in records for the past few hundred years. Although, I suppose it's possible he allowed himself to be known for his own amusement. So does that mean that he essentially created the Arcane clan? But how would he have created me as his "perfect" product?

That makes me suspicious of my mother. What was she doing in Canada a couple weeks before she got married to my daddy? I don't think her purpose there was to visit family, based off Grandpa Baron's description from that time.

"Ah, thinking again, are you?"

"What else am I supposed to do?"

"No need for sassiness."

"I am just stating facts, E.S."

"My name is not E.S."

"Then what is it?" I groaned, then raked my fingers through my hair. "You never give me a name or your age or anything. Throw this little wolf a bone here."

The Evil Spider chuckled again. "Too amusing."

"Fascinating," I mumbled, rolling my eyes. "Can you please at least tell me how my family is doing?"

The entity's voice was suddenly at my left side again, his breath brushing against my skin. I shivered as he whispered, "Since I have you, my extremely successful experiment and final product, I will not touch your belongings."

"Beloveds."

"Whatever the case is, you will be staying with me now."

"Are they safe? Is my magic still working?"

The entity grew silent, then he sighed aloud. "Yes, they are safe."

"Thank you." I whispered, rubbing my hands together and breathing on them. "Even Kyler?"

"Yes, even him."

"Why was I able to replicate your surgery on Kyler when I'm not as powerful as you?"

The Evil Spider seemed surprised by my question. "But you are?"

"I am?" Now I was confused. "Then why can't I access any of my mana?"

He snorted. "Because I am denying that access. I have control over your body as your creator."

"Why didn't you control me before?"

"I realized it is much more exciting when a perfect creation has freewill."

"Oh," I mumbled, laying back down on the hard floor with the heated blanket around me. "So why am I here? Are you lonely?"

"Lonely?" The Evil Spider scoffed. "I have lived thousands of years without loneliness."

Ignoring his blatant lie, I asked, "Maybe you created hybrids in an effort to curb your loneliness? But they all rejected you and you became bitter like burnt coffee."

Now the entity was completely silent. I sensed that we were not going to have any more conversations for awhile, so I curled into a ball and flopped my tail over me. I rubbed my face on the blanket and quietly settled down for a nap. I haven't had any bodily urges, so I wonder if the Evil Spider is using magic for that. It wouldn't surprise me. It's less worry for him about me escaping or finding something I can use to disrupt his plan.

But I'm really relieved that my family is safe. I miss them so much. I teared up a bit and sniffled, but I held it in and curled tighter. A sudden but gentle, warm breeze moved over me. I knew my creator was taking pity, even though he chose to make this place freezing cold like the Arctic. Even so, I welcomed the warmth and let myself sleep again for the umpteenth time. After all, I can only eat, sleep, think, and talk here.

__________________________

"Your family is trying to get to you. It almost seems like your lack of interest in escaping is actually selfishness."

I flinched and then winced. He wasn't wrong. "Please don't hurt them."

"I am being rather lenient. I could just kill them, but I am choosing to let them live for your sake."

"Do you want a reward?" I asked, a slight bit of sarcasm in my voice. "I am thankful, though."

"I would not be adverse to a reward...and you are very welcome."

I couldn't help my small smile. Maybe our conversations were getting to me. I knew how cruel he could be and only some of what he is capable, yet I don't hate him. I'm not afraid of him either. Maybe I should be, but he has given me no reason as of yet.

"Then think about something you want—something I am capable of giving." I replied, stretching with a yawn right afterwards. "How are you keeping them away?"

"Mazes, tricks, non-lethal but annoying traps," he uttered from above me this time. "Illusions and even causing confusion. But they cannot harm each other or themselves. Food and drink have been provided."

"Wow, it's like a fancy fun house at a carnival or fair."

The Evil Spider laughed as he moved around above me. "I had not yet thought of it in such a way, but I believe you are correct. They must be quite confused, likely expecting me to have sent death upon them."

"Probably. But whatever this will cost me, their lives are worth it."

"How noble and selfless of you, yet incredibly selfish as you lounge around here without trying to save them."

"Now how would I do that? Please, tell me all of your secrets."

I snorted and rolled my eyes after he didn't say anything. I rolled onto my stomach and swept my tail around me to keep myself from starting any anxious behavioral habits. Two slaps happened on either side of me and I tensed when my tail brushed something above me. The Evil Spider slowly exhaled and his breath moved over my skin as warmth suddenly blossomed above my back.

"Your body is quite lovely, Anwyll."

I shuddered. It felt like it'd been weeks since anyone had said my name.

"I could allow you to shrink down to your small size once more, but there is more of you to touch at the moment." he whispered, something fuzzy now touching my legs. I felt a little more freaked out by the fuzz than what he was actually saying as he laid down on top of my back.

"I-is this your reward?" I tentatively asked. "I cannot break my promise of integrity to my lovers."

"But I can," he hissed, making me whimper. I really should be scared of him now, but I'm not and I don't know why. The Evil Spider continued, "However, I do not feel the need to do so. Especially when your body belongs to me. And there is no amusement in taking what is already mine."

"All right," I breathed, and his strange body pressed me down even more.

"Yet it would be fun to steal your heart..." he murmured against my left ear. "While your men fight to get you back, I will remain in here in order to woo you—to make you want me."

I swallowed thickly and then took a deep breath before quietly answering, "So that I would want to stay with you instead of wanting to leave like the rest."

In an instant, his weight, heat, and scent vanished. His presence dulled and I curled up again. Am I doing the right or wrong thing by not fighting back? I actually feel pity towards such a lonely creature. Am I allowed to feel that way for the Evil Spider who has captured, tortured, and killed hundreds if not thousands of nonhumans? Was that done entirely to create me?

Is this my fault? Is my existence the root of most of my beloveds' pain?

"You are thinking needless things." murmured the Evil Spider.

"Needless?" I whispered, pushing up onto my hands. "Was the result of my creation the reason why my family suffered?"

He was silent, but I sensed him move around me. It made goosebumps rise on my skin. I shuddered as the taps were above my head again.

"Even if I told you, what would it matter?" he asked. "What would you do?"

"What do you mean?"

He snorted. "You must be a fool if you believe you are strong enough to handle the knowledge entwined with your existence."

I scowled, but the sting in my heart was pain of truth. I knew the Evil Spider was just being honest. I'm just not mentally or emotionally strong enough to handle what my creator has to say. I am certain I know the answer based off his earlier words, but to hear the truth spoken aloud would be entirely different from mere guesswork.

"What other questions do you have for me, Anwyll?"

"How is it that my father and his family are all hybrids? Surely you didn't create them, too?"

"I did," answered the Evil Spider. "If you are curious about how that would be possible with their ages, the easiest way to explain is that their memories have been manipulated. They are not nearly as old as they think."

"What?"

The Evil Spider chuckled heartily, his voice moving to my right. "Your grandparents are no more than one thousand and five hundred years old while your father is only a millennium in age. Your aunt is less than that as well."

I held my head as I sat back on my feet. "So their memories have not only been manipulated but also fabricated to your own story design." I gritted my teeth and then relaxed my jaw to ask, "Is my papa's magic related to yours?"

"Yes, he was the prototype of what you would become. He had the correct overall hybrid appearance I deemed suitable. However, he was also a failure because his body could not handle the overflow of mana production and caused death wherever he tread. During the wars in which he participated, he was known as the Grim Reaper Fenrir. It was surprisingly fitting."

My poor papa. I need to spend some time with him when this is all over.

Scarily long fingers brushed my throat and jaw as the Evil Spider whispered, "You are the opposite. You can withstand the mana production and your magic's hue dazzles like diamonds, just as I had imagined. Instead of spreading death and destruction, you spread love and peace to those who need it—just as intended."

"Was my small size intended?" I asked with a slight bit of sarcasm.

"No, that was simply a minor defect."

I blew out a breath and flopped onto my back, staring up into the pitch blackness. "Then how can I be perfect?"

The Evil Spider silenced himself, so I rolled over again and snuggled into my blanket. I have many more questions to ask and receive answers for from the odd entity.

__________________________

I asked the Evil Spider some more questions as soon as I was allowed. I had to know more about myself and how I came to be here because of him. My creator seemed amused that I was willing to risk my sanity in order to find out the truth. But this was important to me.

"If you insist," he hissed into my left ear, his teeth clacking together a moment later. "But I require something from you as payment for all of the questions you have asked and will continue to ask."

"So if you tell me, I owe you something?"

"You already owe me, however, I will not add to your debt if you can give me something satisfactory."

I blinked, then held out my hands. "May I have a little bit of my mana allowance, Master Creator?"

The Evil Spider chuckled. "You certainly never bore me."

A little tingling in my midsection made my heart start pounding a slightly faster rhythm for a few seconds before it calmed down again. I breathed in and out, then imagined what I wanted my creator to see. His sharp gasp was more out of panic than amazement and his presence faded as the room filled with the twinkling lights of stars in the night sky.

I created my miniature animal versions of my beloveds and set them on the floor, watching them move around in their respective ways. The four-legged ones were no taller than four inches. Mini Angel was obviously a unicorn, and Mini Zaire was a long, slim snake slithering around. I cooed and gently poked his head, so he turned it and flicked his tongue out to sniff me. The rest of the miniatures seemed eager to greet me. Blaine and Ambrose had become bats, Dian was a dragon, Damon was a pretty dove with a halo, and Waltz was a butterfly since that's the closest to a faerie. The others were the actual animals they could shift into.

"Why are you showing me this scene?" quietly asked the Evil Spider from above, but I didn't look up at him. I could sense his mixed emotions afterwards. "This was not something I wanted to see."

"Are you certain?" I asked softly, gently petting Mini Damon's wings. "Do you not desire to be together with the ones you've created?"

The Evil Spider moved above me, then he was suddenly behind me. My skin prickled with his presence that was now greater than I had expected. My skin crawled as my creator moved closer.

"Do not move." he whispered, then I watched his strangely colored right arm stretch out and his very long fingers twitched as the miniature animals paused.

The Evil Spider breathed out as Mini Zaire flicked his tongue out against his fingers. The being's left arm curled around my shoulders and pulled me back against his chest. I slowly breathed out as well, then let my creator play with the little animals I had made with my mana.

"Is it possible?" he suddenly murmured.

"What?"

"Living with or near my creations."

"I think it is, but a lot of apologies need to be made. On my end, too."

The Evil Spider curled his right arm around me as well, then he rested his chin on my head. "I suppose it could be worth a try." he whispered, hugging my form tightly. "You were correct."

I just let my head fall back in order to let him know I was listening. He continued, "I am lonely. I have been that way long before my consciousness in this form first came into place. My appearance is unsightly, and men tried to kill me as a trophy. So I hid and tried to create my own family, but it was impossible to force a creation to love me."

"You wanted a being with a consciousness—not a doll to do and say whatever you wanted."

"Yes," he whispered. "And you are the closest I have come to that family I have wanted for well over several millennia."