prompt for December 14 - 11 stupid (silly) spiders

Note:

Let me just state right up front that I have a real problem with spiders; a touch of arachnophobia. I have watched Return of the King at least a hundred times, and I still have never SEEN Shelob. Never. Not once. Not doing it. Even thinking about this mathom has been rather difficult. But as I was walking the dog one night, I got an idea that I thought would work. When I got home, I quickly committed it to virtual paper, Liz did a quick beta on it for me, and I went to post it - and noticed that the prompt was for eleven STUPID spiders! Er, um, the memory I had of the prompt was eleven SILLY spiders. Before when I mis-remembered a prompt, I thought up a different drabble, but this is SPIDERS, darn it, and I do NOT want to think about them any more. You get a silly spiders entry! Deal with it!

~~~

Web of Friendship

Arwen saw that Elanor was homesick. She sat to the side and contributed nothing to the chatter of the other girls, which was only about people – boys – she had never met. When a tear splashed onto Elanor’s hand, Arwen quietly went over to her.

“I can see that lucet is too large for your hands. Shall we find you a smaller one?”

“I do think I have a cramp in my fingers.” Elanor gave the queen a grateful look. “I don’t often use a lucet at home.”

“Walk with me to the artificer’s, and tell me how you make cord.”

A week later, Arwen heard laughter and an odd discord of song. Peeking into her maidens’ workroom, she saw it webbed with thread hanging from the beams. Ten girls stood in pairs tossing bobbins back and forth and chanting songs, in several different tempos. Arwen was not even sure they were singing the same melody. When the bobbins flew out of control, the girls laughed and batted at the swinging weights, calling out “Elanor! Help! Over here.”

Elanor, bright-eyed and important, circled the room, helping in turn.

Arwen giggled at her eleven silly spiders weaving, tangled in their own webs.

(The cord making techniqueElanor teaches them is a Scandinavian one, called Whipcord that dates back at least to the Vikings.)