It's quiet in the northwest tower, deserted but for the footfalls of a
patrolling guard. Random and Martin walk there in silence. There's not
much to say.

The door opens, and Martin enters first, quietly.

Tessa is sitting in a bed, propped up with pillow behind her. Her left
hand is swollen horribly and the veins in it are puffed up and
miscolored, with traces of black lines against the skin. Her hair is
slightly mussed, wrapped about in a tight bun atop her head, held in
place with a pen. Her eyes look swollen as well, and there is darkness
below them.

She seems to be preoccupied over paper in her lap which she is scowling
at.

Martin waits to one side for Random to clear the doorway, then closes it
as quietly behind him.

Random enters the room with Martin, sighting Tessa quickly and
approaching. His eyes scan her, the love in them temperarily visible,
and he says softly, "Kitten?"

Tessa's head turns and she smiles, erasing the weariness. "Dad," she
starts and then pauses as she sees his companion. "Martin, hi." She
looks around again as if looking for a nurse. "I'd get you a chair
but..." she pushes some hair behind her ear.

Random shakes his head a little, "I can't stay." He presses a kiss to
her forehead. "Heard you have some guests of the eight legged variety.
Looks like they feasted." His tone is gentle.

Martin finds a patch of wall close by to lean against, arms folded,
watching, but not intruding.

Tessa laughs a moment, a nervous sound and she swallows. "Yeah well, as
far as pets go, I'd rather have a puppy." she shivers. "Spiders are
creepy. I'm have a feeling I'll need to sleep with some bug spray for a
week or two."

Random asks, "Has Hendon been informed you need to have your rooms
fumigated?" His eyes rest on her, gentle, watchful.

Tessa nods quickly. "Oh yes. And I asked the doctor to tell him or
anyone that went in to be careful." she smiles quirkily. "They bite."

Random murmurs, "Good." A pause, then, before he asks, "Do you have any
idea who might have sent them to you?"

Tessa shakes her head. "No."

"Do you still have the container they came in?" Martin asks then.

Tessa shakes her head. "No. When they kept swarming out I threw it into
the bedclothes and tossed them all into the fire." she looks down a
moment, biting her lip. "It was all I could think to do."

Martin just nods. "What sort of spiders were they?"

"Tiny. Black. With ruby eyes." She swallows, making her hands into fists
for a moment. "The bite was cold. Like ice."

Random listens quietly, letting questions and answers flow past him.

A frown passes over Martin's features. "Anything else you remember about
them, or the container?" The briefest of pauses, then, "Was there a
note?"

Tessa turns about the paper she has been frowning at and open it is a
drawin in ink of an ornate jewelry box. Designs of hummingbirds at the
corners of the box and small and twisted spiders around it. "Ivory." she
says. "the designs were in ivory. It was wrapped in green fabric and
there were flower petals spread across my bed."

Martin comes away form the wall to take a closer look at Tessa's
drawing. "What sort of flowers, do you know?" he asks, as he examines
the picture.

Random frowns himself, leaning towards the box a moment to study it.
Tessa's shoulders lift. "Nothing I recognized. But I think I could draw
them if you want. I might recognize the smell if I found them again."

Random sighs, softly, leaning over and kissing Tessa on the forehead
again. "I need to go." There is honest regret in his voice. "I have a
full week." His fingers brush Tessa's cheek, lightly, "Vialle will be in
tomorrow morning, alright kitten?"

Tessa nods quickly. "Oh good. I'd love to see her." she smiles.
"Goodnight father."

"I'll look into this matter, if you want," Martin says to Random.

Random nods to Martin, "Most appreciated," he says with a faint smile.
He leaves Tessa's bedside slowly, pausing to clap Martin on the shoulder
and speak softly with him.

He whispers "Keep me updated."

Martin lowers his head to hear Random's words, then nods. "I will. I
think we may have a real problem here."

Random nods slightly, moving past his son to the door. "Good night
Tessa, Martin." He smiles at them both, something of a concerned father,
a worried king and a tired man all wrapped up in that brief
expression... then he is gone.

Tessa smiles fondly after Random as he leaves.

Martin waits until Random has left, then moves to occupy the edge of
Tessa's bed. "If you can draw the flowers, when you're up to it, it
might prove helpful," he says, taking anoher look at the drawing.

Tessa nods again, biting her lip for a moment. "I'll draw them." she's
quiet then for a while. "I'm sorry."

Martin studies Tessa a long moment, head canted to one side. "Were you
responsible for this?" he asks, indicating her swollen hand and puffy
eyes with a gesture.

Tessa blinks for a moment. "Well I didn't send the package to myself,
but I opened it." She adds, "And I must have done something to cause
it."

"Maybe, maybe not," he shrugs. "This is as likely to be a prank as a
warning. Any ideas who..?"

Tessa shakes her head. "No. I haven't crossed paths with anyone in
days." she smiles briefly before it fades. "I tried to think of whom I
might have angered." she just shakes her head. "I just don't know."

"Some people say revenge is a dish best served cold," Martin observes.
"If this is a warning, or an attempt on your life, it might go back a
lot further." His tone softens as he considers her. "And then maybe it's
not you personally that they're after."

Tessa nods once, and then lifts her chin. "Could it be one of us?" she
asks quietly.

"With this family?" Martin almost smiles, then he grows serious again.
"Well, since you're not actually dead... it's a possibility."

Tessa nods once. "If they actually wanted me dead they could have done
it. A spider more poisonous. A poison soaked fabric surrounding the
box." she pauses and closes her eyes as a shiver passes over her. "A
single spider placed upon in my sleep." Her eyes open and she purses her
lips. "Have I angered any of the cousins enough to warrant this?"

"I don't know," Martin replies honestly. "I can't imagine that anyone of
us would do something like this, and not leave some sort of clue. Unless
the box was it." He shrugs, and for just a second the wear of the past
few days sits heavily in the slump of his shoulders.

Tessa's hand reaches out and touches his arm briefly. "You're tired. And
I'm keeping you up." she says gently.

Martin hehs softly. "And I thought I was here to make *you* feel
better."

Tessa smiles her head tilting a bit to the side. "You have. I feel much
better." she says firmly, as if perhaps trying to convince herself.

Martin leans forward, and kisses his sister on her forehead. "Do you
need anything? Want one of your maids around?"

Tessa smiles and shakes her head. "I'm alright. If I could sneak him
past the nurses I'd borrow your wolf."

"I'll tell Tomas to bring him round then," Martin promises. "Although
he's a bit excitable at the moment."

"Tomas?" Tessa asks gently. "is that his name? He was a bit harried when
I spoke to him.

"In a hurry really." she finishes, looking amused.

"Yeah, Tomas. Poor kid. Borrowed him from the kennels," Martin chuckles.
"Needed someone to watch Fen while I was in the city. Fen's crazy about
him." He pauses to consider Tessa. "Good to see you smiling again."

Tessa chuckles softly too. "It's good to see you too. Hopefully next
time I won't be such a wreck."

Martin nods. "Get better." He adds, "I'll send someone round to pick up
the drawing of the flowers tomorrow... late tomorrow, and maybe someone
to help you identify their scent. Anything else you can remember, any
detail, however trivial, make a note of it."

"They didn't touch anything.

"Except for the bed. They didn't touch anything." Tessa frowns, her eyes
closing as if she is trying to remember. "The sheets were turned down
and strewn with petals. and a small package wrapped in green fabric upon
the middle of the bed."

Martin hmms, "you're sure?" He reaches for the drawing of the box. "May
I have that?"

Tessa nods and offers the paper. "I checked." she smiles and flushes.
"Maids tend to make me paranoid so I'm careful of where I leave things."

He takes the drawing. "Alright," he leans down, kisses her on her
forehead again, and gives her good hand a squeeze. "I'll check with
Henden or...whoever, about getting your rooms checked for any more of
those spiders, and see about finding out who's behind this. If you want
for anything, just send word. I'll be here."

Tessa sits straight up then. "the fireplace." she says curtly. "I threw
the box into the fire with the bedclothes but the metal hinges and some
of the stone it was carved of must be left." She laughs then. "Sorry,
I'm such a scatterbrain. I'll talk to you soon."

"Good night, Tessa," Martin says softly. "Sleep well. I'll take care of
matters."

"Thank you Martin." she smiles. "Sweet dreams."

Martin eases off the edge of the bed, lets slip a faint, tired smile,
and heads for the door.

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