321 For Your Consideration

Each sphere of flame was lit in bright blue. Vy did not attempt to touch it. The warmth from the flame alone was enough to indicate that it would cause serious damage. Red Silk emerged from the fog and ushered her to follow along. 

She did not ask any questions, she observed. Red Silk led Vy back to where the Throne had been. Now, the place was filled with even more spider beasts, and elder spider beasts too. 

It was clear to her that the elder spider beasts were much more different compared to the regular ones. But the Spider Queen was the most unique of them all. She sat at her throne speaking to the elder spider beasts who surrounded her. 

When the Queen noticed Vy's arrival, she smiled and called out to her, "Ah Vyrena, you're here."

Vyrena bow politely to the Queen, "Your highness, we meet again."

"Kneel you foolish human," a rough voice urged from the side. 

But Queen Willow raised her hand, "There's no need. A bow will suffice.Come seat with me, Vyrena."

The other elder spider beasts did not seem to like this arrangement. All of them glared at Vy, never leaving her alone. Vy tried her best to ignore them. She did as Queen Willow asked, walking up to the throne to sit next to her. 

A large table had been placed before them, with all the elder spider beasts at the table, with Queen Willow at one end. A large array of food was present on the table and everyone dug in. 

Vy could not figure out what type of meat it was that had been placed before her. Was it human? Or some poor animal that had been hunted in the Jungle? Seeing Vy's worried expression made the Queen chuckle. 

"It's not human, don't worry about that," Queen Willow reassured her. 

Although Vy was not sure if she should even trust the words of the Queen, she decided to be a good guest. 

"So Vyrena, do you remember where you came from? Before you ended up in the Jungle?" The Queen asked. 

Vy nearly choked on her food when she heard the question. She quickly regained her composure to answer. 

"No, I'm afraid not. Has this always been your home?" She casually asked in return. 

Some of the elder spider beasts were appalled by Vy's rude questions. However, none of them dared to voice anything, not in front of their Queen at least. 

"Not exactly." The Queen replied. There was a wave of sadness in her voice. 

"So there must be a world beyond the Jungle then," Vy commented. 

"There should be."

"What if there's a way to get out of the Jungle, through the wall. Would you consider doing so?" Vy asked out of curiosity. 

"Have you found one?"

Vy bit her lip. 

What would happen if she told the Queen? Would she and her spider beasts attempt to stop her and the others from escaping? After all, Vy had not been able to figure out if the Spider Queen was a friend or foe.

Queen Willow seemingly understood Vy's reluctance to share the information. After all, her spider beasts had been attacking anything they saw. That included the various groups of survivors living in the Jungle. 

"If there was, would you consider it?" Vy tried to ask again. 

All her subjects, her elder spider beasts, were seemingly waiting for her response. This was their home, the only home they had ever known. All of them had been born within the Jungle. Only the Queen Willow herself had seen what was beyond. 

But they had been in the Jungle for so long, even her memory of the world beyond is hazy and murky. But there was someone she wanted to find, someone she wanted to meet. 

She would never forget that person. She had a burning question to ask him. It was an answer she had sought for a long long time. 

"If it's possible, I don't see why not. The world is definitely bigger than the confines of the Jungle."

"But there's also no telling what the world beyond it is like," Vy lamented. 

Without any memories of the past, there was no way to know if the world beyond the wall was even still intact. What if they had all been placed in here for safety? That could be a possibility. 

"True, but not knowing eats at you more, does it not?" Queen Willow replied. 

Vy was not the first person whom she had met who could understand her kind. The previous few had also been the curious sort. Some more than others. Some had bad intentions, some had good intentions. 

Eventually, they either disappeared, or died. Unfortunate ones get eaten by her minions. 

"You're right on that point, your highness."

As they finished their meal, Queen Willow turned to Vy, "So Vyrena, do you have a plan in mind on how to get out of here? From what Red Silk had told me, you've been hunting solo in the Jungle."

Vy turned to look at Red Silk for a moment, who was seated at the far end of the table. He avoided all forms of eye contact with her. It seems he had been keeping tabs on her movement for a period of time. 

"I was kicked out from the group I was with," Vy explained, "But I had hoped to rally all the survivors, if possible, to escape together."

"A noble idea."

"I don't think of myself as a saint. But I'm sure if there's a way to get out of here, everyone would like to hear of it before they decide what to do."

Queen Willow nodded. She stood up from her seat and instructed Vyrena to accompany her for a short walk. The elder spider beasts at the table wanted to follow but Queen Willow stopped them. 

Only Vy followed. 

"There's something you need to know." The Queen said to Vy in a hush tone. 

Vy looked up at the Queen, listening intently to what she had to say. 

"If the wall is damaged in any shape or form, it will unleash an army to counter attack."

"An army? Of what?" Vy asked.

"You've been tracing the wall, is that correct?"

Vy nodded. 

"You will come upon a section where abandoned corpses lay. You will find your answers there. Also, the wall can repair itself."

"How… how do you know these things?" Vy asked out of curiosity.

The Spider Queen smiled as she looked up at the moon in the sky, then back at Vy. She did not answer Vy's question. She continued to share a little more information about the wall. Including the fact that the damage to the wall will only remain for 10 minutes. 

10 minutes is all you have to get everyone through it. After that, the wall will initiate self-repair. It would look as if nothing had happened. 

"Were you left behind?" Vy commented in a soft voice. 

She bit her lip as soon as the words left her mouth. She feared her comment might have infuriated the Spider Queen. But Vy did not sense any aggression from her. 

"I don't recall much. It's all murky memories." Queen Willow lamented.