Ten minutes after Goldie and Alistair had agreed to make the attempt, he was dressed in the same gear from the previous duel.

"This is the best way to remind the Empire that I am the same formidable warrior they faced before," Alistair had quietly explained.

No one told him that he looked a shadow of the man he'd been just a day ago, despite the fact that the Alistair who had defeated the Empire's champion had also been unwell. But everyone was thinking it.

Carolien, William, Frederick, Goldie, and Samson all had the same cloud of unease hanging over them, though perhaps only Goldie could sense that it was a shared feeling.

As they stepped out of the King's sick chamber—Alistair shuffling, almost limping, rather than walking at a natural cadence—he extended his palm to Frederick. "Please hand Goldie over to me for now. It would be best if no one sees her present on my person, to avoid any idea that some magic is in play. The Empire has been fooled by mystic beasts practicing illusion magic before, though never in such a delicate context. She can remain concealed just behind my collar, give me her bite when we are closer to the walls, and then discreetly dismount just before I leave. That should give us the best chance of making this work."

Frederick nodded and reached up for Goldie. The spider stepped onto his hand, and from there, the young lord transferred her to Alistair's arm. Goldie crawled all the way up the arm, then over the collar, and finally made herself comfortable sitting between his neck and shoulder.

It was easier than usual to hide in some respects. King Alistair had two of the largest shoulders Goldie had ever seen on a human. On the other hand, he shook periodically as he stood in place. If she'd had any doubt that he was doing poorly, that faded as she simply sat in place on his body. No healthy human trembled like a fallen leaf in a breeze. She could not read his temperature well, being cold-blooded, but she thought she was also getting much less body heat coming off of him than she had felt from Frederick.

Thank you for being here, Goldie, Alistair thought. You can hear me, correct?

It's my honor to assist, Your Majesty! Goldie transmitted. A moment after she sent it, she realized that her telepathic voice was far too loud, and her nervousness came through in every syllable.

I am turning into Adon, before he started talking to me, Red, Rosslyn, and Samson, she thought with mild chagrin. Now I think I understand how he felt a little bit better. He was this nervous all the time, because despite being a wonderful butterfly who everyone wanted to be around, he felt as if he was also a bit of an imposter.

That was the sensation Goldie felt now. She had the perhaps slightly implausible feeling that she was about to fail, and when she did, everyone would turn, point, and laugh at her.

But that was absurd, of course. If she failed, the entire Kingdom would be in danger. No one would be laughing.

No pressure, Goldie told herself.

The King smiled brightly.

"You are doing a great service to us, Goldie," he said aloud.

I hope so, she replied.

"Have faith that all works out according to the Goddess's will," he said in a quietly contented tone. "My people will be free. My daughter will return home alive. My faith will be rewarded. Perhaps it is the incautious optimism of an ailing man, but I feel that I know these things to be true. I cannot believe that everything we have sacrificed and all the struggles we have fought through together will be wasted. Even if I die today, it will advance the grand plan. I truly believe that. So have no fear, friend."

Goldie's quivering nerves suddenly stilled.

You know, I never had the impression that the King was especially brilliant as humans go, she thought. But he is wise. Not the same as having the quick problem-solving of Adon or the insight into science and politics of Samson. But he has the same kind of sense that Red had. Knowing what the essential things are and doing them.

Is your cocktail of stimulants prepared? Alistair thought.

Ready whenever needed, Your Majesty, she replied. I prepared two servings' worth of the substance just in case.

Wait until I exit the palace, then, and give me the first one at that point, he thought. I know I said to delay until we reached the walls, but the more I think about the condition of my body, the clearer it is that I need all the help I can get if I am to make it to the enemy intact. There is also the possibility that as we get closer to the walls, you will need to leave me earlier than planned, such as if the Empire has sent someone to observe the approach.

I understand, sir, Goldie sent.

Her voice was steady, her body perfectly still in its niche on his shoulder, but inside, she felt a tiny twinge of fear.

I can't mess this up, she thought. Inside her own mind, she reviewed the contents of her special pro-health venom injection again. The substance would stimulate his heart and give him energy. There were other effects she could sense in the venom—activating the target's fight or flight response, improving awareness, reducing sensitivity to pain—but it really wasn't venom at all except in the strictest technical sense that her body could produce it as a venom.

I hope I concentrated it enough to be useful. The King was probably the most powerful living thing she had ever sought to inject with venom. She imagined that the body would naturally resist the foreign substance, and her stimulant needed to overcome that resistance.

As she was doubting herself and rechecking her preparations, the party advanced through the palace. With all of the escort tightly arrayed around Alistair, it was easy for Carolien and William to stand on either side of the King, lending him a bit of support without seeming to do so, so that he could stand up straighter for the benefit of any nobles who passed by.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

They made it through the palace with relatively little scrutiny.

Everyone stepped away from the King as they reached the entrance. He needed to step through on his own, Goldie gathered through Telepathy, or it might look a bit more obvious that they were propping him up. And it was expected that he would make the walk through the city alone as well, as he had done the first time. The Queen kissed her husband goodbye, and her eyes settled on the spider for a long moment.

Goldie didn't need to hear Carolien's innermost thoughts to know what was going through her head, but they were loud and clear.

Make certain that nothing happens to my husband, spider. It was a warning, but underneath that, a plea, or at least Goldie read it as such. From one woman who feared losing her mate to another female who already had lost her mate. They were sisters in that sense.

I will do everything in my power for him, Carolien, Goldie transmitted, the spider's confidence fully restored in that moment. You have my word.

And the Queen's lips twitched in a little shadow of a smile.

Thank you.

There was no further exchange between the spider and the Queen. Alistair stepped out to the cheers of his noblemen, he raised his arms to wave at them, and Goldie took that moment to sink her fangs into his neck and inject a dose of her special venom.

The King did not react in any visible way to her injection, though she could tell that he had at least noticed it. Goldie admired his toughness for a moment.

Then she felt the way his body adjusted. His blood through his veins a little more swiftly. His heart beat just a bit faster. His posture straightened a bit.

I feel ready.

The King strode forward, his pace much brisker than it had been in days.

He walked past the adoring nobles and began his march through the city. This time, the peasantry had not been informed that he was going to confront the enemy. Everything had been planned and moved forward in relative haste and secrecy. Still, one set of eyes landed on him, then another. Voices were raised, and before ten minutes had passed, a crowd had gathered to follow Alistair on his walk to the walls.

I cannot falter now, Alistair thought. Goldie, could I have the second injection in a minute. I would not want the people to see me slow or weaken as my body processes the medicine.

The spider instantly agreed. She was very pleased that her substance had caused the desired effects. She thought she could also sense that the King's body had absorbed it and was burning through it.

A minute passed, and having thought no further of it, Goldie injected him with the second dose of her medicinal venom.

Then the problems began. His heart raced again, this time faster than before.

He kept walking, keeping his normal facial expressions, occasionally waving to the crowd as the people cheered for him. Beads of sweat began to break out all over his body.

A minute passed before the King thought something strange. The dialogue that passed between the King and the spider was so strange that she quickly recognized something had gone horribly wrong.

Are we certain that this is a good idea? Alistair thought.

Your Majesty? Goldie transmitted. Are you all right? Certain that what is a good idea?

Going to face the Demon Empire, the King thought. It could be a trap. Perhaps they mean to feed me to spiders—I mean to butterflies—no, I did not mean either of those. I meant they might wish to—to harm me in some unspecified way.

Your Majesty, I don't mean to alarm you, Goldie sent. But I'm beginning to think the venom is having some unwanted and unexpected effects. I think I need to try to synthesize an antidote to the medicine.

His heart rate spiked as Alistair listened to Goldie's view.

No, that cannot be right, he thought. If you do that, how will I face the Empire?

There are more important things, Goldie sent. As long as you survive, everything can be solved eventually, right? And you have a family. What will they do if something happens to you?

Alistair's eyes widened as the words hit. Goldie felt his heart was doing something strange, and apparently the effects resonated through his whole body. He dropped to his knees. With one hand, he clutched at his chest, just above his heart.

No no no no no no no… Goldie freaked out. No, please, Your Majesty!

She jumped out from under his collar, landed on the ground, and ran in little circles around his knees for a solid thirty seconds in sheer panic.

The King panted, his breaths coming faster and more raggedly. Goldie suddenly became aware of the crowd that had gathered around them. The masses of Wayn began to press in close on all sides.

"Is that the King?"

"King Alistair!"

"What's wrong?"

"I saw, it was that spider that just hopped off of him!"

"What is that thing? Some sort of monster?"

"Too massive not to be. Must be from the dungeon that opened recently!"

Uh oh.

The first projectile thrown was a mug of ale. Goldie would remember that, because it was the sound of shattering glass and the smell of cheap alcohol that broke her panic. It was when the physical impact of the mug struck her—bouncing off harmlessly, but not without impact—that Goldie realized she needed to move.

She skittered off in between the crowd members' feet, to the shrieks of women and the hoots and shouts of men.

"There she goes!"

"Spider the size of a golden discus!"

"Stomp her!"

But no one managed to. She was quicker than the humans at this point, and there was an element of surprise inherent to seeing a spider larger than any species that they would have ever encountered before. Every person seeing her hesitated. No one so much as stepped on a spider leg.

The downside was that she felt more lost the more she ran. The humans were so tall and densely packed that they blocked the buildings that would have been her landmarks from view.

Pretty soon, Goldie was fairly certain she had returned near where she had started. She could hear the crowd murmuring.

"The King…"

"He has collapsed."

Someone nearer to the scene said, "There is no pulse…"

Oh, no…

Goldie darted off, away from the voices. Especially away from the one that had announced that the King's heart had stopped. That couldn't be right, but if it was…

The spider took off, running as quickly as she could. Hopefully back toward the palace this time. She needed to warn her children. She needed to tell Frederick and William. The Royal Family needed to know, too.

King Alistair was not going to make his engagement outside the city walls, which meant the entire capital was on borrowed time.

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