Araya
an excerpt

A spider climbed the rim of the window. The sun shone on her black hairy legs and bulbous butt. She stopped for a moment, pondering whether to build a web in the window; perhaps a juicy wasp would fly into it? No, the castle servants detested anything that could sting, bite, or otherwise injure them. The spider reversed its course and crawled downward towards the corner where the bed was.
A girl lay in the bed, where the sun shone into her eyes. She was awake, but didn’t want to be. She rolled towards the wall and pulled the covers and a great deal of her hair over her eyes. The spider reached the corner and descended downward.
“Araya, are you going to greet the morning sun or shun it like the pox?” June’s discombobulated voice said from the doorway. June had cared for Araya for nearly fifteen years. As the person who knew her best, June already knew the answer, but a woman can hope, can’t she? Araya pulled the pillow off her face enough to let the sun reach her squinted eyes through the curtain of hair. The spider had reached the edge of the bed. She searched for an escape hatch to the floor and found none. Araya liked her bed close to the wall so nothing could crawl up and attack her in the middle of the night. Unfortunately, nothing could crawl down either.
“The pox.” Araya brushed the hair out of her eyes with deliberate distaste. She wasn’t a morning person. The spider quailed against the wall. Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh-
“AAAIIEEE!!!” Out of fear and reflex, Araya launched herself backwards. She landed hard on the floor. “ OW!” Tears of pain gathered in her eyes. She grabbed her backside. The pain shot up her spine. She had hit her tailbone. Araya could do nothing until the pain subsided. She curled in a ball, her mouth moving in silent agony.
“Araya, are you okay?” June hurried into the room and knelt beside her.
“I hate spiders,” Araya said through gritted teeth, “Kill it!”
“No, dear. All things deserve to live," June said. She moved to the bed, where the cowering spider was sprinting back and forth, trying to escape, and set her outside the window. Araya watched the spider go with hatred in her eyes. The pain subsided a bit and she was able to sit up.
“Spiders are evil.”
“Get dressed, Araya. The king wants you in the garden before breakfast. And we still have to plan what you’re going to wear for his celebration tomorrow.”