He sighed a sigh of relief, and then rolled over on his stomach. In a moment, he recognized how ridiculous it was to be frightened. Mom says there are no evil creatures left in this perfect world. I've never seen anything other than the occasional animal. 

Realizing this simple fact made him slip onto sleep easily, his mind unburdened by a safe, predictable world.

He didn't know what time it was when he woke up. Judging by the long shadows, he assumed it was still somewhat early in the morning. He stretched and yawned and then rolled out of bed, landing on his stomach. He was going to get up, but felt oddly comfortable on the floor. He lied there for a time, fell back asleep for a short time, and then got up. 

He looked toward his window and saw his drapes billowing on a gentle wind. He came to stand by his sill, and sat on the window seat, looking out at the green pastures below. The sight of them always made him happy. He just sat there for a time, watching the lighting slowly change on an unchanging world. 

At first, the plains below were a kalleidoscope pattern of light and dark patches, as if they were being shaded by a gigantic tree. Slowly, as the sun rose, the darker shades were faded out, and the world was simply… bright.

But perhaps some of the intrigue is lost when it's all lit up bright... Jan thought to himself.

Jan moved away from the window, grabbed a book, and nestled into his sill. The gentle breeze from the window made him a bit chilly, so he tucked himself under a blanket lying out on the seat. 

He read until the sun was high in the sky, and then his stomach began growling aggressively. He put his book aside and left his room. 

He went down the hallway and observed something new in his castle. He thought it was dust at first, but it looked sticker. The closer he got, he realized what it really was. it was a spiderweb--he had read about them in some of his books. He approached the web cautiously, wondering if there would be a spider in the web. In the bed of the white crisscrosses, there was a small spider, about the size of his finger nail. Curiously, he reached out a hand and the spider crawled onto it. He cocked his head to the side curiously. 

Suddenly, sharp pain shot through his hand. He stood up and shrieked, and then ran down the hallway, screaming hysterically.

I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die! 

Suddenly, his mother's voice pealed through the air. "Jan! What are you doing?”

“Mommy, it hurts! What do I do, what do I do?” he paced back and forth, pinching his hand that was bitten by the spider. 

His mother grumbled. “You weren’t supposed to get hurt yet!”

A mass of clouds appeared inside the castle. His mother’s eye appeared behind the parting clouds, and she commanded, “Come closer.”

Jan blinked rapidly, but obeyed. He came to stand under his mother’s eye, and she blinked her eye, pushing out tears as she did so. A giant teardrop fell from her eye and splashed upon him. He was completely doused and dripping with water, but his spider bite no longer hurt. He sucked in a deep breath. He looked up at his mother and said, “Thanks, mom. What was that?”

“That was a spider. I told you to clean up your castle dozens of times, and you never did it. Spiders tend to take advantage of dirty, dusty rooms. It’s the one task I ever gave you, and you never did it in all thirteen years of your existence.” his mother grumbled.

Jan made a face. “I’m one person, ma. How am I supposed to clean all this by myself? Besides, I think it beneath me as the prince of this land. Also, I wasn’t speaking of the spider, I was speaking of the… bite it gave me. What was that?”

His mother’s eye narrowed. “That, my naive son, was pain. And I have been trying to keep you from it, but I suspect you will experience much more of it soon enough. Perhaps that is a good thing… I fear I have raised a brat.” 

“A brat?” Jan said indignantly. “I am no brat, mother! You raised a princely, intelligent son!”

His mother was silent for a long time, and then eventually expelled a long sigh. “Oh, my son… tomorrow is your Birthday, and I fear for you. Be prepared for anything.”

Jan stared at the eye. Her tone of voice terrified him. She always had a strict tone, but this tone was filled with apprehension and resignation. “Ma… what’s a Birthday? What will happen?”

“A Birthday signifies the passage of a year. That is all. Please. Clean the castle today, Janny.” his mother’s voice was filled with misery, and then the clouds covered up the floating eye and evaporated. 

Jan stared at where the eye had been for a long time, and then swallowed. He was shaking. He sank to the floor and hugged his knees, petrified by what might happen the next day. His poisonous thoughts paralyzed him into stillness. 

Minutes past, until his body automatically kicked into action. Doing something was better than doing nothing. He searched his castle up and down for cleaning supplies and found some. He found a bucket, filled it with water from a nearby creek, and dipped a sponge in the water. He blinked curiously as the sponge absorbed the water, thinking it was a fun sensation. He squeezed excess water out of the sponge, rolled up his sleeves and pant legs, and then got down on all fours, sponge beneath his hands.

He inhaled a breath and then exhaled it.

He ran across the floor with the sponge, and saw the tile floor become a shade lighter afterward. His eyes widened when he made it to the other side of the room. He took a moment to see how much dirt he got up and then gasped. “Wow. She was right. It was messy.” 

He went across the room with the sponge a few more times, and then collapsed, already exhausted. He panted and said to himself, “Well… ma did say I was getting kinda chubby. Maybe she was right.” 

But, he figured whatever was coming the next day, it required diligence and strength for him to complete. So, he stood back up and continued cleaning. He scrubbed one spot of the floor over and over, to see how much grime he could get up. There were layers and layers, and he felt embarrassed at the state of his castle. 

He sat back on his haunches and looked up at the ceiling. Embarrassment… 

His cheeks felt warm, and he felt like hiding himself away. He had never felt such an emotion, and he looked around, suddenly worried that… someone who didn’t even exist might laugh at him for behaving so foolishly. 

He looked down. Perhaps I have not been the perfect son… but ma always said I was. Well, I’ll prove to her how good I am! 

Suddenly, he felt an odd sensation--a sensation of restlessness, like he needed to be doing something. It propelled him into action, and he found fire inside his belly that he used to clean his castle until the floors were spotless. By the time he finished, he was sweating, and his muscles achesd, but he had an overwhelming sense of satisfaction, something he had never felt before. 

He realized he still hadn't eaten, and climbed to his feet. His stomach was growling angrily, and he made his way to the pantry, where he decided to make himself some eggs and bacon. 

As he cooked them inside of a clay oven, he sat in one of the wooden chairs in his kitchen and thought to himself, I wonder why Mom doesn't just cook it for me…?

It was an odd thought again, but if his mother could provide all these other things, why would she allow the possibility of being bitten by spiders? Why would she want him to clean all the time? Why would she require him to cook for himself?

He found his forehead furrowing as he thought of it. Coming to think of it… how is it that she can provide me with all these things? Why is she so big? I know she said she was a special kind of human… but I’ve never read about humans like her. 

He groaned and fell on his back, rubbing his temples. “My head hurts… I’m gonna stop thinking about things." He finished cooking his meal, and then set the table for himself. He even lit the candles.

He smiled, loving the smell of them. He even got out the napkins. Normally, he ate with his fingers wherever he pleased, and didn’t bother with any extra effort. He didn’t know whether the extra effort was worth it today, but he supposed it felt good to do things for himself.