Chapter 23 What awful luck!

Dora's POV

After tidying up king's room, I packed his dinner and made my way back to his room. I hoped he would appreciate the meal I had worked so hard to prepare as a gesture of thanks.

But I had only taken two steps inside when a big black bird flew in through the window, knocking off a decorative vase shattering it to the floor - the raven perched on the sill of the open window.

Setting down the tray, I approached the bird cautiously. "Shoo, bad bird, go on now!" I hurled a pillow at it.

My missile startled the bird into panicked flight. I quickly shut the window behind it before turning back to the mess it had left. As I cleaned the shards of porcelain, my gaze landed on the food tray I had left vulnerable.

My heart dropped into my stomach like lead. There perched on the salmon's surface was the fat, hairy body of a large spider.

"Disgusting!" I exclaimed, swatting the loathsome thing away. It scuttled out of sight, leaving me with a tray full of perfectly good food that was no