The Spider Queen

(Alpha Star System- Planet Gaia)

(Peterlor Estate- Private Gardens)

Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!

(Mommy! I'm hungry! Give me some more food please!)

"Yes, my greedy baby I'll feed you some more snacks," Sophie whispered gently as she reached into her storage ring to pull out another sizable chunk of meat.

Moon flapped his wings up and down excitedly as he let out soft purrs almost like a cat.

It would have been a cute sight were it not for the fact that her pet was now the size of a teenage human.

Sophie figured that the reason why Moon was growing so fast was probably due to the blood bond connection between them or maybe Moon was just a special mutant.

Either way she would still love this mischievous little baby.

Sophie tossed the chunk of meat high into the air using some of her enhanced strength. The enormous drumstick flew several meters upwards, and Moon stared at the snack with wide eyes.

The frostwing bat shot forward like a blur and grabbed the chunk of meat before it could hit the ground.

The gross sounds of flesh ripping apart echoed through the garden, but Sophie didn't mind that Moon was a messy eater.

He must have gotten it from her.

Sophie took the chance while Moon was distracted with his food to wander around the garden and examine the flowers.

This was a private area separate from the greenhouse complex that housed a few rare or special plants that she had personally grown.

It wasn't a particularly large space but there was a sense of familiarity that Sophie found comforting.

Cleo was currently still asleep after another tiring night of passion for the princess and truthfully Sophie felt a bit thankful for the break to clear her thoughts and think about certain things.

It had already been three weeks since the princess had arrived, and every day had been nothing but a blessing.

Even putting aside all the intimate moments that they shared when the night fell, just waking up while holding the person you loved did wonders for her mental state.

In fact, it was only due to Cleo being by her side that Sophie had managed to work up the courage to reach out to her friends and acquaintances.

Cleo had the brilliant suggestion to break up her contacts into different groups and only do a certain amount of people per day.

Sophie followed her advice and found it much easier to reach out when she only focused on a few rather than look at the mountain of missed messages and calls.

Qiana and Astrid in particular were thrilled to finally hear back from their old friend and they were both very understanding of what she had been going through.

The other people on her contact list had sent messages that varied from concern to worry to even outright curiosity.

Sophie answered most of them politely but took the opportunity to purge her contact list of some who were clearly just trying to fish for news.

At the start of her mental crisis, Sophie could not have even imagined dealing with so many messages or people and yet… it was now over.

The hybrid girl felt as though the colours in the world had gotten brighter since her girlfriend had stepped off that hovercar.

Doctor Reynolds in their last session was pleased at the progress that she was making but he did caution that there was still a long journey ahead.

Sophie knew what he was saying was correct…. but it would not be a lie to say that she wasn't feeling a bit disappointed.

Maybe if she went back with Cleo when the semester began then she could return to her normal university life.

Of course, that was just wishful thinking.

Although Sophie supposed that she should be grateful that due to her previous status as the rank one student as well as the kindness of her professors who were willing to offer online courses…

There was hope that she could remain in the same year as her friends.

Remote learning huh…

Sophie let out a heavy sigh as she passed a tree that grew yellowish fruits from the topmost branches.

These fruits were star-shaped with green tendrils wrapped around their outer shell. The tree itself was not very tall and its height was only slightly above Sophie's head.

Sophie used her bladed appendages to slice the stem connecting one of the fruits on the tree and grabbed it as it fell.

The hybrid girl opened her mouth and took a big bite. The flesh of the fruit was hard and unpleasant to chew but the inside tasted like a honey.

The fleshy inside was soft and yummy which brought a small curve to her lips. Sophie saw a white bench up ahead and walked slowly towards it.

After suffering through months of nonstop life and death situations during her time in the Unovan Syndicate, it felt weird to have to worry about homework and grades again.

Being a double major in both poison cultivation and combat beast training meant that there would be a lot of work that she would need to catch up on before the second semester even begun.

And that didn't even consider the common first year courses that she would need to do over the summer in order to get the credits needed to move up to second year.

Sophie could see a dark future ahead.

Well, she would need to work hard in order to reclaim her number one spot once finals season began.

Genius required talent but talent alone would get you nowhere in life. Complacency and laziness would cause even the brightest student to stagnant.

And as the duke's daughter… no to be more precise… as a hybrid heir to a dukedom.

Sophie was aware that she needed to not only reach the standards necessary for her position but exceed them.

She wanted the entire Federation to know that her father had not made the wrong decision.

It was an added pressure but honestly it was less stressful than half the events that Sophie had already experienced.

Squeak! Squeak!

(Mommy! Mommy! I've finished eating!)

Sophie raised her hand and caught the giant bone that was hurled in her direction. Moon was staring at her with a gaze that Sophie recognized.

Yeah… he wanted to play.

"Already go fetch!" Sophie yelled as she pulled back her arm and flung the bone as hard as she could towards the opposite side of the garden.

Perhaps she used a bit more force than what was necessary since the bone slammed into the glass exterior of the dome and a huge crack formed.

Sophie guilty pretended not to notice it and made a mental note to inform the Head Butler once she returned to the mansion.

Squeak! Squeak!

Moon took off like a rocket and flew towards the bone on the ground. His giant wings kicked up dust clouds that covered the flowers in his path.

"Moon don't fly so low to the ground!" Sophie scolded as she hurriedly ran over to make sure that her plants were alright.

Squeak! Squeak!

(Sorry Mommy!)

Moon's voice echoed in Sophie's mind but somehow the hybrid girl got the feeling that her frostwing bat did not take her words to heart.

Was he going through a rebellious phase? Did combat pets go through rebellious phases?

Sophie figured that was a problem to deal with another day, so she focused on the task at hand instead.

She reached into her storage ring and pulled out a few wet tissues as well as some gardening tools to repair the flower beds.

It would be a boring task but somehow Sophie appreciated being able to waste her time doing something so mundane.