The Spider Queen

"Wow this is delicious," Astrid exclaimed joyfully as she reached for her fork and took another large bite of the orange cake slice on her plate.

"Told you," Sophie replied with a cheerful wink. The hybrid girl used a spoon to dig into the large bowl of ice cream that was in front of her.

She had ordered the deluxe ice cream Sunday which was a massive bowl filled with four scoops of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream that was also topped up with sprinkles.

There was also a banana, three cherries and a rich chocolate sauce splattered on the top of the ice cream with tiny nuts hidden inside the gooey liquid.

It was a good thing that a cure for diabetes had been found thousands of years ago!

Sophie dug into the vanilla part of the ice cream Sunday and put the spoon to her lips. A burst of sweet and cold flavour exploded in her mouth.

"So, Sophie… how are you feeling about being made captain?" Astrid asked curiously as she tried another slice of cake.

"Well… it is a bit of pressure," Sophie truthfully admitted as she placed the spoon in her hand down on a napkin.

"I am the head representative of the first years and that means that any group events during the competition will have me appointed as the leader."

"It also means that any failures will be on me as well…"

"Don't see it like that!" Astrid interrupted Sophie as she banged her furry paw on the table.

"I got your back! And Cleo and Qiana are also on your team as well! We'll beat up everyone from the other universities!"

Sophie smiled since she could not help but get infected by her friend's enthusiasm. Maybe Astrid was right…

Yes, she would be blamed for any failures but on the flip side she would be praised for the successes.

"You're right… if I want to follow in my father's footsteps and become a military commander in the Imperial Army then I need to get used to the leadership role," Sophie spoke seriously.

"Is that what you want?" Astrid questioned as she took another bite of cake.

"Yes… I intend to serve in the army just like my father and then… well I'm not really too sure to be honest," Sophie replied after the giving the matter some thought.

"Well, no need to rush… I mean my life is basically going to be full of studying and other boring stuff for the next ten to twenty-five years," Astrid sighed heavily as her tail slowly drooped.

"To become a full-fledged mage required passing an exam that tests both practical and theoretical applications of magic."

"Archmages on the other hand… let's just say that the youngest one in the history of the Federation was seven hundred years old."

Sophie stretched out her hand and gave her friend two quick pats of sympathy on the shoulder.

To be a mage did not require just strength alone but rather vast amounts of knowledge and the recognition of the council of mages.

The pair sat in the café and made light conversation until their plates were eventually empty.

Sophie raised up her hand and another creature walked through the open door at the back of the room.

"How would you like to pay? Separate bills or just one?" the creature hissed in a low raspy voice as its black eye slowly blinked.

"Put it on my tab," Sophie raised up her wrist communicator and sent the credits to the device in the waiter's hand.

"Thanks, rich girl but I'll pay for our next day out," Astrid winked slyly at her friend who rolled her eyes.

"I hope that you enjoyed your experience with us. Please do not hesitate to leave a positive review on the Virtual Net," the waiter bowed politely and then left the room.

"What a strange fellow…" Astrid whispered softly as she stared at the vaguely humanoid alien's departing back.

"Yeah… well there are all types in the universe," Sophie replied casually as she got her stuff and walked towards the exit.

Astrid hummed thoughtfully and tossed one last look at the creature before following her friend outside.

It was now the evening, and the sun was already beginning to set towards the horizon.

A cold chilly breeze brushed against the two girls' faces but they both did not mind.

"I think there is a pond nearby… we can just relax and chill there for a few hours," Astrid suggested as she checked her wrist communicator.

"Yeah, that sounds good," Sophie replied as she stretched out her arms and yawned sleepily. After a long day of training using the bow and arrows… it felt good to be able to just relax.

The pair walked through the outskirts of the city in a comfortable silence.

Sophie would occasionally ask Astrid's questions about her life and the Mendolesa girl would answer them and response with questions of her own.

Twenty minutes passed and eventually they arrived at the grassy outskirts of a large lake.

There were several benches along the lakeshore and trees had been planted as well to provide shade beneath the benches.

Clearly, they were not the only ones with the idea to spend the evening relaxing by the lake since there were many families and couples playing near the water.

Astrid pointed in a certain direction and Sophie follow her claw using her eyes.

She saw an empty bench right on the side of a tall tree whose branches and leaves drooped ever so slightly downwards.

"Ahh…" Astrid let out a sigh of contentment as she sat down on the bench and made some room for Sophie to sit down.

"Hey Sophie?" the Mendolesa girl suddenly spoke.

"Yeah?" Sophie replied with a raised eyebrow.

"Do you ever think that your life would be completely different if it wasn't for a single decision that you made?" Astrid curiously asked.

"I guess so… but what do you mean?" Sophie replied with a bit of confusion evident on her face.

"Well, I originally planned to wait a year and then try out for the university entrance exams but if I did that then I never would have met you or Qiana or Rachel," Astrid mused thoughtfully.

Sophie closed her eyes and thought about the decisions in her life. Was there a big moment like that?

Yes, there was.

The decision that she made to practise the Spider Whisper Art. That single decision had changed the course of her life forever.

Now her body was more like a member of the Arachnais race, she was the most powerful freshman in Zrudread University, and she became the vessel of the hunter goddess.

Did she ever regret that choice?

Maybe sometimes… it was good to have power, but Sophie knew that her life had become significantly more dangerous because of it.

Especially the part where she became a vessel for some ancient eldritch type being who lived beyond the walls of this universe.