The Spider Queen

(Alpha Star System- Planet Gaia)

(N'rean City- Residential District)

The sun was now beginning to peak over the horizon and warm orange rays of light brightened up the busy city.

Sophie powered on her communicator and opened up a virtual map of the city and all of its major sites.

Cleo was still in the hotel room, and Sophie planned on surprising her girlfriend with a gift in the morning.

Today was their final day in the city. It had been quite the pleasant experience so far since Sophie loved spending time with her favourite princess.

The only wrinkle in their perfect vacation was that invitation from the crown prince to attend his private banquet.

The death of Emperor Sisrelis had massively affected the political landscape of the human side of the Federation.

Now the fight to find his successor would undoubtedly lead to certain noble houses vanishing from the annals of history.

Sophie did not feel the urge to participate in that bloody game and she was never going to let her girlfriend get caught up in the other princes and princesses' petty schemes.

Fortunately, her father was powerful and well connected enough to maintain a neutral stance in the war for succession.

Other noble houses were not as lucky…

The hybrid girl was lost in her own thoughts as she wandered through the city towards an unremarkable building that was squeezed between two family-sized homes.

The building itself was quite ordinary with cream-coloured walls, a dull grey roof and a simple wooden gate that seemed to be a relic from a different era.

A sign was hung on the door with the simple word 'Open' written across in a bright red colour that would hurt the eyes of anyone looking at it.

Sophie glanced at the building and checked her wrist communicator to make sure that this was the right place.

She walked up to the front door and knocked lightly before pulling on the handle. The door easily swung open to reveal a long corridor with a single metalloid door at the end.

Sophie entered the building and the door automatically closed behind her with a heavy thump.

This was quite the peculiar store, but Sophie's curiosity made her continue onwards until she reached the second door.

This time the door swung open by itself to reveal a tiny room. A large table had been placed in the center of the space and two chairs were across from each other.

Sitting on one of the chairs was a light green alien with a massive body that jiggled slightly from side to side.

He had three mouths scattered across his face and two grey horns that jutted out from the top of his head.

He bore a striking resemblance to an enormous mass of jelly and his skin was rough as if he had spent a lifetime doing hard labour.

"Welcome to my humble abode," the alien gently spoke as a tendril extended from his body and pulled out the chair for Sophie.

"Thank you… your house is quite unique," Sophie spoke politely as she sat in the chair and faced the alien.

The blob's body shivered back and forth, and it took Sophie a moment to register that the creature was laughing.

"Yes… I suppose that my tastes can be a bit strange to outsiders," the alien chuckled as a few eyes bubbled up from inside his body.

"How may I help you today?"

"I am looking for a gift for my girlfriend. I saw on your website that you can procure many items from across the universe," Sophie explained calmly as she tapped her wrist communicator.

A holographic screen was projected outward that displayed a simple for a store named 'Frankie's Emporium Of Strange Oddities'.

"Hmm… interesting… what item would you like to acquire?" the alien dropped his lighthearted act and spoke seriously.

Sophie hesitated for a moment as she seriously considered what kind of gift, she would like to give her girlfriend.

Cleo had many expensive jewellery and nice clothing, so those options were out. A few days ago, they had gone to the bookstore, so s were also not an option.

Sophie rubbed her chin as the invitation from the crown prince flashed across her mind. She furrowed her brows and finally decided on what she wanted to gift Cleo.

The hybrid girl opened her mouth and explained to the alien seller what she was hoping to buy in his shop,

"I want something that will protect her in case of emergencies. A second life… a chance to escape any situation."

The alien immediately nodded and one of his mouths unleashed a series of harsh ringing noises that echoed through the room.

A few minutes passed and then a hole opened up in the middle of the table. A dark grey hand emerged from the darkness and placed three fully sealed boxes in front of the salesman.

The hand retreated back into the hole and soon the gap in the table was closed just as quickly as it had appeared.

"What is your price range?" the alien asked curiously as two tendrils emerged from his blob-like body and began to rub together.

"Unlimited… my girlfriend's safety is worth any price," Sophie replied with a strong sense of conviction in her tone.

The creature hummed thoughtfully and then picked up the box to the far left. He pushed it towards Sophie and then pulled the remaining two boxes towards him.

"This is what you require…" the alien whispered softly.

"Can I not buy all three?" Sophie asked curiously as she stared at the remaining two boxes.

"No… one customer… one product…" the strange shopkeeper whispered in a low tone.

Sophie was affected by the tense atmosphere and also lowered her voice, "Well… um… what does this do? Also, I would like to know the price."

The blob-like alien jiggled slightly and then produced a plain white card from somewhere beneath the table.

He handed the card over to Sophie and then waited patiently for his customer to make a decision on whether or not to buy his product.

Sophie began to read the card and the first line that stood out to her was the price. The shopkeeper had been upfront about the cost and boy… it was high!

Whatever was in the box was worth around one and a half billion Enas which was enough to buy a small-scale mining colony.

Sophie checked her reserve funds and realised that she barely had enough money to buy this expensive item.

She clearly needed to go on some bounty hunting missions for her guild in order to replenish her lost funds after this.

Sophie pursed her lips together and began to read about the details about the item that could allegedly save Cleo's life in an emergency.

The hybrid girl's mouth fell open as she finished reading the card and she looked up at the shopkeeper with an expression of disbelief.

"Are these claims true?" Sophie asked quietly.