The Spider Queen

(Alpha Star System- Planet Gaia)

(Hireyn City- Private Amphitheatre)

The ceremony had been going on for around two hours now.

Sophie remained seated on the iron throne and had to keep the expressionless mask on her face.

Her body hurt.

The throne looked grand and imposing but by the gods… it was really fucking uncomfortable.

Especially since it had not been built to fit someone who possessed four long blade-like appendages jutting out of their back.

Sophie leaned forward slightly and tried to give her appendages a little bit of space to spread outwards.

A group of four masked singers were currently standing at the edge of the stage and singing a melodic tune that was both haunting and sorrowful.

"O' the darkness of iron, salt, and sea…"

"We come before thee… witness the glory… the rise…"

"The one who has been chosen is nigh… for we see the light…"

The song went on for two more minutes before the singers bowed their heads and departed from the stage.

Finally… it was time for the swearing.

Duke Braveheart walked up to the throne with slow but steady footsteps and presented the ring in his right palm.

The metal gleamed slightly under the light and Sophie found herself captivated by the details on the ring.

The grasping hand looked so life-like and the jewels that had been embedded in the metal formed a perfect circlet.

Sophie stretched out her palm and took the ring from the duke's hand. She placed the ring on the index finger of her left hand.

The ring heated up for a moment and then it expanded to perfectly fit Sophie's finger.

The hybrid girl straightened out her back and her image in that moment was one of regality and grace.

"Duchess Peterlor…." Duke Braveheart calmly spoke. His words echoed through the hall where thousands of nobles were now completely silent.

"Do you promise to uphold the noble traditions and aspirations of your house?"

"I swear," Sophie replied solemnly.

"Do you pledge not to see personal wealth, fortune or power and devote yourself to the betterment of your family?" Duke Braveheart asked in a quiet voice.

This was an easy vow to make considering that Sophie had no family members left so technically the betterment of her family just meant herself.

Damn… that was a really depressing thought.

Sophie pushed back the dark emotions threatening to flood her mind with thoughts of loneliness and opened her mouth to reply,

"I swear."

"Do you give your word of honour that you will protect the Earth Federation in times of crisis and look out for those under your command?" Duke Braveheart asked.

"I swear," Sophie spoke the same words for a third time.

Each noble family had a different set of vows for their succession ceremony.

Sophie was pretty sure that the vows for House Peterlor had not changed since her great- great grandmother.

Her distant ancestor used to be both the head of House Peterlor and a member of the Imperial Army hence the lines about protecting the Federation and those under your command.

Well… they weren't bad vows to swear by.

Duke Braveheart turned around and walked away from the throne. He reached the edge of the stage and the spotlight fell on his body.

"Sophie Peterlor has proven herself to be the rightful heir to House Peterlor and I declare that she will now be referred to as Duchess Peterlor," Duke Braveheart shouted in a loud voice.

"Let anyone who has an objection to her ascension please speak now or forever hold your tongue."

There was a brief moment of silence at the end of Duke Braveheart's words.

Sophie's golden eyes scanned the crowd and although she saw a few nobles who looked quite unhappy… no one dared to raise a word of complaint.

Raising an objection at a succession ceremony was mainly due to tradition.

A random aristocrat would not have the power to stop the ceremony so objecting would simply put you on the bad side of the host.

And Sophie was no longer just an ordinary member of the upper noble society.

Being the Duchess of House Peterlor meant that she had power, authority and influence despite her nature as a non pure blooded human.

"Excuse me," a hoarse masculine voice suddenly spoke.

Sophie's eyes shifted towards the direction of the voice and saw a handsome young man whose facial features bore a striking resemblance to Cleo's.

She recognised his face. It belonged to the crown prince.

Duke Braveheart opened his mouth to respond to the prince, but Sophie cut him off first by speaking.

"Prince Theseus," Sophie softly spoke, and one could hear the barest hint of a warning in her calm voice.

"The 'crown prince'… what objection do you have to my ascension as the new head of House Peterlor?"

"I am surprised that one who has yet to sit on the throne is already making political enemies."

There was an immediate sense of tension in the air. Sophie had boldly declared that she would make the crown prince her enemy.

If he was the emperor, then this would be political suicide but at the moment although he was the front runner… no one knew who would take the throne in the end.

Prince Theseus laughed darkly and ran his fingers through his curly black hair. He stretched out his hand and pulled up the woman sitting down next to him.

She was a tall woman with short brown hair who wore a white lab coat. There was a cold expression on her face and yet her eyes never left Sophie's body.

"Please let me introduce you to the very talented Dr. Valenna," Prince Theseus spoke loudly as he waved his arms around.

Dr. Valenna felt the stares of many people fall on her body but if she was bothered by their attention then she did not show it on her face.

She continued to look at the hybrid girl sitting down on the throne. She could not believe it at first but the more she looked… the more it made sense.

Duke Peterlor had spent over twenty years in the Insectoid Empire. His daughter's mother had remained a mystery all this time almost as if…

He wanted to hide it.

"My name is Dr. Valenna and I work with a private research team studying Insectoid biology in order to aid the Federation," Dr. Valenna calmly spoke.

"We recently received a live specimen of a higher rank Insectoid species and learned something very interesting about Insectoid society."

"Dr. Valenna I hope that you have not interrupted the ceremony just to give us a lesson," Sophie coldly spoke while hiding the sinking feeling in her chest.

She knew where this was going but was powerless to stop it.

"You see there are four Insectoid Species that stand on the top of the Insectoid hierarchy, their bloodlines grant them the ability to command lesser species," Dr. Valenna continued to speak.

"Those species names are…