Miss Arachne Part 2

A young woman walked down a busy street as the sun started to set. No one seemed to pay her any attention, it seemed like they would only glimpse her and move on with the mundane lives that they led. She smiled to herself, “They have no idea what kinds of things lurk right under their noses.” She continued her slow pace at the edge of the crowd, because while they couldn’t see what she truly was, she could do nothing to stop them from touching her now spider-like body.

Miss Victoria Arachne, as she now called herself, was a completely different person then the day before. She paused at a large storefront window to look at her reflection she saw through the illusion that she had crafted. Her eight eyes stared at the same number on spindly black legs next to a large spider abdomen. Nothing like the man she used to be. Her smile quickly turned into a frown as jealousy about her appearance once again rushed through her.

“Why did I get this, when little miss frills managed to look normal? Why did that stupid fluff ball mess it all up? UGH!!!” At this last exclamation, a wave of magical energy poured out from her and every window or mirrored surface within a block shattered. A few cries of alarm rang throughout the street as people wondered what had happened. A few glances that seemed to linger on Victoria reminded her that her illusions were not completely perfect, and it prompted her to move on.

After a while of wandering the streets, she felt a slight tingle coming from behind her eyes. Judging from her experience yesterday this meant that there was someone that could use magic nearby. Taking a moment to get a good look, she recognized a girl sitting on a bench in the back of an ice cream parlor. It was the girl in purple who said she would destroy Miss Arachne. “Little Miss Muffet, sat on a tuffet, eating her curds and whey. Along came a drider, who sat down beside her and took little Miss Muffet away.”

The girl in purple awoke to find that her hands and feet were tied to a rather large web, in a room filled with more of the same. “What the…. Damn, I got careless” she said as she started to struggle against her bonds. “It’s no use you know, don’t bother struggling” said the drider as she emerged from the shadows of her lair. “You must be the girl from yesterday,” said Purple. “I guess it didn’t take long for you to figure out how to use your powers for evil.”

“Evil?” the other girl snapped. “You think that these powers that your little fuzz ball of a mascot gave me are evil?” Letting her illusion drop she transformed into her natural form and crossed the strands of webs that made up her lair in a flash. “These powers are just what that thing gave me. They should have been the same as yours, should have been filled with light or love or whatever it is that makes you and that other girls powers work.” Tears started to stream out of the eyes of the bound girl as she broke down at the memory of her twin. A soft whisper of “Maria” escaped her.

“Oh, was that her name?” Victoria sneered. “What is yours then?” she asked as she slowly circled the girl in purple looking at her with jealousy in her eyes. “Annet” she said through sobs. “Please, just let me go. Please don’t hurt me….” Crouching in so her face was only a few inches away she spoke softly “I am not going to hurt you, I just want to toy with……” Her words caught short as she saw her reflection in Annet’s eyes. What she saw was the looming form of an eight eyed creature holding a helpless girl prisoner. A true monster.

“Get out.” She whispered before pulling herself away. “What?” Annet asked as she blinked away tears. “You heard me, OUT!” The webs loosened their grip as she shouted the last word. A sheet of them attached to a wall parted to reveal a door to the girl in purple. Not quite sure if she could believe what had happened, Annet slowly approached and turned the handle. A bright light steamed from a crowded street as she opened the door.

Pausing at the threshold she turned back to look at the barely visible drider amidst her webs. “I’m sorry for what happened to you” she said. “I wish…..it had turned out differently.” Annet turned back to the busy street as she walked out wiping the last vestiges of tears from her eyes. The door closed behind her and vanished as if it was never there. A soft reply came far too late for anyone to have heard it but it escaped her lips just the same. “Yeah, me too” said Miss Victoria Arachne, the monster.