"Ah! What a fine day to be alive!"
Thorax, eager and optimistic young man that he was, gave himself a stretch as he looked out at this beautiful new spot he'd found for himself. The hustle and bustle of the city had started to get to him, so he'd figured he'd get away from it all for a week, come somewhere nice and quiet. And this was certainly a peaceful-looking place. Nestled at the far-end of an immense forest, there was a calm river, though not far from this river was its source, an immense and beautiful waterfall, which came down from a high cliff-face nearby. The sun was shining, and the whole place just looked like the kind of spot where one could come and just rest without a care in the world. So, that was exactly what Thorax decided to do. Finding a large tree nearby, he got himself comfortable, sitting beside it and reclining against its trunk. Placing his hands behind his head as a sort of pillow, he smiled at this lovely place he'd found.
"Why nobody else comes here, I'll never know!"
With that, he started to close his eyes, ready to enjoy a peaceful and relaxing nap, letting all his worries just melt away. It was an immense relief to have this chance, but he soon found that his solitude here did not last forever. For barely five minutes had passed by when he heard, to his slight confusion, a giggle. Cracking one eye open, he began to immediately scour the area. At first there wasn't anybody around, but then he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. It was a person, who quickly darted behind a tree so as to not be seen. Frowning, Thorax leaned forward from his sitting position.
"...Hello? Is someone there?"
There was, for a time, no response. But then, after a while, that person did indeed emerge from hiding. It was a young woman, about his age, with long and flowing bluish-green hair and a very fancy-looking dress that stretched all the way down to the ground. She smiled sweetly to him, clasping both hands behind her back, and took a few steps closer to him.
"I'm terribly sorry. I didn't mean to disturb your rest."
Thorax, blushing at the sight of this beautiful maiden, immediately stood up, clearing his throat and trying to sound as polite as possible.
"Oh! Um...you didn't! I mean...I'm Thorax."
Another giggle from the girl, and she gave a quick curtsy to him.
"My name is Chryssie. It is a pleasure to meet you."
Thorax, still awkwardly fumbling, took some steps closer to her himself.
"I have to say, I wasn't expecting to meet anyone else here. Do...do you live here?"
Clasping her hands in front of her, Chryssie nodded.
"I do, over there."
She pointed to the waterfall, leading to an understandable level of confusion on Thorax's part. But then, as he squinted, he began to notice, for the first time in fact, that there seemed to be a cave behind that waterfall. It was something he probably wouldn't have noticed if Chryssie hadn't pointed it out to him, and speaking of whom, he now looked to her again.
"I don't mean to sound rude, but...you live in a cave?"
Her smile widened as she responded.
"Oh, it's a wonderful place to live! Really! Would you...like to join me for some tea, Mr Thorax?"
Thorax blushed again, nervously scratching the back of his head.
"Oh, you can just call me Thorax."
Chryssie giggled, stepping forward and gently taking hold of one of his hands. Thorax had certainly not expected such an encounter today, but he wasn't going to complain about it. He smiled to her as she began to lead him towards her home, taking a narrow path beside the cliff-face that took them behind the waterfall. They had to practically hug the cliff itself to avoid being splashed by the water, though they laughed when a few stray water droplets hit their faces. A time came however when they finally reached the entrance to the cave.
"Oh! Do mind your head!" Chryssie warned.
Thorax did indeed duck to avoid being hit by a rather craggy-looking bit of rock at the entrance, but moments afterwards he was in, along with his new lady friend. Once inside though, the place did not look or feel as homely as he'd predicted it would. It was dark, cold, and covered in what appeared to be spider webs on every surface. He blinked a couple of times, trying to remain as courteous as he could when looking at Chryssie.
"Um, not to sound rude, Chryssie, but you appear to have a bit of a spider problem."
Chryssie herself chuckled, raising her hands to the ties that held her dress closed. Thorax, naturally, started to blush again, taking a step backwards.
"Er...what are you doing?!"
Her smile became a slight smirk as he asked that.
"Oh, I just thought I'd slip into something a bit more...comfortable."
Though paralysed with the inner gentlemanly desire to avert his eyes, Thorax soon found that he could not, and watched as his host slowly discarded her clothing. But as surprising that this development was, it was utterly eclipsed by what happened afterwards. For under that dress was not the body of a fair maiden, but a monstrous eight-legged creature that looked like it had popped right out of some poor soul's darkest nightmares. How such bulk had been so convincingly obscured by that outfit, nobody could say. But it had been done, and now it had been revealed in all its horrific glory. It was, in essence, a giant spider with the upper body of a woman, and said upper half now grinned wickedly as it turned again to Thorax, approaching slowly like a predator approaching her prey.
"Oh, my dear Thorax. You stand not before 'Chryssie', but Chrysalis! Queen of all things that creep and crawl in the dark!"
Thorax gulped, his utter shock over the situation keeping him from taking even a single step away from this beastly sight.
"Wha...what are you going to do to me?"
Chrysalis chuckled, looming over him immensely before reaching down and sensually stroking under his chin with her finger.
"Oh, that's quite simple...I'm going to do what I do to all who come to my lair!"
The earth shook as the divine being struck the ground with his rapid descent. Dust clouds formed around the impact, and when the wind cleared them, what appeared in the centre of that near-crater was none other than Shining Armor. As the God of soldiers, warriors and courage, he certainly looked the part, clad in glistening armor as befitted his name, and wielding not only a mighty sword but also a great blue shield. His eyes narrowed as he looked upon his goal, the massive waterfall before him. He knew a foul creature lay within, and that it was his duty to save the life of whatever poor mortal had found themselves in her clutches. Gripping the hilt of his sword ever tighter, Shining yelled ferociously, leaping forward and practically flying above the river that separated him from the waterfall. With an almighty swing, he cut through the water, emerging on the other side.
"Fear not, mortal! I have come here to...er...what?"
Contrary to what he might have predicted he'd see here, what now lay in front of him was no scene of evil or carnage. Quite the opposite in fact, as both Thorax and Chrysalis were sitting opposite one another at a small table, each one holding what looked like a small cup of tea. Shining blinked with confusion over this, then asked the obvious.
"...May I ask what's going on here?"
Thorax, oblivious to the intruder's dismay over the situation, smiled to him and raised his cup.
"Ah, Lord Shining! Welcome! Will you join us? There's plenty of tea to go around."
Shining lowered his sword, glancing left to right and then back again before settling on the other two.
"Is...is nothing evil happening here?"
Chrysalis rolled her eyes.
"What? No! I just felt like having some company this afternoon," she explained.
Frowning, Shining pointed his sword at her.
"Ah, but I suspect you used foul play to lure him here under false pretences, yes?"
Chrysalis frowned right back, putting her hands upon her rather substantial hips.
"Hey, let's see you trying to get yourself a date when you have eight legs, Mister!"
Thorax, ever cheerful, leaned forward and patted her on one of her hands, which she'd since put onto the table.
"Oh, I'm sure you could get plenty of guys to take an interest in you, Chryssie! You've been so delightful to talk to today!"
Chrysalis smiled back to him, her tone now the same one would use when talking to a puppy.
"Awwww, Thorax! You're such a sweetheart!"
Shining, who was thoroughly at a loss on what to do here, sheathed his sword before scratching the side of his head.
"So...what do I do now?"
Thinking on that, Thorax again raised a cup to him.
"There's always room for one more at the table!"
Shining, though hesitant, took a few steps forward, taking the offered cup and giving it a sniff. After being certain that it was fine, he took his first sip, after which he smiled to the spidery woman nearby.
"Hmmm, very nice."
Chrysalis shrugged, taking on a look of pride.
"Hey, nothing but the best for this Queen's guests!"