Chapter 18

The life of a princess is dreamed about by many young girls, being saved by their knight in shining armor and getting whatever your hearts desires, but what they don't realize how much responsibility and pressure is put on the princess. That is the sort of pressure that Rachnera Arachnidan, the crown princess of the spider race, feels on a daily basis. Her days were spent studying politics and the history of their species; her only solace was the secret trips into the surrounding forest. She thought that her latest trip would end up like the rest, but she never thought she would see a male just walking around. She ran back to her quarters; the hunting squad was probably on their way to apprehend the male in question. Rachnera managed to sneak back into her room without being noticed, but a knocking on her door interrupted her mild celebration;

"Princess, you would never believe what the hunters found in the forest." said the guard at the door

"What did they find?" asked Rachnera

"A male, a live male," replied the guard, "he is currently being escorted to the queen for judgment. Rumor has it that he managed to tame one of the more venomous spiders on the island."

"Which one?" asked Rachnera

"The funnel web," replied the guard.

"Surely you are jesting," said Rachnera, "the only one that could do that was the original spider-woman could do that."

"No, I saw it with my own eyes," said the guard. "He even had the spider on his shoulder when they apprehended him."

"Really, interesting," said Rachnera as the guard left her and closed her door.

She didn't have to wait long for the queen's verdict as Rachnera's door was opened and Naruto was thrown in.

"Princess Rachnera, say hello to your new husband." said one of the guards, "We expect you to be with child within the month."

When Naruto imagined his life, he thought his company would be able to match up to the big dogs in the fashion industry, get married in his late twenties or early thirties, have a couple of kids and then die in his sleep. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine he would be kidnapped by a race of Spider women and then be forced to procreate with their princess. When he regained consciousness, he looked around and spotted his shotgun bride. She was blurry at first, but her details finally began to come clearer. Her lavender hair, her black forearms, and the pattern on her thorax seemed familiar to Naruto, but he couldn't remember where.

"Are you alright?" asked Rachnera as she helped Naruto get up.

"Yeah, I'm alright," answered Naruto, "By the way have you seen my spider? He was on my shoulder a minute ago."

"I think it scurried under my bed," replied Rachnera as she pointed towards her bed.

"Thanks," said Naruto as he got on his hands and knees and placed his hands underneath the bed, "Come on, we're safe now."

The funnel-web walked towards Naruto's hand, slowly and cautiously, and began his trek to the shoulder. Rachnera looker her new 'husband' over and began to digest his finer features. She partially took an interest in his golden blonde hair and blue eyes; they seemed familiar for some reason. His clothes were a bit dirty, but that could be fixed in a matter of minutes.

"So, where are you from?" asked Rachnera trying to start a conversation with her 'husband.'

"New York," said Naruto looking around, "I usually stay within the camp border."

"What's a 'camp,'" asked Rachnera

"A camp is where a bunch of people with similar Interest come together and bond," said Naruto, "we usually gather around a campfire and tell stories or sing. Some of the campers leave after the summer is over, but will come back next year,"

"Sounds wonderful," said an amazed Rachnera

"It is for the most part, but we do have our bad moments," said Naruto, "Some monsters take advantage of the fact that some of us are no longer under the protection of the Gods. Some of us don't make it to the next year."

"How sad," remarked Rachnera, "Even though you have those sad moments you still have each other, right? No one suffers along, and you all support each other in the end."

"I guess when you put it like that we do," said Naruto," I'm sure you have some ladies in waiting that are always by your side."

"Sadly, no," said Rachnera looking away and rubbing her arm, "I'm mostly locked in this tower, forced to study for my coronation in the future."

"Sounds lonely," remarked Naruto also looking away.

"The only people that talk to me are the guards, but they usually don't have much to say," said Rachnera

The two stood in silence as they didn't know what to say next.

"So, what's this about me being your 'husband'?" asked Naruto

"My mother, the queen, has made the decision that your skills should remain on the island and within the royal family," replied Rachnera in a dull tone, "As her daughter and heir to the throne I must make sure that my mother's vision stays true."

"Sounds depressing," said Naruto, "don't you have any hobbies?"

"Just looking at the forest below," replied Rachnera

'(Exhale) Athena is going to hate me for this,' thought Naruto.

"Listen as they were dragging me here I managed to look around I think we could escape without anyone noticing we're gone." said Naruto, "Since your royalty, you probably know about a secret escape route off the island."

"There is one, but it's under my mother's throne," said Rachnera, "but we could escape from my window."

"Won't the guards hear us," asked Naruto, "and we're in a tower, how are we going to descend safety?"

"I can make a rope from webbing that we can use to get down," said Rachnera

"Good plan," replied Naruto.

The two began to orchestrate their escape plan as Rachnera began to extract webbing from her thorax and twist them to make a thicker rope, while Naruto was making sure they had everything packed. As the two were planning the Apollo completed his journey across the horizon and Artemis began to ride.

"How is the rope was coming along?" asked Naruto

"Almost there just a few more inches," answered Rachnera

"Good as everything is packed and ready to go." Said Naruto slinging his pack

"We're good," said Rachnera as she secured the end of the rope to the windowsill

"Good," said Naruto

The two began to climb down under cover of night and managed to conceal their movements in the bush below. The pair paid attention for any stray webbing and avoiding the guard's spotlights. It took a few minutes for them to reach the coast, they bumped a few trees and had to stay still until the spotlight went away.

"So, what now?" whispered Rachnera.

"You act as my spotter as I cut down some trees to make a raft." replied Naruto as he revealed his hidden rapier, "just tell me if you see or hear anything."

Naruto tried to slice the trees as quietly as possible, but the sound of wood hitting ground couldn't be silenced so easily. Knowing that their absence will be noticed Naruto quickened his pace and rolled the logs towards Rachnera.

"Try and tie those logs together as fast as you can," said Naruto, "the guards probably sensed that."

Rachnera produced and tied as fast as she could as she could hear the guards approaching. Noticing that she may not have enough time, he made the decision to start pushing the raft into the water.

"Wait! I'm not done yet!" yelled Rachnera

"I know, but we don't have enough time," said Naruto hoisting the princess aboard, "just keep tying."

"Stop him! He's abducting the princess!" yelled one of the guards

Now that they were afloat and they were about a yard away from the coast, just far enough away to be out of range but still close enough to see the guards, did Naruto finally begin to relax

"Well looks like that's one island I'll never visit again," muttered Naruto

"Don't say that, I'm sure my mother would want to see her grandchildren," replied Rachnera

"What?" said a confused Naruto

"Well I will need someone to the throne after I've retired," said Rachnera, "and mother always wanted to have someone to spoil when she retires."

"What?" repeated Naruto.

"Well we are married, so I expected you wanted to expand your progeny," replied Rachnera

"Isn't this something we should be talking about in the future," said Naruto

"What do you mean? we are both young and healthy so why shouldn't start making the future generation?" asked Rachnera

"I'm only thirteen and having children is the last thing on my mind," said Naruto, "besides I have someone back home that wants me."

"So, you are starting a harem then," said Rachnera in a thinking pose, "Makes sense."

"What?" replied Naruto

"Since you are a male you would want to have multiple suits with different partners to ensure your legacy lasts." said Rachnera, "and the fact the fates chose me to be one of your partners just means that the feud between monsters and humans is almost over."

'What in the name of Hades have they been teaching her.' thought Naruto

"So, who is this other woman?" asked Rachnera

"Her name is Melinoe, and she's been with me for about a year," said Naruto, "she acts as my secretary and will usually tells me when lunch is."

"So, you have experience when it comes to procreating." said Rachnera, "then that will my experience more satisfying."

"No, we are keeping our relationship professional," said Naruto

'although she might have something planned for my eighteenth birthday.' thought Naruto

"By the way, where are we going?" asked Rachnera

"I plan to meet up with my team on Polyphemus's island to retrieve the Golden Fleece," said Naruto, "unfortunately you're now a part of the quest since you are officially 'kidnapped.'"

"Sounds like fun," said Rachnera

"Yes, fun," replied Naruto in a sarcastic tone as he began to row, "just keep an eye out for sea monsters for me, will you?"

"Sure," replied Rachnera