Medusa and the Blind Woman

“Oh how beautiful! What do you think?” As if showing off a new dress, Aphrodite picked up in her hands, a miniature likeness of a beautiful woman, donning a simple blue gown, who seemed to fall to the side from being jostled by the large goddess. The nymphs she spoke to nodded in approval, but were rewarded with a disappointed head shake. “You wouldn’t know would you? Well. I know. And she’s going to be perfect!” The goddess bit her lip in excitement, sliding the little body off her hand slowly, until it fell downward and downward still, before sinking into the Aegean.

The ship was moving fast, far faster than anyone’s liking. They were afraid, and growing increasingly so as the island in the far distance became apparent. Several people saw it, before a young sailor called it out.

A passenger on board, one of the beautiful women being transported across the Aegean, and probably the most fearful on board, curled herself up, arms close to her chest, hands over her ears, crying, and rocking herself.

When the ship hit- she was sent through the air, as the back was lifted up. She hit a sailor, and without thinking tried to hold onto him. She couldn’t tell which way was up, but after a while understood that he was moving through the air as well. She felt wood finally, as she collided into some part of the ship. But then, she was sliding on it. She wanted to hold onto the side of the ship, but she couldn’t find it. Elpis thought perhaps that the floor of the ship might not be going horizontal.

A split second before she hit the water.

Aphrodite watched, arms folded.

“You, Mitala.”

A nymph in the back looked up sharply, from where she’d been scratching her enormous fish tail.

“You should probably go drag her to shore I assume?”

The nymph looked to the crash scene, and back to the goddess, realized then that the other woman’s life rested on her, and disappeared immediately.

The crash of the ship sent the island herself shuddering. And that shuddering was felt by it’s only inhabitant, as two sharp eyes opened in the dark of her cave.

She stalked out then, a wrap about her shoulders, as she jauntily made her way over the piles of rock that barricaded that end of the beach, only able to guess where the crash had been. The sky had a layer of light about it still, though the water was very dark. It wasn’t long before she saw the first hints at the carnage in front of her, floating pieces that were the wood of the ship, and then the bodies.

She’d expected to see dead sailors, hoping she wouldn’t see live ones, or rather, they wouldn’t see her. But they weren’t just sailors. There were a lot of women too. And it hurt her, inside. She stood on the rocks, letting the wind coming off the Aegean wash over her and calm the panic in her veins. It was horrible, seeing the bodies.

She tied her hair back, making herself look back into the sea, just in case there were any survivors. She had no idea what she’d do if anyone was still alive, or if they saw her. Though, Medusa supposed she knew what would happen then, as she started to climb down for a closer look.

There was a man down there, one still alive…

Aphrodite was in the middle of drinking her drink when she saw it going on. She nearly choked on it before putting it down.

“Oh shit!” And she slapped her hands together.

Medusa let out a sigh of relief as the man died in front of her. Not from turning to stone either, so it wasn’t her problem. There were still several other bodies around. She didn’t know why really, but she felt she should check them all. It was the right thing to do, no?

The next two were dead, she could tell. Drowned even, it looked like, though she hadn’t seen many drowning victims. But the third…

There was something about her. She seemed, not as lifeless, which Medusa thought must meant she was alive. It was only a guesstimation though, until she performed her own made-up test, listening to her chest, trying to feel a pulse, trying to open her eyes, and eventually slapping her in the face until the woman jostled just the slightest bit.

She couldn’t believe it, but she was actually elated at the idea. It was… different. Something new to happen to her. And gods knew she needed it.

Medusa took her shawl and wrapped it around the woman, who was starting to feel more and more cold like the dead ones. It was getting dark too, and Medusa hated being outside on the island in the dark.

She had to carry her back to the temple-cave, the sound of the sea outside now sinister, after it’s harsh reminder of the danger it could hold. Medusa felt almost, as she climbed up to it, that it would rise and rise and not stop, until it drowned her in her home.

It took no time at all for Medusa to forget her fears of another person. She was only excited as she put the other woman’s down in her own bed, helped her out of her wet dress, covered her in blankets, and lit a fire in the center of the room to warm the rest of the place. Surely keeping her warm would help, she knew, but was there something else the woman might need? Medicine perhaps? That wouldn’t matter, she had none she knew of. Eventually she’d need food, though if she was awake enough to eat, Medusa would probably have bigger problems than feeding her guest.

How about not killing her on sight, eh?

A snake that had escaped the bun was slithering under her neck, and Medusa took out the leather strap holding the rest back. Only to become immediately fearful and tie it up again once more. The other woman could wake up at any second.

But she did not wake up that second, nor for many seconds after. In fact two whole days went by, with the snake-haired woman growing only more anxious. She’d cleaned her temple cave until it sparkled like the house of a god. She’d made foods she herself would never eat, in an abundance no two people could consume. She’d even played over every song and story she could think of, to entertain the new guest. Possibly even loudly, in hopes that might wake her.

Was this some new punishment from the gods? To torture her by setting before her something she could not have? Something as simple as human contact? At the same time, she supposed she should be happy. She had hope, while the woman stayed asleep, and didn’t have to face all the horrible mess that could come any moment.

Medusa was outside, wading in the water with a hand-made net tied to her waist, and bending over occasionally to collect a mussel and throw it in. Not that she needed anymore, it was just a lame attempt to busy her mind.

Aphrodite had taken a huge bite of mango, and was casually looking over to the scene, when something alarming caught her eye. She dropped it to the floor and immediately walked over. Something down there wasn’t right…

Medusa’s snakes started getting uneasy, snapping the tie that held them and darting out from the sides. She looked to either side to see them, wondering what could have gotten them so upset.

“How the hell-” Aphrodite took a step back, then shook her head as if to bring herself back to her senses. Probably just my mistake.

Medusa was shocked more, as she saw an arm grabbing onto a large rock off the beach. There was someone else in the water, and this one, was awake.

Aphrodite killed him. Again. As this man appeared to be the same one she’d THOUGHT she’d killed two whole days ago. And that was AFTER she crashed his ship.

Medusa walked to him, she couldn’t help it, and she couldn’t do anything about her hair either. She didn’t know why she went over there, was asking herself all the while, but when she got there, and seeing he was unconscious, she brushed the question away. Of course she was going to check it out. What’s the worst that could happen? She’d have a new wet statue for her collection if he tried anything.

She was surprised. Not to find him alive, but to find that she actually didn’t want him to be. She’d never cared much for men anyways, and she’d had all the excitement she needed from the sleeping woman.

“Well. We better get you up there.” She’d thought about leaving him, she really did. But it felt like crossing a line she liked to think she wouldn’t.

“Well that’s morbid.” The goddess said, watching Medusa drag the dead body up the beach. Her hair was down by her side, and she started to sweat. She knew the woman collected the statues of her victims, but dead bodies from the beach? That was a new level. Perhaps she’d gone crazy, alone on the island for so long?

The woman went back to eating her fruit, contemplating it and shaking her head. Maybe she thought he was alive still?

Well I hope she hasn’t gone MAD. I did a lot of work to find her someone to love!

She watched the snake-haired woman lay the dead man in her own makeshift bed, which she’d taken to sleeping to as her regular one was occupied with the sick woman.

The man shifted and-

The man shifted.

Aphrodite did a double take.

HE WAS ALIVE?! She threw the mango over her shoulder and slammed her hands together, trying to kill him once more. Then she did it again. And again. And again. Over and over again furiously.

“LEAVE HIM ALONE. I LIKE THAT ONE.”

She fell over, as the voice of Hades filled her temple, and turned to see, not Hades, but a satyr of the underworld, mouth open as if he was letting out the sound of his master’s voice. Then he closed his mouth, and disappeared.

“My lady! Are you okay?!” Her own nymphs were very concerned for her. Aphrodite stood up, straightened up, and went back to the image of the world below.

Okay then. The man’s gotta stay alive. Or some form of it.

Another day or so passed after that, and she was once again watching her game, half-slumped over a stone table, bored to tears wondering if perhaps she’d been just a tad too harsh on the young woman who lay healing.

Well, it probably won’t be much longer anyways. Won’t matter if I speed things up just a bit. She looked around to the nymphs, going about their business and content to ignore her for the time being. She didn’t want them to see what she was about to do, worried they might judge her.

“Oh look! She’s waking up!” She shouted, turning around a few minutes later.

They all ran over to see, before they missed something, shooting some “she totally healed her” looks between each other.

Elpis smelt the room before she knew she was in it. Some kind of harsh spice, though a warm sound of food frying was coming from somewhere not too far away. Gods was she hungry, though more than that, she wanted to know what was going on. She was having trouble remembering anything immediately. Last thing she knew she was going to a different country for some scary reason. Was she there? Was this that?

“Hello? Is someone there?” Perhaps she should roll with things. Asking a bunch of questions might get her into some kind of trouble, she was afraid. But it felt worth it. She hated not knowing what was going on.

“Hello!” She was greeted by a jovial voice, which calmed her nerves. The person came from the sound of the cooking, and then walked away again.

Medusa had thought better of going over there, and stood completely behind a pillar as she tied the snakes back and wrapped them completely in cloth. Then she came out halfway, as if to not look strange.

Elpis sat up in what must have been the most comfortable bed she had ever been in. Soft and elegant fabrics she could feel, and whatever the padding was stuffed with had made her feel amazing to sleep on.

“I’m sorry, I’m having trouble remembering… things…” It felt like it was on the tip of her tongue. That if she tried just a little harder she’d remember everything, but she couldn’t.

“You were in a shipwreck, it’ll probably come back…” The other woman said.

“A shipwreck?! But…” Elpis had nothing to say to it. If it was so, no words would change it. No matter how impossible it seemed to her.

Medusa bit her lip. She didn’t think it would hurt HER to deliver bad news like this. Oh gods. She hadn’t considered how bad the news could be. What if she had family on that ship? Medusa could kick herself for not thinking about it until now. She’d been worried if the gods damned room would be up to snuff.

“Who were you traveling with?” She couldn’t help but ask.

Elpis didn’t say anything. The moment she heard the other woman say it, she remembered.

“Nobody I loved. Just- a bunch of us women were being transported to a temple, off the southern coast somewhere, I do not recall the name.”

“Ah, a priestess…” That made sense then. Blind women were prime oracle material afterall. Perhaps this meeting was a gift from Aphrodite herself then? Maybe she’d make a small offering in return, just in case it was true.

‘Yes. For the goddess Aphrodite.”

Medusa had gone out for food again, mostly to give Elpis some privacy to bathe in the freshwater spring that drizzled into a pool at the back of the cave, though the woman insisted she didn’t mind bathing with another woman around.

But the snake-haired woman’s heart raced at the idea. Perhaps she didn’t need to stay out too long…

When she did return, she did not expect to hear the man’s voice coming from her cave. It set her on edge, terrified her really, and if only the sweet Elpis wasn’t in there, she’d debate going back inside at all.

“Elpis?” She walked in, glad she’d had her hair up and covered before she’d left.

“Usa! He’s woken up!” The woman called. She was sitting beside him on the floor, and he had propped himself up on an arm, obviously already taken with the young woman.

He looked over to Medusa, who was just glad she’d kept the cloth around her… hair.

“Two beautiful rescuers? It must BE my lucky day!” He said then, flashing Medusa herself a smile. She was… startled. Taken aback. And not altogether unpleasantly, though she wasn’t too impressed.

“Oh, please. She saved us both. I was as useful as a rock.”

“Rocks are some of my most useful tools.” Medusa said in response, though afterwards thought better of comparing her to a tool. Elpis gave a smile, staring off into that darkness of the cave, but it was the man whose face twisted a little, not understanding, and gave a nervous chuckle.

“So you uh, live here huh?” He asked, looking Medusa up and down. Her “I use rocks as tools” comment seemed to give more away than intended. Funny. She’d almost forgotten he was there all this while.

“Yes.”

“Well, that’s lucky for us then, ‘eh Elpis?” He didn’t want to be rude to Medusa after all, but made sure to speak with Elpis in a friendly manner. They had probably met on the ship, before it crashed, the other woman knew.

They talked a bit together, Medusa getting excluded by the conversation by the man. She knew the other woman wouldn’t mind speaking with her, but they just had less to talk about. And Elpis, it seemed, had trouble speaking up around him too. Just had a way of letting him say what he wanted without speaking too much in return. She was a good listener, but found it hard to demand respect.

“Oh drat! The thug is going to ruin everything!”

But there was nothing Aphrodite could do. She wasn’t about to go against Hades's wishes for the man.

Well, she thought, she couldn’t. Not directly. And he only said he LIKED the guy, which didn’t necessarily mean he cared too much. Luckily, she knew a man killer as good as any. Someone who couldn’t even help it.

It was later that night, when both her patients were asleep, that Medusa snuck off, through the stream of fresh water at the back of the cave. This place… it was a miracle. Before it was a place out of sight, just to store some things, in hopes she could fix them later.

She tended to the statues often, drawing buckets from the spring, and washing them, just trying to keep the dust and dirt off them as much as possible. But she prayed as well, constantly, to Hades himself and whoever would listen, a set of makeshift altars lining the far wall.

She had to light the torch after she was inside, lest the small waterfall that was the doorway put it out. But once she did, the familiar faces shone back at her, orange in the dark. She knew them as well as children know their parents. A familiarity that astounded her. She’d taken to trying and discern what she could of them, from their clothes, their interactions with her before the inevitable happened. In one area she kept her favorites, or rather, those that hurt her the most. People she’d met and liked before she turned them into stone. If she only ever got one changed back, that would be enough for her.

“Hello, Beast.”

Medusa’s heart stopped and she spun around, actually believing for a second that one of the statues had come back to life.

But that was not so. It was the soldier, armed with sword and shield, but leaning up on the wall behind her.

“I very nearly doubted myself when I first saw you. Especially seeing how you saved me and the woman. But then I thought… why would a woman live alone on an island like this? The Aegean is vast, but there’d have been ships like ours in the past, stopping by.”

He moved himself off the wall, as Medusa reached her arms up to her hair. Then thought better, keeping her gaze lowered to the floor.

“And that got me thinking. Did she really save us? Or rather, could she have saved us for something else?”

Medusa knew that with that thought in his head, the room of statues was as compromising as it got. It seemed though, that didn’t matter much. This man came here for her. Knew who she was, without seeing it for himself.

“I-” Wow. One chance to defend yourself and you’ve never actually thought of something to say before? Her own thoughts were far from helpful.

“Do not speak to me!” The man said loudly, with authority. He was closer now, and raised his shield and sword.

Medusa felt her hair snap the leather strip holding it.

Like a fool, he raised the shield- time moved slowly for Medusa- he pointed his sword, but he never took his eyes from his prey.

And he never would, as he turned to stone right then. She’d looked up, to meet his eyes, almost angry at herself for doing it too.

Medusa strolled around him afterwards, her face hardened with thought. It wasn’t that she was sad to turn him to stone. No, she’d done that plenty of times, and this was by far the easiest- someone who had tried to kill her first. It was that on one level, she WANTED to die. When the ship had hit the isle, she’d immediately wished to help as many as she could, but couldn’t, because of her hair. The woman she ended up rescuing ended up safe from her, because she was blind, but Medusa saw that more as a fluke than anything. Not being able to help people ever, it was a take on her life she hadn’t had to think about before. It was new. And it hurt like hell.

But she’d killed him. Because of the fluke. Because there was a woman sleeping in the other room who she had helped, and who needed her assistance still. Until then, it was her responsibility to stay alive and help her stay alive as well.

Aphrodite swallowed hard, but made a pact to stand fast. She hadn’t killed the man, he’d died of his own actions. Going up against an opponent and being unable to defeat them. Hardly her- or even Medusa’s fault. And she was sure she’d tell Hades just as much if he made any kind of stink about it.

The next day, Elpis asked if he was around, assuming he just wasn’t making any noise, but Medusa told her he’d gone out for a walk around, to gage the surroundings, possibly find food, things like that. Elpis accepted that with no problem, and Medusa vowed that she’d claim to know no more beyond that.

It was later in the day, and Medusa laid back on the blanket, which was laid out on the beach. She put a cloth over her eyes, to shield her from the sun that was mercilessly beating down on her, and Elpis, whose head was in her lap, turned away to face the sea.

“I feel as though I’m a hindrance to you.” Elpis came out and said. It was an out-of-the-blue statement, but Medusa understood why she might feel the need to say it.

“Oh there’s worse. I mean, I never have to worry about how my hair looks.”

“Oh WOW”

“I mean it. A woman can get self conscious you know.”

Elpis gave a disapproving head shake.

“What?”

“Now I want to feel your hair.”

Aphrodite spit out her drink. Oh gods she did not just say that.

“I really wish you wouldn’t.”

“Oh come on! You’re not really that self-conscious are you?”

She has no idea what the fallout of that would be.

“I’m sorry, I guess I am.” Not that she was necessarily, but this wasn’t about her self-confidence. She was just certain that the woman needed her for survival, and wouldn’t stay with her if she knew. She’d probably be horrified, and run away, and starve to death. It genuinely wasn’t safe right now.

Aphrodite was thinking hard, standing up and with a hand on either side of her head in stress. She could knock her out, though it was bad form to do things like that to humans. They tended to get suspicious.

“Can I touch your face then?”

“I don’t really like the idea of that either.”

Elpis sat up, clearly annoyed.

“Okay then, you can touch my face if it matters all that much.” The smile that grew on her face was visible in the sound of her voice.

Elpis gave a farced half-smile, and raised her hand.

But stopped.

“Never mind. I don’t feel like it.” And leaned back, trying to point her face in a different direction than Medusa, just in case it betrayed her with an expression or two. The other woman had sounded too smug about it. She didn’t understand that it DID mean a lot to her, to do something like that. And she was definitely getting some enjoyment out of it, from teasing her, and having her do something intimate.

“Like the statues in that mini room in the back of the cave!”

“The what?”

Her voice had come out a croak, as her stomach turned.

“The room beyond the spring. Did you know it was there?”

“No no, I knew it was there. I uh-” she was trying to be as truthful as she could be. But that was HARD. “You’ve seen- touched- the statues?”

“Yeah. I like the handsome men the best.” She said tauntingly.

Medusa huffed, laid back, and put a hand to her forehead. Perhaps it wasn’t the end of the world that she knew about the room- though she if she hadn’t already she’d be tempted to kill each and every man in there.

“Did you make them?”

“No, no. They were here when I got here.” Please gods- no more questions.

“You know, you never told me how you came here. Was it a shipwreck like me?”

Medusa didn’t want to answer it.

The goddess watching was panged for her, truely. What could she say? But she’d have to figure something out, perhaps even come clean, if she wanted a relationship with the other woman.

Later that day, Elpis became more worried about the soldier, who Medusa had already begun to forget about. She made Medusa leave to cave, and go search for him, which Medusa made a show of doing. She hated that she had to lie to the woman, but it was either that or tell her EVERYTHING.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t find him. I think a storm might be rolling in too. It’s not safe to stay out.”

Elpis didn’t seem to like that very much. “Then shouldn’t we go search for him BECAUSE the storm is coming?”

“I’m sorry. He seems like a survivor though, I’m sure he’ll be alright.” She laid down next to her on the bed, and the other woman rested her head on her chest. Was she this touchy with everyone? Rain began to trickle outside, and it made a very pleasant sound.

“Do you like the rain?” Medusa asked, trying to change the subject.

“No. Not really. It was storming when the ship sank.”

The snake-haired woman could have kicked herself. “I’m sorry. But it’s all over now. You’re safe in the cave.” She rubbed her arm up and down slowly, pulling up a blanket as well over both of them.

“Do you like rain?” Elpis asked her in turn.

“I used to. But I don’t like it now that you don’t like it. I don’t like seeing you sad.”

“Thank you.”

“Oh don’t mention it.” She was still rubbing her arm up and down slowly, just laying back and thinking of how good everything felt. How right, being able to lay beside someone, someone who was real, and who she couldn’t turn to stone. Her hair could never take Elpis away from her. “Don’t mention it at all.” She picked up her hand in hers, rubbing her fingers with her thumb, then pressed it to her lips. The blind woman looked like she’d be purring if she could, snuggling further into Medusa and growing quiet.

She fell asleep like that, but Medusa could not. Her heart was beating too fast, which she was sure the other woman could hear. She just could not get over, or handle, being in this position. Someone who seemed to like her, who’d never know her secret, and now there was nobody else around who could ruin it. She was cuddling her too.

After a while, she did fall asleep, though it was many hours after that.

And Elpis- her eyes shot open in the dark.

As carefully as she could, she extracted her hand from Medusa’s, which was the easy part. She sat up as well, and very, very slowly, slid her hand along the pillow next to where her head had been. After a while, she found Medusa’s body, with the faintest of touches, sliding her hand up and up, until she found her face, her jaw, her ear, and then- her hairline.

Something was up. The woman let her touch her face, which most people are the most self-conscious about, but not her hair. Elpis thought she knew the answer. In all the slight touches, standing next to each other at the table preparing foods, she had never once felt the other woman’s hair brush up against her. She was certain she didn’t have any. And she was about to find out for herself.

There was something there, which she mistook for her scalp at first. But it was cold. Strangely cold. Maybe the woman needed a blanket?

And then, something touched her hand, something independent of the two women, Elpis knew.

The blind woman gasped loudly and jumped back on the bed, landing uncomfortably on Medusa’s leg and waking her up instantly.

“What’s wrong?” Medusa was usually overly caring, and in any other instance Elpis wouldn’t have wished to give her that kind of fuel.

“I- there was a-”

Elpis thought- at first- that perhaps she’d dreamed it. Medusa hadn’t noticed anything unusual on waking up, and a giant snake would be hard to miss. But she couldn’t shake the understanding that the snake’s body seemed to be coming FROM her scalp.

“I had a bad dream.”

She didn’t know why she said it, all she knew was that she didn’t trust the woman fully anymore. She didn’t want her to know.

“Oh no, I’m sorry.” Medusa grabbed her arm and pulled her down once again. It took a few moments before she fixed the blanket on them too. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No, I’ll feel better if I don’t.”

“Okay. Just go to sleep and it’ll be better in the morning.”

Elpis highly doubted that.

Now it was the other woman’s turn to secretly stay awake. She made certain her bed company fell asleep, before slowly climbing out and making her way off and around the corner of the cave wall. A strand had come loose, and she knew that was probably what woke up the other woman, perhaps giving her nightmares, or perhaps startling her directly. She grabbed it around the neck.

SMACK

She was so mad, she didn’t help herself- and immediately gathered up all of it and stuffed it in an unusually tight leather strap, then tying the scarf around her head once more as completely as she could. They wouldn’t die- she’d tried that before. But maybe they’d behave more like she wanted if she was just a bit tougher with them.

“You know, I’m kinda glad he isn’t around sometimes. I feel as though… we wouldn’t be as comfortable with male company.” It was all Elpis could think to say in that moment. Something was wrong, and she knew it. She liked Medusa, really, but the man missing was suspicious given what Elpis knew now.

Medusa couldn’t help but laugh out loud, as loud as she could. “No, I don’t think so.” Well THAT’S good. Maybe I won’t have to go pretend to look for him any more.

Hades watched the scene from his own realm, unmoving.

“Do you need help with that?” The snake-haired woman asked the other, who was trying to undo her dress on the shoulder.

“Thank you, but I can manage.”

Medusa’s breath caught. As the fabric slumped to the floor. The other woman slowly made her way into the spring at the back of the cave, then turned, bending down so the water was above her chest.

“Do you want to come in?” She asked, sinking lower into the water.

“I- uh…” Medusa folded her arms with a hand over her mouth. “Yeah. Sure.” Boy was she glad the woman was blind right now. Though she was sure her voice was giving away enough.

Medusa took off her own clothes, and slowly went in. It was cold, but she didn’t care. Her full attention was on the woman in front of her, who was reaching out a hand to find Medusa herself.

She grabbed it, trying to calm herself, and brought it up and over her shoulder, leaning back against a rock. All she could think to do was mimic the cuddling they’d been doing before.

The god waved the image of the two women away just then. He’d seen enough.

A wave of refreshing comfort surrounded Medusa; a feeling that was starting to feel familiar now. Elpis wanted it- the familiarity. But it wasn’t coming easy just then. Her body was urging her onward, to find comfort from the other woman, to assure herself more than anything, that she was someone she COULD find comfort with.

Surely this body next to hers couldn’t harber evil to the greatest level here? At worse, she was talking about murder of the soldier who was currently missing. That and a physical abnormality the likes of which the gods had probably never seen.

Since she’d taken it upon herself to touch her hair, she’d wrestled with the desire to do it just one more time. Just to confirm it for herself.

But more than that, she DIDN’T want to. Hence why she didn’t.

Before she knew it, she had reached a hand up, and, thinking better, decided to trail her fingertips along her face and jaw, as she was already committed to some sort of reaching motion. Medusa raised an eyebrow, looking down. She didn’t look nervous, but boy was she, as she lifted a hand to caress the other woman’s jaw, then dipped her head down, and kissed her.

It felt great, the blind woman couldn’t deny it, though it made her mind so much more confused. No. I’m being silly. There’s no way she has snakes for hair!

Things had never felt more right for the snake-haired woman, as she started to build some sort of regular daily life with the woman she’d rescued. Elpis was beautiful, but her confidence in approaching Medusa was really what had drawn her in, made her feel it was okay to approach her back. That and the fact that she wasn’t a statue.

She hadn’t even noticed that that “confidence in approaching her” was something that tended to waver constantly. Growing worse and worse, until it doubled back around to confidence again, and Elpis, one day, very confidently approached her.

“I’m sorry Usa, I don’t think we should stay together any longer.”

Hades was watching the women again, smiling this time.

Wait for it...

Aphrodite was watching too, her handmaids standing back from her, worried about her reaction. They knew she grew to care for Medusa, and Elpis, quite a deal in the last couple of months. And had been growing increasingly worried about them. Things appeared to be coming to a boiling point.

Those words were uttered mere days after their moment in the spring together.

“What?” Medusa had been cooking, but immediately took the food from the fire, set it down, and turned towards her.

“You don’t want to live with me?”

Elpis had summoned her courage to say it, and was determined to stand fast. She knew what she had to do, now, after giving it a good amount of prayer to her goddess Aphrodite.

“No. I’m sorry.”

“Why not? And just where else do you think you are going to go?”

This Elpis was equipped to answer. A few days ago she wouldn’t have known, but with prayer and deep thought, she’d gained a very valuable understanding, which explained to her, the nagging, unsettling feeling she was worried she’d be living with forever.

“You don’t love me do you?” Medusa said, looking off and running her tongue along her teeth.

“Well of course I” a pause “did!” Elpis blurted out then. She probably still did. “I just don’t know if you could love me.”

“Of course I do!” Medusa stood up, facing her with an expression of disbelief.

“I think you love the fact that I am blind.”

Elpis gave a sigh. She didn’t think Medusa had snakes for hair. But everything else about her read that she was deeply insecure, and far too happy about the other woman’s inability to see her.

No no no nononono. She froze, terrified. Everything was falling apart, and she didn’t know what to do. Couldn’t move.

Half of her brain became convinced that the other woman knew her secret- and was referencing that. But she couldn’t say it directly. Still couldn’t talk about it like that, just in case there was a chance it could stay hidden.

“I- I swear, I don’t just like you because you are blind.”

“Please- please don’t. I don’t want to argue it.” Elpis was feeling tired, like she was getting dragged around.

The god of the Underworld was still watching. He didn’t care much about her squabble with the woman, but there was something else that was about to occur that did interest him greatly.

Medusa wanted to scream “just listen to me!” But she had nothing to say. She felt though, as if she were trying to open a door with an unbreakable seal. The most perfect thing in the world was gone, because she’d ruined it. And she’d do anything to fix it, but there was nothing she could do.

“This isn’t fair!” Medusa screamed, tears starting to fall from her face as she sobbed. She said quietly then, sitting down and covering her face with her hands. “It would have been perfect!”

“I know, I’m sorry…” Elpis didn’t know what to do. She knelt down by her, feeling a need to comfort her friend. But at the same time, she didn’t know if that’s what Medusa wanted right now. She might want her to go away. Or, if she comforted her, would she think Elpis had changed her mind? Slowly, she got up, and started making her way outside.

Someone else stood up too.

Wiping the tears from her eyes, she was angry now. Not just at being rejected so, but because the other woman had so heartlessly chosen to leave her there, alone, and crying. It felt just like those men who’d used her, so many years ago.

“You don’t get to leave me like that. After everything!”

Elpis turned around, with two strong hands grasping her forearms. All she heard was hissing, as first, and then the weeping of the woman grasping her so.

“What is going on?!” But she knew, in the back of her mind. She had never thought Medusa would kill her.

Until now.

It dawned on her that this- this was what happened to the man who was missing. She’d used her snakes to kill him.

Pain twisted in her chest, and then, she couldn’t breath. Elpis would have given a limb to be able to see what was going on. She’s going to kill me now. I’m going to die.

Medusa stayed like that. Her face- now cold stone if not the woman in front of her. Unfeeling. Until, a bit of dread crept into her mind. Elpis was never going to turn into stone. She was blind.

Two strong arms came up from behind the snake haired woman, and she only saw a flash of the metal before it was jabbed into her throat, and pulled hard. Perseus grabbed a handful of the snakes as they bit his face and arms and shoulders, not stopping his sawing motion until her head was clean off.