“Can I ask something off topic?”, Mark asked while serving Medusa a cup of tea. She nodded after taking a sip, her forked tongue lathering in the heat of the drink.
“Are you and my daughter a couple?” Medusa choked. The stirring caused Aria – still sleeping – to turn; now nestling into Medusa’s stomach. The latter flustered, and shook her head vigorously. For a ‘monster’, she was terrible at keeping a stoic façade. Athena would be disappointed, she thought.
“Oh. Well. You certainly look like you like each other. I’ve always had my doubts about her, you know? She never looked too happy with guys.” They both looked down at the beautiful woman in Medusa’s lap. The gorgon put down her drink to brush a hand to Aria’s face, taking the moment to memorize – for the nth time now – her long dark lashes that hid beautiful gray eyes, her soft cheeks, dusted with a soft hue of light freckles, her plump pink lips that had felt like heaven against Medusa’s skin, her sharp jaw-line and high cheekbones strikingly similar to her father’s.
Without looking up, Medusa said, “You’re daughter is lovely. And honestly,” she chuckled sardonically, shaking her head, “I can only wish that she would someday, feel something for me – anything. But… why would she?”
When she looked up at Mark again, his eyes were vacant; glazed. She slid out of her seat hurriedly – careful not to disturb Aria – and stood. Mark stood too. Fuck; even though her shades were still on, she had distractedly let the natural magic slide back into her voice. She stepped back, her snakes furious and her wings ruffling. Mark stepped forward.
She would have to fly her way out, but what would happen to Aria, or to the house. She had seen the effect her voice had on males; it drove them mad; Mark might as well start running after her if she left – or trash his own house. She couldn’t knock him out, not when her snakes still felt threatened; they might attack him if she got close. Plus, she couldn’t trust hitting a mortal; they were weak beings; she could kill him.
It was when she felt her panic rise, that she saw a twenty-year-old beautiful brunette in the opposite corner of the room. She instantly recognized her as Athena.
“What do you want, goddess?” Medusa looked her in the eye, her voice cold as ice.
“What do I want? Have you forgotten manners, brute?” Athena sighed, as if this talk with Medusa was too trifling for her. She looked Medusa in the eye, her glare unmoving and said, “Leave them. And leave the girl. They don’t need you to ruin them like you always do. Look at him,” she waved a hand in Mark’s direction. Medusa dared to glance his way. “You’re killing him, gorgon. So, leave before you get them both killed… And yourself; if you dare defy me.”
“Well, do it now. Kill me now! You’ve kept me alive all this time. Why? Don’t threaten me with the death I’ve forever dreamt of, Athena.”
Wisdom chuckled, “Oh Medusa. Haven’t you learned your lesson? My punishments can be pretty lovely.” She lifted a hand, palm upward; her magic showing a cloudlike vision of a woman, Medusa instantly recognized her; Aria. Her hair, looked dirty and tangled, her soiled face an expression of agony and terror.
“You know, Medusa, as infinite as the future sounds, there are only a number of ways it can unfold. And you get to choose this time.”
Medusa glanced at the real Aria, still sleeping soundly, then at the magical image in the goddess’s hand, where Aria’s full image was displayed; roped bound her body, clad in a torn top and jeans. “Leave her out of this, you villain.” Medusa’s own voice ringed in her ears as fury clouded her vision red. Athena just chuckled; “And pray tell – why would I, exactly? If you keep your end of the bargain I might spare her… but, why else would I?”
“There was never a bargain.” Medusa felt her snakes craze with every venomous word she spat at the goddess.
“Wasn’t there? I thought I made myself clear; you go back to solitude, and I spare the girl and her father,” Athena’s eyes landed on said girl and her father – Mark still dazed – with an emotion Medusa couldn’t decode, “and if you don’t…. well, it won’t be pretty to any of you… Consider yourself warned, gorgon.” Her gaze had returned to Medusa, brown eyes as cold as ever, as she faded into nothingness.
Medusa allowed herself one intake of breath, while dropping her sunglasses to the floor, before she snapped out her wings and sprang out of the house, uncaring for any hits. All she had were Athena’s words and the image she had shown her of Aria. Your killing him, gorgon. It won’t be pretty for any of you.
As she soared upwards, she let out an earth-shattering blood-coiling agonized scream. She kept on until there was nothing in her immortal except raw scratchiness (she had no doubt that the healing would be just as painful). She let herself rocket downwards – folding her wings – until the woods were feet away, then spread them again. She kept playing that game until all she could feel was the numbness of her face from the harsh velocity of cold air hitting her. Numbness that very much complemented the one in her heart.
When Aria woke up, her father was asleep upright on the couch next to hers. She called out Medusa’s name, only for silence to echo back. She was walking towards the main door when she stepped on something that made a crunch. The sunglasses she had lent the gorgon. She picked them up, and headed to the open door. It had marks on either side of it. Oh.
Aria hoped whatever happened with Medusa would be over, and she would come back. That was her thought as she sat on the porch, waiting, that night.
“I’m gonna sleep now, okay, Ria? Will you be okay?” her father has asked while handing her a grocery-store-bought cookie. Aria only nodded. When morning came, Aria woke up still on the porch steps, stiff and sore. She decided she wouldn’t seek Medusa, but let her come instead.
On the evening of the seventh day, Medusa’s disappearance was not a matter of pride or grudge, but one of ache and worry. These feelings had made her sure of her decision when she called Virgil to meet with him.
The next day, around 7a.m, Aria drove herself westwards to Belchertown hospital.
“Leave, Aria” Medusa spoke as soon as Aria set foot inside. The latter could see the dark silhouette of her high up above the hall, her wings spread and her vipers writhing.
“Well. This place looks good. Did you hire someone?” Aria chuckled. Medusa, however, only ruffled her wings (defense mechanism, Aria thought.) “Aria LEAVE!”
“I broke up with Virgil, you know.”
“I do not care.” Medusa landed opposite to her.
“Okay, then.” Aria made a show of getting comfortable sitting cross-legged on the floor.
“Just go.” Medusa’s voice broke; she was too far for Aria to see her face.
“Medusa, stop. This is bullshit.”
Another wing ruffle, another Aria, leave. Aria stood.
“Haven’t you learned that I’m not someone you can control, damnit. So stop damn trying to pull that I’m a scary monster fake façade shit, okay? Get over yourself. No. Get it. No. I will not leave. And I’m not going damn anywhere when you’re just senselessly spewing angst at me. I broke it off with Virgil. Get it? I. Broke. Up. With Virgil. Does that sound like I’m damn going away any time soon? Damn.” Medusa stepped forward slowly. Aria could see the agony on her face.
“Please, Aria. I’ll hurt you. And – and – and I don’t want to hurt you.” She was in an arm’s distance now. Aria stepped forward and put her palms on either Medusa’s cheek.
“You will never, never, hurt me.” Her voice was gentle, as if dealing with porcelain – or, as Aria would like to think of it, a wounded beast. “Now I don’t know if talking to my dad freaked you, but please; forget about it.”
Medusa cupped the hands holding her face, her eyes darting about Aria’s earnest one.
“I – I don’t even know your full name.”
“Everett. Aria Elizabeth Everett. Yours?”
“Medusa”
“… Just Medusa?” Medusa shrugged
.
“Medusa’s nice – has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?” Aria smiled cheekily, wrapping her arms around the taller one’s neck, her fingers brushing across the vipers’ scales at her nape, and leaned her head forward. Medusa wrapped her own arms around the other’s waist. “So… you know Versace, right; they have you as their logo. Are you Versace? ‘Cause you’re just my brand.” While Aria chuckled, Medusa just tilted her head to the side. “What’s Versac-”
Before she could even finish her question, Aria cut her off with a kiss. A slow, soft, sweet kiss. The soft brush of their lips was nothing like the last lust-driven one. This was just a loving caress of Aria’s plump petals against Medusa’s own. It made her blood heat, her head spin. She felt her snakes tangle themselves in Aria’s hair, and for the first time she was in sync with them as she spread her arms across Aria’s back, pulling her close and wrapping her wings around the two of them.
Medusa let out a content breath through her nose as Aria coaxed her lips open; her stomach curling in on itself with pleasure as Aria’s tongue danced around hers. Her core was tight when Aria pulled back, sliding her arms downwards.
Medusa gasped when Aria leaned in to bite her ear, sliding her hands inside Medusa’s shirt. Her knees buckled as Aria scratched her back and brushed the spot where her wings met her back, all while sensually gliding her teeth down Medusa’s neck – not really biting, just teasing. Aria chuckled darkly, noting Medusa’s visible shudders and whimpers.
“ B – haah – bed.” Medusa let out.