Page 49 of Meduso
“Poor Danaë,” I uttered.
“Yes. The king became quite infatuated with her to the point where he offered her his hand in marriage. She reluctantly agreed to the proposal. During their engagement ceremony everyone had brought many riches and gifts for them. However, I did not have much to offer. I knew the king was already disappointed with me for having declined to serve as his guardsman. So, I asked him to name anything he wanted, and I would travel the world to retrieve it for him. It was then that he told me the tale of the gorgons. Two sisters and a brother who were once beautiful and served at Athena’s temple. That Poseidon bedded the attractive male brother as an act of revenge against Athena. Because of their disloyalty, Athena turned the brother and the two sisters that defended him into monstrous gorgons. All three of them were cursed with the bodies of snakes. The sisters lost their hair and they were replaced with vile, venomous serpents. The brother’s head, however, remained unchanged. He was a beautiful creature that had the ability to charm any male or female mortal.”
I shuttered now knowing that this was the tale and rumor that was spread far and wide about me. It hurt to know that no one knew the true side of me. I would be known as the vain and selfish servant who disobeyed Athena and was punished as a result.
Perseus continued. “It was warned that anyone who gazed into the eyes of the gorgons would be petrified and permanently turned to stone, with no way of reversing the curse. That one should not give into the temptation of the male gorgon. Once King Polydectes informed me of this story, he then explained the reasoning behind his narration. The gift he desired before his wedding to my mother was the head of the beguiling mortal gorgon. After I accepted his conditions, I then thought about his story and began to connect the dots like a dazzling constellation. I feared that the male gorgon the king was referring to was you, Meduso. A servant of Athena’s with two sisters, who had phenomenal looks that even drew the attention of the god of the sea. I had to know if this gorgon was you. Therefore, I would set off on my journey.”
Panic began to stir within me. Perseus may have come to find me, but at the same time, he was also sent here on a mission. A mission to decapitate me and offer my head up on a silver platter to King Polydectes. I knew Perseus well, and I knew he had no intention of killing me. But even so, the thought of him having to murder me with his own hands dug deep in me. I cringed at the very idea of it.
“To be honest, I was unsure of where to begin,” Perseus admitted. “The night before I was supposed to sail out to Greece, I was preparing my boat Dictys had given me. I was then greeted by three gods on the beach by my fire. It was Pallas Athena, Hermes, and Hephaestus. They were watching over me and knew of my upcoming journey in search of you. The gods offered their guidance and support. Athena told me of the curse Poseidon had placed on the seas surrounding the island. That no ships could survive the massive waves and storms that he called forth. So, in order to circumvent the sea, they had another plan to get me safely here. Hermes provided me with his winged sandals. I would be able to fly over the sea and avoid Poseidon’s damage. Athena then gave me her bronze shield, telling me to be strategic in how I use it. To always look into the shield when I came in contact with the gorgon, so that I would not turn to stone. And lastly, Hephaestus forged a sword of obsidian, the sharpest and most valuable stone known to the gods. He offered it to me.”
I then glanced over to the side of the boulder, where the bronze shield, obsidian sword, and winged sandals sat. All were hand-gifted to Perseus, directly from the gods, with their resolution being my death. It stung me to know of this.
“However, Athena explained that there was one more weapon I would need. It was Hades’s invisibility cap. I would need to travel to seek out the Hyperboreans beyond the North Wind to acquire it.”
“The Hyperboreans? What are they? Nymphs?” I questioned.
“No. They are a race of friendly giants, in the lands far to the north,” he corrected. “However, the exact road to get to the Hyperboreans was a mystery, even to the gods. They informed me that the all-knowing Graeae would be able to tell me of the passage to get there. It was then that I recalled the Graeae, or what Hermes referred to as thegrey women. They were your elder mentors. I remember the humorous stories you told me about how you and Euryale would tease them by stealing their one eye to temporarily blind them. Then you both would play catch with it and sometimes hide it around your oceanic palace.” Perseus then snickered as he recited the story.
“So, Hermes led me to your palace to meet them. At first, the Graeae refused to spill any details about how to get to the Hyperboreans. It soon became apparent that I would be getting nowhere with them. Therefore, I stole their eye and told them I would only return it once they told me how to get beyond the North Wind. Once they shared this information, I kept my word and gave them their eye and then departed. Hermes and I headed straight to the back of the North Wind with the aid of his winged sandals. At first, I was timid in knowing I would need to meet these gargantuan creatures and request to have Hades’s invisibility cap. But, much to my surprise, these giants were beyond generous and showed me nothing but kindness. I joined them in a lively feast and shared with them the reason as to why I needed to have access to the cap of Hades. These gentle giants freely allowed me to have it without any reservations. Not only did they give me it, but they also offered me an additional gift. It was a magical bag.”
Perseus pointed to the small tote right next to his god-given weapons. “That bag has the power to alter itself to become the right size to fit whatever should go into it.”
“Like my head?” I accused.
“Meduso, of course not. How could you even think that I would be capable of doing such a thing to you? Yes, if the male gorgon was anyone but you, I would likely do it.”
“But what of King Polydectes and your mother? What about Athena, Hermes, and Hephaestus? All of them are expecting you to return having killed me. How do you answer to that?”
“I simply won’t. Meduso, I have missed you dearly.” He reached to hold my hands as he declared this. “I have no plans to go anywhere. I want to remain here on this island with you for the rest of my days.”
“But in doing that, you are defying the gods, Perseus. I am living proof of what happens when one goes against the gods.”
“I’m not necessarily defying them. For all they know, I could be camping on this island waiting for the right time to strike you. And so what if they decide to punish me? What is the worst they could do? Turn me into a gorgon, like you? It would not make much of a difference to me. Plus, I am the son of Zeus. I highly doubt they would cause harm to me, a demi-god.”
I had to commend Perseus’s bravery in his defiance of the gods. But more so, I admired that it was all because of his love for me. And that is something I would cherish for my entire life.
“But back to my story,” Perseus interrupted his own thoughts, returning the conversation back to his tale. “Once I had all of the weapons the gods recommended me having, there was nothing left for me to do but to come here. Hermes guided me and once again, I used his winged-sandals to carry me here, avoiding the potential rough waters and storms Poseidon would throw my way. It was then that I came across you on the beach. The fire you created was the only source of light I was able to see on the island from floating high above during the night. It led me directly to you, and now here we are.”
I still could not believe that Perseus had been through all that he just told me. The most numbing portion of his story was that he was sent here to the island with the backing of the gods in order to kill me. Here he was, before me, with every opportunity to strike, but he refused to do so. I had to believe him. There would be no possible way he would deceive me, right? If he did intend on killing me, he would have done so last night, as I slept. The fact that I was standing here alive gave me hope and negated those thoughts of distrust against him.
“I still cannot believe you found me, Perseus. And you truly wish to stay?” I asked.
“Yes. I waited so long to come back to you. And now that I have, I never wish to leave you.” He moved forward to hold me in his arms as he said this.
“Likewise. Now that I have you, I cannot imagine parting ways with you ever again,” I added. Once we released our grips from each other, I had an idea. “I do want to show you something.”
“Sure. What is it?” he inquired.
“It’s a surprise. I don’t want to spoil it. I want to see the reaction on your face when you witness it.”
“Well, go ahead and show me,” Perseus directed.
“Okay. Follow me.” I led Perseus beyond Euryale’s garden. I was pleased to see that Euryale and Stheno were nowhere to be found. I was not quite prepared to share with them knowledge of Perseus’s presence just yet. We ventured beyond the garden and passed a small wooded area leading to the spring. As we arrived, I saw him dipping his head down into the water to drink. It was Pegasus, looking glorious as ever.
“What? A horse with feathers!?” Perseus gasped. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“His name is Pegasus,” I shared. “He was a gift to me from Poseidon.”
