Fantasy
4 min
The Loveliest Monster
Harper Corp
Our sister was beautiful.
She had glimmering blue-green eyes that seemed like a gateway straight to sea. Despite her day's out in the Mediterranean sun, her skin still glowed the same color as the ivory statues carved of goddesses and her hands and feet remained soft and uncalloused.
Her name was Medusa.
The most striking thing about Medusa was her hair. The streaks of red flowed down her back like a waterfall of flames. In the sunlight, her locks seemed to turn as golden as a king's riches.
Medusa was absolutely stunning. You could say everyone knew. Even the gods.
Medusa drew their attention, for not only was she alluring, but also kind, humble, and–above all–she respected the gods.
Athena, the goddess of war and wisdom was jealous yet captivated of her beauty. She invited Medusa to work as a priestess. Medusa was incredibly honored.
We warned her not to go, that the only reason why the goddess had asked was because she wanted to keep our sister's beauty for herself.
Medusa had gotten angry, claiming we were the ones wrought with envy. She stormed out of our home and to the temple to become a priestess for the goddess.
We have never been as beautiful as Medusa. Stheno and Euryale, the forgotten Gorgons. Unlike her flowing red locks, ours hung dull and limp around our shoulders. While Medusa's eyes were like the ocean waves, ours were murky and swap-like. Our skin was a sickly green and our teeth were sharp like those of a monster.
But we were immortal, Medusa was not.
Though all three of us were daughters of the gods Phorcys and Ceto, we were the ones cursed with ugliness yet blessed with immortality while Medusa had beauty and yet a mortal life.
We were not bitter. She had never cared about our hideous looks and had been nothing but kind our whole lives.
Medusa worked as a priestess for many seasons. We did not see her often, for she did not come back to the house, and we never went into town. Medusa was getting closer to the gods and, in doing so, drawing more of their attention.
One god in particular was absolutely infatuated with our poor sister. Poseidon.
He came to the temple early one morning while Medusa was tending to an altar. It was so very early that the whole town was still fast asleep.
Despite being of marrying age and having many suitors, Medusa refused to get married. In becoming a priestess, she had vowed chastity.
Yet on that fateful morning, Poseidon came and took from Medusa the thing she promised she would always keep.
In tears, Medusa raced back home. She told us what had happened.
"I fear that Athena will punish me for letting such a thing happen in her holy place!" Our sister sobbed as we tried to comfort her. "She cannot blame Poseidon, so she shall condemn me instead!"
We decided that the two of us would go with Medusa to talk with the goddess, hoping that the goddess would know Medusa had done nothing wrong.
When we got to the temple, Athena was already here. Though not as gorgeous as Medusa, the goddess was stunning. She was tall and thin with dark hair that curled around her shoulders and piercing gray eyes. She was clad white chiton and golden helmet that framed her beautiful yet hard face. She held aloft a golden shield and spear. An owl lay perched on her shoulder, the occasional brown feather landing at the goddess' feet.
As soon as the three of us entered the temple, Athena whipped to face us, her gray eyes burning with fury.
"You." She hissed, storming towards our sister.
Medusa froze, her lovely face contorting into a mask of fear.
"You dare come back to the very place where you laid with Poseidon, my very enemy amongst the Olympians!" She raged.
"I– I–" Medusa stuttered, backing up.
Though we were both tempted to say something, to defend our sister, neither of us did.
"You are not deserving of being my priestess!" Athena shoved a long finger into our sister's chest. "You are not deserving of your beauty!"
"But I–"
"Quiet!" Athena's deep scowl morphed into stern expression, her lips forming a thin line. "No man shall ever fall victim to your seductive gaze again. Rather than being dumbstruck by your loveliness, any man who crosses your path will be frozen in horror by your pure hideousness." She turned to us. "You shall be more disgusting than your sisters, but still mortal. One day, a great hero will come and slay you like the beast you will become."
Medusa let out a horrifying sob and collapsed on the marble floor. Her eyes began to turn a muddled green. Her once soft, pale skin became imperfect and sickly green. Her perfect, white teeth became yellow and jagged. Worst of all, her beautiful red locks begin to transform, the elegant curls forming writhing creatures with fangs and little pink tongues that flickered in and out of their mouths. Many, many snakes now made up our sister's hair.
Athena smiled before disappearing in a flash of gold.
We both rushed to our sister calling her name. We asked her questions, making sure she wasn't hurt. She didn't answer.
Instead, Medusa held up a clawed hand.
"Let me see." Her now hoarse voice croaked.
"Let me see." Her now hoarse voice croaked.
We brought her a golden platter from the altar. Medusa looked at her reflection then shrieked and dropped the platter, making it clatter against the floor.
Just then, a man appeared in the temple. He was about to say something, but Medusa whipped around. Her muddy eyes glimmered and then he was stone.
Medusa, our once beautiful sister, gasped and put a hand to her mouth. We looked at each other, knowing what she must be thinking, the same thought that had been running through our mind for years.
"I am a monster."
This was an entry for a writing contest held in conjunction with Center for Fiction and The Decameron Project
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