The Olympians were the rulers of the world, but that had not always been the case. There was a cycle of usurpation, a struggle for that ultimate power. The Titans were felled and imprisoned in the depth of Tartaros, the monstrous Typhon was buried under a mountain and it seemed nobody was left to oppose the mightiest and cruelest of rulers the world had ever known.

Until, eventually, the Gigantes rose from the loins of Gaia. These Giants, made flesh by the outcry of the earth itself and the blood of the slain progenitor Uranus, were imbued with great destiny, to fell the gods and grasp the heavens in their hundreds of hands. Within them seethed the sadness and frustration of their mother Gaia that bore hatred for the Olympians who imprisoned her children and caused the blood of even more to soil her body. Their will was indomitable, their purpose singular.

And so as prophecy told, they marched for Olympus, piling mountain upon mountain and hurling burning spears at the very sky. It was a day were the world may have been on fire and crumbled to pieces. A war as gruesome as it was short: The Gigantomachy.

Though the Giants pushed the gods to their limits and forced every single one to stand in opposition, they were no doubt defeated. Cleverness, ruthlessness, prowess, experience, unity. In all aspects the Olympians had outclassed them and slain them one by one. Even the Giants’ immortals were finally slain by Heracles as the prophecy foretold. For the Giants could only truly be vanquished by one who was not fully god, but also mortal. The protection of Gaia, her final curse against the gods, defeated by the existence of the union between god and human.

Not all Giants were killed in honorable battle however. Polybotes, mighty as he was, lost his nerve in the face of Poseidon’s overwhelming prowess. In his hollow heart the Giant realized the folly of this battle and fled to the seas, cowardly leaving his comrades to die. Perhaps he might have escaped to see another day after the infinite darkness, that the absence of Helios and Eos had clad the world in, ended with the war. But he made not much way before Poseidon was following his trail across the waves. The mighty brother of the father of gods was furious and merciless indeed.

The waves split open and revealed an island, Kos. With the might befitting a god of the seas, Poseidon impaled the island with his trident and tore it out of the very ocean! He raised it above and then threw it at the fleeing Giant, burying him under the weight of the entire thing where he stood. The ocean spilled away and stilled eventually, only leaving Kos in its new location on the world. The Giant was nowhere to be seen, surely crushed and grinded to dust to be spread amongst the waves. Poseidon’s work was done and he returned to reunite with his fellow gods to end the war.

But Polybotes was not slain. He did not find his end below the massive weight of the island. He lingered on, holding up its weight with his enormous strength. His might was greater than his cowardice would have suggested and so he was stuck below the land, unable to move, but also unwilling to perish. He lay there, buried, for centuries.

The island eventually was settled by humans, insignificant creatures that spread like vermin. Their boats reached ever new shores and eventually they would cover all the known world. Kos became just another land for them to possess. They were none the wiser what relict of the past was buried below their careless feet.

Yet Polybotes did never move, never made as much as a noise. It was not that he had lost his voice or his strength to move his lips. He simply felt nothing in his hollow heart. He had no desires or aspirations left. Time had eroded everything about him, like water did the rocks at the shore. The singular thing guiding his decade long thoughts was one thing: Spite.

Though cowardice had guided him here, he knew in his soul that he was the last of his brethren. The coward was the sole survivor, the last remains of their legacy. He could not yield to that fate. Forevermore he would stay buried below this crushing weight, unable to rise or sink. Though his arms were turning to stone and his beard was becoming fossilized, his existence would persist. He would outlast even the Olympians and this world itself.

He had no emotion left, no will of his own. Only this objective for revenge kept his limbs in place and the island above him. The eons of stillness made him no better than a statue. His eyes had long faded and his breathing was like the low rumbling of cave drafts.

Then one day there was a change in his rigid existence. The cave that led to the base of the island was opened by an earthquake. Some disastrous battle may have shaken the foundations of the world. Perhaps another war? He cared not. His mind was too tired to think or feel. Only the weight on his shoulders mattered in eternity.

The new cave entrance brought with it another change. Visitors. Animals were hiding from the rain and nested in the upper layers. Bats would find their home here now, although none ventured to the drafty breaths of the Giant below. By instinct they knew not to stir what rested in the depth.

One creature defied instincts and reason however. The beings that had declared this island – this prison – their own. Humans. Humans were blind to the laws of the world unless they were dictated to them by the gods. Their curiosity was a tight leash that would drag them to the darkest places of the world. And so it happened that one of them entered the cave.

It was a child, no older than a dozen summers. Their face was covered in mud and their hands had a shade of black and brown. No clothes to speak of, no meat on their bones. An outcast who was seeking shelter from rain and pain. This lonely stray thing had no reason to fear the warm depths. It walked the tunnels with a burning stick and soon enough came across the ancient face of the giant. Though they should have feared this visage, they did not show any emotion.

Blind eyes that could not even perceive the light stared aimlessly into the nothingness and did not acknowledge the human. For all Polybotes knew was to hold up the island in perpetuity. The crushing weight never left. A painful existence without end.

The child spoke to him many times, but he never listened, never responded. This creature was beneath him. The blink of a moment that it would breathe in his direction would be over in one slow beat of his crusty heart.

Then, beyond his perception, something changed. It was small, ever so miniscule, but there was a change. Something the size of a pebble had changed. Every finger’s length of the heavy island was deeply connected to the Giant, he knew its weight more than his own mind. It had changed. It had truly changed.

“Is it not heavy?” The child spoke, a pebble in its skeletal hand.

Polybotes did not – could not – respond.

It was heavy. So very heavy. His shoulders had ached for centuries, his back had threatened to rupture and crumble. Every moment of this spiteful existence was agony. In a single moment all the pain and regret rushed to him. To carry this burden was the only proof of his existence, but he could not help but feel a deep emotion rising from his core.

The human child was not strong enough to move any more than a pebble or two. It could never free him, it had no reason to in the first place. But the concern in its voice and the action itself had moved the old Giant. Someone had acknowledged the weight of his existence. Someone, however little, had shared in this burden.

The one thing he had never known in his long life of regret, shame and spite.

A single moment of kindness.

It was a strange dream to get lost in. A story that not many would know, one that she herself had never experienced. Old minds would sometimes wander and find themselves dipping into the history of the world itself. It had been a long time since she had a true dream. Sleep was a void and nightmares were a trial. But this was a dream. This was… nostalgic.

Medusa slowly opened her eyes. The supple light of the evening sun was caressing her face. It was a gentle light that comforted her sleepy eyes. And more than the warmth of the sun, she felt another warmth closer to her cheek. It was rested firmly against something rather soft and transient, much different from the warm rocks she slept on in the past. Her head was rested on that sensation, while one of her arms served as a support for her languid snake hair.

This was so pleasant, so fulfilling. A feeling of ease had spread from the top of her head to the tip of her tail. She even found herself tapping said tip on the dusty tiles of the fallen temple in a strange rhythm. It matched a sound at the edge of her perception.

It was low humming.

“Hmm hm hmmhm hm hmm~” Eugenia’s gentle voice continued to dance in the air. She did not seem to follow any particular melody, which only made the sound more endearing to Medusa. If she had to pick a piece written by a poet or this aimless humming of an absentminded girl, she would obviously pick the latter.

So the sensation against her cheek was the warm lap of Eugenia. Although she was rather thin and there was not much meat between her bones and Medusa’s face, there was hardly any spot she would have rather rested on in this wide world. Blissful, yet embarrassed, she realized that she felt more rested than she had in decades. Strange dream aside, she had found a moment of Elysium just for herself. Or was it for the two of them?

“Are you awake, Medusa?” The girl seemed to have noticed her mind’s presence and was leaning forward to brush the snake hair aside that was covering half of Medusa’s face.

This would not do. Eugenia’s humming had stopped and soon enough she would realize Medusa’s waking. How much longer until she would find some reason to cast her off her lap and move away then? This really would not do.

“Medusa?” She called her name again, but still received no response. The Gorgon was resting without any intention of moving. Her eyes stayed closed as if in deep slumber. “Are you pretending to sleep?” The girl asked with a wry smile.

Medusa’s tail grew somewhat stiff in response to the pinpointed question, but she kept her breathing regular to avoid detection. She knew Eugenia’s supernatural perception, so her act had to be flawless. On her pride as the Gorgon, she would not move or give herself away.

“Hm?” She rubbed the sleepy snakes under their chins and let them lick her hand with their flexible tongues. They seemed too groggy to realize what was going on. They tended to sleep or wake independently from Medusa, so their state was not a surefire giveaway.

Medusa felt the girl’s presence against her neck and arm. It was getting surprisingly hard to keep her pose for some reason. Like she was put on stage as one of those extras that would pretend to be statues or trees. When had she become so nervous that she could not control her muscles perfectly?

“I know that you don’t snore.” She pointed out dryly.

Of course she did not snore! If the girl had been fooled by that act she might have gotten angry, actually. Perhaps that should have been reason enough not to attempt it. Medusa felt quite foolish first thing after such a pleasant nap. It was a growing trend…

“Kokytos, is your mother awake?” Eugenia changed her approach and tickled one of the snakes fully awake. The humming noises coming from its long jaw somehow resembled the purring of a cat. The girl’s gentle strokes across the slick scales seemed to please it greatly. For some reason these young’uns had become infatuated with the human girl beyond reason and seemed to listen more to her than their mistress.

That naming sense was still a mystery to the Gorgon. Against all of her objections, Eugenia had gone through with her goal to name every snake on Medusa’s head. A futile undertaking, considering she could hardly tell them apart without visuals. Nonetheless, she kept calling them by the designated names and as far as she could tell, there was consistency to it. They even started reacting to those odd names.

In truth, Medusa herself had no individual perception of these children, despite them being directly attached to her head. They were just one large nest of moody pests. And now they were pests with rather tasteless names. Eugenia chose to name them after the rivers that flowed through the Underworld and that place’s drab territories. It was like Medusa was carrying the afterlife itself on her head.

‘Kokytos’ meanwhile wrapped itself around Eugenia’s wrist in some irritating show of affection, uncaring of the strain on Medusa’s skin this little motion caused. Just how had Eugenia tamed these damned things?

“Is that a piece of stone stuck under your scales? Let me clean that.” She absentmindedly cleaned the snake with her fingers. Had she already forgotten why she even talked to it? Although she was not wrong, as the snakes had no way to clean themselves by rolling over the ground while being attached to the Gorgon’s head, unless she deigned to lie down in the dirt for some reason. The constant attention she gave them with such small services may have been her secret to taming them after all.

It was irritating. Why? It just was.

“Hmph.” She made a low sound and readjusted her head a little so the snake wouldn’t pull on her head any longer.

“Ah, done pretending?” Eugenia said in a rather teasing manner, which was quite upsetting.

“Is there a fault with my actions? May I not rest on your scrawny legs as long as I please?” She said in a biting tone that even surprised herself. She didn’t really intend to sound quite so… chagrinned.

“I do lose feeling in them at times. You sleep too much.” Eugenia said with merciless bluntness. To be clear though, she conveyed no ill feelings in those words. It was just the truth.

“That is not true.” She responded halfheartedly. She did not sleep that much. Far less than in the past. Ever since she had someone to wake to - someone who waited for her to awaken.

The temperature of Medusa’s blood seemed to rise, despite the descending sun. Her mind seemed to stray to unfortunate thoughts more often than she could accept. It was not how she wished to perceive herself, but a lot of things had changed. Many of them irreversibly.

“I don’t mind if you want to move this to the lair later. I just need to take care of some things first.” She said with a soft sigh. Her legs twitched as she pushed her stiff muscles under Medusa’s resting head. Just as expected, she had waited for an opportunity to leave.

Medusa frowned slightly and purposely shifted her weight to hold her down. There had to be some way to keep her bound for a while longer.

“You cannot really tell them apart, can you?” She sprung the topic up at the last second. Eugenia tilted her head to the side and her hands softly touched the snake hair. It seemed that Medusa’s suspicion had caught her attention, just as planned.

“Of course I do. Kokytos is this one. His scales are… dark green. Then there is Archeron with the mud brown scales. And… uhm, Lethe? She’s dark…? I must have forgotten.” Her certainty was shaken a bit. “Styx is the darkest, nearly black.” She patted the leftmost snake. “The others…”

Medusa listened to her muttering with half closed eyes and ears. How ironic for a blind woman to categorize these children by color. But her memory was consistent for the most part. Last time she had called them, she addressed them in the same order and positions. This proved that she was not just making it up as she went along. Still, her words had a distorted edge to them. Something about her perspective seemed off.

“How can you be so sure?” She interrupted the aimless mumbling of the girl with another question.

“I remember.” She said stiffly. “Just like… in the dream.” She held the snakes in her small hands. “I remember their vivid colors, their spots.”

Medusa knew as much. It was clear that Eugenia had strained herself to keep this knowledge inside her mind, when so much of it had been fleeting and dispersing like sand draining from open hands. This stubbornness she displayed was the same no matter how much they had changed. It was something to be admired, but somehow she could not feel proud of her this time.

“I see.” Surprisingly Medusa rose from the lap of her own accord and stretched her limbs with a long moan. “Now that we are both awake, you will have to do your menial tasks, right?” She put a hand to Eugenia’s sweaty forehead.

“Do you have to say it quite so disparagingly?” The girl pressed out. She seemed to enjoy the sensation of Medusa’s touch enough to stay put, though.

“You are well aware that I will speak my mind bluntly. You will just have to bear with it. That is what you chose when you made your foolish vow, no?” Medusa’s teasing always had a sharp edge to it, but contrary to what she expected, Eugenia smiled brightly in response.

“That’s right.” She did not hesitate at all.

A foolish expression befitting of a foolish girl. Medusa groaned and let go of her with a troubled mien. It seemed that her offensives had lost their claws recently. It was unfathomably hard to push thorns into that adorable face… What was she even thinking?

“Be quick about it. I will be waiting downstairs.” Medusa crossed her arms and turned her face towards the lair.

“Wait a moment. I actually have a request.” Eugenia folded her hands pleadingly.

“Oh?”

“Could you check on the garden for me? I have to take care of the shellfish traps and the laundry, so I won’t be able to before nightfall.” Her explanation was straightforward enough.

Although nightfall should not matter to either of them, they had somehow found a rhythm that resembled that of humans on the other side of the ocean. Active during the day, resting at night. Not that Medusa was strictly adhering to that schedule, as she was a late sleeper. Or was she an early sleeper? She just tended to nap whenever it suited her. Maybe Eugenia was right about her habits after all.

“What is there to observe? The plants will not have grown much over a single day.” Medusa said with very little motivation.

“Gardening requires constant care! We have to make sure the hares didn’t make their way inside, the weed overgrowth has to be kept in check and the then there is the water distribution-“

“I understand, please stop.” Medusa knew that if she didn’t interject the girl would give her a lecture far longer than the time it would take to check on the damned thing. “I will make certain that your shrubbery is not withered.” She waved with a yawn and slithered into the opposite direction.

“Thank you.” Eugenia said with a wry smile and dusted off her legs to get moving towards the beach.

Medusa’s head shook left and right as she let her body move with her sluggish slithering. It was not like she needed an exorbitant amount of sleep, not at all. She could stay awake for weeks on end without blinking once. But to experience such a pleasant rest and to be deprived of it so soon, it was just not right. Eugenia’s scent on her arm was already washed away by the evening breeze.

She almost bit her tongue when she realized that she had been sniffing on it subconsciously.

“What is wrong with me?” She could really not accept her own actions. Yet surprisingly she also felt very little shame.

Eugenia was hers.

That was the truth of it all. Why should one not make full use of one’s possessions? It was like being ashamed of always keeping one’s ancestral sword on the hip or of wrapping their favorite himation around their shoulders every day. If she viewed it objectively, their relationship was really that simple. Easy. Convenient.

That wasn’t to say that the benefits were quite so one-sided. In a way, Medusa had to give far more in return. Eugenia would never appreciate just how much she had demanded from the Gorgon of all people. To lower herself to the eye level of a mere human was a great sacrifice!

What a shabby way to treat Eugenia’s kindness. Even Medusa hated herself for being so focused on self-deception. As she reached the new garden she closed her eyes and sighed deeply. The truth was that she did not understand her own heart anymore. Ever since that dream had ended, things just had been too overwhelming. An old soul like hers could not adapt to change to easily.

She pushed the door open and looked inside the garden. It had no glass ceiling and it was far from expansive compared to the original, but it was still teeming with life. The olive trees were certainly standing tall and healthy, as if trying to mock her in particular. She frowned every time she saw them, which was one of the reason she tended to avoid this place. The only boon to their existence was the delight on Eugenia’s face when she munched on the fresh olives. Medusa chuckled lightly at the mental image.

She crouched down to pick one up. She had very little knowledge of gardening or harvesting, but even to her it was suspicious how much fruit these trees bore. Same went for the growth inside the earth. It appeared that they had greedily sucked up the nutrition and nectar of life around these parts and developed into something far more impressive than seemed possible. As much as she loathed that pompous harlot, she did still have that magic touch. A goddess of fertility not just in name.

There would never be a day where Medusa would be thankful of the gods, especially not that aggravating woman, but she had stopped being bothered by the traces of their existence. It seemed that the changes in her had been far deeper than just a new appreciation of Eugenia’s legs. Somehow the bottomless pit of fire inside her core had been extinguished. No amount of water had managed to douse it and yet just one kindness - one tear - had cooled it down.

Had it not only been smoldering for decades? Naturally. In her lethargy and isolation, it had nearly lost all its luster. It had only been reignited by the recent events in the first place. Perhaps she had simply burned out. No more of her could be burned to ash. She had become unkindled. The flames that had torn away at her sanity, her very sense of self were no more…

For some reason a new heat was gathering behind her eyes. How strange.

She breathed in, took in the natural air tinged with the smell of plants and fertile soil. This was the essence of life, so unlike the scenery of destruction outside. A sanctuary build by her and Eugenia’s hands. Why did she hate coming here again? She could not even remember anymore.

There were no traces of hare burrows or gnawed greenery. The pests had been rather quiet lately, as if they were plotting something in their deep holes across the hillside in the east. Eugenia had been merciful lately and taken very few of them for meals. At some point Medusa had wondered if she had sworn off all meat even. Of course the shellfish traps were still in full use, so perhaps it was just a matter of preference. Medusa herself preferred the hearty taste of game over the slushy and terse meat that crustaceans provided.

Maybe she should ask Eugenia to grill them some hare again. Her hands were so skilled at skinning them that it made Medusa’s claws seem like blunt rocks in comparison. It was strange how she actually felt her mouth water just thinking about it. She should not have had such base things like an appetite. Eating was pleasurable to a degree, but there was no craving. There didn’t use to be.

A memory of Eugenia proudly handing her a prepared rabbit paw flashed past her inner eye.

Ah. So that was why.

“Tsk.” She clicked her tongue in disapproval of her slightly swaying heart. “Was there any reason for me to come here?” She grumbled and flicked her tail against the door to close it. The garden looked just fine to her. She had mostly forgotten the list of things Eugenia had recited, so she just considered the task completed.

Right now she only wished to lie down in the lair and enjoy the softness of the furs and pillows they had spread out in it. Another undeniable boon left behind by the two-faced goddess. After Medusa had destroyed everything inside the lair during her lamentable state… Eugenia had moved all the pillows and bedding from her tent down there to replace it. Never had a monster enjoyed such a cozy lair, she was certain of it.

If she had to pick between the pillows and Eugenia’s lap, she might have had a hard time. Not that she could ever let her know about those thoughts. It would irrevocably end in blood and another destroyed lair. She could almost hear the girl’s soft voice mocking her.

“Empty… again, it’s empty…”

That didn’t seem very mocking. Her mind was acting stranger than usual. She rubbed her head and the snake hair hissed when she pressed down their bases. Maybe she really had slept too much and her brain had gotten loose. It was not completely unimaginable anymore. Not after how much she had experienced in her life.

The rhythmic sound of the waves was a welcome melody that calmed her nerves. Tide in, tide out. Splashing against the cliffs and then crumbling back into the deep waters. With no cloud or sign of wind around them today, it was a rather peaceful sound. She felt soft goosebumps when the water brushed the rocks in a pleasant way.

Medusa’s cursed eyes sprang open.

She was nowhere near the coast. This was as central as the island could be. The waves, the ocean, there was no way she could have heard it from here. Her ears were sharp, much better than any puny human’s, but she could not hear across the entire island. In certain scenarios she was able to project her own voice across it, but that was a different matter.

It was not an illusion, it couldn’t be. She could hear the water so close to her ear, almost like if she put a seashell to it. A strange sense of nausea assailed her and she had to hold her head as if to prevent it from falling off her shoulders.

“What color are they? Red? Pink? Green? I can’t… remember.”

These words were not her own, they were not in her head, yet she somehow heard them right next to her ears. That voice was unmistakably Eugenia’s.

It was happening again.

At the cliff side, the lone girl sat with her legs halfway into the shallow water. The baskets that served as traps were empty today. Perhaps their bait had been insufficient. Most likely the shellfish had just gotten wise to their tricks. Whichever it was, today there would be no seafood for dinner.

Eugenia somehow didn’t seem too disappointed by that realization. Her milky eyes were just aimed at the ocean and her face unfocused. She was still trying to remember the color of the crabs she had seen in the ocean. No, that was not entirely accurate. She had never seen any crabs, it was just another her, inside a very long dream…

“Medusa, I thought you wanted to sleep in the lair?” She said with a twitch of her ears. The friction of scales on rock was just too distinctive for her to miss.

“And I expected you to be done with this already. I thought I better make sure you did not drown yourself by accident.” The Gorgon responded with reservation. It was strange how considerate she had been lately. Or was it?

“They are empty.” She pointed at the baskets to show her.

“I know.” The snake woman replied mysteriously.

“I see.” Eugenia furrowed her brows.

“They were light red.” She added.

“Really?” Eugenia seemed to consider that little bit of information deeply.

“You seem absentminded.” She rubbed against the cliff and let her tail sink into the low waves.

“Sorry about that. You wanted to tell me something?” She snapped out of it and turned around.

“I just said… nevermind.” She put her hand on the girl’s light head to hold her in place. “I have been hearing it again.” Her words were serious.

“What?”

“Everything you hear.”

Eugenia let her head hang and digested those words. It seemed like she felt a pang of guilt. It was something she had not quite under control yet. Not that she was sure if there was anything she could do about it, frankly.

“Does it… hurt?” She asked meekly.

“Do not be foolish. How frail do you believe me already?” She lightly smacked the girl’s head, which earned her a miffed expression. “We both know that this is not a one-sided affair.” She really seemed intent on going all the way this time.

“I couldn’t hear your complaints from afar yet.” She said with a bit more spirit.

“Hmph. I am not some old nagging housewife.” She clearly felt her pride attacked by the remark and would lash out again. Maybe she really would have under normal circumstances. How close they had become, close enough for Medusa to always touch her without inhibitions. “Why are you smiling now?”

“I just thought how glad I am that we can be together.” She replied honestly.

“Why you.” She seemed to recoil from Eugenia’s excessive happiness. What a grumpy monster.

It was the truth, though. For a long time Eugenia had tried to be closer to her beloved. For so long she had not realized the pain she had caused her simply by drawing near her. How incompatible they had been. The blessing on her ears had been a blade cutting away at Medusa’s soul. Her proximity had been a poison. If she had known this before her return, she may have reconsidered.

…that was a lie. No matter how much she wanted to believe that, deep down she knew that she would have returned nonetheless. If she could not hear Medusa’s voice at least one more time, she may never have been able to go on. Not returning to Sarpedon would have been the greatest mistake of her life.

It was so incredibly selfish that she wanted to shrink into herself and disappear. How had she grown to be such a greedy woman? The answer to that question may have eluded her forever. Medusa’s kindness was incredible. At least she was sure of that.

“Eugenia.” She flicked her finger a couple of times to gain her attention. She really hadn’t heard Medusa’s words at all. It seemed that she had drifted off into her own thoughts again. “Please focus.”

“I am listening.” She said hastily.

“You cannot deceive me so easily. You have been acting strange, even for your standards. Why will you not tell me what is going on?” She was bothered aright. But there was no malice in her sharp voice, only concern.

Indeed, where there was a push, there had to be a pull.

“It’s nothing.” Eugenia replied once again. Always the same response.

“There is no chance that you are telling the truth.”

The doubt hurt her heart deeply. It was like Medusa refused her mind itself. She was not lying, she truly could not imagine a single moment where she wished to lie to Medusa.

It really was nothing. So much… nothing.

When she did the unthinkable, when their souls touched, something had changed. A blessing and a curse, they were in essence really similar. If they came from the same source of power, then they could be compatible. That was a simplified way to look at it, but it had been close enough to the truth. When that world collapsed, when they would have been forcefully torn apart, she had instead clung to Medusa with everything she could muster.

A bond that transcended anything two people could share.

And the consequences? She had not cared for the consequences and she still would not.

“Half a blessing, half a curse.” Medusa said with a deeply fragile voice. “That is not what we shared.”

Of course she was right. In the end, what was a blessing so minor compared to a curse so deep? It was like comparing a puddle of water with a lake, nay, even the ocean. Medusa had suffered so many centuries, while Eugenia had only been blessed for under two decades. In the end, what could she truly give? What could she bear? It was still not clear.

All she knew was that her presence would no longer be a burden to Medusa. That was what mattered. To touch, to talk, to enjoy each other, that was what they had gained. No longer would the divine presence be a wall between them.

She leaned her head against the Gorgon’s cold shoulder. The heat of the sun had long since evaporated from the snake woman, but those toned arms were still giving her comfort. It seemed that after all she was the one who needed to sleep now.

“Not here.” Medusa said softly and pulled her up with one arm. The ocean water dripped off Eugenia’s dainty feet and tanned legs. The sand that had gathered between her toes had washed off while they were submerged. The Gorgon was strong and could crush a large rock with one of her hands, but she was also able to carry a girl like a wolf mother would her pup.

Thus Eugenia was carried over the cliff and onto land with ease and then even further across the temple grounds. Medusa really did not let her down. Would she take her all the way to the lair in this pose? It kind of made her heart beat faster.

“Your garden is in good health. The vermin has not been able to breach it yet, albeit they must be preparing a siege no doubt.” She jested. How unusual for her. Or was it?

“Hahaha.” Eugenia just giggled in response. She didn’t mind this thoughtful side of Medusa’s at all. To be coddled just a bit, wasn’t that what love was all about?

“You were thinking of something audacious again.” The Gorgon commented when seeing the redness that had engulfed Eugenia’s face. Her response was to squint her eyes suspiciously.

“Can we kiss?”

“Wha-?” Medusa hit her head against the low ceiling of the entrance to the lair. The snakes hissed in complaint at the undeserved treatment. The aching of her head was far exceeded by the pain of her shifting emotions. Even Eugenia could sense just how flustered the Gorgon was. “Audacious.” She repeated with feigned countenance and descended the steps forcefully. If her lower half had not been a snake’s, surely she would have tripped over her own feet.

Eugenia closed her eyes. It had been worth a shot.

Nighttime had come swiftly. The sun had descended as fast as a shifty snake with a girl in her arm. The lair was dark, but it was far from cold. The softness of their ‘nest’ was accompanied by surprising warmth.

Eugenia had made it a habit to press herself into the winding curves of Medusa’s tail. It was hard to fathom why she was so comfortable with this arrangement, as Medusa considered her scales quite hard and rough. To herself that sensation was no trouble, but she could have slept on cold hard ground without a care. For a human girl, this must have been fairly unpleasant. Yet this girl was sleeping like an infant, complete with that satisfied expression.

“Will it leave a mark?” She wondered. Sometimes when she awoke next to Eugenia she could see a scale pattern pressed into the girl’s thin cheeks. It was as if she enjoyed to be marked by the Gorgon’s body. That thought was surely badly worded…

The painful attacks, the constant pressure she had felt in the past was gone. They could embra- be in contact with each other without inhibition. That was something she truly appreciated in her own way. But it also allowed the human to overstep her boundaries. Boundaries? Perhaps those did simply not exist for two beings who had touched each other’s souls on such an intimate layer.

Intimate… Unwanted memories plagued her again. The moment that had sealed their fate and bound them forever. Why did it have to be so uncouth? A kiss. Why a kiss? Did it really matter? It was not the first time their lips had been pressed together. It could not matter, she had said as much before. She had decided that it would not.

She caught her eyes glancing at the girl’s mouth again. Steady breathing softly parted her full lips in the same pattern over and over. That small cheeky mouth had somehow covered her own. Really, what meaning was there to such an act? It was just flesh meeting flesh, no different from any other part of their body.

It couldn’t mean anything.

That was a lie. Eugenia had made sure that it did mean something. Their exchange, the new bond between them and all of this happiness were tied to it. What a devious scheme. For a former priestess, the girl sure was acting more like a witch. Even Circe could not have played with her victims so audaciously. That word again. Medusa felt like her vocabulary was degrading the more embarrassed she got.

If Eugenia truly wished for it, then she would probably not deny her. It was not much in the way of repayment, but she had to acknowledge that the girl had gone so far for her sake that she could not refuse her forever. Was it really so simple? Her thoughts were just going in circles tonight.

“Nnngh.” Suddenly the girl moaned and opened her milky eyes. She had managed to wake up at the worst time. Medusa hastily stiffened her cheek muscles and pretended to be dozing off. Eugenia yawned cutely and then put her face back on the tail. Something about her expression was distant. “Lady Athena…”

Medusa’s heart stopped moving. It was like her veins froze over and left her completely deprived of circulation. Her cursed eyes turned to slits.

“The offering has to be… the finest milk.” Eugenia spoke slowly with a somber voice.

“You…” She could barely stop herself from shaking the girl fully awake. To hear her speak that woman’s name, even if half-asleep, was too grating.

“But there are… no cows in the Akropolis?” She whispered. “If you buy it from farmers, it will take a while to get there… but then it is not fresh anymore.”

What was this utterly foolish talk about? A conundrum from her past?

“It has to be fresh… so you have to move the cow to the temple. But the cow needs to stay somewhere… and then it has to be fed, but there is no grass on the Akropolis for it to eat.” It seemed to really bother her. “Then they made stables and brought food for it… In the end, isn’t the Akropolis just a farm? They wanted to be above such things, but coin cannot buy fresh milk… they still needed the cow. The cow had to come to them.”

“You are making no sense.” She muttered with the corner of her mouth turning downwards.

“If Lady Athena wanted fresh milk, why did they not… offer it at the farm…?” Her tired face seemed to be drifting in an out of consciousness.

“There is meaning to places. It is the vanity of the gods.” Medusa finally responded to end this nonsensical philosophical episode.

“It has to come to that place. The milk is only the end result, but the cow is what matters. No, is it the freshness? The cow makes it fresh… so that means…” She nodded off again.

How aggravating. Now Medusa felt both angry and unsatisfied. There would be no conclusion to these thoughts; that much she could tell. Was this a form of torture?

Eugenia was more introspective lately. She seemed to think about all kinds of matters, in grueling detail. What was going on inside that head of hers? Medusa had lost the ability to predict her words. It was not as if she had been able to read this odd girl’s mind in the past, but there was a straightforward honesty to her words. The simplicity of a child maybe?

“I cannot abide by it.” She said with a shadow crossing her face in the light of the glowing moss behind them. What could she not accept? It should have been obvious.

Eugenia was not allowed to think of that vile woman. Not when she was this close to Medusa. Not when she bore the mark of her scales on her foolish face. She was hers.

“Say my name.” She demanded. It was a low, greedy sensation that crossed her lips. She had put her lips to Eugenia’s ear to make sure she could not ignore it.

“Medusa.” She said obediently and smiled. Had she truly ever slept? Right now it seemed like everything had just been one incredible ruse. Of course that was just her imagination, as the girl snored quickly after. Even in her sleep she was causing havoc inside the Gorgon. More accurately, it seemed the girl was the most dangerous when asleep, all things considered.

What could she do? If one word could be so destructive, even if she had clamored for it, then how was she ever supposed to recover? There was nothing that could save Medusa from this feeling anymore. It was unavoidable.

Eugenia was definitely hers.

“And I am…”

A single pebble had ended the legacy of the Giants.

It had been a single moment of lost focus, a single heartbeat of relief that had caused it all to crumble. Polybotes had sensed it for just a moment, before he was crushed. The weight of Kos had finally overwhelmed him. Centuries of struggle had ended in an instant. If spite was what had kept the weight from crushing him, then kindness had pulled it down.

A fragile dying human child with a pebble was the end of it all.

The Giant had no time to mourn his failure, he had no thoughts left to think in his painfully slow mind. The end was swifter than the death of his brethren, yet he felt no loss. In his last moment, he finally had felt acknowledged. The pain of his struggles was shared, if ever so slightly.

The child dropped the pebble as it witnessed the landslide that pushed the giant into the heart of the earth. Eventually he may have reached the Underworld, as Gaia spat his corpse out. He had failed her, had failed them all. In the end Poseidon had won.

It was not force, wrath, hate and spite that could topple gods and monsters. It was kindness, the size of a pebble.