After The Sunset The Stars As My Witness

Danae was often blind, deaf, and mute when it came to the reckless decisions that spewed out of Perseus’ often idle mind. Her son was all she had and she wanted him to be free and happy without her restricting him and maybe just maybe the empty feeling he always felt would go away. Even if she tried to guide him it was of no use, he was as stubborn as the donkey in Polydectes' courtyard that had refused to work for the past month despite the merciless whips it got. she thought of him more like the sun, you don't command it to rise or set or disappear it does as it pleases, majestically. This time would be different, this decision would be more than just reckless and she was going to try to stop her sun, she didn’t want her sun to set forever leaving her to the darkness to feast on her. However, she would not hear of these antics from the horse's mouth but instead from the one that fed the horse with the idea.

“Danae!” A familiar and unpleasant voice called from behind her. She tried to subtly increase her pace. “Danae!” he yelled louder than before, drawing everyone's attention even the deaf beggar must have heard him from the way he stared at her. She stopped, waiting for him to get to her. “Polydectes,” she smiled as he approached “Your majesty,” she bowed her head and curtsied, dreading the conversation that was going to erupt between them, she already knew what the conversation would revolve around. They’d frequently had this conversation since Perseus had reached the mature age for marriage. “You have been on my mind lately,” Polydectes would always break the ice, that was already broken. “ Oh, you have?” she would always respond. She could recite their interaction and knew his intentions though she pretended to be oblivious. “I have, of what your life would be like after…” he cleared his throat “Perseus?” he whispered like it was a secret only she should know “And what would have happened to Perseus?” she asked softly suppressing her annoyance. “Well, he will marry one day or you may…” he clears his throat as if he was preparing her for a revelation “He may not return from his quest” What quest? she wondered, Perseus hadn't mentioned any quest. Polydectes could read the confusion that imprinted all over Danae on the mention of the quest. “Well, on my birthday feast, you see. He promised the severed head of the mortal gorgon…” He paused to watch Danae’s expression turn from confusion to horror. It couldn't be who I think it is she hoped in her heart “Medusa” he whispered with amusement tingling in his tone confirming what Danae feared. “Medusa,” she gasped.

Euryale watched the clueless colony of tourists touring the beach and venturing into their territory, Sthetho scanned through the treasures they brought out of their ship while Medusa was supposed to plot the routes they’d use to hunt but instead got distracted by the sunset.

As the sun set giving the moon a chance to finally shine Medusa hissed quick haphazard instructions as the sisters spersed out to hunt. Hunting was harder for Medusa compared to her sisters because she had to hunt with her eyes closed to avoid turning their prey to stone but the people were loud and reeked of fear which diluted the intensity of the challenge. Hunting always made her feel powerful, as screams of terror purged through the beach and the rest of the island it would deafen the memory that would always tag along with the moon because as she attacked and defeated them she would pretend it was him she was defeating.

Children and pregnant women were exempted from the purge but would live with the trauma of seeing their loved ones die. Medusa thought that would be better than death but like her trauma, it would eat them up till there was nothing left. The survivors would be escorted by Meritus, their servant, to assist the survivors back on to the ship and shipping them away.

The sisters would then return to their cave with their stolen treasures.
“I was thinking of making something like this,” Euryale said wrapping the cloth around her body from their recent treasures. “What do you think,” she asked as she turned away from the mirror to face her sisters, Medusa stood behind her eliminating the jewellery that didn't flatter her taste while Stheno studied the weapons they’d found. Medusa always felt like it was her fault because she let her guard down and Stheno always felt like it was her fault because she wasn't there to protect Medusa but it was none of their faults, if Medusa hadn't let her guard down it still would've happened and If Stheno had been there she would’ve hopelessly watched the scene and failed to protect her anyway. And Euryale lived with the guilt.

As Medusa and Euryale distracted themselves with the accessories, Stheno’s mind would be ingrained in the weapons because she would never let anyone hurt her sisters ever again. “I think it would look great” Stheno finally responded, barely looking up from the weapons, she didn't see the need to look up, Euryale always knew how to make even rags look regal after she was done working on them but Euryale wished Stheno showed more enthusiasm

Euryale was the youngest and most sensitive of the three, anything triggered her river of emotions to flow from her pretty round eyes. She hated that about herself because she hated being pitied, it made her feel weak and she had been accused on numerous occasions by her sisters of trying to manipulate them with her tears, tears she wished she could control. She avoided confrontation with her sisters and often found herself doing what her sisters wanted but not what she wanted to avoid her sisters’ venom they claimed was constructive criticism but always seemed to break her down. She preferred to keep to herself, the only person that wouldn't intentionally or unintentionally hurt her. She knew her sisters loved her but expressed it in tangled mixed signals a lot.

Stheno was the oldest and toughest of the three, sometimes her toughness was irrational. In one of the Islands they once previously resided in, she almost eradicated the whole population single-handedly till the residents started to flee in numbers. She would even occasionally pay neighbouring islands a visit, she felt like she owed them a debt of terror. She had caused more destruction than all her sisters combined. Unfortunately, the consequences of her untamed viciousness and anger would taint Medusa’s name, and Medusa would be the one to pay the price for all the damaged hearts and lives. there was a price on her head

Medusa was the sister in-between, the golden child. The most loved and admired before the curse and the most feared and hated after the curse, she had always been the most popular of the sisters. She was also the most confident of the three like her mother. She always kept her head high even when the weight of the world tried to pull her head down, she always looked at the brighter side despite the darkness constantly overlapping with the light. She had learned the hard way that no one would come to her rescue, not even the princes in the fairytales her mother used to tell her when she was young. She was the prince that would save herself and as far as she was concerned princes or knights in shining armour didn't exist.

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NB: This is one of my many books I started and attempted to finish. The above story is a Medusa retelling inspired by many stories, articles, blog post, forums and pinterest art depictions I consumed through the year. My fascination with Medusa started in 2018, which is also when my curiosity for Greek mythology began. In 2022 is when I finally began to write this story with hopes to be done with it by 2023. I am still working on it and thought I could publish what I have written so far so I could stop constantly editing what I've written so far. I will try to publish a chapter a week. The characters in the story are from the stories I've read and some have been created. This is a Fictional story and is not an accurate dipiction of the Mythology, locations and characters.

Thank you for reading!!!

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