Perseus
could not wait to get home and shove Medusa’s head into the King’s face; that
would teach him a lesson for thinking him as weak!
Admittedly, he could have never done it on his
own; hadn’t it been for Athena, he’d still be trying to figure a way to get to
Medusa’s cave.
Not only she had instructed him on how to get
to Medusa and kill her, but she had equipped him with all these extraordinary
weapons too.
Athena herself had offered him her shield;
Hades had provided a helm that turned him invisible at will; Hermes had given
him winged sandals. Not to mention he had killed Medusa using Zeus’s sword; how
many mortals could claim the same?
The
desperate pleas for help coming from somewhere below him, brought him out of his reverie.
He stopped
midair and took a good look around; he spotted a girl chained to a rock
mid-ocean and some sort of sea monster swimming in circles around the small
rock-island she was chained on.
This was
not looking good at all.
What could she have possibly done?
He shook
his head; whatever it was, she didn’t deserve to die in such a way.
Quickly, he
made up his mind. He made a dive, directing himself towards the rock.
“Keep your
eyes closed fair maiden.” He called to her and took out Medusa’s head from the
satchel he was keeping it in.
Holding it
out in front of him as a shield, Perseus landed between the girl and the
serpent; instantly it turned to stone. Without even a second thought, he took
out his sword and slew the monster for good measure.
He took a
deep breath and smiled; it had worked!
Little did
they know, but Eros had chosen that particular moment to pay them a visit; at
Athena’s request, he’d be keeping an eye on Perseus for some time now, trying
to find him a suitable match; this girl, Andromeda, was just right for him. And,
in turn, Perseus was the kind of man she deserved.
He took out
an arrow, aimed and shot; Perseus first.
“Excuse
me,” the girl said, trying to catch his attention, “but could you-?” she asked,
pointing at her chained hands.
Perseus
turned to look at her and colour rose to his cheeks; in the heat of the moment
he had not noticed she was not wearing any clothes.
But that
hardly mattered; with or without clothes on, she was the most beautiful girl he
had ever seen!
“Oh, er,
sure.” He replied, blushing slightly. “Just let me put this away first.”
He
collected his satchel from where he had tossed it earlier and tucked Medusa’s
head inside. Carelessly, he dropped it back to the ground and made to remove
his helmet; Eros smiled. It was Andromeda’s turn now.
Eros’s
arrow hit her at the exact moment Perseus was taking off Hades’s helm.
He was
sweaty, he had not shaved in a while and his dark hair was mated to his
forehead, but Andromeda had never seen anyone looking so handsome before.
They simply
stood there, looking stupidly at each other. Eros grinned, obviously pleased
with himself. He rose off the ground, and flew off; his work here was done. They’d
figure the rest on their own.
“I’ll try to
be quick.” Perseus said and closed the distance between them.
“Sorry?”
Andromeda said.
“Your
chains?”
Andromeda
blushed. “Right, sorry.”
“Step
back.” Perseus instructed as he raised his sword; had he been using any other
sword he’d be worried about hurting her, but not with Zeus’s sword.
He struck
on her chains and, in only a matter of seconds, Andromeda was free.
“Thank
you.” She said, rubbing her wrists.
“It was
nothing.” Perseus replied, dropping his eyes to the ground.
Suddenly,
it dawned to him; he knelt to the ground, rummaged through his satchel and
fished out his cloak.
“Here.” He
said awkwardly as he handed it to her.
Gratefully,
she took it and wrapped it around herself.
“So, what
did you do exactly to deserve such a punishment?”
“My parents,
Cepheus and Cassiopeia are King and Queen of Aethiopia. My mother kept bragging
that I was more beautiful that the Nereids, so Poseidon got angry at her and
sent this monster against our country. When my father asked the oracle, Apollo
said I was to be sacrificed.”
“Can’t say
I blame her.” Perseus said under his breath, but Andromeda had heard him; she
flushed scarlet.
Perseus
noticed, and he, too, blushed in turn.
“Now,
you’ve told me your story,” he said, trying to change the subject, “but you
have not given me your name yet.”
“Andromeda.”
She replied. “And yours? I think I am entitled to know the name of my savior.”
“I am
Perseus, milady; at your service.”
She blushed
again.
“And
talking about services, I think it’s time to take you back to your parents,
don’t you agree?”
***
Needless to
say, a big feast was thrown in honour of the man who had saved the princess
from certain death.
Once the
majority of the guests had left, Cepheus asked to be left alone with Perseus in
his throne room, so they could talk.
“Now, kind
stranger, you’ve saved my daughter from a horrible fate, and for that I will be
eternally grateful. I shall grant you anything you ask me for.”
“My lord;
there is only one thing I want.”
“Go on.”
Cepheus urged.
“I want to
make your daughter my wife.”
“I…”
“You’ve
said I could ask for anything.” Perseus insisted.
“I am
sorry, lad, but she’s already promised to someone else.”
“Pardon me
my lord, but where was he, when that monster was about to eat her alive?
Shouldn’t he at least attempt to save her?”
Cepheus
fell silent and thought things through. Perseus was right.
“You may
marry Andromeda.” He said finally. “On the condition she agrees to marry you.”
“Fair
enough.” Perseus responded.
“Very well
then.” Cepheus said and stood. “I’ll be back shortly.”
Perseus nodded; he couldn’t wait!
***
Cepheus
knocked on his daughter’s door and shortly afterwards, his wife answered.
He smiled;
he knew he’d find them both here.
“Cepheus,
what’s the matter?”
He stepped
inside and closed the door behind him.
“Perseus has
named his price.” He said.
“And?”
Cassiopeia asked. “What did he ask for?”
“He wishes
to marry Andromeda; if she agrees of course.”
Andromeda
perked up upon hearing those words; she had been afraid they’d make her marry that old goat he’d been after her for ages now.
“But what about Phineus?”
“I will
deal with him.” Cepheus said calmly. “If he cared for Andromeda, he would have
at least tried to save her; he has no right to speak. So, my dear child, what
do you think?”
Andromeda
was elated, but tried really hard to keep her composure. “He saved me from that
monster, so my life is his anyway; of course I will marry him.”
“Very well
then.” Cepheus said, obviously pleased. “I will let him know and we can start
with the preparations in the morning.”
“Yes,
father.” Andromeda said obediently.
“Don’t stay
up too long.” He advised and moved to the door.
Cassiopeia
shook her head at how naïve her husband was. Did he really expect that their daughter would prefer to marry a man
twice her age, when she could marry a man young and strong? And handsome too!
“Well
done.” She said approvingly and winked at her daughter.
Andromeda
blushed to the roots of her hair. “I am sure I have no idea what you’re talking
about.”
“Sure you
don’t.” Cassiopeia said and moved to the door. “Sleep tight.”
***
Perseus
couldn’t sleep. He jumped to his feet, got dressed and made his way to the
garden.
He wandered
aimlessly for a bit, but he didn’t mind. It was such a beautiful night; the
moon was so bright and it was almost as if the stars were sparkling tonight.
He could
hardly contain his excitement. A couple more days and he would be married to
Andromeda.
Perseus
chuckled. A few weeks back, he set out to kill Medusa; how in Gaia’s name did
he manage to find himself a wife in the process too?
“Hi.”
Andromeda said, suddenly appearing next to him out of thin air.
“Hi.” He
said back. “You’ve startled me.”
“What were
you thinking about?”
“You.”
Perseus said boldly, making her blush.
“What about
me?” She asked, but Perseus did not reply; he was looking at her in a way that
excited her beyond words.
Before she
had time to react, he had taken her in his arms and was kissing her; it only
took her a few moments to follow his lead and kiss him back.
“I should go back inside.” She said
breathlessly once they broke apart.
“Wait.”
Perseus said and grabbed for her hand.
“What?
Someone might see us.” She protested half-heartedly.
“These
couple of days will seem like an eternity.”
Andromeda
gave him a wide smile. Perseus smiled back and dropped her hand.
“We’ll
manage.” She said and turned around to leave.
“Just
barely!” Perseus called after her.
She
grinned; her thoughts exactly.
