Modern Medusa

Turned to Medusa

I faced Athena, determined to be bold. She towered above me in stark contrast to my frailty. I have two immortal sisters, but it never struck me until now how much they glow. Even in her anger, or especially in her anger, Athena glistened. 
Her body towered. Her posture was straight, and bold.  Even the shadow she cast over me out shined me. Her features we perfect, save for a sharp chin that jutted from her face, and confronted any who dare defy the Goddess. Her legs stuck out of her pencil skirt and rested on red stilettos. Her thighs were thick, and athletic. Her arms were thin, yet chiseled. They hinted at her brawn without taking from the intense power of her femininity.
Her perfectly manicured nails demanded answers with her pointed finger. Her hand looked grey-blue, though, and had a cold appearance. Athena stretched her tattle tale hand across the room and into my soul. 
We both shook. Her hands vibrated in anger around her bow. I trembled. She returned to her posture of dominance, and ceased shaking. I had caught her though. She had, for just a moment, lost control. I felt a rush of childlike glee come over me. I was sure she was going to kill me, but I saw her. I saw her humanity. I saw a Goddess trapped in something.It was that something that forever connected us. Then, it was over as quick as it started.
Her voice boomed as she cursed me.  She spat obscenities at me of my failed chastity. Each accusation stung, but Her lips were magnificent. They were metallic, and looked like bloody glass. As she spoke, any light at all was pulled in, and sparkled against her mouth.  Only Athena wore this shade. The women knew well what angered her, and they knew not to do it.
A lump formed in mu throat at the realization that I had angered a deity. I was in deep, and I knew it. I wanted to look tough, and I wanted to save face. But, no amount of bravery could save me. 
Her wrath tore into me. 
I watched as my skin turned to a muddy green, and scales covered my once dewy skin. My nails sharpened into talons. Athena's eyes brightened at my punishment. I felt a heat start in my stomach and gently rise through my chest into my mouth. I tasted vomit. I tried to cry out, but couldn't find my voice. A small, weak squeak was all I could manage. 
She grabbed my hair, and twisted my golden strands. As each group of strands fell from her fingers, they turned to serpents. They hissed, and thrashed around my head. I could see pieces of them in my peripheral vision. I braced for them to nick at my face, but they did not attack me. 
I fell before her in a heap. She smiled. She paused to admire her work. She giggled a little to herself. She told her stone like apprentices jokes about my moral failing. My cheeked felt a prickle of embarrassment.
There were several women who had been assisting the Goddess on her way in. Until then, I had forgotten they had come with her. To my horror, I saw that they had turned to stone at the very sight of me. Athena happily cackled at my dismay. 
"Not just them...but, every one who looks at you", she promised. 
I grasped for words. I wanted to explain myself and beg for forgiveness. At the same time, I wanted to knock the Goddess down. I had done nothing wrong. Nothing. But, the goddess was right, it was my honor-not hers- that had been soiled. 
Then, the anger came. It was prickly and sweet. How dare they? How dare he hurt me? How dare she blame me? 
I grimaced, and waited for more. Instead, we just stood there. Our eyes locked, and we savored that terrible moment together. We tried to make some sense of the destruction that had passed before us, or more the destruction in us. I could see my skin, though. It didn't register that it was my skin though. It seemed more like the unfortunate flesh of a beastly reptile than my famously fair tone. It just didn't feel like me. 
I couldn't stand the failure that lived between us. Desperate to end it, I clasped my eyes closed. I could hear the night time sounds of nature. I could hear crickets, and bats. Most of all though, I heard the snakes. First, it was the hissing.
Then, I could hear their heads and necks banging against each other.  Finally, I heard them banging against my head. Thats when I realized they were on me. 
When I open my eyes, Athena is no longer the vengeful punisher that I had just survived. She was the just, and practical mother Goddess that I knew so well. Her demeanor turns stoic and supportive. Then, she left. She just left me there. My dress tattered, and my face hideous. She left me to suffer. She left me to learn a lesson that I would never get to use.
I knew before she took an interest in me that she was the patroness of the pure. I took an oath. Shame filled every corner of my soul. I deserve this, maybe. Now, I'm stuck like this.
All my childhood dreams fell away. A mirage of handsome boys that I had planned to marry as a little girl. That was before my life with Athena. That was before the Sea God came and took my future. It hits me again that both of those paths would never manifest. Nothing good could ever manifest. I had failed myself in a permanent way.
I felt a panic. I thought of running.The idea sent chills through me. I knew it wouldn't work though. You can't run from yourself. 
All the horrible visions started. Visions of the serpents snapping at my eyeballs, or stuck on my face.  
Speaking of my face, I wondered what ghastly punishment had replaced my once coveted features.  There was a time when I thought those features, and a dose of honor would save me. That time has passed. Though modest, I have heard many times that my features were angelic. Now, nobody will ever be able to describe my beauty. Nobody would want me now. 
The choices all culminated to that moment. The choice to be chaste and work for the Goddess Athena.  The choice to trust Poseidon passes through my brain as well. He is probably laughing, and calling me a fool.  Embarrassment was becoming the normal feeling as I sat in my mistakes.  Then, the biggest mistake hit me like a ton of bricks. 
All of my choices had been for someone else. Now, I marveled at life. The day I learn to live for myself was the day that I had to live only for myself, because anyone else that would venture near me will meet their death.