Medusa

Cutting through the thick fog, the malevolent castle of Medusa, wicked stepmother and evil queen, sat in the hidden Valley of Silence. Medusa was a strange lady with even stranger ways. She was, in truth, very beautiful, but her black heart made her features constantly wrinkled and fierce. She hadn’t always been mean and such a stiff, but after her second husband had died and she had been left with Cindergirl, her mood had taken a dive for the worst. Cindergirl took the brunt of Medusa’s beatings, afraid that Medusa would turn the stone glare on her. Then Cindergirl would end up similar to Medusa’s many enemies. Medusa was good with her enemies, she had them dusted and polished every week. Cindergirl had no wish to become like them.

Cindergirl was sweet in nature, loving, kind and beautiful. It was her beauty that made her so hated by the queen. Everyone knew that and made points of tormenting her and being mean to the sweet lass. This night was no better for her. As she lay in bed weeping at yet another day and night of injustice, she covered her face in her pillows and wished for a better place or for someone to come rescue her.

While she thought these wistful thoughts, outside the castle of Medusa, Prince Charming was surveying the scene. Fog filled most of his sight, but what he could see of the castle was certainly intimidating. Stone gargoyles lined the outermost terraces, their faces deformed and leering. A moat surrounded the castle and seemed to be full of a bubbling, oozing, mostly solid liquid that had a very foul stench. A tall drawbridge guarded the castle from invaders if the smell of the moat wasn’t enough of a discouragement. Arrow slits lined the stone walls like the narrowed pupils of some feral beast. A few pendants hung dejectedly from their poles topped with sharp points. Above it all rose a single tower, the abode of the evil queen.

Prince Charming gave a low whistle. He was all for saving damsels in distress (and he heard there was a particularly beautiful one in this castle), but he was having second thoughts. He wasn’t cowardly, but he did have a working brain and at this moment it was shouting for him to run away. Prince Charming ignored the silent shouting; he was up to the challenge.

He wrapped himself in his magic cloak that concealed him from all eyes and carefully stepped out onto the drawbridge. He was across it in no time and slipping silently between two stone faced guards. Literally. The guards had been turned to stone and their frozen faces of terror suggested that they had not wanted such treatment.

After moving past them, Prince Charming hid in the shadows of the wall. Not that he needed to. After all, he was wearing a magic cloak. However, it seemed the right thing to do. Looking around he spotted a small wooden hut nestled against the same wall he was on. Surveying the hut he noticed a small light shining through some of the shutters. Possible information, he thought. Tiptoeing toward the hut, he peeped inside. The only thing he could distinguish through the crack in the shutters was a foot. A very feminine foot.

A couple of sobs came from within. Prince Charming smiled to himself. Perhaps this job would be easier than he had imagined. Certainly the crying woman in the small hut was a damsel in distress and most likely the damsel in distress. Prince Charming knocked softly on the door. The sobbing inside stopped for a moment before a voice came from within.

“Who is it?” The voice was soft and gentle but sounded a little strained from crying.

“I am here to rescue you,” said Prince Charming, taking off his magic cloak. A soft pattering of feet came from inside and a young woman answered the door. Dirty streaks ran down her face from crying and her eyes were red from tears. However, this did not detract in the least from her beauty and pleasant appearance.

She stared at Prince Charming for awhile, waiting for him to say something, anything. Realizing this, Prince Charming cleared his throat.

“I am here to rescue you,” he declared once again. She remained staring. When Prince Charming opened his mouth to speak again, she shook herself from her trail of previous thought and put a finger to her lips and mouthed, ‘NOT HERE.’ She beckoned him toward the door with a dirty, yet delicate finger. He nodded and followed her into the hut, not because he believed that women were equal to men and therefore had a right to be obeyed, but he knew he was in unfriendly territory and it was best to listen to the natives. After she had shut and latched the door, she turned to him.

“Who are you?” She spoke softly and nervously, as if she wasn’t accustomed to speaking.

“I am Prince Charming.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Oh. How did you get inside the castle?”

“I walked and rode my steed.”

“Oh.” Strained silence filled the hut.

“So are you going to rescue me or what?” The question startled him since he was unused to women speaking and demanding something of him.

“Of course.”

“Let’s go quickly, then, and quietly.”

“All right. Here, get under this magic cloak of mine, it will make us invisible.” She complied with his request, stepping toward him, then stopped and her eyes filled with terror. She grabbed the cloak from his hands and retreated from him, into a corner.

“Hey!” Prince Charming exclaimed, walking toward her, then stopped in bewilderment; he had just walked through a table and chair. In the corner the woman whispered so quietly, he could barely hear her.

“I’ll save you, don’t worry.”

“Save me from wha —” Prince Charming began, but was cut off as something dragged him to an unknown terror in blackness…