I heard Brie, the last Guardian groan. “That monster pulled my tail and nearly crushed me!”
“So you were the one who bit him,” I said, and it took everything within me to hide my chuckle.
“You could have nipped him instead of sent him to the hospital!” Preston wailed.
She laughed. “Go big or go home.”
“You’re a horrible creature!”
I let the two of them bicker for a bit. Sometimes, that was the only way to deal with them. They fought, Desi cried, and I waited.
Just like any other normal Friday night.
Chapter Two
Preston
The legacy of the Gorgons dates back to the beginning of time. Blessed from above, their purpose was to be bringers of justice to a broken and cruel world. Like most mighty things, they fell from grace and far too quickly. All because we’re “ugly.” Which I think is bogus. We are not ugly! We just have to go up against a certain stigma. Snakes are considered disgusting, slimy, and untrustworthy, all because of some legend where a snake deceived the first humans on the planet. A lie, I should add! That creature wasn’t a snake! It’s not fair.
We’re not even snakes, I should add. We’re Gorgons! There’s a difference. We are magical and graceful. Powerful. Worthy of respect! I also happen to think I am quite beautiful as well. My scales are the greenest of greens, and my eyes are golden like the sun. Irresistible. When I am human, I am an Adonis. At least, I think I will be. I don’t get to be human until Desi finds love. That’s our reward for guiding her to the perfect mate.
How did we even end up on Desi in the first place? Family heritage. Her, several greats, grandmother, made a pact with the original Gorgons. Protect her loyal daughters and that daughter’s loyal daughter and so on...in love. Keep them from making a horrible mistake. In return, they would act as the voice of justice. Calling out all the horrible people for all of the horrible things they did, and making sure the dirty secrets didn’t stay dirty. We have super powers. One of the ways we can tell if a relationship is going to work out for the person we’re guarding is because we have the power to see into people’s souls. If we look long and hard enough, we can actually see their terrible memories.
It’s awesome.
Unfortunately, we don’t get to use our gift that much. Not anymore. Several generations of Gorgons ago, we had the tale of Medusa. I’m sure many are familiar with it. Medusa was supposedly an evil hag who liked to trap sailors. They stumbled upon her cave and were turned to stone by her ugliness. For centuries she lived like that until one bold hero took a mirror and showed her her own reflection. She was so repulsed by it, she turned herself into stone and...He. Cut. Off. Her. Head.
DRAMATIC MUSIC!
The story is bogus. Medusa was chosen by Gorgon guardians, true. She didn’t live in a cave, she lived in a nice house with her daughters and sisters. Her husband had died at a young age, and she provided for her family by helping the local law enforcement. The thing about bad guys is that they hate to be caught. That’s always been a thing since the first bad guy got the first bad idea. All of the villains rallied together to put an end to all of the Gorgons. Somehow, Medusa caught wind of the plan and got her daughters and nieces to safety. She and her sisters stayed to fight, to try.
They lost, and the story got told wrong. Winners are the ones who determine how history is shared after all.
It’s important for outsiders to know the truth. Our kind is dying off. There are fewer and fewer women willing to make the pact to keep us alive long enough to become human ourselves. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. To be human.
Desi knows there’s something wrong with her. An outside force, but she doesn’t know the true depth of her predicament. Fear has stopped the Gorgons from making their legacy be known. The women we protect are more afraid of being judged than ever before. Normally, we’d have found Desi a proper mate and made our way out by now. We can only live so long hiding inside of our host. Eventually, we will bond with her forever, and if her heart keeps moving deeper into darkness, so will we.
That’s why I wanted Desdemona to get lucky. I’d hoped it might lift her spirits and encourage her to start seeing the good in the world. My fellow guardians never agree with me. I’m too radical and modern for their tastes.
My name is Preston. My companions are Jerry and Brie. Jerry was the rude guardian who didn’t introduce himself and just started talking. Brie is our female companion who likes to ruin everything fun.
No, we aren’t related, though we all share the same conjuring date. Gorgons are paired together based on the day their magic explodes into life. We used to come in packs of six-to-eight. Lately, having even three was a small miracle. With the death of magic in the modern world, I didn’t blame anyone for not wanting to reproduce. I’ll consider us in good shape if we can get out of Desi’s hair for good, literally.
Poor Desi. After her terrible date, she crashed hard on her couch while watching a horror movie. The next morning, she woke up, and set up a nice long bubble bath to wash her feelings away. Despite what my guardians may claim, Desi has a lot of emotions. Does she process them in healthy ways? No, but she does have them. They’re just not as in tune with herself as I am.
I’ve always loved bath time. The warm water soothed me. It flowed through my scales and revitalized me from the outside in.
She closed her eyes and dipped below the surface, letting the water pour over her head completely. The heat enticed me out. I slithered through her dark locks, so free, and so close to freedom. I stretched myself out to the fullest. It wasn’t an opportunity I got often. I can’t exactly roam freely in a swimming pool. People would freak out once they saw me. Chlorine made me itchy anyway. The bath, though? Oh that was something else.
Since I was the old age of twenty-four, same as Desi...and all the others, I needed a good lubricating. Healthy bodies made for healthy magic. It was science.
I wanted to communicate to her that everything would be okay. Somehow we’d find the cure for her loneliness. We all wanted the same thing for different reasons! “Let yourself out. Let everyone see you. You’re more beautiful than you believe.”
Too bad I couldn’t actually talk to her. One can’t hear a magical being they don’t believe exists. Sometimes, she’s so close to asking who is sharing a life with her. So. Close. Then she getsscared and writes our connection off as a hallucination. I knew if I could make a breakthrough, it’d be game changing. And I knew that I’d be the only one she’d have that breakthrough with. Jerry liked to be hands off, and Brie was unpredictable. There was that saying that if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.
Desi sighed, and her mood shifted. Something about her became lighter. Did she hear me? I tried harder.
“Don’t give up. You’re going to find out what love is.”
She resurfaced and took in a deep breath. “I can’t give up. Maybe I’m approaching everything wrong.”
Atta girl! I beamed with pride. The Guardian of the Century award goes to me!
Desi ran her fingers through her hair, and they brushed against my scales. Immediately, I retreated back into hiding while she scowled. I’m sure many are confused about how we snakes can go undetected in her hair for so long. First, our magic allows for us to change size as needed. Second, we’re not as big as art has depicted us to be—not in our natural state, at least. There are rumors of Gorgons using their magic to intimidate others. Back when magic was a regular thing, a Gorgon had amazing abilities, and it didn’t hurt to use them.