FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Medusa's Curse

---

Written by Arian Mabe (Amethyst Mare)

Commissioned by ItsBrookeDuh

_ _

_ _

Long folds of white cloth draped down their bodies, the young man and his lover stepping from the rowboat with smiles on their lips. Jenniefer accepted his assistance gracefully, though there was an air of expectation in how she held his hand, delicately as if she was not comfortable putting her full weight on him. Her lover, similarly clad in easily flowing cloth, tied at the waist and bunched up at the shoulders, stepped easily from the boat, but was not the sort of man that would have been seen labouring in the fields or on a boat most usually, light and lithe.

All they were was the cloth that was called a “cloak" and their undergarments, needing no more than that in such a warm, comfortable climate. Matt sighed, glad to be back on stable ground again, though the island was not all that remote from the main body of land where they lived and worked. Their chain of islands, off the mainland of Greece, was a heartland and a peaceful abode in which to keep away from the bustle of city life, although it was fair to say that most there understood the pleasures of living. Even civilians like them, however, had to work hard.

It was not often that young lovers got to go away and experience the joys of something a little more delightful for themselves.

Matt held her hand, leading her up the sand away from the beach, waves lightly lapping at the shore. Her heart fluttered but, oh, she would not be wooed and won over so easily, not if she had her way about it.

“Oh, Matt, where have you brought me?"

He smiled, lips quirking, though the furrow in his brow was more telling of the knots of worry in his stomach.

“Somewhere special… They say that the rarest fruit in all the country grows here and I could think of no one more perfect to savour it than you, my sweet."

Jenniefer giggled faintly and blushed, ever so slightly mollified, though it generally took a lot more than that placate her. Still, if there was something so rare there, surely that was the reason behind all the rumours?

“I've heard stories of this place, Matt…" She murmured, holding his hand a little tighter. “Are you not afraid of encountering the beast here?"

He laughed out loud, shaking his head, but Matt turned his head, betraying his unease.

“No, no… No, of course not. There's nothing here. We don't live in the stories of the gods, Jenniefer, you should know that."

He was cocky, too cocky, puffing his chest up and strutting a little, trying to show off even without thinking about it. It was in every man's nature to peacock to some extent, whether they were royalty or a mere fisher boy, but Matt was a man who wanted to impress. The boat was secured on the shore, waves caressing its hull in a splash of seafoam, and he led her on and up into the ruins of time gone by.

The olive trees grew into the old, light-coloured stone, buildings that should have stood the test of the ages crumbled and broken. Statues dotted the way, seemingly present with no rhyme or reason to them, some frozen in expressions of horror, others missing limbs. Some even appeared as if they were running, one notable instance of a couple with their arms around one another, eyes shielded, catching Matt's eye.

Strange… Very strange. Who had lived there in times gone by? Pressing her fingers to the rough stone, Jenniefer took a small inhalation of breath, eyes wide.

“There must have been a great battle here… How would we know?"

But Matt wasn't thinking about the times gone by, all that may or may not have come to pass on an island that he had already forgotten the name of. It was remote, remote enough that no one would bother them there, no one else even fishing near enough to see their boat moored on the beach. He took her hands in his, holding them to his chest, and Jenniefer shivered, the pounding of his heart telling her more than his words did.

“You didn't bring me here just to show me some fruit, did you, Matt?"

Of course, she saw straight through him, a smirk on her lips and heart surging as her arms went around his neck, kissing him deeply and passionately, their tongues batting playfully back and forth between their mouths. Her lips moulded to his as if their bodies were made for each other, tumbling down in the middle of the grove, olive branches stretching overhead. The aroma of fresh earth mingled with salt from the sea, the leaves rustling gently against one another in an unseen breeze, though they were not as loosely hanging as ones on orange trees and the like, but tougher, like the life-sustaining olives that they bore.

The young couple thought of none of that, however, clothes removed, barely breaking from the warmth of each other's bodies to come together again, desperation in the lines of them. Yet it was Jenniefer who took control, laughing softly, pushing him onto his back and sitting astride his hips, her hair hanging darkly down to her shoulders. There could have been no greater beauty in the world than her, in any time, as Matt moaned, his shaft rising hard and wanton for her, pressed up against her thigh, just shy of the folds of her pussy.

“Oh, Jenniefer…"

“Quiet…"

He whimpered, a man at her knees, at her whim. Her will and whim was his command and he slipped between her legs, kissing up her thighs, the creamy expanse of her skin where her tanner skin faded to what was usually covered by clothing. Oh, it was a treat indeed to find himself in such a place as he moaned and dipped his tongue into her snatch, wriggling it between the folds of her haired pussy, for there was no convention there to clear the skin of hair. She was a woman and he a man and the two of them had needs that only the other, right then and there, could satisfy.

His tongue delved deep and flickered up against her clit, drawing her sweet juices from her, intoxicated by the moment itself. There was no other world for him, no reality where Jenniefer did not exist, though they were in it together, him and his lover. Her thighs squeezed around his head, drawing him in closer, panting softly, her breasts rising and heaving with the thrust of her hips, her body responding with electric tingles to his touch.

“Ohhh…"

She moaned, need rising. It was good, so good, but he had barely gotten started when she was up and on her knees, beckoning him to her, eyes fierce.

“Matt! Stand up!"

She gave him no reason for her sudden command, ignoring his whimpers at being denied the treat of her sex. Yet she mollified him slightly, even without meaning to, kneeling up to take his cock into her mouth while his mind swam in luxurious blankness, unable to think about anything else but how good her lips felt on his hard shaft. He panted and moaned, not even trying to be quiet as she drew his lust for him, more and more eager for the taste of him, his length neatly filling her mouth, though she could not take all of them. That, however, was not needed at all for the lust of a good time.

Jenniefer murmured around him, satisfied with herself like the cat who'd gotten the cream. His shaft drove into her mouth, but she held him in place, hardly even letting him thrust and express the needs of his body. There was no distinct offering or giving up of control in their relationship, but she naturally leaned into it – and who could blame her? Swirling her tongue around the tip of his shaft, she played with him, exulting in the tiny twitches and thrusts he gave, prey to emotion even in a moment like that.

His moans rose, desperate for more, panting softly, but Matt could not hold back, trying to run his fingers through her hair, admiring, even then, the beauty of her locks falling down her shoulders. She'd worn her hair down for him and what beautiful hair it was, silken and smooth to such a point that he would have been quite happy to run his fingers through it again and again.

Jenniefer did not allow it though, sucking his shaft down, cheeks hollowing as her lips formed a tight seal around his girth. She wanted him but wanted him in her own way, bobbing her head, his fingers brushing her hair softly, not knowing what to do. He wasn't in charge and neither was he in control, groaning lightly, shifting his weight.

He wanted to cum, but she held off, softening the bobbing of her head every time he tensed up, wanting to thrust, to let instinct guide him. Pre-cum dribbled forth but was swept away by her tongue so quickly that one could not be sure whether it existed in the first place. Drawing back, Jenniefer licked her lips salaciously, eyes sparkling with wicked desire.

“You want to cum…" She whispered huskily, an edge of evil about her tone and the set of her body. “But I don't think you want to badly enough yet."

She sat back, using his clothes to cushion her buttocks from the dampness of the earth, a smirk on her lips as she raised her feet together, pressed up against one another. Matt whimpered, heart pounding, the aching need of his cock forgotten in that moment, for there were some sweet things, some hidden inclinations, that he had only ever shared with his sweetheart, loving her all the more for indulging him in them. Dropping instantly, he crawled to her, rubbing and massaging her feet, fingers sliding all over, across the heel and between the toes. And yet it was worshipping them with his lips and tongue that was the most alluring for him, though she did tire of that too from time to time. He couldn't blame her, as it was his kink and not hers, something that made his heart pound even more passionately for her, his dick as hard as it had ever been.

He whimpered, kissing over her soles, nuzzling into the heel of her foot and trailing his tongue up and over. There was so much of her feet to adore, cradling one in his hands so that he could lift it and tease it more, swirling his tongue very softly and gently around each toe in turn. Her big toe, plump and full, suckled into his mouth, lips closing around, his eyes nearly rolling back in his head from the wrath of raw pleasure alone.

Jenniefer giggled, watching him, her curiosity perked even though her hand was between her thighs, stroking herself to maintain her arousal.

“Mmm… I can't want to feel you inside me, Matt."

He shuddered, kissing each of her toes in turn, her left foot receiving the same attention as the right, lapping softly over every inch of her foot that he could reach. Although they had walked there in their sandals and then, of course, discarded them as passions rose, her feet were still mostly fresh and clean, his fingers reverently brushing the tiniest scrap of leaf from her heel as he kissed and worshipped.

Everything for her. All for his goddess, suckling on her toes, drawing too into his mouth at once as his tongue worked away at them. Jenniefer jerked, trembling in his grasp, and he knew that his time there, at least adoring her feet, was soon to be at an end.

“Matt, I'm ticklish…"

She was not all that shy, however, and any coyness slipped from her as she drew her feet from him, her eyes smouldering. Their lips met again as he kissed her passionately, his hands roaming her body, adoring all that he didn't have the chance to show her how much he loved in daily life. Alas, he could not indulge in everything all at once, his hands squeezing her breasts, her nipples perking up to the cool nip of ocean air.

Lying back, he moaned in wonder as she moved over him, fumbling a little, still clumsy in the early stages of their loving relationship. He helped ease his shaft into her, his legs bent and feet flat on the ground, toes curling into the dirt, though Matt's mind was entirely taken up with pleasure, sweep after sweep of it roaming through him where there was no stopping it. The folds of her wet sex closed around him, so hot and slick already, and he moaned out loud, clutching her hands as she rode him.

“Oh… Oh, Matt…"

Her need rose at the point of lust, riding him as if there was nothing else for him but to lose himself in the moment, the chirping of grasshoppers lingering in the air. The buzz of the Mediterranean was all around but he would have seen the gathering storm clouds above if not for the lust in his heart, Jenniefer rising and falling on his shaft, luxuriating in the pleasure shared between their bodies.

He gasped and grunted, eyes wide, straining not to cum too soon as she slowed her pace, easing off a bit, his hand between her legs. Although he was clumsy, fumbling to please her, he moaned quietly as his fingers found her clit, rubbing gently, though Jenniefer grumbled and arched her hips for more pressure.

“Unff… Matt, do it right! I've shown you a hundred times!"

Some may have said that Jenniefer had an attitude but those who knew her would have claimed that she was merely a young woman who knew what she wanted, riding him skilfully, though her muscles trembled with the force of keeping her body there. She didn't want to go too hard too soon, revelling in the thickness of his length filling her so perfectly, deeper and harder, the two of them unable to stop the natural course of need from filling them. Matt dug his heels into the earth and thrust up, panting heavily, his lips parted, sucking in needy breath after breath through his mouth.

“Unff… Can't…hold back…"

Jenniefer rolled her eyes.

“You need stamina…"

She was short with him but a break in their play rendered his shaft slipping from her, Jenniefer wriggling onto all fours for him, still using his clothes to protect herself from the ground. She wished he could last longer before cumming but, well, it felt good to have his tongue inside her again, squirming over her lightly damp and spread folds before delving inside. Jenniefer squealed, toes curling, bearing back against him, her back arching, desire brimming over in her heart.

Oh, she was close, closer than she had expected, burning heat prickling under her skin as if she was burning up from the inside out. Yet that was not due to the warmth of the day; on the contrary, it was getting rather cool, dark clouds brewing, the sea that was beyond their view choppy with white foam spraying up where it crashed upon the rocks. The course of the day was changing without their will or consent but neither lover had a moment in which to pause and wonder at just what was happening.

They never realised until it was too late.

She groaned for him, bearing back on his mouth, his tongue swirling around her clit as Matt hungrily dragged it into his mouth. He suckled on it devoutly, even when she squirmed, pleasure and sensitivity mounting and mounting until she could bear it no longer. Her orgasm crashed over her as she cried out her lust over and over again, back arching, hips shoving demandingly back at him, the round, soft flesh of her buttocks grinding lightly into his face. Yet that was all Matt wanted and needed, adoring her with long, slow laps of his tongue, his desire right where it was supposed to be.

The beast stirred…but it was too late for either of them to flee.

His heart leapt as she nodded, hanging her head, hair falling over her face. Finally! He could have her, covering her with his body, wrapping his arms around just so that he could grope her breasts more, a little of her flesh squeezing between his fingers as he dug his fingers in. His shaft found her pussy, miraculously, on the first stroke, driving deep as she moaned out his name, but Matt hardly heard her anymore. He was too caught up in his own pleasure to care, Jenniefer having driven him mad with desire that lust overruled love in the passion strung out between them.

He couldn't stop himself, thrusting and thrusting, grinding into her pussy like a man possessed, though her body readily accepted him and Jenniefer moaned for him to go on, to fuck her. She wouldn't say something so crude, being a lady, but she could cry out for him, her hips rolling back into each one of his thrusts, the sloppy, wet sound of their bodies coming together rising more and more with every passing second. His head spun with pleasure but there was no holding back from what she had already made him wait for, cords of desire tightening within until they reached breaking point.

His raw howl of ecstasy was not one that was to be held back as he spent himself inside Jenniefer, shuddering up to her, driving into her cunny with short, sharp thrusts, hardly pulling out before slamming back inside all over again. He had to keep going, had to keep fucking her, the slap of his hips on her round, firm buttocks rising as if he was trying to draw attention to them, though it was far too late for them to bypass the attention of one that sought to see them gone, long gone.

Matt trembled, on the brink, though his mind was too foggy with lust to hold back even as she moaned for him, her tits in his hands. A nipple poked between his fingers and he grunted thickly in the back of his throat, needing it, so very much more. He still had the image of her feet in his mind, just how they had felt under his lips and tongue, grinding in hard and fast, Jenniefer practically begging him, repeatedly, for his cum.

“Please… Ah! Matt! Harder! In Zeus' name..!"

Even then, Matt could not resist her, breath catching, pulling at his lungs. He needed to rest, to recover himself, and yet there was only the orgasm present that his body demanded. Maybe he was as much prey to it as he was to his beautiful girlfriend, the fall of her hair sultry and alluring, hypnotising in its beauty.

It was too much for him.

And then it was there, orgasm pushing through, a press and a bulge grinding into her, sharing the moment of pleasure with Jenniefer as it had always been meant to me. Matt's lips parted in a silent cry, unable to even hear himself, though he was there to take it all, every last succulent drop of pleasure in the olive grove that was his to claim. His shaft pulsed, spending spurts of warmly sultry cream into her sex, mixing with her juices, though both of them knew the risks of not wrapping his shaft at such times.

They did not care, passion coming before all else, the risk one that they were prepared to take. After all, they were sure they would be married one day, young love progressing as it did for so many other families in their life and area, their little island. He leaned over her, letting her body bear his weight, relishing in the moment, as much as it made his head spin and pound in the most delightfully disorientating kind of way.

Matt grunted, rising onto his knees behind her so that his chest was no longer pressed to her back, shaft softening very slowly inside her pussy, though he wanted to draw it out for as long as possible. Little did he know that neither of them had very long to keep things as they were, his cum spilling lightly from her cunny, bubbling forth, seed mixed with her fluids.

Something rustled nearby, the beast lurking. It had been so long since she had fed, though she had never expected to find two humans there engaged as they were, hatred blistering through her soul.

To think that they had invaded her island, thought that they could use her land as their own personal retreat… She hissed, the serpents atop her head seething and twisting, tail coiled tightly around her lower body.

No!

Matt groaned, head falling back, a dopey smile on his lips. He had no idea what was coming for him, not even as the beast of Medusa lurked, fangs flashing on the many heads of her serpents.

Jenniefer stiffened, head snapping to the side.

“What was that?"

But she knew what she had seen, the snake tail slithering away through the bushes, her heart pounding, though not from lust anymore. With a shriek, she shoved Matt off her, her lover crashing to the ground, naked and scrambling, fear overruling all else. To her shame, she wasn't even thinking of her partner as fear nipped at her heels, the myth and legend of the island having been true, though she wasn't about to stick around to uncover the exact nature of it, regardless of all that they had done together.

She could have waited, taken a moment to help him up, run away together, even though their fate would have been the same either way. There was no escaping Medusa, the legend of the island and the macabre of statues frozen in horror, knowing that their fates were sealed even as they lost the lives they had thought they had yet to lead. But she didn't, Matt trying to get up, her hand connecting with his shoulder, shoving him back to the ground.

No one could ever know what they would do when fear overruled them. Some were crueller than others.

Jenniefer fled, Matt fumbling behind, grabbing at his clothes, but he did not need them then, Medusa coming for him. All he knew was that he was alone, all of a sudden, the storm roiling above, the clouds darkening, a flash of lightning high in them, thunder brewing in the depths of it all.

“Jenniefer!"

On all fours, he tried to leap to his feet, but a snake-tail lashed out, knocking him back on his rump. She wasn't having him going anywhere – not after what he'd done! Quailing, all Matt knew was the beast looming above, a creature of terror who could have been human, maybe once, in a past life.

“You…" Medusa hissed, letting him see her in all her terrifying glory, her petrifying stare locked onto him, his eyes fading to grey. “You ssshould never have come to my island!"

He crawled away, whimpering in fear, but his limbs were already dull and heavy, understanding not coming to his half-frozen mind. Medusa was half-serpent, the torso of a woman rising from the trunk and tail of a snake, her skin grey and peeling as if she had been halfway through shedding. Anyone who had known of her legends, the steely grasp of her stare, should have also known that she was not to be disturbed in shedding, her eyes fierce, blazing with cold hate for the one who had intruded upon her island.

Matt's breath caught in his chest, horror chasing rational thought from his mind. He couldn't think, could barely breathe, but breathing would not be needed for him for much longer at all. The monster loomed, towering, the snakes hissing and writhing around her head like the darkest halo that had ever been created. Yet if it was any kind of halo, it was a halo of the underworld, Medusa created from a curse that had rendered her as much prey to herself as those that fell into the path of her stony stare.

“No…" She hissed, teeth showing, a little sharper than regular human teeth. “No humans here… Never again!"

But Matt was not in any position to move, chest heaving, too tight, couldn't breathe! There was something wrong even if he could not quite work out what was, fear ruling all else. The myth was real and there was nowhere for him to go, naked with his cock out, though it had only half softened.

That would last forever. Never again would he experience the changes of life, blood flowing through his veins, heart beating. Some said that freezing, being turned to stone, however, was not a form of dying, immobility borne from helplessness against the beast.

His sight frozen, eyeballs no longer able to move and even the whimper from his lips was chilled. What was wrong? Why couldn't he run? Why couldn't he do…anything? It felt like there should have been more, something for him to push into, some manner of fear to turn to flight… And yet there was nothing, nothing at all.

Where was his strength? He'd never been particularly strong, but he should have been able to do something in the face of such danger, surely? Medusa, however, loomed, towering over him on the ground, his cock still out, on his backside, dirt smeared across his skin, pale where it had not been exposed to the sun. The snakes around her head hissed and twisted, writhing and seething into one another.

Matt's breath tightened in his chest, his cheekbones frozen, the grey stone of her petrification spreading and spreading, his lips frozen, parted in horror. He'd never again have a life as he stiffened, the stone spreading out and out from his eyes, cracking through his body, muscles locked, turning to stone.

His mind, however, was intact to the very end, even as her eyes blazed, locked onto him in such a way that he knew that the beast of Medusa could not be turned away. He tried to breathe but the stone spread and spread, his skin grey and cracked, rough if he'd actually been able to move his fingers to touch it. There was even a deeper green spreading forth as if he had already been covered with moss and lichen, aged with the island itself, all the other statues that had met their final fate and resting place there.

If only he'd listened to those that had warned them, all the rumours that spread back and forth. He'd thought they were just trying to warn them off having some fun. Little did Matt know that that was the last drop of fun that he'd ever been due to have, arms hard and rock-like, cold spreading through him, bit by bit.

And all he could do was look straight ahead, looking directly into the monster's eyes, knowing nothing but horror. Fear clawed at his soul but even that was due to fade and die as the petrification spread down his body, down his chest to his stomach, the softness there becoming hard and unyielding. It wasn't as if he had had any much muscle there to hold to begin with anyway.

But that was not the matter as his crotch too turned to bitter, hard stone, crunching around him, freezing muscles and blood that had once been throbbing to life. If he had still had the scope within him to be humiliated, he would have been at the moment that his cock was forever frozen in a half-hard state, on show but not in a way that he would have ever wanted it. As if he would have ever had that option for himself, to decide, to ever again have agency over a life that was swiftly fading before his eyes.

But he didn't need to think and didn't need to feel as, finally, he saw nothing, feeling the last vestiges of petrification easing down his legs, cool and firming. It could have been a nice feeling, if he had not been aware of the shock of what was happening, but there was no pain even as his weight settled more firmly and heavily into the ground right where he was. Matt could, at the very least, be glad of that.

His toes could no longer wiggle and Matt slipped from the world that he'd known, stiff and frozen in cold stone forever, a kind of stone that would never again even warm to the touch of the sun. That was the way of it, Medusa rearing up, a forked tongue slipping in a decidedly snake-like fashion from between even her lips.

“And now for the other one… Female… The girl…"

Matt sat there, his backside welded into the ground, the stone of it weighing him down, his shaft half-hard, or at least mostly so: it would depend on how future visitors to the island looked at him. Maybe they would get a good look or perhaps Medusa would snatch them up for her collection before they had the chance to bear true witness to him, all who visited there becoming yet another monument to the legend of the island. Forever frozen, his lips remained parted in horror, cracked at the edges, his tongue held lightly within his mouth as if he had been about to say something.

However… No one would ever hear what he had to say. Not ever again.

Medusa slithered down the slope through the olive grove, moving swiftly and easily with her scaled body cutting a track through the dirt. The first drops of rain from the brewing storm spattered down but that was of no concern to her as she pursued her prey, a wicked gleam in her eye that only came in the thrill of the hunt.

Jenniefer's breath raked through her lungs with every lunging stride, her feet bare and cut up from the rocks. The ground was rough and stony and yet she had to keep going, hurling her unfit body into motion, striving to get away, anything to get away. There was a part of her, however small a part that it was in that moment, that drifted back to her boyfriend, the man that she had thought she would marry, but there was no way to turn back what was already done.

He was gone. She had to live.

And yet that was never an option for Jenniefer as hoped soared in her chest, the little boat that they'd arrived on in the water, bobbing away even though it was securely moored. She clutched fabric to her chest, not even sure whether it was her clothing or Matt's, but not caring either as her chest heaved, only then realising that she was sobbing. Fat, ugly crocodile tears streamed thickly down her cheeks as she howled and tried to scramble into the boat – yet the beast was there, blocking out the rising storm with her naga body, the snakes writhing around her head.

“Little girl…" Medusa hissed, even as Jenniefer tried to look away. “You ssshould never have come here. Go be with your partner… Forever!"

Jenniefer turned, flinging herself into flight, though there was nowhere for her to go, nowhere that Medusa would not be able to follow her. As Jenniefer fled, Medusa drew herself up tall, not even needing eye-contact to petrify her, eyes boring into the back of Jenniefer's skull as, suddenly, she was frozen, one foot flat on the stony dirt road, her heel boring down.

She cried out, panting and heaving, crying out her pain, though there was no one there to hear her. She had already forsaken her partner and lover, the man frozen to stone back up in the olive grove, but one foot only was dug down into the dirt, balanced there, the other flailing. And yet there was nothing for her to do as Medusa slithered in closer, her serpentine body making an S-shape in the earth where she more easily slithered, admiring her work even as she reared up tall, taking her liberty of the woman who had dared think to invade her territory.

“Ssso young… Ssso soon…"

The stone swept up her leg, locking her thigh in place, her pussy turning to stone, no sexual arousal to be found in a moment like that. She cried and cried but there was no stopping its swift climb, teasing down her other leg, toes wriggling and then frozen with a chilling grip of a touch that she should never have felt.

She might have tried to beg for her life, to plead for an escape, but Medusa was not listening to her, the robe having fallen from the woman's hands as she tried to stretch out, tried to get away even as she was in the process of being petrified. It was no good, no use at all, her breath trapped in her lungs as her stomach sucked in, muscles lightly defined in her last breath, though she felt no pain through the process. That in itself could have been considered either a blessing or a curse, depending on the situation one found themselves in.

Jenniefer's breasts froze, cold and unyielding, her nipples forever perked into the cold air, as if it was her right and nature to be petrified with her body fully on show in the most carnal fashion possible. Of course, that was not something that Medusa considered, her stare boring through her, rain pattering down, marking Jenniefer's skin with dark droplets, showing up more on the stone than it did her greying-out skin.

She knew nothing, saw nothing, her neck frozen, balance on one foot, finally tipping forward. The weight of her body as her head become stone too, a strand of hair floating out in petrification from her head, was too much for it, too much for the statue that she had begun. There was no woman in there any longer as she resided there, nothing more than a statue and a monument to terror itself, the weight of her head pulling her forward, the ground rushing up to meet her.

Jenniefer did not cry out, not even as Medusa slithered away, satisfied that the island was, once again, her own. She was not present in her own mind as her body shattered, head disconnecting from her neck and cracking across the stony skull. Yet there were no guts of her being to spill force, stone claiming even her internal organs, freezing her, breaking her, the impact of her body crunching onto the stony path enough to shatter her through and through.

Her body crumbled down the line of her back, stone breaking, not lasting the test of time. She was still freshly petrified and there was no way, not still, to turn back the sundial of time, to slow the pace of the day, the seasons, how her body was no longer her own. Jenniefer's lips remained parted, perfectly intact as if for the bliss of a future lover, yet moss would soon claim her body, seeping around her crumbled form, a foot cast to the side, her knee cracked, everything lacking in the solidity that a human body, if to be present, would have required.

No pain. No harm. Only loss, petrification taking everything from the two lovers, both in states of undress, not in their clothes. Others would come, in future times, and not manage to escape themselves as they met the same fate, Medusa claiming more and more victims for her statue of horrific atrocities however she best pleased.

The serpent slithered, a naga in her prime. She thought no more of them.

For that was the bearing of Medusa's Curse.