You know I don't own any of this, except the idea for the Elements and the Elementals.
1
"Medusa Ash Fernadno! You didn't! You couldn't!" Alyssa shrieked.
"I did, and I'd gladly do it again. He was a brat, a snob, and an idiot. Why you chose him to set me up with, I'll never know!" A young woman in her early twenties responded.
Medusa had no idea why her mother had named her after a Greek monster. She looked nothing like a monster, with dirty blond hair that didn't quite reach her shoulders and a round face that usually carried a smile. Her cheeks were pale, though you couldn't notice because of a pinkish tan and dozens of freckle constelations. She wasn't especially stunning, and she liked it that way. Medusa made an effort to be unremarkable: refusing make-up with a passion, wearing loose, casual clothes in practically every situation, and—even though many called her childish for it—sticking her favorite Perry the Platypus baseball cap on her head. She had it on now, sitting in a small Starbucks with her friend Alyssa.
"But Kyle could have been perfect for you! He obviously likes you. You just… aren't having an open mind," said Alyssa desperately.
"My mind was open until Kyle changed it." Medusa glanced at her phone. "Oh, shoot! I need to get home! Oma came today. Gosh, Alyssa, sorry, I need to get going. See ya!" She jumped up and raced outside to her car.
By the time she got to her parents' house, the sky was starting to darken. She hurridly parked her car and entered the house. Her father was out working late, and only her mother and her visiting grandmother were home.
"Hey Oma!" Medusa bent down and embraced her German grandparent. The senile old woman sat on the couch with no expression.
Medusa's mother entered the room. "Medusa…" The young woman could sense the tension in her voice. "Sit down for a moment, will you?"
She obeyed hesitantly. "Okay… What's wrong?"
Her mother sighed. "Our family has a legacy. There is… an amulet that takes us away for a time, to another world. This happened to me. The amulet took me back to ancient Greece, to the time of legends. That's why I named you Medusa."
Medusa stared wide-eyed at her mother, wondering if she should call an asylum.
Then her Oma spoke. "It's true. My grandmother was taken to Middle-earth and learned manipulation of fire. My mother was taken to Narnia, and learned manipulation of air. I was taken to the Age of Exploration in the Caribbean, and learned manipulation of water. Your mother was taken to Greece, and learned manipulaion of earth. Our family has a legacy. We are the keepers of the four Elements. You, my dear, are next."
Medusa held back a snort. "Right. So, you guys are elementals, I'm supposed to ride a necklace to someplace and learn how to make fire. Or maybe get a degree in gardening. Or plumbing. Or maybe even ventalation! Where am I going… Alagaesia?"
Her mother sighed again. "We never know where we'll go. And we're being serious. Look." She pointed at a flowerpot on the coffee table. Grains of dirt levitated and swirled around into a shape: Medusa's face.
The young woman was shaken to the core. She was about to yell some very choice words when her Oma leaned forward.
"The cycle is growing weak. It will end soon, methinks with you. Instead of mastering one Element, you will master them all. Instead of returning, you will make a new home in the place the amulet chooses to take you." She held out a fist, fingers down, holding something. "Take it. You cannot escape your fate."
Medusa was beginning to be creeped out by her grandmother's stare. She glanced at her mother and saw unshed tears in her eyes. She looked back at the waiting hand. What could it hurt? I mean, an amulet isn't really magic or whatever… So she stretched out her arm with her palm up, waiting for her Oma to drop the object in her hand.
Her grandmother smiled grimly. Her mother sniffled and whispered, "Goodbye, Medusa. I love you."
Then her Oma's fingers opened, and a golden pendant hit her palm.