AN: I feel like this one needs a description so your about to get it. First things first, I'm going to go by the ages they look because I'm not going to bother to figure out how witches age and also I'm going to have them speak in modern slang because 11th century is so 10 centuries ago. And hard.
Arachne, Medusa and Shaula, three sisters who grew up to become some of the most malice witches in the world. Before this, they were young and played games. Of course, their games were a little different. Who knows? Maybe this one will help prompt a breakthrough or two.
...
Everything was quiet. Days like this weren't too common in the Gorgon household as one of the sister's was usually on about something. Not Arachne though, she was the eldest of the sisters and agreed to only hold herself in the most dignified manner. She did not rave or argue the way her sisters did. Arachne was rather young for a witch, she took the appearance of what a human may have at age fourteen. She sat quietly on her bed reading. Arachne didn't take to fictional novels very much, to her they were a waste of time. She was currently reading a science journal, something she deemed would be useful in the future. The quiet of the room was great serenity. Arachne loved being so far from the town which was filled with ignorant people. She couldn't say she had any hope for the human race, it was peeking into the 11th century and everyone was truly clueless. Arachne Gorgon was enjoying quiet reading in the calm afternoon when she began to hear a noise. The irritation slowly became anger as the noise persisted.
"Shaula!" Arachne opened her curtains and looked over their backyard. She detested persistent laughter.
The youngest Gorgon looked up at her sister and sneered. "Don't worry yourself with what I do. Just go back to your reading."
"You're making a racket. Refrain." Arachne frowned. "What are you doing anyhow?"
Shaula narrowed her eyes. Sprawled in front of her was a burlap mat. "I'm experimenting."
Now she had her sister's attention. "Really? What is this experiment?"
"I found this scorpion in the fields," said Shaula proudly. "I'm putting him against other creatures and seeing how well he fares. So far he has beaten all other insects and varying degrees."
Arachne smirked. For a witch who appeared to a human to be only of six years, Shaula was rather intelligent.
"What is it you've pinned him against this time Shaula?"
The littlest sister smiled sinisterly. "A garden spider."
...
Arachne sat across from her sister on the grass as they peered onto the burlap sack. The scorpion closed in on the small spider. Closer, closer. Arachne narrowed her eyes and bit her lip, she focused deeply on the battle. With a slash the spider was cut into two pieces by the tip of the scorpions tail.
"No fair!" Arachne cried. "That spider is way too small to do anything to your scorpion."
Shaula grinned. "Keep that in mind."
Arachne hissed at her younger sister before walking her upside the head. "If you got a REAL spider then it could destroy your little scorpion in one hit just like that!"
Shaula rubbed her head as the middle Gorgon sister walked out to the yard.
"What on earth are you two on about?" Medusa Gorgon stared blankly at her sisters.
"Little Shaula here seems to believe she's all big and mighty because her scorpion killed a little spider," Aranche smirked.
Medusa smirked and crossed her arms. "I'm sure an adequate snake could crush both of them at once."
The other two Gorgon sisters turned their wrath to her.
"Let's bet on it then," smiled Medusa eventually.
"On what?" Shaula looked to her.
Medusa looked to her sisters. "Let's give ourselves one week We shall find the best respective animal to us and train it to be perfect in battle. Then we'll have then fight out and see which of us can train the ultimate specimen and which animal is superior."
Arachne and Shaula nodded. It was so on.
...
Medusa Gorgon was in her room trying to focus on training her snake. He was perfect, strong and raven black. Medusa found herself very annoyed however since the snake would do nothing she asked of it. She could hear her sisters through the walls. Shaula spoke to her scorpion affectionately and seemed to be manipulating him into things. From Arachne's side she only heard commands which were seemingly followed immediately. Medusa growled. How come her sisters had such good control? She tried both methods but the snake refused to obey. Her annoyance grew deep. She would have to start using her own methods.
"Do you want to kill it?" Medusa put a wooden figure into a box with the snake. The snake curled around it. She glared at it. "No." She hit the snake with a stick.
It hissed and turned to her. She then pushed forwards some food. The snake bolted to it and she snatched it away.
"No."
The snake was angry now. It would've lashed out if she hadn't thrown him the cricket. He ate it whole. Medusa thought heavily. She then placed a cricket on the wooden model. The snake went to eat off of it. She hit him again.
"No."
He stopped. Confused, the snake didn't move. Medusa hit it again. Realizing the snake was getting nowhere, she returned him to his crate and shoved him in the closet. An hour later she pulled him back out.
"Ready to kill?" Medusa put the snake back in the box. He went to eat the cricket off the wooden figure again. Medusa grabbed his tail and gently hit the figure, showing him what was to be done. She let go but the tail only flinched. He went to eat again. She hit him.
"No."
"No."
"No."
"Ready to kill?"
"No."
"No."
"Ready to kill?"
"No."
Medusa pulled the snake from its dark crate again. Still the snake had not eaten. It jumped at her but she grabbed him forcefully and shoved him back into his box. The snake glared at the wooden figure. Much to her delight, the snake whipped the figure with its tail, it fell the the ground. The snake then jumped. He dug into the figure with sharp teeth of venom. In a short while the wooden had been tattered into shavings, the snake enjoyed his cricket. Medusa gave him another. After this process the snake began to destroy anything put in front of it. Refusal was treated with two hits, then three.
...
"You are so beautiful dear Saso-chan," Shaula Gorgon pet her scorpion gently. "Will you please rid of this for me?"
Shaula placed a peach pit in front of her scorpion Saso. Saso dug his tail into the pit. She smiled. If only everything were this obedient. Unlike Arachne her control over her respectful animal was not as great. She often considered ways to force control. She hadn't worked it all out yet though.
"Saso-chan. What to we do if an opponent attacks behind?"
Shaula put the peach pit on Saso's back. Her scorpion stung into the pit again. The training continued with Shaula throwing seeds at Saso who deflected them well. He got much praise for it and lots of food. She was winning him over and it was apparent that the scorpion was growing to enjoy her company.
...
Medusa ate her bread calmly. She was very proud of her little snake and his progress in the past few days. Tough love was the way, this was apparent. Shaula arrived in the kitchen and opened the cupboard without a word. She pulled out a piece of bread and sat across the table from her older sister. The two munched in silence, Shaula kept looking expectantly across from her.
"Can I help you?" Medusa raised and eyebrow.
"How do you think Arachne is coming along?"
Rolling her eyes the older sister smiled. "You're worrying about Arachne?"
Shaula glared for a moment before nodding.
"You have a scorpion. I have a snake. She has a spider," sighed Medusa. "Do the math."
Shaula sat quietly before Medusa grunted realizing she needed to explain.
"You saw how your scorpion beat a spider before. Hers will be gone in seconds. It's weak and tiny and doesn't stand a chance."
The youngest Gorgon grinned and nodded. "Right! what harm could such a dumb little spider do?"
Medusa nodded. "Don't spend your time fearing a weak opponent. I'm not."
Shaula raised an eyebrow. "So are you saying you fear me as an opponent more?"
"This is a matter of animals but shows no particularly equivalent relevance to our power as individuals." Medusa shoved off the question quickly.
There was a pause.
"I would never in my life fear something as weak as you or your scorpion," she finished before leaving the table.
Shaula sneered.
...
One week had passed. The three Gorgon sisters sat on the grass with boxes containing their little pets on their laps.
"Please present your animals," Shaula put forwards her box. "On three."
The girls counted in unison.
"One. Two Three."
From Shaula Gorgon's box came a large scorpion. He looked tougher and perhaps cleaner than how he appeared a week prior. Medusa Gorgon produced a long and thin snake, much larger than the scorpion. It was blacker than night. From Arachne's box crawled out a spider.
"T-that's your spider?" Shaula gulped.
A tarantula sat before them. It was huge and furry, they could see it's eyes, bloody red and shimmering brightly at them.
"Isn't she lovely?" Arachne smirked. "I've kept this little one in my room for a while but found rather good use out of her for today."
The younger sisters sat still.
"Shall we begin already?" Arachne frowned.
After a moment, Shaula nodded. "Yes," she said. "Go!"
Each witch poked their animal to get them going and they all closed in to the centre of the burlap sack.
Immediately Medusa's snake darted towards the scorpion to take him out. This resulted in slight injury but the snake's bites did not harm Saso immensely. The snake then coiled around the scorpion and began to crush. The scorpion returned the blow by digging its tail into the snake. The two creatures struggled for a while before the scorpion finally collapsed, squished to death.
"Saso-chan!" Shaula cried as her dear pet was out of the game.
Medusa's snake was weary from poison but was resisting outstandingly. Medusa cracked a stick between her hands which frightened him enough to give it another go. He darted towards the spider who had not yet moved.
"Dodge it," said Arachne soothingly as her spider did so.
The snake turned on spider again, slowly cornering her.
"Attack."
On Arachne's command, the tarantula latched onto its prey and bit over and over again. The snake withered then fell to the ground dead.
"I think we're done here girls," smiled the eldest witch.
"That's not fair!" Shaula stood up. "You didn't train your spider at all you only commanded it."
"I trained it to obey my commands."
"That's cheating," Medusa stood as well.
Arachne only smiled. "There is no cheating in training an animal. You can train them however you like but the ultimate goal is that they carry out your bidding. It isn't my fault you don't have better control over your little pets."
The other girls stammered awkwardly before Arachne stood.
"You two should learn how the world works," she picked up her spider and put her back into her box. "If you want something done you must make it happen regardless of methods. If someone is to do something, commanding them directly is the best way to do it."
Her sisters still looked rather upset.
Arachne sighed. "If it brightens the mood then I must say that you did very well training your little snake Medusa. He understood discipline and it motivated him to move further even though there was no particular connection between you two. Shaula only made friends with her creature and then let it die. It barely knew what to do."
Shaula furrowed her brow.
"I'll give the training aspect to you even though I still won the ultimate goal Medusa," Arachne rolled her eyes and headed back to the house.
Satisfied enough, Medusa smiled lightly and then stepped upon her snake, it was useless now. She dusted off her skirt and went back inside the house. She left her squished snake on the sack.
Shaula was far from satisfied. Her sisters looked down on her yet again. She was the one who started this game in the first place and now it was no fun. She held the misshapen Saso in her hands and found herself close to tears. Then she stopped, Arachne was right she shouldn't have gotten so connected. Anything doing her bidding was disposable and replaceable. Shaula would find a way to make every command obeyed by anyone. She would find the perfect way. She began to smile and then even giggle, loudly, madly, before crushing the remains of Saso in her bare hands. She tossed the shell and guts onto the grass. Head held high, Shaula Gorgon returned home. One day, she would surpass her sisters.