I rub my eyes, blinking hard. That was the weirdest dream ever. And...worst of all, it felt so...so real! The world comes into focus slowly and I yawn loudly. The sound echoes through the room I'm in.
I blink again, suddenly wide awake. My room doesn't echo. Nor is my room huge, made of stone, and have a huge statue of a bull staring down at me. And I certainly don'tsleep naked!
I cover myself, glancing around anxiously to see if anyone has seen me. No one seems to be around. That's good. I scuttle behind the statue - it'll give me some more coverage, at least. I crouch down, wondering what the hell has happened. It only takes a moment for me to convince myself that the answer is drugs. What else would cause such weird dreams?
But why on earth would I take drugs? I'm not that stupid, I've been taught since birth never to do drugs. I don't even drink - which is good, since I am underage. All of my friends drink, but I've refused. Partly because alcohol tastes terrible.
There's the clickof a door opening and I tense up, peering over the pedestal. A young woman, wearing a short reddish dress and sandals is walking towards me. My eyes widen, and I duck down behind the statue again.
"Hello?" her voice echoes around, and I stay still, trying not to breathe too loudly. Hopefully she'll just go away, and I can find something to use as a temporary shirt and find somewhere to go. By the look of this place, it's probably Mediterranean, but I live in Cornwall. I've heard of people getting drunk and going to foreign places, but this takes the biscuit! "Is...anyone there?" the woman's voice wavers slightly. I shiver, my breath catching in my throat and the footsteps coming my way freeze. "I know there's someone there, and for some reason you don't want me to find you."
I hesitate. Should I trust her? Who even is she? Why is she dressed like an extra from a fantasy film? Oh, my God, Casi. Why the hell are you worrying about that? There are weird people in the world, deal with it.
"C-can you get me some clothes?" my voice is like a squeak and my cheeks flush just thinking about being naked and someone in the same room as me. The woman laughs.
"I'll be right back." she promises, amusement clear in her voice, and the footsteps fade away. I breathe a sigh of relief, and huddle into myself, trying to piece together the events leading up to this.
I was taking my normal evening jog after my job finishes at the local Starbucks. The night was warm and the sun was shining, so I didn't think to bring any kind of protection. I didn't even take my mobile. Everything was great until the wind started picking up along the coast path...then the fog came in. Fog doesn't usually come in that fast, it was like one minute it wasn't there and the next it was cloaking everything in its blinding blanket. Then the wind picked up and the ground beneath my feet crumbled and I fell into the sea.
How did I manage to fall into the sea, where I should have died, and end up in some sort of temple in the Mediterranean? Nothing fits together here, it's like there's some huge gap in everything.
The door opens again and I peek over the top of the pedestal - it's the woman, and she's holding a bundle of material. I breathe another sigh of relief. She throws the bundle to me, and I reach to grab it. It's a coarse material, but not itchy, and quite nice with the heat.
"Thank you." I say, emerging from behind the pedestal at last. It feels good to be clothed again. The woman frowns slightly, as if confused by something, and looks for a little too long at my head. I pat my hair self-consciously, and she looks away.
"Why were you behind the statue naked?" she asks, giving me a small smile, as if she finds it funny and not totally strange. Maybe it happens daily here, wherever here is. She hesitates. "Wait, that was unkind. I'm Medusa, by the way." she smiles as mine fades.
Medusa? My eyes widen and my eyebrows come together in a frown. She's nothing like the Medusa we all know. No snakes in sight - I check, just to be sure - and her eyes are normal. I glance at my hands. No, I'm not stone. I never did concentrate on the Greek myths, but if I think hard, then I remember something about my Granddad saying that Medusa wasn't always a Gorgon. "I'm sorry, are you alright? You've gone a bit pale." Medusa comments, and I genuinely get the feeling that she's worried.
I freeze. "Oh, um...yeah, I'm fine." I manage to say. "I'm Casi. Casiphea." I correct, reminding myself that I have to tell people my full name, rather than the nickname I'm called most often. Medusa smiles.
"You're not from here, are you?" she says, and the end of the sentence tilts up like a question, but I get the feeling that it's only for politeness. I wonder how she knows.
"Um, no." I tell her as she opens the doors. Light spills in, and I blink hard, trying to get the spots out of my eyes. "Actually, it's a bit of a long story," I say, gaining confidence. Medusa smiles.
"Come to my house, you can explain there." she tells me and I manage to smile. It seems that, for now, I have a friend. Maybe she'll let me stay with her until I figure out how to get home. I'm glad she's not questioning everything.
Medusa lives just outside of the palace, where she works. She's promised to get me a job there so I don't have to get bored during the long hot days. And also she doesn't want me getting too friendly with her friends, Jason, Pythagoras and Hercules. She won't say why, but I get the feeling that she's trying to keep something secret.
She sets up a bed for me in the corner of one room, then sits me down at the table with a glass of milk and raises an eyebrow. "So why were you in the temple?" she asks. I blush, looking into the glass of creamy white liquid.
"Well..." I begin, looking into her eyes seriously. I have to know that I can trust her. I blink slowly. "Can I trust you?" I ask. Medusa frowns, but nods seriously.
"Of course." she answers softly, looking slightly confused.
"Um...you can't tell anyone this, okay?" I say. "Okay...please believe me. I'm not sure how...but...I don't know, I - I was out on my evening run and then the storm came in and I fell off the cliff, then the next thing I know is I'm waking up behind that statue!" it all floods out.
Medusa's mouth opens wide, but I can tell that she believes me. "Where did you live before?" she asks after a moment. I'm stumped; why is she asking this rather than throwing me out onto the streets?
"I, uh...Cornwall, England." I say at last, eyeing her carefully in case she is about to throw me out because I'm probably going mad. Maybe I'm in an asylum and dreaming.
Medusa's eyebrows furrow. "I've never heard of those places." she tells me. I shake my head - of course she's heard of England, it's one of the major countries in the world!
"But...how can you not have heard of England?" I ask incredulously. "Where is this place?" my voice shoots up an octave and I swallow hard, trying to stop the tears. I fail miserably, turning away and wiping my eyes roughly. Medusa softens.
"Don't be ashamed of crying," she says softly, sliding onto the bench next to me. "You're only...what, fourteen?" I sniff, shaking my head.
"Fifteen." I whisper. Medusa shakes her head gently.
"Then you've got nothing to worry about. You're in an unfamiliar place, you don't know how you got here or anything. Crying is only natural." she smiles, giving me a one-armed hug. I take a deep breath.
"Where am I?" I ask, my voice sounding pathetic and childish. Medusa pats my back.
"You're in Atlantis." she tells me matter-of-factly. For a moment, I'm confused. Atlantis? I blink, looking at her like she's mad. I shake my head slightly, deciding that she must be a wondering whether it would be a good idea to run.
"Atlantis?" I echo in disbelief. "You mean...the Atlantis? Are you sure?" I ask, puzzled. Atlantis disappeared thousands of years ago. It's not possible for me to be in Atlantis - it's supposed to only be a myth.
Medusa raises an eyebrow like I'm the one who's mad here. "Yes, of course!"she answers, as though it's obvious. I take a shaky breath and try to sort through my scattered thoughts. I can come to only one conclusion.
"This...may sound...really strange...but - well, I'm not from here." It comes out really badly and I cover my eyes. Medusa snorts slightly.
"That's obvious." she states, like she knew it just by looking at me. I frown, remembering her lingering gaze on my head and pat my hair again.
"How did you know?" I ask suddenly. Maybe if it's that obvious, I can do something to fit in. I hate standing out from the crowd.
She points to my hair. "No one in Atlantis has hair your colour." she tells me. "Red hair...well, I don't think it's ever been seen in Atlantis. People from Helios and Athens sometimes have red hair, but it's rare. That's why I was staring so when you were hiding."
I blink. "No one?" I repeat. "Surely...surely someone has red hair." I frown. "It's rare where I come from, yes, but -"
"Red...is the colour of the royal family and the Gods. It's said that Poseidon himself decreed." she sighs. "Which is why you're most likely to go into serving the Royal Family if you get a job." she smiles. "Which could be good, or it could be very bad."
"What do you mean?" I question, worry beginning to creep up on me. If my hair really is that rare, then I'll get no end of trouble. I sigh.
Medusa bites her lip, her gaze wandering to the window. "Well...the good side of it is that Princess Ariadne is as kind as she is beautiful, and she protects the things that she loves like a lioness." I laugh slightly. This Princess seems a very nice lady.
"And...the bad side?" I ask, hoping that it's not too bad.
Medusa sighs. "The bad side is that the Queen...she's not the kindest of people. Some say she dabbles in black magic - and once she sees you, I do not believe that she will let it go lightly."
I frown. This Queen can't be that bad, surely? And why is Medusa worrying? If it won't go down well, then why don't I get another job? I ask her this, and she frowns, before shaking her head.
"I'm afraid it's not that simple." she sighs. "They'll see you anyway. Tomorrow is when the whole city has to go before the King and Queen to pick a stone. If you draw a white stone, you are free for another year. If you draw a black stone...you are offered as a sacrifice to the Minotaur."
NOTE: Thank you all so much for reading! You're all amazing, and thanks especially to the two of you who reviewed! (I forget who you are sorry!) I hope you like this chapter! I know that Medusa is with the Meanads (I think it's them) in the second episode, so you'll find out that later :) I'll hopefully be uploading this weekend if I finish another chapter by then! Please review and all that, I love to hear what you think! Peace and cheers ;)