"´Deusa" by Kelsey M. Graham

“This is a hairbrush. It can be very painful. Behave, or I’ll use it on you.” Medusa glared in the mirror at the increasingly uncooperative snakes, who were currently in a knotted lump reminiscent of a deranged beehive. “I know that you’re supposed to be a curse, but I don’t think she meant it that way.” She made a face at the mirror, and it shattered.
“Medusaaaaaa! Stop breaking mirrors! You’re buying the next one!” one of her sisters yelled from the next room. Medusa rolled her eyes. Yeah, right. Whatever. You two were the lucky ones. Do I see any snakes on your heads? No! Stupid Athena. She never did like me, even before that little incident with Poseidon. But snakes?
“What’d I ever do to deserve snakes? I hate snakes!” she muttered out loud. The afore-mentioned reptiles, sensing her rising agitation, hurriedly unknotted themselves. Never argue with an immortal with a hairbrush. Medusa sighed. “I know, I know. This isn’t fun for you either. Sorry.” It was hard to be mad at them for long, anyway. They were very well behaved, except when it came to brushing. It was just that- she’d like her hair to be a bit…well…lively!
Her musings were cut short by a loud knocking at the door. “Medusa? It’s me! Can I come in?”
“Percy!!!!!” Medusa squealed, jumping up from her stool, beside herself with glee. It’d been moth’s since she’d seen her old friend, and she always looked forward to his visits. He liked snakes.

Minutes later, the two were seated around the large stone table in the central cave, sipping tea out of ceramic mugs. “Truth is, ’Dusa,” Perceus said at last, calling her by her childhood nickname, “this isn’t a purely social visit.”

“So I gathered.” She said, inclining her head toward the mirror-like shield and armor “Is that stupid rumor about people turning to stone still going around?”
“Unfortunately, yes. It got worse after they found all those stone creatures in that cave.”
“Yeah, I know. That was a bad time to take up stone-carving again, wasn’t it…”
“But the fact is, well….You know how I get after several mugs of beer…” He trailed off, looking sheepish.
Medusa dropped her head onto her hands. “Oh Perseus, you didn’t…” she looked at him, as he tried to hide behind his mug of tea. “You…you did, didn’t you…”
“Look, he was going on and on about how much he wanted it, and how you were the only mortal of the three Gorgons…. So I just said ‘fine. You want it, I’ll get it.’ And so.. here I am.”
“Urgh. So where’d you get the shield?”
“Athena again. She said it wouldn’t shatter no matter what and-"
“Really?” Medusa crossed her eyes and stuck her tongue out at the mirror. Nothing happened.
“You keep making faces like that, your face will stick that way,” Perseus scolded.
“Then it’ll probably be an improvement.” Medusa muttered, wrinkling her nose at her reflection for a moment, before returning to the business at hand. “Okay, fine. But this is the last time. You have no idea what a headache this gives me. And- I get to keep the shield. I did need an unbreakable mirror.”
“Done.” Perseus drew his sword. “I’ll try to get it clean off, this time. No messiness.”
“Of course there’s going to be messiness, you’re bloody beheading me-“ Perseus swung the sword.

“….Ow….” Medusa sat up, rubbing her neck. Perseus was already putting the old head away into a sack. After a few minutes, the pain abated a little, settling down to a dull throb at her temples and a very sore neck.

“Well, my dear, snaky- haired friend, I need to go now, or mom will think I got myself killed.”
Medusa grinned at a sudden thought. “Wouldn’t it be funny if you became some great hero, known far and wide for killing off the dread Medusa? You could go down in history!”
Perseus laughed. “Don’t be so ridiculous, ’Deusa, the truth will come out eventually. I mean, who would honestly believe that, even though the two other Gorgons are immortal, you are completely killable! It makes no sense! And that whole business with turning people to stone- well, it might be a local superstition, but it’ll die out in no time at all- it’s so obviously made up! After all, who could possibly turn somebody into a rock?”
Medusa smiled back “I know. It’s completely ridiculous.”