Chapter 27- Echoes of my voice

No man ever steps in the same river twice,

for it's not the same river

and he's not the same man.

~ Heraclitus.

***

 Ignoring her, Medusa walked past a bit faster to avoid any morning talks. She was too drained to think further and start all over again. She wasn't looking forward to it. For the meantime, all she wanted was to be left alone, and not for some kind of stubborn being hovering around her like a fly.

 And she hated flies.

 Medusa had lived all her life carrying the grudge of her past, with hate for humans. She had killed, destroyed, without any sign of neither remorse nor pity for their kind and even others. Having another soul that controls her emotions were one thing Medusa had gotten used to all her life when she let the darkness in her consume not just her body but her mind also.

 She had seen how people like Aelin could be. They would trick you; make you believe the things you never could have imagined, happen. She had done that in her past, a mistake she would never repeat twice.

 With that thought, made her sick. After mixing herself with the crowd, she released a deep sigh, and kept her pace. Medusa hadn't taken few walks, when she heard the voice she least wanted to and get rid of badly.

 "About last night-"

 Medusa groaned silently, walking past her like she never existed. She mixed herself in the crowd once again.

 "Look, I didn't mean to hurt you."

 Silence.

 "Whatever happened last night I…" she paused. "I just want to know if you're okay. I mean… you were hurt and..."

 Silence. 

 "How about we finish our chores together and I'll take a look at them again. Just to make up for the headache I caused."

 Silence.

 Esther sighed. "I have been meaning to apologize to you for the other day. If I hadn't dragged up a conversation, you wouldn't have been punished. It should have been me but… you took it upon yourself. Alone." Esther added, as her voice died at the end.

 She remembered the day when the guards dragged both of them to the dungeon, but Medusa had manipulated their mind into believing she was guilty. And since then, she had always wanted to apologize. The feeling of guilt was stuck in her and of course, wanting to make it up.

 Still silence had answered her. But what she failed to realize was that Medusa did it all out of her own motive.

 "Medusa… I only want to be of help."

 And this time, Medusa stopped walking and turned to face her. 'I don't need your help.' The voice was so cold and fierce that had Esther held her breath, all out of reflex.

 Her eyes stared at the figure that walked away with a fierce aura and much intense attitude.

 Staring at the half-gone Medusa, Esther hurried to meet up with her steps, oblivious to her warning and adamant to the words. "I know what you want. I can help you find it," she started.

 'Stay away from me.'

 It was a firm warning but Esther gave deaf ears. At least, she was responding, she thought of it as a small sign. Tiny, perhaps?

 The look in her eyes drew the conclusion that she wouldn't back down. Her voice was calm although if one could pick the strings, it sounded desperate. "You are in danger. If I can help you, I think… you can help me."

 Medusa halted.

 She wanted to laugh. She couldn't bring herself to scoff instead. Danger? Her eyes were so cold that it could freeze almost everyone who passed her. Her aura was dangerous. It was like a ticking bomb.

 Esther could feel it. She could feel the iciness radiating Medusa to her very bone. Truly, from the start, something intrigued her to the girl. It was as though she found something she thought were lost, and the key to bring back her loss. All those years of searching, she could finally feel it.

 She herself could not decipher this feeling; unlike the wary she should be feeling towards Medusa, unlike the wary feeling she was supposed to embrace.

 Why? Only she knew.

 "I know why-" She was cut off when Medusa's eyes landed on hers. It was as if the world suddenly slowed down. No words, no action, just the battle between gazes. The look on Medusa's face was as usual, expressionless, but only her eyes told the stories. A fierce one.

 Then as if someone whispered to her head, 'Stay.away.from.me.' was the last thing she heard till she saw Medusa's back mix with the crowd.

 Esther did not realize she had been holding her breath when someone bumped her shoulder and passed without apologizing. "Walk, will you?" and the girl eyed her before she too, mixed with the crowd with her train of thoughts.

 Sighing, Esther shook her head. This was tougher than she thought.

***

The two halves of the tiny bathing area were separated by an old, dilapidated screen. Behind it, feminine silhouettes were engaged in active conversation. The first slide contained at least ten to eleven slaves, while the other side somewhat maximum. The fifth group to use the bath was Medusa and some other girls, including Esther.

 Shedding her cloth to stand naked before the hot bath, she kept her garment at the top of a solid wall before her and stood at the shower with hot water dripping her body and that of the others which had turned the entire bathing area to steam.

 Medusa could see the others gaping at her figure, but instead of feeling smitten, she only felt disgusted. Her eyes grew colder each passing seconds, and the rest could only feel suffocated by her intimidating aura that oozed around. They were scared.

 Good. That's how they should feel onward, she thought. Her silver hair cascaded behind her back and a few strands of her hair covered her breasts. Those eyes were shut as though she were into her own world. A peaceful one.

 But as usual, her expression betrayed their thoughts.

 After few minutes of standing under the shower, she quickly washed her body without delay, letting the water wash off her foamy self. She let the water wash her and if possible drain her heavy mind.

 In a millisecond, a flash of memory basked her without warning. Her eyes snapped open. In confusion, what was that? She asked herself. She looked around with her thoughts. Did she see things clearly?

 She noticed the way the girls passed looks at her at her strange eye contacts and she turned her head to the shower. She must have mistaken.

 Feeling the urge to leave, she let the water flow on her, not wanting to be drenched any longer.

 After she was done, Medusa turned to reach for the fresh pair of cloth at the wall. Before she could grab it and walk out like the rest, she heard few gasps. But what she heard more clearly, was a horrified voice saying, "Medusa, your back!"

***