By Beka Gremikova
Miss Perdita Danville crept along the moonlit heath, trailing the large, fluffy cow that guided her, its rope clenched in her fist. A bag of dead mice dangled from her belt. With a sword buckled at her waist and her pocket mirror safe in her traveling coat pocket, she was more than suitably armed against the monster she sought in the Scottish moorlands.
She wished she felt as prepared as she looked.
This is insanity. What have you done? What were you thinking?
She hadn’t been thinking. She’d acted on instinct—on her desire to protect her mother from an odious suitor back home in Oxfordshire.
“I wish Lord Curdface had never seen her,” Perdita muttered, stumbling over a clump of heather.
Lord Collins had fallen in love with her mother at first sight—but he was odious and cruel as a gorgon. Something Perdita hadn’t been afraid to tell her mother.
Publicly. And perhaps too loudly.
Soon afterward, the man approached Perdita about hunting down the Scottish Gorgon for him, claiming the monster’s head would be a grand shield against his many enemies.
A fine excuse to send her into danger that would most likely see her turned to stone.
But she’d decided to try to take advantage, and she’d struck a deal. If she brought back the monster’s head, Lord Collins would drop his suit. If not, well. . . she’d be dead, and he could continue his pursuit of her mother unopposed.
He’d heartily accepted.
And now she, Idiot Extraordinaire, was mucking through cow droppings on her way to almost-certain doom.
Calm down, Perdita. Laird Andrew gave you advice. Heed it.
The deep, soothing voice of her Scottish host played through her mind: Keep your eyes on the cow—it knows when a monster’s near. Don’t look at the gorgon directly; use your mirror. Take the mice for the snakes so they don’t strike you.
Heat swept across her cheeks as she recalled his smile and his playful yet earnest plea: And after you slay the gorgon, perhaps you can help me with the monster in my loch?
If he felt so confident that she could succeed, then perhaps she could look something so fearsome in the face and survive.
Perhaps. Chills swept along her arms, and she focused on the cow before her to distract herself. Her fingers tightened around the rope. The cow stopped, tossing its head, its eyes flaring wide and white, its tail drooping.
The poor beast was terrified.
Then, so quickly Perdita couldn’t react, the creature bolted. The rope tore from her fingers as the creature bounded away down the hillside. Heart thumping, she clambered to the spot the cow had stood and gazed down the opposite side of the heath.
Stretched across the grass in the vale lay the gorgon, her snakes curled up asleep around her head. Slim, scaled fingers and toes ended in claws that shone in the moonlight. Her round, cherub-like face was tilted to the sky.
Her eyes were closed.
She can’t see you. You’re all right. That single detail assuaged Perdita enough that she forced her feet to move down the hillside. Just as she reached the bottom, she stumbled over an uneven patch of heath. She cursed.
A snake stirred, raising its head, its tongue flicking.
She fumbled in her pocket for her mirror, angling her body away from the gorgon. If the monster’s eyes popped open and their gazes met…
Breaths coming in shallow gasps, Perdita’s eyes locked on the snake in her mirror. She stood frozen. Her thoughts scrambled.
Calm down. Think. What do you have?
Sword. Mirror. Mice… Mice.
Slowly, she dipped her hand into the bag at her waist. Stomach heaving, she withdrew a cold, furry corpse. Inching as closely as she dared, she wriggled the mouse until the snake snatched it from her fingers and recoiled, fangs digging into its meal.
Distracted—for now.
Time to strike. She heaved the sword in one hand, rechecked her mirror—
—and found a horde of tongue-flicking faces.
She gasped.
A chorus of indignant hisses slithered into the night.
The gorgon groaned, her eyes blinking open. In Perdita’s mirror, her gaze blazed brighter than the noonday sun. The snakes writhed, striking at one another as they fought over the mouse.
Not how she’d hoped this would go, but she couldn’t back down. Perdita raised her sword.
Quick to kill, aren’t you, girl?
The voice crawled through her mind, and Perdita froze. “What—What do you mean?”
You think you’re a hero, but to kill me is to play into a cruel man’s hands.
Perdita swallowed.
And then you’ll be no better than him. A murderer. A slayer of innocents.
Her pulse pounded, and she felt her sword slipping from her hand. What if the creature was right, and to kill her was to turn into Lord Curdface herself?
Laird Andrew hadn’t prepared her for this.
Look at me, child, and ask yourself if you can truly do such a horrendous deed?
She nearly raised her eyes—and stiffened as horror slid through her.
Of course.
The monster had used its mindreading abilities to try to get her to look up—and die. This wasn’t the famed Medusa, wronged and shamed; this creature was a younger monster that laughed at the expression on her face.
Her grip tightened on her sword. This time, she didn’t let herself hesitate. She lunged. The blade flickered in the corner of her eye—first with speed, then with spattering blood.
The creature shrieked, and Perdita staggered away from the sprawling body to fall on her hands and knees, head buzzing. The grass beneath her shimmered in the moonlight, oddly ethereal. When she dared turn around, the gorgon’s head lay at her feet.
She’d done it.
She sprawled across the moor, giggling. Her dress was ruined, her hair was a mess… and she’d survived. She was a gorgon slayer.
Gorgon slayer.
She’d have to add that to her calling card.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
She has a guide cow!!! Like a guide dog, but it’s a guide cow! I love it XD
Ahahaha I loved this!!! Such a fun twist on the story. And the jab at Mr. Collins sent me. 🤣👏🏻
Ahhhh, the queen has returned!!! 🥹🥳 happy birthday, Beka!! And I love this story, as ALWAYS. So cute!! I want a fluffy cow. 🥹
I like the story. The notion of a scottish gorgon is delightful.
Ooooh, fun fun fun!
I was hoping we’d get another part to this story sometime. The twist on the Gorgon myth was very cool. We must hear more from Perdita sometime! ;)
— Abby
Love this story!! So glad it made it into this season!! 🧡 also where is more with her and Laird Andrew and the loch monster?!
It cracked me up when the cow took off. Great twist on Medusa’s tricks!
I liked the conflict in her at the end of whether to kill the gorgon in the end. Tautly written, suspenseful, and charming.
Ha! Love your ending! Great story
Dramatic twist at the end!
Delightful twist on an old, old tale. :)
Great job! I like how for a moment it felt like you were pulling the “she’s not really a monster” card, and then BAM we were back in monster slaying mode. Enjoyed the Loch Ness hint. It would be fun to see more of this Perdita character.