"You are ready to claim your love. You have successfully completed your training," Persephone said, handing Aphrodite a white and gold braided whip, which had been crafted especially for the goddess of love and desire.
"Thank you, Mistress," Aphrodite said, raising her open hands to claim her prize.
"Dress her," Persephone commanded.
Two female slaves busied themselves, gathering Aphrodite's garments, girdle, crown, and jewelry. All the gold of these items sparkled despite the darkness of the surroundings.
Turning from the women, she said to Aphrodite, "Have a safe journey back."
The goddess of the underworld left the room without speaking another word.
"Here, Mistress," the young slave said, holding out the golden girdle. The goddess stepped into it. The two slaves stared at her. They had become mesmerized by the spell of the magical girdle.
Aphrodite smiled as their desire for her blossomed in their eyes.
"You may touch."
"Yes, Mistress," the two women said.
Aphrodite relished the soft hands exploring her body. One woman sucked a pink nipple into her mouth, while she twirled the other nipple between her fingers like a precious pearl. The other woman caressed her back, marveling at the creamy flesh. She outlined the seashell birthmark on Aphrodite's right shoulder. She kissed the seashell, tracing it with her tongue.
"You taste like the ocean," the woman said.
* * *
Riding on a dolphin's back, Aphrodite penetrated through the surface of the ocean. As if it were giving birth to the goddess once again, the waves rippled and foamed. The sun spotlighted the goddess and caused her golden hair to sparkle brighter than the gold of her jewelry. The dolphin delivered her to the shore. Two doves greeted her as she slid off of her companion. When she planted her feet on the wet sand, it oozed between her toes like a lover's tongue. She sighed at the ecstasy of having the sand massage her feet as she walked along the beach.
Aphrodite followed the shore in the direction of Olympus. The waves lapped at her ankles as they caressed the shore where she walked. The breeze stroked her hair out of her blue eyes. When she reached the caverns outside of Olympus, she sighed. Rocks littered the paths. Animals were frozen in stone. Squirrels, rabbits, deer, and other animals had become their own gravestones.
"Medusa, are you here?"
No answer returned, except an echo, which bounced off of the rocks. The goddess continued her search through the cemetery of stones. A hiss of snakes broke through the silence of the dead forest. Aphrodite fought the urge to turn toward the sound.
"Medusa?"
"What are you doing here? You can't see me."
"I know I can't look into your eyes."
"Why did you come? Your love isn't enough to save you or me."
Handing a cloth behind her, Aphrodite said, "Cover your eyes. I want to look at you."
After a short time, Medusa said, "It is on."
Her voice fell flat in Aphrodite's ears. Before she turned around, Aphrodite sighed. Hoping the curse did not cause Medusa to betray her, she turned slowly in case it had been a lie. Medusa stood before her with the cloth tied, covering her eyes. Snakes hissed and squirmed on her head around the cloth. Aphrodite kissed the tip of her finger and placed it on Medusa's lips. At the touch, Medusa, trying to get the finger to stroke her cheek, turned her head. Aphrodite cringed when her finger touched the woman's scaly face. Medusa moaned.
"I wish I could see you."
"I'm going to fight the curse with my love. I am going to force it to leave your body. Will you take this journey with me?"
Medusa nodded her head. The snakes coiled and hissed in response to the movement. "I'll do anything for you."
She led the blindfolded Medusa to a nearby tree. She placed her arms around the trunk.
"Hug the tree. Think of it as an extension of me."
Medusa stretched her arms around the tree and held on tightly. As she imagined holding Aphrodite in her arms again, she realized how long it had been. She wept for the lost time. If it had not been for the snakes, Aphrodite would have reached up and stroked the tears away. Instead she stepped back a few steps and uncoiled her whip.
"I'm sending you the kisses I have saved for you. They will be on the tip of my whip," Aphrodite said, cracking the whip in the air.
Medusa jumped at the sound.
"Since Athena cursed you, we have been parted. I am going to open you up. I am going to reach into your heart. The only part of you Athena has not been able to touch. I'm going to bring you back to me."
Medusa relaxed as if each word spoken was a caress. The whip careened through the air and struck her fleshy bottom. Aphrodite watched as a battle began to erupt within Medusa. The snakes hissed at the whip like it was an intruder. Medusa exhaled slowly and anticipated the next stroke.
Aphrodite kissed her over and over with the whip. The kisses journeyed from the back of her thighs, over her bottom, and to her upper back. Scaly flesh flaked off and exposed human flesh to the kisses. When Aphrodite saw the human flesh bruising from the whip, she concentrated her efforts on the areas where the scaly flesh was tougher. She wanted to break through the animal layer Athena had cursed upon the once beautiful maiden and wanted to bring forth the beauty defiled by Athena.
"Bring me back my beautiful, mortal maiden. Erase the curse of jealousy placed upon my love for being as beautiful as a goddess," Aphrodite chanted, flinging the whip at the scaly flesh barrier.
After an intense battle with the tough, scaly flesh, Medusa's knees buckled. Still hugging the tree, she fell to the ground. Aphrodite ran to her side and stroked the bruised flesh on her back. The snakes stretched out their full length to snap at her. She moved her hand farther down the back. She refused to let the snakes scare her away from touching the woman she loved. Aphrodite flaked off scaly flesh, which hung loosely onto the battleground of Medusa's back. She fingered the tender flesh beneath the lost scales.
Medusa sobbed.
"I love you, Medusa."
"It feels wonderful to feel your touch again, my love," Medusa said between sobbing breaths.
Aphrodite stroked her lover's back and flaked off any loose scales, while Medusa continued to sob. When Medusa's breathing had settled, Aphrodite helped her off the ground. They walked to a low stone, which jutted out from the side of a mountain.
"Rest here," Aphrodite said, helping Medusa onto the flat rock.
"I will return shortly."
"Don't leave me. Please." Medusa reached out for the goddess. "Please."
"Don't worry. I will return." Aphrodite walked toward the ocean. She touched the animal stones along her path. Bits of rock broke off into her hands. She rolled the pebbles around between her fingers. The rocks were warm to her touch. When she came to the edge of the forest, she heard the waves crashing against the shore and smelled the salt in the air. At the sound of the ocean, she walked faster as if the ocean beckoned to her. Finally, at the edge of the ocean, she wiggled her toes into the sand. The gritty soil licked her toes. She watched the waves flow up to her and circle around her ankles like a hug.
She bent down and wet a cloth with the salty water. Twirling the material around in the ocean, she thought about the battle ahead. Interrupting her thoughts, a dolphin swam to the surface. She smiled at the sight of her companion.
"We will be along soon, my friend. I need to return to her.
* * *
When Medusa heard noises, she sat up and turned toward the sound.
"Aphrodite?"
"Yes, my love. I have returned."
A breath Medusa held captive escaped at the sound of Aphrodite's voice. Medusa leaned back down and let the cool rock press against her sore back.
Aphrodite stroked Medusa with the wet cloth. At the touch of the salty water, the scaly flesh shriveled and cracked away from the human flesh. Medusa moaned as the goddess touched the cloth to her legs. Aphrodite scrubbed at some areas to soften the tough, scaly flesh. Most of the scales fell away from the front of the woman.
"Turn over. I need to do the back."
When Medusa turned over, Aphrodite rubbed the cloth over her body. The goddess cringed, when she had to touch the broken flesh with the salty water. Medusa jerked, when the salt water caused the skin to sting.
"Hold still."
Medusa did as she was told, even though her bruised flesh felt like it was being slowly boiled off of the bone. Instead of moving, she concentrated on breathing in and out.
Aphrodite stroked the cloth over the scaly areas. If an area was stubborn, she scraped at it with her fingernail. Medusa fought the urge to squirm away from the sensation of being stabbed each time a fingernail broke through the barrier between the two layers of flesh.
Occasionally, the goddess paused to kiss and lick at the human flesh of her lover.
Medusa relaxed during these moments. Because of the snakes the goddess could not touch her lover above the shoulder blades.
"We need to continue on our journey. Are you ready for the next step?"
"I'm afraid."
Aphrodite kissed her lover's foot. Medusa moaned. The goddess licked from the heel and followed the valley and peak of the arch and the ball of the foot. She flicked her tongue between the toes. She alternated between the right and left. She sucked the toes into her mouth and caressed the other foot with her free hand.
Medusa moaned when her lover swallowed all five toes into her mouth.
Aphrodite watched Medusa move in response. Medusa swiveled her hips to the rhythm of her lover's movements. Taking as much of the foot as possible into her mouth, Aphrodite sucked the foot in and out of her mouth. Medusa shivered. Taking the foot out of her mouth,
Aphrodite said, "Let it flow. Give it to me."
Medusa shook as her orgasm cascaded out of her body. She gasped for air like a newborn child. Her chest rose and fell with each breath.
"We need to continue now." Aphrodite rose from the stone and stepped away from it. She raised her arms up to the sky.
"Zeus, supreme god and ruler, I ask for your assistance. You control order. I ask that you help me return order. As long as Medusa is cursed by Athena's jealousy, I, the goddess of love, cannot love. My powers over beauty and love are bound by this curse." Aphrodite paused for an answer. She watched the clouds to see if they would express the response. The sun soon peeked through the clouds as they parted. The sun looked down on the two women like an eye.
"Zeus, I ask that you light a fire upon my lover's flesh. I want the curse your daughter placed upon her to know the heat of my desire for her. The demons cursed into her keep me out. My love and desire want to break in and restore the beauty of this woman. Throw fire onto this cursed form to help me show the strength of my love and desire for her. I, the goddess of love, desire and beauty, request you assist me in this battle to restore order."
In response to her request, the sky turned black. Thunder roared. Lightning shot across the sky. Aphrodite stroked her lover's back. Tears threatened to roll down her cheeks.
"Zeus, please return my love."
A lightning bolt shot from the sky and struck Medusa. Her body danced as the electricity ran through her. Fire erupted upon her flesh. Demons hissed at Aphrodite from the flames. Aphrodite stepped back and picked up her whip. She flung it into the flames and snagged a demon. She threw the demon away from her lover. "Go live in the caverns without my love," she said as she flung demon after demon away from her lover. The snakes on Medusa's head stretched to avoid the flames engulfing her flesh. One broke away from the barrier of her scalp and slithered toward the goddess. She flung the tip of her whip at the snake and snatched it up with it. She threw it into the air toward the ocean. A stream of lightning struck the snake as it traveled through the air.
"Slither on the bottom of the ocean and forever be electrified," she said to the snake as it soared toward the ocean.
Medusa screamed as the battle continued. Her lover's desire for her burned upon her flesh. The demons fought for control of her body, and her lover fought to release her.
Aphrodite snatched the snakes one by one from her lover's scalp and tossed them to the ocean with her whip. She cursed them all to live at the bottom of the ocean and to be electrified as lightning struck each one.
When all the demons had been cast out of Medusa, Aphrodite stroked away the fire. She turned her lover onto her back and kissed her on the lips. Medusa shook, and an orgasm shot out of between her legs like a volcano. Medusa collapsed.
"Your orgasm flows from you like the ocean that bore me to the world. You have become mine. You will live with me forever. I love you, Medusa," Aphrodite said, removing the cloth that covered her lover's eyes.
Afraid, Medusa clinched her eyes closed.
"Open them, my dear."
Medusa did as she was told. When she looked up at the goddess, she saw the blue ocean swim in the iris of her eyes. As they looked into each other's eyes, tears flowed down their cheeks.
"I love you, Goddess."
Aphrodite lifted her lover off of the slab of stone and carried her along the path to the ocean. Creatures of all sorts greeted them on their journey. They had been released from their gravestones. Medusa looked at them all and was glad that the curse had been lifted from them all.
When they reached the shore, Aphrodite spotted her companion waiting. She climbed upon him and held Medusa to her. The dolphin carried them away from shore toward Paphos.
"We are going to Paphos, my love. I travel there annually to gather good luck from the bottom of the sea. It will rejuvenate you like it does me. We will stay there while you recover from the battle."
Aphrodite kissed the flowing ringlets of her lover's head and stroked her back. Heat still clung to the flesh.
