Atalanta

by Jennifer Saint

But he knew nothing of the gods. Jason thought the world was built for heroes. I knew we had to build it ourselves.

I had left my forest for this quest, convinced it would be a feat of heroic glory. But the bulls, the earthborn warriors, the monstrous snake – none of it had been our battle. Somehow, we had been spectators to Medea’s victory instead.

I felt drawn towards them by something other than their magic. It was their rage, I thought, the anger for their stolen girl that made them punish every man they saw.

and I wondered how Persephone felt when she stepped between her two worlds. If, when she came back home, she ever missed what she had left behind.

Medea had the power to charm monsters and heal mortal injuries, magic that laid the world at her feet, and yet she tried to shrink herself down to a life at his side.