1 The condemned

The sound of chains dragging on marble echoed down the long banquet hall, bouncing off the large marble columns. A line of prisoners snaked through the hall, noiseless, except for the sound of their shackles. Men, women, and even some children, moved in unison. The line almost never stopped, but when it did, it wasn't for very long.

From dawn to dusk the line moved, never taking a break, an endless parade of the condemned. Or so it seemed. When the last rays of sunshine bounced off the stark white marble columns, making it almost impossible to see, a woman stepped out of the dark confines of the building and into the light. She kept her head down, her dark chestnut hair hung loosely around her face, shielding her eyes from the sun.

As the sun sank the torches on the columns burst into flames, washing everything in a warm glow. As the Lind continued to move forward the woman never put her head up. It wasn't long before she was next, and as she stood at the front of the line, she finally looked up. In front of her in giant thrones were the Gods and Goddesses of Olympus.

Directly in front of her on a throne made of storm clouds was Zeus, king of the Gods. To his left was his brother Poseidon, on a throne of water. Next to him was the third brother, Hades, on a throne of bones. All three were the most gorgeous men you'd ever seen.

To the right of Zeus was his wife Hera, on a throne of bright gold. Next to her was Artemis, on a throne of animal pelts. As gorgeous as the men were, the women were even more so. The seemed to have been carved from flawless marble and had the best and brightest gems as their eyes.

"MEDUSA!" The giant voice of Zeus boomed, "you are charged with desecrating the holly temple of my daughter, Artemis. You are a temple maiden, but you have broken your vows and fornicated in the temple. It wasn't enough to just spread your legs in the temple, you had to do it on the alter!" At that statement Hera gasped. Hades was chuckling to himself and Poseidon had a small smile tugging on his lips. "My daughter, since the offense was in your temple, you shall decide the punishment."

All eyes turned towards Artemis. She was playing with a small knife and appeared lost in thought. After a second she sighed and looked up. She had heard the charges her father read out, but she knew something he didn't. The maiden in front of them did not willingly desecrate her temple. Her uncle, Poseidon, had disguised himself as a farmhand and forced himself on her. Now she was expected to punish the poor woman for something that wasn't her fault.

She stood and sheathed her knife. In two quick strides she was in front of Medusa. The Woman showed no fear, though her eyes were filled with sadness. "I suppose you are beautiful in human standards, and that would make it hard to ward off the advances of men. And since the advances of men are why you are here, I shall take away your beauty. From now on you shall be an ugly monster, and all those who gaze upon you, will turn to stone from your ugliness."

The others laughed at the punishment. A lifetime of being hideous, a most unexpected sentence. Medusa's head lowered once more, but instead of her brown hair falling around her face, brown snakes fell instead. They hissed as she screamed and fell. All the Gods laughed, all except Artemis. Her face remained unmoving, but her eyes had pity. She waved her hand and Medusa disappeared. The others either didn't notice or didn't care as they continued to laugh. The next person was brought forward and the cycle began again.