Muse Unexpected

by V. C. Birlidis

  Sophie knew Angela was right and nodded in agreement. Wiping her tears away, she touched the beautiful quilt her friend was still holding.

  “Are you sure you want to give this to me? It’s incredibly beautiful.”

  “Yes, I think I’m covered in the quilt department. Besides, I have a duplicate of this hanging on the wall in my sitting room over the fireplace. But, let me make this one a little extra special for you.”

  Angela closed her eyes and mumbled some words Sophie couldn’t hear. A sudden burst of air took the Muse by surprise. Angela gave the quilt a shake and opened her eyes.

  Sophie broke out into a wide smile. “How did you do that?”

  The quilt was still the same, but now each of the squares had come alive. In the spring square, snow melted away, tulips bloomed and bare trees became green and lush. For summer, the tree remained green, but stalks in the right hand corner grew taller and produced ears of corn. A child swinging on a rope jumped into a lake with a big splash. The square for fall had the tree’s leaves turn vibrant red and orange. The same child jumped into a leaf pile. Sophie noticed the little girl had dreads like Angela. The dreads had tiny smiling snakeheads. Winter was a classic New England holiday scene, complete with a sleigh and a young woman in a white muff and red bonnet. A man climbed into the sleigh and shook the reins. The candlelight from a Christmas tree flickered inside a small cottage.

  “I love it,” Sophie said. “I will always treasure it.”

  “The scenes should continue to run, but if they stop, shake the quilt. The spell kind of makes it like a snow globe.”

  There was a small tap on the door and Angela yelled for the person to come in.

  In walked a girl Sophie didn’t recognize.

  “I am so sorry to interrupt.” Her southern drawl dripped like honey. “But Georgia sent me to find you. My name is Miranda and I’m assigned as your personal assistant.”

  “Miranda?” Sophie said, searching her mind, wondering why it sounded familiar. Suddenly she remembered and panicked.

  It couldn’t be. What are the chances Bennett’s ex-girlfriend would end up here?

  “Which Vasilikós are you from, Miranda?” Sophie asked.

  “Well, I originally was stationed out of this Vasilikós, but an opportunity opened up in our Italy branch and I took it.” She leaned over and touched the gold coin necklace that lay against her collarbone. “A bit of boyfriend trouble made it necessary for a change. Being pretty as you are, I’m sure you understand.” Miranda said.

  Sophie’s heart sank. It was bad enough the last interaction hadn’t gone well with Bennett. And now, she had to deal with Bennett’s ex-girlfriend as her personal assistant for the event preparations?

  Is this one of my grandmother’s tricks? It’s probably my incredibly good luck. My life continues to be one big crap pie.

  “Sophia?” Miranda said.

  “Oh, sorry,” Sophie said, flustered. “Yes, boyfriend troubles can be a bit awkward.”

  “Well, I’ll get through this. Bennett is just the sweetest boy and as hard as it was for him to deal with our breakup, I’m sure he’s completely over me. I felt so awful about breaking his heart. It wasn’t a good match. The whole Minotaur thing kind of freaked me out.”

  “Minotaur?”

  “Soph,” Angela said, jumping off the bed. “Let’s go take the quilt to your room.”

  “Wait,” Miranda said, pulling out her note pad. “We have several things to do today. We have a dress fitting to take care of. Angela’s mother has arrived and then—.”

  “Wait,” Angela said, holding out her hand. “My mother is here?”

  “Yes she is and what a lovely woman. Just looking at you tells me you most definitely take after your father.”

  Sophie walked out of the room, carrying the quilt.

  “Don’t forget. I have to take you to your fitting in about an hour,” Miranda called after her.

  Chapter 27

  The quilt lay on the chair of Sophie’s desk. Several stacks of interior design magazines, material swatch books and wallpaper samples were in piles all over the floor. As Angela walked in, Sophie put down a back issue of Cottage-centric magazine with several pages of bright florescent sticky notes sticking out of them.

  This whole place is crazy. I can’t even have a single space I can call my own.

  “Eupheme heard I was in the mood for a change,” Sophie said. “As I was walking in, the last of these books floated by me. She introduced herself and shook my hand. I must have been a ball of emotions because she literally evaporated, practically exploding in front of me.”

  Angela nodded. “She’ll be drunk on your emotions for a while. You’re probably like 110% proof to her.”

  Sophie didn’t know what to do and hated the awkward silence she was sharing with her friend.

  “I’m sorry if you feel I did something wrong by not telling you about Bennett, but it isn’t for anyone, even Miranda, to ‘out’ a Demigod’s power,” Angela said. “You understand, right?”

  “I do. It’s still a lot to get used to. I mean, what does it mean that he’s a Minotaur? Is that the thing that is half-horse?”

  Angela remembered the Whatsit application and typed the word Minotaur.

  “It means this,” Angela said.

  Sophie glanced down at the tablet’s screen where there was a picture of a ferocious beast with long horns, sharp teeth and a muscular body made for attacking and tearing its foes apart. Its claw-like hands were huge, and its body was covered in fur from head to toe. It didn’t have feet, but had hooves attached to muscular, trunk-like legs and thighs. The creature was frightening.

  “It’s horrible and I think I have feelings for it. I mean him,” she whispered.

  Angela sighed. “Sophie, you’re being overly dramatic. Look at the picture and realize the person makes the power, not the other way around. If the person is evil then the power is evil, but if the person is good, the power is good. I’ve seen Bennett in Minotaur form and I will admit it is frightening at first. But for all of the power and ferociousness of his exterior, you can still see Bennett in the creature’s eyes and you know it’s Bennett. He’s just in an incredibly hairy and even taller package.”

  Sophie shook her head in understanding, still staring at the image.

  “Sophie, look at me,” Angela said.

  For the first time she saw her friend in Gorgon form. It was still Angela, but her dreads were now writhing black snakes and her skin had taken on an olive green tint. Veins appeared more prominent all over her, but particularly around her eyes and face. Her straight teeth had the addition of two exposed fangs.

  “This is my power,” Angela said. “I am in full control of it, because if I wasn’t you would have passed out by now, and then your joints, muscles and bones would have all petrified.” She gritted her teeth and her fangs came into full view. “Am I terrifying?”

  “Yes and no,” Sophie said. “If I didn’t know you and ran into you in a dark alley, it would be terrifying. But—” She stopped for a moment to gather her thoughts. “It’s still you and I know you wouldn’t hurt me.”

  “Well,” Angela said with a half smile. “Take one of my favorite hair combs without asking and my hair might think differently.” A few of Angela’s snakes hissed and snapped to emphasize her point.

  Angela closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, and the snakes retreated, the fangs withdrew, the veins and green tinge to her skin faded. When she opened her eyes, they had turned back to their normal deep brown. “And please don’t start feeling left out. I’m sure you look at me and think I’m totally cool with the hair and eyes, and I’m so The Vampire Diaries with my fangs. After some training, you’ll start to think you’re hot stuff too.”

  “You know me so well,” Sophie said. “So, where should my new quilt hang?”

  There was a knock at the door and Angela cringed, mouthing the name “Miranda.” Sophie put her finger to her lips for Angela to be quiet, but the
door swung open and in Miranda walked.

  “I knew you were here. Let’s go, it is time for your fitting,” Miranda said, glancing around the room. “My, your room is a bit sloppy. Should I have housekeeping take care of it?”

  Sophie sighed. “Why bother, I’ll make it sloppy all over again.”

  “Angela, your mother asked that you join us.” Miranda said.

  “Well, I’m beside myself with joy,” Angela said, imitating Miranda’s southern drawl.

  Miranda laughed. “Well, aren’t you just a clever little thang,” she said, clearly putting her southern drawl into overdrive.

  They walked down the hall in silence and made their way towards a sitting room, directly off of Georgia’s formal offices. Standing at the entrance were Georgia and Bennett.

  “Have Winnie assign a few Hobs to help you. It should all be straightforward,” Georgia said.

  “I’ll do my best, Georgia,” Bennett said.

  “I know you will. You never cease to amaze me, Bennett. If you need to take a break tonight, because of the positioning of the stars, do so.”

  “Thanks, Georgia,” he said and walked toward Sophie. “Hi.”

  “Hi,” she said back.

  “I’m sorry,” they both said at the same time and Sophie laughed.

  “The whole rule thing is silly. I need to let the past go. And I was wondering...”

  “You were wondering about what type of fertilizer to use on the lawn?” Sophie said.

  “Umm, yes. I mean no.” Bennett laughed nervously. “I was wondering if we could grab a coffee in the village. I know this great place where they serve incredible chocolate pastries.”

  “Sounds wonderful. When?”

  “Bennett.” Georgia called to him. “That list isn’t getting any shorter while you chat up my granddaughter.”

  He grimaced. “Tomorrow morning. Meet me in the village square by the fountain.”

  “Bennett.” Georgia shouted.

  “You better go. I’ll see you tomorrow morning,” Sophie said.

  “Bye,” Bennett said, smiling, rushing down the hall and weaving in and out of people.

  “You’ll have to order the chocolate croissants,” Miranda said, stepping out from behind a column and making Sophie jump. “They were our favorite.”

  Sophie couldn’t help but wince inwardly at the “our” reference. “Thanks, Miranda. I’ll make a note of it.”

  “Oh shoot, I’m double booked. Now how did that happen? You and Angela need to go into the room at the end of the hall, after you turn left at Georgia’s office. I’ll meet up with you later, once I take care of a few other items.”

  Miranda dashed off before either Sophie or Angela could react.

  “Can I be honest?” Angela said, leading the way towards their destination. “I really don’t like her. The term “skank” is the only word I can come up with to describe her. ”

  “I don’t get her.” Sophie replied. “She seems to go out of her way to make me feel miserable about Bennett.”

  They stood in front of the door Angela’s mother was behind and for a second Sophie preferred not to open it. She knew Angela had an awkward relationship with her mother and it had been a long time since Angela had seen her. Then, there was the fact that Sophie wasn’t sure what to expect of Angela’s mother. A Demigod was one thing, but a full-blown Gorgon was another. Angela knocked and a voice called for them to enter.

  The room was large and served as a conservatory. It was all glass and hung over a cliff, providing an incredible view of the ocean and the rocks below. Presently, the room was serving as a dressmaker's studio crammed with hundreds of reams of material thrown around the room in piles and an army of assistants fussing about the dressmaker dummies. There also were several long cutting tables, three sewing machines, a fluffy couch and an overstuffed chair. Callie stood speaking with a tall woman who stood with her back to Sophie and Angela.

  “Euryale, we could go with the traditional white,” Callie said to the woman. “But I’m liking this pale blue you have here.”

  Euryale, Angela’s mother, was athletically fit and wore her hair in a fashionable yet severe wedge cut. The jacket of her tailored suit lay on the chair behind her. Her shirt was sleeveless and revealed toned arms decorated with warrior-like gold bands. She was wearing sunglasses indoors, which Sophie thought was strange but was pleasantly surprised at how lovely Euryale was.

  “Honey, come over here,” Callie said, impatiently gesturing for her daughter to come forward. “Don’t keep Euryale waiting. We have limited time with her.”

  “Lovely.” Euryale exclaimed, getting a look at Sophie. “She is everything I expected.” The Gorgon extended her hand for Sophie to shake and Sophie took it.

  “Hi, I’m—” Sophie began.

  “I know exactly who you are. You look just like your mother, except for your smile. Her father’s?” Euryale asked Callie.

  “Yes, definitely her father’s,” Callie responded.

  Euryale held out her arms for her daughter to accept a hug and Angela ran to her.

  “Hello, mother,” the girl said.

  “Angela, how are you doing? Is Georgia treating you well?”

  “Yes, mother. I’m treated very well.”

  “Good. I brought you a gift. Several boxes are on the loading docks and will be brought to your room.”

  Angela gave Sophie a look, and Sophie knew Angela was getting more quilts and toilet paper dolls.

  “Now, let’s get to work,” Euryale said. Grabbing several fabrics, she laid them against Sophie’s skin.

  Chapter 28

  The next morning couldn’t have come any quicker for Sophie. She woke up hours early to take care of the items on her Georgia To-Do List and fussed over outfits in her attempt to look perfect for her date with Bennett.

  She raced downstairs and met with Euryale for another fitting. The Gorgon had managed to put the main pieces of her dress together, and as Sophie stood there while Euryale put pins here and there, Euryale reminded Sophie that gaining weight was not an option with this dress. Sophie glanced to her right and saw the dresses her mother and grandmother would wear displayed on their dummies.

  “Euryale, those are beautiful. Mom and Georgia are going to be knockouts in them.”

  “Of course they will. Lovely women in lovely dresses look lovely. However, you will be stunning.”

  Euryale’s sunglasses slipped and Sophie saw a flash of green eyes similar to Angela’s Gorgonian eyes, but Euryale’s eyes were different. The colored center wasn’t round, but more egg shaped and they glowed continuously.

  “Euryale, you don’t have to hide your eyes. It doesn’t freak me out.”

  Euryale sighed and slipped off her glasses. “Thank you, Sophia. Some are a bit unnerved by them. Some can’t get beyond ancient history. You’re not going to fall over dead, made of stone, to be placed in Georgia’s garden. You see, there was a time when we were hunted. We were misunderstood and some of the other gods thought it would be fun to include the killing of one of our sisters as part of an overall quest. Poor Medusa. She was so kind, but she was headstrong, and when you are not immortal like us…well, it was a long time ago. So that’s the reason for the sunglasses.” Euryale folded them up and threw them onto the overstuffed chair. “I think we’re done for today. Go and have fun. Angela told me you have a special date after this. How exciting, young love.”

  After helping Sophie carefully take off the pinned dress, Sophie ran out of the room and up to her bedroom to jump into the shower.

  Much to Sophie’s dismay, on her way out she ran into Miranda, who invited herself to join Sophie on her trip to town. She tried to figure out a way to get out of spending more time with Miranda and hoped by suggesting they walk Miranda might decide otherwise.

  I just think that’s a wonderful magnolia blossom idea… Blah blah blah. Of course you would, you miserable…

  The walk was almost painless, with Miranda managing to only mention Bennett once
or twice. Sophie was sure her own quick pace, which was practically a run, contributed to Miranda’s lack of speech.

  The path they took went by a small roadside shrine. Miranda explained one of the villagers must have created it for someone who had tragically died. Sophie barely heard what Miranda was saying. A black cloud of flies was buzzing around the shrine, which was coated in a dripping liquid.

  “Is that blood?” Sophie mumbled.

  At the foot of the shrine weren’t flowers, but a pile of rotting carcasses.

  “Sophie, don’t look,” Miranda said, trying to pull Sophie away from the horrific scene. “They’re probably wild dogs that were getting into someone’s livestock.”

  Sophie couldn’t take her eyes away from the rotting pile of dogs.

  “Wild dogs don’t have collars,” Sophie said, pointing to where the broken stone cross was located. At least a dozen dog collars were looped around the cross.

  I think I’m going to be sick.

  “Those poor animals,” Miranda said. “Let’s go. There’s nothing we can do for them.”

  Sophie allowed Miranda to pull her away, but not before she saw, written in blood, the word Nothos on the side of the shrine.

  They arrived at the town square sooner than Sophie expected.

  “Guess I’ll hang out for a while.”

  “I hate to leave you, but you know Georgia and her lists,” Miranda said reaching into her shoulder bag and pulling out several folded papers from the yellow legal pad Georgia favored.

  “No, I’ll be fine,” Sophie said.

  Go away and let me have a moment to myself. All I want is just one, brief moment to think without people dissecting me.