｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,"They wanted to change the world.":*:･ﾟ☆

Stella

𝕐𝕠𝕦

𝒲𝑒 𝓃𝑒𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒶𝓁𝓀. 𝒩𝑜𝓌

𝐿𝓎𝓀𝑜𝓈 𝒾𝓈 𝒶𝓈𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓆𝓊𝑒𝓈𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈

𝕋𝕒𝕧𝕧𝕧𝕧𝕧𝕪𝕪𝕪𝕪𝕪𝕪𝕪

[...]

"We need to talk about what happened during the Burned One attack a few weeks ago." Lykos begins as we walk through the grounds. "Not to mention Andreas reappearance."

I nod in agreement. I knew this discussion was coming.

"Andreas seems to be settling in as well as can be expected." I comment lightly.

Lykos scoffs, "Of course he is, but that's not what the concern is. Where the hell was he all that time? Who was he with, who was he talking to. It's bad enough that Octavia was spending time with Andreas and that bastard daughter of his."

I tense at his words.

"Had I know that's who she was staying with sooner, I would have-"

"I thought you knew?" I interrupt, relishing in the way he blinks in surprise. "About Andreas."

"I did." He grinds his teeth together as though he was hoping I would forget. "For a few years now. We were going to take care of the problem."

"You were going to kill Andreas." I arch a brow at Lykos, reminding him not to keep secrets from me. He rolls his eyes but nods.

"We sent a few sympathetic Blood Witches to deal with the problem but things went sideways." His tone is one of a petulant child. "He was rarely in one place for long, we could never track him. We had to wait for Octavia and Beatrix to converse."

But from what Tavi and Bea have told me, The Queen and Rosalind have been in cahoots for years. Not so much recently but certainly during the war. Not to mention the experiments Rosalind conducted. Keeping the glamours on Beatrix and Octavia to hide the scars has been a constant drain on my power. But I need the outlet. Magic doesn't react well when kept pent up.

"You and Sky dated, correct." Bad decision on our part, we were horrifically toxic. "And now he's with Octavia. Fucking Crown craving arsehole."

"Watch yourself." I snap and he freezes. "That is my sister's mate."

He looks displeased but concedes nonetheless.

"What was his reaction to Andreas' reappearance?"

"What the actual fuck is going on." Sky exclaims in frustration, raking his hands through his hair.

"Irene's pregant, Saul might be dying and my fucking dead father.... ISN'T DEAD."

"Not to mention my mates nearly died today because of a tactical organisational fuck up!"

He paces through the room, footsteps loud as they echo on the floorboards and I hear him sigh as I flop back on the sofa.

"And now he won't even talk to me!" I throw my hands up in the air. "He was all, 'oh sky, we will have time to get to know each other.' 'oh Sky I have missed you'"

"And then he leaves again!" Sky roars before dramatically flopping onto the sofa beside me and resting his head on my lap as he looks up at me.

"What the fuck Stella?"

I glare down at him, "Are you quite done?"

"He was just as shocked as the rest of us." I answer. "Andreas cut him off as well."

"Yet he kept Beatrix." Lykos comments.

"Is there a purpose to this or are you just mumbling a bunch of meaningless comments." He jerks back at my tone before breaking off into chuckles.

"Oh you're good." He murmurs, eyeing me up and down with a dark look. "Not as brutal as your sister but perhaps you're more cunning than her."

"What I am, is impatient." I snap. "So cut to the chase."

"Octavia is being looked into for various crimes. Murder, Assault, kidnapping, torture." I freeze at his words. Octavia has never lied to me about what she did for Rosalind and Andreas a few years ago but to hear it out loud. "Her actions against the Burned Ones are just the icing on the cake. However, that can't be used against her since the blame technically falls on Farah."

"And why are you telling me this? Actually, why the fuck are you looking into the Princess of Solaria." I demand.

"Because you are the Crown Princess of Solaria." Lykos answers, "Octavia is just a princess, she is not the heir. But Eraklyon has been tugging at the reigns. There is talk of the royal family instating a crowned ruler there."

"And with Sky being her mate..." I trail off in understanding. "Octavia and Sky have a direct claim to the throne. Both Legally and through heritage."

"Which means we could have a Civil war in the middle of this damn war." Lykos connects the dots for me. "And the Queen wants to stop that before it happens. Which means, Octavia needs to be under our control or... taken care of."

･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Beatrix

"Now these were women from all over the land..." I tell the group of young children before me in the little story teller's campfire. "There were panther, tiger and leopard shifters, each hailing from the Zoúnkla allásson, there were falcons, eagles and parrots from the winged Epidórpio poulí. Some of the women came from Dumaris families, trained to hunt from birth. But does anyone here know what all these women had in common?"

There is a moment of confusion as the younglings, none above the age of 10, glance between each other. Some were here with parents on business, others visiting older siblings and some were just from the local village here to see the festivities.

A small girl with the striped skin of a tiger shifter slowly raises her hand. I give her my best encouraging smile. Irene's advice fluttered through my thoughts from when she left me here. 'They're children, they're curious and impressionable. Encourage them and educate them on the facts of today's event' subtext: don't start problems because you taught a child something that goes against their family's beliefs.

"Is- is it." I nod, smiling again as I chose to focus on the encouraging and educating part of Irene's advice. "Did they hate men?"

There's a hesitant lilt to the end of her statement, as though she knows it's wrong but doesn't know another answer. I give her a soft smile and fight down my disbelieving laugh. Still, in this day and age, that is the first response.

"It wasn't men they hated." I say in a soft teasing tone, getting the young girl to relax after her burst of social confidence. "It was societies - the world and people around them - who had views that hurt women, children and men."

I can see their confusion so I continue on.

"500 years ago it was wrongly believed that women were gentle, caring creatures whose abilities to have children and care for the home meant they were unable to make big decisions about life. They also believed that gay people - women who like women, men who like men in a romantic way - were sick, ill and that their love was wrong."

"But my mommies aren't ill!" Surprise has me flinching back from the little boy's proclamation.

"No they're not." I soothe, reaching forward to smooth down his hair in a comforting gesture. "That's why those views are wrong. But they didn't know that back then."

Pink fabric brushes past the corner of my eye and I don't acknowledge the heir of Solaria as she regally sits down among the children.

"These women, who were later known as Amazons, had seen some of the worst effects of these cruel beliefs. Some had been hurt personally, others wished to love their mates without fear of prosecution but they all had one goal in common."

The children have a wondrous look in their eyes as I barely scratch the surface of the interesting tales.

"They wanted to change the world."

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

"There were many famed women among the group. Emily Davidson threw herself in front of the King's horse during a race to protest against women being denied the vote." Gasps of surprise echo around the now larger group of younglings. "Yetunde created the first all female university, Alfea. She built it using money earned by women in the working class of the time and money taken from abusers. Adithi Khatri led the citadel riots. And of course, Acanthemblemaria Medusa or nicknamed Medousa which means to protect."

"The games are named after her." A winged girl pipes up from Stella's side in the waning light.

"They are." I laugh lightly at her enthusiasm, "Does anyone know what Medusa did?"

"She turned people to stone!" Cries of alarms and laughter ripple through the younglings seated before me at the boy's words.

"And she had snakes in her hair!" Another pipes up.

"Wasn't she really ugly?"

"Yeah, mommy said she was an evil monster."

"She was slayed by Perseus!"

"Children." I call over the crowd, silencing their enthusiasm with a soft look. "If you would let me continue I could tell you that Medusa was once considered the fairest beauty of the land. She was an Earth fairy, one of the most powerful earth fairies the Otherworld had ever seen. In fact, she was so powerful that she was the first female diplomatic ambassador to the Undersea, renowned for her abilities to control the earth to turn her enemies to stone."

A few yawns echo through the crowd, so different to those sat upright with bright eyes filled with interest.

"Where she met King Tritus and his son, Poseidon." I begin the PG-13 version of the tale. "Poseidon was a fickle male, the charmer of the lands but all that wealth, all that power went to his head and he became obsessed with-"

"He fell in love with Medusa." I glare at the male who cut me off, fucking Benson. "Poseidon, despite being married, wasn't happy in his relationship and sought to find the love he was looking for elsewhere. He was by no means a good guy, in fact he used Medusa for her beauty and when he tired of her he cast her aside like she was nothing more than a plaything."

Gasps of shock escape the children as they turn to face Brodie.

"Medusa was heartbroken and raging, she was pregnant with his child you see. She was scared for her son.

"In revenge for what he did to her, she turned to stone every abuser, every man who had hurt a woman, who had cheated on their wives and abandoned their children. One by one, statues had begun to appear in the Undersea coliseum until eventually.... Poseidon's statues were the diamonds of them all."

"Wow"

"Eww"

"That's so cool."

"But Athena. One of King Triton's most powerful Blood Witch mages had discovered the affair. And she realised it was Medusa who was killing their citizens so in punishment for her crimes against the crown, Athena used her power to take away Medusa's beauty and cursed her with the snakes."

Little noises of delight at the horrifying ending erupt from the small crowd, both the Dumaris and shifters taking animalistic glee in the tale. The winged children of the Epidórpio poulí have a more subdued reaction, their culture revolving more around etiquette and in Andreas' words "preening".

"I think it is time for you little ones to be off back to your parents." Stella calls and I realise that she has drifted to Bart's side.

I smile at the complaints from the children but the yawns have begun to outweigh the displeasure. The three of us work together to herd the children back to their various guardians, taking those without any outside back into Alfea's hall. There's always a designated spot for "lost children" to wait for their parents.

The three of us stand awkwardly to the side. Well I do at least as Stella and Brandon make out in the corner of the hall. Could they be anymore obnoxious? Not to mention Brandon ruining my brutal tale of Medusa by spinning the official tale of the crown.

"Are the two of you done?" I interrupt with an irritated sigh.

"We are now." Bently grumbles and I hear Stella giggle. My stomach rolls at the thought. "I feel as though I should apologise."

"For the PDA?" I mock with a smirk, turning to face them. Riven enters the courtyard behind the pair, leading a small trial of children like little ducklings. We all pause, waiting for him to get them set up with the various arts & crafts, games and toys to keep them entertained before coming over.

"Why are there so many children this time?" He grumbles as he steps up to my side. "I swear there weren't many when I visited this place last time."

"The adults are busy at the fighting pits apparently." Stella explains with a tight smile. "Some kind of spar that has caught everyone's attention."

Riven and I share a look. We had found Irene slumped over by one of the campfires. It took us a long time to calm her down, to get her to eat something and relax. She was heartbroken at having to miss the day but anyone could see that her outburst earlier had drained her. So Riven had taken her back to the Silva apartment and I had taken over her job as Story master.

Riven had agreed to help with the arts and craft for her. She had really gotten excited at the prospect of being around young kids again. The pregnancy hormones are finally getting to her I think.

But what the hell happened once we left that training ground?

I had just assumed that Andreas and Dowling would put an end to the fight. Silva might storm off and then go back to Irene. It was easy to see that the argument wasn't actually about Dowling if you know the pair. It's never been about her. Not really.

There's always been something else. I have a sinking suspicion it's to do with Silva's second mate bond. Perhaps Irene gets scared sometimes that he'll choose someone else. I would be. But that's my issue, not hers.

Sadness echoes through me at the reminder of Ricki. I have to fight back my guilt for a moment as the reality of where I am sinks back in. When was the last time I thought of my mate?

My eyes water and I quickly blink them away. No. She wouldn't want me to cry. She would want me to move on and find someone else. Make a life for myself.

"I can't believe they ruined the history of this event." I scoff, shooting Brianna over here a glare as I come back to the present. He holds his hands up in defeat. "I was just about to apologise, but if you don't want to accept..."

"Or course I don't accept."

"Why would she accept?"

I share a sharp look with Riven. He's annoyingly decent once you get past the flirting Asshole part. Though Tavi has hinted that he's more of a teddy bear on the inside. I find that doubtful.

Stella sighs, "Look, the Queen Annalise remodelled those stories when the treaty with the Undersea was created 300 years ago. It's better to keep that way instead of having a political correctness battle with the media."

She's right. But it sucks.

"Ah, good ole medusa." Riv drawls, "She was a badass."

"What would you know of history?" Stella gripes but there's not real heat in her words. I forgot the two must have been somewhat civil when she was dating Sky.

"More than you would, thanks to your sister and Beatrix here."

"So wait, you'e like some hot fucked up history nerd." Bradley questions in confusion and Stella quickly hits his arm in reproach.

"Why is that a confusing archetype for you?" I mock, feeling my irritation rise.

"Not one bit." He rolls his eyes and leads Stella away.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Octavia

"Are you burning the midnight oil?" Riv drawls and I look up from the reports in my hands from Stella. He and Beatrix are tidying up what looks like a war zone of arts and crafts in the middle of the courtyard.

"Snorting the midnight Adderall is more like it." I comment, striding to his side and leaning up to press a kiss to his face. "What are you two doing?"

"Deciding that I never want children." Beatrix hisses as she picks off stickers from her steel capped heels. I snigger at her awkwardly beant form, especially when she leans over and I catch sight of the glitter in her twin braids.

"I thought you wanted children?" I smirk when she rolls her eyes.

"Well, after today..." She takes a dramatic moment to close her eyes and takes deep breaths.

"You make them sound like they were demons." Riven scoffs as he collects all the intact pieces of paper that can be put away. "They were pretty well behaved, all things considered."

"Just because you have dreams of the picket fence doesn't mean I do." Bea snaps with a huff and I move to help put away the tables.

"No, you just dream of crowns and pretty jewels." Sky comments as he enters the courtyard, covered in mud and gore. Beatrix's sweet smirk is answer enough. "Hey babe."

"What happened to you?" I demand and he winces.

He got into a fight and there was an absolutely massive crowd to the point an inquiry was launched with a punishment and trial in mind.

"You said no fighting." I hiss at him and he winces. "Except now you have a fucking inquiry over it? Who the hell did you attack!"

"Wait, it was you!" Riven demands with amused shock. "All the adults had been drawn away to some spar and left their fucking kids behind. I had assumed it was Silva."

Sky winces and I glance between the two. The shadows had been unsettled earlier when I was talking with Stella but they never outright said-

"Explain." I snarl.

"So..." Sky pauses, mouth opening and closing as he tilts his head to the side. "Andreas and Silva did have some kind of fight, which I left but I was upset - obviously - and he was just... there, so..."

"Sky." I growl, and the air around us trembles with power. "I had some bad news today, so spit it out."

"Oh, how was the royal meeting with Stella?" Sky asks hopefully for a subject change and I glare through my discomfort at the reminder of the meeting.

"It wasn't what I thought it was going to be, that's for sure." I snap, staring him down as he looks everywhere but me. "Who did you fight, Sky Ashford."

"So you know General Lykos, yeah." And I punch that smug look off Sky's face.

A/N: So Sky attacked Lykos...

What are your thoughts on including a "medusa" themed plotline if you get what I mean. Does anyone have serious objections or requests if I were to have discussions involved around Sexual harassment and rape between the characters. (there would be no rape scenes, just a bunch of women relating to each other and potentially hunting down some bad men.)