Chapter 13. The Young Mortal

Aleysia walked carefully towards Whitney's room, not needing to use her cane to walk around the house. The family had already made the home as safe and accessible as possible for her, with Braille labels on everything, allowing Aleysia to move around independently.

"Whitney?" she called softly from the doorway.

"Yeah? Come in, Ale," Whitney shouted from inside, currently occupied with painting her nails and unable to get up.

If they were still in the United States, the siblings would have likely moved out and gotten their own apartment by now. However, in Longyearbyen, and knowing the size of their parents' house and the environment, Whitney and Tyrone had decided it would be better to stay with their parents until they were married.

Tyrone was currently using the entire basement as his room, gym, and man cave. He had his own private entrance, and when his friends came over, he always made sure to provide for their needs himself. Occasionally, Aleysia would knock on his door and bring them refreshments.

Most of Tyrone's friends have a huge crush on either Aleysia or Whitney; the two young women are currently the best thing happening in Longyearbyen.

While Whitney and Aleysia shared the second floor, Aleysia tended to stay in her room whenever Whitney had friends over, even though Whitney had assured her it was okay to come out and say hello. Aleysia just didn't want to disturb her.

"Can I sit on your bed? What are you doing?" Aleysia asked softly, her polite demeanor ever-present, even after living together as a family for seven years.

"I'm doing my nails at my desk, so the bed is safe," Whitney chuckled.

Aleysia then sat on Whitney's bed, her hands searching for the large white teddy bear that her sister kept there. Once she found it, she hugged the plush toy and fell silent for a moment.

"Let me guess; you want me to describe the woman from before?" Whitney smirked, "It took you a week to ask me."

"You're going to tease me about this for years! That's why I asked the others first," Aleysia pouted.

"Oh, really? And what did they say?" Whitney began teasing.

"Well, your mom and dad didn't say much. They're more worried about me. And your brother? Ty didn't say much either, just that she's pretty. That's all," Aleysia said, resting her head on the teddy bear.

"And?" Whitney turned her full attention to Aleysia, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

"Oh, come on, Whitney!" Aleysia cried, though still softly.

"You know, you're lucky I love you," Whitney said, placing her hands on the table and staring at Aleysia.

Aleysia sat calmly, waiting for Whitney to say something. However, Whitney remained silent, simply staring at Aleysia and waiting for her to lose her composure.

"Whitney!" Aleysia finally shouted, her calm demeanor slipping.

Whitney burst out laughing, "Alright, alright. You have no chill."

"Please," Aleysia pleaded.

"Alright, well..." Whitney remembered the woman she had seen that night; "calling her 'pretty' is an understatement."

"Why?" Aleysia asked.

"She's beautiful, like perfectly beautiful. Her beauty is divine, almost ethereal. She has honey-kissed skin and a pair of jade green eyes. I was stunned when I saw her; her presence alone was enough to make me almost kneel in front of her," Whitney explained.

"That beautiful?" Aleysia asked; her curiosity piqued.

"That beautiful, and her voice?" Whitney closed her eyes, savoring the memory. "She could take my life after hearing her singing in my ears."

Whitney then spoke again, "Ale, do you know that her face has no blemishes, just like yours? And she also gazed at you lovingly. What are you two, actually? Lovers?"

"I don't know," Aleysia said. "Can we just be happy with whatever?"

"Eh, I'm not sure Mom and Dad will like that answer," Whitney teased Aleysia, knowing their parents were a bit insecure when it came to whoever tried to get close to Aleysia due to what had happened in the United States.

"But, how do you know you have feelings for someone?" Aleysia asked, a hint of panic in her voice.

Whitney smiled, sensing exactly what she wanted: "Well, you miss her a lot when she's not around; you feel like you want to cry when you miss her so bad. Then, anytime you're with her, all you want is her attention, her touch, and her kisses. Your heart is a mess." Whitney paused, seeing the bright red blush and panicked yet shy expression on Aleysia's face.

"Your breath hitches whenever she touches you or holds your hands. Or when she has her arms around your waist or when her lips kiss your cheeks. Or when she kisses you on the lips—" Whitney continued, relishing in Aleysia's reaction.

"We haven't kissed yet!" Aleysia interrupted, cutting off Whitney's words.

"Ohhh, but she did kiss you on the cheek, touch you, hold your hand, and wrap her arms around your waist." Whitney smiled, satisfied.

"Oh, you're terrible!" Aleysia threw the teddy bear back at Whitney and walked out of the room, knowing that she got right into Whitney's trap once again.

Whitney stared after her, a big smile on her face. "Damn, she's in love; I just didn't realize it."

-

Medusa let herself calm down with a few glasses of champagne, the emotions stirring within her after a week in the cave and the lingering effects of the moon's blood still present.

After the plane had safely taken off, Medusa walked into her private master bedroom, the largest room on the aircraft. She removed her turban, allowing the snakes on her head to move freely. She felt a sense of relief and began to change into more comfortable clothing.

It would be a three-hour flight to London, followed by a one-hour refueling stop, and then an eleven-hour journey to San Francisco. Medusa picked up her phone and connected it to the speaker system.

After three rings, a sweet voice belonging to Aleysia answered, "Ariadne!"

"Hi, Aleysia," Medusa replied, the sound of Aleysia's voice calming her immediately. "Did you go to hear the whales?"

"No, not yet," Aleysia responded, sounding a bit shy.

"Oh, why not?" Medusa inquired.

"It's because... I'm so used to you being around. It felt empty without you," Aleysia admitted, her words making Medusa's smile widen.

"It felt empty without me?" Medusa repeated, savoring Aleysia's words.

"Yes! Please don't repeat my words; you make me shy," Aleysia said, a faint rustling sound audible in the background.

"I'm on my bed, about to sleep. What about you?" Aleysia asked.

"Same here. We're still in the same time zone. I'm about to head to the USA now," Medusa informed her.

"Oh, just going to the USA? So, when will you be back?" Aleysia's voice held a tinge of sadness.

"As soon as possible. Why? Do you miss me?" Medusa teases her, not sure why she's teasing her. It has been a few millennia since she played this teasing game.

"I do..." Aleysia's words caused Medusa's heart to skip a beat. In that moment, she wanted nothing more than to instruct the pilot to turn the plane around and return to Norway, so she could hold Aleysia in her arms.

They for a while, until Medusa can hear Aleysia's soft snore. Aleysia actually fell asleep while hearing her voice; she smiled, feeling satisfied. She let it linger for a while, to indulge in Aleysia's voice for a little bit more. Before she's back into being alone again, in her extravagant plane.

The flight attendant was preparing food for her; they prepared an appetizer of the oysters Rockefeller, put in their half-shells, and blanketed them in a decadent layer of melted Gruyère cheese. They also prepared for a plate of Gibraltar's cesare salad, with a side of lobster cocktail and Siberian baerii caviar.

As for the main course, yellowfin tuna tataki with ginger soy glaze and roasted asparagus with parmigiano. Medusa loves just an outside seared of the yellowfin tuna; the thin slices of tuna have a buttery, almost creamy texture that practically melts on the tongue. The ginger soy glaze provides a delightful balance of flavors—the salty, umami-rich soy sauce, the bright and zesty ginger, and a subtle sweetness that caramelizes on the surface of the tuna.

The roasted asparagus spears offer a nice textural contrast, with their firm, tender stalks and slightly charred edges. The Parmigiano cheese adds a salty, nutty, and savory note that complements the natural sweetness of the asparagus. A perfect dish with champagne, Bernard already prepared it the way Medusa liked it.

He knocked on Medusa's door gently, "Madam, dinner is ready."

"What is it?" she asked him.

Bernard was explaining the menu when he heard a rustle and hissing coming from inside the room. He put on a blindfold and stepped back to make room for his mistress to walk in front of him.

"You will dine with me, Bernard, and Timothy," Medusa said as she emerged. "I'm wearing the turban; you can drop the blindfold."

"Yes, madam," Bernard replied.

"Bring the documents as well," she said, walking towards the dining room.

Since she had asked him to dine with her and Timothy and to bring the documents, it meant she would be planning everything and would instruct Timothy to handle the matters. The reason she was going to San Francisco was to visit Silicon Valley and deal with Aleysia's stepmother and the company.

"Yes, madam," Bernard acknowledged, gesturing to the flight attendant to prepare the food for him and Timothy in the same room as their mistress.