Once we got some smoothies we headed back to May's house to say goodbye to her family. I didn't know what the point of that was but didn't care to ask. While we were there May told them about what happened with Damien. They were upset when they found out, but more surprised at the fact that May punched him. She smiled sadly and shrugged. "You can thank Dedrin for that. He taught me how to."
Her father then hugged her and she returned it. "I'm so sorry." While they embraced, Alester then turned to me and raised a fist in front of me. "Respect." The corner of my mouth lifted as I sipped the straw of my drink, and I bumped my fist against his. After that was done and over with, we finally left the village to go on our mission. May carried her satchel that was full of supplies and flew next to me as I walked down the path.
I was relieved that we finally left, and pulled the map from a pocket on my sheath. I unfolded the paper and realized that the map was written in a different language. I raised an eyebrow as I tried to make sense of the strange markings, and sighed. "Great. What the hell is that?" May turned to look over my shoulder and took the map from my hands. "Don't worry, I can read it for you."
I turned to her as she looked down at the paper. "You can read that?" She nodded. "Yes, it's written in elf, and that language is very common in the forests. Let's see, it says that the first test is to- kill Medusa?" I was filled with excitement hearing my first task. "I expected these tests to be out of my comfort zone, but this will be a piece of cake!" May had a worried look as she answered. "Can't we just have a bake-off or something? Why do we need to kill her?"
I rolled my eyes. "You're not the one killing her. I am. Therefore it's none of your business. Your job is to lead the way and in no way interfere with taking the credit. This is MY mission after all. Although, isn't Medusa just a made-up creature out of Greek mythology?" May continued to look at the paper, worrisome. "Well, she isn't the real Medusa. She got the name because her curse matches Medusa's powers. But, you can't just kill an innocent Naga!" I then grabbed the back of her head and pushed her face into the paper so it made an imprint.
"Look closer at the picture of her. Does that look innocent to you?!" She pulled her face out of the paper and looked at the hideous drawing of a woman with snakes for hair and tail. She turned to me sadly. "But lesson number thirty-three states that you mustn't judge a person based on how they look!" I sighed with irritation. "Then let's judge her actions. She is a monster who turns everyone to stone for her enjoyment. Does that satisfy your morals, fairy princess?"
She looked down at the paper again with a pout. "Now is not the time for compliments Dedrin." I blinked and she continued. "I still don't think anyone deserves to die, but I guess if it's necessary for the quest and will free her prisoners from stone, then it's alright..." I looked over to the map in her hands and crossed my arms. "So. Where do we find her?" May continued to have worry in her voice as she answered. "The map says she lies in the deepest darkest part of Naga Canyon."
Her expression then became excited once she realized the location. "Naga canyon?! My bestie Granite lives there! We have to stop by on the way! He's sure to know some tips on how to... Defeat her." I gave her a confused look. "How are you friends with a Naga without being turned to stone?" May shook her head. "Oh normal Nagas don't have that ability. They also don't have snakes for hair either. They're just like a centaur but with the bottom half of a snake. Like I said before, Medusa got her powers from a curse. Granite will know more about it."
I let my arms fall back to my sides and looked ahead. "When will we get there?" She folded the map again and put it in her satchel. "It's not far so we'll get there by tomorrow morning." I was glad that it wouldn't take long to get there, and I purposely walked fast so there wouldn't be any delay. I noticed however that May was just flying beside me without being distracted by our surroundings like usual.
I realized as time went on how different she was acting. It had been at least a half hour without her singing any songs either. Whenever I asked her to do something, she would just say okay, instead of saying something like 'yippie dippy' as well. She even walked right past a bed of pink flowers without face-planting in them. But what freaked me out the most was that she only smiled most of the time.
After we ate lunch I casually slipped in a comment to see if my hunch was correct. "You know, I think I saw a deer a while ago." May smiled and continued looking ahead at the path in front of her. "Cute." I then turned to her, unable to control the volume of my voice. "Okay!! That's it!! What's wrong with you?! Why are you acting like a normal person??!!" She turned her head to look at me in surprise and raised an eyebrow. "Well, I just went through a breakup today."
I gave her a confused look. "What? That's why you're acting weird? You're still upset about that? Why? I thought he betrayed you." She hesitated for a moment. "That's an interesting way of putting it..." She then looked to the ground in front of her with sadness behind her eyes. "I wish it was that easy to get over someone. But it's not that simple. It doesn't matter how mean they turn out to be, falling out of love is hard."
I rolled my eyes. "Well stop it. The last thing I need right now is a depressed guide and cook. Your meals have only been amazing instead of phenomenal lately." She gasped in offense and looked toward me again. "What?!" I raised my pointer finger to stop her before she could say anything else. "I'm not saying I like how you acted before, I just want to make sure your personal problems stay out of my mission."
She sighed. "I can't just stop feeling like this, some things can only be healed with time." I stopped myself from taking another step and felt the urge to cringe at the next idea that came to my head. May stopped as well and I groaned. "Not if I have anything to say about it! I can't believe I'm saying this, but I order you to vent!" She had surprise on her face for a second before answering me. "What?"
I crossed my arms again with irritation. "Vent. Let everything and all your feelings out onto me at once so I don't have to concern myself with you exploding randomly later on our trip. As my guide, it is your job to be functional."