Work Text:
“This journal is the property of Jean Gunnhildr.”
Lisa leafed through the pages of the ragged notebook for the nth time. The pages were now yellowed from the many years it had been in her small little garden. She closed the book and stood, smiling.
“Oh, Jean. No matter how many years I spend reading through this journal, your ability to describe this garden never ceases to amaze me,” she sauntered up to the now decades old statue that she had petrified. The mouth hung agape from the eternal nightmare she saw in Lisa’s emerald eyes.
Lisa had never known Jean before she wandered into her garden, but when Jean looked into Lisa’s eyes and turned to stone, she dropped a small satchel. Lisa had ignored it at first, admiring Jean’s beauty, now frozen forever.
“Such utter beauty…” she had muttered, intertwining her fingers with Jean’s own stiff and cold ones. Her other hand cupped the statue’s cheek, her thumb rubbing against the smooth stone. “Oh my… I’m afraid this one will have to stay…”
Her voice was soft and wistful. She almost wanted to thank the gods for blessing her with this specimen for the rest of her existence.
Many warriors had come to hunt the great gorgon maiden down over the decades. But they had all failed and met the same fate as Jean. Though, Lisa would usually push them over and leave them to shatter on the ground. She hated the idea of those who wanted her dead staring at her for the rest of time.
But Jean was different. Jean merely admired her garden.
When Lisa was finally able to separate herself from the statue, she finally grabbed the satchel Jean had dropped. Inside was a book she would never stop reading and rereading.
Though almost a century had passed since Jean’s petrification, and her stone was even beginning to crumble on its own, she had never lost her beauty.
“You are so wonderful, Jean.”