Bellerophone and the Hag

Chapter 10

Fall passed and winter came on with a vengeance.  Megaera still sent out her potions and amulets.  Bellerophone learned more about Megaera than he'd ever learned about another female.  He found it odd the way she spoke about the royal family that used to rule this place.  Bellerophone was beginning to realize that Megaera was part of the royal family.  Maybe a cousin or even a distant relation. 

Megaera's jealousy and envy didn't diminish the more time she spent with Bellerophone.  In face it grew.  She wasn't jealous or envious of him.  Her jealousy and envy was directed to Isabelle.  A woman who didn't realize how lucky she was to have the love of Bellerophone.

The months passed and Megaera dreaded the return of Spring because that would mean that she must uphold her part of the bargain.  She didn't want Bellerophone to go.  He was one of the few people who ever saw her as something other than the old hag she was.  There were times when Megaera thought that Bellerophone saw through her disguise to the woman beneath.

Bellerophone still seemed to be madly in love with Isabelle.  Megaera was trying to puzzle through why he loved someone who didn't return his love.  Why would he love someone who asks for a token in return for her love.  Sometimes it seemed as if Megaera was getting through to Bellerophone, but then he would say that he loved Isabelle and nothing would change his mind. 

It saddened Megaera at how Bellerophone was willing to give up his happiness for some lady who refused to love him.  The sad thing was that Megaera had seen this happen hundreds of times over the years.  She'd seen it during her youth.  Her own cousin was guilty of changing themselves for the love of someone else. 

Bellerophone was counting down the months till he could leave.  Megaera could see how he watched the forest and the changing seasons.  He was also very curious about what potion and/or amulet she was going to give him to win Isabelle's love.  Megaera was busy trying to figure that out too.  There were dozens of things she could give him.  Some would last for a few weeks and others were permanent unless the afflicted person bathed in a certain river at a certain time of day.  Megaera figured she would give him several items to use and then give him something to give Isabelle if he happened to change his mind.  She was always amazed at how many people came back asking for a potion to make the person that they made fall in love with them hate them.

All Megaera could hope for was that Bellerophone would realize that Isabelle wasn't for him and come back to her.  That was her greatest wish.  She wanted to tell Bellerophone that he could learn to love her, but she knew it wouldn't work.  The curse she was under would only break once a man saw past her ugliness and vices.  He would have to love her for who she was.  Only then would she regain her beauty and only then would the forest return to normal and her castle would reappear.  It had been so many years since she was cursed that she was afraid no man would love her.  Megaera was afraid that she would spend eternity atoning for her sins and eternity was a long time to pay for something that had been done wrong.