412 Bonus Minerva the Daughter of Hyacinth (1/2)
All the creatures on Hyacinth knew her name. In fact, her parents were the rulers of the water planet - Hyacinth. Poseidon was an overprotective father and Medusa a very loving mother. Their daughter Minerva was growing up to be more and more beautiful with each passing day. Yet, there was one thing they could stop Minerva from doing.
”No! I hate it!” the girl shrieked. This wasn't the first time it happened but it was still disheartening for the gorgon to hear.
”Why? It's lovely. Carlson spent a lot of time finding a good tailor. Your father even borrowed money from his brothers to buy it. What part of this dress don't you like?”
Minerva stared at the monstrosity of a dress and cringed hard. In the past, she loved wearing black dresses and gothic styles. Her parents never stopped her from indulging in exploring various types of cosmetics. They never chastise her when she picked up a sword instead of a needle. Nobody ever told her that what she did wasn't considered normal of a lady and Minerva grew up as the ignorant pampered princess that everyone loved.
To be honest, there was nothing wrong with the dress her mother held up. Minerva actually adored it. The black frilly laces and ribbons that decorated that puffed-up skirt and the black satin corset was everything that Minerva loved. Gothic lolita fashion made her heart pound but she couldn't give in to it. After all, the teenager had already made up her mind.
”No! I'm supposed to be a proper lady, I cannot be wearing such dark things. I read it in the books and I saw the princesses. None of them wore dark gothic things, only bad evil witches do this!”
With tears in her eyes that transformed into precious salt crystals as they fell, Minerva wept bitterly. She had never felt so utterly shocked and hurt that nobody in heaven appreciated her sense of fashion especially when she put in a lot of effort to tie that steel-rod corset tighter than usual. Those stiletto boots were also painful to walk in but she put up with it for the sake of meeting her relatives in heaven. Her father had to attend a Great God meeting and it was Minerva's first time there. She had never felt so humiliated by the seraphs who mocked her for her style.
At their wits' end, Medusa decided to write to the wise librarian for advice. If there was anyone who would know something, that would be Swift.
The harpie received a letter from Hyacinth and was pleasantly surprised when she learned about Minerva's behaviour. As new parents, Medusa and Poseidon were at a loss and Swift didn't blame them. Parenting was always hard, even for Gods. She had to give it to them for doing such a fine job so far.
Instead of sending a reply back immediately, Swift decided to go the extra mile and write a book especially for the troubled daughter of Hyacinth. It took the librarian two full days in heaven to write it but the wait was worthwhile.
When medusa received Swift's reply with a small package, she was curious.
”To my old friend Medusa,
You and Poseidon have been doing a great job so far, what happened to Minerva isn't your fault. Learning about self-acceptance and dealing with the judgement of society is something that all teenagers struggle with. Only Minerva can overcome this and as parents, you can only support her. Parents cannot shelter their children all the way, you'd have to teach her how to be strong enough to win her own battles. As Minerva has Athena's soul of a warrior, I have faith that she wouldn't be so easily defeated.