Siegfried and Kraehe: Retold Perseus and Andromeda

The great hero Siegfried swooped through a cloud of Zeus' blue sky, riding the majestic white Pegasus. Siegfried smiled, stroking the winged horse's neck as they flew. It was a wonderful day indeed. Attached to his belt was a large burlap bag which held the head of the witch-monster Medusa, the creature he slew not many hours ago. It was this head he was going to give to Polydectes, king of the island Serifos, the man who wished to marry his spouseless mother. Luckily, with the help of the Pegasus he freed from the Medusa's womb, he would get to Seriphos sooner than he could have with Hermes' winged shoes he wore. Siegfried shuddered, shaking his white hair out of his face. King or not, that man made him want to vomit sometimes. No way would he let Polydectes have his mother.

The hero let his eyes wander over the vast ocean below them and the land it bordered as he flew over it. He recognized the beautiful green country of Ethiopia as he drew near it. Then, a figure he spotted standing next to a rock on the Ethiopian shore confused him. They were standing close to the ocean, and the tide was growing, so he wondered why they weren't moving. He gently guided Pegasus to swoop downward towards the person.

Landing at the ocean's edge, Pegasus' great hooves splashed sea water on the rocks as it walked towards the person. Siegfried stared as he dismounted. The person he spotted was a beautiful young woman, with a face as pale as summer clouds and long flowing hair like the deep darkness of an unexplored cave. Her slender form was chained to a rock, the hem of her simple ankle-length grey dress being torn by a lone seagull's beak. Siegfried scared the gull away and approached the young woman.

At first he could not speak to her. Her beauty was beyond anything he had ever seen from any other mortal woman. The sharp contrast of her white skin and her dark hair was especially entrancing for him. She glanced up shyly at him, smiled, and then looked away. He could have stared at her and her beauty forever – except for the fact that she was chained to a rock.

Only when he remembered that detail could he find his tongue to ask, "Why are you kept in chains, fair maiden?"

She didn't answer. Her face seemed to pink as she looked at him again. Quickly she stared down at the sand by her feet.

"Please, will you not tell me why you are here, bound and helpless?" he asked as he drew his adamantine sword. "No matter. I shall free you from these chains, maiden."

"She's tribute for the monster, zura!"

Siegfried turned and saw the little girl that had been speaking to him. Her hair was both unusually short and green, and she had a drum hanging from her neck. "The raven's gonna eat her to keep us safe, zura!" she explained as she banged on her drum.

"What?" Siegfried breathed, not believing the girl.

The young woman finally spoke. "Uzura is right." Her crimson eyes met Siegfried's, even though her head remained dipped low. "My name is Kraehe, princess of the land of Ethiopia. My mother and father are Queen Cassiopeia and King Cepheus. My mother…" Kraehe looked away, although she held her head a little higher. "My mother was foolish. She boasted that she and I were more beautiful than the Nereids and Aphrodite together."

"The daughters of Nereus and the goddess of love?" Siegfried looked alarmed.

"Yes. Such a ridiculous claim, is it not?" Kraehe laughed, obviously bitter. "So, the only way my parents can keep disaster from falling upon all the kingdom at Aphrodite's and Poseidon's hands, according to the oracle of Amon, is – "

"Is for her to get eaten by the raven, zura!" Uzura interrupted with more drum beats.

Kraehe glanced at Uzura. "Technically it's a raven-sea serpent, almost like a cockatrice but worse."

A caw interrupted what Siegfried was going to say. He spun and faced the ocean, the source of the sound, and witnessed a monstrosity worse than Medusa surface. Its upper half had the feathers, wings, and head of a dreaded raven, but its lower half was green and scaled like a fearsome serpent. The creature was at least a mile from shore, but it was close enough for its shrill cry to pierce human ears. Uzura screamed and ran away, but Siegfried stood his ground near Princess Kraehe.

"Oh, now all is lost!" Siegfried looked up and saw a group of people watching the creature from a rocky ledge. A man in royal robes was the one that spoke, evidently King Cepheus.

"If only I could return to my mouth the claim I falsely boasted!" Queen Cassiopeia, dressed in purple beside her husband, lamented as she fell to her knees.

Siegfried turned to them and held his sword high. "Fear not, oh King and Queen of Ethiopia, for I am Siegfried, son of the immortal Zeus and the mortal Danae. I have slain the mighty Medusa and have her head as a trophy!" He held up the bag containing Medusa's head. "Just as I have slain that fearsome creature, so shall I slay this raven-serpent and rescue the fair Princess Kraehe from its grasp!" The crowd cheered.

Then, leaving the bag with Medusa's head by Pegasus and Kraehe, Siegfried ran and leaped for the sky. Hermes' winged shoes carried him until he faced the monster mere feet from its beak. However, the monster surprised him – the monster dove to attack his shadow, the first thing it saw.

He swooped to his right, slicing the raven's wing. The monster flailed about in the water, soaking Siegfried as it writhed in pain. Cawing, the raven-serpent struck, thrusting its beak towards the hero. He flew down, his arm brushing against its serpent-half. Quickly he sliced at where raven and serpent were linked together. He sliced again and again as the creature screeched. Then, he flew around to the back of the monster and stabbed it in its other wing multiple times. With both wings rendered useless, the raven-serpent was forced to slither and strike from the ocean itself instead of being able to hold itself up. It attacked and missed as Siegfried flew above it. However, the wings of Hermes' shoes that he wore were soaking wet from the flailing of the raven-serpent, and they were starting to strain under his weight.

He whistled for Pegasus. Faster than lightening, the winged horse flew to the hero's side. Siegfried mounted Pegasus and shot forward. Injured as it was, the raven-serpent could only caw in pain as the hero sliced and stabbed it over and over in its ribs. Then, the creature sunk into the ocean, staining the water deep red.

The people watching cheered, and the king and queen embraced each other. Siegfried flew on Pegasus' back to Kraehe's side. With one swift stroke he cut her chains and set her free.

"Oh, most noble Siegfried!" she exclaimed, falling to her knees. "Thank you! Thank you for saving my life!"

Siegfried smiled and held his hand out towards her. "Rise, my princess. No need to kneel before me."

Kraehe blushed even more as he helped her to her feet. "What do you mean by…"

"Oh, most noble hero, great Siegfried, son of Zeus!" said King Cepheus as he and Queen Cassiopeia approached the pair. "Whatever can we do to show our gratitude for rescuing our daughter and our kingdom?"

Siegfried smiled and stared at Kraehe. "All I wish…" He took her hands in his own. "All I really want is to take Princess Kraehe's hand in marriage." Kraehe gasped, smiling widely.

"Done!" declared King Cepheus. "And the kingdom itself shall be your dowry!" He turned to the crowd that had witnessed the battle. "Is that not a fitting reward for the one that has rescued our kingdom from destruction?" Their cheers affirmed his decision.

"How wonderful!" Queen Cassiopeia cried in her joy. "I get to plan a wedding! Come along, Kraehe! Wait, I shall call for a chariot for you both!" She scurried away in her excitement.

Siegfried allowed Kraehe to place her hand in the crook of his arm. He allowed little Uzura, who had quickly returned when the battle began, to ride on Pegasus' back and hold the bag with Medusa's head inside. Pegasus trotted right behind the hero and princess as they strolled together.

As he led Kraehe away from the beach, his tongue suddenly became lead. He, a hero of noble heart and eloquent speech, found himself rendered speechless by the beauty who's heart he won by rescuing her. The way her black curls framed her perfect pale face and neck… that and many other things kept him from thinking of what to say.

Finally, he stuttered, "So, dear Kraehe…"

"Rue," Kraehe muttered shyly.

"What was that?" Siegfried gave her a confused look.

She blushed and looked down. "M-my friends and nurse call me Rue. You can call me that, too, beloved."

Siegfried also blushed and smiled. "It will be my pleasure to, Princess… Rue. And you can call me Mytho."

She gave him a quizzical look. "Why Mytho?"

Siegfried chuckled. "Everyone called me that. I was quiet as a child."

Rue laughed. "That, my hero, is hard to believe."

Siegfried also laughed. He had much to learn about his bride-to-be, a young woman that he determined right there and then was one worth slaying a thousand raven-serpents to save.