A Fine Wife

A long, long time ago, there was a man named Malakos. He was married to a beautiful human woman who was subservient and did whatever he asked. His wife was the most beautiful woman in his village and she was very faithful, too, but Malakos took great advantage of this. He would often claim that he needed to travel to the next village over to conduct business. This wasn't true, though. Malakos was a very greedy man, who had very little respect for women, and would often find new women with which to “conduct business.”
One day, Malakos told his beautiful wife, Enyo, that he was going to the next village to conduct business with a local merchant. She smiled and told him she would cook all day until he got back. Malakos smiled, kissed his wife on the cheek, and promised to be home by sunset. He left the house with unholy thoughts in his mind.
Malakos walked for an hour before reaching a spot in the woods where he decided to sit and rest under the shade of a large tree. He sat against the large trunk and thought about what he was here to do. This wasn’t the right thing to do to his faithful wife. She had always supported him and-
Malakos heard a branch snap a little farther down the trail on which he had been walking. He stood and turned toward the noise, quietly walking towards it. He heard some rustling in the leaves and reached for his knife just as a beautiful woman stepped out of the forest. This woman was tall, slim, had light hair, and fair skin that reminded him of the white sand of the shore. Next, a short woman who was somewhat plump, had dark hair, and dark skin that reminded him of the night stepped out of the forest. They both approached him and started to walk in a circle, admiring his physique.
“You would make a fine husband,” the fair-haired woman purred.
“Yes. He has the strength of a hunter,” the other smirked as she felt the muscles in his arm.
“He shall be mine, Deino,” the first woman raised her chin and stopped just in front of Malakos.
“No, Agatha, he shall be mine,” the short woman sneered.
“You choose,” they said in unison, looking straight at Malakos.
Malakos was at a loss for what to do. They were both beautiful. Agatha had a slim waist, strong arms, and a strong-willed personality. Deino was short with ebony skin, she had a somewhat thick middle that proved she was well-fed, and she had a fairly dependent personality. If he chose Agatha, she would be a beautiful, strong wife who would bear him many children. If he chose Deino, she would be a faithful, subservient wife who would never leave him. He contemplated which to choose, but could not decide.
“Wait, you are married?” Deino asked, lifting his hand so Agatha could see his ring.
“Oh,” Malakos hesitated. “This is the ring from my last marriage. My wife died and I could not bear to part with it.”
“That is quite honorable,” Agatha smiled sympathetically.
“Which is why you should be my husband,” Deino added.
“No, he should choose for himself,” Agatha raised her chin, sure Malakos would pick her.
“You are both perfect wife material,” Malakos began. “But sadly I can only choose one of you. So, we will have a competition.”
“Ooooh, I love competition!” Deino shouted gleefully.
“What kind of competition?” Agatha cut in.
“You both will show me what you have to offer,” Malakos spoke. “I will choose whoever impresses me the most.” Malakos knew in the back of his mind that this was wrong, that he had a faithful wife at home. But these were two beautiful women who he could perhaps trick into giving him their valuables.
“I will go first,” Deino said haughtily. “Deino means ‘the terrible’ because I am a bringer of destruction. I have the power of fire and I can help you destroy your enemies.” As she spoke, a curling ball of orange fire formed in the palm of her hand. She raised it above her head, and it formed itself into the shape of a cup. She handed this to Malakos and he drank from it - it was firewater. Malakos was, of course, impressed by this. Not only could Deino harness the power of fire, but she could create free firewater.
“I will go next,” Agatha spoke. She stood tall and walked toward Malakos. “Agatha means the good because I exist to create. I can help you make peace and I have the power of water.” Agatha placed her hand on the ground and drew some water out of it. She held it, cupped in her hand, and froze some of it to form an ice cup around the crystal clear water. She handed this to Malakos, and he took a sip. This was not as impressive as the firewater, but it was easily the best water he had ever tasted. Agatha seemed to sense that he wasn’t quite impressed with this, so she raised her hand and it began to snow. This amazed Malakos. He had never seen snow before.
“That is not nearly as impressive as this,” Deino sneered. She stepped back into the brush from which they had appeared, and stepped back out with a large bag. She pulled out a small, black lump. It was simply a piece of coal. She closed both her hands around it and closed her eyes. Suddenly, a light appeared between her hands, and she opened them to reveal a huge, glittering ruby. She handed this to Malakos whose jaw dropped.
Agatha scoffed, “I don’t even need coal to create my gem. I can form a diamond out of thin air.” She closed her eyes and reached her hand out in front of her. She closed her fist tightly, then opened it to reveal a crystal clear diamond, larger than Deino’s ruby.
“That’s not that impressive,” Deino crossed her arms, then zapped Agatha and lit her hair on fire.
Agatha quickly put out her hair, then shot ice at Deino’s feet, which were now frozen in a large ice block. The began to quarrel, and while this was going on, Malakos quickly snuck away with his treasures. He ran back down the trail to his home, hoping to get far away before either woman noticed he was gone.
As he ran, he pondered whether to tell his wife or not. He decided no, he would not. He could leave his wife and use his newfound fortune to attract a new wife. After about forty-five minutes, he arrived home, out of breath and legs on fire. He walked through the front door of their house to see his wife in the kitchen.
“Hello, husband,” she smiled. “I’ve just finished the soup. Would you like some? I made it special for you.”
“Yes, I would,” he smiled, setting the gems down under a blanket. He walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table with his lovely wife. She passed him his bowl, and he took a large whiff.
“This smells amazing, my darling,” he grinned plasticly. It smelled rather bad, but he didn’t want to hurt her feelings regarding her cooking. He took a sip of the soup and felt a weird burn in the back of his throat, had she used a new spice in it? He took a few more sips of it, before he fell to the ground.
Across the table, his wife grinned mischievously and retrieved the gems from their hiding place.
“Thank you for your help, Deino and Agatha. I appreciate your willingness to help me with my cheating husband,” she placed the diamond and the ruby in each of their respective hands. “Now, I can go to the next village and find a new, faithful husband who will not be so greedy.”
“Take these with you,” Agatha and Deino placed the gems back into her palms. “It is our gift to you.”
“Thank you,” Enyo smiled, then left the house, never to return again.