Monday, April 1, 2013

Envy


Written By: Katelyn Abbott

Author’s Summary: Princess Cassandra of Troy is envious of other people.


Cassandra was aware that she had once had the admiration of the Trojan people. Brilliant beauty such as hers with her brown curls the color of chestnuts, her brown eyes as dark as chocolate, her china nose, her dainty mouth, her even white teeth, her full lips as red and soft as rose petals, and her skin as smooth and soft and white as ivory had attracted the Trojan peoples’ attention towards her. She was called the second most beautiful woman in the world, but it was her intelligence, her charm, her desirability, her elegance, and her friendly and gentle nature that had captivated people like the Trojans towards her. The Trojan people were drawn towards the princess like moths to the flame as her eyes seemed to search through the soul of every person whoever locked eyes with her. The people of Troy had ended up coming to her to ask her to solve their minor spats and problems for them. Cassandra had enjoyed her people’s admiration of her as she loved the challenges they presented to her to solve for them, her reputation as a problem solver, and seeing her father King Priam’s pride in her for handling these minor issues for him. However she also feared it for the envy that it had invoked from the Trojan people especially the young women around her.

The young women of Troy had been envious of her. Envious of all of the attention and the burning looks of desire that men gave her for her beauty. Envious of how Cassandra could have the beauty, intelligence, charm, and desirability which they lacked. Envious of how Cassandra did have dozens of suitors and even had the sun god Apollo endlessly pursue her to be his lover. Envious of how she was still enticing to men even after Apollo cursed her to be able to see the future and be correct in her predictions, but never be believed by anyone and she was supposedly driven insane because of it. These young women felt that they deserved all of the blessings that Cassandra had been born with instead of Cassandra and it got them to not accept her for who she was, care nothing for her, and despise her because of it.

How Cassandra continuously envied these young women and felt that they were foolish to envy her for such trivial things. All of her blessings had brought her nothing but misery and pain. Blessings such as beauty, intelligence, charm, and desirability to men could not help her break Apollo’s curse on herself. These young women did not know what it was like to be able to see the future and be correct in their predictions, but never be believed by anyone like she did. They did not foresee the crying, death, endless hunger and thirst, fire, grief, and illness that the Trojan War would bring to their people as she did. They did not endure smelling the repulsive smell of the earth stained red with their countrymen’s blood or hear the cries of children, the groans of the dying, and the screams of women as she did. Cassandra envied them for it.

Cassandra did not accept these young women for who they were, cared nothing for them, and despised them for being foolish enough to envy her when she should be the one who envied them. Their biggest concerns in life were over what they ate at their meals, which gown they would choose to wear during the day, or when they would be able to play ball with their friends as soon as they were done the chore of washing the clothes at the sea shore unlike hers’ were. They could continue to dream about the men who would be their future husbands and how many children they would have unlike she could. They did enjoy having the trust of their honored fathers, their dear mothers, and the brothers and the sisters they adored while she did not. They were free of being able to forsee the rape, slavery, theft of riches and splendid treasures, and widespread slaughter coming to Troy when Troy was destroyed like she did. They had no guilt over being unable to prevent the horrors that were coming to Troy or know how it was like to be nearly driven insane from the visions invading their minds like she did. It was her fate to bear alone and she was jealous of them for it.

She hated the young women who envied her for being fools not to realize that they were the fortunate ones in life and being grateful for the great luck the Fates had given to them unlike the horrors they had made inescapable for her.
They were the lucky ones and Princess Cassandra of Troy was not one of them.

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