Chapter Text
Flames... Screams... Blood... No matter where she looked, she saw only destruction. The fire was burning Troy down, while the civilians were searching for shelter and the brave soldiers were struggling to save it from conquer. The smoke choked her and blurred her vision, yet she kept walking among the crowd looking for salvation. She thought she had found it when she entered Athena's temple and fell in front of the statue, but she was wrong. Clinging on to it, she pleaded for sanctuary, but he, shoving his fingers in her tangled hair, wrenched her from the statue and dragged her towards the altar. She screamed with all her power and kept screaming even as she lay in her soft, warm bed.
''Cassandra!'', a man yelled storming into the bedroom, running to her bedside.
''Brother...'', she whispered between sobs, hiding in the safety of his embrace.
''Calm down now. It's nothing. It was just a nightmare''. He tried to comfort her, speaking with a soft voice and caressing her back, until she stopped shaking with fear.
''Troy... Flames everywhere... The palace, the city... Everything turns into ashes...''
''Do not fear. It was just a bad dream.''
''No, brother'', she said and her grey-blue eyes flashed. ''That wasn't a dream. All this... This is really happening. Troy will be destroyed. And it will drag you down with it... All of us...''. The sobs came back, not allowing her to go on. Hector, not knowing what else he could do to help his sister feel better, stayed there holding her, while praying to the gods to save her from this madness. Little did he know that the fury occupying Cassandra's mind was sent by a god.
[Two years ago]
''Come, child'', said the old woman stretching her hand towards Cassandra. The girl put the light-blue veil on her head covering her long hair and walked to the entrance of the temple. As she entered the holy place, she kept her gaze low and slowly reached the altar. ''You'll need to stay here till dawn. I hope Apollo hears your call and offers you the gift you ask for'', the high-priestess said and then exited the temple, leaving the young princess alone. Without lifting her eyes, she kneeled in prayer holding her hands together near the lips. For a long time, she remained still and silent, gazing at the flames burning in front of her.
''Phoebus Apollo, hear my call'', were the first words she said when she spoke. ''Give me the gift of prophecy. Come and bring your spirit into me, so that I may have the power to see the future through your eyes''. She wasn't sure herself how many times she repeated that request, before she raised her eyes above the flames of the altar, where Apollo's huge statue stood. He had golden sandals at his feet and wore a short tunic. Her gaze went up to his delicate, strong arms holding the lyre, symbol of the God of Music and then she stared at his lovely, youthful face surrounded by shoulder-length golden curls. She had blonde hair too, but her shade was closer to the colour of honey, while the statue had golden hair, bright as the sun. She was so impressed by the figure that she stopped praying and watched it as if she were bewitched. Maybe a few seconds passed. Or maybe a few hours. Cassandra couldn't take her eyes off that divine face with the sweet smile and blue eyes that were gazing at the infinite... But suddenly, those eyes began to move and slowly turned towards her. The girl felt dizzy and was about to faint. She didn't though. Her senses did not fail her, instead they enhanced so she wouldn't miss the miracle. She saw the god Apollo stepping down from the pedestal and approaching her with a smile on his face. Even though she tried to utter a word, the voice did not escape her lips.
''Do not fear'', Apollo said, seeing her turmoil. ''I'm not going to hurt you.''
''But how...? How...?'', she wondered in a shaky voice.
''I appeared in front of you, just as you asked of me.''
''Yes, but... I didn't... I just thought that...'', she faltered.
''You just thought that I would simply offer you the gift of predicting the future?'', he completed her thought and Cassandra nodded. ''In order to get such a great gift, you must first prove yourself to me.''
‘’I am worthy, oh mighty Apollo. I swear that if you grant my request, you will never regret it.''
''Why should I do that?'', he asked her and Cassandra remained thoughtful for a few seconds. She was so close... There was no room for mistakes. The god Apollo himself stood in front of her. She had to convince him that he hadn't taken the trouble for nothing.
''This is what I've always wanted'', she replied. ''I want to devote myself to you, god Apollo. From this moment and for the rest of my life, I wish only to serve you'', she said bowing, lowering her head until she almost touched the floor. He slowly approached her and took her by the shoulders, helping her stand. Cassandra looked into his eyes in awe.
''I can see the gleam in your soul''. The girl nearly jumped for joy hearing these words.
''Does this mean... Does this mean that you deem me worthy?''
''Since I first laid eyes on you, I hoped that you'd want to follow this path''. Cassandra looked at him in amazement. ''I've noticed you for a while. Ever since you were a little girl, I knew you were born to be a prophetess and I'm glad you came to me. It means a lot for a prophetess to know what she wants and call me herself. This is a basic prerequisite to get what she seeks. Nevertheless...'', he said turning his back to her, ''...that is not enough on its own.''
''What else must I do? Whatever you ask of me, I'll gladly do it''. Apollo heard what he needed to hear. Smiling slightly, he again turned his face to the princess.
''That's good'', he said approaching her. Cassandra looked in awe at him, as he raised his golden hand and softly brushed her rosy cheek. ''You are very beautiful'', he told her and his words brought on a flash on her cheeks, that gave a darker pink tone on her face. ''It is unlikely there is anyone prettier than you in all of IIion.''
''I can't say...'', she whispered shyly, as he set her veil aside and his fingers went through two strands of her blonde hair. ''I don't know if I'm the prettiest...''
''You are'', he declared. ''At least in my eyes...''. Cassandra lowered her head and remained still, sticking her gaze to the floor. She began to shiver and her heart was pounding so loudly, that she feared that even the god standing next to her could hear it. She had no clue what to do or say. She suddenly felt she was under threat, however she couldn't put her finger on it. She felt her veil coming down to her shoulders the moment Apollo's face approached hers. His nose and lips slightly touched her ear as he whispered his terms with his breath burning her skin, hot as the flames of the altar burnt. She had no idea what to respond to his suggestion. She didn't even know whether that was a suggestion at all. It could be a blackmail. She probably didn't have a choice and had to give in to him.
''Well I...'', she found the courage to speak, ''... I haven't slept with a man before.''
''It doesn't matter. Besides, even if you had slept with dozens of men, what comparison could there be between a god and a mere mortal?'', he commented with smugness. Cassandra clenched her teeth without speaking. ''What's wrong?'', he asked noticing her reluctance. ''I thought you were willing to do anything in order to receive this gift. Any sacrifice...''
''It is not that simple'', the girl said.
''Oh, but it is'', Apollo contradicted. ''Not only is there no need to sacrifice anything, but it's an experience that mortals can't even imagine. You will see what a god has to offer, once you have his favour. So, do we have a deal?''. Not thinking twice about it, Cassandra gave her hand to Apollo. He held it tenderly in his own and then brought it to his lips. ''Are you certain this is what you really want? If you obtain the gift of prophecy, you won't be able to renounce it, even if you want to. Even if you see things you wouldn't want to see. Once I give it to you, I can't take it back''. Cassandra did not say anything, but she was determined to go through with this. Her dream would come true and no one could stop her. ''Very well then. Today you're becoming the greatest prophetess. Open your eyes and your mind, Cassandra of Priam. What you're going to take in will make you feel dizzy and blur your mind, but afterwards, when the storm settles down, wisdom will fill you up''. He stood in front of her holding her face in his hands and his shining eyes shone even brighter. Hypnotized Cassandra looked at this extremely bright light, until it faded away and everything turned back to normal. When he let her go, she felt her legs weaken and collapsed into his embrace. He helped her sit on a stair and remained close until it passed.
''Incredible!'', she murmured and her evident happiness made god Apollo smile. ''It's amazing! I can't describe the feeling...''
''You don't need to. I understand'', he said leaning towards her for a kiss, but Cassandra pulled back. Apollo decided to give her another chance, since she was clearly still dizzy and he crawled next to her for that kiss. ''What are you doing?'', he wondered when the young prophetess rose and went to stand away from him.
''I don't want to do this'', she simply said. At first, Apollo was taken aback, but then he also stood and went near her.
''My dear Cassandra, this is not the case. We made a deal, remember? You can't cancel a deal with a god.''
''And you can't blackmail a prophetess!'', Cassandra shouted. Apollo's eyes opened wide and after getting over the shock, they looked as though they were about to throw flames.
''What?'', he said with a soft voice. ''Who do you think you're talking to?'', he spoke louder. ''I am the one who offered you the gift, so you can now boast about it!''
''As you've already informed me, you can't take it back now. I am the greatest prophetess and that cannot change. Not even by you'', she told him with extreme self-confidence.
''Is that so? Do you really think that you can take what you want and now you don't need to keep your end of the bargain?''. He grabbed her from the wrists and pulled her abruptly towards him. ''That's not the situation, my sweet Cassandra. You may not lose your gift of prophecy... You could lose something else though''. Pulling her even closer, he managed to kiss her. Passionately, roughly. The moment his mouth left her lips, Apollo set her hands free too, allowing her to step away. ''You will be able to see the future'', he told her with a hurt look. ''But no matter what you say, no matter what you do, no one is going to believe you. Everyone will consider you moonstruck and although you'll know what future holds, you won't be able to convince them you're telling the truth''. Those were the last words he said to her before he vanished from her sight.
''No! No, please, come back! Come back! Don't do this to me!'', Cassandra screamed falling in front of Apollo's statue, tears rolling down her cheeks. However, the blonde god was unmoved by her pleas and did not show up again.