Before you can understand the tale that you are about to hear, you should know what happened in my infancy. I have been told the story over and over, and still hear it many times so that I have now memorized it by heart.
My mother, Helen, daughter of Zeus, married king Menelaus, my father. But apparently, she was obligated to marry, her heart held no love for him. But he did not love her either, but was simply overcome by desire. He even made her pose naked in front of a hundred kings, or so I read.
The entries in her diary are surprising, and reveal a woman who gained happiness only once and had it taken away from her by her own country. My father only began to love her when he was sure that he was not loved in return.
A Trojan owned my mother's heart. Paris was his name, prince of Troy. He loved her like no one ever did, and for that, he paid a high price: his own life. But not before ruining his entire family. His brother, James Hector, was killed by Achilles, who, according to my mother, was a bastard who only wanted glory. His sister, Cassandra, is said to have gone out of her mind. His parents died a painful death. In the end, the whole kingdom of Troy was destroyed and my mother…raped.
All for…love. She just wanted love. Was it too much to ask? Is it not true that love conquers all? To me, it is another myth, just like many others. She died…died of sadness when I was twelve. All for love. She just wanted to love and be loved in return. Such beauty that my father says she had only signed her death warrant.
They say I have that kind of unmatched beauty too. I care not. All I see is that I need my mother with me and I do not have her. Is it my father's fault? I guess I will never know. They tell me only what I just told you, but never a why.
"Your mother was a whore," I hear the maids say. That I do not see it that way is not their concern.
My mother died for love…or is that just a romantic story? I will never know. How could I? All I know is that they took the most important being of my life away from me, despite my love for her. Then why bother? Why do you dare to love if all that brings is chaos?
The kingdom of Sparta is my inheritance. It is my duty to take care of it. For that, I have made a decision. I will never love.
Hermione
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