Underground Angels

Chapter Ten | Okay, Everyone is Crazy

Chapter Ten

Okay, everyone is Crazy

 

                  The kitchen took upon a new light and feeling; Grandma Ethel sat very straight, red stiletto clad feet dangling. Gabriel and Noel were silent, waiting for Grandma Ethel to begin. Though Noel was doubtful of her Grandma’s sanity, she didn’t object – she always told brilliant stories anyway.

“Far back in history, our ancestor was born; the great Seer Cassandra, daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy. Her beauty was so great, so overpowering that it caused Apollo to grant her the gift of prophecy. In a varied versions Cassandra spends the night at Apollo’s temple and the temple snakes licked her ears clean so that she was able to hear the future.” Grandma Ethel dipped her cookie in a glass of milk and smiled at the two teens “Don’t look so shocked Ellie, this is our history. It’s a pity you don’t look like our splendid grandmother, though I and your mother carry on a few traits; red hair, blue eyes, tiny, all of that. Though-” she squinted at her granddaughter “You did inherit our complexion, and curls. Your fathers hair and colour though – and freckles!”

“Granny-”

“Don’t interrupt darling, I’m far from finished.” Grandma Ethel smiled coyly “Anyway, when Cassandra refused Apollo’s attempted seduction, he placed a curse on her so that her predictions and those of all her descendants would not be believed. Her story is one of both epic tradition and tragedy Noel, and we are privileged to descend from such a being. She was known as intelligent, charming, desirable, elegant, friendly and gentle, but considered insane.

“Though insane, she was described as the second most beautiful woman in the world! Her beauty was even compared to Aphrodite and Helen of Troy.” She winked over at Gabriel “isn’t that nice Gabriel?”

Blushing, Gabriel nodded, avoiding Noel’s gaze “Yes Mrs. Bennet, very nice.”

“Pay attention Noel, there is still much more to tell.” She patted Noel’s hand comfortingly “It is a lot to take in, I know. Nevertheless, Apollo’s cursed gift to Cassandra caused an endless source of pain and frustration; she foresaw the destruction of Troy, the death of Agamemnon and her own demise, but was unable to do anything because no one believed her.

During the battle of Troy, a bloody battle indeed, she sought refuge in the Temple of Athena, but was violently abducted and raped by Ajax the Lesser.” The fury in Grandma Ethel’s eyes made Noel feel very small, and she didn’t try to interrupt. “There was a big affair going on with Clytemnestra’s wife and Aegisthus, who then murdered Agamemnon and Cassandra. Some sources mentioned that Cassandra and Agamemnon had twin boys, and it just happens-” Ethel smiled as her story reached its peak “That those sources were right. Our distant grandfather, Teledamus and his twin Pelops were both killed by Aegisthus, but not before he could relay his story and curse to his young and pregnant wife, whose name was lost as the years passed.”

“I learnt about Cassandra,” Gabriel said “But I had no idea her descendants would carry her curse for so long.”

Grandma Ethel nodded “It is a curse we have been burdened with for a very long time; my grandfather had it, and his grandmother before that. It skips a generation or two, as the blood line thins – my grandfather married a demigod, which strengthened the blood line once again. She was the fourth or fifth demigod to marry into the family, I believe.”