As the sun sets, she began to execute her plan. She was knotting together various clothes then sewing them to make the line stronger. While she was hurrying, needle stuck in her hand and painted the rope of rags to red. She barely hold her scream. She was sucking the blood from the point her finger when she saw her reflection on the polished silver. Her beauty was dazzling, there no woman prettier than Daphne in all Greece. She was the blossom of Theselia, the pearl in his father's crown. These were the words greeks describe her. Once she believed it to be a gift of Afrodite, now she understands the curse of Hades upon her. Gods play with the beauty, in the expense of the beautiful, she whispered herself and remembered the tales of Medusa. She was afraid of the mother of snakes in her childhood, overtime fear left its place to empathy and pity for the doomed woman. Her life was resembling to the other's. Both were molested by the men and seeked refuge in the powerful. One turned into a monster other tortured further.
She was loved by all in her childhood. When she grew up, the love of men turned into jealousy. Loving was not enough, they wished to own him. First they declare love with poetic letters. She refused them all. Then chivalry evolved into molestation. She was the daughter of the Tyran, so mobs were afraid to go further. But when the look in the guards eye changed and they began to give immodest "compliments". Her father realized it was a time to send her girl away until a suitable aspirant emerge for marriage. Daphne was in blues for leaving her homeland yet family made her believe she was going to safety. She was too innocent to be cynical about it.
Delphi was a beatufil city dedicated to Apollo. She was happy in her first days. Only problem was hard to fit in the dress of temple servants but it was keeping her from the eyes of men, so she get used to it. City was a nice place for her and she was a nice attachment to the city. So that, before long she drew attention of God Apollo. The God after his triumph in chariot race in Olympos, came to his temple to celebrate with his servants. He noticed the new servant and praised her among others. He ordered her to came closer to him in the place of head servant. It was enough to cause jealousy in the temple and torment began. It was small in the beginning, she had to endure their implications then she ought to do all chores. Her heart was broke and she was lonely far from her house. One day she could not take it anymore and cried in the hall of temple. It was when the Sun God approached with his grace to little one and she did accept gladly without knowing the misery shall comeforth with it. You see Gods are charming as the Sun's itself, they draw the mankind like the flies attracted to ligth just to burn them when they came closer. That indeed was what happened to her. He took advantage of Daphne. He was not the god of mischief but acted in mischief as all gods do. The shock was iminent with the Daphne. She was not expecting a man (appeared to) having such elagance to act so poorly. Apollo was a man to her now if not an animal rather than a god. The burden of such spoilation (the world she lived in put ideas of spoiling as if she was a good) and the pain she experienced made Daphne a living dead. It was when the headmaid of the temple noticed her misery. The old lady was distanced to Daphne, she was a proud and grouchy one. As an orphan of a poor fisherman left to the temple, she grew up with a hatred for all world especially for those luckier than her ( nearly for everyone). Hence she turned an eye to harassments of other maids to Daphne. However, the young princess' expression was so saddening, it achieved to reach the last drops of caring left in the headmaid's heart. She felt compelled to ask the reason behind the suffering of the young one, believing she is bothered by the meanness of her peers (just like all bad people she was considering others' misbehaviors and excluding hers). Daphne was hesitant to tell her story. Headmaid believed it to be an act of conceit, the feeling of inferiority rooted in her mind long ago made her percieve herself as ignored by Daphne. She was furios with the girl hence put a hand on her shoulder with the intention to afflict her to satisfy her anger. However she was quite suprised when the girl burst in tears. She was so in despair and torment for days, a touch of a fellow maid (even though Daphne was not found of any maid) led her to release the sorrow soured her innocent soul for a while as she took the touch of the malicious hand for a an act of consolation and a comfort. Keres (the headmaid) tried to come up with a few set of kind words she can imagine of (it was a trouble for her since it was something new to her) to calm down Daphne. Finially when the pain washed away as much enough to allow the girl to tell her story, headmaid thought she would prefer the former trouble rather than the upcoming one.
The headmaid kept her distanced attitude once the story is complete and she did not forget to show a certain amount of displeasure and resent as all people with a merciless heart do when they encounter with a misdoing which it is easier to blame victim than dealing with the oppressor, especially if the oppressor is someone essential to them. The following days past with a headache for the headmaid, it would be much easier if the girl was a rascal or orphan. If so the solution would require just a slice of a knife however she was of noble and such action would leave two dead bodies. Therefore she came up with another solution. First she prisoned Daphne in her room and forbid others to come closer of her. The care of girl was provided by Keres's herself. (In her mind, it was a necessary precaution as she could not trust anyone to learn such a secret.) Second she wrote a letter to the Tyran, informing him with the agony of his daughter (without mentioning the tragedy and only highlighting her homesick). Once the letter is recieved and the carriage arrived the temple, it would be the problem of someone else she repeated to herself and indeed that was what happened.
The royal highness was quite nervous with the news and impatient for the arrival of his daughter. He was bothered with the sadness of Daphne and the problems that will remerge within his household. On the other hand, he was happy to see his only child after a long time. Therefore his display of affection when Daphne arrived was not an imitation so the souring of it when he saw the face of his child. He was warned by the haidmaid (with half truths) about the situation of his daughter but he was not expecting a living corpse to step out from the carriage. Ceremony was cut short and the noble lady is left undisturbed in her childhood room. It was decided not to bother her and hence her days of voluntary isolation began.
During the days past many events happened but the most important one took place in the temple. (One may also be curious about the mood of Daphne. The emotional torture she bears and troubles she dealing with. However it is not possible to reflect a tragedy neither with telling nor painting. It is only be said that she was in a profound pain caused by a shocking offence and altered by the lack of possibilty to express it.) After a trip to Mount Olympos, Apollo visited his temple wishing to meet with the beautiful maid once more. He was confident with the lack of awareness of those having a certain narcissim. To him the his company was something deligthful for the maid of his temple. That is why he got suprised with the leave of Daphne and got angry when he heard the Keres's role in it. He was quick to punish the haidmaid by condemning her to burn in a bronze bull and even quicker to send a message to the Tyran. It was informing him of the affair (!) she had with the God and the desire of God to maintain it so. He was even ready to accept the lovely girl to be one of his wives. Rumours of the letter spread in a day as words whispered from ear to ear so successfully that they broke through the barriers surrounding Daphne. She was shuddered by the news but relieved to know that her father is enligthened with the trouble of his daughter. She felt the same warmth she experienced in her childhood, the assurance of protection against the evil of the world. When her father is introduced into her room, she welcomed him with her tears as she did already burst into crying. Old man wrapped up his child with his arms and tried to calm her down by the most unexpected words for Daphne. "Ah don't cry my child. I am also happy for you. I was not aware of your impatience and aspiration for the marriage. But worry not... You shall marry at soonest." Life is like that the frame of excellence we build for one may be shattered in a matter of seconds. Now she was trying to tell the offence made to her existence and calling her father to sour truth. However, her father was in somewhere far away to hear her calling, where those with power cannot do such things no matter what they do. Her struggle came to end when she was interrupted by her father. "What happens between a man and a woman is a confidential play. And it does not concern someone else. Especially if the woman is a daughter and someone is her father." He spoke those words believing her daughter was carried away with overjoy and telling secrets of love in an inappropriate fashion. Disturbed by the attitude of his daughter, he urged to leave the room yet did not forget show a display of afffection to indicate that he forgave her error. This brings us to the nigth Daphne executed her escape plan (of course there is a certain interval of time passed with the hopeless efforts of her to tell the real facet of her situation but it seemed like nobody understand or maybe care). Once the rope she crafted out of tied scarfs was ready, she climbed down to the ground from the window.
The weather was dark on behalf of her so thar neither royal guards or the servants of Apollo can see the bride in run. She avoided to stay in the open terrain to deflect any curious eye and took refugee in the woods. The princess run for an hour or two till she drop still near a river, tired by the cuts inflicted by branches on her skin and the thrill of a running away. She was numbed by exhaustion until her wakening by the barks of hunt dogs. "THERE IS NO WHERE TO GO" she spoke to herself as the search party approaches. All of a sudden; the river rose and from the bubbles bursting a nymph emerged. She offered a way out to the puzzled girl.
When the Tyran, Apollo and all others halted behind dogs who lost the scent of girl and stopped near the river, all they saw was a beautiful bay laurel standing next to the water. A sapling in the forest of daphnes.
Kommentarer