Who: Cassandra (thehorseisalie), references to Apollo (apollimi). What: Why should one spurn a god. When: A few years before the Trojan War. Where: Troy.
Love me, he had said.
She was little more than a child, but her innocence had burned away--not in her body, not yet, but in her heart. Too wise, too jaded.
Love me. She would have her heart's desire. Perhaps Troy was doomed to fall nonetheless, but some things could be salvaged. Her family would live. Helenus--
Love me.
All she had to do was put aside her pride. What good was it to a mere girl, anyway? She should feel lucky to be favored by the god, she knew. The Lord of the Silver Bow watched over the city; he would watch over her as well, protect her from the shrewdness of others. Her heart's desire. A princess-priestess could not hope for a better match, certainly, for no earthly lordling could compare to the bright-eyed son of Zeus.
And she did love him. He was her god, her patron, the city's protector, guide and healer. She had outgrown the childish affection and awe and they had bloomed into circumspect devotion and love. His gift to her was wondrous, if terrifyingly powerful, and she cherished it fondly for what it meant.
Yet she would not do what he asked of her.
To do so would taint them both. She knew the stories. Gods do not marry mortals; it would end in heartbreak as soon as another pretty face caught his eye. His infatuation lasted only as long as she resisted and her love of him asked for no physicality. If she surrendered, she would be giving up what made her desirable, she would be giving up what she loved him for.