Page 7 of Arrogance
The curse on Myrrha worked without fault. Myrrha became so obsessed and consumed with her father, that she hid her identity beneath a cloak one night and entered her father’s bed. When their fling ended, King Cinyras became aware of Myrrha’s deception. He actually went so far as to draw his sword on her and chase her out of his castle. He and his army hunted Myrrha across the lands. Poor Myrrha was forced to flee Cyprus and make her way to Arabia, only able to escape her father and his men for short sporadic amounts of time.
My intent was to punish Queen Cenchreis and her family. But I had no idea Myrrha would be the one to suffer most from this curse. What was supposed to be me toying with her and teaching her and her family a lesson has now blown up into her father wanting her head on a silver platter. Even I could not foresee this outcome.
I watched as Myrrha crossed the desert. She was now on her knees in the sand, desperate, pleading out loud for help from the gods. It was at this point that guilt overcame me. My heart sank beneath my bosom, feeling her pain and anguish. I let out a heavy sigh before deciding to make myself known to her, to help her in her aid.
It was rare for me to ever decide to associate with mortals. But on this particular occasion, the overwhelming feeling of this burden on my shoulders possessed me to draw my chariot with majestic sparrows and fly to the desert to greet the tragic Myrrha.
Even in her disheveled state right now, she was extremely beautiful. There was no denying that. Her mother was quite accurate in her boasts and descriptions. However, I never realized that a human could even possess the traits to be as beautiful as me. As guilty as I was for how things panned out for Myrrha, a sense of jealousy still crept up my spine. I had never felt threatened by someone less powerful than me in my entire life. Yet, here I stood, feet warm in the blistering yellow sand just several meters away from that very thing, although now I was in fear of this girl’s existence in the world, a world where my beauty should be incomparable to anyone and anything.
Myrrha’s mouth gaped when my presence became known to her. I wasn’t sure whether or not she was shocked by the grandiose chariot with sparrows or the fact that she was able to recognize me and my beauty. But that answer soon became clear to me.
“Goddess Aphrodite! You’ve come! You’ve heard my calls and prayers!” Myrrha rose to her feet, only to step closer to me and return back down on her knees in front of me. She wept, her long locks gracing the silky skin of my feet.
“I need your help, Goddess!” she begged. “You must help me! My father wants me dead. I’ve fled from Cyprus and journeyed here for the past nine months. The King is relentless and will never be satisfied until I am found dead.” Myrrha cried. Her warm tears melted on my feet from the intensity of the sun. Helios was not giving anyone a break today.
The selfish prick!
“I’m afraid there’s not much I can do,” I revealed. “There is no place for me to hide you. Your father will forever search for you until you are found. He will leave no stone unturned.”
The reality of the situation became known to Myrrha. Her circumstances were beyond repair, even by that of an Olympian goddess. Her soft cries and sobs turned into loud bellows, now that she knew there was little hope for her. It was as if the drops of her tears were puddles. The only trace of water in this massive desert we were in.
“However, there is something I can do to still keep you alive,” I then explained. My words instantly grabbed her attention. Myrrha’s head lifted up to glance at me. Her watery eyes glistened with the sun’s reflection off of them. She was so beautiful in this moment. Almost too beautiful for my liking.
“Please! I’ll do anything. Just tell me what I need to do.”
A smirk crept up on my face, knowing she would likely commit to any suggestion I made to her at this very moment. She reeked of desperation, and it was exactly as I wanted her. I would be her savior, but at the same time, I would be the one to lead her to her damnation. She would still remain alive and out of her father’s reach, but she would have to be changed into a form that showed no beauty. No competition for me.
“A desert tree. I will change you into a glorious tree. A beautiful living thing in its own right. I will call it a Myrrh Tree in your honor. Everyone across the lands will know of this tree and its value and representation of me, the Goddess of beauty.”
Her eyes shifted downward. I sensed a hesitation within her. But much to my appeasement, she released a heavy sigh. “Very well. If it is the only means to keep me safe and alive, what choice do I have?”
It was the affirmation I needed, and really the only choice Myrrha had. Become a tree and live forever, hidden from her father, or continue to go running from him and his men for only a little while longer, until she was caught and killed.
Myrrha remained on her knees facing the ground as I slowly stepped back from her. I held my palm out towards her. It radiated a glimmering gold light that spiraled into a wide circumference. It immersed itself from my hand and into the sand surrounding Myrrha, rising to engulf her. The aura became so unbearably bright, enough to blind any mortal. But for me, I was a goddess. No amount of light could damage me. The light then glowed to being opaque. Even I could not see Myrrha’s transformation within it, but I knew the end result, once the luminescence subsided.
As the golden cyclone dissipated, a single tree stood in Myrrha’s place. A beautifully sculpted one. I smiled, admiring it’s simple, yet striking features. One of my finest creations yet. The bark of the tree winded and bended in such a unique fashion, almost serpentine-like. The branches gnarled on all ends, giving way to a rich, fine layer of flat-top shrubbery lushness at its apex.
Myrrha was no more. Well, at least not in the living human flesh. That sinking feeling in my body now drifted off into the abyss. I was still the most beautiful thing to now exist in this world. An undeniable fact no one could argue against, now with Myrrha in her current state. All the while, I still managed to convince myself that my deed here was for her own good. For Myrrha’s own safety and well-being. Her father would never be able to get his hands on her. She would forever live. Live with a more meaningful life as a Myrrh tree. A symbol of the passion and beauty of Aphrodite. A legacy she could have never attained without my assistance and by being a human among the masses.
My mission here was done. I studied the tree once more before turning my head to return to my chariot. But, a twinkle in my eyes made me cognizant of something strange. Something grabbing and yearning for my attention. I spun back around, stepping forward towards Myrrha. A single bright, almost diamond-like, drop gravitated down from her bark. Was it sap from the tree? No. No form of sap could be as crystalline as that liquid coming forth from it. It was a tear. A final tear from Myrrha. I reached my hand out to the drop. It beckoned me. Called to me. I slowly extended my finger to allow the drop to trickle down on it. Upon striking the surface of my skin, the teardrop instantly mutated into a human. But not just any human. A very small, and pale baby boy.
Without any time to react, my arms wrapped around and caressed the small child, nestling it into my arms as it softly cried. What was I to do with such a creature? Clearly, I could not leave it in the desert for the animals of the night to ravage upon it. Nor could I bring this mortal with me to Mount Olympus, a place that was forbidden to all humans.
Now what in the Underworld did I get myself into!?
Myrrha couldn’t just express gratitude and accept that I saved her life from her father. No. She now had to waste more of my time by burdening me with this inferior creature.
The ungrateful bitch!
I was now beginning to realize that dealing with Myrrha was something I should have just avoided altogether. The girl was becoming more trouble than she was worth. It was probably better for me to just let her wander aimlessly through this desert until she passed out dead. By then, it would just be a matter of time whether the vultures would be the first to sweep in to feast upon her or if it would be the Cyprian soldiers who would come to mutilate her with their swords and weaponry.
Now, I was stuck with this child. But there would be absolutely no way I would be the one raising it. I would have to have a trustful person I could rely on to burden with such a task. But my trusting allies these days were very few and far between. However, there was one person that came to mind that still owed me a favor, that I knew would have no choice but to accept my offer in raising this child.
And thus, I set off for the Underworld, a place that I dreaded on visiting. Not because of the heinous lands and the vile creatures that existed down there, but because there was another goddess. And she would be the one to take this baby off of my hands.
“A gift you say?” Persephone inquired, raising her brow to me as I lifted the child in my arms, passing it off to her.
“Yes. A gift, a small favor, however well you may think of it,” I explained, annoyed that she was questioning me at this very moment. “I cannot think of anyone else to raise him for me, which is why I find myself here, asking you.”
