I'd like to start by saying hello to everyone who has stumbled across my story. This first chapter is a bit mythology heavy (that's what happens when you write it during your Greek religion class - got to love college), but it lightens up a bit after this chapter. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it!
Disclaimer: The story behind the Apple of Discord and the gods belongs to Homer and his Greek comrads. The curse tablets are real. Anything else that you recognize is not mine.
The Heratic Curse
Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess named Sarah. As a young girl she was a curious little thing, perhaps a bit too curious for her own good. Next to her grand palace there lived a witch named Gloria. Unlike many witches of her time, Gloria was not a bad witch, but she was not good either. A true scholar, Gloria wished to know everything there was to know about magic, both the bad and the good. Because of this, Gloria had many ancient magical tablets decorated with large stones in her garden.
Now Princess Sarah happened to love rocks of all kinds. Her parents tried to appease this love by importing rocks from all corners of the world, but this was not enough for Princess Sarah. What she truly wished was to examine the rocks in Gloria's garden.
One day, after a clever ruse involving her dearest friend Lady Delia and twelve crates of honey, Princess Sarah escaped her nurse, Tracy, and snuck into Gloria's garden. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the largest most glorious rock in the garden. It was embedded in a clay tablet surrounded by silver nails. The tablet was in fact an ancient Greek curse tablet dedicated to the goddess Hera which Gloria had attained the previous week. Unfortunately Princess Sarah did not know this and attempted to pry the stone form the tablet. When this did not work, Princess Sarah pulled one of the silver nails from the tablet and used it to chip the stone from the tablet. Eventually Princess Sarah held the stone, her new treasure, in her hands.
Delighted with her own resourcefulness, Princess Sarah skipped out of the garden and back into the palace grounds. This is when she heard Gloria's scream. "The Heradic Stone is gone! A curse on its thief!"
Now Princess Sarah may have been curious to a fault, but she was by no means stupid. She hastily ran back to Gloria's garden to return the cursed stone, perhaps she ran with a bit too much haste. On her way through the athelas brambles Princess Sarah tripped and dropped the stone; it shattered. Immediately the poor little princess was surrounded by a golden light. Frightened, Princess Sarah turned to Gloria for help.
"Stay away!" Gloria cried. "You have broken the stone of the goddess Hera. Everyone you touch will turn into a cow!"
Now like any little girl, Princess Sarah was scared by the witch's proclamation and ran for home. Once she entered the palace, Princess Sarah encountered her disgruntled, somewhat sticky nurse, Tracy. Princess Sarah ran into Tracy's arms, not thinking of the consequences, which were immediate. Tracy's nose lengthened to form a snout, her warm comforting arms became bony and hairy, something began to poke out of the back of her skirt. Princess Sarah's nurse had turned into a cow!
Word spread quickly through the palace of poor Princess Sarah's predicament. The king and queen called for Gloria hoping for a quick cure. Their hopes were shattered when Gloria spoke.
"Princess Sarah has caused much damage by breaking the Heradic Stone. The goddess Hera is a vengeful deity and does not forgive easily. However, there is one way Sarah's curse might be broken. Thousands of years ago, Hera desired a rather unique piece of fruit, the golden Apple of Discord. The Prince Paris decided to bestow this apple upon Aphrodite, and Hera was spurned. Should this apple be presented to Hera, she may lift the Princess's curse."
"How can this be done?" the king and queen asked.
"Aphrodite is very powerful. Only one who truly loves Princess Sarah, a soul mate if you please, will be able to take the apple from Aphrodite. For Aphrodite is the goddess of lust and only true love can overcome that type of power. But for now keep Princess Sarah hidden away, for who knows what kind of damage her curse may cause."
The king and queen did just that. For ten years Princess Sarah lived hidden away in a deserted castle with only her friend Lady Delia and cow-nurse to keep her company.