I was born in a flash of lightning.
My mother told me from the moment that I was created that I was a gift from the gods. A reward for her faithfulness and a way of fulfilling her desperate need for a child. My creation was one of the few times that the gods were actively kind to a lesser being.
My mother may be Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, immortal guardian of Themyscira, but the fact remains that she was at one point a human.
For the gods to gift her something was truly a miracle. After all, one of the few times one of them gave a gift to a human (fire), civil war nearly broke out.
Most normal children are formed in the wombs of their mothers. This was not the case for me. I am not in any way...normal.
I find the word somewhat hilarious, in fact.
My mother formed me with her very hands, even as they shook with her desperation. It was her last attempt, her last plea to the gods for the daughter, the child she had so greatly desired for so long. And, somehow, the gods heard her cries. It was one of the few times in our history that they had actually agreed upon something. As I said, it was a miracle.
It was Zeus who struck me with lightning, giving my body shape. But it was Hades who gave me my soul, Hera who bestowed her nurturing nature on me. Aphrodite gave me some of her beauty, Artemis and Apollo their skills in healing and archery, while Athena gifted me her wisdom. I was as strong as Hephaestus, with the speed of Hermes and the truthfulness of Hestia. The day that I was born, all the gods gave me a gift. I like to think that I have used them well.
The fact that all the gods aided in my creation simultaneously was not the only history-making fact about me. Thanks to them, I am the only Amazon on the Island to not actually have a father. Zeus does not count. I refuse to be related in any way to Hercules. Egotistical womanizer that he is.
I would say that I am proud of my heritage, but in truth at times I hate it.
As the only heir to the Island, so much is expected of me. Perhaps to much sometimes.
Forget that all who reside here are immortal. We can still die from wounds received in battle. And if my mother does not pass in the next millennia, it is expected that she will turn the crown over to me regardless of the fact that she is still alive.
Perfection is practically mandatory. After centuries of living here, I of all women understand that. But the rest of them do not understand me.
The Amazons came to the Island to escape the outside world and the horrors that they believed existed within. I have never seen these horrors. Therefore, I could not really believe they existed, not until I experienced them for myself.
Many called my curiosity my undoing.
My desire to leave was widely known. But, being the only Princess, I was told many times that I would never be afforded the opportunity.
So, instead, I took it.
Hephaestus had gifted my mother a suit of armor that was either for her, or for the ambassador she one day hoped to send to the outside world. The intended was my dear friend, Artemis. While she was not the actual goddess, she was close enough for my mother. Artemis was everything Hippolyta hoped I would become someday; loyal, kind, swift, good judgement, all with a warriors heart.
My temper and rashness were my undoing in my mothers eyes. Which is why she did not select me when the time came to send someone to the mainland.
I went anyway.
Leaving a note explaining what had occurred, I took the armor in secret, using my gift of flight to escape the mainland. I knew that thanks to our laws preventing the Amazons from leaving without express permission, no one would dare follow me.
As I left the Island, for the first time in my life, I felt free.