It seemed so ridiculous that Kassandra laughed in his face.
"Are you trying to tell me that before the Gods and the Goddess gave men wisdom and learning, men could bear children, and that because man created other things he was denied that power? Even the Amazons know better than that, They do all manner of things forbidden to women here, yet they bear children as well."
"Daughters," he said scornfully.
"Many Amazons have borne fine sons."
"I had been told that among the Amazons they kill male children."
"No; they send them to their fathers. And they know all the arts which in tribes of different customs are reserved to men. So if women in Crete are not allowed to read, what has that to do with me? We are not in Crete."
"A woman should not be able to reason like that," Khryse protested. "The life of the mind destroys the life of the body."
"You are even more of a fool than I thought," she said. "If this were true, it would be even more important to teach no man, lest it destroy him as a warrior. Are all the priests of Crete eunuchs, then?"
"You think too much," Khryse said sadly. "It will yet destroy you as a woman."
Her eyes glinted with mischief.
"And if I should give myself to you it would save me from that dreadful fate? You are kind indeed, my friend, and I am ungrateful that I do not appreciate the great sacrifice you are willing to make for me."
"You should not scorn these mysteries," said Khryse soberly. "Do you not believe that because the God has put desire for you into my heart that it is a message from the God that I should have you?"
Raising her eyebrows with scorn, Kassandra said, "Every seducer has spoken so since time began, and every mother teaches her daughter not to listen to such false nonsense. Would you have me teach your own daughter this kind of thing, that because some man desires her it is her duty to give herself?"
"My daughter has nothing to do with this."
"Your daughter has everything to do with this: my conduct is to be a model to her of virtue. Would you wish her to give herself to the first man who pleads that he desires her?"
"Certainly not, but—"
"Then you are a hypocrite as well as a fool and a liar," said Kassandra. "I liked you once, Khryse; do not complete the work of destroying all my goodwill toward you."
She walked away from him and out of the shrine; all the while they had worked together he had not for a single day ceased his importuning. She would endure it no longer; she would go to Charis, or to the chief priest, and tell him she would no longer work with Khryse, for he had but one use for her, and that she would not allow.
It would be simpler to leave the temple myself. But should I let such a man drive me away?
It was twilight; trying to soothe her own exasperation, Kassandra moved down the hill toward the enclosure where the priestesses were housed. As she passed by the building, a small sound in the shrubbery disturbed her; she turned and saw two figures, melted together in the shadows. On impulse she moved toward them and the man broke away and bolted. Kassandra had not recognized him and did not really care. The second figure was another matter; Kassandra moved swiftly and caught young Chryseis's arm.
The girl's dress was mussed, tucked up almost to her waist, leaving her crotch bare; her mouth was swollen and bruised; her face reddened and sleepy. Shocked, Kassandra thought, but she's a child, a baby! Yet it was clear that whatever they had been doing—and there was certainly no doubt about that - the girl had been an all too willing participant.
Sullenly the girl pulled her dress down and rubbed her arm over her face. Kassandra finally burst out, "Shameless! How dare you stand there like that! You are a virgin of Apollo!"
Defiant, Chryseis muttered, "Don't look at me like that, you sour dried-up spinster; just because no man has ever desired you, how dare you reprove me?"
"How dare I?" Kassandra repeated, thinking, And it was because I was concerned for this girl that I concealed her father's offense! There is no need to speculate how she came by her behaviour.
She said quietly, "Whatever you may think of me, Chryseis, it is not my conduct at issue, but yours; this is forbidden to the maidens here. You sought refuge in the Sunlord's Temple; you must then obey the rules under which the other maidens live."
Perhaps, Kassandra thought, it would be wisest to send forth the worthless daughter and father together from the House of the God.
"Go into the house, Chryseis, and change your dress and wash yourself, or it will not be only I who chides you," she said, as gently as she could. The girl had been placed in her care; somehow she must manage it that Chryseis was not a disgrace to the Sunlord's house, or to Kassandra's teaching. As Chryseis went indoors, Kassandra thought. It seems now that I am to be at the mercy of Aphrodite; will Chryseis too complain that she is under the influence of that Goddess whose business is to lure women into unruly and lawless love?
She raised her eyes to the face of the Sun high in the heavens.
"We are in your power, Lord Apollo," she prayed. "Surely you are in charge of your House and the hearts and minds of those who have sworn their lives to you. I mean no disrespect to any Immortal; but cannot you keep order in your own place and your own shrine?"
CHAPTER 3
There was no immediate answer to her question; but she had not expected any. For several days she avoided the shrine, pleading illness; it seemed as if the Sunlord's house, once so happy, had turned hostile, for Khryse was everywhere. At last she climbed' the hill to the very height of the city, and there she offered a sacrifice to the Maiden, patron Goddess of Troy; her thoughts were in turmoil, and she asked herself if this was disloyalty to the Sunlord whose priestess she was. Yet she had been called to Earth Mother and made a priestess there too.
When she had offered her sacrifice she felt calmer, though the Goddess did not speak directly to her. She went back to the Sunlord's house and presented herself at the evening ceremonies, and when she saw Khryse among the priests and he smiled at her she did not seek to avoid his gaze. It was not she who had done wrong; why should she feel ashamed?
That night her dreams were confused and dreadful; it seemed to her that a storm raged over Troy, and that she stood on the highest part of the city, at the 'citadel of the Maiden, somehow seeking to call the lightning bolts to strike her first, that they might not fall on those she loved. The Thunder Lord of the Akhaians strode across the great giant-builded walls, shaking his fists, The Earthshaker, Lord of Troy, who had been called to be consort to Earth Mother, was striving and struggling to protect the city of Troy. There were the other Immortals too, and somehow she, Kassandra, had angered them. But I have done nothing wrong, she protested, in confusion. If any had trespassed, it had been Paris. She called out to the Sunlord to save his city; but he frowned and hid the brightness of his face, saying, They worship me also among the Akhaians, and she woke with a cry of dread. When she was fully awake she realized the absurdity of the dream—surely the Gods, who were all-wise, would not punish a great city for the foolish transgression of a single man and a woman.
After a time she slept again; and again she began to dream.
She thought she held Phyllida's baby at her breast; and she felt again the mixture of enormous tenderness combined with horrible revulsion and despair. Something was wrong, terribly wrong. She struggled to consciousness; the touch on her breast was still there, and a dark shape bent over her, save where the light of the full moon glinted on the golden mask of Apollo. But she recognized the touch of the hand on her breast, and she opened her mouth to cry out.
The hand quickly moved from her breast to cover her mouth. "You are mine, Kassandra!" an all-too-familiar voice intoned. "Would you deny your God?"