Ezra Azra--Apollo, Almighty Son-Of-A-God

Characters :-
Cassandra. A royal princess of the recently defeated City-kingdom of Troy.
Apollo. An almighty god.
Artemis. An almighty goddess, fraternal twin of Apollo.
Silent Persons.

(Outdoors. Trojan persons, civilians and soldiers, hurrying across the stage in all directions, fleeing the war that has ended with the defeat of Troy by an invading Greek army. A few trees and boulders upstage. Cassandra runs on, downstage left, exhausted, frightened. She uses a boulder to help her climb a tree upstage right, to hide. Apollo enters where Cassandra entered. He walks about, looking around. He stares at the tree. He walks casually to downstage left, and stands, facing the audience.)

Apollo: Really, Cassie? Please climb down, and let’s have a rational discussion. Please? (A few tense moments of silence. Cassandra climbs down the tree, slowly, with difficulty as her dress snags on branches. Eventually she stands against the tree, and self-consciously faces Apollo.)

Cassandra: (Sincerely meekly, softly.) I surrender, great god, Apollo.

Apollo: Surrender? No, no, no, Cassie. I am not on the side of the invading Greeks. When I heard Troy had fallen, I rushed here to rescue you. The barbarian savage Greek soldiers are all over the place slaughtering your people; taking no prisoners. Let me take you to a safe place, and I will return to save some of your people.

Cassandra: Thank you for the offer, great god, Apollo. I prefer to remain here on Trojan earth.

Apollo: Cassie, you have no place to hide. The King Priam and Queen Hecuba, your parents, have been killed in the palace. All your magnificent soldier brothers have fallen, including Hector, Troilus, Paris, Polydorus, and Lycaon. All your sisters have been taken prisoners.

Cassandra: (Interrupting him, quietly.) I know. I know. Every one a reason I have to live and die in Troy. (A few seconds of tense silence.)

Apollo: Cassie, my love for you will not let me leave you here either to be killed or to be taken to be a slave.

Cassandra: Then stay and help us against the invaders.

Apollo: As much as I would love to, Cassie, my father Zeus has forbidden us from taking sides in this war. (He takes a step towards her; she moves to back away. Artemis enters, downstage right.)

Artemis: Brother! Be nice. There’s a war going on.

Apollo: Artey! What are you doing here?

Artemis: Saving you from disgracing the family, AGAIN, brother; and allowing a royal princess her free choice to die heroically. (She waves while calling out to Cassandra.) Hello! (Cassandra waves back, hesitantly.)

Apollo: Artey, I really and truly love her and want to save her in the middle of this war.

Artemis: I believe you brother. Nonetheless, her royal prerogative to die with her people, is more important than your sincere love for her. (A few moments of tense silence.) I promise you, brother, if princess Cassandra cares to be protected, I will provide her the very best protection. Now you go find some men in distress to help, while we women talk.

Apollo: Ohhh! All right! Artey, please do everything you can to keep her alive.

Artemis: I will, brother. (Apollo salutes Cassandra before exiting. Cassandra sees but does not acknowledge the salute.)

Cassandra: Are you really god Apollo’s sister?

Artemis: Yes. We are fraternal twins.

Cassandra: Please don’t think poorly of me for turning down his offer of help.

Artemis: Cassandra, even if you did not have a royal responsibility to your Trojan people to die with them, I still think you did the right thing turning down my brother’s offer of help. (They look steadily at each other.) Cassandra, I am the elder twin by about an hour. It is not a secret in our family that my twin brother, Apollo, has the IQ of a rabid criminal mousey rodent! And, too, he feels an overwhelming need to confess his intended crimes against virgin women to me! Worst of all is that he inherited that evil from our Dad, and so he refuses to believe he should resist that evil in himself!

Cassandra: Everyone knows that almighty Zeus does not care that it is well known the evil he perpetrated against the women Danae, Europa, Leda, and Semele.

Artemis: And those are just the ones he let live to talk about his evil escapades. We know there are more. My brother seems determined to equal our father’s list of crimes. Apollo mentioned Coronis and Daphne to me after he had raped them. He spoke so much about you in the same breath that I suspected you were next on his list, and this is why I am here; came just in time, too.

Cassandra: You did. Thank you, Artemis.

Artemis: Cassandra, we have to come up with a plan. My brother is evil, and mentally unwell. He will not stop coming after you.

Cassandra: I am a mortal, Artemis. Any plan I come up with is not going to help. You come up with a plan. Please.

Artemis: Actually, there is a plan in place already. You know of Pythia at Delphi?

Cassandra: Priestess in charge. People go to her for prophecies.

Artemis: Yes.

Cassandra: She works for Apollo. Her prophecies are given to her by him.

Artemis: That is what my brother wants people to believe. Pythia is the prophet. My brother has commanded her to be a liar, or else.

Cassandra: (Stunned.) Apollo offered me a job at Delphi to serve alongside Pythia to learn how to prophesy! I was about to accept his offer, but the war broke out.

Artemis: Cassandra, Pythia arrived on this world long before we almighty gods came here. Her gift of prophecy is genuine. My mentally challenged brother has no gift of prophecy. When he pridefully confided in me that he had persuaded Pythia to serve him, I went to her and asked her if that were true. She said it was true, and that she did it because of two reasons. The first reason was to neutralize his aggressiveness to her. The second was because she had already decided some time ago before she had spoken with Apollo the first time, to leave this world because she foresaw its looming catastrophic end.

Cassandra: How? How will the end be?

Artemis: Another rock, larger than the one that wiped out those Dinosaurs millions of years ago.
Pythia says it’s heading straight for Earth, as if it is being deliberately aimed at Earth. (Both are silent a few seconds.) Cassandra, Pythia asked me to join her when she leaves this world, soon. I am inviting you to join us. A perfect escape from my homicidally sick brother, for the both of us.

Cassandra: Thank you for the offer, Artemis. However, you are a goddess. I am a mere mortal. Will Pythia care to be in my company?

Artemis: After how my brother has been treating her, Pythia might prefer your company more than mine.

Cassandra: And then there’s my obligation to Troy. I have an obligation to remain here, to re-build from the ruins.

Artemis: If there are ruins, Cassandra. In this war, Troy has brought on some destruction to the Greeks from which they can never recover, like the deaths of renowned warriors such as Achilles, Ajax, Protesilaus, Palamedes. And so now they are determined to cause destruction from which Troy will never recover. There is excellent reason for you to leave this destruction.

Cassandra: (Puzzled.) Excellent? Excellent reason?

Artemis: You be the judge. In the company of me and Pythia to another world, you will become immortal at your age. So, you will be there in the future in which escaped Trojan warriors will have begun a Roman people who will eventually build an empire that will totally and forever destroy Greece. And you will have a ringside seat to witness every step of the destruction of Greece! (A profound silence for a few seconds.)

Cassandra: (Softly and slowly.) If Pythia will have me, I am willing.

Artemis: Here. (Artemis slips a ring off her finger and hands it to Cassandra. Cassandra takes it.) Wear this. Whenever you need me, hold it and speak my name. I will come to you.

Cassandra: (Slipping the ring onto her finger.) Thank you, Artemis.

Artemis: You are most welcome, Cassandra. (She turns to exit, pauses, turns around to face Cassandra.) Almost forgot to mention. That ring makes you invisible to my sick-in-the-head brother Apollo. (She exits. Lights fade to blackout.)

~The End~