The Walls of Troy

If walls could talk, they would have prevented the sacking of troy. As it was, walls could not talk. At least, they were not supposed to. They were only meant to observe and watch as the world fell around them because no one would believe a young woman.

People would later claim it was Apollo's doing. His curse was the reason no one believed the tragic Cassandra of Troy. But, the wall knew better. No one in Troy had ever taken Princess Cassandra seriously. It didn't matter that she was a royal. It didn't matter that she was a priestess for Apollo. It didn't even matter that there was a goddess of wisdom or that Cassandra had a gift of foresight. She was a woman and therefore, her only job was to marry well. That was the only power that mattered to King Priam and Queen Hecuba.

Wall, however, saw much more to her than that. He watched the princess as a little girl, a calm soul surrounded by turmoil. He watched her pick flowers for her parents, hoping they would praise her. Instead, her nursemaids led her away. The king and queen turned their attentions to her brothers instead.

Maybe that was why Cassandra fell for Apollo. Wall had been there the first time the god spotted her from his chariot. A beam of light engulfed her. She had tried to shield herself from the sun, but that only made Apollo burn brighter. Cassandra finally realized what was happening when the god appeared in front of her.

Their love affair was sweet. Even Wall, who felt no romantic desires and understood little of human relationships, enjoyed seeing the two of them. Though they didn’t spend much time behind the Trojan walls, Apollo was not deterred by manmade boundaries.

When the relationship ended, Wall did his best to support Cassandra. She sobbed for hours, leaning into the wall’s sturdy embrace.

“Are you alright?”

It took them both a moment to realize it was Wall that had spoken. Wall expected her to start screaming. But, he should have known better. Cassandra was an inquisitive soul and she had just ended a romantic endeavor with a god. A talking wall? Well, that was certainly no weirder than any of the other stories she had heard from Apollo. After all, one of his sisters was actually born from Zeus’ cracked skull. That was certainly more novel than a talking wall.

“Not really,” Cassandra said.

The two sat in silence for a moment. Wall, not used to exhibiting human behavior, contemplated what he was supposed to do now. Thankfully, Cassandra continued, saving him the trouble.

“I broke up with… Well, you probably know,” she said.

Cassandra looked at her hands. “He didn’t take it well. But it isn’t like we had a future together. My parents have plans for me and he is a bachelor god. What if he got bored? What if he stopped loving me?”

If Wall could nod, he would have. Instead, he spoke. “Well, as someone who has watched you spend hours mooning over him, I think if you ended things, you must have a good reason.”

Cassandra wiped her eyes. “Thank you.”

The two sat in silence again. However, this time, it was far more comfortable. From then on, any time Cassandra needed someone to talk to, she would come to the wall and share her woes. She did so until the day the Greeks came with their horse. Cassandra cried as she watched her kingdom fall. Wall guarded her as best he could. Unfortunately, neither of them could overcome the greed of man. All Wall could do was protect Cassandra, until he crumbled as well.