Suddenly, the carriage I was being carried in came to screeching halt and the bandits leapt from it. One bandit reached and pulled the cloth from my mouth and all my frantic thoughts came to fruition. "Please take me back. I swear I'll never tell a soul if you let me go. You don't have to do this. Please please please let me go. I promise I really promise I won't tell," I frantically told the troupe of bandits.
(Image of Jolanda de Almaviva from Comic book Religion.)
The leader looked at me annoyed and one of them stuck the cloth back in my mouth. I began to scream. It felt like I was screaming so loud, but it might've just been in my head. Before long everything started to spin and the wagon got dark.
When I woke I wasn't in the carriage anymore, but a horse stable with only a donkey to keep me company. My hands were bound to a pole but I didn't have my mouth clothed anymore. I started to cry, although wail might be a more accurate word. It was after dark and I couldn't help but think if today had gone how it was supposed to I would be married right now. My moans were obviously disturbing the bandits who were camped by a fire outside the stable and they started to argue.
"Why can't we just slice her throat? I can't listen to those cries any longer!" Shouted one bandit.
"We don't have the money from her family yet. We may have to prove she's alive before we get it and we're not taking any chances! Where's the old-geezer? Send her in to calm her down."
Then an old woman who I hadn't seen before came into the stables. She sat next to me and stroked my hair. "Poor child. I saw the wedding decorations around the house. It was your wedding day wasn't it?" I nodded my head and began to cry more.
"Sweet girl, calm down. Here I'll tell you a story about love overcoming all obstacles imaginable and don't worry, it has a happy ending," the old woman whispered to me as she started the epic tale of Psyche and Cupid. I was enchanted by the way her eyes light up and it made me wonder how she heard the tale. Out of the corner of my eye I could've sworn that I saw the donkey's ear perk up during every climatic scene of the tale. After hearing about all the trials and tribulations Psyche faced for her husband, it made this day's events seem like child's play.
Author's Note:
During the story of Psyche and Cupid, the story is told to a woman who is kidnapped on her wedding day and held for ransom. The reason she hears the story is to keep her quiet while the bandits can get some sleep, so an old woman tells her the tale. I decided to write about the woman who gets taken captive in the story of Psyche and Cupid instead of the protagonists themselves because I felt like these events get overshadowed. This poor girl is kidnapped and held for ransom on her wedding day!! I just wanted to portray what it would've been like to experience that and unfortunately didn't have enough time to feature her throughout the entire story. But I also decided to end it with the girl taking solace in Psyche because what she went through was no piece of cake either!! My overall girl was to draw more attention to a part of the story that isn’t the main part of the plot. I chose this picture because it was surprisingly hard to find a picture of a captive woman who was not completely depressing. Also, this girl in the photo is dressed nicely so it’s believable that she would be kidnapped from her wedding day festivities.
Bibliography: This story is part of the Cupid and Psyche unit. Story source: Apuleius's Golden Ass, as translated into English by Tony Kline (2013).
Hi Jenny!
ReplyDeleteI read this story the other night about Psyche and Cupid. Loved the story. I am glad you wrote about it. You are right, they tell you in the beginning about the poor old woman and the captured lady but then it just seems to not matter much in the story. I too wondered what her story is. I like the twist you took with the idea. The words you used were very emotional and helped to create a sense of urgency.
The story of Psyche really touched me, that poor woman. It seems that to be born beautiful back in the day was far from a good thing. The Gods and Goddesses are so mean!
What a coincidence that I also wrote about the same story from the Cupid and Psyche unit! I also wrote from a first person perspective of the girl who was captured. I think you did a really great job of capturing her thoughts and using dialogue better than I did. I thought that this was a very interesting story and I like the way you put it in your own words!
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ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting story! I think you did an excellent job of building the suspense. You did a good job separating the scenes in paragraphs. By doing that it sets the scene and makes it easier for the audience to read. I liked the font used in your layout because it was easy to read as well. I also liked the picture being incorporated into the story. I thought it gave me a better image of the women that was captured while I was reading the story. I know some people may disagree, but I thought it was a nice touch. I thought your formatting was very nice and the links to your story source were set up very well. I did not have any trouble accessing the original story. The color of your layout is very neutral, which I think is beneficial because it is not distracting. Overall I think you did a well job on formatting!