I never thought that I would be queen. In fact, it never once crossed my mind. Besides the fact that I am a girl, I am also the youngest in our family. Nike is the oldest; he is named this because an oracle predicted that he would become the best ruler in the history of Corinth, and his name means “victorious”. Next is Calista, true to her name, it means “beautiful”. Calista had striking dark curls that surrounded her pale face. Her dark eyes seemed to change with her emotions, when she was happy, they had flecks of gold, when she was angry, they were dark, flashing pools of the night. In the market, she would turn heads. Everyone in our city loved her because of beauty; I loved her because she was so kind. She confided in me once, telling me that every time father came home from hunting empty handed, she was relieved.
The third in our family was Maximos. His name meant “greatest”, and he believed that. He was rash, arrogant, overconfident and stubborn, but, above all, he was funny and my favorite to be around. Maximos was the comedian, making witty remarks under his breath during lessons, making me giggle and get into trouble. Afterward he would do an uncanny imitation of our tutor.
Then came me, Agape, named because our parents had not thought of a name when I was born. When I was young, I thought that I should have been named Tryphena. Tryphena seems an appropriate name for me because it means “delicate” and I was so small when I was a baby. Well, actually, I was small as a child, too. And as a young woman. Agape was ill-fitting name for me as it means “love” and by the time I was thirteen, I had yet to find a suitor I was partial to. Of course, it was not my decision as to whom I marry; it was my father’s, so I was very fortunate that none of the suitors my father had turned down had caught my attention.
Unlike Calista, my dark hair fell straight down, emphasizing my ears that were slightly turned out. My eyes, dark brown, seemed too large for my small head, always making me look fascinated in whatever was going on. Trust me, I was not. I was not too bad looking; I was just overshadowed by my stunning sister. To the people of Corinth, I was the “ordinary” princess. I was the one people could approach like we were old friends. It was not that I did not like to talk; I just had more important things to do than to amuse the good people of Corinth with conversation. That was really the only part of my sister’s beauty that I envied. Somehow, being gorgeous made her unapproachable. People would just stare at her, not once did a citizen ask her who she thought would become the next priest of Apollo. I found myself reveling in the silence of the night, when not one person was harassing me with their chatter. When I started seeing more of the moon than the sun, Nike started calling me “The Moon Princess” and the nickname stuck.
The other official members of my family were my mother and father, queen and king of the city of Corinth. Corinth is a large city, northeast of Sparta. The population was mostly made up of artisans and wealthy merchants. My family lived comfortably in our estate. Our manor was the largest around, made of entirely white marble. The only buildings grander than ours were, of course, the temples (Even though Aphrodite’s temple was the glory of our city, my favorite was the temple of Octavia. The details in the structure just took my breath away every time I walked by it.).
