I looked around the sky tonight and my eyes locked onto Cassiopeia, my mother-in-law. Sometimes, I hate having to live so close to her. Every time I see her, I remember what she did to my lovely wife Andromeda, her own daughter. But then sometimes I remember that I would never have met my wife if it hadn't have been for her. Whenever I think about this, I remember how it all began...
Long ago, Cassiopeia lived happily with her husband Cepheus, and together, they ruled over Aethiopia. Not long after they married, Cassiopeia discovered she was pregnant and gave birth to a beautiful daughter and they named her Andromeda. For several years, they lived in peace in their kingdom as a happy family.
One day, however, Cassiopeia looked in the mirror and noticed something was just a little different. She stood there for several minutes trying to figure out what had changed. She thought to herself, "My hair is still silky and shiny, so it can't be that." Then she thought, "Perhaps it is my teeth," but looked closer and saw they were still pearly white. Cassiopeia leaned into the mirror and was shocked to notice a thin line near her cheek. She immediately turned away and looked back, thinking there must be something wrong with the mirror. But no matter which way she turned or how close or far she was from the mirror, the line was still on her face. Cassiopeia began to panic! How could she, a lovely queen known for her beauty, have a wrinkle?! She stomped away, deciding she would moisturize that night and return to the mirror the next day looking as good as ever.
The next morning, Cassiopeia woke up worried about whether or not her skincare routine had worked its wonders overnight. On her way to the mirror, however, she stopped when she heard a loud noise outside the palace. She stepped outside to see those pesky Nereids just hanging out in the sea! She went to confront them about their ruckus, when one giggled, "Queen Cassiopeia, you're looking rather mature today. We also passed Andromeda today and she was looking a little tired too. Maybe it's a family thing."
Cassiopeia's face grew red and she replied, "No matter how old I get or how tired my daughter looks, we will both be more beautiful than any of you are."
The Nereids immediately became furious and one hissed, "We are the daughter of a sea god, remember? I don't think Poseidon will be very happy when he finds out what you said," before they all turned and swam away.
Cassiopeia went to bed anxious that night, but finally managed to fall asleep only for a loud thunderstorm to wake her. She did not think much of the rain at first, but after several days, it had not stopped! Their kingdom was beginning to flood, and Cassiopeia and Cepheus did not know what to do. They decided the best decision was to go see an oracle to get advice on how to stop the flooding that was beginning to destroy Aethiopia.
The couple arrived at the oracle's temple, nervous of the answer they would receive. When they finally gathered the courage, they asked her what they needed to do to save their kingdom from Poseidon's wrath.
The oracle replied, "You have boasted about your beauty and your daughter's. Your beauty is quickly fading, but your daughter's will last for a long time. To appease Poseidon, you must sacrifice Andromeda. Only then will the flooding stop."
Cassiopeia looked at her husband, scared about what they would do and how far they would go to save their kingdom.
Author's Note: I chose to tell Cassiopeia's story first, as it serves as an explanation for Andromeda's story and how Perseus become involved in their family's lives. Andromeda's story is more famous and well-known, but Cassiopeia's must be told to understand why Andromeda was sacrificed in the first place. The story of Cassiopeia I based mine on does not have much explanation but rather just the basic story plot. This gave me the freedom to add in my own details and character motivation. In the story I based mine on, Cassiopeia boasts that she and Andromeda are more beautiful than the Nereids, who are the daughters of the sea god Nereus. This angers Poseidon. Some stories say he floods their kingdom and some say he sent a sea monster to destroy it. Cepheus and Cassiopeia then consult an oracle who tells them they must sacrifice Andromeda. I added in Cassiopeia's struggle with her fading beauty to give her more of a motivation to brag about being more beautiful than the Nereids. In my story, rather than just randomly boasting, she says she is more beautiful because she feels threatened by younger girls who have more years of beauty as hers is fading. For Poseidon's punishment, I decided to go with flooding, specifically through rain, because it gave Cepheus and Cassiopeia a little more time to decide to realize their kingdom was in danger and they needed to do something about it.