Chapter 8: The Compromise

Psyche awoke from her sleep and found herself alone in her bed as always. She got out of her chamber and took her fragrant bath. Afterward, she seated by herself in the adjoining alcove where the meal was set ready for her.

The table was laden with excessive repast fit for the gods themselves, whole wheat bread out of the oven, topped with fortifying sesame paste and thick golden honey, layered pasta filled with goat cheese and savory meat with olive oil, and sliced Macedonian ham on a bed of chopped lettuce and baked tomatoes along with a jug of the creamiest milk. There was also a huge bowl of grapes and figs and freshly picked berries from the groves of Argos, and mountain tea from Crete.

But this time, Psyche couldn't seem to find her appetite. She began her first meal of the day in silence. As her head was preoccupied with so many unsaid things, her invisible handmaidens addressed her, though she still saw none of them in the flesh.

"Sovereign lady, how was your night of slumber?" the voice by the chair spoke to her.

Psyche blushed as she thought of her night spent in the most pleasurable way yet her heart still felt heavy with loneliness. She replied with a coy sweet tone that she had no trouble with her sleep.

"Then why do you seem so gloomy today?" another voice came from across the table where the candle-holder stood. "Did we fail to meet any of your needs?"

Psyche quickly shook her head at the candle-holder.

"No, no, this is more than enough for me," she said. "I wish for nothing else. I just have this strange sadness, which I can't seem to grasp. One moment I was content and overjoyed, but the next moment, I felt miserable and deprived."

The princess was uncertain about her internal conflicts and her budding passion. Her wish to behold her wedded companion felt too intimate to let it be known. Yet the invisible maids already knew what had caused their mistress's gloom.

"Perhaps you're lonely and far away from home," they said. "But over time, you shall learn to forget and enjoy your new life here."

Psyche nodded with a smile. Her handmaidens tried to cheer her mind with jokes and stories. It would have seemed rather strange if one was to see her conversing with them. At times, Psyche felt as if she was speaking to a chair or a vase stand since it was where her unseen maids seemed to be located.

After a hearty meal of the greatest delicacies and the most nectarous drink, she took a short excursion to a pleasant grove of tall and stately trees. Psyche explored it with the same amazement, and in the midst discovered a beautiful marble fountain, which sent forth clear and crystal waters. Psyche's mood began to improve at the sight of nature and beauty of her surroundings, and she was able to pass her time alone without much boredom.

Her day went by like this until sundown. Then she returned to the palace again for supper. Then her heart began to anticipate the mysterious presence.

But tonight, Psyche felt torn between her desire to meet her invisible partner and the dreaded sadness of being left alone like the nights before. These feelings slowly beclouded her mind as midnight drew close.

While she reposed on her bedding of down, trying to ignore her unsettling thoughts, Cupid entered her chamber and at once climbed onto the bed with her.

Those golden lips fluttered over her cheeks like a butterfly over a flower. Psyche felt the blissful weight upon her body once again, but this time, she made herself rigid and unyielding, resisting Cupid's attempt to part her shapely legs. The young goddess did not understand the state of her beloved maiden. She tried to caress her with the same passion, but her mortal wife did not return the gesture like before.

The winged daughter of Venus pressed her golden lips against sweet Psyche's bosom pleadingly, yet the sleeping maiden tilted her face away as if to avoid her touch. When Cupid sought her lips again, Psyche began to squirm beneath her in terrible distress.

"Are you not well, maiden mine?" the goddess whispered softly. "Who dare put that frown upon your lovely face? Can I bring you anything, give you anything?"

For a long moment, Psyche did not speak to her. Cupid wondered why her maiden seemed so aloof and out of reach all of a sudden.

A great anxiety entered her immortal heart, causing her golden blood to run cold in her veins. What is this unsettling feeling? Why did she become so emotionally weak? Now Cupid understood what Apollo must have felt when his indifferent maiden had turned away from him. The goddess worriedly traced the back of her fingers over Psyche's soft glowing cheek. A look of utter concern marred her divine face. The goddess knew not what had troubled her maiden's heart.

"Psyche, loveliest above all, pity my poor heart and do tell why you seem so distant to me," Cupid said in a mournful tone. "What have I done that has upset you? Tell me and I shall right my wrong and make you happily mine again."

Hearing those words, Psyche turned her lovely face back to her immortal companion, who was still invisible as always. But her eyes opened upon the love goddess, startling her yet again by their dazzling brilliancy.

"Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to see your face and form," the maiden whispered her longing wish. "I want to behold the beauty that I can feel in my arms."

"But why should you wish to behold me?" Cupid said with a deep frown. "Have you any doubt of my love? Have I not satisfied your mind and body?"

These questions quieted Psyche for a time. Her mind and body had been experiencing all sorts of delights ever since she was in this seeming paradise, but it was her soul that felt as if it had been lost.

Then the maiden pushed Cupid's caressing hands away. She gathered her flowing silk tunic about her nakedness to repel the chilling night air and sat up from the bed. Her thick golden hair cascaded down to hide her distraught face.

"Why did you bring me here if you won't let me see you?" the princess spoke in a querulous voice. "Each day I spend roaming the palace with no sight of anyone, except the voices. And the thought of my parents and sisters left in ignorance of my fate preyed on my mind and made me begin to feel that this palace is indeed a splendid prison made for me alone."

Cupid was shocked to hear that, and she realized she had said some uncaring verses without first seeking to understand. Thus it had darkened her darling woman's heart even more. The goddess came to envelop the lovely princess in her arms and let down her golden wings gently about them.

"Forgive me, sweet wife, I was too blind to see the great misery you endure, but you're not ready to know who I am," Cupid whispered softly to the princess's ear. "For now, I am to be concealed at all times. Despite the burning desire in my breast, I must take great precautions whenever I come to see you or else dangers might follow."

"Dangers? Why it is so?" Psyche asked, turning to the golden voice beside her. "When will this unseen meeting cease and I, at last, behold your sight as you do mine?"

"O joy of my life, in due time I shall tell you all, but not tonight, dear heart," Cupid said and tried to avert her maiden's mind with balmy kisses. "Now let me join my passion with yours while the dawn sky is still too far away."

With that said, the youthful goddess tipped Psyche's narrow chin up and wrapped her nectar lips around hers. Her wandering hands stroked those soft round breasts until Psyche couldn't help sighing from the tingling sensation.

The princess reached up to feel a smooth cheek beside her own, and desire shot through her heated core. Her fingers glided through Cupid's silken lock as she sought for her passionate lips again.

The goddess opened her mouth to welcome her. Their tongues slipped and slid with savage needs. As they kissed and fondled, Cupid reached her hand down and found her wife's nectar-filled bloom. A melting glow spread through her body like thick honey mixed with wine.

"O sweet Psyche, you shall be mine for all eternity," she whispered as she kissed down her slender neck. "No one, not even my ever-demanding mother shall take you away from my grasp."

With a slow slithering inside her, Psyche felt her bones weaken, and her body fell back into the arms of her invisible lover.

The mortal girl let out a soft sigh as she was laid onto the bed and the wonderful weight pressed upon her again and engulfed her with warmth. Cupid claimed her arching breasts with a hungry mouth, all the while easing herself between those hot sleek petals of passion. Psyche writhed in pleasure when the intense spasms rode over her wondrous form.

The two had enjoyed their fill of pleasure until the night waned, and Cupid had to tear herself away from her beloved maiden again.

Yet before the goddess left that night, she had bestowed Psyche a gift to tend her lonely heart. And when the princess awoke the next day, she felt surprisingly refreshed after a long deep sleep, her body still aglow with tingling joy.

As usual, she had her meal and went down to explore the woods near the courtyard. There she found a creature, a silvery greyhound, dainty as a squirrel and fierce as a panther. She was so surprised by the sight of another living thing that she let out a gleeful cry.

The animal came wagging its tail at her, and she knew right away that it was hers.

From there, the hound went exploring the woods with her and showed her how he could out-race the deer. She laughed and cheered as she saw him run. Then Psyche brought the hound back to the palace, bathed, and fed him by herself.

For the first time, the invisible maids heard their mistress singing and dancing in merriment because to be happy one must love and take care of someone as well as be loved and be taken care of. That was one part of love's nature. But there was still more lessons to come.