days? She’s been sullen and withdrawn. There was no way she was going to pull it together unless she thought she was headed off with someone like Rasmus.”
“I still don’t get why though.Why not wait for another suitor? It didn’t have to be the first one that came along.”
Mother sat up, arrow straight. “The role of a royal daughter is to solidify alliances with her marriage. Do you know how powerful Mycenae is? We weren’t willing to turn them away because Chara was weepy-eyed.”
I was too shocked to answer. It was one of the coldest things I’d ever heard her say. But as she stared at my shuttered window, the flame from my bedside lamps amplified the moisture pooling in her eyes. “Do you think your father rode in on some white horse and I got to choose him from among other suitors? Our marriage was arranged before I was barely old enough to understand what the word meant.” Her words dropped to barely more than a whisper. “It’s through time and a shared vision for this City that we’ve grown to love each other.”
My shock fell away as I realized she’d been through this exact same thing. Maybe it was awful that she was willing to sell off her daughters; or maybe it was just the way things worked and no one could change that. Either way, I felt like I saw my mom from a slightly different angle now. Like her scars had been made visible under different lighting. Did she have other wounds too hidden for me to know about? I didn’t want to hold grudges against her that weren’t hers to bear.
She must’ve seen me soften. When she patted the bed beside her, I obediently sat. “So, how’d you know about Chara?”
I told her about finding Rasmus alone and the talk we had in the alcove, but left out the details that’d suggest we’d been flirting. Better she not think I’d ventured too far down Aphrodite’s path already. Then I told her about my odd dream and suspicion there could be more to it.
As I described it, Mother pinched her lips closed in thought. “I don’t know if I’ve ever told you, but our family has a history of receiving prophetic dreams.”
I rolled my eyes. She might have mentioned it once or twice.
Slowly, she repeated the words of my dream. “Go inside, Psyche. Someone will come for you soon.” She shook her head. “I don’t know. Prophecies can be very double-sided.”
I flopped back against my bed and let my arms sprawl out to the side. “Typical. I finally get some hope and…” I paused, blinking back fresh tears. “I don’t think I can handle any more bad news today, Mom.”
She blew out my lamp and smoothed the few strands of hair around my face that I hadn’t forced into a braid. “Just sleep, baby. Tomorrow’s a new day and I have a feeling the prophecy will reveal itself soon.”
Chapter 9 - Eros
As soon as Eros launched toward home, he began plotting. Of course, Aphrodite couldn’t know about this since she apparently hated her new daughter. And she’d demanded Psyche fall in love with someone wretched.
So if Aphrodite couldn’t know about his plans, it meant he had to keep Psyche in the dark to some extent too.
Talk about “hating” something.
The idea of never showing himself to Psyche again hit harder than a kick to the kidneys. She deserved better than never knowing the name of the man who loved her, never seeing his face looking down upon her when she first opened her eyes in the morning.
But how long could a mortal keep his identity a secret? It was a risk he couldn’t afford to take. No, he knew the only way to ensure Aphrodite didn’t figure things out was to ensure Psyche herself never knew.
But then what did that mean - keeping himself a secret? How do you spend the rest of your life with someone and not know their real name? How do you avoid ever seeing their face?
He could blind Psyche, but that’d be torture
“I still don’t get why though.Why not wait for another suitor? It didn’t have to be the first one that came along.”
Mother sat up, arrow straight. “The role of a royal daughter is to solidify alliances with her marriage. Do you know how powerful Mycenae is? We weren’t willing to turn them away because Chara was weepy-eyed.”
I was too shocked to answer. It was one of the coldest things I’d ever heard her say. But as she stared at my shuttered window, the flame from my bedside lamps amplified the moisture pooling in her eyes. “Do you think your father rode in on some white horse and I got to choose him from among other suitors? Our marriage was arranged before I was barely old enough to understand what the word meant.” Her words dropped to barely more than a whisper. “It’s through time and a shared vision for this City that we’ve grown to love each other.”
My shock fell away as I realized she’d been through this exact same thing. Maybe it was awful that she was willing to sell off her daughters; or maybe it was just the way things worked and no one could change that. Either way, I felt like I saw my mom from a slightly different angle now. Like her scars had been made visible under different lighting. Did she have other wounds too hidden for me to know about? I didn’t want to hold grudges against her that weren’t hers to bear.
She must’ve seen me soften. When she patted the bed beside her, I obediently sat. “So, how’d you know about Chara?”
I told her about finding Rasmus alone and the talk we had in the alcove, but left out the details that’d suggest we’d been flirting. Better she not think I’d ventured too far down Aphrodite’s path already. Then I told her about my odd dream and suspicion there could be more to it.
As I described it, Mother pinched her lips closed in thought. “I don’t know if I’ve ever told you, but our family has a history of receiving prophetic dreams.”
I rolled my eyes. She might have mentioned it once or twice.
Slowly, she repeated the words of my dream. “Go inside, Psyche. Someone will come for you soon.” She shook her head. “I don’t know. Prophecies can be very double-sided.”
I flopped back against my bed and let my arms sprawl out to the side. “Typical. I finally get some hope and…” I paused, blinking back fresh tears. “I don’t think I can handle any more bad news today, Mom.”
She blew out my lamp and smoothed the few strands of hair around my face that I hadn’t forced into a braid. “Just sleep, baby. Tomorrow’s a new day and I have a feeling the prophecy will reveal itself soon.”
Chapter 9 - Eros
As soon as Eros launched toward home, he began plotting. Of course, Aphrodite couldn’t know about this since she apparently hated her new daughter. And she’d demanded Psyche fall in love with someone wretched.
So if Aphrodite couldn’t know about his plans, it meant he had to keep Psyche in the dark to some extent too.
Talk about “hating” something.
The idea of never showing himself to Psyche again hit harder than a kick to the kidneys. She deserved better than never knowing the name of the man who loved her, never seeing his face looking down upon her when she first opened her eyes in the morning.
But how long could a mortal keep his identity a secret? It was a risk he couldn’t afford to take. No, he knew the only way to ensure Aphrodite didn’t figure things out was to ensure Psyche herself never knew.
But then what did that mean - keeping himself a secret? How do you spend the rest of your life with someone and not know their real name? How do you avoid ever seeing their face?
He could blind Psyche, but that’d be torture
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