Chapter Eleven
Aftermath

I felt extremely happy to be able to sneak back out of Papa’s office without him ever knowing I was there.  I mean, I didn’t trust any of his employees not to say anything – they’d probably question him about what I was doing there – but considering he never actually saw but, I could easily deny it.  It was just someone who happened to look like me or something of that nature.  Despite people constantly telling me that I had a unique appearance, my look was actually fairly common.  Any dark skinned wavy haired brunette could pass for me, mostly because my look was based on trying to blend into a crowd.  I didn’t mind not having a unique look, unlike my sisters – it allowed me to feel a little closer to feeling normal.

But although I was extremely happy that I was able to complete the trial set in front of me without ruining anyone’s life – as a matter of fact, I probably improved Connie’s now that she wasn’t pining over someone completely unattainable – I couldn’t help by feel completely unnerved about what Aphrodite wanted me to do.  And that I had actually considered doing it!  I felt terrible about that; Aphrodite was a Greek goddess, and I knew that they weren’t exactly known for their fidelity.  Only a handful, Eros included, actually remained faithful to their consort.  The others had children with other people left and right, creating all sorts of incest that it wasn’t at all surprising that all of them turned out as unstable as they did.  It was sort of gross to think about, but at the same time, they weren’t exactly human, so it just sort of worked out.

But I had no excuse.  I knew what I was doing was wrong, and I still went ahead with it.  Why?  So I could possibly get to spend some time with some boy that I barely even knew?  Hell, I might not be able to complete the next trial, so even if the test hadn’t been a trick, it could possibly have been all for naught.  Love did make us do crazy, stupid things sometimes – Mom traveling to Greece on the off chance of proving to Papa that she was worthy for him came to mind – but this was taking it too far, I thought.  And I had no one to blame but myself.

Sure, it all worked out in the end – I inadvertently figured out the secret, and I managed to pass her test.  But the fact that she made it so not going through with it meant I won sort of made me think she thought I’d actually go through with it.  Maybe she didn’t realize the strength of my respect for my parents?  Because clearly, she really did think I’d go through with it, and then she’s have had me.  It was a trick test, and I was just lucky I figured out the trick before it was too late.

Eros was waiting in the car for me when I got back, looking a little pleased.  He might have escaped as soon as he realized his mother was coming, but apparently he already knew what was up.  Gods seemed to be omnipotent about select things, I noticed.  It was yet another skill I wish I had, and I tried not to fault Eros for having it while I didn’t.  He was beaming at me, ready to congratulate me, before he realized that I was still looking a little freaked out about the whole thing.  I hadn’t meant to – I was feeling joy at the time for having completed a trial successfully again, and having thwarted Aphrodite.  But I had already started to realize what a monster I was for even considering going through with it at that point, so I guess that reflected on my face.

“You did good,” he insisted once I was in the car.  “I should have known that there was going to be some sort of catch like that.  Mama wouldn’t just let a mortal make someone fall in love with someone else.  That’s the gods’ realm, and she’s very serious about what mortals can and can’t do.  The only reason she’s okay with me having that sort of power is merely because she uses me to meet her demands.”

“Why, though?  Why would she want to do that to Papa?  I thought Papa was your golden boy or something.  All you gods are so obsessed with him.  And she wanted to ruin his life.  Why would she want to do that, Eros?  Why?”

“Not all the gods are that impressed with your father,” he remarked.  “Some aren’t even sure who the hell he is and why he’s important.  Only reason I started caring was because he was your father, and at first, I just wanted to compare him to my father-in-law.  Mama, however, is a little annoyed at the fact others do have an interest in him.  See, she’s far more interested in your mother, and she has been ever since she was named.  She had this whole plot planned out for your mother to marry one of her followers, so she’s sort of pissed that Helen would have chosen Nik instead.”

“Mom?  Why would she have interest in Mom for that long?”

“I think Persephone touched on this, didn’t she?  The gods have an interest in her back she’s Helen of Troy, and since Mama gave Paris Helen as a reward for declaring her the most beautiful, she feels she has a special connection with her.”  He shrugged.  “So I could tell this was both a trial to screw you over, as well as get what she wants.  Mama’s as egotistical as ever.”

“Whatever gave that away?” I demanded dryly.  “Could it be the fact that she got all offended I hurt you without even bothering to ask how you felt about it?  She’s trying to make it seem like she’s just looking out for your best interests, but I think I can tell she’s just doing this because I offended her somehow.”

“Most likely,” he commented.  “I mean, the only reason she didn’t want the first Psyche to be with me wasn’t because she didn’t want me to be with a mortal, but rather because she didn’t want to be related to a mortal who was compared to her.  It’s always got to be about her.”

I sighed.  “But can we really blame her for that?  I mean, she’s the goddess of love, and she’s supposed to be the most beautiful of the gods because of it.  And you gods are way better looking than us mere mortals.”

“Hey, I’m the god of love, but you don’t see me getting all obsessed with my looks.”  I raised an eyebrow at him.  “Getting offended at being portrayed as a baby isn’t the same as being obsessed with my looks, Psyche.  The point is, I don’t care what other people think.  If people in the ancient world wanted to compare someone to me, I wouldn’t have been offended, I would have been flattered.  Especially if they were saying it about the most beautiful person in the world at the time.  That just meant that they all thought that they thought Aphrodite was just a beautiful.”

“They were saying she was prettier.”

“Bah, what do mortals know?” he asked, waving me off before chuckling.  “Actually, that was an argument that was made to her.  They’re mortals; they don’t know what they’re talking about!  They don’t know that, as a goddess, you’re prettier than a simple mortal.  But Mama wouldn’t listen, and now look at where we are?”

I shook my head.  “It’s actually amazing you’re as well adjusted as you are with a mother like that,” I teased.  “Not to mention your war-loving father.”

“Please don’t.  My mother is bad enough, but bringing my father up?  That’s just cruel, Psyche.  Let’s just leave him out of this.”

I giggled slightly, despite myself.  Maybe I was becoming hysterical.  “I still think it’s hilarious that you hate your father so much, considering how much I love and respect mine.  I mean, I know that its typical for children to bond to their gender opposite parent, but that just makes it more baffling to me.  How could anyone hate their father?”

“Your father isn’t literally the god of war,” Eros pointed out.  “Not to mention highly disappointed that his son didn’t take after him.  Oh, he has other sons for that,” he added when I was about to protest.  “It’s just that he expects any son of his to take on his powers.  But noo, I have Mama’s powers, and that makes me less of a man or something.  Just because I’m not skill at combat, or some such nonsense.”

“I don’t think he knows what he’s talking about.  I mean, you’re pretty deadly with that bow.  I think you could be a fine warrior if you really wanted to be.”

He glanced down at his hand, his golden bow materializing in it so he could study it.  “I suppose.  I mean, I suppose I do have millennia of practice under my belt.  Of course, I don’t see the point in fighting, so the point’s rather moot.  It doesn’t really matter, anyway.  Unlike you, I don’t have a particularly good relationship with my parents.  I know that’s weird to you, but I’m hoping that you’re not going to try to mend the rift, as it were.”

“Good Heavens, no,” I said, glancing at him briefly, since I was trying to keep my eyes on the road.  “I already know you and your mother have…issues.  Nah, the worst I would do would be strive to prove to your father that you are worthy to be called his son, but that’s iffy at best.  Not like I’d know what to do, talking to Ares of all people.”

“You seem find backtalking to Aphrodite.  And befriending Persephone.  What difference does Ares make?”

“Um, those are generally benevolent gods.  Ares is not.  The Greeks respected and feared him, and for good reason.  I don’t want to piss him off.”

“But you’ll piss off the goddess of love?  Trust me, there are plenty of ways to make your life hell through love, and I know most of them.  Just be grateful Mama hasn’t opened up that can of worms just yet.”

“I can imagine.  Don’t say anything, though; we don’t want to give her any ideas.”

I did try to keep up spirits uplifted, which was easy to do with Eros around.  I spent the rest of the day with him, expertly hiding from my sisters.  I did have to sneak back into the house so that Mom wouldn’t know that I left, and she seemed none the wiser due to being caught up in the reality show.  Why she didn’t hide on one of her charity cases, I have no idea, but I guess one of them needed to be around to make sure they didn’t destroy the place.  I was starting to feel a little better about myself, since Eros was making a point to distract me.

But then Papa came back home, looking happy to be reunited with Mom, acting like he was gone for a week rather than just a few hours.  My guilt came rushing back to me, such that I could barely stand to spend dinner with him.  I awkwardly came up with some excuse as to why I had to leave dinner as soon as I finished eating, and spent the rest of the evening laying face down on my bed, wishing death would take me.

Eros, naturally, seemed a bit worried about me, especially since nothing he did or said seemed to help me any.  I was just reminded what an awful person I was for trying to destroy Mom and Papa’s marriage just so I could be with him.  Was he really worth that trouble?  I’d like to think so, but I just wasn’t that sure at the moment.  I mean, sure, there was no way of telling now what would have happened – I liked to believe that Eros’ arrow wouldn’t have worked on him – but the what-ifs continued to roll around in my head long after I had actually fallen asleep.

I did wake feeling a little like death warmed over after being plagued by semi-nightmares all night.  Eros, once he managed to pry himself upright, took one look at me and sighed.  “Okay, I don’t care what you say, you need help.”

“I do not.  What makes you say that?”

“You’re not a horrible person, Psyche.  Yes, you considered it, but when it came to crunch time, you just couldn’t, because you knew it was wrong.  That alone makes you a good person, not the considering doing it.  Actions speak louder than thoughts, after all.”

“I am a terrible person.  I wanted to do it for a moment there.”

He shook his head.  “You do need help, and you’re going to get help, and you’re not going to argue with me, you hear?  Now just sit there and don’t do anything stupid; I’ve got a few people I need to talk to.”

He vanished, leaving me sitting on the bed, feeling like the worst sort of person.  Maybe he was right; maybe I did need help.  I didn’t normally feel like a monster, after all.  Maybe that’s why I wasn’t one.  Did monsters actually feel like monsters?

I figured probably the best thing to do at the moment would be getting ready for the day.  Honestly, all I felt like doing was sitting in my bed in my pajamas all day, but I guess Eros was planning something now.  I ended up taking a nice, long shower, mostly because I could, and partially because it was really cold outside, and I needed a way to warm up.  By the time I finished fighting to get my hair to both dry and corporate (which apparently I had an easier time doing than most people with curly and wavy hair), Eros was sitting on my bed waiting for me, and didn’t look all that perturbed to see me walking out of my bathroom with just a towel.

Of course, I was perturbed, and he seemed a little confused at my reaction.  We were fine once I got him to avert his eyes so I could get some clothes on, although I think my attempt wasn’t exactly up to his idea for what we were doing that day.  I just didn’t want to be naked anymore.  “So what exactly were you doing?”

“Why don’t you put on something a bit nicer, and I’ll show you?” he suggested.

I glanced at what I was wearing, which admittedly I had thrown on, but I didn’t think I looked that bad.  “How nice are we talking here?”

“Well, nothing fancy, of course, because I know you’re not into that.  But I was under the impression that you liked to dress up every now and again, so I thought it might be fun to do something like that.”

I ended up in a sundress, although I felt a little ridiculous wearing one when it was so close to winter.  But it was my favorite dress, so I figured why not?  Eros himself managed to spiff himself up, wearing something closer to a casual suit than his normal button down with shorts.  “Wow. This is fancy,” I giggled slightly.  “I’m not going to freeze, am I?”

“No, no; I can promise you that.  Close your eyes.”

“What?  Can’t I, like, breakfast first?”

“Nope,” he said happily.  “It’ll make your parents suspicious with you looking like that.  You’ll be fine, I promise.”

I sighed before doing as he asked, because I was just curious at that point.  Why was he having me dress up nicely like this?  Where were we going dressed like this?

I had my answer once I was allowed to open my eyes.  I wasn’t sure what the hell I was looking at for a moment.  We were outside, but the air was pleasantly spring-like.  The sky was an amazing azure, dotted with pleasant looking fluffy white clouds, and the grass beneath my sandals was vibrantly green and surprising soft.  We seemed to be standing in a field, wild flowers of all colors springing up in clusters every few feet, filling the air with their fragrance.  In the distance, I could barely make out a small forest lining the field. 

I glanced at Eros, who was leading me towards a blanket set up on the ground.  “Is this Olympus?  I thought you wouldn’t be allowed to bring me here.”

He shrugged.  “Technically, I’m not just allowed to bring you to my house without making Mama angry beyond reason, not Olympus itself.  This isn’t my house; it’s Hades.”

I glanced at him sharply.  “Hades?  Hades’ realm is the underworld.  His house would be down there, wouldn’t it?”

He laughed.  “Like I said, all gods have houses on Mount Olympus.  Obviously, this one’s not really used that often.  If you want to get technical, its Persephone’s house.  I asked if we could use it, and naturally, she said yes.”

“I can’t imagine the house is in good order.”

“Er, well, yeah…that’s why we’re having a picnic.  The house is pretty uninhabitable at the moment, but thanks to her realm of influence, the grounds are always in excellent order.”

“I can’t help it,” Persephone said, surprising me.  I realized then that there were actually people sitting on the blanket.  “I come to the surface and poof, all this comes to life again.  I figure why not waste it if we have a need for it?  It’s so beautiful around here, isn’t it?”               

I glanced at Eros.  “What exactly have you planned?”

He laughed.  “Well, I remembered how much you liked that so-called ‘girls’ day’, so I figured we could do something a little similar.  Surround you with people who care about you, and make you feel better about yourself.”

“People who care about me?” I asked, about to point out that there was someone missing for that to be true.  But then I realized that there was a certain red-headed girl sitting beside Persephone who was beaming at me.

“Psyche, Psyche, check this out; we’re on Mount Olympus.  Like, the Mount Olympus!  How awesome is that?”

“You brought Maddie here?” I asked impressed.

“She was the first one I went to, actually.  Told her that your last trial depressed you, and she sort of jumped on me to help.  I couldn’t say no to that?”

She continued to beam at me as she stood and dragged me to the blanket where there was a healthy spread of breakfast foods in front of me.  Hedone was already helping herself, devouring most of the bacon before I realized the plates were replenishing themselves.  “Wow, you people are pulling out all the stops today, aren’t you?”

“Well, since you both know what we are, it’s sort of nice not to have to hide it,” Persephone said, trying to push her wind-blown hair out of her face.  “We like to be ourselves as much as any mortal does.”

“I think it’s awesome,” Maddie commented, leaning over and starting to fill up her own plate.

I just shrugged and followed suit, figuring no one around me would care if I ate like a pig.  There was a reason Eros brought these peopleto help comfort me.

There was actually one person missing that I didn’t realize we needed until he managed to side-swipe Eros with his Frisbee.  “Ah ha, I knew it,” Zephyrus said as he sauntered up to us.  “I knew you guys were having a party and didn’t invite me.  What gives?”

Eros was rubbing his head, glaring at the Frisbee.  “It’s a pity part, moron.  Psyche was feeling bad after her last trial, so I’m trying to make her feel better.”

“Ah, that sucks.  Aphrodite giving you a hard time still?”  Eros glared at him as he plopped himself down on the blanket.  “What?  I like Psyche, and I thought we were on our way to becoming friends before someone had to do something stupid and piss off Mommy.”

Eros rolled his eyes.  “I don’t mind,” I said hastily.  “I was beginning to wonder when I was going to get to see you again.  I mean, if Eros can get along with my best friend, why shouldn’t I do the same for him.”

“That’s the spirit!  We’ll get you back to feeling like yourself again in no time, Psyche.”  He beamed at me in a similar way Maddie did, and it was only then that I realized that he had situated himself right next to her.  She was giving him a wide eyed look of awe, although I don’t think she knew exactly who he was, except that he was a god.  A minor god, unfortunately.

“I’m sorry; Zephyr, this is my best friend, Maddie Douglas.  Maddie, this is Zephyrus.”

“Zephyrus?  Like, the god of the west wind?”

“The one and the same,” he said, giving her a toothy smile as he shook her hand.

“Wait, you’re the one who kidnapped Psyche, aren’t you?” she accused.  He outright burst out laughing at her expression, trying to look angry when all she felt was impressed.

“Technically, I didn’t,” he said, still grinning at her.  “I didn’t force her to come with me.  She came of her own free will.  It’s not my fault she just assumed I was there for her, and didn’t ask questions until I brought her here, now is it?”

“I…suppose you have a point,” she said, still frowning in thought.

“Uncle Zephyrus is a great guy, Maddie; don’t villainize him,” Hedone scolded teasingly.  “Don’t shoot the messenger.  It was Papa’s idea to send him to get her in first place.  So technically, it’s his fault.”

“Hey now, whose side are you on, anyway?” Eros said irritably.

“It’s no one’s fault,” I decided to say.  “It ended up working out in the end, so I’m not blaming anyone by my own stupidity in that case.  I was just lucky that it was Zephyr that ‘kidnapped’ me, and not someone with that actual intent.  Anyone could have taken me from that airport that day, to be honest.”

“Nah, they couldn’t have,” Zephyrus said, studying Maddie a little.  “Because, you see, you’ve have an overprotective god of love obsessively watching you your entire life.  If anyone even thought of kidnapping you, they’d have been in huge trouble.  I should know; you didn’t see him freak out on me for just taking you without explaining what I wanted first.”

I glared at him as he looked a little sheepish.  “That’s not fair, Eros; like I said, it’s not his fault that I didn’t ask any questions.  But it is nice to know I have someone looking out for me, I have to admit.”

“You have more than just someone, dear,” Persephone said, carefully sipping on her tea.  “We all look out for you now.  Sure, we’re not doing a great job at protecting you from Aphrodite, but dealing with the gods is a hell of a lot different from mortals.  Mortals are predictable; gods are not.  No one could have predicted that Aphrodite would have actually figured out a good trial to get under your skin like that.”

“Of course, the problem with that is that Nona probably doesn’t even know that she’s effected Psyche as she has,” Hedone mused.  “I mean, to her, love is something that can be manipulated.  Despite it being her power, she’s never actually felt it before, so she doesn’t really understand what it’s like to be in love.  I think that’s why she set it up the way she did, because she couldn’t think of a reason for Psyche to hesitate to do it. The problem was going to stem from the method, which is why she left that out in the open.”

“You sure do seem to know a lot about it,” Maddie said, frowning further.  “Did she tell you about it, or were you there, or what?”

Hedone looked embarrassed.  “Not really, no.  I think it’s a trait of being a god, knowing details of mortal lives that you’re connected to.  I can’t explain it; I just know.”

Maddie glanced at me accusingly, and I just sort of shrugged at her.  It was just something I had accepted out of the gods.  They had abilities that couldn’t be explained, and they didn’t question them, and omnipotence just happened to be one of them.  I found it came in handy, because that meant I didn’t have to sit there and explain everything to them.  They just knew.  But I could see her reasoning – I was just now slowly coming to terms with the fact that they were better than mortals in every way, shape, and form, and it was a little humbling.  Clearly, Maddie hadn’t had time to process the fact yet.

They were gods for a reason, after all.

Eros eventually came over and sat beside me, tossing the Frisbee casually at Zephyrus.  Naturally, he caught it swiftly, making it seem more like an impressive feat of skill than an effect of the curse.  Maddie certainly looked impressed by it.  Eros just sort of rolled his eyes at him, but I could tell he was glad that his friend was there.  After all, if he wasn’t, then it would just be like another girls’ day, except we’d have a needy boyfriend tagging along as well.

And since we were apparently surrounding me with people who cared about me (or at least gods who cared about me), then he needed to be included as well.  It was nice to have him around, since it did feel like it was entirely too long since I saw him last.  Sure, I didn’t know him well, but like he said, we were on our way to becoming good friends.  He was nice, and I felt sorry for him.  Life seemed to deal him a horrid hand.

We sat around, eating breakfast, and generally enjoying each other company.  It was a rather interesting group – two mortals, a god of love and his daughter, the queen of the underworld, and a minor wind god.  There was really nothing connecting us all except for an association with me, but they were all acting like really good friends.  It was heartening to see that it took only one connection to create friends.  It was really funny to see Persephone teasing Zephyrus, since I don’t think they really ever associated with each other before.  I’m not even sure they really knew each other existed, to be honest.

“What, this guy?” Persephone asked when I brought it up.  “Of course I know about Zephyrus, Psyche.  Most gods do know about the other gods.  But Zephyrus has been best friends with Eros for ions, it feels like.  So when ‘d go visit the first Psyche, he’d be there hanging around as well.  I have no problem with him.  Iris, on the other hand…”

He rolled his eyes.  “Iris needs to get over herself.  She’s not any more important than I am.  In fact, she has to share her position with Hermes, who gets more recognition for the job, which is why she’s so pissed off all the time.  You’d think a goddess who travels on a freaking rainbow would be more chill.”

“Iris?” Maddie asked suspiciously.

“My wife,” he shrugged.  “Well, my ex-wife, I suppose I should say.  She basically kicked me out because she thought I was obsessing too much over Hyacinth.  Maybe she was right, but that wasn’t the point.  I was over Hyacinth quite a few centuries ago.”

“Maybe if you got over him after he chose Apollo, you wouldn’t be where you are right now,” Persephone pointed out.  “He asks about Apollo all the time, but not about you.  But that might be because you killed him.”

Maddie was gaping at him now.  He shrugged again.  “Hyacinth wasn’t all that special in the long run.  And I wish people would stop bringing that up.  It was an accident meant for Apollo.  I wouldn’t have blown it that hard if it were meant for him.”

“But you did kill someone?” Maddie asked, looking worried.

“Yeah,” he said sheepishly.  “And trust me, a day doesn’t go by that I don’t regret it.”  He ran a hand over his Frisbee self-consciously.

“Come on, Maddie, you should know the myth,” I teased.  “I remember you said it was weird that Zephyrus went for a guy because you didn’t think he was into that, and I said he was a Greek god, and that didn’t matter to them.  But really, Zephyr’s a good guy.  I wouldn’t judge him on that.  All the Greek gods make stupid mistakes ever now and again.”

Maddie, though, didn’t look entirely too convinced, but she seemed to be making an effort to at least get to know him a little better.  In fact, she even took him up on his offer to toss his Frisbee back and forth, probably just because he could tell she needed to warm up to him a little.  She sucked, of course, never really having a need to learn to throw a Frisbee.  But that was okay, since Zephyrus had had enough practice to throw it to her evenly, and to catch her wild throws.  That was probably because of his curse, though.

I managed to talk Eros into joining them somewhat, which evolved into a weird hybrid game of Frisbee.  It wasn’t exactly Ultimate Fribess, but rather more like how hard the guys could throw it at each other when it got to them.  It was hilarious, because they’d toss it to us girls gently, and throw it at each other as hard as they could.  It sort of dissolved, though, when Hedone decided to join in on their fun, and the two of them sort of ganged up on him.  So naturally…Maddie, Persephone, and I had to do the same.  I felt a little bad for him…but it was too funny not to.  Especially watching Persephone managing to catch him off guard.

It eventually got the point where most of us couldn’t really stand up without laughing too hard, so we had to stop.  We lay in the grass staring at the azure sky, and I realized that I did feel a hell of a lot better.  Mostly because I wasn’t thinking about what had happened the day before.  I knew I was still a monster for even thinking about going through with it, but Eros was right; I couldn’t go through with it in the end, and it wasn’t him stopping me from doing it.  It was myself, and that’s what made the difference.

I mean, none of these people would like me all that much if I was any sort of monster.  I knew what sorts of friends monsters made, considering they were all hanging around my mansion right now with my sisters.  They weren’t true friends, ready to stick up for you when you’re feeling low about yourself. 

“Feeling a little better?” Eros asked as he reached for my hand.  I glanced at him, and took it.

“Yeah, a little,” I said.  “I mean, I still feel terrible about what I had to do, but I guess you’re right.  I did stop myself, so I’m not as terrible a person as I was thinking.”

“You’re not a terrible person period, Psyche,” Persephone scolded.  “Just the fact that you do feel awful for almost being forced to break up your parents is proof enough of that.  And it was for a noble cause!  I know people who’d have done it for far less than for love.”

“You’re only human, Psyche,” Zephyrus told me.  “Curiosity rules your life.  It’s all about ‘what-ifs’ for you, am I right?  ‘What if I did as she asked?  What if I didn’t?’  You were curious to see how well making your father fall in love with someone else would work, because I think you knew, deep down, that it wouldn’t.”

“Aphrodite was blowing hot air, anyway,” Persephone told me.  “If you had talked to me before you started on the task, I could have told you that Nikodemus and Helene were in fact meant for each other.  She might be dealing with love, but I deal with the soul, and I know which ones are soul mates.”

“Really?” Eros asked.  “You could have mentioned that.  Would have saved Psyche a lot of heartache, you know.”

“Hey, I didn’t know what she had planned until Psyche here foiled her,” she said defensively.  “Sweetie, you’re fine.  We all love and support you, but we’re not going to let you sit there and wallow in self pity.  You’re a great girl, and you have to remember that.”

I smiled at her.  “I know; I guess you’re right.  I’ll probably feel better in a day or two.  It’s just…dealing with my parents, you know?

“Oh, don’t worry about that.  I’m going to have a little talk with my sisters about involving your family.  This is between you and her and no one else, and it’s not fair to you for her to put you in that position.  It proves nothing except that you love and respect your family.  And that is a good trait.”

“Good luck getting her to listen,” Eros muttered.

“She listened to you about her education, didn’t she?” she pointed out.

I sighed, happy to be surrounded by people who did love and support me.  Maddie reached out and took my other hand, smiling at me.  She didn’t care that she was on Mount Olympus; she was just happy to be spending the day with me.  How I ending up deserving friends like her, and like all the others, I didn’t know, but I suppose I did something right in one of my past lives.  And I guess the only way to earn their friendship would be to continue to be the best sort of person I could be.

Chapter Ten

The Trials of Psyche Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve