Chapter Thirteen
Test

I think, in the grand scheme of things, our date wasn’t exactly anything spectacular, but that was perfectly okay with us.  All we wanted to do was make it official, so we could call each other boyfriend and girlfriend if we really wanted to.  At least I wanted to; I think Eros sort of had a different name for what I was to him.  But considering I was only mortal, and could only remember this lifetime and this culture, I wanted that affirmation.  Add on the fact that Mom and Papa knew about Eros, and thus he didn’t really have to creep around hiding all the time, and I had to say things were certainly looking up.

I mean, sure, this might all be for naught if Aphrodite had her way and I wasn’t actually allowed to see her son again.  But considering he was helping me, told me he loved me, and clearly didn’t have an problem with me whatsoever, I was pretty sure we’d be able to work out a way around the trials if I somehow managed to fail them.  I think the only reason Eros hadn’t done anything sooner was because he knew this was something I had to do in order to feel better about myself for hurting him like that.  At this point, unfortunately, I was over it, since it was quite clear that not only was he not hurt, but that he had forgiven me for the act.  It didn’t disgust me to think about anymore.  Instead, it was sort of funny.

But I made my bed, and now I had to sleep in it.  I pretty much begged for punishment, and that’s what Aphrodite was dishing out.   That was one reason, I think, that Eros couldn’t say anything.  It wasn’t like last time, when she was just randomly punishing Psyche for no real reason other than because she hurt and betrayed her son.  Which would have been fine, really, if the trials made any sense at all.  But still, even then, Eros had been somewhat okay with it because he was hurt and betrayed. 

This time, though, was completely different.  Sadly, based on Aphrodite’s opinion of Psyche, I don’t think it’d be that easy to convince her that I was worthy of her son’s love.  So of course, it wasn’t like she was going to listen to Eros if he went to her and told her he was okay with me.  Because clearly, that meant that I had somehow brainwashed him into thinking that, or something.  The only way I was going to prove it was to somehow win her little contest she set out for me, but considering how much she hated me, it seemed doubtful I was ever going to win.

I could pass every single one of her trials, but as soon as I failed one, that would be proof enough for her.  That’d be it; I was done. 

In the myth, Eros and Psyche had to go to Zeus in order to get Aphrodite to back off.  But by then, Eros had realized what a moron he was being, and actually wanted Psyche back, and Aphrodite didn’t have a reason to really hate Psyche then.  She embraced her, although from what I can tell, they never had the best of relationships.  But I didn’t want a good relationship with her; I just wanted the chance to have Eros in my life without another god coming around and ruining my happiness whenever she thought I was possibly being too happy.

I figured that wasn’t too much to ask, but I guess it was.  I was mortal, after all, and while it was common for gods to fall in love with mortals, it was still considered taboo amongst his people.  Any of the gods could have had a problem with us being together, despite the fact that I was carrying the reincarnated soul of a goddess.  Sure, it was her mortal soul, but obviously Eros and I had been together before.  I’m pretty sure it was only Aphrodite that had a problem with us.

Maybe we’d have to see Zeus again in order to resolve this.  The thought of meeting Zeus, however, was rather daunting, and I didn’t want to think about meeting someone that mighty.  Sure, Eros clearly didn’t have a high opinion of him, considering how often he had affairs, but that didn’t change the fact that he was king of the gods, and I was, in fact, a mere mortal.  Meeting anyone with that sort of position of power was terrifying to us.

But I guess if it meant that Eros and I could be together, I’d face my fears and meet with him.  At the rate we were going, it seemed likely that we were going to have to see him again in order to free me from these trials.  I only had two of them, but I could tell they were weighing on Eros as much as they were on me.  I mean, hell, he insisted that he take me on a date after I affirmed my love for him!  He wanted to be with me!  That should be proof enough that I should be with him.

And while the date itself probably wasn’t really something to write home about, it was utterly perfect for us, and we couldn’t have been happier.

We did have a hard time figuring out where to eat.  He, of course, really had no preference, because he didn’t actually eat mortal food all that much.  But it was the type of place that confounded us.  We didn’t want to go anywhere too fancy, but considering we were dressed up, we didn’t want to go anywhere too casual, either.  We ended up, not surprisingly, at my favorite place, where we could pass undetected with our date clothes, but it was still nice enough that it felt like a date.  It was just too bad all the servers knew me, and naturally had to treat me like one of their elite guests.  Which I suppose I was, considering I was a Karalis and all.  I was used to the treatment, since this was how we were treated when we went out, but it was still a little embarrassing.

But still, it was nice.  We just sat there and talked as we always did, and I was a little surprised that we never seemed to run out of things to talk about.  I mean, sure, he was so easy to talk to, but I’d think we’d have exhausted all conversation topics at that point.  But no, it still flowed easily.  It helped that we still had new things happening to us that we could talk about, though.

Take, for example. Maddie and Zephyrus.  Eros was just as curious about it as I was.  “Yeah, it was so strange seeing him light up like that around her,” he commented.  “I think the only time I was him that animated was when he used to talk about Hyacinth before he was rejected.  Not even Iris could invoke that sort of emotion from him.”

“Really?” I asked, concerned.  “Is that…is that a good thing?”

“Well, considering what I know about Maddie, I’d say it’s a good thing.  I mean, do you think she was acting a little strange around Zephyr?”

I shrugged.  “I couldn’t tell.  I mean, sure, she was interested, but that was mostly because he was playing attention to her.  But I think she was also a little werided out by him as well.  I can tell she doesn’t know what to make of his nonchalantness over killing someone.”

“That’s just how he’s learned to deal with it.  When it happened, he was a complete mess, and Apollo’s curse didn’t really help matters.  He’s had millennia to come to terms with it, and so he just shrugs and acts like it’s not a huge deal.  I can see why it’s a turn-off, though.”

“Ah, I’ll just tell her it’s a sensitive subject, and not to press him into feeling guilty about it,” I decided.  “I think they’d be cute, though.”

“Oh, I agree.  Zephyr needs a good girl – or guy, really – in his life, and your Maddie would fit the bill perfectly.  She’s not nearly as judgmental as Hyacinth was, and I think she’s go for someone like Zephyr anyway over someone flashy like Apollo.  I don’t know.  Maybe we’re looking too much into this.”

I grinned.  “Possibly.  I just think it’s only fair that Maddie finds someone as well now that I have someone.  Maybe it is too soon to be thinking about that, but honestly, I’d love if Maddie and Zephyr got together, mostly because that’s be somewhat funny.  My best friend and your best friend.”

“One who’s like a sister and the other who annoys.  Maybe she’d be a good influence on him.  I might have to look into this…”

“Well, you are the god of love.”

“Yeah, but I make it a policy not to mess with people I care about’s love life.  I don’t need Zephyr hating me because I happened to make him fall in love with someone rather than let it happen naturally.  Besides, I know how that feels, and I want him to experience it as well.  It’s only fair, considering what he had to put up with me all these years.”

“I don’t know; wouldn’t that put him off falling in love?  I mean, he clearly knows you’ve been obsessing about my soul, and he doesn’t like it.  And he’s seen the heartbreak you’ve been through.  That’d be enough to put anyone off.”

“Oh, trust me,” he said, leaning against the table.  “It’s been well worth it.  I’d go through that a thousand times more so long as it meant I got to end up with you, Psyche Karalis.”

I felt myself blushing.  “This feels so wrong,” I muttered.  “You’ve been waiting for me for so long, and I just have you pop up in my life.  Where’s my pain and heartache?”

“In dealing with my mother,” he commented dryly.  “I don’t mind, Psyche.  I know it sounds a little self sacrificing, but I’d rather have myself experience that pain than you.  After all, I’m a god, and you’re just a mortal.  I can handle the rejection and pain a lot better than you can.”  I gave him a sour look.  “We experience things differently.  Do you really think that if I couldn’t handle it, I’d put myself through that life after life?  Of course not!  But I knew one day it’d pay off, and here we are now.”

I shook my head again.  “It still doesn’t seem all that fair, Eros.  I mean, maybe if we had a guarantee that we could be together, than I’d feel better, because then I could try to make up for my past lives hurting you.  But this, I can’t be too sure.”

“Psyche, it’ll work out,” he said, taking my hands.  “Mama might be trying to keep us apart, but the mere fact that I love you will make that impossible for her.  That’s why she’s going after you.  If she made you feel like you couldn’t be around me, then she knew that you’d reject me as well.  I’m not going to allow that.”

“Then why am I doing these stupid trials then?”

“Well, mostly because I know this is something you have to do.  You don’t need to prove your love to me – I know you love me because you said as much – but you need to prove it to my mother so she’d leave you alone.  I think it’s a subconscious thing thanks to your first life.”

“I…suppose that’s right,” I said, biting my lip.  “Although what she’s making me doing doesn’t really prove anything.”

“It does in a sense.  You love me enough that you’re willing to go through anything, no matter how ridiculous, to be with me.  That’s how I view it, anyway.  And I appreciate it.”

“I suppose that’s one way of looking at it.  To me, it just seems like she’s pulling shit out of her ass.  I mean, sure, the last one had a so called lesson to it, but what?  Did she think that just because I’m in a relationship with you, I’m going to want to control people’s love lives?  I know my place.”

He chuckled.  “I have no doubt about that.  You keep talking about how annoyed you are that I’m able to do what I can because I’m a god, but not once did you ask me for the chance to do the same.  You seem content to remain a mortal.”

I blushed again.  “It’s all I’ve really ever known,” I admitted.

“Oh, I’m not complaining; I’m observing.  I like it.  It means we get to do normal mortal things like this.”

He had a point, of course.  I never really considering asking him for the same abilities he had.  Sure, being invisible would be nice, especially in my house, but it wasn’t something typical mortals did.  Going on dates and seeing movies, that was something we did, and something I could enjoy.  Which I did tremendously.

We had a hard time picking out a movie as well, since I didn’t feel right picking an over the top chick-flick, and he knew I wasn’t going to be into the gross male humor comedy playing.  In the end, we both realized that we were sensible enough to enjoy the latest sci-fi blockbuster, which I hadn’t had the chance to go out and see yet.  Of course, Eros did tease me about the few red carpet premiers Papa managed to score tickets to, mostly because he had been there as well, sometimes as an escort to his mother.  It was strange to think we had seen each other before, but I never realized it.

I did enjoy the movie, of course, although it was hard to really get into the movie with Eros right there beside me, distracting me without really meaning to.  He held my hand the entire time, just because, and would turn to smile at me occasionally.  Overall, it was a very sweet evening, and I doubt many girls had a boyfriend that awesome.

He had me home at about eleven-thirty, mostly because we decided to take a stroll under the stars after the movie despite ht chilly weather.  Eros made me a little annoyed when he commented that he didn’t really feel the weather because he was a god, but if he really concentrated, he could feel it.  So he could walk about in his button down and shorts and not be effected.  “Well, if it gets cold enough, I can feel it.  I am a Greek god.  It’s always warm there.  Now the Scandinavian gods, yeah, they’re pretty much immune to it all.”

“The Norse gods are real as well?”

“I’m real, aren’t I?  Why can’t Odin and Thor and the rest be real as well?  Myths are usually based on reality, Psyche.  I thought you were starting to understand that.”

“I certainly am now.”

Papa was overly impressed that he didn’t have to stay up too late waiting around for us.  I told him he was being silly for waiting at all, but I understood why he was.  Eros was a strange boy to him, taking his favorite daughter out in a date.  It wasn’t that he didn’t trust or like him, but he had to stay up to make sure I came home.  He’d given up on Penny and Phoebe quite a while ago, but this was still new for me.  “Did he kiss you good night?” he teased as he followed me up the stairs to go to bed himself.

He didn’t, of course, since he was just going to see me in a few minutes anyway.  I rolled my eyes at my father.  “Of course not, Papa.  This was only our first date.”

“Oh, well…good then.  You need to wait until, what, the third date?”

“So traditional.  When did you first kiss Mom?”

He thought about it.  “Probably when she came back to Greece just to be with me.  Before that, I had no real reason to, to be honest.  I didn’t want to rush things.”

I shook my head.  “You’re so cute sometimes, you know that Papa?”

“I try,” he said, grinning.

I wasn’t too sure if Eros would actually be there, since it was customary for a girl not to see the guy immediately after a date when he drops her off (or she drops him off, as was the case), but it wasn’t really like he had anywhere else to go.  Sure, he had his huge, lonely mansion, but why would be go there when he knew I was perfectly fine with him crashing in my room at all hours?  And I was perfectly fine with that, despite how odd and wrong it felt.    He was lounging on my bed as he normally was when I walked in, his shirt partially unbuttoned and his tie undone, and when he smiled at me, I couldn’t really help myself.  He seemed rather surprised when I sort of attacked him, but it was his own fault for being so damn hot.

Naturally, Mom sort of bombarded me the following morning, wanting to know all the juicy details.  Not like there were any – Eros and I managed to keep everything mellow, acting like we were on our first date rather than like we’ve been going out for a while.  But that didn’t matter to Mom.  She was just excited that, after eighteen years, her youngest daughter was finally going out with someone, almost like that validated me or something.

“What?” Mom asked surprised when I accused her of it.  “No, no; I never thought you were strange because you never went out on a date.  You know I would be perfectly happy if you remained a homebody the rest of your life and never found anyone.  Its just that the fact that you did makes me happy for you.  Now, maybe, you’ll get to experience the sort of love your father and I have for each other, and that’s all I really want for you girls.”

“But you just said…”

“She means she wants you to be happy,” Papa corrected.  “Being in a relationship doesn’t validate you as a person, but it does bring up the potential for being a little happier than when you were when you didn’t have anyone.  Humans are social beings, after all, and being in a relationship means that you get to remain social rather then insocial like you have been.”

“So I was wrong to be single for so long?”

“Nope,” Mom said happily.  “You were Psyche, and you were doing things at your own pace.  I don’t care if nothing actually happens between you and Eros.  Even if you just remain friends, that’s better than having nothing at all.  I never worried about you, Psyche, because I knew you’d always at least have Maddie, but having a lot of friends doesn’t hurt, either.”

Papa grinned at her.  “I’m not sure if that’s helping our case, Helen.”

She shrugged while I just sort of laughed at them.  I could see where they were coming from.  It was every parents’ dream to have their daughter married off and producing grandchildren, even if it wasn’t right at all for them just to assume that having someone validated their children as a person.  It was just something that happened, and I was mostly just teasing them about it.  I had been worried for a while that I hadn’t picked up an interest in anyone, but I figured that was because I was such a late bloomer.

I was early in my motor skills, walking, talking, and potty training at a fairly early age in order to keep up with my sisters, but late with all my social skills.  And yet, it was my social skills that apparently defined me.

Unfortunately for me, Penny and Phoebe happened to be in the house when Mom and Papa were grilling me, and managed to overhear the conversation.  They waited, though, until they’d be able to catch me off guard.  This, I’m sure, was Penny’s idea, because Phoebe was the sort of sister who’d have wanted to grill me as well as soon as she found out.  She was, after all, the one more concerned with my love life.

I really wasn’t paying attention to them, since they were going about their usual filming routine.  It was getting easier just to ignore them when I was wondering around the house, since it was easy to figure out exactly where they were at any given time.  And since they were pretty much doing the same thing over and over, I could tune it out.  So I was a little more than surprised when Penny called me into the living room when I was passing by.

I figured she wanted to talk about the wedding, since that was the only way she’d get me on the show.  “Yes?” I asked genuinely, hoping to make myself look like the kinder sister.

“What’s this I hear about you going on a date last night?” she accused.

The other girls, and some of the guys, gasped and started twittering excitedly amongst themselves.  “Seriously?” I asked, glancing at the cameraman as he lowered his camera in boredom, since he could no longer film anything.  “What business is it of yours if I were?”

“Psyche, I’m hurt.  I’m your sister.  Of course I’d be interested in that.  I’m just a little hurt that you wouldn’t have come to me for advice!  What else are sisters for if not to dish out a little relationship advice?”

I glanced at Phoebe, who was sort of bouncing.  “Seriously.  You expected me to come to you for advice on dating?  You’ve gone mental, Penny.”

She waved me off, but Phoebe interrupted her.  “Om my gawd, Psy, what’s he like?” she demanded.  “He’s like, a huge nerd, right?  I mean, like, that’s the only sort of guy that’s into you.  He’s into, like, readying as well, right?  Does he have those thick glasses?”

I blinked at her.  I knew she meant well, but I knew the image she currently had of Eros in her mind – a socially inept nerd who’d be still living with his parents at forty, who only cared about computers and Dungeons and Dragons.  Which would be fine for me, if I had an interest in that sort of guy.  But really, from my sister, it was an insult.  “Well, no…”

“Please, Phoebe, this isn’t a matter for you to be concerned with,” Penny snapped at her.  “I mean, I don’t even think a nerd would be into this.  He’s obviously playing her.  You’re either his beard, or he’s the most grotesque creature to ever walk the Earth.  No normal guy would have any remote interest in our sister here.”

I glared at her as she looked a little proud of herself.  If she only knew the truth…we all jumped when the doorbell suddenly rang, since it was still early enough in the day for visitors, especially ones we weren’t really expecting.  We all sort of moved to the foyer in anticipation as our butler moved solemnly to answer the door.

He blocked out way for a brief moment before stepping aside.  “I believe it’s for you, Miss Psyche,” he said in his usual dry tone.

Eros stepped around him, and I could just about hear my sisters and their friends’ jaws hit the floor.  He gave me a beatific smile that gave the impression that he was very happy to see me.  “I hope you don’t mind,” he said to me, ignoring everyone around me.  “Since I’m not here for long, I wanted to spend as much time with you as I could.  It’s not too early to be coming to your house, is it?”

I shook my head, too shocked that he’d actually show up like that to react properly.  It made sense, of course – he wasn’t above spying on me when he could, and since it was out that he was going out with me, this did seem like the perfect opportunity to make his presence known to my sisters.

“Oh.  My.  God,” I heard Phoebe mutter.  “Look at that, Penny.  He’s a freaking Adonis.”

“Something’s not right here,” Penny mused.  “There’s no way someone looking like him would go for someone as horrid as our baby sister. She probably just asked him to pretend to be her boyfriend.”

I spun on her.  “Honestly?  What exactly would I gain from doing something like that?  I’ve lived with your insults my entire like, and you should know me better than that.  I wouldn’t get some guy to pretend to be my boyfriend just to show you up.”

“She’s right,” Phoebe pointed out.  “Psy’s not the sort of girl to do that.  But how…?”

Penny sniffed.  “This is easy to prove,” she said, giving me a rather nasty look.  I felt my heart sink as I realized what she was about to do.  She somehow managed to hike up her dress to make it shorter while simultaneously plunging the top of her dress down to show off more of her cleavage.  Eros looked a little impressed that she had so much practice in the act.

He was sort of watching her curiously as she made her move on him, walking seductively to him by swooshing her hips more than usual, and jutting out her chest.  It was awkward to watch, actually.  “Hey there, big boy,” she said as she sort of leaned into him while brushing a finger against his arm.  “Why don’t you say we ditch the stiff, and I’ll show you a really good time?”

Eros glanced at me a little amused, and I think he just wanted to see exactly how she would try to seduce him.  I was just disgusted.  Even Phoebe looked annoyed at her, and typically she was okay with Penny’s infidelity.  “Anyway,” he said, expertly stepped around her, and we all watched in slight amusement as Penny’s world came crashing down on her.  “I was thinking that maybe you could take me on a tour of your town here?  I mean, I showed you around the village.  It’s only fair.”

I wanted to laugh at Penny’s expression, but instead I just gave Eros a starstruck look.  “Certainly,” I said, barely able to contain my smirk.  “Penny, you wouldn’t mind tell Mom and Papa where I’ve gone, would you?  Thanks!”

The butler appeared, as he tended to do, with my jacket and my purse, and I gave Penny a little wave as Eros hooked his arm into my elbow to lead me out.  “What the hell, Penny?” I heard Phoebe demand of our sister.  “I don’t care how wrong it is, that’s Psy’s man.  You don’t try to steal him away, even if it’s to prove a point!”

“Do you really want a tour?” I asked him once we were outside.

“Nah, it was the only thing I could think of with such short notice.  I hope you don’t mind that I was listening in on you.”

“To see the look on Penny’s face?  Hell no!  I can’t believe you let her do that, though.”

He chuckled.  “I wanted to see how far she’d go.  It was funny, actually,  Reminded me a little of Psyche’s sisters, and how they wanted to be my wife after I rejected her just because they found out who I was.”  He shook his head.  “That was assuming, though.”

“That it was.  So now that we’re out here, what do you want to do?”

He brought me back into the warm house where we remained in my bedroom until about dinner time, when he transported me back out so we could eat out again.  It was rather nice, actually, and the way I sort of wish I could spend all my days. He brought me back after dinner, of course, and Mom had to attack me about that as well.  I decided to level with her, pointing out that he just wanted to spend time with me, so we merely snuck back into the house.  I did lie and tell her we were in the basement, mostly because I knew she wouldn’t approve of me having a boy alone in my room, and because I knew no one actually went into the basement during the course of the day.

Overall, the end turned out to be one of the best days of my life, although I knew I shouldn’t have been that content with life.  But even falling asleep in Eros’ arms made me feel like I was invincible, and that nothing would be able to touch us ever again.

Naturally, Aphrodite took affront to this.

It was rather hard to tell exactly where I was, if I was in a dream or if she actually took me anywhere.  It had the same sort of swirly nature of a dream, but I felt far too awake to still be asleep.  I decided not to focus on where I was, though, but rather why I was there.

Aphrodite looked hopping mad, of course.  I decided, for the sake of my own hide, to actually let her speak first.  “You think you’re so clever, don’t you, girl?” she demanded of me.

“Well, not particularly, no.  Why?”  I was a little afraid she actually found out Eros was there with me, and that we had just gone on our first official date.  I couldn’t see why she wouldn’t know.  After all, it just seemed like the gods just knew what the other ones were up to, and I had just basically gone public with it.  But apparently, Aphrodite wasn’t all that observant.

“You think you can actually get my darling sister to change the rules of your trials?  She actually came to me and told me that I couldn’t involve your sisters any longer.  The nerve.”

“Well, your problem with me is just that – with me, not my family.  I don’t care if you hate my father when all the other gods love him, this doesn’t involve him in any way.  It proves nothing when you pit me against my family.  I’m sorry, but I just won’t play your little game if you endanger my family like that.”

“So you’re saying that you’d forfeit if I involved your family?” she asked, looking interested.

“Well, Zeus made you give up this silly game the first time, and I’m sure he’d be willing to a second time as well.”

She gave me a sour look.  She seemed to realize at that moment that I was just basically humoring her at the moment, and if she really wanted me to back off of her son, she’d have to play it my way.  She wasn’t bright enough to realize that I could use that to get Eros back as well.  “Fine,” she snapped at me.  “I can’t mess with your family, but she didn’t say anything about her family.”

“What do you want me to do?”

She grinned maliciously at me.  “I want you to do into the Underworld and fine Adonis for me, and sneak him up.  He just started his six months with his so-called mother, and I miss him so.  You can’t go to Persephone about it, though, because that would be cheating.”

“Um, okay,” I said, shrugging.  I doubt Persephone would let me just take Adonis to her sister, even if it were for the sake of the trials.  “I don’t see what this would prove, though.”

“That doesn’t matter,” she snapped at me, and I had to wonder if she was actually using me this time.  Maybe she just wanted to see if I’d go against my friends or something.  I think Persephone would understand, and I had little doubt that she’s go running off to get him as soon as she realized she was gone.  I’d just explain that I wanted to see her yelling at Aphrodite some more, and calling her out on her stupidity.

“So, is part of my trial finding out a way into the Underworld, or what?”  I knew there were a few entrances, although most of them were in Greece.  Maybe Eros could help me find them.

She laughed ruefully.  “Good Heavens, no child.  That would be too much like the last task.  It would be frowned upon if you attempted to kill yourself again.  No, I made that part easy for you, child.  You’re already in the Underworld.”

I blinked at her, my heart skipping a beat for a second, which I think was a natural reaction to learning someone just took you to the Underworld.  Was I dead?  I didn’t think I was.  “Really?” I asked in a small voice despite myself.

She laughed against at my reaction.  “Best of luck to you, child,” she said sarcastically.  “I look forward to seeing how you manage to complete this trial with great anticipation.”

And suddenly, she was gone, and I was left in this dark, swirling pit with no clue where I was, how I got there, or where I was supposed to go from here.

Chapter Twelve

The Trials of Psyche Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen