Psyche

Chapter 1

Princesses Eugenia and Euphemia, who were fortunate to be princesses of the most beautiful, technologically advanced, and civilized kingdom on Earth, were walking along a brook. It was a bright, temperate Atlantean day, with a cool breeze coming off the ocean, which could be seen only when the climbed to the highest point of their father's vast estate. The girls, who were eight and five years old, found a freshwater turtle sunning itself on a rock beside the brook. Euphemia, the plump, dark-haired, and bright-eyed younger one, petted it gently.

Her golden-haired older sister smirked. Just for fun, Eugenia turned the turtle on its back and laughed as it struggled to right itself.

Euphemia attempted to turn the poor creature over and relieve its distress, but her sister clasped her hands.

"Mercy is for the weak, Euphemia," she said, "and I thought you were strong."

Euphemia's lip quivered, and her sister smiled. "Come on," she said, "Let's go back to the palace. Lunch is almost ready."

Eugenia darted off and her sister followed, neither one of them looking back.

When the princesses had disappeared, a water sprite - specifically a naiad who was called Arethusa - burst forth from the water and righted the turtle, sending the little amphibian on her way into the brook.

Arethusa, whose blue hair matched her eyes and who was using her shimmering green wings to hover just above the water, was livid. All the freshwater creatures of Atlantis were under her protection, and she took her caretaker role very seriously.

"Who was that horrible creature?" asked the sprite aloud, in a way that indicated she wanted the attention of her lover. Unfortunately for the two princesses of Atlantis, her lover was Zeus.

The utterly smitten King of the Gods appeared almost immediately, with water lilies in his hand. He wore a crown atop his head, but no shirt on his muscular frame. Arethusa liked the view, her eyes moving up and down his impressive frame.

"What is wrong my dear?" he said, holding out the lilies tentatively.

"Nothing you've done, lover," said Arethusa, who realized that poor Zeus thought she was upset by threats Hera had recently made.

"I'm not worried about Hera," said Arethusa, who gently took the flowers and kissed Zeus on the cheek. "She has no domain over the water, and she knows your attentions are impermanent."

Zeus looked her in the eye at that remark, but Arethusa only smiled playfully. She knew better than to think she was something special to Zeus, and she also knew enough that he probably felt bad about it. Bad enough to grant her a request, she hoped. She raised her hand and waved it above the water. An image of the two princesses appeared as though it was a reflection.

The scene with the two princesses replayed before Zeus, which he watched with rapt attention. He snarled as he watched it.

Arethusa knew that Zeus couldn't abide cruelty without a good reason behind it. As far as he was concerned, such a thing showed weakness of character, not strength.

"The mortal girls are the princesses Eugenia and Euphemia, and I want the older of the two punished for her cruelty."

Zeus sighed. "Shall I strike down a child? A child who might grow out of her selfishness?"

Arethusa thought about this for a moment.

"What the older one did was not selfish. It was sadistic. She won't grow out of that," sighed the sprite, but unlike the mortal, she was capable of empathy. "You don't need to kill her. Just find a way to make her suffer," she added softly.

Zeus laughed and pulled her into his huge arms. "Whatever you say, my dear. Her mother is pregnant with a girl child. I will curse Princess Eugenia in such a way that might teach her humility. I will make her baby sister the most beautiful mortal child ever born - so that her great beauty will be remarked up by everyone who sees her. The child will be so beautiful that her sisters, both of whom will grow up to be great beauties in their own right, will be as thoroughly eclipsed as the moon when the sun passes before it."

Arethusa laughed playfully and she allowed Zeus to kiss her deeply and fully. There was a reason Zeus was king of the gods. He knew just how to get revenge on people, so much so that even the most powerful of the Gods feared his wrath.

"That seems cruel to the younger sister as well," she whispered between kisses.

"Believe me, Euphemia may not be malicious like Eugenia," replied Zeus as he peppered her neck and the tops of her breasts with kisses, "but she deserves the curse just as much. She's equally vain, although she is capable of some empathy. Not so much, however, as to stand up to her sister. That makes her worse, in a way."

Arethusa flapped her wings as she contemplated this. She delighted in the thought of the two nasty little princesses getting a comeuppance.

Arethusa pulled Zeus's mouth up to her own, reveling in the god's strong arms as they went around her tiny body and pulling her close.

Her wings ceased to flap and she collapsed into his embrace. She knew he would forget her someday - probably soon - but his brief attentions were delightful.

"Do it!" she declared, tickling his beard."I'll be eternally grateful." And because she was immortal, she wasn't exaggerating.

Zeus stepped back slightly. He made a small, subtle gesture with his fingers.

"It's done my dear," he said.

"And now I must thank you on behalf of the turtle, and any other poor creature that happens to cross their paths."

"My dear," replied Zeus. "The only poor creature that will hold their attention from now on is their baby sister, whose life I've just made quite miserable."

Arethusa sighed. Zeus made a good point. Being born the most beautiful girl who ever lived would certainly not be easy. She owed the poor child something for her trouble, and she promised herself she would seek out the girl someday and see if she could be of any help.