Bliss

Chapter 3

After returning to her brother's palace, Psyche left Bliss in the care of Jason's nursemaid and went for a walk on the ramparts. She enjoyed seeing the lush, rolling hills of her homeland and feeling the wind on her face. One of the peculiarities of her own, otherworldly palace, was that the weather was so pristine that there wasn't any wind. That is, unless the Zephyr were nearby. Otherwise, the air was always eerily still and perfect and clean.

Wind on her face was just one of the many small things she missed about being human. She wasn't unhappy, but she had a tendency to tally up the little differences between her two existences.

She was pondering wind, the passage of time, and the smell of the ocean when she sensed a familiar, electric energy in the atmosphere. She didn't need to turn around to recognize it, and she smiled broadly.

"Erik," she said, happily, "I wasn't expecting you." She tended to call him Erik when they were in the human world and appearing as human, in case anyone overheard them. She also sometimes imagined what it would be like if instead of her becoming a goddess, he had become a human. She wondered if they would have been as happy, if he would have been able to adjust as she had. To be fair, it would have been far more difficult for him.

When she did finally turn to look at him, he was standing on a parapet, from which he gracefully hopped down. She ran into his arms, and he picked her up briefly before kissing her.

"You know as well as I do," he said, "that I like to keep you guessing."

She brushed one of his dark curls out his face, and she noticed something slightly forced about his smile. This was unusual, as his natural state was one of joy and happiness. She knew his errand to his father's palace was causing him concern, and she sensed it had not gone as he had planned.

She stared at him, and he briefly turned away. "You can tell me whatever happened, you know that."

She remembered him telling her all about his journey to Mesopotamia and the existence of Algos. It had been shortly after her ascension to immortality, and he had been fearful she would react with jealousy. She had done nothing of the kind, not even being slightly bothered by the fact that he had had a liaison with another goddess. He was the god of sex, after all. What had surprised her, in fact, was the fact that he had so few offspring.

She had even suggested that Eros might bring his son to their palace so that they might raise him together. To her surprise, Eros had rejected the notion out of hand because he felt he was not capable of giving the boy what he needed. This had both unnerved and impressed Psyche, as at the time she was not yet as aware of how self-aware her god-husband was.

She searched his eyes, and as then, he was troubled.

"The boy is growing strong and powerful, but my father thinks he needs more than just war in his life."

Psyche nodded in agreement. "He's your son, so that makes sense. Is he still what you feared?'

Eros squeezed her hand. "Yes, Pain. He holds dominion over pain. He is Pain."

Psyche blinked. Having been born human, she was still often puzzled about how things in the immortal world worked.

"Who decides that?" she asked. She knew it wasn't Zeus.

Eros shrugged. "The Fates," he replied, "but they make the decision based on what is natural for the entity. Think about it, was there any question that you, my dear, would hold dominion over The Mind?"

Psyche absorbed this information and processed it. She hadn't ever questioned her designation, as it seemed so fitting. It also seemed fitting to her that Eros had two children, one that would hold dominion over pleasure and the other that would hold dominion over pain. She felt somewhat sorry for this boy she had never met, as his fate was to be far more troubling and difficult than Bliss, who would be a welcome presence most places she went.

Eros, by this time, had learned how she thought and had grown good at guessing what she was thinking. "All too many people enjoy inflicting pain. There's also the fact that some people welcome pain," he said softly. "Not only is it necessary to tell us when we are hurt, but some people also revel in it. That's something I'm particularly aware of given my designation..."

She blushed at the implication in his voice. Sex was something that could very well be wrapped up with pain. She didn't need further explanation.

"Well," she said, "he will have the honor of being vitally important for many reasons."

Eros walked over to the edge of the wall and looked out over the landscape. "I've brought him to our palace and given him a room in the north tower. For now, we'll make sure Bliss doesn't go there."

Psyche moved to stand next to him. In the distance, she watched as a hawk dove down to snatch some unseen prey. "Is that necessary?"

"For now," he replied. "Once I get to know him better and determine whether or not he's a threat, I'd rather have you and Bliss not be in proximity to his darkness. She deserves to have a childhood free from an older brother that..."

Psyche waited for him to finish, formulate his thoughts and then his words. She also began remembering her own childhood, constantly being shadowed by two jealous older sisters. Some of her earliest memories were of her older sister Eugenia smacking her because she had been laughing or smiling. Bliss laughed and smiled more than Psyche ever had. Her natural state was joy and curiosity.

She sighed and gathered Eros into his arms. "You can love them both, even if it's best they are kept separate. Just try and love him."

Strange, she thought. Is this what the gods believed? Did love overcome a dark nature? Her parents had loved their four children equally, but Eugenia had never been able to excise the darkness within her. She had died because of it, as had Euphemia.

"You are sometimes still so delightfully human," replied Eros. "Don't ever change that. No matter how many millennia pass, don't lose that."