Psyche curtsied to her mother again and traversed the length of her mother's sitting room with her hands clasped together in front of her and eyes cast towards the floor. She neither smiled nor frowned. With each step she took closer to the door, she could feel her sisters' eyes on her. They would find some error she had made from the instant she set foot inside to the moment she left, and the first chance they had to get her alone, they would list every single fault she had made --and how it had embarrassment not only them but their father as well. A part of her would be glad when her sisters moved into their own households for it would mean she would no longer have to hear them complain about her faults or how much more beautiful she was than they were. Did her sisters not realize they were beautiful too?
She pushed the thought aside as she lifted her eyes long enough to see one of her mother's ladies pull the door open for her. Psyche whispered her thanks and stepped outside. She headed back to her room without bumping into any of the courtiers or servants. After today, it would be her room and she would no longer have to share it with her sisters. It made her smile for a moment. She had never been alone at night. Would the darkness scare her? Her heart skipped a beat as she turned the last corner before arriving at her bedroom door.
Out of the gaze of her sisters and her mother's ladies, Psyche lifted her head. From the corner, she could see the offerings intended for Aphrodite piled in front of her door. She sighed as her shoulders fell. Not again, she thought. Of all the days to incur the wrath of any of the gods, why did it have to be today? She reached her door and as she pushed the door inward, she stepped over the food and perfume there. Her eyes went across the room to where she had been sitting that morning.
The basket of mending had been stolen away. Had her admirers not left behind what should have gone to the goddess of love, a groan would have escaped her lips. An empty basket had been left behind and set on top her chair. Psyche crossed the room and grabbed the basket by the handles. She pivoted around and headed back to the pile outside her door. As carefully as she could, she placed every item in the basket so she could carry them to the shrine to Aphrodite. She hoped that nothing would break or get smashed to further annoy the goddess. With the last offering in the basket, Psyche came to her feet and headed down the hallway with one side of the basket lodged against her hip and her hand on the other.
She exited her bedroom and headed towards the courtyard. Servants bowed to her as she passed; all Psyche could do was smile at them. As she walked through the giant doors into the courtyard, she saw her father, the King, speaking with a guest. If she remembered correctly, this man had come all the way from Sparta to attend the wedding festivities. She stopped in front of the King, quietly apologizing for disturbing him.
"I am taking these offerings to the shrine dedicated to the goddess of love, Majesty," she said. "I shall return in time for the ceremony."
The King merely nodded and returned to his conversation with his guest. Psyche smiled and continued through the courtyard. She set foot into the streets, turning to her left where all the smaller shrines to the gods stood. The townspeople smiled to her in greeting but said nothing. She returned their smiles. As she walked, she could hear the people speak of the wedding. They wondered who had been invited; some even wondered when the King would find a suitor for his youngest daughter. Soon, she hoped, and someone kind. Maybe she would find him handsome as well, and not ugly.
Her sisters had warned her that their father might find a suitor for her who resembled a monster. And there were plenty of monsters in the world, her sisters liked to remind her. Perhaps Zeus would create one especially for her, they promised. Quite often, they also told her that the husband their father chose for her might make the god Hephaestus look handsome. Psyche had warned her sisters that the god of fire might have heard them and lay a curse upon them for their discourtesy. Both her sisters had laughed at her.
"Hephaestus is too kind hearted to curse women of our beauty," her eldest sister had said.
Psyche was uncertain of how to react to her sister's words. Her sisters might find arguments that made her seem more stupid. She shook her head as she passed the first of the shrines to the gods. Even though the polis had a temple dedicated to Zeus, there was still a shrine to the King of the gods here, and his shrine was the first she passed. Zeus, it was said, was easy to anger, and none wanted the god to punish them for even the smallest slight.
Next she passed the shrines dedicated to Zeus' brother Poseidon and their sisters. Psyche walked past shrines to the children of Zeus and lastly, she came upon the shrine to Aphrodite. At each shrine, she found men and women praying and leaving offerings to persuade the gods to grant them favor.
Not one person prayed at the shrine to Aphrodite. Psyche frowned at the sight, but what could she do? She had not asked for her beauty to be compared to the goddess of love. All she wanted were the same things every other girl her age wanted: a good husband, children, and her own household. Perhaps it would have been better if she had been ugly. Maybe that would have helped her father find her a husband so she could have gotten married today alongside her sisters. She frowned, remembering a scolding her mother had given her when she had been but a child and something she had long forgotten had not gone her way. Only the gods knew how their lives would turn out, and she should be mindful of their plans for her.
She stepped up to the shrine and set the basket in front of her as she knelt down. Quietly she set each offering in front of the statue to the goddess. She checked to see if anything had been damaged on the journey. Psyche smiled when she found that everything had remained in the same state as it had been when she set them in the basket. Pushing the basket aside, she bowed her head and took several deep breaths as she considered what she might say to the goddess.
"I found these items outside my door, lady goddess," she whispered. "I know they were meant for you and not me. I beg your forgiveness for those souls who placed these at my door and not at your shrine. I also beg forgiveness for myself for this offense against you."
Psyche rested her hands on her knees and closed her eyes to continue to pray even as the west wind blew around her.
