And true to the voice's word, no harm came to her. He helped her to her feet and guided her in the darkness to the bed. Psyche crawled into the bed once the voice pushed the blanket aside for her. She pulled the blanket up to her as far as her chin as her host's bare feet tapped the stone. His footsteps did not fade towards the door but came around the other side of the bed. He slid on top of the covers to join her in bed. Her heart pounded in her chest as he came closer to her.
"I won't hurt you, my lady," he promised her again. "It would please me very much to get to know you better."
Psyche smiled; no man had ever said something like that to her. But most men she had encountered back home had not been interested in anything she had to say beyond the words yes and no. He spent the rest of the evening telling her about the polis she had seen from the balcony. His tone was cheerful and she found herself very interested to hear what he had to tell her next. Every time she yawned, her host paused until she closed her mouth again. He continued talking to her until dawn when she drifted off to sleep.
When she woke up later that morning, her host had left her bed. Psyche pushed herself into a sitting position and stared at the door for a moment, hoping that her mysterious host would return so she might be able to see what he looked like, but no one entered through the door, not even the twirling leaves and petals that had guided her to this room. She took a deep breath and looked to the edge of the bed where a folded dress lay waiting. Psyche swung her legs over the edge of the bed and slid off.
Her feet hit warm stone; she smiled at the feeling. Back home she would have to slip into sandals before getting out of bed. She could get used to this, she thought. Psyche walked to the edge of the bed, took her dress off and slid into the new one. By the time she had slid her head through the whole at the top, the dress she had worn to bed had vanished and a new pair of sandals were at her feet. She turned to the table to find platters of food and a jug of wine waiting for her to come over. Not as much food had been placed on the table as the previous evening. Psyche enjoyed a small meal before retreating to the balcony. It was colder this morning than it had been the previous evening. And soon as she started shivering and rubbing her arms with her hands, the invisible servants dropped a shawl on her shoulders.
She stayed out on the balcony long enough to see the fires in the windows flashing yellows and oranges. Behind her, Psyche heard the clicking of a door. She turned on her heel but saw no enter the bedroom. She frowned and headed inside and searched every corner of the room for any signs that someone was hiding in order to spy on her. She stared at the door once again, willing it to open and her host to appear on the other side. But no matter of wishing made her host appear. She took a deep breath, wondering if she had to stay hidden away in this room. The day before, she remembered, all she had to say she was cold and a shawl had been brought to her. If she asked to leave the room, would her host let her?
"Is it all right if I leave the room?" she called out.
As her voice faded, the doors to her bedchamber came open. Psyche smiled and started running towards the door. She came to a halt at the doorway, almost hearing her mother scolding her for doing something so unladylike as running indoors. She frowned, pulling the shawl closer to her body. A corner of her lips curled up. Her mother was not here to tell her not to run inside nor were her sisters spying on her so they might tattle on her for doing something forbidden in her father's palace.
Psyche laughed and ran down the hallway until she ran out of breath. She leaned against the wall and felt the back of her dress stick to her dress from a thin layer of sweat from running. She pulled the shawl off her shoulders and tied it around her waist. Where to next, she wondered.
