Bliss

Chapter 7

Psyche loved being at her palace in the realm of the Gods, but in her most contemplative moments, she admitted that she loved the palace of her childhood even more. As competent as her brother's servants were, there was always a layer of dust or the stain of a spilled glass of wine somewhere. The air, which Psyche inhaled with relish, smelled lived in and used. There were so many other humans needed to sustain the palace, to feed and bathe and clothe everyone from the errand boys to the scribes. Nikolas's palace wasn't just a building, it was a community and a thriving ecosystem. It was alive in a way that the Eros's immaculate palace among the clouds could never and would never be.

She thought of all of this as she peered out the window of the bedroom she shared with her husband, in his human form as Erik. He was lying naked on their sumptuous featherbed and chattering away about his various endeavors. He had apparently recently shot the palace cook with an arrow so she would fall in love with a footman.

He told her this as she looked down on the preparations for her daughter's birthday celebration. Various artisans and craftspeople and servants darted around, all with smiles on their faces, laughing with each other. Psyche smiled softly and realized that many of these same servants would never have been so if it were her own celebration. Certainly, they had cared for her, but they had found her strange and alien and distant. Bliss, on the other hand, was accessible. She was quick to laugh at a joke or ask for an extra pastry for dessert. She never seemed awkward among the servants or the princes or even the gods. She seemed to get along everywhere and with everyone. Truth be told, Psyche worried that this was because Bliss thought everywhere and every person was hers to enjoy whatever that person felt. Psyche wondered if that would cause her pain since eventually she would learn that she was not truly human and didn't really belong among them.

"Does anyone really belong anywhere?" she asked aloud.

Erik laughed at the question. "My darling," he replied, "it never ceases to amaze me that the ambrosia didn't rob you of your humanity, even as it made you immortal."

Psyche leaned over and grabbed a silk robe off a hook and put it over her naked body. She turned to her husband, whose human form was ever-handsome and ever-youthful, and she smiled.

"Why do you feel the need to cover yourself up? I've seen it all, and I still enjoy the view," said Erik.

She smirked, but in truth, she understood the logic of his question. It made no sense that she covered up. The evening was warm, and they were alone. It was just a vestige of her humanness that made her feel vulnerable when without clothes.

"Well, she said. You are wise and I am the fool in this, but at least you must admit that the Chinese silk my brother has important is beautiful."

Erik grinned, the specific grin he wore on the rare occasions when he won their arguments. "I must agree," he replied, "there is an allure to the idea of removing that silk from your elegant body."

She blushed a little, but she was pleased. The fact that she still captivated him despite his centuries of previous experience delighted her. She crawled up onto their shared bed, delighted in the scent of Erik in his human form mixed with the featherbed that was such a luxury among humans.

He pulled her into his arm and kissed her shoulder. "Our daughter's celebration should be joyous," he said. "I'm truly looking forward to it."

She sighed, content at the sincerity of his words. Gods like him did find human celebrations quaint.

"Jason is as well. If I didn't know better, I'd think you'd shot the boy with one of your arrows," she sighed.

He chuckled. "Oh, my dear, I did."

Psyche sat up on her elbows. "What? You know that...that can't be! He has no idea she's not human!"

Erik smiled sheepishly, and he shrugged. "In my defense, I shot the boy when he was just a child. I thought puppy love between them would be sweet. And it was...I just didn't know the poor kid would carry the torch into adolescence."

Psyche blinked, and she tried to process this information. She knew well that Erik's arrows only caused infatuation that could grow into love, and that infatuation often faded with time. It simply hadn't with Jason, and that was...well it was unfortunate. Jason was a lovely boy, and as far as she knew, he was without the character weakness of his dead mother. Yet, she couldn't help feeling that he was an inappropriate match for her daughter, who was very much an immortal.

She took a deep breath. "She'll break his heart," she said, "and she'll carry guilt because of it."

Erik's brow furrowed. "How so? We gods are not responsible for the fragility of mortals."

Psyche propped herself up on one elbow. "She's impulsive, yes, but she's caring. Whenever she causes even minor hurt inadvertently she weeps and wails about it."

Erik seemed to consider this. "True. She was, after all, half-human when she was conceived. There's the human capacity for guilt in her despite everything."

"And she's young," replied Psyche."

"So young," completed Erik. "As far as I know, she's only had ONE lover."

Psyche turned to her husband, and her mouth gaped open. Bliss was only a teenager, and very young indeed.

"What man dared touch her? breathed Psyche.

Erik rolled his eyes. "No man, dear wife. The naiad who lives in the river near the palace. She's a decent sort, kind and empathetic, and I thought she'd be an ideal first love for our daughter. Especially since there's no chance of a baby...it makes perfect sense..."

Psyche flopped back on the bed. She reminded herself that the values of gods were different from the values of men. Bliss was free, if she was so inclined, to take her pleasure anyway she wished. Any feelings of shock or disapproval Psyche was experiencing were merely residual humanness.

Yet, humanness was inescapable. It was so for her and for Bliss, she feared. 

"Jason will have his heart broken," she whispered.

"I hear it's good for the soul," replied Erik absently, almost oblivious to the fact that he was in human form. He snuggled against her, and she briefly wondered if it would have been less complicated if she had found a human husband.