Cupid and Psyche |Lesbian Version|

Chapter 2: The Mischief

The air of the sleeping-chamber seemed to palpitate with the calmness until a roar of thunders erupted from the throne room. Venus rose from her bed with a start. She waved the palace maids away when she heard a knock on her golden door.

The maids came back with a messenger.

"Father Jupiter has summoned all the gods to his court," the man said with a deep bow. "There is a judgment to be made, my lady."

Venus's perfect brows furrowed. Jupiter normally passed his judgments by himself. If this trail demanded high attention by the council of the twelve gods, it meant no small case.

Venus donned her favorite purple mantle of silk with golden embroidery and golden circlets. Once she reached the court, she found that all the gods were already present.

Every time the goddess went passed the threshold, everyone always glanced at her perfect beauty. She liked making an entrance and being a little late suited her heart's intention, but today the air thickened with discomfort. Hardly anyone noticed her. It put a sting in her ego, but the goddess kept her head high and strode towards her richly crested throne.

Everything was silent until the high golden dome of the court coiled with a funnel storm then lightning struck. Jupiter appeared out of the bright flash and resumed his kingly seat.

"Bring forth Lord Apollo!" the herald's cry echoed through the great hall.

A moment later, Apollo appeared with two palace guards. He was one of the proud twins of Latona and Jupiter. Venus's piercing eyes sought for Cupid but saw no sight of her daughter.

Apollo was brought to his knees before his father, but his face remained unfazed by the authority. He stared back at his sire without fear.

"Son," Jupiter spoke. "You have made a grave mistake out of spite. Now confess your crime and pledge guilty or else I shall punish you severely."

"I have nothing to confess, father," said Apollo. "You slew my son with your thunderbolt and I avenged his death by slaying all your Cyclopes."

Venus soon learned the matter from the gossiping gods. Apollo fell in love with Coronis, a princess of Thessaly, and insisted on having his way, which was unwise of him since she loved an Arcadian prince named Ischys. When she was with child, Apollo went on a journey but set a white crow to spy on her. All crows were white then, and were excellent chaperons; they had sharp eyes and jeering voices. It was to Delphi that Apollo had gone. An oracle there told him that at that very moment Coronis was entertaining young Ischys. Just then the white crow flew in, wildly excited, full of scandals and gossips, telling the same story.

Apollo was livid.

"Your fault! You did not watch her closely enough!" cried Apollo. And he cursed the crow with a curse so furious that its feathers were scorned and all crows became black ever since. Apollo could not bring himself to kill Coronis for her betrayal. He asked his sister Diana, the goddess of hunting and maidens, to oblige him. Pity on her broken-hearted brother, Diana agreed and sped to Thessaly and finished Coronis with one arrow.

The sun god forgot that he had a son named Asclepius with the dead princess. He sent the boy to Mercury who delivered him to Chiron. The centaur, a fabulous tutor of heroes, taught the boy lessons of diagnostics, surgery, herpetology, and hunting.

The boy doctored everyone he could get his hands on and was soon known throughout the land for his skill at curing the sick. His fame reached his father Apollo, who decided to test him. One night, the god appeared at Asclepius's door in the guise of a feeble old man afflicted with every loathsome disease known to medicine.