"EROS!" The shrill, yet somehow bewitching voice he recognized only too well bellowed at the him from down the hall. Eros huffed, pushing some of the stray blond hairs out of his face. He flapped his wings and flew towards the voice. He landed gracefully on his sandal-clad feet, stepping into the throne room. Everything in that room looked like it came out of a storybook - it was made out of gold, fine jewels lined along the walls, roses with thorns engraved into the walls, and the final touch was a grand crystal chandelier adorning the ceiling. 

Seated on the golden, diamond encrusted throne was none other than Aphrodite, the jealous, beautiful, and vengeful goddess herself. She was clothed in a luxurious golden gown that made her look like she herself was made entirely out of gold. A crown of jewels was fixated perfectly upon her head, commanding an aura of power, control, and dignity. "I have a request for you, son." She looked down at her fingernails, as if she didn't even have the time or desire to look at him. 

Eros furrowed his brows, looking up at his mother. He knew that anytime she had a request for him, it was because somebody had made her jealous. He just wondered who her next victim would be. She gripped onto the golden chalice she was sipping her expensive wine from. "A mortal has incurred my wrath. I need you to teach her a lesson." Eros sighed as Aphrodite took a sip of her wine, gifted to her by Dionysus (dA MASHO MASHO MASHO NESUJALEY-). "What do you need me to do?" Aphrodite gave him an evil smirk. 

She straightened up in her seat, pointing her chalice at her son, some of the wine dripping out of it. "Go down to earth and pierce her with your cursed arrow." Eros tightened his grip onto his bow and arrow at his side. "Make sure you hit her with your one..special arrow." She said, putting emphasis on the word 'special.' "The arrow that destines its victim to never find love. I know that's recently been upon her mind." She cooed, crossing her legs. "She should be on the mountain by the pathetic hazelnut tree, probably ready to throw herself off of the cliff. Just as well. What a ghastly human, yet she still stole the adoration and attention of all the men and the gods!" She squawked. Eros took in the horrible words of his mother. No matter what he was feeling on the inside, he remained a calm composure and simply nodded his head to her in a respectful manner. "As you wish, let it be done." He carefully flapped his white, angelic wings away from his cruel mother and headed down to earth. 

"This must've been the most frivolous reason I've heard for cursing a human with my arrow. Just because some people believe she's beautiful, she must now be condemned to an unholy fate. The poor thing..I wish it wasn't I who had to carry out this grievous deed." He sighed to himself as he darted out of Olympus. He parted the clouds to look down on the world below him. He had always thought some parts of the world down there could have been even more beautiful than Olympus. That was until he met the people that inhabited the planet and immediately wanted to fly back to Olympus. 

He sighed as he came to rest upon the designated mountain he was directed to. He looked around, bow and arrow tightly in his hand. He started walking forward until he stopped, dead in his tracks. He looked, sitting before him a young girl about his age. Her long, brown locks flowing in the wind, her flowery, white dress resting upon her beautifully. Eros stopped to take in her remarkable beauty. Her rosy red lips and cheeks perfectly complimented her snow white skin and her startling blue eyes. "Why..no wonder she has attracted this much attention." Eros whispered to himself. She delicately picked petals off of a daffodil, blowing them off into the wind until she was just left with a green stem. 

She sighed and looked out to the horizon, a gorgeous sunset unfolding right in front of her. However, she couldn't focus on her surroundings. She sighed as her shoulders dropped. "Perhaps I will never find love. However, maybe that's not such a horrible thing. I'm sure being married is a dreadful thing! I mean, never feeling lonely for even a second, having somebody you love with you all your days, it just sounds so-" She sighed, tears pricking her eyes. "Wonderful." She dreamily cried, standing up, moving closer to the edge of the mountain's cliff. 

Eros peeked out of the tree he was hiding behind, wincing as she came dangerously close to the cliff's edge. The beautiful girl reached out to cover the sun with her hand. "Will I ever have love's sunlight in my life?" She wondered as she took a few steps back. Eros loosened the grip on his bow and arrow. 

How could he perform this heinous act on this sweet, innocent girl? 

He carefully watched as the girl took her steps back. His eyes widened when he saw a humongous rock placed directly in her path. She shrieked as she collided with the rock, stumbling forwards. She let out a scream as she fell off the side of the cliff, plunging to the land beneath her. Eros gasped and quickly abandoned his weapon, flying to her rescue. The girl was plummeting fast, but Eros was flying faster. He quickly caught up to her and caught her in his arms. She had closed her eyes, most likely bracing for impact. However, when she felt that she was no longer falling, she slowly blinked them open. 

She looked up at Eros, her face beaming with innocence and sweetness. Eros flapped his gigantic wings back and forth to keep them floating comfortably above the ground. "You saved me." She breathed, her heart rate slowing down. Eros looked into her blue eyes, getting lost in them for a brief moment. "Of course." He replied back, rather mechanically. The girl continued to stare at him, until the adrenaline wore off. From the overwhelming situation, she passed out in Eros' arms. Eros tightened his grip on her and gently began to fly back up to the top of the cliff, placing her delicately in the grass. He looked down at her, brushing some of her brown stray hairs away from her face. A small smile crept upon his face as he looked at the sleeping girl. "An angel...how could I ever even think to harm her?" 

The girl slowly blinked her eyes open, facing Eros for the second time that day. "A-Are you a-" "God? Yes. Son of the goddess Aphrodite." He declared, wanting to tell her his identity right away. The girl sat up, her face coming closer to his. Eros could feel the hot blush spread across his face as he pulled his face away from hers. "But, I don't understand. Why did you save me? How did you even know I was here?" She asked him, pulling all of her hair forward. Eros sucked his teeth. "Well, uh.." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I have word that you have angered the goddess, Aphrodite, who also happens to be my mother." The girl looked shocked at that statement. "Why, but I've never even met her before!" She protested. "Yes, but my mother is one who can get very jealous very easily. And if people are paying attention to somebody other than her, or dared to do anything that displeased her, she would be infuriated. One day, she had me curse a man who she thought was-" Eros didn't dare finish his sentence and covered his mouth with his hand, realizing he just revealed his reason for being there with the girl. 

The girl's eyes became as wide as saucers. "Y-You..you were there on that mountain to curse me?" She whispered, backing away from him. Eros panicked and grabbed her hand, preventing her from leaving. "Wait, please! I can explain!" The girl yelped as she was pulled by Eros. She fell onto his lap, looking up at him. He quickly let go of her hand and cleared his throat. "My mother wanted me to shoot you with my cursed arrow to ensure that you would never find love." The girl gasped as he talked, thinking of that monologue she had delivered on the cliff's edge. "But, for some reason..I just couldn't." He admitted. The girl raised her eyebrows. "I don't know if it's because I felt sorry for you, or if it was just an act of defiance to my mother, o-or that you're just so beautiful that I couldn't even imagine the thought of hurting you." A blush spread across the girl's face. Eros reciprocated the blush. "Or..perhaps it was all three." He admitted, embarrassed. 

The girl sat across from him, pushing some of her hair back and out of her face, feeling more comfortable around him all of a sudden. "What may I call you?" She asked him. Eros smiled. "Eros. And you?" "Psyche. It's a pleasure to meet you. I wish it was out of better circumstances, however." Eros nodded, letting out a chuckle. "So, Eros..are you still going to pierce me with your arrow?" She asked, frightfully. Eros looked at his golden weapon, lying in the grass. He looked back at Psyche and shook his head. "No. I won't. But that doesn't mean that my mother will not try to kill you herself either." Eros stood up, Psyche clutching her heart out of fear. He began to pace, thinking of a solution to this situation, when suddenly he found an idea forming in his head. 

"However, it doesn't have to end up that way. I could simply tell her I cursed you to marry a beast." He smiled, rubbing his hands together in a sneaky manner. "Yes, yes! A beastly god, and you are to be betrothed to him forever!" Psyche stood up, touching Eros's shoulder. "Oh no, please, kind sir, don't sentence me to something as awful as that!" She begged. Eros quickly turned to her and held her hands in his. "No, I would never. I was simply suggesting to pretend that is the case." Psyche raised an eyebrow. "Whatever do you mean?" She asked. 

"Well, I would take you back to Olympus and present you before my mother. I will tell her that I sentenced you to marry one of the most evil and fiendish gods. You will stay with me at Olympus for, at least 3 months. Hopefully after that, my mother will have forgotten about you and I can return you back to earth. You must be there long enough so my mother will be able to see you 'suffering,'" He used air quotations when saying that word, "I promise that I will take care of you, protect you, and shield you from the wrath of my mother and the other gods that may be jealous of your beauty." Psyche looked at him, piecing his plan together in her head. "So...I would marry you, then?" She asked. Eros nearly choked on the air he was breathing. His cheeks reddened even at the though."N-No, of course not. You would remain single and free, but my mother would be under the impression that you had been wed to a god in Olympus. Therefore, she would be happy that you were suffering, when in reality you would still be free woman." Psyche smiled. "That sounds like it may work, Eros!" 

"Perfect! I will do everything you need to make sure that you will be able to live a free life still. You may marry anyone you want, you may always come back to see your family, and I will personally deliver you to and from Olympus and earth at any time you want." Eros told her with a bright smile. Psyche looked up at him with a warmth lit up in her eyes. "You are awfully kind, Eros." She complimented. "I thank you for that. I am forever grateful that you have decided to spare my life." Eros smiled dreamily at her. "I now know that I could never hurt you, Psyche." The two stared into each other's eyes until they both broke it off, looking in other directions. Eros cleared his throat. "Well then.." He smirked at Psyche. 

"Shall we go meet my mother?"