Midmorning, Psyche came awake. She yawned and pushed herself into a sitting position. The twirling pile of leaves motioned her towards a tub of steaming hot water. She smiled and slid out of bed to enjoy the bath. Invisible hands washed her hair as she scrubbed her body clean of both sweat and dirt. Once she had dressed for the day, the leaves guided her out to the courtyard where a small table had been set up next to a bench. Her morning meal had been set out for her.
She had a leisurely breakfast watching the leaves create images of the gods on Olympus for her. Near the noon hour, they guided her out to the courtyard. And as Helios directed his chariot directly above the palace, the west wind swept in, bringing both her sisters with it. Psyche ran out to the two women with her arms extended and a smile on her face. Both her sisters squealed at her with smiles. She had not realized just how long she had been away from her father’s palace until she saw her sisters’ growing bellies. She congratulated them both.
“I hope the gods grant you both sons,” she told her sisters.
Her sisters giggled at her words. “Show us around this palace,” they asked. “It looks so beautiful.”
Psyche smiled and nodded. The doors inside opened as they neared the building itself. Both her sisters gasped when they realized that no hands had brought the giant pieces of wood open from them to enter. She took her sisters to the great hall first. Her sisters inspected the stone walls and the torches that lined both walls before they would allow Psyche to take them to the next room. Each room received the same level of inspection until they reached her bedchamber.
They tested the quality of the mattress with giggles that echoed from one side of the room to the other and back. Neither of her sisters wanted to move from the comfort of the bed even as Psyche tried to entice them with the view of the valley from her balcony. Only the promise of the midday meal being delivered while they were outside brought her sisters to their feet.
The invisible servants opened the doors to the balcony; again her sisters seemed taken aback that the doors had opened on their own. Psyche pointed to the polis below and spent a few minutes telling her sisters what she was able to see from the balcony. Her sisters frowned, but listened politely to her words. Her twirling leaves got her attention to let her know that the meal had been set out for her and her guests. Psyche invited her sisters back inside the bedchamber. More gasps and giggles escaped their lips when they saw the amount of food piled on the table and when the invisible servants kept their goblets full of wine while they ate.
“This is a wonderful palace,” her eldest sister said, “and the food exquisite, but I cannot call you the best host, dear sister.” Their sister nodded in agreement. “For all the time we have been here, not once have you offered to introduce us to the lord of the palace.”
“It’s bordering on insulting,” their sister added. “Mother will be dismayed at your lack of courtesy.”
“I would introduce you to the lord of the palace, if I could, dear sisters,” Psyche told them. “But the lord only comes to visit me at night when it is so dark that I cannot see his face.”
“You don’t know what he looks like?” her sisters asked in unison.
