((Disclaimer: I do not own Daughters of the Moon or any of the characters in it. . .But you all know that because this is a fanfiction site, so without further ado. . .))

Psyche was the most beautiful woman in the world. Some called her the second Aphrodite. This angered the original Aphrodite. As she grew jealous, she ordered her son, Cupid, to hit Psyche with one of his magical arrows and make her fall in love with the cruelest, most ruthless man he could find.

Cupid set out to complete the task, but as soon as he set eyes upon her, he pricked himself with one of his arrows and fell profoundly in love with her. He brought Psyche to a palace where she would live in all the splendor of a goddess, but he would visit her only at night, and instructed her never to try to look upon him, lest they would be separated forever. Of course, his reason for such behavior was the fear that if she were to recognize him for who and what he was, she would adore him as a god, rather than love him as an equal.

One day, Cupid allowed Psyche's sisters to visit her, and they became envious of the luxurious life she had, and how much her husband-whom they were not permitted to meet-loved her. They decided to spoil her happiness by telling her that an oracle had informed them that her husband would not allow himself to be seen because he was truly a loathsome monster and planned to kill her after she bore his first child.

That night, Psyche clutched a knife in one trembling hand and a lantern in the other as Cupid slept beside her. She moved closer and raised the knife to cut off his head, but when the lantern light fell upon his beautiful face, she was too awed to strike, and she pricked herself on an arrow from his quiver.

Cupid awoke and saw his wife standing over him, wide-eyed with a knife in her hand. He was filled with sorrow as he said to her, "My love, were you afraid that I was a hideous monster? There can be no love where there is no trust. I will never come to you again." And thus he left her there, crushed and heartbroken as he.

Psyche, in search of her beloved Cupid, sought council from the gods, but only Demeter, the goddess of grain, was willing to help. Demeter recommended that she go before Aphrodite and beg her forgiveness. Her son was in her palace, mourning for his lost love, and the great goddess tired of caring for him. Psyche should beg her to reunite her with Cupid.

Aphrodite was furious to see Psyche and ordered her handmaidens, Trouble and Sorrow, to assault the girl. When the horrible attack was over, Aphrodite saw Psyche to a storehouse filled with many types of grains, and bid her sort each one by evening, thus proving that she was a worthy bride for her son. When the goddess was gone, Psyche fell to her knees and wept.

Then something extraordinary took place; an army of ants came and sorted the grain for her. Aphrodite flew into a rage when she had seen that someone had come to Psyche's aid, and demanded another task of Psyche. This time, she was to gather some fleece of the fierce rams of golden wool.

She began to lose heart as she saw how ferocious they were, but the wind whispered to her through the reeds. It told her to wait until high noon when the rams slept, and then slip into the meadow and quietly gather the wool off of the briars.

Then Aphrodite assigned her a third task: to fill a crystal goblet with icy mountain water from the mouth of the Stygian River. Psyche cried when she saw how hopelessly steep and slippery the rocks were near the mouth of the river, but just then, an eagle flew overhead, took the cup, and filled it for her.

Then Aphrodite set upon Psyche the most perilous task of all: To travel to Tartarus with a jeweled box and ask queen Persephone for a small portion of her beauty. Psyche began to despair, knowing that this was one task that she had no hope of completing, and climbed to the top of a tall tower. And just as she was about to throw herself off, the tower spoke to her.

It told her to take two gold coins and two pieces of barley cake, and when a lame donkey driver beseeched her for help, she must not refuse him. "Give Charon, the ferryman, a coin, and he will take you across the River Styx. As you cross the river, the groping hand of a dying man will reach out to you, but you much turn away. You must also refuse to help three women weaving the threads of fate. When you come to Cerberus, the three- headed dog who guards the palace doors, give him a barley cake, and he will be friendly to you. Do all of this again on your way out. But most importantly, when you carry the box of beauty from Persephone to Aphrodite, do not open it-Whatever you do, DO NOT open the beauty box!"

Psyche did as she was instructed to do, but on the returning trip, when she drew close to Aphrodite's palace, curiosity overtook her. She opened the box, and found not beauty inside, but a deadly sleep, which fell upon her and she collapsed on the side of the road.

Cupid, meanwhile, flew over the earth in search of Psyche and saw her lying on the roadside. He flew down to her and hurriedly gathered the sleep from her body, sealing it once more within the box, and waking his beloved Psyche with a kiss.

Together they flew to Zeus, who married them and bestowed upon Psyche the gift of immortality. All of Mount Olympus (with the exception of Aphrodite) rejoiced for their union. Within a year, Psyche gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Bliss, who became the first of many bearers of Cupid's gift: the first of the "Blessed of the Arrow."