"The Baker's Lottery, a retelling of Psyche and Cupid," Katniss read out loud.
Just the sound of the name caused a jolt of forbidden want to travel up and down her spine. She eyed the book the way someone else would eye their lover. Katniss loved reading. It was her secret passion. Ever since she became friends with the Mayor's daughter, Katniss had been allowed to borrow one book a week. She'd been steadily reading through the collection; there were hundreds of books in the library. Its walls were packed with shelves of tomes of different genres. From Fiction to Autobiographies.
Katniss had read Oedipus Rex, Night, Macbeth, Jane Eyre, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Charlotte's Web, Peter Pan, The Fault in Our Stars, Harry Potter, The Underland Chronicles, The Narnia Chronicles, The Iliad and The Odyssey, To Kill A Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, The Diary of Anne Frank, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, and various others books that were in Madge's library.
Katniss didn't care; she loved reading.
The one book she hadn't read and always skipped over was Psyche and Cupid. This book caught her attention in the library a while back, but she never had the gall to pick it up. She'd refrained because Madge told her it was a romance. Romances were the only subject she really didn't like.
In Katniss's opinion, romance was for suckers.
She didn't believe in romance, love at first sight, or any type of nonsensical emotional heated allure of any kind. She'd seen the folly of those who have dared to go down that path. Her mother fell into a deep depression when her father died. Madge was divorcing her husband. Her own sister had been dumped by her first boyfriend. The list went on and on.
Katniss believed most people fell in lust. It was a powerful drive to procreate. Lust blinded people. It was an obsession. Right now, her blind obsession was with this book.
Katniss turned away from the book and headed to the opposite corner. There on the shelf glaring back at her was a baking compendium. Heat filled her cheeks. Katniss turned around and glowered at the book.
Psyche and Cupid called to her.
Her hands shook from the want to open the book to discover the hidden tale. Her ears wanted to hear the crinkling of the pages as she lovingly turned each one. It was such a thrill to feel the weight of a tome in her hands. Or to know that a hidden treasure was in her backpack waiting until she was in the confines of her home in the woods to be opened and devoured by her eyes.
The ornate spine of the leather-bound book with its rich elaborate gold plated writing stared back at Katniss.
Determined, she walked across the library and plucked the book from where it sat on the shelf. Quickly, Katniss slipped the book into her bag.
As soon as Katniss arrived at her cabin in the woods, she immediately washed her hands, made herself a cup of tea, and heated up a hearty bowl of stew.
Anticipation thrummed through her system as she changed into her nightgown. Her belly full, with a good cup of tea in hand, she headed toward her old beat-up recliner that sat before the fire. Her hands itched as she drew the book from the insides of her bag.
Katniss began reading.
The night stars shone brightly in the inky depth of the sky.
A warm fire greeted those who sat around it. Its flames warmed the chilled skin of those gathered watching their flocks. Each one recalling a story told to them by a parent or ancestor.
"I tell you it doesn't matter if you call him Eros or Cupid, they both make men weak when they are shot with one of his arrows," one of the shepherds explained to the others.
"I'm never going to fall in love," Sejanus, the youngest of the shepherds grumbled.
"That's what I said, then I met Helena and my entire world turned upside down."
One of the listeners leaned against his shepherd's stick. He was an elderly man with a paunch and graying hair. His hooded cloak lay on his shoulders. Those speaking became quiet. His stories were the best. The young shepherds gathered eyes lit up.
"Hush, he's about to speak…" the youngest shepherd admonished the others.
Quite settled upon the group.
Having the attention of others, the elder's handsome voice filled the air, as fireflies danced around them. "Many stories have been told about love, but none more compelling than the story I am going to tell you."
K-P-K-P-K
Katniss smiled to herself having read the introduction. This wasn't a romance. This story had all of the earmarks of an adventure. Her mind conjured up a cast of men ranging in ages sitting around the fire listening to a wise elder telling the story.
This reminded her of her grandfather sitting before the hearth recounting stories of old. The happy memory was one of the few Katniss had before the ailment had come in and wiped out so many loved ones. Those who survived were grateful.
The ailment had inadvertently caused her mother and the family that lived in the valley to reconcile. Her sister Prim grew up with the hope of being something more than a poor miner's wife. Her sister was studying medicine.
Katniss sighed and picked up the book. Happily, she continued reading.
Once there was a boy so beautiful and strong that lived in the land of Panem.
This young man was so lovely that all who saw him or met him loved him. His graciousness, charm, and good looks caused the goddess of love, Aphrodite to be jealous of him.
Aphrodite wanted to get rid of him so she caused jealousy and hatred to poison his mother's heart. But nothing that his mother did would make Percy Melliard any less wonderful. He was a renowned baker, a painter, a boy who never took sugar in his tea, and always slept with the windows open to be able to appreciate nature.
Aphrodite, sent her son Cupid to shoot the boy with an arrow making him fall in love with a hideous creature, but when Cupid took aim on the boy, Cupid's daughter Diana got in the way and she fell in love with the boy. Cupid mourned for his daughter's fate. Aphrodite, when jealous, was a cruel mistress.
Aphrodite was not amused and did not want her granddaughter to find the boy. Diana was a mighty huntress. Her heart was filled with love for the boy and she desired to be with Percy. For Cupid, who loved his daughter, there was only one solution and that was to give her Percy in the hopes the boy would fall in love with her. He brought Diana to a cabin in the woods and told her to stay there and he would deliver the boy to her.
Disguising himself as an old hunter, Cupid went to the boy's village of Dodékatos on the Island of Panem.
Time passed, and as Cupid expected, his daughter confined to the forest continued her hunting. She often fed the needy children and widows with her game. Cupid used his daughter's hunting to his advantage, spreading through the village that there was a ferocious half-woman half-beast. The villagers called her the she-wolf.
The man from within the crowd shouted, "Something has to be done!"
Dodékatos was the smallest of all of the villages, comprising of fifty families. The heads of the families were present, in total thirty-seven men, gathered at the Assembly, located in front of the justice building. They were all afraid of the creature.
Homer Melliard stood up. "I thought, like many of you, that the old hunter Everdeen's stories were the ramblings of an old man."
Gale, one of the village trappers, stood up and shouted, "It's true there's no game to be found in the woods. I haven't caught anything in weeks!" A murmur spread throughout the crowd. Gale continued speaking, "Everdeen's stories are right, the creature that is slowly eating them will come after livestock."
"How can we stop the creature?"
Gale responded to his neighbor, "We hunt it down."
Just before Gale could incite the crowd further, Everdeen stood. "If the creature is smart enough to get your game from your traps, then it's something that cannot be hunted."
Everdeen stood amongst the men. He removed his cloak. His white hair fell to his shoulders. For an elderly man, he still had the vigor of a man half his age.
Gale narrowed his eyes at Everdeen, "So how do we get rid of this creature?"
"It's nearly the brightest moon," Everdeen said.
No one in the crowd understood.
"She needs to be mated with a human. Once she's mated, they tend to settle down, but this only happens during the brightest moon." Everdeen's eyes looked like liquid mercury as he glanced at the crowd. No one spoke; the floor was his. "We have to find her a mate, a young, virtuous, unattached male of marriageable age."
"Will he be able to come back to us?"
"Only if she allows him to, that is if she doesn't eat him," Everdeen said.
To sacrifice a son was something hard to do. None of the men wanted to volunteer, not even Gale who was indeed a young man. Abernathy, one of the older men said, "We should hold a lottery; this way it is fairly done."
The men were silent, but it was the only way to fairly decide which young man would be sacrificed to marry the beast. The vote was cast and the lottery was decided upon. The reaping would take place on the afternoon of the brightest moon.
K-P-K-P-K
Katniss chuckled that her last name was in the book. Everdeen was a common name amongst the Covey. Her father was from a proud line of entertainers and storytellers.
It wouldn't have surprised her if for some reason a Covey tale was made into a book at one point in time, and that one of her ancestors published it.
On the day of the reaping, it was a clear day, a perfect day for a wedding.
Women wept for their precious children. Their fathers stood proudly to the side, waiting to hear the name of the poor young man who would be selected. The young men stood side by side, as a stone with a marker was placed in a clay pot. Since it was Abernathy's idea, he stood in the assembly before the entire village.
It was still and the sun relentlessly beat down on the waiting crowd, as Abernathy dipped his hand into the pot. Closing his eyes, he withdrew a stone and presented it to the crowd. There was a shout in the crowd, but it wasn't from a mother, rather from a father. All eyes flew to Homer Melliard. He grieved, holding his youngest son, Percy. His mother stood indifferently, she didn't want to touch him.
Everyone in the village was stunned. Percy was the one person in the village that everyone favored. He had a tender and good heart, always giving baked goods to the widows and treated everyone with respect. Many an eye became teary for his fate.
Percy squared his shoulders, trying to hide that his heartbeat so fast out of fright. He separated from his father, stepping to where Everdeen stood, mentally composing himself for his future.
"Come along, son."
Percy said nothing but followed the aging hunter through the crowd as their hands lifted up in a three-fingered salute out of respect and caring. When they reached the edge of the forest, Percy noticed the vibrant hues of green; he had an artistic eye. He didn't say anything, only wondered what his life would hold.
When they arrived in the deepest part of the woods, it was already dark. They came to a clearing. Everdeen stopped walking. "This is where she's made her den. You must never see her during the day. Do you understand?" The old man tied a band around his eyes. "If you do, grave things will happen to you."
Percy nodded.
"Promise me with your life that you will never set eyes on her."
"I promise," Percy said, although he wasn't sure why it was so important.
"Good," Everdeen affirmed.
Percy allowed the man to guide him through the forest.
"This is where our paths must diverge," Everdeen whispered. The old man took Percy's hands and gave him something wrapped up in cloth. "Take this bread and offer it to her. If she accepts you, she will take a piece of the bread and feed it to you. If she doesn't, she will attack."
Percy's hands shook as he brought the bread to his nose and he recognized the sweet smell. It was a dark loaf with fruits and nuts, often used in marriages.
He took several deep breaths for courage before he stumbled forward, his free hand outstretched to catch his fall. Instead, he felt a stone wall before him. Curious, he lifted a corner of the band to see where he was but could not see a house.
Percy looked back, but Everdeen had disappeared. Alone, he wondered if this was where he met his demise; it was then he heard her singing. Her voice was lovely and something otherworldly. Each note sung, sounded so lonely. It struck a deep chord within him. He understood her pain, her voice ripped through his defenses. And although he heard her voice he could not see the house. He reached out and felt nothing.
Sighing he let the blindfold fall once more and his hands touched wood. He surmised he was before a cottage that his mortal eyes could not see.
Percy was the most sought-after man in the village, though his mother stopped the offers. He had seen beauty in all shapes and sizes. He admired them, but not once did his heart yield. Yet this monstrous creature caused his entire body to become alive with want and need. He put his trust not in his eyes but in something greater.
The voice did not convey the winged serpent-like creature he envisioned. Finding the door he opened it and stepped inside.
The singing stopped. "Percy," she whispered his name.
"I am," Percy said. He held out the bread for toasting. He did not hear her steps nor did he hear her slither, but he could smell her; her scent was not what he expected. She smelled of lavender and fresh field flowers. Her scent was alluring. It hit a chord within him. He was usually surrounded by the smells of the bakery. He used his sense of smell to try to detect something foul, but everything he smelled was normal for a home; the scent of drying oregano, a stew that was near completion, olive oil, and the sweet smell of wine.
"You want to toast with me?" her voice was husky.
He picked up trepidation in her voice, "Yes."
The bread was lifted from his hands and he heard a hiss, not from an animal, but the familiar hiss of a fire as it crackled to life. The room grew warm as the fire burned. Percy was filled with curiosity about the creature he was to marry.
"Here," she handed him a piece of the toasted bread. "You don't have to do this," she whispered. He felt it when she walked away from him.
"Wait," Percy said. He thought of the consequences for his selfishness: his village would be destroyed by hunger. He couldn't think of his father being hungry. Squaring his broad shoulders Percy told himself this wouldn't be so bad; she smelled good and her song was lovely and recalling it made his body harden. "I want to marry you, sing for me, please."
He could feel her breath next to his arm when she came to stand by him again. Surprisingly his heart pounding wasn't from fear but from his growing desire.
The first notes of her song enchanted him, all of the hairs on his body stood on end as her voice penetrated the deepest part of his soul. Her voice was a lover's kiss upon his heart and flesh. He was heated and his flesh ached to be joined with hers.
K-P-K-P-K
Katniss stopped reading and her cheeks felt as if on fire. Typically when books became romantic, as in the case with a racy novel called The Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure, Katniss would stop reading and return the book to the library. There were some stories that were just too much, like Emma. Katniss had an instant dislike for the meddlesome busybody who thought herself better than everyone else. She'd never finished that book and hissed at it like Buttercup did whenever she passed its location in Madge's library.
There were rare books that were romantic that she didn't mind, like The Fault in Our Stars and Jane Eyre. These books took Katniss longer to read, but in the end, they were filled with real strife. Life wasn't easy and she appreciated the earnest portrayals rather than the over-glorified odes to love.
This book, however, had snuck up on Katniss. She fanned herself with the book to calm her body down. As she read, she kept on imagining herself and a certain man she often and secretly fantasized about.
Nothing she did seemed to cool her burning body. Katniss gave into temptation and reopened the book to read.
In Percy's mind, he could see a girl about his age standing before him, beckoning for his touch.
With that mental note, he held up the bread. She stopped singing when she ate the bread. He opened his mouth and she fed him the toasted bread. Once again, she sang for him and took his hand, he followed her. By now he wanted to be with this creature as her voice caused his member to swell and harden with need.
Her voice softened and he could feel her breath upon his lips. Following the sound of her voice, his lips found hers. Her mouth was soft and she gasped and moaned his name. "What do I call you, wife?"
"Diana," she moaned.
Percy's hands came to land on Diana's shoulders. She was smaller than him, he discovered. He bent down seeking her lips and finding them he let his tongue sweep the seam of her mouth. Percy wanted to bed her; he wasn't sure his brother's lessons would apply. He let his instincts take over. His hands found the side knot of her toga and undid it. He pushed her simple gown out of the way.
He removed his toga and simple tunic. He heard her gasp at the sight of his naked form. He was aroused and he wondered if her kind only mated with humans. "Am I pleasing to you?"
"Yes."
Taking his hand, she led him to the bed. Once they were lying down, Percy waited for her to make a move. He felt her smaller hand on his chest. Percy captured her hand and brought her to him. He discovered her flesh was not scaly, it was soft. He could hear her small cries as his hands touched her body. She was formed like a human female, his hands traced the curve of her hip up to her arm to the swell of her breasts as they filled his hands. He kneaded the soft mounds the way he would a ball of dough. Her response to his touch excited him further. He wanted to see her, but couldn't. He was afraid that if he saw her the spell would be broken.
Percy leaned down and kissed Diana. She wound her arms around him. Her nails scratched down his back and the pain only increased his pleasure.
"Percy," she mewled when his hands went to the center of her femininity. He slipped past the thatch of hair and found she was as soft as a petal there, wet for him. His fingers found the soft bud at the center of her sex. She cried out as he rolled it in his fingers and squeezed. He felt her hips buck, a sign she was ready for him to enter her.
Lining himself up, he pushed himself inside of her welcoming heat. He slid in with no problems until he felt the barrier, and paused.
"Is something wrong?" Her voice sounded worried, "Do I displease you?"
"No," Percy said, "You're untouched?" He wondered if the women of her kind were virginal, only mating for life.
"Yes," her voice sounded far away, almost in pain.
As gently as he could he broke through the barrier, sliding easily within her tight channel. "Are you well?"
"Yes," she panted. Her fingers curled around his biceps, gripping tightly. Percy waited for her to adjust, to get used to his girth and intrusion. Once her fingers relaxed did he finally move slowly, and her soft moan let him know she was with him. "Tell me if you like something."
"Kiss me," she asked.
He kissed her, and their kiss grew wildly. Her hands scratched his back. Without his vision, he tried to pay attention to her non-verbal cues. The little noises she made, the way her legs tangled with his.
Percy was close; he felt that tingly sensation that came right before he released. He wanted her to come with him. As if on command, he felt her body flutter around him, squeezing him just as she cried out his name. Percy came and for several seconds he lay within her arms before moving.
Part of him wanted to see her, but he didn't dare look at her and he fell asleep. When he awoke the band around his eyes was gone. It was morning. His wife was not present, but his clothing was neatly folded on a chair. He could see the one-roomed cottage. There was no window, only a door, a small bench and table to the side, a fireplace, and the bed. On the table was a bowl of stew and a thick slice of bread.
The blood of her innocence was upon him. Percy wasn't sure what to make of it.
"Percy." The hunter Everdeen called right before he entered the cottage. "By the state of your being, I will not ask how your evening went."
Percy blushed, the man's eyes blazed.
"I have spoken to your wife," he said.
"You can see her?"
"I only said I spoke to her," Everdeen cut off.
"So what did she say?"
"She was pleased with the sacrifice you have made. As long as you follow the rules she will leave enough game for the village hunters. Each morning you will leave your home and return to your village, to your family. Each night you are to come back here to your wife. She will come to you at midnight. There must be no light in the room. Do you remember your promise?"
"I do."
"Good."
"I can see my family?"
"I told you she was happy," Everdeen said.
"Can you thank her for me," Percy said.
"You can thank her yourself tonight at midnight." Everdeen stood. "Remember, no light must be in here; you must not see her."
"I understand," Percy said. "Is there a river or creek-" he stopped speaking as Everdeen disappeared.
K-P-K-P-K
Katniss knew the ins and outs of sex. She'd been down that path on a drunken night with her fantasy man. But everything was awkward afterward. She didn't know how to speak to him after she'd slept with him and had given her virginity to him.
It took a long time for her to be able to speak to him, to become friends again. It was painful, but she couldn't quit him. Katniss found she was not built like most women who could have multiple partners. She wasn't a casual type. Sex meant a lot more to her and it frightened her.
She kept him at arm's length knowing she couldn't give him more than what happened. They were on better footing, but there were times that Katniss couldn't help but imagine them together again. Where she could smell his cinnamon and dill perfumed flesh. And her mouth would water at the warm spicy taste of his skin.
On those nights when her flesh was at a fevered pitch she was driven to seek her own pleasure. Reading this book caused her to think of him, of them together. The story was compelling and she wanted to know what would happen to the characters of the book.
Several weeks later Diana lay clutched to her beloved husband.
Percy slipped in and out of her tight channel; her nails dug into the flesh of his back. Diana cried out as her body convulsed around him. Her husband followed her shortly. For five months she lived blissfully with Percy.
Her father's arrow had made her fall madly in love with the mortal son of a baker. Diana had never wanted to marry, never wanted to fall in love, but because of her grandmother Venus, she had been hit with her father's arrows. Diana was unable to control the madness that was love. If not for her father's interference, she would have perished from the malady of unrequited love.
Her hands gently touched his neck as he became still.
Percy was terribly handsome and he was a fine specimen. Diana liked to gaze upon his naked form when he went to the river to wash. It was no wonder women fawned over him.
"Diana," Percy whispered her name as he slipped from her.
"Yes." Now came the part she most appreciated after the joining of their bodies; they always talked.
"I made something for you today."
In the darkened room, she could make out his silhouette walking to the table. He cursed when his foot bumped up against the bench. She hid her smile as he came back. "What is this?"
"I call it a cinnamon bun. I made a soft bread and lined its center with a mixture of cinnamon, candied ginger, and nutmeg."
Diana was shocked as she held the bread wrapped in cloth.
"Try it," Percy said.
Diana tasted the bread and found it delicious. Tears sprang to her eyes. "Thank you."
She felt Percy touch her chin, "Why are you crying?"
"Because no one other than my father has ever given me anything." Percy kissed her gently, but Diana didn't want a simple kiss; she was hungry for him. Her hands brought him back to the bed. Diana tried to give him everything he wanted. More determined to show him what his love meant to her.
K-P-K-P-K
Katniss sighed. The shift in the POV was a welcome change. Diana desperately wanted to please Percy after he made her the sweets. The book went on for several chapters with her endeavors. Showing how devoted both Percy and Diana were to each other.
Katniss' own lover was a baker, and he too had made her a special treat. Hers was savory. Cheese buns with goat cheese and herbs in the middle of the flakey bread. Katniss hadn't cried, but every time she ate one she couldn't help the groans and moans. It was the cheese buns that helped mend their relationship after they'd slept together.
Katniss understood the power of his gift. It was the same reason Diana had cried with Percy's gift. It was done to simply show that she was more to him than just a night spent in bed. That she held merit and value. Her hands curved into the pages of the book.
Katniss vowed she wouldn't fall in love. However, it didn't mean she didn't want Diana and Percy to fall in love. Her eyes trained where she'd left off.
Percy's arms tightened around Diana.
Three months after Percy made the treat, he was still shocked by her confession. Percy held Diana, she was expecting a baby. After eight months of marriage, it was only expected that they would make a baby. Percy had fallen for his faceless wife. His brothers kept on heckling him for his ugly, unseen wife. Percy didn't care, until tonight.
A baby.
He wondered what their child would look like. Would they look like him or would she come out like a creature? Percy needed to see her, see what she looked like for the sake of his child. Getting up, he expertly lit the fire. There on the bed was the most beautiful woman he had ever set eyes on. Her skin was kissed by the sun, her dark tresses were fanned out on the pillow, and her face took his breath away.
The room suddenly became illuminated by a stunning blond woman dressed in a flowing white gown, standing right in front of him.
"Who are you?" Percy was in awe of the woman
"I am the goddess of love." She looked imperiously at him, "You are quite a splendid creature, but a mortal. You will perish out of loneliness and no one shall appreciate your beauty over mine." She laughed. "You have broken the promise you made to Cupid and therefore I shall take your wife."
Percy wanted to stop Aphrodite, but he was frozen to his spot, unable to move. He watched, horrified as Aphrodite's attendants quickly gathered Diana and stole her away into the nothingness of the night. "No," Percy said quietly.
The old hunter broke the door. "Where is she?"
Aphrodite's laugh filled the room even as her image disappeared. "You will never win as long as I have Diana. If you can find a champion, you can have them sort the grain, bring me the fleece of a golden sheep, and face hell itself for the promise of beauty and life. Remember Cupid, you are forbidden from helping the mortal."
"No," Everdeen transformed himself into Cupid. His wings unfurled and his face became youthful. Diana looked like him. "She took my child, my only child."
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have looked at her."
"I told you not to," Cupid roared.
"I'll get her back," Percy vowed. "I love her."
"You love her? I have not shot you with my arrow."
"It doesn't matter," Percy shook his head. "I was a goner from the moment I heard her sing. My own stupidity caused this. I will get her back."
"The tasks my mother has set are not easy for a mortal. I cannot help you either."
Percy glanced outside. Dressing quickly, he took with him a sword he found and some provisions. He didn't have to travel far because when he exited the town, Aphrodite knocked over a transport of different gains.
K-P-K-P-K
Katniss closed the book with tears in her eyes. As much as she hated romance, this one touched her heart and she decided to finish the story the next evening. She had to go to sleep.
Her dreams were filled with winged creatures that carried arrows and had her father's last name, and a blond baker who made her treats. As she went to bed, Katniss didn't see, were the golden eyes staring down at her or the mischievous giggle that filled the air.
