*This Story is Based on the Fairytale The Castle East of the Sun, and West of the Moon*

Psyche was well known as the prettiest girl in her village. Her black hair and dark eyes made her the envy of the many brunettes.

Surprisingly she wasn’t married. Many, if not all, the local bachelors had tried to win her hand, but she’d politely refused them all. Perhaps if she had been crueler to some they would have given up.

Instead, rumours began to circulate the village that Psyche thought herself to good for them. Psyche did nothing to disrupt them. She had her own reasons for turning them down, and she didn’t care what people thought of her.

Her father, however, was deeply displeased when he learned how many prominent suitors his only child had turned away. He did not banish her, as some of the chattering matrons later said, but he sent her out of the house while he considered what to do with her.

A stranger was waiting for her. He’d long since heard of the beautiful maiden that was scorning young men for no good reason, and he’d been waiting for her to leave the house at night so he could speak with her. He couldn’t come to her by day.

“It’s very cold out here,” He called to her from the darkness.

Psyche stared. She hadn’t thought anyone was out here. She looked over to see a young man. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked at him. His skin was pale, white enough to reflect the faint light of the crescent moon. His tumbling curls of white gold also seemed to glow.

She had seen handsome men before, though none quite so beautiful. This one was set apart by his eyes. They held some bleak promise of danger and excitement, the kind Psyche had never experienced.

“I have never been much bothered by the cold.” She finally said.

“I also take no exception to it, but I assumed a young lady would least take a shawl with her, on such a crisp autumn evening.”

It was true that she had left the house with little to protect herself from the chill, but she’d been telling the truth when she said the cold didn’t bother her. Yes, she was cold, but she could withstand it.

“I may not be staying out long, particularly with strange men lurking around our farm.”

The man smirked. Instead of seeming embarrassed he walked from where he was standing in the shadows.

“I wanted to find out more about you. Is it true that no man is good enough to be your husband?”

Psyche frowned, but she could see he was only teasing. She didn’t know him at all, but somehow that made her want to share with him. She suddenly needed to voice her motives.

“None off those boys really loved me, or could ever know me. They saw that I was beautiful, and they wanted me.”

He nodded. “I thought that you might have a good reason. You are quite the enigma, Psyche.”

She stared at him. Again she noticed how lovely he was. He was prettier than her. She didn’t think that was a bad thing.

“It’s not fair that you know my name, and I don’t know yours.”

“I’m called Eros. Look, you’re shivering.”

Before she could protest he wrapped his arms around her. She knew this was a bad position to be in. He was obviously quite strong. She just didn’t have the heart to pull away. He looked down at her.

“I know I don’t know you any better then the others, but I am more than willing to learn. I can’t stay in your village any longer. Would you come with me tonight?”

Psyche knew that saying yes could mean disaster. He could be a murderer luring her away from the watchful eye of her family, or simply not a good match for her. Yet leaving with him was the only path she couldn’t visualize her future in. She didn’t like any of the futures she had now.

When she nodded, he asked if she needed to say her goodbyes and pack her things. She decided there wasn’t anything she wanted to bring to her new life, and her parents would stop her if she went back now.

So she followed him directly to the great black stallion he’d kept hidden in the trees. Eros helped her onto the beasts back, and pulled himself up beside her. As they galloped away, she tried to pay attention, but she eventually grew drowsy and fell asleep on his shoulder.

Psyche woke up in a bedroom, which she quickly discovered was only one chamber in a sprawling castle. She was certainly shocked. She’d had no inkling the night before that Eros was so wealthy.

If only she could find him. She asked one of the few, nervous servants where he was. She learned nothing. It was only when darkness fell that he joined her, he apologized right way.

“I must be elsewhere in the castle during the day.”

She nodded. It was too soon for her to demand the reason he left her alone. She did ask him where he had gone, but he refused to tell her.

“I can’t say. You must trust me.”

Again she let it pass. He stayed with her that night, never sleeping, even when she drifted off. The days past, and they learned more about each other, and fell truly in love. They never had an official ceremony, but they were in their soul’s husband and wife. Winter deepened, and as the nights grew longer they could spend more time together.

Psyche was happy, but when summer approached and the days lengthened she grew lonely. She was also frustrated with Eros’s continued refusal to tell her where he went. Her constant searches of the castle often led to locked doors. She rarely ran into the same barrier twice, and she was never trapped, but she wanted to find him.

In desperation, she wrote a letter home. Although she’d left abruptly, and hadn’t yet gone back to visit, she still kept in contact, especially with her mother and sisters. In this latest letter she told them about her few grievances. In return, her mother sent pack a set of pins, and a small candle.

Psyche practiced with the doors of her room. When she could easily pick that lock, she moved on to other doors. Eventually she was confident enough that she could open any door, she lit her small candle and sought out the latest sealed barrier.

The rooms on the other side were completely dark, but it was alright. She had her candle, and she’d seen these rooms before. Eventually she found him, lying unconscious in a tiny room far the rear of that wing.

He was so still, she thought he might be hurt or dead. She ran to his side, forgetting the candle in her hand. A drop of wax fell and burned his face as she crouched by his side. Suddenly he was very much awake. He snarled at her, making her step back in fright.

Psyche had never seen him in true light. His skin that glowed in moonlight seemed drawn and sickly in her candle. For the first time she saw the fangs that he’d kept hidden from her in the dark.

When Eros saw who it was that had woken him. An intense sadness transformed his features once again.

“Psyche, you fool. You have no idea what you’ve done. I told you to trust me.”

Before she could answer, a great wind blew through the room, although there were no windows. When the gust subsided a beautiful, but chilling woman was standing between the lovers.

“She’s failed my little test, love. She couldn’t believe in you, and she won’t love you now that she knows your true nature.”

It was true that Psyche could now see that Eros was one of the legendary vampires. Many strange things, particularly the servant’s fear, made sense now that she could clearly see him.

“This is my master,” Eros murmured. “She offered me my freedom if we only see each other at night for a full year.”

The vampiress, who had the same white blond hair and fair skin as Eros, walked over and wrapped her arms around Psyche’s beloved. Her icy, but lovely blue eyes surveyed the man possessively. Eros winced and turned away from her, as much as he could.

“I’ll make you a deal,” said the fair-haired lady. “If you will let him drink from you, I will reconsider our bargain.”

Psyche nearly laughed. “You misunderstand my intent. I wanted to find Eros so that I could be with him. You also underestimate my feelings.”

She crossed to them, setting her candle on the floor, and bent so that she could lay one hand on the females encroaching arm, and one on her true love’s face.

“I would not only let him drink from me, I would let him change me, if he wanted to.”

“Why would you do that? You have no idea what this life is like.”

“I trust him.”

Eros smiled up at her as his master released her prize as if it were suddenly worthless.

“I don’t need you. It’s enough for me to know that you couldn’t stop from leaving if I chose to force you. Stay with your love, change her if you want. I am not so desperate for minions.

As quickly as she had come, the vampire was gone again. Eros and Psyche embraced each other. Psyche blew out her candle. Eros bit down on her neck.