Why did I feel so at ease here with her? Had we…met before?
“Oh, sweet girl. We lived here together for many years, waiting for the time you would be called to fulfill your duty.”
My voice was hoarse as I whispered, “I…I don’t understand.” Panic swelled to life within me, and my hands shook, voice growing louder as I struggled to wrap my head around her words. “This place feels familiar, and I feel at peace with you, but that’s it. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Shh,” she soothed, pulling back and taking my hand once more. “Let’s go inside, and I’ll explain it all.”
A breath of relief puffed over my lips–I didn’t understand what was happening, but at least I’d get answers. I was so freaking done with more questions and confusion entering my life. I couldn’t handle it anymore.
We passed through the beautifully kept garden and toward the manor that lay just beyond. After climbing the steps, I reached out to run my fingers along the marble. The walls were cool to the touch, smooth and slick with dew from the chilly night air.
I was struck by the opulent beauty that surrounded me as we moved inside. The interior was adorned with lavish white and gold accents that exuded an aura of divine elegance. The walls were covered in intricate patterns of gold leaf, which caught the light and cast a warm glow throughout the space.
The furniture, crafted with meticulous detail, showcased a harmonious blend of white marble and ornate golden carvings. Plush silk cushions stitched with golden embroidery adorned the seating areas. The floors, made of gleaming white marble, bore delicate gold inlays of scenes that I could only imagine were from Greek history, further adding to my sense of being in a space touched by the gods.
After settling in a seating area near the center of the room, I asked, “Where are we?”
Elaborate statues of Greek deities graced the corners of the rooms, their forms sculpted with an almost lifelike realism. Every detail in the home seemed to radiate a sense of timeless elegance and power, capturing the essence of ancient Greek aesthetics I remembered seeing in my history lessons.
“We reside in a mirror image of the home I once resided upon in Divinus, alongside the gods and goddesses. When I entered Pandora's box as its owner, the space shifted to what I knew and loved once the curses besides yourself were released.”
There was a lot to unpack with her matter-of-fact statement, but she continued before I could start asking questions.
“I will start at the beginning,” she explained with a soft smile. “Please suspend your disbelief, as the world and its history isn’t always as the tales would have you believe.”
With my nod of understanding, she began to weave a story that I quickly began to lose myself in.
“I was a mere mortal living amongst gods, created out of spite by Zeus in response to Prometheus stealing fire from our heavens to give to man. The gods gave me many traits as the first mortal woman including beauty, curiosity, charm, and cleverness. For a long time, I lived in peace, until one day Zeus gifted me a box and told me to never open it. Little did I know this was a box that he created with the touch and powers of many of the gods. Creation magic laid within its confines, and with his final touch, he filled it before sealing it, ensuring the box could only be opened by a mortal.”
She scoffed then, rolling her eyes. “He preyed upon the gift of curiosity that was bestowed upon me, though he was quick to forget that I was also gifted with cleverness. I knew something was afoot and sought help from two people who I knew would assist me–the goddess Psyche and the god Prometheus.”
It was obvious why Prometheus would help her, wanting to thwart Zeus and any plans he might have made, but I didn’t know anything about Psyche.
“Why did you know Psyche would help you?”
Pandora nibbled on her bottom lip, just like I did when I was lost in thought, before answering in a much softer, solemn tone. “She was sent to the underworld with an impossible task as punishment for loving the man she did. Persephone gave Psyche a golden box, said to contain some of her beauty. Psyche looked inside the box and found that she had been tricked with an everlasting slumber.”
The parallel between the two boxes that tricked two mortal women was insane. Zeus wasn’t very creative with his idea, it seemed.
“Thankfully, Eros found her and saved her, and Zeus approved their marriage. She became the goddess of the soul.”
I thought I was following along, but she lost me at the mere mention of Zeus helping them.
“If Zeus helped them, why would she want to help you?”
She gave me a pointed look, arching a brow as her head tilted slightly to the side. “No god does anything out of the kindness of their soul. There is always a catch. When Psyche and Eros had a child, Zeus came and took her, claiming he was owed the child as a debt.”
Anger coiled deep within my core.
“So after meeting with Prometheus and Psyche, we quickly determined there would be something dastardly inside of the box. Leaving it somewhere wasn’t an option–we were scared it would be opened by some unknowing soul. After using his fire on the box, Prometheus deemed it unbreakable, so we couldn’t dispose of it either.”
That bastard Zeus really thought of everything.
“As the goddess of souls, Psyche offered the solution of placing my soul within the box. Through this action, I found the curses inside, including you, without opening the box. The inside of the box was a wasteland of dark souls consuming each other for more power–the only exception was the smallest speck of light cowering in a corner.”
The look she gave me then was full of soft affection. She smiled softly, eyes shimmering in the dim light of the room. “After Psyche removed me from the box, I begged her to lift your soul from the box and let you be free, but she refused, saying we couldn’t be sure that seeing you wasn’t a trick and that doing so could trigger everything else to be released. Psyche was only comfortable touching my soul.”
I didn’t remember any of this. Could this really be true? I had an entire life in the box alongside the curses?
