Part 1, Chapter 12 Summary

Orual cannot tell Bardia about her encounter with "the Blessed," so he prepares camp for the night. They eat and lie together back-to-back under two cloaks, as soldiers do to ward off the cold. Orual rues being so ugly Bardia proposes this. Bardia sleeps soundly, but Orual's mind cannot let go of Psyche and the riddle. Going down to the river for a drink, Orual is shocked to see through the mists a vast grey palace, solid, motionless, and beautiful. No lights shine from this house asleep, and Orual imagines Psyche in the arms of something or someone holy or horrible, beautiful or strange. Orual knows she must cross over, even if it costs her life, make her petition, and beg forgiveness of Psyche and the god. Orual repents of her blasphemies and having dared scold her. Before she can stand...