Author's Note: Hello everyone! I apologize for taking so long to get this one up, and I can tell you that the next chapter will be longer than this one, and it is by far one of my favorites! And for you new readers to this story, this is definitly an important chapter in the story, revealing a few truths. I hope you have enjoyed your day!

Love Jasmine

Chapter 8

Tuesday

"Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."

Alfred Tennyson

I sat on the Stables' floor and drew Ariston riding Vrontos. The morning stable work was done and there were still a few hours before school. Marge, Ella, Olivia and Heather went back to their dorms already and Margret said she would pick me up an hour before school. I still have an hour to wait for her arrival, but I enjoyed the crisp fall air and the horses near by. I have spent most of my life in barns and around horses, so it felt like home.

I looked at my drawing when it was finished. I have to admit that it does scare me how... infatuated I seem to have become with Ariston. It has been two weeks since we met and from the day I met him, I have not been able to think of anything other than him. That is not the only thing, it is getting stronger, the attraction. When I am around him, it is all I can do to keep from touching him, from kissing him. Perhaps that is why he keeps his hands clasped behind his back for much of the time we are near each other. I cannot even listen to music anymore, every song makes me think of him.

Since yesterday the same thoughts have kept running though my mind. Will Ariston tell me about his wife? Can I help him if he does?

I could not help but wonder what this woman is, or was, like. She was beautiful, that was obvious by Kallisto, their daughter. My mind made an image of what his wife would have looked like, who she was. I saw long platinum blond hair, straight, unlike Kallisto's curls; a beautiful smile that lights up a room, a sweet laugh along with a sense of humor that kept Ariston laughing. I could almost see her with Ariston. I wonder what he was like when they were together. I imagined him laughing freely and smiling to her with love in his eyes. A smile came to my lips at the thought of him being so happy, but sadness still lingered in my heart because I knew that in one way or another, he lost her. He seems happy when he is with me, but even then the sadness still appears from time to time.

I went to a blank page and decided to try and draw his wife, what I imagined she looked like. I saw her with a smile on her face as she danced in a grassy meadow with the same grace that Ariston has. Her long, straight hair blew in the wind with flowers woven in it, and a bright smile lit up her beautiful, angular features with the brightest of joys.

I began sketching, working in all the details in my mind. I smiled, looking at the image I had completed in a matter of minutes. The same question echoed through my mind as I looked at that breathtaking woman. What happened to her?

With no clear answer in sight, I decided to work on some images to help take my mind from this subject. I changed the page and decided to do some sketches of the Stables. I have always loved the architecture, it is exquisite.

I was sketching my third sketch of the Stables and two of the horses when a someone blocked my light. My heart fluttered and a blush settled over my cheeks; just from the shape of the shadow I knew who the man was. I smiled as I looked up at Ariston standing before me, his hands were behind his back as always and a smile was on his face.

"Hi." I said, wondering how he does that, appearing soundlessly, almost out of thin air.

"Hello." He greeted. He gestured to the spot on the floor next to me. "May I?" He asked, I chuckled.

"I think there is enough room for the both of us." I said, he chuckled and sat down a foot from me. "I am glad you came." I told him. Yesterday we agreed that we would spend more time together today, he did not say when though.

"I told you I would." Ariston said with a smile as he looked into my eyes. "May I gaze upon your art?"

"If you like." I replied.

He held his hand out and I placed my sketchpad within it. I watched him as he examined the drawing I had been working on. I could not help looking him over, the way his cinnamon skin seems to glow, his beautiful eyes and the structure of his face, along with the expressions upon it. He seemed impressed by my drawing.

"This is beautiful and very precise. You are quite an artist." Ariston told me, glancing to me for a time before looking back at my work. "Do you get this talent from your father?"

"Yes I do. How did you know that?" I asked.

"Just a guess." He said with a smirk.

He flipped to the first of my drawings and went through the pages one by one, he stopped at one of them in surprise, not able to take his eyes off of it. I suddenly remembered that there were numerous drawings of him in there, he gazed upon one sketch which showed him smiling as he glanced at me when he taught his class a few days before. He looked up from the page and into my eyes. His eyes unreadable, I blushed deeper.

"You inspire me." I told him with a shrug.

Again there was that something in his eyes, he smiled slightly before he went to the next page and on to the next. I wondered if he saw what I had drawn, the difference from the first drawing of him that I drew on the day I met him to the one I made yesterday. In the first one, the sadness was all to clear in his gaze, in the following images the sadness became less evident and his smile truer when he was with me, yet that sadness still lingers.

"You capture me well." Ariston said.

"I draw what I see." I told him.

He continued going through my drawings. Ariston gasped at one of the sketches, his eyes going wide in shock as he examined the drawing intently. I looked away from his face and at it, it was the sketch I made out of the image in my mind of what his wife would look like. Is he upset that I would try and draw her?

After his shock wore off, Ariston smiled and began laughing, a deep booming laugh, I sat there in astonishment. I had never heard him laugh like that, a true laugh. He looked at me, his eyes had tears in them from his laughter.

"She hated dancing." He explained in between his fits of hysteria. I smiled and joined in his laughter. When it died down, he still looked at the drawing before him. "Where did you see her likeness?" He asked, stroking the image tenderly.

"You showed me the photo of your daughter, and you said that she looked like her mother." I told him. "My mind made up the rest."

"It looks exactly like her." Ariston said with a shake of his head and another chuckle. I took a deep breath, I have to ask.

"What happened to her?" I asked. "Your wife?" His expression became pained and a part of me wished I had not asked.

"My wife died, she and our three sons, many years ago." Ariston said, his voice dejected. I was shocked, it is worse than I thought.

"How?" I asked in a whisper.

"A car crash." Was all he said.

I was speechless, no wonder he has such a deep sadness within him. He looked at me and I could not help myself, I threw my arms around him and held him close. After a moment he put his arms around me and accepted the comfort. I put my hand on the back of his head, in his curly soft hair. His hair was warm, as if he had been sitting in the sun.

"I know it does not change anything," I said to him. "But I am so sorry that happened to you, and for all that you have been through since. I can understand where your sadness comes from now." I told Ariston and felt him nod.

He clutched me closer, his breathing deep. I held him for a few minutes more, my cheek next to his, trying to will his wounds to heal, his pain to end. When Ariston pulled back to look into my eyes we were still in each other's arms. He smiled and shook his head.

"Why are you crying?" He asked softly. I did not realize I was, but now I felt the wetness upon my cheeks.

"For your sorrows." I told him.

He looked deeply touched. He reached up and placed his hands on my cheeks and gently wiped the tears away with his thumbs. His hands felt so warm and wonderful on my skin, I closed my eyes. For a moment, I thought I felt his hot breath on my lips, I leaned forward but then it was gone and so were his hands. I opened my eyes, he was still looking at me, longing now apparent in his gaze.

I wanted to kiss him so badly, I wonder how he would react if I did. In the end I decided against it and sat back against the wall.

"What was her name? Your wife?" I asked a few moments later. His eyes seemed distant, a small smile lit his face.

"Elianna." He smiled at the name. "The moment I saw her I fell in love with her." He sighed with a smile on his face. "She was so beautiful, pale blond flowing hair, green eyes, soft skin and such a smile, just as you drew her." His smile widened. "Except for the fact that she hated dancing with the passion that others love it. Every time she had to dance she would make this face, it was adorable. Every time I saw it I remembered her telling me about when her mother would make her dance when she was a little girl, and I could almost see her as a little girl with that stubborn look on her face." He smiled and shook his head. "It was only our children, mainly Kallisto, who could get that woman to dance with a smile on her face." I smiled.

"The moment I saw her I knew I had to have her, and luckily she felt the same about me. The more I got to know her the deeper I fell in love with her. We were married a month after we met. We had four children, three sons, Sophros, Elijah and Solon, and our daughter Kallisto." He said.

"What were your sons like?" I asked after a moment. He smiled and laughed.

"They were like me, a little too much so if you ask me." He laughed and I laughed with him, not being able to imagine that being a bad thing. "Our eldest, Sophros, and our youngest son, Solon, took after me greatly. They were partners in crime, they drove their mother wild with all their mischief. Elianna knew how to handle them though, they thought twice after she would find out their doings. Of course it did not stop them but they tried harder to make sure she did not find out." He laughed.

"Our middle son Elijah may have looked the most like me out of our children, but he was always more like his mother, kind and strong, never one to make mischief and always putting others first. He was truly compassionate."

We sat there for the next hour as Ariston told me stories of his wife and their children, we laughed together about the things his sons would do. He seems a lot freer when he speaks about them.

"... You would think that finding the lion after the two week hunt they endured would have been enough for them but no, they had to taunt the poor animal and fight it." Ariston said, I stared at him with wide eyes and a gaping expression, he laughed.

"That was Elianna and I's reaction when we found out. It took weeks for the claw marks to heal completely." He shook his head and sighed. "I miss them, every moment of every day I miss them." He said, he looked to me and smiled. "Thank you, it has been a long time since I have spoken of them, it feels... good." Ariston said to me with gratitude in his voice.

"You're welcome." I said, looking into his eyes. A moment later a car horn sounded. Why does Margret have to be on time? I wondered with irritation. "That is Margret, I must go." I told Ariston. I opened up my sketch pad and took out the drawing of Elianna, his wife, and handed it to him. "For you." He gave me such a smile.

"My thanks." He said. I smiled, seeing his true gratitude in his eyes.

He stood up and offered me his hand, I smiled and took it, enjoying the feeling of his skin on mine. We were close when I stood up, I was lost in his sky blue eyes, understanding them better now. It was almost as if I could navigate them, but nonetheless, I was still lost in their unfathomable depths. My heart was still pounding and he was still holding my hand, a deep need in his eyes. A car horn startled me out of my daze and I took my hand back as I blushed and picked up my bag.

"Until later." He said with a smile, I nodded, returning his smile.

I finally turned with effort and walked away, I could feel his eyes on me. Margret was waiting for me, I got into her car.

"Hello, Margret." I greeted her, still in a daze as I buckled myself in.

"Hey you." She smiled. "Let me guess, you were with Ariston?" Margret asked.

"How did you know?" I asked, confused.

"You have that look you always get when you have been with him." She told me with a smile, my smile grew and I bit my lip.