Author's Note: Surprise! I love posting two chapters in one day! Again, I do not know when I will post the next chapter. Enjoy my friends, you all know how I love reviews ;)

Love Jasmine

Chapter 13

Tristan, King of Athens, laughed as his noble steed Darious reared up, his brow, wavy hair blowing in the wind. He patted his horse's neck as the stallion pranced around, clearly unsettled by something.

"What's wrong my friend?" Tristan asked his horse in a soothing voice.

"He feels the storm." Alexander, Tristan's closest friend, observed. "I warned this was a bad day for hunting." Tristan shrugged.

"We have hunted in worse." Tristan reminded him, a crooked smile came to Alexander's lips.

"True." He agreed.

Tristan turned his face towards the sky, feeling the heavy humidity weighing down on him from all sides. The sky had darkened considerably, and Tristan's face darkened with it. Storms in the Mediterranean were dangerous things to be certain, they pick up quickly, in varying degrees of violence, depending upon the gods' moods. He hope his people would return to shore in time before the storm truly began.

"We should find shelter." Alexander counseled, and not a moment after, a cold rain began to pour and the wind accelerated. "We have enough rations to wait out the storm."

"Agreed." Tristan nodded to his friend and they set off towards a cave they knew well to wait out the storm.

Psyche had been making good progress. She had run out of water two days before hand, but the juice within the pomegranates was enough to keep her going. Heron's warnings about storms ran through her mind as the first of the icy rain began to fall.

Her cloak was a ragged thing by this time, having many rips and tears within it. It did not take long for Psyche to start shivering, her teeth chattering, as she desperately began searching for shelter. Then the cold truly began to set in. Her bare feet were freezing, her skin covered in goose bumps that hurt when her soaking cloak brushed against it. Psyche ran, with one hand wrapped around her womb, the other holding her wet cloak closed tight around her.

Half an hour had passed. She was getting desperate when she came upon a cave. She ran inside and continued to shiver as she sat down against the wall. She never knew what it was to be cold until now. Her lips were blue, her skin pale as she shivered violently and moved to lay down, facing away from the entrance, as she began to lose consciousness.

Tristan and Alexander rode through the freezing rain until they finally came upon the cavern. They slid off of their horses and led the animals out of the storm; the cave was more than large enough to hold the two horses.

"Build us a fire." Tristan said, Alexander bowed his head and went about making the fire while Tristan took care of the horses.

Dry firewood had been placed within this cave for this reason. Alexander was very skilled in these arts, and so it did not take long for a fire to be lit. His light blue eyes focused on building the fire, making it grow and grow. He then sat back, his eyes shifting up and froze when he caught sight of a shape on the floor. Alexander moved towards the shivering figure on the floor, which could only be a woman.

"My king!" Said Alexander as she rushed over to the woman, kneeling before her.

Tristan turned and rushed over when he saw the woman on the floor. He fell to his knees as he looked upon her, her unkempt black hair obscured most of her face from view.

"My lady." Tristan said as he laid a hand upon her shoulder to turn her over.

The king was more than shocked as he looked upon a face he could not forget if he wanted to. She was dirty, shivering, soaking wet, but he knew that face.

"Psyche?" He whispered.

"Psyche?" Alexander asked in shock, looking upon his king who had spoken of little else since he met the princess in question.

"We have to get her warm." Tristan said in a panic.

"Get her out of the wet clothing." Alexander said as he got up and rushed to their saddlebags, pulling an extra tunic and blanket free.

Tristan removed her cloak and she shivered more. His thoughts did not once stray to her naked body as he quickly undressed her. He picked the princess up into his arms and moved her closer to the fire, laying her down on the blanket Alexander had just placed down, then covering her with its warmth. Tristan stripped out of his clothing and got under the blanket with her, knowing that skin on skin would warm her up faster. He rubbing her arms and back, trying desperately to warm her.

"Heat some wine." Tristan ordered.

"No, wine." Psyche got out; it was the first time she had spoken.

"Psyche?" Tristan said softly.

"No wine." She said again, knowing it was not good for her child.

It was only then that Tristan felt the swell of her womb against him. He was even more shocked, his mind not able to wrap his mind around this. Pregnant?

"What happened to you?" He whispered the question to her. "No... wine." She got out once more before she passed out. "Heat water." Tristan told his friend.

When it was hot enough, Alexander poured some from the pot and into a simple cup. He brought it over and Tristan lifted Psyche's head to the cup. She drank the hot water, two cups of it. When he laid her head back down, Psyche turned into the warmth of his body, wrapping her arms around him, burying her head in his neck as she held him close. This took Tristan by surprise, he did not know that in her mind, it was Eros she was holding.

"She is still too cold." Tristan said, then looked up at Alexander. "Get under here."

Alexander nodded and took his clothing off, getting under the blanket, feeling just how cold the princess was. He looked up at his king's worried face and smiled.

"You and I, naked with the same woman. Who would have thought?" Alexander jested, only to receive a deadly glare from his king.

If Alexander was not one of his closest friends, Tristan would have been a little more than tempted to rip his head off for making such a remark. Psyche was not just a piece of flesh to him. She was a beautiful, radiant, enchanting woman who had captured his much more than just his attentions when he met her. She had a beautiful and eloquent mind, a stunning body and a soul that shines through in such a way it increases her beauty a hundred fold. And right now, she was freezing cold, near death and pregnant. He had no idea what had happened to her since they parted ways, he could only be thankful that he went hunting on this day.

Psyche soon caught a fever. Tristan and Alexander did what they could for her, placing cool cloths upon her head and making certain she drank enough water. For the next three days, the storm persisted and Psyche did not wake from her sickness.

On the third day, the storm had finally cleared. Tristan stayed with Psyche and sent Alexander back to Athens for a doctor and a carriage. They had since dressed Psyche in the tunic, she no longer shivered, it looked as if her fever had broken as well, but she did not wake. Tristan had never felt such worry for one person. He loved his kingdom, treasured every rock within it with the same passion his father had, yet the fear he had felt these past few days was beyond anything he had ever known.

He knew he was in love with her. Whatever had happened, the gods had led her to him, and him to her. He was meant to take care of her, and truth be told, he never wanted her to leave. It made no matter to him that she was pregnant, that some other man had touched her first. She was here now, with him, and he promised himself as he held her hand to his lips, that if she woke, he would do everything in his power as a man and a king to keep her safe and happy.

When the doctor arrived, a man with a stern face and a good heart, he had Tristan leave the cave so that he could look the princess over. Tristan paced outside of the cave until the doctor finally immerged.

"She is malnourished, half starved and still recovering, but she will live." He said and Tristan sighed in relief and smiled in joy. "Although, the fact that her child is still alive is a miracle in itself."

"Can she be moved to my palace?" Tristan asked. "Most certainly." The good doctor said.

Tristan went back inside and kneeled down beside the princess, he moved her matted hair away from her face as he smiled down upon her. He kissed her forehead tenderly and then gathered the princess up into his arms with the greatest of care. He placed her in the carriage, where a bed of soft furs had been made for her. He gave her cheek a soft kiss as he held her hand, still smiling. He mounted his horse and they started off toward his palace.

It was nighttime when they reached the grand manse. The servants looked on in interest, seeing as how rumors had already begun, as they watched their king carry the young woman through the halls of his home and to a guest room that had been prepared for her. The walls were painted a rose color, with designs of an olive orchard in gold. The bed was a grand thing, covered in ivory sheets and comforters. A fire had been lit in the grand hearth, warming the room to a perfect temperature.

Tristan laid Psyche on the bed, placing the covers over her. With one last look upon the woman he was already beginning to think of as 'his' princess, he left the room to take a hot bath. After which, he dressed in clean, fresh clothing and headed back to Psyche's room. He pulled a chair up beside her bed and settled in to wait until she woke.

Psyche was certain she was dreaming. All around her she felt silk instead of the ragged clothing she knew she was wearing. Instead of the hard ground, which she had become accustomed to sleeping upon, she found herself upon a bed that was a bit too soft to be comfortable.

The sweet scents of jasmine and orange blossoms filled the room, confusing her further. My mind has concocted quite a fantasy this time, but perhaps Eros will be here. And with that one thought, she flew into a sitting position a bright smile lighting her features as she looked around for her husbands face. She looked to her right and her face fell. A man sat in the chair, startled awake from the sound of sudden movement in the bed, but it was not her Eros, not her husband. It took her a moment to place his face.

"Psyche?" He said to her softly with a soft smile and something between joy and concern upon his handsome features. She was silent for a time, before recognition dawned upon her face.

"Prince Tristan?" She asked, wondering what was going on. "It is King Tristan now." He told her.

"Your father?" She asked softly, a sadness came over him. "He died three months ago." He told her.

"I am sorry for your loss." She told him.

Psyche looked around the room, realizing by now that, strange as this as, it was not a dream. She was trying to remember how she came to be here. She remembered the storm, finding the cave. The rest was a blur. She remembered warmth, refusing wine in a kind of daze. She had thought it was Eros holding her, she had held onto that warmth for dear life. She met Tristan's sapphire blue eyes.

"Where am I?" She asked.

"Athens." He told her and tears came to her eyes as she shook her head.

"No, no, gods no!" She began crying as she shook her head. "I went the wrong way."

"Psyche," Tristan said in a soothing voice, trying to calm her as he laid a hand upon her arm. "What is wrong?"

"How far am I from Olympus?" She asked him with tears in her eyes.
"Four days, a weeks ride at most." He told her, not understanding her question. She

sighed in relief. Thank the gods, I am closer than I thought.

"Psyche?" Tristan spoke her name again and she turned her dark eyes to meet his blue ones, he was stunned by their beauty for a time before remembering what he wanted to ask.. "How did you end up here?" Tristan asked.

"Now that, is a very long story." She told him, her mind already going over how soon she could leave Athens while Tristan's was going through how long she would stay.