A/N: I am SOOOOOO sorry for not updating sooner!! I have been so caught up with school and all…ANYWAY, I know this is an EXTREMELY short little chappie BUT it leads to bigger deals (as you'll see by the end of this) and so yea…don't worry I got the whole thing planned out J .

Irene: I was going to email you, and im extremely sorry I couldn't : the mail server kept telling me that your address wasn't at yahoo, so im sorry I couldn't figure it out!! I tried! Im glad you like my story!!

CHAPTER 9

Aaralyn groggily opened her eyes and rolled over on the bed she slept in. Propping her head on her elbow, she could just make out the form of Erik sitting in the chair across from her through the cobwebs of the sleep in her eyes. Looking back on the events of the night before, she laid her head back on the pillow and sighed softly…

She had had a nightmare about her mother's unforgettably horrible death. It had gotten so bad that she woke from a deep slumber in her terror and pain of remembrance and ran into Erik's arms, not knowing why he had come, but knowing she had called his name. She had cried and cried in his embrace, Stupid, foolish, childish me…She thought.

Glancing in his direction, she wondered why Erik was still here. Secretly hoping that there was some unexplained admirable reason for his actions, she got up and walked over to the chair he slept in, kneeling down beside him. She brushed a few stray raven colored hairs from his face and laid her head on his shoulder, silently thanking him for his understanding. She felt strong fingers caress her cheek, and lifted her head to see that he was awake and smiling a rare, warm, smile. Taking his hands in hers, she pulled him gently from the chair and asked him, "So, what's for breakfast?"

* * *

Some time later, Erik and Aaralyn sat, munching on eggs and toast, on a large blanket near the lake in the fashion of a cheerful picnic. After talking and laughing for a good amount of time, Erik hesitated to ask, "Aaralyn, why were you crying last night? What happened to your mother?"

Aaralyn looked down at her toast, not really wanting to answer but knowing that she would. He had a right to know after all…

She told him everything, every tiny detail, from the moment her parents had divorced to the night of her beloved mother's death, all the way to when she met her birth father…

"That's when I learned to play the piano," she went on. "I was only about six or seven years old, but he would teach me and I would practice every day…"she sighed wistfully.

"Then I learned to sing! Oh, what a joy that was!"

She continued to weave the tale of her childhood to him, and he listened intently for several minutes.

When she finished, they began to clear the dishes on the blanket in comfortable silence, he stealing fleeting glances at her and she doing the same. She stood up.

Unexpectedly, she jerked backwards slightly at the force of a deep cough. Erik handed her a handkerchief and she took it gratefully, continuing to cough. "I'm sorry," she said. "Forgive me,"

"Are you alright?" Erik asked, concerned.

"I'm fine. I promise, this happens every once in a while…" She handed him back his kerchief and he noticed a spot of blood painting the once brilliantly white fabric.

* * *

A/N: PLEASE R&R! It means so much to me when you guys respond…even in a negative way (hey, gotta learn somehow….J ) TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!!!! Please!!!