Part 1: Chapter 10

Dionysus

As the days passed by, I fell into some sort of routine. Once I had woken up in the morning and I have finished my round around my camp, I would spend the entire day with Ariadne, until nightfall came and I had to go back to my camp to enjoy the nightly revelry. During my time with her, which would be spent at either the lake or at the seaside, we would just talk. But as the days passed, we gradually got quite comfortable in each other's presence, not even minding if there were silent moments in between.

Soon, I realized that thoughts of Ariadne had begun to frequent my mind. There were never a few minutes where I would not have one single thought of her. I could be dancing to my heart's content or drinking with gusto, and an image of her eyes or her smile would suddenly pop up in my mind.

I really wondered; why? Why did I have such thoughts of her? What was it about her that has left such a deep impression in me? Maybe it was because of spending too much time with her, but I had a very good feeling that it was not because of that.

But I realized that, whatever that reason may be, I find that I do not mind.

And it was not only me that was getting more comfortable with the girl. Ariadne too has been getting closer and closer to 'Cynthia', now more at ease in the secret goddess' presence to the point of being able to call her a 'friend'. I found out from Artemis that Ariadne has indeed been gifting prayers of worship and praise to her, and I was glad that she has managed to keep hold of my half-sister's good graces, and even more than glad that Artemis does not seem to mind about her so much anymore, even letting go of the fact that Ariadne was not a maiden.

Right now, I was once again making my way to the grove, knowing that she would be there waiting, or with 'Cynthia'. Whatever it was, I just moderately kept pace so that I would be able to reach her in just a few minutes.

Finally, the stream came into view, and I promptly jumped over it to continue on my path to the grove. The area was serene as usual, with the sounds of the soft travelling of freshwater in the stream and the chirping of the little birds high up in the trees.

"Ariadne?" I called out to let her know of my presence. "Ariadne, I'm here."

But just as I had walked into the grove, I saw a sight that made me stop in my tracks.

Huddled close to the thick bushes was Ariadne, who was trembling fervently as she sat with her knees drawn to her chest and her arms wrapped tightly around it. She looked like a complete mess, with dark circles shadowing around her eyes and her long pale blonde hair in a mess around her pretty yet terrified face.

Worry instantly filled my heart before I could stop it.

"Ariadne!" I cried out her name as I hurried to her side. "What happened? Is something wrong?"

As though instinctively, I took her into my arms, wanting so very much to comfort her right now. She seemed to have been in a trance, not noticing I was there until I had held her gently against my chest. When she finally did realize, she suddenly gripped handfuls of my chiton with trembling hands, burying her face into the cloth as she held on to me almost desperately.

As I shushed her quietly, I then became aware that this was the first time since the night I had met her that I have seen her so broken and terrified. For some reason, I felt myself became so overcome with worry and concern for her. It almost terrified me to see her in such a state. It only reminded me that she was, after all, human, and she was so very damn fragile.

I truly did want to know what had happened to make her seem so terrified. Her haggard appearance only made me see more clearly how whatever that had happened had affected her so terribly to the point of not being able to get even a wink of sleep last night and nearly entering a breakdown.

Ariadne continued to tremble and shake, inhaling and exhaling harsh and shaky breaths of air. But luckily, she did not cry, thank goodness.

I held her closer to me, rubbing my hand up and down gently on her back to give her some comfort. As softly as I can limit my voice to be, I asked again, "Ariadne, what happened?"

Slowly, she started to calm down, taking deep breaths to recollect herself. But she did not loosen her grip onto me and continued to stay in my arms, seeming to have found comfort in them.

I could hear her murmur, "Last night… Last night…"

I prompted her gently, "What happened last night?"

Continuing to murmur, she said, "I heard those same sorts of noises again… Drunken laughter and screaming... But they sounded so hysterical, almost mad and psychotic… Whoever it was had been right on the other side of the stream… They had been so very close… If they had crossed the stream, they could have found me… I could have been…"

Suddenly, her breathing started quickening, and I tighten my hold on her to somehow prevent her from going into hysteria. I shushed her, starting to rock her gently to soothe her.

She continued in a shaky voice, "I was so afraid… I think they may have heard me… I could not sleep… I was so scared that they might find me…"

Inwardly, I grimaced at the thought. I knew very well who those voices might be. Who else would be drunk and hysterical in the night, except for my followers? I knew that it had been my followers as well that few days ago when Ariadne had first slept in this very grove. I cursed mentally at the thought that they could have caused her so much stress.

Masking away my irritation and slowly-growing anger, I tried hard to soothe and calm her once again. "Hush…" I shushed her quietly, bringing my hand to gently stroke her soft blonde hair. "It's alright now, Ariadne. You are here, unharmed. You are safe. Whatever it was last night did not manage to find you."

For the next few minutes that followed, we stayed that way; both of us sitting on the grass, her in my arms as I held her gently and shushed her soothingly. As the seconds ticked by, she seemed to slowly get a grip on herself, because she stopped her frantic breathing and managed to resume a normal paced one.

Very slowly, Ariadne pushed herself away from me so that she could look at my face. As she gripped my shoulders gently, not fully pulling away, I studied her face, and saw that the fear that haunted her beautiful grey-green eyes were no longer there, though she still looked very shaken.

"Come on," I said gently, getting up on my feet as I pulled her up onto hers. "Let's get you relaxed."

She obeyed, though I could notice her swaying as she tried to balance on her two feet. Keeping a steady hold on her, I led her to the nearby apple tree, sitting her down on the grass with her back against the trunk. Leaving her, I stretched upwards to grab some nice red apples for her to eat, because I could tell from the look on her face that she seemed famished from her scare.

But just as I was about to grab one, a streak of sunlight suddenly glinted off something very shiny, with one of the shine rays hitting my in the eye. Curious, I turned to look at the shining object, and I realized that it was something very familiar.

Atop a pile of half folded dresses was the silver vial that I had given to Ariadne the morning after I first met her. The vial that I had kept wine in, as a gift to her.

I remembered very clearly the hesitancy on her face when I had told her that it was wine, and I knew for sure that she suspected that I must have drugged it or something. Now, I began to wonder if she had even drunk it.

To find out, I went to it and picked it up from where it lay on the pile of clothes. True to what I had assumed, she did not drink the wine at all. I could still feel the full volume of wine in it, and I was sure that not even a drop of it had been gone.

I turned my head behind to see Ariadne looking blankly ahead into the distance, staring at the trees. She seemed so deep in thought that I had no heart to call her out of her concentration.

Turning back to the vial in my hands, I opened the cap to inhale the content. Having aged a few days, the wine had taken on a new, slightly tangy undertone in its scent. But nonetheless, it still smelled very sweet and tart with the grapes and honey and spices.

Suddenly, I had a new idea on what the wine could be used for now. It may help Ariadne greatly.

I returned to Ariadne's side, picking the apple that I had intentionally intended to pick. She finally turned to look at me as I broke off the apple perfectly in the middle and handed her one half.

She smiled a small smile that was heavy with fatigue but full of gratefulness. "Thank you, Dion," she said as she accepted the apple half. Slowly, she took a small bite of the juicy flesh, and I could hear the firm crunch when her teeth bit into it and break it off into her mouth. She chewed slowly, relishing in the sweet ripeness of the red fruit.

Minding not to stare at her for too long, I too started to eat the other half of the ripe red apple, playing absentmindedly with the silver vial of wine in my hand. I stared blankly at the trees, thinking many random thoughts.

Her voice was what broke me out of my daydream. "Dion?" she said quietly.

Immediately returning back to reality, I turned to look at her and asked, "Yes, Ariadne?"

The first thing I noticed was the hesitance that could clearly be seen in her eyes, which was further confirmed by the slightly pursing of her lips. I saw her fingers, now no longer holding the devoured apple half, twiddling aimlessly. Her eyes became downcast, focusing their sights on her fidgeting fingers.

"Ariadne?"

She looked up and once again held my gaze with hers. With a sigh, she told me, "I need to tell you something."

"What is it?" I asked, curious and concern.

With another sigh, she said, "I won't get into the full story, but I will tell you how I got here on this island. I think it's about time you knew."

Suddenly, I could feel my hear tracing in anticipation. Internally, I was glad that I could finally hear the truth from her lips. I did not know why, since I secretly knew everything that had happened to her, thanks to Hermes. But I did not tell her that, of course. It could raise too many questions that I knew I did not want to answer… yet.

"Okay…Are you sure?" I inquired, giving her the chance to refuse while she still had it.

Once again, hesitance was clear on her face, but she nodded her head in confirmation. I guess that she was trying to fight her growing hesitancy, not wanting it to stop her.

"Yes," she replied. "I think that I can no longer keep you in the dark. You need to know."

I did not say anything in reply, but I nodded my head, telling her that I understood and she could continue.

With a deep breath, she finally answered in a strained voice, "I was abandoned here by my ex-lover, Theseus. He was the one who took me away from my homeland, telling me that he wished to marry me. But he lied, and he left me here to die when he got bored and had made full use of me."

Almost spontaneously, tears began to fall from Ariadne's eyes. They flowed down her pale cheeks in slow rivulets, gathering at the tip of her chin before falling onto a certain spot of her dark blue dress. She sniffled lightly as she started to wipe away the new tears, and I could feel her trying hard to maintain composure.

"I gave up everything I had… for him…" she continued in a strangled voice. "I was so foolish to abandon everything that had mattered the most to me… for someone who couldn't… no, wouldn't… give a single damn about me… I was an idiot… A complete, stupid idiot… This was my own fault…"

Finally, she seemed to not be able to control it any longer. She masked her face with her hands and began to sob into her palms. Her cries sounded only a bit muffled, but I could feel the pain and agony that lay within her.

Her cries were so heart-wrenching that I immediately felt so very sympathetic. Partly, because she, as a mortal, could not control her sadness no matter how hard she tried, and she could immediately become so fragile and vulnerable under the power of that emotion. However, it also made me sad to hear about her losing everything that was dear to her.

Yes, I will admit that her predicament was partly her fault. I could not turn a blind eye to that one fact. It was she herself that foolishly and impulsively trusted Theseus just because she thought that she was in love with him. In truth, she was not in love with Theseus; she was only attracted to him.

And that just shows how blind attraction can be fatal.

But I also could not blame the whole thing on her. She was just one naïve princess; that was her only downside. But Theseus, on the other hand, had gone on a whole new level of treachery, and to a woman! He knew that he did not love Ariadne and wanted nothing to do with her, but he only lied about loving her just so that he could keep his sorry excuse of a life. And in the end, he abandoned her on an island by herself without – I presume – so much of hesitation and gladly took her younger sister as his new paramour.

"I didn't tell you this until now, but I still have nightmares of the day he left me, Dion…" she quietly admitted as she wiped away the last of her tears. "Each time I did, I hoped that the outcome was different… That I might be able to wake up from the nightmare and find myself back home in Crete, with the mess never having started… But with each passing day, it hurts to know that it isn't possible…"

To be honest, Ariadne did not deserve such a thing happening to her. I felt sympathetic that it had. Completely and truly sympathetic. And to be honest, I wanted to help her very much.

Silently, I carefully reached out and tucked a strand of her blonde hair delicately behind her ear. I could hear her gasp under her breath and she looked at me in surprise, clearly not expecting me to do such a thing. But she did not protest to the contact. In fact, when I had delicately cupped her cheek, she gently leaned her face into my palm. I could feel her warmth seeping into my skin, and it felt so nice.

Ariadne brought her gaze to my hand, and she hesitantly reached her own hand up to trail her fingers on the back of my hand. "Your skin is… so soft," she murmured in awe. "It feels like velvet… And it's so warm, like a fire in a hearth…"

Suddenly, she blushed a bright red, and I could feel her warmth increasing. Looking at me shyly, she said with a small bashful smile, "I'm sorry to have said such a silly thing. But it truly is soft and warm."

I smiled at seeing her so relaxed again, feeling relief that she was seemingly more relaxed. Slowly, I withdrew my hand, and I felt surprised at seeing her disappointment of losing our minor skin contact. But then, her expression changed to one of confusion when I presented her the vial in my other hand.

"Here," I said, gesturing for her to take the vial. "Drink this."

Hesitancy returned to her face as she gazed at the chalice. "Dion…"

I cut her off swiftly by saying in a gentle voice, "I know that you are hesitant to drink it because you fear that it may be tainted. But I assure you, and I give you my honest word, that this wine is not. Drink this, and you will feel more relaxed. It will help you calm, and not think of the bad things."

Ariadne eyed me cautiously, and I truly could not blame her. But there must be something in her that has seen the truth in my eyes and that has heard the truth in my words, and I could only hope that she would use it to finally believe me.

As though blessed, she slowly reached out for the vial and took it in her own hands. gently, she uncapped it, and she sighed in pleasure as she breathed in the sweet perfume of the fine drink.

"It still smells so divine…" she murmured, breathing in another lungful of the aroma. She looked high from the scent, and I wondered then how high she would be if she drank more than just a vial of the drink.

"Taste it. It is even more divine," I urged her gently.

With caution yet carefulness in her movements, she brought the vial to her lips. I could notice a moment of hesitation there, but it disappeared quickly when she tipped it and drank the entire content in a few sips.

The vial was completely empty by the time she pulled it away from her lips, and she gasped loudly. Her eyes were wide and astonished, looking around the trees as though she had never seen such trees before.

Before I could ask her of how she was feeling, she suddenly exclaimed loudly, "By the Gods! That is divine!"

Truth be told, I actually jumped from her sudden reaction. For the past few days I have been with her, I have never seen Ariadne like that. As I watched her curiously, she continued to look at her surroundings in awe.

"This is so amazing!" she suddenly said. "I feel so relaxed all of a sudden. It's as though my mind is so clear now! And everything looks so much more brighter and colorful! This is beautiful!"

By the tone of her voice, I could already tell that she was starting to slowly slip into the ecstasy of wine. Well, that was quite fast. Maybe she was not a usual drinker, which was why she could slip into the ecstasy it brought in just a short amount of time. Whereas, I needed at least a few full chalices of it to completely succumb.

Suddenly, Ariadne stood up, pulling my hands to get me to stand as well. "Come, Dion! The day is bright and beautiful!" she exclaimed joyfully with a big smile on her weary-ridden face. "Let us enjoy it!"

Indeed it shocked me to see her so carefree, but it made me glad to see her like that as well. I could only wish I could see this side of her more often.

Without hesitation, I allowed her to pull me up and lead me deeper into the forest. She skipped and bounced lightly, letting go of my hands to twirl clumsily. Her joyful giggles and hearty laughter mingled with the sounds of the forest critters and the chirping birds.

Despite it being caused by drunkenness, I somehow had a feeling that her laughter seemed to be true on the inside.

We said nothing to each other, only enjoying our time frolicking together.

XXX

Two hours passed, and Ariadne became tired.

When she was dancing in the middle of a clearing near the lake, the effects of wine had started to wear off, and her exhaustion from her lack of sleep last night was finally catching up to her. She stopped her feet from moving as the pair had been in the middle of dancing, and she let out a big yawn

"Dion…" she mumbled as she slowly came to me. "I'm sleepy…"

Without hesitation, I gently led her to an oak tree nearby, which provided a good and nice shade from the brightness of the Sun. I sat down against its trunk and beckoned her to follow. She did so too, but then she started to lie down on the grass and rest her head on my thigh, using it as some sort of pillow. I tensed all of a sudden, surprised that she had done such a thing.

"I hope you do not mind…" she mumbled as she slowly started to fall into slumber. "But I really am tired…"

Slowly and carefully, I rested my hand on the side of her head, gently running my fingers through her pale blonde hair. She sighed in relaxation as she nuzzled closer to me. The closeness between us started to feel very comforting to me, and I hoped to her as well.

Soothing her to sleep, I replied, "No, I do not… Rest well, Ariadne…"

I saw her pale pink lips lifting into a small and tired smile as she slowly started to close her eyes. Just before she finally fallen under Hypnos' spell, she whispered, "Thank you, Dion…"

Very soon, she was fast asleep, breathing deeply and soundly. Seeing her asleep reminded me of the time I found her sleeping on the beach the morning after the night I had found her. Like that morning, she looked utterly at peace in her sleep, with no inch of worry or stress ruining her features. She looked absolutely calm and relaxed.

That very sight was enough to make me smile.

Author's Note:

Okay, I swear to you guys that the moment of truth will arrive shortly! Sorry if some of you are so irked by how long it was taking, but everything is slowly building up perfectly (in my opinion!) to that moment!

Gosh, I am terribly damn excited! Wonder what will happen to Ariadne next?

See you on Friday!

Muse of Fanfiction