Part 2: Chapter 3

Ariadne

Dionysus stood in front of me, looking at me with those warm dark hazel brown eyes of his. His perfect lips were pulled into an enchanting and mesmerizing smile as he gazed at me with love and affection, and it was so breathtakingly beautiful that it seemed to make my heart swell with emotion and melt in the moment.

It was then he extended both his hands out to me, his palms opened in welcome and facing upwards. His eyes gestured for me to put mine in his, so that we may be linked by touch and feel. I could just imagine the warmth of his body seeping from his fingertips into my hands, radiating throughout my entire body and giving it a pleasurable feel.

Holding my eyes onto his, I made to place one of my hands in his grasp.

But all of a sudden, instead of the feel of his warm skin on mine, I felt an odd sensation. It was the feeling of falling apart bit by bit, slowly disintegrating out of my form, and disappearing slowly. And it was accompanied by the feeling of not being able to feel my own hand. It was as though it had suddenly gone numb and cold; almost lifeless.

With sudden alarm, my eyes tore away from his gaze to look at my hands. Imagine the shock and fear that overwhelmed me when I saw that my skin had been turned into something akin to pale white sand, and that I really was disintegrating and falling apart. The small and soft – nearly non-existent – grains that were supposedly me was being blown away by a breeze that could not be felt and seem to not exist, making me turn less and less with each passing second.

With a yell of fear, I shook my hands in an attempt to get the mysterious sand off me, thinking that it was not truly part of my skin and that it was just something unusual that was covering me. Unfortunately, I had made it worse, for it was my skin that had turned to sand, and the shaking motions of my hands had accelerated the disintegration of my fingers.

Frantically, I looked up and Dionysus in panic. When I had met his eyes once again, I saw that he was blank-faced and his eyes held no emotions within them. That immediately frightened me even more; I found the thought of my husband not showing any form of feeling to be scary, for he was always so full of life and had a manic swing of moods to signify his activeness.

Dionysus' features remained solid and perfect, like he always had been. His blank and empty eyes continued to hold mine, his gaze boring into my soul. He was no longer smiling, his lips only sealed in a straight line. The ten lean and long fingers of his hand closed up slowly as his arms retracted away.

"Dion?!" I cried out his name. "Dion, what is happening?!"

But Dionysus did not say anything. He just kept silent, simply staring

All of a sudden, I saw that he too was starting to disappear, but not in the disintegrating manner that I was going through. Instead, he was simply fading away into nothingness

"Dion!" I cried out in a shrill scream, feeling panic and anxiety starting to rise in my rapidly hammering heart. My hand shot out to grab him, but it only resulted in it easily passing through his vanishing form and the sands to disintegrate further, causing me to lose the entire length of my arms.

It was then I felt the sands blowing away in the non-existent breeze more quickly, and in a matter of just a few seconds, I could hear myself scream as I finally lost my entire body and my face started to feel like it was disappearing as well.

However, my scream continued to sound as the sight of the inside of my sleeping tent came to view.

As I was sitting, my eyes darted all over the interior of the sleeping tent frantically, taking in the stark and clear image of the oil lamps that were placed in all parts to give soft glowing light to the room in the night. Beads of sweat were starting to form on my forehead, sticking bits of my hair to my skin. I could still feel my heart hammering inside my chest, and when I placed my hand above it to somehow calm down its frantic pace, I felt ultimate relief washing over me when I realized that I could the skin of my bare breast which was firm and solid.

It was a dream…. Just a dream… It was… It was just… A… A nightmare…

Suddenly, I could feel a hand being placed only shoulder, causing me to turn my head around in the direction almost instantaneously and my heart to race slightly more. The first thing I saw was Dionysus, who was also sitting up from the sleeping mats that we had both been lying down on.

Far different than the look he had on in my nightmare, his facial features were etched entirely with worry, concern and confusion.

His voice was gentle and full of genuine concern when he asked, "Love? You had a night terror. Is everything alright?"

I did not answer his question, as I realized that I had a lump in my throat that had prevented me from speaking. But I immediately threw my arms around his neck and hugged him, burying my face in the crook of my neck as I tried hard to take in deep breaths to calm myself down. My fingers sought purchase in his luscious wavy locks of dark hair, feeling how soft and silky it felt to my fingertips.

With the feel of his body against mine, I felt even more relieved at the fact that this was no longer my night terror, but he was really here and not fading away into nothingness.

I could feel his arms wrapped around mine tenderly, his hands running up and down my bare back soothingly. I could hear him whisper into my ear gently, "Do not worry, my heart's dearest. I am here. I am here. You are alright. It's okay."

His words immediately sent a warmth that seeped into me, like the warmth of his body. I tightened my embrace on him, wanting to find the security and comfort that I could only get in the arms of my husband. However and unfortunately, I could not feel comforted yet; not when one question started nagging me from deep within my heart.

The question came out in between a gasp of air and a cry of sadness, but it still sounded very clear to be heard.

"Would you still love me, even when I am gone?"

I knew he had heard it, for his body started to tense noticeably when the question had been asked. As I kept my face hidden in the crook of his neck, his arms started to tighten even more around me, causing me to feel even more of his warmth and comfort. His hold seemed protective, caring, loving….

… And somewhat afraid.

Dionysus did not answer my question. Instead, he beckoned me to go back to sleep, telling me that he would be here right beside me so that he can pull me out of a night terror if it starts up once again. With me kept in his strong and gentle embrace, he kissed the top of my head and soothed me to sleep peacefully.

While I did just that very soon after, I still could not help but relieve the awful moments of that scary and disturbing dream.

Dionysus

I watched as she calmly sat at the rock on the edge of the water pool, gazing at her reflection in the clear water with blank concentration but deep thinking. Her leopard was curled up around her with his head resting on her lap. Her fingers were absentmindedly caressing the creature's head, her motions slow and steady.

I think I know what she was thinking about. It was sure to have been the nightmare that she had last night. She had been so afraid and shaken by it when she had abruptly woken up from her sleep with a scream, and it seemed that the dream has still not left her mind. I had a feeling that she was playing the thought of that nightmare in her mind over and over again, recalling every single detail that had happened.

"Love," I called out to her gently, standing by the rock she was sitting on. Her eyes continued to look right at her reflection in the pool's water, but I knew that her attentions were all on me.

With a deep breath, I asked her gently, "Are you alright? Do you still feel shaken over what had happened in you last night?"

Remaining silent, Ariadne nodded her head. I climbed onto the rock and moved then to take a seat right next to her, looking at my face beside her's in the reflection of the water. The leopard moved away from us to join its brothers and sisters that were roaming around in the forests, leaving us the privacy to be on our own. I immediately wrapped my arm around her, pulling her close so that I could have her near me.

Turning my head so that my lips touched her temples, I inquired, "What do you mean when you asked me that? What do you mean when you say that question?"

I could feel Ariadne stiffen suddenly, and her gaze at her reflection become as hard as stone. Her breathing started becoming slow and deep, as though she was trying to calm herself down.

It seems that my question had caused a new disturbance within her, but I could not take back what I had said. I needed to know what had gotten her to be like this.

"Tell me," I beckoned my wife gently. "Tell me what you experienced last night."

Ariadne turned so that she was facing me, and I could saw the pain that was clear in her grey-green eyes. With her free hand, she brought her hand up to trace her fingers gently down my cheeks.

Holding my gaze, she told me, "I had a nightmare… where I was about to take your hand… But before we could touch, I turned to sand and started to disintegrate… I also watched in horror as you faded away into nothing before my very eyes, and I was unable to reach you… I was so afraid, Dion… I was so very afraid…"

She shut her eyes and leaned in to rest the side of her head on my shoulder. I tightened my hold on her, holding her gently and wanting to soothe her.

"I understand what the nightmare meant, Dion…" she whispered painfully. "It meant that every second of my life is passing by, like the sands that disintegrate. Very soon, I will disappear from this world when Death comes upon me, and that I would never see you again because you are immortal… You will live forever, while I will die when the time comes…"

I did not like where this conversation was going. Now, I knew of the fact that, because Ariadne was still a mortal, and thus her time would reach an end once her thread of life had been cut. But I did not want to think of the fact that Ariadne would leave this world soon. It only helped to make me feel a heavy pain in my heart.

Immediately, I told her in firm disapproval, "No. No, do not say that, Ariadne. Nothing has happened to you. You are not gone. You are still here. You are still breathing. You are still alive. And you are still with me."

Ariadne shook her head as looked up at me, and it was then I could see that tears were already forming in her eyes. Some were already streaming down her cheeks, and I quickly kissed them away. I mopped up her tears gently with my lips, before pressing it full against her lips. I kissed her with all the love I had for her, feeling the strong urge to wipe away the fear that lingered deep in her heart.

But then, she pushed me away so that I was looking at her again. With a questioning gaze, she asked me, "Why do you not turn me into your kind? That way, I could easily be alive with you forever. We would never have to worry of time taking me away from you. We would never be separated."

Her words made me completely still, and it caused me to think of how much I could not easily do what she had suggested.

With a heavy sigh, I told her hesitantly, "I cannot simply do that…"

Her eyes became pained again almost instantaneously, and she asked quietly in disbelief, "Why not?"

How do I tell her? How do I tell her that I was not doing this because I do not want to, but because I simply could not? The thought of turning Ariadne immortal was not something to be taken lightly. I simply cannot give her ambrosia, the great and powerful drink of the gods, and turn her into an immortal. Ambrosia was truly sacred, and it cannot be simply given to one that was not a being of divinity. Thus, Ariadne was strictly forbidden from drinking ambrosia, because she was just a mortal.

If she was to drink the sacred ambrosia, she would have to have permission from the highest being of order of all, which would be Zeus. He knew that she was my wife, but had not made any sort of acknowledgement to her. I thought that was more of a good thing, for I did not express any interest for Ariadne to mingle around with other gods when she was still a vulnerable mortal.

When I realized I had remained silent for too long, Ariadne finally told me in a quiet – and very disappointed and sad – murmur, "It is alright… You do not have to explain yourself, my husband… Furthermore, I think it would be unfit for someone of my age to become immortal… Because I am now old, and you are still youthful… I will never look the part of your wife…"

This time, her words made me frown, because what she was saying about herself was a complete and utter lie.

"No. Never say that, Ariadne," I told her firmly. "You are the most beautiful woman in my eyes. No other, not even a goddess, could ever hold a candle to the beauty that you possess, my lovely Ariadne. To me, you are all, and so much more, that I could ever wish to have. I can honestly proclaim to you that I feel blessed to have you as my wife."

Thankfully, my words seemed to have lightened up her spirits, for a smile graced her lovely lips after that. Her smile caused my own to appear, and I promptly pulled her into another embrace. She wrapped her arms around me as well, hugging me as gently and as tightly as I did her.

But even with us sharing in this intimate moment, the tension of her qualms – and mine – still lingered faintly in the air around us.

Ariadne

After our conversation at the pool, we returned to the campsite not long after. By then, everyone was getting ready for our nightly revelries, with some starting to get drunk on the wine already.

I made my way back to the sleeping tent I shared with Dionysus, with him following right behind me as he oversaw the preparations. I entered first, immediately taking a seat on one of the strewn cushions on the floor.

Once I had sat down and focused on the quiet air in the tent, I immediately started to think over what had been talked about during the conversation. I replayed all the words that had been said by the both of us, and thought over the questions that arose from them.

Most importantly, it was the question of why Dionysus seemed hesitant at the thought of turning me into an immortal. Did Dionysus not want me to be an immortal like him? The thought of it frightened me, and I could not help but worry over the assumptions that came with the thought of that prospect.

What if he had intended for it to be this way? What if he intended for me to grow old, so that I was no longer around him any longer? What if… What if…

NO! What was I thinking?! How could I even come up with such absurd assumptions such as that?! I had unintentionally thought badly of my husband, and I feel so very ashamed! I should be punished for even thinking like that, especially when I remembered that he had told me the most beautiful and truthful words of his from just now.

I think I would know the real reason why he had refused to answer my question. Quite, I knew that to turn someone into an immortal was indeed a very huge responsibility; even if I was a human, I understood the importance of it. And sometimes, it was unknown whether or not it was a wise decision.

Oh, how I was glad Dionysus was not able to read my foul thoughts about him. If not, then I would really feel so ashamed for belittling him…

Wait.

Where was Dionysus?

I snapped out of my long train of thought and started to look around the tent, finally letting the realization that I was still all alone in it seep into me. Where was my husband? He had been following closely behind me just a while ago when we were making our way back, but yet he was not inside?

I got up from the pillow I was sitting on and made my way outside. When I had gone through the tent flaps, I promptly scanned through the crowd of Dionysus' followers, looking out for him.

But I could not find him anywhere. He was not here.

"My lady!"

I turned my head in the direction of the voice and saw a young Maenad skipping towards me. I recognized the Maenad to be a youngling named Kyria, and I have interacted with her a few times. She was usually one of those in my retinue who would follow me to bathe or dance with me during our festivities.

Kyria came to a stop beside me, her face slightly flushed by, what I could only assume, wine. With a bubbling laugh in her voice, she told me, "My lady, my lord has left you a sudden message that he will not be here for a while!"

That piece of news immediately made me confused, and a slightly bit worried.

"Where has he gone off to?" I questioned her, feeling anxiety rise at the thought that my husband had just left for somewhere without telling me beforehand.

With a sudden smile, she exclaimed, "Off to Mount Olympus! Home of the gods! Swift-footed Hermes with the fancy sandals with wings arrived not long after you and my lord had returned! Says that my lord is needed in Mount Olympus immediately and without delay!"

I began to feel worried then. It had just been a while ago that Dionysus and I had the conversation of me becoming an immortal. Had that caused his sudden call to his true home? Would it be the very thing that could get him in trouble there? I could only hope not, and I prayed that nothing bad would happen to him.

"It seems that he is needed there for something important!" Kyria said cheerily as she twirled around me. "Flying Hermes says that the great and mighty Zeus called for him, which is why he is needed there immediately!"

The heavy feeling in my heart started becoming worse.

Dionysus

Ah, Mount Olympus.

Standing on the front courtyard after entering through the great golden gates, I gazed at the palace that was crafted entirely out of pure white marble and solid gold that shone in the light of the golden sun. Admiring it then brought a sense of nostalgia to my heart, and I wondered how long it had been since I had last been here. Probably, the last time I was here was a few years ago.

But my unexpected visit today was not one for relieving memories and admiring the home I had not been in for a long time. I knew that the true reason for my presence here today was a far more serious situation.

"Would you mind telling me why I am here?" I questioned Hermes for the umpteenth time as I followed him towards the palace.

Keeping his eyes focused on the path ahead of him, Hermes only sighed and answered, "You will find out soon enough, Dionysus."

Author's Note:

Uh-oh! Ariadne's dealing with some personal issues with her age, and Dionysus is suddenly called back to Mount Olympus? Was their conversation the sole reason for his sudden call, or will it be something else? Something far more serious?

Find out on the next chapter on Friday!

Muse of Fanfiction