It was late in the morning as the pair made their way down the dirt road, leaving Corinth behind them. They went at a steady pace, having more than enough time to reach Kora's before the other cadets. Jason glanced behind him quickly before smirking.
"You look ridiculous. Anyone would think you are a robber or a god in disguise."
His companion turned their head so stiffly, he knew that they were glaring at him. He had to assume this due to the hooded cloak they wore covering their entire body and, most importantly, their face. Jason shrugged and turned forward again.
"If you were me, this would not seem ridiculous. And I don't care what anyone thinks of my cloak.
"If you didn't care about what they think, you wouldn't be dressed like-"
"I care about what people do, not about what they think. Remember that."
Jason silently mimicked the words "Remember that" with a quick roll of the eyes.
"Alright, alright, let's just get to Kora's."
They walked for another ten minutes before reaching a coral pink building made out of clay with colorful decorations on the outside. The sounds inside were pretty loud, meaning that most of the cadets were probably hanging out in there before the semester started up. Jason led the way into the eatery, instantly causing people to turn and greet him. He waved and smiled and even hugged some of the people. His companion kept their hood as low as possible and just followed quickly behind. Many of the cadets stared at the cloaked figure, but since Jason made no issue about it, they didn't either. They stopped at a table where two young cadets were standing. One had long curly, dirty blonde hair with a small build and the other was tall and had very yellow blonde hair. While the short one was eyeing the obvious owner of the establishment, the other was resting his arms on the table, drink in hand. He was the one who noticed Jason first out of the pair of them. His face broke into a smirk as he stood up straight and clasped arms with his friend.
"Jase, how've you been?"
The curly haired boy turned and smiled before greeting him. Jason gave a small chuckle.
"Same as ever. Keeping the peace is a nightmare, still trying to learn the ropes, but, hey, I love Corinth!"
Both boys suddenly noticed the hooded figure in Jason's shadow. Simultaneously, they leaned to the side, attempting to look under the hood. The person turned away and Jason got their attention by smacking the table.
"Now, now. This is a friend of mine. No peeking and you'll get to meet them formally up at the Academy," he told them sternly before turning to his friend," This is Hercules and Iolaus."
Each boy raised their hand in turn with a skeptical expression. The mystery person nodded in recognition. They glanced around before the boys were taken aback at the sound of a soft feminine voice coming out of the hood.
"I thought you said you had a friend named Lilith."
"She'll meet us at the Academy," Hercules answered, attempting to look under the hood again.
His glance was rewarded with a view of very light brown, almost blonde, hair. The mysterious girl turned away with a huff, having noticed his peeking. Hercules pretended to be innocent by turning away and whistling quietly. The girl turned to the door.
"I'll continue on then. Might as well introduce myself to Cheiron before the other cadets get there."
She was already moving to the door when Iolaus suddenly ran in front of her. She stumbled back in surprise, but caught herself. He made an obvious attempt to look at her face, but got swatted away.
"You shouldn't go alone. The roads can have some nasty people on it."
"I think I can manage."
She pushed him away, only to be stopped by Hercules. The mystery girl groaned in annoyance. She glanced back at Jason only to catch him chuckling to himself. Hercules have her a winning smile.
"Iolaus is right. Let's all get going. We can get to know each other better. A friend of Jason's is a friend of ours."
The girl scoffed and pulled her cloak tighter around her.
"I should have gone to the Amazons. But...since I chose the Academy...I assume I can't escape the two of you. If you insist, fine. Let's go."
She pushed past the two boys who high fived. Iolaus quickly followed her out of the restaurant while Hercules turned to Jason. He wiggled his eyebrows at him.
"Friend or girlfriend?" he asked.
Jason rolled his eyes and punched him in the arm as they exited.
"Only a friend. Ever. But that doesn't mean anyone at the Academy stands a chance with her."
"Ahh, don't say that..."
"I'm going to enjoy watching you all try, though!"
Jason laughed mysteriously, leaving Hercules confused, but they caught up with the pair easily and walked in a single line down the dirt path. Iolaus was already talking her head off.
"So! You're from Corinth?"
"Yes."
"Live in the palace?"
"Sort of."
"So that's how you know Jason?"
"Yes."
"Are you single?"
"Are you?"
"Yes."
"Then no."
Jason and Hercules openly laughed at that while Iolaus went silent and moved away from her. It took them less than five minutes to reach the Academy. The boys led her straight into the training hall where Cheiron was already setting things up for the arrival of the cadets. He smiled and turned to greet them.
"Good to see you boys are doing well. And who is this?"
Jason stepped up.
"Cheiron, this is-"
"Nerissa. I feel very honored to be attending your Academy."
Hercules and Iolaus gaped at the girl. She had pulled the cloak off to reveal herself to be astonishingly beautiful. Her light brown hair fell around her shoulders in waves, framing an almond shaped face with a glowing skin tone. Her skin was baby smooth and had no tan, but was not pale in the least. She had bright green eyes that were intelligent and her body was perfectly proportioned as if she had been sculpted by the best sculptor Greece had to offer. She had on a female warrior's outfit, but it had a very feminine aspect by being made out of soft cloth along with leather. The clothes were a unique color as she had a baby blue leather skirt, with black shorts underneath, and a baby blue cloth shirt that stopped short of her diaphragm so that her stomach was revealed. She was drop dead gorgeous. Hercules and Iolaus could feel themselves being pulled toward her by a force beyond their control. Or at least, beyond a force they wanted to control.
"Ah, yes," Cheiron nodded," I hope that you will like it here. Just, uh, try not to let the company you keep effect your grades here."
He smirked and gave the boys a sneaky look. Nerissa glanced around at the boys and nodded seriously. She seemed to frown at how they slowly kept moving closer.
"I promise I won't. I will work very hard."
The centaur smiled at her.
"You are your father's daughter after all, correct?"
Nerissa visibly cringed.
"I...do my best. It is hard with a mother like Aphrodite."
Hercules's jaw dropped at this revelation.
"A-A-Aphrodite?"
Cheiron looked over at him.
"Yes. And her father is Balian, Captain of the Palace Guard of Corinth."
Iolaus leaned over to whisper to Hercules.
"What would make the Goddess of Love and Beauty fall for that old stiff?"
That comment earned him a glare from Nerissa that made him squeak in fear. She turned back to Cheiron with a bow.
"As for the room you requested for your own personal use, it will take about a month to set up."
Nerissa's face went pink with embarrassment. The boys found it rather adorable, Jason included.
"I am so sorry to put you through trouble like this, I-"
Cheiron held up a hand to stop her from speaking.
"Don't be. You explained well enough in your letter that I understand it is necessary. Until then you will sleep where the other cadets do. Jason, Hercules, Iolaus, please show her around and make her feel welcome."
The boys nodded and Cheiron cantered off somewhere. Nerissa turned to the boys and started as Hercules and Iolaus were now practically breathing down her neck. Using her hands, she pushed each of them back a few inches. Iolaus suddenly took her hand in both of his.
"If I may say so, you are gorgeous. Nothing less could be expected from a daughter of Aphrodite."
Nerissa pulled her hand away.
"Thank you, but your flattery is not appreciated."
There was an awkward pause until Jason clapped Iolaus on the back.
"I haven't played ball in forever. Let's go."
Iolaus started getting dragged off, protesting about staying with Nerissa. Hercules turned and shouted after them.
"But what about showing her around?"
"It's boring. You do it," Jason told him before the two boys disappeared around the corner.
Hercules made a face after them but turned to Nerissa with a small laugh. He shrugged.
"So, shall we begin."
Nerissa's eyes scanned him over from his leather boots, up his leather pants, over his yellow leather vest, and up into his bright blue eyes. Zeus's eyes. A slight smile graced her lips.
"You are your father's son," she stated, shaking her head.
Hercules's smile fell and he stepped closer to her, making her go rigid.
"You've met my father?"
Nerissa cleared her throat and stepped back. Looking away she put a hand in front of her to keep him back.
"I shouldn't have said that, I'm sorry."
"No, it's just that I-"
She shook her head, stopping him.
"I know what you want, Hercules. You want to meet your dad, you want him to acknowledge you, and you want to know all about him. I don't want to be the one you irritate to death in your attempt to find answers, so I'll explore on my own."
She was about to walk away, but Hercules stopped her by putting a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry. I won't do that to you, I promise."
Hercules suddenly bowed with a smirk on his face, his hand stretched out to the side.
"This way my lady to the sleeping chambers."
Nerissa's mouth opened as if she were going to say something, but she decided against it, shrugging, and went in the direction suggested. As Hercules promised, he didn't ask her about Zeus. He only told her all about the Academy, the adventures he and his friends had gotten pulled into, and explained how bad the food was. He also talked a lot about his mother, Alcmene. Nerissa could tell that he loved her very much. She told him that much, making him blush slightly.
"She's the best," he admitted, sitting down on the edge of the well outside.
Jason and Iolaus were loudly playing ball not too far away, but they were so into their game that they didn't bother with the other two.
"It was hard, you know," Hercules continued," She had to raise me by herself and, I know for a fact, I had to be a handful. But, she did a good job. She's great and...yeah, I do love her a lot."
Nerissa smoothed her skirt down.
"More than anyone in the world."
"Hm?"
Hercules looked at her in confusion. The girl looked up at him. She was easily just shy of being taller than Iolaus so Hercules was rather tall in comparison. She hopped onto the well beside him and smiled to herself.
"I can tell how much love someone has in their heart. And so I know you love your mother the most in the world. Then there are those two, the girl Lilith, and Cheiron. You may not think about it much, but you can tell how good a person is inherently just by knowing how many people they love. You, Hercules, have a good heart and love many people. You're an incredible individual."
Hercules smiled at her, appreciating the compliment. He had a feeling she would be a good friend to have around for a morale booster. As long as one was on her good side, that is.
"Do you go around saying things like this often?"
She shook her head.
"Mostly only to demigods. See, where you have super strength because Zeus is...well, Zeus, I have more feminine and emotional gifts. I can gauge the love in a person's heart and I'm...incredibly persuasive, but I hate using that gift. Do you know how horrible it is to twist someone's will to your own? Convenient in some situations, but a terrible thing to do in general. I use it only to make other people become interested in one another. Keeps the guys who try to get me to date them from bothering me."
Nerissa looked over at Hercules to catch him eyeing her. She suddenly laughed, surprising him. It was a very musical laugh, different from any he had heard before.
"My persuasion doesn't work on demigods, Hercules. You have nothing to worry about. I'm sorry if I'm telling you strange things. I feel comfortable around gods and demigods because I've spent a decent amount of time in Olympus."
She went suddenly quiet. Hercules could tell she was trying to avoid mentioning anything she might know that he would like to hear. He nudged her shoulder gently.
"I like hearing stories. Tell me anything you want. But I'm curious, can you do a love scan on Jason and Iolaus?"
Nerissa pursed her lips and stared at the two boys running around. She hummed quietly as she turned back to him.
"Jason loves his father dearly. There is a very strong love connected to someone who passes away, it is kind of depressing to me. It is a very aching love. Jason has a deep love for his people, making him a worthy king for the future. And of course he cares for his friends. Your friend Iolaus...he has fewer loves, but they are incredibly strong. His love for his parents doesn't even compare to the love he has for you and Jason. He's a good person overall, but I detest this uncontrolled love he has for any woman that exists on the planet."
Hercules laughed. The two of them heard more laughter coming from the gate. The cadets had finally made their way to the Academy. Nerissa took a deep breath as Hercules stood up. He turned to her, catching her looking at the cadets with worry.
"Nerissa?"
Her green eyes instantly met his and Hercules felt the pulling force again. Beauty was obviously a dangerous thing. He shook his head to snap out of it as the look on her face looked pained.
"What's wrong?" he continued.
She watched him for a moment longer before tilting her head to the side.
"Hercules. Can I ask for your help?"
He did not even hesitate in nodding his head.
"Will you keep the males from fawning all over me? I'm not trying to sound conceited, but-"
Hercules put his hands on the well edge and leaned forward on them.
"No, I get it. You have a natural pull, even I can feel it. The pains of being beautiful?"
Nerissa sighed.
"It's a good thing I can tell when someone is being fake as far as feelings toward me, but males can be pushy and very overwhelming."
"Then why pick the Academy? I mean, it's great to have you here because I like making new friends and meeting new demigods, but you said you could have gone to the Amazons."
Nerissa put a hand on his shoulder as she slid off the side of the well. There were already boys pointing at her and talking in groups while glancing over. Removing her hand once she was standing steadily, she turned to him.
"I want to be a warrior. A good one, no matter who my mother is. People can scoff at me and say that a daughter of Aprodite can't be a warrior, but I'll prove them wrong. Imagine if I do that in a male oriented place? Beat the odds, right?"
Hercules shrugged.
"Okay, I get it. But let's get you inside before the boys start coming over here asking for your hand in marriage."
Nerissa glanced at the males and quickly turned to go inside. Hercules whistled, grabbing Jason and Iolaus's attention. The two boys nodded as Hercules pointed inside and the three followed her into the Academy. Before Jason and Iolaus reached them, Nerissa stopped and turned to Hercules.
"Thank you, Hercules. For listening."
He gave her a sheepish smile.
"Anytime."
Author's Note: Yes, Aphrodite exists earlier than in the Raimi Greek world. But I have lots of fun ideas for a daughter of Aphrodite to go through. I hoped you liked it so far and continue to read!