3 Months Later...
She was pissed. Those gods don't fight fair, she thought. They were manipulative and deceitful. She was tempted to challenge every lot of them into a duel. But with all her might and good sense, she held her tongue and outrage. She knew she didn't stand a chance on the gods' unscrupulous behaviour, she might find herself turned into stone or worse, the more she would never see Andre again.
Oscar was not a bitter, cynical person but the months without success in finding the entrance to the underworld was enough to make one lose his patience and silently curse the gods who caused all the mishap in the first place.
She tied her horse in a nearby tree to quench her thirst in a well nearby. She had been travelling around Athens for three months but still had no success in finding a way to the underworld. She had been contemplating on taking a different route to Sparta and decided to rest a while.
She was brave but she wasn't fool-hardy. She knew it wasn't safe for a woman to be travelling alone in a long voyage much more going to unknown places where safety and security were uncertain. She was dressed in her soldier's uniform and her long wavy blond hair pinned up to make it appear like a man's cut. Her father offered her soldiers for company, and so did Girodelle. In fact, he offered to find Andre for her but she refused them. She was the cause of all of Andre's adversities, and she wanted to be the one to put things right for him.
A woman's petrified scream pierced the air. Oscar dropped the can of water and drew her sword. She found a monstrous hairy four-legged beast clutching a beautiful auburn haired woman who was bravely warding off the unwanted advances of the beast.
"You ugly dirty old..."
"Unhand her," commanded Oscar.
The woman and the beast stopped in their tracks and stared at Oscar in surprise.
"Mind your own business, two legs. Get your own girl" roared the beast.
"Thanks but I can handle garlic breath here," said the woman before she hit the beast as hard as she could on the face.
Oscar doubted she can handle the beast with its enormous size. It can easily crush her if it wanted to. Oscar didn't waste another moment in drawing her sword and fighting the beast. Soon, the beast realized he was no match for Oscar strength and agility, with a humph, he released the woman in a jiffy, causing her to fall rather unseemly on the dusty road with a rough thug.
Oscar held her hand to help the woman up but she pushed her hand aside and got up unceremoniously on her own. Nice disposition, thought Oscar sarcastically.
The woman glared after the beast as she dusted off the dirt in her long old-rose coloured dress. She wiped the grim off the side of her cheek with the hem of her dress.
Oscar felt plain looking at the woman as she compared her curvaceous figure and lustrous auburn hair tied in single ponytail held by a crimson lace to her masculine get up.
"Are you, alright?" asked Oscar kindly.
"I'm good. Thanks, my lady," said the woman dispassionately.
Oscar narrowed her eyes. "You know I'm a...?"
The woman laughed smugly.
"Please, what do you think of me? I know you're a woman...not very womanly though," she added haughtily as brushed her hair with her fingers to untangle the dirt.
Oscar felt a tinge of irritation towards the woman. Just because she wore masculine clothes and had her hair pinned like a man doesn't mean she's not womanly. She was surprised at her reaction. Why the hell does she suddenly care what she looks like?
"My name's Megara. What brings you here to the desert of Athens?"
"My name's Oscar Francois de Jarjeyes"
"Oohh a Frenchwoman with a man's name," uttered the woman unimpressively.
"I'm looking for my best friend Andre..."
Megara smirked, "Friend? Please, you wouldn't be travelling 10 thousand miles on foot-alone if he wasn't more than a friend. Come on admit it you have feelings for the man. But with the way you are dressed, no wonder he ran away."
Oscar was beginning to regret helping Megara.
"I beg your pardon, Andre didn't run away, and there's nothing wrong with the way I dress. This happens to show my bravery..."
"Please... you don't have to dress as a man to show you are brave and strong," replied Megara.
Megara is right, thought Oscar. She didn't dress like a man but her strong spirit was evident.
"Well, I can't go changing into a dress now. I'm on a quest...besides I don't want to attract any more danger than necessary...look what happened to you," pointed Oscar.
"You got a point," admitted Megara.
"May I take you somewhere before I go on my way?" asked Oscar.
"Nah. I'm not going anywhere in particular. I just ran away to get back at my husband Hercules," said Megara as she sat on a huge rock.
Oscar sat on the next rock beside her. "Hercules... the legendary strong warrior?"
Megara laughed. "So you do know my husband."
"I've heard of him but I haven't actually met him. I know he's a good man. Why did you run away from him?" said Oscar.
Megara stood up and kicked a couple of pebbles. "He's a good man, yes. But he's always busy defending the helpless, the damsels in distress, he doesn't have time for me... how can we start a family," she said forlornly.
"But Meg, with his super strength comes a great responsibility to others..."
"Don't you think I know that? But until when will he serve the people? He can't be responsible for everyone forever. He'll wake up one day and realized so much time had passed and he hasn't spent enough time for himself and his loved ones."
It hit a nerve. Was she always too busy and preoccupied with protecting Marie Antoinette and the Royal family that she forgot to think of herself, smell the roses, and spend time with the people who truly love her like Andre? Andre... she never gave him enough attention. Perhaps had she been more attentive to her loved ones and the people around her, she would have known clearly how Andre felt about her.
"Where do you think your Andre is? I can go with you if you like," offered Megara.
Oscar stood up. "Well, I have a feeling he's in the Underworld. That spirit of death Thanatos took him. I'll try my luck there. It isn't a safe place you know."
"I know it's not a safe place but I know the way," said Megara slyly.
"You do?" asked Oscar incredulously.
"My husband Hercules has been around..."
The two ladies began their journey together. Oscar discovered Megara wasn't so bad after all. She wasn't like the ladies of the court who thought about nothing but looking beautiful and having beautiful dresses. She liked her fiery spirit which was so much like her own. She wasn't some girl she needed to baby sit. She had proven that she was indeed an equal companion to Oscar whom she can share things with and relate to. She wasn't knowledgeable about sword fighting but she was a tough girl that wouldn't mind facing perils and getting her beautiful dress dirty. Most of all, Oscar was grateful she knew how to get to the underworld. For the first time in months her search was going somewhere.
