The Underworld was a dark and gloomy place. Then again, that was probably the natural aftereffect of death. Wherever death was, despair was never far away. No wonder nobody wanted to die. And yet, the God of the Underworld sometimes found himself envying the petty mortals. They didn't know how lucky they were to be blessed with one single, limited lifespan. Imagine being surrounded by death for every single day of your immortal life. Mortals didn't have to listen to the constant moaning of the miserable souls that inhabited the Realm of the Dead. Needless to say, it was enough to kill the mood.
Hades was lounging on his throne, lost in another state of mind, when Pain and Panic came into his lair. "Your Excellency!" they greeted him upon their arrival. The Lord of the Underworld did not so much as stir as his minions came to stand at his feet, grinning like the two idiots they were.
"Have we got news for you!" Panic proclaimed and even leaped into the air to emphasize his excitement. Hades spared them a sideways glance from where he rested his pointed chin in his hand and rolled his eyes with a weary sigh.
"What is it now?" he asked, sounding completely uninterested. With Pain and Panic, he had learned never to expect much. Panic was more than happy to deliver the answer.
"We were just eavesdropping on your former traitor of an employee talking to her daughter and learned some juicy details that we believe might be to your benefit."
At this, Hades straightened in his seat and turned all of his attention to the pair before him. "Go on," he urged, suddenly intrigued, and Pain filled him in on the details.
"Apparently, the girl wants a chance to prove herself a hero, but her parents don't want to put their daughter in danger." The blue flame dancing on top of Hades' skull seemed to spark to life as the wheels in his head began to turn. Slowly, he pushed himself up from the throne and started pacing the floor, musing to himself.
"Well, that's a shame," he said. "Of course we should give her a chance to be a hero! But how?" He kept on pacing in silence, thinking the options through. Then he remembered the other piece of useful information the imps had brought him a while ago: the girl did not know about her parents' history with him. Suddenly, he knew exactly what needed to be done and he grinned at his own genius. He had waited fourteen long years for an opportunity like this.
"If I can't go to the brat," he said, "then she will simply have to come to me." He whirled around to face his minions and a devilish smirk spread across his sharp features. "Pain. Panic. I've got a job for you boys."
The next day, Hebe was just about to leave for school when Hercules asked her to wait up. They had sorted things out after their argument the previous night, but Hercules still felt the need to make up for his own mistakes. "Listen," he said, "I figured maybe you and Alexa wouldn't want to walk to school today." There was a unique twinkle in his eye – something Hebe had never seen before – and it made her think she might know where he was going with this, but she didn't want to get her hopes up, just in case.
"Yeah?" she said, urging him to go on.
"Yeah, so I was thinking maybe you would want to go on Pegasus?"
That strange twinkle never left his eye, which made her unsure whether he was joking or not. "You mean… without you?" she asked, half incredulous, half hopeful. That was the moment Hercules couldn't keep the charade up any longer. His loving smile was really all the confirmation Hebe needed, but it wasn't until he nodded that she allowed herself to believe it.
Hebe dropped her schoolbag to the ground and threw her arms around her father's neck. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she exclaimed and even kissed his cheek. Sometimes her father would give her a ride to school, but recently she had been asking if she could go alone and take Alexa with her as well. Her parents had been hesitant, arguing that she wasn't ready yet, but now it seemed they had changed their minds.
Hercules hugged his daughter and basked in this moment with her. Seeing her so happy meant everything to him. When he let go, he whistled after Pegasus and the winged steed soon landed at his side. Petting his mule, Hercules gave his trusty sidekick some firm instructions. "All right now, Pegasus, you take it easy with the girls, okay?" Pegasus put on a serious face and nodded. He would make sure the girls were safe. "Good. I trust they'll be in good hands with you. Or… hooves," Hercules corrected as Pegasus seemed somewhat offended by the notion.
Hebe threw her bag across her shoulder and mounted Pegasus with ease. "Thanks, dad," she said once more, wanting him to know just how much it meant to her. "I promise I'll be careful."
"I know you will," Hercules said and wished her a good day at school. Then Hebe urged Pegasus forward and they took off into the sky.
"See you later!" she called over her shoulder and watched as her father grew smaller and smaller before her eyes. Soon, he was no bigger than a pebble.
Hebe lifted her gaze from the ground and looked at the clear blue sky ahead. She breathed in the fresh spring air and reveled in the feeling of the wind in her hair. For a moment, she allowed herself to imagine what all her classmates would say upon her arrival. She especially liked imagining the dumb looks on Demetrius and Lysander's faces. But first, she would make a stop.
Upon Hebe's instructions, Pegasus made a soft landing outside Alexa's house and Hebe remained mounted as she called to her friend. "Alexa, I'm here now!"
"Coming!" she heard her friend answer from inside and when the front door opened, Alexa's jaw dropped to the ground. Hebe laughed at her astonished expression.
"You want a ride?" she asked, already knowing the answer. Alexa walked up to her friend and the winged creature, eyes wide open in wonder.
"Wow! You got to take Pegasus to school?" She petted him on the neck and Pegasus encouraged her.
"I sure did," Hebe said and offered a hand to Alexa, pulling her up to sit behind her.
"That's so cool!" Alexa remarked. "Just wait until everyone sees this!" If Hebe knew her bestie right, she was also looking forward to finally getting some positive attention.
"All right, hold on tight!" Hebe said and felt Alexa's arms wrap securely around her waist. Then she gave Pegasus a nod, notifying him that they were ready. The girls leaned forward and in just a few seconds, they were back up in the air, Hebe and Alexa both screaming with delight. Now they didn't feel like losers anymore. Now they felt unstoppable.
Alexa giggled with excitement as she, too, felt the wind in her curly black hair and saw the world from a whole new perspective. "Hey, I can see the island of Lesbos from here!" she said and pointed out to a spot of land far out in the Aegean Sea. "We have to go there sometime!" she said, almost pleading. "I need to walk the same soil and breathe the same air as Sappho at least once before I die!"
"You and me both," Hebe agreed as they were both big fans of Sappho's work. They even had tapestries of her in their rooms. Sappho's lyrics could not be matched by anyone – not even Orpheus! – and they would have to rip the poem collection scroll from her cold, dead hands before Hebe gave it up. Orpheus had been the great lyricist of her parents' generation and they would argue he was still the greatest, although they had come to admire Sappho as well after being introduced to her works by their very persistent daughter.
With Pegasus's speed and care, they arrived safely at school in no time. Hebe smiled to herself as she saw students out on the school grounds excitedly pointing up towards them. A whole group of students gathered in a circle around them once they'd landed – including some of the girls from dance class – and Hebe and Alexa made it safely to the ground. This was a triumphant moment for the both of them.
"Oh my gods!" their peers exclaimed in a rush of excitement. "That is so cool!"
"Totally rad, Hebe!" Clarissa, the tallest girl in their dance class said, and gave her a high five. Most of the girls present were really taking a shine to Pegasus, telling Hebe how cute he was, and asked if they could pet him. Hebe didn't mind at all.
"Sure, go ahead. He loves the attention." And she was right. Pegasus couldn't have been happier as he was being groomed and scratched behind his ears by several horse-loving teen girls.
The commotion in the school yard had attracted more students to come see what all the fuss was about, including Demetrius and Lysander who, unlike their peers, pretended to be unimpressed by it all. "Okay, so Hebe's got a flying horse," Demetrius said with an air of nonchalance. "So what? It's not that big of a deal." Lysander, as always, was quick to imitate Demetrius's every word and move. He crossed his arms and snorted, a little too loudly.
"Yeah, it's really not that big of a deal."
Hebe scowled at them, ready to make a clever retort, but to her surprise, Clarissa beat her to it. "Oh, admit it," she told them both, "you're just jealous because you don't have a flying horse to take you to school." Clarissa was one of the cool girls, which meant that the rest of the students present agreed with what she had to say, which – in turn – meant that they were all taking Hebe's side. Hebe had never received this kind of attention before. If anyone did give her their attention, it was mostly to bother her with questions about her father. For once, it felt good to have all the attention to herself.
Demetrius and Lysander merely rolled their eyes, saying, "Whatever" and left. Good riddance, Hebe thought before turning to thank Clarissa, who claimed "it was nothing". But to Hebe, it was.
When it was time for class, Hebe didn't know who was more disappointed: the students who were reluctantly forced say goodbye to Pegasus, or Pegasus who was no longer receiving the attention he loved so much. "Sorry, buddy," Hebe said, trying to console him. "If dad's okay with it, maybe you could come back some other time." This seemed to make him feel better, if only a little. "Thanks for the ride, though. I'll see you at home, okay?" Pegasus nodded and nuzzled her face before he took off again, this time alone, and Hebe and Alexa joined the rest of their classmates to begin another day at school. Hopefully, it would be much better than the last.
When the school day was through, it seemed Hebe's prayers had been answered by the gods. No one had compared her to her father nor made fun of her or Alexa and dance practice went particularly well. It was nothing short of a miracle and Hebe wondered what else could possibly lie in store for her this wonderful day. As she and Alexa made their way home, she was about to find out…
They weren't far from Alexa's house when they saw it: dark clouds of smoke were rising up from a small house standing alone on the outskirts of the village, followed by an intense and foreboding smell. The girls stopped to exchange worried glances. "Is that what I think it is?" Alexa asked with trepidation in her voice. Hebe didn't answer, but started running towards the house and Alexa followed.
When they arrived, they could see the hot, red flames coming out of one of the front windows. If someone didn't take action now, soon the flames would spread and the whole house would be caught on fire. The girls looked around to see if there was anyone near whom they could ask for help, but there was no one; only them.
As if the fire wasn't bad enough, suddenly they heard a voice calling out in terror from inside. "Help! Someone please help me!" It sounded like an old man and Hebe quickly understood that he was trapped inside with no way out. He was completely helpless.
"Oh my gods," she gasped. "There's someone in there! We have to help him!" She was ready to bolt straight through the front door, but Alexa caught her arm.
"No Hebe! It's too dangerous." There was much fear in her jade green eyes, but it wasn't going to be enough to stop Hebe.
"We have to do something!" she persisted. She was not about to let that poor old man suffer while there was something she could do about it. "You go and get help," she finally told Alexa. "I'll go in."
"Hebe, no!" Alexa tried to hold on to her friend, but Hebe pulled away from her grasp with a determination that was non-negotiable.
"Get help!" was all she called to Alexa over her shoulder as she started once more for the door. Thankfully, Alexa didn't need to be told twice, and Hebe watched her run as fast as she could into the village.
Standing before the door, Hebe could feel the heat of the fire radiating from inside. "Okay, Hebe," she told herself, taking a deep, steadying breath, "hero rule number thirty: analyze the situation." The problem was that there wasn't really any time to analyze the situation. The longer she stood there waiting, the faster the flames would spread. There was no other option. If she wanted to save the day, she had to be brave.
She had to be the hero.
A/N: As promised, here is the new weekly update! I would like to thank those who commented on the first chapter, I really appreciate it and it makes me so happy to hear you like the story and my writing! Hopefully, you liked this chapter as well :)