Hercules and Meg tried to convince their daughter to stay home from school the following day to rest, but Hebe insisted that she was fine and that she couldn't miss dance practice. If it weren't for the big dance recital on Friday, she would have loved to stay at home now that she had a valid excuse to do so, but the recital was more important than her health. Reluctantly, her parents let her go to school, on the condition that she drank lots of water and avoided staying in the sun too long. Promising that she would, Hebe left home early in the morning to meet up with Alexa.
When she knocked on Alexa's front door, it was Alexa's mother, Jacinda, who opened. "Oh, hello Hebe! We weren't sure if you would come today." She called for her daughter. "Alexa! Hebe is here!" Alexa rushed out of her room and soon emerged from behind her mother in the doorway.
"Hebe!" she exclaimed and threw her arms around her friend. "I'm so happy to see you! Are you all right?" She had been worrying all night.
"Yes, I'm all right," Hebe reassured. "Ready for school?"
"Yeah, let me just get my bag," Alexa said and went back to her room. Once she was out of earshot, Jacinda turned to Hebe with a look of motherly concern.
"Are you sure you're all right, Hebe?" she asked. "Alexa told me what happened. I'm honestly surprised your parents let you go to school today."
"They were a bit hesitant," Hebe confessed with a shrug, "and I appreciate your concern, but you don't have to worry about me. I'm tougher than most people might think." She added that last part as a joke, but Jacinda was serious and earnest in her response.
"I have no doubt of it," she said, smiling. "You take after your father, young lady."
To be fair, Hebe took after her mother as well, who could also be pretty tough if the situation required her to be, but Hebe didn't get the chance to tell that to Jacinda before Alexa returned. At least she managed to give her a simple 'thank you' before they left. Perhaps now her classmates would think differently of her? The news about the fire must have spread across all of Thebes by now and that it was the daughter of Hercules who had run into the flames like any true hero would.
As it turned out, the news had not only spread, but made the front page of the Greekly World News, which Clarissa showed Hebe and Alexa a copy of as soon as they reached the school. "Hebe, take a look at this! You're famous now!" Clarissa handed Hebe the scroll and she read the bolded headline: TEENAGE GIRL MAKES HEROIC EFFORT IN HOUSE FIRE. Alexa urged Hebe to read the article aloud and she did.
"'A house caught on fire late on Tuesday afternoon outside the city of Thebes, taking the life of the single resident who lived there. The resident was reportedly male and around eighty years old. The cause of the fire remains unknown, but a bold rescue attempt was made by a teenage girl by the name of Hebe who just so happens to be the daughter of none other than Greece's favorite hero, the mighty Hercules! The hero himself later showed up to aid his daughter, who by then had spent many arduous minutes in the fire. Unable to save the eighty-year-old man, father and daughter were eventually forced to evacuate the burning house. Though her rescue attempt was unsuccessful, the girl deserves a medal for her heroic effort. Will she take up the mantel from her father and become the first of the next generation of heroes in Greece? Only the Fates can tell, but the future looks very promising.'"
Hebe couldn't believe what she was reading. To be recognized as a hero – as someone who was worthwhile – was the only thing she'd ever wanted. She must have stopped breathing, because Alexa gently shook her shoulder. "Hebe, are you okay? Won't you say something? This is amazing, isn't it?"
"Uh… yeah," Hebe finally managed to get out of her mouth. "I guess it is." Something was bothering her, though. The article said that the old man had died in the fire. Had Hades not fulfilled his end of the deal? No, that couldn't be it. A god wouldn't do that. The old man simply hadn't been discovered alive yet. Yes, that was probably it. After all, his home had burned down to the ground. Perhaps he was wandering around without a clue as to why he was still alive and with nowhere to go. Hebe would have to find out after school.
Every teacher and student she met that day praised her for her bravery. Well, everyone except Demetrius and Lysander. Demetrius claimed that she'd probably done it just to gain attention, which was far from the case. Thankfully, no one listened to him.
When it was time for dance practice, they went through the choreography for Friday's performance with Ms. Penelope who said that they were very close to perfection. That was a huge compliment, coming from her. Before they hit the showers, Ms. Penelope asked to have a private word with Hebe. "I was very happy to see you here today, Hebe," she said. "You're a real fighter and it shows in every single one of your dance moves. I can tell you're very passionate about this and… between you and me, I think that scholarship could be yours if you're willing to go for it." She gave her student a wink and Hebe thanked her teacher. It meant a lot to hear her say that. "Oh, by the way," Ms. Penelope added before Hebe left, "the old man you tried to save? I just heard he's been found alive and well. I believe he's been taken to Thebes General Hospital for recovery. Isn't that wonderful?"
At last, Hebe could finally put her doubts to rest. Hades had stayed true to his word. Her sacrifice had been worth it. "Yes, it's wonderful!" Hebe had to stop herself from giving her teacher a hug. "Thank you for letting me know!" Then she rushed off to the girls' locker room to tell the others and she couldn't wait to deliver the news to her parents when she got home.
Feeling a need to get recent events off their minds, Hercules and Meg decided to spend the day together in town. They had a nice lunch together and strolled at a leisurely pace down the streets, occasionally walking into different shops to have a look at the offers. Meg bought herself a new summer dress and considered buying one for Hebe as well, but decided it would be better to wait. They could go for a shopping round and spend some mother-and-daughter quality time together at the end of the week.
It was late in the afternoon when they got home and it wasn't long before Hebe walked through the front door, shouting, "Mom! Dad! Great news!"
"All right," Meg said, intrigued, "let's hear it."
"The old man who lived in the house that burned down yesterday – he's alive!" Hebe watched her parents exchange looks of great astonishment.
"He's alive?" Hercules asked, wondering if he'd heard correctly. Surviving a fire like that should have been impossible.
"Yes!" Hebe reaffirmed with a wide grin. Though it was hard to believe, Hercules could not deny that this was wonderful news.
"Well… that's great!" he said and enveloped his daughter in a warm hug. He knew how hard she'd taken the whole thing and was happy for her sake. Meg concurred and asked Hebe if the old man was okay.
"Yeah," she said, "Ms. Penelope told me he's at Thebes General Hospital. I suppose he needed some care after what he'd been through."
This made perfect sense to Hercules and it also gave him an idea. "Perhaps you'd like to know how he's doing?" he asked his daughter. "We could go there tomorrow after school and pay him a visit." The proposition made Hebe smile. She thought it was a great idea. They decided Hercules would come and pick her up right after dance practice. Hopefully, the old man would still be at the hospital when they got there.
That evening, Hebe helped her parents cook dinner which they enjoyed outside on their veranda where they stayed to watch the sunset. It was at this point that the family received a divine visit. A flash of white light forced Hebe and her parents to close their eyes and when they opened them, they were met by the sight of Zeus and Hera. Hebe rushed up from her chair to greet them both with proper hugs.
"Grandmother! Grandfather! It's so good to see you!" Their visits were less than frequent, so Hebe was thrilled whenever she got to spend time with them.
"It's good to see you too, Hebe," Zeus said, beaming at his granddaughter. "We had to come and make sure you were doing all right after your big hero break yesterday." Zeus winked his ancient eye at Hebe who suddenly became shy.
"Oh, so you heard about that, huh?" she asked, rubbing the back of her neck; a gesture she had adopted from her father.
"Just for the record…" Hercules said, not wanting his mother and father to think him a reckless parent, "I didn't encourage it. But I can't say that I'm not proud," he added with a smile and threw one arm around Hebe's shoulders.
"And you should be proud of yourself as well, Hebe," Hera told her granddaughter. "What you did was very brave and admirable." Zeus nodded in agreement, but not without pointing out one crucial detail.
"Just be a little more careful next time, all right?" he said and Hebe promised him that she would.
While they were there, Hebe took the opportunity to ask her grandparents whether they would be able to watch her dance recital. They said they wouldn't miss it for the world and promised to watch the performance and cheer her on from Mount Olympus. They looked up to see Apollo drive his chariot across the sky and as the sun came to set, it was time to say goodbye. Zeus and Hera left, but Hebe remained with her parents out on the veranda to watch the stars come out in the afterglow. She couldn't recall the last time she'd been this happy. Only yesterday she had felt like the world was ending. But the night was always darkest just before the dawn and she was looking forward to a bright and brand new day.
In the Underworld, the mood was also unusually hopeful. Hades still couldn't believe he'd actually gotten the girl to sign the contract, but then again, heroes were always so gullible – not to mention predictable. They would always do the right thing in the end.
Hades was pleased, but his two minions were somewhat confused and impatient. Getting the girl to sign the contract was only the first step of Hades' revenge and now they were asking when he was going to reveal it to her parents. "Patience, boys," he said. Pain and Panic seemed worried, but Hades felt more than reassured. "The perfect revenge cannot be rushed. We have to wait for the right opportunity. And then…" A devilish smirk took form on his lips as he pictured his enemy's final demise. "… Hercules will be gone for good."
A/N: Early update! I will be too busy to post anything tomorrow, so here you go! This is the shortest chapter in the bunch and a bit of a filler as well, but I hope you like it! In the next chapter, Hebe is thrown back into reality and things take a bit of a darker turn. Stay tuned ;)