As he wakes up, Cheinten finds he just feels like one giant bruise.
Trying to sit up, he finds himself getting pushed back down into the bed, the feeling of someone's hand on his body sending sparks of pain shooting through him.
"Murghhh. What happened?" His voice is scratchy, a dryness in his throat that just makes it harder to speak.
"What happened?" A familiar voice is next to him, cracking open an eye, he sees Atticus looking him over in slight concern. "What happened, is that you went man to man with the strongest man in Lerna. What did you think was going to happen!?"
The man's voice goes into an angry and concerned yell, but it only makes his headache worse. He whines in pain, trying to move his arms to cover his ears, but they refuse to move. Looking down, all he sees of them is a large yellow and purple bruise.
Atticus has no sympathy, his voice carrying on as usual. "Yeah yeah, moan like a baby all you want. You're lucky we have great healers, or you wouldn't even be able to move without reinforcement activated. And that's another thing, you OVER TAXED YOURSELF!"
The yelling just causes another full body flinch, Cheinten groaning in pain again. "Why? Why with the yelling?"
The man leans over him, his voice saccharine with how pissed he is. "Maybe so you'll actually listen to me? I told you that if you didn't learn the basics you'd go up like a fucking powder keg! You're lucky you didn't explode!"
A new voice pipes up, his voice comforting. "Now now Atticus. It's not this young man's fault that Lady Eris wanted him to fight Alcides. And his showing was quite excellent, I've never seen a drop similar to that slide he did. Even if you did land head first."
By the end of the man's little speech, his voice is snarky, amusement as obvious as annoyance.
"Yes, that hit in particular made it harder to actually treat. Try not to headbutt someone like that again please?"
"I make… no promises." He coughs, his throat dryer then it's been in a long while. He hears Atticus let out a scoff of annoyance, before a hand is under his back. He holds back the scream that threatens to escape, but can't help the whimper. His back feels like it's on fire.
"Yeah, when you hit that wall, you're lucky none of your ribs broke. I can tell you did something to mitigate it, but you're still going to be stuck on bed rest for at least a week. Maybe longer if we can't teach you how to use magic to heal. Hope your win was worth it."
Atticus' voice has gone to bitter now, not even a trace of the laughing drunk from training.
"Didn't really… Have a choice." He pauses when he feels a saucer in front of him, drinking the offered drink eagerly. "When a king, a hero, and a Goddess tell you you're fighting, you have to fight." His throat still feels dry afterward, but it's easier to speak now.
"Oh I know you had to fight. But then you went and taunted the bull three times in that fight. Like you were begging for a beating. What in Erebus' name is wrong with you!? If I were fighting that beast of a man, I'd have avoided any confrontation and tried to bring him down with exhaustion, not submission tactics!"
Opening his eyes a crack, he feels dust flake off quickly, finding it a bit difficult to look into the room. Thankfully it's only lit by candle light, the dark orange glow making it easier to see things without a blinding white light.
"Easy friend. He did his best, and managed to win. That's all the people will care for." The man, still unnamed, lays a hand on his friend's shoulder, and Atticus sighs, nodding disappointedly.
"No one cares about arena fights until it's your loved ones in them. Still, I got lucky, and got to watch my student get pummelled for being an idiot. Once you're healed up, Aegeus wants to get you started on fighting technique. So not only am I being asked to teach you magic, I'm also being asked to keep you alive while he teaches you, and Theseus beats up on you. Hope you like being one giant bruise!"
The man is way too cheerful by the end, and Cheinten feels a spark of fear in his body. Or maybe that's just more pain.
"Anyway, Lady Eris said she wanted to talk to you when you woke up, so me and Asclepius will leave you to it."
Why is that name familiar?
Sitting in silence, he and Eris have a staring contest. She hasn't said a word yet, content to freak him out by staring at him, before daintily sitting down beside him.
"Cheinten. Three days ago, I asked you to fight my half brother, Alcides."
Damn he was out for three days? He really does need training.
"Three days ago, you defeated my half brother, Alcides. Do you know what this caused on Olympus?"
He frowns for a moment, shifting to try and look at her. "What?"
"It caused one of the greatest upsets. Zeus was floored that one of his strongest sons was defeated. Hera was crowing to the world. Everyone else, but Hermes, Dionysus, and myself was disappointed that their bets failed, except for Apollo, who abstained. Do you know what else this means?"
He thinks for a moment, wanting to rub his chin. "You, Dionysus, and Hermes all broke the Olympus bank?"
She barks out a laugh, excitably surging from her seat to stare at him with a giddy smile. "YOU'RE GODDAMN RIGHT WE DID! HAH, I won Zeus' precious lightning bolt, he bet it cause he didn't expect you to even come CLOSE to winning! AHAHAHAHAHAH!"
He winces at the volume, but he can't help but smile as she twirls around. "You're really happy about this. I thought he could just conjure more?"
Eris leans in conspiratorial-like, looking around with pretend fright. "Normally you'd be right, but THAT DUMBASS BET HIS ORIGINAL! I CAN HOLD IT OVER HIS HEAD FOR ANYTHING I WANT!" She laughs again, her twirling continuing as sparks fly between her fingers.
He winces again, the noise from the excited goddess hurting his ears. She notices his discomfort soon after, a sheepish grin on her face. "Er… Sorry. Anyway, I managed to call in some favours, and you should be back on your feet soon. Apollo said he sent one of his sons to look after you, as well as some other assistance. So you won't be stuck in bed healing for a month or two."
She leans over him again, her smile a bit less welcoming. "You keep doing things like this for me, I'll have to find another boon for you. But first I'll need to find another patsy up in Olympus to make bets for me. Maybe Dionysus. Or even Hera, she owes me a favour now too. Oh, speaking of, you're probably one of the only heroes alive that Hera doesn't have a problem with, try not to screw that up okay? We'll talk about another reward later."
Nodding as much as his bruise lets him, he tries to get comfortable on the… modern bed. Hmm. "Hey Eris. Where'd you get this bed?"
"Hmm? Oh that. I won it off Zeus, along with Ganymede. We decided, since you were the main reason for our windfall, that I would grant you access to it. Shame you're just a bruise right now though, it's comfortable."
He lets out a noise of irritation, even as he lays back into the soft mattress. "I can't tell if you're flirting with me, or just want to kick me out of a soft bed."
His eyes begin to go dark again, falling asleep against the comfort.
Staring down at her pet hero, Eris sighs slightly. "You're lucky I helped you win, not so fatboy. She may be my daughter, but Lethe's water never comes without a price, especially the amount needed to knock out Alcides. And you're also lucky that Hera stole Zeus' scrying orb when she heard he was 'unfaithful' again. Lucky little hero, that his goddess cares so much to nudge the fates in his favour. Feh." Shrugging, she turns on her heel, "walking" back to Olympus.
Ignoring the usual bickering, she nods to Hermes and Dionysus, the both of them drinking some of Zeus' special stash, getting two raised mugs in return.
The laughter of Hera still spreads through Olympus, she hasn't calmed down for days. The smallest thing is setting her off now. Ah, the joys of a little chaos in the right place.
Still, she can see why Zeus was so desperate to keep hold of his lightning. The power inside of her is intoxicating, just begging to be released. And he used to be even stronger in that old body of his. Then again, all the original twelve did.
Back in her room, she sees the shivering form of Ganymede. Another prize she won off Zeus. "I-I live to s-serve, Lady E-Eris."
Walking over, she pats the boy, can't really call him a man, on the top of his head. "I'm aware, Ganymede. All I ask is that you assist me in cataloguing everything I won earlier."
The boy perks up, surprised at the lack of a command, or something else. 'Father really did a number on this boy. Cheinten would probably tell me to send him back, but that was a time ago. Unfortunate. Still I can make his time at least somewhat enjoyable.'
"Are you any good at massages, Ganymede? Once we're done here I'd like to work off some tension."
The boy is like an excited puppy, now that he's actually being asked things. Still, better than the fear he showed. "Yes ma'am. Lord Z-Zeus made sure I was very skilled."
"Wonderful. Once we're done there's this lovely little spa down in Athens."
He wakes back up to the sound of laughter. Sitting up, he finds it's a lot easier this time. His arms aren't yellow or purple, so maybe…?
Putting a tentative step on the ground, he smiles when he doesn't instantly crumple in pain. Looking out the window, it's night again.
Hmm, so he's either slept until night time, or it's been another day or a few. Only one way to find out.
Finding a toga by the door, he wraps it on himself and steps out. The laughter is coming from the communal bath area.
He should probably let Aegeus and Atticus know he's awake, but the bath also has the smell of food in it. So his choice is practically made for him.
As he walks in, one of the first things he notices is what looks like a stone spa table wrapped with another toga, with Eris perched on top down to her skins. Joy. There's a young guy massaging her, and Theseus is talking his ear off.
Making himself known, he speaks up. "Hoy, Theseus, Eris. Who's this?"
The guy, more a boy honestly, turns to stare at him, smiling. "Hoy, I am Ganymede. I am told that because of a bet made on you that I am in Eris' care. Thank you for winning."
Frowning, he rubs his head, moving towards the smell of food. "Yeah, don't mention it. Eris press ganged me into it. If you should be thanking anyone, it's her."
Theseus scoffs, and he can practically feel the eye roll. "Oh yeah, thank the goddess of chaos for trusting in an untrained guy to beat the strongest man in Lerna. And not for that untrained guy to know how to beat said strongest man from Lerna. Just take the praise you dumbass."
His face flushes, but he ignores it for a moment, taking his plate full of kebabs and meat and sitting by them. "Yeah whatever. It was still down to luck that I could actually get out from under him. I think my chest is gonna be raw for weeks."
Eris makes a noise of delight, reaching down and taking one of his kebabs. "OI! Get your own food lady, you've got a personal masseur!"
"And I want your food. It tastes the best when it's stolen." The smug grin on her face is both annoying, and welcoming. He feels exhausted.
Sighing, he sits back. "So how long was I asleep anyway? I'm starving." Having said that, he digs into his plate, ignoring table manners to practically shovel a bit of steak into his mouth. Or at least, he thinks it's steak.
"Well, I visited you then went to sort my gains. Dionysus and Hermes also wanted assistance with their own, so we went there too. And then we came down here, as this is one of the better spas that I know. So all in all, I'd say… five or six days?"
His eyes boggle, food hanging half forgotten from his mouth before he comes back to reality, finishing it quickly. "Five or six days!? How the hell am I even alive?"
Theseus pipes up, staring over Eris' body and clearly doing his best to not look at her. "Magic obviously. Asclepius is Lord Apollo's son, so it was easy for him to keep you alive long enough to survive till now. The main reason you're so hungry is cause Atticus said 'It was burning your mana to keep your fat ass in shape.' That's probably why you're so skinny now too."
Running a hand over his ribs, he nods a bit. He didn't really notice before. "Yeah, I have lost quite a few pounds. My muscles don't feel like paper though? More magic then?" Absentmindedly, he tears into a few ribs. He can't tell what the animal is, but the meat is delicious.
Eris chimes up, Looking over at him as she takes another of the kebabs on his plate. "That would be my doing. Usually, while Asclepius would be able to stabilize you he wouldn't be able to prevent your muscles from deteriorating. But I called in another little favour with his father. You, my skinny little hero, were given treatment from Apollo himself. I'd recommend burning some meat in thanks."
"God of medicine and prophecy right? Alright, I can do that."
The four of them are silent for a while, Theseus eventually grabbing three other plates of food. He notices Eris' pout, half of a laugh escaping him. Ganymede just seems happy to be thought of, thanking Theseus over five times before the other boy gets him to stop.
Eventually though, Cheinten realises he'll need an edge. Turning back to the goddess that practically decided he'd be receiving her boon, he frowns a moment. "Hey Eris? While he was making me do reinforcement training, Atticus went into detail on the difference between magic, and this other stuff. That magic was from a god. How would I learn your magic?"
Eris sighs, Ganymede's hands trailing over a spot in the small of her back. "My my. Not two hours out of bed, and you're already asking me for more. Such a greedy hero."
She lazily wags a finger at him, looking more like a smug cat at the moment. Shaking his head, he looks her in the eyes. "I'm serious Eris. Alcides could've stomped me flat in seconds if he didn't show boat, or fuck around. I need something I can use to keep myself alive."
"Ugh. Fine. Lean closer." As she says that, she leans slightly off the table. Doing his best to ignore the interesting things, he moves his head closer to his, frowning slightly in confusion.
When nothing happens, he clears his throat. "Is something meant to- GAH!"
Moving back, Cheinten cradles his face, his forehead throbbing in pain. A flick of a finger from a god is a lot more painful than anyone says!
"FUCKING- GAH, REALLY!? WHY!?" Cheinten gesticulates, anger leaking into his pain.
Laughing, the woman turns around like a lazy cat, Ganymede going straight to massaging the front of her legs. If he were any less angry his face would probably be burning. "You wanted to use magic yes? You need permission from a god. That mark grants you permission."
"Mark?" Standing up, he walks over by the water. A circle emblazoned with points is inscribed on his forehead. It fades away quickly, but he can still kind of feel it. Weird.
Shrugging, he moves to sit back down, frowning for a moment in thought. "What happened to Alcides anyway?"
Theseus looks away for a moment, as Eris begins to snort. He's thankful she isn't chuckling. It's hard enough ignoring everything else. "Alcides left when it was decided you'd won. The entire time, he was itching his back, and looked exhausted. I imagine he didn't get too much sleep while he was resting."
That's unlike what he knows of Herakles. Still, maybe it's to do with the weird changes.
Sitting back, he enjoys the moment. "I'm going to be getting trained into the ground after this. Joy."
The laughter from his three compatriots doesn't make him feel better, but it's nice they can find joy in his soon to be suffering.
He'll probably be cursing his trainers for years, even after appreciating the benefits.
Author's Note.
So yeah. The main reason the Lethe water didn't come up in the last chapter is cause Cheinten wouldn't have seen it, and it was primarily from his perspective. Eris helped him win with a Deus ex machina, and a bit of insurance to make sure he really did.
Reason for it? She wanted dirt on the olympians. The reason Apollo owes her a favour is primarily because of Asclepius. He saw how his son would die, but found an out with the way she was changing history.
Before you get at me, i'd recommend looking up the goddess Lethe. Her water is used to make the dead lose their memories, and fall asleep, opposite the mnemosyne.
As for why Zeus didn't see it, he'd lost his orb cause hera was pissed, and was focusing only on the arena.
Potentially a bit contrived, but yeah.