With a small sigh Iolaus dropped his carry-sack unceremoniously onto
the ground. He followed immediately after it, leaning back casually against a
tree trunk. Closing his blue eyes the curly haired blonde sighed again in
contentment.
Another large carry sack landed with a thud next the hunter's head.
Without opening his eyes Iolaus could almost see the small smile of amused
exasperation on his tall companion's lips. Cracking one eye open the blond
hunter shifted his head to gaze up at the young demi-god he traveled with.
"I hope you're not going to say what I think you're going to say." He
told the blue-eyed boy.
"We need food, Iolaus." Hercules told him, studiously ignoring the
loud groans of protest coming from his curly haired friend.
"But we just got here." Iolaus complained, earning himself a stern look,
"This is vacation. You remember vacation right? Food, girls, wine, girls, parties,
dancing with girls..."
"Hey, it was your brilliant idea to go hunting, remember? We could
have stayed at Kora's, but noooo, you wanted to have a buddy-to-buddy hunting
trip so don't start with me." Iolaus fell silent at this and Herc grinned
mischievously, "But if you don't want to catch us dinner, I could try my hand at
hunting..." the demi-god trailed off and looked at his friend pointedly.
Although he could certainly catch something given enough time, it was late,
and knowing Iolaus' stomach the tall blonde was willing to bet the prospect of
waiting several hours for a meal would be enough to encourage him to move.
True to his nature Iolaus grudgingly got up, "Nevermind. With you hunting
we'll be waiting till Solstice for a good meal." He stretched and began collecting
snares and supplies. He shot a quick look at his best friend. "That fire better be
blazing when I get back. And you get to do the cooking." Without waiting to hear
his friend's reply the short youth turned his back on the clearing and disappeared
into the words leaving Hercules to stare after him.
Iolaus spent some time tracking game, deciding on the best spots to
place snares and gauging the animal traffic in the area before he came across a
fast flowing river. _Fresh fish tonight, Herc. I hope you've learned to cook._
Hurriedly placing his last snare the blond hunter fastened his ever-
present hook onto a branch and settled in for a wait, the fishing line dangling
lazily in the rushing water.
It soon became apparent that the current was too fast at this particular
spot, but Iolaus had had his heart set on fish since he'd first glimpsed the river.
With a small sigh he gathered up his supplies, checked quickly on his snares
and walked down river, searching for a calmer place to fish. He rounded a bend in
the river and stopped dead, the bawdy sailor's song he'd been whistling dying on
his lips. The noise of the river had drowned out the clang of swords and curses
from the battle before him. _What in Tartarus is going on here?_ He wondered briefly
looking at the combatants, all of whom had yet to notice him.
Several men in armor lay strewn about the bank, a few moaning
pitifully and struggling to rise, but most simply lay there. The remaining
soldiers, seven or so had surrounded a young girl of about 18 summers. As he
watched, the girl glared defiantly at the men surrounding her swiping deftly with
her sword before leaping up and catching two of them in the chin with her feet.
She landed gracefully, dropping to a crouch and sweeping her left leg in a circle
sending three tumbling to the ground in a heap. The remaining two, having
decided enough was enough pounced when the girl was regaining her senses.
She went down beneath the two armored soldiers and Iolaus felt anger
rising in his soul, this poor girl was good but sheer numbers would win out in
the end. He dropped his fishing pole and grabbed his hunting knife. With a cry he launched himself into the fray, kicking one of the soldiers off the girl and
pulling the other one up. He caught a glimpse of startled hazel eyes and red curls before a mailed fist came at his face.
He ducked under the punch and brought his knife hilt up to smash the
man in the chin, his eyes rolled up and he crumpled to the ground at Iolaus' feet.
He heard a loud clang behind him and whirled to see the girl stop a downward
swing aimed at his head, with a cry the redhead pushed upward sending the man reeling
backwards. _Who is that girl? _ Flashing a quick smile of thanks he turned and kicked
an approaching soldier, the man caught his foot however and
yanked his feet right out from under him, Iolaus lost his grip on his knife as he fell
and watched as it skidded away. _Uh-oh_
Lying flat on his back, the wind knocked out of him Iolaus looked up at
the man before him. The soldier raised his sword high to deliver the final blow.
_Brilliant plan, Iolaus. Great way to impress the girls._
Suddenly a rock flew out of nowhere hitting the man of the temple;
Iolaus rolled quickly to avoid the falling sword. He looked up to see the girl
smile broadly at him before she was hit from behind. Quickly he turned and
grabbed up the fallen sword, a quick look around told him that only four soldiers
remained in the fight, two trying to hold down the struggling redhead and two standing
in his way.
"Come on boys." He taunted the two men in front of him, "Let's see
what you've got." They didn't move, simply stood there blocking his path to the
girl. "So that's how you want to play it, huh?" He tossed the sword away and
faced them down. All he got in response was a blink of incredulity. _Perfect._
Without warning he ran straight at both men, throwing himself into their arms
and allowing his body to go completely limp.
The startled soldiers staggered backward suddenly finding themselves
holding Iolaus' dead weight in their arms. Then, as suddenly as he had collapsed
the agile hunter leapt up, taking hold of the stunned soldiers by the hair and
cracking their heads together. One went out like a light, the other remained
conscious enough to make a grab for Iolaus' ankle as he ran past. The hunter
went sprawling, landing face first in the dirt. He picked up a convenient rock
and swung it at the soldier's jaw. It connected with a loud crack and the soldier
went down.
He picked himself up and ran to help the girl who had by now freed
herself from one of her captors. The other was screaming at the fallen man to
bring a rope. Running up Iolaus elbowed the man quickly, sending him
stumbling back as the girl twisted free of his grip.
A shout from behind caught his attention and he saw several of the
dazed soldiers pick themselves up. _Okay. Time for plan beta._ He grabbed a
slender wrist and pulled the girl with him into the woods. "Come on!"
She got the idea, reaching down quickly to pull a dagger from where it
had lodged in a tree. Behind them they could hear the soldiers trying to rally a
chase. _Gotta find Herc. He'll know what to do._
Never slowing his pace he turned to the girl who ran beside him, finally
getting a chance to really look at her. She was beautiful, he decided, or would
be as soon as she got a bath. Her auburn hair flowed in loose curls behind her
as she fled. She wore only a simple halter top and faded leather pants, boots
laced high up her legs stopping just below her knees. All of her clothing was
of poor quality, patches and tatters flapping in the breeze.
Still keeping pace with him the girl caught his gaze with her own.
"Who are you? Why...are you doing this?"
Iolaus risked a glance over his shoulder; the shouts had long since
faded away and there seemed to be no sign of pursuit. He slowed, allowing both
himself and the girl a chance to rest.
"My name's Iolaus. I was looking for a good fishing spot when I saw
those guys corner you."
"You shouldn't have helped me." The girl said quietly, "Now you're a
target too."
"Whoa. Hold on there. They were hurting you, you obviously needed
help..."
"I can take care of myself!" She snapped, her hazel eyes flashing. "I
don't need your help. I never asked for it." She turned quickly and began
walking away.
" 'Why thank you Iolaus. You saved my life'" Iolaus mimicked
following after her, " 'Anytime beautiful stranger. Glad to be of service.' You
got something against people being nice?" He questioned, avoiding a branch that
snapped up into his face. She ignored him. _Why do I pick the ones with the
attitudes?_ He jogged forward and grabbed her arm.
She reacted instantly, spinning to catch him behind the knees with her
leg, he went down hard and she pulled the dagger out of her belt and held it to
his throat.
The hunter's eyes widened. "Whoa! Calm down." He breathed, acutely
aware of the dagger at his throat. "I just wanted to talk to you."
She stared down at him, "So talk."
"Ummm, well, for starters you could, you know, put that away. I'm not
going to hurt you."
She snorted, her hazel eyes never softening. "I've heard that before."
But she did move the dagger away, even if she didn't put it away completely.
Iolaus sat up rubbing his throat. "Are you always this polite?" He asked
carefully, he was rewarded by a slight smile that vanished almost as soon as it
had begun. "Really, I just wanted to make sure you were okay. And I'm sure
you're perfectly capable of taking care of yourself, but there were twelve men
back there... Not the greatest odds, even for a war hero."
With a sigh she sheathed the dagger, apparently convinced that he
meant her no harm. "We have to keep going. Narius will be coming after us."
She said, staring intently into the woods.
Iolaus picked himself up off the ground and studied her. Her shifts in
temper were getting hard to keep up with. "Don't I get to know your name?"
She looked at him, "Shiri."
"Shiri. I like it. It's nice." The blonde looked around trying to get his
bearing; he'd lost track of the direction of his campsite during their flight
from the men on the beach. Speaking of which...This girl had a lot of explaining
to do. "Who were those men on the beach?"
"Guards." She said simply. Picking her way through the underbrush.
"Guards...Okay, that's a start. Whose guards? Why were they after
you?" Iolaus asked as he followed her, "I mean, twelve guards for one girl
seems a little over the top."
"It's a long story, okay. Believe me, you do not want to get more
involved than you already are."
"Try me."

Shiri took a deep breath and silently counted to ten, this little blonde
was beginning to get on her nerves with his endless questions. She appreciated
his help on the beach; she'd no doubt be back in Narius' clutches if it weren't
for this brave warrior. But did that mean she had to share her life story with
the guy? He seemed to think saving her merited some sort of reward.
"Look, it's not like I don't appreciate the help." She said, turning to
face the small hunter, pretending she didn't hear him mumble the words 'Could
have fooled me.' "But you have no idea what you've gotten yourself into."
"So tell me. Who's this Narius you mentioned? Why does he want you
so badly?"
She closed her eyes. "He's a local warlord. I escaped from his camp
yesterday night. He sent those goons after me to bring me back." The world
tilted suddenly as the blackness she'd been fighting won out and closed in over
her vision. She thought she heard the blond man cry out before she was lost
completely to the darkness.
She woke again a few minutes later to find herself staring into worried
blue eyes. "Thank the gods." She heard the blonde say. What was his name
again? Iolaus? That sounded right. A gentle hand brushed her red-gold curls out
of her eyes.
"Wha-? What happened?"
"You just collapsed. You're exhausted."
"I'm fine." She lied, pushing weakly at the strong hands that held her
down. A wave of dizziness swept over her and she lay back quickly.
Iolaus let a small smile slip over his lips, "Sure you are. You've been
on the run since last night, no food or drink I'll bet. You're exhausted. Just
relax. We're safe here. Narius can't get you."
"You don't understand..." She protested, cutting off as Iolaus gently
forced his waterskin to her lips and made her drink. She swallowed obediently,
"Narius...he has help...from the gods. You're in danger, she'll hurt you...or
worse..."
She saw the kind blue eyes narrow slightly and realized she was
babbling, "Hera. He worships Hera. I was a gift from her." She trembled
slightly. _I never thought I'd be telling someone this._
"Gift? You...you're a slave?"
"Was a slave. Yeah, I was captured and sent to Hera's slave pits. She
hand picked me; sent me to serve Narius. Some kind of bribe I think."
She felt his arms encircle her as he gave her a soft hug, "I'm so sorry."
He told her gently, and she covered her surprise, he hadn't pulled away in
disgust or terror. This man was trying to make her feel better, no oppression or
trying to take advantage of his situation. He was genuinely concerned for her.
It was a strange realization; she'd never expected this.
"You're safe now. I have a friend in Corinth. He'll help you, get you
set up for a new life. Then we'll go after this Narius guy. He'll never harm
another soul again. I swear it."
"But, Hera. She'll help him find me. And you helped me, she'll be
coming for you as well. I can't..." She broke off staring up into those amazing
blue eyes, "I can't let that happen."
"Nothing's gonna happen. Okay? I won't let it."
She nodded slowly, wanting so desperately to believe this kind
stranger. It had been so long since someone had held her like that. Breaking the
embrace was like a physical pain, but they needed to keep moving.
Getting up slowly off the ground she offered her hand to the blonde
before her, "I'm sorry I was such a bitch before..."She offered lamely.
Iolaus only smiled, "It's understandable now." He accepted her hand up
and leapt to his feet. "I have a friend around somewhere. We were camping, I
got sent to look for food...He'll help us. Which way's north?" He spoke quickly
and began looking at the surrounding greenery. Shiri hung back. "What?"
"I can't bring anyone else into this. It's bad enough that she's after you
now..."
Iolaus rolled his eyes, "Oh, that! Relax. Hera already hates him, me too
for that matter. He's Hercules, a half-mortal son of Zeus. That horse-faced bitch
has been after him since he was born. She's come after us a few times since I've
known him."
"She attacked you and you survived it?" Shiri asked dubiously.
"Oh sure. She's all talk. Can't back it up with anything if you know
what I mean." He flashed her a grin, "Let's go, it's getting dark. My snares
might have picked something up."
She found herself smiling back at him, the first real smile in over a
year. She took his outstretched hand and followed him into the woods.