One year had passed since Myrrhine joined Team Hades, one dreadful and prolonged year. She wasn't forced to do that much, mostly help around in recruiting, controlling the souls, hear Hades rumbling about conquering and reshaping the cosmos.

At least, she used her free time to return to the surface and most specifically, Athens. It was the closest city, and it was a nice getaway from the gloomy underworld. Of course, there were things that the young witch didn't like...

For example, men wolf-whistling or throwing a comment. Okay, her clothing might show a little bit of skin, but she was 17! Not, that those perverts cared. Sometimes, she could understand why her mother turned them into animals.

Speaking of her, they kept no contact after she was taken away by Hades and was planning to keep it this way. She was still pissed off, doubting she would let go of the grudge anytime soon. The only good thing that ever came from that deal was the fact that she improved her magic.

Hades granted her a few interesting scrolls since he needed her to have a good arsenal for the missions and she didn't complain. She still needed practice, but she was at least making some progress.

As she was about to cross the road, a carriage was speeding up. Ignoring the red mark on the amphora, it kept going and Myrrhine would have been dead if she hadn't jumped to the side. Well technically, she couldn't die since she had no soul to lose, but the impact would surely be painful.

The jump was successful but not the landing as she ended up bumping on someone, and both ended up on the ground. Her being on top made it uncomfortable as her light blue eyes met darker ones.

"Oh...Uhm...are you alight...miss...?" her victim asked, being a boy around her age.

He was skinny with red curly hair but had some small muscles forming on his hands and legs. His face barely matched his age, and she could feel a power hidden within him. A very new, strong power that quickly made her realise he was not normal.

"Uh, yeah. Sorry about that. Blame the crazy cart driver" she said and climbed off him before offering her hand.

He accepted, and she managed to lift him with ease, not being that heavy and her actually having some muscles of her own.

"I am...I am Hercules by the way" the boy introduced and extended his hand.

"Myrrhine," the girl said and noticed a few scrolls in his other arm.

The boy followed her gaze. "Oh that. I was accepted at Prometheus school, and I am giving them some scrolls to finish my enrolment. By the way, do you have any idea where it is?"

"Yeah. It's..." she stopped, looking around and thinking about how she could give him the proper instructions. "You know what, follow me."

It's not like she had anything better to do. She knew Athens like the back of her hand since she had been escaping in it, a lot.

"Oh, wow. Thank you so much" the teen said as he walked by her side, being slightly taller than her and she was a tall woman.

"Don't mention it."

The walk to the school wasn't long, but it sure did feel like it thanks to Hercules. He started to talk about his life, how he found out he was the son of Zeus and that now he was training to be a Hero so he could join his father in Mt. Olympus.

Myrrhine listened half of them, giving nods and small hums as they walked. Spending one year with Hades and 16 with her mother, she had become a master in ignoring the rumbling but also being able to answer if asked a question.

At last, her torture came to an end once they stopped in front of the school. The statue of the titan chained up with the eagle made her shiver slightly. Gods were indeed merciless at certain things.

"I still don't know how to thank you about it," Hercules said.

"Don't mention it Wonderboy. Just make sure you don't get lost in there" with those words, she gave a salute and walked away from him before he could ask her if she was also attending.

Hades sat in his throne, reading a scroll with the latest chores in the Underworld while Pain and Panic were playing rock-paper-scissors. Someone slammed the door open, the sound echoing across the realm, signalling that Myrrhine had returned.

"Babes, what did I say about door slamming?" Hades asked, his eyes still on the scroll as the said woman walked into the room.

"Cut me some slack boss. I have a terrible migraine" she grabbed a chair from the chess-strategy table and sat down, one hand on her forehead.

"Who managed to torture you that hard?" Pain asked.

Through the course of one year, she had managed to reach a middle ground with the two imps. Sometimes, they had a sort of good time, but mostly they competed on who to take the blame and do the chores.

"Just some teenage wonder boy named Hercules."

The name made Hades snap his gaze from the scroll and on the girl, who had flopped her sandals on top of the table.

"What did you say...his name was?" he asked, feeling his anger bubbling inside like lava.

"Hercules. He is apparently the son of Zeus and training to be a hero. He needs to learn what timeout means though" she explained but sensed something was odd by the raising temperature.

"Hercules? Hercules? Why does that name sound familiar?" Panic asked, rushing left and right while biting his nails.

"I don't know; maybe we own him money?" Pain asked.

Panic stopped and looked at his comrade. "Hey, wasn't Hercules, that baby that—"

He stopped mid-sentence, quickly losing any colour, and looking at their boss. His blue hair flames turned orange as his hands turned into mist and quickly snatched the two imps by the neck.

"So, you took care of him, huh? Dead as a doornail. Weren't those your exact words?" he asked them, his tone rising along with his temper.

"This might be a different Hercules" Pain quickly said.

Panic nodded. "Yeah, I mean, Hercules is a very popular name nowadays!"

"Remember, like, a few years ago, every other boy was named Jason, and the girls were all named Brittany?"

Hades squeezed harder. "I am about to rearrange the cosmos in less than 3 years and the one schlemiel who can louse it all up... is waltzing around... in Athens!"

Myrrhine ducked under the table just in time as Hades had dropped the imps and had released a catastrophic wave of fire in a circular radius. Thankfully, his whole place was made fireproof because the lord of the underworld had quite the temper.

As the two imps begged for forgiveness, she popped her head from beneath and looked, as Hades started to calm down. He then turned to look at her.

"How did you find him anyway?" he asked.

She stood up. "He was looking for the Prometheus School. He starts there tomorrow."

"School?" he questioned, and then his grim expression was replaced by a devilish smirk why made her shiver. "So my little nephew is going to start school. He is still in training, you say?"

"Yes, started like a month ago. According to him"

"Excellent. We have time to find a way to take it out of the way. Is he still mortal?"

"Yes, your evilness. We fed him the whole bottle" Panic said, trying to remind that they actually did something and didn't fully mess it up.

Hades started to pace. "Then, we need someone to go and befriend him. Someone...to find out his weaknesses and control him...someone..." he stopped and grinned, turning to look at Myrrhine.

"Oh, hell no. I am not going to some sort of School" she said, quickly realising his plan.

She would not spend her time locked in a classroom with moody teens, forced to study many useless subjects and befriend the constantly talking demigod.

"I am sorry...what was that?" he asked, cleaning his ear. "Did you just say no? to me?"

The girl gulped as the man marched towards her, his face awfully calm. She stood her ground as he came to a halt in front of her, towering over her form. In the background, the imps were snickering and whispering things that she would get punished.

"Why don't you send those two to the school?" she quickly pointed at the duo.

The man took a step back. "Ple-ash. Have you seen them? You really think they can handle the boy when they failed the task when he was a baby!" he shouted the last part and shot them a glare, scaring them while also reminding them that he had not forgotten about it.

"If you put it that way..."

He turned to her. "Plus, I was not asking... I was ordering"

His face came closer to hers and fought the need to take a step back. One year or not, the man could be intimidating, and while she enjoyed going against his wishes...she didn't want to end as target practice for his fireballs.

He looked at him, feeling slightly flustered and gulping the saliva that was stuck at the back of her mouth. Her lips were dry, and the look didn't make her feel any security. She knew he had just played his final card, and she couldn't escape from that fate.

The next morning, Myrrhine stood in front of her body length mirror in the room she was given for her. The room was of a fair size with a double bed and the necessities for a mortal with needs.

The colours and theme were the gloomy underworld style, and she did try to change it once but ended up getting a lecture from Hades. It was not pleasant, and it was from the times she was not used to his fiery temper.

She fixed the usual red two-piece toga she favoured and looked at her hair. They were curly, bushy, long and a mess. It was a good-looking mess but a mess nether the less. She was trying to find a way to fix them when Hades appeared at the door.

"Still getting dressed?" he asked, leaning sideways to the door frame, hands folded in front of his chest.

"I am dressed. Just checking" she replied, sending him a look above her shoulder.

"Wait, you don't think of actually going dressed like that. Do you?"

She turned to face him, one hand at her waist. "And what is wrong with my clothing choice? Also, since when do you know anything about dressing code."

"Oh, trust me. I do, and you are not going there like that."

"Like what?"

"Like...*he took a few steps forward* that. Skin exposed and dressed like some sort of..." he struggled to find the words, using his hands as he spoke.

She lifted an eyebrow. "Like what?"

"Forget it. I will take care of this" he said and snapped his fingers.

Black smoke covered her body, and when it disappeared, her whole outfit had changed. She turned to look at herself in the mirror, feeling quite violated and exposed at such a trick.

The new clothing consisted of a black toga that had a thicker strap around her left shoulder and reached her ankles. However, it had a big slit and was mostly moved to the left side, leaving her legs from the knee and below, from the right side, exposed.

On top of it, was a second layer which started from the left shoulder, left the right shoulder exposed and moved all the way to stop little past her waist. It was a nice shade of dark purple, and there was a black sash crossing from the other side. Finishing the piece, knee-length black ones had replaced her sandals.

Thankfully, her makeup and choice of a lipstick at the same magenta colour stayed unchanged along with her hair.

Hades placed both of his hands on her shoulders, his body pressing against her back as he brought his face closer to her ear. "Now, babe, you look ready."

She shivered at his voice and the contact but kept her face neutral, focusing on the new look. It was nice, she would admit, and it looked stylish. She was never fond of dark colours, but she had to accept black looked good on her.

Hades also seemed to have a taste or at least know how to dress others better than himself. At least he was decent, compared to many men who left their chests exposed as if that would attract women easier.

Hades had teleported her close to the school, saving her a long trip of walking. Thankfully, he also teleported her to a place that no one spotted the woman coming from black smoke and mist.

She was undercover after all. And it wasn't the best thing for others to know that she worked for Hades and he had her soul as a bargaining chip.

Now, she was busy putting her things into the locker. She had done all the paperwork and arrangements yesterday and also got her supplies. Thanks to Athena, the education was free, so even if she did bad on the small test she had to write, she would still be able to attend.

Thankfully for her, she was a smart woman and quite knowledgeable. She passed with quite a good grade, and that would leave a good impression on the teachers. Not that she truly cared, she was there to do yet another job as Hades' henchwoman.

As she closed her locker, she was met with none other than Hercules, who was dripping wet.

"Hercules," she said, not surprised by the sudden appearance.

She was used from Pain and Panic, who constantly tried to scare her for the first few months. They stopped once they realised she was not scared, and she was also not afraid to hit them.

"Myrrhine...hey...Uhm...I didn't know you were going in this school...I mean...I wanted yesterday but..."

"Actually, I also enrolled yesterday," she said, remembering the main reason she was trapped there.

"Really?" his face lightened up. "That means I am not the only new kid here!"

She blinked. "Yeah...new kid..." she suspected where this would end, having heard stories from the souls in the underworld many times.

She had never attended school before, her mother teaching her the basics and then leaving her alone with books. Yet, she had heard of what was taking place in schools, especially with everyone being a hormonal moody ticking bomb.

"So...uhm...the orientation is about to start."

"Better get going," she said and started walking, having already memorised the map of the school.

If she would be forced to attend there for who knows for how long, she better arrive prepared for anything.

After that meeting, their classes started, and the duo sat together for all of them. While Hercules was mostly lost and a big klutz, Myrrhine was the rising star that kept notes. He ruined doors, bumped on people and was being a moving disaster while Myrrhine had to dodge a flirtish Paris and jealous cheerleaders.

At last, the big break came, and she was free to go to the cafeteria. She grabbed a tray and tried to hold back a face when she eyed the food. And here she thought the food in the underworld looked bad or the worms Hades ate.

She sat down at an empty table, finally enjoying some peace of mind. Which, was quickly interrupted by the fact that a short teen with tanned skin colour and black crisped hair that were defying gravity, joined across from her.

"Hello Myrrhine"

That boy was Icarus, son of the famous Dedalus. He flew too close to the sun once upon a time, and that had obviously left its impact. She found him quite annoying sometimes, and she tried to avoid him, but unfortunately, he and Hercules had become best friends which forced her to be around him.

Speaking of demigods, a certain one sat by her side. "Phew. Finally, we get something to eat. I am starving" he said and started to eat.

"Tell me about it. They expect us to be concentrated at all those subjects but barely give us any food. Great logic system maker" she sarcastically said and took a bite.

Suddenly, a teenage girl with bright red hair and dark blue tonga passed by us. Icarus immediately perked up.

"Casandra. My baby! Come here. Join us!" he said and grabbed her wrist before forcing her to sit next to her.

"Icarus, what did I say about you. Touching me?" she warned, narrowing her eyes at him.

He chuckled nervously. "That you would cut my arms off and slap me with them."

"Exactly"

Hercules cleared his throat at the weird moment. "I don't think we have met...I am...I am Hercules" he offered his hand which she didn't take.

"Cassandra"

She then turned to the only other female in the room. "Myrrhine"

The girls exchanged a look, both feeling something odd to the other. The witch could sense magic and potential while the teenager felt something odd but couldn't pinpoint it.

Icarus stood up and went to pick a tray of food, leaving the trio alone. Hercules cleared his throat once again.

"Are you two...uhm...you know... you and Icarus."

Boy was the demigod bad at small talk or any talk in general. At least when it came to the opposite gender.

Myrrhine facepalmed while Cassandra paled. "Yikes!" the two women reacted at the same time.

Hercules looked confused, and Myrrhine left out a sigh. "You see Hercules...even I could see that...they are not together. Icarus is simply being..." she stopped trying to find the proper world.

"A creepy stalker" Cassandra added.

"Have you tried restraining order? Bodyguard? Murdering him while he sleeps?"

"Myrrhine!" Hercules called her name, shocked at the last suggestion.

"What?" she turned to look at him. "It will be painless" Yet again, if Icarus died then that meant he would end up in the underworld...and oh boy, she did not want to have the loud and hyper-energetic kid down there. "On second thought, maybe you shouldn't kill him."

"Tried restraining order but he has done nothing so far to fit in the category. Bodyguard is too expensive to have around all the time. I am thinking of murder, though."

"Refill!" Someone shouted, and the trio looked up at the VIP balcony of the school.

Paris of Troy, the snob and spoiled prince was sitting there. His servants always carried him everywhere, made sure to do everything for him and followed his every order. He tried to hit on Myrrhine a few times, but the girl simply ignored him. After all, he was dating Helen, but that didn't stop him from cheating on her.

She would have turned him into a peacock long time ago, but she had to keep her powers a secret for well...obvious reasons. She left out a sigh and ignored him, hoping he would die soon so she could take her revenge in his punishment.

Man, did she start to sound like Hades. She definitely needed to put more space between them because she was affecting her in a bad way.

"Hmm. Can't do anything on his own" Cassandra commented as Icarus joined the table in the small space out of the witch.

"Tell me about it. I am sure his servants help him to release himself in the bathroom" she commented, earning a horrifying look from the boys and a smirk from the girl.

"I knew I would like you. Also, nice Toga" Cassandra said.

"Thanks. Love the style, especially the lipstick."

"Thanks"

"Who is he?" Hercules asked, looking back at the spoiled kid who had his cup refilled by a servant.

"Paris, prince of troy. He is spoiled, rich and dates one of the hottest girls in school. Helen. But not as hot as my dear Cassie" Icarus said, leaning closer to the teenager who shot him a warning look to back off.

"Helen, huh?" Myrrhine repeated and looked at the table with the cheerleaders, quickly spotting their leader.

Plump lips, beautiful golden locks, and a perfectly smooth face. She was the beauty of the school and apparently a sucker for dating a womanizer like Paris. She will admit, Icarus might be annoying, but he was damn useful in giving you info on other students.

He was trying hard to climb the social ladder and for that, he knew almost everyone to get on their good graces. Unfortunately for him, he wouldn't achieve that anytime soon with his...unique personality.