Nerissa declined attendance at dinner that evening. Ever since they had arrived back at the palace, she had been holed up inside her room. None of her friends could convince her to come out though they had all tried. After dinner, the four sat around the throne room, worried for the girl. Iolaus lay on the cold stone floor with his legs against the wall while tossing a dinar into the air repeatedly. Jason sat sideways on the throne with his legs over the left side. Lilith and Hercules both were sitting backwards in their dinner chairs. Nerissa's uneaten food sat staring Hercules in the face. With her chair empty, they all felt an obvious absence that depressed them.

"I don't get why she's locked herself in there," Iolaus stated, pocketing his dinar.

Lilith shook her head at him.

"Think about what Lucius was going to do to her. You think something like that wouldn't affect a girl?"

Iolaus rolled onto his stomach, inching forward so his feet pressed against the wall.

"It just isn't healthy. Someone needs to talk to her."

Jason, Lilith, and Iolaus all turned to Hercules. He glanced around at them with an eyebrow raised.

"I'll do it, but why did you all look at me?"

Jason swung his legs off the arm of the throne to lean on his knees.

"You were there. I mean...there are things to resolve between you two about Lucius, I'm sure. And you two talk about things all the time! You just...handle women better than Iolaus or me. Lilith could go, but I think talking to a male after this incident is better for her. You can remind her that not all guys are like him."

Iolaus and Lilith nodded. Hercules shrugged and stood up.

"Alright."

Grabbing her plate of food, he headed out of the room. When he was outside her blue bannered door, he knocked loudly.

"Nerissa, it's Hercules. I have your dinner."

"You can come in," he heard her say.

Hercules slowly opened the door and peeked inside. Nerissa was lying sideways across her bed wearing her normal outfit. He smiled at her as he closed the door behind him.

"How do I look upside down?" he asked her, amused by her long hair that flowed down to brush the floor.

"Very similarly to how you look right side up."

He chuckled, relieved that her humor still appeared intact. He walked over to her bed and placed her dinner plate on the nightstand beside the vase of flowers.

"I'm not hungry," she told him.

Looking down at her, he frowned.

"You haven't eaten all day."

"That doesn't mean I'm hu-mmph!"

Hercules had taken the slice of bread on her plate and stuck it into her mouth. He couldn't help but laugh as she glared at him. She unwillingly chewed the bread.

"Yum," he teased her, sitting down on her bed beside her.

Rolling over, she sat up and plucked the un-chewed bread from her mouth before swallowing. They sat beside each other in an awkward silence. Hercules wasn't sure what he could safely say to discuss that day's events. Luckily, Nerissa spoke first. She looked down at the bread in her hand.

"You don't have more psycho brothers, do you?"

"No, just him," Hercules sighed," Pollux is very peace loving. I mean, he used to be really into fighting and winning, but Lucius killed his twin brother Castor. After that, Pollux changed."

Nerissa nodded and took a bite out of the bread. Hercules waited until she swallowed before talking again.

"I wish...you hadn't been dragged into the situation. But, that was my fault. I should have told you about-"

"I don't want to put blame on anyone," Nerissa interrupted, biting her lip," It just happened."

Hercules put a hand on her head, making her look up at him.

"You shouldn't lock yourself up in your room. Are you trying to make us all worry about you? Is there something that you want to talk about? You know I'll listen."

Nerissa and him locked eyes for a moment before the girl stuffed the entire slice of bread into her mouth. Hercules snorted, seeing that she obviously did not want to talk.

"Imm fuune."

He couldn't help but smile, his eyebrows raising. The slice of bread had still been too big for her to stuff into her mouth like she did. Her cheeks were puffed out like a squirrel's. Narrowing his eyes, he grabbed an exceptionally puffy cheek and pinched it.

"Owf!"

"You're fine, huh? Alright. I'll let the others know, as long as you promise to come out of your room tomorrow. We have to head back to the Academy, you know."

Waving her hand dismissively, the girl continued to work on chewing the slice of bread. After giving her a pat on the shoulder, Hercules exited the room.

It was the middle of the night when Hercules woke with a start. Looking over to his right, he could have sworn he had heard a creaking sound, but it was too dark for him to see. The only light was a stretch of moonlight that filtered through the only window in the room. Hercules heart beat sped up as he wondered if Lucius had somehow managed the impossible and escaped Corinthian jail. After he and Iolaus had escaped once before, Balian had made the jail impossible to leave from. Sitting up, Hercules squinted into the darkness.

"Who's there? If you don't step into the light-"

He didn't have to finish his harsh commands as someone did step into the light, but he was exceptionally relieved to see who it was. Nerissa shuffled her feet awkwardly, obviously feeling self-conscious for having crept into his room. She wore her normal night clothes, only the pale green version without the shawl. She instead had a blanket draped over her shoulders. Hercules made to get out of bed, but Nerissa stopped him. Instead, he just looked up at her.

"Nerissa, is everything okay?" he asked, concerned.

She hesitated, glancing around at the darkness.

"Um, I'm...I'm scared."

Hercules raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Of the dark? You're nineteen though, aren't you?"

A hint of Nerissa's normal self shined through the unamused stare she gave him.

"No, Hercules. I'm afraid of...I mean, after what happened with Lucius I keep...I just can't stop-"

"You're afraid he'll get out and come after you again? That isn't going to happen. I won't let it."

Nerissa looked extremely frustrated. She pulled her blanket around her tightly as she took a deep breath.

"It isn't just Lucius. I've never worried about...being taken advantage of. I-I'm scared of being kidnapped and-and-"

Her face went crimson and she pressed her lips together so tightly that they went white. But Hercules understood where he was going now. He patted the empty space of mattress beside him. Nerissa sat down slowly and turned to see him. Even without moonlight, he could see well enough as his eyes had adjusted to the lack of light. He put his hand on Nerissa's carefully.

"You know you can trust me, Iolaus, and Jason. Honestly, any one of your friends would kill someone who tried to do anything to you. Normally, you could have gotten away from the guy. Lucius is a special case. You do trust us, don't you?"

Nerissa looked down as his thumb gently rubbed the top of her hand.

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't. I just...didn't want to go to Lilith because I don't want her to feel paranoid like me and Jason has enough to deal with. And Iolaus-"

Hercules put his other hand up.

"You don't need to explain that one."

He was content to hear her laugh quietly. He just watched her as she pulled her hand away from his and looked down at her lap.

"I have a strange and awkward question to ask you, Hercules."

He blinked, a thousand potentially positive and negative thoughts popping into his head. Wiping those away, he cleared his throat.

"Ask it."

Nerissa swept her curtain of hair over her shoulder before continuing to stare at her lap.

"Could I...stay here tonight?"

Hercules stared at her, jaw slightly unhinged. He imagined her face had to be as red as a strawberry. The girl was moving away from him before he could speak.

"I'm sorry," she gushed," I just feel so alone in my room. If someone came in, no one could help me. That was a silly request. I'll just go to Lilith."

Before she could flee the room, Hercules grasped her shoulder.

"No, Nerissa. It's okay. I was just...surprised. I don't exactly have women asking to sleep with me every night. Ah! When I say sleep with me, I mean beside me. Not that a woman has asked to sleep with me either! Oh gods..."

Hercules felt his face heat up, but he had made her relax. Her shoulder, which had been tensed, had loosened up and he could hear her laughing.

"Well, I have never asked a man if I could sleep with him either."

He smiled and pulled the covers back for her to slip under. The girl pulled her blanket off and placed it over her half of the covers before getting into the bed. Lying back, she turned toward Hercules.

"Thank you," she whispered.

He was surprised as she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. He returned the hug more than willingly.

"Any guy who would say no to having you sleep beside them would need to see a physician."

Nerissa pulled out of the hug and he could see her smile through the darkness.

"And any girl who would say no to having you as a friend would be very, very unfortunate."

With a feeling of safety buried in Nerissa's mind, she was able to sleep easily. Hercules had a harder time, for it was still unbelievable to him that a girl was next to him, but a peaceful sleep eventually reached him.