Nerissa shivered as unrelenting rain pelted down from the sky. Even though trees surrounded her, the force of the downpour had her soaked through. The girl felt ill. She'd been travelling for three days, wandering through unfamiliar woods. She had picked a direction and run as fast as possible. She didn't think about where she should go or where she could end up, but she just knew she couldn't go home. Feeling fatigued and dizzy, the girl slumped to the bracken floor against a tree. She closed her eyes, taking in the cold, and shivered harder than before.
"Oh, my darling girl…"
Nerissa's eyes popped open to see her mother glowing before her. The rain parted around the goddess, keeping her completely dry.
"Go away, mother," the girl groaned, pulling her arms tighter around her.
Her mother harrumphed.
"That is no way to speak to your mother. Especially when you were the one who decided to run away from a handsome boy like Hercules. All he did was help you."
Nerissa gritted her teeth, though they chattered slightly.
"Don't think I don't blame this all on you," the girl snarled," If you had never cursed me, I wouldn't be in the middle of the woods. I should have just left a long time ago to stay with the Amazons or to live alone. All I have to do is make it one more year through your wretched curse."
Aphrodite put her hands on her hips.
"Children are always so ungrateful. I blessed you! I just wanted you to find true love-"
"You think I'd find true love with a spell making them fall in love with me? Do you honestly think I'm not capable of finding it on my own when the time is right?!"
Aphrodite couldn't seem to find words though her mouth opened and closed a couple times.
"Oh…of…of course! You're my daughter. I just…I…"
The goddess hesitated before leaning over and putting a hand to her child's face. She frowned feeling the fever radiating off of the girl.
"Nerissa, you're my only girl. I just want the best for you. Maybe I was a bit overzealous."
The girl was unsure whether she was becoming delusional or if her mother was attempting to apologize in some capacity. Her mother straightened.
"But that isn't important right now. What is important is finding someone to help you with that fever…Let's get you back to the academy-"
"No."
Nerissa struggled to her feet and began walking off again. Aphrodite sighed and followed after her daughter.
"I'm not going back where I'm not wanted."
"Rissie, we both know Hercules was just being defensive. You are wanted there. You know that."
The girl rounded on her mother.
"I don't trust him, okay? Why is it that Jason is the only person I can ever trust? I thought I could but…but I…I can't…"
Tears streamed down the girl's face. It wasn't obvious with the rain competing with the force of her tears, but her shoulders shook. Nerissa was shocked as she was suddenly tugged into a fierce hug. Her mother stroked her damp hair lovingly.
"The first always hurts the worst, doesn't it?"
Nerissa didn't know what her mom was talking about as her vision blurred even more.
"Don't worry, Rissie. I promise I know what I'm doing this time."
The girl tried to look up at her mother to ask what she was even talking about, but her world suddenly shifted and she found herself flat on the ground. Confused, she found herself in front of a house. With effort, the girl rolled onto her stomach and pushed herself into a sitting position.
"Gods, where did she send me now…?" Nerissa grumbled.
She managed to crawl toward the front door of the house a bit before fatigue struck again. To her luck, the wooden door opened from feet in front of her.
"Nerissa?" a familiar voice spoke up in surprise.
The girl blinked as a woman leaned down and began tugging her to her feet. She groaned when she recognized the woman as Alcmene. The girl cursed her mother in her head as she let Hercules' mom usher her into the house. Thankfully, she asked few questions, realizing the girl was feverish. Alcmene moved about setting up a warm bath, dry clothes, and toweled the girl's hair.
Hours after arriving at Alcmene's front door, Nerissa sat with porridge before her and Alcmene watching her from across the table. The girl pulled a blanket Alcmene gave her tighter around her shoulders.
"I'm sorry for appearing out of nowhere like this," she managed to say to the other woman," My mother dropped me here while I was wandering through the woods."
Alcmene's head tilted as she smiled.
"Why were you doing that with a fever?"
Nerissa stared at the porridge before her.
"I…ran away from the academy three days ago…"
Alcmene's eyebrows raised. Nerissa glanced up, noticing the woman wasn't that surprised.
"Did something happen?"
Nerissa gave a pained half smile.
"Not really…"
Alcmene casually placed her hands on the table, one on top of the other. She examined the girl's face thoughtfully.
"Hercules came by about two days ago," Alcmene started," He said he, Jason, and Iolaus are looking for you, but he wouldn't tell me why. He moved on after hearing that I hadn't seen you. Why don't you eat and tell me what happened? You won't get better without some food."
For the woman's benefit, Nerissa put a spoonful of porridge into her mouth. It was good, but tears still came to her eyes. Unable to hold back from the kindness of this woman, she admitted to Alcmene her mother's curse and what happened between her and Hercules. It was sometimes awkward to explain, as she was talking about the woman's son, so she considered adjusting some of the questionable information. Alcmene just took her hand in that moment and squeezed it when the girl choked on her words.
"Dear, I can see the mark on your neck clear as day. You don't have to worry about what I'll think. I know Hercules, and I can see this is hard for you. You can let it all out."
With that assurance, Nerissa proceeded with honesty until the end.
"I don't know what to do…where to go…" Nerissa admitted," I wonder if I'm better off staying away from Corinth…the academy…this entire area…"
Alcmene patted the girl's hand.
"Friendships aren't always easy, Nerissa," she advised," You open yourself up to be hurt by allowing people in. And surprises happen, even to those with normal parents and circumstances. And everyone says things they don't mean, even Hercules. I know my son. He wanted to help, but sometimes he doesn't think through his actions well enough. If you ask me, you were right to be upset with him and I understand what he said hurt you. But I also know he never meant to cause you pain. When he came by…he was devastated, and I didn't understand why. As angry as you are with him, he is even angrier at himself."
The house was quiet for a moment before Alcmene picked up the half-eaten porridge.
"Well, that's enough discussion for one night. You need rest to recover. You can take Hercules' old room. It is just over there."
Nerissa thanked her hostess before shuffling over to the indicated room. Glancing around, she could see remnants of the male's childhood from hand painted drawings pinned on the walls to little toys showing his growth over the years. A little rocking horse stood proudly on its own in a corner. Sitting down on the bed, Nerissa stroked the blanket thoughtfully.
"You're crueler than you think, mother," Nerissa whispered as tears made their way down her face.
Crawling under the blankets, Nerissa cried herself to sleep. She willed herself to get better quickly so she could leave as soon as possible. She never knew that Alcmene heard her stifled sadness, wishing she could ease the girl's pain more.
Hercules sighed heavily. If he hadn't run into her in three days, it meant he had gone in the wrong direction. He hoped Jason or Iolaus had better luck. He turned around at the edge of a town. If she had encountered a town, he was sure she would have stayed there, especially if it was as far out as he had gone. No one he spoke to had seen her, and Nerissa isn't someone people could just forget. No matter what words came out of his mouth.
Hercules headed back toward his mother's home. He'd travelled two days out from there and was finally almost back. He hoped Cheiron would understand his absence. The youth was sure he would, and he was ready for the look of disappointment from the centaur. His thoughtless words and actions cost him a valuable friend. He wondered if Jason would ever forgive him if Nerissa never came back. If she ever returned to Corinth, would Jason even tell him? So many thoughts bounced around in his head as he turned into the all familiar yard of his childhood home. He knew he would need to explain to his mother what happened between him and Nerissa this time, but he wasn't looking forward to that awkward conversation.
The darkness of night was just settling in as he arrived at his mother's home. Stepping through the door, Hercules looked over to see his mother baking bread. She had a smile on her face and was talking to a figure to her right out of his line of sight. The sound of his entrance caused the two to look over. His eyes landed on Nerissa as her face peered around his mother's back. Mixed feelings of relief, fear, hope, and more emotions than he could explain slammed into him. In contrast, Nerissa froze upon registering that it was him.
"What are you…?" he started before his voice trailed off.
Seeing that the two youths were going to just stand where they were, Alcmene grabbed a towel and began wiping her hands. Hercules swallowed hard. His mother knew everything. He could tell from the look of disapproval on her face.
"Nerissa, just keep kneading it until I'm back. Hercules, can we speak outside?" his mother stated calmly.
She gave Hercules a stern look before disappearing out of the front door of the house, a candle in hand. Hercules glanced back at Nerissa, but the girl just started working with the bread dough again, ignoring him. Taking a deep breath, he followed his mother out. She was waiting for him by the well, but she made sure to keep facing the front door. He was sure it was so she could send Nerissa a disapproving look if she dared leave the house while they were talking.
"How did she get here?" Hercules couldn't help but ask.
Alcmene crossed her arms.
"Her mother apparently dropped her here in a godly fashion after noticing her daughter had a fever. She is recovering well. Physically speaking. Emotionally, she is a wreck. What were you thinking, Hercules? First you put yourself in the way of a curse, but what is worse is that you went about this behind that poor girl's back after she trusted you. Are you aware of the mess you've made? And the things you said-"
"I know!" Hercules groaned," I know, Mother…I wanted to help and I didn't think it through. I know I need to apologize but…I don't think I can ever make this up to her."
Alcmene's stony expression softened. She put a hand to her son's face.
"You are incredibly brave. Stupidly so, sometimes. Women are never going to get less complicated, but you need to learn that listening to what they are saying is important."
"Yes, Ma'am."
Alcmene glanced back at the house and caught Nerissa watching them through the window while kneading. She quickly looked back down at the bread when she saw Alcmene look her way. The older woman sighed before turning Hercules toward the house.
"I've said what I needed to. Now you go do the same. Your room is as good a place to talk as any."
He followed his mother back into the house. Once inside, Alcmene handed Nerissa a hand towel.
"Here, Nerissa. Clean up your hands. I'll continue rolling the bread out. I still expect you to help us eat it so don't even think of running off, no matter what he says to you," she half scolded the girl while giving her son a pointed look.
Despite Hercules' embarrassment from getting a lecture, he cleared his throat and gestured toward his room. Nerissa stiffly made her way to his room though every fiber in her wished to run. She berated herself for staying an extra day with Alcmene due to fatigue. She paused at the end of his bed before turning back to see Hercules standing within the doorway to keep her from bolting past him.
"You were right."
Those weren't the first words Nerissa was expecting him to say, so he caught her off guard. Hercules took a breath before continuing.
"Nerissa, I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have tried to help when you told me not to do anything. At the least, I should have brought the idea to you for us to talk about so we could be reasonable about it. I know a lot of things happened between us because I pushed myself into the situation. I should have owned it for the selfish act that it was and just taken your words as they were, the truth. I shouldn't have tried to argue. I said things I didn't mean, at all. Truly. You have friends at the academy who are never going to forget you. If anything happened to you or if you left, we'd all feel the absence. Especially me. I like to think we are close, and I don't want the mistake I made be the end of our friendship. I don't want it to send you away. Can you forgive me?"
Nerissa could see the honesty in his eyes, the guilt on his face. His words were true. She looked away from him, wrapping her arms around her to protect herself as a burning sensation lit up in her chest. She wanted to forgive him, but she also hurt. Terribly.
"I need time, Hercules," she told him, softly," I do plan to go back to the Academy but…I'm not…I don't…I don't know if I…trust you…not anymore."
She risked glancing back at him and regretted it. He looked stricken. The male before her swallowed hard, one of his hands balling tightly into a fist before releasing.
"I-I understand."
There was strained pause before Hercules crossed his arms and glanced behind him. He pointed over his shoulder.
"Should…probably help set the table for dinner. I'll, uh…see you out there."
Nerissa sighed as he turned and left. Feeling her strength leave her a bit, she leaned onto the bed. Leaning over it she put her head in her hands. She felt sobs building in her chest, but she stood up and took a few breaths. Anger and guilt battled within her, but she saw no way to neatly clean up the mess she found herself in with Hercules.