Okay my wrist is mostly back in working order so time to get a new chapter up! Not sure how much I like the Helen arc... I think I want to make her not just obsessed but strait up have a severe mental illness. What do you think? I also may bump the story up to M for more wiggle room. I don't like the restraints of a T rating. Also pardon Meg's language here. I imagine she would just be angry beyond comprehension here. I also felt after such a long absence you deserved a long chapter. I very much so hope you all enjoy this.
"Really?" I muttered when seeing Helen, and began rubbing my temples. When Hercules returned home I was going to give him an earful about the gaps in his security. "What is it that you actually want? If you want to talk to Hercules he should be home before sunset,"
"Well while I wish he was here to see me clean his house of vermin, but I'll do it anyways. Pleasing my boss is just extra," She shrugged. I furrowed my brow, confused. I opened my mouth to question her when a second figure materialized in the room.
"Eh, Meg, how's it hangin'? How's the arms?" I shook my head, backing up.
"So I see it didn't take long to get yourself another lackey? You really are lost without a mortal woman to do all your work for you, remind me again why you're a god?" I asked, and Hades moved towards me faster than I could react to. He reached out, a hand clamping around my wrists and jerking me close, his face close enough I could smell his acrid breath.
"Wonder-blunder and I had a deal. Either I take him, or I take you. I think I'd rather you. Hercules is so... boring. Now you my little Nutmeg..." He licked his teeth as his eyes rolled over me; and I spat in his face.
"Fuck you!"
"Still haven't learned respect?" He growled, exploding into white-hot flames, scalding my wrists before the flames finally settled down. I gasped in pain, wanting to writhe out of his grip but the friction against my damaged wrists forced me to remain still.
"Fuck. You." I repeated slowly, locking eye contact.
"Hades!" A whiny voice chimed from behind him, "You told me I could do this, so Hercules would see that I'm a hero too. That I'm a woman worthy of him."
"Settle down, settle down. Geez Louise what is it with you furies getting into a twist over that overrated sunshine grenade?" He shook his head and dropped me, backing up and giving an exaggerated gesture with his hand. "All yours slugger," He snapped his fingers and vanished in a flourish of smoke. I crashed to the floor, drawing both my hands close to my body biting my lip trying to will away the pain. I was not too proud to hope he returned later to undo the burns, like he had done before. I looked up to see Helen approaching, brandishing some type of club.
"You're pathetic too. Fuck you," I spat gathering myself to my feet. My hands were useless the burns keeping me from making a fist, and the pain was making focusing difficult.
"You really want to prove to Herc you're a hero? That you're strong? Fight a monster, not someone who was already weakened by-" My sentence was cut off as she swung the club, and I only manage to roll away to doge my skull being caved in. Couldn't say the same about the shoulder that felt the impact of the club. I let out a shriek as I landed on my hands, and the world went white as the pain overwhelmed me.
"I am fighting a monster. Some scrawny siren on land, batting her eyes at Hercules, putting him under her spell. I'll free him!" She yelled, telegraphing her next move enough for me to successfully dodge.
"What in Tartarus?" Jason. Helen and I turned to see him charging at Helen. "You again?!" She moved to swing her club at him, cursing and shouting vows to bring him down with me, more delusions of us being monsters in human form. Jason grabbed her wrist, twisting it until she dropped her weapon. She yelped, and he dragged her out the front door and vanished, presumably to bring her to the attention of our lackluster security.
I got the first look at my wrists. My skin was red and covered in orange blisters. I wanted so desperately to shove my arms elbow deep into near-frozen water. I remained kneeling on the floor, gasping in pain, trying to focus on something, anything, other than my burns. I wasn't very successful at it. Even the pain in my shoulder was rendered a mild nuisance by comparison. I was still all but writhing on the floor when Jason came back in, and ran to my side.
"Are you okay?" He asked, and his eyes quickly moved to my wrists, "Your wrists..." He trailed off, reaching gently to touch my forearms and turn my hand. I had a hunch he was remembering the burns to my arms.
"She had a friend with her who disappeared pretty quick after this," I explained, gesturing to the burns.
"Come on, there's lard where the food is stored. But how did her friend manage to do that to your wrists?" He asked, leading me towards the back kitchen storage.
"You'd be surprised what large man with something on fire can do," I replied, assuring myself it was only a half-lie. More of an omitted truth. Take that conscience.
"I should have come sooner. I should have heard something. And how did a large man with something on fire and a crazy girl with a club get past the security guards?" He mused, shaking his head.
"You still stopped her from caving my head in, and yeah I'm also very concerned about how she got past the guards again." I shook my head in disbelief.
"It's not like I was about to watch her cave your head in. But I still should have heard someone actively burning you with fire. I mean I heard yelling and came as fast as I could but I guess I wasn't fast enough," I was a bit curious how he didn't hear Hades, but I just assumed that he was out of earshot at that point.
"Still, thank you," I was loathe to admit that with my burned wrists I was in no shape to fight off Helen on my own, and Jason really did save my skin. Once in the kitchen he had me sit while he fetched some lard and asked Rada, who was still cleaning the kitchen, to gather some linen. I pondered where Alex was, rather having the same person see me vulnerable for a second time than add yet another new face to the list of people who have seen me at my most pathetic. I still questioned Alex's motives, but she seemed nice enough.
Jason returned with a clay jar filled with lard, and began carefully applying it to my wrists, apologizing repeatedly each time I winced or gasped. I teased him for acting as nervous as Wonderboy, and he managed to finish his task without further apology. Rada returned with a basket filled with various linens after the make-me-smell-like-dinner part of the bandaging process was over.
"Your wrists..." She inquired, and began to wrap my wrists with the linens.
"Long story," I replied,
"A break-in" Jason corrected.
"A break-in?!" Rada shouted incredulously, "How in the..." She trailed off. "We have security at every gate. How?" I knew how. But I bit my lip. Saying divine intervention by a vindictive ruler-of-the-underworld would make me seem crazier than Helen.
"That blonde girl again, and I guess some dude brandishing fire?" Jason explained, looking at me for a better explanation.
"Hey why would I know why that crazy girl would bring a thug with her?" I retorted to the look he was giving me. He shrugged and stood,
"Let me make you something to drink." He disappeared into the storage room leaving me alone in the room with Rada. I thanked her for bandaging my wrists and she replied with a silent nod. The same hallway Jason vanished into Alexina emerged from,
"I heard shouting?" Her brow was furrowed, and her body was tense.
"That girl Helen showed up again," I told her and she sighed, pinching her nose.
"How? And what did she do?" She gestured to my wrists. Rada shrugged, and excused herself from the room. Alex came over, suspicion written all over face. I could only imagine what was going through her head. We both turned our heads when we saw Jason return with a jug, presumably filled with wine. He set the jug down and went to gather a cup, when I suggested he gathered three. After the last ten minutes of chaos the last thing I wanted was to be left alone with my thoughts. He poured each of us a glass of wine, mine which I struggled to grasp.
"You need something for pain," Alexina suggested. I shrugged, and clumsily sipped from my cup with two hands. I felt my cheeks and ears flush with embarrassment at this and regretted inviting the pair to join me. Since when have I become so pathetic? You're stronger than this. "We should have some willow bark to chew," She continued, apparently unsatisfied with my silent response. I was tempted to deny her request, to prove I was stronger than this. But dammit my wrists hurt. I nodded at her and she left, probably to fetch the aforementioned willow bark.
"Thanks for the drink," I turned my attention to Jason.
"What does that girl have against you?" He asked, lifting a brow. I shrugged, sipped my wine, and mulled through my thoughts.
"She called me a siren, and something about keeping Hercules under my spell," I chucked. "And I don't think she was being figurative. With the names she was calling you I think she might literally believe we're mythological beasts trying to destroy Hercules." I shook my head, wondering what Hades did to convince her to sell her soul to him. I almost pitied her.
"Well I can see where she got that stretch from. You should have seen the way he would talk about you!" Jason laughed, and I blushed again, diverting my gaze into my wine. He talked about me to others? "Easy to think you were a siren, with how head-over-heels for you he is," I chuckled nervously wondering how much of our relationship he knew about. It was too recent for him to know about my betrayal, I doubt Hercules was talking up the staff about that one. But it made me feel even worse about all my behavior.
"So, I hope when you dragged Helen outside you proceeded to beat the security guard she got by senseless," I said, trying to change subjects. It still felt strange someone could have strong feelings for me, and having someone tell me felt even stranger.
"He seemed as confused as me," Jason shrugged. Alexina returned with a pouch, and handed me a piece of willow bark. Jason welcomed her return with enthusiasm, which she promptly ignored.
"It's very bitter, but if you chew on it it should help your wrists," She explained, I nodded, and began to chew on the bark as instructed. Bitter was an understatement. I cringed at the taste, but continued to chew. The foul taste was by no means worse than the searing throb in my wrists. Even lathered and wrapped they were impossible to ignore. I thanked her, and gestured for her to join us at the table. We drank and talked for near an hour, and with the assistance of a little too much wine Alexina seemed to be getting out of her shell. Our conversation was interrupted when Wonderboy arrived home. I heard him somewhere in the den and shouted his name, with Jason echoing me. He eventually found us sitting in the kitchen,
"Seems like you're all having a good time," He chuckled.
"Come, sit, drink," I gestured, waving my hand but my smile vanished once I saw the look on his face. "My wrists?"
"Your wrists?" He asked, brow furrowed. I glanced at Alexina and Jason nervously. I knew I owed him an honest explanation. And truth be told, if Hades really was trying to cash in on a deal Hercules made with him, he deserved to know.
"A break-in" Jason explained, breaking the awkward silence. "That Helen girl and some flame-wielding psychopath. Guy left before I got to the den, but Helen was still there. Dragged her right out. Serves her right. But don't worry, Alex and I bandaged her up, but she got burned pretty bad." My cheeks flared with heat yet again, and I had to bite my lip.
"Meg..." He came over, sitting in the chair beside me and taking my hands in his.
"I'm okay, really. Slathered them in lard, wrapped them in clean bandages, and Alex even gave me some willow bark to chew. Bitter... but did the job." I smiled, to try and show him I was okay, or he was likely to go into shock with worry. Herc bit his lip, holding my hands carefully, running his thumbs across the backs of my fingers. "And don't you dare say something like 'I should have been here' you are allowed to leave the villa," I insisted, trying to give him a stern look but broke down into a fit of alcohol-inspired giggles. This seemed to ease him and he chuckled lightly.
"I can probably call Hermes and have him get something for the burns, and something better than willow bark for the pain. Burns hurt."
"I take it from that look on your face Phil put you through more than one nasty training exercise that ended poorly?" Both Alexina and Jason appeared equally interested in hearing humorous stories of the invincible hero having his ass handed to him by that tiny satyr.
"Oh that's not fair..." He pouted. And I returned his pout. "Stop giving me that look!" He crossed his arms and I pouted my bottom lip further, batting my eyes at him, "Oh you are just evil..." He scowled, and he relented. "Fine. Fine." I laughed, and smiled at him. I always enjoyed his misadventure stories. "So were training at Phil's cabin in the mountains and he had this ridiculous course set up,"
"Because the one on his island wasn't ridiculous enough?" I chucked, and he playfully swatted his hand at me,
"On this one setup I had to jump through a swinging spike hoop, dodge some arrows, then dive through 5 flaming hoops in a row, rescue the damsel, and swing to safety with a rope. Well I got through through most of it fine. I grabbed the 'damsel' and grabbed the rope. But a strong wind blew it wrong so I swung strait into the flaming hoops before crashing into the snow. Landing in the snow is the only reason I didn't get burned worse... but yeah. Both my arms were bandaged hand-to-shoulder for two weeks." I stifled my laugh into a chuckle and smiled at him,
"Guess you really are as 'flaming hot' as the fangirls say, huh?"
"You aren't funny" He insisted, narrowing his eyes at me.
"Oh you know I am,"
"Well your turn, missy. I'm sure you've had a misadventure or two."
"Another day, Wonderboy. Another day," I waved my hands trying to brush him off. I had misadventure stories. Many of them. But I wasn't ready to share them yet. I didn't survive my enslavement to Hades unscathed. Aside from Hercules no one knew about my contract, and I wasn't ready for anyone to know about that stint.
"Okay fine, keep your stories locked up. I'll get them out of you! Jason! You're it!" Hercules pointed, and the cook looked caught off guard and chugged the rest of his wine before responding with a laugh. He started telling a story, after which he tagged Alexina, who then tried to tag me again in return. I relented, recalling a story of learning to ride a horse with my brothers and how that ended with them having to explain to my father why I had two black eyes after one of the horses kicked me in the face. There was more than the height factor going for why I was initially less than fond of Pegasus. We all sat and talked for a long while, until the sun had set and growling stomachs declared how long we had been sitting. It felt nice to get to know them. And to see the strangely shy Alexina break out of her shell. "Meg, wanna go for a walk while Jason gets something cooked up for us?"
I nodded to him, glad for an excuse of privacy so I could disclose the true nature of my injury. With the willow bark and bandages dulling the pain in my wrist, the ache in my shoulder was becoming noticeable, mostly when I tried to use my arm to stand up and a sharp yelp of pain caught Herc's attention. I waved him off, promising to explain it in a minute.Stop being such a wuss. I thought briefly, but forced the thought to the back of my mind. Hercules led me to the small gardens outside of the villa, which resembled the one we adventured after that play about my cousin. And I don't think I plan on ever telling him that was my cousin. No need to bring up that branch of the family tree. I thought to myself. During the walk to the garden I asked Wonderboy about his day, and he humored me.
"Uneventful really. Took down the monster fast enough. Wanted to come home but Phil made me answer a few of the reporter's questions first. Especially after the disaster at the Daily Hornet. Get into the media's better graces again, prove I don't hate all reporters," He sounded like he was reciting Phil's script. "If he had let me come home on time-"
"Don't even start with that," I cut him off. "You can't feel personally responsible for everything."
"You've only been here for a few days... and I haven't done a good job of keeping you safe," He frowned, lifting my fingers so he could look at my wrists.
"Your security is the problem, not you. And about my wrists..." I trailed off, causing him to knit his brows. "It wasn't a random break-in. I told that to the others so they wouldn't worry so much. Herc... It was Hades..." I dodged his gaze.
"Hades..." His voice grew deep, and angry.
"He conned that strange girl Helen into selling her soul to him, and showed up at the villa with her in tow. He was talking about the deal you made with him. Your soul for mine. Because you left with mine, he feels entitled to one of us. And guess who he chose?" I tried to explain quickly before he could cut me off. He opened his mouth to speak, but just ended up shaking his head, the grip on my hands tightening. "In true Hades fashion I pissed him off so he exploded into flames. Unfortunately for me, he was holding my wrists at the time," I added, to explain my burns more specifically. I had to fight myself to tell him these things, supress the urge to keep it a secret. This involved him too, he needed to know.
"We have to do something. Now." His tone was angry, and I grew concerned he would allow his anger to override logic.
"Not that simple, and you know it," I replied. He shook his head at me, and carefully wound his arms around my shoulders,
"I can't just let him do this to you,"
"There has to be a loophole in this deal." I suggested, desperately hoping I was right. He couldn't have gone through all of this just to lose in the end.
"My father. He can get his brother in line." He answered. My heart began to race at the thought of involving further gods into our mess. I wiggled loose of Hercules's grip so I could look up to meet his gaze, his brows furrowed with determination.
"Why don't we think it over, don't jump to any decisions," I conjectured.
"I can't stand by if he's continuing to hurt you!" He yelled, causing me to flinch. "Sorry... I... I didn't mean to scare you. It's just. I fought so hard... how can Hades still be a problem?"
"I don't know. But we'll figure this out," I replied, though I didn't believe my own words. I knew how deals with Hades worked, he kept the wording simple to prevent loopholes. My soul for my former beloved, my freedom for Herc's weakness, Herc's soul for mine. They were very black and white.
"At least let me call Hermes, get you something for that..."
"I won't argue with that," I replied. He led me over to a bench, using his thumb and forefinger to give a shrill whistle before calling the god's name. I wondered very breifly how a god could hear such a strange summon when the blue deity appeared in a flash of light. I leaned back, startled by his sudden apparition.
"Hercules, man, been too long! And no I don't mean since a few days ago, haven't actually talked to you mono-e-mono in ages, man!" The god turned to me, and I thought I was going to vomit. "Well now, you're Megara? Right?" I nodded, feeling uncomfortable. My very brief visit to Olympus did naught to ease my anxiety about the gods. Outside of allowing Hercules to remain with me that had never done me right. "You're quite the topic up on Olympus. Saved the mighty Hercules, the reason he earned his godhood, motivation enough to make him give up immortality, yadda yadda. Quite the catch, huh?" I simply shrugged, and gave him a forced smile.
"Overstating it... really," I tried to reply, not wanting my actions held on such a pedestal. If it weren't for me nothing would have happened in the first place. I merely fixed my epic mistake. That is nothing deserving of praise. Had I prevented the war in the first place, that would have merited praise. "What's with the wrists? New fashion? You mortals change that so frequently can never keep up," He used his cassidus to scratch his head.
"No, Hermes. Umm she was badly burned. We need something to help them heal better than just lard, and something for the pain that works better than willow bark," Hercules explained, finally diverting the god's attention.
"Burned huh? Gotta be careful with fire. What happened babe?" I glanced at Hercules for guidance, unsure if I should tell him about Hades, or lie to a god to keep them uninvolved until we came to a decision.
"Umm..." I started, faltering for words.
"No matter," he replied, attention already lost. "I'll be back in a split," He answered and shot off towards the sky. Before Hercules or I could exchange words he returned, holding two pouches. "Here, this one is to apply right to the burns. Will help heal faster, and keep scarring to a minimum. This one though, be very careful. It's poppy. Very strong, doesn't exist on Greece. Had to get it from another country. Don't let anyone know about these, normally wouldn't give these to a mortal but you saved Hercules so this is the least I can do to thank you," He gave us more specific instructions on the strange liquid called poppy, and reinforced how to be very careful with it which made me hesitant to take it. We both thanked the god, and he flew off back to Olympus.
"You don't have to be so scared... Hermes won't hurt you," Hercules explained to me once the deity was out of sight. I shook my head at him,
"Probably easier for you, you grew up with them as your relatives," I retorted, and stood off the bench. My burns stung, my shoulder throbbed, and as the wine was starting to wear off my head began to throb too. I just wanted to lie down. All I wanted to do lately was sleep. I was just constantly exhausted. Hercules came up behind me, placing a hand gently on my shoulder.
"I didn't know he would make you uncomfortable like that,"
"It wasn't really him Herc. Think about it," I turned to face him. "You grew up a Demigod. The gods were simply a part of your life. In mine? The only time the gods intervened in my life was when Hades took my soul in exchange for another. What's normal for you isn't normal for me. Just... bear with me, okay?" I asked.
"They're not all like Hades. He really is the black sheep. Besides Hermes seemed fond of you. I imagine Aphrodite would absolutely love you, if not be agonizingly jealous of you," He smiled. I laughed, shaking my head at him,
"Shameless flirt,"
"The truth!" He defended, "You're the most beautiful women I've ever known..."
"Oh stop it, you cheesy goof," I chucked but I found myself feeling flattered nonetheless. Our pathetic attempt at flirting was cutoff when I gasped, drawing both my wrists against my chest, a whimper punctuating how pathetic I was.
"Come on, let's go in get you some of this medicine Hermes gave us and wrap those wrists with the new herbs."
Did this feel rushed? I'm not sure if parts feel rushed. I literally stayed up all night to get this written so I hope it's still up to snuff.