Blinding light.
A blast of air.
"All right, break it up!" Phil screamed at them through a megaphone. "Break it up! Party's over!"
"Phil…" Hercules growled under his breath. He sat trying to switch gears, but Megara had lost interest in getting bullied by the satyr.
She stepped in front of Hercules and glared into the light. "Calm down, mutton man! It was all my fault!"
Phil jumped closer to her on Pegasus's nose. "You're already on my list, sister, so don't make it worse!" He jumped off Pegasus and stormed toward Hercules.
Meanwhile, Pegasus huffed directly into her face. This brought him close enough for Megara to blow out the candle in his lantern. The horse was stunned by her audacity, but all Megara could think of was how, without that light, she might've actually kissed Hercules. The frustration at missing out was equaled only by the irritation at herself for how much she wanted it.
Hercules had made it to his feet now, and he put an arm around Megara. "Phil, you don't know what you're talking about. You've got to back off."
"Oh, yeah? Well, you're letting this harpy distract you from the fact she's using you! Every time she shows up, there's a monster around the corner! You'd better get out of here before something shows up!"
"If a monster did show up, it would be my duty as a hero to fight it," Hercules ground out between his teeth. "And I'd win. You brought me here to the city with the most problems in all of Greece, and you're shocked that one of its citizens is constantly in danger?"
"I'm really just not allowed to exist, am I? Do you even know what my secret plot might be?" Megara demanded to know. From the angle the goat man was standing, she could easily punt him into a fountain.
"Glad to hear you're finally catching on!" Phil barked at her. "You need to back off the kid! I don't know what you're planning, but whatever it is, you'd better take it somewhere else!"
Hercules reached down and picked Phil off the ground. "You don't get to talk about her that way, anymore, Phil. I love her."
Megara took a step back. "You what?"
The two of them stared at one another in a blind panic.
"That's enough!" Phil squirmed free while Hercules was too distracted to hold onto him. "I'm taking you to the stadium where you're gonna have the workout of your life!"
"Not tonight. There's something important I haven't told you," Hercules nudged Phil out of the way with his foot and moved to take Megara's hands. "Meg, sorry I blurted that out, but…"
"No, it's fine, I was only startled…" She tried to smile, but she was so dizzy she didn't know how to handle herself. Everything was not fine. What was she supposed to say now? It wouldn't be as simple as telling him she loved him, too. She couldn't say those words, not again. At some point in the last few seconds, she had begun to hyperventilate.
Phil refused to stop being obnoxious. "What's the matter with you? You've said you're in love with all kinds of girls, so you'll get over this one just like the others!"
"Don't… say it like that." Danger honed Hercules's voice to a fine point.
"I think I know why he hates me so much." She had to put the spotlight somewhere else. It was the only way she could regain her composure. "Is this because when we met, you came on to me, and I thought it was gross? Are you trying to sabotage Wonder Boy and me because you're jealous?"
"Is that… you mean while I fought the centaur?" Hercules waited only a second for her confirmation. "Phil! What did you do?"
"Yeah, I put the moves on her, before I realized she was a—"
Hercules reached down and picked his mentor back off the ground. "Phil. Not. Another. Word." With a hand over Phil's mouth to enforce his command, he looked at Megara. "What did he do?"
"Climbed into my lap like a creep? Expected me to kiss him and probably some other stuff. I dumped him in the river."
Hercules's face was so full of conflicting reactions of rage, disbelief, and disgust that it finally went blank. He dropped the satyr. "I think I get it."
"Kid…" Phil started.
"Later." Hercules stepped over him and offered Megara his hand. "I wish you'd told me sooner, but I understand why you wouldn't. You probably agreed with some of the things he said, didn't you?"
Megara shrugged. "I honestly didn't think we'd get more involved than some light flirting. It didn't matter to me what you thought in the end because you'd eventually lose interest and move on."
"I meant what I told him." Hercules brought her hand to his lips. "I love you. That was how I meant to tell you before, but it slipped out at the wrong time. I'm sorry for that."
Megara nodded. If she weren't careful, she'd faint.
Hercules wrapped an arm around her to hold her steady. "Do you need a minute?" Pained anxiety was written all over his face.
She hadn't said it.
She could never say it.
The longer she went without saying it, the more it hurt him.
"Yes… You talk to your friend. See if you can compromise."
"There's no compromise if he keeps saying nasty things around you. I'll keep him away from you while you relax." His touch lingered as she withdrew. "It's going to be all right, Meg." Hercules plucked a flower from a nearby tree and handed it to her. While she was distracted by the gesture, gazing down at the flower, Hercules leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Come back to me when you're ready."
Her heart sank only to leap back into place like the setting and rising sun. He was the center of the cosmos. She had to get away from him. "Goodbye," she whispered.
Then she was off. In the past, these statues had brought her comfort. There was something in the poetry of their frozen windswept passion that helped her remember to stay in the moment. However, there was an important reason she'd avoided this garden in recent years. Many of the statues depicted young lovers embracing. It made her heart wistful for the nights she believed in love. And yet, there was a change in her. It wasn't the same as before, but an echo of that sensation remained.
In the distance, Hercules and Phil were yelling at each other. She didn't have that much time before something blew up in her face. That something might just be a boss who'd heart too much.
Megara rested against a small monument to the muses. As long as she stood in the sanctuary of the goddesses, Hades might leave her alone to think. Where better to get her story straight than at a museum to collect thoughts?
It only featured five of them, but between those five, she ought to find something approaching rational thought. Calliope for epic poetry, nobody could ever leave her out, as the entire world was mad for heroes. It seemed she had the worst case of them all. Then there was Melpomene and Thalia, goddesses of Tragedy and Comedy, respectively. Megara had always resonated more with Melpomene. Terpsichore stood for dance, and Clio for History.
She wasn't sure why those who built the monument hadn't seen fit to include the other four. Maybe it was for the best the muse of erotic poetry wasn't around to give her any ideas. She breathed in the scent of the flower Hercules had left her with. It carried with it a sweet, calming aura that reminded her of the man who'd given it to her.
And that was the problem.
If any presence of the goddesses lingered in this garden, she would have to give them an offering to summon it. She dug through the lining of her girdle and found a few obols. With a clink of finality, she surrendered payment she may otherwise have given Charon. Her fingertips lingered on the coins, but there was no rescinding an offering once made. She backed away from the altar and bowed her head.
"Sing to me, o muses, for I am a confused mortal who once lived under the grace of your divine inspiration. I serve another master now, but I remember when things made sense. I need your help."
Faint music played in the distance, the one sign that she had earned the audience of the muses. None of them moved.
"Let me set the stage. I need a way out of this. I have a hero who loves me, but I belong to his nemesis. I need to get rid of this… love thing. Theoi, I hate saying that word. And I'm done. If you're crowning winners in the rotten judge of character, I'm waiting on my laurels." She gestured toward the entrance to the garden, where Hercules and Phil were still arguing. Thankfully, she was too far away, so she couldn't understand their words anymore.
Here, she could focus.
"I figured out the score a long time ago, you know what I mean? About men. And how they're slimeballs who want to use everyone around them until they're ready to toss them out a window." She started pacing, hands folded behind her back. "But you know what? I'm wondering now what I'm supposed to do about him. How do I break this off? He said he loves me! We can't… It's impossible. There has to be a logical solution to all these…" All her wild gestures could only conjure the word, "feelings," with the utmost distaste.
Silence from the goddesses.
"Right. This might fall out of your domain. Sorry to bother you. You're all about memories and inspiration. I thought it might be fortunate for me that you're here, and could advise me. Set me on the right course, won't you? How do I thread this needle?"
Did they need a second offering? What else did she have?
Slowly, Megara relinquished the flower Hercules had given her. She could all but feel the kiss he'd given her as if it had vanished off her skin. It felt like a betrayal.
But she wasn't in love with him. That feeling would pass.
Thalia, the muse of Comedy, was not the first person she would've beseeched for advice. Yet, she was the first to awaken. "Honey, who do you think you're kidding? You have been falling in love in our garden this whole time, and you think we didn't notice?" The fit of laughter which then ensued was the closest thing to what Megara had expected from her.
"I haven't… that's not what…"
Terpsichore giggled before she moved out of her statue pose. "Maybe you weren't all the way in love before you got here, but you're not any good at hiding your emotions."
"At least not as much as you wish you could." Melpomene had a gracious expression when she moved. "I know you best of all, Princess. I've never known you to squash your feelings when you wanted something."
"I don't want this," Megara lied. How had she gotten so casual with lying to goddesses?
"No, you need this." Clio unrolled the scroll of history. "Megara, Princess of Thebes, you have been granted an opportunity to overcome the circumstances of your family's fate. I hereby proclaim that history has reached a crossroads. You may yet prosper by injecting some Olympian into the bloodline."
Megara gagged. "Don't… don't say it like that! Besides, here's no time for… We only have one night to sort out…"
"It was merely a practical observation. I thought you enjoyed logic!" Clio rolled up her scroll in a huff.
It was at this time that Calliope graced Megara with her presence. "My sisters and I have observed you from afar for too long. It is time that we bestow our wisdom upon you while you are willing to hear it."
In the distance, Megara saw Pegasus fly away. It was unclear with how quickly the horse flew whether Hercules had gone along. Was she alone with the Muses now? Why would he leave her like that?
The forlorn panic that rose in her heart made her sick. She could do fine without him! Why should she care if he left her?
"He's the Earth and Heaven to you," Calliope told her.
"You can try to keep it hidden, but we've already seen through you," Melpomene added.
"You asked for our inspiration," Terpsichore reminded Megara. "Did you think it was impossible we'd tell you that you love him?"
"We can understand, honey!" Thalia said with a low chuckle. "Hunkules has some fine legs on him! Much better than last year!"
Clio did Megara a favor and bonked Thalia on the head with her scroll. "Apologies for her. But it's true. Just looking at you, we all know."
"Heroes inspire us all to greatness," Calliope stepped off the pedestal to reach for Megara's hand.
Megara knew better than to refuse the goddess, so she offered her hand. Rather than clasping hands, Calliope pressed the flower back into Megara's hand.
All the emotions that were tied to it, memories of the night as it flew by, were now flooding Megara's mind. So much for fighting her feelings.
"We all know the truth, but that doesn't mean we want to humiliate you. We want to see you embrace your heart again. Be the greatest you can be. The last time you felt wholly yourself was just before you gave yourself away."
"That was my worst moment," Megara jerked her hand free. So much for divine etiquette. "You write epic poetry. Do you want his story to end with Melpomene?"
"Actually, we're all collaborating," Melpomene said helpfully. "His life began, and soon there was the tragedy of his kidnapping."
"But it's always been funny when Hunkules puts his enemies in their places!" Thalia added.
"He will make history," declared Clio.
"He will be the greatest of heroes," Calliope said in her most authoritative voice.
"I'm just happy to be here!" Terpsichore announced gleefully.
"So that's your advice, then? That I just…?"
"Give up," Calliope confirmed.
"Give in," Melpomene stepped down to put her arm around Megara. "You must submit to Fate and the blessing of Aphrodite. This is who you truly are.
"No, this scene will not go on!" Megara backed away from the Muses. "I'm not going to march back over there and tell him…" she gagged on the words. "I'm not saying I'm in love. Do you have any idea how cliche that would be? Damsel in Distress falls for a hunky hero? What then? I throw myself at him and hope he makes everything okay?"
The Muses all looked at one another as if, yes, that was exactly what they thought about her.
"I get it. Every time someone falls in love for the first time, it feels great. People start thinking that's what the whole thing is like, but I can't afford to live through the fallout. This can't be love. I can't allow it to be!" She'd begun to pace. "I thought you'd be on my side with logic…"
"The logical course toward the best possible outcome includes you admitting you love Hercules," Calliope told her.
"We'll record a fantastic song about it," Calliope promised.
"What? No! No, this is not a musical! This is a group of adults discussing a difficult topic!"
"Why did you summon us if you didn't want to sing?" Terpsichore asked. "We'd dance with you, too. Then you'd feel better! You need to loosen up!"
Megara covered her ears. "This is not the night for that! I'm losing my mind, and I'll probably be dead soon! I need solutions! Please… tell me how we all survive this situation."
"You're awfully distressed for someone who isn't in love," Thalia teased.
"Your pride is getting in the way," Melpomene told her. "Will you be like your father and cling to your pride while you burn everything down around you?"
"Like my…!" Megara gasped. "No!"
"Remember how you used to beg him to consider the obvious, but he would fight so hard to deny it?" Melpomene asked.
Megara swallowed a lump in her throat. "This is different…"
Different like Hercules.
"Yes, because you can still choose," Calliope said.
All the Muses gathered around her and set a hand on her shoulders.
"You have our blessing," Melpomene said.
"You've always known what to say," Terpsichore added.
"You could always make someone laugh," Thalia said.
"Now it's time to reshape history," Clio said.
"You're part of this story, and we want to see how it ends. But know this: legends never die." With Calliope's final words, the goddesses vanished, leaving only their statues.
"I get it. You might have a point," Megara sighed. "But I'm still not saying it out loud." Yet she was still clutching the flower. She could say whatever she liked. The truth was clear. It didn't matter what she did or didn't admit. No love she'd ever felt for Theron had been this powerful, and she'd given herself up to a living death for him.
How much more would she do for Hercules?