Megara eyed the round ceramic box Megarion had summoned for her with suspicion. It was lacquered with shiny black paint; the sort applied to the outside of a black figure vase. There were scenes etched into the sides depicting a scene of vinedressers collecting the grape harvest. A few cats twined between the harvesters' legs as if waiting for their masters to be finished with their work so they could reclaim their attention for themselves.
"Are you gonna open it?" Hercules asked, hovering over her shoulder.
"I'm not sure… My brother might've put a prank in there, so I'll open it and drop the box."
"I'll open it for you!" Galatea volunteered.
"I already foresaw that you'd like what you saw in there," Cassandra said.
"I don't trust you; you've been talking to my brother too long; you could be covering for him so he can get away with his prank."
"Let's find out!" Galatea pulled the lid off the ceramic box and gasped, along with everyone else who crowded around to see what she'd uncovered.
Within the box shone a crescent-shaped golden crown gleaming with raw amethyst, which was attached to a translucent linen veil embroidered with gold thread.
"You're a princess again," Megarion said. "And since I know you hate crowds, I knew you'd hide under a table if I gave you this out there in the throne room."
"You're right, and I'm still planning to do that right now…" Megara looked from one side of the dining room to the other for an escape route.
"Relax… remember, you agreed to perform at dinner, and then you said you'd put this on… and this is a much smaller group. You weren't afraid to sing for this crowd, so what's the problem of being crowned in front of them, too?"
She had no answer for him, but she eyed him with unspoken malice.
In response, all Megarion did was smile.
"You should let us see how it looks," Hercules said. "I'll put it on you." He lifted it out of the box and held it up to watch the way the veil draped. "This is really pretty."
"How else could I convince her to wear it? I dragged it out of the royal treasury. Got Dio to check it for curses and everything. Completely curse-free and not attached to anyone in particular who led an especially cursed life. You can make it yours."
Hercules held the crown over Megara's head. "I've got an epithet now; you should have one, too."
"We could call her the Cunning Megara," Megarion suggested. "It seems in line with our values as a family and her accomplishments."
"Doesn't it sound a little… devious?" Hercules asked. "I know you can be devious when necessary, Meg, but I feel like there are so many more dimensions to you than that."
"Sure, there are, but there's more to you than your muscles, too, and we still call you mighty. There's plenty of time to collect new epithets, but I think there are worse places to start."
Hercules nodded solemnly. "Very well, then. That's where we'll start." He lowered the crown onto her head. "There." He arranged the veil to drape evenly over both her shoulders. "You look like the goddess you'll become someday."
Megarion nodded his approval and raised his arms to the crowd. "Friends from all over Greece, you are hereby invited to recognize my sister, the Cunning Megara, and founder of the twin branch of the Cadmean Dynasty. It is rare that Thebes witnesses a blessing, and this will be the first of many. Thank you for joining us in our time of celebration. Please, enjoy tonight's feast, and don't mob my sister for attention. She bites."
Megara cast her brother a disapproving glance that quickly split into a smirk. "Oh, is that how it's gonna be?"
"I only gave them fair warning," Megarion said and lounged back onto his dining couch. "Now everyone knows not to mess with you."
"Do you think Adonis will be okay?" Helen fretted. "I think I should've gone with him."
"Don't," Galatea said. "Have some fun with us; hold onto your freedom."
"Adonis is a waste of time for all involved," Cassandra said. "Why did you even invite him?"
"I didn't want to, but his father sent me this huge letter about how he was a royal heir of my generation and didn't deserve to be excluded. He needed to be included in this ritual so we would not have animosity between our nations."
"Uh… sorry…" Hercules muttered, scratching the back of his neck. "I might've… stirred some up."
"Thrace will not match against Thebes and its allies," Theseus said. "They know better. Adonis has failed to ingratiate himself with his citizens, and even his parents loathe him to a degree. I think the real reason he's here is so his parents have to see less of him."
"They've let him get away with so much for so long. It's hard to believe he wouldn't continue to get away with everything he wants to do."
"The King of Thrace has no appetite for international conflicts," Theseus said. "A humbled Adonis might even be a boon to the kingdom. Now, all that remains is to enjoy our time without him in peace."
The first course of the feast consisted of salted almonds passed around the hall.
It was enough to occupy Helen gradually, so she spent less time ruminating on the fate of Adonis's face. She was even more absorbed in the souvlaki skewers that accompanied another round of wine.
"Adonis told me he heard you wanted to start a League of Heroes," Helen ventured. "He thought maybe it was to cover up for Hercules retiring."
"I'm not retired. I'm just focusing on my personal life," Hercules replied.
"Oh, I see," Helen lied. She was clearly as confused as ever.
"The real trouble is that I don't like sharing him, and there are still monsters out there in the world," Megara explained. "Someone has to take care of all those creatures, but if it's always Herc, well… It's not just me who needs him at home. I know the impact of a bad father, and missing out on the kind of father Herc would be might be just as bad."
"You don't think that takes a bite out of Herc's clout?" Theseus asked. "He's one of the most overtly heroic beings ever created. It seems he was always destined to maintain the highest rank among heroes."
Hercules laughed, bowing his head in humility. "Maybe that's true, but you know… I've always wanted to put my loved ones first, and now that I've got Meg and Harmonia, it's them who rank higher than me in my eyes."
"Wait, you already have a name?" Helen asked.
"How do you even know what to call it?" Galatea asked.
"Multiple goddesses confirmed," Megara explained. "It's a rare opportunity. In fact, everything's been going so well for me recently. Maybe I ought to be more nervous than I am."
"You've got nothing to be nervous about," Hercules contended. He wrapped an arm around her and scooted her closer. "I've got you, and we've vanquished all our enemies."
Helen, Galatea, and Cassandra all aimed skeptical looks at Megara's midsection. She didn't need to hear them say that there was one thing left to be nervous about. If she weren't so concerned about Hercules guilt spiraling, she might even have mentioned how difficult the next few months before Harmonia's birth would be. Not to mention the birth itself.
She shot significant looks back at the other women, hoping that they, too, would maintain silence around that sensitive topic.
Sensitive to the growing silence, Megarion summoned a series of musicians into the room, and they began to pluck strings and puff into flutes. There was a recognizably uptilted mood to the song they played, which was strengthened by horns and drums that joined in after the first group began to play.
"Now might be a good time to give your command performance, my cunning sister."
"You may be right. If I wait much longer, I might take a nap right here." Megara hauled herself off the dining couch and stretched. "Which of my songs should I start with?"
"I dunno," Hercules said, one hand against her back to keep her steady but also to maintain contact as long as possible. "I'm sure whatever you sing will sound enchanting."
"I've got a slow one and a fast one. I'm just wondering which one will be the most appropriate to the venue."
"Slow to get you warmed up and then fast as a showstopper!" Galatea said. "I want to hear both!"
"I'll see how it goes, then," Megara said and approached the musicians.
Some of the musicians still seemed young enough to be in school, but there were a few experienced musicians that she thought she recognized from two lifetimes ago when she studied music herself. They regarded her with a similar degree of not-quite recognition, but all of them were smiling.
"I hope you're looking forward to this as much as I am. Play me in on the count of three. We're doing I Can't Believe My Heart first, all right? And when that's done, I'll transition to the other one."
Servants continued to serve dinner to guests who had now reoriented themselves toward her. That same thrill rushed through her of knowing she had a captive audience. Now, she had a crown, as well. Everything she did and said had taken on a greater significance.
"Help me sing, Muses, this song you gave me. Please let it stand as a testament to all the changes you've witnessed since its writing."
The song began with a few strains of the strings. A song would usually grant more of an intro, but the Muses hadn't set one up for her.
One blessing of the otherwise schmaltzy song was its theatricality. It helped her overcome the awkwardness of expressing her emotions directly, something the Muses must have considered for her benefit. The words came to life as she sang them, seemingly manifesting the image of Theron's face as she declared that she'd always thought men were slime. She glanced away, and he seemed to disappear.
She continued the song, dragging herself through the introduction and avoiding contact with Hercules's wide, nervous eyes. He'd only heard or read some of this song, and it still put him in an insecure spot.
Not this time.
She poured all her affection into the chorus devoted to how much she'd changed to admit she loved him and that her heart was wise enough to recognize his worth. By the end of it, she knew he was about to cry. Hopefully, the next, much livelier song would help him recover.
"That's only the first of the songs the Muses wrote for me," she said, "and every word of it's true. This next one is based on a conversation I had with them in a garden."
While the musicians sounded the first chord of the next song, nine pillars of purple light filled the room, and the music students' instruments appeared to multiply. The dining chamber was transformed into a concert hall by the arrival of not just the five muses Megara had spoken to that night some months ago but their four less popular sisters.
Undergirded by the chorus of muses, Megara was emboldened. She hadn't indulged in her love of entertaining for a long time, aside from the occasional on-the-job flourish.
The Muses filled her with an inspirational spirit that propelled her to the heights of the song with no regard for any visions of the past.
Melpomene and Calliope were the ones most eager to interact with her. They stood on either side of her and nudged her toward the couch where Hercules still sat.
He'd begun to smile at some point in the song, which she'd have to remind him of at some point when he put on a sour face about it. She knelt on the upraised armrest of the couch, singing the final notes of her song.
Hercules regarded her with a smile, but his eyes were shifting through a dozen or so emotions she couldn't quite catch before one flickered away for another to replace it. He seemed to be considering whether he should participate, and it was clear after a second longer that he was restraining tears.
Megara curled her finger for him to get closer.
Putting up no resistance whatsoever, Hercules slid along the couch to her and rested his cheek on her lap. His thumb rubbed a slow circle into her knee, and she felt both his smile and a few teardrops through her dress and himation.
Her performance had certainly landed with her target audience.
Megara leaned over so she could rest her cheek on Hercules's shoulder. "Are you glad I have two songs about you now?"
"Yeah…" Hercules whispered with a slight hint of laughter. "Now I want one about you."
"I'm sure the muses have already started composing one," Megara rubbed his shoulder. "And then we can have one for Harmonia."
Hercules reached up to cradle the back of her neck in one hand and turned his face toward her. His other hand went under her knee to support her while he shifted so he could draw her into a kiss.
It was one of the sweetest moments Megara could remember sharing in public. When the applause started, she didn't care if it was for the show, for the Muses, or because their hero was getting some.
When she lifted herself gently from the kiss, she thought she caught a pair of eyes watching her from even closer than before. Dark, familiar eyes, full of derision. She blinked a few times, but this time, they did not disappear.
Theron was here.
He'd heard everything.
Megara grabbed Hercules's hand. "Let's get out of here," she whispered.
Sensing her trepidation, Hercules shot upright.
He could see something in her eyes, but when he looked back around to see what had frightened her, Theron was gone. "What's wrong?" he whispered.
"Let's just…" A cramp had started collecting at the base of her neck. "Get some air. Let's get moving, and I'll show you where to go."
Hercules didn't hesitate. He scooped Megara into his arms and strode off wordlessly from the dining hall.
Megara watched the crowd over his shoulder, begging Fate to give her proof that she'd hallucinated. Let it be that she was too afraid to accept her good fortune and not that fortune evaporating all at once.