Hercules didn't sleep well that night, the way he usually would after one of Phil's punishments. The many leagues he'd run were not enough to get him back to Meg, and so he could not bring himself to relax. He'd never relaxed ever since Megara was out of sight, and her fate became uncertain. Her brother ought to be trustworthy, but they were returning home for a war… there were so many ways that could go wrong. He should be there to save her from all of it; that's what heroes do, especially heroes who are in love! What kind of boyfriend was he if he was sleeping in his hammock at home and she was facing threats he didn't even know about?
He'd woken up from his third nightmare of showing up for a date with a bouquet and a picnic basket only to find her broken, bloody body among many in a palace and decided he wouldn't go back to sleep.
Phil was still sleeping, evidenced by his heavy snoring.
There had been many times his trainer had annoyed Hercules, but this time he almost hated him. If Meg died because of him, there'd be no going back. Hercules would never forgive himself for allowing Phil to drag him away from the love of his life.
Hercules crept out of the house and into the night air. The stars were brilliant enough to light the sea and, on an ordinary night, would have left him in awe. Tonight, he remembered how he'd slipped up and let Meg know about his long-term plans to become a god and hang his likeness in the stars.
She'd thought he would leave her, and he promised not to, but then Phil had come along…
Hercules clenched and unclenched his fists. What was the point of being a hero if he let down the people most important to him?
If Pegasus knew the way to Thebes, he might go now, but he couldn't possibly drag Pegasus out of his nest for another flight. He'd wear his armor to school, get Pegasus to fly him instead of taking the barge, and then creep off to Thebes before Phil expected him home. He just had to stay focused on taking action so those hideous images of Megara betrayed and dying would stop replaying in his waking nightmares.
There was no joy in watching the sunrise after hours of skipping stones across the sea toward the mainland. Not even watching Eos illuminate a trail through the ripples could spark any happiness for him.
He maintained his focus throughout the day, jaw clenched, and eyes narrowed until he arrived at Home Economics class.
"This isn't how I expected you to look today," Cassandra noted when the teacher was done with her instructions and walked away.
Hercules hadn't even paid attention to the topic of the lesson. He'd been counting the hours since Megara was out of his sight. How much danger must she be in now?
A pale hand waved in front of his face. "Hey, Earth to Herc? Where's the future Mrs. Hercules? I thought you'd be a lovesick puppy all day, but you look so grumpy… what went wrong?"
The future Mrs. Hercules.
He indulged in his five hundredth sigh of the day. "Her brother dragged her home… she's a Theban princess… Thebes is about to go to war… I should've never let her go…"
Both Cassandra and Icarus winced and hissed sympathetically through their teeth.
"I'm sorry, Herc," Cassandra said and patted his arm. "Thebes is a rough town. We got lots of Thebans, so we'd tell all kinds of stories about it at the Pummeled Pomegranate. Or we did until it got… pummeled. It's one of the most cynical, depressing city-states in all of Greece… I'm sure even if you don't see her again, we'll hear what happened."
All the blood seemed to drop out of Hercules's limbs. He wobbled on his feet and had to steady himself on the table's edge. "You don't think… she wouldn't… They won't kill her, will they?"
"Princesses are almost always taken as hostages by an invasion force," Cassandra elaborated. "Someone will probably take her as the spoils of war. So… unless she refuses to go with them, I don't think she'll die. She may turn up as a queen somewhere, though. I guess it's possible she could be a concubine, too…"
Now, in addition to the blood abandoning his extremities, Hercules's stomach twisted into a thousand knots.
"Uh… Ma'am?" Galatea called from another table. "I think Hercules needs to see the priest of Asclepius?"
"No… no, I'm fine…" Hercules glanced shyly at his ex, who he always had a hard time looking in the eye. It was easier now that he'd met Meg, but at the same time, the striking resemblance between the girls made him dizzy. Why did his dream girl look so accurate to the girl he'd asked Aphrodite to customize to his dreams? How had he always known what color her hair would be and that she'd like purple? How deep must destiny run between them for him to subconsciously create a facsimile of her without ever seeing her?
As much as that thought might have destroyed his sanity under ordinary circumstances, it steadied him now. If Megara was his destiny, then he should have the chance to rescue her. This wasn't over.
"Are you talking about Megara of Thebes?" Adonis laughed his pompous laugh of derision. "I can't believe she'd be seen with you after being with me! But she must be feeling desperate now that Prince Polynikes is going to flatten her city. My father didn't want to involve Thrace, but we got requests from both sides of the war to support them."
Even at the best of times, Hercules felt his skin crawl when Adonis spoke. But now… now this was the voice of the guy who'd so deeply traumatized Meg, who seemed like she could take on the world without flinching, that she'd risk erasing her whole personality to erase the memories of meeting him. This arrogant bully had been trying to ruin Hercules's life ever since he arrived at the school, but nothing he ever did could compare.
"If I were you, I'd apologize for what you did and never speak of it again."
"I did nothing wrong," Adonis said. "Her family arranged for her to meet with me, and her feelings for me were obvious. Did she tell you a different story?" he began to laugh. "Thebans! They always claim to be so intelligent, but if you really know them, all they are is dramatic. I'm sure she put on quite a show for you."
"I don't know, Adonis," Hercules felt animated by pure spite, "maybe you're afraid to admit you couldn't get her interested in you, so you think if you pretend hard enough, we won't find out how much she hates you."
"Megara was very pretty," Adonis said. "Alas, I never got to enjoy her the way a girl like that should be. Now, I'm fairly certain Megara will be married by the end of the night. It's such a shame for a flower like that to be off the market."
"Aren't you dating Helen?" Cassandra asked with an exasperated sigh.
Adonis looked as if he'd been struck. "She's… allowing me to explore other options."
"Just shut up, Adonis," Hercules grumbled and turned back to his project, which was currently in the shapeless lump stage. He couldn't even remember the assignment.
Icarus nudged him. "We're braiding bread. Hurry up, your dough is already proving."
All Hercules could do was stare at the shapeless lump of dough in front of him. It looked like he felt. If he didn't rescue Meg from whatever her family or the invasion force wanted to do with her, was he even a hero? Could he ever call himself that?
"Y'know, Herc… Not every love is as pristine and eternal as the love between my sweet Cassandy-wandy," Icarus said. "This could be an Anaxarete situation, where you fall in love for a couple of days, and then you find someone better a few weeks later."
"Meg is everything to me," Hercules said softly, still staring at his unmolded bread dough. His hands started to mold it, but not into a braid. He couldn't make it something coherent, but his mind was electrified at seeing he could actually affect the world. He wasn't disconnected and useless. He ought to know better than to lose himself in moping when Meg needed him.
A hero would take action.
"Oh, Hercules?" Adonis called across the room in a mock sympathetic voice. "When you went out with Megara, how much time did she spend talking about me? Did she even notice you, or was she hoping you'd tell her how to get back in my good graces?"
Hercules spun around, using the same motion he'd trained in to throw a discus. The bread dough was still in his hands, but before he was consciously aware of what he would do with it, he'd released it, aiming right for Adonis's face.
It landed with such a heavy splat on Adonis's face that it knocked him backward. He squawked and screamed as if a hideous monster had latched onto his face and might bite it off.
Half the class ran over to see the damage, while the other half indulged in the rare moment to enjoy laughing at Adonis's expense.
"Go!" Cassandra pushed him toward the classroom door. "This is the perfect time!"
Hercules was off and running, then. Pegasus was usually hanging around close to wherever he had class. He'd find him. And then, whatever the condition she was in and whether she ever forgave him for leaving, he'd find Meg.