Megara retreated as soon as Hercules left the city.
She had no interest in the arrangements for her brother's coronation, nor did she anticipate the reunion Hercules had promised. She shouldn't let herself be this disappointed from one misunderstanding, should she? It must have something to do with the heights to which she'd ascended before the letdown.
This was why she hated heights. Her expectations had taken her to such an extreme that it was untenable, but she hadn't seen it happening until it was too late.
Every moment between her and Hercules played out before her mind's eye, but it soured until it faded behind a curtain of bitterness. She'd been deluding herself. Her heart was foolish. If she could cut it out and bury it, she would.
When Megarion knocked on her door, she ignored him for several minutes, preferring to stare at the ceiling and wait for him to leave.
Instead, he shouldered the door open with Haemon's help. They stood in the middle of her room, the only light provided by scented braziers outside.
"You've got to stop this," Haemon said.
"No, I don't. Close the door and leave me alone."
"Actually, you do because you're going to die," Megarion said.
"Up you get, it's time for dinner." Haemon scooped her into a seated position on her bed.
"We just had dinner," Megara grumbled and tried to push her brother away.
"Yeah, yesterday," Megarion shot back.
That made more sense than it should have. Had she slept? She couldn't remember noticing the changing of the light…
"This boy really messed you up, huh?" Haemon asked.
"I don't want to talk about him," Megara said in a monotone.
"Come on, he didn't mean it. He was stupid. That's not his fault, is it?" Haemon tried to smile, but she saw through it.
"He wouldn't fit into our family if he stayed that stupid," Megarion observed, "but he apologized immediately. There's no reason to stay this upset."
"You're boys, you wouldn't get it." Megara turned toward the wall. "Just leave me alone, won't you? I don't want to go out there, and I'm not interested in food."
"So funny story about that," Megarion said. "We're going back to school tomorrow. Menoikeus has declared that the school will meet so that we can get back to normal and repair our memories of the place."
"I'm not going!" Megara slammed one of her pillows in Haemon's face. "Let go of me! I'm not interested in going anywhere. And if Hercules comes back here, I'm sick."
"You're going to make yourself sick if I let you." Haemon lifted her out of bed and carried her out of the room despite all her protests.
They soon arrived in the dining hall with Menoikeus, Antigone, and Ismene. This trio watched Megara's antics with various degrees of done-with-it on their faces.
"Nice to see you, Meg," Ismene said.
"Stuff it!" Megara shrieked. "I don't want to be here!"
"So noted," Menoikeus said. He clapped, and attendants brought Megara honeyed wine and some soft-looking bread. "You're going through your first big breakup. It's understandable."
"We're not… really broken up…" Megara mumbled, hungry for the first time since she sat down with Hercules the day before. Still, her pride restrained her from eating, even if the bread's scent had begun to intoxicate her.
"If he doesn't return for my coronation, he is not going to return," Menoikeus said. "That's what's making you so sick. You're worried because you feel that love you had dying. I'm sorry, I know it's terrible. This is a time when our family should come together to support you. If you want, I will see if there is another arrangement I can make for you. It should lessen the sting of this relationship burning out if you can focus on another one."
"I… don't… want… someone else."
Menoikeus nodded sympathetically. "Do you want to stay here forever? I've never had that impression from you."
"She will do her duty by this family," Antigone said. "There might even be another hero we can welcome to the city."
"Don't be mad at her, please?" Ismene's smile did not move her sister in any way. "Meggie didn't refuse Hercules. He refused her. She's not the one who…" Ismene trailed off as Megara had begun to cry.
Refused. The word burned into the shell she'd built around her heart, and she sank to her knees with her face in her hands. That wasn't really what had happened, but even knowing that didn't stop the tears. It rewrote her memories of what happened. Maybe he'd given her a soft refusal because he was a boy who wasn't ready yet.
He might stay away because he would be too afraid to face the responsibility of marrying her. Not everyone matured. He could hide from her indefinitely, even if he'd seemed so committed.
Now that they were separated and he would return to his daily routine, there was no real promise that he would come back for her.
Haemon and Megarion were on hands and knees to either side of her, trying to get her to perk up. She remained too inconsolable to register any of their words.
A hand was in her hair, and a sharp yank brought her to the moment.
"Antigone!" Haemon gasped. The pressure left her hair. "That's my baby sister. You leave her hair alone!"
"Pay attention!" Antigone shouted at Megara. "Your little fling was auspicious for a time, but my brothers are dead because of you! So, if you think you get to feel worse than I do, you're wrong! Creon is frustrating any effort to create a monument for them, and there are guards on the battlefield who are trying to stop people from burying them!"
"Be careful what you say," Megarion instructed her. "Those guards are there so that the bodies aren't carted off before their home nations can come to pick them up. They are also there to keep the carrion beasts off of the bodies."
"We need to treasure the family we still have," Ismene said. "Meg's always been a good cousin to us. We should thank her for helping us survive what happened."
"And what happened, Ismene? Will you kindly tell me what happened to our brothers that Meg was so helpful with?"
"They started a war, and we had minimal casualties," Haemon spoke for Ismene. "Honestly, Tigs, don't be like this. I've loved you for years, but you have to recognize that Meg is going through a rough time, and she needs us all to help her get through it. What you're doing is… not that."
"What about what I'm going through?" Antigone demanded. "I'm the only one who's mourning my brother! You three have been party planning for a coronation to replace my brothers. Ismene is useless, and Megara has been doing nothing but wallowing in self-pity! What's the matter, Meg? Are you sorry he didn't want to stick it in you?"
Nobody expected Megara to get off her knees, much less ram her head into Antigone's chin. They landed on the table amongst unladen dinner trays and goblets of wine, and Megara just kept pressing her attack.
There were no words at a time like this. She couldn't articulate just how much she loathed her cousin, but she could show it to her.
It didn't last long, as Haemon and Megarion dragged her away, and Menoikeus restrained Antigone from coming after her.
"I'll have some attendants bring food to you in your room," Menoikeus said, holding onto Antigone while she tried to fight her way to freedom. "It is always a pleasure to see you, Meg."
"You'll all see what comes for a family that won't bury its dead!" Antigone howled. "When none of you recognize how important this has been, the gods will punish you!"
"Shut up, lunatic!" Megara shot back to her as Haemon slung her over his shoulder and carried her from the room. "In case you haven't noticed, even your fiance would rather support me! Go think about that, and make a list of all the times your brothers ever did something that wasn't repugnant!"
Megarion closed the door behind them.
"Put me down!" Megara beat at Haemon's back with her fists while he continued to carry her back to her room.
"You'd probably faint or run off to start another fight," Haemon replied. "I'm not putting you down until you're safe in bed. Maybe you were right that you shouldn't leave your room too soon. Clearly, the world is not ready for you."