School had once been an escape for Megara, but now it felt like a prison camp where everyone was expected to expose their feelings. This was Thebes, so people were generally used to tragedy. But in the face of a narrowly avoided catastrophe, the shock remained firmly ensconced on every face.
Even those who were meant to provide the students with guidance seemed as if they weren't ready to talk about it, and yet everyone was gathered in the outdoor auditorium to hear them talk about it.
"We're grateful that all of you could join us," said the school principal. "We thought we'd lose you, and yet the mighty Hercules of Athens was able to turn the tide of the war before it had even begun."
"All hail the Mighty Hercules!" cheered someone in the crowd, and then the auditorium was full of his name.
Megara sank lower in her seat, arms folded and eyes hooded with irritation. It was bad enough she'd been forced to go out in public, but for her ex-boyfriend's name to be on everyone's voices…
"Where is the loverboy?" a honeyed voice asked over her shoulder.
"Shut up and eat dirt," Megara replied to Theron.
"Hey, don't worry, I'm not the enemy here." Theron slid into the empty space beside Megara afforded to her by the fact her resting bitch face drove everyone else away. "I saw you guys on the wall. I thought there'd be a wedding announcement after a performance like that."
Megara shot him a withering glare, hoping that would be enough to send him away, but instead, he bumped his shoulder against hers.
"So what happened, Meg? Your co-star left the stage during intermission. Will he be back before the finale?"
"None of your business, Malaka."
"Consider me a concerned citizen," Theron said. "You're a pretty girl, Meg. You shouldn't let an idiot on a flying horse ruin your life when you have so many options."
"You have options, too. One of those options is getting out of arm's reach before the claws come out."
Theron placed a hand over Megara's and squeezed. "I may not know much, but I know that if a girl looks like that because of a guy, it's time for her to trade up."
"Yeah? You know someone?"
Why was it so hard for him to take a hint? Theron lifted her hand to his lips. "You know what'll make you feel better? Getting away from this place where they keep saying his name. I've got a jar of wine waiting for us in the graveyard. Why don't we take a break? You'll feel better once you've had a chance to forget this jerk."
Megara yanked her hand free. "Get a life, loser. You're off script, so what you say has to matter."
"I'm not all talk, and I can show you if you let me." He continued to smile despite the many times she'd tried to rebuff him. What was wrong with him? Why did he seem more interested in her now that she'd been with someone else?
"Theoi, there's something seriously wrong with you." Megara got up to walk away, but Theron grabbed her by the arm.
"Yes? Princess Megara?" the speaker onstage had caught sight of her moving, and now that she'd been called out, all eyes were on her. On her with Theron clinging to her arm.
"The princess brought Hercules to us!" one of her classmates exclaimed before she could track the sound to its source.
"How did you find him?" someone else asked.
"Is he single?" She locked eyes with this one.
"No," she said with the finality of dropping a stone into a lake with that girl's ankles tied to it. "In fact, he came to find me because he's in love with me."
Gasps went through the auditorium, and then cheers replaced them. Megara wished she could be as delighted as everyone else. She had been once. She'd thought they'd never part and that they'd live together in harmonious, perfect love.
She'd been such an idiot.
Even if he came back for her, it would never be perfect. It might even fizzle out after a year, and she'd wish it had never happened.
"So why are you holding hands with that guy?" someone else asked.
"Are you cheating on Hercules?"
"No!" A rumor like that could ruin her life, and it would definitely shatter any chance of a reunion with Hercules. "I'm not cheating on him. This guy just won't let go of me!" Again, she tried to yank herself free, and that time it worked. "Listen, and don't forget this, all right? I'm in love with Hercules, and none of you have any hope of stealing him from me. Is that clear?"
All her fears regarding whether or not Hercules would return paled into comparison versus someone else getting with him. She'd walk into Hades with a sign reading, "Lethe Thief" before she let any other girl go after him. As an added bonus, Theron finally let her yank her hand free.
"How did you meet him?" asked the principal. "Were you going to find a hero to help save Thebes?"
No, she was trying to fulfill a selfish desire to delete a bad date from her memories. "Yes, I knew we needed a hero. He always wants to help, and he firmly believes that a hero never requests payment for an act of heroism." Even as she spoke the words, they burned her throat. "That's how I knew he was perfect for the job." Maybe he wasn't perfect for her, though. If only he were a little more mature or at least less of a slave to his ideology… But then, if he weren't such a noble Wonder Boy, he wouldn't be the man she loved…
"Who knew Princess Megara was such a noble friend of the city?" the principal was astounded. There must be something about surviving what you expected to be the end of the world that made people go crazy. It had certainly worked on her.
"Would you like to come down here and speak to us about the future of Thebes now that you're bringing a hero to us?"
"No, I'd rather not, and could we stop talking?"
Her classmates were in no mood to let her get away with that.
"Is he going to marry you?"
Megara wobbled on her feet. "I don't know."
"Is he even coming back?"
"Shut up!" Megara had no time for this. The tears were going to fall if she lingered, and none of them could see them. They'd only draw conclusions.
She went running out of the auditorium with no direction in mind. Haemon should never have forced her out of bed, and where was Megarion? He was supposed to be at school with her, but he'd vanished almost as soon as the speakers came out to annoy the assembly.
This was officially the worst day of school she'd ever sat through.
She tore through empty halls but stopped when she heard a set of footsteps rushing to catch up with her.
"Meg! Wait up!"
No, she wouldn't wait!
Megara darted behind a storage jar and crouched there, covering her mouth so Theron wouldn't hear her heavy breathing.
"I just want to help you!" Theron called. He'd pitched his voice differently, making it sound almost gentle despite the yelling. "Let's go somewhere for you to clear your head!"
That's what she needed, but she didn't want to be anywhere with this guy or any guy. She'd even hesitate to go somewhere with Hercules, but there was no way she'd pick someone else to wander off with.
Anyone who saw them together would think…
"There you are." Theron crouched in front of her. "You're really scared, huh? I've never seen you like this before. What did he do to you?"
"Nothing, and mind your own business."
"You don't have to be scared of me."
"So you think I forgot what happened in the changing room last week?" It had been last week, hadn't it? One week and her life had zigzagged as much as the meander on the border of her shield.
That shield that foretold she'd become Hercules's consort.
Was that still real?
What did that mean for her?
Did Athena mean for it to last only until their breakup? But… Hercules wasn't divine yet. That meant that she would become his consort after he achieved godhood… or… was she misreading the whole thing? She'd have to ask Athena…
"Hey, stay with me." Theron put a hand on her cheek, and she squealed at how deathly cold his skin was. "You are clearly hiding something. All's not well with the hero. Come with me. Whatever else you think about me, we both handle our grief in the same way. You'll see. All you have to do is come with me. You don't have to come back to school, and I won't tell anyone from the palace where you are until you're ready to go back. If you're ready, that is. We'll go somewhere by ourselves, and you can say whatever you need to without judgment. I'm sorry you misunderstood my intentions before, but you're all alone right now, and to me, that adds up to a bad boyfriend."
"You heard what I said back there. I'm still with Hercules, and you're in my space. You know what he does to guys who get too close to me, so don't push your luck."
"If he comes back, that might be a problem for me," Theron said. "But I've got a feeling he's not rushing back. He lives in Athens, right? So he's probably got a life there. How do you know he doesn't have another girlfriend there?"
Because he didn't even know how to handle himself around Megara, who was doing 90% of the work for him the whole time.
"You don't know him." Megara wanted to flee again, but her feet hurt, and she wasn't even that fast. "He's too honest to lie about that, and he's too sweet to double-cross anyone."
"Then what are you so upset over? He must've done something."
"It's none of your business."
"I'm only going to keep guessing the longer you don't tell me."
"Again, it's none of your business! It's between the two of us. Just get over yourself already, won't you? I can at least wait until the coronation to see if he's there."
"We both know he won't be and will you be able to handle that?"
"I'll handle whatever I have to handle, and for the last time, get out of my face!" With nails bared, she slashed at his face.
Her hands never made contact. He grabbed them midair and squeezed down on her wrists until they hurt.
"You're clearly not thinking clearly," he said. "Come with me. You'll see things my way in no time."