Halfway down the mountain, the only thing that kept Megara going was the hero's hand clasped around hers. She needed to face whoever was waiting for her down there, even if she didn't want anything to do with Thebes anymore.
Going home would mean she sank deeper into the morass of misfortune that would only embitter her further. She still had a chance to escape that life and explore something better with Hercules. Why couldn't she disappear and pretend she was someone completely different? Why was she making herself confront the truth and make peace with it?
"Are you worried?" Hercules asked, swinging their hands as if they were in a meadow and not a Laconic mountain pass.
"Aren't you?" she asked.
"Not really. I'm so happy we're together now that all I can think about is whether they'll let us have a second date at the camp, and then I can take you home to meet my trainer and my friends!"
"Are you sure they'll want to meet me so fast?"
"Well, if they want anything to do with me, they'd better be okay seeing or hearing about you. I've got a feeling being around me will be impossible if they can't get over that."
"Wow, you're really… expressive." She hadn't counted on a real relationship, and she'd never been in one. What did it mean for a princess to be in a relationship her father hadn't arranged for her?
It meant she could make all her own decisions, and she'd chosen Hercules. Maybe her judgment was better than her father's, so she ought to trust herself.
"I-is that okay?" Hercules asked. "I'm… not sure if that's why girls don't like me all that much, but–"
"No, that's not it." She smiled up at him and stopped walking down the mountain so she could stand in front of him. "It's because most girls can't appreciate the fact that you're not hiding anything or playing games. You're always so open and kind, it's a little intimidating at first because we're not used to it and it seems fake."
"It does?" Hercules furrowed his brow. "When I'm… genuine and honest… it seems… like a lie?"
"Because we don't think anyone could be so perfect." Megara curled an arm around his neck, still holding hands with him. Her fingers threaded through the hair at the back of his neck, and she breathed in his scent. If she weren't careful, she'd embarrass him again. "But you are perfect. Don't change anything about yourself, please. And don't let your adorable Wonder Boy traits embarrass you."
"Okay…" He looked as if he was about to faint right there on top of her and knock her over. But no, he was just lowering his head to rest his brow against hers. "And don't be too nervous about being clever and sneaky, either… It makes you more exciting than anyone else."
As she gazed up at him, Megara's mind was flooded with the recent memory of how it had felt to kiss him. She went up on tiptoe, braced with her arm around his neck, and released his hand so she could add the other one.
Hercules closed his eyes and readied himself by setting his hands on her hips and lifting her closer.
Just before their lips met again, someone in the near distance slammed a spear against a shield, effectively breaking through the illusion they were alone.
"Who goes there?" a guard from the camp called up at them.
Hercules set Megara down and spun about to block her with his body. Then he cleared his throat and put on his "hero" voice. "There's no cause for alarm, sir! I am Hercules, and I'm a hero! In… training! And I've brought you Princess Megara of Thebes! She's safe!"
"Which part of this was letting me take the lead?" Megara hissed at him.
"Sorry, I thought they'd hurt you if I didn't say something!"
Megara clicked her tongue in disapproval, then walked around him down the mountain toward the camp. "Nobody panic!" she called.
More guards collected around the entrance to the camp. They raised their torches so they could see the faces of the approaching couple, and from there, a few soldiers came forward to collect Megara.
"I'm going, too," Hercules said, taking Megara's hand so they couldn't drag her away from him.
"He found me before any of you could," Megara pointed out to them as they entered the camp. "Who's the leader here?"
"Meggie?" the voice of her older brother made Megara drop Hercules's hand as if she might get scolded for touching a boy.
She pushed past the guards to stand apart from the crowd. There stood her brother wearing his amethyst circlet and a purple robe over a leather cuirass. There was concern etched across his face, but it disappeared to resolve into a smile.
"You came all the way out here to look for me, Menoikeus? Don't you have more important things to do?"
"More important than searching for my baby sister?" Menoikeus approached, ready to embrace her, and then saw Hercules. "Who is this?"
"He's Hercules," Megara said as she gestured her new boyfriend forward. "He's a hero."
"In training!" Hercules added with a nervous laugh and held out his hand for an introduction.
Menoikeus eyed him up and down for a moment, then accepted the handshake. "You look a little young and scrawny to be a hero, boy," he said.
"He saved me from a pair of Hades's imps," Megara said. "We should offer him a reward."
"A hero never accepts a reward for an act of heroism," Hercules blurted out.
"Give it a rest, Wonder Boy. You're dating a princess now. You've got to accept the occasional gift."
"You're what?" Menoikeus asked.
"When he saved me, we fell in love," Megara said, resting a hand on Hercules's chest and her cheek on his shoulder. "So now Wonder Boy is my boyfriend."
Hercules sighed, all the confirmation anyone could need that he was in as deep as she said.
"That's…" Menoikeus frowned, looked around, and gestured for the soldiers to go away. "Listen, you two, I'm really happy you had fun, but… You haven't done anything drastic, have you?"
Megara gasped. "No! We've only kissed a couple of times! Hercules is a gentleman!"
"Th-that's right, I am! I haven't taken advantage of your sister, sir. We're just so happy to be together, and it's so new… I hope I don't have to leave yet."
Menoikeus sighed. "There's a tent set up for provisions. Go get something and relax. I've got some diplomacy to take care of. The Spartans need someone to explain why we're here. You kids don't do anything you'll regret, please?" Seemingly exhausted, he walked away.
"That… wasn't too bad," Hercules ventured.
"We'll have to convince him to let us date," Megara said. "My father would never agree, but he would. So he's the one we've gotta work on."
"I didn't think you'd be the type who needed permission to do anything," Hercules said.
"Unfortunately, I was born a princess, and there are a lot more rules than I care to follow, but they still exist. Come on, let's go eat some soldier food. Do you wanna consider this a second date, or what?"
"I'll call it whatever you want as long as I can be with you," Hercules sighed. He followed her unsteadily to the tent with a long table. "But next time, I'll have to get you better food."