The nearest theater to them had already begun a play. Rather than disrupt the performance, they perched with Pegasus on a hill overlooking the stage.

"I hang out with Dionysus, so I've seen a few plays, but I'm not sure I was sober enough to understand them," Hercules mentioned to her during the second repetition of the chorus's opening song.

Megara was distracted, but she looked up at him with a smile. "Oh, well, I study theater at school. I enjoy seeing professionals in the craft. It's inspirational."

"I'd love to see you onstage."

"Well, I'd be under a mask, so at best, you'd hear me onstage."

"You have a beautiful voice."

"I'm well-trained."

"I think you always had a beautiful voice, and they helped you realize it."

"Maybe that's true. You're really good at finding ways to twist something into a compliment."

"I'm only detangling the compliment from the tangled mess of humility you wrap it in. You ought to be proud of your accomplishments, but it's like you're afraid to be."

Megara considered that, but as she watched the events on stage, she found herself less capable of reason. This was no mere play. This was the tragic life of Oedipus, her uncle-cousin, played out before her very eyes. Hercules was bound to recognize that this was the sordid history of her family any minute now!

"I've got to watch more plays," Hercules said. "It's like this is happening but not really happening, and I'm completely sober!"

"It'll get wilder soon. You'll probably think you're drunk by the end of it." Megara drew up her knees to her chest and rested her chin on them.

"Are you cold?" Hercules draped his arm and his cape over her shoulders and held her closer.

While a zephyr lapped against their faces, the golden aura that surrounded Hercules enveloped Megara as well, making her feel as if this were no more than a mild spring afternoon. She hadn't been cold before, but now she was lost in the intoxicating warmth of Hercules.

"Thanks," she whispered.

Now, she felt as if she might be drunk, as her head bobbled with an inability to process so much of him all at once. Aphrodite was right; they weren't ready to dive into whatever activities were outlined in her scroll. At this juncture, she might faint dead away in the attempt.

Hercules rubbed gentle circles on Megara's arm. "You've got to tell me what's bothering you. I worry about it too much to let it drop."

Her anxieties raged, but Megara knew there was ultimately no point in concealing the fact she was born into the family this play was exposing. Could she bring herself to speak the words?

Before she could muster enough courage to break the silence between them, someone onstage called on Creon. There was mention of Thebes and its many perils, and she felt a wave of understanding rush through Hercules into her.

"Do you want to leave?" he asked.

"I'm not sure… this is supposed to be our time getting to know each other, so… this is me. I'm sure one of those girls on stage is supposed to be me."

"That's where you came from, but it isn't who you are. To me, you're passionate and caring, and you have a firm sense of justice. That's already more than anyone's put onstage."

Megara sat up straighter. She hadn't expected any of that praise, nor did she know how to process it. Were those things true? They didn't speak to how she saw herself at all.

"I can't believe how much you've been through," Hercules murmured after a few minutes of watching the events play out onstage. "That prophecy… I can't let it come true."

Megara shook her head. "This play is about how you shouldn't try to alter the course of a prophecy. If it's meant to be, nobody can change it."

"Yes, I can," Hercules retorted.

There was no point arguing with a god.

"Maybe so," she placated.

"Things change sometimes. My father overthrew his father, who overthrew his father before him. We're doing something different now: talking about our disagreements. The whole order of the universe is better now, more peaceful. You're going to see it. We'll create something so much better together."

Megara wasn't ready to fully embrace this worldview, but the conviction in his voice was enough to banish most of her doubt.

At the end of the play, Hercules gasped and instinctively covered her eyes so she wouldn't see the bloodied mask of Oedipus. "I'm so sorry you had to see that!" He whispered and kissed the top of her head to comfort her.

"I saw it already. I was a child, but I saw it."

Hercules shuddered and began to rock her. "I wish I could've stopped it," he whispered. "I was too oblivious… I didn't know this would happen, or I wouldn't have let it happen."

This she believed.

"Everything here was set in motion before I was born," Megara reminded him. "How much older are you than me?"

"I'm… uh… I don't really know how old I am. It sort of doesn't matter for someone like me."

"It matters to me. Ask your mother."

"Sure, maybe she'd remember." Hercules brought her to her feet and studiously kept her turned away from the stage. "I shouldn't have brought you here. You were supposed to have a perfect day with me."

"I love how you think you can protect me from things that have already happened. You've already done more to set all of this right than the rest of the pantheon. Laius could've been punished without so much collateral damage. Someone could've created a less horrific punishment for the rest of us who were powerless to stop what he did. We should've been able to deal with the tragedies of his horrific behavior and move on, but no. All of us are forever shamed and imperiled by him."

"Not forever," Hercules said. "We'll figure it out. Polynikes is out there somewhere. He might become a problem. But I'll find him and stop him. Eteocles is a poor king, and I will remove his crown if he fails in his duties. If your father or mother should raise a hand against you, I will make them see the error of their ways. This ends in our generation. The next will know nothing of those hardships that we don't tell them."

The finality of his statement, coupled with the fact that he was in no uncertain terms referring to the children he intended to have with her, made Megara's head spin. "You can do all that?"

"Nobody else has tried. I believe all that remains is to try."

"I guess that's the major difference between where we grew up. I'd never hear anyone from Thebes say something like that."

"Never before," Hercules corrected.

"Sure. But you still need to figure out what you'll do with all this power of potential."

"What would you recommend?"

At first, all she could do was stare at him. "You want my opinion?" She was so stunned by the opportunity to share her opinion without condemnation that she couldn't remember what it was.

"You have so much more experience and wisdom than I do. I couldn't have realized there had to be change in the world if you didn't show it to me. I'd have been lonely and confused, but I wouldn't know that I had a job to do. I've always been sort of… admired for doing nothing?" he made a face. "That sounds a bit wrong…" He scratched the back of his neck. "But I was born beloved and never did anything to earn it, and then there was no way to go, but down, so I've been on a plateau for a long time. You've got a fresh perspective. You can teach me how to be better. So yes. I'd like to know what you think I should do." He took both her hands and gave them an encouraging squeeze. "Please."

"In that case…" She couldn't think while staring at him. Megara turned away to collect her thoughts. "There ought to be some way to make things right," Megara said. "I know Laius was a bad person, but that doesn't mean every man in a position about to get cursed is pure evil. I feel like the gods could do a better job of recognizing when someone is intentionally or unintentionally trespassing against Olympian morality. I mean, even some laws on Olympus could be more flexible. Your father still has Prometheus chained up, and he's getting his liver eaten out every day because he gave us fire. Without fire, we'd die. I feel like there's a lack of appreciation for mortal frailty all around."

"You're right; all of that's awful. I'm sure if I talk to my father, he'll understand. You make it all make so much sense! Don't worry," he nudged her softly with his shoulder. "My father's a reasonable guy, and he's the god of justice. He'll see it for what it is, and he'll do the right thing."

Megara watched him for a moment, wondering if it would occur to him that his father hadn't seen fit to change things yet, and he'd had centuries in the case of Prometheus. Saying anything about that might provoke reprisals from Olympus, and she was already pushing her luck. Someone might credibly accuse her of hubris now, so she would have to make peace with her blessings and not reach any higher.

"Is something wrong?" Hercules brushed her hair from her face to get a better look at her expression.

"Oh, I was thinking… we'll have to go our separate ways soon." She didn't want to leave him. She wanted to be with him always. But that was foolish. She'd never get away with that.

"We do?" Hercules asked. Why? Is there a time limit on dates? I'm sorry, nobody told me. I wasn't sure I was doing this right…"

"I'll fall asleep soon, and we can't… shouldn't… I mean… it's not usually done to stay out all night…"

"Do you want to go home?"

"No, I'd rather stay with you forever."

A light shone out of Hercules that didn't hurt her eyes, but it washed away the budding shame she felt for revealing the depth of her affection for him. He took her hand and put it over his heart. "We can find a way, Meg. Soon." He held her hand over his heart, then pulled her closer with an arm around her waist. "But you're right… Aphrodite had a point: we're moving so fast… If we don't separate for now, there's no telling what'll happen…"

She knew exactly what would happen. She could feel it starting now. Though she knew that given a minute more to abandon her inhibitions, she'd beg him to take her right there on the ridge; the time was not yet ripe. "Come see me tomorrow," she whispered, then pecked his lips with a kiss that was just as brief as it was adoring. It's about time I went home and got rested up. I'll need my energy to keep up with you tomorrow."