Chapter 2 - The Invisible Monster

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"Thy Naiad airs have brought me home

To the glory that was Greece.

And the grandeur that was Rome."

-To Helen by Edgar Allan Poe

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Word was going around the city of Thebes that an invisible monster was on the loose, flying amuck and causing havoc, with the ability to make anyone fall in love instantly with the first person they saw or even an animal. You could end up falling in love with your pet pig if you weren't careful. Some said the invisible monster could be a winged serpent. Others said it was an angry god who people had forgotten about, leaving no offerings at their alters or temples. They weren't sure which god though.

Meg was hanging around outside the temple of Artemis in nature, with some nymphs she had met who she might call friends, a flower nymph, a dryad (tree-nymph), and a naiad (freshwater nymph).

"What do you think about the monster they say is on the loose?" the flower-nymph asked.

"It's probably after young maidens," the dryad replied dryly.

"What do you think it is though?" the naiad asked from the riverbank.

"Nobody knows," the flower-nymph said. "It's invisible."

"A serpent," the naiad said.

"A boar," the dryad said.

"Calm down," Meg said loudly. "There's no monster running around that I've seen around here."

"Well you wouldn't if it's invisible," the flower-nymph said back.

"And it's not such a very scary monster if all it does is make you fall in love with someone," Meg kept going.

"The first person you see," the dryad retorted.

"It could be around here somewhere," the naiad said. "And you looked a bit spooked this morning," she said to Meg.

"And if you mean that boy that snuck into the temple last night," Meg said, wringing out her pink toga dress in the river, "I have a word or two to say to him if I catch him again. He won't get past me again."

"What?" the nymphs said over giggling.

Suddenly there was a burst of blue flames and shadows as a tall, dark figure appeared, with flaming hair and a dark toga said to be stitched so you could see lost souls in it. The nymphs ran away with screams as Meg stood her ground, shirking slightly and making a face. The dark figure was Hades, lord of the underworld.

"Meg!" Hades said, approaching with an attempt at a friendly smile. "Imagine finding you out here in this neck of the woods. I didn't know you were hanging around the temple of Artemis lately. Hiding out from something? Or someone? Just thought I'd check in on how you're doing. Actually . . ." his brow furrowed and his expression darkened. "The townsfolk are demanding a maiden be given over to the monster prowling around, to assuage the gods. I just thought I'd look around for a lost maiden around the temple of Artemis and here, look, I find you."

"I don't think so!" Meg crossed her arms and looked away, tossing her long hair. "I still like being alive, thank you, in my short, brief life on the earth." Her expression changed to sadness, her eyes falling and her shoulders dropping. She was crestfallen. "But I suppose, if it would save everyone else from the monster, then I'll go." Now there was resolve in her voice.

"Actually, you don't have a choice," Hades said, as if he hadn't heard her. "I've caught you here fair and square and now you're the maiden I've decided to hand over to this invisible monster roaming around. I know you think it was me that let it loose like I'm usually behind these things, but I honestly don't know who's behind this one. A monster, or some angered, forgotten god?" He mused aloud to himself. "Come with me."

Hades grabbed Meg's arm in his claw-like grasp and poofed her to the top of a hill. "Just wait here until the monster comes to collect you, at sundown." He grinned down at her. "Perhaps if you were more beautiful than Aphrodite or braver than Athena, you might stand a chance against the monster," he said, narrowing his eyes.

Meg stood resolutely still and quiet, not meeting Hades' eyes but looking out at the view from the top of the hill. "I'm not afraid of any monster," she said flatly.

"Rats!" Hades cursed. "I've found the bravest maiden! But just you wait and see, this monster will be your undoing." He grimaced at her, a skull-like smile, then disappeared in a cloud of cold flames.

Meg patiently and steadfastly awaited her fate as the sun descended. The last golden rays disappeared on the horizon, leaving only a crescent moon and starlight to see by. Hades had picked a crescent moon to mock her for being a follower of Artemis, sworn off love.

Suddenly she felt a rush of a pleasant, cool breeze, and felt herself lifted up off the ground. Her sandaled feet left the hilltop, dangling in mid-air. She nearly shouted out, her hands going up in the air, as her pink toga dress and long hair floated on the wind. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness and she saw, to her surprise, the same boy she had seen sneaking into the temple last night. He had snuck up and had his arms around her, lifting her up into the air with him. He had a white feathered pair or wings flapping in the wind. A bow and quiver of arrows were around his shoulders. He wore a short white toga. His hair blew around his face, smiling, though she couldn't see what color his hair or eyes were in the dark.

"Put me down!" Meg screamed.

"I can't just leave you here," he replied.

"Get out your bow and arrows, quickly!" she replied. "There's a monster or serpent or something coming!"

"No, there isn't," he said. "There isn't any monster. It's just me."

She peered at him curiously, but it was almost too dark to see him. They didn't have any candle or light to see by, except the moon and stars.

Beating his pair of wings, the boy flew her over the woods, over the temple of Artemis where she had sought refuge, over the city of Thebes with lit lights glowing, over the Greek countryside with olive and laurel trees, and toward the seaside. It was a lovely flight as soon as Meg had calmed down.

"What was all this about a monster?" she asked as they flew. "Just some teenage boy with wings and a toy bow and arrows. How scary could you be?"

"And you, what did you do wrong to get sent up to the hill like that and left for someone to find?" he retorted.

"Not telling." The girl crossed her arms in mid-air. "But can you really make people fall in love with anyone at all, though?" she asked, looking at him over her shoulder.

"With my bow and arrows," he answered. "They don't really harm anyone but, if someone gets hit, it makes them fall in love with the first person they see. They were a gift from the gods - Be careful not to touch them."

Meg drew her hand back quickly. "So there isn't really a monster then like everyone says," she said.

"Oh, there are plenty of monsters roaming around Greece," he said with a laugh.

"But you're behind this though. And your arrows magically make people fall in love? So love is an invisible monster," she finished flatly.

"Meg, isn't it?" he asked.

"Ah, you remember last night," she said, nose stuck up in the air. "It's Megara, but Meg for short. And what was your name?"

"My name's Hercules," he answered. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"I'll just call you Herc then."

The winged boy flew her away into the night, strong arms holding her up in the air, as they blew on the wind past Artemis' crescent moon and stars hung in the sky.