Megara lay bewildered on the bed Aphrodite had intended for her and her new husband to share wedded bliss. She rested his head on her shoulder and listened to his tear-stained breaths as they puffed against her neck.

Only one thing was clear: Zeus had demoted Hercules from god to… something less than a god. The pain of this transformation must be mixed with the betrayal of the fact it was his own father who did this to him. Hercules had come directly to her. His heavy footsteps had given her a hint of what to expect. His drained, ashen complexion twisted her heart with empathy. Megara had no idea what came next, but anything they did, they would do together.

Her fingers trailed through his hair and down the sharp, handsome lines of his cheek and jaw. The slightest touch as she stroked his skin made him shiver, and he pressed closer to her. Her heart broke for him. He'd never needed comfort more than this moment, and all he had was her. Could she ever muster enough wherewithal to offer what he needed?

Over the course of her young and tragic life, Megara had encountered multiple ordeals that had given her a taste of what he must be in the grip of now. She had often wished that there was someone to comfort her in those moments. Haemon always did his best. Menoikeus meant well, and Megarion could only mirror her own pain back at her. She'd have to do better than any of them. She could piece together the best amalgamation of what comfort she'd ever received and wrap it in the love she'd built with Hercules. It was new, but it would have to be enough to get them through this day.

Megara kissed his brow, bowed her head over his, and brushed her nose through his hair. He still had that scent to him, like lemons and honey, living sunlight. But there was something else. Something earthy. That could have always been present, hiding behind his aura, but suddenly he felt more real. He wasn't a dream come to life, he was a man, and she loved him.

"Mm… Meg?" Hercules's voice crackled, his voice rumbling through his chest and into hers.

"I'm still here," she whispered to him, her fingers following the waves of his hair from the back of his neck to his shoulder.

Hercules pressed his face into the arch of her neck and moaned out his pain against her skin.

"You don't have to talk; I think I know what happened." Megara kept her whisper as soothing as possible—or at least, she hoped it would be comforting. "I know Zeus changed you. That must be so painful for you. But I'm here. Whatever you need, I'll do my best for you."

There were many cosmic battles she could never fight, but the one for her husband's happiness was not insurmountable.

Hercules opened his shadowed azure eyes to gaze at her. He looked like a lap dog whose owner had dropped him out a window. "I can't protect you anymore, Meeg… Or not as much…" He closed his eyes, winced, and released a shuddering gasp of pain.

"Are you afraid this matters to me?"

He opened his eyes again. "You married a god…"

"I married a man who happened to be a god. Did you lose your personality and your powers at the same time?"

A tremor went through him. "No? Or at least, I don't think so…"

"Of course you're sad, who wouldn't be? But that has nothing to do with whether I love you." She emphasized that point by kissing his brow once again. "I will always love you. You know that, don't you?"

He winced again. "Well… I-I…"

"You thought I'd get bored with you when given options to move on and focus on my own independent endeavors. Now you think I'll lose interest in you because you aren't a god. I married you. I want to be with you. The point of this is that I get to be with the only man I've ever met whose heart is so magnanimous, whose voice is so sweet, and who will stop at nothing to do the right thing. If we can't be together forever, so be it. I was never promised forever."

Though he was still apparently suffering, Hercules propped himself over her with an elbow on either side of her. The deep blue of his eyes sought to draw her into their depths. She went willingly, prepared to drown. "You mean all of that?"

"Have I ever given you the impression I'd lie to you?"

He shook his head. "It's just that I can't believe how lucky I am… I don't feel like I deserve you anymore…" A hot tear dropped from his eye to her cheek.

Megara didn't bother to wipe it away. "You listen to me," she cupped his face once again. I married you. I will stay with you. Your godhood was never what made you worthy of me. It was your heart. It still is. I don't care what anyone else says about you. Don't listen to anyone else; my voice is the only one that matters. Maybe I'm the only person who can see what you're worth, but I'm not letting you forget it. Got that?"

Though he smiled, the tears didn't stop falling. "Sorry," He whispered and wiped his tears off her face. He slumped to one side, draping his body across her torso and keeping most of the weight off her with his elbow propping him up. "My father said I have to be mortal because I defied him. He mentioned how he and his father both overthrew their predecessors, and he doesn't want me to become a threat to him."

"That stuck-up, paranoid…." Megara remembered she was slandering the king of the gods and stopped. "Herc," She began again. "We'll figure this out. It might even be easier for us to figure this out together now that you're mortal. We don't have to bother with all that temple business, do we? This is a completely normal relationship between a princess and a hero. Nobody would bat an eye."

"You don't think they'll ask questions when I'm not a god anymore?"

"No, I think they'll be easily convinced that you became a mortal to better relate to them and that you intend to become the people's hero. Even if you're truly mortal, there's no reason they can't believe you denied yourself godhood for a time to become more familiar with the human experience."

Hercules smiled. "You make it sound so simple."

"Public relations and diplomacy are some of the only interesting things I've learned from being a princess. Whatever we choose to say, I'll see to it that people believe it."'

"I'm in awe of you, once again…" He smiled despite his pain and trailed a hand up and down her arm. "I was too upset to remember this before, but Aphrodite made my father promise that if I could regain my godhood, you'd become a goddess alongside me." He took a deep breath and searched her eyes. "Is that what you want?"

"I don't care about immortality. I care about you. Tell me what our future holds, and as long as we're together, I'll take whatever comes."

Hercules surged forward and kissed her before she could react. His kiss was full of words he couldn't speak. At least when he ran out of words, his tongue could still be eloquent enough to communicate. When he pulled back, he rested his brow against hers. "Meg… I don't think I can ever fully thank you. But I'll try. Every day, I'll try."

"Don't forget we're in this together. I'm trying, too. Neither of us has much experience in this marriage, but we're going to figure it all out together. What did Zeus say would make you a god again?"

"I'd have to become a True Hero. I have to 'embrace my Telos' again." He frowned, not even comforted by his own impression of his father. "I have to train, too, according to my father."

"That shouldn't be too hard for you." Megara grinned as broadly as possible, hoping to influence him. "You'll be amazing at hero training, and you've already been a hero. Why should this get you down? It'll only make you a stronger god than you ever were before!"

"Really?" He asked shyly. The way his ginger lashes hung over his steadily brightening eyes made Megara's heart race.

"I believe in you completely. You'll always have me on your side cheering you along."

Hercules gazed down at her with an intoxicating mix of affection and joy. "And you'll become my goddess, just like I've been dreaming you would be. I can't wait to be with you forever."

A thought whispered through Megara's mind, but when she focused in on it to better understand waht she was thinking, it roared. "Herc…" she whispered. "When you were a god, we had to put off consummating our marriage because it was guaranteed to get me pregnant… but now…"

Hercules's eyes lit up. "Are you thinking…? Are you sure you're ready to…?"

"We don't have to do everything, but we should try more from the pink scroll—if you have the energy. I don't want your father to rob us of our joy. This isn't a setback. This is our road map to victory."

"It is? Could we? Meg, I…" He looked away, then glanced shyly back at her. "I'm not sure I'm brave enough to presume…"

"We can make this up between the two of us. Aphrodite left us enough instructions, but what we do between the two of us is a conversation. It has to make sense to both of us and communicate what we want the other person to know."

"How are you so wise?" Hercules leaned in and brushed his nose against hers.

"I'm quoting the scroll," Megara snickered. "But, even if Aphrodite gave me a shortcut to that wisdom, it's still true. And hey… I just had a thought. You're mortal now. You should experience eating like one." She nodded to the food Aphrodite had left them. "You didn't really need food before, and you loved it. Think how great it'll be now that it actually nourishes you."

He perked up a little more. It was almost as if he hadn't lost the aura or the echo of his voice. "I'd like that." He reached over and pulled the table bearing all the food Aphrodite had left them closer to the edge of the bed. "We'll share it."

Megara didn't comment on how impressive it was that he could move that heavy marble table in his state. He might start spiraling into thoughts of what had changed about him.

"What do you think I should start with? Is there a specific order that makes the most sense?"

Megara grabbed a beef skewer. "I've been thinking of these the most." She picked the topmost chunk off the stake and nibbled at it. The steak was so juicy despite waiting through their interlude of distress that she hummed with the pleasure of eating it. "You should have the next one! And remember to chew slowly. Don't try to force it all down now; you might choke on it if you aren't careful."

He looked at her with a sudden concern. "Is being a mortal really that difficult?"

"Just about everything is more difficult. You can't disappear and reappear wherever you want to go, injuries take weeks to heal, or they don't heal at all, and you definitely can't smite people whenever you feel like it."

Hercules savored the beef she'd given him and hummed with pleasure. "When we're gods, we will still feast like this."

"Of course." Megara rested her cheek against his arm.

Hercules breathed heavily from the burden placed on him. Even without the presence of his aura, his emotions flowed seamlessly into Megara's heart.

"It's daunting, isn't it?" She wrapped an arm around his middle to squeeze him close. "But do you know what I think? I have a great respect for the power of prophecy. I believe that in giving you this challenge, Zeus has ensured your victory."

Hercules looked down at her, a glimmer of hope in his sapphire eyes. "You think that was a prophecy?"

"Yes. I believe that you are destined to meet the terms of this challenge. As a god of heroism who had never faced the challenges that mortals endure to become heroes, you were the concept to aspire to. This is your chance to become an example."

Hercules sat up fully then, his eyes fixed on a point in the ceiling. "I believe you. You are so much wiser than me."

"My perspective is different. That doesn't make me any wiser." She cupped his chin in her hand to bring him back around to look at her. "You will live up to your Telos, and you will embrace your full potential."

Hercules took her hand, giving it a firm squeeze. "It will mean more to me than anything ever has because you'll be there with me."