Author's Note: This story is not a sequel to "The Sea Refuses No River" and "Drowned", but it may be seen as a continuation, of sorts. The usual disclaimer - I don't own these characters and I'm not profiting by "borrowing" them for this innocent little tale.
Hercules couldn’t hold back a grin as he watched his friend cram a blanket into his pack. In contrast, the demigod folded his own blanket neatly and carefully arranged it with his other belongings as Iolaus turned to him, blue eyes dancing with excitement.
“A whole week away from the Academy,” he sang out. “Just think of it, Herc. No getting up at dawn to run drills. No sitting through classes all day. No chores to do. And no Academy food. For the next seven days, it’s just going to be you, me, and the fish.” Iolaus sighed contentedly, plopping directly down on the blanket that Hercules had just taken such pains to fold.
“Do you mind?” The demigod yanked his blanket out from under his friend, but he wasn’t really annoyed. He was also looking forward to the break from the rigors of the Academy, even if he was a bit more stoic about it than his exuberant partner. “And don’t start celebrating your freedom yet. We still have one more class to go.”
“Don’t spoil my good mood,” Iolaus complained. “You know, it would be just like old Fiddle Face to spring a pop quiz on us for our last class.”
“Not even Feducious would be that heartless,” Hercules told him. “Come on, lets go enjoy our last terrible meal here.”
“Race you,” Iolaus challenged, bolting off in the direction of the dining hall. Hercules didn’t even attempt to beat him. The blond’s energy level was rapidly reaching hyper mode, and he knew it would be utterly pointless to try and keep up with him.
After lunch, Hercules and Iolaus joined the rest of the cadets in the classroom. Everyone was looking forward to the break which was almost within their grasp, and they were all eager for class to be over. Iolaus was squirming with impatience in his seat as Feducious droned on, and he wasn’t the only one. The crusty instructor noticed the lack of attention from his class, and after repeated warnings, he announced that he was giving them a quiz. Amid a loud chorus of groans and protests, Iolaus shot the demigod a pointed glance.
Finally, they were free. Gathering up their packs, Hercules and Iolaus lingered for a few moments, bidding farewell to their friends, before they passed through the Academy gates and set off down the road.
“How did you do?” the demigod asked.
“Not good,” came the reply. “I just couldn’t think anymore. My brain had already left for vacation, even through my body was still there.”
“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Hercules told him. From all of the sighs and desperate expressions he had seen from his fellow cadets, Iolaus hadn’t been the only one that had trouble. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Feducious doesn’t count this quiz. I think he just did it to scare us.”
“He probably wanted to suck any joy out of our break that he could,” Iolaus confirmed. “Well, he’s not going to ruin my fun. I’m totally putting him, and the Academy, out of my head for the rest of the week. Iolaus is officially on vacation.”
Hercules had to admit that his friend had earned a vacation. Over the last several weeks, Iolaus had really applied himself to the academic side of the Academy. He had stopped fooling around in class, mostly, and had been trying to pay attention. To the astonishment of the rest of the cadets, he had begun doing homework, passing the evenings hunched over his scrolls with a studious determination. Iolaus’ biggest problem was forcing himself to concentrate on the information that he was sure he’d never need to know outside of class. But once he began to figure out how to make himself focus, learning became easier for him. Hercules worked with him, showing him how to relate the information to his own life, and Iolaus’ grades had shot up considerably. Chiron had been notably impressed, both with the effort and the results.
And Hercules had been proud of his friend’s accomplishment, and also happy that Iolaus had worked hard at something and had succeeded. Life had dealt young Iolaus more than his share of problems, and the demigod had been afraid for awhile that his friend was going to succumb to the forces trying to keep him down. But now it appeared that he had risen above all that for good.
At least for the moment, nothing was going to keep Iolaus down. He bounded along the road, babbling incessantly about the trip that they were planning and repeating over and over how great it was going to be. Hercules walked along in silence, listening to his friend’s excited chatter and following him with a small smile.
The pair soon arrived at Alcmene’s, where they were going to be spending the night. She greeted them both warmly and ushered them inside where she had dinner waiting. There was enough food on the table to feed an army, but with her growing son and Iolaus’ never-ending appetite, it was about right. Full of home cooked food, Iolaus finally calmed down enough to convince Hercules that he wouldn’t have to tie and gag his friend for the night. The evening passed by peacefully, and as the morning sun rose to dispel the night, the boys rose, eager to be on their way.
Hercules expressed some concern over the fact that he had only stopped at home for such a brief period. He worried about his mother having to cope with everything all on her own, and he had observed many chores that needed done around the house. But Alcmene brushed his concerns aside. Although she knew that she only needed to say the word and both her son and Iolaus would postpone their trip to get the work done, her practiced eye could see how much they both were looking forward to going.
“Don’t give it another thought,” she ordered them. “You’ve both been working very hard and you deserve to enjoy your time off. I can manage just fine around here, so both of you get going and don’t worry about me.”
The boys finally bid her farewell and began their journey, loaded down with extra food that she insisted they take with them. It was shaping up to be a bright, sunny day, and both of them agreed that the weather couldn’t be more perfect for traveling.
“So, how did you find this place?” Hercules asked his companion, who was already digging around in the parcel that Alcmene had packed for him.
“My uncle Flatus took me there once,” Iolaus replied, stuffing a honey cake into his mouth. “We were hunting off to the east a little bit, but there’s this big cave that overlooks the lake. I’ve always wanted to go back there and fish it. It’s perfect, Herc. It’s so isolated, we’ll probably have the whole lake to ourselves.”
“Sounds great,” the demigod replied, but he was suddenly starting to get an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach, which usually meant trouble was brewing. Not wanting to ruin the fun with what he convinced himself was probably paranoia, he brushed the feelings aside.
“Is everything ready?” Ares looked expectantly at Strife and Discord, who had broken off their persistent squabbling as he materialized before them.
“Yeah, we did what you said. But, Unc,” Strife came forward and lowered his voice to a conspiratory tone. “Don’t you think this plan is just a little... lame?”
“Lame?” The god of war glared at his nephew.
“Yeah, lame. That thing we put in the cave is just completely bogus.”
“Strife.”
“I mean, Hercules is going to be able to snuff that thing in his sleep.”
“Strife...”
“Now if you ask me..”
“Strife...”
“What we need is a really big...”
“Strife..”
“Yeah, Unc?” the godling managed to gasp out before he slid down from the temple wall to the floor, victim yet again by one of Ares’ powerful fireballs.
“Did it ever occur to you,” the god began sinisterly. “That I want my dear half brother to kill this creature?”
“No, it didn’t,” Strife replied belligerently, dusting himself off. “But you know, maybe I would have a better head for strategy if you would just, oh I don’t know, stop ramming it into walls!”
Ares raised his hand threateningly, ready to give him another shot. Strife quickly coward behind Discord, who promptly elbowed him hard in the ribs. He collapsed on the floor, whimpering piteously.
“So,” the goddess purred, sidling up to Ares. “Just what is going to happen when Hercules kills the creature?”
“He’ll get a surprise,” the god of war promised. “One of the fatal kind.” Ares and Discord began to laugh evilly. Strife joined in, grabbing on to the goddess’ arm as he tried to pull himself up, only to have her send him sprawling back to the floor with a hard right.
“Its too bad Jason couldn’t get away to come with us,” Hercules commented. Iolaus quickly agreed. Ever since the coronation, Jason had been swamped in Corinth and rarely ever got to leave the castle. Both of them missed their friend’s company a great deal. While Hercules had become good friends with Theseus of late, he could never replace Jason. He didn’t even come close as far as Iolaus was concerned. A small part of him still bore a grudge, unable to forgive Theseus for leaving Hercules to die in the forbidden zone.
“It’s a good thing your mom gave us some food to take along,” Iolaus stated, pulling out his parcel and arranging what he had left. It had taken them most of the day to reach their destination, arriving with just enough daylight left to set up camp in the cave and gather in enough firewood for the night. With no time left for fishing, both boys were grateful that Alcmene had stocked them up.
“Here,” Hercules offered, holding out a honey cake to his friend. Predictably, Iolaus had eaten all the treats out of his parcel before the sun had even reached its noon position.
“Thanks, Herc.” Iolaus beamed delightedly as he accepted the gift.
Hercules had a sneaking suspicion that his friend’s ravenous appetite was largely due to the fact that he probably never had enough to eat when he was younger. Their family was poor, more so than Iolaus would ever admit. He really had grown up with nothing, fighting for every crumb he got. The demigod lately had been feeling guilty of all the time he spent bemoaning the fact that his father had abandoned him. What right did he have to complain about that when he had a nice house, a loving mother, and had never wanted for anything. He didn’t know what it was like to be cold and hungry, but he had the feeling that Iolaus did. As a child, he had been oblivious to his friend’s plight. But now that he was aware of the imperfections of the world, he had made it his personal goal to try and shield Iolaus from that kind of treatment in any way that he could.
“So,” Hercules drawled after they decided to settle in for the night. “Should I wake you at dawn so we can hit the lake?”
“Do it and die,” Iolaus threatened. “I’m sleeping in tomorrow. We have all day to fish. We have all week, for that matter.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Hercules snorted. “You’ve been so antsy the last few days you’ll have me out there an hour before dawn.”
“Don’t count on it,” Iolaus said airily, even though he knew he friend was probably right.
Both boys made themselves comfortable on either side of the fire, and after a few more minutes of conversation, they said their goodnights. Despite his level of excitement, or maybe because of it, Iolaus dropped off right away. Hercules lay awake for a bit, getting the feeling once again that something was wrong. But eventually, the flickering flames of the fire worked their hypnotic magic and lulled the demigod into a sound sleep.
Hercules awoke a few times during the night, just long enough to add a piece of wood to the fire. It wasn’t terribly cold out, but as was the nature of caves, the air was cooler and damper. The task of keeping the fire going invariably fell to the demigod, as Iolaus was a far too heavy sleeper to be entrusted with the chore. Hercules had no doubts that the entire cave could fall down around them without disturbing his friend’s slumber.
Iolaus woke quickly, however, when he felt something on top of him. His first instinct was to yell out his partner’s name, which he did before a vise around his ribs began to squeeze the air out of his lungs. He felt himself lifted off the ground, and finally saw what was going on. The dying flames of the fire revealed that he was in the grip of a very large creature, moving directly toward a mouth full of razor sharp teeth.
The demigod was instantly alert as he heard his friend’s call. He paused for a second, staring in disbelief at the scene before him, wondering if he was dreaming. A huge creature filled the cave. It was a rather shapeless thing, drab gray and dripping with slime. It didn’t have much in the way of eyes, but it had a large, cavernous mouth with lethal looking teeth. And Iolaus was heading right for it, trapped securely in the monster’s claw like hand.
Hercules reacted almost without thinking. Picking up a sword that was lying by the fire, the cadet vaulted and rolled, coming up next to the immense creature. It paid no attention to him, focusing on the meal that it was about to enjoy. With one hard thrust, the demigod drove the steel blade straight into the monster’s neck. As the sword punctured the soft flesh, a greenish cloud exploded out of the creature into Hercules’ face. He collapsed on the ground, choking violently.
The monster had dropped Iolaus as Hercules stabbed it, and the blond cadet had landed on his back on the cave floor with a hard thud. Wincing as he picked himself up, he suddenly became aware that his friend was crying out. Skirting the still, fallen form of the creature, Iolaus knelt beside the demigod, who was writhing in pain.
“My eyes,” Hercules whimpered desperately, before a coughing fit seized him.
“Don’t touch them,” Iolaus commanded, pulling his friend’s hands away from his face. “Come on, Herc.”
Iolaus wasn’t entirely sure how he managed to get the demigod down to the lake. The searing agony in his eyes had made Hercules half insane at the same time as the vicious coughing left him hardly able to breathe. But somehow he did it. Parking his friend at the lake’s edge, Iolaus helped him bathe his eyes with the cool water. Over and over and over again, Hercules dipped his hands into the lake and rose them up to his face to rinse his eyes, until finally the pain began to subside and he started to calm down.
Iolaus took a moment to take stock of his own situation. The grip of the monster had left him with sore ribs, but none appeared broken and the bruising would only be a minor nuisance for a few days. More pressing was the slime that he had been coated with when the creature grabbed him. It was drying stickily all over him, so Iolaus waded into the water and quickly washed it off his skin and clothing before wading back to where Hercules was sitting motionless on the bank.
“How are you doing, Herc?” he asked, sloshing out of the water. The demigod turned his face toward his friend, and Iolaus’ heart froze as Hercules stared right through him.
“I can’t see,” he whispered painfully.
“Okay,” Iolaus said finally after a long moment of uncomfortable silence. “Now don’t worry, Herc. We’ll just go back to the Academy, and I’m sure that Chiron will be able to come up with some concoction that will take care of everything. It’ll be all right, you’ll see.” Inwardly, Iolaus flinched at his choice of words. “I’m going to run back up to the cave and grab our stuff. Stay right here, ok? I’ll be back in a minute.”
Hercules nodded miserably as Iolaus sprinted back to the cave and cautiously stepped inside. The creature was still lying where they had left it, and the cadet took a moment to examine it before quickly picking up their belongings and returning to his friend.
“Why don’t we start a fire and have breakfast here before we hit the road?” Iolaus suggested. He’d taken in the wan appearance of the demigod and had correctly guessed that his battle with the agonizing pain had left him weak and shaken. “You can rest a little and it’ll give me the chance to dry off some.”
“Ok,” Hercules agreed woodenly.
“Come on.” Iolaus took his friend’s arm and helped him up, steering him toward a flat patch of ground that could serve as a temporary camp. He spread out a blanket and told Hercules to sit down, noticing the way that the demigod was rapidly blinking his eyes as if they were irritated. “Are they still burning?”
“Some,” Hercules confessed. “Not so much when I close them, but I think the air is making it worse.”
“I’m sure we can do something about that. Let’s see if your mom packed us any bandages.” Iolaus rummaged around in Hercules’ pack for a moment before pulling out roll of cloth strips. “Good old Alcmene,” he grinned. Taking one of the strips, he bound it loosely over the demigod’s eyes, tying the ends off behind his head.
“Thanks,” Hercules told him, adjusting the bandage slightly. “That’s better.”
“Well, you look pretty stupid,” his friend teased. “But fortunately there’s only me here to see it. I’ll be sure and let you know if any beautiful nymphs happen to scamper by.”
“I’m sure you would,” the demigod muttered sarcastically. “Right before you ditch me behind a tree somewhere so you can have them all to yourself.”
“I don’t know, Herc. This could work for you. Gives you that “wounded warrior” look. Girls eat that stuff up. They’ll be falling over themselves trying to take care of you, trust me.”
Iolaus was relieve to see that his teasing warranted a small smile from his friend. He could only guess how scary it must be to suddenly become sightless, and he wanted to try and take Hercules’ mind off it anyway he could, if only for a second. He began to gather kindling for a fire, and at his urging, the demigod lay down on the blanket and was soon asleep. Iolaus went to work packing their supplies neatly and organizing what was left of their food. In hindsight, it would have been smart to ration the food instead of gorging himself immediately, but he had assumed they would be feasting on fish for the week. Sighing, Iolaus ate sparingly from his dwindling bundle, refusing to touch anything from the parcel Alcmene had given to Hercules, which wasn’t quite as ravaged as his own.
The combination of the fire and the midmorning sun helped Iolaus dry off quickly. He gathered his line and went back down to the lake, casting it in half heartedly, having lost all his previous enthusiasm. The fish weren’t biting anyway, so after a few casts he gave up and went to wake Hercules. Iolaus hated to disturb his friend, knowing that the rest was probably doing him good, but they really needed to get going. He wanted to get his friend back to Chiron as quickly as possible, in case time was a factor, and as it was they weren’t going to make it back before the day’s end.
“Herc?” He gave the demigod a gentle shake as he softly called his name.
“Iolaus?” Hercules had startled awake, momentarily forgetting that he had been blinded.
“Yep, it’s me. How are you doing?”
“Ok,” the demigod replied, not sounding very convincing.
“We should get going,” Iolaus told him. “Do you think you’re up to it?”
“Sure,” he replied with a yawn, which made him cough a bit. Iolaus’ eyes narrowed as he watched his friend unconsciously press a hand against his chest. “Where’s my pack?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll carry it.”
“No, I’ll carry it,” Hercules insisted. “I may not be able to see, but I’m not entirely helpless.”
“Here.” Iolaus handed over the pack, realizing that his friend wanted things to go on as normally as possible. “Are you hungry?”
“Not really.”
“I think you should eat something,” Iolaus persisted. “We have a lot of walking ahead of us today. You need to keep your strength up.” Hercules finally consented, taking a few bites of bread and a handful of grapes before declaring that he was ready. Iolaus doused the dying embers of the fire and retrieved the blanked as the demigod stood up, folding it and tucking it into his own pack.
“You’ll have to be my eyes,” Hercules told his friend quietly.
“Don‘t worry, Herc,” Iolaus reassured him. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.” They began walking slowly through the woods, the demigod being faithfully led by his partner.
The pair continued steadily through the day. Iolaus quickly learned how to instruct his partner, warning him of low hanging branches and tripping hazards. But despite their determination, their progress was slow and they hadn’t gotten as far as Iolaus had hoped by the time they stopped for the night. Hercules had been stumbling more and more as the day wore on, and his breathing had become raspier and heavier. Although there was still a few hours of daylight left, Iolaus decided it was best for his friend if they stopped and set up camp. Hercules would never know it wasn’t dark yet, anyhow.
Iolaus spread the blanket down when he had found a suitable spot for camping and made Hercules sit down and rest. After quickly gathering kindling and starting a fire, he went to the small stream trickling a few yards from their camp and refilled their water skins. Returning back to the campsite, he knelt on the blanket in front of his friend.
“Herc, I just want to have a look at your eyes,” he said softly, reaching behind the demigod’s head to undo the bandage. The once clear blue eyes were now dull and filmy, and seemed to be oozing a gooey matter.
“What’s it look like?” Hercules asked, staring sightlessly ahead.
“Not bad,” Iolaus lied, seeing no point in worrying his friend further. He wet the old bandage with a little water and gently bathed the dry crust from his partner’s eyes before tying a clean strip of cloth around them. With a heavy heart, he finished setting up the camp and laid out Hercules’ parcel of food next to him. Iolaus quickly ate the remaining morsels of food that he had left from his own store as the demigod picked half-heartedly at his meal.
“Have some of mine,” he finally offered, waving a hand over his largely untouched supply.
“No, I’ve got my own,” Iolaus declined.
“I can tell you don’t have anything left,” Hercules informed him.
“Yeah, how?”
“I can hear your stomach growling.” The demigod smiled and Iolaus giggled. “Really, take it. I’m not hungry, and besides, we’ll be back at the Academy tomorrow, right?”
“Right,” Iolaus agreed, even though he knew they would have to set out early and really push to make it back by tomorrow.
“Then take it,” Hercules insisted. “Really, Iolaus. I don’t want it, and there’s no use in letting it go to waste.”
Iolaus finally consented, after much urging from his friend. Even though the demigod seemed to have no appetite, Iolaus couldn’t help but feeling he was taking food out of his mouth. But eventually, he helped himself to a little of his partner’s stash, resolving to take only enough to quell his hunger pangs and then he’d leave the rest for Hercules.
As his friend was enjoying his meal, the demigod reached down for his water skin. He groped around on the blanket, trying to locate it, and he knocked it over in the process. Iolaus immediately saw what had happened as Hercules jumped up with a curse. Quickly righting the water skin, he picked up the blanket and shook it, brushing his hand over the big wet spot in the middle.
“I hate this,” Hercules said fiercely, his lips trembling in frustration.
“I know, but it’s no big deal.”
“No big deal? How can you say that? I’m blind!”
“I meant the blanket is no big deal,” Iolaus told him. He hung it over a nearby tree branch to dry and spread his own on the ground by the fire. “Come on, sit back down.”
“I don’t want to sit,” Hercules blurted out. “I just want to see!”
“Herc, come and sit down and listen to me.” Iolaus took his friend by the arm and led him to the blanket, sitting beside him. “I can’t even imagine how horrible this must be for you. I know that you’re scared, but you just have to hang in there. We’ll be back at the Academy soon, and Chiron will know what to do.”
“What if he doesn’t?” Hercules whispered desperately, leaning forward to rest his forehead against his friend‘s shoulder. “What if there’s nothing he can do? What’s going to happen to me then?”
“I don’t know,” Iolaus said quietly, putting a comforting arm around his partner. He saw no reason to lie to his friend and promise him that Chiron would be able to cure him. Hercules would see right through that kind of patronizing. “But we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. I don’t think you should worry about it until you have to. And if there is nothing anyone can do, then we’ll figure something out together, ok?”
Hercules finally nodded and sat up, heaving a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair.
“Thanks, Iolaus,” he murmured.
“Why don’t you get some sleep?” he suggested. “We have a long day of traveling ahead of us tomorrow.”
Hercules nodded and stretched out on the blanket, falling deeply asleep within minutes. There was still about half an hour of daylight left, so Iolaus decided to hurriedly set a few snares. That would take care of breakfast. Once he had finished that task, he returned to the campsite and stirred up the fire. The blanket hanging to dry was still damp, so Iolaus made himself comfortable on the ground. He watched Hercules for a few moments, worrying about the wheeze in his lungs that seemed to be getting worse. But, it had been a long day for him, as well as for the demigod, and it wasn’t long until he was also fast asleep.
Iolaus woke in the middle of the night, groggily wondering what had disturbed him. Propping himself on his elbows, he saw Hercules sitting up next to the fire with the blanket wrapped around his shoulders, trying to stifle a persistent coughing fit.
“What’s wrong, Herc?” he yawned sleepily.
“Nothing,” came the strangled reply. “Go back to sleep.”
“You ought to scoot back some,” Iolaus suggested, ignoring his friend’s command and struggling to his feet. “You’re practically sitting in the fire.” He moved over to kneel beside his partner. “What is it?” he asked, instantly awake as he put a hand on Hercules’ shoulder and felt how he was shaking. He reached his hand up to rest it against the demigod’s forehead, immediately feeling the heat coming from him.
“I’m sorry,” Hercules murmured.
“For what? This isn’t your fault.” Iolaus retrieved the reasonably dry blanket from the tree branch and spread it on the ground. “Here, Herc. Come and lay down.” The demigod obediently curled up on the blanket and pulled the other one tightly around him. Iolaus blundered over to the stream, fumbling a bit in the dark, and filled up his friend’s empty water skin.
“Here,” he told the demigod. “Drink some of this.” Hercules sat up and took a sip of the cold water. Iolaus poured a little of it onto one of the bandage strips and placed it on his friend’s hot forehead. “Herc,” he began, trying to sound casual. “Back in the cave, when you were fighting that monster... Where did you get that sword that you used to kill it?”
“I don’t know,” Hercules answered, a note of surprise in his voice. “I guess I just woke up and saw it lying there next to me and I grabbed it. I haven’t really thought about it, but it wasn’t there before we went to sleep, was it?”
“I didn’t want to say anything, because I didn’t want to worry you,” Iolaus began hesitantly. “But I looked at it when I went back to the cave to grab our stuff. The hilt of the sword was forged in the symbol of Ares.”
“So,” the demigod said nervously. “That mist spraying me when I killed the creature wasn’t just an accident.”
“Doesn’t look that way,” Iolaus answered unhappily. “We really need to get you to Chiron, but do you think you’ll be up for traveling in the morning?”
“I’m going to have to be,” Hercules answered. “I have a bad feeling that this is only going to get worse.”
At dawn, Iolaus left the camp to check his snares. He had never really gone back to sleep, choosing instead to stay up and tend to his partner, but Hercules had finally fallen into a fitful slumber as the sun began to peek over the horizon. The cadet was disappointed to see that his snares were empty, but he wasn’t about to give up. Dashing back to the camp, he pulled a small hand ax from his pack. Hercules was still sleeping, so Iolaus walked into the woods until he found a large, solid piece of wood. A little searching turned up another heavy piece of wood, roughly the same size. With his ax, Iolaus cut a few stout sticks, and arranged them carefully so that they were holding one block of wood above the other. He was just putting a chunk of mushroom on the stick that acted as the trigger for the mechanism when he heard Hercules calling him, a note of terror in his voice.
“Herc, what is it? What’s wrong?” he cried, rushing back to the campsite to his friend.
“Iolaus?” Hercules reached out as his partner knelt in front of him. Catching hold, the demigod clung to his friend tightly. “I thought you’d left.”
“Of course not,” Iolaus comforted him. “How could you even think that I would abandon you like that?”
“I’m sorry,” the demigod whispered. “I just didn’t know where you were, and I guess I panicked.”
“Herc, its all right,” Iolaus soothed, handing him his water skin. “I’m right here with you, and I’m never going to leave you. Not now, and not ever. I promise.”
Hercules began to relax as his friend continued with the reassurances. But as Iolaus kept encouraging his partner, inside he was becoming more and more worried about his condition. The young demigod was burning with fever and convulsing with severe, ragged coughing. Although he insisted he was able to travel, Iolaus knew he was in no shape to be walking. Checking Hercules’ eyes served to further dishearten the blond cadet. They were almost crusted shut, and as he bathed them open, Iolaus wished he hadn’t. A thick film covered the blue orbs, making them seem opaque. He didn’t have to be a healer to know that the damage to his friend’s eyes was very serious.
“Herc,” he said finally. “I’m going to go and scrounge us up something to eat, and get everything ready to go. Why don’t you lie back down and rest for awhile?”
The demigod quickly agreed, which was a clear sign to Iolaus that his partner was feeling quite ill. With worry lying heavily on his young heart, the cadet filled up their water skins in the stream before digging up a few tubers that were growing in the vicinity. He couldn’t help wishing that Jason was with them. Although he sometimes resented the royal air of authority that the king of Corinth often displayed, Iolaus had to admit that it came in handy during crisis situations. Jason would have been able to take command of the situation, and he would have known just what to do. If he were there. As he wasn’t, the responsibility fell to Iolaus, who had spent a large part of his life trying to avoid it. But now he had no choice. His friend’s life was in his hands.
Going back to where he had set his trap, Iolaus saw that a squirrel had taken his bait. When the animal had gone after the bit of mushroom, it had triggered the release of the suspended wood and had been crushed beneath it. The small creature was not much of a meal, but the intrepid hunter did not have time to try it again. He returned to the camp with his catch, determined to make do.
Iolaus’ heart sank as he caught sight of his friend. The bright red stain of blood covered his lips, which could only mean one thing. Not only had the poison from the monster seared his eyes, but it had seared his lungs as well. They were bleeding, which rendered traveling an impossibility for Hercules. But Iolaus also knew if he didn’t get his friend help quickly, he wouldn’t make it.
“Ok buddy,” he whispered to his sleeping partner. “I’m going to get you out of here.”
In a matter of seconds Iolaus had skinned the squirrel and had hung the meat up over the fire to cook. Taking the ax, he quickly cut down several thick tree branches, lashing them together with vines. When he was finished, he had a litter of sorts that he could pull along behind him. It was a very hackneyed contraption, but it was relatively sturdy and Iolaus knew that it was their only chance.
He woke Hercules, but the demigod flatly refused to eat anything, despite his friend’s urgings. Sighing, Iolaus wolfed down his own meal rapidly before helping his partner sit up.
“Iolaus,” Hercules admitted painfully. “I don’t think I can make it back to the Academy.”
“You don’t have to,” came his reply. “You only have to make it a few steps to your right.”
Iolaus pulled his friend up and supported him, steering him over to the litter. He had placed one of the blankets over the leafy branches, and while it wasn’t going to be the epitome of comfort, it wouldn’t be that rough of a ride. Easing Hercules down, Iolaus covered him with the second blanket before going around to pick up the handles.
“Iolaus,” the demigod protested weakly. “You can’t carry me like this all the way back to the Academy.”
It was unfortunate that Hercules couldn’t see, for he would have greatly enjoyed the look of pure, stubborn determination that came over his friend’s face.
“Don’t ever tell me I can’t do something,” Iolaus declared vehemently. And with that, they were off.
For the rest of the day, and long into evening, Iolaus kept walking at the steady pace he’d set for himself, dragging the litter along the ground behind him. He refused to stop, except for a few moments at a time, just long enough to take a drink and check on his friend. Even as darkness blanketed the land, he pressed on, each rasping cough from his partner’s tortured lungs giving him new motivation. But eventually, he had to admit that he couldn’t go on. Floundering in the darkness, Iolaus had finally tripped one time too many. As he fell, his right knee collided with a gnarled root. Cursing against the pain, the cadet realized that he couldn’t keep going. There was no way he could pull the litter and carry a torch at the same time, and if he were to fall and break a leg while trying to bumble his way in the dark, then where would they be? So, reluctantly, he began to set up camp.
After a lot of scrambling and a great deal more cursing, he was finally able to get a fire going. The light it gave out made the rest of his tasks easier, and he quickly organized their supplies without further trouble. Hercules seemed content enough lying on the litter, so Iolaus decided to leave him on it, rather than drag him off and then have to get him back on in the morning. Once he had everything set up, Iolaus turned his attentions to his friend.
Hercules turned his head away as he felt something placed against his lips.
“It’s just water,” came Iolaus’ coaxing voice. “Come on, Herc. You need to take a sip.”
Obediently, the demigod as he was told, feeling the cold water slide down his raw throat. He knew he was in bad shape. His divine blood had granted him immunity for many of the childhood illnesses that normally plagued others. He didn’t really have a lot of experience with being sick, and the magnitude of these ill feelings were really scaring him. Hercules didn’t know how to deal with the alternating heat and chills of the fever, the burning in his chest, and the coughing which doubled him over as the spasms shook his entire body. He wasn’t used to feeling so weak and helpless, and the blindness only added an additional element of fear to the whole horrible experience. There was a time before when he had been blinded fighting Ares. Iolaus was also there to be his eyes, but his vision had returned so quickly that he hadn’t had time to get scared. Now the perpetual darkness was terrifying him. The only thing that kept him from completely losing it was the continued comforting presence of his partner.
From the demigod’s perspective, his friend had everything completely under control. Iolaus was taking care of the camp, taking care of him, and getting them home. For someone that was rarely serious and generally lacked motivation, Iolaus had met the challenge admirably. Hercules was proud of his friend, and as he drifted off to sleep, his last thought was that his partner was going to make a great warrior.
With Hercules sleeping and the darkness limiting his activities, Iolaus was finally forced to acknowledge his own current state. While intent on his friend and their journey, he was able to push his own needs aside. But, crouching by the fire in the quiet of the night, he couldn’t help but face them. His muscles were tired and aching from his relentless day of exertion. Hunger gnawed at his stomach, and his right knee was swollen and throbbing from where he’d hit it when he fell. But more than anything, Iolaus was physically and mentally exhausted. All he could do was curl into a ball next to the fire and let oblivion claim him.
Iolaus’ rest was short lived. The sound of Hercules coughing immediately roused him. Sighing, he sat up, rubbing a hand tiredly over his eyes. He was reaching for his water skin when the demigod began gagging and choking. Instantly, Iolaus was by his friends’ side, helping him sit up as he spit out a mouthful of blood.
“It’s ok, Herc,” Iolaus whispered, hugging his friend tightly to him as he felt him shaking with both illness and fear. “It’s ok.” He kept repeating the phrase over and over like a mantra as Hercules sagged against him with a small moan.
“Iolaus,” the demigod croaked. “I’m not going to make it.”
“Yes you are,” the blond declared fiercely. “We’ll be back at the Academy tomorrow. You just have to hang on until then. You can do it, Herc.”
“But it hurts so much,” Hercules whispered, pressing a hand weakly against his chest.
“I know, buddy,” Iolaus told him, his own heart breaking for how his friend was suffering. “But I’m here with you, and I promise I’m going to get you home. Everything will be all right.”
After forcing him to take a drink of water, Iolaus eased his friend back down into the branches of the litter. Carefully, he washed the blood from the demigod’s lips, then began bathing him with the cool water of a nearby spring in what seemed to be a futile effort to fight the fever consuming him. As Hercules lay, barely conscious, feeling his friend tending to him with such devotion, he couldn’t help thinking that he never knew Iolaus had this side to him. His voice was calm and soothing, and his touch was gentle and comforting. Hercules had never realized that his rambunctious partner had this level of maturity. What he failed to understand was that the blond cadet’s newfound responsibility was born out of concern and love for his friend.
Iolaus paused in his ministrations to reach up a hand and wipe away the tears that were streaming from his blue eyes. It was absolutely killing him to have to see his friend in such misery and know that there was nothing he could do to help. Chiron had taught them battlefield medicine, but that was not really applicable to their current situation. Iolaus knew that Hercules had expressed an interest in learning other medicinal skills and Chiron had been teaching him healing herbs outside of class. But the cadet doubted that the centaur had prepared his student for circumstances such as these. He could only hope that once they reached him, Chiron would know of a miracle cure.
As soon as it became light enough to see by, Iolaus had packed up the campsite and was ready to resume the journey. His knee was still swollen and was bothering him, but he ignored it, along with the emptiness of his stomach, and began walking, pulling the litter behind him. It was obvious that Hercules was fading fast and that his time was rapidly running out. The fever was still eating away at him, and it was getting harder and harder for him to breathe. Every second counted, and Iolaus wasn’t about to fail his friend because of some minor irritations of his own.
Relentlessly, he pushed himself, forcing himself to keep going when his tired body cried out to stop. Around noon, Iolaus finally broke out of the woods and onto a main road, and it wasn’t long before a kind farmer going by with a wagon stopped and picked them up. Together, they got the unconscious Hercules into the back of the wagon, and Iolaus climbed in to cradle his friend to him as the farmer urged his horse into a brisk trot. They were still a far bit from the Academy, but the man agreed to take them all the way without hesitation.
Sighing with relief, Iolaus leaned his head back against the side of the wagon, finally allowing his exhausted muscles to rest. But inside, he was still twisted in knots with worry for his friend. Even with the ride, he wasn’t sure if Hercules was going to make it to the Academy. It was getting so hard for him to breathe; Iolaus was waiting for each breath to be his last.
But the demigod was still clinging to life as they pulled up at the gates of the Academy. Iolaus left his friend with the farmer and dashed inside to find Chiron. Babbling out a brief explanation, the cadet led the centaur out to Hercules. Chiron immediately picked up his student, carrying him inside as Iolaus heartily thanked the kind farmer who had helped them. The man drove off, silently praying that the boy would make it, but rather doubting that he would.
“How long has he been unconscious?”
“I don’t know,” Iolaus answered, looking at his headmaster with eyes blurry from fatigue. “A few hours, I guess.”
“Iolaus,” Chiron commanded. “Go get yourself something to eat and then get some rest. I’ll let you know if there’s any change.”
The cadet merely shook his head stubbornly. He was utterly exhausted, and it did seem like a welcome proposition. It had been three days since he’d gotten a full night’s sleep, and the strain of getting Hercules back to the Academy was weighing heavily on him. But he couldn’t leave now. He was in this for the long haul, and he knew it was almost over. Hercules didn’t have much left, so either Chiron would give him something to help him, or....
“Is he going to be all right?” The words came out in a whisper, as Iolaus hardly dared to voice such a thought out loud.
“That depends on how much damage has been done to his lungs,” Chiron explained gravely. “If it isn’t too severe, I should be able to get him through that.”
“What about his eyes?”
“I’m sorry, Iolaus. I don’t know of anything that can restore eyesight to the blind.”
The words hit the cadet like a rock slide. But it wasn’t the worst of what Chiron had to say.
“I think we’d better send word to his mother as soon as possible. And perhaps we should also notify Jason.”
The centaur moved off to begin mixing herbs, leaving the cadet to stand over his friend, shaking as the meaning of Chiron’s words sunk in. Of course Alcmene should be notified. Her son was sick, and she would want to be there. But Jason? The only reason Chiron would ask for Jason to come was so that the young king could say goodbye to his friend. Iolaus knew that the centaur didn’t think Hercules was going to make it, even if he wouldn’t say so directly.
Iolaus took a deep breath and forced back the tears stinging his eyes. He had work to do, and now was not the time to start acting like a crybaby. He’d have to find a messenger to bring the news to Alcmene. Iolaus hated for her to find out like that. He’d much rather she hear about it from him, but he just couldn’t bring himself to leave Hercules. And he’d also have to get word to Jason. He knew the king of Corinth would never forgive him if the worst should happen and he wasn’t there.
Something flashed through Iolaus’ sleep deprived brain as he thought of Jason. He couldn’t believe that it hadn’t occurred to him before, but suddenly, a ray of hope appeared through the darkness that was coloring his world.
“I’ll be back soon,” he cried over his shoulder, flying past Chiron as he sped through the Academy, leaving the centaur to stare after him with a puzzled look. Iolaus ran to the barn as fast as his injured knee would let him and threw a bridle over one of the horses’ heads. Not bothering to take the time to saddle him, the cadet swung up on the horse’s bare back and nudged it with his heel. Instantly, they were gone, heading to Corinth at a full gallop.
As he arrived at the castle, Iolaus realized that he didn’t even remember making the trip. Unconsciously, he had guided the horse toward their destination, but his fatigued mind had held only one thought. A prayer that he wasn’t too late. Reigning in the horse, Iolaus dismounted and approached the guards at the gate.
“I need to see King Jason,” he told them as officially as he could manage.
“Sorry, kid,” one of the men answered with an amused grin. “Visiting hours are over for the day.”
“You don’t understand,” Iolaus persisted. “I’m a friend of his and its urgent that I see him.”
“Right,” the guard drawled, looking him up and down.
Suddenly self-conscious, Iolaus reached up and ran a hand through his tangled hair. Even at his best, he knew he didn’t really have the appearance of a friend of royalty. But after three days out in the woods, neglecting everything to take care of Hercules and struggling to bring him back to the Academy, Iolaus realized he probably looked pretty scruffy, to say the least.
“The king isn’t seeing anyone today,” the guard continued. “Why don’t you just run along?”
“He’ll see ME,” the cadet insisted. “Please, can’t you just tell him I’m here? It’s a matter of life and death.”
“Look, kid,” the man said exasperatedly, growing annoyed. “I told you King Jason isn’t seeing anyone. Now scram before you get hurt.”
Iolaus nodded and turned away from them, stroking a hand along the horse’s flank. Grabbing its mane, he swung himself up onto the animal’s broad back, guiding it back down the road. The head guard watched him set off, then turned back to his men.
“Now, as I was saying, I was in the tavern with this gorgeous blond when....”
A loud yell interrupted his story and the men all looked up in horror to see Iolaus charging at full gallop right toward them. The guards all dove out of the way as he barreled in through the gates, taking advantage of their momentary surprise to get a head start. Halting the horse, Iolaus leapt to the ground, wincing as pain shot through his right knee, but he ignored it and began running for the castle, calling out his friend’s name.
Unfortunately, his injury slowed him down and one of the guards was able to catch up with him, bringing him down with a flying tackle. The man quickly pinned him to the ground and drew his sword, pressing the blade against Iolaus’ throat.
“You just made a big mistake, pal,” he growled as the rest of the guards approached.
“Let him up,” came a commanding voice. The small crowd cleared to make way for another guard, one that had come from the castle.
“He was trying to break in here,” one of the men explained.
“He’s all right,” the guard assured them, grabbing Iolaus by the arm and pulling him to his feet. “He’s one of those cadets from the Academy.”
“Please,” Iolaus begged his new ally. “I have to talk to Jason.”
“Sorry, kid, but we have our orders. No one sees the king today.”
Tears of absolute frustration began to sting the cadet’s eyes. His best friend’s life was slipping away minute by minute back at the Academy, and no one would let him talk to the one person that could help. In a move of sheer desperation, Iolaus launched himself at the row of guards, trying to force his way through to get into the castle. He was brought down quickly, and the guard that had recognized him ordered him to be escorted from Corinth.
“What is going on here?”
The men all bowed their heads before the commanding voice of their king. Iolaus wrenched free of the man that was holding him and stepped forward, straightening his clothing and running a hand over his wild curls.
“It’s about time you got here, Jase.”
“Iolaus.” The king’s face split into a wide grin as he saw his friend. “I should have known when I saw the commotion that you’d be the cause. Come inside.” Jason put a companionable arm around his friend’s shoulders and led him up the stairs into the castle, leaving the mass of guards to stare after them. Iolaus couldn’t resist turning around and giving them a little wave.
“Your goons seem extra uptight these days,” he commented wryly.
“Sorry about that,” Jason apologized, leading him into a large room with two soft chairs next to a roaring fire. “There’s an emissary from Boetia here trying to work out a peace agreement. Some people don’t want it to happen, so my advisors are a little edgy. But, you don’t want to hear about that. What brings you to my fair kingdom? Where’s Hercules?”
“That’s why I’m here,” Iolaus told him. “He needs your help. It’s a long story, but the short version is that Ares poisoned him. He’s in bad shape, Jase, and we need the fleece.”
“How bad?”
“He’s dying,” Iolaus answered quietly. A wave of shock passed over Jason’s face, but he recovered quickly.
“Then I’d better not waste any time packing.”
“Your highness, you can’t do this.”
“Watch me,” Jason answered coldly, reaching up and lifting the golden fleece down off it’s hallowed place on the wall.
“You can not take the fleece from the castle walls,” the advisor insisted. “It is the treasure of the kingdom.”
“It wasn’t meant to be a treasure,” the king argued, folding the shining skin and placing it in a bag. “It was meant to be an object of healing.”
“Sire, its too dangerous. What if something happens to it? Or to you?”
“Look,” Jason snapped, losing his temper. “Hercules was one of the people that helped bring back this fleece. Now he’s in trouble. I’m going to him, and I’m taking the fleece with me. Does anyone have a problem with that?”
The servants, advisors, and council in the room all looked away, afraid to meet the king’s flashing eyes.
“Good,” he said, more calmly, before turning to Iolaus. “Let’s go.”
Chiron looked up as Iolaus burst into the room, followed closely by Jason. He was holding the limp form of Hercules upright, holding a bloodied cloth to his mouth.
“Are we too late?” Iolaus asked fearfully.
“He’s still alive,” the centaur told them. “But I’m afraid he doesn’t have much time left.” Gently, he eased his student back down onto the bed. “I cannot stop the bleeding in his lungs, and its making breathing an impossibility.”
Iolaus knelt beside his unresponsive friend, horrified at his appearance. Hercules’ face was ghostly white, with a blue tinge around his lips. His chest rose and fell shallowly, rattling loudly as he desperately tried to suck air into his saturated lungs.
“It’s good to see you, Jason,” Chiron greeted his former cadet. “I’m sorry its under these circumstances.”
“Its not over yet,” the king told him. “We’ve brought him a miracle.” He pulled out the fleece, shook it a few times, and carefully covered his stricken friend.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then Hercules suddenly began choking violently. Chiron pulled him up once more as the demigod coughed up a mouthful of blood into the cloth that Iolaus held to his lips. When the spasms ceased, the centaur laid him back down. He was so still, that everyone feared the worst. Cold fear gripped Iolaus’ heart, as he assumed the damage had been so great that even the mystical fleece hadn’t been enough to remedy it. But as the three concerned friends stared down at the motionless cadet, Hercules gasped and began taking in deep breaths of air.
“Hercules.” There was a slight tremor in Iolaus’ voice as he leaned in next to his friend’s ear, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Can you hear me?”
“Iolaus?”
“I’m here, buddy.” Iolaus turned around to grin brilliantly at Jason as Chiron briefly closed his eyes and offered a quick prayer of thanks.
“What happened?” The healthy color was quickly returning to the demigod’s features as he struggled to sit up. Iolaus helped him as Jason pulled the fleece off and quickly stuffed it back into the bag.
“You were poisoned, by that monster Ares had in the cave. Remember? But everything’s all right now.”
Hercules lifted a hand to feel the bandage around his eyes, then reached behind him and began fumbling with the knot.
“Here, let me do that.” Iolaus began untying the bandage, heart pounding as he realized this was the moment of truth. While the fleece was able to cure any illness, Jason had voiced his doubts about its ability to restore eyesight to the blind.
The bandage came loose, and Hercules blinked rapidly at the sudden light. He looked around, while his friends waited with baited breath. Finally, the demigod grinned.
“Hey, Jason. What are you doing here?”
“Bailing you out of trouble yet again, so it seems,” the king beamed, stepping up to his friend. Their warrior’s shake quickly turned into a hug.
The celebration of Hercules’ recovery was short lived. It was late, and Jason had to return to Corinth and get back to his peace negotiations. Kora’s was closed during the Academy break, and Iolaus was too exhausted to do anything but fall into bed anyway.
“I’m sorry I ruined your fishing trip, Iolaus,” Hercules told his friend as they made their way to their bunks.
“Don’t start that again,” Iolaus yawned. “This wasn’t your fault, Herc.”
“Anyway,” the demigod continued. “I don’t know how you did it, but somehow you got me out of there. You saved my life, Iolaus. Thanks. Thanks for all you did.”
“I didn’t do anything you wouldn’t have done for me,” Iolaus protested, flopping down on his bed. “But how about we spend the rest of this vacation with your mother? Fixing her roof will seem like paradise compared to this.”
“Sure,” Hercules agreed, but his partner was already sound asleep. The demigod grinned as he looked at his friend. Iolaus was sprawled across his bed, disheveled, half undressed, and snoring softly. “Never thought the day would come when I’d be glad to see that sight.” Hercules pulled his friend’s blanket out from underneath him and covered him before going to his own bed. He started to blow out the candle that was casting a soft glow over the room, but quickly changed his mind. After all his time in the dark, this one night he could do without it.
The End
Disclaimer: Strife was not harmed during the writing of this story. In fact, Ares and Discord soon regretted the abuse they continuously heaped upon him, and the three had a tearful reconciliation.
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