A Hero's Blessing - Hebe's Intervention

This will be after the events of Hephaestus’ Junkyard. The fight and the resulting tumble through the trash leaves some of the questers banged up, and they don't have a car. They find a house, in which a disguised Hebe welcomes them and offers to help patch them up.

She was Hebe. The daughter of Zeus and Hera, and a powerful goddess in her own right. Her domains were of youth and forgiveness. The patron of brides.

People tended to overlook her. And for the most part, she would forgive them for that opinion. She didn’t like to fight, so it wasn’t like people had the chance to witness her strength after all.

But that didn’t change the fact that she was a child of two of the strongest Olympians. The King of Olympus and the Goddess of Marriage - a goddess born from that union, thus gaining the full benefits of her mother’s domain. Only two others could claim as much - Ares and Hephaestus. Both were amongst the Twelve Olympians.

No, when it came to power, she would not be found lacking.

“There, that should take care of that gash. But I’d recommend not using that arm for a day or two if you can help it.”

And yet here she was, pretending to just be a helpful citizen while spying on a party of questers like some stalker because she didn’t understand.

‘The goddess Hebe, ladies and gentlemen’ she thought glumly, being careful to not let it show in her expression.

Hebe gave a gentle smile to her half sister before turning to her the young huntress. “Alright, now let’s take a look at that leg. Lift it up.” She instructed firmly.

The questers had just emerged from her brother’s junkyard, after managing to defeat the guardian there in a stunning display of strength. But they did not come out unscathed.

Her little cousin, Poseidon’s son, could heal up with some water. But the others weren’t so lucky. Normally it wouldn’t be that big a deal, but who knows what sort of disease Hephaestus’ junk might inflict?

Genius her brother might be, but clean he was not.

Hebe hummed cheerfully as she carefully cleaned and wrapped the wounds, letting just a bit of her power flow into the wounds to promote healing. Nothing that would give her away, but enough to speed things up.

“I’d like to thank you for your assistance.” A deep voice said behind her.

Hebe flushed, “O-oh, it’s no problem.” She stuttered, hating herself for doing so.

C’mon Hebe, pull yourself together!

“I think it is. Untreated wounds have killed more people than any battle has.” The man refuted behind her.

“W-well, I’ve done my best, but it would still be better if you had a doctor look at these.” Hebe rushed to say as she finished the current bandages. Not that it was actually necessary for them to go to a doctor now, but it was better they not get used to ignoring wounds.

Once she finished, she took a deep breath and turned around to look at the real reason she had been stalking the questers.

He called himself Alcides. The same name that Hercules had once used.

Physically, this man had little in common with Hercules. Even his actions were oh so different. Never before had she seen Hercules treat children with the gentleness that this giant of a man did.

But if she were to close her eyes and just use her senses, as she had multiple times the last couple days…

Hebe shook her head and brought herself back to the present.

Their aura was practically identical.

Not many would notice. Not to the same extent anyways. But Hebe was married to Hercules. If anybody would recognize the nature of his aura, it would be her. But how was this possible?

She stuffed her emotions down and gave a tremulous smile, “if you’d like, I could drive you somewhere?” She offered. “It’s not safe, just walking out here with wounds like this. Especially in this heat.”

Alcides gave her a considering look, and she had to stop herself from squirming under the sudden intensity of that look.

She was a powerful goddess. She didn’t squirm.

“I’m grateful for the offer.” Alcides gave her a smile, “I’m afraid I can’t speak for the rest of the group though. You’ll have to ask Miss. Nightshade.”

“I’m sure she’ll say yes.” Bianca spoke up, giving Hebe a grateful smile. “Really, thank you for your help.”

Hebe gave the girl a smile of her own. “Of course, it’s my pleasure.” Especially since she recognized the power in the girl’s blood.

Honestly, could ANY of her relatives keep it in their pants?!

Both the girl and man went outside to talk with Zoe, and Hebe took a moment for herself to try to figure things out.

This whole thing had started a couple days prior, when an oath she had sworn years ago had suddenly reactivated, even though she had already completed it.

Oaths sworn upon the Styx were not easily discarded. They weren’t something that one could ‘accidentally’ break. Say, for example, one were to swear on the River Styx that they would not, oh… Eat sugar.

She had no idea why somebody would do that… But just go with it.

If such a person existed, and somebody then slipped sugar into their meal, their oath would provide ‘resistance’ of a sort when they attempted to eat. In order to actually take a bite, that person would have to willingly acknowledge that they were breaking their oath.

It was a safety feature of sorts. Something that made it all the more damning when somebody did break their oath.

A couple nights previous, Hebe felt the sudden urge to fulfill an oath she had completed a long, long time ago.

To bring Hercules to Olympus upon his death.

But she had! The oath itself was extremely straightforward, there wasn’t any leeway for any hidden ‘gotchas’ in it. So why was her oath compelling her to act once more?

Through a bit of trial and error, she had let the oath guide her, following the urge to complete it. To her shock, it led not to the Mediterranean where Hercules was, but further in the States, eventually to the current group of questers. And, more importantly, Alcides himself.

The man who felt so much like Hercules, yet looked and acted nothing like him.

Hebe sighed in frustration, rubbing her temples as she sat down and listened to the questers talk in low voices about their plans and what they wanted to do, while Alcides simply leaned back and let them decide on what to do. Content with letting them take charge.

Yet another difference.

Was it appropriate of her to think such negative thoughts of the man that was her husband? Probably not. But then, even though they were married, she didn’t truly consider herself Hercules’ wife. Hadn’t for a while.

Hebe had known it wasn’t going to be an idealistic marriage from the start. His life was hardly any secret, and she was the daughter of Hera. Still, she had hoped they could make something of it all the same. Yet as time went on, her hope of such had dwindled until now not even the corpse of such remained.

Hercules was just so… Bitter. So filled with anger. And for good reason - what had happened to him was horrible, she would readily admit that. But when he let it color every thought and action as he did, it swiftly became a problem. More to the point, that hatred was hurting him as well.

Honestly, it had been three thousand years since Hercules’ death. Just… Three. Thousand. Years. A full three millennia. Hera hadn’t even bothered him since he became a god.

Yet even now, that was all Hercules could talk about. About how much Hera had wronged him all those years ago.

Hebe had tried to help. She was a licensed therapist after all - and if not her, she knew a number of very successful demigods that became therapists that she could refer him too.

So long as he held onto his hatred, he’d never be able to move on and actually be happy. To forgive did not mean to forget, nor did it mean he had to approve of what Hera had done or trust her in the future. It meant letting go of the corrosive anger and negativity that he was letting define his life.

Hercules had zero desire to do so. Any attempt was spurred, almost viciously. More than that, the last time she had tried he had blown up at her, ordering her to stop trying, shouting that she could never understand what he had gone through.

Hebe shuddered at the memory, hugging herself a bit.

Could one ever properly explain the pain, what it felt like to have their domain so thoroughly and consistently trampled on?

There was a reason why Poseidon would rant and rave at ocean pollution, why it was such a punishment to prevent Dionysius from drinking, or why Athena declared eternal enmity against those that burned the Library of Alexandria.

Their domains were so much more than mere titles. Once given, they became an integral part of a god’s being.

The closer one was, the more it hurt.

For example - mortals all over the world committed adultery, and Hera could feel each and every one. But those felt like tiny pinpricks to how it felt when Zeus did the same.

Hebe was the goddess of forgiveness. For Hercules’ to so vehemently and consistently refuse to forgive? It hurt. Worse, Hercules was aware of that, yet he didn’t care.

So no. They might be technically married, but in her heart Hebe did not consider herself Hercules' wife.

Which made it all the more jarring to see and hear somebody that felt so much like Hercules and yet was so different.

He was actually laughing with the children! Teasing them! And there was a contentment to his power that she had never felt in Hercules.

What did it mean?!

“Lady Hebe.”

Hebe jumped slightly as she looked up to see Zoe Nightshade looking at her. She quickly glanced around and saw that none of the other questers were close enough to hear.

“Zoe.” Hebe greeted with a rueful smile. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that you recognized me.” They might not have interacted that much, but you tend to get to know people after a couple thousand years, and Zoe always was a perceptive one.

Zoe folded her arms, “as the others have said, I too am thankful for thine help and for thy offer, my lady. However,” Zoe gave the goddess a piercing look. “Before I accept, I would like to know why thou art here, willing to help.”

Hebe gave a pout.

Still, it was a fair question. She was risking a lot, interfering with a quest like this. The fact that she was fulfilling an oath could probably get her some leeway from her father (he was a big ole softy for his daughters), but she couldn’t exactly explain such to Zoe until she figured out more for herself.

Zoe would probably be able to tell if she gave a lie, so she’d have to tell a version of the truth.

“I’m hoping to find out more about that man.” She admitted.

Zoe blinked in surprise. “In Alcides?” She asked. “For what purpose?”

‘Because a part of me wants to drag him to my chariot to bring him to Olympus’ was probably not the right answer here, despite her oath’s insistence.

Besides, she actually liked Artemis, and wanted her to be alright. Alcides was currently helping the questers, so she’d let him be for now.

“There’s something about him that I’m trying to understand.” Hebe said slowly, her brow furrowed.

“He has sworn to help us.” Zoe frowned. “I do not believe he is a danger to us.”

“Oh no, that I’m fairly sure of,” Hebe easily admitted. “There’s something else. But I can’t quite place my finger on it.”

Zoe stared at her for a moment before letting out a breath, “very well. Then I would be most grateful in accepting thine help, Lady Hebe.”

“Of course,” she laid a hand on Zoe’s shoulder. “It’s the least I can do. And I do hope you find my sister alright.”

Of course, it wasn’t till they were in the car that Hebe found herself struggling against her path once more.

‘He’s not dead yet!’ She thought furiously as she fought against the urge to drive her car in the direction of Olympus. ‘I’m not breaking my oath - but I can’t take him yet!’

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Author’s analysis: so, when I was writing this, I had the thought that Hercules’ hatred is actually much worse than Artemis’ and her huntresses' hatred of males.

Yes, they hate males. But they are still able to work with them. They enjoy showing up the campers when they are able, but they’re able to put that aside and work when they have to. Zoe dislikes Percy - she’d rather not work with any males - but she’s able to admit it when he is helpful. Like with the Nemean Lion.

Hercules though? When the questers come across him, he fully admits that he’s going to give them a harder quest, simply because they are associated with Hera. They’re on a quest to save the world from Gaia, and are therefore saving Hercules, and Hercules is purposefully hindering them because they’re working with somebody he doesn’t like. And his main complaint of her isn't due to anything recent - he’s literally stuck on what she did a couple thousand years prior.

To forgive doesn’t mean you have to forget. That’s a common misconception I think. It means letting go of the negative feelings you have. You can still dislike them - you don’t have to be associated with them. But Hercules is unable to let go of the past. Which is why I don’t think his marriage to the goddess of forgiveness is a happy one.

I don’t know. What do you guys think?