A Hero's Blessing - Do You Know Why?

Bianca walked up to Alcides, biting her lip nervously as she did so. He was sitting on the ground with his back to her, watching the moon, but he still managed to be taller than she was.

She let out a soft breath and did her best to banish her nerves.

“I, I wanted to apologize...” she stated, her resolve nearly failing her when he didn’t react at all. Still, she was determined to get it out, even if it was only to his back.

“It was my fault that you had to fight that thing,” she continued on determinedly, “I shouldn’t have picked anything up, and I did, putting us all at risk.”

They had even been told… But it was just a small, stupid toy! It reminded her of her brother, and she wanted to get it for him. To remind him that she still cared about him, even if she was a huntress now.

She shouldn’t have done it. Yet she did, and she would own up to that. She had already apologized to Zoe and the others, and now she apologized to Alcides.

She waited for some kind of response for a few seconds before sighing dejectedly. “Anyways, I just wanted you to know.”

“Do you know why I was so angry?”

She felt her heart jump into her throat at the unexpected question. He still wasn’t looking at her, but he didn’t sound like he was angry.

She would accept that.

“I ignored the advice given by a god and put the entire team in danger.” She replied promptly.

To her surprise the man snorted in amusement, “to ignore the gods,” he rumbled thoughtfully. “Many would debate on whether that’s wise or not.” He turned his head back and waved to the spot beside him. “May I tell you a story?”

She cautiously moved and sat down, feeling incredibly small next to him.

They sat in silence for several seconds, his expression contemplative as she watched him.

“This is an old story.” He began eventually,”Back in Ancient Greece. There was a demigod named Phidias. Son of Ares. A soldier.” He let out an explosive breath. “He had a decent head on his shoulders. Decent tactician, a good fighter… Or so they say. During a war, he was ordered to sneak behind enemy lines and observe an enemy encampment. Observe, and to send out a flare if they were to show signs of moving out.”

He shook his head, “Phidias did as he was told. But after observing for a while, he saw he had the perfect opportunity to sneak inside the encampment.”

He huffed, “He would never get a chance like that again, and there was no time to get permission from the commander. The enemy were just regular humans, unprepared for a fight, while he was a demigod of considerable skill, with the advantage of a sneak attack.” He spread his arms out, “think of how many he could kill before they realized he was there! The chaos that would throw them into! Just imagine how many lives that would save! How could he pass such an opportunity up?”

Bianca waited patiently. The way Alcides was acting, she figured this story didn’t have a happy ending...

“He snuck in. Killed the officers before anybody realized he was there, and by the time the alarm sounded he was making his way through the men. He was just about to turn back and run, the mission a success.”

Alcides paused long enough to scoff. “Just in time for the long range magic bombardment leveled the encampment.”

Bianca drew back in surprise and looked at the man, her eyes wide. He continued looking out on the horizon, his expression a glare.

“Phidias had his faults.” He murmured, “but he was a decent man. Nobody wants to die, but when it’s impossible to avoid we at least hope we managed to accomplish something.” His muscles tightened, and for a moment she thought she could hear them straining.

“Yet in the end,” he snarled, “his death was absolutely pointless! All he had to do was observe and the place would have been destroyed regardless of what he did!”

He finally looked at her, and it took everything she had not to flinch under that stare. “Now, do you understand why I was angry?”

She hesitated, trying to figure out the connection between his story and her actions.

He sighed, but didn’t look disappointed. “The junk guardian was large and strong. It might even qualify as an army killer… But it was slow and unwieldy. Either Miss Nightshade or myself could have run circles around it all day if needed. I had ideas, and I’m sure that Miss Nightshade had plans as well.” He fixed his eyes on her, “and none of those plans involved somebody sacrificing themselves.” He finished sternly.

Ah, there was the guilt again. She wondered where it had gone.

“I wasn’t going to sacrifice myself,” she protested, wilting under his gaze. “I didn’t know you guys had it handled…” she shuddered at the memory of that huge sword cleaving through the piles of junk, narrowly missing Zoe and Thalia, “There was a maintenance hatch underneath its foot,” she explained, “I thought there might have been something that would turn it off.”

He lifted an eyebrow, “you thought the God of the Forge would build a guardian that could be turned off by a simple switch?” He asked slowly.

She felt her face heat up, “T-there might have been something!” She exclaimed, “M-maybe I could mess with the mechanisms inside, break something important…”

He looked at her with such a disappointed look, and she felt her words shrivel in her chest.

Why couldn’t he get angry at her and yell or something? This was so much worse!

“You did not know we had it handled because you have never seen either of us in action. Not truly.” He explained heavily. “You are the least experienced person in this group.” She made to protest and he held up a hand, “That is not an insult, merely fact. The situation was far from dire. We didn’t need crazy plans to survive. Why didn’t you follow orders and follow Miss Nightshade?”

“S-she was busy with the robot…” she mumbled weakly, and he gave her another look.

“She is both your superior, as part of this group and as a Huntress.” He rebuked. “There are times when you should break from orders… But to know when to do so takes time and experience. In truth, most orders are given to keep you safe. Most superiors don’t want their subordinates to die after all.”

With a sigh Alcides stood up and stretched, the sight making him more intimidating than before. Seriously, did he have monster blood in him or something?!

“Phidias disobeyed his orders because he thought he knew better.” The giant murmured. “He thought his actions would save lives in the end. But because he lacked information, his disobedience only led to a pointless death. Had you gone in that thing, you would have risked your life pointlessly.”

He reached down and rubbed her hair gently, and she looked down in shame.

“Do you know why I was so angry?” He asked softly, continuing before she could respond. “Let me tell you a secret. The best way to make somebody angry?” He gave her a sad smile. “You scare them. Seeing you, a child, attempting something that would almost surely result in injury or death?”

She wanted to protest that she wasn’t a child, that she hadn’t been in a while, but the look in his eyes stopped her.

She and her brother had been on their own for so long, just them against the world. It was because of this that she learned to read other people, and she felt she was pretty good. It was why she trusted Lady Artemis so quickly, as well as Zoe. They were good people, she was sure.

Looking in Alcides eyes, at that moment, she saw so much pain and sadness that it took her breath away. This was more than just what had just happened she realized. He was thinking of a past memory. 

A past failure.

“I have already sworn that I would not allow a child to be put in that position again. So in that moment, I will admit, that I was terrified."

"And that made me very angry indeed.”