CHANGES

The moon hung low in the early morning sky. The light from countless stars adding to its brilliance. An indifferent wind caressed the trees in the clearing.

The man on the ground moved restlessly, enduring yet another sleepless night. Finally he sighed, gave up the attempt to sleep, and rolled onto his back to regard the stars so far above him.

Gods, what I'd give for a good night's sleep. Its been too long.

And of course night then was when the pain came crowding in on him.

I miss them so much. Deianaira, Aeson, Klonos, little Ilea... And Serena...

Harshly he stopped himself short.

No. Don't go down that road. It hurts too much.

For several minutes he contemplated the night sky, pain he normally managed to keep buried in front of others all too clear on his face.

Only to sit up abruptly as a figure materialised at his feet.

Surveying long-absent features, he said coldly "What do you want?"

The man standing gazing down at him sighed.

"I've missed my favourite son. I...wanted to see for myself how you were doing."

The favourite son in question, Hercules, continued to stare icily up at his father, Zeus, King of the Gods, choosing not to respond as several emotions raged through him, all loudly clamouring at once for his attention.

His father knew the cause of his displeasure. Almost three years since the murder of his family, much less since the death of his second wife, and still the cold fire of rage burned in his son's heart.

"Son, hasn't this gone on long enough between us? Can't you find it in your heart to forgive me?"

Hercules clamped down hard on his jaw to stop himself saying something he knew he would regret.

After a moment's consideration, however, he decided he didn't, after all, want to be silent.

The words were almost hoarse when they finally came.

"Forgive you?"

Hercules shook his head sharply and in one fluid movement, stood to face his father, long golden hair framing a face that was at once gentle, strong and very attractive.

"Its taken you three years to face me, unless you count that...that wonderful effort after Serena was murdered. Give me a reason - any reason - why I should forgive you."

Zeus looked his son in the eyes, and if Hercules hadn't known better, he would have sworn there was moisture to be seen in the eyes of the King of the gods.

"Hercules...son...I know there's nothing I could say or do that would give you back what you've lost, or ease your pain. I've wanted for so long to tell you how sorry I am..."

Hercules made a disgusted sound, his hands on his hips.

"Yeah. Well don't bother. My family's deaths - Serena's murder - were just two occasions among so many when you didn't care enough to be around for me or the ones I love. You have *no* idea what the last three years have been like for me."

He forced himself to stop as the poison from all the months and years of containment finally began to erupt. Above all, he viciously stamped on the awful feelings of loneliness that threatened to leave him in tears; feelings that never failed to follow him as he travelled Greece doing what he could to help people, when he was powerless to do anything to alleviate his own pain.

Harshly he said "No. I don't want to know. Just leave me alone."

Zeus almost visibly crumpled before him.

"Please son, this anger..."

"Anger has never begun to describe it." Hercules bit out.

"Look, its really late, I haven't had any sleep, and I have a long journey ahead of me in a few hours. If thats all you came to say, you've said it, so you can go."

He half expected a kingly thunderbolt to descend on his head, but he was past caring. What followed was the last thing he expected.

"I need your help."

Hercules blinked. The softly spoken words cut right through his own emotional turmoil.

Equally as softly, he said in disbelief "What?"

His father repeated it.

"Son, I need your help."

As Hercules simply stared, his father sighed and moved to sit tiredly on an adjacent boulder, regarding his half-god, half-mortal son through almost defeated eyes. The tall man facing him returned his gaze with cold, glittering eyes that were now shuttered, and Zeus was forced to speak into the silence.

"Hercules, there's no one else who can do what needs to be done. Son...please."

Here it comes thought Hercules irritably. Why am I even listening to him? When I just know that if someone's in trouble I'm going to end up falling for whatever it is he wants.

Opalescent blue eyes closed tiredly for a moment before re-opening, the fires of anger banked for the moment.

As his son remained silent, Zeus sighed again and decided to take the chance of a fair hearing. He knew his son better than Hercules thought he did. If someone was in trouble, Hercules' heart couldn't say no.

"Do you remember Roisin, the daughter of Parocles of Thrace?"

Hercules thought for a moment before nodding slowly.

"The daughter of the wood nymph. You appointed her guardian of the Valley of Mortal Peace." He looked a question.

His father nodded.

"So whats the problem?"

Zeus's hand moved in agitation.

"Hera."

It was the wrong thing to say. The rage was back. His son's face abruptly darkened.

Zeus quickly continued.

"She's making trouble in the Valley. She's possessed Roisin to get to mortals who seek the peace of the Valley through her."

Yes, the rage was definitely back.

"Couldn't you just...just once, control that bitch? She's supposed to be your *wife*!"

In the distance there was a threatening thunderclap. Hercules glanced up furiously, daring his stepmother to do more.

Zeus also glanced up before returning his gaze to his son. He shook his head sadly. "When has Hera ever allowed me to control her?"

Hercules shook his own head in disgust, long hair falling into his eyes. Impatiently he pushed it away.

Almost to himself, he said "Roisin's a good kid; she doesn't deserve to have that harpy at her throat."

Looking straight into his father's eyes, Hercules said "I'll see what I can do for Roisin."

He paused a moment before adding deliberately "But I want you to know something; I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it for Roisin."

The king of the gods looked back into his son's eyes for a long moment. "Of course," he said bleakly, before fading from Hercules' sight.

For a long time after that Hercules stood staring almost absently at the spot where his father had stood. Wearily he shook his head and sighed, wiping his hand across his bleak face. Not for the first time in weeks, he wished Iolaus was with him. His closest friend had a knack for banishing the almost ever-present pain within him.

Stirring at last, he picked up his travel pack, meagre as it was, and set off under the light of the now-setting moon. Daybreak wasn't far away, so he knew he would cover quite a bit of ground before he began to feel the full strength of the sun.

Late in the afternoon two days later Hercules was nearing the Valley of Mortal Peace. Two days of solid walking had given him a chance to walk the edge off the harsh emotions generated by Zeus's visit. He was now considerably calmer within himself, but was struggling to quell the anger after seeing his father for the first time since the murders of his family and Serena.

He shook his head to clear it from thoughts of his family that wasn't really a family at all. Half-man, half-god, not for the first time, his weary mind tried to work out where exactly he fitted into the cosmos. He had nothing but the deepest contempt and hatred for several of his Olympian family, Hera and Ares foremost among them. His mother and his many mortal friends were far more of a family to him, and that brought a gentle smile to his tired face. He was glad he could help them when they needed it.

Walking west, he raised his head and shielded his eyes from the brightness of the setting sun. Impatiently he brushed aside any thought of his father as he approached the copse of trees which marked the border of the Valley. All his senses were on guard. If Hera had taken possession of Roisin's body, he'd need every faculty available to his demigod nature. Not for the first time he was almost thankful for the gifts his half-divine parentage had given him.

He passed through a grove of trees before emerging into a clearing on a hilltop. From his vantage point, he could look down on the Valley of Mortal Peace. It was a truly beautiful place. Trees, bushes and plants of every description abounded. In the distance could be heard the roar of a waterfall. Bird calls echoed gently across the Valley, and peace was tangible in the sweet-scented air.

For a long, rare, moment, Hercules drank in the gentle, healing presence of the Valley, eyes closed in a tired, pale face. It had been too long since he'd experienced what that place had to offer.

He reluctantly opened his eyes and carefully continued on down the hillside towards the small cluster of dwellings he could see in the centre of the Valley. They were more huts than actual houses or dwellings, but were sufficient for the needs of those who came seeking healing in the Valley.

As he came closer to the buildings, he could smell something that overpowered the sweet scent of the many beautiful blossoms around him.

Blood.

Immediately the battle light was in his eyes, his face glowering in revulsion.

"Hera, you bitch!" He said softly in hatred.

Almost at once he heard a tormented moaning coming from one of the huts in front and to his left. The moan was followed by a low, hair-raising laugh.

Hercules sprinted for the hut's entrance.

Once inside he stopped, shocked in spite of himself by what he saw. In the centre of the hut, a man of indeterminate age lay on the ground in a spreading pool of blood, his throat cut from ear to ear, but still alive. Kneeling in a straddling position over him was Hera using Roisin's body, a dagger held in both hands above her head, poised to strike the killing blow.

"No!" Hercules roared, lunging forward and using all his considerable strength to grab hold of both Roisin's wrists. "Not this time," he said tightly. He savagely pulled Hera up and away from her victim, forcing her around to face him.

Hera, wearing Roisin's face, looked up at him and laughed wickedly.

His eyes reflecting the blue of glacier ice, Hercules held her in an unbreakable grip. "You've done enough killing. It stops here and it stops now," he grated.

Green eyes in a face framed by a luxuriant pile of brown curls stared in some amusement back at him. "My dear stepson. I'm so glad you could drop in. It's been so long since we've had the chance to...talk."

"Oh, and you love to talk, don't you Hera? Sorry to have interrupted your pleasure," Hercules said hardily, as he dragged her towards a small table in a corner where he had caught sight of a length of rope.

Minutes later, Roisin's wrists were bound behind her, and Hercules was tying her ankles securely together. He knew Hera could easily and simply leave Roisin's body, but he wasn't taking any chances while she was in that body.

"That should hold you for a while."

He moved to squat beside the other, now still, occupant of the hut. It didn't take long to see that the man was now beyond any help he could give.

Slowly he stood and turned his gaze back to the woman on the floor. The look on his face promised violence, and Hera could see the struggle within her stepson between his desire to physically harm her and the knowledge that he would only be harming Roisin if he did touch her.

Hercules slowly walked back to stand looking down at her, his hands hanging loosely at his side. He had mastered the wellspring of rage.

For a long moment they made a silent tableau, until Hercules said in a cold voice "If this was all a means to get me here, I'm here. What's next, Hera?"

She smiled pleasantly up at him. "Its been a long time since ... the waterfall, hasn't it?"

Hercules drew in an impatient breath. "Your point being?"

She knew it wouldn't be easy. He had always been impossible to best. It was a fact that had constantly and often infuriated her, ever since the day of his birth. She pushed harder.

"But not that long since your family - and the Hind - went to the Otherside. And how many others that you've touched with your...love."

Cold blue eyes now turned deadly, but he nevertheless remained still, saying "If you're trying to goad me, it won't work. You're the murderer, not me. I won't hurt Roisin to get at you."

She drew her breath in sharply.

"That was your plan, wasn't it? To drive me to harm Roisin?"

The Queen of the Gods smiled nastily. "I had to try. Anything to make your life a misery!"

Hercules made a gesture with his hand that encompassed the hut. "And this is just another in a long line of tries."

"You never give up, do you?" He added, his voice harsh.

Her own voice filled with deadly intent, Hera answered "Not until I see you a broken man or dead."

The son of Zeus looked impatiently away before allowing his eyes to settle on his stepmother again. "Give it up, Hera. You can't harm me, you know you can't, and the worst thing is knowing you can't, isn't it? And as for breaking me...I wouldn't give you the satisfaction."

Her gaze was filled with venom. "But my dear stepson, you can be sure I'll do everything in my considerable power to make your life as wretched as any man's for et...as long as you live."

Hercules heard the slip, but chose to ignore it. The question of his own immortality or mortality had long since ceased to trouble him. He shook his head. "Always the same tired quest, Hera. I would have thought you'd have learned by now."

Hera said nothing, but continued to gaze up at his towering figure with hate-filled eyes.

After some time, as Hera didn't seem disposed to continue talking, choosing instead to sit quietly in her bonds, Hercules sought a chair and sat, his eyes watchful, prepared to endure another sleepless night, until he could figure out a way to deal with Hera in the morning.

Perhaps an hour later, a moan came from the bound figure on the floor, and Roisin's body slumped down.

Warily, Hercules' head came up, every sense alert to a new trick by Hera.

Somehow, though, the god-sense in him told him his stepmother had abruptly departed from Roisin's body.

Slowly he moved to squat beside the woman's inert form.

"Roisin?"

"Wha...what...uhhhh."

She could barely speak at first. Hercules went to fill a ladle with cold spring water, and gently held it to her lips. He had no intention of untying her until he was certain Hera wasn't coming back, at least not in the near future.

Roisin greedily swallowed the proffered water.

It didn't take long after that for her head to lift of its own accord to gaze up at her companion.

"Hercules?"

He saw it in her eyes. She was fully back and fully herself. "Yes, its me, Roisin. Here, let me untie you." He very gently released her wrists before moving to her ankles.

"Hera..."

He cast a glance at her "Its alright. She's gone, for now."

Roisin's eyes filled with tears, and her face crumpled. "I remember it all. Oh Hercules, she made me do terrible, vile things!"

Hercules carefully lifted her to her feet and drew her into the warm circle of his arms. "Come here. Shshhhhhh. Its alright. It wasn't you, who did those things, Roisin, it was Hera. You mustn't blame yourself."

Wordlessly she clung to him and sobbed, her heart breaking. As he held her, one hand stroking her head in an effort to soothe her, he recalled that even when they were younger, Roisin had always had a gentle heart. His heart was aching for her, knowing what Hera had now given her to live with.

Gradually her sobs quietened. She looked up into his face with gratitude. "Thank you."

The tall man still holding her smiled warmly. "I'm glad I could help, Roisin.

Roisin's face was troubled. ":But Hera...I was just the bait to get you here.":

Shrugging and placing his hands on her shoulders, he said ":Yeah, well Hera never gives up...and neither do I." He made a small, shrugging gesture and smiled down at her tiredly.

In the light of the room's fire, she saw the tiredness on his face, and her heart went out to him, the recent horrors she had experience banished for the moment in her concern for him.

"Hercules. You need to rest."

He smiled again at the concern in her voice. "I'm alright."

Sharp green eyes stared determinedly at him. "No, you're not," Roisin averred quietly. "You need sleep." Her hand reached out to touch his arm.

In some surprise, Hercules started, and blinked down at her, a puzzled look on his face. He couldn't define what he'd just felt, but it had been disconcerting.

Roisin smiled knowingly. "What exactly do you think the Guardian of the Valley of Mortal Peace is?" She asked gently.

Hercules was silent, his face almost guarded.

"When your father appointed me Guardian, he gave me certain...powers. Powers that

help me read a person's inner being, even when that person is a demigod."

He sighed and lowered his head, his face now hidden in shadows, still remaining silent.

Gently now she said "Hercules, please. You must rest! Your father..." Abruptly she stopped, aware she had gone too far.

But he had heard.

His head came up, intelligent blue eyes piercing her. "What do you mean? Whats my father got to do with anything?"

Roisin took a deep breath, but remained silent.

Hercules wasn't disposed to accept her silence. He took hold of Roisin's arm with a grip of steel. "Answer me Roisin! What's my father go to do with...this?"

She reached up and touched his hair, the compassion in her for him so tangible it almost made him weep. With fierce determination he held onto his composure.

Finally, Roisin answered him. "Zeus came to see me. He'd heard that Hera was planning something involving me...this place. Something that would bring you here. He asked me to..."

Urgently, Hercules rasped ":To...what?":

Roisin's silence was back.

Sudden comprehension filled him. He was horrified, and it showed on his face. In a flat voice, he answered his own question. "He asked you to be the bait for Hera."

The woman still secure in his grip quailed before the awful rage on his face. The look in her eyes had been confirmation enough.

"Doesn't he have any conscience at all?"

Desperately, Roisin pressed her free hand against his chest. "No! You don't understand! He asked, but I willingly agreed, Hercules! Willingly!"

Absently realising he was near to crushing her bones, he released her and stood back a pace. "Alright. Tell me the lot," he told her grimly.

Roisin nodded. "Yes, Hera was planning to use me to get at you, yet again. But Zeus came here once he found out her plans. This time he could have stopped her."

At a loss, Hercules made a confused gesture. "Then why didn't he?"

Doggedly, Roisin continued "Because it was necessary that you come here."

Hercules's eyes showed his confusion. "Why?"

"It was necessary for you that you come here," she repeated intently.

The son of Zeus sighed. "Roisin, you're losing me here. Start talking the same language."

"Hercules, your father knows how you've been hurting these last three years. He knows, and its been unbearable to him that he couldn't help you. He's been watching you closely these last months; especially since you lost Serena... He thinks you're close to breaking."

The man hailed throughout the ancient world as the strongest man alive snorted in derision. "Since when has Zeus ever cared about me? And as for the rest - its ridiculous."

Roisin was using her own Guardian senses, and knew she was right. She kept pressing the advantage.

"No, Hercules, its not ridiculous, and you know its not. I feel it in you. You HAVE to deal with your grief. Two hours at your mother's house on the day Hera took your family wasn't enough to let you grieve. And ever since, you've gone day to day, pushing the hurt deeper and deeper while you help everyone but yourself. Serena's death just added to the hurt within you. You CANNOT go on like that. And you cannot go through your life hating your father. He loves you, and while he can't bring back your family, he'd do anything to help you."

She stopped, but not before adding quietly "And you know it."

For a long moment he refused to look at her. He gazed out the door of the hut into the night's shielding darkness.

He was lost in thoughts and feelings and didn't see Roisin raise her hands over him in an attitude of benison.

All at once, the dam within him broke.

Roisin knew when it happened; he paled and staggered, still not daring to look at her. But the pain and grief radiated out from him. Unbearable pain flooding him, he groaned softly.

She gently took his hand. "Come, I'll take you where you need to be."

Without a word, he yielded to her, and they left the hut. She led him through the dark night, past the cluster of crude dwellings, and up a small hillside until they came to a cave surrounded by the scent of the sweetest smelling blossoms Hercules had ever experienced. She stopped at the entrance.

"Here. Stay here until you're ready to come out again."

He turned slowly to her. In the moonlight, she could see the tears pouring down his face, but he was aware enough to slowly nod, before he turned and entered into the depths of the cave. Roisin had never in her life seen a more lonely figure.

Some things are not meant to be witnessed or told of by others. Of the six days Hercules spent in the cave, no one thereafter spoke. And only two people besides Hercules knew what he went through during those days of agonised grief and healing.

Roisin went about her tasks, burying Hera's dead and re-sanctifying the Valley. But the whole time, her Guardian-sense was watching over the big man alone in the cave. During the times when the ground beneath her feet shuddered under the force of whatever violence Hercules was doing to himself or the cave, she closed her eyes and let the healing flow out of her towards him.

On the morning of the sixth day Roisin made her way to the cave. She waited patiently through the early morning, content to sit on a rock outside the cave, bathed in the early sunlight. After some time, a figure slowly walked from the cave. He was filthy, his hair matted, and there were cuts and bruises covering his hands and forearms. But his now-brilliant crystalline blue eyes were clear and at peace, and the haunting tiredness was gone from his face.

Roisin rose to meet him.

He saw her and stopped. For a long moment, they simply gazed at each other. Then he smiled slowly. "Thank you."

Roisin smiled gently in return. "Come."

Hercules looked at her in puzzlement. "Where?"

She continued to smile mysteriously. "Just come - you'll see."

He shrugged "Alright. I'm all yours."

She laughed at that. Like every other woman in Greece, she found the son of Zeus exceedingly attractive. But Hercules had such a strongly ingrained streak of modesty that he failed to see the gentle irony in her laugh.

Reaching out to take his hand, she led him down from the cave, towards the gently flowing river. They walked for perhaps a mile or so, until they came to a pool lying below a spectacular waterfall.

She turned and took his other hand, so that she was holding both of them. "I think you might enjoy some time in the water. It cleanses more than just your body."

Hercules looked longingly at the water, but hesitated. Roisin smiled up at him. "You know you want to. Here, let me help you." And before the big man could react, the daughter of the wood nymph had quickly extended her arms, and with a strong shove, sent Hercules flying backwards into the water. He came up out of the cold, clear water, gasping for breath.

Shaking water out of his eyes, he looked up at her in surprise. "Roisin!"

Then he was blushing and turning away, because she was methodically removing her clothes. He heard the sound of the water as she entered behind him. Then she was touching his back companionably.

"Relax, Hercules. You're meant to enjoy it. Just let the water flow over you. Immerse yourself in it."

She was moving around in front of him, and he swallowed rapidly. She was beautiful. Her long hair streaming with water behind her. Her skin fair under the clear water.

Again she touched him, and something coursed through him. As if compelled, he reached gently out and took hold of her, new life and vitality coursing through his veins, his muscles...his whole body. He didn't think he'd ever felt more alive in his whole life. The water had a quality about it he couldn't define, but he was absorbing it, body and soul.

His hands resting lightly on her waist, he slowly reached down and kissed her.

Roisin opened herself to the kiss with all the generosity that was in her nature. Then she was pulling him under the water, still not breaking the kiss. Together they sank down, down, through the green, almost translucent water, into a world of silence, until they were almost touching the bottom of the clear rock pool. The cold clear water embraced them both as their bodies turned slowly in time to its gentle movements. The sound of the waterfall was a very distant, muted roar.

Hercules released her and shot to the surface to draw breath. He swiftly removed all his own clothes; they seemed an impedance to what the water was giving him, and he desperately needed to feel the water freely touching every part of him.

Divested of his clothes, and diving as joyously as a dolphin flying between the Aegean Islands, he sank back down to the bottom of the pool and Roisin's waiting arms.

Much, much later, they had dressed and were walking slowly away from the pool.

Turning to look down at the woman walking silently beside him and smiling softly, Hercules quietly said "Thank you, Roisin."

Roisin simply smiled up at him, her hand locked in his. The face of the big man was clear and happy in the late-morning sunlight.

To Be Continued...