SquidgeWorld Archive

Some Great Reward
by  D'Nalia

Iphicles watched as Jason pushed his food around his plate but didn't actually eat any of it. He didn't know how to help his friend get over the betrayal of his wife, but hoped time would do what he could not.

Jason finally got tired of pretending and went to bed. Iphicles soon followed. As he lay there a glimmer of an idea took root in his mind. He turned it this way and that, finally deciding that he should just ask.

The King knelt at Morrigan's alter and sent out a silent prayer. He didn't have to wait long.

"Iphicles. What can I do for you?"

"Morrigan, I need to ask you a couple of questions."

Morrigan settled herself in a chair and waved at him to continue.

"Joxer will be out of commission for quite a while won't he?"

"Yes. An injury like that could take months to heal."

"And the Twins will want to spend some time with Discord before they head back to sea."

Morrigan smirked, "I would think so. What are you getting at Iphicles?"

"Jason. He's dying inside. He won't eat and I don't think he's sleeping at all. But if he had something to keep him occupied..."
 
Morrigan laughed, "I see where you're heading. It's a good idea Iphicles. But will he go for it?"

Iphicles felt better than he had in days. "Leave that to me Morrigan. I have a plan."

"You always do Iphicles."

Iphicles' grin faded for a moment, "Is Hercules all right?"

"He's not happy. Not at all happy. But he's fine physically. I'll be letting them go soon enough. Just as soon as I'm sure they've learned their lesson."

Iphicles frowned, "I don't know Morrigan. Hercules can be the most stubborn man in the world. I'm not sure he'll ever learn."

Morrigan rose up from her chair and stretched. "Oh, he's learning Iphicles. Trust me on that."

*****

Hercules was exhausted, and he doubted Iolaus was in much better shape. He shifted restlessly and got a heel dug into his back for his trouble.

He dared a quick glance at his friend and sighed quietly. Iolaus was furious. That was obvious. Hercules quelled the urge to beat his own head into the stone floor he was kneeling on. He hadn't believed the Celtic Goddess when she'd told him what his punishment was to be. He believed her now.

*****

Morrigan took Hercules, Iolaus and Alcemene to Zeus' temple on Mount Olympus. She presented the three of them, still bound in chains, to Hera and Zeus with a smile.

"It took a while for me to decide upon a suitable punishment for these malcreants. But I do believe I've come up with just the thing."

*****

And that was how he'd ended up here. Dressed in an embarrassingly short chiton, on his hands and knees, his broad back providing the perfect place for Hera to rest her dainty feet. Dainty feet that felt like large stones after the first hour.

His position was completely humiliating, but at least he wasn't in Iolaus' spot.

The hunter was dressed in an transparent kirtle and his chest had been oiled until it gleamed. To make matters worse, his cheeks had been painted with rouge and his already curly hair had been combed into tiny ringlets. Everyone thought he looked 'absolutely adorable'. Hercules knew this because he'd heard it a hundred times already.

"Boy. Fetch our guests some more wine please." Hera said in a bored tone.

Iolaus stomped out of the room and Hera sighed, "It's 'so' hard to get good servants these days." Then she giggled, "I can't believe I just said that. Oh well. Now then ladies, we have a plans to finish. Eris, are you sure you don't want to wear a dress instead of your 'usual'?" Hera waved a hand at her daughter's miniscule leather garb.

Hercules was stunned when Discord blushed instead of making one of her usually cutting remarks. The Goddess toyed with one of her daggers and shrugged. "I don't know. The Twins 'like' the way I dress."

"I'm sure they do honey." 'Dite said. "But I think they'd like 'anything' you wore. I've never seen two mortal men fall so completely in love. At least not without help."

The other Goddess' laughed. Hestia broke through the laughter, "Eris, I've been wanting to know. How did you ever manage to snare 'two' of them?"

Discord's blush turned a darker shade of red. "I didn't snare them. They snared me."

All of the women in the room sighed, "That's so sweet."

"Mother?" Discord said in a hesitent voice. "Do you really think I should wear a dress?"

Hera smiled, "Don't worry dear. I can guarantee the Twins will be stunned when they see you."

Hercules tuned out the rest of the conversation, he'd learned more about wedding preparations in the last hour than he'd ever wanted to know. He let his mind drift, idly wondering what had become of his mother, Xena and Gabrielle.

*****

Alcemene brushed her hair away from her face with the back of her arm and picked her bucket back up. The heavy weight she was lugging threw her off balance. And when the hungry pigs smelled the food they rushed her.

She landed on her already sore bottom in a pile of foul muck. Some of the more curious piglets jumped right into her lap. Alcemene burst into tears. There she was, a woman who'd obviously been born to be a queen, sitting in a pile of manure, surrounded by filthy pigs.

She wailed, wishing she were back in her nice house, with Jason waiting on her hand and foot.

The farmer's wife stood in her garden and shook her head sadly. The woman Zeus had asked them to take in was useless on a farm. She didn't know what the King of the Gods expected them to be able to teach her. A gnarled hand brushed against her cheek and she turned a loving smile to her husband.

Maybe they were poor, and no longer as young as they used to be. But their children had grown into fine, strong people. And they still had each other.

*****

Ares snapped his fingers at Xena when she didn't get his grape peeled fast enough. The breeze wafting over him slowed and he turned glaring eyes on Gabrielle. "You're supposed to move the fan 'Gabby'. Not stand there and stare at it."

The blond bard went back to her task, even though the muscles in her shoulders were screaming for relief.

The sound of harsh, barking coughs coming from the other room made Ares jump up from his reclining position on the pillows. He knocked the bowl of grapes out of Xena's hand and sent Gabrielle flying to get to the source of that sound.

Gabrielle picked herself up and rubbed her bruised bottom while Xena pulled grapes out of her carefully styled hair. Ares voice sent them running for the bedroom. "Xena, get in here!"

The two women ran through the doorway and stopped. Ares was holding Joxer while he tried to cough up a lung. A slight red stain grew on the bandage covering his chest.

"Xena, get me some water. Gabrielle, get some more pillows, we need to prop him up."

Both women were slow to move, but the small bolt of energy Ares sent their way got them going.

They returned to the room to find a strange man carefully pulling away the bandages. "Well, Joxer. It looks like you've managed to mess up some of my father's best work."

"Sorry Miach. I didn't mean to." Joxer said weakly.

"Aye. I'm sure you didn't."

Gabrielle paled and Xena winced when they saw the wound for the first time. In the center of Joxer's chest was a gaping hole large enough to put a fist in.

Maich carefully inspected it and packed herbs back into the wound before replacing the bandage. "It doesn't look too bad. I'll leave some tea to help control the cough."

"Doesn't look too bad?" Ares said increduously. "It's huge!"

Maich looked at the God and nodded his head. "Aye. That it is. But it's much better than it was."

"Why is it so big?" Gabrielle asked in a small voice.

Maich looked at Joxer. The wounded man nodded his head.

"Well, you see. That infernal arrow pierced the heart. Father had to make the hole bigger so he could get his hands around young Joxer's heart and heal the damage."

The healer shook his head. "If it had been a normal arrow we could have healed it and not even left a mark. But that piece of work killed the skin and muscle as it passed. Almost like it had been dipped in poison. Gobihnu had a few things to say about the smith who'd make such a weapon."

Ares stiffened, "Hephestus made that arrow. He makes all of them." Ares reached out a hand and pulled a silver arrow out of mid air and handed it to Miach.

The healer looked at the arrow in revulsion. But then he looked closer. "It's not the same."

"No, it's not." Ares said quietly. "Once the Furies are asked to punish someone, they pull the emotions behind the request out of the people doing the asking."

Miach grimaced. "The ones behind Joxer's arrow must be some truly terrible people then. That arrow 'hated' Joxer. Gobhinu had to melt it down immediately. It wanted to go back and finish the job. I hope someone has done something about them. People holding that kind of hatred inside are usually insane. It's best to not let them run around loose."

"What would you suggest Miach?" Ares asked in a curious voice.

"Well now, sometimes it's kinder to put them out of their misery. Some things even a God can't heal."

"But Joxer killed his father." Gabrielle said in a very small voice.

"Jonus? That bloody bastard. He needed killing. But if he hadn't have tried to stab young Joxer in the back I doubt he'd have died. Joxer hates killing people. He's sick for days after. I've seen how cold he acts when the killing is done, but that only lasts until he's alone. Then he's after trying to toss up his toenails. I don't know the number of times I've had to make up a potion for his stomach."

Miach smiled down at his young friend, "You've the weakest stomach of any Raven I've ever seen Joxer. And I've seen all of them. But then, it's your feelings for others that make you so bloody good at your job. Rest now. I'll be back in the morning to check on you again."

Ares stared silently at the two women as the healer faded from sight. Neither could meet his eyes. They left the room quietly, leaving Ares alone with Joxer.

Joxer lay there silently for a moment before he said, "That was mean Ares."

"Would you rather I put them out of their misery instead?"
 
Joxer tried, but couldn't stop a chuckle from escaping. "No. But did you have to rub their faces in it?"

Ares made Joxer look him in the eye. "Joxer, they have to learn. This is the only way. If they can 'see' what they're doing is wrong, maybe they'll be able to change. What about the next person they decide needs to be punished?"

"Okay, I see your point. But I still don't like being so mean to them."

"Joxer. They wanted you dead. Personally, I argued for killing them on the spot but Morrigan wouldn't hear of it. She thinks there's still some good in them." Ares grinned and said happily, "But she did say that if they refused to see reason she'd let me kill them. Slowly."

Joxer stared at the happy expression on his lover's face in disbelief and then burst into laughter. "I love you Ares. I really do. But you scare me sometimes."

Ares shrugged and grinned wider.

*****

Iphicles finally managed to corner the Twins. After he'd explained the situation they were sympathic, but thought they should all talk to Joxer first. Iphicles contacted Ares and presented the plan to him. The God of War agreed with the scheme and took them all to Olympus to talk to Joxer.

Joxer was stunned when he learned the depth of Alcemene's deception. He'd only met her once, but had liked her a great deal. It was decided amongst the men that Joxer should be the one to speak to Jason.

*****

Jason stared out the window at the sea. Sunlight sparkled off the waves and momentarily blinded him. He heard a noise and turned to see Joxer leaning against the doorframe. He hurried over and helped the young man into a chair. "Joxer, what are you doing here? You should still be in bed."

"I have a problem Jason and I was hoping you could help me out."

"I'll do what I can Joxer."

"You know about my ship, The Raven, don't you?"

"I saw her the other day. She's a beauty Joxer."

The younger man grinned at the compliment. "That's part of the problem Jason. She is a beauty, but she should be out at sea, not tied to a pier." Joxer lifted a shaky hand, "It'll be months before I'm strong enough to take her out. And since you're the only other Captain I know, I was hoping you'd take care of her for me until I heal."

"What about your crew?"

"You know the Twins are getting married, right?"

Jason smiled faintly, "Yes. I've heard."

"Well, they want to spend some time alone with Eris. And Liam, the second mate, is a good man, but he's no captain and he doesn't want to be. It'll only be for a few months Jason. I promise. Please say yes."

"It's been a long time since I was a captain Joxer."

Joxer grinned, "It's not something you forget how to do Jason."

The older man sat silently for a moment before nodding his head, "All right Joxer, I'll do it. But only until you're better."

"Thank you Jason. This means a lot to me."

After Ares had come and collected Joxer, Jason went looking for Iphicles. He finally found him in the council room reading a scroll.

"Iphicles."

"Jason! How are you?"

"Fine Iphicles. I'm fine. I'm going to head down to the pier, get some fresh air."

"That sounds like a good idea Jason. Find me when you get back and we'll have dinner."

Jason nodded and turned to leave. He stopped in the doorway, "Iphicles. Thank you. For Joxer and the ship."

Jason left the King of Cornith sitting at his desk with a stupid look on his face. He wondered for a moment what had given him away and then decided that it didn't really matter. His friend looked eager for the first time in days. Iphicles went back to his scrolls in a much better mood.

*****

Time passed quickly for some and far too slowly for others. The crew of the Raven accepted their temporary captain with mixed emotions, but settled down when they discovered he was 'that' Jason.

Ian and Sean went back to their wedding preparations with lighter hearts once they'd gotten to know Jason better. The man obviously knew his way around a ship.

*****

All of Olympus watched the wedding preparations in fascinated disbelief. Hera was everywhere at once. Changing this, checking on that and generally driving everyone crazy. She ran Hercules and Iolaus ragged trying to keep up with her. Zeus just smiled indulgently and made sure Hera got exactly what she wanted.

The day finally arrived. Joxer had his hands full trying to keep the Twins calm. Both young men were so nervous they had trouble dressing themselves. They were on the verge of coming to blows over who's shirt was whose when Morrigan arrived with their parents.

Their mother immediately took over and had them dressed and ready to go in no time at all.

Joxer had to admit, they did look good. Black leather pants, matching boots and white silk shirts. Their mother even trimmed their beards and brushed out their hair.

Not that it did much good. As soon as they were standing before Zeus and Hera they started fidgeting. The slightest sound made them jump and whip their heads around to the doorway where Eris would appear.

Celestial harps sounded the arrival of the bride. Joxer was as stunned as anyone at Eris' appearance. In place of her usual black leather she wore a floor length, rose colored gown. The heavy makeup had been washed off and her hair hung down on her shoulders. She looked so young and impossibly lovely. She clutched Ares arm with a white knuckled grip that slowly relaxed when she saw the grooms' reaction to her dress.

Ian and Sean stood there with their mouths hanging open. They'd always thought Eris to be incredibly beautiful, but they were still stunned. Looks of shock were slowly replaced by wide grins. Then expressions of murderous jealousy when a couple of the guests wolf whistled. A single glare from their mother made them behave, but it was a close call.

Ares handed his sister over to her grooms and kissed her cheek before making his way over to Joxer. He took his seat and pulled Joxer into his lap, settling him against his chest.

Joxer could hear Ares' strong heartbeat under his ear and the sound lulled him to sleep before he could stop himself.

Ares smiled down at his sleeping lover before turning his attention back to the ceremony. Joxer propencity for falling sleep with no warning had worried him a great deal at first, but Miach assured him that is was perfectly normal. Joxer's body was healing and that took all of his energy. The better he got the less often it would happen.

The words of the wedding ceremony were familiar to Ares, but he still listened closely.  Maybe because it was his twin getting married, or because he wanted to marry the man now sleeping in his lap, but this time words seemed to actually mean something.

Hera's voice was soft as she performed her most cherished task as the patron Goddess of marriage.

"A marriage is not only between the body, but the mind, heart and soul. If you give your marriage everything you have and everything you are, nothing can pull you apart."

Hera looked at her daughter standing between her chosen husbands and smiled. Eris had made a good match.

"Eris, Goddess of Discord, why do you seek to be joined with these men?"

"Because I love them." Eris replied. Her voice might have been shaky, but no one could doubt the sincerity of her words.

"Ian of Eire, Sean of Eire, why do you seek to be joined with this woman?"

"Because we love her." the Twins intoned in unison. Amazingly enough, no one laughed at painfully obvious tension in those voices.

Hera raised both her hands in benediction, "Then it is my right and my joy to declare you wed." Hera threw a murderous glare at the Furies, "Let all know this. 'Any' who seek to destroy this union shall face my wrath."

Hera smiled at the trio standing before her, "Well, don't just stand there. Kiss her." she laughed.

Ian and Sean obeyed their mother-in-law with gratifying speed.

The guests crowded in close to offer congratulations and well wishes. Hera joined her husband and they pushed their way through the throng to give their daughter and her mates their wedding gift.

"Eris, we thought long and hard about what to give you as a gift. We think you will appreciate this thing more than any other." Zeus said with a smile.

Hera and Zeus joined hands and placed their free hands on Ian and Sean's head. A steady glow grew until the two mortal men were covered in light. The Gods slowly withdrew their hands and let the glow fade.

The Twins shared identical looks of confusion and looked to their in-laws for an explanation. Zeus laughed and told them what their gift was, "I would not have my daughter heartbroken when you grow old and die. So we decided to make you immortal."

Eris squealed and hugged her parents so hard they had trouble breathing. The Twins looked shocked for a moment before matching expressions of wonder took over their handsome faces. Each man imagining an eternity spent loving their wife.

Ares laughed quietly at his parent's gift to Eris, but then sobered. He hoped when he and Joxer married they received the same generosity. He couldn't bare to think about losing him. This time had been close, too close. Ares pulled Joxer in tighter and kissed his hair.

Morrigan had spent the time during the ceremony watching the care Ares took with Joxer. It was time the two of them formalized their union too.

She stood over Ares and her favorite warrior, "Ares, when will the two of you be taking vows?"

"I don't know Morrigan. After he's stronger probably. There's a lot to discuss."

"Do you love him?"

"Of course I do Morrigan."

"Does he love you?"

"Yes Morrigan. I do love him. You know that." Joxer said in a sleepy voice, having woken when the Goddess he served first spoke.

"Then there's nothing to discuss." "Zeus, you old reprobate, haul your carcass over here!" Morrigan yelled.

Zeus raised a brow but moved to her side, "You bellowed?"

"We need to be seeing to wedding these two." she said.

Zeus stared at his son and the man who had defied the King of the Gods in order to save him. "Yes Morrigan. I do believe you're right." Zeus smiled down at his wife, "Well dear, would you like to do the honors?"

Hera laughed, "Of course."

The words of marriage were again repeated and a new bond formed. Morrigan joined Zeus and Hera in granting Joxer immortality but still couldn't heal the wound in his chest.

"It doesn't matter now." Ares said quietly. "We have all the time in the world."

the end