However, as much as Ares hated to admit it, he had to confess that he needed help to hunt down one of his own kind, and there was only one goddess he trusted with such a delicate situation as this, and so he bellowed loudly, "DISCORD!"

It took but half a moment for the Goddess of Retribution to respond to her uncle's calling, and out of respect for Ares, she discreetly left her "boy toys" behind when she finally appeared. "So, what's the big emergency, Uncle Dearest?" Discord asked insolently.

Ares narrowed his eyes at her and growled, "And what took you so long, may I ask?"

Discord cast a disparaging eye upon the God of War and retorted, "Hey, you made me Goddess of Retribution - can I help it if the job keeps me busy? Which, by the way, is a detail I am not at all pleased with!"

"Grand titles come with grand responsibilities," Ares sneered in a voice of finality, effectively squelching any further argument. "Now, let's get down to business: I need you to help me find someone."

"Name the human and they're dog meat!" Discord declared boldly. "Please, please say it's Hercules!?"

"Ah, not this time, dear Discord, although I will admit that is a good idea," Ares almost smiled. "But no, I'm afraid it's not quite what you think - we're actually in search of one of our own kind this time."

"One of our own kind?" Discord echoed disparagingly, her voice reflecting her extreme dissatisfaction. "You pulled me away from sticking it to a king to find a god!?"

"Not just any god, Discord," Ares strained to keep his humor, which was already gone bad. "We're talking about Sorrow, daughter of Poseidon and the Fate, Lachesis."

"And just why are we looking for her?"

"She ran away from home, and I promised her father - my uncle - that I would find her."

Discord eyed him with suspicion, but not just her usual suspicion. His tone of voice was not quite convincing, and now that she was Goddess of Retribution, she had learned a great deal about true responsibility that now caused her to hesitate before acting, always. She needed a lot more convincing than that to pull herself away from her duties for the length of time it might take to find a wayward goddess who didn't want to be found. So, she queried further:

"So, why is it that her own parents aren't out looking for her? Seems to me they aren't nearly as upset about her disappearance as you appear to be."

Ares smiled grimly, "And why shouldn't I be upset about it? Besides being my cousin, I rely heavily on Sorrow to comfort the widows of my bravest soldiers - "

Discord's eyes narrowed with increasing suspicion as she interjected, "Oh yeah, right - if you really cared about those war widows, you'd have never sent their husbands into battle in the first place!"

"You know," Ares returned most unhappily, "I think you've gotten a little . . . how shall I say, . . . conscientious . . . since your promotion."

"Hey, like I said, you made me the Goddess of Retribution! If you want someone to blame for my sudden presence of conscience, you can thank your other Lady in Leather."

"Xena!?" Ares' eyebrows flew upward in mild surprise. "And just what does she have to do with this?"

"Let's just say that, although I despise the 'goody two-shoes' bit - not to mention her goody, goody sidekick and that infernal baby of hers - , she has taught me the difference between Revenge, Vengeance, and Retribution."

"And we have my Warrior Princess to . . . thank . . . for this transformation?"

Discord shrugged, "Not completely - her horse had a little something to do with it - , but the end result was the same. As much as I hate it, being the Goddess of Retribution is a responsibility, and it doesn't matter who pointed it out to me. And you know what? The funny thing is, now that I am Goddess of Retribution, I'm able to see a lot of cases that are worthy of my intervention, like some of the things you've pulled over the last few centuries - "

"Like what?"

"Like, for example, anything to do with your brother, Hercules!" she replied without fear. "As much as I despise him, he is due a lot of retribution on you and your late mother."

"And, I suppose you intend to deliver this retribution?" Ares asked menacingly.

Discord threw up her hands to ward off his building anger, and excused, "Hey, that's for the rest of the gods to decide - I only deal with the humans. But, can I help it if this job has made me more aware of the differences between right and wrong where humans are concerned?"

Ares closed his mouth in displeasure for he had been sure that Discord would be up for this search for her own cousin, but he could see that the past fiasco at Cyrene's inn in Amphipolis had reformed his best co-conspirator most drastically. As he had no other recourse, he resorted to pouting, "I guess, then, that all I've ever done for you matters nothing now, right? All the fun I've let you have . . . all the trouble I let you start . . . all worth nothing!"

Discord slowly began to renege on her resolve when he said that, for she had truly enjoyed being the minor Goddess of Discord under his tutelage, and she knew that she surely owed him something in return for that. As much as she mistrusted his motives, she realized that she could not turn her back on him now, and so she relented.

"All right," she said, "quit playing 'poor pitiful me' and tell me where I might find her."

Hercules, as usual, was the first to awaken with the breaking of dawn, and he was secretly glad it was so on this day, for he had a good chuckle at his companions before they woke up.

Sometime during the night, Iolaus and Sorrow had unconsciously gravitated toward each other in their sleep, and she now lay in his arms with her head resting comfortably on his chest. Iolaus was holding her quite closely, and it made Hercules quite happy to see it, for he still had an ever-growing concern for Sorrow and was beginning to hope sincerely that Iolaus was the "other destiny" that the Fates and Aphrodite had planned for the young goddess. It would help explain why Aphrodite had so adamantly insisted that he and Iolaus make sure she got to Iolkos.

In Hercules' experience, Aphrodite would never have deigned to even mention a human's name under normal circumstances. But, she had said Iolaus' name most specifically, even when she knew that he would naturally go along for the mere adventure, if not for Sorrow's company and protection. It was contrary to Aphrodite's nature, and therefore was too curious an occurrence to just be a mere coincidence.

The Goddess of Love's secret would have to remain a mystery until Sorrow played out her destiny, but Hercules felt quite strongly that his friend was somehow involved in it. However, he had to try very hard not to worry about what sort of trouble the oddly-matched couple might encounter as a result of their possible joining, but being the positive guy that he was, he decided the best thing was to just focus on the happy side of the situation and trust the decision of the Fates.

~ And it wouldn't hurt Iolaus to finally settle down and start a family, ~ thought Hercules with a satisfied smile. It would certainly be something worth watching as the romance developed between his best friend and his cousin. In the meantime, he decided to quietly rise from the ground and head out into the brush to gather wood for the morning fire.

In spite of his normal tendency to sleep in, Iolaus' eyes popped open not long after Hercules had left the campsite, and it took only a moment for him to realize who he had ensconced in his arms. Completely surprised, he could not fully comprehend how she had come to be embraced by him in the midst of their sleep, but he quickly excused it by telling himself that he must have felt so protective of Sorrow that he had drawn her into his arms in his sleep to ensure her safety.

Although he knew they really needed to get up and get moving, he was loathe to wake Sorrow, for in the strangest way he relished having her so close. He loved the feel of her body resting within his arms, and the smell of the sea that always emanated from her. On an overwhelming impulse, Iolaus lifted his head slightly so he might bury his nose in the softness of her ocean-blue curls.

However, the movement caused Sorrow to awaken, and she opened her eyes to find herself thus. She could also tell that Iolaus was smelling her hair, and so she hesitated to speak lest it reveal her consciousness, but the change in her breathing pattern had already alerted him to it.

"Good morning, Sorrow," he said with an embarrassed laugh.

She replied with equal good humor, "Good morning, Iolaus."

"I think Herc just left to look for firewood," he said next. "We'd probably better get moving."

"Yes, I guess we'd better," she agreed reluctantly, lifting her head from his chest.

Being a goddess, she looked as beautiful upon rising as she had before going to sleep the night before, and Iolaus could not help but declare spontaneously, "By the gods - you're beautiful!"

Surprised and flattered, Sorrow blushed and smiled shyly, "You think I'm beautiful?"

Iolaus sat up to face her and replied almost lovingly, "I think you're the most beautiful woman - or goddess - I've ever known."

Sorrow's sweet smile broadened, but she was suddenly unable to express her feelings on the matter, and then her heart began to race as Iolaus started to lean toward her. It was as though they were being magnetically drawn to each other, and neither could find the power to resist the inexplicable attraction.

However, just before their lips could actually meet, a snapping twig alerted them both to Hercules' return, and they jumped to their feet quickly, somehow managing to reach a full stance before Hercules stepped out of the woods with an armful of kindling.

The play of unwarranted guilt on their faces almost evoked a full laugh from the demigod, but he dared not let it out - not now, when Iolaus might possibly end up being Sorrow's future, and vice versa. Sorrow was young and impressionable, and he understood how important it was that he not cause her to be embarrassed by her attraction to Iolaus. And, he also had no intentions of giving Iolaus an excuse for not pursuing this affair of the heart further.

"Good morning, Sorrow; good morning, Iolaus," Hercules hailed them cheerily as he dropped the dry wood upon the ashes of the previous night's fire.

"Good morning," both replied abashedly, their faces reflecting their embarrassment.

"So, which will it be - hunting or cooking?" Hercules asked the eternal question to Iolaus, knowing full well what Iolaus' answer would be.

Iolaus replied on cue, "Since I hate to start out the day by eating my own cooking, I guess I'd better take hunting duties."

"Wait!" Sorrow interjected, just as Iolaus was turning to leave and Hercules was kneeling down to start the fire. Both hesitated, and she asked anxiously, "What shall I do?"

Iolaus reached out to her and said seriously, "Why don't you stay here and help Hercules? I won't be very long - I promise!"

Sorrow nodded, and the two heroes exchanged a glance that said a thousand things concerning the safety and protection of Poseidon's daughter. Sorrow must stay with Hercules, for Iolaus knew full well that only his best friend was strong enough to keep her out of harm's way, and in return, Hercules understood that Iolaus was entrusting him with her care. Hercules nodded slightly, indicating his full comprehension of his duty, and Iolaus finally could leave the camp to seek out their breakfast without concern for her welfare.

Hercules returned to his task of arranging the wood for the morning fire, and Sorrow approached him nervously. He looked up at her and saw a complete look of confusion on her face, and he asked, "Is something wrong?"

"I truly don't know what to do to help you," she confessed anxiously. "I've never had to do these things before - "

"Don't worry, Sorrow - there's always a first time for everything!" Hercules smiled in reassurance. "Today, you will learn how to build a fire and cook."

"Really?" Sorrow started to smile, then confessed further, "I've done so few things that humans do, and I know it will help me understand them better."

"Oh, I think you understand humans just fine," he commented with a slight grin.

"But, I must do this, Hercules," she declared uneasily. "I have to make up for it all - "

"Wait - make up for what, Sorrow?" Hercules looked up at her in deep concern, quite unsettled by the essence of her words.

"For all our family has done!" Sorrow blurted out as tears began to fill her eyes. "It tears my heart out each time I feel their grief, and know I truly cannot relate to them, and know that I cannot stop the interference the gods play in their lives. It's no wonder Iolaus hates us!"

Hercules was off the ground in no time at all and pulling the unhappy goddess into his comforting embrace as he insisted strongly, "Iolaus does not hate you, Sorrow. Trust me - he knows you're not at all like the rest of our family, and believe me, if past experience has taught me anything, it's that it won't matter one bit to Iolaus if you can cook or not!"

He had meant to make her laugh, but instead, Sorrow collapsed into his arms sobbing uncontrollably. Pearl after pearl fell from her eyes as she lamented her secret sadness, and Hercules had no idea what to do other than hold her comfortingly.

"Come on, Sorrow," he urged gently. "Tell me what's really wrong?"

"Oh, Hercules, it's everything - Absolutely everything's wrong!" she sniffed unhappily. "I never thought I should ever see him again, and now Ares is after me - "

Hercules chose not to question her impromptu confession, but spoke comfortingly, "Sorrow, we've both sworn to help you get to Iolkos before Ares catches up with you. Don't worry - you'll be back in the Hall of Fates by tonight, and everything will be back to normal by tomorrow."

"Really?" Sorrow questioned, sincerely wanting to believe her cousin.

"Well, I know that I, for one, will be doing what I can, and Iolaus swore to protect you years ago - I personally don't see how Ares stands a chance!"

Sorrow nodded unhappily, wanting so very much to believe that Hercules - and Iolaus - had the power to protect her from one of her own kind. She stopped crying and helped Hercules to hide the evidence of her unhappiness before learning the art of firemaking.

Sorrow watched and listened closely as Hercules explained how to strike flint against stone to get the wood to catch fire, and when the first flames began to flicker in the fire circle, she became most excited.

"Prometheus gave humans this," she said in awe, reaching out to feel the golden flares as they reached up to the sky. Out of habit, Hercules seized her arm before she could come to harm.

"Whoa! Watch out - that's hot!" he exclaimed.

Sorrow laughed at his unneeded concern, "Hercules, I'm a not human - I won't get burned!"

Hercules joined in to laugh at himself, but secretly prayed that his young cousin was right - that she wouldn't ultimately get burned by this situation. He was no oracle, and could not predict the outcome of the situation, but he was beginning to hope that a certain possible option would soon settle the issue once and for all.

Iolaus had absolutely no problem catching three fish for their breakfast - including one for Sorrow, despite the lack of necessity -, and so he was more than pleased with himself to be returning to their camp in triumph. He only wished he had taken her with him so she might see his great skill in action, but he comforted himself by noting that his quick return would surely make an impression on her.

No sooner had he thought about it, Iolaus stopped in his tracks, wondering why a goddess would even care if he would be a good provider or not, and he gasped in horror, "What do I possibly have to offer her?"

Almost as if in response to his question, Iolaus was surprised by a shower of sparkles that preceded the appearance of Aphrodite, who immediately asked, "What's wrong, Stud Muffin? Love trying to give you a hard time?"

"Hi, Aphrodite," Iolaus greeted her in embarrassment. "I guess you probably already know what's going on here - I've tried, but I just can't stop wanting Sorrow! I mean, I have nothing a goddess could possibly want - "

"Duhhh! You've got the one thing she wants most in the universe, and you don't even know it!" Aphrodite contradicted him, rolling her eyes in disparity. "What about love, Iolaus?"

"She wants love?" he questioned dumbly.

Aphrodite suppressed the intense urge to reach out and shake some sense into him as she replied, "No, she wants your love, Studly!"

"My love?"

"Hello??? Am I speaking Greek here, or what? Of course she wants your love! Did you think that I put her in your arms last night? - which, by the way, was way romantic!"

"Thanks," Iolaus grinned uneasily. "I wish I could take credit for it."

"Sure you can - you both did that on you own. You know I can't make a goddess do anything she doesn't want to. I'm sorry, but you're just going to have to accept that you're both in love."

Iolaus eyed her suspiciously, "But, why me? Why not one of her own kind?"

"Hey, how should I know?" Aphrodite shrugged alluringly, "I just encourage the inevitable, Handsome. It's up to you what you do from this point on. I'm just here to tell you that all you have to do is tell Sorrow how you feel, and she's all yours - but you're going to have to fill her in."

Iolaus bit his lip in consternation as he contemplated the confession he was being encouraged to give. He wasn't as sure about Sorrow's feelings as Aphrodite seemed to be.

"What's the problem now?" Aphrodite asked wearily, starting to become both impatient and irritated with her brother's friend. "You didn't seem to have any trouble asking that Ania chick to marry you - "

"That was different," he claimed immediately, recalling his late wife with reluctancy.

"How so?"

"Well, . . . Ania was human to begin with," he excused, finally coming to the point of his concern. "And, I didn't have her very long before she died. I know Sorrow is a goddess, but that means that she will be the one to outlive me, and I couldn't bear leaving her a widow, and not being there for her."

"Now you're just inventing excuses, Iolaus," Aphrodite shook her head unhappily, noting the futility of these humans and their feelings. "Let me put it to you a different way - you are Sorrow's destiny, and if you don't assume your rightful place in her life now, she may have no choice but to become Ares' wife. So, if you want her for your own, I highly suggest you get over your little problem and get to telling her how you feel."

"And you swear Sorrow will love me?" Iolaus pressed further, still not quite convinced.

"Will love you?" Aphrodite echoed in near-derision. "It's a little late for that, Sweet Cheeks - you've been the love of her life since she was, like, eight years old!"

Iolaus' jaw dropped in great surprise as the goddess' words brought back another moment from his past - the day he and Hercules left Olympus for the last time. Sorrow had only shyly kissed him when he said goodbye, but her young words now echoed in his ears: "Goodbye, Iolaus . . . I love you." At the time, he had taken her words as being those of a child who was losing a favorite playmate, but now he realized that perhaps he had truly secured the love of the Goddess of Lamentation back then. But, even so, he had much to think about, and so he apologized, "With all due respect, Aphrodite, I need to consider this a little further before I do that - "

"Well, just don't take too long making up your mind, Loverboy," she said with exasperated finality. "Just remember - some chances only come once in a lifetime!"

Iolaus nodded in complete and total comprehension, and said most seriously, "I understand."

"About time!" Aphrodite rolled her eyes again, then echoed, "Good luck, Iolaus!" as she disappeared in a shower of stars.

Once she was gone, he stood for but a moment more, contemplating what the Goddess of Love had just told him. If Aphrodite was right - and hopefully, she was -, then the attraction he'd been feeling toward Sorrow was being reciprocated, although most demurely, by the young daughter of Poseidon. However, it was quite daunting to think that he had to be the one to confess his feelings in order to secure her love.

All of a sudden, the prospect of having Sorrow for his own, rightfully and obviously with the blessings of the gods - not that that meant all that much to him -, was overwhelming, and he joyfully resumed his trek back to the campsite, all the while considering how and when he would tell her.

Once the fire was going and all else awaited Iolaus' return, Sorrow became quite impatient. In her mind, just learning to start a fire wasn't enough to dispel the stain of blood she fancied was upon herself, thanks to her relatives, and so she finally supplicated herself to her cousin.

"Hercules, isn't there anything I might be doing that human women do?"

Hercules hesitated to speak, for he was at a loss as to what to tell her. He and Iolaus did not carry the things women tended to travel with, like the cooking utensils that Gabrielle insisted that she and Xena carry, so he did not have what she needed in order to participate in the "womanly" duties she obviously wanted to learn. So, he excused with an apologetic shrug, "Well, I'd send you to the river to get us some water if we had a bucket, but we don't have one."

Sorrow smiled proudly, "Then today is your day - you're lucky to have a goddess along!" And, with but a nod of her head, a wooden bucket with a rope handle appeared in her hands. Hercules smiled in appreciation, "Very resourceful! Now, let's go get some water - "

"Wait!" Sorrow halted his rise from the log before the fire. "I think I am perfectly capable of getting a bucket of water on my own!"

"Are you sure?" Hercules asked, more out of concern for her safety than anything else.

"I'd like to try," she answered in all seriousness, wanting so very much to prove her ability to cope with human situations, and Hercules found he hadn't the heart to deny her.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come along, just for your own protection? I don't mind following you."

The roar of the river was so near that Sorrow was certain she would never be out of earshot for any length of time, so she assured him, "Really, Hercules - I think I can do this on my own."

"Are you absolutely sure?" he asked again most seriously. "Iolaus would kill me if anything were to happen to you!"

Sorrow took up her new quarterstaff in her free hand and answered, "I'm ‘armed and dangerous,' Cousin - any humans who dare to attack me will get the message."

"And what about any gods who dare?" Hercules questioned, still unsure about letting her go.

"Come on, Hercules," Sorrow wailed, sounding more like a human teenager than a grown goddess. "It's only to the river! It's not like I want to walk to Thrace and back on my own!"

Hercules silently considered her arguments, weighing his options. She was adamant about being allowed to go after the water, but she would not tolerate him following her, and he feared letting her out of his sight. Ultimately, he took into consideration how he had felt at her age, being told what he could and couldn't do by his mother. Alcmene had been right on some things, but she had been far too protective on others, and he'd missed out on many non-dangerous experiences he'd never get a chance to relive. Sorrow was immortal, and a goddess in her own right, and ultimately he had to let her have her own way, so he reluctantly gave in.

"All right, Sorrow, I'll let you go alone - but if you're not back in five minutes, I'm coming after you!" he swore intently.

Sorrow's face broke out into a joyous smile, and she bubbled, "Thank you, Hercules! You'll see - I'll be just fine!" And she ran off toward one of the many small paths that led down to prime fishing spots along the river's edge.

"I sure hope so," Hercules said to himself as he watched her go, praying that the young goddess would return in the allotted time safely, and well before Iolaus learned he let her go alone.