Sorrow's eyes eventually opened perhaps an hour after Hercules left the temple, and she immediately recognized the scarlet and blue patchwork material of her well-muscled pillow. Somehow, she was not surprised in the least to find herself waking up in Iolaus' arms once again. It felt like the most natural thing in the world to her, so it never once occurred to her to be shy about it, and without a moment's hesitation, she gave in to an overwhelming impulse to kiss him. Lifting herself just enough to do so without disturbing him from his slumber, Sorrow lightly touched her deep, iridescent pink lips to his, and Iolaus moaned in his sleep. In fact, Iolaus had been dreaming of her, so the sweet taste of her lips only deepened the intensity of what he was experiencing in his dream scape, and without warning, his arms suddenly encircled her tightly, pulling her closer and deepening the kiss. Sorrow gave in easily to his sleep-enhanced seduction, for in her mind she truly thought that it was she who was taking advantage of him while he slept.

Had Iolaus been awake, the moment would surely not have gone further than that, but he was lost in a dream where Sorrow was his wife, and they were newlyweds celebrating their joining. He saw and experienced every moment most intensely through his dream, and he felt his passion for her starting to rise most extremely. In reaction, he rolled them both over until he was in control of the pace before beginning to truly make love to her. He began by caressing the length of her willowy neck with his sensual lips while his hands explored her willing body through the slippery softness of her green silk gown.

Iolaus lingered but a moment at the nape of her neck, for she seemed to be melting beneath each of his kisses, and indeed she felt she was at the very least being swept away on the tide of his love, and without realizing it, she gasped, "I love you, Iolaus . . ."

"I love you, too, Sorrow," he murmured adoringly in return, and he began to kiss her lips again with a renewed vigor, and his hips began to grind gently into hers. However, the complicated series of actions inadvertently served to awaken Iolaus, and when he finally came to, he discovered himself in the midst of the most passionate kiss he'd ever experienced in his life.

Immediately after that, though, came the realization that Sorrow was holding onto him with the deep trust of a maiden bride awaiting the consummation of her marriage, and he immediately felt ashamed that his carnal desires had so easily overtaken him. He gently broke the kiss, wincing in a sort of pain as he did so. "I - I'm sorry," he gasped in dismay as he gazed down into her eyes, expecting to see her indignance, but saw only her own strong desire for him reflected in them.

"Don't be," Sorrow whispered sensuously. "I was taking advantage of you in your sleep."

"Oh yeah?" Iolaus grinned back at her in surprise. "I was afraid it was the other way around!"

"What - don't you think the virgin daughter of Poseidon can be capable of such intrigue?" Sorrow smiled temptingly as she reached up to gently caress his face. "Surely you didn't think I could resist you for long, did you?"

"Well, no," he answered in mock-arrogance, then laughed, "but I certainly never thought I'd ever wake up like this!"

"Nice, isn't it?" she sighed luxuriantly, wrapping her arms about his neck and intertwining her fingers in his blonde curls as she pulled him back down to kiss her again.

"Nice is an understatement," Iolaus proclaimed just before their lips met again in another deep, breathtaking embrace.

Iolaus reveled in the gloriousness of Sorrow for those few moments, finding her to be as anxious as himself to express their love completely. But, however much he loved being with her in that way, Iolaus knew he'd better extract himself from her before Hercules appeared and physically removed him, so he reluctantly pulled away and moved to sit a safe distance away on the edge of the cold, grey marble altar.

"Maybe we'd better take it easy, Sorrow," he said reluctantly, but with sincere concern. "I know that I, for one, was not in the best shape last night."

Sorrow sat up to face him, ready to protest that she, herself, was completely fine, but the quick motion of rising caused her head to swim, and Iolaus saw her face turn pale.

"Slow down, Sweetheart," he ordered lovingly as he reached out to steady her. "We took quite a blow to the head yesterday, you know."

Sorrow looked at him in great surprise, and was met with such a mixture of love, pride, and gratitude radiating from him that she knew instantly that Hercules had told him everything that had happened the prior day. In return, however, she could only blush and look away uneasily as she protested sadly, "It was my fault you got hurt in the first place - "

"No, don't," Iolaus stopped her from completely turning away from him, and gently lifted her face back to his. "Sorrow, I got hurt because I was too busy admiring your fighting skills, and that right there was my own pride getting in the way of business. I knew better, and only I am to blame for ignoring my own better judgment. Do not blame yourself for my mistake, Sorrow . . . but please, take in return all my love and gratitude for stepping in and saving my life."

When he had finished thanking her, Sorrow took hold of his hand and kissed it softly, saying, "I'm afraid that I only saved you out of selfishness, Iolaus, because I truly felt like I was saving my own life . . . I know I'm inexperienced at this, but I've never felt this way about anyone else in my entire life, and I just knew I could not go on existing without you - "

"No, don't ever say that, Sorrow," he squeezed her hand in return most anxiously, thinking what the world would be like without the Goddess of Lamentation to ease the sadness that seemed to abound in such a young civilization. "I couldn't bear the thought of you not going on, with or without me . . . and one day you will have to go on without me, you know."

Sorrow did not reply immediately but looked down at his hand, which had somehow come to possess her own, and nodded only slightly. She could not help but remember everything her foul cousin Discord had said about taking on humans as consorts, and while she had done her best to ignore that nagging detail, she ultimately realized that it was futile to pretend the inevitable would not happen one day. She especially could not evade that detail now, when she could sense that Iolaus was intensely worried about how she would deal with his death when it should finally come to pass. After some moments of her silence, Iolaus continued, "You're still so young, Sorrow, and one day you may come to regret having chosen me - "

"Never!" Sorrow declared resolutely, a new fire burning in her eyes as she faced him once again. "You are my destiny, Iolaus. I think we both know that by now, and I just can't believe my mother would have selected you to be my future if we were not meant to be together forever - not if she truly has my best interests at heart, as I know she most surely does!"

"I know," Iolaus agreed soberly, then grinned half-heartedly, "I just wanted you to be absolutely certain that you wanted to spend eternity with me."

"I can't think of anything I'd rather do more, Iolaus," Sorrow said with an air of loving finality, backed by a complete sense of confidence.

With their declarations fully made, they both began to lean toward each other at the same time with the same intent in mind. They met halfway in a much more innocent kiss, but it still thrilled each to the very core. Hercules smiled at the tableau they made as he reentered the temple with a few fish for their breakfast, and as much as he hated to break up the moment, he had to get things rolling before trouble showed up to hinder them again.

"Ahem," Hercules cleared his throat loudly. "Good morning."

Sheepish grins and blushing faces greeted him as they reluctantly ended their kiss, and both replied at the same time, "Good morning, Hercules."

"I'm glad to see you're both feeling . . . much . . . better," the demigod smiled with more than a touch of insinuation to his voice.

"Yep, I know I've never felt better!" Iolaus proclaimed as he leapt down from the table, feeling a great surge of joy in his heart for this one moment in time. He was with his best girl and his best friend in the world and, except for the ever-looming specter of the God of War, Iolaus was having the best day of his life so far. He could think of only one or two other things that could possibly make it even better, and he sincerely hoped that all the factors would fall into place and allow him to make those wishes come true for both himself and Sorrow.

Iolaus then turned to help Sorrow, gently taking her up into his arms and lifting her easily off the altar. The short trip toward setting her on her feet was only enhanced by the feel of her ever-trusting arms wrapped about his neck and the intense eye contact they shared, and Iolaus could not help but beam with pride.

"Thank you," Sorrow said sweetly and softly when she stood on her own again, feeling the waves of his emotions buffeting her intensely and reveling in the rush of joy that always seemed to pervade her senses. After having met up with so many unhappy humans in her relatively young life, to feel his joy radiating out far above his other emotions, and even more to feel his love intermingled with all, was a new and exciting experience for her. It had been something she had sensed growing within him during their short time together as children on Olympus, and now she could vividly recall every attempt she had made then to evoke that mixture of emotions from him, although she hadn't realized what she had truly been working toward at the time. She had dreamt of him a thousand times since those days of her youth, and only now did she realize that even Morpheus must be in favor of their joining to give her such dreams every night. Realizing that her love for Iolaus must have been approved by the gods long ago, this one moment spent encircled in the safety of his arms, within the sanctuary of her own temple, became the most perfect of all moments she'd ever known.

Having been in love before so deeply himself, Hercules instinctively recognized the importance of this moment, and did not dare spoil it for them. He could remember the few times in his own life when time seemed to stand still for himself and the one he loved, and to deprive Iolaus and Sorrow of that experience would be to do serious injustice to those most cherished of moments. Hercules honored those times, and the loves of his life, best by letting his cousin and his friend enjoy their time together without interruption.

When breakfast was cooked and eaten, Hercules politely went and stood outside the temple to allow them some privacy while the lovers experienced yet another such moment. Iolaus had gallantly pulled her cloak from the marble altar and lovingly draped it about Sorrow's shoulders, lingering but a moment on the pretext of hooking the collar together for her.

"I love you so much, Sorrow," Iolaus whispered earnestly, his love coming through so strongly to her as he said so.

"Then, kiss me," she half-commanded, half-begged, and Iolaus was more than happy to comply with her loving demands, pressing his lips to hers softly at first, then more deeply.

Once the kiss was finally, and most reluctantly, ended, they clasped hands resolutely and walked out into the bright sunshine where a grinning Hercules was waiting to lead the way back to the overgrown trail, and they set out for the coast. They moved quietly, walking easily past the sleeping scout that they had never once noticed lurking about outside.

In a way, Morpheus had indeed expressed his approval of the match between Sorrow and Iolaus by sending such blissful dreams to not only Iolaus, but also to Testacles' scout for the purpose of allowing the trio of travelers a fair head start before they were to be pursued. The trick worked especially well because the scout had also drunk too much of some homemade hard liquor he always carried with him, so he was not the least bit inclined to leave his particular dream scape any time soon. In fact, he did not waken at all until he felt the solid toe of Lieutenant Meridius' boot repeatedly digging into his leg.

He opened his eyes to the fierce light of the midmorning sun, and winced in pain as he cried, "Ow! What was that for!?"

"Where are they?" Meridius demanded in a desperately impatient growl.

"In that temple there," the scout waved one hand toward the stone building as he cradled his pounding head with the other.

Meridius became furious. He grabbed the scout by his leather tunic and unceremoniously jerked him to his feet, growling, "We've already checked there - it's empty!"

"What!?" the scout gaped at the temple incredulously, preparing to protest, but the discussion was abruptly ended when a soldier came running out of the stone building, holding up a smoldering stick of wood in his hand.

"Lieutenant Meridius! They have not been gone long!" the soldier called out loudly as he exited the temple. "If we leave now, we may be able to catch up with them before they reach the main road to Iolkos!"

"They aren't going to Iolkos now, you idiot!" Meridius thundered, easily seeing where the three had obviously exited the clearing of the temple yard. "They're heading to the coast!"

"The coast?" echoed the scout dumbly.

Meridius rolled his eyes and sighed incredulously, "Think, fool! Where else would you go to find the God of the Sea?"

"Ohhh!" nodded the scout in understanding.

Before the troop left the Temple of the Goddess of Lamentation, Meridius sent another scout back to advise Testacles of the change in objective, and he led his men down the rough path the goddess and her company had made on their way out.

Completely hungover from his full day of celebrating, Testacles sat in his strategy tent and awaited the appearance of the God of War with his head in his hands. His temples pounded relentlessly with the force of the wine-induced headache he now suffered, and his gut wrenched every time he caught even the slightest whiff of food from the campfires of his soldiers. But, he was still able to grin with extreme elation each time he thought of what favors Ares would bestow upon him once the god learned that the Goddess of Lamentation had finally been located, and was currently being followed by Testacles' own men. However, at mid-morning, he began to doubt whether Ares was actually going to show, and just as he lowered his head to the table to pass out, he heard the voice of his patron god inside his head.

"Wake up, Testacles!" growled Ares voice, and Testacles lifted his head again to see the God of War materialize in a burst of sparks and light. "What have you got for me?" Ares demanded.

"Hail, Lord Ares!" Testacles greeted him sickly, somehow managing to climb to his feet. "I've got good news for you! We've found her!"

"Excellent work, Testacles," Ares smiled ferally, feeling triumphant that his plan had worked. "And just where might I find our Goddess of Lamentation?"

"Well, actually, my men are in the process of following her," Testacles admitted. "As you said, they were indeed heading for Iolkos, and presumably the Temple of Poseidon, but according to my men, she and her companions met up with a little trouble - "

"Companions!?" Ares questioned incredulously. "Who is with her?"

Starting to feel much better, Testacles announced proudly, "She is with Hercules and the warrior, Iolaus, my Lord Ares!"

"HERCULES!?" Ares thundered, feeling a strong rage building up inside him as his memory flew back to two nights before, when he'd encountered Hercules in the tavern of that inn. That meeting now took on a different caste as he considered the fact that his brother and his little friend were obviously helping the sad goddess, and it made him even angrier than he had been before.

"Yes, my Lord Ares," Testacles confirmed. "My scouts saw them both with her just yesterday, and I currently have my own Lieutenant, Meridius, on her trail. There should be a messenger arriving at any time today to tell us her whereabouts."

"And just where did this scout see her, exactly?"

"From what I understand, they ran into a group of mercenaries who have somehow learned of your bounty on the goddess," Testacles explained, taking care to emphasize the bit about the mercenaries. "The warrior, Iolaus, was apparently injured, and when my scout saw them, they were running toward the east with his body."

"East? Then, they're heading for the coast . . ." Ares mused, considering what possible advantage there could be to leaving the road to Iolkos. As far as he knew, there were no temples to Poseidon in the particular area of the coast where they were heading, and the tiny temple belonging to Sorrow, herself, was certainly no Hall of War. It was a curious turn of events, and Ares glared at the warlord, "Your messenger better know where she is, or there will be Tartarus to pay, Testacles."

"Exactly what I told them myself, Lord Ares," Testacles quickly agreed, fearing for his own safety should his men fail him.

"Good," Ares nodded slowly, still curious as to why Sorrow had changed her course, and even more curious as to what the girl had told Hercules. His demigod brother would definitely make things more difficult, and knowing him as he thought he did, Ares was sure Hercules was already enamored with the young goddess. Ares was not looking forward to a replay of the ugly scenario that had been played out before because of Serena the Golden Hind, but he was prepared to take on whatever he had to in order to make his own plans come to fruition. Hercules could not have the Goddess of Lamentation, and as soon as Testacles' messenger arrived to deliver her location, he would make certain of that.

With Iolaus' help, Sorrow was able to keep up as they traversed farther eastward, cutting a path to the coast as they went along. She was well-aware of the place to which Hercules was leading them, and while she fully expected a sound tongue-lashing from her father later for bringing a human there, she recognized that it was now vital that she find her father, and soon. She had been gone from Olympus far too long as it was, and her duties were being sorely neglected. Sorrow even fancied that the sadnesses of Greece were beginning to pile up on her, and she feared that it would take her ages to fully minister to each broken heart.

However, one look at Iolaus could make such thoughts easily fly from her mind as she recalled the feel of his body upon hers, and relived each thrill with the memory of his lips moving upon her flesh. She could not help thinking about truly joining with him, knowing it would surely prove to be the most glorious moment of her life. But first they had to reach the secret temple without being caught.

It was a truly hidden place that had been created from a naturally-occurring cave set within a cliff overlooking Poseidon's domain, and as far as she knew, the only other gods to be aware of the private sanctuary, besides Hercules, were Sorrow herself and maybe her older brother, Triton. It would be the best place for her to hide, especially if Ares had no idea where to find the secret hold. Beyond that, Sorrow had ulterior motives that she knew would be best served by the convenient privacy of her father's temple.

The son of Zeus and his mortal friend, like most men, could only focus on one thing - getting Sorrow to safety before anything else could happen to risk her capture. Toward that end, Hercules was not surprised in the least that Ares had been relatively quiet since the demigod had taunted him at the inn. The attack of mercenaries had been more than enough to prove to Hercules that the God of War preferred to let "fire fight fire" for the time being, and it wasn't a bad move, really. If Sorrow was going to hide on earth amongst benevolent human beings, then it was almost requisite that he should let other greedy souls do his dirty work for him, and Hercules had no illusions whatsoever that Ares would take full credit for finding the Goddess of Lamentation should it actually happen. However, Hercules had no intentions of letting his brother find Sorrow - not if he could help it, at least, and knew full well that the vow went doubly strong for Iolaus.

On his part, Iolaus was torn between his adoration for Sorrow and his anxiousness to get her to the sea god's hidden temple, but he was finally starting to feel much more hopeful that they would get her to safety at last. He had already reviewed his own reasons for wanting to reach the nearest available Temple of Poseidon, but he was interested most of all in securing Poseidon's permission to marry Sorrow. He didn't expect it to be an easy proposal - even Ania's father had been reluctant to let Iolaus marry his rather unskilled daughter - and he must have formulated the words of the question in his mind a thousand times before settling on an approach for securing Poseidon's trust, and even then he wasn't sure he would get the god's permission.

All three walked as fast as they could toward the hidden temple, and Sorrow above all was becoming excited as she sensed the power of her father beginning to waft toward her on the rush of ocean wind pouring in from the coast. After a few hours of walking and before the sun was fully centered in the sky, she spied the blue waves of her father's domain, and knew that she was at last on her way home. She only hoped Iolaus would be with her when she could finally go back.