Had it not been for Discord's most timely and informative visit, he might have left Sorrow that way all night. In fact, his better judgement persuaded him to keep her chained to the wall, but he knew that such cruelty was best reserved for the proper time and the proper place. Sure, she had been hard to find, but he now had no reason to expect her to attempt escape if he were to release her from the wall. His trap had wisely included an extended chain of Hephaestian metal bolted to the floor and attached to a heavy cuff that completely encircled her right ankle. There was enough slack in the chain to allow her the freedom of movement about the room, stopping just four tantalizing feet from the bolts of the door. Sorrow would be able to sleep, eat, and do whatever she pleased, with the exception of obtaining true freedom. Indeed, Ares swore that he would personally see to it that she lacked for nothing, but in his opinion, she was safer locked away for the time being.

After only a moment more of silent debate he turned to the door that held Sorrow captive within, and produced a simple key that opened an extremely simple lock. Compared to the extensive nature of the outer antechamber locks, which were definitely meant to keep the human world out of reach, the third and final lock was extremely weak and would be nothing for the likes of Hercules to destroy. However, Ares did not fear such things, really, for he did not expect his brother to ever be able to figure out the means of opening those two prior locks, and, for the time being, Hercules and his weak, human friend were too busy keeping watch over the revelries taking place outside the God of War's Thessalonian temple to be of any real threat to his plans.

When the heavy door swung open to reveal the goddess, Sorrow initially appeared to be asleep, for she hung quite limply from the cuffs, but a moment later Ares realized that she was very much awake. The moment she became aware of his presence, her weakened legs found a slowly-returning source of strength, and her head raised up slowly to look at him. Ares almost gasped when the young goddess' blue curls parted to reveal her cold, angry eyes, surrounded by a pale, pearlescent face now hardened with outrage and hate. Her appearance was absolutely deadly, and the animalistic air that now hung about her was almost intoxicating to him. In reaction, he inadvertently smiled in his appreciation.

"What's so funny?" Sorrow growled at him lowly, her green eyes starting to glow with her infinite anger and growing frustration.

"Not a thing," Ares wisely returned, keeping his voice even as he spoke. "You don't hear me laughing, do you?"

Sorrow did not answer his question, unwilling to be lured into any sort of conversation with him. She'd had hours and hours to think about her predicament and how she had come to be in it, and she had come to only one conclusion - her only option in the situation was to openly display her obvious lack of care for the God of War, and to show him only silent defiance when he was itching for an excuse to argue and trap her into a situation she couldn't control. With any luck, Ares would come to loathe her utter disinterest in him and let her go, but she didn't expect it immediately.

To her infinite surprise, Ares quietly held up the key to her cuffs, indicating without words that he actually intended to free her from the wall if she would be cooperative and behave. Sorrow almost hated to agree to his terms on any count, but she had been hanging from her wrists for so long that her legs truly could no longer hold her up, and had she been human, her hands would have turned blue long ago from lack of blood flow. As it was, they ached horribly, and so it was quite begrudgingly that she nodded her capitulation. True to her word, she did not attempt to fight him or try to stop him as he stepped forward and unlocked first her right hand, then her left. The moment the last cuff opened, Ares immediately stepped away from her, leaving Sorrow to lean against the wall on her own and rub her pained wrists gingerly.

"You are free to move about as you please," Ares informed her, his voice filled with an unusual air of benevolence, and Sorrow snorted in contempt.

"Free!? What sort of freedom is this?" she demanded, shaking her metal-encased ankle for emphasis. The attached chain rattled and clanged in a cacophony that echoed out into the armory.

Ares folded his strong arms across his chest and replied most decidedly, "It's for your own good, Sorrow."

"How so?"

"Believe me, it's just so," he insisted, then waved his hand toward the table of food and the soft bed he had provided. "Now, I suggest that you take advantage of my hospitality while I am still in a generous mood. Eat, then get some rest."

"What do you intend to do with me, Ares?" Sorrow moved forward as he started to leave, scraping the chain across the stone floor as she did so. "I have a right to know."

Ares paused only long enough to look back and say, "Don't worry - you'll see soon enough," and he slammed the heavy door easily behind him.

Sorrow sighed in weary exasperation as she heard the lock being put back on the door, completely at a loss as to what to do next. She had no way to get a message to anyone so long as she was within Ares' temple, and as much as she hated to do so, she had to admit that for the moment she had absolutely no control over the situation.

She looked about the well-appointed room with resignation, continuing to rub the feeling back into the red bands of skin surrounding her bruised wrists. She knew the ache and the marks would fade quickly, but the ache in her heart was going to be hard to dispel. She could only keep reminding herself that Iolaus and Hercules were surely on their way to finding her, but the abrupt separation was already proving to be hard to bear, and she knew Iolaus had to be in as much despair.

However, Sorrow noted sadly, at least Iolaus could act towards setting her free. She, herself, was completely helpless, locked up with chains specifically made to keep such as herself locked away interminably. And she had no reason to think Ares wouldn't keep her there for eternity. Also, she was slowly and painfully becoming aware that her father, Poseidon, had apparently abandoned his youngest daughter to the whims of Ares willingly, and the very knowledge of that broke her heart incredibly. Never in her life had she felt such a deep, consuming sorrow of her own, but she quickly pushed it aside before desperation could overtake her.

In her examination of the cell, Sorrow found nothing out of the ordinary, but noted that the room was being kept illuminated by some strange, preternatural light source which seemed to be cognizant of her activities. While she moved about the room, the light remained strong and kept the area well-lit, but the minute she laid down to rest and closed her eyes, the light dimmed in accordance. She did not actually sleep, though, as her thoughts kept her tossing and turning most of the night, keeping her longing for Iolaus desperately. She had only slept in his arms a few times, but the safety she had felt within his embrace was irreplaceable, and without it, she felt completely alone and vulnerable. So, she spent most of the following day stalking the space of the room allowed by her entailing chain and waiting for Ares to reappear and do what he would. However, as the day drew to a close, she slowly began to relax, realizing that he would not be coming by that day.

On the second full day of her imprisonment, having not seen Ares all the previous day, Sorrow half-expected not to see him that day, either. She was already bored with her surroundings, and she longed for the heroic life she had led in the company of Hercules and Iolaus. Being young, and so very much in love, did not help matters either, nor the fact that her trust as the Goddess of Lamentation was being violated for her human supplicants. She had not seen to the world's sorrows in nearly a week, and the many who relied upon her would surely be questioning her devotion soon.

Sorrow knew she could do nothing more than resign herself to being trapped for the time being, but she was only able to bear the thought of it because she knew that the two heroes would be along at any time. However, to aid herself, she took action and began searching every inch of the cell for anything that might help her escape. She even ran her hands along the width of the three walls she could reach, hoping to find some weak spot in the mortar, but she found nothing but firm, well-masoned walls. Not that she had really expected to find any such chinks in Ares' armor, so to speak, for the God of War didn't make such mistakes. So, Sorrow wasn't overly disappointed that her search had been fruitless, and she ended up sitting at the table, mindlessly drumming her fingers on it and staring at the door as though thought alone might cause her cousin and her lover to suddenly appear before it.

After a few hours, Sorrow fell asleep with her head resting upon the table, and she did not awaken until she heard the distinct clang of the lock being removed from the door. She bolted upright just in time to affix a stern look to her visage before Ares strode confidently into the room.

The God of War observed her innocent air of defiance silently at first, then allowed a smile as he taunted, "My dear, do you know how beautiful you are when you're angry!?"

Hearing that, Sorrow's face became twisted in a rare frown of absolute unhappiness, and she lunged out of her chair toward him, hands outstretched and ready to encircle his neck to throttle him. However, the chain attached to her ankle mercilessly jerked her backward just short of reaching him, and she growled in utmost hatred as he fell to laughing at her impotent threat.

"Ares!" she spat through clenched teeth. "I demand that you release me immediately!"

Ares finished laughing and wiped at the mirthful tears that welled in the corners of his eyes, saying, "Oh, my Sweet Sorrow, that little scene just made my day!"

"Well then, let's see what I can do for your millennium!" she rumbled as her free left foot lifted into the air and planted itself firmly into his abdomen.

Ares' breath ejected with a loud "Ugh!" and his body flew straight back into the half-opened door, crushing his spine against the narrow, but solid, inside edge. Surprise and impression radiated from his astonished eyes as his own legs refused to hold him up, and he slid down the narrow plane to the floor where he landed with a thump. Sorrow felt a great onrush of adrenaline and satisfaction as she looked down upon him sitting on the floor with the first glimmers of respect beginning to form in his eyes, and she stood more proudly as she towered above him.

"Good move," Ares finally nodded to her in reluctant concession as he slowly lifted himself from the floor, then rubbed at his sore spine.

"Thank you,"she replied without gratitude.

"I see that I have sorely underestimated the child goddess," he admitted with an air of increasing deference, which he further demonstrated by keeping well out of the reach of her dangerous appendages.

"You're not the first - I doubt you'll be the last," she answered cryptically, referring to every male she had met since leaving Mount Olympus. It had become apparent to her that men, in general, had a hard time accepting that a woman might be able to protect herself and do a little damage of her own. Even Iolaus had ultimately treated her like some delicate flower when it came down to battle, never mind that he'd watched her take on any number of highwaymen and soldiers of fortune in the past few days. And, above and beyond all that, she was a goddess! That alone should have been enough to command any man's respect, but even Ares had seen her as being far less capable than she truly was. She desperately wanted to show him - and all the male species of the universe, once and for all - that she was able, and willing, to defend herself to the death, if necessary.

To her satisfaction, Ares only nodded in response and said most respectfully, "Duly noted."

"What do I have to do to get out of here?" she demanded. "Or, are you deliberately trying to see if a god can actually be bored to death?"

Ares' eyes narrowed in scrutiny, but his voice spoke luridly, "I'm sorry you find your accommodations to be less than . . . entertaining . . . You want out of here? It's simple: I was promised sons, and I want you to be their mother. Can you grasp that idea?"

Sorrow frowned, "But, my mother said - "

"Your mother spoke out of turn!" Ares thundered, still angry at Lachesis for bidding the girl to run. "It is a waste of time to argue this again - my mother also spoke, and you and I are to be married as soon as the details can all be worked out - "

"You mean, as soon as you find some way to manipulate my parents into giving their blessing, right?" she interrupted with renewed anger.

"Maybe so, maybe no," Ares shrugged nonchalantly, exhibiting his own cryptic wit. "Whatever they are, once they are dealt with, I will be back to take you to Olympus for the wedding."

"And, in the meantime, I'm to remain locked up here?" Sorrow wailed pitifully. "Ares, I have duties to attend to, just the same as you!"

"They'll just have to wait."

"Wait!? Ares, you alone create most of the unhappiness in this world! I'm the only one who can deal with all that, and the only way to ease such sadness is to go and listen to each lamenting soul in person, and now you create even more sadness by keeping me from my work!"

Ares pursed his lips, considering her argument half-sincerely. Sorrow almost believed he was truly taking her seriously until his eyes narrowed and he said quietly, "If you had come along like a good little girl on your birthday, you'd be free to do all that. However, you ran, and forced me to search a goodly piece of Thessaly to find you. I don't like having to rely on the likes of those that helped me find you, and I certainly don't like having to reward them afterwards. Therefore, I see no other recourse than to leave you as you are until this matter is resolved, and I assure you, it will be resolved to my satisfaction."

"I wouldn't count on that, Ares,"she replied calmly. "My mother chose another destiny for me, you know - "

"I wouldn't count on that, Sorrow," he retorted with a vicious grin. "And, you know, one person's destiny can sometimes lead to another person's demise."

Sorrow fell silent, refusing to answer back to his quite apparent and clear threat. Ares had every intention - and, in his mind, every right - to punish anyone with whom she should choose to consort, and Sorrow knew better than to doubt his word. She swallowed nervously, which only convinced Ares even more that she had someone in particular to protect.

Ares stepped backward toward the door and sneered, "Now that we have that settled, I suggest you find some way to entertain yourself while I'm gone. I don't know when I'll be back."

Sorrow held her ground until Ares slipped outside, pulling the door closed behind him, and once she heard the lock clamped back onto it, she shrieked, "I'll send you straight to Tartarus, Ares!"

A disconcerting silence answered her threat, and she felt incredibly stupid. He was gone again as quickly as he had arrived, leaving her again in despair, and she stood staring at the door unhappily for many minutes before finally turning away from it and covering her face with her hands to cry. One by one, the tiny pearl tears slipped between her fingers and dropped to the stone floor beneath her feet, making small noises as they clinked against the hard tiles and rolled away.

As she stood there crying, Sorrow slowly became aware that something was going on outside the door, and she turned and lifted her head up to listen as she heard someone working on the lock outside. She immediately dismissed the option that the person was Ares, since he had the key to the lock and thus no reason to pick it, and whoever was outside that door was definitely trying different methods of gaining access to whatever they perceived to be lying within the cell. She hesitated to call out lest it be temple robbers, since she was in no position to be defending herself against such thieves, but it soon became apparent that the unknown lock-picker was succeeding. Sorrow heard the distinct sound of the catch releasing on the lock, and the whole contraption itself was almost ripped out of the wall in the robber's effort to get inside. Sorrow took a deep breath just a moment before the door flew open.

Sorrow needed no light to prove to her who it was that stood in the doorway once the portal was opened, for the large structure of the invader's shadowed body told her immediately who it was, and she breathed, "Hercules? Is it really you!?"

"Sorrow?" Hercules' voice answered in seeming disbelief, and suddenly the space between them disappeared as he flew to her and pulled her securely into his large arms. "Thank the gods I found you!"

"Oh, Hercules, I'm so glad to see you!" Sorrow cried as she threw her arms about his neck with great love for her cousin, then she begged, "Where is he, Hercules? Where is Iolaus? Please tell me he hasn't been hurt!"

"Iolaus? Oh yes," Hercules released her immediately. "He's fine - he's searching in another part of the temple. I'll take you to him."

"I'm afraid I can't, Hercules - Ares won't let me," Sorrow apologized as she pulled away from him, taking a step back to let him see just what prevented her from leaving the cell. Hercules' forehead wrinkled in consternation as he appeared to peruse the make of the metal encasing her ankle.

"Chains by Hephaestus, eh?" Hercules muttered unhappily. "Should have guessed."

"Ares still wants me to marry him, just as I feared," Sorrow began to explain in desperation, but he held up his hand to silence her.

"Don't worry about that right now, Sorrow - I'll do what I can to amend that later after we've gotten you out of that metal cuff," he promised.

"But how, Hercules? No one is strong enough to break Hephaestian chains!"

Hercules looked to the silvery links again with consternation, but answered, "Don't worry, Sorrow, we'll find a way."

Sorrow smiled confidently, "I know you will, Hercules - I know you will. Now, where is that hunter that I've grown so attached to?"

Hercules jabbed his thumb toward the outer chamber, "He - he's out there somewhere . . . I'll go find him for you."

"Thank you, Hercules!" Sorrow saluted him as he turned around and left, pulling the door fully closed behind him.

Maybe a half-second after he left, a very distraught Iolaus came rushing in, and Sorrow's heart leapt within her chest as he tore open the door and closed it quickly behind him. He then seemed momentarily delayed by a feeling of disbelief in what his own two eyes saw, but he only gaped at her for a moment before a smile of great joy and relief overtook his face, and he ran to her.

"Iolaus!" she cried out as she opened her arms to receive him, feeling such a great amount of her own relief and joy that she could not, and did not want to, sense any sadness coming from anywhere.

As she enclosed him in her embrace, Iolaus gasped, "I can't believe we finally found you!"

"I knew you would," Sorrow whispered into his ear, her voice full of certainty and thankfulness. "I knew you'd search the world to find me - I love you so much, Iolaus!"

"I love you, too," Iolaus replied huskily, adding, "I missed you so much."

"Me, too," she softly agreed, and Iolaus pulled back just enough to look at her closely, gazing deeply into her endlessly green eyes before finally capturing her mouth with his in a desperately gentle kiss. He embraced her as though he were deliberately holding back his true passions, but after only a few moments of testing her sensual lips, he seemed to lose his tight control.

At first, Iolaus merely deepened the kiss while pulling her body as close as he could, but soon his tongue teased at her lips, demanding entrance, and Sorrow balked at the sudden move.

"Iolaus, wait!" she pleaded as she pulled away from him uneasily. "What if Ares comes back? He'll kill you and Hercules both!"

Iolaus hesitated to answer, and at first he appeared to be quite conflicted and even a little irritated, but his voice was gentle when he finally answered, "Hercules said he would keep watch so you and I could have a few moments together. Besides, Ares just left - how likely is he to come right back immediately?"

"I - I don't know, Iolaus . . . I just want to ensure your safety," she continued to argue, and Iolaus smiled at her concern.

"I know you do - I love you because you do, Sorrow," he whispered lovingly, reaching up to gently tuck away a stray blue ringlet from her face.

"I wish we had married when we found Amatheus at my father's temple," Sorrow lamented impulsively before looking away shyly, realizing how bold her statement had been, and her cheeks burned intensely from the onslaught of embarrassment.

Iolaus smiled at her shyness and tipped her face back to his with a gentle finger beneath her chin before agreeing, "Yes, we should have married then and there, so that . . . this . . . would not have happened."

Sorrow took encouragement from his words and confessed proudly, "I am still your wife in body and soul, Iolaus, and I shall call myself your wife and you, my husband."

Iolaus said nothing, but beamed upon her with what appeared to be admiration, and he trapped her again in his embrace. This time, he pressed his lips to hers with even more earnestness than before - in fact, it was more earnestness than she had ever experienced from him before -, and he seemed intent upon possessing her. Sorrow was somehow rendered powerless in his arms, and before she knew what was happening, Iolaus lifted her up securely and carried her to the bed, all the while enjoying her innocent kisses.

"I will stay with you until morning," he murmured seductively as he rested her against the pillows and covered her body with his own.

"Are you absolutely sure?" Sorrow begged breathlessly, now sharing in his growing passion.

"Oh, yes," he replied quite distinctly. "I've never been more sure of anything in my life."