Iolaus was sitting at the table in the only chair provided, looking somewhat bored, with his leg draped nonchalantly over one arm of the heavy, wooden chair. Her movement caught his eye, and he looked back at her and smiled when he saw that she was awake. He rose from the chair to join her at the bed, and she smiled in return, feeling a strange sense of relief.

"Hey," he said softly when he reached the bed. "Good morning, Sorrow."

"Good morning, Iolaus," she replied lovingly as she opened her arms to him, and he willingly allowed her to enfold him in her gentle embrace. Their lips touched softly just once before they settled into a loose hug, and Sorrow sighed in total satisfaction.

"Happy?" he asked.

"Yes," she whispered into his ear. "I'm absolutely overjoyed."

Iolaus smiled and pulled her closer, "Good, I'm glad. Your happiness is all that matters."

"Thank you for saying so, but I want you to be happy, too, Iolaus," Sorrow added with a drop of sadness. "Really, how can I make you happy while I'm stuck here in this prison?"

"Never mind that - I'll figure out a way to get you out," he promised. "Til then, I'll be staying close, waiting and watching, and I'll keep coming to you when Ares is gone - "

"Oh, no, Iolaus!" Sorrow protested emphatically, pulling back to look at him seriously as she spoke. "You cannot risk your life like that for me - I won't let you!"

"Please don't worry, Sorrow - it will all work out just fine. You'll see!" he insisted, his voice becoming quite low and sensuous, and she suddenly found it hard to resist the temptation of having Iolaus come to her cell each night after Ares had gone away. They could make this cold prison into their private rendezvous, filling the darkness with the warmth of their love for each other. Their lovemaking that night had been quite vigorous and insatiable, and the idea of having him to make love to her like that every night was just too much for her to pass up.

"Iolaus, promise me you'll be careful?" she begged before giving her final approval.

"Cross my heart and hope to die," he replied with great seriousness.

The mischief twinkling in Iolaus' pale blue eyes brought a great smile to Sorrow's face, and she nodded, "All right - you may come to me at night whenever Ares is finally gone, okay?"

"It's a date, then!" Iolaus smiled broadly. He started to pull away from her with intentions of leaving the temple, but Sorrow moved quickly to stop him. She reached out and seized him by the back of his neck, and pulled him back to her for a deep, longing kiss that bespoke of all her hopes and fears for their future together. Again, Iolaus submitted without resistance to her whims, eagerly returning to taste her lips one last time before reluctantly leaving the warmth of her arms.

Neither spoke a word as he retreated to the door, and Sorrow silently raised her hand in farewell to him when he looked back to see her one last time. He waved in return, then slipped out of the room. A moment after the great door was pulled shut, the sounds of the lock being replaced on the door filtered through to Sorrow, and she knew she was once again Ares' prisoner entirely - but only until Iolaus came to her again, and the thought of his return made her smile.

Sorrow did nothing that entire day but sit and wait for Ares to appear, for the sooner he arrived and left again, the sooner that Iolaus could return. She could not sleep, for she was also afraid of many things. For one, Ares could possibly return with news that the marriage had been approved and carry her away from the temple, and from Iolaus forever. For another, Ares could find out about Iolaus and punish them both. Each threat made her nervous, and it made the time until Ares' next visit fly by unnervingly fast for her.

Ares chose not to return until nearly dusk, and he made no hesitation before opening the lock and going in. He had been arguing his cause all day before the Pantheon and he was in no mood for anything but business when he entered the cell.

"Good evening, Sorrow," he greeted her respectfully. "I trust you are doing well?"

"I'm growing cobwebs in here, Ares," she quipped, her voice exhibiting the strain she was under. "When are you going to take me to Olympus and get this over with?"

"Soon, soon," Ares replied, but Sorrow was unwilling to let him off so easily.

"Can't get permission, can you?"

Ares cocked his eyebrow at her with great interest and almost grinned as he answered, "You truly are not as meek as everyone says you are, Sorrow - but, you're right, I can't seem to persuade anyone to give us their blessing just yet - "

"Awww, who's causing you trouble, Ares?" Sorrow feigned commiseration, and he narrowed his eyes at her, remembering the blockade of opposition Aphrodite had set up against him on Olympus. The Goddess of Love had enlisted Athena and Artemis to help her plead for Sorrow's release and for the girl's destiny to go forward as originally planned. None of the other gods were willing to openly oppose or support him, so Ares had found himself standing utterly alone in the midst of a great controversy suddenly blown to Olympic proportions. The only bonus had been that Poseidon was still not amongst the Pantheon, and was still keeping a low profile. Therefore, either the God of the Sea had no clue what had happened, or he didn't care. Either way, Poseidon wasn't going to be putting a stop to the War God's actions anytime in the near, foreseeable future.

"Just never you mind - I've got things under control for the time being."

"Sure you do," Sorrow mocked him openly, and Ares scowled.

"Well, I seem to have you well in hand, my Sweet Sorrow - "

"I told you not to call me that!" she stamped her foot and raged at him.

"And I told you that I'd call you whatever I pleased!" he silenced her with his thundering voice. In reaction to his bellowing retort, Sorrow tossed her head indignantly and looked away from him, crossing her arms defiantly and focusing on the wall behind the table. Ares could only roll his eyes in exasperation, for he was steadily growing weary of the situation. He had been sorely misinformed about the girl to begin with, and only after his long day of arguing with his sisters did he see that the little goddess was already proving to be a lot more trouble than she might truly be worth. Still, his plans might yet turn the tide to his advantage, and ultimately it was the end result that would make the means of achieving it so very worthwhile to pursue, right?

Ares continued soberly, "You know, many goddesses would have been more than honored to be chosen as my wife, but only you were found to be worthy - "

"No, it wasn't that I was the only one worthy to be your wife," she interjected venomously, still not looking at him. "I'm the only one who can give you the kind of children you want, aren't I?"

"Well, yes, I suppose that is so," he admitted freely with a curt nod.

"Then, know this: you will never find me a willing lover, Ares. In fact, if you want to ever impregnate me, you're going to have to force me, and I personally believe that even you have enough morals and good sense to see what's wrong with that scenario!"

Ares grinned wolfishly and remarked luridly, "Personally, I like a good struggle before sex, my sweet, Sweet Sorrow - it makes for excellent foreplay!"

Sorrow suddenly turned on him and demanded with great indignation, "Would you please address me with more respect? I am the daughter of the Fate, Lachesis, and Poseidon, God of the Sea, and I am a full goddess! I may not have all the powers you have been endowed with, but I am your equal nonetheless, and deserve the same respect that you require!"

"Alright, alright, you've made your point," Ares waved her off, tiring of the constant banter and wanting to end the visit. He had other things to do before the night was over, and he had lingered too long as it was. However, he had one last thing to do before leaving, and he pointed to the table as a ray of light shot out of his index finger. Sorrow watched as a stack of scrolls suddenly appeared next to the bowls of fruit on the tabletop, and Ares said, "Here's something to read . . . I hear the bard who wrote them is rather inspired. I hope you enjoy them. I will return tomorrow."

Sorrow remained silent as he left her again, but immediately picked up the topmost scroll and unrolled it. It was inscribed with a rather pretty Greek handwriting and titled "Chariots of War". Unrolling it a little further revealed the bard's name, and she smiled to herself happily before settling down to wait for Iolaus and read the words of the warrior bard Gabrielle.

The next morning, not long after Iolaus slipped out the door and locked her back in again, Sorrow suddenly felt the oddest sensation developing in her stomach. At first it was just a strange queasiness she had never before experienced. It was a curious feeling, like something trying to crawl up her esophagus, but she knew she hadn't eaten anything since she had last shared food with Iolaus. Then, she felt the urgent need to run. She bolted from the covers and made it as far as the plant-filled urn by the bed before promptly throwing up. She had no clue what was happening to her, for her stomach muscles were contracting quite against her will, and as a goddess, she had never been sick a day in her entire life. Sickness was for humans, she understood, and gods just didn't get ill. But here she was, bent over the rather tall planter, vomiting like a human.

Once she was done, she wiped at her mouth weakly with the back of her hand and stumbled backward away from the urn. Crawling back into the bed, she clutched her belly and curled up into a ball within the blankets. She'd never felt so bad without having at least healed a human first, and the last human she'd done that for was Iolaus. Thankfully, he'd been blessedly safe ever since, in spite of his determination and daring to come visit her each night.

Sorrow lay in misery, trying to think of what could possibly cause her to suffer a human malady such as this, and the consideration naturally led to a variety of human conditions which often resulted in being violently ill, or at least produced the particular symptoms she seemed to be having. She thought about it so deeply that before she knew it, the illness had dissipated, and that seemed to surprise her even more. What illness could cause a goddess to first be sick, then suddenly feel better?

After a few hours of careful and immense consideration, Sorrow almost didn't dare to hope that her unusual illness could be caused by the glorious thing she ended up thinking about most. However, in the end, after a short inspection of her own body, she knew she had indeed found the cause of her momentary sickness - she was pregnant, and she was going to have Iolaus' baby. She reasoned that having a partially human child could surely cause her to have "morning sickness" like any other human mother would, and she accepted the incident as a full sign that she was with child.

She thrilled to the idea all day long, and that evening Sorrow played along with Ares so he would leave more quickly. She could not wait for Iolaus to appear at her door, and she drew him to the bed immediately upon his arrival, anxious to begin their nightly adventures into the carnal side of their love. The news she had to tell was ever on the tip of her tongue, but she wanted to enjoy the extreme fulfillment she felt only in the arms of her lover before telling him that one day soon, he would be father to a half-god or half-goddess.

"Hey, what's the hurry?" Iolaus laughed as he let himself be almost dragged into the interior of the room. "We have all night, Sorrow!"

"I want you, my husband, and I cannot wait to have you!" she grinned lasciviously as she began pushing his vest from his shoulders. It dropped to the floor and was left behind as she kept pulling him along. His lips dove for hers even before they reached the edge of the bed, and she let him slowly push her back upon the soft covers. Exercising the only power she seemed to have left to her while bound in chains, she waved her hand and quickly disposed of their clothes.

Iolaus seemed to understand the animalistic force of her longing, and did not react to the loss of his clothing with surprise. However, he did recognize the hurry she was in, so he whispered into the soft curve of her neck, "Slow down, my darling . . . we have all night."

Sorrow only sighed in return, enjoying the sensuous feel of his lips beginning to slowly brush their way downward on her skin. In the few nights they had been together, she had truly come to enjoy their lovemaking more and more, and their experimentation was delightful. However, she sometimes felt that Iolaus was holding back - like he wanted to do more, or say more, but didn't want to show her absolutely everything there was to know about him just yet. As a result, she desperately wanted to show him that she would love him no matter what, and that he had no need to hide his true self from her. The best way was to encourage him to express himself, and she wanted him to do so now.

"Iolaus, please don't hold back," she encouraged with a voice filled with wantonness and abandon. "Make love to me the way you've always wanted to . . ."

Appreciative eyes glanced up at her from where Iolaus was addressing the soft indentation of her collarbone, and though he made no verbal answer, his actions said all he wanted to say to her from that moment on. He began telling her rather forcefully as he first feasted upon her supple, pearlescent breasts, taking turns at each soft, pink nipple until they arose, soft and velvety, yet hard and sensitive to the touch. He flicked his rather talented tongue lightly over each soft mound of flesh, appearing to delight in each moan and sigh of desire he extracted from her. Sorrow showed her approval by lovingly running her fingers through his glorious blonde curls and gently cradling his head in her hands from time to time as he made love to her.

After some time, his left hand began to travel slowly down the length of her slim, firm body, passing the palm of his hand lightly over her stomach and just past her abdomen until Sorrow shuddered and gasped in surprise. She held her breath as she felt his fingers suddenly stroke upon her sensitive outer core, and she instantly spread her legs for him. Iolaus looked up and grinned at her as he unexpectedly slipped a finger inside of her, and she gasped again as her hips instinctively tilted upwards to capture more of the lone digit. At first he felt for that one special spot within her, and she cried out in ecstasy when he found it and attacked it with purpose. She continued to emit smaller cries of passion as he then began to pump his finger in and out of her, and her body quaked each time he took a quick swipe at her outer source of delight. After some time of this torture, he added another finger and established a rhythm while returning to his previous exploration of her soft, supple bosom, driving her mad with desire and pleasure.

"Iolaus . . . p-please . . ," Sorrow gasped after some time of that intense stimulation, and he smiled in triumph to see that her head was thrown back against the pillows with her eyes shut tight against the onslaught of his ministrations upon her body.

"Please, what?" he asked softly, deliberately taunting her. Sorrow couldn't answer at first, so he lightly bit one nipple until she cried out.

"OH, please! I need to feel you inside me, Iolaus - I need to feel you inside me now!" she demanded more than asked, now opening her eyes and seizing him about the neck as she leaned up to boldly thrust her tongue into his mouth. He met her eagerly, and together they fought a sensual battle as he slowly repositioned himself between her legs. He had made sure that she was well-prepared for him, so when he withdrew his fingers he was able to immediately replace them with his own throbbing member. Sorrow moaned her appreciation as he filled her up, relishing the sensation of becoming so interconnected with him once again.

Iolaus did not move at first, appearing to be far more interested in their deep, serious kiss to begin true intercourse, so she took the initiative and began to slowly move her hips beneath him, sliding herself back and forth on his exquisite hardness. She tightened her inner muscles upon him as she did so, and it extracted a deep growl of appreciation from her lover as he continued to motionlessly kiss her. He tried to hold on and let her continue facilitating their coital unity, but the desire to possess her was simply overwhelming, and he gradually took over. His lips never once left hers as he began moving within her slowly, feeling her muscles contracting and stroking him from within each time he withdrew from her, only to feel them relax just in time for him to slam his entire length back into her again.

It took no time for Iolaus to begin pumping into her harder and faster, and before long, Sorrow could tell that they were both nearing the edge of blissful sexual release. She decided that now was the time, and she broke their deep, soul-searching kiss so she might look into his half-lidded eyes as she told him her news.

"Iolaus, I love you," she said softly.

"I love you, too," he murmured, lowering his head to feast upon the nape of her neck.

"I have to tell you something, Iolaus."

Iolaus looked up again, still intent upon their rhythm, and almost whined, "Now?"

"Now," she replied firmly, and with great reluctance he slowed his efforts to allow some part of his attention to lend itself to her. His blue eyes were locked on hers now, and she entwined her fingers in his hair lovingly before telling him. "I'm pregnant, Iolaus."

"What!?" he involuntarily cried out, his face lighting up. "Did - did you just say . . .?"

"Yes, Iolaus - I'm carrying your child," she proclaimed proudly.

Iolaus fell strangely silent, but his eyes and face evidenced an odd sort of exultation coming from somewhere deep inside of him. After a moment of letting the news thoroughly sink in, Iolaus began to laugh heartily.

"Why, that is absolutely perfect!" he exclaimed, his voice suddenly changed - seeming almost mocking, really - and Sorrow's instincts perked up immediately.

"What do you mean, Iolaus?" she demanded, suddenly unsure of herself, or even him, for some unknown reason.

"I mean," Iolaus answered smugly, "that I've finally knocked you up, and at long last I can ditch this weakling disguise!"

To her dismay, Sorrow blinked her eyes and opened them again to see her bright, joyful lover horrifyingly transformed into the dark, brooding God of War. "ARES!" Sorrow shrieked in disgust and betrayal as she began pushing futilely at his body, which now held her pinned to the bed. "Get off of me, you lying son-of-a-bitch!"

"Are you sure you really want me to do that?" he asked, his voice truly mocking her now. "You sure seem to love the way I love you, baby!"

"I thought you were Iolaus, you bastard!" she insisted frantically. "How dare you impersonate him in order to rape me!"

"Excuse me, but I never raped you!" Ares countered indignantly. "You came to me willingly, regardless of who I looked like!"

Sorrow scowled, "It was rape, you bastard - don't try to cover it up with semantics!"

"Oh, is that what I'm doing?" he questioned, lifting an eyebrow curiously as his anger began to swell again. "Well then, I guess if I'm to be accused of rape, I may as well get to enjoy it!"

Before she could react, Ares grabbed her arms and held them down above her head as he crushed her mouth with a hard, bruising kiss, his hips now slamming into her with a force she'd never experienced before. She knew then what natural tendencies Ares had been withholding when making love to her before, for now that his disguise was erased, so too was the gentleness he had feigned as Iolaus. Now he was focused on taking her against her will and forcing her to feel the twisted ecstasy of being raped by the God of War himself, punishing her for sins only he understood. He took great care not to hurt her, but kept pounding into her mercilessly until she cried out in a mixture of pain and reluctant pleasure.

"Admit it!" Ares insisted breathlessly as he continued to stroke her harder and harder. "You like the way I make love to you, don't you?"

"No!" she wailed, squeezing her eyes shut against the tears that wanted to flow. "I hate you!"

"You like it and you know it!" he roared angrily, dipping his head to bite the sensitive flesh of her neck, and Sorrow screamed in pain. Her reaction almost made him lose control, but he held on, wanting to make her enjoy their joining in spite of herself. "Let go, Sorrow . . . let me have you," he now whispered sensuously, his voice deep and persuasive in her ear. "Let me truly make love to the mother of my child!"

"Nooo," she whimpered unhappily, for she felt herself slowly beginning to give in to his commanding desires. Though she tried, she was not strong enough to end this nightmare, and certainly not mature enough to control her own inexperienced passions. Despite herself and her deep, abiding love for Iolaus, she could not find the strength to continue fighting Ares, and he immediately sensed her reluctant acquiescence.

"Good girl - I knew you wanted me," Ares whispered exultantly, and he released her arms so he could focus more closely on her enjoyment. He was immediately rewarded by the feeling of her freed arms reaching around him, her hands involuntarily seizing his firm, round buttocks, and her nails digging into his hardened flesh as she added extra pressure to his efforts. The action excited Ares far more than her scream did, and he reacted by doubling his efforts, now pumping into her so fast and furious that neither realized the end was near until he suddenly cried out with the force of his climax, and Sorrow writhed furiously beneath him as her own seized hold. Her inner walls contracted around him, squeezing off load after load of him into her, and she gasped at the heat of him filling her up. The sensation set off yet another massive climax within her, and Sorrow wailed plaintively, "Areeees!"

Some several moments later, once her body had finally ceased convulsing in pleasure beneath him and he had finished gasping for air, Ares lifted his head from where he had rested it upon her bosom and looked deep into her eyes. "I - I'm sorry," he apologized most uncharacteristically, and Sorrow burst into tears.

Seeing her fall apart beneath him disconcerted him, and Ares suddenly didn't know what to do, for the comforting of women wasn't exactly in his nature. However, he felt strangely responsible for her happiness now, and he couldn't pinpoint a single reason why it should be so. In fact, the past few days altogether had been somewhat strange to him, for pretending to be Iolaus had forced him to regularly exhibit a side of himself he had never really explored before - a side of him that Sorrow had willingly given herself to, despite the lure of the disguise - and now, when he could finally put away that "weak" aspect of himself, he found that he was suddenly unable to do so with her, and he reached up to gently stroke her hair, begging, "Please don't cry, Sorrow. I'm really and truly sorry . . . what can I do to make this up to you?"

"Nothing!" Sorrow sobbed, and with great force she shoved her hands upward and pushed him off of her at last, and she rolled away from him, curling up on her side as she continued to sob uncontrollably. Ares reached out to comfort her and touched her arm, but she jerked away from him so fiercely that he withdrew his hand again quickly. He lingered for a few moments, watching her cry and trying to figure out what was best to say to women at such a time. He decided to try the truth.

"Believe it or not, I am truly sorry that I had to deceive you," he spoke without true apology in his voice, "but I did what I had to do in order to make sure my destiny happens as promised - "

"But Ares, you forced my destiny to bend to your will in order to make that happen!" she interrupted with a loud sniff. "You took from me something that was not yours to take, and you did it repeatedly to make sure you planted your evil seed within me. You aren't sorry for what you did! You're sorry that I'm not pleased that it was you after all! You're sorry that I will never, ever love you the way I love Iolaus!"

"Are you serious?" Ares bellowed in extreme and utter disbelief. "You willingly choose a human being over the God of War!?"

Sorrow sat up to look at him, her green eyes glowing with her hate for him, "Yes, I do choose him over you! And not only have I given him my heart, I have given him all of me! And do you know what is so very sad, Ares? The fact that you will never, ever experience the depth of affection that we have for each other - "

"That's not true," Ares silenced her with his sobered return. "Believe it or not, I felt it when we made love - when you thought I was . . . him . . . and whether you do believe it or not, I truly was here with you in my heart - "

Completely shocked, Sorrow didn't quite know what to make of this strange representation of Ares. The God of War wasn't being anything like she had assumed him to be from what little she actually knew of him, or from what Hercules and Iolaus had said about him. Sitting utterly naked before her now on the bed, he seemed truly disappointed that his trick had not resulted in a change of heart for her, but Sorrow had to recognize what sort of god Ares had been born to be. He could not change his warlike nature any more than she could stop weeping for the woes of the world, yet here he was, apparently ruing his trick and the fact that he could not have her. It almost touched her heart, but for the fact that she was no sucker.

"Nice try, Ares, but I'm not buying it," she hissed lowly, her eyes glowing a stronger green than before. To further emphasize her point, she waved her hand and caused both of their clothes to reappear upon their bodies, and Ares looked down in surprise at the return of his leather suit.

"Well, I didn't realize we were finished," he smirked up at her. "Personally, I was just getting started, and I thought for sure you'd want to go another round with me - I do seem to hit all the . . . right . . . spots with you. Gods know your human lover hasn't a tenth of what it takes to please a sensuous goddess like yourself."

"Go to Tartarus, Ares," Sorrow growled below her breath, pushing herself off of the bed so she could move as far away from him as possible within her tiny cell.

Ares watched her go and grinned to himself, enjoying her exhibition of chained spirit. That sort of angry defiance reminded him of someone else who defied him at every turn, and the memory somehow made him hungry to possess Sorrow again, just to exert his dominance over her if for nothing else. However, that moment was past, and it truly would take a violent act to enjoy her body again the way he'd been able to indulge in it over the past few days. In a way, he greatly regretted revealing his deception, but his vanity had arrogantly convinced him that she would surely consider herself lucky when she finally discovered just who had been filling her nights with passion. He had not been prepared at all to find out that Sorrow was truly in love with his brother's weakling, mortal friend.

Yes, he had accepted that the cord of her destiny foretold a great love for her, but he had naturally assumed that it would turn out to be his brother Hercules, especially when he found out that the demigod was personally escorting the Goddess of Lamentation to her father's temple. It had been the case so many times in the past with his half-brother, and he had only to re-examine the Golden Hind fiasco to see that Hercules' goody-goody act was sometimes stronger than Ares' own dangerous, animal magnetism. It certainly worked to reform some of the worst of Ares' minions.

Nevertheless, his plan was working beautifully. Sorrow was now pregnant with the first of his four sons, and Ares knew he would proudly name the boy "Oblivion". The other tenets of his plans would come along with time and patience. Thinking only of the future, he smiled broadly and stretched out on their bed to enjoy the feeling of true triumph.

On to Chapter 17, Part One

Back to The Power & The Passion