High School Again? Ugh! Ch. 06

I swallowed my concerns, but only because I knew expressing them was pointless. Hebe was enjoying herself. She continued to laugh as the car sped up even further. We had to be going nearly eighty on a street that was dangerous at half that speed. Hebe continued to accelerate. I hunkered down in my seat because at this point I was freezing again. I also forced myself to look away from the road. Everything was going by in a blur by now anyway.

"Now this is living!" Hebe cried at one point, drawing my eyes to her. She still looked like Bridgette, only now she had sun glasses on and her long red hair was loose. The wind took it and I couldn't deny she looked amazing. Hebe clearly didn't feel the cold.

"Where are we going?" I asked, not really expecting an answer.

"On a little vacation," she replied. "You've earned it putting up with everything that's happened to you these last seven months."

"That's okay, I'll pass." I knew it was pointless, but I had to try.

"Don't be ridiculous! This was mother's idea and no one turns down one of her gifts."

"I figured," I sighed. It didn't look like I'd be talking to Tara today. Oddly enough, instead of being mad at Hera, I was mad at the Fates for not intervening.

"Sucks, doesn't it?" Hebe asked, and then clarified by adding, "Being a pawn of the gods."

"I'd have to say so," I agreed easily, causing her to laugh again. Despite the speed we were going and my certainty that this whole thing didn't bode well for me, I couldn't help but appreciate how Hebe looked at that moment. She was one of the most alive people I'd ever met. She seemed filled with a youthful exuberance.

"What did you expect?" she asked, continuing to laugh. "I am the goddess of youth after all."

"Seriously?" I asked. I didn't even know there was a goddess for that. I found myself wondering if there were goddesses for everything.

"You'd be surprised! Now sit back and loosen up. It's not everyone who gets a vacation with a goddess." I couldn't argue that so I tried to do what she said, but we were moving far too quickly for me to relax.

I couldn't look at the road anymore. We were traveling so fast that I was overcome with a nasty case of vertigo every time I did. Oddly though, the cold was dissipating and the wind wasn't picking up anymore despite us moving faster than any car had a right to. I realized that she had to be doing something to keep me alive. I shouldn't have been able to even breathe at the speed we were going. I guess that should have made me feel better and it did in a way, but I didn't feel any safer.

"We're almost there," Hebe offered eventually. I looked over at her. She was smiling in a red halo of hair. Her pale skin seemed to almost glow and her full breasts were impressive in the bikini top she was wearing. I hadn't noticed when her clothes changes, but I couldn't help stare now.

"Wow," I found myself saying.

"Thank you!" Hebe smiled. "This form is impressive, isn't it? I may actually keep it for a while. I haven't been a redhead in ages. Oh, and you might want to cover your ears."

"Cover my ears?" I frowned, but thankfully I did what she suggested because in the next moment the world exploded. A wall of sound slammed into me and the only way I could have survived it intact was divine intervention. That didn't stop my ear from ringing though.

"The sound barrier can be a bitch," she shrugged. That's when I closed my eyes because I the car sped up again, and not just a little faster either.

I don't know what our maximum speed ended up being or even how long the trip took. Going that fast seemed to do some funny stuff with your sense of time. If I had to guess I'd say it was fifteen minutes before we hit another barrier of some sort. It rattled me so strongly that I didn't notice we stopped for a few moments. The first thing I did notice was that it was warm, hot even. I opened my eyes slowly.

"Welcome to our vacation island!" Hebe was already out of the car. She had her hands up and open, as if she was offering the place to me. I guess she was in a way.

"More than just the place," she said with a laugh. I felt myself respond despite my fear of what was about to happen.

"Oh relax!" she sighed. "Do you think I brought you all the way here just to kill you? I could have done that at your house."

"Doubtful," I frowned. "I don't think the Fates would have allowed it. On the other hand, there are things worse than death and I'm not sure about the Fates' views on those."

"Athena was right," Hebe laughed. "You are a smart one."

"Thanks," I said, not feeling particularly bright at the moment. After all, I was a prisoner on this island.

"Not really," she said. "You're my guest, not my prisoner. Being a prisoner would mean that we are enemies, but that's not really true."

"It isn't?" I asked, not bothering to hide my disbelief. She would know anyway.

"It doesn't have to be," she answered and I had the feeling that she meant it. "I know you and my mother got off on the wrong foot, but she's really no worse than the Fates."

"She and her priests raped the woman I love," I said bluntly, not trying to hide my anger.

"Mother can be a bit overzealous and more than a little jealous at times," Hebe sighed. "Everyone knows that. What she did was wrong, but you have to understand that she was hurting. Besides, it not like the Fates treated you any better. They had Tyche rip you out of the life you knew and thrust you back here against your will. If that's not rape, then what is?"

It wasn't the same and I knew it, but I couldn't deny my anger at the Fates for what they'd done to me against my will. On the other hand, they were the Fates.

"So what?" Hebe said in annoyance. "Everyone always bows and scrapes to the Fates. Why? It's not like they're omniscient or anything. Sure, they know every person's thoughts and control destiny, but they make mistakes just like the rest of us."

"They do?" I asked in surprise.

"Sure," she replied. "Why do you think they sent you back in time? That's how they fix things. Some things can't be changed after the fact so they choose a human and throw him back in time as an unwitting messenger. They read your mind, see what went wrong and stop it from happening again."

"Wow." Okay, it wasn't the smartest thing to say, but it was all I had at the moment. "How often do they do it?"

"As often as necessary," Hebe shrugged, but then added, "At least I think so. No one knows for sure. I do know that it takes a lot of power and is more than a little dangerous. They also have to be careful. They can't use the same messenger twice. The human psyche can't handle the mind overlay more than once. They tried it. The results were not pretty."

"So then they really can't send me back to my own time," I said thoughtfully. I guess a part of me still hoped despite everything.

"No," Hebe replied. "Not even if they were omnipotent, and they're not. Even if they could make everything else turn out the same, you're not the same person you were the first time around. Your old life is gone. I'm sorry."

I shrugged. I guess I knew it already, but for the first time I actually accepted it. It's not like I had a choice.

"What about Rodger?" I found myself asking. "Why send two of us?"

"I'm not sure," Hebe admitted with a shrug. "Mother thinks that Rodger was the messenger and that you were sent back for other reasons, but she didn't share all of them with me."

"Which ones did she share?" I asked. She hesitated a moment, but then sighed and answered.

"Mother thinks that the other goddesses have it wrong. She thinks that you're the key, not Tara."

I was more than a little confused. How could I be the key? I wasn't the one that the Moirae spent thousands of years playing with fate to produce. That much I was sure of.

"No you weren't," Hebe agreed. "But if mother is right then that doesn't matter. They miscalculated somewhere. They had to or there would have been no need to send you back." I noticed her hesitated again.

"Hiding details isn't going to make me switch over to your side in all of this," I said pointedly. Hebe actually laughed. I think it was at my audacity.

"No, it won't," she said. "How about we go inside and relax before I continue explaining? It's too nice of a day to spend standing by the car."

"How about you finish this explanation and then we go inside," I said impatiently. "I have a feeling that it's important and I don't want to be distracted."

"Okay," the goddess sighed, looking like a little kid who just had her puppy stolen. Years of experience with my niece made me somewhat immune to it though. Hebe grimaced and cried, "No fair!"

"Stop stalling," I laughed, despite the situation. Suddenly, Hebe seemed much older. I thought that it meant she was taking me more seriously, but only time would tell.

"You know that we gods can read minds," she began. "But for most of us it's only one at a time. The Moirae are the exception. They know everyone's thoughts. That's how they control fate. What they don't control is free will."

"That doesn't make sense," I frowned. "If they know everyone thoughts, then they know what people are going to chose when faced with a decision. In that case, is there really such a thing as free will?"

"Definitely," Hebe said. She saw my expression and sighed, adding, "Please let's not get into a deep discussion about the existence of free will. There are people who spent their lifetimes arguing that one and I don't want it to ruin our vacation."

"But..." I began. She cut me off.

"Okay, we can talk about it in context, but that's it!" She sounded annoyed. I shrugged. If she wanted my help I needed to understand some things. I sat in the car and waited for her to continue. It didn't take long. "You're right that in most cases the Fates know what people are going to do, but remember their knowledge is limited. They can't know how a person will react to a specific situation if the person themselves doesn't know."

"Why not?" I asked. "If they know the person's every thought since the moment they were conceived to right now, how could they not know what the person will do?"

"You're simplifying humans too much," she explained. "Your race is far more than just the sum of your thoughts. There's emotion, spirituality and sometimes just downright illogical stubbornness that plays into every decision you make. The Moirae are experts at taking all of them into consideration, but even experts make mistakes."

"Okay, I can see that," I said thoughtfully. "But if they can just send someone back whenever they want to tell them what went wrong, what does it matter?"

"Ah, now we're getting to the crux of the matter," Hebe smiled. "The Fates can only adjust things that happened for the last hundred years or so, the length of the oldest human's life time."

"And?" I frowned. "That seems long enough to me. They can go back generations and change things."

"But what if the problem started further back than that?" she asked, and paused for a moment to let it sink in. "Mother thinks that's what happened to the Moirae's master plan. She thinks they made a mistake and have been trying desperately to correct it. In fact, mother thinks that you aren't even close to the first person they've sent back during this time frame."

"That's interesting," I said, not sure what to make of it though.

"It's more than that," Hebe snorted. "The one thing the Fates try very hard not to do is send one of the key people back. That's always dangerous and only used as a last resort. They've admitted that you're going to be the father of the next generation of gods. That makes you pretty key."

"Not according to Artemis," I argued. "She seems to think any guy will do."

"Mother doesn't agree," she said. "She thinks the Fates agreed with Artemis at first, but not anymore. No, they're desperate and they sent you back because they didn't have any other choice."

My mind spun, but I just couldn't get a hold on what she was saying. Honestly, I stopped trying after a few moments. It was only giving me a headache.

"I don't suppose I could convince you to take me home now?" I asked.

"Already? Nonsense! We haven't even started our vacation!"

"I didn't think so," I sighed.

"Don't worry," Hebe smiled. "I'm promise you'll have a good time." She laughed and reached behind her back and undid her bathing suit top, letting it fall to the ground. Hebe spun around slowly, letting me take the sight of Bridgette's body. There was no way I could look away even if I wanted to.

"Wow!" I swallowed. "You're making me regret not taking advantage of Bridgette last night."

"I know you like this form," Hebe said sexily. "But if you have another in mind, just let me know. I can look like whoever you want, anyone. Oh, and I fully expect you to take advantage of what I'm offering."

"Um, despite looking this young," I said as I continued to stare. "I'm a little old to be seduced into doing what you want."

"No man that's old!" she laughed. "But that's not what I'm trying to do. I'm just in the mood to have some fun! You have no idea how long it's been since I've been on this island. It brings back a lot of fond memories."

"So, I'm alone on a desert island with the goddess of youth who happens to be naked and wearing the form of a girl I find very attractive and you expect me to believe you're not trying to seduce me?"

"First, I'm not naked, at least not yet anyway," she said, but then pulled at the knot of the sash she was wearing around her hips. It fell open and I wasn't surprise to see that she wasn't wearing anything under it. Hebe spun again letting me see Bridgette's small pale ass. She continued until she was facing me once again. I could just make out the soft patch of red hair between her legs. I swallowed hard. Hebe laughed and added, "Now I'm naked."

"And second," she continued. "I didn't say I wasn't trying to seduce you. I only said I wasn't doing it to get you to help my mother." I swallowed hard again. I couldn't help myself.

"Then why are we here?" I asked. It wasn't easy concentrating enough to come up with the question, but somehow I did it.

"Because I promised Hera I'd take you here and work on making you see her side of things," she replied. "And I have and will. You're already questioning what the others told you. If I thought sex would help then I would be trying to seduce you for my mother, but with you I'm thinking words will work better."

"So then let's talk," I didn't quite squeak. Hebe laughed again.

"Oh no," she said, moving toward me. "All work and no play makes John a dull boy. Besides, like I said. I'm looking to have some fun. It's been a while for me. Mom doesn't let me out of Olympus nearly enough." Hebe opened the car door and looked down at me hungrily. She was absolutely gorgeous. There was no denying that.

"Are you controlling my mind?" I asked, my voice raspy with desire.

"Not hardly!" she grinned. "Where would the fun be in that?" I looked at her and frowned. She wasn't being completely honest. This was more than just simple attraction. She read my mind and added, "Look, I'm not Aphrodite. I can't make you lust after me like she can even if I wanted to. Any desire your feeling toward me is coming wholly from you."

I still didn't believe her. There was definitely something unnatural about what was going on here. I started getting angry despite my lust. That was a dangerous combination for me, or at least it had been with Aphrodite's handmaidens.

"Okay," Hebe finally relented, stepping back. "I'm the goddess of youth. All men are attracted to me by my nature alone, but that's the only thing abnormal about what you're feeling. The lust and desire aren't coming from anywhere except inside you."

"I guess that makes sense," I frowned, rubbing my temples. This wasn't the same as what happened with Aphrodite and her handmaidens. I was in control of myself this time, even though I couldn't deny my attraction to Hebe.

"John," Hebe said carefully. "We're going to be here until mother decides to let you go. You're welcome to try and escape if you'd like, but there's no way off this Island without my help. I promise you, we'll talk and I'll explain what I know, but honestly I don't know much more than what I've already told you."

"The Fates won't let you keep me here forever," I said confidently.

"You don't understand," she replied with a sigh. "Time is pretty much at a standstill on this island. Remember that last barrier we hit? Think of it as us breaking into a time bubble. We could spend the next ten years here and when you returned home, it would still be this morning."

"I don't understand," I sighed. "Why would Hera want you to take me here?"

"Mother doesn't tell me all her plans," Hebe replied. "Look, despite being the goddess of youth, I'm not really all that important of a god. I used to be the cupbearer to the gods before I married Hercules. You know what that means? I used to pour them drinks. I'm still not sure if mother meant me as a peace offering to Hercules when he ascended or if giving me to him was a slight."

"Okay, you don't know why, but you must have a guess. Why do you think your mother sent us here?" I asked.

"For me to convince you that she's the rightful mother to the next generation of gods," Hebe shrugged. I looked at her carefully and thought she was telling the truth as she knew it.

"So basically, we're stuck on this island alone together until either Hera decides to let me go or the Moirae decide to act," I said, shaking my head. "The first isn't likely unless I agree to help her and the second isn't likely at all. The Moirae don't care how long I'm here. They only care that I return eventually and father the next generation of gods with Tara. It doesn't matter to them if you and I stay here until I'm old and grey."

"Well actually," Hebe offered with a tentative smile. "There are some benefits of being with the goddess of youth. I won't let you age."

"Great," I grumbled. "At least I'll look good as I sink further and further into insanity." Hebe actually laughed.

"It won't be that bad," she promised. "If you let me, I'm sure I can help the time go by quickly enough."

"Tempting," I said with a sigh. "But I don't think so. It will only add complexity to a situation that crazy enough. Besides, I love Tara."

"And you think I don't love Hercules?" she retorted.

"Maybe I'm just too old fashioned," I shrugged, getting out of the car and trying to ignore what the sight of her naked body did to me.

"Actually, not old fashioned enough," she laughed. "I'm thousands of years older than you despite my youthful appearance. In those thousands of years I've learned a thing or two. This island is a place out of time. Nothing that happens here between us will affect your love for Tara or mine for Hercules." I looked at her and fought hard against what she was offering. It wasn't easy at all. I swallowed hard one last time and shook my head.

"I can't," I said with as much finality in my voice as I could muster. Hebe looked into my eyes and nodded.

"I agree," she surprised me by saying. "You can't."

"Thanks for..." I began, but she cut me off.

"At least not yet," Hebe interjected. "But we'll be here a while and things change."

"Not this," I said confidently. She just laughed and left me in the car. She turned away and moved toward the house we'd be staying it. It was beautiful, done up with Greek columns, no surprise there. Hebe's walk drew my attention to Bridgette's ass, making me lick my lips and look away. The goddess just laughed louder. I groaned to myself.

**********

"Ms. Valente would be so proud," I snorted to myself as I reached the top of the steps cut into the mountain. I fought to catch my breath as I stared out over the island that had been my home for...well, I wasn't even sure how long anymore. Oh, it wasn't years yet, at least I didn't think so, but it was definitely months. Thoughts of Rosa made me think to a few weeks back.