Bounded by Fate

Three years have passed since that snakeful-I mean, fateful night.

Me, being the naturally talented and charming young boy I am, was forgoing my worthless princely duties (namely, appeasing powerful nobles, other aristocrats, etc.) and perfecting my stealth/strategic tactics by an ancient training method called 'Hide and Seek'.

So powerful was that method, that it was banished from my 'proper' daily routine, and I was forbidden to ever partake in that technique again. However, that didn't stop me. Yes, indeed. You guessed it right.

I incorporated 'hide and seek' into part of my new and improvised 'run-away-from-my-princely-duties' daily routine. I partake in the Hiding part, by the way.

"Wait", you might say. "Isn't that the same as utilizing 'Hide and Seek' in everyday life? How would that be a solution to your problems?", you might ask.

My answer to your doubts is 'YES'.

Not no, not yes, but YES. In other words, I didn't give a flying f*ck.

As you can already guess, the mighty king of Mycenae was not very pleased. As a matter of fact, he was absolutely livid. An order was issued that very day, and the order has stayed ever since.

To eloquently quote; "Find those motherf*cking b*tches and shove your damn fists up their a*s so hard that they'll be spitting out all of those profanities from their tainted souls!", quote end.

...I think I might have made him more prone to high blood pressure. In retrospect, I really shouldn't have made a joke about his receding hairline in the midst of a royal meeting.

Well, what was done is done. I needed only to adapt.

Every day, I managed to sneak out, and every day they send out more men to catch me. What was at first three men increased their numbers until they became a whole squadron.

Before I knew it, my 'Hide and Seek' became a sort of unofficial welcoming ceremony for newbie soldiers, as the older veterans learned to lie back, relax, and enjoy the shit-show that was unfolding before their eyes.

As some may have already guessed, the mighty king of Mycenae was not very pleased. As a matter of fact, he was frothing at the mouth so hard, that his hair fell out from his receding hairline.

On second thought, I really shouldn't have stolen his wig when he was having a passionate speech about patriotism in front of his men. Meh.

Naturally, my catchers, or in this case, my seekers were replaced by men appointed by the king. Thus, a new level of the game was unlocked.

The seekers are Mycenae's best warriors. And they suck.

To be honest, they weren't bad per se. I...we were just more experienced, nimble, and a hell lot more agile.

Yes, the hiders were me and my lovely sister, Alcides. She kinda tagged along claiming that 'Big sis must protect brother!', though I'm pretty sure her motives were extremely similar to mine. We both hated kingship with passion.

"Mnnhmmn! See? Big sister is strong! I can carry Iphicles around! We can do this all day! Together!"

My sister held on to my legs for balance as I sat on her shoulders like a rider steering his horse. In all honesty, Alcides ran faster than most horses, putting all the warhorses in our father's stables to shame.

She beamed up at me with her megawatt smile, devoid of negativity. I smiled back and caressed her hair lovingly.

"Yes, dear sister. What would I do without you?"

She preened and leaned into my hand. I patted her head more.

...Well, at least part of our motives for ditching our classes were the same. Although her feelings of fierce familial love towards me were mutual, I kind of worry how close and how frequently we stuck together.

All the time, that is.

We eat together, play together, study together, bathe together, train together, sleep together...wait, that came out very wrong. Ahem. Horny BONK.

What I am trying to imply was that we basically act as one, two halves of the same entity, in a sense. Part of it was my fault, I suppose. I pampered my sister. Like, seriously treated her with all the love and respect a sibling could offer.

In my defense, my action should be justified because my sister...well...she's lonely without my presence. No, I'm not being narcissistic. Literally, without me, her isolated world would have become one filled with fear, silence, and false smiles.

You see, since the night my sister saved my life by strangling a monstrous serpent with her bare hands, everything changed.

...

Alcides

...

Alcides was born different. Fundamentally different.

When normal babies cry when they are hungry, scared, or lonely, she didn't.

Demigods mature much faster than most mortals, and it was the same for Alcides. She was already attached to her half-brother at birth, by a bond only few could share. Within her still immature mind, she instinctively knew that Iphicles was her family, and she knew that he needed her protection.

It may have had something to do with the way they were produced inside the same womb, or it may have been the way he was born without divinity.

Whatever reason, from the second Iphicles stood up against the serpent even though it spelled out his own doom, all just to 'protect' her - Alcides felt something click inside her mind. An emotion, only a mother feels towards her child.

Raw protective maternal instinct, and volcanic fury that befalls anything that dare harms one of her own.

A simple squeeze was all she needed. With a pop, the snake's neck broke apart. Her first kill was disturbingly easy like that.

What followed after, however, was agonizing. Their father, or in her case her stepfather Amphitryon, deduced that she was Zeus's bastard from the blood on her hands, and immediately took her away from her brother.

As one could guess, as soon as she realized she was isolated from her half-twin, she went into a panic-induced frenzy. Ripping off the bars of her new iron crib, Alcides ran on the second night she was born, storming through the dead of night, and eventually finding her way back to her worried brother...by knocking down Every. Single. Door.

The next day, Amphitryon found the twins sleeping in each other's arms with a peaceful smile on their faces. That incident became the last time Alcides was forced into something she didn't want.

The lesson the king learned that day was; Demigods induce headaches.

In the next few years, Alcides came to experience a lot of her unique situation in Mycenae. Oh, how she came to thank Fate for blessing her with a lovely brother! Without Iphicles, god knows what sort of woman she would have grown into!

Because she was different she was alienized in her own palace. Because she was so strong, non dared to even look her in the eye. Even her stepfather Amphitryon was wary of her and kept her at more than an arm's distance at all times.

Speaking of Amphitryon, contrary to what one might think, despite his mixed feelings toward his 'daughter', he gave her the very best his kingdom has got to offer. While he had no affection whatsoever towards her, he made sure that the daughter of Zeus was treated like one of his own.

Be it his duty as a king, or his fear of the wrath of Zeus, he dared not mistreat her in any way.

Surprisingly, her mother was the one who did not grant her daughter the same respect. For Queen Alcmene, Alcides was the proof of her own unfaithfulness, a disgusting reminder of Zeus's trickery, and the very reason her husband refused to bed her again.

Without love, neither affection from her parents, and Zeus being...well...literally above the clouds, and just being Zeus -a colossal dick in more ways than one-, there was no one but Iphicles who stayed by her side when she needed it most.

Just like that fated day.

Alcides would never forget the one time she sneaked out of her stifling palace, all alone, and in disguise.

She wanted to explore the streets, alone. She wanted to prove that she could also be like her beloved brother; a normal child.

At first, all seemed to go well.

She sneaked out without anyone noticing her presence and traveled down the world and into the commoner district.

Finding a small group of boys playing by the roadside, she ran into their midst, eager to join whatever they were doing.

However, being the stupid brats all boys were, they made fun of her and challenged her to a grappling contest, while mocking how a girl dared to enter their 'manly' activities.

Alcides, easily riled by their taunts, sent them flying into the mud by grabbing them by the neck and throwing them with pure strength. One of them started to cry, while another took an excrement-filled bucket for the fields, and dumped it over her hair.

The hair that Iphicles loved. The hair he cherished by helping her comb out its curls, every single morning.

The rage which followed was deadly. The stones cracked under her feet as she slowly turned around. The foolish boy who tainted her hair fell to the ground with a scream, terrified by the sheer ire her eyes contained.

Her fist raised up, high in the sky.

Every child there instinctively knew that when her fist so much as scratched them, their heads would be sent flying. Literally.

The child on the ground trembled, no longer able to plead, no longer able to move a single finger, paralyzed by the vision of his gruesome demise. And the vision would have become a reality, if not for one Iphicles who had trailed after his sister, afraid that she might get bullied.

Alcides drew back her fist, ready to end the pathetic piece of shit before her when suddenly, a familiar figure stepped in front of the child.

Her fists stopped a mere inch before she could snap the spinal cord of her dear brother. Even then, the initial impact alone was enough to send him spiraling into the ground.

He bounced a few times, slid, and hit the wall at the end of the alleyway. The boys snapped out of their trance-like state, and ran off to their mothers, screaming in fear.

Alcides just stood there, shell-shocked and unable to process what she had done.

How...no...how could she...NO!

She ran to her brother who was coughing up blood and knelt beside him. She reached out to grasp him, only to hesitate when she saw what she had done.

Did she even have the right to touch him after the sin she committed?

Her chaotic thoughts swirled in her mind. She didn't know what to do.

A warm pair of hands enveloped her trembling fists. She looked up. Iphicles winked at her, without an ounce of fear or anger like the boys had shown.

"Good punch you have there...Alcides. Oh my, that'll take an entire week to heal..."

"I...I...Iphicles...I...I am...", she stuttered. A finger pressed against her quivering lips.

"I know, Alcides, I know. Promise me one thing, though."

Alcides tensed. She nodded curtly, ready to receive any order her brother deemed worthy. Iphicles chuckled.

"Promise me that you would not use violence to resolve your anger."

Alcides' head snapped up.

"But...but they...", she started to complain. Iphicles shook his head.

"Yes, they did something very disrespectful. However, you nearly killed one of them in revenge. Have I not stepped in, his brains would be splattered across the ground by now. Is that your version of honor and justice?"

Alcides hung her head, ashamed. Iphicles gently caught her chin and tilted her head upwards so that she faced him.

"Besides, you are stunning no matter what."

Alcides pouted.

"You are lying."

Iphicles grinned challengingly.

"Am I?", he simply asked back.

He stood up on his shaking pair of legs and walked over to the overturned bucket of excrement. He reached down and raised it above his head.

Alcides' eyes widened. No, he couldn't possibly be thinking about-

Iphicles dumped the excrement onto his head. He turned around with a grimace.

"Ain't I prince charming?", he said with an exaggerated noble-like haughtiness. He struck a pose...and coughed from the foul smell.

Something warm lit up in Alcides' chest. Something, that she shall never forget.

They stared at each other for a few moments and burst out laughing.

"This shit stinks.", was Alcides' eloquent reply. Iphicles nodded in agreement.

The following swim in the nearby river was the most fun Alcides had in months.

That day, that instant, Iphicles had stoked an unextinguishable flame in her chest.

What was first a small spark, turned into a small bonfire that emitted warmth, then rapidly escalated into a raging inferno.

Iphicles, O' Iphicles, her most beloved brother.

Shunned she may be, with Iphicles by her side, she learned compassion, patience, and forgiveness.

Compassion for the people who are weaker both in mind and body.

Patience for the years needed for the people to learn of her nature.

Forgiveness for their inherent weakness that fears the unknown.

From her younger brother, she learned more than she could ever possibly have from their parents, and her brother received more familial love than he could ever possibly have.

Thus, on that sunny day, she made him swear a pinky promise beside the river where they swam.

Instead, her brother proposed something more. Even though its significance was yet to dawn upon her until much, much later, she happily complied.

'Thou art I, I art thou'.

'Till eternal death, shall us part'.

Thus, an ancient oath was made upon the river Styx. Their Fates, forever intertwined.

...Apparently, Iphicles had a flair for theatrics.

...

...

Present-day

...

The world soared by as my sister ran across the roofs with me on her shoulders.

It was exhilarating.

"Together, we can topple the world."

It was a whisper, not meant to be heard. To my surprise, there was an answer though.

"Yes. We are the world!"

Momentarily stunned, I blinked a few times. Then, mirth bubbled up from within me, engulfing me whole. I laughed out loud for the world to hear, with my sister joining me soon after.

It was a brilliant day.