Her tongue felt like dried leather in her mouth as she tried to swallow, but she was now so dehydrated that she couldn't even form spit. She watched as Heracles dipped his waterskin in the stream he'd placed her near and began to drink. Four days, they had been on the road, and he hadn't once offered her so much as a drop of water or a bite of food. It was like he didn't see her as anything but an object to be delivered. Had he forgotten she was a living breathing creature? Watching the cool clear water flow past bubbling and gurgling on its way was torture, she couldn't take it anymore and used what little energy she still had to thrash her legs and try to reach the water.
He hadn't heard the animal make so much as a peep since he'd captured her, and her sudden outburst startled the hot and irritated demigod.  He could be in the arms of a beautiful woman, drinking ale and eating good food. But he was stuck in this unbearable heat with the smelly, heavy creature and the insects that kept insisting on biting him.

"Shut up!" He bellowed and threw the contents of his waterskin at the beast. She froze and swallowed the small amount of water that had gone in her mouth, then licked desperately at any wetness she could reach. It wasn't enough; she needed water, and he didn't have a mind to give her more as he'd turned back to the water to help himself to more. Finally, she shifted into her human form and, in a croaky, parched voice, called quietly to him.

"Please? Water, more water." Leaping to his feet and reaching for the sword, he wore at his waist, Heracles stared wide-eyed at the pretty naked girl who lay bound on the floor where his hind had been.

"By the gods. What magic is this?"

"Please, water." repeated the desperate hind. He looked from the bound girl to the river and back to the girl, then grabbed up his dropped waterskin, refilled it from the waterway, and took it to the girl, holding it to her lips. Kaia drank and drank until the skin was empty. The cool liquid felt so good as it travelled down her throat.

Finally, Heracles stood back and eyed the girl distrustingly.

"If you're human, why didn't you say anything before?"

"I'm not human."

"Don't try anything." Watching her carefully, he undid her bindings, then re-tied just her wrists and let her sit up. Ignoring him, she stretched her stiff muscles and sat back against a tree just behind her. He watched her as she stared out over the stream and surrounding countryside, realising she wasn't going to acknowledge him; he cleared his throat.

"Why didn't you let me know you were a girl?" Without looking at him, she answered in a curt tone.

"I'm a hind."

"So why didn't you say anything?" Realising again, that she wasn't going to answer; he yanked on her bound wrists and tied the rope that held her to a branch above her head. "I'm going to find some dinner. Stay put."

When he'd moved out of sight, Kaia began to struggle against her bonds, but it was no use; she tugged and pulled till his gruff voice made her jump.

"I said don't move. You'll hurt yourself before you get out." She narrowed her eyes at him as he slung two rabbits on the ground, followed by a few apples. He undid the end of the rope, holding her to the tree and lowering her arms, picked up one of the apples to offer it to her. Hesitantly, she took it and started eating it as fast as she could chew and swallow.

"If you were so hungry and thirsty, why didn't you say?" She glared at him.

"Why wouldn't you give food and water to an animal you tied up?" He shrugged.

"I never thought." He stacked twigs and started to build a fire as she began to devour the second apple. Giving her another look, he grabbed his blanket from his pack and tossed it to her to cover her naked body. She draped it about her as best she could with her bound hands and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Thank you," she said grudgingly.

"Why is my sister so fond of you?"

Kaia shrugged.

"Don't know." He watched her as she gazed back out over the water and seemed to ignore him.

"We should be in Mycenae tomorrow." She didn't answer him.

"Once I've presented you to Eurystheus, I will free you." She snorted but still didn't answer him. "I've no reason to lie to you, and I promised my sister no harm would come to you." Again, she snorted.

"Like when you shot me?"

"I thought you were just a hind."

"That makes it okay then." He went to say something else but stopped himself and went back to building a fire.

As he ate his rabbit and watched the hind eat her's he suddenly pointed at her.

"You claimed to be a priestess of Artemis when I was chasing the hind and found you in a river." She looked up at him and shrugged.

"So?"

"I can't believe I was so close to you so long ago and never even realised." Again, she shrugged.

"I can hardly be blamed that you didn't know your own prey."

"I got you in the end." She frowned and went back over what happened in her head.

"I still don't know-how. One second, I was like this hiding in the tree; the next, I was in my true form and couldn't hold on."

"It sounds like I outwitted you in the end." Kaia rolled her eyes but couldn't help but think that wasn't how he caught her. Had her goddess betrayed her?

In the morning, Heracles awoke to find that the hind was a deer again laying on the ground, watching him with her large golden eyes, her front legs tied. He got up and stretched.

"Not talking to me today?" She looked away back over the water. "Ok, we'll play that game then." Grabbing his pack, he repacked his blanket and refilled his skin before approaching her and untying the rope that held her to the tree. He then tied the free end around her neck, tugging on it to ensure she couldn't escape before undoing her legs.

"You can walk, I'm not carrying you." He pulled at the rope, but she didn't move. He tugged a little harder, and she pulled back but still didn't move.
"Look hind. If I want you up on your feet, you will get up. But I don't want to hurt you. So up, NOW." Again, she didn't move. Holding onto the end of the rope, he shrugged and walked away. She pulled against him but soon she was pulled up onto her feet and after several feet of trying to grind her hooves in she finally gave in and followed after him keeping as much distance between them as the rope would allow.

After hours of walking, they came over the brow of a hill, and Heracles stopped.

"That Tiryns, Eurystheus kingdom." The hind faltered seeing their destination so close. She had the sickening feeling that if she entered the castle she could see in the distance, she would never again see her forest home. He trudged on again, pulling her after him.

Apollo appeared next to his half-brother as he walked.

"Artemis' hind? No wonder she's so angry. I'd stay clear of her if I were you, baby brother." Without breaking step, Heracles sighed.

"What do you want, Apollo?"

"Oh not much, just to make things a little more interesting." He motioned to Heracles' other side, the demigod looked round too late as Eros shot him with one of his arrows at the same moment Apollo shoved the hind into his line of sight. Laughing, the two gods watched as Heracles set eyes on the unsettled doe who hadn't been able to see the gods and had no idea what had just grabbed at her and shoved her.

The demigod's expression softened as he gazed at the doe. Fighting against the pull of Eros' spell he looked up at the laughing gods.

"Why have you done this?"

"Why not, dear brother?"  Retorted Apollo in between laughing. Eros looked about as Artemis appeared behind them, and the smile dropped from his handsome face.

"That's me out of here." He declared as he took flight on the white-feathered wings that adorned his back and vanished into the sky.

Heracles was trying to pay attention to the gods, but he couldn't take his focus off the doe standing before him.

"What have you done?" Bellowed Artemis as Kaia paced on the spot, her head darting about in confusion. She knew something was going on but could see nothing but her captor, who now looked at her so strangely.

"I made sure he won't harm your hind, sister dearest." With that, the sun god began to laugh mirthlessly and vanished. Artemis looked at Heracles, then her hind, and back to the demigod. Furious, she gazed from her startled hind to her insufferable half-brother.

"He didn't do it to protect her, but this does ensure you won't harm her. Keep your word to her Heracles and free her once you've delivered her, or I will be coming to you to enact such retribution you can not imagine."

With that, she too vanished.
Kaia pawed at the ground with worry, she could feel the power in the air and felt the gusts of wind caused by Eros' wings but couldn't see the gods that Heracles could so had no idea what was happening. Heracles caught her terrified face in his hands and rubbed the sides of it with his thumbs.

"Shhh, calm yourself, beautiful. Shh." He cooed. She pulled back from him and started to change back into her human form.

"What are you doing? What's going on?" Heracles caught her by the arm, and pulling her into his strong embrace kissed her passionately. Kaia shoved against him with all her strength but wasn't able to dislodge him so bit his lip hard. Yelping, he leapt back, pulling her rope and nearly pulling her off her feet.

"You're so beautiful." She stared at him in horror.

"What do you think you are doing?"

"Eros shot me." He said as he went to catch her in his arms again. She stepped back as far as the rope around her neck would allow.

"Don't touch me." He straightened and pulled her closer to him.

"I'm the son of Zeus. I'm half god. When I complete my labours I will become a full god. Wouldn't you want to be the lover of a god?"

"No!" Before he couldn't say or do anything else, they heard voices coming toward them. He looked back at her, and she was a hind again as a group of soldiers rounded the corner.

"Heracles, scouts saw your approach; the king sent us to escort you to the palace." Eyeing the small group of soldiers, the demigod pulled the hind closer to him and petted her back. She pulled to move away, but he had her firmly.

"Lead on good men." They walked for another hour before finally reaching the edge of the city; he hadn't taken his hand off her once during the walk.
It was awful; Kaia had never seen or heard so many people in one place. The stench of the humans and their foods and waste was repugnant and overpowering. She wanted to run back to her forest home as swiftly as her hooves could carry her.

As they approached the castle, he bent to whisper in her ear.

"Do not fear my love. No harm will come to you. I will release you."

'My love??' Oh, Eros needed to fix this; she didn't need to be pursued by the egotistical thug for her entire life.

As they approached the huge gateway that led into the castle, she stopped and tried to grind her hooves into the ground. But Heracles moved his hand up from her back to her antler and pushed her forward, gently but firmly. An overdressed man was seated on a dais, sunning himself while a scantily clad woman kept him cool with a fan-made from huge feathers.

"Ah, Heracles. I had heard of your arrival. I see you brought me my hind."

"I have brought the hind yes." Answered Heracles in a strange, strangled tone.

"Bring her here to me."

"You can see her from there, King Erystheus."

"I said bring her to me!" Heracles loosened his hold a little.

"I can not do that. Artemis bade me release the hind after delivering it."
"Nonsense!" Spat the king. "Your labours are for me, not the goddess Artemis. Now bring me the hind. Her antlers will adorn my throne room; her pelt my shoulders." He waved his hand, and two guards stepped forward and drew their swords. He glanced behind him before shouting run as he shoved the hind back and towards the gateway, they had entered through.

Regaining her balance and mustering all her strength and speed, Kaia darted past a guard and out between fast closing gates out into the city.
Terrified, she darted left and right, avoiding people snatching at her as she weaved through the city, trying to find her way out.
"Goddess, help me." She screamed in her head as she dodged left and right. All of a sudden, one of her sisters was running beside her.

"This way." She peeled left, and Kaia overjoyed that the goddess had answered her prayer and sent one of her sisters to save her, followed. They rounded a corner into an alley where two huge trolls came up behind them and trapped them inside. Startled, she pawed at the ground.

"Where do we go, sister?" As she turned to see what her sister would do she gasped and watched as her beloved sister transformed before her eyes into a small slender woman with a cruel-looking pale face and jet black hair piled high on her head. The woman cackled, reached into a fold of her huge purple gown, and smashed a tiny glass bottle on the ground. Kaia screamed as a portal formed, and one of the huge trolls shoved her through. Within seconds, all four had vanished.

Heracles rounded the corner moments later and stood there, confused. He'd seen her run down here and not come back out. She was gone; all he was met with was a blank wall.