TESSA

Iolaus, rested most of that day, in the shade along side the road. He was emotionally drained and physically exhausted. Attie had left a small bag of hard cheese and stale bread so he didn’t have to go looking for food. All of his belongings had been returned to him, dumped rather unceremoniously at his feet as Attie and her band left him.

As the new day began, Iolaus stirred and started off to Cornith. He had a long way to go, and precious little time, as he feared Ellia would do something to Marxus and Tessa for all the aid they gave him. He knew that Tessa was still ok, he could feel her presence. He was worried about Marxus, there was no way of telling just what Ellia would do to him.

A low rumbling noise began to build up behind Iolaus as he walked down the road. Iolaus turned and saw a peddler's cart coming down the road.

"Hey, there! Where are you headed?" Iolaus hollered over the racket.

"To Corinth," the Peddler replied.

"Would you like some company? I can cook and hunt, so you could eat fresh food?" Iolaus was desperate to get to Corinth and no matter how bizarre the peddlers demands were going to be he would do his best to match them.

"Can you tell a good story?" The Peddler asked.

"Can I tell a good story? Well let me tell you about the time me and Hercules……" Iolaus climbed up into the wagon. The trip lasted 3 days, the peddler enjoyed his talkative companion and seeing that he was recovering from rather severe wounds did not ask much of Iolaus. He even offered to drop Iolaus where he would be staying. Much to the surprise of the peddler Iolaus was welcomed with opened arms, and tender greetings at the house of King Iphicles and Queen Rena. Iolaus really did know Hercules and the Peddler met him, too. Hercules walked the stunned peddler back to his cart and paid him for transporting Iolaus to the Cornith.

When Hercules got back to the house, Iolaus was trying to stand and have a conversation with Iphicles. "Iolaus, is there something you’d like to tell me?" Hercules asked gently. Seeing the semi-fresh lash marks and the healing burn, and all the bruises that were at the attractive yellow green stage Hercules could tell that Iolaus had been in a bad fight and had not done well, yet someone had cared for him.

"Yes, Herc there is, we have to leave and go back and get her before her mother does something horrible to her!" The words just rushed out of Iolaus’ mouth, he wasn’t making much sense. Here in the comfort of his friends and family he was losing control, all his fears for Tessa and Marxus were coming to the surface. The pain and difficulty of the journey were also beginning to tell on his body. His whole body language read panic.

"Iolaus, who are you talking about? The woman you met in town? The one you were looking for last time I saw you." Hercules was trying hard to keep Iolaus focused, he would need the whole story.

"No, not her, she well, she can take care of herself. It’s Tessa I’m talking about, Tessa and her father. Herc, we’ve got to leave now, we’ve got to go save them. Hurry, get your things, Iphicles it has been great seeing you but we have to leave NOW! Hercules hurry." Iolaus was choked with emotion, and his body was giving out on him. The days on the road with the peddler were taking their toll. Iolaus collapsed in a heap on the floor.

"Hercules, what is Iolaus talking about?" Iphicles asked.

"I have no idea, but whatever it is very important to him. He has gone through a terrible beating to get here. This wound is still fresh, looks like it had been going bad and someone burned the poison out." Hercules gently picked up Iolaus and took him to a clean bed and covered him till he would be able to awake and tell the story.

Iolaus awoke the next morning with a start. Hercules was asleep in a chair next to him. As Iolaus started to move Hercules awoke. Iolaus was still sore but his head was clearer than it had been the day before. Hercules just watched him, knowing that Iolaus would talk to him as soon as he was able.

"I guess it is time to tell you what happened to me?" Iolaus asked.

"Well, it would be nice, you are weeks late in meeting me here," Hercules chided.

"I’m not sure where to start, but I’ll start at the beginning. I got to the town the night before you did. I met a wonderful woman and we had a great night. She left my bed before I woke up. That was who I was looking for, when you showed up. You went on ahead of me and I went looking for her, I found her out by the road to Corinth and we walked to a glen and had lunch, and, well, other things."

"Iolaus, you are a grown man, you don’t have to explain yourself to me." Hercules said smiling, enjoying the discomfort his friend was having with the tale.

"Ok, well, thanks. Anyway, she left and I started off to join you. I was heading in the correct direction but through a part of the forest I had never seen before. Before I knew what was happening a band of Amazons had captured me and took me to their camp. The Queen made me pleasure her and then she wanted me to," Iolaus was getting emotional again, Hercules hadn’t seen this much pain in his friends eyes since Anya’s passing. "She wanted me to, to, welcome her daughter into the fold of womanhood."

"She what? She wanted you to take her daughter?" a disbelieving Hercules asked.

"I did ‘pleasure’ the queen and when I refused to have anything to do with her daughter," Iolaus’ voice broke, "she ordered me cut," Iolaus was just barely hanging in, tears were streaming down his face. He wasn’t even aware of them.

"Oh no Iolaus," Hercules said, wondering just how to ask if the Queen’s plan had been carried out. It was obvious that Iolaus had been beaten severely. But it looked like Iolaus had gathered himself back together and was ready to continue.

"The queen had a big ceremony with dancing and a huge bon fire. The town doctor stepped in but she refused to do the job so the queen whipped me and kicked me when I refused to utter a sound. The queen took the knife and as she started to do the job, Tessa, her daughter threw herself on top of me and refused to move. Tessa then moved me to an older outer building and she and her father cared for me."

"Her father?" Hercules questioned.

"Yes, it seems that the queen routinely traps men in the forest and uses them for ah…..stud service. Marxus was used and then cut, and forced to do the really heavy work around the town. Anyway they took care of me. Tessa and I, well, Hercules I’ve never felt this way about anyone else, not even Anya."

"Iolaus why are you here? Why did you escape without her then if you feel so strongly for her"?

"Her mother when she found out that Tessa and I had been…together, she stormed the hut and told Tessa that she could would allow only one of us to live, so Tessa would have to make a choice."

"And she chose her father?" Hercules asked rather unbelievably.

"No, that’s not it, Tessa refused to choose. So her mother said she would kill both of us and she started with Marxus. I couldn’t let this kind, wonderful man die, so I jumped in and said some pretty horrible things. She let me go. I can still hear Tessa crying my name as I was walked out of town. Hercules we must go back for her, we must, I need her!" Iolaus was drained from the telling of the tale and the trip itself.

"We will leave as soon as you have had one of my mother’s meals and you get cleaned up." Hercules told a relieved Iolaus.

Iolaus now relieved and hungry looked around for some food. He quickly recovered with the wonderful care and food that his adopted family gave him. Alcemene would not allow them to leave that day, she was firm.

"Iolaus, you are like a son to me and you will do no good to this young lady if you run off too fast before you are ready. You will stay one more night and get some food into you." She scolded him.

"Jason, please, can’t you help me, we have to leave." Iolaus pleaded.

"Iolaus, sorry, but married life has taught me one thing, never argue with your wife. She is always right." Jason chuckled at Iolaus. "And besides I happen to agree with her, you do need more time to recover."

So reluctantly Iolaus spent another day at the house, most of the time sleeping, when he was awake he was busy denying that he needed rest. Hercules used the time to gather information on the area of the forest that Iolaus had mentioned. The information that he was getting was not very encouraging, Queen Ellia had made herself known to a small number of people and not pleasant memories of those that had survived to tell the tale. The fact that Iolaus has survived was a testament to his love for Tessa, Hercules knew.

As dawn broke Iolaus was up and ready to go, no one was going to stop him now. Several days had passed. He had been so exhausted that Hercules had made the painful choice to let Iolaus rest rather than getting him on the road too soon. He knew that Iolaus would be angry but it was done out of love for his friend.

They set out on the long journey, Iolaus hopeful that he would get to Tessa and Marxus in time. He fully understood why Hercules had let him rest and he was not capable to remaining angry with his best friend. So together they left Corinth in search of the Amazon camp.