Heracles envisioned his mother's golden face, always glowing with a determination. He could hear her soft voice ring in his ears. He could remember it all so vividly.

He was small again, short and chubby-cheeked. His eyes barely saw over the glossy  marble table his mother was sitting at.

She scribbled furiously on a sheet of parchment, her hollow reed-pen scratching away at the surface. She only paused to dip the tip of the reed back into her bowl of ink.

"Mommy, would you like to play outside with me?" Heracles asked, tugging on one of the folds in his mother's toga.

"No, Heracles. Mother must discuss 'business' with Mr.Persia." She hastily responded to the inquiry, not taking her gray eyes off the parchment.

"Please, Mommy. You never play anymore..."

Heracles felt a tear slip down one of  his rosy cheeks. It scouted a path down his face for more tears to follow. A whimper left his lips, compelling his mother to look away from her work.

"Oh, Heracles. Maybe later we can-"

Knock. Knock. Knock.

His mother's usual tanned face was replaced by a ghostly-white pallor. Her eyes grew wide. Heracles noted an emotion he had never seen in his mother's eyes. Fear.

His mother slowly stumbled out of her chair, wringing her hands with a unusual anxiousness.

"Come in."

The door handle rattled for a few moments before allowing the door to swing open, revealing their guest.

A pudgy man sauntered through the doorway with a keen air of authority. He was draped with a rainbow of fabrics and was clothed with elegant silken robes. The fragrance of expensive perfumes and fresh fruit radiated off him. A well-kept beard framed his tan face. Scowls and sneers were commonly seen stretched across his puffy lips.

The strange man lumbered over to the marble table. He squeezed himself into the seat that was once occupied by Heracles' mother. He motioned Heracles' mother over to him with the flick of a solitary finger.

She reluctantly obeyed, pacing over to the man.

"Yes, Persia?" She hissed bitterly. She seemed to have regained her normal flame.

A toothy grin planted itself on his features.

"What's the matter, Athena (Ancient Greece)? I just wanted to note how lovely your home is."

"Enough with the small talk. Let's get this over with." Athena grumbled.

She noticed her son silently standing off to the side. Placing a tender hand on his shoulder she instructed him to go play outside.

Obediently, he nodded. Heracles made his way towards the door, pulled it open, and stepped outside.

Turning back, he caught one last glimpse of a wink and Persia's unnerving smirk , before letting the door swing shut.