As a god who had lived for centuries judging others became second nature. More so when it came to new potential masters. Hercules didn’t verbalize it but there were certain people he wouldn’t become bonded to, not again. Those were also the few times he had broken the bond himself.

”Oh?” he asked taking a few steps closer then lowering himself till he was eye level with the woman. The giant didn’t blink but stared at her as if he was peering into her soul. She was new to magic. He was not. She’s been master to many. He has not, his role for the rest of time is that of a servant. Shackled from the curse.

”So this then would be a quest for knowledge? Hmmm?” Hercules smirked and stood up and turned away from her, ”I’d say Athena would be more appropriate for that role.” the goddess of wisdom from his pantheon was one Hercules held in high regards. It takes someone of great patience to sit still and read all day.

The god smirked. ”You flatter me.” he said clearing his throat then folding his arms. ”I have three stipulations with our contract on our end. Non-negotiable. If you break them I will sever the bond myself.” it wasn’t a threat. It was a warning. ”Agree to them and You will have my power!” he said glowing now tapping into his abilities. It was more for show but she didn’t need to know that. The god knew it was intimidating.

>>”Oh? So this then would be a quest for knowledge? Hmmm?”

Serena let him draw the conclusion himself. Knowledge was power, after all. Same difference.

>>”I’d say Athena would be more appropriate for that role.”

Wait, was that an option? Like yeah, sure, let me just summon up the Greek Goddess of Wisdom real quick for a strategy meeting?... Serena filed that away for later.

>>”You flatter me. I have three stipulations with our contract on our end. Non-negotiable. If you break them I will sever the bond myself. Agree to them and You will have my power!”

Now they were negotiating. Serena was good at this. Non-negotiable, sure, but she would only really see once he had named his terms. She pulled up a chair and sat down, folding her arms. His display of power was impressive, but she had been in the fashion world for a long time. She knew how deals worked. "Tell me."

She sat interested in the terms. For him they not only told his prospective masters what he was about but they also revealed what they were about as well. She was interested in knowledge. Hercules had acquired centuries of it and was willing to share it with her if she proved herself to be worthy.

The god held up one of his fingers, then folded his arms, ”Of the three first and foremost is the protection of my masters.” the stipulations often changed when he was dealing with different masters. Personalities differed and their quests differed so it was important to focus on different goals.

”Meaning while I serve you I also serve another. I will do my best to manage my time accordingly but there will be times when I will not be able to answer your summons. That being said I will drop everything if your life is in danger. I will protect my masters with my life. I need you to understand the majority of my power comes from my current master and he needs me.” he didn’t want to give out more information on William than he had to. Not till she agreed to his terms.

The god let the words sink in then held up a two fingers. ”Next, I’m a god. A protector of mortals, it is who I am and I will not pretend to be something I am not. So you will allow me to protect mortals who can not protect themselves.” Hercules paused again recounting what other stipulations he deemed most important. Protecting William came first then other mortals. The woman who was sitting across for him would be put at the top of the list as well.

His three fingers popped up then he folded his arms again, ”and finally don’t abuse my power. I will protect you but I do not wish to harm those I deem innocent.” he mentioned he had the power to sever the pact they formed. The third stipulation was more of a warning what would happen. The breaking of the bond was never a pleasant experience for anyone.

”Do you find these terms agreeable?” the god asked grinning and now flexing a bit more than he was earlier.

Serena had never done this with a Greek god before, but she had gone through plenty of negotations. She waited for him to say his piece and made mental notes.

>> ”Of the three first and foremost is the protection of my masters. Meaning while I serve you I also serve another. I will do my best to manage my time accordingly but there will be times when I will not be able to answer your summons. That being said I will drop everything if your life is in danger. I will protect my masters with my life. I need you to understand the majority of my power comes from my current master and he needs me.”

Majority shareholder. Note: Find out who the hell he is.

>>”Next, I’m a god. A protector of mortals, it is who I am and I will not pretend to be something I am not. So you will allow me to protect mortals who can not protect themselves.”

What was this, a business arrangement or Asimov's freaking laws of robotics?
...
Yes, Serena read books too, get over it.

>>”and finally don’t abuse my power. I will protect you but I do not wish to harm those I deem innocent.”

Boo. Party pooper.

>>”Do you find these terms agreeable?”

Serena considered the facts, and decided some points needed to be clarified.

"I do have some technical questions. What if the other master and I are in mortal danger at the same time?"

Serena didn’t seem to blink upon his demands, or rather the lack of reaction was the most upsetting part to the God it was easier to study his new masters that way to determine what kind of person they were. ”Oh? How technical?” the god asked.

While he knew what he was capable of, the more masters he had the easier it was to call upon his strength he had rarely tested them to their limit. To him that seemed like a waste of time. It not only drained his masters well of power but it made them easier targets should one want to eliminate the god from this mortal plane.

His smile faltered and he frowned slightly, clearly regretting the decisions that were made ”That has only happened twice in my long life. Pompeii was not something that should had happened....” there was a moment of silence for his friends, masters and long lost loves during that tragic battle.

Hercules cleared his throat, ”How often do you put your life in danger?” he asked leaning back to get a further look of Serena wondering if she was some daredevil. Her hands didn’t look like they had seen any battles. ”It is a rare occurrence, but should that happen I’d make that decision then. I have other abilities that help me protect my masters. No matter how far away they are.” Hercules said regaining his composure.

Looking for the nearest chair the thought of ‘technical questions’ seemed somewhat tedious but this was to gain another master and he thought of his current master possibly healing enough to walk again so he gathered it and located it in front of Serena and sat down. ”Usually people jump at the chance to tether me. It's odd to me you only have questions.” he said leaning forward and clasping his hands.

>>”That has only happened twice in my long life. Pompeii was not something that should had happened....”

Pompeii???
A Classics professor wailed somewhere in the distance.

>>”How often do you put your life in danger?”

"Have you seen the zoo out there?" Serena waved a hand in the general direction of the runway. "... don't answer that."

>>”It is a rare occurrence, but should that happen I’d make that decision then. I have other abilities that help me protect my masters. No matter how far away they are.”

Okay that sounded a lot better. Serena had no idea what it meant, but it was good to know he had powers to share.

>>”Usually people jump at the chance to tether me. It's odd to me you only have questions.”

"I have negotiated a lot of business contracts. You'd be surprised how much crap people try to sneak past you." she shrugged. "So... if your master was in mortal danger, but you'd have to kill an innocent to save him, which rule trumps the other?"

The prince of power smirked at her comment. It was far from a zoo, spoiled, soft, models are far from animals. Hercules could understand them better. If any of the other issues were anything like Daimen he doubted Serena would be put in danger very often. The god was also confident she would have been fine without him. Far from nuclear.

”Careful.” Hercules raised an eyebrow and leaned back in his chair folding his arms, ”I’m a god, and not a trickster at that. I will not take advantage of our pact. You have my word on that.” he said confidently, sure he might siphon more power than she might be willing to part with every now and then but he will not abuse her power.

”I have fought in more wars than I care to remember before I was a god, since then I have fought in more. I am very capable of killing. My masters will always come first! Always! However, putting yourself in a situation to test the limits of that... well... I have removed my blessing before. Why I have the rules now.” he paused for a moment then sighed, ”You seem stern and direct. Not the type to harm others... unless I am mistaken.” he frowned slightly.

”I... prefer not to harm anyone if I can help it. Even if someone people need a good fight every now and then. Mortals are fragile enough as it is.”

>>”Careful. I’m a god, and not a trickster at that. I will not take advantage of our pact. You have my word on that.”

And he might just be dumb enough to actually mean that.

>>”I have fought in more wars than I care to remember before I was a god, since then I have fought in more. I am very capable of killing. My masters will always come first! Always! However, putting yourself in a situation to test the limits of that... well... I have removed my blessing before. Why I have the rules now.”

Okay, so master rule trumped innocents rule. That was good to know. Surprising, given his speeches about being a hero, but Serena liked it better this way.

>>”You seem stern and direct. Not the type to harm others... unless I am mistaken.”

He was so mistaken.

>>”I... prefer not to harm anyone if I can help it. Even if someone people need a good fight every now and then. Mortals are fragile enough as it is.”

"That we can agree on. They really are." Serena nodded. "So... it is part of the agreement that you don't tell me who the other master is?"

There was a long silence while Hercules wondered what William would have wanted in this situation. The boy more than likely would have responded with what he always responded with, ‘As long as it doesn’t mess up my plans do whatever you want.’ The god smirked at the thought.

”It is not, but I like to protect my masters. Until we agree to terms that is something I’d like to keep quiet about for now. William would probably prefer it this way.” he said blurting out the young masters name. Frowning he added, ”A name is all you will get for now it seems.”

”Any other questions?”

>>”It is not, but I like to protect my masters. Until we agree to terms that is something I’d like to keep quiet about for now. William would probably prefer it this way.”

William. Serena smirked as Hercules blurted out the exact name he had been protecting. Bless his little prehistoric heart.

>>”A name is all you will get for now it seems.”

And his address, birth date, and shoe size, if Herc kept protecting him like this.

>>”Any other questions?”

"How does this work, exactly? Is there a contract I have to sign?"

Hercules’s mood seemed to change when she allowed the subject change the last thing he wanted to do was reveal any more information about his young master. He was being targeted by some group of mystics after all the last thing he wanted to do was give them an easier target.

”No, a signature is not needed. All depends on you Serena.” Hercules stood and unfolded his arms, ”I have done this many different ways, a handshake, a kiss whatever the master is inclined to do.” he said with a little chuckle.

”I also need a totem of power, something that you hold dear or keep on your person? This item doesn’t need to be on you at all times but it makes it easier to find you should there be a threat to your life.” he said putting his hands on his hips in his best heroic pose.

If there was a contract involved, Serena definitely wanted to read the fine print first. And then probably have a lawyer read it over too. And possibly a higher ranking mystic, because she knew the stories about demons and contracts.

>>”No, a signature is not needed. All depends on you Serena. I have done this many different ways, a handshake, a kiss whatever the master is inclined to do.”

"I am not kissing you." Serena deadpanned.

>>”I also need a totem of power, something that you hold dear or keep on your person? This item doesn’t need to be on you at all times but it makes it easier to find you should there be a threat to your life.”

"Umm..." Serena looked down at her hands. She had the pearl ring for drinks, the tourmaline ring for silence, and the diamond ring for protection. She was not wearing all of them all the time, though. She had another one on right now, one with a small yet expensive sapphire set in silver. She pulled it off. "Does this work?"

The prince of power shrugged when she said she wouldn’t kiss him. He didn’t take it personally, just that there might have been something wrong with his new master. Everyone wanted to kiss him. He was a god after all.

Waiting patiently he eyed the woman as she cycled through her rings deciding which one would be best used for the god’s power. Hercules wasn’t picky it was more for him than her anyways. A means to channel the power through him, give him his ungodly strength and immeasurable will power. Not to mention the ability to draw less power from his current master. The boy deserved the best in life. Being stuck in a wheel chair was not what the god wanted for the boy.

”Sapphire?” he smirked, ”It’s beautiful. Fitting for you Serena.” he said complementing her then holding out his hand for the ring before clasping it firmly in his hand. He could have crushed the thing the way his hand closed around it. His body glowed and he took a part of himself and forced it into the ring. His hand enclosed around the piece of jewelry glowed brighter than the rest of his body briefly. His tattoo’s came to life and surged around him and he dropped to one knee. A sign of fealty to those worthy of his power. None that weren’t worthy never saw a sight like this.

In his long life time he had slain titans, monsters. And nightmares. He had traversed from Hades and back. Bested gods and kings. Only to come back after each death, for this purpose. Find those worthy of his power. She was one who was worthy, for now at least Hercules didn’t think anything could go wrong. She had given him her word and so the bargain was struck.

”It does Serena.” he laughed and stood picking her up in a bear hug. ”I look forward to serving you!”