Location: Larissa, Aeolia
Time Remaining: 2 Months
When Odysseus arrived in Larissa, the celebration was already under way. Zeus and many of his kin were fashionably late, but Dionysus, Apollo, and Hermes were already in attendance, drawing large crowds of people to hear them speak or play music. Odysseus went straight to Peleus’s palace, with Alecto baring their tribute, and Acrysius their trophy.
The throne room was much changed since last Odysseus had seen it – the ceiling was adorned with a dazzling painting of the sky, and – in the light of the fires – the gold and silver stars actually seemed to twinkle. Swathes of fabric hung from the walls, depicting colorful paintings of landscapes from Aeolia’s various provinces. Odysseus had never seen paintings that were so realistic looking. The colors had far more nuance – subtle differences in shade and hue – than what Greek artists could manage, and the attention to detail and depth was like nothing he’d ever seen. Evidently, he learned, Apollo had painted them himself after a tour of the countryside, his generous tribute to the ruling family’s celebration.
At the head of the throne room, Peleus and Thetis sat in their thrones, enjoying their wine, while their boy – also much changed since last Odysseus saw him – stood awkwardly at hand, dressed in a fine tunic that he seemed ready to rebel at wearing.
Their herald announced the delegation from Ithaca, and presented them to the throne.
“Your highness,” Odysseus addressed the king, “Please allow me to offer Ithaca’s humble thanks for your invitation, and say that I am truly enchanted with the sight of your city. Queen Thetis has outdone herself decorating for the occasion.”
“Well, she had a lot of help,” Peleus said. Dionysus had worked miracles. Thetis didn’t echo the sentiment; though the god of revelry had done his job very well, Thetis had exhausted herself politely reigning him in, lest he level a low income neighborhood because he wanted spaced for another flower-festooned gazebo.
“We have brought a gift for the royal family, and a trophy of its acquisition from our own palace, to sit where you might deem appropriate, during our stay here. We journeyed to the Pillars of Herakles last year,” Odysseus explained, “And in the course of our travels, happened upon an unnamed island. There we encountered a strange artificial man, protecting a valuable treasure.”
“An artificial man?” Peleus asked, “Like Talos? That was said to have once defended Crete against pirates?”
“Very much like Talos, yes. It had great golden wings, vicious claws, and spewed fire and stone from its shoulders. Alecto,” Odysseus nodded to the scarred sailor, “fought through serious injuries to help me defeat our foe and win this prize.”
Acrysius unveiled the severed head of the automaton Odysseus and Adresteia had destroyed, and the crowd expressed wonder at its elaborate helmet and strange features.
“Cool!” Achilles was immediately excited. Peleus motioned for Acrysius to bring it forward so he could study it up close. He was clearly impressed by the intricate pieces exposed where the head had been damaged. Acrysius took it to Thetis and Achilles to inspect as well. Achilles asked for permission to touch it, and Acrysius indulged him.
“If you think this is cool,” Acrysius said, “Wait until you see what Ody brought you.”
“You brought me something?!”
“Yes,” Odysseus said, “Though it may be some time before you can make use of it. Alecto?”
Alecto, very pleased to have the floor, stepped forth and placed the cube on the floor before Achilles. He showed the boy how to operate the lock, just as Odysseus had shown him, and with a pop and a clang, the cube unfolded into the suit of armor Odysseus had stolen, standing under its own power, as if called to attention. Like any boy his age presented with such a gift, Achilles lost his mind.
“This contraption is truly wondrous,” Peleus commented.
“Yes your highness,” Odysseus said, “But I’ve been cautioned that none but a child of a god can safely wear it. Such work of unparalleled craftsmanship deserves to be seen and used, and I know no one better to wear it than Achilles.”
That wasn’t an exaggeration. Odysseus knew other men who were illegitimate sons of Zeus, but his impression was that they were, for the most part, assholes. He’d spent time with Achilles on a couple of visits in the past, when he was but a child, and had found the boy to be of better spirit and character than most of them.
Achilles approached the armor cautiously at first, but when it was clear that his father and mother had no apprehension of it, he began opening it up and studying it, inside and out. He’d need to grow at least another six inches before he could even try to wear it, but that wouldn’t take long.
“Achilles…” Thetis said.
The boy hopped down from trying to climb inside it and bowed to Odysseus, “Thank you, Odysseus, you’re the best.”
“Wear it well,” Odysseus extended a fist, “My life may depend on you someday.”
“Yessir,” Achilles lightly punched Odysseus’s fist, and then went back to playing with his new toy. Odysseus flexed his fingers to ease the pain out – the kid had hit his hand hard enough to bruise his knuckles. Achilles wasn’t Herakles, but there was no question that he wasn’t human. Most people said that Peleus was Achilles legitimate father, and thus he only had godblood from his mother's side. If that was true, Odysseus hoped he never found himself in fisticuffs with Queen Thetis.
“Haius will show you to your accommodations, Prince Odysseus,” Thetis said, “we’ve arranged for you to be quartered in lodgings adjacent to the delegation from Sparta, as I believe you have friends amongst them?”
“They’re here already?” Odysseus asked.
“Yes,” Peleus said, “King Tyndareus’s children arrived last week; their parents are to be following in a few weeks. Penelope was disappointed she beat you here.”
Odysseus eagerly excused himself and followed the servant, Haius, to their lodgings, a small but nice house set aside for their stay. He hurriedly changed his garments to something less formal but more flattering, and asked Acrysius whether his often unruly red hair looked ‘good’. Acrysius poured a small amount of olive oil on his hand and patted down a rooster tail before giving him a thumbs up. Odysseus was fussing over his short red beard when there was a knock at the door. Alecto played his role and answered the door, announcing that Penelope herself had come to see Odysseus.
Altogether she’d spent more time fussing over her appearance than he had. Her brown hair was tied up high with purple ribbon and then fell down in curls. Her lavender dress was technically modest, but fit in an immodest way. Odysseus embraced her – it’d been nearly a year since they’d seen each other. Penelope led him outside and a brief ways down the street to a nice little garden Dionysus had put together. Between the flowers and a stunning view of the ocean in the distance, it was beautiful.
“Did you get all of my letters?” he asked.
“Three before you left on your trip,” Penelope said, “And two since you got back. One had to have arrived within days of your return – how did you get it to me so fast?”
“We laid over for a few hours in Elis, and I hired a courier to ride it over the mountains to Sparta.”
“Oh that’s so sweet!” she hugged him, “I was worried sick about you. You can’t imagine my relief when I got that letter.”
“I was worried about you too,” Odysseus said, “Better part of a year… I was afraid you might be married off by the time I returned.”
“No, it’s the funniest thing,” Penelope said, “It’s like father made an about-face on that, decided there wasn’t any rush. I think he’s getting antsy again though. He just needs a little push in the right direction.”
“Well, we’ll make it work… if you’ll still have me.”
“Of course! Why wouldn’t I?”
“Hoo.”
The young lovers were startled by the silent appearance of a familiar owl on a statue of Athena next to them. Odysseus hadn’t even realized the statue was of Athena until that moment.
“Oh, wow!” Penelope laughed, “It must be a sign – Athena sending her herald to bless our marriage.” She thought it was hilarious until she saw Odysseus’s stern expression. “I was kidding,” she said, “I mean, it’s just an owl. A remarkably tame owl… it must have escaped from one of the shows going on.”
“Penelope, this is Addy. Addy – Penelope.”
“Hoo?”
“Penelo – don’t give me that, you know who Penelope is,” Odysseus said.
“So, you actually know this owl?”
“Yes… very well.”
“Oh, that’s so neat! How did you not mention getting a pet owl in your letter?” she cautiously reached out and scratched the owl behind its ears – or where she imagined an owl’s ears must be.
Odysseus let out a breath. He’d been afraid Adresteia might turn out to be a jealous lover. He hadn’t seen her in months, and she’d left him in good spirits, wishing him well, but his stomach had been tying itself in knots over his decision to sleep with her.
“Addy’s not a pet,” he said, “She’s my very good friend.”
“Really? And how did you meet this very good friend?” Penelope tickled Adresteia’s plumage, marveling at how fluffy the raptor was.
“Well, she works with my boss…” Odysseus tried to explain.
“Since when does the Prince of Ithaca have a ‘boss’?” Penelope laughed again.
“Since the Spartan woman he’s in love with convinced him to pray to the gods for guidance.”
Penelope stopped laughing, her mouth simply stuck hanging open. After half a moment, it spread back into a smile, “Very funny. Ha ha. Make fun of my silly religion.”
“I’m not joking.”
“What?”
“This has to be a secret between us, okay? Even Acrysius doesn’t know.”
“Seriously?" Penelope asked, but the look on Odysseus's face made it clear that he was serious. "Okay, yeah. My lips are sealed.”
“Okay, so… I prayed to Athena for wisdom, she popped in –nearly scared the crap out of me – and made me a deal. Help her, and she’d help make our marriage happen.”
“Wait, so that’s what your spontaneous trip was about? I thought you were just trying to scratch together the means for a better trade with my father, or do something to impress him.”
“Well, I probably managed both of those things,” Odysseus nodded, “but no, I was primarily doing a job for Athena. Which is already more than I should have told you, because I’m supposed to be very discrete about the whole thing.”
“Okay… well… alright. But, I mean, I am Spartan, so you’ll forgive me if I’m a bit…”
“Skeptical?”
“Show me.”
“Show you what?”
“Some sort of proof that you’re working for Athena.”
Odysseus shrugged, and looked to Adresteia, “I… I got nothing.”
The owl scoffed, then flew over to an arrangement, and back to the couple. It landed on Odysseus’s shoulder and handed him a flower.
“For Penelope?” Odysseus asked.
Adresteia bobbed her head, “Yes,” before hopping back to the statue.
Odysseus carefully put the flower in his beloved’s hair.
“Wow. That’s a really well trained owl.”
“Penny!”
“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Believing that this is the sentient owl of a war goddess is much easier to believe than you training anything to fetch. I’ve seen you with dogs. You have to keep them tied up or they run off.”
“That’s just because I like to have adventurous dogs.”
“Uh huh. So,” Penelope said, “This is Addy?”
“Adresteia,” Odysseus elaborated.
“You can understand what I’m saying, I assume?” She actually looked to the owl for an answer, and it bobbed its head again.
“But you can’t speak?”
The owl tilted its head in a gesture that was neither ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
“I’ve never heard her speak when she’s in this form.”
“Oh, she changes form? What form does she speak in?”
“Well, she can talk when she changes into a human, or into a sort of 80% human, 20% bird… person.”
“She can become human?” Penelope raised an eyebrow.
“Yes,” Odysseus’s face began to redden slightly.
Penelope studied him carefully for a moment, "An attractive human?"
"Well, I mean... yeah..."
“Ody, did you fuck this owl?”
“What?!” Odysseus said. Adresteia craned her head around as if something else had taken her attention suddenly.
“You did! You fucked an owl!” Penelope laughed. Adresteia turned around and glared at her. “Oh, I’m sorry!” Penelope said, “It’s nothing against you, I’m just laughing at him because it’s hilarious to watch him squirm. You know it’s not fair; Achaean men can sleep around all they want, but if a woman does it she’s either a slut or a whore.”
“So you’re not mad?”
“Well, I feel a bit cheated by society. This marriage has taken a long time to arrange; if it had been an option for me I’d have indulged myself on many occasions while I waited.”
“On many occasions?” Odysseus asked.
“Yes. Maybe even with you,” Penelope poked him in the chest. “But, seriously, is there any reason I should be jealous? Are you going to fly off with her and build a nest somewhere?”
Odysseus could have laughed it off and treated the situation like it was absurd, but the underlying spirit of the question was serious, and both women more than deserved a genuine answer.
“What Adresteia and I did wasn’t an accident and it wasn’t meaningless. We were two good friends indulging ourselves after a pretty rough trip. But she knows that I belong to you.”
“Does she?” Penelope asked.
Adresteia hopped over to a short wall next to Penelope and rested her head on her shoulder.
“Odysseus, you are a strange man. You have strange friends, and this is going to be a strange marriage," Penelope laughed stroking the owl, "None of these things are a surprise to me.”
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