Chapter Text
There is a Greek myth that no one talks about.
It’s not about the tales of a mighty and strong hero or a story about the immortal gods who have lived since the beginning of the world.
It is about a mortal, a mere mortal who had the destiny to exist until his task was finished.
He wasn’t destined to live forever nor was he destined to live a happy life in peace.
The gods cursed him with something worse than immortality.
It was a curse that wasn’t visible at first but kept creeping up and became clearer to the man the longer he lived.
It was a yearning for something steady in his life, a yearning for someone constantly in his life.
Thinking about it, some people said the man’s curse was a blessing in disguise, but he was never able to agree.
His myth was different from the others.
There was no great quest he had to conquer and no damsel in distress he had to save. There was no task he was given by the gods.
He still, after centuries went by, didn’t know why they chose him or what he had done to deserve such a bane but none of the gods had ever answered to his calls and pleas.
They have never cared about his tears and screams of pain and agony he had let out into the night sky as the curse hit him again.
The first time it happened was more than five centuries ago.
Over the centuries he had many names and many stories in which he was involved, although in the end, no one would know it was him.
There was a guy named Daedalus, back in the early days where every Greek was worshipping the gods, where kings ruled and myths were written.
Where mythical creatures were still very much alive and people believed in the afterlife and tried to do good so they wouldn’t end up on the Fields of Punishment.
He was a skilful architect, a craftsman and had a reputation of having endless wisdom and knowledge.
Daedalus was valued by kings and farmers on the same level, his inventions helping both sides.
He was that much of a genius, that he created the labyrinth for king Minos, which is still existing to this day. But as every Greek myth, something bad had to happen.
No hero was allowed to live happily to their ending days.
Daedalus had a son called Icarus.
He had blonde locks and light eyes as blue as the roaring sea.
His laugh sounded like rays of sun and the morning mist on grass.
He was the definition of happiness and he was as childish and curios as only a pure kid could be.
He loved his father more than anything, even after he got them both thrown into prison by King Minos.
It technically wasn’t fully Daedalus fault but what was really just in the Ancient Greece. After they found out that they couldn’t leave through the castle nor through the sea they had to think bigger, think of new ideas which could get them out of King Minos’s grip.
There was a window in their cell, covered with bars so close that not even Icarus’s arm was able to fit through them, but they had a plan for that as well.
They started working on wings.
Wings crafted out of metal und held together with wax.
Daedalus was able to create bronze feathers which were as light as real ones, which were able to make them fly with enough wind and luck.
Things weren’t looking good nor optimistic but they tried anyways.
Minos visited their cell weekly, checking on updates from Daedalus and their cooperation.
Minos was tricked by Daedalus once and he didn’t intend to let it happen again.
But he still needed his help to go through the labyrinth and find his daughter, she was his only family, even if she left out of her own will.
Daedalus was able to craft the wings and develop an escape plan because he lied to King Minos, promised him the world and his daughter back for mere materials.
He promised him wealth with his new inventions and if Minos was one thing, he was greedy.
Nothing was ever enough for the King and he was never able to resist a way to give him more and more.
On the day of the visit Icarus was tying a rope to the bars on the window and connecting it to the door handle.
If the door was yanked on with enough force the bars would rip out and they were able to flee.
The only tricky thing was the time it took for the wax to dry on their backs.
They had to start at least an hour before Minos arrived to be finished in time.
If they were too late, the whole plan would fail and they would probably be beheaded. Daedalus shivered at that thought.
His son deserved the world and more, so much more than Daedalus was able to give him. He deserved to be free of the sorrows and burdens of this world, he was supposed to live in wealth and peace, not in a cell with his father.
As the bell rang twelve Icarus stood up abruptly and took hold of the first pair of wings, turning around and gesturing his father to stand up.
Daedalus back ached and he longed for the light of the sun, the warm summer breeze and the smell of the sea.
It was so near but still unreachable in a way.
He would never be able to forgive himself if something would happen to his son today.
Icarus pulled the wings up and Daedalus put it on like a backpack, securing the wings on either side.
“Father, you are a genius.”
Daedalus turned around and saw the genuinely excited smile on his son’s face, the spark in his eyes. He was nearly tearing up.
“Believe me Icarus, I was only able to create this with your help. You are my inspiration and my biggest work of art.“
Daedalus smiled at his son, feeling his heartstrings pull and yearn for the freedom he promised his son.
„I trust you father, I always have. Now hurry and give me the wax it must have melted under the warm sun already.”
Icarus connected the wings with the straps on them and pressed them together for a bit. The wax must have been dried by now.
Daedalus turned around and ruffled his sons hair, grabbing the second set of wings behind him.
Icarus grinned at him and started rambling about the success of their plan.
„It’s not long until we can finally be outside again father, I missed the sun, the wind and the people a lot. Where will we go after we’re out of here Pa ?”
But Daedalus wasn’t sure.They had to fly to Lebynthos at least so King Minos wouldn’t reach them in the near future.
But after that ?
He wasn’t sure what to do or where to go. But he promised himself that he would never go into the Labyrinth again, especially with Icarus, his pride and joy. He was too scared of losing his sunshine, his son.
His hands were trembling while he connected Icarus’s wings with his straps and a bit of wax dropped onto his hand.
Daedalus dropped the bowl of wax, the bowl shattering on the ground. He hissed and shook his hand, trying to get the pain to lessen. But seconds later reality dawned on his face. He frantically tried to scratch the remainings of the wax into his hands.
The pain momentarily forgotten. Icarus tried to turn around, looking at his father with a shocked expression but Daedalus ordered him to stand still.
“Don’t worry Icarus, everything is fine.”
Icarus just nodded and his usual smile crept back onto his face.
The dropped wax wasn’t a big problem in itself, he still had enough to attach Icarus’s wings to his body but the noise was the greater problem.
As expected, only mere seconds later a door opened and he could hear footsteps storming through the prison halls.
He heard a guards voice outside the prison door. Daedalus felt his heartbeat rise as he quickly finished Icarus’s wings. He begged for them to dry as quick as his.
He was ripped out of his thoughts abruptly as he felt a small hand slide into his. He could feel Icarus’s body tremble next to his own and he saw the fear in his eyes.
„Everything will be find Sunshine.“
Daedalus said and cupped Icarus’s cheek, trying to calm him down.
Icarus tried to smile and look strong, despite the situation they were in. Daedalus felt his heart nearly rip with how proud he was of his son.
He would get them out of this dark cell, no matter what it would cost.
He was remembering their situation again as he heard a loud knock against the door.
„Daedalus, old friend, how is your newest invention going ? You promised me results by now.“
his voice was still as oily and snarky as always.
„ If you disappoint me again we will find another punishment for you Daedalus. Maybe not for you but for your sweet little son. He is such a sweet boy isn’t he. It would be a shame if something were to happen to him.“
Daedalus saw Minos‘s grin before his inner eye and pulled Icarus behind him, mostly out of instinct. He could feel Icarus starting to tremble again and balled his fists.
Today was the day Minos would lose. Today was the day him and his son would finally be free.
„You do not need to worry Minos.“
Daedalus said, poison dripping from his voice.
“Everything will be just right for you.“
He heard the key open the big, wooden door and a guard trying to pull it open. When it didn’t work he wasn’t able to hide his grin.
He heard Icarus giggle behind him.
The guards pulled again and again and after a few tries, Minos got impatient.
„Daedalus I swear if you don’t open this door right now I will behead you and your son. You’re not that important to me. Don’t think too much of yourself.“
Daedalus knew better than to listen to King Minos antics. He had a thing for the dramatic, which would normally work but Daedalus was too smart to get gaslighted by King Minos for the hundredth time.
He had already let his words hurt him dozens of time.
He blamed him for the accident with Pasiphaë and for Ariadne leaving and escaping.
His son had never experienced King Minos when he was angry but Daedalus was still shocked when he heard Icarus whimper. He pulled him into a hug and cradled him while stroking through his hair.
„ Everything will be okay Sunshine, believe me.“ he whispered into Icarus‘s ear. „We will get out of here.“
„Promise ?“
Icarus asked and looked at his father, tears daring to spill from his eyes.
„ Icarus I promise. Believe me sunshine.”
Icarus slowly nodded and steadied himself. He looked so thin and fragile, his once so brown skintone looked pale now and Daedalus desperately wished for a good outcome. King Minos was still talking nonsense outside the door and the guards tried harder and harder every time.
The door looked near bursting now and Daedalus hoped that the bars would rip before that would happen.
He grabbed Icarus‘s hand and pulled him up. Icarus pointed at the door and Daedalus nodded.
It was only a bit until the bars would rip out of the window and they could jump into their new freedom.
He saw the sparkle return to Icarus‘s eyes and he could feel himself calm down.
As long as Icarus was safe, everything was okay.
Suddenly there was a loud *thump* and the bars ripped out of the window, Daedalus and Icarus both shielding their heads so they wouldn’t get hit by the flying iron bars.
They could hear the guards falling into each other after the pressure released and the door, with the bars, smashed against them.
King Minos strutted into the room, his ego as big as ever.
His blonde hair was still kept just above his ears, his green eyes filled with dripping poison. He had a light smirk on his lips and spoke steadily
„ Tell me Daedalus, what did you intend by this. Was it part of some big plan or was it just to spite me ?
To be honest with you I don’t care. I kept you here after you let my daughter flee just so I could see your will crumble week for week. But it never happened so I started to wonder, why aren’t you changing ? Why can you still go on ? And then I realised, you still have your most prized possession. Your little boy, he must be your pride and joy since you don’t have anyone else, right Daedalus ?”
Minos asked him, his smirk growing by the second. Daedalus felt furios but tried his best to look smug
„ Well Minos, this is where you are wrong.”
He could see Minos’s smirk falter, even if it was just for a second it brought him enough satisfaction to move on. He grabbed Icarus’s hand and started turning around, showing Minos their wings.
„ This is my big creation, my new invention Minos. You made it able for me and my son to break out of here. So thank you for that.”
Daedalus said, his smile growing bigger by the second.
“You made me responsible for lots of things, but your daughter leaving was not my fault. It was yours alone. You deserve this fate as I deserve mine.”
And with those words Daedalus jumped, huffs of joy leaving his mouth as he fell towards his newly gained freedom.
~