Chapter Text
The telltale slowing of Odysseus’ heartbeat when Polites’ turned his back was message enough. The two friends were on their way back to the fleet after speaking to the lotus eaters, wanting to gather men before making their way to this cave the small creatures had mentioned, but since when had a goddess who could essentially stop time cared about something as meaningless as convenience?
In one breath the world was bright and the ties of Polites’ headband were swaying with his steps, and in the next Athena stood before him in the mortal man’s place; wings poised, hands clasped behind her back, helmet perfect, and lips pursed in frustration. Odysseus fidgeted uncertainly, unsure what she could be upset about after his near flawless victory in the war. Still, the goddess’ eyebrows furrowed. “Have you forgotten the lessons I taught you?” She started sternly.
Odysseus gulped; being lectured by Athena had always felt a lot like being scolded by his mother. “Athena!” He tried to interrupt, but she continued, ignoring his attempt. “Have you also forgotten the fact that you’re the Greek king of an island kingdom?” She stressed, her expression quickly changing from frustration to potent exasperation. Odysseus blinked in surprise, mouth open with lack of a response. When it became apparent the goddess was actually expecting one this time, he swiped this mouth with his tongue, searching for something to say to that.
Alas, he came up empty, and could only respond with; “I– What?” He sputtered, completely taken aback. Of course he hadn’t forgotten about his homeland, that was where he desperately wanted to go, had wanted to be for the last ten years; he’d give anything be home with his family right then. Athena did not share his longing and brought her hands out from behind her back purely to put one on her hip and the other over her eyes in disappointment. “Stop getting into trouble for crying out loud and go fishing.” She said bluntly, using the hand over her eyes to point out to sea as if her student needed further instruction on what ‘go fishing’ entailed.
There were a few moments of embarrassed silence on Odysseus’ end before he answered. “…We didn’t bring any fishing nets.” He mumbled sheepishly, far too embarrassed to look at the goddess of wisdom after his oversight. Athena sighed through her nose before using her other hand and the corresponding wing to gesture into the forest at her other side this time. “Then make some. There is an entire island worth of plants and grasses right here if you run out of rope, and you have a multitude of harpoons at your disposal; you are not short on options.” She scolded with both hands on her hips.
“You are a warrior of the mind, act like it.” Athena pressed while poking her distracted student’s forehead now, displeased with his absentmindedness. The mortal man winced at the jab; a goddess’ fingers had no give unless she willed them to, and clearly his mentor was frustrated enough to forgo making her pokes feel less like stone. “Yes, Athena. I will.” Odysseus promised, properly cowed. The goddess nodded, satisfied by his word, and vanished as quickly as she had come.
The world was almost blindingly bright for a moment, and the wayward king stopped to let his eyes readjust. Polites noticed immediately, as he always did, and turned around to check on his best friend. “Are you alright Captain?” He asked gently, one hand reaching for Odysseus’ shoulder. Odysseus nodded with one hand over his eyes. “I’m fine Polites, but I just had a thought.” He answered, seeing his opportunity to redirect them to fishing as Athena had directed. When the world felt less like an affront on his eyes Odysseus lowered his hand to see his best friend’s concerned expression.
Surprisingly, the other man didn’t press like he had before, likely realising that there was a time and a place for such conversation, and this was neither. Odysseus sighed softly before smiling and taking the lead back to the ships. “I was just thinking how much I missed the food at home, you know? Why don’t we go fishing.” He explained, gesturing to the water with one hand as he walked. “We can make nets easily enough to use with the ships, and I’m sure there’s mussels in the rivers and clams on the beach. We’ll have a feast on our hands before we know it.”
Polites listened as he followed his king with growing fondness, a smile spreading across his face at his old friend’s enthusiasm for a taste of home. “I know someone on our ship who’s better than anyone I know at identifying plants, he’d be able to help us gather vegetables too.” He interjected, walking faster to catch up and sling one arm around Odysseus’ neck. The general grinned at his friend, glad Polites was taking to the idea with such ease after his insistence with the lotus eaters, and grateful to Athena for pointing out the idea to start with.
Eurylochus was slightly less than pleased with the idea, but he could hardly refuse the logic, and the fishermen in their crew were teaching their brothers in arms how to make fishing nets before they knew it. While his second in command stayed on board the ships to supervise their progress, Odysseus and Polites split into two groups; Odysseus searching the beach for clams, and Polites searching the island for rivers and mussels.
A third group, led by the friend Polites had mentioned, scoured the forest for fruit and veg, and soon returned to the beach with baskets of tomatoes, zucchini, figs, asparagus, peaches, green beans, nectarines, cucumbers, grapes, and even a few cantaloupes and watermelons. They were soon followed by Polites with sacks of mussels, and the bounty joined the barrels of clams Odysseus’ group had dug out of the sand. Eurylochus was impressed when he arrived from the ships with a hoard of hungry soldiers behind him to announce the nets were finished and ready for use.
“I’ve gotta hand it to you both, this is quite the treat. I haven’t seen fresh mussels and clams since we left home.” Eurylochus complimented as he was handed a bowl. Odysseus smiled with an empty bowl of his own. “A taste of home should tide everyone over until we can get to the real feast; the fish.” The captain explained while his friend ate. Eurylochus nodded with a mouthful of clam and looked out over the feasting crew. “They already seem pretty happy. It’s a shame we can’t take all this food out to sea with us.” He sighed.
Odysseus shrugged and passed his bowl to a late arrival from the ships. “I don’t see why we can’t, the amphorae only need cleaning before we can use them again. It’s the issue of finding enough fruit and vegetables to fill them that’s the problem.” Odysseus laughed. “We’ll likely be eating nothing by dried fish by the time we reach Ithaca, but that will only make our return home that much more rewarding.” He assured before clapping his friend on the shoulder and following both his group and Polites’ back to the ships; they’d be fishing while their comrades ate.
Soon after, fishermen who missed their craft were hurrying back to the fleet, eager to help their king. With their assistance, the fishing trip was more than successful, and by the end of the day the fleet had enough fish to feed everyone ten times over.
The ones who knew what they were doing directed while the others followed, including Odysseus and Polites, and by the time they were hauling in their last catch of the day, the previous catches were gutted, strung, and hanging from every available place imaginable on the decks of all three ships, where they would dry in the sun and wind while they travelled. For now though, there was fresh fish aplenty, and the hungry soldiers turned fishermen were eager to get back to the beach and feast.
They were met with triple the amount of fruit and veg as before; every basket, barrel, and sack available were almost bursting, and the promise of water and juicy vegetables had the men who spent hours fishing practically drooling as they lugged as much fish as they could carry behind them. Eurylochus met his friends in much brighter spirits than before, offering pouches of water while dozens of fires roared behind him on the beach, ready and waiting to be cooked on.
Cleaning the fresh fish was tricky but quickly done by experienced hands and firelight, and soon every solider with the strength was laughing, singing, and drinking while they enjoyed the first real dinner they’d had in ten years. Odysseus couldn’t keep the smile off his face as he watched over his troops, seeing smiles on their faces made the end of the war feel so much more real; they could breathe. They were going home. Room for pleasures could be made.
He would hold Penelope again. He would get to know the boy Telemachus had become. Odysseus would see his family again soon. Ctimene and Eurylochus would get the opportunity to start a family of their own, and Polites would be free to live the peaceful life he was meant for. The king breathed deeply to stave off the tears; just a little bit longer. Soon.
As it turned out, bringing all the fresh food onboard the ships was the easy part. Dragging four hundred drunk and weary soldiers off the beach on the other hand was much harder, but the two hundred remaining men who still had their wits about them couldn’t even find it in themselves to be angry, there was a lot to celebrate after all. Odysseus was one of those men, and he surveyed his fleet with a sleeping Polites draped over his shoulders.
Eurylochus was in much the same position; a drunkard on either side of him. The king couldn’t help laughing at his inebriated crew. “As much as I want to leave now, I think it would be best to let everyone sleep for the night. We set sail first for Ithaca at dawn, for now, get some rest my brother.” Odysseus instructed his brother-in-law, and the second on command breathed a sigh of relief. “Couldn’t agree more Captain. I’ll tell the crew.” He agreed, and was about to shuffle off before Odysseus stopped him.
“You just tell the crew here, I’ll handle the other ships. Goodnight Eurylochus.” He denied warmly before carrying Polites off to his bunk, leaving Eurylochus to his own transport mission. Eurylochus left with a smile at his captain’s back and shuffled away.
On his way to Polites’ quarters, Odysseus was stopped by one of his crew, and was surprised to find the man bright and alert. “Captain.” The solider greeted first, before continuing when his king nodded. “Some of the crew fell asleep on the beach, and as such have rested enough to begin storing the food we gathered today. Permission to do so?” He explained, and Odysseus smiled at him. “Permission granted, those of us who haven’t slept yet thank you greatly.” He agreed easily.
It had been a long day, and an even longer war. Odysseus was very grateful to his brothers in arms, for all they had done and all they continued to do, and he watched the solider hurry off without his smile faltering once. The king had almost forgotten about that, and now that he’d remembered, he wished to supervise at least.
Thoughts of their harvest didn’t leave his mind as Odysseus rowed across the water to leave instructions with the rest of his crew, and he asked about men who had slept already on both. There were enough people alert between the three ships to have at least a portion of the food packed away by day break, and he gave orders to do so. Most were more than happy, and the rest didn’t need more than a flat stare from their General to get moving.
By the time the king arrived back on his ship, his men were hard at work down below, and they were only too happy to see him when he came down. Only about twenty-five men were there, but in that twenty-five, two farmers led the crowd, showing their comrades how to store different fruits and vegetables properly to make them last. Odysseus had joined in almost before he knew it, storing tomatoes in amphorae and singing with his crew.
It was an almost surreal scene after the bloodshed they had all experienced, and it was more than welcome as they taught each other songs and shared stories of home. One man who grew wheat in Ithaca laughed about growing up on the farm and harvesting with his siblings, and another who was a blacksmith regaled them with tales of how he gained various scars while learning his trade. Odysseus loved them all, and he smiled and laughed with his friends and almost forgot about the infant in Troy.
Day break came faster than they expected, and the rest of the crew rose either with grumbles of hang-overs or bright eyes. Eurylochus led the men in Odysseus’ stead, dragging a sheepish Polites along for the ride as he went. Both were shocked to find that their Captain hadn’t slept a wink. “Why didn’t you go to bed with the rest of the crew?” Eurylochus questioned, baffled. The weary king shrugged with a smile. “I was busy helping the crew store food down below. None of us slept, so we’ll rest a few hours and join you on deck before noon. Eurylochus, you’re in charge until I return.” Odysseus instructed before turning to Polites.
“As for you, you’ll be packing food down below with everyone who’s not asleep or on the oars. Sound fair Polites?” He teased as he passed his best friend, and the hung-over man was quick to agree; the sun couldn’t offend his headache in the below deck storage. “Yes sir!” Polites confirmed before hurrying off to find his teammates. Odysseus laughed while watching him go until Eurylochus all but pushed him toward his quarters. “Off to bed with you! I’ll take care of the men.” The second-in-command mock ordered, and the king was more than happy to oblige.
He was asleep before his head hit the pillow, and he stayed that way until noon. Nobody wanted to wake their tired captain, but Eurylochus came to get him anyway. “Odysseus.” He called, shaking his brother-in-law’s shoulder. Odysseus grumbled and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, but he forced himself upright before looking at his second-in-command. “How long was I asleep?” He asked immediately, climbing out of his bunk as he spoke.
Eurylochus winced slightly; it wasn’t an order, but Odysseus hadn’t planned on sleeping as long as he had, and it was his responsibility as the second-in-command to wake him. “About four and a half hours.” He answered as quickly as he dared. For all he loved his brother-in-law and all that he loved his king, Odysseus could be downright terrifying when he wanted to be.
Odysseus paused midway through pulling his sandals on and gave his friend a flat look. “Why didn’t you wake me sooner? And don’t say it’s because you were busy.” He asked pointedly, going back to putting on his sandals. Eurylochus sighed slightly. “To be blunt; every time I tried to get away someone would stop me. Nobody wanted to wake you.” He explained without making eye contact even as his king raised his head again.
The captain managed to get both sandals on his feet this time, but was brought to pause by his friend’s words. His crew didn’t want to wake him? Odysseus smiled fondly before standing, facing his second-in-command with a semi-stern look. “Next time tell them I ordered you to wake me if I don’t rise on my own. Until then,” Eurylochus braced; he wasn’t used to disobeying his captain. “I guess I’ll just have to thank them for forcing me to rest.” Odysseus chuckled and patted his brother-in-law on the shoulder as he passed him.
One rather sheepish crew was what the king found when he arrived on deck, and he laughed openly at the guilty looks on their faces. “I suppose I have to thank you all for making me rest longer, however I’d better never hear of it again.” Odysseus announced, and they perked right up again, answering with a shouted; “YES SIR!” Before going about their business.
Polites made good progress with what crew he had down below, and work went faster after the crew had lunch and those who had been working with Odysseus were woken up, going straight back to work and speeding things up considerably. Between the three ships, what food hadn’t been eaten by then was stored safely in amphorae’s in three days, and the fish were dry and ready for eating after the third day.
With the fish to eat, the fruit and vegetables could be stretched further, but not by much. The green beans, zucchini, and asparagus were eaten in the first two days so they wouldn’t spoil, followed by the grapes, nectarines, and figs the day after. After that, the crew had fish, cantaloupe, and cucumbers, which were finished on days five and seven, respectively. The farmers in the crew were instrumental in keeping the food fresh and the crew fed before anything became inedible, and they directed their captain on what to eat first and what was safe in storage for extended periods.
The few watermelons they had went quickly, and only lasted from day six to seven with the rinds. After that, the crew were happy enough with peaches, tomatoes, and fish, an odd combination though they were. For the entire week leading up to being left with the last three things, Odysseus cursed himself for his lack of foresight in not bringing salt or sugar from Ithaca; with those, preserves could have been made, and the majority of the food they found would have lasted until they reached Ithaca.
Luckily, Polites kept his best friend well distracted with storing the dried fish, keeping stock of their fresh food, and checking to see what was too ripe to leave on a daily basis. Having something to do both with his hands and his mind helped keep his thoughts from wandering back to Troy, but it couldn’t work forever. When Odysseus couldn’t sleep at night, the infant haunted him. That defenceless baby, who’s name he later learned from the boy’s distraught mother, begging him to tell her Scamandrius was alright.
He couldn’t… He couldn’t answer her.
There was nothing he could say to the princess of Troy that he wouldn’t kill a man for saying to him if Telemachus had suffered that fate. The baby’s terrified cry before he hit the ground overlapped Andromache’s sickeningly devastated scream, while the images of her crying face melded with the squirming bundle he held over the edge of the wall. Sometimes turning into her watching the infant fall, and other times watching his own fist holding the princess by her hair.
No matter how the ship rocked, which way he turned, or how many days he stayed awake in hopes of a dreamless sleep, dead men’s faces swam behind his eyes, Scamandrius at the centre of it all. Odysseus hadn’t been brave enough to collect the baby’s remains or force his mother to do so, nor could he bare to make Andromache suffer receiving what was left of her son from the enemy. So he was left with the final option of directing a Trojan survivor towards where he landed and leaving him to do the rest.
A lesser evil, evil though it still was. No matter how he looked at it, Odysseus couldn’t truly justify killing an infant. A justification didn’t exist. Most people prayed to the gods without ever receiving any real confirmation that they existed like he had; who would believe that Zeus had threatened to kill his whole family if he didn’t kill a baby?
Nobody. And he lied awake at night wondering if Zeus really would have seen the end of everyone he loved if he refused. But Odysseus had fought every day for ten years, to see his family again. He had killed hundreds, tricked thousands, missed everything from Telemachus’ first words to his first training session, and thrown away every moral he thought he had to get home. He couldn’t risk Zeus keeping his word and making sure Scamandrius killed his son, his wife, his mother, his father, his sister, his brother-in-law; his entire family.
Zeus had promised him he would have no one left to save. That meant Polites, and all of his brothers in arms would die. And it would his fault, because he didn’t have the spine to kill one who could not fight back. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place. And he could only hope Penelope could find it in herself to look at him the same knowing what he’d done.
It was with these thoughts that he found himself when Polites nudged him with an elbow. “Ody, you’ve been staring at the same tomato for a while. Are you okay?” He asked gently, while carefully lowering a peach into a half-full amphorae. Odysseus blinked before smiling weakly. “I’m… I’m fine, Polites. Just…” He trailed off, lowering the perfectly ripe tomato into the amphorae they would be eating out of tonight or tomorrow.
They were the only two down there with the job; Polites had made sure of that, recognising that his friend needed space to process and something to keep his hands busy. He stood up straight, abandoning sorting fruit for a few moments to cross the room and retrieve their water skins. He handed Odysseus his, and didn’t mind when his best friend forgot to say thank you. The two drank in silence while the king pondered his answer, and Polites waited patiently.
“I just miss my family.” Odysseus finally sighed, not ready to reveal any more than that. His friend smiled with understanding in his eyes and nodded, putting his water skin down to continue working. “You’ll see them again soon. We all will.” He promised before going back to sorting peaches. Odysseus nodded back and followed suit, the infant still on his mind, but it was easier to focus on Ithaca when it was so close.
Day nine brought almost unbound hope in the crew, with every man on board glancing out to sea in hopes they’d glimpse Ithaca. They split into two shifts and rowed harder than ever, and ate double the fruit in anticipation of being home again soon, not wanting any of their hard earned bounty to go to waste. The ants in their pants were contagious, and even Eurylochus caught himself staring out to sea more than once.
Alas, Ithaca’s shores did not come into view before nightfall, and the shifts changed to keep moving through the night. In his quarters, Odysseus lie awake, staring at the ceiling and trying to imagine what Telemachus looked like after all this time. He drifted off with thoughts of Penelope in his heart and mind, and wanted desperately to be home soon.
Dawn on day ten came with screams of cheer as Ithaca finally, finally came into view.