Chapter Text
She was tired, really tired, after ten years of war and two at sea she was still not home, her son and husband were waiting, or did they give up on her? She didn't want to think about that option, she was sure her husband would not give up on her, him and their son were the only reason why she kept going.
She just lost most of her men, only her ship was still intact, everyone was still screaming as the wind bag made the ship fly, everything was happening so fast and she wasn't sure they would survive, she couldn't help thinking about how close they were to Ithaca and now, they were blowed away... Until they hit ground, solid ground, no more water, sand, they found an island.
She got off the ship first, still shaken by what had happened, she put her feet on the sand and wobbled a little, she then was followed by Eurylochus, her second in command, who looked as shaken as her.
The island was beautiful, a spectacle of colors, the sand was full of small shells colored in pastel colors, which gave much more color to the sand and not leave it a simple yellow.
She looked further and saw trees, many trees and under them there were little flowers, the majority were pink, it was all so beautiful and so peaceful.
Penelope took a deep breath and began to calm down a little. She felt as if the place were familiar, she felt more at home now than she had five minutes earlier, even if she was face to face with Ithaca. She closed her eyes and imagined herself at home, cradling her newborn baby, with her husband beside her. She felt like she was still there and was almost forgetting everything that had just happened.
"Captain" and then she got pulled back to reality.
"I have something i must confess" she didn't open her eyes to look at Eurylochus, she just wanted to hold her baby some more time.
"Something that I must get off my chest.." She heard his footsteps behind her, digging lightly into the sand then they stopped, letting a few grains of sand hit her ankles. "Until it is said, I cannot rest."
What was so important right now? She just wanted her baby, she sighed.
"Captain?"
She opened her eyes and looked back at him. "Eurylochus, go make sure this island is secure" she was now fully facing him "take some men with you, be sure to be back before sundown if everything is safe"
He seemed now stressed "but captain-" he clearly wanted to speak more but Penelope just couldn't listen, she had too much on her mind, and she wanted to hold her baby just some more, she spoke "There's only so much left we can endure, whatever you need to say can wait some more" she smiled gently,
"Of that, I'm sure" he was now the one who sighed.
"Of course"
She was now sat under a tree, she felt peaceful, the wind wasn't strong, it was gentle and it made her hair dance with it's rhythm, even the sun didn't bother her, it was not even hitting her face, as the tree was doing it's job covering her.
She was holding her baby again, at least in her mind, but it felt so real and she needed it to be real, oh, her Telemachus, by now he would be twelve, almost a teenager, she missed all his childhood, he didn't know who she was, when she left he was not old enough to remember her, her sweet son, she couldn't help but wonder how he was like, did he look like her? Or did he look like odysseus? It didn't matter to her, all she cared was if he was ok.
She dug her feet lightly into the sand, enjoying the warmth of it from the sun. It didn't burn her, it just brought her a sense of comfort she hadn't felt in years. That island seemed magical, it felt like it had everything she needed.
Then she felt steps behind her.
She immediately got up and put a hand on her sword handle, she was ready to attack whoever was behind her until...
"Eurylochus?" Her hand still on the handle, she wasn't moving, just staring at him "you're back so soon? Where is the rest of your crew?" She gave him a better look and then ran up to help him, he seemed stressed and you could see he had been running, his heavy breathing and red face made her understand that there was something that had happened that made him run to the shore with such a hurry.
"And... by the gods... what happened to you?" She helped him to sit down under the tree "wait here a moment" she ran to the ship to get some water, after getting it she ran back to him.
He took the water and drank it, not caring that it slid down the sides of his mouth and soaked his entire shirt, it was kinda disgusting to watch but with such a scare she felt, Penelope didn't care and just waited for him to finish "now.. can you tell me what happened? Where are the others? Are they ok?"
Eurylochus took a big breath and then begin to speak.
"We came across a palace, inside we heard a voice" Penelope frowned, did they trust a siren or something?
"It seemed to show no malice" he continued to explain, not daring to look at her, his eyes fixed on the pink flowers moving with the wind in front of him,
"To greet it was our choice."
He bit his lower lip and closed his eyes, she couldn't read his expression, the only thing she could decipher was regret, he felt guilty for whatever had happened to her men?
"But nothing could prepare us for the power that awaited inside" she was now getting stressed, "what did this palace hide?" Did she lose another 4 men? Maybe she should have gone with them instead, maybe she could have protected them better, no, she trusted Eurylochus, whatever happened he was powerless to protect them.
"I know this twelve years we fought many foes and I know we shouldn't have trusted whoever was speaking" he now was looking at her, his big brown eyes had both fear and regret in them, that's what she could read in them, "but this was a hell of a twist, 'cause we are weak to a power like this!"
Penelope gently put a hand on his shoulder, trying to reassure him, "we'll find a way to fix this, just tell me, what was it?"
"A woman"
What.
"Are you serious?"
He bit his lip again "she had us wrapped around her fingers, she literally told us to come inside!"
She now was a little bit pissed, they couldn't listen to her but they would listen to a stranger, probably blinded by the beauty or from the need to take someone to bed. Poor Ctimene, she was Odysseus' sister, she loved her as if she was her own sister, to think her husband was tricked this way made her mad.
"Oh well i guess you don't hear that ofter don't you?" She snorted, he now grabbed her hands holding her tight, making her feel trapped "you don't get it! She told.. she offered us food! A place to rest, I was the only one to resist.." He then let go of her hands.
She remained speechless, unable to say anything, he was now silent too, she was convinced he wanted to cheat on his wife but, he remained outside, she didn't think about it, he was the one that didn't stay with the woman, she now felt guilty for thinking he could fall so low.
"She... she turned them into pigs" he spoke,
"What?" She looked at him, surprised,
"Our men, she turned our men from men to pigs.." he sighed, "I don't know what she will do to them, I think she will eat them, if she hasn't already done so. She was like, half animal, with ears and tail..."
Penelope stood up "We have to go save them." But then she felt her arm being pulled down, "no! no we don't." he squeezed Penelope's arm a little too hard, this will surely leave marks on her "listen to me Pen, we need to get away, don't you see? Your luck has ran out," he was starting now to actually hurt her, "we don't need more angry foes, let's get back on our ship, you and I, and let's run" she withdrew her arm abruptly, it did leave marks, but she didn't care.
"I would like to leave too, of course I would, but I just can't sleep at night, knowing everything we have done, and everything we went through, all the men we lost.. all because of me..." she clenched her fists and so he did too, biting his lip again, you could see regret in his eyes, almost the same look she had, "that's why I can't leave them to die, not anymore," she took a big breath, she was about to let some tears spill, but not right now, she couldn't cry, she had to show him she was ready to anything. "If it was you, I would have done the same"
Eurylochus was staring at her, She was doing the same, both were silent, he pressed his lips together "follow the most familiar feeling you feel, the familiar it gets the closest to her palace you are" he broke the silence, she didn't, just nodded "she's a clever witch.. you have to be able to stand up to her"
Silence, she was waiting for him to continue, or was he waiting for a reply?
"But what if she can't be killed? Will you choose to leave?" He added, now Penelope was forced to reply.
"I don't know. But I have to try." Then she turned and started walking.
She was now alone, a lot in her mind, following the familiar feeling made her think about her son and husband, it was a sweet feeling, but the thought of her men in danger didn't let her relax, not even a little, not even with the natural beauty of that place, it was almost like Demeter looked after that island. The sand was no longer on the ground, there were footprints of both animals and humans, considering how many there were next to each other she was sure they belonged to her men.
There were many trees and many bushes, above all there were many flowers, of different kinds, most of them pink, but colors like purple and light blue followed behind, it was almost like it was done on purpose, as if they were placed there for decoration by someone.
She didn't know how much time passed since she started walking but she started to feel a good smell, perfumes, scented oils, she could feel it, was the palace near? She stopped for a minute and closed her eyes to concentrate, she needed to understand where to go now.
Until she heard a laugh.
She opened her eyes "I must say what a brilliant speech you gave" she flinched and drew her sword "who goes there?" She couldn't see anyone near her, she began to look around for movements, "just a friend, who could help you save your men" she didn't put down her sword, she had to figure out whether to trust him, she didn't even know who he was, "a foe like Circe is not really who you want to mess with" she stayed still, is that the name of the woman? Circe "I mean, you can beat her, but you need help from, a God" he now continued speaking, she could feel him behind "a certain God... someone who's not afraid to... send a message" it hit her now.
"Hermes!" She turned towards him, he then flew over her head "that's right, the one and only" he laughed again, honestly Penelope found it annoying, but it was something she had to keep to herself, she had already pissed off two gods, she didn't want to lose the one who had offered her help just now.
"You are gonna help me? How?" She took a step forward and looked at him "well I have the thing that will surely help you" he then giggled "as I know her taste well" she frowned. "What do you mean? Do you want to feed me to her?" That made him laugh again, oh gods he really liked to laugh didn't he?
"I mean, if you piss her off she could turn you into a monster, she doesn't really kill women, she mostly kill men"
"It's not very reassuring..." she replied, now putting down her sword, "I know, but if you play right you can get out of it without being hurt" Hermes smirked and got really close to her face, "I'll help you conquer her."
She flinched and took a step back, "what do you mean?" Hermes' grin was still plastered on his face, then he flew over a tree leaving Penelope standing there confused. Shortly after he returned with an incredibly beautiful dress, which left her speechless, not even in her palace she had such beautiful ones.
"What's this for?" She was staring at the dress confused, how could this dress help her fight Circe?
"You just trust me, change yourself and go to her palace, don't start a fight whatever happens" he then laughed again "oh and just to be safe, eat this" then he showed a flower inside her mouth, she started coughing "oh gods, what's that for?" He passed the dress to her and laughed one last time "just in case, good luck~"
It was now time for her to go inside the witch's palace.