Work Text:
It had been a peaceful day, you were out fishing, you hadn’t caught that many, but you didn’t mind, after all you had no one but yourself to feed. The weather was much better today, the sun was hitting the water just right and it was making the whole ocean glimmer, you smiled, it’s a good day today.
Once at the dock you jumped up and pulled your boat along the side of it, the old boat was in need of repair, but you didn’t have the money for it. No no no, none of that, this was supposed to be a good day, remember? Five fish would be plenty: that’s five days of meat.
The walk back home was short, but as you got closer the more noise there was, silently you hoped it was just kids playing by your house again… even though these voices sounded nothing like laughing children… You rounded the last corner, and the trees gave way to a small clearing, there they stood, at least fifteen men dressed in expensive looking armour, right outside your home.
Was there a new war? You couldn’t go; you had that limp. Right, the limp… you made your way closer but now you were leaning against your walking stick and limping forward. “Hello, can I help you?” You asked and the leader of the group stepped forward “We come all the way from Ithaca, I’m sure you are familiar with that name” the face hidden under the helmet was thin and full of scars, and his nose had that hooked look you so dearly loved to paint, his eyes were dark brown, and he had quite large eyebags. Someone hasn’t slept properly in a while. “Ithaca! Oh, you have travelled far then. Oh my! Forgive my rudeness, I’m Y/N L/N” you bowed slightly tough you made sure not to place weight on your bad leg.
You invited them into your home, luckily you hadn’t placed away your kettle, and you could immediately set to work in making something to drink for everyone. “So, what brings you fine young men to this part of town?” you made sure to continue with your supposed limp, and when you’d reach for something higher up one of the men would help retrieve it.
“Were actually here for you, the king heard of your paintings and wanted you to become his painter” Oh? That’s kind of flattering but that means… “As honourable as that sounds I couldn’t possibly leave my home. I have my farm and chickens to tend to” ah that look was not what you had hoped for “You are turning down a kings request?!” Now all of them were staring at you “I am simply saying I don’t have anyone that can take care of my home if I leave” “A kings request is an order, pack your things” One of the men took a hold of your arm and dragged you along to the back of the house where he then unceremoniously dumped you in front of your bedroom door.
It seems your five fish wouldn’t become food for five days; they would instead rot in your basket… At least you had left them outside.
The walls of the ship were cold to the tush but you’d rather lean on wood than the metal bars that were only a meter or so away. At least your paint supplies where safely tucked away in a wooden box, right outside your cell. The men had dragged you down the forest path when you had packed all your things and then thrown you into this cell in their ship. You were unsure how long you had been on the ship, after all you could only tell it was day or night if the soldiers opened the door outside of your cell, and so far, they had only opened it twice.
You were sure it hadn’t been just two days, your stomach was growling, and you had a head splitting headache, clear signs that they had forgotten to feed you. Your back was killing you, sleeping on wooden floor was a 100% the culprit. It was so dark down here you could barely see your own hands; this place would drive you insane, wouldn’t it?
------------
Oh, how he was pissed, yet another argument, that he wasn’t even apart of, had become his problem, Hermes informed him of such. Poseidon groaned, Hades and Zeus had fought again and for some reason, he had to make them make up, how annoying. Prayers started appearing, it was the usual stuff about safe travels across the sea, betting on the correct horse, to please forgive them and so mush more. It was the end of the month the time when most people prayed to him and made offerings.
Now this was making things better, but the offering he had been waiting for hadn’t appeared, had the mortal died? No, they couldn’t have, Poseidon wouldn’t let them die, they were his favourite mortal after all. Mabey they weren’t finished yet and he would get the offering later in the day?
He was back to being angry, he hadn’t gotten anything, he hadn’t even gotten his normal thank you’s from the mortal and it had been a week now. The water outside his palace was moving quicker, in a way he hoped they were out with their boat and drowned by the waves, but on the other hand he wanted to give them more time, this had happened before and besides he’s just angry because he was looking forward to it.
He materialised in his palace; water snaking its way to the middle of the room and then shifting and morphing into a humanoid figure only to drop to the floor to reveal him. The gods had watched a fight between two demigods, it had been quite entertaining, but he couldn’t help but wonder what his favourite mortal was up to, it had after all been a few months now since he last heard from them.
He closed his eyes and looked through the eyes of a fish that was close to the old boat the mortal used… the boat was gone, the mortal was rarely out at this time of day, he ordered the fish to swim out. Okay the mortal wasn’t out with the boat. He moved over to a horse and looked through its eyes and ordered it to walk to up the narrow forest path. Once he saw the house, he knew something was wrong there was a fish basket left outside and mould had started growing, he had the horse round the house and… there was a hole in the chicken pen, blood and feathers were everywhere, and the crops not so far away were all dead or ransacked…
.
.
.
Had his mortal died?
------------
After what felt like years, the ship finally slowed down. You were drained and your whole body ached, more voices could be heard, and finally the door opened, “come on get up, can’t have the king thinking we treaded you poorly” Because starving your captive and keeping them in a cell isn’t “being treated poorly”. “How long were we out at sea?” your voice was raspy and dry; it cracked a little with the question “A little more than a month”
Oh.
Your poor chickens were probably dead by now… he opened the cell door and helped you out, you looked over to where your supplies were “Someone else will carrying it out, don’t worry”
The light outside was blinding, you closed your eyes, yet it still was too bright. You were lead of the ship and onto the dock and then promptly left there, you were still squinting and blocking the sun with your arm but now you could kind of see the world. The sun was high in the sky, and the ocean was beautiful as always, a few islands could be seen in the horizon, the sky was a bright blue and the clouds looked fluffy and soft like fluor, some sailing boats were out and had the most perfect shadows.
You turned and looked over to the shore, at the highest peak was the king’s palace, it was built out of a nice sandy rock with some white granite as an ascent, along the way up the hill there were houses and here and there a tree. If the circumstances were different, you would have sat down and started painting the view.
You stretched but got a jolt of pain down your back, you leaned forward and took a step to balance, well now you didn’t need to pretend you had a limp, your hips felt like they would pop out of their sockets at any moment.
Guess he held his promise, the wooden crate filled with your things was placed beside you on the dock, your things seemed intact. Your eyes had adjusted quite well, though it was still uncomfortably bright, but you had always had sensitive eyes. Some of your things had broken, luckily it was none of the paints, your easel had broken in two though that didn’t really surprise you, it had been holing on by hopes and dreams for the last five years. Though it was a shame it had decided that now was a good day to do so.
The box was lifted on a carriage, and you were told to also hop on, you, the leader and two soldiers jumped up on the carriage. The carriage was open and had two large wheels, and railing made of wood lined the sides, this carriage was most likely used for transporting things rather than people. It was pulled by a horse, a beautiful one at that, she was golden brown with a white face and legs, she was muscular and clearly well taken care of with how you couldn’t see her ribs.
You leaned over to where the person driving was “You have a beautiful horse” they looked at you with shook “Oh thank you!” young boy it seemed, he gave you a wide smile and continued “She’s my fathers favourite because she’s so nice and calm!” You shucked at his excitement “Yes it’s clear she’s very well taken care of, she’s gorgeous, if I had more time I would have wanted to paint her” he looked at you with wonder “You paint!?” you chuckled “Oh yes I do”.
You heard someone clear their throat behind you, it was the lead soldier “You’re here to meet the king, not make friends with the local brats” you had to fight yourself not to curse him out “Right” you gritted your teeth together and then gave the kid an apologetic look.
The palace had looked big from the shore but up close it felt absolutely massive; it was clearly a show of power and wealth to have such a large palace. The sun was hitting it beautifully… You were using that word a lot here, weren’t you? Before you could think further you were shoved forward “Get moving! The king has already waited longer than needed” the massive doors were pushed open, and you hauled in the crate with your things, the soldiers passed you and walked further in. the doors closed, you looked at your things and then to where the men had walked of. You could leave it here for a few minutes, right? You decided on the option where you wouldn’t upset the leader as much, you left the crate and walked with your cane.
A man rounded the corner with the soldiers, who still didn’t look pleased with you, but you chose to ignore it. The new man’s face split into a large smile “So you are the painter I requested” his tone was warm and welcoming “I’m glad you arrived safe and sound, I hope my men treated you well” his gaze settled on the soldiers that stood beside you, they didn’t really meet his gaze. Something darker came over his face but just as quickly as it appeared it disappeared. “I’m Odysseus Laertiades, king of Ithaca” he walked closer looking at you now “I am Y/N, Y/N L/N” you bowed before him “It’s an honor to meet you king Odysseus”
“Follow me, I will show you to your room” he led you away from the group and as the two of you rounded the third corner he spoke “I take it you weren’t treated well, your clothes are rags and your thin as a sapling” he gave you a serious look “No they didn’t, they pulled me away from my home and threw me in a cell, I’m unsure if my chickens are still alive at this point” he sighed and turned his head forward “I take full responsibility for my men, I explicitly told them to treat you with respect regardless of your social status. They will be punished accordingly.” If looks could kill, then the wall at the end of the hall would be dust. “I am sorry for your chickens. Did you not have anyone to take care of them?” you shook your head no.
Eventually the two of you stopped in front of a door “Feel free to use the bath at any time” he gestured to the door “And that door leads to your room, I will have a servant bring you your things” you limped over to the door and opened it. The room was twise the size of your room back home, the walls were that same sandy stone, the floor was wood and the bed looked like it could fit you and possibly even a smaller horse. You were in awe. Realizing you had yet to thank him, you quickly turned around and bowed “Thank you for your kindness king Odysseus, this is more than I could ever ask for” he chuckled, his smile was warm as he responded “You’re welcome, get used to the place and tomorrow we will discuss”
A while later there was a knock on your door, a small woman was on the other side when you opened the door the crate was beside her “Hello… did you carry that here??” you were a little concerned now, she nodded “Oh if I had known I would have caried it myself” she seemed to relax a little when she herd how concerned you were “Darling you didn’t hurt yourself did you??” “I’m quite alright Mx” you helped her get the box in and you two placed it in an empty corner in the room “Would you like me to help you unpack?” before you could say anything she was helping you.
------------
Determined to prove himself wrong Poseidon called Hermes, the god was mush quicker than him and would find the mortal faster than he could. He knew as soon as he asked the mischievous god for help that he would regret the decision, but it was already too late, the god was gone with just an echo of laughter left behind.
Poseidon was admittedly a little anxious. What if they were dead? What would he do then? Ugh this mortal really was the one in the prophesy. How annoying. “You will fall in love with a mortal, and they will consume your every thought, you will do anything to keep them safe. Your affection will grow without you knowing and once you realize it, it’s already too late.”
It really had caught him of guard how much he liked the mortal; it had started with them thanking him in their prayers, even if he had nothing to do with it, they still thanked him. At first it annoyed him, and he would give challenges, if they were out fishing, he would scare away all the fish. They would just thank him for the calm waters. He made the waves bigger and more dangerous “Thank you Poseidon for letting me get safely to land” next time he nearly drowned them, and they apparently found a boat on the bottom and brought it up to shore “Thank you Poseidon for showing me that there was a better boat on the sea floor”. He would make a tidal wave that drowned their crops “Thank you for keeping my chickens alive”. Eventually he started looking forward to their prayers, even their offerings, the early paintings weren’t impressive, really, they were terrible, but he saw improvement in every painting he received.
He would later bless them, and right after he had, it dawned on him, this was the mortal the prophesy talked about. And it really was too late, if killed them he would regret it.
Hermes returned a day later, his mortal was still alive as soon as Poseidon knew where his mortal was, he had disappeared, leaving Hermes alone. The mortal was in Odysseus’s palace, why? he didn’t know, but right now it didn’t matter, he needed to see his mortal. The closest water source was a pond in the garden. The mortal seemed alright, they were painting the king, they were even dressed in better clothing, though still pretending to be hurt, not surprising, the mortal was a kind person at heart and wanted nothing to do with war.
Being able to finally see them, Poseidon could relax. Though it was a little odd that the king would choose someone that almost exclusively paints depictions of Poseidon himself and animals, maybe the king wanted to be painted like a god, he had to stop himself from letting the pond drown the man.
Eventually Odysseus said that it was enough painting for the day, Poseidon watched with interest how his mortal didn’t even protest, usually the mortal would want to finish as quickly as possible but now made no move to stop the king.
------------
You watched as Odysseus disappeared into the palace, he was odd, too nice, you kind of wondered when he would grow bored of you and throw you away. You shook your head and turned back to the painting, it was by no means a bad painting, but you felt nothing for it, there was no passion behind it.
“Y/N” Sofia, the timid woman you had met on your first day here, in her hand was a plate of food “Thank you” you took the plate from her and watched her go. The sun was high in the sky and the view from the palace was beautiful but you felt nothing, your home had most likely been sold, all your chickens were dead, most of your supplies were replaced by better ones, you were forced to pray to Athena, you couldn’t paint what you wanted and you don’t even smell like yourself.
What is there to enjoy?
Small waves appeared in the pond, but there wasn’t any wind, you sat down by the pond the plate in your lap.
You noted to yourself to remember the sketch book that was beside the pond, you lifted a salads piece up to your mouth "Why are you here if you don’t enjoy it?" What? That wasn’t you… you looked around, no one was around. The wind picked up, and it opened your sketch book, a page with studies from when you found and old statue of Poseidon. You sighed, this is ridiculous, you reach towards the book but before you can grab it cold pond water splashes over you. What in the- what is happening?
The pond was suspiciously calm, the wind had died, you looked around again, and again saw no one… you shake your head and grab the book, cold water splashes you again! “Who’s there!” "The book gave you a hint” this was starting to scare you, you looked down at the book in your hands, am I going crazy? “No, you aren’t” this isn’t making sense, you look over to the pond. This time you see what it is before your splashed again, a bubble forms and then a stream of water shoots at you.
.
.
.
Poseidon?
"Finally”
You stare at the pond, oh fuck…
“Are you willing to answer my question now?” This is insane. “Uh yeah- “Don’t speak out loud” I’m sorry… I… I’m not sure, I have nothing to return to… Where could you even go? Your home was too far away, this place was good enough that there was no point in running away, at least not yet. Wait this is Poseidon, your god. Please forgive me Poseidon, I am not allowed to pray or give offerings to you here. “You are forgiven” He sounded, amused? No one was around, you reached for your food “I don’t want your food” he almost hissed, you flinched okay.
In a way knowing the god you have prayed to your whole life was real was very comforting, especially when he decided you were worthy enough for him to speak to you. He wasn’t always around but him returning now and then was nice, he gave you some hope, but it also scared you, Odysseus despises Poseidon. Who knows what would happen if Odysseus were to find out about Poseidon visiting you…
It took some trial and error to figure out what Poseidon would accept as an offering, grapes and other fruits would disappear if you dropped them in the pond, you took that as him eating them. It was a little scary that Poseidon could at any moment speak in your mind, but what could you do about it? Nothing, so it doesn’t matter.
The painting was almost finished you were just fixing some mistakes when a firm knocking on your door startled you, “Yes come in” Odysseus opened the door “Y/N” he nodded to you, his way of greeting you “King Odysseus, what brings you here?” you straightened your back and fully faced him. “I would like for you to follow me; I want to speak with you” you followed him out of the room and down the hall. “Has something happened? My king” “You could say that…” Okay that was not the response you were expecting.
He led you all the way to the garden “Your head in the water” his expression was unreadable “My king what are you looking to achieve with that?” okay he is getting a little annoyed now “Put your head in the water” “I really don’t want to do that” “Do you not trust me?” he’s getting angrier “uh no?” you were backing away from him, in the blink of an eye he had grabbed you by your hair pulled you closer, he forced you on your knees by kicking the back of them, the water was ice cold, the shock made you suck in water.
Your throat burned.
You trashed around, clawed at the arm holding your head down.
Your lungs feel like they’re on fire.
You tried to pull your head away from his grip, he just shoved your head deeper.
You’re starting to feel dizzy.
Something red is dripping down into the water, making it darker.
Black and white spots are dotting you vision.
Your body feels so heavy.
Air.
Dizzy…
Heavy…
Poseidon
h
e
l
p
AIR!
You suck in as much air as you can, but you start coughing, it feels like its ripping you apart. The water burns as your body forces it out of your system, your lungs ache, and your throat burns, but you are breathing air.
Your head spins, your vision is till blotchy as you look up at Odysseus, his right arm is covered in gashes and is dripping with blood, his face also has a bleeding gash. He’s glaring at you; you have never seen someone that angry before. Oh, he HATES you. “I was right. Tough I must admit for a bit there I wasn’t sure if he would save you” He crouched down to your level, you back away, your whole-body aches as you do. “You must be one of his favorites, maybe even THE favorite. Hahaha How I will enjoy killing you! I’ll draw it out and make it painful like what your god did to my men”
“RUN” you don’t need to be asked twice, you scrambled back got on your feet and ran. “You won’t get far!” You weaved trough a crowd of servants and took a sharp right, you could hear Odysseus running Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck, think! What could slow him down!? There! You pushed over the pile of barrels and continued running, you could hear him cursing as he had to weave around the barrels.
This palace is a maze! Where are the exits! He was hot on your tail you could hear it, you ran into the kitchen to your left, you ducked under one of the tables and continued.
Window! You jumped out the window and landed on a small ledge sticking out of the side of the wall, you hugged close the wall, Odysseus missed that you hadn’t fully jumped down and went right past you and landed on the bottom floor. You sneaked around the wall and stated running on top of one of the wooden beams that held the fabric roofs.
------------
Poseidon LOATHES Odysseus even more now; the man blinded his kid, then attacked him and now he is trying to kill his favorite mortal! Oh, how he hates the man, in his panic to save his mortal he landed just a small portion of the water in Odysseus’s face, it was supposed to slice the mans head in two, but it just scratched him. Poseidon had immediately after his attack focused on getting the water out from his mortals’ lungs that he hadn’t paid attention to Odysseus.
He knew he wouldn’t get there fast enough so he did everything on his way there, it was straining to focus on such a small body of water when he’s so far away, oh thank the faiths they called him in time.
Finally, he got to the shore close to the palace, he knew his mortal was running for their life. Odysseus is hot on their tail…
------------
An exit! You had been able to lose him, and freedom was right in front of you!
Shit! He jumped down in front of you blocking the exit, this room was large, there’s no way you could outrun him with these conditions, and he knew that. “Are you giving up? You can’t outrun me”
The oil! The oil you used on your paints to make them flow smother, its highly flammable! You ripped it lose from your belt and threw it on the ground, glass went everywhere, next you threw your flint knife. The oil caught on fire, and you took of running, it had distracted Odysseus enough for you to get a head start.
You were running out of time, you wouldn’t be able to keep this up for much longer, with no other option you dove under a couch by a corner and pressed yourself as close to the wall as you could. Odysseus wasn’t far behind; he looked over to his wife that was sitting at a different couch shit she was staring right at you. He chuckled “For someone who’s supposed to walk with a cane, you do run quite fast-” he looked under the couch, and you shoved yourself even further under the couch “-although running away is a cowardly move”
“Come out and fight me you coward!” he growled. Suddenly you felt an awful amount of power course through you, a familiar voice spoke though this time it wasn’t just you who could hear it “Kill this mortal and I will send a tidal wave over your kingdom; it will flatten your land and everything you love and leave only death in its wake” As u pressed closer to the wall you felt one of the bricks shift “I thought I told you to stay away from me” You kicked the brick and it gave way, there was light on the other side “Not my fault you kidnapped my most devoted follower” You kicked another brick loose, it was just enough space for you to squeeze trough.
Just as you had gotten to the other side Odysseus threw the couch to the side, but he found only a hole in the wall “This is your favourite human!? they’re pathetic! They won’t even fight me and yet you’re willing to threaten to kill me over their life!?”
The room turned out to be Telemachus’ room, you launched for the window so he wouldn’t be able to get to you “I wouldn’t escape trough that window if I were you” you froze and properly looked where you had tried to fling yourself, bellow you was a steep drop and the at the bottom there to sharp rocks jetting out of the water, you carefully climbed back into the room, adrenalin was high and you were shacking from it. You could feel the tears fighting to be let out, this was it, Telemachus or Odysseus would kill you, and you could do nothing to stop it.
Telemachus was sharpening his blade, he hadn’t even looked at you once during this whole ordeal “Tell me, why is my father trying to kill you?” Is he serious? “How am I supposed to know, yesterday he was completely fine but today he tried to drown me! Any moment now he will burst trough that door and shoot an arrow through my head!” Telemachus seemed to take pity on you and looked up at you “Is there anything that might have triggered this?” you were avoiding meeting his gaze, but he seemed to not mind “Something about me being Poseidon’s favourite” he nodded.
You were trying to calm yourself panicking wasn’t good when making escape plans, he reached for something, an arrow was pointed at you, the bow was fully drawn, all it would take was hitting your head or chest and you would be dead… You were sorely mistaken in trusting him, the tears finally bubbled over, and you sank to the floor, your knees pulled up to your chest. However, his gaze wasn’t on you but instead out the window, there was a gigantic wave outside, when he would loosen the draw and go back to just holding the bow and arrow the wave would shrink but as soon as he drew the bow back the wave rose again.
“You really are your gods favourite” he mused and put away the bow, you glared at him “What could you possibly mean by that” he sighed and stood up, he came closer “I’m sorry I was just testing what could have pissed my father off, would you accept my apology if I helped you out of this palace?”
You nodded and tried to dry your eyes, but the tears just kept coming “How come you are so much more merciful?” your voice wobbled and cracked in some places, Telemachus reached out a hand, you took it and he helped you up on your feet “My father was quite shaken after his travels; the gods broke him down to a killing machine. And in my eyes your only sin is the god of tide’s favouring you” you couldn’t help but feel grateful “Thank you” he smiled.
He really did help you escape; he distracted his father so you could jump out a window, he had also told you that there was an old boat at the shore that you could use. Once you got to it you started dragging it towards the waters, you were just about to jump in the boat when an arrow pierced your leg, you fell forward and landed in the sand.
“You really are pathetic, asking my son for help and just running away instead of fighting me!” Odysseus moved closer “This fight was unfair from the beginning, and you know that! You had a sword and now a bow, I had a dagger! I wouldn’t call that a fair fight!” You screamed back, which was answered by him lifting his bow and aiming at you, he fired, and a gigantic trident blocked it, the arrow was sent flying to the side.
The god of the sea himself was protecting you.
Odysseus made no move to fire another arrow and instead hung the bow on his shoulder “I don’t understand what is so special about them that you’re willing to save them” he turned around and started walking back towards his palace, he gave up… “At least his mortal appreciates me and isnt ungratefull and doesn’t blind my children” Odysseus stopped and considered the answer, he glanced back and watched Poseidon help you up. He continued walking after that.
Before you could react Poseidon dove with you into the water, the panic of drowning surged through you. The pain, the dizziness, the fear of this moment being the last.
When the panic subsided, you came face to face with Poseidon, his brows were furrowed, and he was basically holding you up by your head.
Oh, you had depicted him wrong.
He let go and just steadied you as you regained your balance, though as soon as you put pressure on your left leg it buckled and pain shot through you, he opted to just carry you.
You looked around, really what was this place? Outside of the pillars you could see water, there were even fish swimming there… had he- “Wh- where have you taken me my lord?” he at first didn’t acknowledge your question and instead waved someone over, he had walked for about a minute before answering “To my home, and you won’t be leaving any time soon. I am not risking you dying”
Poseidon’s home… You two entered a room, a bedroom, you were gently placed on the bed and only then did the person who you guessed was a servant come in. They set to work examining your leg with the arrow. You decided that you rather not look at your leg and took the opportunity to examine your surroundings.
You were on a bed, this one both looked and felt soft as feathers, it could comfortably fit Poseidon, you guessed it was his room, but it made no sense why he would take you here. The covers were a light teal blue, and the pillows white and fluffy, overhead was sheer silky drapes, the colour varied slightly, some dark blue others white, and all the blues in-between.
The room itself was large, the ceiling was at least four meters tall, the walls and ceiling were made of calacatta gold marble, you could tell by the almost golden veins that ran through the rock. You hissed when the servant snaped of the tail portion of the arrow. Distracting yourself you continued observing the room, the floor was also made of the same marble, the floor around the bed was covered by a carpet, it too was a type of blue. The rooms primary colour palette was a deep oceanic blue with ascents of lighter blues, whites and gold, the room was fitting for a god. Ridiculously expensive, comfortable and kind of cozy…
You yelped; the arrow had been ripped out of your leg… tears were flowing again. When your leg was bandaged and the servant left. Poseidon sat down on the bed and then picked you up into his arms yet again. He laid down with you still in his arms, only letting go to pull the covers up, you couldn’t really protest. He was a god after all, and if a god decides you are going to be their teddy bear for the night, your fate is then sealed.
At least he’s warm.