Chapter Text
For When The Bell Rings, Lover, You're On Your Own
The cool night air blew softly through the window and into the king and queen's shared room, making the leaves in their marriage bed flutter as the winds hit them. Penelope was still awake in her room, she had found it hard to be able to rest without her husband by her side ever since he came back. Or, well, it was always hard to sleep without him around in the twenty years he was gone. Tonight it was oddly harder to do so, though. Penelope was in the corner of the room, fiddling with the weft threads on her histos, trying to make sense of the distorted portrait she was making as she awaited for Odysseus's return.
Just as the queen was about to give up in frustration, she heard a soft, almost hesitant, knock on the door to the room. Penelope lifted her head up in curiosity, wondering who else but her could be awake at these hours. Unless..? "Telemachus, dear?" She called out gently "Is it you who's at the door?" There was a pause at the door, which only confirmed her suspicions.
"Yeah.." Her son's tired voice came from the other side of the door "Yeah, it's me, mother." Penelope frowned in concern at the sound of Telemachus's voice. It sounded small, almost like he was afraid, not just that but it was hoarse too. Like Telemachus had been crying moment's before. "Can I come in? Please?" He asked from the other side, a small hint of desperation in his tone. It reminded the queen of when the suitors first came how Telemachus would beg her to spend the first few nights in her room, absolutely terrified of the idea that any of the suitors would be near his room.
"Of course, Telemachus." Penelope replied without hesitation "You're always welcome here." The door slowly opened and Penelope's concern only grew as her son walked in. His face was pale, his hands shaking as he shut the door behind him, not only that but his eyes were red and puffy like he'd just been crying. The queen hadn't seen the prince look like this since the suitors had been imprisoned, and even then Telemachus had always hid his emotions from her when the men began taunting him for being emotional. "My son, what troubles you?" She asked as she stood from where she sat, walking over to him to comfort the prince.
Her heart only seemed to break more when Telemachus stepped away from her, though, almost as if he were afraid she'd hurt him. What monster had her son encountered to leave him in such a state? "It's..." Telemachus took a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair, messing his curls up even more. His face was filled with despair and even frustration. "I don't even know how to say this." The prince admitted as he let go of his hair, letting out a bitter laugh that was borderline to a sob. He looked back up to his mother, his eyes filled with weariness she hadn't noticed before "It's just a lot that has been troubling me."
Penelope pursed her lips as she studied him silently, it was clear that Telemachus was going to need a lot of comfort with whatever was hurting his heart. "We have all night." The queen assured the prince as she gently reached over for his hands, taking note of the way he flinched as their hands connected. Gently the mother guided her son to sit on her and her husband's shared wedding bed, the mattress dipping under their weight. "Take your time, Telemachus. I'll be listening to whatever it is you have to say."
"Thank you.." Her son murmured before rubbing his face tiredly, a gesture Penelope had seen him do more often than not lately. At first she thought he was stressed because of the last festival and then because of his princely duties. But now, thinking back, it was like he carried a burden he was unsure if he should share or not. "Where to start?" Telemachus sighed out as he looked at her with hesitation "Mother, do you remember when I came here around two months ago asking for your advice on how to help a person?"
"Of course." The queen said with a nod. She still remembered how her heart had warmed to see that Telemachus still believed in kindness enough to ask about how to help those around him, despite everything he had gone through while the suitors still lurked in the halls of their home.
The Ithacan prince looked down at his hands, twiddling nervously with his thumbs. Even from her perspective, Penelope could tell that Telemachus's stomach was churning at the idea of getting his story out. After a few more moments of silence her son looked up to stare at the weaved portrait of their family in the wall In front of him, it was Penelope's most treasured project but the way Telemachus stared at it, so much cold bitterness and grief, made her wonder what he saw within that she didn't. "Do you also remember...how my father imprisoned some of the suitors and then killed them?"
Well, that's unexpected. Penelope nodded slowly, her eyebrows furrowing. What in Olympus's name did those bastards have to do with her son's troubles? "Yes, I do remember. Their screams were heard all over the palace...though I also remember your father mentioning only leaving Antinous alive." The queen still remembered how offended and hurt she had felt when her husband admitted to keeping the worst of the suitors alive. Her anger had only been soothed when Odysseus assured her it wasn't out of mercy.
"Yes." Telemachus agreed, finally taking his tired eyes off the portrait and looking his mother in the eye. Penelope saw Telemachus build courage and then determination before possibly breaking her heart further "The person I had helped was Antinous." The queen stared at the prince with wide eyes, her heart pounding hard on her chest. It was a hard concept for her mind to wrap around. Her Telemachus? Helping that greedy bastard? But then she remembered how her son had always played himself into seeing the best in people. Penelope didn't even get to speak up before he continued "Father was torturing him, yes. But he...He was doing it in inhumane ways."
That only served to catch Penelope off guard even more, of course she knew Odysseus was hurting Antinous (no doubt that's what he was doing right now too), but how bad could it possibly be that Telemachus took pity on the man? "Explain." The queen commanded, trying to keep her shock and betrayal out of her voice. But based off the grimace that crossed her son's face, she failed. "Now."
With a weary sigh, the story began to spill out of the deepest pits of Telemachus's souls; throwing everything that had happened out there like how he had thrown his spear to defend himself from the suitors. All to save someone who he cares about. "The day when I went to you for advice, I had found Antinous in his cell earlier that day. He had been covered in his own blood and vomit. It was a horrific scene, mother. His tongue had been cut off too." The prince explained, a small plea for the queen to understand his perspective in his voice "I couldn't just leave him there..And so I took him to some of our healers."
Penelope recalled how much Odysseus had disliked when anyone talked back to him, only seeming to tolerate it if it was in jest. "I never understood why people have to be so stubborn and fight when they are wrong," Her husband confessed to her once, long before they had gotten married. "It would just be easier for them to be silent." At the moment Penelope had agreed. She never liked people who fussed every other sentence either, but she had never thought someone could've gotten on Odysseus's nerves so much he'd cut off their tongue. But then again, this was Antinous they spoke of.
"When Antinous awoke, I was going to ask if he was alright and then send him back to his cell. I swear I was going to." Telemachus continued, clutching tightly onto the sheets of the mattress, his knuckles nearly white. "But I didn't. He was like a scared animal, jumping at every little thing and on high alert every second. I tried to calm him down but he nearly bolted to the door, desperate for an escape." Of course Antinous had been like that, Penelope thought, he was getting tortured in his cell. It was only natural for him to want to escape. "He couldn't make it far, though. Since he was really injured. Remember father had told us he whipped the suitors and that's why they screamed a lot? Well, I asked Antinous about it but he denied it. From what I understood, my father had never brought a whip close to them."
That made Penelope's curiosity grow. If Odysseus was doing light punishments on the suitors, what could've been the cause for the screams and Antinous's desperate and foolish attempt at an escape? "It didn't matter what I tried to find out, though." Telemachus told his mother, his eyes shutting with a grimace "Father noticed he was missing and immediately went searching for him, it also didn't help that I was shouting loudly at him. He took Antinous back to his cell and...Well....Do you remember that night I was late for supper? I had gone back to the cell to find Antinous, only to see he had stabbed himself with my father's dagger. Dolius was nearby and I had him help me carry Antinous to my room."
The queen had a flashback to a couple week's ago, when Odysseus had brought Antinous back from whatever hiding spot he'd been in, and she spotted a dark large bruise in Dolius's face. At first, she thought that the gardener had an accident while doing his job. Dolius had never displeased neither the king or queen, after all. But now that Telemachus was telling her this, she felt the pit In her stomach grow. Not just that but that Antinous, a man who valued his own life over anything else, had tried to kill himself.
It was shocking, to say the least.
"Dolius took Antinous down to one of his friends place, someone he'd met at the market I think." The prince continued "The man's name was Lykus and his wife often took in homeless people out of pity. That's where Euthymius came from too, actually." Penelope knew that Odysseus and Telemachus had brought back that boy, she had seen him walking around the halls with her son or Dolius often. She didn't have a problem with the kid, he was always so kind and polite to her. Besides, Odysseus had explained that Antinous had been mistreating the kid, so he took him under his wing of pity.
But that still wasn't answering any of her questions. "I know that, Telemachus." Penelope told him gently, or as gently as she could muster. "You still haven't explained how all this troubles you."
The Ithacan prince took a deep breath "Mother, father has been lying to you for the past few months." Penelope knew that her son could be blunt when he wanted to be, but the amount of bitterness in his tone felt like a verbal slap to her face. "When he said he had gone out to train with me when Antinous went missing? He threatened me. Father said he brought Euthymius out of pity but he actually did it to keep Antinous under his control, not only that but after killing Lykus and his entire family too. Did he say he tortured Antinous? Yes, he did do that. But he also fucking raped him, mother. He still is, in fact."
The queen and the prince stared at each other for a long moment In silence. Penelope slowly stood from her and Odysseus's wedding bed, staring at the wall in complete and utter shock. After everything her husband had endured, after swearing in his wedding vows to never let her pass despair, after twenty eight years of being married...this is how fate repaid her? After all she had gone through for her husband? The queen turned to look at the wedding bed, even though some of the branches were withering, she still saw it as a symbol of their love.
Penelope just could not accept the fact her husband would do such a thing. Her Odysseus. The man who had fought hell and high water to return to their family and kingdom, the man who had resisted goddesses because nobody could compare to her, was raping a man behind her back. The Ithacan queen buried her face in her palms, feeling the exhaustion from not sleeping and the weight of the news bear down on her. She hates the mere idea of her husband cheating on her, but If it was with a horrible man like Antinous....
"We have to help him, mom." Telemachus told Penelope, sitting up from the bed and taking a cautious step towards her "We can't keep allowing Antinous to suffer like this-"
"No." The queen cut through, her tone firm.
The prince paused, his eyes widening in shock. Had his mother not heard him correctly? Did she not understand the disgusting thing her husband, HIS father, was doing right now? The things he has kept secret for so long? "What do you mean no?" Telemachus asked incredulously, he was so shocked he couldn't even bring himself to get angry at his mother. "Mom, did you hear what I said?"
"Of course I heard you." Penelope said as she turned to face her son, her eyes filled with grief but also with the finality of her decision. "And I say I'm not going to help a bastard like Antinous. What your father is doing to him is horrible, but it's nothing a man like him doesn't deserve." The queen turned away again, walking back to her histos. "Your father needs time. Soon he'll realize he shouldn't waste his time with Antinous and kill him too, then we can live in peace." As Penelope sat back down in her chair, she could feel Telemachus's piercing gaze burning through her but she didn't turn back to face him.
Telemachus opened and closed his mouth a few times before speaking up again "So that's it? You're just going to sit around and wait to see what happens?" He demanded. Sure, the prince was angry. But he was feeling more despair than anything, couldn't his mother see how hard he was trying to save a life here? To stop unnecessary blood from being spilled?
"My decision is final, Telemachus." The queen told her son firmly "Do not ask me again."
"Πως θα μορονσες να το εις αμτο!?" The prince shouted at his mother, his despair and frustration getting the best of him. "How could you just turn a blind eye to a person suffering!? I know you love dad, mom. But we have to face reality! He's not the man you once knew!"
Those words made something snap In Penelope and she slammed her fist on the hitos. "The person who is suffering had harmed us and wanted to kill us both for three years straight!" She snapped at her son "I am not going to help Antinous just because he's getting the consequence to his actions!" The prince jumped back, surprised by the sheer anger In his mother's voice. The last time he had heard her get like this was when she was telling the suitors about the challenge. The queen took a deep breath and turned back around "And do not speak of your father that way, he is doing his best to keep us safe."
The silence seemed to drown the room forever. Eventually Telemachus shook his head, and Penelope even with her back turned could tell there were tears welled in his eyes. "I can't believe you. Either of you." With that, the prince turned around and left the room. Penelope took a deep breath and glanced at the family portrait she had weaved. I'm sorry, Telemachus, She thought, But I'm not the person you should've seeked.
"Get the fuck off me, will you?" Antinous snapped to Odysseus, who had just collapsed on top of him after reaching yet another orgasm "You might not realize it, but you're heavy as hell." The king lifted his head slightly to give him a glare, but at this rate Antinous could not give a flying fuck what Odysseus thought right now. If he had to have the man's cock shoved up his...vagina (Gods, he hated this)....he might start going mad.
"I wonder sometimes what Telemachus offered to Athena to give you your tongue back." Odysseus grumbled but he rolled to his side, so at least he wasn't crushing Antinous anymore "I liked you better silent." The other man narrowed his eyes sharply at the king, but Odysseus paid him no mind. He only shrugged as he grabbed Antinous by the waist to pull him closer "No matter, it just means you can take my cock better."
Antinous clenched his jaw, if he didn't have Euthymius's life on the line he would punch Odysseus to death. Unfortunately, that wasn't possible for him at the moment. But that didn't mean he couldn't be a smart mouth. "Yeah? Well, I liked it better when you were gone for twenty years." Antinous tilted his head to meet the king's burning gaze "Go on another voyage, will you? It would benefit all of us and who knows?" The man noticed the annoyance in Odysseus's eyes but he continued speaking "You might find a whore to keep your bed warm...since Penel-"
The man didn't even get to finish his sentence before one of Odysseus's calloused hands wrapped itself tightly around his neck. Antinous choked for air as it began to quickly be squeezed out of his lungs. Odysseus glowered angrily at him, his jaw clenched tightly. "I don't know how many fucking times I have to remind you to keep her name out of your mouth but it seems like you never learn." The king dug his nails into Antinous's neck, hard enough he'd draw blood if he applied more pressure "Go on..Try and apologize."
He wanted to scream at Odysseus that it was nearly impossible for him to even speak when the king was too busy strangling the life out of him. "You-" Antinous winced as his vision began to blur from the lack of oxygen "-lunatic." His words didn't seem to help his situation because Odysseus practically threw him across the room, but at least Antinous could breathe again. He was too busy gasping for air, humiliation coursing through his veins as the king approached him from behind. Antinous let out a shriek as Odysseus yanked him by the hair.
"That wasn't an apology, eromenos." The king told him coldly as their gazes locked "Try again."
Antinous gritted his teeth as he stared up at him, his eyes burning with fury. He was so tired of standing down, of submitting to this fool. It wasn't just humiliating but it also made Odysseus think he could do anything he wanted with Antinous. Why should he keep giving him that privilege? After all the suffering the king has made him go through, why shouldn't he return the favor by fighting back at least a little bit? "This is what I say to your demand." Antinous snarled and spat up at Odysseus, watching with satisfaction as the king let him go to wipe his face with disgust.
"You fucking slut." Odysseus muttered with disgust before using his foot to pin Antinous down on the floor "You think this is some joke? May I remind you that I could kill that precious son of yours if you start acting up again." The blood ran cold inside of Antinous once more, internally cursing himself for being so naive and an absolute idiot. A smug smile spread across the king's face when he saw the realization cross Antinous's face "Yeah, you didn't think about that, did you?" The Ithacan king taunted as he applied pressure, making Antinous wince at the feeling of his ribs nearly being crushed "I wonder how Euthymius would feel if he knew his mother got him killed because he couldn't keep his mouth shut."
The bastard was seriously lucky that he had leverage against Antinous or he might have jumped him moments ago. "Alright." Antinous gritted out "I'm sorry for speaking of your wife." That doesn't change how you're cheating though, the man thought bitterly as he saw a look of triumph flash across Odysseus's face at his words.
"There, that wasn't so hard was it?" The king cooed as he lifted his foot off from Antinous's back. Just when the man thought that would've been the end of the situation and that Odysseus would retreat for the night, the older man knelt down and began pressing kisses on his neck and shoulders. "As much pain as this causes me, you do know I have to discipline you, right? I can't keep letting you get away with things like this." Dread began to rise again within Antinous and before he could even protest, Odysseus began kissing him roughly once more.
Sometimes Antinous wished Telemachus hadn't saved him from his death.
When the night continued to hold the chaos happening within the palace close, soft footsteps echoed across the hall. There, in the darkness of it all, was Euthymius trying to make his way across the palace despite the literal fact he couldn't see in the dark. He kept glancing over his shoulder to make sure Dolius hadn't awakened and realized he was gone before continuing to make his way down the hall. The boy's heart was pounding hard on his chest, his fists clenching and unclenching nervously as he continued to walk.
Euthymius glanced at the doors he began to pass in the palace, trying to see which one was the most familiar. See, Euthymius hadn't been allowed to see his papa in almost two weeks and he was starting to get worried about what that idiot Odysseus was doing to him. His papa could be in danger for all he knew! And the prince had told Euthymius sometimes you have to be brave to do the right thing. So the boy would do the right thing and be brave, even if it meant the king would be mad at him.
But he shouldn't take long, right? He was only checking on his papa.
Just when Euthymius was about to give up on finding the cell, he heard a loud "FUCK!!" from one of the doors. Immediately the boy perked up, the voice sounded a lot like his papa's! Quickly, Euthymius scrambled around trying to listen for his papa's voice again. It took a while to try and find the door, especially in the dark, but eventually Euthymius thought he found the door when he heard the sound of what he thought was slapping.
Quickly, fear swallowed the boy whole. Was the king hitting his papa? That only made Euthymius angry but It mostly terrified him. If the king was hitting his papa and his papa was as helpless as he sounded, that meant that it wouldn't take much from Odysseus to hurt him too. Euthymius felt his hand tremble as he reached for the door, should he really be doing this? Was it too late to turn back? The boy was considering turn back before he heard what sounded like a broken cry from his papa.
Euthymius took a deep breath, clenching his jaw with determination. It was time he was brave, he couldn't let this king keep hurting his papa! With a deep breath and a quick prayer to whatever gods were listening, the boy pushed the door open and slowly walked inside. The scene made his heart drop from his chest to his stomach, there on the floor was his papa beneath the king. His face was contoured with pain while the king held him from his throat and kept moving his hips against his papa's.
Confusion began to whirl in the boy's mind but mostly despair at seeing his papa in such a vulnerable position. Euthymius remembered how earlier that day he had pushed the king away when he tried to ruffle his hair in front of the queen, telling him to fuck off. (Dolius later scolded him for it.) But now that the boy was seeing what was happening in front of him, he couldn't help but feel a sense of heavy guilt. Was it all his fault? Was he the reason his papa was suffering? Should he have been nicer to the idiotic king?
A soft sob escaped Euthymius before he knew it, his bravery escaping him like a flash of lightning. His sob must've caught his papa's attention because he snapped his head to look up so fast the boy wondered if he hurt a muscle with the speed he did it. "Euthymius!" his papa gasped out and then the king glanced up. Euthymius felt himself freeze even more, especially seeing the dark expression the king wore. "What-" His papa struggled as the king seemed to pick up the pace of his hips "-What are you doing here!? Get out! Leave!"
But the boy couldn't move, his muscles frozen in place. Euthymius opened his mouth to respond but nothing came out. Frustration made tears well in his eyes, why couldn't he just move? Why couldn't he go help his papa? Why couldn't he even speak? Why was he so terrified? His papa's expression looked like one of grief when he saw him still standing there but the king only scoffed "I think he's enjoying the show." He told his papa before applying pressure to his throat and the boy felt his eyes widen when he heard his papa gasp for air "Don't you think so, Antinous?"
His papa shook his head, trying to keep the pain out of his face as much as possible for his sake. "Euthymius, listen to me." His papa struggled out, his eyes squeezing shut for a moment as he struggled for air "I need you to cover your ears and close your eyes. Okay, buddy? Just-" Euthymius watched with even more horror as his father let out an ugly retching noise when the king applied even more pressure to his throat "-Just close your eyes. I'll be fine."
Euthymius trembled even more, tears spilling from his eyes now when the monster locked eyes with him. He felt himself inclined to listen to his papa's words, not wanting to find out what the king would do to him if he disobeyed. The boy stumbled back into the corner of the room and shut his eyes tight, covering his ears like his papa had told him to. He could still hear his father gasping for air and the ugly noises of skin against skin from the king. He just wanted this all over.
Please, god's above, Euthymius thought with despair as he sobbed quietly, Let the monster leave my papa alone. Let this all be a dream.
Time seemed to stretch on forever. Even though the boy had his ears covered he could still hear his papa trying to soothe him with words. "It's okay, just breathe" His papa said like he wasn't the one struggling for oxygen in the first place. "It's going to be over soon, you'll be okay, we'll be okay." But that sounded like a lie to Euthymius. They hadn't been okay since he saw the monster waiting for him and Hylas back in Lykus's home. The boy sobbed harder as he remembered how Hylas had screamed when he saw the sword the king had and stabbed his mother with it. He still remembered all the blood that coated the floors from everyone and how he could only watch in fear.
He didn't know how much time passed. He didn't want to know. All he knows as that he heard some shuffling around before he opened his eyes with hesitation, hoping he didn't open them to blood on the walls. In front of him was the monster, gazing down at him coldly. Euthymius felt even more terrified now, he backed up into the wall as much as possible but the monster didn't reach towards him. Please don't kill me, he wanted to plead, don't kill any of us. Let us live. Let us be free. The king only scoffed and walked out of the room "You both have ten minutes." Was all he said before shutting the door behind him.
Ten minutes? Euthymius didn't even get to process what that meant before he felt his papa tackle him in a hug, tears in his eyes too. The boy blinked with surprise before clinging tightly onto him, thanking whatever God or goddess was listening for keeping his papa alive. "I'm so sorry, Euthymius." His papa murmured, his voice hoarse and broken even to his little ears "I'm so sorry.." He kept repeating over and over as he held him tight in his arms and kissed his forehead, perhaps hoping the affection would lessen the trauma of what he had just witnessed.
No amount of affection could fix what was broken, though. Because if that were possible the king would've been fixed from his deranged mind long ago.
The boy continued to cling onto his papa, sobbing into his chest. "He hurt you.." He cried out as his papa continued to whisper his apologies. They both held each other like a lifeline, like the other would disappear if they let go. Euthymius didn't care if it had been over ten minutes, he didn't want to let his papa go. Soon he felt his eyes begin to drop and exhaustion take a hold of him, but even then the boy did not let go. He closed his eyes and listened to the comforting rhythm of his papa's heart beat. Euthymius relaxed enough and didn't move when he heard the door slam open, or when he felt Dolius's familiar hands grab him or when he heard his papa whisper "I love you, kid."
He only opened his eyes briefly to see the king glaring at him as Dolius carried him away, but Euthymius's mind was too tired to process what the glare could mean. He only closed his eyes again and fell into a dreamless sleep.