Page 20 of Elysium
“OH COUSIN, OPEN THE DOOR!” The call came from beyond her bedroom. Penelope rose from her place in front of the vanity, setting the brush down. She rolled her eyes as she pulled the oak door open, scoffing at the queen-to-be that stood on the other side.
“Helen,” she smiled, welcoming the older woman into the room. “Don’t you have kings to charm? Alliances to secure?” She teased. The cousins were more like sisters, along with Helen’s sister, Clytemnestra.
“Pen, please. Menelaus is a man of such high esteem. I will never have to lift a finger again.” Helen bragged with a sharp grin, opening the doors to the balcony. “Come, dear cousin. I hear the men are conducting some games today before they return to their kingdoms. Father says it’s for morale,”
Penelope followed, drawn by her cousin’s energy even as she arched a skeptical brow. “And you say?”
Helen grinned wickedly. “They just want an excuse to show off for any unpromised woman.”
They leaned against the railing, peering down at the gaggle of men below, joking and jeering. “What are they doing now?” Penelope asked, eyes scanning the crowds below. If someone asked, she would deny that she was looking for anyone in particular…
A smirk graced Helen’s lips. “Foot races… and look, there goes your Ithacan.” She jabbed her elbow playfully into Penelope’s side.
“My Ithacan?” She quirked an eyebrow, voice dripping with feigned indifference. “I wasn’t aware I had one.”
She followed Helen’s outstretched finger to find a man at the front of the group, jogging backwards as he hurled friendly insults at the other men. “Odysseus of Ithaca,” she mused, a smile still etched onto her features. “Sharp as a blade, and twice as fast. I hear his tongue is silver, too.”
“He’s clever,” Penelope retorted.
“Mm,” Helen seemed unimpressed. “Small kingdom, big wit.”
Her lips twitched. “Big enough.”
A peal of laughter escaped from Helen. “You would know, Princess.” Penelope’s face flushed red as the attention of the men was drawn to where they stood. A blue-eyed gaze caught hers, his lips turning upwards in an arrogant smirk.
“No suitor looked at me like that…” Helen mused, sighing. Her smile softened as she looked to her cousin.
“Because they’re not Odysseus.” Her heart thrummed in her chest, fighting back the grin as she watched the Ithacan king rile up some of the men.
“He took the throne so young, Penelope. His father abdicated when he was just 19. How can he be a good king?”
She had to bite back the annoyance in her voice. “And since your Menelaus was older when he came to power, he’s better by default?”
The older cousin turned, raising an eyebrow at Penelope. “Protective, aren’t we?”
She spluttered, caught between pride and embarrassment. “That was out of line, Helen. I apolo-”
“Oh stop,” Helen waved her off with a swat of her hand. A grin spread across her face, full of mischief and affection. “You’re the one smitten with the mad king and his kingdom of rocks.”
Penelope rolled her eyes, her flushed cheeks betraying her once more. “It’s not like that,” she muttered, though her gaze strayed once again to the man below.
“Not like that?” Helen leaned back against the balcony rail, arms crossing as she studied her cousin. “Pen, everyone’s talking about him. They say he’s charming you with his clever tongue and promises of grandeur. They don’t see what you see. And that worries me.”
Penelope turned sharply, a frown tugging at her lips. “And what do they see?”
“A king with little to offer but words.” Helen’s voice softened, her teasing dropping away like the last notes of a song. “He’s not Menelaus or Agamemnon, Penelope. He doesn’t have great armies or endless treasures to his name. All he has is his wit, his sharpness... and you.”
Penelope hesitated, Helen’s words tugging at a vulnerability she hadn’t allowed herself to acknowledge. “You think I care about gold or soldiers?”
“No, I think you care too much about him,” Helen replied, her voice steady but not unkind. “And that’s what worries me.”
“I can make my own decisions, Helen,” Penelope said, her tone firm but not angry.
Helen sighed, her expression softening further. “I know. And maybe… I envy you.”
Penelope blinked. “Envy me?”
“You had the chance to choose.” Helen nodded toward the courtyard below, where Odysseus now stood laughing with the other men, his voice carrying up to them on the breeze. “You see something in him no one else does.”
“Choose? Helen, he won a race for my hand. I hardly had a say in that,” she retorted quickly, shooting her cousin a sharp glance.
“Didn’t you though? Your little rendezvous wasn’t that secret, cousin.” Helen raised her eyebrow, looking pointedly at Penelope. “I don’t think Zeus himself would have stood a chance against your Ithacan.”
Penelope opened her mouth to respond, but her words caught in her throat. She turned back toward the balcony railing, watching as Odysseus caught her gaze again, his smirk turning into something softer, almost reverent.
Helen placed a hand on her shoulder. “For what it’s worth,” she said quietly, “I think he’s looking at you like you’re worth more than his entire kingdom.”
Penelope’s chest tightened, her hand pressing lightly over her heart as if she could steady it.