Chapter Text
It was as though torturing Odysseus for his wrongs simply wasn't enough for the Gods. No, they had to make sure that the people he longed to return to would suffer as well.
Acantha had wondered about her father for years, ever since she was old enough to understand why he was absent. She had been an infant when he left for war, after all. She could remember the nights spent awake with her twin brother, Telemachus, sat with their mother as she told them the stories about them. The story of how they met, under the olive tree that was now the wedding bed of which Penelope slept alone. But it would be fine, their father would soon return from war, and they could all be together again, right? She had been 10 years old when the war ended. After that, her and Telemachus would play by the docks every day, waiting for his return, full of hope. Waiting for a ship that never appeared. Every time they would ask their mother, confusion mingling with their hope, they were told the same thing.
"He's still coming home. He will be home any day now".
Years passed by, hope diminished. They stopped going to the docks every day, it was pointless, and with the suitors showing up for their mothers hand in marriage, they rarely had the opportunity to leave anyway. Of course, neither of them got away from the suitors without their fair share of harassment. Telemachus was treated as though he was smaller than the lot of them, a weakling hardly deserving of life. Fun to torment. Meanwhile, Acantha was treated similarly to how they treated her mother, the wandering eyes, crude comments, sometimes they dared to put a hand on her, not expecting her to fight back, but she had her mothers spirit. When she was younger, she kept a dagger on her, intending to use it for protection against them, not intending to cause harm, just to threaten them out of trying anything. It worked, for a while, until Penelope found out and made her stop. It was improper and would only cause more trouble, she was told. She didn't believe it, but listened nonetheless out of respect and love for her mother. After that, she had to settle for avoiding them, like her mother, to keep herself safe.
By the time they were 20 years old, Acantha had given up hope of her fathers return. That was, until the fateful day that Telemachus got into a fight with Antinous, the worst of the suitors. It wasn't like anything expected, because Telemachus could fight back. Acantha had been about to try and step in, only to see Telemachus holding his own... kind of. Antinous had won the fight, but she was shocked to see how he fought nonetheless. Later, as she helped Telemachus with his wounds, he admitted to her that he had gotten help from Athena, the Goddess of wisdom. She wouldn't have believed him, if it wasn't for the fact that Athena appeared herself, explaining to the two of them how she had stopped being the mentor to their father nearly 10 years ago, however she kept an eye on what he was doing. She felt remorse for how his life had turned out after she left, and she wanted to try again, mentoring Telemachus instead. She reassured them that Odysseus was still alive, and they stayed up all night listening to Athena tell the stories of things he had done in the Trojan War and afterwards. Even though she was exhausted the next day, for the first time in a long time, Acantha felt hope of her fathers return once more.
But there was a problem. A few weeks later, Odysseus was spotted by the docks, nearby Ithaca, but he wasn't spotted by Acantha, or Telemachus, or Penelope or any of the guards or maids. No. He was spotted by none other than Eurymachus, another one of the suitors. Immediately, he gathered the rest of the suitors and they attacked that night. Odysseus was slain by none other than Antinous. They took no hesitation in making it known to everyone what happened. In fact, they took pride in it. Of course, no one believed it until a guard was sent to the location they claimed to leave the body, and returned with the news. However, things only got worse from there. In the midst of the tragedy and heartbreak of what had happened, Antinous made his next move as the one who killed Odysseus. He took control of the Ithacan palace, took Odysseus' throne, as though he had never existed, and betrayed the other suitors, forcing them to leave. And no one was able to fight back. Telemachus was captured and locked in a dark, empty room built purely to keep him contained, unable to leave or fight back or escape. Even Athena didn't know how to help, as she was forbidden to interfere any further by Zeus, her father. Telemachus was set to be executed at a later date so he couldn't be a problem, and neither Acantha nor Penelope could do anything. In fact, both of them retreated to their rooms, too afraid and ashamed to leave, while also mourning the loss of Odysseus.
It had been a few days since Odysseus' death, and the takeover. Acantha had gotten out of her room for some fresh air, and she managed to do so seemingly without being caught. She went to the docks, where her and Telemachus had spent hours talking and playing as young children, praying for their fathers return. Back in the days were things were simple. How she missed those days, she would give anything to have them back. She thought of her father, of her mother, who rarely left the room she previously shared with Odysseus, of Telemachus, whose execution was set for the next day. She didn't know why Antinous was postponing it, she had a suspicion that something was wrong, but nonetheless she was grateful that he could live another day, even though she was unable to see him. She was removed from her thoughts at the sound of Antinous' voice behind her.
"Thought I might find you here, princess.".
She didn't even want to turn around, to see the smug look on his face. Hearing the low drawl of his voice was enough for her to feel that familiar sense of dread and anger she always felt around him. She didn't bother to respond, so instead Antinous sat down next to her. She shuffled further away, only to be stopped when he put his arm around her, pulling her against his side. She tensed, but didn't dare to shove him off. He was the king now, he had more power over them than ever before. Antinous chuckled at her reaction.
"Now, now, princess. Don't act like you aren't happy to see me, you might hurt my feelings.".
He was downright mocking her at this point, and she hated it, and eventually spoke, her anger evident in her voice.
"What do you want?".
"I'd watch how I speak to me if I were you.".
That shut her up. One wrong move and she would suffer for it. Or worse, he would take it out on Telemachus or her mother.
"I came to offer you a deal.".
Acantha remained silent, but looked up at him, showing that she was listening, albeit reluctantly. Antinous chuckled at the sight, his free hand moving to brush a strand of curly black hair from her face.
"It's simple, really. I will let your precious brother live, but with one... tiny condition.".
That had her attention, though she hated to admit it, her pride keeping her mouth shut, so Antinous continued.
"He'll live, so long as you agree to be my wife.".
Acantha's stomach dropped at his words, the pieces forming together in her head. This was why he had allowed Telemachus to live for so long, to use him as leverage. She didn't want to, gods she despised the very idea of being wed to the man who had caused all of this suffering, the man who killed her father, but did she really have a choice? Telemachus was at stake, and no matter how she felt about Antinous, she couldn't let her brother pay the price... could she?
And so that was how she got into this predicament. Married to the monster who killed her father. The queen of Ithaca, but at what cost? Marriage was the single thing she had sworn against her whole life, she hadn't wanted to be reduced to the property of a man. But that didn't change the fact that she was now looking down at a wedding ring on her finger with a look of disgust. Telemachus was alive, but still not allowed to leave the room he was in. The only difference was that now she was allowed to see Telemachus every so often, but it was rare and always brief. Still, it was those moments that kept her going. Those moments of comforting her brother, knowing that he was still here, that kept her sane... to an extent. The wedding night had been short and unhappy, though grand and large. Play nice with Antinous, that was all she had to do, but it was all she despised, and later on in the evening when she lost her chastity? Well, that moment was full of the tears and blood of a struggle, and not long after she was dragged outside the room Telemachus was in by Antinous, forced to listen to the screams of anguish coming from her brother inside the room, unable to do anything to save her brother, who was suffering for her own disobedience.
The gods were cruel, Acantha had internally decided as she stared up at the ceiling in her wedding bed, unable to sleep, unable to cry, unable to do anything but just be there and do as she was told. What could she do about it? There was no escaping this now, or so she thought. All she could do was wonder if maybe there was some way out of this, but her logical side told her otherwise. And worst of all, she wondered if her father would be disappointed in her for sharing a wedding bed with the man who killed him. She would never get an answer to that.