The Revolving Door

Restless

Several centuries had passed since Penelope had died. She was quite happy in her palace in Elysium, obtained by her husband for his work in the Trojan war, and for his subsequent adventure being immortalized in song and story.

Her family was safe, and content, and the after-life was pretty good. Gods visited occasionally, mostly Hermes, bringing gifts and news from the land of the living. Her sons would drop by as it was respectful to do. Penelope was happy with that. But her husband was getting restless...

Odysseus paced the halls of the palace, jumping from activity to activity without really becoming committed to any of them. His eyes kept wandering to somewhere outside, but he hadn't yet said what was bothering him.

Penelope could tell anyway, after so many years, she knew him better than he knew himself. He was bored.

After a mortal life filled with strife and adventure, he'd earned his rest, as they all had, but that was all several centuries ago now, and Penelope could tell that his soul was ready for something new.

So she did the only thing that she could think of. She called in reinforcements.

The messaging system in Elysium was surprisingly efficient, and Odysseus had found many passages and ways to navigate the underworld, crossing boarders without the 'higher authorities' knowing, so the reinforcements arrived in record time.

Diomedes had his own palace in Elysium, though there were rumors of him being worshipped top-side as a god in the new Roman empire. Diomedes had always shrugged it off, though Penelope could tell he was proud of his accomplishments.

He showed up at the front door and Penelope opened it before he could even knock.

"Please come in, Dio," she said, ushering him inside, and practically pushing him down the hallway ahead of her. "Can I get you something to eat? Drink?"

"What's this all about, Pen?" Dio had never been one for small talk. "Your message sounded urgent."

"He's up to something," Penelope said. "I'm not sure what, but, I think he's restless."

"Run out of schemes, has he?" Diomedes chuckled, as they finally made it to the kitchen. "It's about time. I always knew he had more than enough ideas for a lifetime."

"This is bigger than that."

"Bigger than teaching Cerberus how to play fetch?"

Penelope swatted Dio in the arm with one hand. "This is important. I'll find him, wait here."

Odysseus was in his usual place, on the balcony outside their bedroom. He had one of Penelope's drop spindles in his hand, and a tangled mess of yarn in the other.

"I don't know how you have the patience to do this," he muttered as Penelope came up.

She gently took the wool and the spindle from him, and set it aside. "It just takes practice, I'll teach you," she said softly, kissing him on the cheek. "There's someone here to see you."

"Who is it? Hermes? He was just here..." Odysseus counted on his fingers, but gave up. "Wasn't it recently?"

"It's not Hermes," Penelope said. "It's Diomedes, he's waiting for us in the kitchen."

Odysseus face lit up, and Penelope suppressed a grin, watching him run from the room, the wool forgotten. Penelope knew that her husband loved her, as she loved him, deeply and truly, but Diomedes and Odysseus shared a connection. Their souls just clicked.

Penelope caught up to them, to find Odysseus talking animatedly to a slightly overwhelmed looking Diomedes.

"What did I miss?" She asked, opening the door to the larder, and pulling out the ingredients for tea.

Odysseus immediately looked embarrassed.

"Pen, I... I don't want to... This isn't about— You know I love you."

"Yes I do," Penelope continued to make tea, setting the always-full kettle on its hook over the perpetual fire in the hearth. She only delighted a little in her husband's discomfort, and knew he would come to the point in his own time.

"I've been able to get into nearly everywhere in the underworld, even Persephone's garden."

"A stupid and dangerous mission, to be sure," Penelope remembered, though the flowers he'd "borrowed" sat in their vase on the dining room table, proudly displayed.

Diomedes grimaced. "You could have lost your home if Persephone hadn't forgiven you," he said. "I can't believe you did that without telling me."

"Well... there's only one place left to strive for..." Odysseus said, tracing a finger idly along the countertop, unable to look either of them in the eye suddenly.

"The Isles of the Blessed," Diomedes said for him. "The Ultimate Fate of only the most Heroic of Heroes." He pronounced it grandly, sarcastically, as if those distant islands weren't a source of endless curiosity. Penelope knew that they were, for the both of them. They'd spent many a long underworld evening looking out across Elysium from the palace balcony, content in their afterlife, but... occasionally thinking about more.

"There's only one way to reach the Isles of the Blessed," Odysseus said. "And, well, it would be interesting. Could be *fun* even."

"You have to be reincarnated three times," Diomedes said flatly. "And become a hero in each of those lives. If you fail, you start over."

"It could take an eternity," Penelope said, looking at Odysseus with concern. "And it could be very painful. You both know firsthand that being a hero is not a pleasant thing."

"Well, I've already done it once, so there's only two more to go," Odysseus said. "And then I could sneak you in, Pen... It's said that each hero receives their own paradise. It's the ultimate contest—"

"Well, you're not going alone," Diomedes said, then froze, as if he'd said it without thinking, then he continued, folding his arms and affecting a casual pose. "If we've learned anything from your life, it's that you shouldn't go off on your own."

Odysseus looked at Penelope, guilt written all over his face. "I love you... and it would only be for a little while... maybe 60 years?"

Penelope smiled at him, and kissed him softly, reaching out for Diomedes with a free hand. "If you think I'll simply sit around waiting for you again, you are mistaken. But we'd best prepare. We can't go to Hades empty-handed, and he doesn't let just *anyone* undergo the test."