The Revolving Door

Run

Odysseus came behind her as she sent the note through the usual passages.

"What was that for?" He asked. He'd changed his clothes to the simple white tunic he'd worn into the World the first time, and Penelope felt the pain in her chest beginning already. She really did hate goodbyes.

"I sent a note to Telemachus, he's going to want to say goodbye himself this time," she said. "Why don't you go get Diomedes, and I'll prepare a feast before you go. A proper send-off this time."

Odysseus smiled and kissed her. He may have been able to tell that she wasn't telling him everything, but he didn't pry. She held the kiss for maybe a fraction too long, but he didn't seem to mind, breaking contact slowly, and heading for the door.

"Don't be late!" she called after him, but he had already gone.

Penelope prepared all of their favorite foods, laying out the feast until the table in the dining room groaned under the weight of it.

"Oh, quit your complaining," she scolded the table idly. "It's not like there's any real substance to it."

The food, like most of the objects in her home, was merely a spiritual copy of things Upstairs, conjured from the same power that had built their home. The only 'real' things in it were the trees and flowers in her garden, a few gifts from Hermes, and of course, the people. It all *felt* very real and solid though, and the food did still smell good. She leaned over the table and took an appreciative sniff, almost feeling her stomach rumble in expectation, though she hadn't been hungry in millennia.

There was a knock at the door, and Penelope opened it to find her son, hand in hand with Pisistratus, who had been very close to Telemachus all through their lives.

"I hope you don't mind, mom," Telemachus said. "He heard there would be food—"

"I couldn't resist," Pisistratus interrupted, smiling. "Your cooking is known throughout the underworld."

"Of course, come in," Penelope ushered the men inside with a smile. It was always good to see the cheerful young man, and death had not dimmed the way he made Telemachus smile. "We're just waiting on the guests of honor... Strange, Odysseus left over an hour ago, and its not far to Diomedes' palace..." She looked out the door in the direction Odysseus had gone, but saw no sign of either man. "Help yourselves, I'll be right back."

Penelope slipped out the door and down the road, following a path that had grown very familiar over the last millennia. Diomedes was just the next palace over, but the grounds of the two were somewhat extensive, and it took several minutes to reach his front door.

She knocked, and waited several long moments until Diomedes opened the door himself.

"Hey Penelope, I heard that Odysseus wants to leave for Upstairs soon. Is it time?"

"He's not here?" Penelope looked around Dio at the empty hallway behind him. "I sent him to come find you. We're having a feast before you leave."

"No," Diomedes said slowly, his brow furrowing. "I haven't seen him since yesterday."

"He's been gone over an hour," Penelope felt her knees begin to shake, and Diomedes reached out to take her arm.

"Perhaps he went somewhere, to run an errand?" He said, his voice level.

"He doesn't go anywhere alone, you know that!" Penelope's voice was shrill in her ears, and she took a moment to take a few deep breaths. "He knows better than that." Odysseus hadn't gone anywhere without either her or Dio since they'd arrived in the Underworld and he'd come to find her in Asphodel. They'd found the secret passages throughout the underworld together. "He knows better than that..." she repeated.

"We can look for him," Diomedes said. "We'll retrace his steps. See if he got lost somehow."

"He was just coming here. It's a straight shot from our door to yours."

"Maybe there's a clue that you missed. Don't worry Pen, I'll find him."

They walked slowly back along the path back to Penelope's palace, eyes on the ground to catch any sign or clue along the hard, underworld road, but there were no footprints or any sign of a disturbance on the stones.

"It's not like out in the world, he couldn't have been mugged or attacked," Diomedes said, looking around. His expression was carefully neutral, but his voice reflected some of the helplessness Penelope felt. "He's got to be here somewhere. We can't leave the underworld, and he knew you were waiting for him. It's not like him to go off and get lost. He knows better, like you said."

"Maybe we should ask Persephone," Penelope said. "She knows everything about who comes and goes from the Underworld. She could scry him or..." She grabbed his arm. "Diomedes, what if—"

Then Penelope was running back to the palace, hiking up the skirts of her dress and leaving Diomedes in the dust.

"Mom, what—" Telemachus shot up from the table as Penelope ran past him, flying up the stairs to her bedroom. Diomedes followed, then Telemachus, and the two came to a stop in the doorway as Penelope knelt beside the bed, pulling open the drawer of her bedside table.

She drew out the two mirrors, Diomedes' in its wooden frame, and the polished bronze with the handle shaped like Athena. The bronze mirror was not reflecting the room around them, but showed a child. A baby already several months old.

"How did this happen?" Diomedes asked, as he and Telemachus looked over her shoulder at the mirror, wherein the baby was picked up by a pair of strong hands, and the child smiled, a slightly crooked grin, already sporting the start of a first tooth.

"Oh no, oh no," Penelope cradled the mirror carefully. "Oh no no no!"

"He's gone to the world already..." Diomedes' eyes were wide. "I've got to go after him!" He started to turn back toward the door, but Penelope grabbed at his arm, nearly dropping the two mirrors. Telemachus made a grab for them and caught them before they hit the floor.

"How can you find him, he's been down for months, you'll never catch up!"

"I have to try!" Diomedes pulled from her grip, and gripped her shoulders, shaking her heartily once. "Don't lose hope."

"There's no time for the feast, then..." Penelope whispered. "Run, Diomedes! I'll be right behind you!"

Diomedes fled down the stairs, and Penelope raced behind him.

"Feel free to stay, Pisistratus," She called over her shoulder at the bewildered young man, who had stood as the others had come back down. "We're just—"

"I'll come with you," Pisistratus came and joined Telemachus as Penelope raced after Diomedes, who, with his longer legs, was getting further ahead.