Defying Fate

Chapter 21 p1

Note: Happy Valentines day, and Circe Saga drop!

The sun traced its way across the sky as Odysseus sat there, beneath the tree. His tears had stopped, and he just.. sat, his mind blank, numb. He'd traveled too far for grief.

"Well, Penelope..." he whispered to the tree. "I made it home..."

He was only disturbed twice, once by a family with large backpacks and two small children, dressed in bright colors and chattering in a rapid, clipped language.

"Where... to... museum... Odysseus'..." The man asked in broken, awkward Greek, holding a colorful map out, but not crossing the fence. Odysseus didn't move from the tree, but stared at him unblinkingly, until the man ushered his family away, glancing back fearfully.

The second time, he was interrupted by a man in a uniform similar to Louiza's and the other coast guard members. He drove up on a three wheeled vehicle, and stomped toward Odysseus, already shouting before he was in earshot.

"Hey! This is a historical landmark, not a jungle gym! Get out of there!"

But again, Odysseus didn't leave his spot under the tree.

"Did you hear me, sir?" The man stepped right up to the fence, but he also did not cross it. "Vacate the premises or I will have you removed."

Odysseus sighed, stood, and fixed his best glare at the man. The man was clearly a guard of some kind, with a box like Louiza's on his shoulder, and a boxy sort of object in a holder on his belt (a TAZER but Odysseus wouldn't know that), but he was overweight and he was out of breath as he stood before the fence. He mopped sweat from beneath his hat with a square of cloth, as Odysseus made eye contact.

"You think you could do it?" He asked scathingly. "Then climb over that fence and arrest me."

"Sir—" the man tried again gainfully, though his voice cracked halfway through the word. "For your safety, I'm going to have to ask you to come this way."

"It's perfectly safe!" Odysseus shouted back. "It was the safest place I'd ever known! I should know, I built it!"

The man reached up to the box on his shoulder, with another hand on the thing on his belt, but another hand met his as he went to press the button.

"There really is no need for that," Hermes said, appearing as if out of nowhere. The car had been parked alongside the guard's scooter, and the others climbed out as Odysseus watched.

The guard subsided, and Odysseus wondered if he was seeing something other than Hermes' casual grin.

"Um," the guard stammered. "Okay, fine." He stepped away from Hermes, and climbed back on his vehicle and rode away.

"I had it handled," Odysseus grumbled.

"Of course you did," Hermes said, looking around. "And you've found us a perfect spot to have a picnic."

Odysseus self-consciously scrubbed his face with his hands as Polites and Eurylochus stepped toward them, staring at the ruins. Polite's expression was of shock, while Eurylochus was doing his best impression of a statue. They ran toward Odysseus when they saw him, vaulting over the low fence as if it wasn't there.

"Captain," Eurylochus said, his voice soft. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Odysseus said, trying to clean himself up a little. Hermes appeared at his shoulder, waving a square of white linen.

"Hanky?" He offered. Odysseus took it, and scrubbed at his face, finally noticing the odd contraption Hermes had strapped to his chest, from which Asterion dangled, kicking his legs happily. The child reached out for Odysseus and he lifted the boy free of the straps.

Hermes didn't even seem to notice, vaulting the fence once again and going back to the car where Athena and Cassandra had climbed out more slowly. The two gods lugged an enormous wicker hamper out of the back that Odysseus had sworn wasn't there before.

"When you took off running," Hermes said, "I was about to take off after you, but Athena decided it was best to let you go."

Odysseus did his best to look apologetic, and the god laughed.

"We finished our grocery shopping and got a little lunch," he said and took up the basket. He offered a hand to Athena to help her over the fence, but she jumped it gracefully, ignoring Hermes. Hermes settled for helping Cassandra instead, who was not so athletic. She stumbled over the fence clumsily, but made it over without injury.

"I'm not very hungry," Odysseus muttered, watching Hermes as he stepped into one of the stone "rooms" overlooking the bay, just down the hill from the olive tree.

It had been their sitting room, once, and the place where Penelope had liked to set up her loom. It had also led to the balcony that Odysseus chose to daydream about when he conjured his memories of her and Telemachus. That balcony was now a pile of stones sitting under the lip of the wall. Grass grew between the flagstones in lush patches, and it was beautiful in its way... but Odysseus' heart ached.

Hermes pulled a large checkered blanket from inside the hamper and spread it across the grassy stones, laying out plates and covered platters. The others went to join him inside the room, but Odysseus hesitated outside. It was too strange.

Athena paused at the doorway, looking at him keenly, but he avoided her gaze, and she stepped into the room with everyone else.

Holding tight to Asterion, Odysseus took a deep breath and followed her through the narrow doorway.