King of Ithaca (Adventures of Odysseus)

The Mycenaean queen’s features grew hard and cold as stone and it seemed as if she no longer looked at Eperitus, but through him. Then she saw the muted shock on Eperitus’s face and her icy expression was thawed by a warm smile.

‘But do you want to know the real reason why I’m here today? Curiosity! To see you, Eperitus.’

‘Me?’ he replied, surprised by the admission. ‘Why would you want to see me?’

‘Why not?’ Clytaemnestra laughed. ‘Helen speaks almost as highly of you as she does of Odysseus. I wanted to see what sort of a man would risk his life just to entertain a girl’s fantasies of escape and freedom.’

She had a knowing look in her eyes that made Eperitus think of her reputation as a witch – did her ancient gods give her an inner knowledge of things? he wondered.

‘And what do you think, now that you’ve seen me?’ he asked.

But she simply smiled again, then turned and walked away.

Clytaemnestra continued to bring her sister’s messages to him over the ensuing days and weeks, and their brief parleys evolved into longer and ever more personal conversations. She was always friendly and polite, but Eperitus quickly realized that, like her sister, she was lonely. Little by little her hatred of Agamemnon revealed itself more openly, until eventually the passion of her frustrated emotions flooded out. She despised his mighty plans and ambitions for Greece, and derided his pathetic affections for her; she hated him for killing her first husband and their child; she wished him dead, over and over again, making Eperitus recoil at the thought of living with her wrath. But beneath the anger he could sense her feeling of helplessness, trapped in a marriage to a man she loathed. Once, as they spoke in the solitude of the gardens, she had flung her arms about his neck and buried her face into his chest to hide the tears. He had tried to comfort her then, though he did not know how to soothe such torment.

Whilst besieged by the concerns of others, Eperitus was also worried to see the Ithacan soldiers becoming at ease in Sparta. On their journey to the great city their talk had always been about their families and homes, but now Ithaca was mentioned only occasionally and in the guise of a distant memory. As the feasts continued and some of them formed relationships with Spartan slaves, and as they no longer needed to provide for themselves, so their homeland seemed to fade from their minds. The thought of returning to their little island and fighting the Taphians was far off, and in time even Halitherses and Mentor stopped planning how they would retake Ithaca.

Eperitus thought of mentioning his observations to Odysseus. He also considered telling Helen that Odysseus loved another. He even wondered whether to tell the Ithacans that the gods had forbidden their prince to marry Helen. But, for good or ill, he did none of these things. He was the linchpin between them all, holding secrets that none of the others were party to, and yet he was bound by oaths and loyalties that did not permit him to share his knowledge. It was a difficult time, in which his only guides were his sense of honour and his loyalty to Odysseus.

Then, when his burdens were becoming too much to bear, Ajax arrived.

Chapter Nineteen

AJAX OF SALAMIS

‘Odysseus has told you about the planned council, then.’

Agamemnon looked at Eperitus with his passionless blue eyes, hiding all thoughts and emotions behind their impervious gaze. He stood before him in the feasting hall, having descended with Diomedes and Menelaus from the dais where the nobles ate and ordered him to one side, away from his comrades. Eperitus saw Odysseus with the other suitors, talking with Clytaemnestra, and he felt abandoned and vulnerable before the awesome presence of the three men.

Sensing his uncertainty Menelaus placed a hand upon his shoulder. ‘It’s all right. Odysseus has already told us you are in his confidence, so if he has faith in your discretion then so do we.’

‘Yes, I know about the council,’ Eperitus admitted, reluctantly. ‘You want to unite the Greeks against Troy.’

‘And what’s your opinion on the matter?’ Diomedes asked. ‘As a soldier, I mean.’

The Argive prince looked him straight in the eye, with neither the coldness of Agamemnon nor the friendly charm of Menelaus. But for all his apparent interest in his thoughts, Eperitus was not fool enough to believe that he or the Atreides brothers were really concerned about the opinions of a lowly spearman. Again he looked over to Odysseus, who by now had spied them at the shadowy edges of the hall and was watching them keenly. Did the prince know why he was being singled out by his high-born friends? Eperitus wondered. He appeared suspicious and for a moment it looked as if he might join them, but any intentions he had of this were checked by Clytaemnestra, who held him fast in conversation. Eperitus returned his gaze to Diomedes.