King of Ithaca (Adventures of Odysseus)

‘Don’t be. I know you won’t break your word, and one day that will make you into a great man.’ She released herself from his arms and stood tall once again before him. ‘I think better of you for your decision, my friend, not worse. But now I must face up to the destiny the gods have chosen for me.’

It was a destiny about which Eperitus knew more than he could say. But despite Athena’s words he dared to believe there could be a different course, an alternative that might suit Helen and Odysseus both.

‘Maybe there’s another way.’

‘Is there? I don’t think so now,’ she said.

‘You could compromise. Although you hate being a piece in the power games of your father and Agamemnon, perhaps you could consent to marry a man of your own choice. Since we’ve been meeting here, your talk has always been of running away with Odysseus and living a simple life on Ithaca. Well, why not talk to Tyndareus about it? If you marry Odysseus at least you’ll be able to leave Sparta and live out a quiet existence away from all this. And that way, Tyndareus can lend Odysseus all the soldiers he needs to win back his kingdom. Even Agamemnon will have had his council of war, which you say was the whole point of inviting the Greek nobility to Sparta. Everybody will be happy, except for the other suitors, of course. What do you say?’

‘I say you’re an optimistic fool, Eperitus. Don’t you know my future husband will have been carefully selected before the first heralds were sent out to invite all these suitors?’

‘But you’ve such charm, my lady. And I’ve seen the way your father looks at you. He’s not such a puppet of Agamemnon that he can’t have his mind changed by the most beautiful woman in all Greece, is he?’

She smiled warmly and gave Eperitus a look he would never forget. There was a magic about Helen that could drive men insane, and though he liked Menelaus he felt he could happily kill the Mycenaean prince to release her from her divinely decreed fate.

‘You’re thinking of my charm as a woman. It’s different between daughters and fathers – but perhaps it can be more effective. A few tears, the odd sigh here and there. I’ll see what I can do, and for your sake I won’t give up yet. Even though you only care about soldiers for Ithaca rather than what happens to me.’

Eperitus tutted at her suggestion. ‘All I want is you to be queen of Ithaca, my lady.’

Odysseus and Tyndareus walked through the gardens in the light of the early morning. The discordant clacking of wooden sticks could be heard from the courtyard where the warriors of the different states practised their battle drill.

‘They’re becoming very good soldiers,’ Odysseus commented. ‘All this practice has given my men a new edge, though I wonder how it will translate to swords of bronze instead of wood.’

‘That’s my worry,’ Tyndareus said. He picked a pink flower and crammed it under his nose, inhaling its sweet aroma.

Odysseus guessed his meaning, having thought on the situation much himself. ‘You’re concerned about what will happen when Helen’s husband is announced.’

‘Exactly. You saw them the other day, brawling like commoners,’ Tyndareus said glumly. ‘And with so many warriors here, can you imagine what’ll happen if there’s a dispute about the choice? I must be getting old, Odysseus, because I’m losing sleep about the thought of a battle.’ The Spartan king looked about himself and plucked another flower for Odysseus. ‘Smell this. Wonderful, isn’t it? Only grows here in Sparta.’

Odysseus’s sense of smell had been weak ever since boxing lessons as a boy and he was barely able to appreciate the aroma from the tiny petals.

‘Why don’t you stick it in your belt,’ Tyndareus suggested, ‘and get rid of that dried-up husk you’ve been wearing since you got here.’

Odysseus patted the chelonion gently. ‘I couldn’t do that. My sister gave me this as a memento of Ithaca while I’m away. I keep it to remind myself that my people are suffering under a false king, and I must one day return to free them. All my men wear a sprig as a reminder of home.’

‘You’ve been here for some time now. You must worry constantly about your homeland.’

Odysseus frowned. ‘Constantly, but it’s the burden of nobility, Tyndareus. What about your problem: have you thought of a solution yet?’

The king laughed. ‘Solution? Only one springs to mind, but dividing Helen into thirty pieces would be a waste of a beautiful daughter.’

‘Maybe I can help,’ Odysseus offered nonchalantly, trying once more to detect an aroma from the flower.

‘You’ve hinted as much on several occasions, my friend. But for all your cleverness I don’t see how you can prevent them from slaughtering each other. They’re all proud, and with Ajax and his vicious little friend amongst them I fear the worst.’

Odysseus cocked an eyebrow at Tyndareus. ‘What will you offer me if I can give you a practical answer?’

‘What’s the price of peace to an old man?’ Tyndareus replied. ‘I’ll give you anything that it’s in my power to give.’

‘Anything?’