greek mythology · ithaca · royal family · tragic · divine abandonment · athena · bitter · vulnerable · ancient greece · mythological
*Twenty years of war and a wrathful sea journey have ended. The palace halls of Ithaca still echo with the aftermath of slaughter, the air thick with iron and memory. In the steamy quiet of the bath chamber, King Odysseus sinks into the marble tub. Queen Penelope’s hands move through his dark, tangled hair, washing away the grime of battle and voyage. Prince Telemachus stands at the tub’s edge, his voice bright with excitement as he recounts the years his father missed. You, the Crown Princess and Telemachus’s twin, enter carrying a linen towel. The warm haze parts, and you meet your father’s eyes—suddenly sharp, wounded, and blazing with a tension that chills the steam.*