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Penelope stood at the mouth of the cave. The cyclops sat inside, blind, and her crew was rushing back to the boat with the supplies they were able to steal. She wanted to leave. She wanted to accept the victory she had gotten and get back to sailing. She wanted to make sure her crew wouldn’t be too broken up by the seven gruesome deaths they just witnessed. She wanted to act like she wouldn’t be broken up too.
But then she felt a heat running up her back and time shifted slightly.
“Ares, please.” Penelope said softly, her voice strained.
“You haven’t won this fight yet. Kill him.” Ares commanded, “If you let him live, the fight won’t end.”
“Yes it will. It will end because we will be gone and there will be nothing he can do.”
“You don’t know that. I would think that after ten years of being trained by me you would be able to not just beat an opponent, but to beat them so cleanly that there will be no way for them to try and get retribution.”
“We blinded it! We can just go. I know that you would prefer maximal bloodshed, but that feels like a waste of time and energy.”
“Just like the final day in Troy, you’re trying to do things the easy way.” Ares scoffed, “You know that victory is hard. You know you can’t control the cards. Mercy might feel good, but it will not bring you far.”
“It’s not mercy, it is efficiency! I have no reason to show this brute mercy. But if the fight is over, then it’s over.”
“You know that your victory is near, but you know that it could disappear if you try to kill him and fail. Yet the world will mock your fear. So stop being a coward and kill him. It will be hard, but it will be the right thing to do. You are my soldier, are you not? Do as I say.”
“Why can’t we just escape?!” Penelope questioned, desperation turning to frustration.
“Do you really not get it? There is no escape!” Ares yelled.
To anyone else, hearing the yell of a god would be terrifying, especially if it was from the god of war himself whose yells were often signs that death would soon follow. But Penelope wasn’t scared. She didn’t step back. She didn’t back down. She didn’t even flinch. She just glared at him silently, making it clear as possible that she was not going to listen to his commands.
“Penelope, I’m trying to make you understand.” Ares sighed, softening his tone, “ I’m trying to understand. You have killed so many people over this past decade. With the blood on your hands, you can’t excuse yourself one time simply because you feel bad about some random soldiers dying. In war, people die. And it’s like you’ve been telling your crew: the war is not truly over until all the survivors are back home. So decide who you want to lose this fight.”
“You’re…letting me choose?” Penelope slowly asked.
“Of course. You are as stubborn as I am so you’re getting a choice. Who is losing? You or the cyclops?”
As Ares let time resume as normal, Penelope felt her frustration with Ares mix with her anger at the cyclops and her desire to get home.
If Ares wanted her to choose the winner, she would choose herself.
And since she already won, it was within her rights to really enjoy it, wasn’t it?
“Hey cyclops!”
~~~~~
Penelope stood on her ship as the fleet continued to sail, all the stolen goods divided up based on needs. Her ship got a smaller cut than normal, but she only had 43 other mouths to feed, not 50. She knew that her crew was still processing what they witnessed, but she was doing everything in her power to not focus on that. She was still angry at the cyclops for his behavior which was mixing with her confidence that came from proving Ares wrong. She was able to reveal exactly who she was and the cyclops didn’t even move. She was fine. She won. She got the satisfaction of letting the cyclops know it was tricked and showing Ares that she didn’t need to kill it.
But of course, she couldn’t be allowed to enjoy her victory for long. A familiar but more intense heat ran up her back and the world gained a faint red tint as time shifted. Penelope could feel Ares behind her, but she didn’t turn around.
She wasn’t going to give him that.
“Penelope.” Ares growled.
“Ares. Normally I’m not graced with your presence so frequently.” Penelope said flatly, looking out at the horizon.
“I am lost on what I’m supposed to do with you. I have tried everything. And I thought you were finally listening to me. You were able to focus your force, gain control, and show everyone that you are as strong as I know you are. But you failed me. You didn’t make a mistake, you failed . I told you to kill the cyclops and instead you left after telling him who you are. Maintaining honor instead of relying on tricks is one thing, but to blatantly ignore me? That is hubris and stupidity.”
Penelope just scoffed. It was true that sometimes he did have good advice –she couldn’t have won the war without his help and if she had ignored his advice about not getting too close to Polites then she wouldn’t have been able to deal with his death as well as she was– but he didn’t know everything. If he wouldn’t trust her, then she didn’t have to listen to him.
“You know what, you’ve taught me a lot, Penelope.” Ares exhaled, disappointment clear in his voice, “I’m the god of war and courage. And one would think that anyone who was told they were a good fighter by me would be encouraged, and yet apparently sometimes they will refuse to live up to that and settle the score every time. They take the training then don’t use the skills but when they start to get power they only use it for thrills. I take desire and turn it into wrath but the moment there’s a fire they think is too big, their courage starts to lack.”
“Wow, that must be so hard for you. You have people that want to listen to you and do listen to you but sometimes they disagree with the necessity of certain actions. Meanwhile I am doing what I can to try and give orders that won’t be argued with. And so when I tell my crew that we’re leaving, I’m not going to tell them that actually we’re going to kill the threat that has stopped being a problem. This may be a war to get home, but we aren’t at war against another army anymore and so your advice isn’t always what I need.”
“When I first saw you I thought that one day you’d follow me and we’d make a stronger tomorrow. I have given you the whole world!”
“What you’ve given me is the fastest route to an early grave. I ignored you, but it’s for the best. I suppose blowing up over this makes sense for you. All you do is fight. I shouldn’t have expected you to have reason for long after the real war stopped. Frankly I’m shocked that you’re still sticking around instead of just leaving me.”
“You still need me if you want to get home. You won’t make it through all of this without divine help. Without my help.”
“I doubt that. What can a god of war do for me when I’m sailing?”
“If that’s what you want, then fine.” Ares huffed, “I won’t stand here and forgive you for ignoring all that I tried to gift you. Until now I thought that we were the answer, but I guess now I say goodbye.”
“You don’t mean that. You’re just trying to get me to apologize. Well it won’t work. I don’t need you always looking over my shoulder anymore.”
“Alright then. Good luck with your metaphorical war.” Ares said, sounding surprisingly calm.
“And you have fun finding a new one.”
She expected Ares to start yelling at her. She expected him to force her to look at him after spending the whole conversation facing away. She expected him to at least tell her to give him a proper goodbye.
But he didn’t.
He just…left.
Time went back to normal, the red tint disappeared, and when Penelope finally turned around, all she saw was a single vulture feather laying on the deck. She picked it up and examined it, noticing how well it went with the red head cloth she had wrapped around her wrist that she had taken from Polites. With a sigh, Penelope used the cloth to tie her hair back so it would stay out of her face even when she wasn’t wearing a helmet, slipping the feather securely inside the knot as she did. Even if she didn’t need Ares’ help anymore, keeping a reminder of him would be the least she could do. But it wasn’t a way to honor him, not like the way she needed to honor Polites. Ares would be just fine on his own.
And so would she.
Victory Is Hard
Penelope, Ares
[PENELOPE]
Why can’t we just escape?
[ARES, PENELOPE ]
You know victory is hard
You know you can’t control the cards
Please, just let us escape
Mercy might feel good, but it
Will not bring you far
Will not bring you far!
[ARES]
You know your victory is near
But you know that it could disappear
The world will mock your fear
[ PENELOPE , ARES]
Why can’t we just escape?
There’s no escape!
Why can’t we just escape?
There’s no escape!
Why can’t we just escape?
There’s no escape!
Why can’t we just escape?
[ARES]
With the blood on your hands you have no excuse
So choose who is gonna lose
[PENELOPE]
Please, just let us escape
—- —- —- —- —-
Say Goodbye
Ares
[ARES]
Fierce god of courage
Master of war
You think they’d be encouraged
But they won’t settle the score
They take the training
Then don’t use the skills
When their power’s gaining
They will only seek the thrills
I take desire
And turn it to wrath
But when there’s fire
Then their courage starts to lack
Maybe one day they'll follow me
And we'll make a stronger tomorrow
Then they’ll see I gave them the whole world
But I guess now I say goodbye
[ARES & ENSEMBLE]
I won’t stand here, forgive you for ignoring
All that I tried to gift you
Until now I thought we were the answer
But I guess
[ARES]
Now I say goodbye
[ENSEMBLE]
Now I say goodbye
[ARES]
Now I say goodbye