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Antinous had always possessed three qualities of great importance. His prowess in combat, his handsome appearance and his charming personality.
Even one of these qualities would be enough to guarantee success in life. A skilled combatant could earn glory in battle. A handsome man could seduce nobility. A charming personality could earn the worship of the masses.
As a man in possession of all three, how could Antinous settle for anything less than kingship?
It was easy to convince the other suitors of this. A few fights and impassioned speeches were all he needed to rally them around him. Admittedly Eurymachus was harder to convince, but the more Antinous spoke with the man, the less defiance he received.
The only issue was the Queen.
A refined beauty with eyes that spoke of her intelligence, known as a wise ruler in desperate need of a king.
She was also seemingly impervious to his charms.
It was… frustrating. Infuriating even. Antinous had never had any issue convincing people to join him in intimate activities before. A few words and a large smile were always enough to draw out feelings of desire.
But with the queen? Nothing.
Oh, Antinous tried to talk to her of course. He was always the winner of any duels that occurred in her vicinity. But his compliments on her beauty failed to illicit the usual blush. Discussions of their future together were met with excuses. Even his quiet suggestions to get to know each other better never ended with them in the sheets.
Her little brat of a son only made things worse. Antinous spent months trying to charm the queen in a more… private setting. But whenever the opportunity to speak with her alone arose, the brat was quick to insert himself into the situation, like a pup that had overstayed its welcome in a mother’s nest.
Fortunately not even the whiniest of pups could remain attached to their mother forever. Princes could not just live their lives in a state of spoiled luxury afterall. It was easy to convince the noble court that the prince had duties to attend to. Diplomatic duties. In a very far away land.
Queen Penelope became more elusive after her son’s departure. Without the brat around she began to isolate herself, spending long hours inside the royal chamber or at her loom where no-one could disturb her.
Still, not even a queen could completely ignore her guests. Not unless she wanted to violate Xenia. So she continued to attend formal dinners and without the prince Antinous was finally able to speak with her one to one.
“Your majesty” Antinous held a drink towards her. She refused to take it so he placed it next to her plate. “May I say you look beautiful tonight.”
Queen Penelope looked down at the wine “Beautiful… that is a rather vague compliment.”
Antinous smiled, refusing to let her tone of voice dissuade him “Ah, should I be more specific. Your dress is the most perfect shade of wine red, and it matches wonderfully with the colour of your eyes.”
“I believe you are confusing your love of wine with the concept of beauty.” She pushed the goblet of wine back towards Antinous.
He took the goblet and drank from it “Actually, I believe you’ll find I’m an expert in all things beautiful. You look stunning tonight, and you will look even lovelier by my side. Trust me.”
That line was usually very successful with the ladies. However the queen instead froze.
“… I see.” Was all she had to say after a long pause.
Antinous tried to convince her to continue speaking with him, but was unable to elicit a reaction. Instead the queen kept her gaze glued to her food as if to block out his very existence.
Still progress was progress he supposed. Although the queen managed to spend even more time in self enforced isolation over the next few days, Antinous tried not to let it bother him. He had suitors to manage and a royal murder to plan since prince annoyance would not do the work for him.
With the prince gone Antinous would have all the time in the world to woo the boy’s mother.
Which why Antinous was suprised, and delighted, when the queen called for him two days after their last meeting.
It was his first time seeing the room the Queen had invited him to. But he could already imagine spending many hours there after becoming king.
The room was a gorgeous display of luxury and power. Intricate mosaics lined the floor and a large table decorated with mouthwatering food filled the room. There was even a small temple with a fire in case the room’s occupants wished to make a private sacrifice to the gods.
The queen was already present, sat close enough to the fire for its flames to cast a pleasant glow on her face. Antinous sat next to her eagerly.
“My Queen” he grabbed the closest bottle “Would you like some wine?”
She took the drink this time, although she did not take a sip, instead turning to face him.
“Antinous, you have been rather… persistent in your quest for my affection.” She spoke slowly, as if taking the time to carefully consider her every word.
“Because you are worth the effort.”
She raised an eyebrow “Because I am your only route to nobility”
Antinous forced himself not to wince. It had been easy to make the other suitors forget the truth of his origins but the queen not so much.
“My origins will have no impact on my ability to rule by your side.”
“By ‘origin’ you refer to having been abandoned at birth.”
Did she really need to spell it out? “Yes. That.”
He made sure to divert their conversation away from his past and onto simpler topics as they began to eat. The queen was distant, but still engaged with their conversation. It was a good enough improvement. For now at least.
It was towards the end of their meal where things went wrong. One of maids slipped, and spilled the contents of her tray onto the table. Cheese plopped onto the wood, grapes fell into the wine with a splash, and a small knife fell onto Antinous’ hand.
He hissed as the blade cut into his flesh. Though small, the knife was much sharper than most kitchen utensils.
Antinous glared at the queen as blood began to pour from his wound. “Your maids should be more careful.” He would be sure to… take care of them after becoming king.
The queen said nothing, instead reaching over to take the knife. Antinous froze, and then screeched as she plunged the knife into her own hand.
“Are you insane woman!?!” He shouted… and then paused.
There was no wound. Instead of injuring her, the blade had somehow managed to harmlessly pass through the queen’s hand.
“… I don’t understand” he murmured.
The queen looked at him for a long moment with strange, knowing eyes.
“This knife was a gift from my husband. It is remarkable not in appearance or size, but in material.”
“And?” A metal was a metal at the end of the day. Even rope could cause harm if wielded with enough force.
“It is made entirely from celestial bronze. A metal capable of harming monsters and the divine, but completely ineffective against mortals.”
Was this the queen’s attempt at insulting him? “You may think me a monster my queen, but I can assure you that I am human.”
“Oh, I don’t think you’re a monster.” She raised an eyebrow at him.
“…I’m not a god.” Antinous crossed his arms. He would not need to endear himself to this woman were that the case.
“Nor do I believe you to be one.”
Antinous felt himself relax “I see.” He smiled now that she was no longer speaking nonsense “So about that maid of yours-”
“-I believe you are the son of a god.”
He froze. “That’s not possible.”
She really was insane! The results of a deity’s relationship with a human was always either nonexistent or stillborn. Everyone knew that.
The queen put the knife to one side as she finally grabbed the wine goblet Antinous had offered her. “That’s not quite true.”
“Ok! Fine! Once every few centuries someone gets lucky and gets to have a kid with a god.”
Not that anyone ever got to know anything more about those rare children. Legends had been written about how overprotective the gods were of their demi-god offspring.
The queen smiled “and it has been a few centuries since the last known demi-god birth.”
He stared at her “I’m not a demi-god.”
“I suppose we shall have to request confirmation from a higher power.” The queen said before pouring some of her wine into the nearby fire.
Nothing happened for a few agonisingly long moments before the flames grew large enough for a person, no, a goddess, to step out of.
The woman before them possessed an unimaginable beauty, one that was impossible to put into words but could never be described as human.
Queen Penelope bowed towards the woman and Antinous was quick to follow suit.
“Aphrodite, it is an honour to be in your presence” the queen said with more reverence he thought her capable of.
The goddess was not nearly as polite “I have no interest in engaging in pleasantries. Why have you summoned me at such short notice Queen of Ithaca?”
Oh no. Antinous could feel himself begin to sweat. This was it. The queen was going to repeat her crazy theory to a literal goddess and make her angry enough to smite them both as vengeance.
Unwilling to let the Queen doom them both Antinous was quick to interrupt. “My fair goddess, the queen called for your presence by-”
“Oh.”
Antinous paused his grovelling. Wait. Were those… tears in the goddess’ eyes? He took a step back in terror.
Before he could flee Aphrodite practically teleported to his side, clutching his face in her hands. “How could this be” she murmured.
With great hesitation Antinous raised a hand to push the goddess away, only to be pulled into a crushing hug.
“I thought you were dead.” The goddess declared
“Well I’m alive” Antinous mumbled, unsure of what else to say.
“Where were you found? Who raised you?” Aphrodite suddenly asked with a speed and desperation uncharacteristic of the divine.
“On the island of Cythera my lady.” He said before he could stop himself from answering.
“My patron island… where I lay my children... my son to rest.”
Oh.
Antinous felt his mind enter into a sort of daze, unable to process the situation as the goddess turned to face Queen Penelope.
“I owe you a great debt, Queen of Ithaca. It would be my honour to bless you with a boon in return” Aphrodite declared.
Queen Penelope bowed a second time. “Thank you, my goddess, it is a blessing to see you reunite with your son. I seek no repayment other than the return of my husband.”
Oh, so that was her plan! Why that-
“Her husband is dead!” Antinous interrupted. If Queen Penelope was going to deny him kingship, then the least she could do was marry one of the other suitors!
Aphrodite tilted her head. “Is my son not worthy of your hand.”
Oh he was worthy, very worthy. Antinous waited for the queen’s respose. Despite all her composure he noticed her hands tremble and he smirked.
“I would be unworthy of your son my goddess” the queen said with a steady voice “and as someone with divine blood he will have all the time in the world to find his ideal spouse.”
The goddess looked down at her newly discovered son “True… I would hate to part with him so soon.”
Antinous frowned. Goddess or not that was not Aphrodite’s decision to make! “Well I-”
“-Very well. I will arrange for your husband’s release.” Aphrodite declared before beginning to pull her son towards the fire.
“Wait! Where are we going!” Antinous shouted in a panicked voice.
Aphrodite paused in front of the column of flames. She seized a loc of his hair, and gently placed it behind his ear.
“Home, my child. We’re going home.” The goddess then pushed Antinous into the flames before he could protest.