Chapter Text
Athena knocked on the door to her father’s study. Regret hit her immediately, instincts screaming at her to flee, but that wasn’t a choice she could make. She knew her task, her duty, and she would see it through.
“This is your one and only chance to leave before I punish you for disturbing me. Speak to Athena if it’s urgent, wait until the next meeting if it is not.”
Athena forced herself across the point of no return. “It is urgent, and I do not possess the means to do this on my own.”
Zeus’s door swung open. He sat at his marble desk, surrounded by hundreds of books he was far too busy to read. “I trust you are not wasting my time, daughter.” Despite his stern words, he smiled and gestured for her to sit. She must have caught him on a good day. She would have pressed on regardless, but this made her success far more likely.
She closed the door and sat with her back straight. “I must admit that my request is selfish in nature, but I will pay for it however you wish.”
“A selfish request? From you?” Zeus laughed. “The novelty alone makes me want to say yes, but I should know what I am getting myself into before making any promises. What is it you desire? A larger private arena? Palace renovations? A vacation?”
Images flashed in Athena’s mind. Antinous making lude threats about Penelope before attacking Telemachus. Odysseus watching as Zeus slaughtered his crew. Him standing on that cliffside calling her name. Most gods would call her attachment to this family unhealthy. Athena herself would typically agree, hence why she fought so hard to sever it. Alas, Odysseus had a way of drilling himself into one’s heart and anchoring himself there. She couldn’t deny her affection towards him, not anymore.
“I humbly request that you force Calypso to free Odysseus from Ogygia and guarantee him safe passage to Ithaca.”
Zeus’s smile faded. “Your request is for a mortal? You’ve gotten attached to yet another one? I thought you hated him, what with your dramatic goodbye and refusal to speak of him for the last, what, ten years? What changed?”
‘I changed,’ she wanted to say. Odysseus re-ignited a flame in her she’d long forgotten about. She ignored it as long as she could, but Telemachus’s youthful smile and pure heart added more and more kindling until her insides burned with the need to save her friend.
“I dedicated much time and energy into training him,” Athena said instead. “It is a disgrace to watch him waste away on that island, regardless of my feelings towards him.”
“So this has nothing to do with him screaming for you yesterday? Or the way you’ve been sneaking trips to Ithaca for weeks now?”
Athena should have known he’d find out about that. “Please, Father, I-”
“My answer is no. Leave and return to your work.”
She didn’t move, couldn’t move. Zeus often praised her for her determination in battle. There were battles that necessitated a strategic retreat, and battles where defeat was simply not an option. This was the latter. Any uncertainty on her part, any sign he could make her relent, would sentence Odysseus to a life of pain and longing.
Lightning flashed in Zeus’s eyes. “I do not like to repeat myself, daughter.”
“I told you I will pay whatever you wish.”
“If you do not leave right now, you will pay in ichor and receive nothing in return.”
“I do not fear your punishments. Until you set Odysseus of Ithaca free, I will lay down my spear and do none of the work required of me. No amount of ichor spilt or lightning forced into my immortal flesh will dissuade me. You know my resilience, and you must know the honesty in my heart.”
Zeus shot from his chair, a bolt of lightning pointed at Athena’s heart. “You would sacrifice the good of Olympus, your own wellbeing, for a mortal? I expect this childish behavior from Aphrodite and Dionysus, but you? You are better than this. Leave now and I will consider your treason forgotten.”
The hair on Athena’s neck and arms rose as static filled the air. She almost choked on it. Her heart pounded in her chest. She summoned Odysseus’s voice in her head and steadied her nerves. “My loyalty to my domains reigns supreme, as it always has. Odysseus is my champion and I have left him to suffer long enough.”
“Do you think I'm a fool?” He threw his lightning against a bookcase. Thunder filled the room, followed by the overwhelming smell of charcoal and smoke. Athena gagged, but refused to flee. “I do know your heart. It is the same one that mourned a pitiful nymph for centuries, overwhelmed your good sense long enough to make you take up her name. As much as your mind fights to resist it, you have always had a sentimental nature. That is what speaks to me today, not the dutiful, logical daughter I know and love. I will not let your treasonous heart speak for you.”
She pushed her emotions aside. Zeus hated to acknowledge Pallas’s existence. He only brought her up to throw Athena off. It wouldn’t work this time. “In this, my mind and heart are one and the same.” As she spoke, ash coated her tongue. “I will not let this go, and deep down you already know I will win. Right now, I will give you anything in exchange for his freedom. If we carry on and Odysseus grows old, if he dies, you will never have my obedience again.”
“Anything?” The burning rage faded from his eyes, but his anger remained. He sat back down. “Would you give your life for this man?”
“Yes,” she said without hesitation. Only afterwards did the implication hit her. Death. Eternity in the underworld under Hades’s mercy. Could Zeus sentence his child to such a thing? She didn’t doubt his capability, but his will. It would unsettle the fabric of Olympus, restructure everything humans knew of the gods, and surrender one of his offspring to his sibling.
“A high price indeed.” Zeus laughed, though it held no humor. “No, no, I am more merciful than that. Let us make it a price and lesson. You value efficiency, do you not? Yes, a lesson. You value mortals far too highly. A year among them will change your mind. A year with mortal flesh and a mortal mind. No gods to assist you, only your fellow human beings.”
Athena’s instinct was always to negotiate, but she suspected that would not go well for her here. Even so, she had to ask, “Will I know when Odysseus makes it home?”
“Of course you will, for you’ll be there waiting for him. Specifically, you will be a young lowly peasant working at his palace.”
She nodded. She’d expected a much worse punishment for her behavior. She only had to survive a year as a mortal. It was unthinkable that the Goddess of Wisdom could fail at something mortals did all the time. “Understood. Are there any other terms?”
“The entire point of this is for you to live as a mortal. No telling anyone your true identity, or allowing any human to piece it together. No subtly dropping hints; I know your tricks.”
“And if I break this rule?”
“I will never return your godhood to you, and you will die as a mortal.”
Athena dug her nails into her legs. So that question wasn’t merely to test her resolve, but a real possible consequence? No matter. Athena had no intention of revealing herself. Why would she willingly share her shame with anyone? “We have only discussed releasing Odysseus from Ogygia. What of his journey home?”
“Poseidon will never let it go if I refuse him one last attempt at your mortal. Hermes will provide Odysseus with general guidance, but Poseidon may do whatever he desires. If Odysseus makes it home, Poseidon has no right to attack him or his descendants ever again.”
“And Penelope?” Athena had hardly spoken to the woman, but knew it’d break Odysseus's heart to lose her.
“His wife? Sure, may as well include her.”
Although she had wanted to guarantee Odysseus’s safety, she knew he had it in him to perform one last miracle. As for the rest of the agreement, she could manage that. “Very well. I agree to all terms. Shall I draft a contract?”
Zeus rolled his eyes. “Why, so my wife can read it? No, this is between us. Swear to me and I will consider the pact complete.”
“You swear as well.”
His eyes darkened, lightning flickering in his irises. “You do not trust me to keep my word?”
“It is a formality, nothing more,” she lied. She loved her father most days, but she couldn’t always trust him. She certainly didn’t trust him with Odysseus’s life.
“You are always so pedantic.” Zeus stood and put a hand on his heart. “I swear on my rightful place as King of Olympus to uphold all terms of our agreement. I shall release Odysseus from Ogygia and, should he reach the shores of Ithaca, promise protection for him, his wife, and his descendants from Poseidon’s wrath.”
Athena knelt and extended a hand to her father. He accepted it. She closed her eyes as the reality of her situation sunk in. This may be the last time she speaks to another Olympian for an entire year. “With the rightful God King as my witness, I swear to uphold all terms of our agreement. I will spend a year as a mortal and face my punishment should I share or imply my identity to anyone.”
Zeus’s eyes glowed as his power flowed into her. It overwhelmed her senses until all she knew was darkness.