Eumaeus was searching everywhere for his lord. A messenger stood waiting in the courtyard, and from the looks of the messenger's clothes, he was from a god. Finally, to Eumaeus' relief he found his lord, Odysseus, in the stables, sparring.
Odysseus looked up from his fight when he heard running footsteps and saw Eumaeus about to collapse from exhaustion. He chuckled at this and signaled to his opponent, pausing the fight. Odysseus with the amusement evident in his voice said, "Eumaeus, with your wheezing, you sound like the Furies were chasing you all the way from Thebes."
Eumaeus, ignoring the comment, wheezed, "Master…there is a messenger… in the courtyard…He looks to be from a god."
"Thank you for getting word to me," Odysseus replied. He then summoned a bowl of water. "Here drink this. I will go and see to this messenger."
With that, Odysseus left Eumaeus and slowly walked to the courtyard. He pondered whom this messenger was from and why he had a sense of foreboding. When Odysseus arrived at the courtyard, he approached the well-dressed messenger. In a welcoming but cautious tone he asked, "Yes, may I help you? Would you like a drink or rest before you tell your message?"
The messenger looked at him with cold eyes, "I am here with a message for King Odysseus, ruler of Ithaca."
Odysseus replied stonily, "I apologize for not introducing myself, I am King Odysseus."
The messenger nodded in response and a scroll appeared in front of him. He took the scroll, unfurled it, and began speaking. "Odysseus, king of Ithaca, creator of the wooden horse and warrior of the sea, Zeus, king of the gods and men, has declared that all the kings of the mortal realm are to present a gift to the goddess Selena for her two-hundredth birthday in two months time. A guide will come and escort you to her palace." With the final note, the scroll burst into flame, and its ashes scattered in the wind.
"Thank you for the harp, King Alcinous," responded the beautiful goddess Selena. This was her generic response to every king that had given her gifts on her day. She thought joyously, "Thank Zeus that there is only one more mortal king to go. Their presents are all the same: a golden harp, a golden spear, a silver bracelet. It is all the same!" These thoughts were thrust out of her mind when the announcer then called the last name. "Oh…here comes the last king," she thought relived. She looked to the crowd and when the last king stepped forward, her relief turned into breathlessness.
She just gasped at him. She could not think. He was beautiful and strong. She could not stop looking at him. His hair was shoulder length, reddish-blond. He had exotic blue eyes that reminded her of the sea at dusk, and when he looked at her, those eyes seem to be able to peer into the deepest depths of her soul. His face was perfect, as everything about him was, even his tan. She felt her heart flutter in her chest, which no man or god has been able to do in her entire life. She tried to remember the name and country that the announcer had declared. And after trying while the unknown man was approaching across the room, she finally remembered this reincarnated Adonis's name is Odysseus and he hails from Ithaca. Her romantic hopes were soon dashed when the remembered name conjured the storied adventures of Odysseus that she had heard. It was not his actual adventures that tore at her hopes but his goal - his wife, Penelope, who stayed true to him for twenty years - that did. Nevertheless, she now knows why Calypso and Circe tried to keep him; in his beauty, he almost seemed to be a god. Her thoughts were cut short and looked up when she heard a deep voice start to speak to her.
"Goddess Selena, mighty sovereign of harmony during warfare, the beloved daughter of Mars, ruler of war, and Pax, queen of peace, I wish you a happy birthday. I gladly offer you this present," Odysseus announced bowing deeply to her, and presented her with a plainly wrapped present tied with a mere string.
She unwrapped the little present and her eye beheld a small wooden handmade flute. She was speechless. In her hand was an obviously handmade flute, not gold or silver, but wood. When she was able to find her words, she asked him, "Who made this?"
He instantly responded, "I did."
She was touched, for no one had ever made something for her before. All she could say was a breathy "Thank you" before she fled the hall with the flute, her tears pattering on the floor. She ran to her chambers and collapsed on her bed. After her tears had stopped, she sat up and gingerly held the precious-as-gold flute. Letting the warmth of her happiness flow out, she beamed a smile at the little flute and set her most valued birthday present down on her pillow. It was then that she remembered how curt with Odysseus she was and, mortified, she took off to her door where her maid, Erica, met her.
"Milady! Come quick, for Odysseus is hurt!" Erica and the goddess ran back to the hall.
"What happened? Where is he?" Selena shouted with rage.
Erica breathlessly replied, "The other kings thought that he had offended you and rose against him. They held us back while they beat him severely. However, I managed to escape and find you. They are in the main hall."
When they got to the main hall, they were horrified by what they saw. Blood was smeared on floor like a gruesomely beautiful mosaic. Then they saw Odysseus, beaten and bloodied; they ran over to him to see if he was alive and they felt a pulse. Selena commanded Erica and the other servant to carry him to a guestroom. She also ordered cloths, water, and other medical supplies. They rushed him to the room, where Selena cleaned and bandaged his wounds. She watched over him for the entire night for any trouble or waking; she did that for two years. During that time, she had grown fond of watching him and had grown to love him.
Odysseus woke up to the morning rays blinding him; he looked at his surroundings in confusion. The last thing he remembered was being at the goddess's birthday celebration and the searing pain of the injuries when the other kings overpowered him. He decided to try to find someone and ask them what happened. As he walked through the halls, Odysseus saw a servant carrying a tray of delicious looking and smelling food into a room and he heard his stomach rumbling, as if he had not been fed in many moons. Then he saw the goddess and a maid approaching him, carrying food and water to his room. They stopped when they saw him and gasped.
"Is everything alright?" Odysseus asked them.
"Yes, everything is fine," the goddess responded, "except you have been sleeping off your wounds for two years."
He paused, "TWO YEARS!"
"Yes, I have been watching over you to see when you would awaken, and now you have," she responded sadly for she knew what he would ask next.
"What of my family?" he asked her urgently.
"They are waiting for you to return, they do not know where you are," she replied.
"They do not know where I am? Did you not send them a message of what happened?" he demanded.
"No, I did not," she returned.
"Why not?" He held his rage in check.
"Because I love you and I did not want you to go back to some...some mortal woman!" she declared to him, "every since I first met you. I have love you."
Odysseus was shocked to hear this, but said, "I am sorry, but I love my wife, Penelope. I must get back to her and my kingdom."
She saw the truth of his words in his eyes. She saw his love for his wife and his family and that he never could love her. Though she loved him and was enraged that he would choose a mortal over her, she decided to let him go because of that truthfulness that love. And as she watch him reunite with his family, she said, "Now I really know why Calypso and Circe tried to keep him."