A/N: Okay here's my new fanfic project, yes I know I have a lot of other fics to worry about (and I say that a lot), but this one is gonna be based on Greek Mythology, which is right up my alley.

Now mind you, while I have this listed under the ' and Sherman' crossover, I would like to make it clear that neither Mr. Peabody nor Sherman will be making an appearance in this fic. The only reason why I have it in this section is because I'm basing the characters on the Mr. Peabody and Sherman film. For example, Odysseus will be short and chubby (and not too bright), while Agamemnon will look and act (hopefully I can get his character right) just like he did in the film, and so on and so forth.

Now as you noticed, I crossed the fic over with Greek Mythology as that is what I'm gonna focus on. So I'm gonna sort of follow the mythology stories, but note that there will be some changes along the way. Some of the changes will be small and some will be big, and some of the changes will be VERY big. (Kinda like how Disney 'adjusted' the Greek myths to make their Hercules movie and TV series)

Alright, with all that being said, here is the first chapter.

Disclaimer: I'm not really sure how to do this…I guess the characters belong to Mr. Peabody and Sherman. I am making absolutely NO money off this fic.

And one last thing, when you see this, ~~~~~~~~~~~~~name~~~~~~~~~~~~, that signals a scene change.

The Lucky Straw

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Menelaus POV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Most would agree that watching your father being murdered and then being forced into exile for several years, was a terrifying thing.

They would also agree that having to spend six years training and planning to kill your own uncle and finally committing said act is one of the most difficult and stressful things someone could do.

For Menelaus however, all that seemed like nothing compared to what he was doing at this moment. Sure it was traumatizing to see his dad get brutally murdered and having to run away with his older brother to avoid the same grizzly end, wasn't the best thing a ten and a twelve year old should go through.

Yet as crazy as it sounds, Menelaus would rather face his murderous relatives again than be here competing with forty four other men for the hand of young, Spartan princess, Helen. In fact, it wasn't even his idea to be here in the first place.

It was Agamemnon's doing. He was the one who insisted that Menelaus should go and try his luck at winning Helen.

Under any other occasion, Menelaus would have challenged his brother and retorted with 'why don't you try to win her?', but that would have been a stupid question as Agamemnon was already married to Clytemnestra, and the two were busy expecting their first (technically second) baby.

Menelaus held back a shiver at that thought. He honestly didn't trust Clytemnestra and he often wondered what his older brother saw in her. Sure she was fairly attractive and all, but the foul attitude she would develop whenever things didn't go her way made Menelaus wonder if she was some sort of harpy or gorgon in disguise.

With this theory in mind, it was no wonder why the younger prince was so hesitant in coming to Sparta. He had not heard much about Helen, nor had he ever seen her, but if she was anything like her spoiled sister, then he would be better off loosing. And just by looking around, Menelaus could already tell that he was out of his league.

Most of the men were older than him, some only by a few years, while others by a decade…or more. Only a few were teens younger than him, and the small remaining handful were around the age of eighteen like him. None the less, it seemed that the older men were stronger than him while the ones around his age looked as if they could easily match him in strength. That being said, it would be quite difficult to prove himself worthy in a physical challenge. To make matters worse, it didn't help that he was also one of the shorter males in the group.

Even his hair and eye color seemed to stack the odds against him. Menelaus could hear the snickers from the other men as they commented on his dark blond hair and grey eyes, labeling him as the 'oddball' of the suitors.

It was odd how this world worked. If a woman had light colored hair or colorful eyes, it was the most attractive thing in the world, but if a man had these looks, then they are considered 'weird' or 'unmanly'.

Running a hand through his dirty blond hair, Menelaus glanced over at King Tyndareus, who was busy walking around greeting the many suitors. A young woman stood beside him, greeting the various other kings and princes with what looked like a forced smile. It only took a few seconds for Menelaus to figure out that this young woman was the reason why he and every other suitor were gathered here today.

Standing beside King Tyndareus, was none other than Princess Helen of Sparta.

Menelaus blinked in amazement at the young beauty. There was no doubt that she was probably one of the most beautiful women in Greece, second only to Aphrodite.

'That would explain why so many men of royalty responded to Tyndareus' invitation.' Menelaus mused before standing up straight. The Spartan king was gracefully making his way towards the blond prince of Mycenae with his daughter trailing close behind.

"Menelaus my boy!" The king greeted cheerfully as he patted the teenager on the back.

Menelaus smiled and nodded to the ruler respectfully, "King Tyndareus." He replied.

Tyndareus placed a hand on Helen's back. "As you may have already heard, this is my daughter, and the princess of Troy, Helen." He then placed his other hand on Menelaus' back, "Helen, this is Prince Menelaus of Mycenae." He introduced.

The two young royals nodded at each other with small smiles on their faces.

Menelaus decided to take this moment to check out Helen, and boy was she prettier up close! She was a slim, petite teenager around the age of fifteen or so, and had wavy, blond hair that went down just past her shoulders. The most stunning aspect of the princess was her blue eyes, which stared back into his light grey ones.

Menelaus swallowed the lump in his throat before finally forcing himself to greet her, "It's a pleasure to meet you Princess Helen."

Helen's smile grew ever so slightly, "It's a pleasure to meet you too Prince Menelaus."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Tyndareus 'POV'~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tyndareus beamed. Helen had been introduced to many of the men that had come seeking her hand in marriage, but Menelaus was the first and only man that had received a genuine smile and a greeting that didn't seem forced.

Naturally, the old king took this as a sign that his younger daughter was interested in the light haired boy, and had the circumstances of the two meeting been different, Tyndareus would have offered Helen to Menelaus then and there. However, due to the fact that the suitors consisted of powerful kings and princes, flat out choosing one suitor out of the rest, could result in unwanted consequences. Threats could be made, treaties and alliances could be broken, or even wars could break out!

Tyndareus pursed his lips. With those types of risks, it would be better to stick with his original plan of holding a contest to see who would win Helen. Who knows, perhaps Menelaus would be the winner.

'Speaking of contest…where is Odysseus?' Tyndareus thought while looking around the crowd. The young King of Ithaca had assured him that he would think of a fair contest to see who would win the Spartan princess' hand.

He finally spotted the short king standing a small distance away from the other suitors, talking to Penelope. King Tyndareus frowned, wondering what his niece was doing with what was supposed to be Helen's suitor.

Turning back to his daughter, he gave an apologetic smile in Menelaus' direction, "I'm sorry to cut into your conversation, but Helen and I must be going." He looked down at Helen, "Come Helen, there is something I must discuss with Odysseus." With that, they bid Menelaus good bye, and made their way to where Helen's cousin was busy sharing a conversation with the Ithacan king.

'I really hope he hasn't wasted all this time goofing off!' Tyndareus thought worriedly. He was counting on the little shrimp to provide a good challenge for the suitors. True Odysseus didn't seem like the smartest King in Greece, but there were times when his hidden intelligence would shine through, and he would think up of pretty clever ideas.

As he neared the duo, Tyndareus noticed that Odysseus was holding a bunch of hay straws in his hand.

Clearing his throat, Tyndareus managed to get the attention of his niece and Odysseus. Upon seeing her uncle and cousin, Penelope blushed and backed away from what was supposed to be Helen's suitor. Tyndareus paid her no mind, and instead looked down at Odysseus.

"Have you thought of a solution to help decide who Helen shall marry?" He inquired politely. Helen cringed. It scared her to know that by the end of the day, she would be promised to one of these strangers that she knew nothing about.

To her horror, Odysseus gave a huge grin and nodded enthusiastically before holding up his hand that held the hay straws.

"We'll draw straws!" Odysseus announced proudly.

Tyndareus and Helen shared a look. 'Oh gods, please tell me he's joking!' Helen prayed, while casting her father a pleading gaze. Her hopes were shattered when she saw the thoughtful expression on her dad's face. 'Are you kidding me?! He's actually considering on going through with this?!' Helen panicked. This couldn't be happening! As her father had made it clear that he wouldn't be accepting gifts from the suitors, Helen had thought that some sort of actual challenge would be made to test the suitors strength or intellect. She had honestly thought there would be a footrace or a fight or something that would be more dignifying than a game of luck! Her father might as well close his eyes and randomly point out into the crowd of suitors and see who the 'lucky' man that would get to marry Helen.

Tyndareus, however, thought this could be a quick and easy way to choose a suitor, if only there wasn't this one problem…

"What if the other men get upset over their loss? That will definitely start a conflict, which is exactly what I want to avoid!" The king questioned, but Odysseus had already thought of a solution to that problem.

"We'll have them take an oath! Before we draw the straws, the men will have to promise to support whoever the winner is, and they have to promise to protect Helen and her husband if and when the time comes." Odysseus crossed his arms with a proud, satisfied look. Helen and Penelope looked at Tyndareus, who was stroking his beard in thought. "Yes…that could work. Alright it's settled!" he motioned over a servant.

"Gather the suitors and have them stand in a line. Odysseus found a way to choose a suitor." The king instructed. The servant nodded and quickly made his way around the room, repeating what his king had told him.

Tyndareus motioned his daughter and niece over to the other side of the room to wait for the drawing to start. Penelope stood on one side of Tyndareus, while Helen stood on the other.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Helen's POV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Helen looked down the newly formed line; her light blue eyes regarded the various men. On the far left side stood Prince Ajax, or as some call him, 'Ajax the Great' or 'Greater Ajax' or 'Telemonian Ajax'. Besides him stood his half-brother Teucer, who was just as arrogant as his half sibling. Helen fought the urge to frown when she noticed the two men giving her hungry, lustful looks.

Tearing her gaze away from the brothers, she continued to observe the rest of the royal men. Most of them were watching Odysseus and the servant in wonder, while a few others regarded her in return.

Thinking back to numerous men her father introduced her to that day, Helen was able to recall the names of several of them. There was Menesthus, Protesilaus, Agapenor, Diomedes, Leonteus, Meges, Ascalaphus, Odysseus (of course), Peneleos, Idomeneus, Thoas, and at the end of the line at the far right was none other than Menelaus.

Out of the forty plus men that had arrived to seek her hand in marriage, Menelaus seemed to be the only decent man that didn't give her looks that could make her shiver. Instead, he had regarded her politely, and though he did give her the ol' 'up and down' look over that many of the men had openly given her while she was greeting them, Menelaus' eyes didn't remain on her chest or lower region.

'He's probably the only one I wouldn't mind marrying.' Helen thought as she allowed her eyes to look over the grey eye, dirty blond haired prince. Unlike the majority of the suitors, Menelaus stood only a few inches taller than her, and if she recalled, he was only three years older than her, so while he wasn't the youngest, he certainly wasn't the oldest. Another thing Helen noticed about Menelaus was the fact that he wasn't too skinny and scrawny like some of the younger men, and he wasn't incredibly over weight like the older kings. He was husky, yes, but she assumed that some of it was muscle and not just fat, and Helen had to admit that she was relieved that he didn't tower over her like some of the 'giants' in the room. 'And at least he's not shorter than me.' She thought while glancing over at Odysseus.

She didn't have anything against short men, but she never actually fancied herself being the wife of a short husband. Not that it mattered; Penelope seemed to have her eyes on Odysseus for herself.

"Helen I think they're about to start!" Penelope whispered around Tyndareus.

Helen blinked out of her stupor and sent her attention over to where Odysseus was standing in front of the long line of suitors, who were all staring at him in wonder.

'Good-bye freedom and hello strange husband.' Helen thought miserably.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Menelaus POV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Menelaus watched as Odysseus practically skipped so that he was standing in front of the line, a huge grin on his round face.

Menelaus furrowed his brow when he noticed the hay straws in Odysseus' hand. 'Okay then…' he thought as Odysseus cleared his throat, catching the remaining Kings' and Princes' attention.

"Alright, since King Tyndareus couldn't think of a good challenge to decide which one of us would marry Helen," Odysseus started while Tyndareus gave a small face palm when Odysseus mentioned his small plight, and Odysseus continued, "I was asked to think of a way to find out who would be the one that gets to keep Helen."

Helen flinched at the wording.

Odysseus held up the hand that held the straws, "So after lots of thinking-"

"I'll bet it took a lot of thinking!" Ascalaphus snickered to Leonteus, who gave a soft chuckle in agreement. Odysseus didn't seem to hear them as he continued,

"I decided that we should draw straws to see who the winner is!" He looked at the assembled suitors and beamed.

Everyone, including Menelaus gawked. 'Is he serious? This is how Tyndareus is going to choose a husband?' Menelaus thought while casting a glance at the rest of the suitors. Judging by their reactions, they didn't look too happy about this way of choosing.

"You've got to be joking!" Ajax the greater, announced, while the rest of the men nodded in agreement.

Sensing that an argument was about to breakout, Tyndareus quickly stepped forward, hands raised in defense, "Easy now…I know this isn't the best way to do things, but I do believe it is the easiest and fastest way to do it." He assured desperately, now having second thoughts on this whole 'drawing of the straws' thing.

Odysseus stepped around Tyndareus and added, "I think this would be better than if King Tyndareus were to just pick someone out of random. At least this way everybody has a shot."

Menelaus raised his brows. 'For a dunce, Odysseus actually has good logic…sometimes.' He mused as the rest of the suitors began to settle down as they though over what the shrimpy king just said.

Seeing that everyone was now calm, Odysseus pressed on, "Now, before we start picking straws, everyone has to promise that no matter who the husband is, we all have to agree to help and protect Helen and her husband when and if the time comes." He pointed to Ajax, "Promise? And no crossed fingers!"

Ajax rolled his eyes but grumbled out a quick "Yeah, sure, I promise."

After that, Odysseus went down the line, pointing at each suitor and giving a quick "Promise?" and would only move on when the King or prince in question agreed to the oath.

Diomedes leaned down to Menelaus and whispered, "Why can't Odysseus be this smart all the time?"

Menelaus snickered, "I don't know, but I'm pretty sure this is his personal record. I'm guessing he'll be back to his old self by tomorrow." Diomedes gave a soft laugh before straitening up, just as Odysseus made it to the end of the line and got to last two men's' 'promise'.

Odysseus nodded in satisfaction and held up the straws again, "Okay, here I have the straws; all except two of them are long. That means two of us will get a short straw, then after that there will be a round two where the two with the short straws will have to draw again and whoever of the two gets the shorter straw, wins."

"How do we know which straws are the short ones? Are we going to compare sizes at the end?" Ajax questioned once more.

Odysseus shook his head, "No we'll know which ones the shortest. It'll be pretty obvious; the short straws are half the size of the long ones. Also, if no one gets a short straw, then we'll have a rematch. If only one person get a short straw in the first round, then that person will be the winner." He rubbed his hands together in an attempt to mix up the straws, so that the other men wouldn't accuse him of knowing which straw was the winning one. "I'll go first!" he announced before picking out a straw. A relieved look crossed his face,

"Mine is long. I loose!" he exclaimed a bit too cheerfully while tossing the straw behind his back.

'Well that's one down.' Menelaus thought while crossing his arms. He watched as Odysseus moved to the other end of the line to start with Ajax the greater.

Ajax eyed the straws for a few seconds before tentatively pulling out one of the straws. Automatically, all signs of doubt disappeared when he saw the straw he pulled.

Short.

The first short straw had been drawn!

The rest of the suitors all shifted uneasily. Menelaus ran a hand through his hair. 'Being the last one in line, there is no way I'm going to get the other short straw.' He thought with a shake of his head. In his opinion, he might as well go home.

Looking down the line, he saw Odysseus moving to the other suitors, and watched as man after man picked out a long straw, only for them to groan in defeat and disappointment. Ajax stood off to the side waiting for the other 'winner', his eyes glinting every time one of the suitors drew out a losing straw.

After painstakingly long wait, Odysseus finally arrived to Menelaus. The dark-blond haired prince stared down at remaining straws and gulped. Letting out a deep breath, Menelaus raised a hand and pulled out one of the straws, and felt his jaw drop slightly in shock. Everyone seemed to have the same reaction as well.

Odysseus however, grinned at Menelaus, "Hey, you got the second short straw!" he exclaimed.

Menelaus caught a glimpse at Ajax who didn't look too pleased that he still had to compete against someone for Helen's hand.

Odysseus quickly plucked the straw out of Menelaus' hand before pushing him towards Ajax, who was glaring daggers at the slightly younger man. Odysseus took the straw from Ajax and tossed it away and then mixed Menelaus' with a smaller bunch of straws before holding them out.

"Whoever gets the short straw gets to marry Helen. If both of you draw a long one, then we'll have a rematch until someone wins. Ready? Ajax you go first since you got the first short one." Odysseus explained while holding his hand out to the greater Ajax.

Ajax studied the bunch, his eyes hard and focused. He finally reached in and pulled out a straw, only to growl of displeasure. He had pulled out a long straw. Unless Menelaus drew a long one as well, Ajax just may have lost the drawing.

Odysseus moved his hand over to Menelaus and stared up at him expectantly.

Menelaus could feel his heart pound in anticipation, and he could definitely feel sweat forming on his brow. He hated being put on the spot like this. Taking a deep breath and raised to his to hover over Odysseus'. Licking his lips, he closed his eyes and slowly lowered his hand and pulled out his straw.

The sounds of soft gasps made him crack open one eye, only for both of them to snap open in complete awe.

In his hand, was the short straw.

Menelaus had won the draw!

"Menelaus wins!" Odysseus announced to Tyndareus, who was beaming in approval.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Helen POV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Helen couldn't believe it…the one man she was somewhat okay with marrying, was the one that had actually won this game of luck. What were the odds of that happening?

Castor and Pollux, who had been lurking in a corner in an attempt to stay away from the numerous suitors, walked on either side of their stunned sister and leaned closer to her.

"Well sis, it looks like you got matched up with another blondie." Pollux joked while putting an arm around his little sisters' shoulder. Helen rolled her eyes and shook off his arm. She really didn't need her brothers teasing her at a time like this. It was bad enough she would now have to marry Menelaus, whom she knew close to nothing about, she didn't need to be made fun of right now.

Castor punched his twin in the arm, "Knock it off Pollux, this is serious!" he hissed with a glare. He looked down at Helen and placed his hands on her shoulders. "But seriously Helen; if that guy hurts you in any way…you let us know and well take care of him for you." Pollux nodded, his face somber.

Helen smiled up at her elder brothers. They may be goofballs most of the time, but when the time came, they could be the most over protective brothers around. They had proven it when Helen was kidnapped by Theseus at the tender age of seven, and it seemed that they will be willing to do so again.

"Thanks I'll keep that in mind." She replied with a nod.

Tyndareus appeared in front of Helen, and led her to Menelaus, who looked just as nervous as her. Her father however, either didn't notice or didn't care. Instead, he placed his hands on Helen and Menelaus' shoulders and addressed the assembled crowd of rejected suitors, servants and family members.

"Now that it has been decided who Helen will marry, I would also like to add that not only will their marriage mark them as husband and wife, but they will also become the new King and Queen of Sparta!" The older king announced happily.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Menelaus~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Menelaus' eyes widened when he heard his soon-to-be father-in-laws' declaration.

Had he known that he also ran a chance at becoming a king so soon, he would have resisted his brothers urging to come to Sparta harder.

He wasn't ready to become a King! He wasn't even ready to become a husband, and the thought of becoming a father terrified him! If anything, he had hoped to put off tying the knot and having kids for another few years, and he had always told himself that if he were to start a family, it would be with a woman that he had met on his own and fallen in love and married in his own time.

He glanced over at Helen…his future wife, and sighed.

It was official, next time he saw Agamemnon, he was really gonna let him have it for getting him in this situation.

End Chapter 1

Okay, I have noidea how Helen really looked. Most film and TV series she is in depict her as a blond, so that's what I'm basing her on and I added the blue eyes myself…I'm not sure what color her eyes are in other movies. Regardless, this is the way I picture her and I'm sticking to it. Besides, I did say there would be changes. :)

I'm also aware that some sources say that Menelaus was a red head, but in the Mr. Peabody and Sherman film, it looks like he had dirty blond hair, so I just went with that. As for the eye color, I can't get a good view on them, so I just went with grey.

Note: I honestly don't know what Ancient Greeks thought of people, particularly men, with light colored hair and colored eyes. Obviously in films and myths there are Greeks with black, brown, blond and red hair and they don't seem to have a problem with it, so…I don't know. I personally love all hair colors and don't think that one particular color makes a guy 'less manly', but for the sake of this fic, let's just pretend the Greeks do. *Update!* Apparently, ancient Greeks really liked light colored hair, and even went as far as to dye it blonde. But like I said, for the sake of this fic…

Myth fun 'facts':

~Helen's Suitors- Depending on which version you hear/read, is how many suitors Helen had. Pseudo Apollodorus listed 31 suitors, Hesiod listed 11, and Hyginus listed 36 bringing it to a total of 45 different names. Some of the names were mentioned by one, two or all three of the story tellers, hence why there are only 45 names instead of 78. Here are the names.

From Pseudo, Hesiod and Hyginus: Ajax (the greater), Elephenor, Menelaus, Menestheus, Odysseus, and Protesilaus

From Pseudo and Hyginus: Agapenor, Ajax (the lesser), Amphimachus, Antilochus, Ascalaphus, Diomedes, Eumelus, Eurypylus, Leonteus, Machaon, Meges, Patroclus, Peneleos, Philoctetes, Podalirius, Polypoetes, Polyxenus, Sthenelus, Thalpius

From Pseudo and Hesiod: Amphilochus

From Hesiod and Hyginus: Idomeneus

From only Hesiod: Alcmaeon, Lycomedes, Podarces

From only Hyginus: Ancaeus, Blanirus, Clytius, Meriones, Nireus, Phemius, Phidippus, Prothous, Thoas, Tlepolemus

From only Pseudo: Epistrophus, Ialmenus, Leitus, Schedius, Teucer.

(For more info, check out the 'Helen of Troy' Wikipedia page)

Obviously I didn't choose just one source, I used all of them.:)

~Choosing a suitor: According to several of the myth sources, the suitors really did have to draw straws to see who would win. In this story, I had Menelaus present, but in the myths, he never actually went, and instead, sent Agamemnon to represent him.

~Yes as I hinted, Helen is fifteen, which was around the age young women in Ancient Greece were married off. (Though some were married off at an even younger age!)

~Most men married in their 30's, but I made Menelaus 18 in this fic. (I'll have him grow older at the story goes on as well as in the sequel).

~In Mr. Peabody and Sherman, Agamemnon mentions that his father was –Spoiler alert!- a minotaur, but in the actual myths, his father was Atreus, who as far as I know, was a human. Also, in the myths, Agamemnon was the older (?) brother of Menelaus, hence the reason why I'm making them brothers in this fic.

Closing Notes: As you may have noticed (those of you that have seen the Mr. Peabody movie) I changed Ajax's personality. In the film he –spoiler alert!- was a nice guy who just wanted to be in the Greek Chorus instead of the army, but here I had him as a cocky guy, who's a bit of a jerk.

Anywho, let me know what y'all thing of this so far. I've got chapter 2 about half way done and I already have a prequel in mind as well as a couple of sequels all planned out, I just have to type them out. :)

Also, let me know if I should keep this in the Mr. Peabody crossover category, or if I should move it to the 'Greek Mythology' category and leave a note that it basically takes place in the 'Mr. Peabody and Sherman' universe, or whatever. Thanks!