Isn't it funny how quickly a year flies by when you get comfortable? It's like no time has passed at all since I arrived on Ithaca's shores, yet I've changed so much that I doubt Annabeth would recognise me now.

"Shoulders back, head up." Penelope instructed, "Don't look at the cup."

I followed her instructions, straightening my posture as I smiled demurely, passing her a wine cup.

"Too much eye-contact," Penelope said. "Again."

I wrinkled my nose, but took the cup back from her. "I don't really understand why I have to learn how to poison a man. I mean, I have my powers- I can easily just kill them like that."

"The point is not to kill them, but also to incapacitate them." Penelope frowned, "If your husband is rough with you, you do not just kill him because that would cause an uproar, you add sleeping draughts to his wine so he won't join you in your marriage bed. If you are being mocked by a group of men, you add laxatives to their wine. If you are being held captive, you poison them in a way that makes the death seem natural. Drugging men is an art, and you would do well to learn it."

I nodded.

Poisoning men, hiding daggers, lying, bribing, manipulation, breaking out of a hold: all lessons Penelope had me learning. How to use gossip circles as a spy ring, how to bring the servants and slaves on your side, how to use jewellery as trade instead of coins, how to escape a kidnapping. Penelope looks like she's the picture of perfect femininity, and honestly, she is. She just also happens to know how to fuck you up.

"Slip that vial in more carefully, if a drop of it gets on the cup then they may be able to trace it," Penelope warned.

"Sofia!" I shrieked, giggling madly.

"I'm just saying!" She said, "My husband has a lot of muscles!"

Andrea had doubled over, snorting and cackling.

"You were not 'just saying'!" I said breathlessly, "You were definitely implying much more!"

"And if I was?" She asked coyly, "What would you do about it?"

"Tell your husband the filthy things you're implying about him to your friends!" I countered.

She gave a dramatic gasp, hand on her forehead, falling back on the blanket. "Traitor!"

Andrea laughed harder, falling over.

The three of us had decided to have a picnic, breathe some fresh air, and say goodbye to Sofia as she and Leodros would be returning to Athens next week. The sun was shining, with only a few clouds, and we were all enjoying the outdoors that we'd painstakingly climbed a rocky hill for.

Sofia had married Leodros not two months ago, and had been enjoying married life immensely. Penelope had joked the other day about them being parents soon, and I couldn't disagree. She was glowing with happiness, and this is probably the proudest she'd ever been with herself.

"Andrea!" She chirped, "What about you? I heard that Penelope found you a betrothed!"

She blushed, "Just rumor, but I wish. No, Penelope found a betrothed for Tylene, but Tylene turned her down and asked about Theodron."

"Theodron?" I gasped, "Our Theodron? Who likes to collect mushrooms and hates hunting? Miss 'My Mother Was An Amazon And I Will Settle For Nothing Less Than Blood' likes Theodron?"

"Yes!"

We all gasped and tittered over this piece of gossip like a bunch of hens.

"I heard that Kyros was the one to set those chickens loose in the kitchen!" I suddenly burst.

"Really?!" Sofia laughed, "My servants were all up in arms over that! Parthia even swore!"

I giggled, "He did! And of course, where Kyros was…"

"Melas was too!" They joined in.

I nodded, "Iola told me."

Andrea's eyebrows rose, "Iola tells you some of her precious secrets? I've been trying to bribe her with ribbons about Cyanea's secret wine storage, but she won't budge!"

"Cyanea has a secret wine storage?" Sofia gasped, "No wonder she never blinks at anything! I saw that woman not even give Heirax a second look when she found him with blue hair and teeth, she must be drinking so much to be so…"

"Done with everyones' bullshit?" I offered, "Yep."

Andrea huffed, "I can't believe you got her to spill. What's your secret?"

I shrugged, "I taught her how to pick the lock on the sweetwine cupboard. You know she has a sweet tooth."

"Damn it!" Andrea cursed, not very lady-like.

We just laughed.

" Femininity is a tool, my dears. Poison your lips, make your nails claws, have snakes as hair, sing like a banshee. Make them underestimate Medusa."

"Your game is silly," Deme grumbled.

I just laughed, grabbing all of her checkers. "You just hate it because you always lose."

"I do not always lose!" Deme shrieked, throwing her pillow at me. "I just don't see the point of this game!"

"Oh? And you see a point of knucklebones?" I quipped, catching the pillow and punting it back to her. "It's a game, Deme, there's no point to it other than fun."

She huffed, but began resetting the board for another round of Checkers.

Deme ran her fingers through her hair, pulling the thick, straight black strands away from her face and back under her veil. "So…" She began, "Are you going to tell me why I heard a rumor of you and Melas being found together in the stables? In the stables, alone."

I rolled my eyes, "Deme, I swear, you find romance where there is none."

"So you're telling me that Kyros and Heirax didn't find you two in the stables by yourselves?"

"No, I'm saying that you are making a tsunami out of a wave." I played the first move, shifting on my pillows to lean forward.

Deme took a sip of her wine, exasperated. "That man has been pierced by Eros' arrow. He only has eyes for you! Rhea, truly, you are wasting a perfectly good match."

I wrinkled my nose, "I told you Deme, I don't want to get married."

"Then court then! Courting isn't marriage and you can stop it from going any further at any time!"

"Deme." I gave her a look as I took one of her pieces.

"I really don't see what the problem is, Rhea! You have all these rich, handsome heirs wanting your hand and…" She trailed off, squinting at me. "Ah. I see. You like girls don't you?"

I choked on my wine, "Deme!"

She looked positively smug, "I should have known. Bet you want to join the Hunters of Artemis too, huh?"

"No!" I put my cup down, "Deme, no! I mean, yes, but no! I like men too! Unfortunately. I just... I-"

Is my face on fire? I think my face is on fire.

Deme sipped her wine primly, "That's nice. You know, you could always marry Cylon. He's inheriting a sizable amount of land in Crete, with a lovely trading port, and Xanthos has sworn himself to him. Cylon can be with Xanthos without a wife being in the way, and you can choose from a large selection of lady partners." She winked, "I heard Cretean women are… different, yes?"

I'm going to strangle her.

"No. I'm not marrying Cylon- Nor Xanthos!" I quickly stopped her from opening her mouth. "Deme, if I do want to get married one day, I will do it. But I am not getting married to any of the foster boys, nor will I be courting them."

Deme rolled her eyes, "I can still dream."

"Why do you even care so much anyways?"

She frowned, looking at me, completely serious. "Rhea… You are my mistress. Where you go, I go. Unless, of course, your husband decides to sell me or replace me. You marrying well affects me too."

My blood ran cold. Of course, Deme and I may be best friends, but she's still technically my slave.

"Sorry," I muttered.

She flipped her hair back and downed her cup, "That's enough of that. Now, back to the original subject: If you weren't kissing Melas in the stables- what were you doing?"

I smiled, and watched her take one of my pieces. "Well, there are horses in the stable."

"You are not a bubble, nor can you be one. So embrace it, find your community, your love, your home. Share with them what they share with you. You are not a bubble- pop it."

"I'm so excited!" Deme whispered to me, "I get to see the Agora!"

The Agora was a public meeting place in the lower courtyards, midway between the ports and the palace, where the King goes to address the citizens and soldiers about the current social and political going ons. Well, at least that's what it's supposed to be.

The Ithacan Agora was one of the more modern Agoras in Greece. Odysseus had opened it to more than just citizens and soldiers, and it's slowly become a blooming marketplace filled with stalls of spices from India, silk from China, and even ribbons from Egypt.

Unfortunately, a lot of the goods were ridiculously expensive, and slaves weren't allowed in the Agora if they're not grabbing something for their masters.

I sent Deme a quick grin, then turned back to peek out of the curtains of the litter.

Servants were carrying us ladies (Andrea, Penelope, and I) down to the Agora in litters, these covered beds that 4 men were carrying, while the foster sons rode in front and behind in their horses.

I had begged Odysseus to let Deme come with me when Penelope said she needed escorts down to the Agora for a shopping trip, and he'd relented.

"We're nearly there!" I squealed into a pillow, giggling in excitement with Deme.

I was thoroughly distracted by a peddler selling golden bracelets when Melas appeared.

"Princess Rhea!" He called, making me turn around to greet him with a small bow.

"Prince Melas," I gave him a grin. "How may I help you?"

Deme gave me a rather unsubtle elbow to the ribs, probably trying to convey a message of 'Be Polite To The Pretty Heir,' but all it did was make me glare at her. How many times do I have to remind her that I have impenetrable skin and if she elbows me too hard, she might break her elbow? I swear, one of these days…

"More like, how may I help you." He corrected, "Kyros and I were about to eat our mid-day meal, would you like to join us? I'll pay."

"I'd love to," I delicately slipped my hand into his crooked elbow like Penelope taught me to.

Deme and Kyros shared a Look from the corner of my eye, and I gave them a rude hand gesture from where Melas can't see.

It's not my fault that Melas has the absolute biggest crush on me! I've made my feeling on the matter perfectly clear to him, and all the other foster sons, but crushes don't disappear overnight and he likes to invite me along to whatever he and Kyros are up to. At least one good thing comes from me unable to say no to his begging face, Deme and Kyros have struck up a very good friendship.

We passed a Heirax nursing a black eye, which I stopped to heal and tell him off for gambling on our day out, and went straight towards a stall selling grilled pork and crackling.

Kyros took the opportunity to buy us all Celtic Ale, and we ate in a small corner, watching a performer juggle.

You know, when you are in the future and you look back at history, you don't think that all these people travel very much. But as I stand in the Agora, watching a sumerian man peddle mosiacs and an asian woman dance in fiery silks, I realise that the Ancient world is just as interconnected as the Modern world.

"Christopher Columbus was so not the first person to realise the world was round," I muttered, watching a woman spin, revealing chinese scripture tattooed on her ankle.

"What was that?" Melas asked.

"I was just thinking about buying some ribbon!" I quickly lied, "Do you think green or blue would look better in my hair?"

"A deep blue that matches your eyes," He said a bit dreamily.

I frowned, "My eyes are green."

"No, they're not."

"Huh?"

I haven't been able to see my reflection properly since arriving in Ithaca as they use polished bronze plates as mirrors, but I'm pretty sure I haven't forgotten the color of my eyes.

"Rhea, your eyes are blue." Deme told me, "The same color as the sea right now. They're more green on stormy days. I think they reflect the sea pretty well."

Oh. Oh. Is this a Sea thing that I've never noticed? Probably.

"Oh, my mother has always just said they were green. I never realised they changed color." I chuckled awkwardly.

Luckily for my embarrassed self, Diokles appeared dragging Theodron by the arm.

"This sparrow," Theodron shot a glare at Diokles at the name, "Just tried to buy what I am certain are baked seeds at far too high a price." Diokles groused.

I raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

"The seeds are rare! Do you know how hard it is to get your hands on Poppy seeds? Their milk is valuable!" Theodron whined.

"Wait a second," I nearly choked on my ale. "Are you trying to make Poppy milk? Isn't Poppy milk a super strong painkiller and drug?"

"Yes."

I didn't know what to say to my friend trying to create drugs, so I kept quiet.

"What did you buy?" Diokles asked, sitting beside Kyros.

"A pendant made of Amber from a Carthaginian stall and some henna from an Indian stall," I answered.

"Melas and I bought a new pair of twin daggers and some nuts. You?"

"I got a new sword!" Diokles beamed, "Haggled with the seller down to 7 gold drachmas!"

Kyros whistled, impressed.

"I managed to buy papyrus and ink," Theodron added. "The Egyptian stall was selling it at a discount."

"Oh? Have you told Cylon about that yet?" Melas asked.

He shook his head, "Cylon and Xanthos got distracted a while back and I think they've spent all their coin getting trinkets for each other already."

We all rolled our eyes. Those two are joined at the hip and are the most responsible of all the foster boys, but leave them alone for too long and they'll do something stupid like get into a competition trying to show each other up on who loves who more.

"Ah, I see you are all here." Penelope said, appearing with the rest of our companions and some servants with their arms full of swaths of fabric behind her.

Icarious was playing with a remarkably sharp knife, and I squinted at the most silent of the foster brothers, wondering who he's going to try to kill.

"Yes Queen Penelope," Melas quickly answered, standing up to bow. "Are we to return back to the palace now?"

She smiled, "Yes. Are you done with your shopping?"

Knowing that there was a stall of seeds right next to the stall of ribbons and that Theodron isn't finished, I spoke up. "May we pass by the ribbon stall as we return to the litters? I want to buy a ribbon."

Penelope nodded, "Of course."

Theodron gave me a grateful smile, and I winked back.

"One, two, Eris is coming for you. Three, four, Can you hear the lion roar? Five, six, something's wrong, isn't it? Seven, eight, the dominoes have fallen, you're too late."

I shared a concerned glance with Odysseus.

Penelope had sent a runner to us when we were in the middle of a sword lesson, telling us to come as soon as possible to her solar.

"What could it be?" I asked him. "Am I in trouble?"

"I am certain not," he tried to soothe. "Penelope can be dramatic sometimes, you know this. Remember how she summoned us a few moons ago, panicking because she accidentally put two generals with a blood feud next to each other at Leodros' wedding? Aetes and Evios didn't even have a blood feud- Aetes just broke Evios' nose for calling him fat."

I raised an eyebrow, "And men's ability to start massive fights over small blows to their pride is nothing to belittle."

"See! Now you're starting to talk like her! They were fine: I gave them extra wine and a pretty slave to serve them each and they didn't say a peep!"

I wrinkled my nose, "Men."

He gave a full body laugh, and I couldn't help but join him.

We arrived at the solar with much lighter spirits than before.

That came to an abrupt end the second we saw Penelope's face.

"Penelope, what is it?" Odysseus asked, by her side in seconds. "Has a war begun?"

That question chilled me. War: the Trojan War is supposed to start soon. Has it begun?

"No, no." Penelope answered to our relief, "It's nothing like that. I have received a letter from Clytemnestra." She waved a piece of Papyrus as proof.

"What does your cousin want?" Odysseus frowned, "Has Agememnon been treating her cruelly?"

"No. She thinks that Rhea is our biological daughter."

"What?" I blurt, walking forward to inspect the letter myself.

Dearest Cousin,

I hope this letter reaches you well. I have been hearing many things from sailors who have passed by Ithaca in these past couple of months when I have inquired about your well-being, and one of them is the daughter you have.

As you can imagine, I was quite surprised at the news that you had a child, especially since you have never mentioned any children to me, but then I heard more and more from the sailors. A daughter with a god! The pride you must have at birthing Poseidon's daughter! I have been told that she has been raised in the Sea and is as powerful as she is beautiful, and this is the reason you have kept her secret for all this time. I understand, of course, a mother must keep her children safe.

Because of this, I am extending an offer of fostership. Your daughter sounds like she would make a lovely friend to my daughter, Iphigenia, and I know that she can learn much from me. I've heard that she is a deft hand with a sword, and I think Orestes would adore matching swords in the arena with her.

I have spoken to Agememnon about all of this, and he found it a wonderful idea. Spoke of finally having a foster daughter, when we have so many foster sons. He sends his best wishes to you, cousin, and to your husband and daughter.

I do hope you consider my offer,

Clytemnestra.

I blinked at the symbols written on the letter. Did she seriously…?

"Clytemnestra is a power-hungry bitch," Penelope groused.

Odysseus barked a laugh, "And a bit bold too."

"Did she really just imply that I could marry 'my cousin' who is 10 years old?" I gaped. "Orestes can barely swing a sword at that age!"

Penelope sighed, "Yes she did. And she is going to be very upset when I tell her no."

"You are?" I asked bewildered, "I'm sorry, but isn't your cousin one of the most powerful women in the Aegean? Why would you destroy a tie with her?" She's also the woman who went bat-shit and killed her husband with an axe, but he deserved it and she was completely right so I won't judge.

"She's already vexed that she wasn't told these… lies… directly- not that she would have believed the truth- and she wants to keep you as a hostage, Rhea." Penelope explains, putting the letter down on her desk and reaching for the wine. "She's implied that I have been cuckolding Odysseus, that Ithaca is unsuitable for me and has been negatively affecting my health, that I am not a good mother, and that I am a liar. You are going nowhere near her and her husband."

Odysseus nodded, "You are our only heir too. If we send you to her, eventually Orestes will inherit Ithaca too. That cannot happen, I refuse to surrender my only daughter to that man. You are staying here."

My heart swelled. Odysseus just called me his daughter.

He smiled, opening his arms, and I barreled straight into them.

"I am keeping my daughter safe, and that is by keeping her by my side."

"Thank you," I whispered. "Papa."

He pressed a kiss to my head.

"Rhea…" Penelope hesitantly interrupted, "I understand you don't wish to marry, but we really should start discussing marriages for you."

"What?" I pulled away, feeling hurt.

Odysseus sighed, "Penelope is right. It's best to get you betrothed soon, before another kingdom finds out about you and asks for your hand."

"But I'm too young! Can't this wait another year?" I tried to protest.

Odysseus looked like he was going to cave, but Penelope sent him a glare. He sat down on his chair heavily, looking conflicted. "Melas has asked me about your hand. I understand that you do not love him, but he respects and loves you. He is a prince, yes, but he is fourth in line to the crown. It is a good match."

"Papa, please, no." I asked him, "Melas is a great man, but I don't want to marry him. I can speak to Pati, get him to interfere, I know that he wishes for me to stay a maiden."

Papa gave Mama a look that clearly said, 'I'm not going against the gods, besides, she's begging' and Mama was close to caving.

"Please Mama!" I pleaded, and she crumbled.

"One more year," she agreed. "Then after that we will be finding you a betrothed."

"Thank you!" I beamed.

"But remember, Rhea." She said sternly, "You inherit Ithaca if we don't have children. You will have to marry one day, sooner rather than later."

I knew that they would have Telemachus soon, yet a small twist in my stomach worried whether my presence here changed enough things that he will never be born.

"I know."

Deleted Scene

"When I was younger, a little younger than you now, my cousin Helen got kidnapped by the Athenian king Theseus," Penelope began the lesson.

I did a double-take, "My brother did what?!"

"He was your brother? Hm," Penelope had a distinctly unimpressed look on her face. "Well, he decided to steal Helen to be his bride when she was 12, ridiculous, I know, she wasn't even of marrying age. As any Spartan woman, I was taught how to defend myself against a kidnapping, but I do believe Aunt Leda was teaching Helen how to fuck a swan or something similarly ridiculous during every important self-defense lesson we were ever given, so Helen had no idea how to defend herself from his advances. I was the one who raised the alarm about her kidnapping, did you know? I watched Theseus and his foolish cousin carry her out of the Palace- she barely kicked and screamed, honestly, I sometimes wonder if she thought it romantic or something equally silly- and onto their boat. Helen had multiple openings for escape, yet she didn't take them."

"Because she wasn't taught how," I stated.

"Perhaps," Penelope said. "Or perhaps she thought it wasn't very princess-like of her to stab her kidnappers. I could never tell what was going on with her: one second she would bite any wandering hand on her, the next she would faint at the sight of the blood she drew from her own bite-mark. At least she has grown out of it a bit more now…" She frowned, "I hope."

"You saw her getting kidnapped, you followed her to the boat, but you didn't interfere?"

"Interference might have meant my kidnapping too- it was safer to wait and alert Uncle directly afterwards. Besides, I wasn't going to risk myself over her, she cut my hair for telling her to stop crying over a dead cat just that morning and Castor and Pollux saved her later. And she learnt a valuable lesson from that: one that you will learn today."

I have quickly realised that anything Penelope says about Helen of Sparta should be taken with a grain of salt- she really doesn't like her cousin.

"So," Penelope said. "Remember this, Rhea, always have a dagger on you as you never know when you might get kidnapped."

A/N

So, Rhea has been on Ithaca for a year now! Sorry for the short chapter, I'm in the middle of exams and can't write a lot. What do you think? Do you like the deleted scene? What do you think is going to happen next? Do you like Melas? How about Deme? Leave a review! Next chapter will be next week!

History stuff: As I described, Agora's were originally just places were citizens could get the news but then transformed into marketplaces sometime around 1100bce aka when this story is set! Also, humans loved to travel, we really do, and anyone who tries to tell you that nobody travelled in the past is wrong- did you know that we found evidence of celts in Egypt? Humans travel. On the litter; Ancient Greece was too rocky for carriages to be used often, but technically there is no refernce of litters, but Ancient Rome, China, Egypt and other cultures did have them, so I'm just adding it in. Probably my most historically inaccurate addition to this story so far and I hate it. Also, Penelope is biased when talking about Helen, so btw she's not actually like that in the story.