Penelope stood on the raised dais at the far end, veil drawn but posture unyielding, her voice cutting through the din like a blade through silk when she finally spoke.
“Enough,” she said, and the word carried such quiet authority that even the loudest suitors fell silent.
“You have feasted in my house, drunk my wine, and wasted my stores for years. Today, that ends.”
She lifted a hand.
Servants carried in the great bow of Odysseus, dark wood polished by time, the curve of it massive, the string thick as a finger, a weapon no ordinary man could string.
The bow that had once belonged to her husband.
The bow that had defined his strength.
Penelope’s voice remained steady, though Jax could see the tremor in her fingers from his shadowed corner.
“I will marry the man who can string this bow and shoot an arrow through twelve axe-heads set in a line. The contest begins at noon. Until then, prepare yourselves.”
The hall erupted.
Antinous laughed first, loud and mocking.
“A woman’s game. I’ll string it with one hand and shoot with the other.”
Eurymachus smiled, eyes cold.
“We’ve waited long enough. Let’s end this farce.”
Telemachus stood beside his mother, jaw set, eyes burning.
The boy knew what was coming.
Jax, disguised as the beggar, felt the moment shift.
The suitors would fail.
They always did in the stories.
But the System had made it real.
The bow was no prop.
The axe-heads would be set.
And the arrow would fly.
A blue box appeared, private to him.
Jax exhaled slowly.
Four hours.
The morning dragged.
Suitors practiced with lesser bows, laughing as arrows flew wide or snapped strings.
Jax watched from the shadows, noting every man’s weakness, Antinous’s arrogance, Eurymachus’s calculation, the lesser ones’ drunkenness.
Eurycleia found him in the kitchen, eyes wide.
“They’re planning to kill Telemachus tonight. After the contest, no matter who wins. They won’t let the boy live.”
Jax nodded.
“I know. I’ll be there.”
She gripped his arm.
“You must reveal yourself before then. The boy needs his father.”
“Not yet,” Jax said.
“The disguise is our weapon. They think I’m nothing. Let them.”
She nodded, tears in her eyes.
“I’ll keep watch. Signal me if you need anything.”
Jax slipped back to the hall.
The suitors drank.
Laughed.
Mocked.
Antinous stood, cup raised.
“The beggar thinks he’s clever. Let him try after us. We’ll see how far his words go.”
Laughter.
Jax felt the rage rise, cold and sharp.
He whispered to the wind.
“Soon.”
A second blue box appeared.
The clock was ticking faster.
Noon arrived.
The courtyard was packed.
Suitors lined up, arrogant, confident.
The twelve axe-heads were set in a long row, bronze gleaming in the sun.
The bow rested on a table before Penelope.
She spoke once.
“Who will be first?”
Antinous stepped forward, smirking.
“I’ll show you how it’s done.”
He took the bow.
Strained.
Muscles bulged.
The string didn’t budge.
He cursed, threw it down.
“Rigged!”
Eurymachus tried next.
Same result.
One by one, the suitors failed.
Some snapped strings.
Some broke wood.
All failed.
The crowd murmured.
Penelope looked at the beggar.
“You spoke of my husband. Try the bow.”
The suitors laughed.
Antinous sneered.
“Let the old man try. He’ll snap his arms.”
Jax stepped forward, staff tapping.
The crowd hushed.
He took the bow.
Fingers found the string.
He bent it slowly, deliberately, the wood creaking under pressure.
The string slipped into place.
Silence.
Jax lifted the bow, nocked an arrow, drew.
The arrow flew.
It passed through all twelve axe-heads, perfect, clean.
The crowd gasped.
A blue box appeared.
Antinous’s face twisted.
“Impossible.”
Jax lowered the bow.
He looked at Penelope.
She stared at him.
Then she spoke, voice trembling.
“Remove the veil.”
Jax reached up.
The disguise fell.
The hall exploded.
The suitors drew weapons.
Antinous shouted.
“Kill him! Kill them all!”
Jax stood tall, no longer beggar, no longer Nobody.
He looked at Telemachus.
The boy’s eyes filled with tears.
“Father?”
Jax nodded.
“I’m home.”
The crew burst into the hall, Eur, Thea, Phil, Ment, Pol, Kid, armed, ready.
Eur raised his shield.
“Stand with your king!”
The suitors hesitated.
A blue box flashed.
Jax looked at the suitors.
Then at Penelope.
Then at his son.
He lifted the bow again.
“Yield,” he said.
Antinous laughed, sword drawn.
“Never.”
Jax loosed.
The arrow took Antinous in the throat.
The hall erupted into chaos.
The massacre began.
The disguise fell.
The hall exploded.
Antinous screamed “Kill him!”
Jax stood tall. Looked at Telemachus (“Father?”), at Penelope, at his crew bursting in armed and ready.
He lifted the bow again.
“Yield.”
Antinous laughed.
Jax loosed.
Arrow took him in the throat.
The massacre began.
- Mercy or Vengeance? Would YOU have loosed the arrow like Jax? ????
- Favorite reveal moment: Telemachus’s “Father?”, Penelope’s trembling voice, or the crew bursting in? ??
- The massacre is on, what’s your call for the next move? ????
The hall runs red.
The suitors fall.
Ithaca wakes.
The king is home. ????