Antinous, leader of the 108 suitors seeking the throne, and ever so beautiful Penelope. ‘Fearsome’, ‘ruthless’, ‘desperate’, and ‘scary’.

Now, Antinous really never hated those nicknames. The nicknames were.. not the nicest, however. And— he had completely botched his relationship with the queen and the prince.

The prince resented him, and the queen had isolated herself from all the suitors. Rare appearances, here and there, but never speaking alone to any of them. It was infuriating already, but Antinous was a desperate man.

He loved Penelope.

Over time, that love had gradually faded as he spent more time with you. Soon, he realised, why be a suitor?

You, his best friend, sparring partner, warrior, caretaker, nurse, you name it, was soon the love of his life. Now, he didn’t know if you had reciprocated. That was the tricky part.

But that soon changed, as he became more desperate. He had accidentally laid hands on you, and in the heat of the moment, you had called him ‘scary’. He froze as you said those words, the colour draining from his face.

“Scary now, am I?” He scoffed, backing away. It was bittersweet, ironic. So, you hadn’t reciprocated. That’s what you thought of him? He scoffed once more, trying to hide the tears pricking the corners of his eyes as you desperately tried to explain. “Did you love me, at all?”