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crack_van2006-09-16 09:37 am
macgeorge1.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2006-09-16 09:37 am
Entry tags:
Highlander/Troy (R)
A day late, but I couldn't get to this yesterday. Sorry!
Title: The Shell Game by Taz
Pairing: Methos/Odysseus
Author on LJ:![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
tazlet
Author website: Tazworks
Why this must be read: Because it is a beautifully written, utterly fascinating and charming story - and sexy to boot. A very young Prince Odysseus meets a naked stranger conning the locals with only a small stone and three shells. The sense of time and place is exquisitely evoked, and we see the eager brashness of the young prince, as well as the easy grace and seductive power of the oldest survivor of them all.
The Shell Game
Title: The Shell Game by Taz
Pairing: Methos/Odysseus
Author on LJ:
tazletAuthor website: Tazworks
Why this must be read: Because it is a beautifully written, utterly fascinating and charming story - and sexy to boot. A very young Prince Odysseus meets a naked stranger conning the locals with only a small stone and three shells. The sense of time and place is exquisitely evoked, and we see the eager brashness of the young prince, as well as the easy grace and seductive power of the oldest survivor of them all.
He held out his hand and the stranger handed him two of the silver coins. When he’d gone, Odysseus said, "What did you give him the money him for?"
"Saving my life." The stranger opened his pouch and, one by one, put the white stone, the shells and the other coins inside it. Then let his glance rest on Odysseus. "He plucked me out of the water, yesterday. It was kind of him, but he thought he’d sell me in the slave market at Corinth, and that would have been an inconvenience. So, I made a bet with him that on the first island we came to I could turn three empty shells into the cost of my passage. He said he’d take half if I could do it before dinner and save him the cost of having to feed me again."
"How did you do it?" Odysseus said.
"You saw."
"The trick with the shells," Odysseus said.
Neither of them remarked that his Greek was now perfect.
"I thought you figured that out."
"I thought, too. At first. But it didn’t matter which shell I picked, did it?"
"You see more than most, Prince Odysseus. Good attribute in a king."
"And how do you know who I am.”
"Captain Neros told me that the king of Ithaca has a son. That’s an old kilt you’re wearing but there’s still a scrap of purple border on it." The man stood, brushed sand from his thighs and began piling his bundle and the other things he’d won on top of the basket of crabs. "I don’t care to give him a chance to change his mind, so I’ll leave you now."
"I’ll tell them you cheated!" He hadn’t meant to say it. It came blurting out.
"No, you won’t." The stranger's sudden smile sent the tingle fizzling down Odysseus's legs again. "You’d never know how I did it, then, and you want to know that more than anything."
It was true. "Where are you going?"
"Wherever I can find some wood to make a fire and cook these."
"I know a place with wood and water."
"Show me then and I’ll teach you the trick in return." He picked up his basket. "I expect it’s not what you’re used to but I’d be happy to share. I’m called Methos, by the way."
"Saving my life." The stranger opened his pouch and, one by one, put the white stone, the shells and the other coins inside it. Then let his glance rest on Odysseus. "He plucked me out of the water, yesterday. It was kind of him, but he thought he’d sell me in the slave market at Corinth, and that would have been an inconvenience. So, I made a bet with him that on the first island we came to I could turn three empty shells into the cost of my passage. He said he’d take half if I could do it before dinner and save him the cost of having to feed me again."
"How did you do it?" Odysseus said.
"You saw."
"The trick with the shells," Odysseus said.
Neither of them remarked that his Greek was now perfect.
"I thought you figured that out."
"I thought, too. At first. But it didn’t matter which shell I picked, did it?"
"You see more than most, Prince Odysseus. Good attribute in a king."
"And how do you know who I am.”
"Captain Neros told me that the king of Ithaca has a son. That’s an old kilt you’re wearing but there’s still a scrap of purple border on it." The man stood, brushed sand from his thighs and began piling his bundle and the other things he’d won on top of the basket of crabs. "I don’t care to give him a chance to change his mind, so I’ll leave you now."
"I’ll tell them you cheated!" He hadn’t meant to say it. It came blurting out.
"No, you won’t." The stranger's sudden smile sent the tingle fizzling down Odysseus's legs again. "You’d never know how I did it, then, and you want to know that more than anything."
It was true. "Where are you going?"
"Wherever I can find some wood to make a fire and cook these."
"I know a place with wood and water."
"Show me then and I’ll teach you the trick in return." He picked up his basket. "I expect it’s not what you’re used to but I’d be happy to share. I’m called Methos, by the way."
The Shell Game
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http://seacouver.slashcity.net/taz/index.html
if you want to add it. :)
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