Lyrics

[Verse 1 – Evangeline, quick patter, young girl]
[mocking the suitors, annoyed, pacing around Penelope]
“You’ve got fifty fools in the hall downstairs,
Boasting, toasting, pulling out chairs.
All of them hungry, none of them true—
So why should you waste a heartbeat on who?”

[Penelope – sighing, tired, lyrical, mature female]
“Because I must. It is my place.
Every smile, every mask, every practiced grace.
A queen cannot stumble, a queen cannot weep…
If I falter, Ithaca falls asleep.”

⸻

[Pre-Chorus – Evangeline, softer, coaxing, young girl]
“Then falter with me, just for tonight.
Set down the crown, let yourself be light.
You call me daughter, I’ll call you mine—
Forget the war, forget the time.”

⸻

[Chorus – Both, harmonized, young girl and mature female]
[Penelope (strained, irritated but smiling, mature)]:
“I can’t, I can’t—there’s too much to bear.”
[Evangeline (teasing, rapid, rapping, young):]
“Then share it, queen, if you dare.”
Both:
“In this room, in this moment,
No king, no throne—
Just two women, and a world of our own.”

⸻

[Verse 2 – Penelope, sharper now, stern, gaining rhythm, mature female]
“I taught you needle, I taught you thread,
But wisdom is heavier than bread.
Hope is a weight that cracks the bone—
You call me mother, but I stand alone.”

[Evangeline, cutting in rapid-fire, fast rapping, young girl]
“Alone? Please—look again,
I’m not a suitor, I’m not a man.
I’m your shoulder, your echo, your fool, your friend—
And I’ll carry your grief until the end.”

⸻

[Bridge – Both, overlapping, young girl and mature female]
[Penelope, mature voice:]
“My heart is breaking, my hands are tired—”
[Evangeline, girl voice:]
“Then let them break, you’ve earned desire.”
[Penelope, mature voice:]
“My son needs a father, my land needs a king—”
[Evangeline, girl voice:]
“Your heart needs a moment to feel anything.”

⸻

[Final Chorus – Both, big, soaring, young female and mature female]
Both:
“In this room, in this moment,
Let the crown slip, let the weight be gone.
No war, no throne, no endless test—
Just a mother, a daughter, and a place to rest.”

⸻

[Outro – Evangeline, soft, spoken, young girl]
“Just rest, my queen.
I’ll stand watch tonight.”