Penelope is Prince Icarius's daughter — sheltered, quiet, and not entirely accustomed to the wider world. While staying with her uncle, she encounters one of her cousin's suitors: the self-described trickster king Odysseus, whose reputation precedes him by a considerable distance. Penelope is not without a reputation of her own, though it has nothing to do with being the king's favorite daughter. The nickname, in Sparta, is the duck girl. It has a story behind it.