Broken Together [Perlypso] - Completed {Book 1 of 2}

IV-Free to Go

Percy

I sat down on the beach, as sunset approached. I wasn't sure how long it had been, but I didn't care.

"Percy," called a voice from behind me, making me jump. I turned to face Calypso. "Sorry for startling you, hero." She said.

"It's okay," I said. "I just get easily startled, I guess. From spending so long on my own."

Calypso knit her eyebrows. "On your own?"

"I spent weeks wandering through the woods, and then more weeks out at sea sailing in no specific direction," I lied, not knowing how to tell her about the compass.

Calypso sat down beside me in the sand, and leaned on her hands. "Why?"

I didn't want to tell her about Annabeth. "I was betrayed by my home," I said. "By Camp Half-Blood, by my friends. My fatal flaw was loyalty. I left the camp with nothing but the clothes on my back and the shoes on my feet, and just followed the road, and then went into the woods."

"You just walked right out of camp?" She asked.

"Pretty much," I said. "I've been on my own, surviving for weeks. I've been just wondering aimlessly. I found my mother, and she gave me food for my journey. I then bought a boat, and sailed, and... now I'm here."

"You were attacked," Calypso noted. "You look much different, hero."

I looked down. The cuts and bruises had healed but some had scarred. My hair was longer, I was more muscular, more rigid. I was tired, with dark spots under my eyes.

"I feel different," I said with a sigh.

Calypso looked like she wanted to ask something, but decided against it. I really didn't feel like talking about it, either. She quickly changed her mind. "Well, you look good." She said shortly. "You should get some rest."

With that, she got up and left. I sat there on the beach until the sun set, and darkness came. I stood, and managed to make my way to the cave.

I got ready for bed and then walked into my room, but then stopped, and turned towards the cave entrance. Somebody was... sobbing? I knit my eyebrows in confusion, and pulled back the curtain. I saw the outline of Calypso, a glow surrounding her from the moonlace plants that were at her feet. I walked out of the cave towards Calypso, who was standing at the end of her garden facing the sea.

I approached her silently, and then called to her a few feet away. "Calypso?"

She turned quickly. "Percy, I didn't know you were-"

"Are you crying?" I asked. Calypso began sobbing, and I pulled her into my arms. Shocked, she paused for a moment, before slowly hugging me back. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing," she cried, obviously lying. She shook her head. "I'm just so overwhelmed right now."

"If you wanna talk about it-"

"No." Calypso said firmly, pulling away. Hero whole aura changed in a matter of seconds. "No. I will not open up to you again, Percy Jackson."

I stopped, unsure of what to say. I looked down, unable to meet her eyes. "I'm... I'm sorry." Finally, I looked up at her, to see she was staring at the stars.

I looked up at at them. They were so much clearer on Ogygia.

I faced the ocean, silence overtaking Calypso and I. She was stiff and tense, her eyes tired and her jaw tight.

"The stars are so pretty here," I finally said, breaking the silence.

She looked over at me. "What do you mean? Aren't they the same everywhere?"

I looked at her. "No," I said, before looking up again. "Now there is too much light damage in the mortal world. The stars are dull."

Calypso pursed her lips. "The constellations shine brightly here. They're easy to follow with maps. I think it's another cruel trick of the fates. To taunt me with easy navigation, when I can't leave."

I pointed to a constellation shaped like a girl with a bow. "That's my favorite."

Calypso furrowed her brow. "I've never seen that one before. What is it?"

I paused. Grief entered my body, leaving my heart sore. "It's a brave girl... one of the hunters of artemis. We went on a quest together once, to save Artemis. She died at the hands of her father, Atlas... Artemis our her in the sky."

Calypso watched me carefully. "Who was she?"

"Zoë Nightshade," I replied. "The bravest girl I've ever met." A long sad silence came over us. "We lost a lot on that quest. Bianca di Angelo died. Nico got distant after that. It killed him, losing his sister like that. Zoë died."

"My sister." Calypso paused. "You've been on a lot of quests."

"Yeah." I said, memories coming back. "A lot."

"Tell me about them," Calypso said. "All of them."

I paused. "I... I guess I should start from the beginning."

I started telling her everything. My entire life story since I was 12 years old. Calypso was such a good listener that I didn't leave anything out. She was easy to talk to. I told her about camp and some of my favorite memories, all the way up until defeating Gaea.

"I remember Hermes telling me about you," Calypso said thoughtfully after a while. "Before I even knew you."

"Really?" I asked. The crickets chirped in the distance.

"He told me about your feats. The great Percy Jackson." Calypso said. "He told me about you defeating Ares, finding the Golden Fleece... then he told me about you defeating Kronos, turning down immortality, and that was the last I'd heard of him." I looked off at the ocean. "I knew I would meet you, Percy. Before you even knew who I was."

I looked over at her. "Why?"

"They always send the greatest heroes," Calypso said. "And you were the most heroic out of all of them."

I looked thoughtfully at the sand. "Being a hero isn't all it's cut out to be then, huh."

Calypso looked at me confused.

"Running away from everything, cheating death," I said. "Never fixing anything, just learning to live with it. Being everybody's pawn. I'm done with it."

"Your fatal flaw is loyalty," Calypso said. "And they take advantage of that."

"It makes me sick," I said. "To think of all of them."

"I couldn't take advantage of your fatal flaw," Calypso laughed.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well... you've never loved me," Calypso said. Her aura seemed to change again. She got up. "You should get some rest." She said before I could reply.

She walked towards the cave entrance. I took one last look at the stars before following her and going to sleep in my room.