"What?" I asked incredulously. My half sister looked at me with a somber expression. "Yes. I am afraid it is true. I warned you to remain neutral as my sisters- that is to say my full sisters and I did."
My mind raced. This could not be happening. The Titans could not have lost. It simply was not possible. But why would Aegle lie to me? She had been correct in the fact she and her sisters, the Hesperides, were neutral in the war. Well, I could tell their youngest, Zoe, had been secretly supporting the Olympians, but of course she didn't act on it. The Hesperides were never to be involved in the affairs of others, lest they face dire consequences.
You are distracting yourself. You have bigger problems then the Hesperides. I told myself. If the Titans, my father, had truly been defeated, then...
"What is going to happen to us now?" I asked Aegle.
Her expression turned sadder. "The other Hesperides and I have received full pardons on account of our neutrality. You, on the other hand... The council has requested an audience with you. I have been asked to escort you to Mount Olympus."
Wonderful, I thought. They wanted to deliver my punishment in person. That could not be good. "Why you?"
Aegle smiled. "I believed Lord Zeus's exact words were 'Anyone else might not come back in one piece.'"
True enough. "Very well." I held out my wrists as if to be shackled. "Escort me to my doom."
Aegle rolled her eyes and pushed my hands away. "Calypso, you are over reacting. The Olympians really aren't that bad."
Easy for you to say. You are not the one being escorted to your victorious enemies' palace. "Just take me to the stupid mountain." Thunder rumbled in the distance. I looked up at the sky. "Yes! That is what I said!"
Aegle set her hand on my shoulder. "Come."
We arrived on the mountain in the midst of a celebration. A few of the Titan's who'd supported Olympus; Hecate, Leto, Maia, various others; were celebrating on the gold-paved streets to the music of nine young immortals I'd never seen before. I didn't see why they were dancing, though. All I heard was a funeral dirge. "You hear music according to how you feel." Aegle said as if reading my thoughts. She lead me up to a palace at the end of the road. The doors opened, and Aegle and I entered a grand hall.
Twelve thrones made an inverted U around the room. I could identify most of the gods, especially Zeus and Hera, sitting at the head.
"Aegle, you are dismissed." Zeus said.
Aegle gave me one last apologetic glance, then stepped back and melted into the evening sunlight. I wondered if that would be the last time I ever saw her.
"Calypso, daughter of Atlas."
I made sure my posture was perfect, then looked up at the new king of the world with as calm an expression as I could manage. "Lord Zeus."
Despite my placid expression, I was panicking inside. I had heard what happened to immortals on the losing sides of wars- cast into Tartarus, chopped to bits, plunged into eternal sleep. The options weren't great.
"We presume you already know why you have been brought here." Hera said.
"I am to be punished for my continued support of my father."
"Correct."
"And? What is your decision?"
"I still say we should just throw her in Tartarus like the rest of them." Ares said. I paled.
"Ares! We have already made a decision. Don't scare the girl!" Hestia chastised. I felt some of my color return. "What decision did you reach, Lady Hestia?" I asked.
Her red-flame eyes met mine. "You remember Ogygia, dear, yes?"
"My birthplace?"
The goddess of the Hearth nodded.
Of course I remembered Ogygia. My mother, Thymus, had raised me there, but hadn't been in a while. "Well, the island is... fairly deserted, at this point, except for a few wind spirits. We have placed enchantments around it so that no one can arrive or leave without the clearance of the Moirae."
My breath caught. "The Fates?"
Hestia nodded. "They seem to have taken a particular interest in you."
I couldn't decide whether that was a good or bad thing.
"As my sister was saying," Zeus said, "You are to be exiled on Ogygia. Eternally. The aurae that reside there shall serve you in anything you wish, but you cannot leave. Ever."
I remained silent. Ogygia. This was their idea of a punishment? The island would serve as a better vacation home than a prison. There must be a catch, I thought.
"Will anyone else be there with me?"
"That remains to be seen." Hera said. I really wished I knew what she meant by that. A goddess sitting a few thrones down from her; Aphrodite, from what I could tell; was staring at me with a strange glint in her eyes, exited, and almost hungry, which for some reason made me very very nervous.
Hera clapped her hands twice. A side door opened, and a girl walked in. She had brown eyes, black hair, and tanned skin, a fairly average set of features, but the averageness stopped there. She wore a long dress that shimmered rainbow colors, and had large golden wings that resembled a butterfly's. She looked vaguely familiar, though I could not place where I had seen her.
"This is the one. Escort her to the island." Hera said sternly.
The girl looked up and I first noticed the tears in her eyes. She seemed to be struggling to keep her composure. "Y-yes my lady." she said, blinking back tears. The Queen of Olympus narrowed her eyes. "We have no sympathy for those who betray us. Or those who sympathize with them. You would do well to remember that, Iris."
The girl was shaking now. She started to choke out a response, but one of the goddesses, the one sitting next to Aphrodite; Artemis, I thought; set her hand on her shoulder. She looked up at Hera with an acidic glare, then muttered a few things to the girl, Iris, that I could not hear. They seemed to calm her down a bit, though, because she took a deep breath and walked up to me. She held out her hand, and I took it. The world was enveloped in rainbow lights.
When the lights cleared, I stood on a familiar beach. The girl who had escorted me sat down and sobbed. "I- I am sorry, it is just I have not been anywhere private in-"
I shook my head. "Do not apologize. What is wrong?"
She looked at me warily, like she suspected she was being tricked, but eventually took a deep breath. "My sister. Arke. We were the messengers of Olympus. But-"she choked back a sob, "The Olympians found out she had been leeking communications to the Titans. I did not even know. She fled to Othrys. I stayed on Olympus. That was the last time I ever saw her. When the Titans lost," fresh tears streamed down her cheeks, "Zeus tore off her wings and through her into the Pit." She broke down crying again.
Now I remembered why Iris looked familiar. I had seen her sister, Arke, at the Titans' palace during the war. She had looked almost exactly like Iris, but with translucent, prismatic wings, and usually wearing a knee-length red-and-gold dress as opposed to Iris's floor length multi-colored one.
"I am sorry." I said, which seemed a rather insufficient response, but I could not think of anything better to say.
"It is not your fault." She said, standing. She wiped tears from her eyes. "Come." she started down a path leading inland, and I followed.
Iris stopped at a crystal cave. I was flooded with pleasant memories- That was where I had spent most of my childhood. There was a new loom in one corner, and the chores were being done by aurae. The wind nymphs were moving so fast they were basically invisible. "Farewell, Calypso. Enjoy your banishment." Iris disappeared in a starburst of rainbow lights.
I looked around at my new home, and began planning things. The gardens could go there, I thought, Then the orchards and fountains over there...
When everything was finished, I thought I had a fairly pleasant place. I was still expecting a catch, though. If Iris's sister Arke had been thrown into Tartarus with her wings torn off, it did not make sense I would simply be sent on a permanent vacation. Given, I did not have wings to be torn off, but... still.
Despite my suspicions, I got used to life on Ogygia. I did wonder what was going on in the outside world, though. The aurae were not very talkative, and I got sort of lonely sometimes.
One day, I was sitting at my harp, thinking about this, when I heard a crash outside. I rushed to the beach, and found an unconscious figure.