Calypso sat at her wrecked dining table, remembering the day it got destroyed. Leo Valdz was unlike any other demigod she had met, and she could no longer deny it, she was in love with him, his dark, curly hair, his soulful brown eyes and his mischievous smile.
"I will come back to you, Calypso. I swear it on the river styx," the last words he spoke to her before sailing back to a war that he could have avoided. But she knew he was wrong, he wouldn't be back. No man ever found Ogegia twice. Ever.
Besides, he was probably dead by now, although it had felt like weeks to Calypso, it had probably been years since he had left the island.
She was so lost in thought, depressed about the idea of Leo Valdez ceasing to exist, that she almost missed the smoking bronze dragon flying over the horizon. The dragon reminded her of the flying machine that he had built when he arrived on her island. She watched, fascinated and hoping against hope that Leo, against all odds, had found her a second time. As she watched, she started to notice the details like the outline of the person riding the dragon. He was scrawny with curly hair that blew around his small face. All these details reminded her of the demigod she had come to love more than any other.
Finally, after what seemed like a forever of waiting, she could see that it was him. Leo Valdez had found his way back to her. He had kept his promise.
The dragon landed, and before he had even dismounted, she was running towards him at top speed.
"You came back. You actually came back," she exclaimed as she threw herself at him and knocked them both onto the sand.
"Yep, thats me, the boy who came back."
Calypso stopped his mouth with a kiss, before he could ruin the reunion any more than he already had. And it was pretty much the best kiss ever, his hands slipped down to her waist and she ran hers through his hair, gripping it at the crown of his head and pulling him closer. He responded, tightening his grip and kissing her deeper.
Calypso pulled away first, gasping for air while Leo turned to his dragon. He clambered up, then then reached his hand out to Calypso. After a moment of confusion, she realised he was trying to help her up. She hesitantly extended her hand to accept his help and he hauled her up behind him. She felt exhilarated now that she had the chance to leave the island behind for good.
"where to m'lady?" Leo asked her.
She remembered a conversation she had had with Percy Jackson a few years ago when he had visited her island. "Plant a garden in Manhatten for me" she had told him when he left. "Manhatten" she told Leo, and the two of them flew off into the real world.
Riding a dragon was unlike anything Calypso had ever done before. It was nothing like healing wounded demigods or growing moonlace, or even building a ship. Flying was strangely relaxing, she felt the wind in her hair and the island at her back. It was just her, Leo and the dragon.
After a few hours, she and Leo arrived in a city which he announced to be Manhatten. It was beautiful but scary. The bright lights intimidated her and the loud noises shocked her, and the countless people were freaking her out. In other words she loved it. The differences between Manhattan and Ogegia told her that she was free from her island prison.
She started searching, determined to find the garden she had asked Percy to plant. But before she even began, she knew it was fruitless, you would need a million moonlace plants for them to show up in this place and she had only given Percy one.
"This too much for you, I can take you somewhere calmer like camp Halfblood if you like?"
Camp Halfblood. Calypso knew those words meant something. "Yeah, Okay" she replied, and soon the two of them were flying above the clouds again.
When they arrived, after a considerably shorter flight than last time, Calypso marvelled at the change in scenery. instead of the loud noises and tall buildings of Manhatten, there was tranquillity and rolling fields. A young girl with braided hair and multi-coloured eyes ran off towards a grand white building at the head of the cabins screaming "Jason, its Leo. He survived" A tall blonde boy, who must have been Jason, came out and started to say "Piper, Leo's d-" and then he, too saw them and ran headlong towards Leo and crushed him in a bear hug. The girl Calypso had seen earlier, Piper, was not far behind and she embraced Leo as well almost crying as she wispered something in his ear.
"I won't Piper, I promise I won't." Leo replied.
Piper tried to smile as she wiped away her tears and stared at Leo as if she couldn't believe he existed.
"Hey, Jason," Leo said as he turned to the boy. "Could you get Percy for me?"
Percy. Had Calypso heard him right? She was going to see Percy again. As Jason ran off to find Percy, Leo tuned to the girl and the two of them headed of to who knows where.
Jason was back faster than she would have thought and behind him, in all his demigod glory, was Percy Jackson. Calypso couldn't help herself, she ran to the older teen and hugged him. He hugged her back, but there was no romance in it like the last time they hugged. Now she had Leo and Percy was just a friend.
"Its good to see you," He said at last.
"You too," she replied. And it was true. It was good to see him again.
A blonde girl with storm grey eyes, a child of Athena no doubt, inturrupted their meeting and started yelling at Percy. "Who in Hades' name is this?" she asked him. Straight away Calypso knew she wouldn't get on with this girl.
"Annabeth, remember when we were fighting the titans and I disappeared for a few weeks." Percy started.
"And I was sick with worry thinking you were dead." Annabeth inturupted, and Calypso felt a growing sympathy for her, she knew what it was like to worry that the person you love is dead. Hades, she had been worrying that Leo was dead only this morning.
"Yeah, then." Percy answered. "Well, I ended up on this island called Ogegia and Calypso" he gestured towards her "nursed me back to health until I was fit enough to come back. During those few weeks we developed a close friendship but she is not a threat to you, Annabeth. I promise."
"Promise," Annabeth repeated.
"I swear it on the river styx," Percy assured her and he kissed her on the forehead just to prove he meant it.
"Okay," Annabeth agreed, and she left Percy and Calypso in peace.
Calypso felt guilty for causing relationship problems with Percy, there really was nothing between them anymore, and, although she knew he wouldn't appreciate it, she felt the need to appologise anyway.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to cause you problems."
As she had suspected, Percy pushed off her apology like her getting in the way of a perfect couple like it was no big deal. "Its okay, she's been tense since the last war ended. I think she's just anticipating the next time the gods are going to ruin or lives and sees everything, including you, as a potential enemy. So its me who should be apologising for the way she behaved." Typical of him to find some way to blame himself for that and not her, even though Calypso knew it was her fault. "There's something I want to show you, If you're up for a trip to Manhatten." Calypso noticed, but appreciated the change of topic and went with it as if this was what they had been talking about the whole time.
"Only if we fly there with Leo."
"Then we shall fly there with Leo"
Once the seating arrangements had been sorted with Percy at the back, Leo at the front and Calypso in the middle, the three of them flew in silence to Percy's apartment. When they reached it, Percy led them to the balcony where he had planted the moonlace and the three of them stood around the plant as if they were worshiping it. After a while, Percy dug it up and gave it to Calypso. When she tried to protest and give it back, Percy told her to think of it as an early wedding present and that was enough to convince her to keep it.
The three of them decided to escape the apartment the same way they came in, without Sally Jackson noticing. Their attempts at stealth were in vain. As soon as the trio left Percy's room, Sally was waiting for them.
"Who's getting married?" she asked.
"No one, yet, but I am anticipating the upcoming marriage of Leo and Calypso, and have given them an early wedding gift," her son replied
"And whats that?"
"The moonlace," Percy answered, then he added "Calypso's the girl who gave it to me in the first place so I felt I should return it to its rightful owner."
"Its wonderful to meet you Calypso," Sally said to her, finally addressing someone other than her son. "Why don't you and Leo stay for a while?" Sally seemed genuinely excited about meeting her that Calypso couldn't find it in her heart to say no. Fortunately for her, Leo could.
"Sorry Mrs. Jackson but we really must be going now. I need to introduce Calypso to some friends from Camp Jupiter and only about half of Camp Halfblood knows I'm still alive so I need to break the good news to them. Maybe another time."
Sally nodded, as if she understood what Leo was saying. But how could she? The only person Calypso knew of who had come back from the dead was the daughter of Pluto Leo talked about, Hazel, and when she returned there was no one left to tell.
