(A/N: Super short one today, I'm afraid but there is Calypso! Kind of. Next update is this Friday. Quick Question: How many of you guys are doing National Novel Writing Month this November? I'm practically vibrating with the amount of caffeine I've digested since the 1st)
CHAPTER SIX
The first time Calypso realised something was wrong with the gods, she also wished she hadn't been visited on her island, although it was hardly the first time she'd prayed for such a thing, despite her solitude. It had been years since her last hero had arrived and she was beginning to ache with loneliness.
Sometimes she would talk to herself or the silent air spirits moving efficiently around Ogygia or the plants and animals she tended to. Her garden, in particular, was an excellent conversationalist in her imagination. Calypso would often trim the dead leaves from her pear trees or weed out her moon lace flowers and talk of all manner of things. She talked about the heroes who had left her, the gods who cursed her, the outside world which seemed to remain in turmoil more than peace.
She had been nervous for months after Percy left, mainly because the last she heard the Lord of Time and Bane of the Olympians, Kronos was growing stronger and it was until several weeks after he'd been defeated in what proved to be a spectacular battle in the far of city of Manhattan that anyone had thought to tell her.
Calypso could've hugged Hermes when he finally appeared to tell her, though he seemed saddened even as he described his son's sudden burst of heroism in his last moments.
She didn't, of course, hug him. She learned very early in her punishment not to give gods- particularly Olympians like Apollo and Hermes- the wrong impression.
The gods who visited her were often only there to boost their own egos and typically left empty handed and sulking. She'd managed to stay off the Olympians radar for a millennia or so but one day Hermes let his fat mouth slip and all of a sudden, she had Apollo on her beaches, tall, beautiful and naked as a babe.
She had to admit, she'd been tempted. For Olympus' sake, Apollo was beautiful to look at and when he traced the neckline of her dress, the heat of his fingertips left a pink flush on her lightly tanned skin.
But Calypso knew encouraging such affections would only end badly. The sun god had been reasonably surprised by her demands for him to dress. "Why would I, beautiful?" he'd crooned, smiling with all the heat of the sun he carted around. "I'm here to make your day."
"You can make my day, Lord Apollo by redressing and leaving me alone." She had snapped back, irritably. It was reasonably difficult to impress her through sheer looks alone, considering she'd been around gorgeous immortals from birth. Titans, minor gods, spirits- in her youth, she might have been flattered by Apollo's charms but she was nearing a thousand by that time and she was sick of pretty words and beautiful faces with nothing beneath them.
It was what made her heroes so tragic because they were so handsome and charming but it was always the inner sense of kindness, nobility, generosity and consideration that really ripped her heart from her chest.
At the time, Apollo had been somewhat offended. "You're lucky I even stopped my chariot!" he complained when she tossed his chiton at his head. "No one's given you the time of day since Fates knows when!"
"Woe is me," she responded, dryly. "I'm sure I will survive."
Ares had been next and it had been far less pleasant. The war god was not in the habit of accepting defeat gracefully and had done his best to fill her with a sense of violent lust. Calypso had retreated to the water where she felt strongest until he left, cursing his wounded pride.
After that, as she understood it, it became a sort of game to some of the gods. She had several show up on her shores, telling her how beautiful and sweet she was and wasn't it such a shame that such a lovely creature was cooped up on this tiny island? Hermes had been slightly apologetic but the twinkle of mischief in his eyes made her fume.
"I am not some stupid air-headed nymph!" she bellowed when he tried telling her it was a compliment. "I am a daughter of Titans and the next god who thinks I'll fall for some insipid little love poem will feel my wrath!"
When Dionysus showed up in a deceptively attractive young form, looking rosy cheeked and a little wild, Calypso had used his drunkenness to her advantage and trapped him on the beach, tying his arms and legs down in the sand and waited for the tide to come in.
Before he began to drown (hardly enough to kill him but not exactly pleasant either), she released him and made him swear to tell every god on Olympus and all of Greece that she was not to be trifled with. Occasionally, Apollo would forget he'd visited her before or a passing wind god would visit her out of curiosity but slowly, she fell off the god's radar once again, visible only to the heroes who appeared to her.
Not all stopped visiting however. Hephaestus appeared occasionally for a little while, sometimes even Oceanids who frolicked in the bay, never speaking to her or setting foot on the island. Never for long but such visits were normally welcome. Hermes, in particular, had always been rather polite and so when he had appeared after the Second Titan War, Calypso felt saddened by his loss.
At the same time though, she cheered knowing that Percy had succeeded, that the world he had been fighting for was once again safe. A small part of her wondered if he might come back to her now, retire from a dangerous world of monsters and mayhem.
(He didn't. Calypso knew he wouldn't.)
Peace reclaimed Ogygia and Calypso lost count 64 days after Hermes left. Time passed so strangely here that Calypso found, without the motivation of learning about her latest hero, it seemed useless to keep track. Some days she found herself looking wistfully off to sea, recalling her favourite son of Poseidon, wondering if he was swimming or battling monsters or kissing his beloved Annabeth and enjoying his friends' company.
Of all her heroes, Percy Jackson had been the most engaging, the one with the most interesting stories and tales of the outside world. Unconcerned with politics or the greater state of the world, Percy talked about his friends, about his adventures and his family. It made her homesick for her own family though they were long gone.
Hermes had briefly mentioned that Percy had asked for amnesty for her, a release from her curse but Calypso could clearly see she had been forgotten in the mess. A wayward promise that had never been fully realised.
She judged that it must have been years at least before her next visitor arrived, a slightly worn out looking Hermes whose eyes were shadowed with anxiety and worry.
"Something is stirring." He warned with a deep frown. His face twitched and for a second Calypso thought she saw his face morph into a solemn, harder expression.
"Lord Hermes, are you feeling well?" she asked, concerned. But when she put her hand out, the god leapt away as though she'd slashed a knife at him.
"Keep aware, Calypso, daughter of Atlas." Hermes' voice sounded low and rough, almost blended somehow. She backed away slightly. "She awakens…"
The words froze Calypso's spine. "S-she awakens? Surely not-"
"I must go." Hermes' eyes went blank and then tumultuous and back all in the space of a second. "Keep aware, Titan's child. The earth stirs." And then in the blink of an eye, the frazzled Olympian had disappeared, leaving the young goddess with a building sensation of dread deep in her belly.
For the next few weeks, Calypso waited for more news, clarification, any kind of sign that Hermes had been mistaken.
Surely Hermes had not spoken truly. The earth mother had not risen for thousands of years, not since her father had been a young Titan enjoying the spoils of his dominated world. The very idea of her, the ancient goddess rising from her cavernous sleeping place, bending the entire world to her iron will-
Calypso felt ill just thinking of it.
No one would be safe if her great-grandmother rose. The terrifying earth mother would have the planet destroyed and razed to the ground, mortals thrown to the monsters, demigods slaughtered, the Olympians toppled from Mount Olympus and terrifying, cruel giants in their place.
Every day that passed only heightened Calypso's anxiety. For the first time in centuries, she yelled at the skies, roared for an answer, her anger and fear boiling the water around the island until the air sweltered with humidity and heat.
But no one came. No gods calming her wild theories, no heroes with news from the rest of the globe, no messengers of any kind.
As time continued on in the slow drags and quick beats so common to Ogygia, Calypso found herself bitterly cursing the day Hermes had appeared to her.
(A/N: Next Friday will be the first of Calypso's POV in House of Hades! Hope you liked this chapter, I remembered quotes from Sea of Monsters where Circe is talking to Annabeth: The only way to power for women is sorcery. Medea, Calypso, now there were powerful women! I figured that in her prime, Calypso was probably not someone you wanted to mess with.
Then I thought: pretty girl, secluded on an island? The gods so wouldn't leave that alone. Eh, more fool them. My version of Calypso is not putting up with their godly seduction shit.
Now, reviews!
Dragonrider2345: Yay, I did update! Thank you for favouriting and I hope you liked Calypso's debut. What did you think, is she too much? Caleo (of a sort) next chapter, I promise!
The Invisible Pretender: Poor Zeus cops a lot of crap in this story. Glad you enjoyed his suffering ;)
TinyRules: Leo's dialogue is really fun to write so I'm glad you liked it :) Update on Friday!
Guest: Sorry, I'm captain aboard the Caleo ship, it's the most adorable ship in my fleet, I'll admit. Glad you enjoyed it, next chapter is Friday!
Fowlsprincess6138: Here she is! Did you like her? I wondered if she wasn't a bit too harsh for her character?
Tenneyshoes: OoooOoOOOh…I'm sensing a Percy-Calypso-Leo reunion in my future ;) Did you like her character this chapter? I wonder if I didn't go overboard slightly. Also, next chapter is (finally) Leo and Calypso meeting in HoH for the first time :D Love your 'first' suggestions so far too!
Angel's Apple: About your review, I didn't like it much either. It made me shriek and jump up and down like a fangirl and I had to explain to my little sister that no, I didn't see a spider, I just have awesome people reading my story. I'm hoping the chapter size will increase on average but there are some that are just shorter. Hope you liked Calypso's entrance and their first meeting is next Friday, I promise :D thank you so much for reading!
Guest: You are absolutely amazing! I'm glad you enjoyed it and hope you like next chapter too!
Mila-is-a-bookworm-101: Thanks *blushes* :D
Tara Luna Apple: Will definitely keep writing, glad I made your day, you should know every notification I get on my email makes mine too!
Musical2day: I love them too! Next Friday is their first meeting from Calypso's POV, hope you like that one too :)
I really don't: I'm so glad you enjoyed it, my sense of humour isn't always for everyone :D
Dids107: I figure Aphrodite is a fangirl at heart and probably has a TEAM LEO shirt in her closet already. So glad you enjoyed it, next Friday is Calypso's POV from House of Hades so we finally get to see Caleo in action!
TiredAndWriting: Typos are my pet peeve, I can't stand them. If you catch any, please tell me and I'll correct the little shits. I'm glad you like this cause I think it's definitely going over three thousand words but I'm curious about what you thought of Calypso's appearance this chapter? Next update she meets Leo for the first time so I hope you like that one too!
Totalbooknerd13: YES! \^.^/ How'd you like Calypso? ;)
Winonabcd: ALL MONTH? EEKE DJFSJDLHLU! BLURGHL! So glad you're writing Caleo yourself, I'll pop over to your profile and check it out :D Also: THE RULING IS IN LATER CHAPTERS I'M AFRAID D: D: D: But soon. I hope.
Brix8: Updating now! BREAAAATHE DEEEEPLYYYY! *gasps*
The Oz Meister and Jen Baas: Who you gonna call? HORMONES! (glad you enjoyed it ;)
Laureleaf3: Their parents are super lazy right? I mean, they already promised Percy to get her off that damn island, what the heck are they waiting for? Hope you liked chapter six, next week is Leo and Calypso's first meeting!
Guest: Damn straight Leo is one of the seven! They wouldn't function without him ;) Hope you enjoy next chapter!
27lablover: SERIOUSLY ZEUS, I'M NOT FUCKING AROUND, LET HER OUT ALREADY! (glad you liked chapter six, hope you enjoy the next one too :D)
Nerdy Athletic: Will do and I hope you enjoy next Friday!
Dragonstorm24: So great that you like it :D Next chapter is Friday, hope you enjoy their first meeting!