A/N: HELLO GUYS, I'M BA-ACK!
PLEASE READ BELOW (for explanations as to how much I suck!)
My university semester is OVER and I am so, so glad I get to spend time on this story again!
Did you know your reviews were the only thing keeping me going during my final exams guys? Well they were. So thankyou very much, all of you.
I apologise for two things:
a) the ridiculously long wait [I'msorryI'mtrashIloveyouguysreally]
and b) the fact that I lied, only PERCABETH this chapter, then CALYPSO-ANNABETH CONFRONTATION next chapter AND HOPEFULLY CALEO AS WELL. To explain, this chapter DID NOT want to be written and when I finally had enough spare time to write, my muse carried me in an entirely different direction!
I'm actually hoping to finish and post the new chapter by tomorrow but in the mean time, here's an absurdly long update and thankyou very much to everyone who's sticking with me, you are legends and I cherish each and every message/review/question you send me.
Much love and many thanks,
Shy.
PS. You'll have to forgive the delay in replying to reviews (I hope to get to most of them tomorrow as well) and the enormous amount of ANONYMOUS REVIEW REPLIES down the bottom. THANKS!
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
- PART 1 -
The first time Annabeth Chase actually spoke to Calypso, it was because of an emergency.
No surprises there: the short, dark eyed former goddess had been especially absent whenever Annabeth was around. Everyone pretended hard not to notice until it became obvious that everyone already had and there was no point ignoring it.
The first time she'd met the goddess, Calypso had called her by name and though Annabeth hated to admit it, it caught her off guard. Annabeth knew Calypso's name pretty well- she'd spent weeks while Percy had disappeared (the first time, way back when they were fourteen), mulling over the possibility. It hadn't really occurred to her that the former goddess would remember hers.
"You just have to give her some time." Rachel had explained as she joined them at breakfast. She'd watched Calypso make a beeline for the Hephaestus table without making a singled shred of eye contact, her mouth pressed into a flat line. "Calypso is- well, she's jumpy. And weird. And stubborn."
Beside her, Percy gritted his teeth and her hand was suddenly laced with his before she knew what she was doing. It was just one of the strange habits they'd picked up since coming back from Greece but Annabeth didn't see the point in bringing it up. If the inescapable urge to touch Percy or have him touching her was a consequence of Tartarus- well, Annabeth could think of far worse repercussions.
"I still don't get why Leo isn't here." Percy muttered, his voice markedly less strained with her fingertips resting on his skin. "The last time a demigod went on a recruitment mission was when we went looking Nico and Bianca."
Rachel shrugged, glancing over at the Big House with a raised brow. "Mr D's gone kind of nuts since you guys left. You should've heard him shouting when they came back. I thought the world was ending. You know, again."
Piper appeared a few minutes later with a relaxed looking Jason alongside her and they'd hugged and welcomed the pair back. With the pair of them beside her, Rachel filled Percy and Annabeth in on what had changed while they'd been away although Annabeth had been hearing about the infamous shouting match since she'd arrived that morning. In some ways the gossip made her a little nostalgic for the more open atmosphere in Camp Jupiter. Being so small, Camp Half Blood had always leapt on any shred of rumour or news with a kind of viciousness that only teenagers could really achieve.
According to most camp sources, Calypso's entrance had been something of a spectacle but Annabeth was hardly surprised after hearing how Mr D was involved.
"He really hates her." Piper mused, tugging on a thin green feather tucked into her braids. "I don't know what she did to him but he's been picking on both of them since they got here."
"It's kind of weird actually but Leo didn't tell me how they knew each other." Jason added, his brows furrowed slightly. "He seemed kind of pissed though so I doubt it was good."
At the mention, Percy's face darkened and Annabeth knew exactly which memory he was replaying in his head. It was chiselled into the sides of her skull- utter darkness and terror, the sudden but certain knowledge that Percy had left her, that she was completely alone in this nightmare of a place, that she would always be alone because he'd chosen to let her go.
The mere memory made her mouth dry but she kept her fingers from shaking.
"…staying with Rachel but I haven't really seen her since Leo left." Piper was saying when Annabeth returned to the conversation.
The heiress shrugged. "I don't even get to see her much to be honest. I have a new project in the city and I'm usually gone by the time she wakes up in the morning."
"She's kind of avoiding us." Jason admitted, sheepishly. "I don't know what we did exactly but we figured it might be better with more people she kind of knew."
People like Percy, Annabeth realised. The pang of jealousy she thought she would feel, dealing with one of Percy's ex-interests, was noticeably missing however; after all, Percy Jackson had followed her through a suicide mission to Rome and had refused to let her fall into the pit of evil itself without him.
Commitment to each other was hardly a concern for either of them. Annabeth already knew Percy was the other half of her brain and he always would be.
Percy's knuckles cracked as his fists tightened and she quickly prodded his knee with her toe to snap him out of it. "We'll see." She replied, noncommittally and steered the conversation into safer waters. Percy didn't need more reasons to be upset with the goddess now wandering around camp. When they left though, he didn't seem able to contain it.
It was one of the things she'd always known about her Seaweed Brain: his temper was one of his worst qualities and since Tartarus, it had developed a bad habit of flaring up unexpectedly and furiously.
"She's here. I-I knew he was bringing her but she's- she's actually here." He muttered, his shoulders tensing as they left the Dining Pavilion.
She tried to keep her head, even when those same memories flowed through her chest as well. It was why they worked so well together, she tried to remind herself. She could keep a cool head even when Percy lost his. Especially when he lost it.
"C'mon Seaweed Brain, you knew she'd be here when we got back." Annabeth pointed out, lightly but in her heart, she was uneasy too. It was one thing to think about Calypso as a pretty girl who'd once saved Percy, healed him on a magical island and fallen in love with him once upon a time, as a victim of the gods who had helped Leo and fallen in love with him too. It was entirely different to think about the vengeful goddess who'd unleashed a curse that still haunted Annabeth's dreams and was now walking around her home, talking to her friends.
Percy let a long, unsteady breath as if trying to calm down but the tension didn't leave his body, his form poised for an attack. "She hurt you, Annabeth. She made those things hurt you and I- I can't just forget that!" he hissed, his hands clenched and shaking.
Despite herself, Annabeth's spine stiffened. "You think I have?" she snapped in a cold, steel tone. "I haven't forgotten a thing about that place, Percy."
The words were like cold water on a bonfire and she could pinpoint the exact moment her version of Percy, the one who was more likely to laugh than shout, came back to her. She missed that Percy a lot. She missed that Annabeth too sometimes, those versions of themselves that she worried had been forever lost down in a dark place among dark things.
It was not the last time Annabeth thought about the newest camper but she put it to the back of her mind, channelling her mother's infamous ability to compartmentalise. Calypso was an unidentified, unpredictable new factor in her world.
And unidentified factors in Annabeth's life rarely remained so for long.
Settling back into camp was always like slipping on an old favourite t-shirt: it had its holes and faded threads but it was comfortable. Annabeth unpacked her things back into her bunk and chatted with her siblings. Malcolm had been keeping an eye on things for her but he didn't have much to report.
One of her brothers had developed a new program that was getting recognition in some award ceremony next month, two of her sisters had taken over planning for the following game of Capture The Flag and several of her younger siblings had entered a prank war with the Apollo cabin (they were winning for now, Malcolm was pleased to add).
While she tucked her old Yankee's cap into her nightstand, Annabeth eyed her sandy haired half-brother. "What about Calypso?" she asked, deceptively casual. "Anyone seen much of her?"
Malcolm paused for a fraction of a moment longer than usual before shrugging, his expression neutral. "No one's really seen much of her lately. She's staying with Rachel but I think she hangs out in the Forges mostly." He coughed at the end, glancing away.
Annabeth tactfully decided not to pursue the issue and shrugged instead. "So she's not making trouble?"
A snort came from behind them as Jennifer, one of Annabeth's newest siblings appeared, helmet wedged beneath her arm and sweat across her brow. "Mr D's the one making trouble." She retorted, not bothering to apologise for eavesdropping. "I heard he tossed all her stuff out of the cave and set it on fire the other day."
"What?" Annabeth echoed, brow furrowed. She'd always known Mr D behaved like a six year old trapped in a fattening godly form but that seemed sort of…extreme?
Jennifer nodded, grabbing a spare leather arm guard from beneath her bed. "One of the satyrs told me he's been trying to contact Olympus for like a week, trying to get her expelled."
"You can't expel someone from camp." Malcolm snapped, rolling his eyes. "Mr D's just complaining."
"He hates her." Jennifer said in a gossipy tone as she swapped her arm guard on her left arm. "Adam from Cabin 7 said it's because she was the nymph he was chasing when he got stuck here."
"Calypso's not a nymph." Malcolm muttered, looking slightly exasperated with the younger girl. "She used to be a goddess."
"I heard Titan." Jennifer simply called back carelessly as she left.
"Are we entirely sure we can't send her to the Romans?" Malcolm mumbled, irritably. "She does this every week. I'm sick of getting the scoop on every new camper we get."
Annabeth grimaced slightly but shook her head as she finished the last of her things. "She'll grow out of it." She said instead.
"Anyway…I hate to admit it but she's kind of right." He added. "Everyone's kind of calling her a Titan now."
Annabeth thought about the Titans she knew, about the terror she'd felt coursing through her veins alongside exhaustion when she met Atlas, about the intimidating sight of Hyperion standing at the Doors of Death inside Tartarus. But then she thought of Bob and how serene and peaceful he'd looked when she and Percy had introduced him to the sandy beaches of his new home in Australia. Not all Titans were bad, just like not all gods were good.
But she knew few of her fellow campers had had the same kind of experiences she'd had. Thank the gods for that.
"It'll pass." She said, finally. "This kind of gossip always does."
She was still putting together her mental impression of the former goddess when one of the fountains outside of the Big House exploded that afternoon.
She'd been catching up with Piper, carefully extracting more information between conversation about a particular drill she'd picked up in Camp Jupiter. She was nothing if not determined to entangle this mysterious new addition to her life and if the addition herself wouldn't come near her, Annabeth wasn't about to let it stop her.
"Percy will be here soon." She told the brunette demigod as she selected a training dagger from the armoury rack. None of them suited her as well as her old blade but it was lost in the depths of Tartarus. She still had her Drakon Bone sword but it wasn't appropriate for the move she was trying to demonstrate. She and Piper were training in one of the smaller areas, near to the Big House while Annabeth explained the dynamics of a Roman fighting stance she'd learned, the Twofold Bite, as Sue-Ellen had called it. "You really have to see it in action, it looks like something out of a movie."
"Fight scenes in movies are ridiculous." Piper disagreed with a laugh. "My dad had to do them for one of his projects and he made me leave because I couldn't stop laughing. They're just so choreographed. Every punch is sped up in post-production so it just looks like ten year olds play fighting."
Annabeth laughed. "Not this one. Romans have their own flaws but gods, even I was kind of impressed when they did their drills. I thought this one would probably suit a Greek style better than most so I made Sue-Ellen teach me."
"Sue-Ellen huh?" Piper teased. "You going native on me, Chase?"
She rolled her eyes. "It's funny you say that because everyone at Camp Jupiter says Percy and I are so Greek it burns their poor imperial eyes."
"Romans." Piper mock-sighed, although her eyes glinted cheerfully. "Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em."
"Speaking of, how's Jason settling in?" Annabeth asked.
"Well, I think. He's collected a fan club but I figured it was unavoidable." Piper looked entirely unperturbed by the idea, but then she had gained a kind of confidence since returning from Greece. Beautiful but deadly was a far better estimation of her now than 'just another pretty face'. "I think he's liking New York too."
"What's not to like?" Annabeth grinned, stretching her arms out to the sides. "No one's rude like New Yorkers." Despite being from the east coast, New York had always been home to her and she was slightly irrational when it came to defending it. It had made for…interesting dinner conversations in New Rome.
Piper burst into laughter. "Oh gods, you guys missed the last time Jason and Leo went into the city, you'd think they'd come straight back from Greece all over again!" she recounted how Leo had gone to look for some small specific gear to repair Festus' left flank and Jason had gotten worked up when the vendors tried to swindle them, to the point where Leo had just nicked the part.
Typically, not a huge problem. Demigods stole supplies all the time. It was not a good idea when the vendor revealed his pet griffin which had been reasonably upset at the missing piece. The boys had fought their way free, made a narrow escape down a side alley and returned with indignant, loud complaints about quality and integrity of business while covered in enough feathers to make a piñata.
By the time she finished, Annabeth was warmed up and snickering as she began flipping the dagger around her hand to get used to its weight. "You laugh," Piper warned although she was fighting her own smile. "But Jason and Leo aren't allowed anywhere near that part of town anymore."
"That's a good rule but if Percy and I used it, neither of us would be allowed anywhere near Manhattan." Annabeth remarked.
"Leo swore it was worth it." Piper smiled wistfully. "You really should've seen them when they arrived."
"Leo and Calypso?" she clarified in a light tone. None of their friends were aware of the...curse incident.
Piper nodded, oblivious to her forced casualness. "Yeah. I don't think I've ever seen Leo so…"
"Excited?" Annabeth suggested.
"No, he seemed kind of giddy and peaceful at the same time." She shrugged. "It was strange because I never would've put them together in my head but they kind of work in a weird way."
"Oh?" she prompted, trying not to sound overly interested, her dagger flipping faster.
"Yeah, it's not easy for them though, you don't immediately put them together, like with Hazel and Frank you know? I actually think they like irritating one another as much as they like each other." Piper tried to explain.
Annabeth nodded slightly. "That sounds like Leo."
Piper smirked. "It's sort of cute though. I think Calypso says stuff just to see Leo get all huffy and worked up."
"Huh." Privately, Annabeth could relate to that. Winding Seaweed Brain up had always been one of her favourite past times.
"You guys done talking girly?" Percy's teasing voice suddenly reached her ears as he stepped into the training circle with them and Annabeth smirked.
Without missing a beat, she turned with an innocent smile. "Yep, we're just comparing notes on you and Jason."
Immediately, Percy's face turned a kind of constipated red and his mouth dropped open so wide she could peek at his tonsils. Piper burst into laughter behind her.
As it turned out, winding up Percy still was one of her favourite past times.
Once Percy had been assured he wasn't being scored on boyfriend ability (both girls tactfully neglected to mention their occasional sleepovers), Annabeth made him take on a fighting stance and they went through a couple of practise swings to warm up.
She liked practising with Percy. It was exhilarating and they seemed so evenly matched that sometimes it was like fighting herself. Not that she ever told him. His head was quite big enough already.
At one point he had a lock on her elbow but before he could shift his weight, Annabeth had spun around and slipped behind him, using the grip to her advantage to push him off balance. "You're getting slow Percy." She tsked, playfully, the endorphins rushing through her system like a wildfire.
Percy grinned back at her, that smile that made her feel kind of fluttery and distracted, as he rolled to his feet in the same motion as hooking his sneaker around her knee until she tumbled toward his chest, their training daggers clashing together on contact. "You sure about that, Wise Girl?"
That nickname made her smile a little, even as they stood pressed against each other, sweaty and breathing hard. She missed this kind of regular stuff- well, as regular as demigods could get. Training, swimming in the lake, flirting and talking and getting to tease each other: Annabeth hadn't realised how much she had been missing this kind of effortless, shadowless activity until then.
It seemed like Percy was having the same thought because his smile suddenly turned a little wistful and he eased back a fraction as if to speak-
The moment the pressure lifted, Annabeth grabbed his sword arm, extended it sharply and in seconds, Percy found himself flipped onto his back, staring up at her with a mix of annoyance and outright wonder.
She smiled. "No, I'm pretty sure you're getting slow."
"When I stop seeing eight of you," Percy muttered. "I'll show you slow, Wise Girl."
"Bring it on Seaweed Brain." She told him, mirthfully but just as she reached down to help him up, an enormous gushing noise overtook her senses and the fountain outside the Big House suddenly roared to life, the mist throwing of translucent rainbows.
At the centre of the misting spray was Leo's face covered in…cheese?
"Hello? Is anyone there? Come on guys, you do not want to know the day I've had." He whined, rubbing his eyes tiredly. He looked worse for wear but alive and several demigods paused to watch as Piper approached the IM.
"What in Hades is in your hair?" she asked, raising a brow quizzically.
Leo, who had never entirely mastered Iris Messages and stood far too close to the spray, lit up with a grin. "Hey Pipes!"
"Leo, you're covered in goo." She pointed out.
He grimaced in return. "I know. Wait staff in this place are damn awful. I mean, seriously, I know I'm ruggedly handsome and all but even I can't pull off head to toe food scraps-"
"Who're you talking to?"
Leo frowned at something beside him. "No one, go away."
"He's gone nuts again."
"Coach Hedge? Leo's talking to a fountain. Do you think it's the mellissà poison-?"
Annabeth's eyes widened at the unfamiliar voices. "Mellissà poison? Leo, what-?"
"Ha, kids." He cut her off, glaring at something unseen beside him. "So damn curious. All the damn time. Anyway, Hedge is getting us tickets home but I figured I'd better tell you guys we're alive and well."
"Tickets? What happened to-?" Piper continued.
"Pipes," Leo complained. "Can't I just explain everything when I get back?"
The demigod rolled her eyes. "Somehow I bet the explanation is so not what I'm thinking it is."
"When is it ever?" Leo retorted but his eyes flittered around the courtyard, looking for someone. It wasn't his usual fidgeting, Annabeth noted. No, Leo looked…expectant? Hopeful, maybe? "Don't suppose…?"
Piper rolled her eyes. "If you want to see your girlfriend, why don't you IM her?" her voice took on a teasing lilt at the end.
Even in the thin mist, Annabeth could make out the faint blush staining Leo's dark, goo covered cheeks. "Gods, you are the worst." He whined and then muttered: "And I already tried."
"Leo has a girlfriend?"
"No way. He's so weird."
"Watch it, munchkin!" Leo snapped at the voice, looking haggard. "I saved your butts twice today."
A snort. "We saved your butt too."
"Yeah, I'd say one and a half times at most."
"Gods I hate you two." Leo moaned, his voice garbled in the rushing fountain. "We're gonna be home in a few days, Hedge thinks." He told Piper, his face pained. "Could you tell her for me?"
"Leo, you don't actually have a girlfriend."
"You don't have to pretend in front of us."
"Zeus keep me from strangling you two." Leo grunted.
"I'll tell her, Leo." Piper confirmed and his expression lost some of its irritation.
"Thanks Beauty Queen." He said, cheekily but before he could say something else, his eyes caught something off to his right and widened. "Don't touch tha-!"
The spray disappeared, the fountain slowly returning to its normal gurgle and Piper glanced to Annabeth apologetically. "I should find Calypso and give her the news-"
"I'll do it." Percy suddenly said, his gaze distracted.
Annabeth paused. "You will?"
"I will." He replied, nodding. "I-I have to talk to her about something else anyway."
"O-kay." Piper drawled slowly with an uncertain expression.
Before he turned to leave, Annabeth grabbed his shoulder. "Percy, just think about this first-" she began, her previous thoughts about his temper rising to the front of her mind.
"Relax, Annabeth." He said immediately. "That's not- I mean- look, I have to talk to her some time. And Rachel said something this morning- Calypso did something really bad but I kind of did something to her first. It's complicated but I can't just avoid her forever."
Annabeth narrowed her eyes at him. "Careful Jackson, you're starting to sound almost mature."
He sighed, heavily but his expression was only slightly troubled, not that dark glare from the morning. "It'll be fine. Promise."
She gripped his fingers tightly before he left and her eyes followed him scrutinisingly but she'd grown frighteningly good at pegging Percy's mood and he seemed more…determined than angry.
Whatever the case, it was obviously something he needed to do by himself.
So without further ado, she turned back to Piper and began to go through the motion of the Twofold Bite, her brain still piecing everything together in her head
She found Percy later. Much later than she realised.
After practising with Piper for a few hours, she'd grabbed lunch with her siblings and a couple of older campers. It was hardly a casual meal, no, no.
No, Annabeth was holding an information session.
The idea of a demigod college was one that had never even really been conceived in Camp Half Blood. Demigods in the east simply trained until they were old enough to try to survive normal education amongst mortals.
The universities in New Rome were a whole different world for most of them and Annabeth brought out the pamphlets and brochures she'd collected to show them all. Some of the campers looked hesitant, the memories of a marching Roman threat and inherent avoidance of the west still fresh in their minds. But most of them seemed excited by the prospect which was exactly how Annabeth had felt walking through the beautifully kept buildings and lecture theatres, the sun drench courtyards and huge selection of courses and units to choose from.
Percy of course had been less than interested by that part of it all but she knew he liked the idea of living in New Rome, a secure city where he wasn't looked down upon as a truant with a short attention span and a knack for getting into trouble. Where he could freely enjoy being a son of Poseidon without ever-present danger hovering over his head, waiting for a chance to strike.
She hadn't outright admitted it but seeing him playing with some of the kids in the Piazza made her feel weirdly giddy in a way she wasn't entirely ready to admit to.
When she finally pulled herself away from the lunch-turned-conference, Annabeth followed the sounds of clanging metal toward the main amphitheatre. She wasn't disappointed; Percy was busily maiming practise dummies like they were Gaea's minions themselves, Riptide's blade a silver blur which whipped around and through his straw and cloth opponents with fierce speed.
She bit her lip as she approached, wary of the tension curling off him. She could feel it from across the theatre and for a second, she wondered if leaving him alone for a while to knock some fake heads together was a better option.
But the idea slipped from her soon enough- Percy could practically win awards for avoiding the issue when he wanted to. It was why she'd been surprised that he'd wanted to speak with Calypso in the first place.
So instead, she took a seat near one of the stands and watched him demolish the last remaining dummies. His style had changed since Gaea. The smooth, twisting motions she was familiar with were now interspersed with direct shots and the brutal power blows she'd witnessed in Rome; not for the first time, Annabeth found herself a little jealous of the training Percy had received with Lupa, the she-wolf guardian of the Roman camp. Learning from a master like that must've been extraordinary, she mused when he finished, breathing hard.
His hand crept from his side to the base of his spine, to a place she knew very well and yet still terrified her. For a time that spot had been the biggest secret she'd ever kept, knowledge buried so deeply against her heart that she sometimes found her fingers drawn to it almost magnetically, as though to check it were real. Gone now, the knowledge still lived in her chest and apparently in Percy's too. The moment he brushed the spot, Percy flinched like it was still drenched in the Curse of Achilles.
"So how was your day?" she called out to him, slightly disturbed when he jumped again, obviously startled by her voice. It had been a while since she'd been able to sneak up on Percy without trying. She used to be able to do so pretty often as kids: another past time of hers.
"Hey, when did you get here?" Percy asked between hard breaths as he walked towards her, Riptide disappearing into his pocket in pen-form as he did.
She briefly allowed herself to enjoy the sight of her hot sweaty boyfriend in all his lean muscled glory before she turned to the problem at hand. "Long enough to wonder why the dummies deserved to die such a gruesome death. What's going on?"
Percy looked like he'd rather have any other conversation in the world but she caught his eye and his shoulders sagged a little. "I talked to Calypso."
"I gathered that." She retorted dryly when he didn't continue. "Did it go that badly?"
"No, it went- it kind of went okay." He muttered, scratching his forehead. "I apologised. For leaving her behind."
Annabeth remained quiet but when he sat beside her and played with the hem of her shorts, she let him. She knew Percy felt guilty for not trying harder to remember the people he'd met and promised to help over the years. Calypso was another figure they'd forgotten about but she couldn't help but feel divided on the subject. Percy had had a world-saving-or-possibly-breaking destiny to follow; it wasn't as though he didn't have a reason for forgetting. Constant and intense danger will do that to a person.
"And then I asked her why she did it." His voice became gravelly when he said the words and his fingers tightened on the hem of her shorts. "Why she hurt you like that, when I was the one who-" he broke off and they didn't speak for a long while.
"What did she say?" Annabeth finally asked, half desperate to hear the answer and half trying with all her heart not to.
Percy glanced at her, although he refused to meet her eyes. "It was my fault." He said after a while, his tone hollow. "She said she didn't curse you- she cursed me."
"You?" Annabeth tensed unwittingly, her brain flooded with that unforgettable feeling of being entirely abandoned in the dark. "How did she curse you when I was the one they attac-?"
"Exactly." Percy cut in, scrubbing a hand over his face in agitation. "She said- she said the curse wasn't about hurting you, not really. She said she wanted me to feel as much pain as she had and the worst way to hurt someone isn't to hurt them, it's hurting-"
"The people they care about." Annabeth finished, the explanation clicking into place. It hadn't been about her. How could it have been? Calypso didn't know Annabeth from Artemis. How could she have been the target? "So…what I felt, that was…"
"That was what I made her feel. What we all made her feel, every guy that, you know, landed on Ogygia. Every day. For thousands of years." Percy stated, bluntly.
She didn't want to say anything but she'd had her suspicions that it might've been the case. Certainly not Percy being the target of the curse but that feeling, that pain- it was too pointed, too sharp, too agonising to be imagined. Part of her was furious that Calypso had wanted someone else- anyone else- to go through the same thing she had. It was indecent to subject someone to that kind of pain when you had firsthand knowledge of it.
But knowing what she herself had felt had been one small part of Calypso's much longer history, Annabeth felt even more conflicted. How do you forgive someone who knew what they were doing was horrible and did it anyway? How did you forgive them when they themselves had suffered more than enough to repay the wrong?
She was so focused on her inner thoughts, she almost didn't hear Percy when he spoke. Almost.
"It's my fault they attacked you." He said in a cold voice. "It's all because of me."
"Cretan bull-shit." Annabeth spat immediately, her temper spiking with sizzling heat through her veins. "Percy, your head is full of kelp if you actually believe that!" How could he say that? After everything he'd done for her? After everything she'd done for him?
"C'mon Wise Girl, connect the dots!" he snapped back at her, not meeting her eyes.
"C'mon Seaweed Brain," she retorted, mockingly. "I really thought you were brighter than this."
"It's true! I left her on that island! I'm the reason she felt that way, I'm the reason why she made you feel that way." Saying the words out loud seemed suck all the air from Percy's sails, figuratively speaking. He slumped a little, his shoulders still tense and his face looked sort of haggard, the same kind of long shadows she'd seen during the long nights they spent in the Pit when he thought she was asleep. "Annabeth, I am so-"
"If the next words out of your mouth is 'sorry', gods help me Percy, I'll run you right through on that damn sword myself!" she growled, grabbing his chin and forcing his gaze to hers. "The arai are hateful monsters and they hurt both of us down there, where no one could have ever possibly imagined we'd ever go. Even the monsters that cursed us probably never believed we'd get that far."
"If I'd just kept in contact, if I'd paid just a little more attention, she never would have done it." Percy insisted, those sea green eyes of his twisting like storm-laced oceans. "You wouldn't have had to go through that."
"You talked to Calypso, didn't you?" Annabeth tried a different approach, her hand shifting until it was slightly tangled in his hair but firm, forcing his eyes to meet her face. "Did she seem vengeful to you? Crazy? Evil?"
"That's not the point-!" he protested but Annabeth knew the answer already.
"The point is that she made the choice to do that to you." She spoke over his protesting. "She did that-that horrible thing and it wasn't fair. And sure, Percy, you screwed up. We both did. The gods made us a promise and we were stupid enough to think that was the end of it. But those are two different things that led to something else entirely, so how in all of Hades is it your fault? How-?"
Percy cut in before she could finish entirely. "You called out for me, Annabeth. You screamed my name because you thought I'd left you." his voice was nearly brittle, not loud and outraged as she thought it might but quiet and stressed. Despite her grip in his hair, his eyes dropped to the ground. For the first time, Annabeth really wondered how long he'd been out here, slashing training dummies and reliving memories inside his head. "You thought I'd abandoned you. And sure, the arai made it happen but that feeling didn't come out of nowhere. That was me."
"No, it came from a girl who should've been treated better but shouldn't have taken it out on someone else, whether she thought anything would come from it or not." She replied, softly. "Seaweed Brain, I love you. I would rather hack off my own hand than hurt you like that- like that curse hurt me. And you feel the same way about me right?"
Percy's head reared back to look at her, startled. "Of course. I-I never- I didn't want to-"
"Then where that curse came from doesn't matter." She replied, firmly. "Intention is everything, Percy. And if you don't believe that, then we're in worse shape than I thought."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Percy muttered, sounding a little suspicious.
Annabeth sighed, mock-defeatedly. "Well that would mean it's Leo's fault we fired on New Rome and nearly caused an enormous war."
Percy frowned. "Hang on-"
"And Hazel's to blame for raising Alcyoneus."
"That wasn't-"
"And it's my fault we were tossed into the Pit in the first place."
"What?" In seconds, his face lost that haggard, defeated expression, replaced instead with nearly electrified eyes and outraged furrowed brows. "Annabeth, that's stupid, you can't compare-"
"Why not?" she shot back, pointedly. "You're comparing it. Face it, if I hadn't led us to Rome, I wouldn't have confronted Arachne and she would never have dragged us into Tartarus. You wouldn't have had drink liquid fire to survive or be stabbed and poisoned multiple times or end up with nightmares every time you fall asleep."
"It's not the same." Percy stated, grinding his teeth. "I made a promise to keep you safe. It's different."
"I made a promise too! So why is it different?" she continued, relentlessly. "Because I'm a girl? Because you're a son of Poseidon? Because you're the only one allowed to regret things? What makes you so damn special, Percy Jackson?"
He didn't have a response. That much was evident in how he looked at her, like she was the only thing keeping him from sliding off the edge of the earth. They sat in silence for a long while and she realised she'd managed to sneak her fingers around his wrist like she was about to pin him to the spot beside her. She loosened her grip a little and his hand immediately caught hers back, almost reflexively.
Finally- finally- his mouth quirked up at the edge in a tiny, tired smirk. "I did save the world, you know. I am a little special." Percy pointed out, weakly.
She snorted. "Special in the head maybe."
"Twice. I saved the world twice."
"You had help." She rolled her eyes, but her tone has turned gentle. It was her job as Percy's best friend to pop his head every now and then, to let the angst and ego seep out. For his own health of course.
Percy's voice became serious and low. "I couldn't have done any of it without you, Wise Girl. You know that right?"
"Of course I know that. Seaweed Brain, you'd forget Riptide if it didn't magically reappear in your pocket." Annabeth stated, nudging him with her shoulder. "And I can tell when you're changing the subject."
Percy let out a tiny chuckle and sighed, letting his grip on her hand loosen and trace her palm instead in gentle undulating lines that made her want to shiver all over and drag his mouth to hers. "I told Calypso to stay away from me for a little while." He confided in a low tone. "I think we're both still kind of pissed off."
"That's probably a good move." She observed lightly. She didn't know how much of those godly powers Calypso had retained after all.
"I told her Leo was coming back soon." Percy added, forcing his voice to lighten. "She looked pretty happy."
She let a rueful smile slip. "I bet she did." And I bet I'm not going to see a single glimpse of her until he gets here.
There was suddenly a churning feeling in her stomach to talk to the former goddess now that everything had come to light. She wanted to discuss what had happened, to understand it all better. Calypso was more or less identifiable now but curiosity had always been a flaw of hers.
Besides. Understanding something completely was a good way to stop fearing it. And more than anything, Annabeth wanted not to be afraid of those memories anymore.
A/N: So lots of Annabeth POV, what do you think? I'm itching to write more Caleo soon so BEAR WITH ME YOU DELIGHTFUL FANS, I WILL DELIVER!
Thankyou to everyone who writes reviews, anonymous or not, favourites, follows or just quietly reads this fic, I'm overwhelmed by how much you guys are enjoying it and hope you continue to do so!
Anons:
Clace-Fourtris (love the name!): Thanks for correcting my French! It's been a while since I studied/spoke it so thanks for the help. Also, I am absolutely psyched you're enjoying Calypso's development as 'more than Leo's girlfriend', I was a little worried people would prefer something more caleo-centric, but their relationship was just too interesting! Anyway, thanks for bearing with me and I really hope you like Annabeth's POV ;)
Guest101: It wasn't soon but thankyou anyway! Hope you liked this chapter!
Hope Garrit: Hello again! Just a little while longer to wait for the Caleo reunion but you know what they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder…? Ha ha ha please don't kill me. Anyway, I'm hoping to reply to reviews soon, although it might take a while, there's a lot of you! Thanks for sticking around and I hope you like Annabeth's POV ;)
Hope: Next chapter I think! I'm hoping to glue Annabeth-Calypso confrontation to the Caleo reunion in a mega-chapter so fingers crossed! Thanks for reading!
Guest: I'm glad you can relate to Calypso- I really wanted to write a version of her that had everyday problems, like anxiety or nerves or not fitting in. She's in a modern world now, with modern problems but she's coping, as everyone does :) Thankyou very much for reading, I hope you like Annabeth's chapter!
Breeze: Hello! I'm thinking of doing an Annabeth-Calypso confrontation chapter with the Caleo reunion because I want to do both scenes SO BADLY DAMN IT! GAH! Anyway, thankyou for reviewing and I am always open to suggestions!
Annie: You. Also Awesome. THANKYOU :D
Guest: I think Hazel would be a really good friend for Calypso, although I think she would find Frank a little difficult to get to know- he's very…Roman. And this story's Calypso is not overly fond of Romans. Is there a particular reason they shouldn't be friends? I'd love to know :)
Guest: thankyou!
Guest: Sorry about the long wait for this chapter, uni life is killing me! As for Calypso and Reyna meeting, I have something in mind for why Caleo would head to New Rome and it's still a while off, unfortunately. Rest assured however, it is more than a possibility at this point and thankyou for reading! ;)
Hannah: I'm so sorry for promising a reunion and giving you Annabeth instead but bear with me, it all ties together (I HOPE)! Thanks so much for sticking with this fic!
Guest: THANKYOU SO MUCH GAH COMPLIMENTS FROM ANONYMOUS PEOPLE ARE SO LOVELY LET ME HUG YOUR FACE! (also, yes, I will always keep writing!)
MCRismyescape: I am also angry at myself for taking too long to post this new chapter so we're even friend ;) As for the Percy-Annabeth-Calypso reunion hmm, would you settle for Percabeth feels this chapter and Annabeth-Calypso confrontation next chapter? Because that's where this is headed! Anyway, thankyou very much for the lovely review and for reading!
Blue234: SORRY ABOUT THE WAIT, I SUCK, I AM SO SORRY! Caleo reunion will be shortly I hope but thanks for sticking with me!
Bananas: Firstly, thankyou very much for reading and I'm thrilled you're enjoying the story so far! But I'd kindly ask to keep the language friendly, death threats are not nice and spoil the enthusiasm I feel like I share with you guys.
LONG REVIEW REPLY ALERT!
Leona Valdez: I FANGIRL ALSO, LET US FANGIRL TOGETHER! *ahem* As for not being shy anymore, to be honest, it was a learning process. I used to cling really closely to the same small friendship group when I was younger, so tightly that when we grew up and grew apart, I was really lonely for a while. But I was really lucky: I developed my interests and found what I was passionate about. Passion is part of what attracts other people: it's like a beacon to people who are enthusiastic about similar things. From there, it becomes easy to find friends and people you can share things with.
Hating yourself is awful and whoever or whatever made you feel that way is awful too, I hope you start loving yourself really, really soon. I know it takes a long time to be comfortable with yourself but once you learn to love all the great things about you, it becomes easier to talk and communicate with others. For example, you like the Percy Jackson fandom which has thousands of other people in it, all of whom have something in common with you. From your message, you speak two languages which is really impressive and you should be really proud of how fluent you are! You obviously enjoy reading and you're brave enough to write a message to a total stranger about something very personal. These are all great things about yourself that you can be proud of and enjoy! Shyness doesn't ever really go away. I'm still ridiculously shy around people I don't know or can't find common ground with. But it's amazing how quickly that can change when you do find a connection and something to talk about.
Wow, that was long! Anyway, thankyou for reading and I really hope you enjoy the next chapter :)
Alex: SORRY ABOUT THE LATENESS GAH I SUCK THANKYOU FOR STICKING WITH THIS FIC ANYWAY!
Tori: I'm hoping to start updates sooner for the next few weeks on my semester break! Glad you're enjoying it and hope you like the next few chapters!
Ralp: HERE IT IS! SORRY, NO CALEO REUNION BUT ANNABETH! YAY RIGHT? [SORRY BUT THANKS FOR READING ANYWAY AND I HOPE YOU LIKE THE NEW CHAPTER SOON!]
Leonhardt's Bitch: thanks! I'm glad the Rick-ness is clear in this fic ;) I AM ALIVE even though university has been an overly clingy psycho for the past few months! GAH thanks for bearing with me!
Starry: hello again! One day, I really want to publish a novel actually ;) When I write one, you guys will probably be the first to know haha- hope you enjoy the new chapter and CALEO WILL RETURN SOON!
Skier: I'm sorry, I'm hoping to update more frequently for a little while at least, while I'm on holidays! Until then, THANKYOU FOR READING AND REVIEWING, your message was lovely!
Reader's Delight: NAW THANKYOU *blushing madly* I hope you love Annabeth's characterisation too and more CALEO coming soon! Thankyou so much for your lovely review and enjoy!
ALRIGHT, THAT'S IT FOR THIS CHAPTER FOLKS! Hopefully, I want to have the next one written, edited and posted by tomorrow night and BY GODS IT WILL HAVE A CALEO REUNION DAMN IT!
*deep breaths* Thanks for reading everyone and if you'll bear with me just a little longer,