Calypso paced up and down the beach, frowning at the smooth golden grains as if it was their fault she thinking about him again.
Him.
The single boy who had done what no other had done.
He had loved her back.
When the scrawny Hephaestus spawn plummeted on to her little island and smashed her dinner table, she knew right away he was different.
She had not known how true that would become.
He had turned out to be rude, sarcastic, skinny, and covered in oil. He had brushed her off, saying he refused to wait around and wait for some magical raft. He had taken action, forging a makeshift shelter for himself, creating a navigation system to the best of his abilities, and going so far as to refuse to rest. That was one of his better qualities. He was determined to the point of stubbornness, loyal to the end. And Calypso loved it.
Touched by his strong will, she had helped him. Getting her hands dirty had never felt so good before. And then, she had sung to make his contraption work. And work it had, and she had learned of a girl named Reyna. She had suddenly been encompassed with a bitter and spiteful emotion she could not quite but her finger on. But she had went off at him, and assumed she was his girlfriend. It would have been laughably familiar. Every time she met another lover, he would already be taken. Leo had seemed startled, then confused, and finally settled on amusement, which only fueled her anger. But all that went away when he had brushed it off, saying he, as well as the girl Reyna, were single. She went to bed that night wondering why she had done that. She tossed and turned, furiously racking her brain for an explanation. Just as the Sun was beginning to peep out from behind the rolling waves, she found one.
'I am in love with Leo Valdez.'
Of course, she managed to deny it every way, every language, every form, she knew.
Which was quite a lot.
But soon it became undeniable, and her face heated up with a strawberry-red blush. Yet he had a duty, an important duty he had to fulfill, jut like all the other magnificent heroes who had wound up on her beach. She remembered how his lips had felt against hers, as she pressed her mouth to his, in the feeble dream that he felt the same way. She drew hope from the stupid way he had acted, agreeing to anything that had come from her quivering lips. And, most of all, she remembered the way he had jumped on the magic raft and swore to her, with all of his heart, swore on the River Styx he would come back for her.
She would be lying if she said happiness didn't bubble up inside her and spill out through her eyes in joyous streams of water. But she was worried, so worried, about the love of her immortal life. Her heart swore up and down that Leo Valdez was different, he loved her, he would do everything in his power to come back. But her brain argued that no man had ever found Ogygia again, and even if he did want to come back for a monster like her when there were so many beautiful mortals and demigods out there, he may not be able to. And what of his promise? What if he died because he was unable to keep his promise on the Styx, and it was all her fault? What then?
Sometimes she really hated that rational mind of hers.
So there she was, just as she had so many times since he had left, pacing her shining beach, unable to tear her thoughts from him. Occasionally she glanced up, trying to picture the magnificent warship Leo had built, the Argo II, sailing across the horizon, delivering the son of Hephaestus into her open arms. She toyed with a bracelet on her wrist she had woven out of fiery oranges and reds, with the occasional black streak, like spots of oil. It was her Leo bracelet.
Suddenly, the air in front of her started to shimmer and glow in an all too familiar manner. Calypso, with great effort, ceased her pacing and waited patiently for the god in front of her to finish forming.
The god of the fire and the forge grumbled and fiddled with a gadget in his hands, his greasy bangs covering his rough face. Calypso nervously tugged at the hem of her brown t-shirt and brushed off her shorts. (Since meeting Leo, she had taken to wearing a more...modern ensemble.) She realized she was unconsciously trying to win Hephaestus' approval simply because he was Leo's father.
"Lord Hephaestus?" Calyspo prompted softly. Should she...? Could she...? Dare she hope that he would assist in reuniting her and her favorite scrawny demigod?
"Calypso, dear..."
Startled. It was the only word to express Calypso's emotions. Did Hephaestus sound...choked up? While it was true he had softened up to her in the past centuries, this was rare for him. Was he regretful for not visiting her recently? (A/N Because of the whole Roman/Greek issue, which Calypso was unaware of, he was incapacitated, remember? But now the war is over.)
"I'm so sorry..." Hephaestus rumbled, roughly rubbing his large hand against his eye.
"Are you alright?" Calypso inquired hurriedly, running forward to grab the Greek god's arm. Even as she said it, she had an awful tugging in the pit of her stomach, warning her that some horrible catastrophe was approaching.
"Fine, just fine child. But I bring news...bad news,"
Bad news? The pulling in her gut increased, and she tightened her grip.
"What is it?" she whispered gently.
"There has recently been a war...as you know," Hephaestus began slowly.
Calypso remained silent, and he took this as a sign to go on.
"There was a prophecy...the prophecy of the seven. Seven demigods would save the world, and end Gaea's raise,"
"Yes..." Calypso murmured. She remembers the Earth mother attempting to recruit Calypso by promising her freedom. Calypso had been very tempted, but she held back, knowing that she would be fighting against Leo and his mission.
"There was a terrible bloody war...so many young children dead on the ground...but the seven fought so hard. And we were losing..."
Calypso involuntarily sucked in a breath.
"Until one demigod made a huge sacrifice. He blew up Gaea with his own handbuilt warship, but also terminated himself in the process. It's been weeks, yet we still cannot find any remains..."
Calypso's iron grip went even tighter, the golden ichor flowing from the marks her fingernails had carved going unnoticed by the pair.
"No," she whispered.
"No!" she collapsed to the sand and curled into a fetal ball. Her fingers clutched at her caramel hair, strands coming loose from her careful braid and falling across her tear-streaked face.
"No, this can't be happening! This wasn't supposed to happen! I prayed every day that you were safe and happy! You didn't have to come back, you didn't have to make me happy, all you had to do was stay alive and live a full life! No no no no no..." she sobbed.
"Why?" she finally whispered, ripping her moist hands away from her bloodshot eyes to stare the mournful god in his ancient eyes.
"How could you let this happen? Didn't the gods do anything?"
Her questions, which should have angered the god, hit home. She was right - all of the gods could have done more to prevent the deaths of so many children, who should have gone to school, graduated, found love, got married, got jobs, had children.
"So many of my children died, Leo was not my only priority," Hephaestus reminded her gently.
"He should have been!" Calypso sobbed, beating against his chest with her fists for all she was worth. It was so clear to even her that she was being unfair, but it did not matter to her. Nothing mattered anymore.
"Calypso," Hephaestus whispered. "I...talked to Zeus for you. Your curse is lifted. When you want to leave, just call for me."
Hesitantly, the god of the fire and the forge awkwardly put his large arms around the shaking and ululating immortal teenager.
"I would have been honored to have you as my daughter-in-law."
With a flash, he was gone, and Calypso was left to wail and mourn in solitude on her beach. The beach she had paced, desperately hoping to catch just one more glimpse of her love and saviour.
But now he would never come.
For Leo Valdez was gone forever.
Me: Yes, yes I know I'm a terrible person.
Leo: Hey, I thought I was resurrected and brought to Ogygia in the epilogue!
Me: You were. This is FANFICTION, remember?
Calypso: *kisses Leo*
Leo: O/O
Calypso: /
Calypso: Don't you DARE die on me, Valdez!
Leo: O-okay.
Calypso: GOT THAT?
Leo: Okay.
Calypso: Good. -/-
Leo: Okay.
Me: I think Leo needs a little knock in the head. He seems out of it.
Fangirls&me: CALEO REIGNS FOREVER!
Me: Oh, and I made the cover on rinmaru games. I encourage each and every one of you to visit that website! The picture is supposed to be of Calypso crying on her beach in the moonlight, with her shaky hands holding up a heart. :(