The Pirate's Prisoner | Percabeth

Chapter 19: Percy

The next morning, the rain had stopped.

Hazel and her entourage brought us breakfast. She blushed when she saw Frank, and he blushed too.

I turned to him. "Details. Now."

His eyes widened. "You know about that?"

"Dude, the entire ship knows about that," Leo smiled. "You were making out in the hallway, for Gods sake!"

Frank's face turned even redder. "Oh."

"So..." I smiled. "Details."

"No," Frank replied.

"Aww," Leo and I both pouted.

After breakfast, Frank went to Hazel, I assume to talk about what happened between them last night. Leo grabbed my arm as I turned to walk out.

"Perc, man, can I talk to you for a sec?" He asked.

"Sure," I replied. "What's up."

"Well, you know how Annabeth isn't ransoming me back, right?" He asked.

I nodded. As a servant, Leo didn't have any value. No one would pay a ransom for him.

"Well, that means I don't have any obligation to go back to Argos," Leo said. "So... I'm not."

I stared at him. "What?"

"I've fallen in love with Calypso," He said sadly. "I don't want to leave her."

I stared at him for a bit. He didn't want to come bak to Argos? Because of a girl?

But why should he? I asked myself. And why should you, for that matter? You've been happier here than you ever have at home.

"Okay," I said. "I understand."

Leo wiped a tear out of his eye, and I left the room. I wanted to talk to Annabeth.

She was waiting for me in her office. Something was... different. She was looking at me oddly.

I was still thinking about what Leo said. I love her. I don't want to leave her. Why did I keep thinking about Annabeth when I repeated those words to myself?

Maybe it's because you don't want to leave her, my brain told me. And I was starting to believe it was right. Maybe you love her.

"What are you thinking about?" Annabeth asked.

"Love," I replied.

"Love," She repeated. "My father used to tell me about it. He said that love was infinite, confusing, and frustrating. That it was the worst and best thing that could happen to you."

She frowned. "I know all about that, of course. I loved my father, and when I lost him, it made it so much worse. But looking back... I wouldn't want to forget my love for him."

"Your father died?" I asked.

"He was murdered," She stood up and walked to her window. "They thought I did it, so I had to run. After living on the streets for awhile, some of my close companions and I stole a ship. And that's how I became a pirate."

I knew she was oversimplifying the story.

"And what about you?" She asked. "Do you love your father?"

"No one loves my father," I replied, walking over and joining her at the window.

"Not even your mother?" She asked.

"It was an arranged marriage," I replied.

She looked at me. "So your parents don't love each other?"

"No," I replied. "But my mother loves me. And that's enough, honestly."

She took my hand, and a warm feeling spread through my entire body. "And I'm guessing you love her?"

I smiled. "Yes, I do."

"So we both know what it's like to love someone," She said wistfully.

I don't know what compelled me to do what I did next, but whatever it was, there was no stopping it.

"My mother isn't the only woman I love," I said, cupping her face with my hand.

There were a couple moments of silence. Then, like we shared a brain, we both brought our lips to each others at the exact same time.