Caleo - Finding Calypso

10 / Bronze String

The next morning, I woke up next to Festus outside the house with a dagger at my throat.

"Don't move." Annabeth said through gritted teeth.

"O-k! Please remove the KNIFE from my THROAT and maybe we can talk this through..." I said, going cross-eyed trying to keep watching the dagger.

Annabeth expression was hard, she didn't remove the blade.

"Don't say anything to me," she muttered, "I don't know what's wrong with you Leo, so I won't kill you, but make one wrong move and I swear I'll-"

At that moment her bronze dagger (a replacement for the one she lost) glowed red hot.

She gasped and dropped it, cradling her burnt hand.

I leapt to my feet, hands raised in defence.

"Don't move!" I said as Annabeth backed away from me. "I-just-want-to talk, OK?"

She watched me warily.

Festus watched from about 50ft away, I got the feeling he was amused by our battle of wills.

"If you only want to talk," she said carefully, "then why am I here?"

"I had to bring you here," I say quietly "you don't understand..."

"You're right, I don't understand." she said looking at me as though I was a bomb that might explode at any second.

She suddenly dived for the dagger which lay on the ground between us. I reacted instinctively, kicking the dagger away and pushing her back.

Annabeth fell to the ground and before she could leapt up I pinned her to the ground.

She glared at me angrily and tried to escape my grip.

"Hear me out!" I begged, "I don't have any choice here! I need your help."

For a second, I thought she might believe me and I loosened my grip on her wrist.

In a flash she had knocked me back and was in her feet running.

I tackled her from behind.

"Annabeth, please!" I say desperately.

Maybe it was the way I said it, or maybe she was just tired and her ankle was sore, but she doesn't struggle.

Gingerly, I let her up, still keeping a tight grip on her arm.

"Just listen, OK? That's all." I beg.

She doesn't agree to here me out, but she doesn't try to escape either.

"Do you remember when Percy was missing for a while? Before the second titan war? You know, the labyrinth?" I say.

Annabeth states at me.

"I'd forgotten actually, it's weird, but... I feel like I should have remembered."

I can't help but smile. She meets my eyes, questioningly.

"What is it?" she says suddenly angry again, "Why are you smiling like that?"

Heck this girl scares me!

"N-nothing," I stuttered, "just that, well that's good! At least you remember that... Do you remember where he was?"

"Of course I do," she snapped "he was-"

She frowned.

"He was..."

Her frown became a scowl and she glares at me like it's my fault she can't remember.

"I don't... remember." she admitted.

"Right, now please, try and believe me, try and understand. When Percy was missing he went to an island, where people go when they're missing. Do you get?"

She stares blankly at me.

"Umm... OK, think of it like this: there's this girl, and the gods didn't like her because she the daughter of this titan. OK?

Well then the gods, sent her to this prison, right? This island that she couldn't leave for 3000 years. But every now and again, the gods would send her a hero, to keep her company for a while.

Percy was one of those heroes. And so was I. But I managed to break the curse and she came back to camp with us on the Argo II.

But then someone got jealous of her, and sent her back to her prison and stole everyone's memories of her, but I remembered and I'm trying to find her. Do you understand?"

She was silent for a second and then said:

"You're mad."

I groaned in frustration.

"Look Annabeth, please, just give me a few days, I think I know a way to help you remember. Just give me one more chance!" I pleaded.

She glared at me, "You're mad Leo, let me go."

"Then you leave me no choice." I sighed.

I stuck my hand into my tool box and pulled out a long piece of woven bronze string.

"Er, What are you doing?" Annabeth asked as I tied one end of the string around Annabeth's wrist and the other end around my wrist.

"This isn't just any string," I explained, "Hephestus invented it, you can't break it."

I finished tying the string, Annabeth was now connected to me on a kind of lead.

She stared at her wrist.

"I refuse to be your prisoner, you're not right in the head at the moment Leo! Come back to camp! Maybe we can help you..."

"You mean lock me up because I'm crazy? I don't think so Annabeth. I'm going to find her."

It pulled her over to Festus.

"Climb on." I instructed.

She stared at me like I was mad.

"Let me re-phrase that, climb on now, or I'll have to knock you out again and Festus will carry you."

Annabeth grudgingly climbed onto Festus.

"The others will be coming after us." she reminded me, "Percy will not rest until he finds me."

"I know," I say climbing onto Festus in front of her, "that's why we're going."

Festus took off and Annabeth grabbed my waist to stop herself falling off.

"Were are we going?" she shouted.

"Los Angeles." I replied.

A/N - sorry about the lack if Caleo fluff in the last few chapters, but it was necessary to explain how Annabeth ended up with Leo, she becomes important later in the story.

Maybe that's the big twist - Leo falls for Annabeth!!!

Or maybe not...

Ha ha! I'm so evil!

P.S. - sorry for the weird chapter name, I couldn't think of anything else.