The Mechanic and the Witch- Leo x Calypso

In Which Calypso's Story Is Told

The fire was the only source of light now, and it crackled in the sudden silence. Leo leaned forward. "Hazel Levesque..."

Calypso tried to keep herself under control. Not again, not him, please not him, not again...

Leo smirked, "... has a boyfriend named Frank Zhang."

The warp snapped like a high suspense cable.

Leo started laughing, tears spilling down his face with mirth. He giggled for a long time, until eventually he realized the only person laughing was him.

He opened his eyes, and his heart plummeted.

Calypso was sitting upright by the loom, a stone statue of a girl. Her eyes were deadly, looking beyond the walls of the cave at something only she could see.

"Calypso, I--"

"Do not speak to me." Her words came out in a hiss.

She stood suddenly, and Leo drew back. She seemed taller, older, more dangerous.

A titaness.

"You do not know what I have suffered, millennia of suffering... You are a mortal boy, you do not understand the pain of three thousand years of punishment.

"My father was forced to bear the weight of the sky, my uncle was chained to a cliff and dismembered every day by an eagle, my grandparents were thrown into Tartarus... in comparison, my fate is a reward!

"A beautiful island, all to myself, servants to do my bidding, an eternity of pleasure! Is that not how it seems?" Calypso was pacing now, shadows bending towards her in convoluted arcs.

"The beauty of this place is a mockery, punishment in itself. It is a blip in time, where every day is meaningless and my existence has no purpose. When I am alone, my island lengthens time so every minute becomes a day. Three thousand years to the outside world, a thousand times that to me.

"And the fates, they know what would hurt me the most, how to twist the dagger even deeper into my flesh. Time returns to me when a hero comes to this place, a hero who will take advantage of my kindness and wrap my love around his little finger.

"Odysseus did not tell me he had a wife until I had already... already given myself to him, fully and completely. He was the first man to ever find my island, I thought he would take me away from this accursed place, or stay with me, for my sanity.

"For seven years, I would not let him leave. Sea nymph though I was, I also played captor to the most powerful hero in all of Greece. That is when I became a witch, truly. He could have overpowered me, easily, but I manipulated him into staying with me. That is the true nature of magic-- change and manipulation.

"I sang to him, sang my love to him, and the music bound him to me so completely, he could not remember the name of his own wife. Eventually the charm would fade and I would sing again, but after a while, clever Odysseus realized what I was doing to him.

"He told me that I must let him go or he would kill me. The gods agreed with him, and so I was forced to build the raft that comes to take away those I love.

"In the years between Odysseus and the next hero, I honed my craft. I prayed to Hecate, goddess of witchcraft, and she showed me the herbs I might use to rid my body of Odysseus's child. I could not bear to... I could not keep the baby. That was the worst punishment, the worst of all.

"I continued to learn the ways of herbs, and I discovered healing magic. That is where my best work is done, healing with plants and song and the power of my loom. I needed to heal myself.

"Drake came then. His body was broken, so I nursed him to health. He was witty and clever, like Odysseus, but he was a privateer, not a prince. He taught me my first slang words, told me of his world, and I was shocked at how changed it was. I think... I think he might have loved me. I sent him back to his Elizabeth, and it nearly tore my heart out.

"Percy was hardly here before he was gone again, I knew what would happen. I am a cursed being, I cared anyway. He arrived in the worst shape of any of my heroes, he was unconscious for a week. Nothing could have prepared me for the moment he opened those sea green eyes... I'm a titaness of the ocean, I could not resist his pull, a powerful current, carrying me far away. He murmured of Annabeth in his sleep, and the seed of hatred went deep. He left me, saying I was his biggest "what-if."

"After the war of the gods and titans, he had promised to free me. But he forgot. Everyone forgot. Calypso, another nymph on an island, another plaything for lost heroes on their quests for glory. I cursed Annabeth then, I cursed her to experience the pain I felt. I regretted it afterwards-- what mortal could withstand what I had withstood? But there was no taking it back.

"And then..." Calypso's voice softened. Her eyes turned from hard stone back to their dark, gentle state. "You came. You drove me crazy at first, Leo. I thought the gods were seeking to harm me, but I could not see how. You were funny and sweet, intelligent and caring. You were too good to be true. I tried to push you away from me, but you kept coming back. You always come back."

She started crying, deep heaving sobs that shook her body like a leaf. Her caramel hair covered her face and tangled in her shaking hands.

Leo, heart hammering, went to her.