Chapter Text
Percy Jackson’s POV
It’s been hours since my raft left the shores of Ogygia, the lingering smell of cinnamon and juniper clinging to the wood desperately as the overwhelming scent of sea salt takes over my senses.
I can still remember her face, despite the fact that her island disappeared within minutes of my raft drifting away from that eerily perfect paradise.
The keeper of that island, Calypso, was, well, strange during my time there. She was beautiful, well, as beautiful as any teenage girl could get anyway.
But when she touched me, it was like some sort of danger sense inside of me was going off, like I could just tell from her ragged, ice cold hands just how old she really was despite her face saying otherwise. And those eyes, how could anyone forget them, really?
They were strange, one minute I could catch her staring me down like a shark eyeing down some poor lone fish lost from their shoal and the next minute she’s staring at me with the eyes of a baby seal, telling me I could have an immortal life at her side.
I felt bad, really I did, but something about her told me that if she had any choice in the matter then I wouldn’t be leaving at all, regardless of my answer.
I may not seem like it, but I’m a little too aware that I’m fourteen, a fourteen year old that’s still fighting an active war mind you. So to have some weird island goddess just sit me down in her cave for who knows how long before I woke up and tell me that I could have a place with her just felt off.
I could only imagine what could have happened between me and her if Hephaestus had never come back to the island.
The whole encounter reminded me of Odysseus, a tale I can roughly recall my mom telling me because she thought it would be a good idea to help me get to know my dad more, though she had to be discreet about it for obvious reasons.
How that man was trapped for seven whole years with her until the gods themselves convinced her to let him go. That probably added to the uneasy feeling in my gut, especially when she said that the gods would always send men her way before they eventually left her.
Did she do what she did to Odysseus to those guys, is that why they never choose to stay? Could I have been another victim?
Apparently, I was so caught up in my ‘what-ifs?’ that I failed to see that my raft had hit the shore of the camp, the raft slowing to a gentle stop as the waves crashed over my feet for a final time.
Unlike what I expected, the camp was strangely quiet. Even at night it was a rare sight to see the camp so silent, with most people still rock climbing or chatting with their friends.
From the distance I could see the glow of a huge fire, smoke rising from the amphitheater as I could vaguely make out Chiron’s voice from my place at the shore. As I stalked closer to the voices, I could hear Chiron’s speech, his voice far from his usual upbeat tone.
I hid behind some of the campers farthest from Chiron as he spoke. “We must assume he’s dead,” Chiron proclaimed somberly.
I was confused, who could have died while I was away? Did we lose more campers, did Kronos attack before I could get back to the camp? Was I too late? Just how long was I gone?
Was it Nico? Beckendorf? Tyson? Hell, could it have been Mr. D? He hadn’t been seen much before Annabeth got the quest, it could have been him for all I knew, honestly.
“After so long, it is unlikely our prayers will be answered. I have asked his friend Annabeth to do the final honors,” Chiron said before moving to the side, allowing Annabeth to step into full view of the campers.
She looked like she had been crying for a while, her eyes rimmed with red as she held a shroud, a silk green blanket with a trident etched into it with a name inscribed onto the–wait, is that my name on it?
“He was probably the bravest friend I’ve ever had,” Annabeth said, nearly choking on her words as she placed the shroud into the fire.
“He…,” she started before pausing as she lifted her head back from the shroud, her eyes landing directly on me. I’ve never seen anyone’s face go as red as hers before she pointed at me, shouting, “He’s right there!”
The entire camp turned to me, some quickly moving out of the way as Annabeth pushed through the crowd to tackle me into an embrace, the impact so fierce it could have crushed my ribs in.
“Hey, welcome back to the land of the living!,” the Stolls exclaimed, clapping me on the back as they laughed while the rest of the camp fell silent to the commotion.
Beckendorf, who I could finally see through the crowd and thanked the gods wasn’t dead, made his way towards Annabeth and I.
He placed a comforting hand on my shoulder as he steadied us both, Annabeth’s weight threatening to topple the both of us without his assistance. Silena had also quietly made her way through the crowd, with her putting an equally comforting hand on Annabeth’s shoulder as Annabeth finally pulled away from me.
Chiron had strutted towards the four of us, relief obvious as I saw it wash over his face. “Well, I don’t believe I’ve ever been happier to see a camper return. But you must tell me–”
“Where in tartarus have you been, Percy?!,” Annabeth had loudly inquired, interrupting Chiron as she gripped onto both of my upper arms tightly, “It’s been two weeks!”
If I could see myself now, I’d probably have looked extremely sheepish as I nervously chuckled, glancing over the crowd to avoid looking directly into Annabeth’s glare.
I eventually ended up catching Clarisse’s glare from behind a few other campers, but even now it didn’t look like one of her usual glares. As she crossed her arms across her chest, she held this unreadable expression, with what appears to be a slight hint of concern mixed somewhere in there.
But this is Clarisse we’re talking about, even though we’ve gotten closer to each other after the quest for the golden fleece she still somehow found the time to make it known to me and the camp that she could, and would, kick my ass free of charge.
I chose to mentally shrug her off as I was forced to stare down an increasingly pissed off Annabeth.
I rubbed the back of my head awkwardly as I gave her a bashful, lopsided smile, “I, uh, sort of got flunked across the ocean after the volcano erupted and ended up on Ogygia.”
If the camp wasn’t silent before, it definitely was now. People exchanged glances at one another, some even worriedly whispering to one another as others looked at me sympathetically.
Annabeth’s face quickly fell at the mention of the island as Beckendorf and Silena looked towards each other clearly unsettled by what I said.
Clarisse was now shoving her way through the crowd to get towards our little group with a glare that screamed ‘stop me and you’re dead’, but something told me it wasn’t specifically aimed towards me.
Chiron, while I was able to catch a glimpse of the unease that quickly took over his features, had schooled his face just as fast as he cleared his throat, “Ahem.”
Chiron placed a hand onto one of my free shoulders, “Perhaps, You, Annabeth, and I should discuss this matter more privately, hm? Everyone else, resume their regular activities!”
Despite the announcement, people continued to shoot me with sorry looks as I was led away from everyone, including Silena, Beckendorf, and Clarisse.
Before I entered the big house, I turned around to see the three grouping together, discussing something that I didn’t get the chance to hear before I was ushered into the building.
I guess everyone got the same idea I had when I was on that island, maybe I shouldn’t have brought it up.
When Chiron finally turned to face Annabeth and I his face was solemn, staring at me like I just came back from an active battlefield without my arms.
Annabeth was now holding my hand in hers, squeezing it slightly in an attempt to bring me some sort of comfort I think. I could already tell this was going to be one of the most uncomfortable talks I’ve had in my entire life, probably second to the talk I received from my mom.
“Percy,” Chiron began, his tone grave as his eyes filled with sympathy, “You know you can tell me anything, right?” I nodded slowly, regretting everything that could have led me to this conversation.
“What exactly happened on that island, Percy? You will not face judgment here I assure you,” Chiron stated in a matter-of-fact way, looking down at me as he waited for my mouth to finally work up an answer that could ease both him and Annabeth in some way.
I squeezed Annabeth’s hand before letting it go, stepping a bit closer to Chiron. “Nothing happened, okay?,” I said, a little too defensive apparently as I winced at the look Chiron and Annabeth gave me.
“Look, I exploded St. Helens and got blasted off into the sea. I woke up at Calypso’s island and she took care of me,” I stated, but I’m quickly learning that I need to find a better way to ease their concerns because that last sentence did not sound right at all. I shook off their widening eyes as I began to continue my account of what happened.
“Really, she did. Hephaestus came by to check on me and told me I could come back to camp if I wasn’t injured anymore. If it wasn’t for the raft Calypso gave me, I wouldn't be back here,” I said in her defense, even as I could feel her curseful, piercing gaze stabbing at my back.
I could still remember her face, how its flawless features dropped and morphed into something more subtly terrifying when I told her my decision to go back to camp.
Her offers of immortality still pounded at my head as I looked at Chiron for any sign that he believed me.
His face hadn’t changed at all, not once did he stop looking at me in horror either before or after hearing my story. I could see him still taking my story in as Annabeth wrapped an arm around my shoulders, bringing me close.
She wouldn’t look at me, her mouth moving but nothing was coming out, like she was trying to find the right words to approach me.
“Two weeks,” she finally said, but it came out as a wobbly whisper as if she were about to cry again, “She had you for two weeks.” I nearly broke at the sight of her, the air growing more and more tense as the minutes passed.
“I’m sorry, wise girl,” I said earnestly, copying her as I wrapped one of my arms over her shoulders and giving her a comforting squeeze, “If I had a choice, I would have come back sooner.”
I needed to change the subject quickly because despite everything, there was still an unfinished quest hanging above all of us.
“Listen,” I began, causing the two to emerge from their thoughts as they turned to look at me, “We still have a quest to finish, right?”
Annabeth scrunched up her face at the thought of it, like it was something she didn’t want to touch on. Honestly, fair enough, I wasn’t exactly keen to go back into the labyrinth after everything that’s happened but I knew what we needed to do.
“I know how to get us through the labyrinth,” I said as I watched Chiron slowly begin to change his expression into something more of worried intrigue. Good enough, anything to get that look of horror off his face. I would hate to see what he thought actually happened on that island.
“Remember Ariadne? I just realized something and, this could be a stretch, what if it was her who was the key to solving the labyrinth, not the string?,” I questioned, placing the pieces of my idea down for them to pick up.
“I think we need a clear-sighted mortal, someone who can see the path that us demigods can’t.” I could see the gears turning in their heads, Annabeth’s eyes widening at the thought as she pulled me into a hug.
“Seaweed brain, that’s brilliant!,” she exclaimed before letting me go, “But where are we going to find a clear-sighted mortal? There’s my dad but I doubt he’d be willing to help us. What about your mom?”
I shivered at the thought of bringing my mom onto the quest, especially since we would definitely be encountering monsters.
I love her, she could probably bring my dad down to his knees if she wanted to, but after the minotaur I wasn’t planning on taking any more chances with her life.
“Absolutely not,” I said, shutting down that thought in an instant, “But I know someone else who could get us through. Remember that red-haired girl at my school before it blew up?” Annabeth nodded with scrutinizing eyes as Chiron looked at the both of us shocked and bewildered.
“She can see through the mist, and if we can get to my cabin I could call her up and tell her everything. She’d be willing to take on the quest with us, believe me,” I added as reassurance that contacting Rachel wasn’t going to be a total waste of our time, though it was obvious that Annabeth wasn’t exactly on board with the plan. But seeing as we didn’t really have many options, she nodded with a heavy sigh.
“Fine,” Annabeth said exasperated, “Chiron, Percy and I are leaving to finish this quest. Can we leave now?” Chiron nodded, though when his eyes reached mine his gaze softened for a moment.
“You may, but I want Percy to stay back. Don’t worry, it’ll only be for a moment,” Chiron said as he motioned for Annabeth to leave without me. We shared a worried glance before Annabeth shoulder bumped me, “I’ll be right outside, okay?,” she said before she left, leaving me alone with Chiron.
The mood fell significantly from whatever place I was able to get it to before Annabeth left.
Chiron put both of his hands on my shoulders as he squeezed, not enough to hurt but enough to let me know that I should be taking his next words very seriously.
“Percy,” he started, his gaze hardening into something more akin to protectiveness, “You do not have to hide your experience on Ogygia. If something has happened to you, you must let me know. I’ve known of far too many men that’ve landed on that island, it could be considered a punishment to be stranded there.”
He allowed me a moment to soak up his words, his grip on me softening as he sighed. “This subject will not be forgotten so easily, there are further talks to be had about this,” he stated, taking his hands off my shoulders completely as he stepped back.
“You may leave now, Percy,” he said while looking me up and down, visibly apprehensive at the thought of letting me go.
I took my chance and left quickly, trying not to think too hard on the topic. I really wanted to forget that island, and Calypso, as quickly as possible.
As I opened the door, I was met face to face with Annabeth as she gave me a small smile, grabbing my hand and leading me back to my cabin.