Broken Promises (Chapter 30)

Quote: "Why do humans fight one another because of the most miniscule reasons? Perhaps it is because we are too familar to ignore one another, but too different to tolerate each other."

The aroma of sweetness entered my nose, making me jerk up, only to fall back down on whatever I was lying on. I groaned as I looked at my battered body. I had a blanket covering my still-shirtless body, and my pants had several holes that made it look like swiss cheese. The blanket was soft, and was woven extremely well as it was warm and cozy.

My whole being felt like cheese in fact. I lifted the blanket and my body was covered in bandages and cloth that were healing me. My shoulder had a large patch of cloth covering the spot I was impaled on. It was sore as all Hades, and I would need a lot of strength to simply get up.

I slowly got up, and I looked around. I was lying on a cotton bed, and in a pretty room that was painted with odd designs such as trees and such.

The feeling was somewhat familiar, but I couldn't place my nose on it. I could smell the faint scent of hazlenuts and...flowers. And I felt the presence of water nearby, lots of water.

I tried to stand up, but my leg instantly bent and I heard a crack!

I grunted in pain, keeping in the scream. I quickly sat back down and realized I was starving and thirsty. Normally I don't get hungry or dehydrated, so what gives?

I started healing myself slowly, but it was relatively weaker than normal due to my fatigue, and my limbs were all sore and well....healing from being impaled. I summoned clean clothes for myself and put them on.

I felt somewhat better, I can tell the bandages that I wore must have been soaked in nectar or some healing balm, because if it weren't, then I would probably look like a voodoo doll still.

"You're awake." Said a feminine voice that entered the room. My brain did a 360 when I took in her beautiful features, and I instantly remembered who she was. Calypso. She had hazelnut colored hair that flowed down to her shoulder, a lean figure, and the face of an angel. Leo told me he had also been here, and we both had needed to leave for a certain reason.

Calypso, as in the demititan who was exiled to stay on an island, but after the war, she should be free. Why is she still here?

"Calypso?" I asked incredulously.

She looked at me curiously, a mixture of sadness, curiosity, surprise, and thought."How do you know who I am?" She demanded.

I must look a lot different than when she first saw me, so she must not recognize me.

"It's me....Percy Jackson." I said cautiously. I knew that no man ever returned to Calypso's Island twice, I remember being here before. How and why am I back here?

Her eyes struck open like tennis balls. "Wh....what?" She stuttered.

I got up and went infront of her, and my legs didn't hurt nearly as much. She gasped that I was able to walk.

"Look at me." I said and she studied me carefully. Her mind slowly pieced together my features and she nearly had a heart attack.

She burst into tears and cried on my shoulder, not the impaled one luckily. I held her gently, it must be a a shock for her.

"How?" She exclaimed in pure outrage.

To make this short, I told her EVERYTHING. My whole story after Gaea and Kronos. I told her Zoë, Tartarus, Order, The Gods, the Pact, my Powers, the Hunt, everything there was, nothing left out.

She was surprised on a new level, she had mixed expressions about what happened, mostly sadness. But I needed to know why she was still here, trapped.

"Calypso, why are you still here? I made the gods swear to free you 3 years ago." I said.

She looked down, as if she were expecting this. "They never came."

"WHAT?" I shouted in anger. How dare the gods break the deal?

"It is not their fault. It turns out I was cursed to stay here forever. The gods swore on the Styx to never free me when they first banished me here, and since that swear is countless millenia years old, it dominated over the one made by you. I am simply meant to stay here for eternity." She started to tear up and I summoned a tissue for her.

"Don't worry, I will help you as much as I can." I tried to comfort her, but failed miserably.

"It is no use. No man has ever stepped foot on this island twice, and all of them leave because they are needed elsewhere. Even you." She said as she cried her heart out. I knew she had feelings for me, ones I could never return. Not because I didn't like her, but because she was trapped here.

Realization dawned on me as I knew I had to go back. I needed to warn the gods about Pontus's plan, and I was still the Guardian of the hunters. Calypso noticed.

"I knew it. You will leave like the rest, because you said it yourself, Pontus was rising and you are the Guardian of Artemis's group. Not that I blame you, but I just wish I could escape."

"This island is wonderful and all, very large, very cozy, and I have everything I could ever want. Except company, and after all these countless millenia, I am still cursed to roam around here until I fade." She said sadly.

I sighed as I was in a mental headlock. I didn't know what to do. I honestly didn't.

Do I leave Calypso once again to save Olympus, or do I stay and keep her company but risk the end of the world.

Is one life worth billions?

"You should leave now. I suspected it was you when you washed up on the beach, but I denied it becuse of my fear. Fear that you would catch my heart once again, only to tear it apart." She sighed and looked away from me.

My heart missed a beat. I noticed her pure, natural beauty. Her tan skin, flawless figure, and her green and blue dress laced with flowers.

While I knew I could never have a relationship with her, I wanted to help her from the bottom of my soul. I knew the pain of being alone, with only yourself to keep company. But in the pit, I had Zoë for most of my time, and 100 years is a blink compared to the unknown millenia Calypso has spent here.

She led me outside to the raft, the one which would take me back to...well anywhere but here. We were on the sandy beach, which was beautiful to me, but to Calypso, it was like a desert.

She looked at me with tears in her black eyes. She quickly turned away and started to walk back into the house, leaving me between the house and the raft.

My brain told me to walk away, to save Olympus, and my heart told me to stay with Calypso. I have never been so pressured in my life, and it wasn't even in battle.

A single, wet, salty tear escaped my eye, and flowed down to my chin. The Fates really are cruel, and while I say that, it isn't their fault. The fates merely make sure life and death are in order, but they don't control your life, they only begin and end it. I guess we all need someone to blame.

I will get her out of here, I swear it by the Styx, and I already have before. Thunder rumbled in the sky, but it wasn't normal. It was as if the lighting stated "Don't make promises you can't keep."

But I will keep this. Even if I live or die. You hear that fates?

I don't know whether Pontus is still strong. After what I did, I wasn't even sure if Pontus was still alive even, since I do not know exactly how strong Aquatic Fire is. I wasn't sure if it weakened him greatly or not at all. I hope it weakened him to a point where Poseiden or the gods could take him, and the Hunters can take care of themselves just fine, as they have for several millenia.

BlackJack and Mrs.O'Leary will be fine at my house. They know me too well, and they know I will be back, maybe later today, maybe in a few weeks.

Although, dad might be worried since he did see me get kidnapped infront of him, but I am sure he can handle it, since he was fine when I was in Tartarus. Well, he wasn't fine, but he wasn't extremely bad either.

I made my choice. I will stay with Calypso until I find a way out.

I walked back to the house and heard a faint noise. I went inside and the noise got louder. As I got closer, I saw Calypso in her bedroom, her back against a wall, her head in between her knees, sobbing loudly. She was in a fetal position, crying slowly, as if she had done this many times.

"Calypso?" I said softly, not wanting to scare her or anything.

Calypso looked up and saw me. Her eyes glinted with surprise. "Percy? W-why are you still here?" She sobbed.

I frowned. "Calypso. I swear by the river Styx that I will stay with you until I find a way to get you out of here." I almost whispered, but Calypso heard it.

Her eyes widened with fear. "No! You fool! You doomed yourself with me on this wretched island!" Her tears were a waterfall, and I bet she cried a lot on this island, but who wouldn't?

She quickly got up and and wept, I guess she thought I doomed myself with her to stay on this island.

She looked like she was going to collapse in shock, so I held her and gently rubbed her back to calm her down. She whimpered softly.

"You....brave.........idiot." she said as she fell asleep on my shoulder.

I poked her, but she was out cold. I sighed as I gently laid her down on her bed. I knew I would get her out, could be today, could be until the end of time.

Speaking of time, I knew time was unpredictable here, since last time I was here for a few days, but was actually two weeks in the real world.

I need to hurry, or else when I get back, there won't be anything to go back to.

I pulled a warm blanket on Calypso's body as she slept peacefully, a lone tear falling down from her eye. She needs help.

No, scratch that, she needs a friend.

She says she loves me, but I know deep down, she doesn't truly love anyone who comes to her island. She may love them, but its not like the love where you would spend the rest of your life with said person. She had feelings for me, but thats because I am one of the few men who come here every few hundred years.

She is in a situation where anyone, well, any man can come here, and she would love him. She was desperate, doomed to fail from the start. I know what it's like, or atleast somewhat.

Calypso's island is a nice place, invisible servants, a large house, a garden, and basically a cozy home. However, I know that even the most exciting things can still get boring, all it takes it time.

So the curse that binds Calypso to this island works like this:

She cannot leave. If she were to swim off the island, she would never find land. If she used the raft, it would not move. Gods and Titans cannot teleport her out.

Checkmate. This is gonna be a lot tougher than I thought. Whatever I can think of, Calypso probably already thought about it, since she had gods knows how many millenia to think about it. But she never had the options I have, her being a simple demititan. She is a strong person, similar to Zoë in many ways, but were miles apart in terms of personality. I guess the years wore Calypso down, her powers weakened. She may fade soon.

To escape, would require a plan.

Author's note: Not a Percy x Calypso story, I just wanted to add in this little side-quest that will have a somewhat impact on the main story.