A Forgotten Maiden

Chapter 4

The wind howled like a pack of angry wolves as the small boat pitched and rolled on the churning waves. Percy gripped the wheel tightly, his knuckles white as he fought to keep them on course. The storm had hit them out of nowhere, one moment the sea had been calm, the next it was as if they had sailed straight into a hurricane.

"Remind me again why we didn't just take a plane?" Calypso shouted over the roar of the wind, her voice laced with a mix of frustration and fear. She was clinging to the side of the boat, her usually flowing hair plastered to her face by the relentless rain.

"Because," Percy grunted, struggling to keep the boat steady, "a plane wouldn't have been able to get us out of Ogygia. The island's magic, remember? It only lets you leave by sea." He paused to wipe the saltwater from his eyes, blinking against the stinging spray. "Besides, this boat's special. It's built to withstand this kind of stuff. Mostly."

Calypso shot him a look that could have frozen the ocean itself. "Mostly? That's not very reassuring, Percy!"

He managed a strained smile. "Hey, we're still afloat, aren't we? I'd call that a win."

The boat creaked ominously as if mocking his words. Calypso tightened her grip on the railing, her knuckles nearly as white as Percy's. Despite the chaos around them, she couldn't help but admire his determination. His stubbornness, even in the face of something as ferocious as this storm, was one of the things she had missed most about him.

"Why does it always have to be storms with you?" she muttered under her breath, her eyes scanning the horizon for any sign of the storm letting up. "Always the hard way, never the easy way."

Percy caught her words and chuckled, though it came out more like a strangled cough. "You know me, Calypso. If it's not difficult, it's probably not worth doing."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" she snapped, though there was a trace of humor in her voice now. "Because it's not working."

He didn't reply, focusing instead on navigating through the next wave that towered over them like a wall of water. The boat seemed to hang in the air for a moment before crashing down, sending spray flying in every direction. Calypso yelped and ducked, but the water still drenched her to the bone.

"Why did I agree to this again?" she grumbled, more to herself than to Percy.

"Because you wanted to leave, and you're crazy about me," he quipped, though his tone was strained. He was using every ounce of his demigod strength to keep the boat on course, and it was clearly taking its toll. The muscles in his arms and back were taut, his face set in grim determination.

Calypso rolled her eyes, but a small smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "Yes, well, I'm starting to question my sanity."

They lapsed into silence, the only sounds the howling wind, the crashing waves, and the groaning of the boat as it was tossed about. Calypso tried to focus on the horizon, willing the storm to pass, but it was like staring into a void. The sky was an endless expanse of dark, roiling clouds, the sea an unforgiving expanse of black water.

"Do you think we'll make it?" she asked after a long moment, her voice small and uncharacteristically uncertain.

Percy glanced at her, and for a split second, she saw something in his eyes that made her heart clench—fear. But then he smiled, that lopsided, infuriatingly confident smile she remembered so well. "We'll make it," he said firmly. "We've been through worse."

"Have we?" she shot back, trying to ignore the knot of anxiety tightening in her chest.

He didn't answer right away, and when he did, his voice was quieter, more serious. "Yes. We have. And we got through it. Together."