A/N: 2/6
[Third Person Pov]
"Calypso…" Luke repeated the name, his eyes still fixed on her with suspicion, his grip tightening slightly on the sword despite the weakness in his arms. "I've heard of you. From the tales of the Odyssey. The nymph who keeps men on her island."
"I didn't realize I was someone famous," she replied with a sigh, her tone carrying a hint of dry amusement. She moved deeper into the cave as if his weapon wasn't even there, completely ignoring the blade pointed in her direction as she followed her usual path.
She set the herbs she had gathered down on a flat stone and began sorting through them with practiced ease before turning and walking toward him without hesitation.
"Stand back. Don't take another step closer," Luke warned, his glare sharpening as he tried to steady himself, though the effort showed in the slight tremor of his stance.
Calypso rolled her eyes, unimpressed, and kept walking. "What exactly do you think you're going to do to me?" she asked, her voice calm but edged with mockery. "You can't even stand up straight."
Before Luke could react, she reached out and effortlessly pulled the sword from his grasp. His fingers failed him, and the weapon slipped away far too easily.
"Let's lower that before you poke someone's eye out, you naughty boy," she added, casually turning away with it in hand.
"What—" Luke started, caught completely off guard by how quickly she had disarmed him.
Calypso set the sword down near the bed and returned to him, placing her hands on his shoulders and guiding him backward. He resisted for a moment, but his strength gave out, and the back of his knees hit the edge of the stone bed, forcing him to sit.
"You're still recovering. You shouldn't be pushing yourself this much," she said with a sigh, as if dealing with someone particularly difficult. "You'd undo all the work I put into treating you."
Luke smacked her hand away sharply, the sound echoing against the cave walls as his glare hardened. "Don't touch me."
Calypso glanced down at her hand, then back at him. The air between them grew tense for a brief second.
Slap!
Luke jerked to the side, his hand flying to his cheek as he stared at her in shock. "Did you just—"
"I did, and I'll do it again if you keep misbehaving," she cut in without hesitation, her expression firm. "Act like a child, get treated like a child."
Still too disoriented to properly resist, Luke found himself pushed back as she guided him down onto the bed again, her movements efficient and unbothered by his protests.
"Like I said, I spent a lot of time nursing you back to health," she continued. "I'm not going to let you ruin days of work by acting recklessly."
"Days?" Luke repeated, his irritation momentarily replaced with confusion. "For how long was I out?" he asked, brows furrowing as he stared at her.
Calypso shrugged lightly. "Time doesn't exactly move the same way here, so it's hard to say precisely. But if I had to guess, around a week," she said, shaking her head. "You were in terrible condition. Honestly, it's a miracle you survived at all."
Luke scoffed, the disdain returning immediately. "There's no such thing as miracles."
"Yes, yes, of course," Calypso replied, waving a hand dismissively, a faint, almost teasing smile tugging at her lips. "You survived because you're a big and strong boy."
"Don't patronize me," Luke snapped, his eyes narrowing as he tried to push himself up again. "Or you'll see how big and strong I really am when I slit your throat."
"You'd be doing me a favor," she muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes. The cave carried her words farther than she intended.
"What?" Luke froze, having heard her clearly.
"I said, do me a favor and tell me your name," she corrected smoothly, not missing a beat. "What am I supposed to call you? I already told you mine. It's only common courtesy you tell me yours. You really do lack manners. What kind of rude boy did I pick up?"
Luke hesitated for a moment, studying her, weighing his options before finally answering. "Luke. Luke Castellan," he said, his tone more controlled now. "And stop calling me a boy. I'm well into adulthood."
"What? Seriously?" she said, blinking in genuine surprise as she looked at him over again, this time more critically. "With the way you've been behaving, I would've assumed you were underage."
Luke clenched his jaw, irritation flaring again as her reaction only made it worse. "You really know how to get under someone's skin, don't you?" he muttered, teeth gritted, her completely genuine surprise somehow making it all the more aggravating.
"Hehehe, just relax. You really have to learn to take it easy, you're so intense," she giggled, the sound light as she moved around the cavern again. She began organizing the herbs she had gathered, carefully sorting them into small bundles before speaking once more. "Anyways, I've been wondering… what exactly happened for you to end up washed up on the shore like that, barely clinging to life?"
"It's none of your business," Luke muttered, turning his head away from her as his gaze settled on the cave wall, a deep-seated frown forming on his face.
"Tell me how I already knew you were going to say that. Hehehe," she chuckled, completely unsurprised as she sat along the stone table near the bed, her basket of herbs resting beside her.
Her laughter gradually faded when she noticed how quiet he had become. Whatever he had gone through, it was clearly weighing on him more than he let on. She didn't know the details, didn't know whether he had been in the right or wrong, but that didn't matter to her in that moment. What mattered was the way he looked now.
Her smile softened, and when she spoke again, her tone carried that same gentleness. "I might not know what you've gone through. I don't know your full story," she said, her eyes resting on him with quiet sincerity. "But from what I can see, it wasn't pleasant. You're a warrior, aren't you?"
'A gladiator,' Luke corrected in his mind. He turned his head slightly to look back at her, only to find her watching him with a warmth that made him uncomfortable.
"Instead of being so grumpy and moody, you should be grateful," she continued. "Be grateful you're still alive. To someone like you, being alive means getting to fight another day. As they say in ancient Greek, 'The battle's not over until Hades claims your soul.'"
Luke scoffed and rolled his eyes, shifting his gaze up toward the ceiling as he considered her words. Despite himself, he could feel something stirring as the potion in his system continued to settle, its effects blending with his thoughts. He closed his eyes, letting himself think.
'Based on the card, I have to find the essence of what each sequence means… the essence of a gladiator,' he reasoned silently. 'A gladiator isn't just someone who performs in front of a crowd. They're warriors who face death almost every day. The ones who survive are the ones who get to see another day… they get back up and keep fighting.'
As that understanding settled in his mind, he felt the last of the potion fully digest within him.
He must have been lost in thought longer than he realized, because when he opened his eyes again, the smell of food reached him immediately, warm and inviting.
"Here," Calypso said, her voice gentle as she sat at the edge of his bed, holding out a bowl. "You must be hungry. I made you some stew."
Luke eyed it skeptically for a moment, his suspicion not entirely gone. Calypso noticed and scoffed.
"You think I would poison it?" she said, raising a brow. "If I really wanted you dead, I would've ended you while you were lying here seizing in my bed."
Luke exhaled quietly, some of the tension leaving his shoulders. "…Thank you," he muttered, accepting the food.
"Well, would you look at that," Calypso said with a small, satisfied smile. "You do have manners."
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