Chapter 87: The Curious Anna, 1092 CE

In a lavishly decorated room, two people were sitting face to face, only to be separated by a desk, and stacks of books that towered the two. The sun shone through the window of the room, the sight of the city of Constantinople could be seen clearly from it, if not for the purple drape of the Byzantines that was half opened.

Of the two people, one was a little girl, her brown hair was tied like those of a Byzantine princess, and she was dressed like one too, the other one was a young looking young man, hair as black as night with deep violet eyes, staring sternly at the little girl.

“What made Queen Cleopatra’s rule so admirable, princess?” questioned the black haired man.

“She turned her almost bankrupt kingdom into a force to be reckoned with,” said the girl proudly.

The young man nodded. “How did she do it?”

“She convinced one of the domineering powers at that time, Caesar, to support her financially. Those two trusted each other as comrades, they fought together until Caesar was assassinated by his own son. ”

“Then?”

“She declared her kingdom free of Roman influence, she used the civil war between the Roman republic to strengthen her kingdom, she single handedly repelled the legions who tried to make Egypt submit again, the people loved and adored her, Alexandria’s infrastructure was expanded because of her, she successfully deal with the drought at that time, she…” the little girl continued rambling as if she knew the story through and true, the young man was pleased with her knowledge, and asked her to stop.

“Okay princess, let’s go back a little, how did Cleopatra win the throne back when she was exiled?”

“She convinces Caesar to join her after her brother-husband killed Caesar's rival, Pompeii, she then killed her own brother with her own hand, a stab through the heart.”

“Good, how about her family?” questioned the young man once again.

“She never had a husband again… eventually, she abdicated her throne to her sister’s son, after that, she went on a journey, never to be seen again… although, there’s a record that Cleopatra was obsessed with her father, but she said it wasn’t her real father, rather, it was her mentor, she said she adored him so much that she would do any–”

“Okay, okay, stop.” said the young man with cold sweat. “That’s enough princess. You passed.”

The little girl then jumped in happiness. “Does that mean you could tell me about the ancient Greeks now?!”

“Princess… you know that is forbidden, it’s dangerous for men, and excessively insidious for women… whatever that means…”

“But you promised!” the little girl whined. “Please teacher, please! Just let me read the Iliad for just a day!”

“I’m sorry princess, but I can’t.” said the young man sadly. “It’s forbidden.”

The little girl then continued to whine, annoying the young man. But then, she went quiet. She then stared at the young man, with a smirk on her face. “If you’re not letting me read the Iliad, I will tell mother that you used her bedroom to do things with Lady Thena.”

The young man was surprised. “H-How–”

The little girl stuck out her tongue. “I swear, I will do it!”

The young man then sighed in defeat. “Alright Princess Anna, you win.”

The young man stood up as the little girl jumped around, happy at her win with her teacher. The young man walked toward a nearby desk, opened the drawer, and took a book, it was the Iliad.

He offered the book to Princess Anna, but when she was about to take it, the young man pulled it back again. “But by the end of your reading session, I will ask you some questions, if you failed to answer a single question, you’re not allowed to read it anymore, understand?”

Anna nodded vigorously. “Yes Teacher!”

—

In the middle of the night, that young man, who was Pluto, was studying a book, on his hand was the blue cube, glowing faintly as he read it.

“This thing is really tough Juno, can you destroy the cube?” asked Pluto, a blue construct of a little girl sitting beside him, watching him study. “Thanos’s hands are really strong… how could he destroy the cube so easily?”

“You technically can now,” said Juno casually. “But are you sure you want to destroy my shell? Didn’t you say that you wanted to place it on a temple so future humans could find it?”

“I know, but I want to study the stone, you know?” stated Pluto. “Will you disappear if the stone was destroyed? Or will you stay?”

“I will stay,” said Juno. “Me and the stones are slowly separating, I’m like a backup, if the stone is destroyed, I, or rather, you, will be the space singularity.”

Pluto hummed as he examined the glowing blue cube. “Interesting…”

As he continued to study it, a sudden knock from the door could be heard. Juno disappeared, and Pluto hid the cube from prying eyes, then he walked towards the door, opening it.

He then saw princess Anna, looking rather excited.

“Teacher! Teacher! I did it!” she shouted. “I solved the problem!”

Pluto sighed, and let the girl enter. “Let me see.”

Anna then gave Pluto the scroll, and Pluto scanned her answer.

“Correct.” nodded Pluto as Anna shrieked in excitement. “Calm down Anna, it’s in the middle of the night.”

Anna then calmed down, realising what she did. “Sorry…”

Pluto then walked to his shelf, and asked Anna. “What do you want to read now?”

Anna thought about it a little. “How about that thing about kingdoms?”

Pluto raised an eyebrow. “You’re rarely interested in these things?”

“Well… I will be an empress right? I should study those things…”

Pluto looked at Anna with pity. “I’m sorry princess, but your brother John just became the heir, you will not be Empress.”

Anna was confused. “Why not? I’m older than my brother…”

Pluto smiled as he gave her the book. “You are a girl, Anna, it’s the rules…”

“So… I won’t be an Empress?”

Pluto shook his head. “No.”

“Well… Okay…” murmured Anna sadly. “Then I’ll choose something else.”

Pluto hummed. He then thought about it a little, before grabbing a book from his drawer. “How about this?”

“What’s that?”

“A collection of Greek Poems.” said Pluto, making Anna’s eyes shine. “You can read it, just make sure to not be discovered.”

“Really? Can I really read it?”

Pluto chuckled. “Yes princess.”

Anna once again shrieked in excitement, and grabbed the book. “Thank you teacher!”

“Yes, yes, you should go to your room now, it’s late!”

Anna then ran towards her room, leaving Pluto’s room giddily.

Juno then appeared on the desk, sitting casually. “She really looks like Helen in your memories huh…”

“Yeah…” murmured Pluto. “Maybe she really is her descendant after all…”