A few weeks later:
Over the past days of travel, Anna had gotten used to the rhythmic swaying of the dromon carrying her to Cyprus. At first, reading or writing of any kind at almost been impossible, but with proper self-control, she had adapted her senses to compensate for the odd movement. Seated at a solid wooden table and illuminated by three large candles affixed to it, she had spent the last hours immersed in a book about naval warfare. The choice had seemed appropriate at the time and once she understood the basics of the subject, the rest came easily enough.
In her mind, she could now clearly picture Arab vessels outmaneuvered by dromons using their lethal Greek fire to potent effect. The vessels instantly took aflame, their crews screaming as the unquenchable fire made its way everywhere, tearing down sail and mast alike in a terrible incendiary blaze. Two of the unfortunate crafts veered wildly off-course and...
Anna jumped as she heard a solid knock on her cabin door. Calming herself and taking a deep breath, she called out in a confident voice.
"Enter!"
The door went half-open before stopping so she could barely see the head of the dromon's captain. His tone showed is apparent discomfort in dealing with her.
"Highness, we are arriving in Cyprus very soon and should be docking in mere moments."
She needed only to nod for him to retreat back to deck of the ship. Placing the book back where she had found it, thinking it sad she would probably never have the opportunity of completely reading it. Remembering how in her last visit on the deck the wind had blown away her veil, she secured it tightly. For this day she had chosen a silk robe of pastels ranging from a light pink to an equally light blue, embroidered with light yellow motifs, giving her a less somber look than when she last met Makedonios.
As she appeared on the dromon's deck, she gazed upon the island of Cyprus for the first time as well as the fishing village in which the ship had docked. This was a drastic change of scenery from that of the capital, to say the least. Nevertheless, Anna was not one to be attached to greatly to the comforts of imperial life and found she appreciated the calm scenery. Sailors carrying her two chests in tow, she made her way off the ship and unto the dock, hoping to notice someone who had been sent to greet her.
Makedonios walked down the dock dressed in his nicest plain nondescript clothes. His heart had lept when he received Anna's letter saying that she was coming to Cyprus to tour the island. He looked forward to a chance to finally talk to her again face to face. But that would have to wait.
He saw her standing on the dock looking as radiant as ever. Walking over to her with a warm smile on his face he said,
"Your Highness, welcome to Cyprus. I trust your voyage went well. We should go to the ChapterHouse so you can rest and get a good meal. Plus you can meet the other men in the Order. While we have all taken a vow of chastity, and are not used to female visitors, you are the Princess and they will be honored to meet you."
Anna closed the gap between them and gave him a heartfelt smile in return, before greeting him in a soft voice.
"Makedonios! It is good to see you once more. I trust you have secured us transportation? I must say I am famished, sea voyage fare does not agree with me."
She montioned Makedonios to lead her all the while signaling the sailors carrying her luggage to follow.
"I have indeed. This way. And you will enjoy the food. Being on an island does have the advantage of having readily available seafood. Also, I have made preparations for your security. There are seven Order members with each over a dozen personal guards. I also command 5 regiments of men garrisoned in the nearby castle. Nothing short of an army invasion will threaten you while your here."
A short trip later, they arrive at the Order's ChapterHouse and go inside.
Vissarionas ek Lesvou is standing just outside the Order's Chapter House entrance discussing a task he has for Rafi, his errand boy. The child is still grubby as young boys tend to become, but his old clothes have been replaced with more suitable garments during his travels with Strator Vissarionas and his cheeks have filled out with health. Though he still does not officially carry any token of service to the Order he is wearing a marker on each shoulder indicating his loyalty to the nobles of Lesvou.
Upon noting the approach of the Grandmaster, Vissarionas immediately thought that he should dismiss Rafi and issue a salute. Then he became aware of the Princess.
Several moments pass in which both boys are struck dumb, before at last Vissarionas recovers his manners and kneels in the manner of a soldier, on one knee there in the street, with his head bowed and his eyes firmly on the ground. Rafi instantly follows suit, dropping to both knees and bowing his head so low it is a wonder he doesn't overbalance himself and fall prostrate to into the dirt.
Silently the two wait, far enough back from the entrance as to not draw too much attention, as the Princess and the Grandmaster pass into the building.
Then, grinning like a kid with a pocket full of candy, Vissarionas nudges Rafi and says,
'I think that was the Princess Anna! My God, I've never seen anything so lovely in all my days...'
Rafi is still struck dumb at how near the royal lady passed, and can only gaze at his master in delight.
Shaking himself back to sense, Vissarionas' face takes on a thoughtful mien, and he kneels to whisper to Rafi,
'Take this purse and go down to market street. There should be some of the flower ladies out by now, and I want you to buy every flower they have available, then engage their services to bring them here and arrange them along the stairs. When the Princess departs she should be enveloped with the wonderful smells of the rich variety of flowers available on the island. In particular you must secure a quantity of athanatos, as the locals have it, the undying flower in celebration of the Princess' eternal grace and beauty.'
'Go now Rafi, this must be quick work, I've no true idea how long she shall be within!'
As the boy scurries off in the direction of the markets Vissarionas steadies himself, brushing imaginary dirt from his rough, simple clothing, and walks up to the doors. Before he can enter, however, he must again visibly take hold of himself. Then, with a warm, slightly foolish looking smile, he ducks his head and steps inside.
Makedonios walks the Princess past his kneeling Sergeant and a small boy. I'll have to ask Vissarionas about that later, he thought.
Entering the double doors of the ChapterHouse, they arrive in the Grand Hall. Seeing that dinner is not quite ready yet, Makedonios turns to Anna.
"Sorry but it will still be a few minutes before dinner. If you want, I can give you the grand tour. There isn't much here except this hall you see, our sleeping quarters, a small chapel, and weapon storage. We do have a library though. A lot of the books were left over from when the island was held by the Muslims."
Anna smiled lightly at the mention of a library and the possibility of books she new nothing about.
"The library would suit me best, I am intrigued to see what sort of collection you have amassed."
Makedonios talked as he walked her towards the library.
"Sure thing. We have books in Arabic. We have many on the Levant. Books on Byzantine history. I think a couple of my men are in there now. The Order is a "bookish" lot even though we lack formal education."
As they walk in, Anna sees a large room with bookshelves lining all the walls and some freestanding shelves in the middle. There are a couple of seats by a fireplace that are occupied by a couple of Sergeants who are too lost in their reading to notice who has entered.
It was not the most impressive library she had seen but it was indeed well stocked. Ignoring the men already in the room, she walked slowly beside the row of books nearest to her, taking notice of each title. Without turning she addressed him in an oddly dismissive tone.
"Arabic you say? I know not that tongue."
Then, pausing to face him she added more cordially. "Do you have any recommendations? In Greek of course."
Noticing that she seemed to be feeling out of place, Makedonios remembered something that was in the library.
"Hold on, I think there was something left here by the previous owners."
He walked over to one corner in the back and reached up to the top of a shelf where some parchments were. Taking one down he walked back to Anna.
"This was left here by people who used to rule this area. I am not exactly sure what it is. I walked around the island looking for some of the older scholars and I came across an elderly Arab who spoke Greek. He said he believed this page came from the Cypria. I'm not quite sure what that is. I'm sorry but we're venturing outside of my knowledge base."
Makedonios carefully handed the sheet over to her.
Taking the text gently, Anna moved nearer to a source of light in order to examine it thoroughly. After a few moments, she seemed willing to comment. Instead, she furrowed her brow in deep concentration and fixated the text, losing herself completely in this literary relic.
Makedonios silently stood at a respectful distance as she looked at the parchment. He liked seeing the studious side of her but he kept his face neutral.
Iakovos rubs his eyes, and finally looks up from his book. He nearly jumps when he sees Makedonios and the Princess inside the library, but he quickly regains his composure. Standing up sharply, Iakovos salutes the Grandmaster. "Forgive me, I hadn't noticed your entrance m'lord." Iakovos bows deeply at the Princess, asking in a curious tone, "May I inquire as to whom visits us with such noble bearing?"
It seemed at first Anna had not understood him for she was still focused on the text before her. A minute or so passed silently by, before she realized they were waiting on her to say something. Turning her gaze on the newcomer, she observed him intently, straining for recollection of his words.
"I..." She stopped, having no idea what he had said. Anna looked to Makedonios, her expression clearly asking for his help.
Makedonios quickly picked up on the cue and spoke,
"Sorry, I did not want to bother either of you while you were reading. Let me make introductions. This is one of my Sergeants, Iakovos ek Kallipoleos. Iakovos, this is Her Highness, Princess Anna."
Pointing at the other man in the library,
"Your Highness, the other man in the chair over there is still buried in a book about the mathematics of siege engines and he is Nathanial ek Korintou."
Anna produced a practiced smile for the sergeant in front of her.
"A pleasure, Iakovos. You must also be wondering why I am here?."
Iakovos smiles warmly. "Indeed. Why have you come to the humble headquarters of the Order? I would hazard that it is not for literary enlightenment, our library is still quite small, and I am sure you have read most of them. I of course have been through all of the books, so if you if have any interests, I can easily find it for you."
"I wished to meet for myself the brave men who will join Makedonios on his expedition to retake Antioch, for the Empire and my father." She gave a sidelong glance at the whole of the library. "As for your library, even in a haystack it is possible to find a gem." To emphasize her point, she nodded at the text she held while finishing her last sentence.
Iakovos peered at the book Anna held. "Is that the Cypria? A treasure indeed, although not comparable to some of the things the Imperial Library has. I have not read deeply into the Cypria as of yet, I reserve such works until I have time for myself." Iakovos turns to Makedonios. "Grandmaster? I have the plans for the church ready, and we have the workers. With the money we will receive, we can begin construction immediately."
Makedonios looked pleased at the news.
"Good good. All we need then is for the Emperor to approve of the project. As for the Cypria, I'm afraid we just have a page or two. It is pretty hard to find from what I hear."
Turning to Anna, he explained, "I'm letting Iakovos administer the castle. He has a better head for this stuff than I. One must not be too proud to delegate." With that, Makedonios smiled while a little embarrassed.
Anna nodded dismissively, she cared little for architectural planning. Handing back the fragment of text back to Makedonios, she queried him politely.
"I would believe the deipmon is ready, will your sergeants be joining us Makedonios? I will share my examinations of this text with you over a hearty meal. "
Unflappable as always, Makedonios replied calmly,
"You'll have to forgive everyone. They're all busy planning for the campaign. I've arranged for it to just be the two of us."
He stepped aside and waved gently with his hand towards the door.
"Shall we?"
Anna nodded once more and headed for the door, easily finding her way to the dining room.
By the time they had gotten back to the great hall, everything was ready. One table had been prepared for two. An array of seafood was laid out along with a plate of Cyprian cheese.
Makedonios pulled a chair out. "Your Highness." Anna sat down and he walked around to his side.
"I didn't know what you liked so I had a bit of everything made up. There is a good assortment of seafood. Calamari, Octopus, and sea bass. I was able to get steak over here in case you don't like seafood. The local cheese, Halloumi, is a delicacy around these parts. And of course there are vegetables. I apologize at the lack of fruit. We have a hard time bringing it in and it is too expensive for people on the island to afford. Also I hope you like mint, we tend to flavor everything with it. If not, I made sure one of everything was made without it."
"Oh yes, for a drink, we have tea, both minted and without. Water of course. We don't have any wine. None of us drink."
Anna gave him a genuine smile of appreciation.
"You've thought of everything it seems."
Glancing at the various foods assembled she wondered at which she would taste first. She eyed the calamari and octopus with interest, before focusing on the cheese.
"I'll simply have water. Will you lead us in prayer before the meal?"
"I'd be honored."
Both bow their heads and Makedonios leads them in a short thanks to the Lord for their bounty.
The prayer over, Anna eyed the assembled food as a famished predator. Quickly she made her choice, waiting for Makedonios to serve her.
"I'll have some of the octopus and that cheese you said was a specific food of this island." Pausing, she changed subject. "The text you showed me was a fascinating read, although I am as of yet unsure if it is authentic or not, something in the style of writing is off. If I have the opportunity, I will most certainly study it further."
Makedonios served food onto Anna's plate as he asked her what it was that was fascinating about that particular document. He enjoyed the chance to talk to her about something that had nothing to do with politics or the Senate.
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