"So how did our father die?" Adelaide asked Gemma a few minutes later. Her breathing became normal again, and she seemed to be calmer, although I was not so certain that she truthfully was. She just happened to be good at acting. "An epidemic broke out in Constantinople from around 1831 to 1840 whilst our father was visiting a friend there. He caught the sickness, and that was the cause of his death."
"Constantinople?" I figured that not many Americans would know the history of Constantinople. Actually, not many people at all know it these days. I only know because I used to go through history books in my spare time. I enjoyed learning the past of many different countries. "Today, it is known as Istanbul. It is the largest city in the country of Turkey," I informed Adelaide.
"Constantinople has been referred to as Istanbul since around 1453, but the name wasn't official until 1928. I always preferred Constantinople, just thought it sounded better," Gemma added. I did not believe that Adelaide would want a history lesson, though she appeared to be intrigued. It would distract her from the truth she had learnt before. "Shall I?" I questioned Gemma. She shrugged, not seeming to care about whoever gave the history lesson.
"In the 7th century of BCE, the city was created by colonists from Greece. They were lead by a king, King Byzas, and decided to settle there. As most kings would do, King Byzas named the city after himself, calling it Byzantium. In the 300s, Byzantium was controlled by the Romans. Constantine, the Roman emperor, wished to rebuild the city of Byzantium in order for his new city to have monuments that would appear to be Roman. The city was then renamed Constantinople after him."
Adelaide nodded, taking every word in. "How do you know all of that?" She smiled curiously and I suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. "I enjoy history," I replied quietly and she grinned at me, knowing that I was timid now. "So why is it called Istanbul now?" Adelaide wondered.
Gemma interrupted me and began speaking instead, "Basically, Constantinople went through the control of the Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires after Constantine took over. During the reign of the Ottoman Empire, Constantinople changed to Istanbul and remained that way. Istanbul became a part of the Republic of Turkey in 1923 after the Turkish War of Independence."
Adelaide's eyes widened a bit as she processed the information. It was as though she was taking notes inside of her head. It was very interesting to watch. "So he died from a plague that he'd gotten from there," Adelaide concluded a minute afterwards.
"Yes," Gemma answered. Soon everything went silent within the room. I was still waiting for Gemma to reveal her true purpose for being here, because I still had a feeling that she did not care about Adelaide or Harry at all.
I could not simply get over everything that I had heard about her. I know that judging someone by other's words is not right, but she is the reason behind Evelyn's death and she is also the reason behind the deaths of the girls who had fallen for me in the past. She is a murderer in my eyes.
"Oh my god," Adelaide muttered out of nowhere. "Oh my god. Oh my god," she repeated. She began pacing around the classroom as she massaged her forehead. "What are you doing?" Gemma questioned as she raised her eyebrows. "Are you all right?" I asked Adelaide softly. "So I'm your sister," she began, pointing to Gemma. Gemma nodded, not sure where she was going with this. Neither was I.
"That means that I would be the aunt of your child with Xavier. Xavier is Zayn's great, great grandfather and you're Zayn's great, great grandmother." She didn't have to say the next part. It conjured feelings of astonishment and disgust. What we had done together. Our love. Everything.
"I'm Zayn's great, great aunt?!"
___________________________________________
WHAT?! BUT ZAYN AND ADDIE ARE PERFECT FOR EACH OTHER!!
Btw, did you enjoy the bit of history? It's all true. I learned it from:
http://www.theodora.com/encyclopedia/p2/plague.html and
http://geography.about.com/od/specificplacesofinterest/a/istanbul.htm
P.S. I won't update until probably next Sunday. I'M SORRY!
-Izzy
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FanfictionThere are many forces in this world that are beyond the lives of humans, ones we may never fully understand. Dark creatures exist within and while fate is believed to be set in stone, curses are created. These curses taint the fate you were born wit...
