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They hadn't stopped for an hour.
Back and forth, Princess Cleopatra and Pharaoh Yosira sparred, staff clashing against staff, neither giving the other an inch. As the mock battle mock-raged, Yosira became known for deftly avoiding most of Cleo's hard, swift strikes, and Cleo for withstanding Yosira's softer, but more tactical hits, aimed at whatever blind spots Yosira was seemingly was able to deduce on the fly, from moment to moment.
If not for Cleo's greater experience whacking robots, delinquent otherworldly lifeforms, assorted baddies, and Callie, Cleo might actually have to admit to being given a run for her money. Oh, who was she kidding—she was being given a run for her money! Time to bring in the big guns.
"All right, Your Majesty—see if you can dodge this!"
With a battle cry loud enough for Yosira to hear, but low enough for the city's night crowd and Yosira's royal guard to not, Cleo jumped backwards into the air, executing a double-vertical, single-horizontal flip, then kicked off of the wall behind her, using her leg strength to propel herself towards Yosira, and aim her staff downward at alarming speed.
In response, Yosira watched the spectacle… then stepped to one side at the absolute last moment, sending Cleo right for the railing of the balcony they were training on. "W-whooaaaa!" Cleo yelled, realizing where her trajectory was headed—and that it was unstoppable.
Fortunately, Yosira caught the back of Cleo's dress just in time, allowing the latter to clumsily balance on the railing, doing her best not to look down. Once Cleo had the hang of her body again, she jumped back down onto the balcony, and rested her hands on her knees.
"Geez. You're…" Cleo gasped for breath. "…getting a lot better at this. Really quickly, too." She flashed Yosira a look of narrow-eyed suspicion. "You sure you've never fought before?"
Yosira shook her head. "Never," she said. "At least, not physically. I've always had people fighting for me… but for what it's worth, I've watched a lot of fight scenes in action holo-films." She looked at Cleopatra with an admiring expression. "You fight suspiciously like the heroes in those, actually. All flashy and cool and zing and zam…" She mimicked a few punches and kicks. "Such florid movements always seemed wasteful to me, but now that I've tried them… I don't care. I've always used words in the service of others, but being able to express myself, through such violent, beautiful, kinetic dance…" She giggled, spinning in place. "Khensu was right: you may have created a monster."
"Mwa-ha-haaa!" Cleo flashed a huge smile and cackle, clawed hands in front of her. "Revenge is mine at last!"
"On him, I'm sure, but also possibly us?" Yosira said. "I suppose I should have expected this, but none of the holo-films ever went so far as to show the consequences of violence, even for the victors. Specifically, I've never been this out of breath. Or…" She flapped her robe to air herself out. "…sweaty."
"Oh, really?" Cleo lounged with her back against the balcony railing, flapping herself in the same manner with a mirthful grin. "Mean to tell me Her Royal Majesty doesn't normally sweat?"
"Oh, pfft, please," Yosira said, almost choking on her laughter. "Do you know how nerve-racking my station innately is?" Sauntering over to Cleo, she continued, "Feel free to tell me how pharaohs don't possess working sweat glands after you've sat in a room packed with dozens of galactic leaders, each with their own customs and hot buttons, pleading for military aid, civic relief, or trade expansion, knowing that a single wrong word could plunge you into a war you know you have absolutely no chance of winning…" She gently leaned forward, into Cleo's face. "…with the lives of trillions on your head should you fumble or misspeak even once."
"Ehhh, heh-heh-heh…" Suddenly Cleo had the uncontrollable compulsion to flap her shirt again. "Yeah, good point. Kinda got a taste of that earlier today," she said, referring to her very short stint as Yosira's body double. Things had ended well, but not without a healthy dose of Cleo Factor. Housekeeping was likely still cleaning up the dining hall.
"I know." Yosira's challenging expression went back to cheerful as quickly as a light switch. "After today, I finally have someone who can empathize with me in a full manner." She patted Cleo on the shoulder. "Which is why I give you a hard time, and nothing more."
"Speaking of giving me a hard time," Cleo said, wincing the slightest bit at Yosira accidentally patting an area where she'd received a glancing staff hit, "if you don't mind my saying so… you're in really good form! Like, your figure's good, sure, but for someone so often dressed in long, flowing, all-covering robes, you can really move when you want to! If you don't fight, how do you stay in shape?"
"Oh! That," Yosira replied. "General exercise regimen, perfectly matched for my height, weight, and body mass index. In a fully-shielded gym. With remote trainers who communique and instruct me remotely."
"Remotely?" Cleo asked. "Like, through screens?"
"We used to have real trainers on-site," Yosira said, "but then one of them turned out to be an Octavian-sympathizing traitor, which nipped that in the bud. Then we tried robotic trainers, but if you thought people turned traitor easily—"
"Reprogramming makes a killer trainer into a trained killer, at the speed of data," Cleo finished. "Wow, yeah."
Yosira sighed. "Khensu said you were the type of girl to catch onto things fast." She turned towards the balcony railing, rested crossed arms upon it, and looked out to the nighttime horizon. Mayet City still had its lights on this time of night, complementing the stars perfectly, and Cleo could still smell a few dinners cooking not too far away amidst the brisk seasonal night.
She walked up to Yosira. "Is that a snapshot of your life? Stay shrouded as much as possible, while making sure nothing or anyone can come within arm's length of you?"
The tiniest of smiles managed to cross Yosira's lips, but her rueful voice betrayed them. "Why do you think I show up in my own academy outside of my usual inspections sometimes? Disguised, of course. I've seen your antics many a time walking the halls. They never fail to amuse me."
"H-hey! Anything you thought you saw me doing in the halls? Especially anything that might have looked destructive? It was um, totally my clone!" Cleo scratched her head. "Y-yeah, that's it. They're so hard to control, you know?"
"Do you speak truly? I should hope not," Yosira said, her smile turning upwards. "The use of clones is illegal in PYRAMID, to say nothing of several neighboring planets. The very reason being that they're so hard to control."
Cleo clamped up with a gulp. "I-I mean, um…"
Rather than give Cleo a chance to come up with a new excuse, Yosira merely laughed. "Don't worry, any admissible evidence I could come up with would implicate me as well. Just to be able to leave my estate, I would have to make up excuse after excuse to get out, or to otherwise make sure to have no one notice I'm gone. Otherwise, should I be caught—and it's happened before—it's lecture after lecture about 'knowing my place', and 'knowing my importance', and then extra laws memorization, and contract signings, and…" Yosira sighed again.
Cleo's eyebrows raised almost on their own—totally not a billion things she'd heard before and after getting zapped to this crazy future. "Yeah. Starting to think that empathy might stretch both ways."
Yosira smiled towards Cleopatra. "I'm sorry to hear that, but at the same time, I'm happy. Especially since… well, after today's exemplary diplomatic protection performance, Cleo, don't be surprised if I request your services again." Her eyes shifted back and forth, as did her body, her regal manner becoming undone in a matter of moments before her next words.
"Y-you are under no obligation to accept, of course," she said, wringing her hands, and Cleo was sure she could see hints of crimson on Yosira's brown cheeks. "However, i-it would make me very happy if my very first… friend—certainly the first one to come with no political baggage—indulged me?"
Cleo's eyes widened as she realized the magnitude of what she'd just been told.
Whoa. Pharaoh Yosira just called me her friend—
Wait. No.
No.
That wasn't what Yosira was to her, nor the other way around! Certainly not after today, that wasn't what Cleo wanted—and she was sure in her heart that that wasn't what Yosira wanted, either.
Everyone puts Yosira on this unattainable, unreachable, untouchable pedestal because of her title. Just like everyone back in Ancient Egypt did with me.
Cleo smiled up at Yosira. Yosira did her best to smile back, but she still looked quite uneasy, her lips squirming, her eyes finding very interesting specks of dust to follow.
No. She's just Yosira. A girl, like me. Royalty like me, who even looks like me, and thinks like I do and…
Cleo felt a warm, fluttering happiness, starting from her feet, rising all the way up to the top of her head as it all fell into place.
…and who still likes me for me.
When Cleo answered, it was with a sincere, reassuring smile. "I'd be happy to. Anytime. All you have to do is ask."
The moment Yosira heard those words, her entire body relaxed, and Cleopatra was sure she saw stars in the young woman's eyes. "Thank you," Yosira whispered.
Cleo nodded, leaning on the railing with one arm. "Just so long as I can do the same back? Kind of liked seeing you as my loyal knight at my side back at those talks."
"Funny you should mention that," Yosira said, laughing. "I rather enjoyed acting as your 'bodyguard' as well. Something I realized when taking stock of your mannerisms for my role that day is that your mere presence, even merely as Cleo of PYRAMID Academy, is more intimidating than you may know."
"In… intimidating?" Cleo repeated.
"Oh, absolutely not in a bad way. But becoming you, even for that short time, made me feel… powerful, in a way I'd never felt before. And I actually don't mean the fighting. It's almost as if you already know how to carry yourself—not only as a warrior, but as someone of royal stature." Yosira's eyes turned probing. "Though, given who you really are, this doesn't surprise me very much."
Now it was Cleo's turn to feel, and look, uneasy in the face of someone they cared for. And given that Cleo was the type of girl to reject the universe's concept of subtlety and substitute her own, it was very visible.
"Cleo? Is everything all right?" Yosira asked.
Cleo took a deep breath. "…Pharaoh Yosira? Can I ask one more question?"
"Anything, Cleo. What is it?"
"What if…" Cleo held one arm with her other hand, looking away, towards the city lights. "…maybe someone did want to try more of this 'diplomacy' stuff, but always said they thought it sounded boring? But… okay, maybe that wasn't completely a lie, but definitely at least a little bit of one, because the other thing they never told anyone was that deep down, they just… never thought they were good enough to be cut out for it? As a person?" She paused, then quickly added, "Asking for a friend."
Cleo closed her eyes, willing herself not to cry as she acknowledged a fear she usually pushed aside for the first time in a long while that she could remember—then felt a soft hand touching her cheek, turning her face to meet Yosira. She reopened her eyes—and there were those twinkling, probing irises from Yosira that seemed to practically know Cleo's every thought.
Seriously, was that future-stuff? Cleo decided she would blame it on future-stuff.
"Well," Yosira said, "your friend asks a very good, if very complex question. But my answer would be that, based on what I've seen of them today, I absolutely do think they could easily learn diplomacy—just as they felt I have a natural knack for adventure."
Unconsciously, Cleo's hands moved up to clasp Yosira's outstretched wrist. "Really?" she whispered, still fighting the stupid tears.
Yosira nodded. "The main prerequisite, above all others, is a good heart—a heart that cares for all around it at its core, even when the mind and body sometimes forget this fact. And that heart, that brave, fearless, loving heart, is the one thing I'm not worried about them possessing." She stroked the full length of Cleo's face once, before pulling her hand back.
"Wish a few other people felt that way," Cleo said, feeling her whole face burning. "And, uh, cats."
"They'll come around," Yosira said. "Some people—okay, too many, even in this century—are intimidated when a woman puts a strong personality forward. I so rarely get to embrace mine in pursuit of forging and maintaining alliances… which is why I'm so jealous of you."
"The… the feeling might be mutual at this point," Cleo said, just barely managing to not turn into a puddle of ecstatic goo. "Just saying."
"Hold onto that feeling, and I'll hold on to mine. When next we meet, during any next time, truly—I'd be happy to trade notes. Speaking of which, we should probably—"
"Cleo?" Khensu's voice could be heard from the other side of the door to the balcony.
"Uggggggggh, he always does this how does he always do this," Cleo said, with a groan and roll of her head. "He always picks the exact moment I'm having the best time, then shows up to ruin it!" She crossed her arms. "I swear he's got a sixth sense about these things."
"Cleo," Khensu said, in a voice laced with a slight bit of song, "I sure hope you're not on the other side of that door, otherwise some feelings are going to be very hurt! And I promise you: they won't be mine."
"Too late," Cleo said, huffing again.
"Don't worry," Yosira said, "I'll handle this." She walked to the door, revealing Khensu, flanked by two royal guards. "I'm sorry," she said, in a practiced tone. "I summoned Cleo here, and made sure she knew it was urgent. I take full responsibility."
Pindrop silence could be heard from the balcony for several seconds, with Yosira and Khensu matching wits and gazes.
"…you do realize I am the one being on this planet who wouldn't instantly believe you, given all I've seen today," Khensu said.
"I do," Yosira said, her eyes dancing playfully, "but where would the fun be in that?"
Khensu sighed, rolling his eyes. "Oh, whatever. Cleo, it's late. We're going back home."
"Wait, wait, wait!" Cleo said, running up to Khensu. "Can I have a minute to say goodbye?" She looked back to Yosira, clasping her hands together. "Okay, two minutes. We were, uh, kind of having some really good girl talk? And who knows if I'll ever get this chance again, given how our lives are?"
She saw Khensu grit his teeth, then… shake for a moment, before finally letting out a sigh of defeat. "Fine, very well. But I'm counting. Two. Minutes." He turned around, raising a paw to the royal guard. "It's okay. I will take full responsibility. Cleo is my star student, after all."
Cleo relaxed, softening her gaze towards Khensu. "…thanks."
"One minute and fifty seconds," Khensu said, closing the door behind himself.
Cleo sighed, a closed hand to her heart… then decided to just go for it, rushing forward and hugging Yosira as tightly as she could. "Thank you so much. I can't begin to tell you how great today was."
"Same," Yosira said, returning the embrace. "And the first of more to come, I promise. How long do we have left?"
Cleo pulled out and looked at her tab. "Uhhh, minute-fifteen."
"Perfect. Just enough time for a quick lesson in diplomatic customs to take with you." Yosira hesitated, taking a soft breath. "Also, it involves an apology."
"Huh?"
"For Chostipher," Yosira said. "He stole your first experience of something that should always be perfect, when it's the first time."
"What's tha—"
Before Cleo could react or speak further, Yosira took Cleo's hand, her touch as gentle as a leaf in the wind. Time seemed to move in slow motion as she brought it up, and pressed Cleo's fingers softly against her lips with the lightest sound of affection.
Cleo had barely felt it, yet at the same time it was the most warming thing she'd ever experienced, with a calming breeze tickling Cleo across the back of her hand where Yosira had graced with her presence.
"A correct hand-kiss," Yosira said in a playful, faux-lecturing tone, "lets you know how revered you are by the other party… and communicates their desire for an amicable, joyful, and close relationship, so long as both of them know each other." She lowered Cleo's arm as gently as she had lifted it. "It should never be taken for granted."
"O-… oh," Cleo said, breathily, her cheeks tinting, her heart overflowing with awe, reverence, and okay fine maybe just the tiniest bit of a crush shut up stupid brain, as she looked up at Yosira's smiling, serene face. "Y-yeah… maybe I am missing out with this whole diplomacy thing."
"Well, now you know one of the cornerstones." Yosira opened the doorway to the balcony. "And I assure you: should you prove able to demonstrate your ability to retain such knowledge during our next encounter… nothing would make me happier."
This time, Cleo matched Yosira's final eye-meeting gaze and smile, making it plain that they were on the exact same page.
"Then, I promise to make you proud," were Cleopatra's last words before walking through the doorway. "Good night, Your Majesty."
"Ah," Khensu said as he saw Cleo approach the building's lobby. "On time. You are getting better at this. Let's head back," he said, leading the way to the exit.
"Uh-huh," Cleo said, her mind somewhere else. Lots of places, really.
Khensu noticed. "Cleo? Is something the matter?"
"No, I'm actually really happy. But..." Cleo stopped walking, her focus now clear. "Yosira... she's a real ruler. Like, everything a princess, a queen, should be. And really good at it."
"She is indeed all of those things," Khensu agreed. "Especially for someone so young."
"I'm supposed to be that one day. But I can't imagine doing everything she does," Cleo said, before looking towards the ground. "I'll have to, someday, though... won't I?"
Khensu leapt onto Cleo's shoulder, nudging her chin up, shifting her view straight ahead to Mayet City... and beyond.
"Yes," he said. "But you'll be far from alone in learning how. And did you not gain a valuable resource willing to teach you, today? You need only but to accept her offer."
Cleo closed her eyes, imagining herself in full Egyptian pharaoh regalia, sitting on the throne... and for the first time in her life, not twitching, or becoming nauseous, at the notion.
Just like her.
Cleo smiled. "I'll think about it."