“Oh, sure,” he smiled. “Just like your damn fathers. Nicolai is sixty-seven years old, the son of the late Prince Alexander and Princess Nina. They held no great wealth other than as the informal rulers of the island.
“Five months ago, the island was overrun with black-clad terrorists who swarmed the modest home of Nicolai and his late wife.”
“Late?” asked Cam.
“Marie Nicole. She was killed along with their two guard dogs. Nicolai was taken but allegedly escaped via a fishing boat. They pleaded with the Greek government for assistance but the replies came too late and eventually, the Greek prime minister, claimed that they needed to fully integrate into Greece and Nicolai should renounce any claim he might have to the Greek throne.”
“So, he’s in line for the Greek throne?” asked Luke.
“Yes. Like number one-hundred and seven in line but he’s in line,” said Code. “He attempted to get help at the embassy but they claimed they were told by the authorities that he was mad and should be institutionalized.
“Greece is a parliamentary republic, and the monarchy was abolished by referendum in 1974, following a military coup in 1973 that deposed the last king,Constantine II. The former royal family, descendants of the House of Glücksburg, still exist and its head is nowCrown Prince Pavlos. Officially, they have no state power but obviously some luxuries and rights.”
“And this Nicolai is related to them?” asked Eric.
“Technically, no.”
“Could you be any clearer?” frowned Luke.
“It’s been claimed for generations that Nicolai’s family is directly related to the most famous ruler of the region, of all time.” The others stared at him, frowning. “Nicolai is related to Alexander the Great.”
“But how? He wasn’t married, was he? And he didn’t have any siblings,” said Cam. Luke, Hex, and Eric raised their brows in admiration. “What? I know a few things.”
“Yes, he was married and had a few women on the side, I’m not sure they were wives. But it was suspected that he had several children out of wedlock, and at least one with his wife. The problem with all of that is there’s no way to prove it without the body of Alexander, which has been lost for centuries. No one seems to know exactly where his tomb is or where it’s buried.”
“Well, maybe,” smiled May as she walked into the room. “Good morning. Code sent me a message about this and I’ve been doing some digging.”
“Are we going to get one of your famous history lessons?” grinned Hex.
“If you’re nice,” said May. “Keep in mind that Greek history is entangled with Greek mythology. Their history tells us that their greatest leaders were directly related to the Greek gods, and in many ways, Alexander is no exception.
“Several legends surround Alexander's birth and childhood.According to theancient GreekbiographerPlutarch, on the eve of the consummation of her marriage to Philip, Olympias dreamed that her womb was struck by a thunderbolt that caused a flame to spread "far and wide" before dying away. Sometime after the wedding, Philip is said to have seen himself, in a dream, securing his wife's womb with asealengraved with a lion's image.
“Plutarch offered a variety of interpretations for these dreams: that Olympias was pregnant before her marriage, indicated by the sealing of her womb; or that Alexander's father wasZeus, the Greek god. Many have been divided about whether the ambitious Olympias made up the story of Alexander's divine parentage.
“In his early years, Alexander was raised by a nurse,Lanike, sister of Alexander's future generalCleitus the Black. This is important because he was exposed to her younger sisters as a teenager. Later in his childhood, Alexander was tutored by the strictLeonidas, a relative of his mother, and byLysimachus of Acarnania.
“All of this is important because it shows that he had the opportunity and ability to have many children if he chose to do so. The challenge for all of you, and especially for Nicolai, is finding which of the eligible ladies could have given birth to one of his children, survived, had his own children, died, and then you have to find the grave, and maybe, and I emphasizemaybegetting DNA from that woman or child.”
“It sounds impossible,” said Luke.
“That’s because it is.”
CHAPTER FIVE
“That’s because it is. Impossible, I mean,” said Nicolai.
“Nicolai, good morning,” said Hex. “Please come in. Are you feeling well?”
“I’m feeling better than I have in months. Your people are the most generous and kind I’ve ever met. I’m clean, shaved, fresh haircut, fresh clothing, and I am definitely overfed,” he smiled.
“You said it was impossible to find or prove. How do you know?” asked Luke.
“My father, his father, his father before him, and so on, have been trying for centuries. Long before DNA was even a word in our language, someone was searching to prove that my family was directly related to Alexander. If they had, there is no doubt we would have ruled all of Greece. Instead, we were relegated to our small island.
“Honestly, I was happy with my little island. We didn’t have much. Some ancient ruins of temples, a solid fishing industry, tourism, amazing food,” he smiled. “But I had no delusions of becoming the next king of a country that has a government in place. Although it’s not a very good one.”
“You have had your issues,” said Luke with a small grin.
