I'm putting this part in for anyone who was confused by the whole Somni/Cassandra thing, or anyone who just wanted to hear her background. But before I begin, there are a few things you need to know. Cassandra was a princess of Troy right at the time of the Trojan war (lucky her). According to myth, she was so beautiful that Apollo, god of the sun, fell in love with her. He offered her the gift of prophesy in an attempt to woo her. Cassandra took the gift, but turned down the sun god. As you can imagine, Apollo didn't take this too well. He didn't take away his gift, but he cursed Cassandra by making it so no one believed her prophesies. Cassandra forsaw the fall of Troy, but, when she told everyone, they didn't believe her. The people called her crazy, even after she acurately predicted the death of her brother, Hector. Troy fell and Cassandra was captured. Later, she was murdered by Clytemnestra, the queen of Mycenae. This is Somni/Cassandra's POV:
Interlude for Dreams
That girl is odd, this "Meredith". She is the first girl I have seen in a long time. Not since Joan. Few girls take enough risks to change, even fewer with the mutation. And I have not seen anyone with enhanced intelligence since Leo. I miss them, though Joan was headstrong and Leo could be calculating to the point of cruel. Still, lonely is better than Troy. They thought I was crazy; they said I was crazy, the beautiful insane princess. I showed them. After the fall of Troy, the survivors made up the story about me being cursed, so they could not possibly have believed me, so that it was not their fault. The Greeks captured me and took me to Mycenae, where I was murdered. I returned to the Domus Animi, then called another far older name in a language that could not be read, for the name is the choice of the keeper. The keeper, Tsgalall, gave me a choice, to move on or stay and become the keeper. I chose to stay, for Tsagalall, so that she could move on.
I had not yet chosen a name for the house when Romulus appeared. He taught me Latin and told me his plans for a great city, Rome. I opted to use Latin for the name of the house and to change my name. I wanted to escape from my life, even in partial death. Romulus was of the flirtatious variety and often called me "uxor mea Somni" woman of my dreams, but I rebuked all his advances. Domus Animi was my own creation. Then one day, he came as usual, but he was different. He had killed his twin brother. He came less and less after that, then he didn't come at all. The last day Romulus came, he had died. He moved on.
Time went by, a few forgotten others came and went. Then Joan was changed. I went to her. She was beautiful and so, so kind. Joan taught me French and I taught her to use her enhanced senses and her sight of the future. We became close friends. Joan planed that, when she died, she would stay here with me and we would teach newcomers together. But then she was burned, or so Leo told me. I saw her be whisked by, she reached out to me, but she was already gone. I never even got to say good-bye.
Leo showed up very shortly after Joan's death. He told me what had happened to her, without any thought or concern. I've already said he was calculating, but that might have been an understatement. He was around for a long he moved on. I believe there have been three or four since then. And now Meredith, I could look at her future, but I'd rather not. I like to expect the best.
Was that interesting? In case you couldn't guess:
Romulus= Romulus (as in Romulus and Remus)
Joan= Joan de Arc
Leo= Leonardo DaVinci