Welcome back again. If you haven't read the previous stories I highly suggest you do or you'll be very confused.

All the characters from the previous story are present but there are a few new additions. As always, historical inaccuracy is a common theme in this series but all the events here did actual happen in history with my own twists added. This story is also a bit lighter than its predecessors (sort of).

Enjoy :)

The Huns: A Continuing Saga

Part I: The Commander's Poet

Part II: The Consul's Warrior

Part III: The Governor's Wife

Chapter 1

Inside the foyer of the large and now built on Adame, the two princesses, Arielle and Cera, stood in front of their aunt, Leila patiently. She gave specific instructions for Arielle and Cera pretended to listen and understand but her mind was elsewhere. Her eyes roamed the Adame as she barely listened to her aunt.

Leila placed a bag into Arielle's arms and bent down to her eye level. "Make sure you take this to Bakkah's yurt as soon as possible!" she ordered and the nine year old nodded. "Don't make any stops, okay? Kreka Khatun wants these dresses delivered to Bakkah."

Arielle sighed. "Yes, yes, I know. I got it okay?" she said and Leila smiled then pat her cheek. She slung the heavy bag over her shoulder and grabbed her little sister's hand. "Come on Cera."

"We're going to see Bakkah?" the child cheered excitedly.

"Yes, we are." Arielle walked down the stairs of the Adame as her sister hopped down each step. "Cera, don't be silly. Come on!"

"Okay..." the five year old slumped her shoulders and gripped her sister's hand firmly. She ran her fingers through her long straight dark red hair and huffed. Arielle peered down at her and smiled.

They walked down a different path that was definitely not near Bakkah's yurt. Cera frowned and glanced up at her tall sister. "Hey, this is not the way to Bakkah's..."

"We're just going to make a small stop," Arielle said.

"Arielle..." Cera groaned. "Teyze Leila said –"

"Teyze Leila said to deliver the dresses and we are going to do that but first, we make a stop." She said and Cera grumbled.

The two princesses walked into the largest yurt in Pannonia, which was built near the woods but not too far from the Adame. Arielle smiled when she saw Gabrielle sitting on the floor, swirling a spoon in a tall glass of tea.

"Hey Gabby!" she said and the blonde jumped, nearly spilling the tea.

She turned and smiled at the two girls. "Hello girls," she said. She then noticed Arielle's curly dark haired had been straightened. "What did you do to your hair?"

Arielle grinned and flipped her waist length pin straight hair behind her shoulder proudly. "Do you like it? Teyze Leila ironed it for me. What do you think?"

Gabrielle quirked her mouth. "I think I like your curly hair better."

The princess frowned and tossed the heavy bag onto the rug. "But I want straight hair like mother and grandma. It's prettier and way better than my regular hair."

"Your hair looks fine," Gabrielle said with a smile. Cera sat down beside her and she hugged the small princess. "Your dress is very pretty," she complimented and the redheaded princess giggled softly.

Arielle placed her hands on her hips. "Where's grandma? I want to show her my hair."

Gabrielle bit her bottom lip and looked to the bedroom. "She's in the bedroom..." she said and then saw a sneaky smile appear on the princess' face. "Arielle, don't go in there."

"Why not?" Arielle walked through Gabrielle and her sister and stormed into Xena's bedroom.

Cera sighed and shook her head. "She never listens."

Gabrielle chuckled and ran her fingers through the girl's silky dark red hair. "Nope. She sure doesn't."

Arielle peered over the bed and saw her grandmother sleeping soundly. She grinned mischievously and hopped onto the bed, jarring Xena awake. "Grandma!" she yelled and Xena's eyes shot open.

"Arielle!" she hissed and the girl laughed loudly. She groaned and turned over onto her other side, cuddling the blankets close to her chest. "Go away," she murmured.

Arielle shook her grandmother lightly. "Aweh come on! Everyone else is awake. Grandma..."

"Arielle..." Xena opened her eyes and stared at the wall as she was being shaken by her insistent granddaughter. "Infernal child..." she grumbled.

"Grandma," the princess persisted.

"What?" Xena said tersely.

"Grandma..."

"What?!" she sat up and turned to see a big grin on her granddaughter's face. Her jaw dropped and she touched Arielle's silky black hair. "What have you done to your hair?"

Arielle shrugged a shoulder. "You like it? Now it looks like yours."

Xena sighed. "But your curls are so pretty, tatli kiz. Why would you do this?" she frowned and fixed a few strands of the girl's hair. Arielle stepped back and smoothed her hair out by herself.

"Because I don't like my hair. I want it to look like yours and mother's."

"There's nothing wrong with your hair, Arielle." Xena said and the princess folded her arms. "What are you doing here interrupting my sleep?" she asked bitterly.

"Well actually," Arielle hopped off the bed. "Cera and I were going to see Bakkah and bring her some dresses. Are you coming to the party tonight?"

Xena tossed the blanket off her and got out of bed, ignoring her granddaughter's question. Arielle grabbed hold of her arm as she walked around the room, trying to find her sheer robe.

"Grandma, come on! It's gonna be really fun."

"Arielle, I don't know. Maybe." She said and looked down at the princess with her straight hair. She cringed, "your hair...why," she wagged her head then left the bedroom. Arielle pouted and then followed behind her.

She smiled seeing Gabrielle and Cera sitting together on the floor. The redheaded princess turned and gasped. Quickly getting off the floor she ran towards her and Xena wrapped her arms around Cera's small frame.

Arielle rolled her eyes. "You hug her but tell me to get out of your room? How unfair."

"She didn't wake me up," Xena snidely said and winked at her sassy granddaughter. "What are you and Gabrielle talking about?"

"Lots of things," Cera said. She started naming the subjects, using her fingers. "Dresses and the party and horses and Csaba and you!" she beamed.

"Me?" Xena asked and the princess nodded. "Only good things I hope?"

Gabrielle rolled her eyes playfully. "How was your alarm?" she teased, eyeing Arielle.

"Unpleasant," Xena grumbled and Arielle smiled sheepishly. "Don't you have to go see Bakkah or something?"

"Oh yeah!" Arielle ran over and grabbed the bag. "Let's go Cera before Kreka Khatun hunts us down!" she snatched her sister and the two left in a hurry.

Gabrielle sighed and sipped the hot tea, burning her tongue in the process. "Ah!" she hissed and wafted her tongue. Xena smirked and sat down opposite her, lounging on some pillows. Gabrielle drank some water and frowned at her partner's smug face. "You think this is funny?"

"A little bit." Xena nodded. "That's karma. Why didn't you stop Arielle from coming into the room? You know I hate my sleep being interrupted."

"Right, Xena. Like I could stop that girl. She does whatever she wants." She griped and was careful to sip the tea slower this time. "Did you see her hair? God, why would she do that?"

Xena shrugged a shoulder. "She doesn't like her hair. Can't imagine why." She reached forward and grabbed a glass of tea for herself. "Anastasia is going to lose her marbles when she sees her hair."

"I would like to be there to see that," Gabrielle said more enthusiastically than she wanted. "She should be coming back soon."

Her partner nodded.

"So, what time are we going to the party?"

Mood killer for sure. "Gabrielle..." she rolled her eyes.

"Come on Xena, you always do this! You never want to go to any parties. What do you plan to do? Stay in this yurt all day and night?"

"Sounds like a good plan to me," she smiled and lifted her glass. She saw the unsatisfied look on the blonde's face. "Gabrielle, you know I don't like parties. Why do you always pressure me to go to them? You should know me better by now."

"Because Xena, you are turning into a hermit."

"I am not."

"Yes, you are. We don't do anything anymore. You just want to stay in this yurt and only come out when Ana is here."

Xena pursed her lips. "So? What's your point? I'm not allowed to see my daughter?"

"No, I'm just saying that we haven't done anything these last few months. Everyone is having babies or going to war," she wiped her mouth after spilling some tea on her blouse.

"My two favorite things," Xena teased.

"Everyone likes babies, Xena."

"Gabrielle, you know that is not true," the commander playfully said. "Although, Bakkah will have her baby soon. I guess you're right. There must be something in the water," she winked and the blonde cast a knowing look.

"Very funny. You're going to the party. We're both going." She pressed and Xena rolled her eyes dramatically. "And you're going to have a good time."

Xena finally relented. "Alright. We go make an appearance and then we leave!"

"You're really starting to become a mean old lady, Xena," she teased and her partner gasped. "I might even see a few grey hairs..." she reached forward and looked at Xena's black hair.

"I do not have grey hairs, Gabrielle. Stop!" she slapped her hand and folded her arms. "I am not old."

"I'm just teasing you, Xena," she said playfully. "Isn't Kreka the same age as you?" she asked and Xena nodded curtly. "Have you seen her hair?" she sipped the tea, lifting her brows.

Xena waved her hand dismissively. "That woman never ages. She's looked the same since the first time I laid eyes on her. A few silver streaks in her hair doesn't change who she is."

"A few?" Gabrielle said with a knowing look. "Okay, I'll stop."

"Her sons stress her out obviously and it's starting to show. Her hair probably wouldn't have gotten so grey if Ernak would have just married Bakkah instead of getting her pregnant. Did you see her face? She almost fainted!" Xena laughed and Gabrielle frowned. "What? It was hilarious."

"You two are never going to stop are you?"

Xena licked her lips and placed the tea in her lap. "Stop what?" she feigned innocence.

"This competition you two have. You're always competing with her."

"We've always been like that Gabrielle and I know you didn't know her before you came along but she and I were never good friends until Anastasia had Csaba."

Gabrielle smirked. "All it took was a baby to bring you two together. How weird."

"Yes but I have three grandchildren," she held up three fingers and he partner reared her head back, rolling her eyes.

"Oh god." Gabrielle got up and walked over to the table to make more tea.

"What?" Xena sat up. "She only has one!"

Gabrielle called from the kitchenette area, "don't forget about Giselle."

Xena frowned sadly, "way to dampen the mood, Gabrielle."

"She would have been seven," she turned and smiled softly. Xena nodded and drank the last bit of her tea and lifted her glass. "So...I know you're not going to wear a dress but will you at least let me do your hair for tonight?"

"No."

"Xena, please?"

"No!"

"Why not? You have gorgeous long hair! I'll brush it for you."

"Gabrielle..."

Gabrielle walked over and sat in front of her partner, looking into her azure eyes. "Come on, Xena. For me?" she leaned in closer and kissed her nose. Xena sighed heavily and quirked her mouth. "I take that as a yes?"

"Fine, but no braids or anything weird."

Gabrielle sat on the floor behind Xena, brushing her long hair and sectioning it off to put some wax in it. Xena sighed heavily, already wishing she hadn't agreed to this. "You're going to look beautiful," she said and Xena grumbled. "I mean, even more beautiful than you already are."

"Are you almost finished?"

"No! Stay still and don't move," instructed Gabrielle.

"You're doing a lot for just a short appearance, Gabrielle."

The blonde smiled smugly and scooped a good amount of wax into her palm and rubbed it onto Xena's long hair. "Stop whining, Xena. Your hair is going to look great."

Xena sighed heavily and she heard someone come into the yurt. She frowned and got up in the middle of Gabrielle's session and walked to the curtains.

"Xena!"

She saw Arielle in the sitting room without Cera by her side. She was looking, searching even. Xena raised her eyebrow and stepped out of the bedroom. "What are you doing?"

Arielle gasped and her cheeks flushed. "Nothing."

"Don't lie to me. What were you doing? Searching for something?"

"Well, I wanted to get Gabrielle's Sais and show them to my friends," she said sheepishly.

Her grandmother eyed her precariously and folded her arms. "You mean you wanted to steal them."

"No, no! I was going to bring them right back! Honest!" the princess smiled from ear to ear.

Gabrielle emerged from the bedroom with her hands covered in wax. She then saw the intruder and grinned. "Arielle," she greeted and then frowned up at her partner. "I wasn't done with you."

"She was going to take your Sais, Gabrielle." Xena said and saw her granddaughter hang her head in shame.

"Arielle, is that true?" Gabrielle asked the princess.

Arielle sighed and kicked the rug with her boot. "I just wanted to show my friends your awesome weapons, Gabrielle. I was going to bring them back."

"You know you can't have any weapons. Your mother's rules, not ours," Gabrielle said and accidentally folded her arms and got wax all over herself. She grumbled and then wiped her hands on Xena's hair.

Xena spun around and gave her a menacing stare while her blonde partner simply smiled. "Anyway...Gabrielle's right. Your mother said you can't be near weapons especially after that one time you nearly chopped off all your hair."

Arielle chuckled embarrassedly. "That was a minor mishap."

"Uh huh. Did you deliver the dresses to Bakkah?"

"Yeah! I hope the baby comes soon. I will have a cousin," Arielle wriggled her eyebrows. "I hope it's a girl."

Gabrielle nodded and looked at Xena's straight waxy hair. Too much wax, she noted. "I'm sure Kreka wouldn't mind that."

"An army of girls," Xena teased. "Arielle, why don't you get ready for the party tonight and Gabrielle will bring her Sais to show your friends?"

She received a jab from Gabrielle and she nudged her back. The princess grinned excitedly. "Okay! You promise to bring them, Gabby?"

"Oh yeah...definitely..."

Arielle ran out of the yurt and Gabrielle slowly lifted her head to Xena. "What the hell?"

"What? I can't resist that face she makes when she gets excited," she shrugged her shoulders and then touched her waxy hair. "Are you going to finish this or what?" she walked back into the bedroom.

Gabrielle cursed under her breath and stomped back into the room behind her partner. "You could have just told her no."

"Gabrielle," she sat down and held the brush in her hand. "For once in my life I don't have to say no. Arielle reminds me so much of Anastasia and I was never able to be the mother that I wanted to be with my own daughter. Arielle is so much happier than Ana was at her age. Sometimes I wish I could go back and redo everything the right way."

Gabrielle's hardened face softened and she knelt down in front of her commander. "You did the best you could at the time. I mean, look at Anastasia now. She is a queen of her people. You should be proud of her. I know I am."

Xena smiled and received a kiss to her forehead.

"So, about this hair of yours..." Gabrielle snatched the hair brush from Xena's grasp and sat behind her, continuing her duties.

That night at the party outside in front of the Adame and in the center of Pannonia, everyone gathered around, even Ebnedzar's people, who now lived in the capital of the Hun Empire, came as well. At first, his people were not well liked among the Bulgur and Pannonian Huns, but they learned to live together.

Ernak, already on his fifth or sixth glass of wine, found his elder brother and wrapped his arm around him. "Dengi...brother," he grinned widely and his brother sighed heavily. "My child will arrive soon. I expect any day now!"

Dengizich smiled and nodded his head, paying attention to the women dancing. Leila was with the children and some other women from the Suevi tribe, talking, some dancing, but mostly just talking. He kept his eye on Leila as she was talking with the women and children.

His mother was preoccupied with Ernak's soon to be wife, Bakkah, and was getting a lot of attention due to her giving birth any day now. After Giselle died, Leila was afraid to have any more children and refrained from the idea for four years now. He was afraid that he would never have another child because of his wife's fear and anxiety reliving the moment she lost their daughter in that fire years ago. Though, he remained supportive of his younger brother and put on a smile for him.

"That's great, Ernak. I'm sure you're very excited," he said calmly and sipped his wine.

"Yes! Very much so!" the youngest prince cheered. "And I'm sure it is a boy. Ellac has a daughter so I should have a boy."

Dengi rolled his eyes. "You can't just expect a son, Ernak. You might have a daughter. You will find out shortly. Where is Bakkah anyway? Did she not come to the party?"

"No, no," Ernak explained. "I told her to rest," he sipped his wine and saw their mother talking with Ebnedzar. He gasped and hid behind Dengi. "Don't let mother see me," he whispered.

"Why not?" Dengi said with a chuckle.

"I don't want her to scold me!" he saw her coming their way. "Shit. I was never here. I'm going to talk to Ebnedzar's friends. Don't tell her a thing!" he ran off, nearly spilling his cup of wine everywhere in the process.

Kreka approached her son and frowned. "Where's Ernak?"

Dengizich thumbed behind him, "he went off to go see some friends," he swept his younger brother under the rug. "Mother, don't give him a hard time. It's a party and you're supposed to have fun. Let him have his fun. After all, this is probably one of the last nights he'll have to himself."

She hummed and folded her arms. "And Bakkah, where is she?"

"Resting in her yurt." He said and she walked by him. He grabbed her arm and she snarled. "Mother, don't be in such a bad mood. She is having your grandchild after all."

"I know that, you goat." She pulled her arm away and fixed her sleeve. "And that's why I'm going to check on her," she smiled and walked off in a hurry.

He shook his head and sat down on a wooden bench, watching his wife laughing and talking with the women whilst holding their daughter. He smiled softly and then saw Csaba walking by. He immediately waved at him and grabbed him in a neck hold.

"Hey, Csaba!"

"Uncle, come on. I'm not a kid anymore!" he growled and jabbed his elbow in his uncle's ribs. Dengi grunted and slapped the back of Csaba's head lightly.

"You're turning into your mother, Csaba. So violent," he chuckled. "This is a party. You're supposed to have fun." He said and his nephew mocked him, brushing his hands down his sleeves. He eyed some Akitziri girls across the field, sitting by a fire, talking and laughing. "You should go talk to those girls, Csaba."

The young prince looked at the Akitziri girls and saw one of them staring right at him. His mouth parted and she brushed the burgundy veil she wore behind her shoulder and smiled at him. He gazed at her light green eyes and olive toned skin glistening in the fire. She flicked a long strand of her wavy black hair over her shoulder and continued talking with her friends.

Dengi slapped him on the back lightly and Csaba grunted. "That girl is gorgeous, Csaba. She was looking at you. You should go talk to her."

"No! I don't know what to say!" he panicked.

Ever since Erzibet was taken by Persian missionaries two years ago, he hadn't spoken to any other girls since then. He hadn't been around a lot of girls his age growing up and it was awkward enough being around Erzibet for those short few years. He even wanted to marry her but his parents said no. When his eighteenth birthday came, his mother gave him permission to marry her but by that time; Erzibet was ripped from his arms. He didn't love her, but he liked her shy demur and not to mention she was a beautiful mix of Khazar Hun and Persian.

"Are you going to hide from women forever, Csaba? Come on, it's a party. Go talk to her!"

"Lay off me, Dengi," he grumbled and stomped off.

Leila walked over to her husband and frowned at the prince muttering to himself as he walked away from the party. She tapped her fingers on the wine glass and Dengi wrapped an arm around her slim frame. "What's wrong with him?"

"Nothing. He's going to be a virgin forever," he teased and his wife slapped his chest and he spilled wine all over his robe. "Leila!"

Xena groaned and walked towards the bonfires with Gabrielle by her side. There was a group of children around Arielle's age, most of them boys, but there were some girls, which was nice. Once, it used to be unusual to see girls in Pannonia and now it was the norm.

"Alright, we made an appearance. Can we go now?"

Gabrielle grabbed her partner's arm and ushered them both towards the actual party. "No, we're not leaving. We didn't even say hello to anyone!"

"And? They know who we are," Xena grumbled.

"Xena, stop it. We're here to have fun."

The brunette sighed and went along with this idiotic plan of her consort's. "I don't see what the big deal is anyway. This party has no meaning to it."

"Sometimes those are the best kind of parties," mentioned Gabrielle. "I see Dengizich! We should go say hi."

"No, no. Ugh, Gabrielle..." she whined and was reluctantly dragged along.

"Dengi!"

He turned and smiled at the two women –commander and governor. "Gabrielle," he greeted and saw the disdain on the commander's face. "Xena," he chuckled.

"She's not exactly thrilled to be here," Gabrielle whispered. He nodded, gathering that by the look on her face. "So, where is the wine?" she asked excitedly.

He blinked and handed her his cup. "For you," he crookedly smiled and Leila smirked. "I will get another cup for Xena."

"No thanks," she murmured.

Arielle ran up and snatched Gabrielle's arm. "Hey, Gabby, did you bring your awesome Sais? I told my friends that you'd show them!"

Gabrielle sighed. "Yes, I brought them. Remember, these aren't toys."

"Yeah, yeah," the princess said and started pulling her away from the group. "Come on! I gotta show my friends!"

"Xena, will you be alright by yourself?" Gabrielle asked as she was slowly being escorted by the persistent princess. Xena nodded and waved her hand.

Sometime later, Xena realized that Gabrielle was more preoccupied with Arielle and that gaggle of Bulgur girls that Arielle befriended. She decided to sit by herself near a bonfire and tapped her fingers on the armrest of a wooden chair, staring at the shamans which were a part of Ebnedzar's tribe from Suevi.

She was so fixated on the fire that she didn't even notice Csaba coming to sit next to her. She turned and smiled at her grandson. She admired his green eyes that were just like Ellac's but he definitely had Anastasia's face and smile. He definitely didn't look like a scrawny teenager anymore and had his father's slender yet muscular frame and even decided to grow his hair out passed his shoulders like his uncles and father.

She noticed that he was being very fidgety and grabbed his shaking thigh. "What's wrong with you?"

He looked at that same girl that he saw a few hours ago. She was walking around in a circle with a group of her friends and he cocked his head, continuing to gawk. Xena followed his gaze and sighed heavily. Her sigh did not go unnoticed and his cheeks flushed.

She stared at the green eyed girl and saw a pendant sewn on her ornate gold and black dress. Her veil was also filled with beads draped over her forehead on the boxy headpiece she wore. "She is someone important, you know," she said and his eyes widened.

"How –how can you tell?"

"The pendant on her gown and the silver beads on her headdress. It's a dead giveaway. Your mother's headdress is similar."

Csaba nodded. "So, is she royalty?" he asked as his eyes were glued to the girl.

Xena wanted to laugh at her grandson's infatuation with the girl but cleared her throat instead, keeping her thoughts to herself. "Perhaps," she nonchalantly waved her hand. "Why don't you go ask her?"

His face paled and he whipped his head around, mean mugging his grandmother. She had a smug grin on her lips and tapped her fingers on her knee. "I can't do that."

"Why not?" she asked and noticed the girl looking his way. "She's looking at you, Csaba…" she teased him and he grumbled, sinking in the chair. "Come on, don't be a chicken." She pushed him off the chair and he gasped. "Go on."

He faltered and then wrapped his long hair into a low bun and fixed his gold vest. "How do I look?"

"Very handsome. Now go over there before I introduce myself."

He frowned and walked off towards the group of girls. She shook her head and then was startled by an arm wrapped around her neck. She looked up and saw Gabrielle peering down at her, holding a wine bottle in one hand.

The blonde came around and sat herself down on Xena's lap. "Gabrielle, are you alright?"

"What? Oh yes, I'm fine." She shoved the wine in the commander's face. "Do you want some?"

"I'm good, thanks." Xena pushed Gabrielle off her lap and she fell on the grass. Snickering softly she received a glare. "I thought you were with Arielle?"

Gabrielle nodded and climbed up to the chair that Csaba sat in previously. "I was…but Ernak gave me this wine. I couldn't resist," she sheepishly smiled and Xena rolled her eyes. "You know, Arielle has a lot of friends. Loric is really nice."

Xena widened her eyes. "Loric? She's friends with a Bulgur boy?" she gripped the armrest and broke off a piece. Gabrielle puckered her lips and gawked at her partner. A bit embarrassed by her temper, Xena threw the wood piece down on the ground and hid her face, sinking in the chair. "Where is he?"

"Xena, Xena, Xena…" Gabrielle leaned forward with glossy eyes. "Relax. They're just children." She grabbed her partner by the cheeks and gazed in the sapphire eyes. "You worry too much. She's only nine!"

"I hope you wake up with a blazing headache tomorrow morning," Xena cursed her and slapped her hand away.

Arielle walked up with a boy and Xena narrowed her eyes. Gabrielle grabbed her wrist to prevent her from lashing out. The princess smiled at her grandmother and the boy nervously looked at Xena. She was itching to get out of the chair but the only thing holding her back was Gabrielle's firm grip.

"Loric, this is my grandma," she introduced him and he smiled briefly. Xena raised her eyebrow and didn't bother to respond to him. He ran his fingers through his brown hair and his cheeks flushed. "And this is…" she frowned at her blonde aunt holding the wine bottle in her lap with a smile plastered on her face. "Gabrielle…"

"Nice to meet you both," he greeted and bowed his head. "You look too young to be Arielle's grandmother."

Xena smirked mockingly. "What a charmer you are, boy."

"We're just friends, grandma," Arielle reassured her.

Xena nodded her head slowly. "How old are you, Loric?"

"Uh, twelve." He answered nervously.

"I see." Three years older than Arielle, she thought.

Gabrielle leaned close to her partner's ear. "Be nice…." She whispered.

Xena forced a smile to make her granddaughter happy. "Have fun." She squeezed Gabrielle's hand. Arielle and Loric walked off. Her eyes followed the boy and Arielle clinging close to his side, talking quietly. Gabrielle gasped as the bones in her hand began to snap and pop.

"Xena!"

"Sorry," she released her hand and Gabrielle stretched out her fingers. "Remind me to poison his kefir later."

Gabrielle wiggled her fingers and glared at the brunette beside her. She punched her in the shoulder and Xena hissed. "You will…do…no such thing," she slurred her words.

"Oh? Are you going to stop me?" she teased and Gabrielle wagged her head groggily. "I didn't think so."

The next day Xena stood over the table inside her yurt, making tea. Gabrielle was still asleep, sleeping off the wine just like everyone else in Pannonia. For once, she decided not to drink wine and keep herself alert throughout the entire celebration. She did enjoy seeing everyone falling over themselves and making a fool of themselves during the party. She especially enjoyed when Gabrielle collapsed into Dengi's lap and he had to drag her to the bed late at night.

She stirred a lump of sugar into the tea and turned around, hearing small footsteps approaching behind her. Cera grinned, holding a basket filled with paperwork. She assumed that paperwork was for Gabrielle, but there was no way that the appointed governor would be able to handle that mountain of work in the condition she was in.

"Good morning tatli kiz," she greeted her redheaded granddaughter.

Cera set down the basket of papers and rose to her tip-toes to observe the glasses of tea, sugar and sugary bread. She sneakily reached forward, eyeing the bread and her hand was slapped. "I'm sure Kreka fed you already," Xena said and the little princess released a soft breathy puff.

"It's just one piece," Cera said with a cheeky smile and Xena raised her eyebrow, continuing to stir the tea, dissolving the sugar. "Please? Kreka Khatun says that I am too skinny anyway," she tried manipulating her grandmother but it wasn't working.

"Nice try." She walked away from the table and sipped the hot tea. Cera reached over to grab a piece of the sweet bread and Xena sat down on one of the floor couches. "Step away from the bread, Cera."

The princess groaned and folded her arms, feeling defeated. "I'm so bored," she whined and plopped down on the sofa, laying down dramatically draping her arm over her eyes. Xena shook her head and looked through the basket of papers while sipping the tea. "Everyone is sleeping!"

Her grandmother simply nodded and read over the documents that were assigned to Gabrielle. She frowned and flipped to the next page. Cera peeked under her arm and eyed her grandmother reading silently. "Ridiculous," she muttered and threw the paper to the side and picked up the next one.

So far Anastasia and Ellac were unable to convince Justinian to stay away from Pannonia and he threatened to take all of their tribes under his control. She was expecting them to return any day now since Constantinople wasn't too far from Pannonia. They were gone for the last month and given the statements on these papers, she knew that the outcome was not fruitful like everyone hoped. "Gabrielle, you are going to have so much fun reading this," she chuckled.

Cera crawled over to sit beside her grandmother and pretended to read the papers as if she understood everything. Xena peered down and the brown eyed princess smiled. "What's that?" she asked sweetly.

"Boring stuff."

"Politics?"

Xena stifled a laugh. "Yes, politics."

Cera smoothed out her blue dress. "Daddy says that politics are a waste of time."

Xena choked on her tea and coughed slightly. Cera pat her on the back gently with her small hand. "Really…?" she wiped her mouth and the princess nodded.

"Yeah! We should invade everyone!" the five year old stood up, clenching her fists with a menacing grin. "And then we will crush them like you did with the Romans!"

The commander nodded slowly and set the tea down and grabbed her granddaughter's hand. "Alright, no more story time with your sister." She advised and Cera pouted. "Hey, you're bored, right? Why don't you go wake up Gabrielle?"

"Okay!" Cera cheered and ran into the bedroom. "Gabby!" she yelled.

Xena snickered evilly when she heard the governor groan and moan in the next room.

Csaba's eyes fluttered open and ran his hand across his face. His head was banging from last night. He didn't know how much those Akitziri girls liked their wine and he wasn't exactly prepared to drink that much at the party last night. He sighed heavily and lolled his head over and saw the girl his grandmother forced him to talk to, in his bed.

He scooted backwards and fell out of bed. The young Hun woman woke up to a loud thud noise and crawled to the edge of the bed. She smiled down at the frantic prince. "Good morning." Her green eyes sparkled and her long hair fell over her head as she stared at him.

He realized that he was shirtless and quickly grabbed his robe and scurried off the floor and wrapped the robe around himself. Breathing heavily, he tied the sash around his waist and turned around, staring at the young woman. She flipped her hair over and tousled her midnight locks with her fingers. He awkwardly ran his fingers through his messy hair and coiled it into a bun atop of his head.

"How did you get in here?" he asked.

She chuckled softly. "You brought me here. You were very talkative last night. I didn't know you lived in the Adame."

His cheeks reddened. "Um, what exactly did I say?" he couldn't remember anything of what happened last night.

She shrugged. "Lots of things. Don't worry, it wasn't too embarrassing."

Not like that made him feel any better. "Listen, I don't want you to think that I treat women like this…" he trailed off, realizing he didn't even know her name and she was in his bed, dressed in a skin tight black gown. He averted his gaze as soon as he felt his stomach turn to knots. He pinched the bridge of his nose and breathed in and out.

She laughed and rolled off the bed. "Don't worry, we didn't do anything. You passed out." She patted him on the shoulder and he tensed up instantly. She grabbed her gown that she wore the night before and went behind a screen to change.

He turned around as soon as he saw the dress fall to the ground behind the screen. "I…I'm sorry but I don't remember your name."

"It's Farah!" she called out and slipped the dress over her head. She walked out from behind the screen and he looked at her sultry eyes. She grabbed her thick black hair and lifted it up to her head. "Could you button this for me?" she asked and turned around.

He gazed at her open back and nervously began buttoning up her gown. He felt his palms begin to sweat and he held his breath as he buttoned the last button. "All done…"

Farah turned with a sweet smile. "Thank you." She grabbed her headdress and placed it on her head, adjusting the veil attached to it and smoothed out the wrinkles in her dress. "You know…I will be staying in Akitziri with my cousins for awhile. You should stop by sometime."

He rubbed the nape of his neck and nervously chuckled. "Oh I don't know about that."

"Well, I like spending time with you, Csaba. You were very…entertaining last night," she teased. "Would you escort me out?" she asked nicely and he immediately ran over and opened the door.

The two walked down the hallway and he knew that everyone would be asleep. He figured that his uncles were passed out from last night and most of the servants were in their yurts outside as well. He walked her to the foyer and she turned around, showing off her pearly whites.

"I'll see you later then?" she asked and he was too shy to answer. "I'll be staying with my cousins near the Bey's yurt. Ask the guards for me and I will come to see you." She said and walked outside, descending down the stairs.

Kreka saw the two talking and held an armful of dresses. She walked over to the smitten prince and cleared her throat. He jumped and whipped his head around with big fearful eyes. "Who was that?"

"Uh, just a girl."

She nodded and clicked her tongue against the inside of her cheek. She recognized the headdress the girl wore and the design of her dress. His eyes lingered on Farah as she trailed off across the field to find her cousins. "You know who that is, right?"

He felt a lump in his throat. "Um, no, not really."

"She's from the Banat province." She then saw the bemused look on his face. "It's a province next to Pannonia," she explained. "Judging by her clothing and headdress, she is probably a princess." She said with a smug grin and walked off.

Csaba stood in the foyer with a shocked face and big doe-like eyes as he watched the khatun leave the Adame with the gowns laden in her arms. There was no way that he could be involved with Farah now if she truly was a princess. Also, those Banat people weren't Huns but they spoke a similar language and had similar customs and traditions. They even wore similar clothing and had features like the Hun peoples did.

A rather haggard looking Gabrielle emerged from the bedroom and glared down at her conniving partner sitting on the sofa, looking over documents. Xena lifted her head with a big smile and raised her glass of tea. "Morning!" she purposely said louder than she normally would.

Gabrielle cringed and her head throbbed. She rubbed her cheek and groaned. "You are a terrible person."

"Love you too," Xena teased and flipped to the next page, reading over the documents sent over by Anastasia from Constantinople.

Cera ran into the sitting room after she rudely awakened the hung-over governor. "She's harder to wake up than Arielle!"

"I bet she is." She casually sipped her tea as she skimmed through the papers. "Hey Gabrielle!"

The blonde nearly tipped over the kettle as she was pouring herself a glass of tea. She closed her eyes and couldn't wait until she could get Xena back for this treatment. She clenched her jaw and finished pouring the hot tea.

"What?"

"I need you to look through this paperwork. It's from Constantinople. You're much better at deciphering through this Latin bull –" she eyed her sweet redheaded granddaughter and corrected herself, "stuff…"

Gabrielle grumbled and took a generous sip of the tea. "I'll look at it in a minute…"

Xena grinned deviously. "Cera, why don't you check on Bakkah? I'm sure Kreka Khatun is already over there." She said and Cera quickly ran out of the yurt eager to see her aunt. She turned to Gabrielle and leaned back leisurely on the pillows. "How's your head?"

The disheveled governor frowned and sipped her tea whilst glaring at her partner. "You sent her in to wake me up."

"Payback's a bitch isn't it?" Xena said with satisfaction. "Now, come look through these documents. You know I'm not good at reading Latin, especially in Anastasia's handwriting. Come on." She pats the empty spot next to her.

Gabrielle gingerly sat down on the sofa and Xena hid her sneaky smile then grabbed her glass of tea with the metal spoon in it. Gabrielle began looking through the first few pages that Xena had sorted and read through briefly. Xena looked at how focused she was and stirred the spoon harshly against the glass, making a loud clang noise.

Gabrielle cringed at the sound and scowled at her partner. "Stop that!"

"Stop what?" Xena feigned innocence.

"You know what."

Xena tapped the spoon on the edge of the glass and Gabrielle's eyes bugged out and one of her eyes twitched slightly. She grabbed Xena's wrist to stop the infernal tapping. "That…stop that…"

"Maybe you shouldn't drink an entire bottle of wine by yourself next time, governor," she jabbed back at the frazzled blonde.