Bordom and thoughts of conspiracy
"Are you ready Princess?" Sandy asked as Xena tested the string on her her long bow.
"Yes, go see to it that Prince Alexander and Prince Hercules are ready to go hunting and be discreet I don't want the others following." Sandy nodded and excited through the servants door to enter their rooms discreetly. Xena left out and walked unnoticed to the practice yards where she instructed the guards to carry spears. She herself took two javelins and quiver of arrows. Hercules came and selected a quiver of arrows and long bow.
"You sure you know how to use that?" Xena flirted knowing Iolaus did most of the hunting and that his godlike abilities allowed him to traverse the distance between villages, towns, and cities quickly on his own without a need to eat until he arrived. When they were together she remembered doing all the hunting and wondered how he'd ever survive with someone around him who knew how to hunt or a market.
"Yeah, unfortunately I don't think your grandparents or your mother would like it very much if I used my own bow and arrow on this hunting trip, I know how much you enjoy it. " Hercules grinned at her. Xena played the shy princess by taking out her fan and hiding her grin, but the twinkle in her eye told Hercules she knew exactly what he meant.
"Now that's not very prince like behavior." She fanned herself delicately. Nobody knew it, but she had made it a new fashion to have heavy fans. The fans of pyramid were once thin and made of rice paper with colorful designs or pictures of gardens or homes. Xena thinking it was useless had the fan maker add sharp thin pieces of metal that cut through ones skin like butter. The base was heavier and great for knocking some over the head. Of course the usual wood pieces in a fan were now metal only to appear as if it were still wooden.
Just because Xena wanted it to be secret a law was passed saying that a fan was sacred and not to be touched or made by men. This created delivery jobs for young girls to deliver fans to a woman as a gift from her husband. Women came twice a week to the palace for lessons in handeling the new sharp fan without cutting themselves especially the younger ones or teachers or etiquette. The law was easily voted a yes when she said that their first King thought it impolite to touch his wives fan.
"Is that a chakram on your fan?" Hercules asked. Xena nodded and pulled it out of his reach when he reached for it to get a closer look." Xena, why can't I see."
"Its impolite to touch a ladies fan and against the law." Hercules put his hand down.
"Why?" Hercules asked curiously.
"Cause I wanted it that way," Xena replied with a shrug and than told him how she manipulated them into passing a essentially stupid law.
"Experimenting on how to get them to pass more practical laws later on, very smart." Xena didn't bother to tell them that she had done it just for the hell of it.
"Princess the horses are saddled if you're ready," The stable boy said running up and bowing. Xena nodded her head to him in a bow.
"Once Prince Alexander arrives we'll head to the stables and if he goes there first than come get us." He nodded and ran off to wait.
"He's such a nice boy." Hercules nodded.
"So, is there other rules I need to know about a lady?" Hercules asked as she put it away.
"Well you know how to compliment me, kiss my hand, and avoid touching the fan. Let's see you'll always want to be polite and honest."
"Already covered."
"Your hands in front of company that is should never any other place except hand and I should not touch anything, but your arm of course you are allowed to brush a strand of hair out of my face or delicately place a flower in my hair. Most importantly those lips definitely must only touch the hand." Hercules grinned when she said 'In front of company..'
"And dear sweet princess how close is to close?" Hercules asked stepping very close to her. She smiled, but stared into his eyes both telling each other how much they loved one another.
"You know you're never to close to me," She whispered and bit his bottom lip and just as she was about to turn that bite into a kiss she heard footsteps approaching. She took out her fan and giggled as she stepped back.
"What a funny joke, you're so humorous." Hercules laughed a little and nodded too trying to hide his feelings.
"Princess you have a very beautiful laugh."
"You're not so bad yourself." King Morton cleared his throat and they both turned to face him.
"Grandfather I'd like you to meet Prince Hercules of Mount Olympus, he's one of Zues' many sons."
"What number, second, third, first?" King Morton asked.
"Hard to say, there are so many sons that we have to account for the ones we're not aware of, but I can I assure you I'm not the first, second, third, or the last."
"Well I've brought Prince Jai to accompany you, he seemed unaware that he was invited." Xena put away her fan and her face got serious.
"He wasn't invited only Prince Alexander and Prince Hercules were." Xena greeted Prince Alexander who was behind them. He went to stand next to Hercules.
"I'm a great hunter you'll see, I'll catch a wild boar just for you."
"Hmm...well you had better go catch Sir Bradley before he leaves his room." Prince Alexander and Hercules laughed as she did. Prince Jai laughed too to get into her good graces.
"Come boys the horses are already saddled," Xena said to Hercules and Prince Alexander. They headed for the stables and Prince Jai followed after a push from King Morton, who followed and insisted on coming. They found Prince Theodore and Sir Bradley waiting for them. Xena frowned as a guard strapped the two javelins on either side of her horse.
"Great, just great my hunting trip is ruined," Xena muttered. Her hunting party which would have originally consisted of Rocelin, Gabrielle, Sandy, three dogs which were a cross breed between German sheperds and wolves native to Pyramid, and three guards. Now consisted of Rocelin, Gabrielle, Sandy, eight dogs, three guards, than one guard for each suitor, plus two guards for King Morton, Two more guards for Queen Atia who insisted on coming, and two more for her mother came to help Xena keep her sanity .
"I can't believe we didn't catch anything," King Morton commented as they walked back to the castle on horse back. Xena was angrily riding side saddle after Queen Atia insisted she change into a pretty dress and not hunt at all but rather let the men. Hercules stayed close by her to keep her from banging her head against a tree from boredom. He wasn't a very great hunter, but from the noise everyone made he knew that's why they hadn't caught anything. While the others hunted Xena hung back next to the wagon driven by Sandy, Gabrielle was on the side of her. Hercules hung back along with them as well as his guard, Prince Alexander's guard, and Prince Alexander himself.
"I need a fucking vacation," Xena whispered to Rocelin.
"Don't we all." Xena nodded.
"Xena, a princess never slouches." Xena sighed and sat up straighter in the saddle. They were going way to slow for her liking, but Queen Atia had insisted so that she would not fall off. The worse part was she wasn't referring to herself, but Xena.
"Can we please trot at least?" Xena asked almost in a whine. She was that bored, because they'd stayed at this pace all day.
"Yes, Xena's right, you men trot on a head, Xena you're so thoughtful why should they keep at a woman's pace." Rocelin quickly grabbed Xena's hand discreetly seeing she was dangerously close to falling over at those words.
"Of course dear, I'm sure you ladies want to discuss the boys." Hercules had positioned himself on her ride side ready to catch her easily.
"Prince Hercules, Alexander why don't you go on up ahead with the men." Xena merely nodded towards them and the galloped off to the palace. While the other men were content to eat without waiting for them Hercules and Alexander were not. They wait patiently to escort her to dinner.
"Give ten points to Alexander and Hercules for waiting and zero to the others." Sandy nodded as Xena took the arm of both her escorts as they passed the others. Hercules smirked at them.
"We'll be dining in my personal dining room." They nodded. In the dining room were all the orphans, Rocelin, and Maria.
"Xena!" Isabel exlaimed."Look what I draw." She held up a picture. Xena smiled at her and picked her up.
"Alright, let's see what the great artist Isabel drew today." They all giggled and Isabel stuck her tongue out at them.
"I draw Argo that me riding on her." Xena smiled.
"Are you trying to bribe me into letting you ride Argo?" Xena asked with a grin. Isabel nodded.
"I think that what Maria called it." Everyone laughed as she placed Isabel in her honorary spot next to her seat.
"Well I guess for once I'll take a bribe, but only because its a very good one." Isabel smiled.
"Yay, I get to ride Argo!"
"Can we ride her too?" A chorus of voices asked and Xena nodded as Hercules pulled out her chair and Alexander pushed her in. They took seats and soon they were all enjoying a very lovely dinner. Hercules and Xena were silently flirted with each other throughout the meal. Only Maria and Rocelin noticed what was going on between them.
"Are you sure about this?" Hercules asked as she closed her room door and locked it.
"Yes, now come on I wanna hear about all you've been up too." They just sat cuddling for a while as they talked.
"Somebody is corrupt around here," Hercules agreed.
"What I'm not sure about though is whether or not the Duke and Rex are plotting together or separately."
"Why do you say that?" Hercules asked.
"Well, you see Rex is just rolling in the riches, but the Duke you can tell he's cut back because of taxes not to mention Rex strongly suggested to my grandmother that he choose another candidate for my fifth suitor, but she insisted on Sir Bradley after some more insistence from Sir Bradley himself and his father."
"Hmm...yeah that does suggest that while they are both plotting for the throne they aren't on the same team. We'll have to be careful that coup d'etat is not set in motion."
"Oh it already is, I think at this point my grandparents are just figure heads."
"Than that would mean your life is in danger." Xena shook her head no.
"No, see there is the Duke of Persia and no one wants him in charge not even Rex. The duke of perisa is a very smart man and the way things are going now he'd have Rex, the duke, and their entire families killed by now."
"So, if your life's not in danger now, what about later."
"Well they think I'm an airhead, and I'm sure Sir Bradley is reporting back to his father on me. My guess is they plan on using me as a figure head, get a few offspring out of me, and than dispose of me in a sneaky way. Once I'm dead they'll have control and Sir Bradley could lay claim. In Rex's case he could marry me or control me if I were that stupid."
"Agreed, but you're not stupid and you know how to fight so I guess they're all in for a wake up call on just how dangerous a warrior princess is."
"Yes, yes they are, let's get up tomorrow morning a go on a little treasure hunt, I'm sure Sandy, Maria, and Rocelin would love to help out." Hercules nodded.
"Yeah, I think a treasure hunt is in order too." Xena nodded and they snuggled up under the covers for sleep.
