Chapter Eight
"Deliver me from this war
It's not for me it's because of you."
Wallachia, 1438
Xena and her sister traveled to Transylvania in hopes to make new allies and hopefully find more men to join them or women, whichever they preferred. They didn't really receive warm welcomes by the women because they were beautiful young women and seen as a threat. Xena at nineteen almost twenty felt more mature than she did two years ago for sure. She wondered what it would have been like if she stayed in Amphipolis doing the same routine over and over again. Xayida, just seventeen had blossomed into a very beautiful woman and also a very manipulative one. Xena believed her sister had changed the most since they left their home. She was no longer shy around men, no, she definitely wasn't, but she wasn't willing to get in bed with everyone she saw either. She chose wisely.
After a very long night Borias left Xena in his bed within his dark castle. He kissed her forehead and she groaned, shifting in her sleep. Her arm sprawled across the bed and the sheet draped over her naked body. Her chest slowly rising and falling as she slept soundly in the prince's bed. Her mouth slightly agape due to exhaustion. She didn't remember the last time she slept for so long, but that was all going to come to an end.
A loud whistling sound was heard from outside the castle walls and a loud explosion occurred causing some books and candles to fall over. Xena gasped and rolled over falling off the bed abruptly from her rude awakening. Her heart began to race as she had no idea what was going on. She rubbed her face groaning, she wrapped herself in the sheet and stood up. There was another loud explosion and she knocked into a book shelf clumsily.
She walked over to the window sleepily and looked out over a field a bit ways from the castle. She squinted her eyes and saw a row of cannons facing the opponent and they had cannons as well, those theirs were bigger and had longer barrels. "What in Tartarus..." she folded her arms as she stared at the battle before her. Since when was there a war and why didn't she know about it? this was definitely something she wasn't expecting to wake up to.
Suddenly she felt an arm wrap around her waist and she gasped, turning her head she saw Borias smiling at her. She sighed pointing out the window. "What is going on?"
He brushed her hair away from her face and kissed her shoulder gently. "My good friends, the Turks, decided to come into Wallachia. I tried to negotiate a deal with them but they refused so...this happened," he grinned mischievously.
Xena shrugged him off and sat down on the bed, covering herself with the sheet. "Where is my sister?" she frowned, having a feeling she was out there in the field.
Borias sighed, he didn't really like hearing about Xayida. She was very persistent and downright conniving. If only Xena had come alone without her sister then he would have liked that very much. When he first met the two his eyes immediately went to Xena. It was obvious she was the elder out of the two sisters and she was different from Xayida. She had more thrive in her and her beauty was also mystifying. He was constantly surprised by her. She was able to be a lady and a warrior all at once, which wasn't the norm for women in these times.
"She went out into the battlefield," he said and picked up her clothes off the floor with a grin on his face. Xena smirked at him then put that aside and thought of her sister.
"How come I wasn't invited to this impromptu battle?" she teased, laying down on her side, slipping the sheet off her body.
He sat down on the bed and grabbed her arm pulling her close to him. Her eyes widened and he stared at her with a knowing look. "I wanted to let you sleep."
"uh huh," she bit her bottom lip then snatched her arm away from him and quickly grabbed her pants, boots and tunic. "I'm going out there," she slipped on her pants and tunic then began lacing her boots.
He rolled his eyes and pulled her close to him, wrapping his arm around the small of her back. "Xena..." he hissed, "stay here and don't cause trouble."
She grinned and touched his long braids with her fingertips. "I like trouble, Borias," she leaned in to kiss his lips and instead she bit his bottom lip. He groaned and touched his lip that was now bleeding a little bit. She winked and grabbed her cloak and sword running out of the room.
Riding out to the battlefield there was a smog of smoke from the cannons and gunpowder misting in the air. Xena hopped off her horse and saw her sister standing next to a few of Borias' men, giving them commands, which they were actually listening to her. She frowned and grabbed her sister's arm pulling her side. Xayida groaned then saw it was her sister and she grinned.
"Xena, so glad to see you awake. I was beginning to think you were ill," she looked out to the battlefield and Xena was definitely ill due to large amount of wine she drank the night before.
The elder sister grabbed her sister's cheeks pinching them, turning her head towards her eyes. Xayida had a scowl and Xena's eyes narrowed. "Just what do you think you're doing?!" she yelled then heard a cannon go off. She felt ringing in her ears and she blinked, not expecting that. She wasn't ready.
"Helping your boyfriend," she teased and waved her hand over at the men ahead of her.
Xena frowned, "he's not my boyfriend," she hissed.
Xayida scoffed, "okay, Xena," she mocked. She could almost see the steam coming out from Xena's ears. She hadn't seen her so angry and she didn't understand why she was angry in the first place. They came here to make allies and isn't that she was doing? "He can barely keep his hands off of you."
"I didn't come here to get a lecture from my little sister," Xena said lowly. "Why are you out here? This isn't our fight. We promised that we wouldn't interfere!"
Xayida shrugged her shoulder then went to a chest and unlocked it. the chest had the supply of gunpowder Xena had been collecting during their travels. Xena's eyes widened and her blood began to boil. "What are you doing with that? That is mine!" she grabbed the bag of gunpowder from her sister's hand and Xayida stood up, glaring at her sister.
"Everything is always yours, Xena!" she yelled. "Swords are of no use in this kind of battle, can't you see?" she gestured to the cannons and guns the men had.
"You stole this from me..." she felt her temper rising and Xayida didn't seem to care for boundaries. No she just wanted to win. She didn't care about Xena's belongings at all. Xayida loaded a rifle with the powder and locked the bolt grinning at her elder sister. She walked up the hill and Xena followed after her.
"Don't just walk away when I'm talking to you!" Xena yelled as she ran up the hill after Xayida. A few Turks had invaded this side of the hill and were firing their weapons from afar at the Wallachian soldiers, while others used sword combat in close quarters.
Suddenly a young Turkish soldier came running up to Xayida and Xena had just made it up the hill. Xena's eyes widened and the soldier looked no older than thirteen. He was just a child. Xayida pointed the gun at the young boy and Xena wrapped her arms around her sister. "No! What are you doing?!" she screamed in fear for the boy. He didn't know what he was doing.
Xayida groaned trying to free herself from Xena's hold. The boy was coming at them with a scimitar and Xayida elbowed her sister in her face knocking her to the ground. She pointed the gun at the young Turkish boy and Xena touched her nose, it was bleeding. She saw her sister pointing the gun at the boy.
"No!" she cried out and a loud shot was heard. The boy fell to the ground, the boy had been hit in his gut, which was a sure way to die quickly. Xena stood up and ran to the boy lying on the ground, blood spilling from his wound. She cradled him in her arms and tears formed in her eyes. She frowned and glared up at her sister who seemed to have no remorse whatsoever. "He was just a boy!" she cried out and Xayida remained blank and unresponsive.
"He is the enemy," she said coldly and Xena blinked, shocked at her sister's cold behavior. She didn't care if she killed children or not. That was a boundary that Xena did not cross.
The boy coughed out blood onto Xena's cloak and she felt him take his last breath. She laid him back down on the grass and stood up slowly staring at her sister. She marched up the hill and saw Xayida smiling smugly. She swung her arm and punched her sister directly in the face sending her crashing down to her rear.
Xayida gasped and felt her lip already swelling from her sister's blow. Xena stood over her and grabbed the rifle from her hold. Xena glared down at her, "you just killed a child, Xayida. We don't kill children."
The little sister spat out blood and wiped her mouth. "If he is old enough to wear the armor of a soldier then he is a child no more..." she said narrowing her eyebrows. Xena kicked her sister in her stomach and she rolled over, clutching her midsection, moaning in pain.
Xena stepped over her sister with the rifle in her hand. "I hope you are barren," she cursed her sister the will to have any children of her own if that chance were to come.
Gabrielle blinked as Xena finished her story. She would have never guessed that Xayida would do something like that and at such a young age too. Xayida did love children though, Gabrielle had seen it with her own eyes so this story shocked her immensely.
"That boy had no chance in killing her. She knew that and killed him anyway," Xena remembered that day all too well. That was strike one in her book when she began to wonder about her sister's behavior and who she truly was.
Gabrielle couldn't believe it. "Does she have children of her own?"
Xena shrugged, "I doubt it and if she does...she has hidden them well," she sighed feeling emotionally drained all of a sudden.
"I can't believe she did that. She was so good with the children in our tribe," she shook her head still in disbelief.
Xena nodded, "she has always been good with children but at that moment, she didn't see a child before her. She saw a soldier. I saw a boy, not a man." She frowned deeply, "it just proved to me that she would cross all boundaries to be at the top. That is the difference between us Gabrielle. I will only go so far."
Gabrielle felt a bit betrayed by Xayida. She had portrayed herself as the good sister while putting her sister at the lowest level. She convinced her that Xena was chaos and poisonous, yet Xayida had hidden secrets that she was to make sure nobody ever found out about. She almost felt pity towards Xena. She was given a bad rap by her younger sister in order to make Xayida look better than her. Xena had a good heart, she knew that just by talking to her and just being in her presence, although her exterior was cold and hardened over the years which was inevitable due to the life that Xena had.
"I'm sorry Xena that I listened to her. I don't think I will ever feel the need not to apologize to you..." her head hung lowly and she felt Xena lift her chin gently. She stared into her blue eyes and saw a warm smile on her lips.
"Gabrielle, I forgive you and I'm sorry that I didn't let you explain yourself. I've learned something over the years. You can't ignore your past but you also can't dwell in it either. So please Gabrielle, forgive yourself," she brought her hand up to her lips and kissed her knuckles. She saw the blonde's cheeks flush in color.
Gabrielle smiled nodding her head agreeing with Xena. "I don't know how your sister could hate you so much...you're nothing like she said you were..."
The brunette lowered her gaze, "I am not perfect Gabrielle. Everything she told you was true, but there are always two sides to every story." She grinned with hope in her eyes. The amazon enjoyed seeing her smile so much since she had been here. Although her stay here was unexpected it was more than welcome. She knew that Xena would have to leave eventually when she received word from her sister about Rome, but for now, she enjoyed her company.
"It seems very one sided if you ask me..." Gabrielle's eyes widened and Xena could agree with that. Xayida liked to tell only one part of the story in order to make herself look good. She always did that her entire life, even as a child.
Xena admitted, "Xayida used to be the quiet one out of the both of us. That all changed once we left Amphipolis together. We learned many lessons together that brought us closer, but also further apart at the same time," she frowned thinking how ironic that is. "People called us the warrior sisters since we did everything together. How could I know that we would end up the way we did is...beyond me."
Gabrielle smiled weakly at Xena and reached for her hand, squeezing it tightly. Snow was beginning to come down rather heavily outside and the breeze was crisp. "You two spent a lot of time in Transylvania," she pried, "did your problems start there?"
Xena sighed not quite sure she wanted to get into that mess again. Wallachia was one of the best places to be at the time, not anymore. It was a warzone now but back then, there were lavish balls filled with wealthy noble families, side parties, a lot of wine and sex. She doubted if it was still the same. She hadn't been to Wallachia in ten years and she probably would never return. Xayida and Xena were often invited to parties and there was at least one a week so it wasn't like there was a shortage on parties at the time.
She smiled thinking of those times, "I wouldn't say it was the start of our problems, but it certainly was a big factor. We befriended the Prince of Wallachia and I developed a close relationship with him..." her smile was sneaky and Gabrielle caught on and smirked at her. "I don't know if she was jealous but she began to act different towards me."
"Sisters often get jealous of one another especially since you two spent your entire lives together." Gabrielle noted.
"But she was never jealous of me before. Could that be the root of it all? Jealousy?" Xena was beginning to rethink everything about Xayida. Perhaps she was not black hearted or filled with hate because of what Xena did, but because she was..jealous?
Gabrielle shrugged, "I have a younger sister too. She was often jealous of me for silly things when we were growing up. I don't think we ever really close like you and your sister though..." she smiled, "we didn't try to start an empire together," she chuckled.
Xena had no idea that Gabrielle had a sister. In fact neither one of them spoke of their lives back home before they were queens. They seemed to have more in common than Xena ever dreamed of. "Well it obviously didn't work out," she grinned.
Gabrielle sat on her bed leaning on the headboard comfortably staring at Xena. She looked more at ease the more she spoke of her past. It appeared to Gabrielle that Xena had been keeping her past locked and hidden away for many years. She hadn't had the chance to vent or talk to anyone about it and now that she was slowly revealing herself it only made Gabrielle like her even more. She was more open to talking about herself. It looked like there was some weight lifted off of Xena's shoulders.
"So, I'm guessing you don't talk to the Prince of Wallachia anymore?" Gabrielle asked shyly. She was curious. Xena smirked then shook her head.
"No, we both cut ties after my sister and I fled Wallachia. It's probably best that I left. His wife did not like me very much and she certainly didn't like me when she found out we were sleeping together," Xena's eyebrows raised, remembering that woman's face. She was so upset and frightening all at the same time. Natasha was his wife, a woman from a wealthy family in Bulgaria. She was one of the baronesses in her family, the eldest of her siblings to be married off first. The first time she saw Xena she called her a whore and she didn't take a liking to Xayida either. To her they were one in the same, both manipulative foreign women in her kingdom, of course it didn't help that one of them was found in her bed with her husband after she returned from seeing her family in Bulgaria for a year.
Gabrielle could sense that Xena may have felt some guilt or embarrassment, though she was sure that Xena's actions were taken because she was much younger at the time. Xena probably wouldn't do that now, but back then, she was different, very different apparently. "I am glad that you are able to talk about your life with me you know," she smiled.
Xena looked in her green eyes and smirked at her smile. "I'm sorry you have to listen to this, but you asked," she teased.
The blonde chuckled lightly, "I did ask because I want to know everything about you." She paused. "Do you think Xayida will find anything in Rome?" she brought back the attention to the real star here, the blood rains.
The Greek queen frowned, rubbing her chin, unsure of her sister's actions, though she wished she were safe. "She's good at sticking her nose where it doesn't belong. I'm sure she'll find something," she tried to make light of the situation.
A couple of days later Xayida rode into the Caucasus with two male guards by her side. She left not long after she visited Rome. She decided a letter wasn't enough to describe what she saw in Rome. No, it was far worse. She had traveled non-stop, refusing to stop along the way. She traveled for three days straight. Tired, hungry and very cold. The snow was something she always hated and in this region, there was a lot of it.
She hadn't slept in three days and there were constant voices in her head. She felt like she was going crazy ever since she went to Rome and saw the archbishop standing over that corpse. She was horrified and didn't understand what he meant when he called her a liar and a traitor. She wasn't a liar. She hadn't lied about anything as far as she knew. He didn't believe a word she said and claimed that she was against them. Who was he talking about?
She looked up at the sky and the sun beamed into her eyes. Blinking she cringed at the sunlight suddenly feeling like a vampire. Reaching the amazon camp she saw the guards recognize her instantly. Amelia was outside playing with Freya and she gasped as she rode in on her exhausted horse.
"Queen Xayida!" Amelia walked forward while holding Freya's small hand.
Xayida looked dazed and confused, lost in the motion. She glanced around at all the amazons and then stared down at Amelia. "My sister...is she here?" she asked in a tired voice.
Amelia nodded, "yes she's with Queen Gabrielle right now inside..." she let go of Freya's hand to assist Xayida off the horse. "You look worn out," she said and Xayida looked as if she didn't understand what she said.
Freya walked up to the Macedonian Queen and tugged on her large dress. "Excuse me," she said from down below. Xayida peered down to see the small child tugging on her dress. Amelia gasped and snatched her hand away and the queen smiled softly at her. "You're Xena's sister?" she asked sweetly.
"Freya not now," Amelia hushed her and Freya bit her bottom lip now feeling embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Xena has been keeping her occupied. She is curious."
Xayida nodded, "it's alright," she pat Amelia's hand and began to make her way to the castle entrance slowly.
The queen was brought inside and she sat in a large room holding a glass of tea in her hands, warming her palms as she blankly stared off into space. Gabrielle was notified of Xayida's arrival and was shocked to hear that she came all this way. Xena followed Gabrielle into the room and stayed back a few paces.
The amazon queen looked at Xayida and she was staring off into space, completely unaware of her surroundings. "Xayida...?" she asked and the queen turned her head slowly and smiled at her. "I wasn't expecting you," she sat down across from her and the Macedonian queen stared her a bit speechless.
Xena walked in and she hadn't seen her sister look so lost in her life. She definitely wasn't acting like herself for sure. "You came all this way?" she said and Xayida turned her head to see Xena standing in the doorway wearing a purple empire waist dress and her hair loosely hanging over her shoulders.
"Xena," she got up and for once was happy to see her. Walking slowly to her Xena stood still. She was pale and looked like she hadn't slept in days. Unexpectedly she hugged Xena tightly and Xena's eyes widened. Gabrielle blinked, unsure what to think of that. Weren't they just arguing a few days ago? "I can't make them stop..." she whispered as she rested her head on Xena's shoulder.
Xena frowned and pulled her sister away from her, "what are you talking about?"
Xayida's eyes were wide and filled with fear and doubt. "The voices. They won't go away! For three days...I've been haunted...by..." she stared into the eyes that mirrored her own, "you."
Gabrielle frowned, "Xayida, did you go to Rome?"
The sister nodded her head and began fidgeting with her hands, looking a bit crazy. Xena hadn't seen her sister like this before but she wouldn't wish it on her even if she didn't like what she did sometimes. "I saw horrible things, Gabrielle. The archbishop had a body, a dead body! He was using it as a sacrifice...I...except the archbishop wasn't the archbishop. He was someone or something else." She blinked rapidly, "he told me I was a liar...a traitor –that I didn't love you," she pointed to Xena. "I couldn't get your voice out of my head after that..." she cringed. "You wouldn't stop! You..."
Xena placed her hands on Xayida's shoulders firmly. "Xayida...I'm going to need you to calm down," she said in a calm voice. Xayida nodded her head then sat down slowly, staring off into the distance again. Xena sat down beside her and Gabrielle knelt down in front of the two.
Gabrielle now saw the impeccable resemblance of the two sisters. They looked so much alike, how did she not see it before? She had been blinded. "Can you tell us what the archbishop was using the sacrifice for?" she placed her hand on Xayida's knee.
The queen shook her head, "I –I don't know." She paused and looked down at her pale hands. "He called me a liar," she reiterated. She couldn't fathom why he would do that. Xena raised an eyebrow, knowing full well her sister could be a liar sometimes and it didn't shock her that Xayida thought otherwise. The little sister turned to her elder sister with wild eyes, "I wouldn't lie to you Xena...I would do anything for you, you know that."
Xena frowned, "maybe at one time, Xayida that phrase would have saved you." Her sister looked to her with sorrowful eyes in complete shock that she disagreed with her. First the possessed archbishop now her too. What is wrong with these people? Xayida put her hands on her head feeling like she was being attacked from all angles.
"The archbishop called me a liar, now you agree with him too!" she yelled and Gabrielle's eyes widened, feeling tension rising, though Xena was not fazed at all. She remained still and quiet, fully expecting a reaction like this. Gabrielle hadn't seen a side like this in the Macedonian Queen. She looked like an insane person –a mad queen. "So many strange things happening at once," she shook her head not being able to take it anymore. "Borias shows up in Rome and then I meet the archbishop and now you...this is..this –"
Xena's attention was now caught once more when she heard Borias' name. "You saw Borias?"
Gabrielle could only jump to the conclusion that was the Prince of Wallachia that Xena briefly spoke about. She didn't mention his name before but the look in her eyes was the key to it all.
Xayida nodded, "yes he came to Rome. I saw him..I met with him..."
"Why was he in Rome?" Xena asked immediately. When her sister didn't answer her right away she grabbed her arm tightly, "Xayida, talk to me!" she hissed.
The sister winced as her elder sister's hold tightened. "I don't know...Xena," her eyes were large and fearful, her pupils fully dilated as well. "There is evil following us. It will come for you too Gabrielle," she eyed the amazon queen. The blonde bit her bottom lip then stood up staring at Xena for a reasonable explanation but she was too enraptured by all the events that occurred. There was so much happening at once that Gabrielle saw the gears in Xena's mind ticking away. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.
"Xena?" Gabrielle called out.
The Greek queen stared up at her blonde friend. "We might need some help figuring out what is going on," she stood up leaving her sister to sit and talk to herself. She grabbed Gabrielle's arm leading her away from her sister. She looked behind her and saw Xayida whispering to herself. "I've never seen her like this before," she whispered.
"She seems traumatized," Gabrielle noted staring at the queen. "Should we be worried?" she peered up at Xena.
The brunette shook her head, "not right now. She just needs sleep," she smiled deviously. "Do you have any of that strong concoction that your sisters make?" remembering the alcohol she had here. Gabrielle's eyes widened, thinking that was a bad idea. "That ought to knock her out for awhile and we can work together to find out what is going on," she smiled.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Gabrielle looked at Xayida and she was completely lost.
Xena folded her arms, "I could always punch her in the face to knock her out, but I'm feeling kindhearted today," she smirked. Gabrielle sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Besides, it'll get her to shut up for awhile with her idiotic babbling."
