"Again!" barked Caption Leon.
He walked slowly between the rows of his men, hands clasped behind his back and his head held high as he inspected them. He never flinched. Not even when they dropped slightly at the knee and thrust their swords forward, their sharpest tips pointed inches away from his face.
He nodded approvingly then shouted again, "Second formation!"
The men stood upright, twirled their swords and slashed downward in a perfect arc. Xena – standing among them, followed each order as they were called out. She rested when Leon said to rest and slashed and sliced when he told her to. Though she was merely following the orders of a captain it felt good to practice with soldiers again. It reminded her of her younger days, before she had become the Destroyer of Nations. Xena could recall times when she had been training her village to fight against Cortese. She had felt useful – she'd had a greater purpose than just being the daughter of a tavern owner. She had been her village's saviour until everything had gone wrong. Still, she never forgot what it felt like to prepare for battle.
To fight
A tangible energy surrounded her as she followed the captain's orders and swung her sword at invisible enemies. Standing in the presence of well trained soldiers appealed to the side of her that craved action and to keep moving. Though part of her couldn't define which was her needs and which were Tobias's.
Captain Leon called for his men to rest. As they relaxed and stood leaning on their swords, Xena let her mind wander.
She looked down at her body – Tobias's body. She brushed a hand down her flat chest and sighed wistfully. Xena missed her body. She missed the energy and the sensuality of her feminine curves. She loved the natural power her body emanated and missed the way she could make man tremble and trip over his words as he gazed at her body. Though she had never felt truly compelled to go through with her body's sexual promise, Xena loved how weak it made men to look upon her velvet strength. Now, in Tobias's body, she felt almost attacked by the very feeling she used to thrust upon the men she had hypnotised with her curves.
Tobias's body was young, virulent and very much sense driven. The longer she remained in his body, the more she found herself an unwilling slave to his body's wishes. Her new body constantly craved action – she always felt on the verge of breaking into a fight over everything and had to stop herself from taking a snide word from Claudius any further. Xena was a trained woman. She knew that not everyone wanted to start a fight with her, but every now and then she found herself itching for one anyway.
Fighting wasn't the only thing she wanted. Her appetite for everything edible was ridiculous. Living on the road, Xena was used to eating the least her body needed. She could make a meal last for days, even going so far as tricking her body into thinking it had eaten so she could spare provisions for the next day. But now, from the moment that she woke up and a smell drifted too far from the kitchen, Xena wolfed down everything that she could find on the way to the kitchen before eating that as well. Though none of what she ate tasted better than anything Gabrielle made.
The thought of Gabrielle sent a barely concealed shiver of desire through her body.
Xena wouldn't tell the bard but as well as fighting and eating the castle out of food, Tobias's body was rampant with desire. Each time Xena came face to face with her, the urge to take Gabrielle into her arms and kiss her passionately was overwhelming. Instead of doing what her new body desired Xena did her best to swallow her desire, collect her thoughts and calm her racing thoughts before speaking a word to her. Otherwise she would risk getting both of them into trouble, as well as at risk of putting the prince in more danger.
Xena released a long suffering sigh and wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand.
"Something on your mind, Your Highness?"
Xena looked up and found Remus's playful green eyes looking back at her.
Xena slid her sword back into her sheath and sighed again. "You could say that."
Seeing that his friend was not going to take part in his teasing, Remus's smile faltered. He walked over. "I only meant to jest but if you need to talk-?"
"It's nothing," Xena said quickly. The last thing she needed was to divulge how being in the body of his friend filled her with unbridled desire for a woman she wasn't supposed to have.
Sensing her discomfort, Remus dropped his line of question. Instead he gestured to her sword and smiled again. "Your skill for the sword is growing exponentially. At the risk of sounding rude, I have never seen you so skilled in practice."
Xena gave a shrug. "I guess I'm just getting better."
"Don't be so modest, Toby. You have always been skilled; just...not as stylish."
When Captain Leon called for his men to partner up Remus turned to her and offered a silent question.
Xena nodded. "Give me your best shot."
Remus unsheathed his sword and twirled it in his hand. "That's what I want to hear. Show me what you've learned."
As they readied themselves, standing feet apart, Xena and Remus weighed each other up. Remus eyed her carefully while he rolled his shoulders. He lunged. After a couple of feigned attacks Xena knew that Remus was a skilled fighter. Unlike Theon's clumsy, emotionally driven fighting style, there was something about the way Remus moved that identified him as a swordsman. It wasn't his stance or the way he threw his sword. There was power in his attacks, certainly. But it was how he used every chance he had to attack with purpose. His moves were not vain attempts or brash thoughtlessness. Each move he made was calculated.
They dove at each other, the sound of their blades clashing in the cool morning air ringing across the courtyard. When they jumped apart it was only for a second before they came at each other again and again, their strikes harder and their breaths growing more laboured.
Ignoring the rest of the soldiers, Xena jumped away from his arcing sword. The men fled Remus's blade as he came at her swinging. Despite his skill as a swordsman Xena deflected each attack as easily as a child had made them and parried with an almost identical strike of her own. Breaking his attack, Xena sought an opening and rammed her shoulder into his chest, knocking him back. The force of her knocked the wind from him and left him shaken. It was all he could do to throw up his sword to stave off her attack when she cleaved her sword down at him.
"You are good, "Remus breathed through their crossed swords.
Xena grinned. Looking between their blades Remus fought to keep his eyes open as sweat poured into them from his temple. Seeing her opportunity Xena reeled back suddenly. The movement took the young man by surprise. He fell forward, tripped over his foot and fell face first onto the ground by her feet.
Remus rolled onto his back. Instead of the glare she had received from his brother, Remus looked upon her with admiration. "Well do not stand there," he jested throwing up his hand. "Give a man a hand up before he becomes part of the lawn."
While she offered her hand, Xena kept her sword ready just in case. It wasn't missed. Remus's smile grew wider. "You are wise to keep your guard up."
"I've trained enough to know that the fight is not over because the opponent is on his back." Xena slid her sword back into its sheath. "Underestimating the enemy can get you killed."
"Right you are." Remus sheathed his own blade. He looked to Xena with new eyes. "I'll remember next time."
At that moment a young boy ran across the courtyard to them.
"Boy, what business do you have here?" Captain Leon asked when the boy had to duck out of the way of whistling blades.
The boy was barely older than ten. He stopped for a moment to catch his breath. "I have come with word from the king. He wishes to see you, Your Highness," he said, addressing Xena. The boy lifted his hand into his tunic and pulled out a small scroll. He held it out to her.
Xena took the scroll and unfurled it. She read it twice just to make sure it was right.
"What is it, Toby?"
Xena looked up to ask the boy where the king was but he was already gone. She glanced at the scroll again. "The Arkadian Princess...she's on her way to Lyncestis."
Remus looked at the scroll and offered a smile. "Your princess is due within the fortnight. That's not long at all." He glanced up and, keeping his voice low as he looked around at the men said, "Pardon me for speaking out of turn, Toby, but you don't exactly look too happy about it."
Xena said nothing. She couldn't.
Two weeks. The Arkadian Princess was due to arrive in two weeks to marry Tobias...Xena. She didn't know what she had expected. After sending the message to the Arkadian that Prince Tobias agreed to the marriage, Xena knew it wouldn't be long before things would be set in to motion. What she hadn't counted on was the speed of which they were to happen. Dorian still hadn't discovered an antidote to the potion, Xena still didn't know who wanted Tobias dead, and she and Gabrielle still had no way of knowing when they were going to be able to escape this predicament.
Xena clenched her hand into a fist. "Everything is fine," she said when Remus pulled her aside.
"Are you sure? You look a little...troubled."
Xena gently shook him off and looked to the king's quarters. She needed to see what he wanted. "I'm fine," she repeated. "Excuse me. I need to speak with my father."
Leaving him, Leon and the rest of the men to resume training, Xena crossed the bailey and entered into the massive arched walkways she had grown familiar to. She acknowledged the greetings she received on the way to the king. It had almost become second nature to respond to them; guards and servants alike approached her frequently. It seemed the people felt happier and braver having the prince back. Xena hid a grimace.
If only they knew the real Tobias.
Xena nodded to the two guards outside King Markas's quarters. As they opened the doors for her Xena strode in.
Unlike the rest of the castle King Markas's private quarters did not have the same royal flair to it. The colours were more muted. The tapestries were still great in size and weaved with the Lyncestis lion, but were not as protruding or ferocious. They seemed aged, like their owner, but were still proud. The rest of the room was much of the same except for the four poster bed which stood at the farthest end; it was laden with purple silk sheets and curtains and gold accents, the bed posts themselves gilded and holding back the thick curtains with rope-like tassels.
At the other end of the room King Markas sat at a table before a calm fireplace, numerous scrolls littering his table and a couple of books layered thinly with dust standing at his feet. Claudius stood beside him and the king's brother, Daedalus, sat lazily in a chair nearest the window looking out, his bearded chin perched on his fingers. At the sound of Xena's arrival all men's eyes found her.
The guards closed the door behind her.
King Markas was the first to greet her. He rose slowly, his hands out stretched, beaming at the sight of his son. "My boy! Tobias! Good morning, my son. Did you sleep well?"
Xena stopped a couple of feet away from the table. "I did, father."
"You look perky, Tobias. Daedalus spoke of your early morning training. It went well?"
Xena glanced over to the man who would be her uncle. He gestured to the window and grinned. "I would say it went well. You threw your sister's man the ground."
"It was a friendly challenge," Xena replied.
"Don't be so modest, Tobias!" Daedalus said. "You showed the man his place, and very well I might add. You were never one with a sword but your skills have grown. Captain Leon has commented on your growing skill as well. He said you have been both calculative and powerful."
"A compliment," Claudius chimed in, "from a former gladiator."
"Maybe one day you will be a mighty gladiator, ay, Tobias?" Daedalus quipped with a grin.
"But not before he is to become a husband," the king finally said. He lowered himself back into his chair and looked over the table at her. "All joking aside, Tobias, we must speak of your wedding to the Arkadian Princess. We received word first thing this morning from the King. He has agreed to give you the hand of his daughter. In return he wishes for a third of our coin."
"A third?" Daedalus asked loudly.
"And half of what we own in our Opium trade."
Daedalus sat upright in his chair and shot his brother a look. "Does this king also want our women as well?"
King Markas lifted a hand to silence him. "These are his demands. We must all do what we must in times of need."
"We are hardly at need-,"
"We are in need of his word, his people and his allegiance if we are to prevent history from repeating itself. If we are ever to stop the Persians from attacking and destroying all of what we are, we have to be willing to share what we have to save the people; to give them a future." King Markas waited for his brother's reply but it never came. Instead Daedalus sat back in his chair and chewed the inside of his cheek. "Now, I am aware that the marriage will weaken us financially. There is the ball to organise, much sooner than we expected, as well as the food and shelter for her associates, which is why I have spoken to Claudius and the Keeper of Coin about what options we have to sustain us."
Claudius bowed his head at the acknowledgement. "At first it will be hard. Losing a third of our coin to the Arkadian king for the marriage will be a blow. This is why we much raise the taxes-,"
"Raise the taxes? Really, Markas?" Daedalus stood and leaned against the table. "The last time the taxes were raise was done so you could build the damn walls around the city! Now no one can get in, but no one ever ventures out. The world is bigger that you imagine it to be. You think the Persians are the only threat? If you keep crippling the people under tax raises and selling off half of our source of trade-."
King Markas shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Daedalus..."
"...going to find very soon that the problem-,"
"Daedalus,"
"...won't be with them but with your own people!"
"DAEDALUS!" Markas bellowed.
The sound of his yell rebounded off the rib cage stone ceiling and reverberated through Xena's body. She stood in silence, as did Daedalus and Claudius while they waited for him to straighten out his robe. The king's face had turned beetroot from the sheer volume of his voice. A few moments passed before anyone said anything.
"Your Majesty?" Claudius tried.
King Markas shooed away Claudius's helping hands. "I am fine." He turned his gaze back to his brother. "I know exactly how the people feel, Daedalus. I may be old but I am not that far removed from my own people that I do not know what they think."
When Daedalus spoke again his voice was more hushed than before. "With respect, Markas, how do you know?"
King Markas's slightly wizened face cracked into a gentle smile. "Alexa. She is of course, the people's princess, is she not?
"She is," Daedalus started. "But..."
"Alexa knows more about the people than you or I. She is my youngest child but she is old beyond her years. She possesses a wisdom I would expect of my own council but find lacking," Markas quipped. "She is much like her mother; she cares for the people and knows what they need. That is why I am counting on her influence over them to keep the peace during the marriage and the following months to come. Like I was saying, the marriage will weaken us financially, but only temporarily. The money we are set to gain from the agreement in both resources, trading and dowry will keep the crown well for years."
At this Daedalus lost his steam to argue. He nodded once the king had finished, returned to his chair and crossed a long leg over the other. "Seems you have given this much thought, advisor," Daedalus remarked curtly.
Unaffected by his tone, Claudius beamed. "I am nothing if not skilled at my job. You would have no use for me otherwise."
A low grumble was the man's only reply.
Xena watched them finally cool from their argument. Once discussions of financing the kingdom for the coming years was over, King Markas returned to what had brought her there in the first place.
"Right, Tobias, about your clothes," Markas said.
Xena looked down at her tidy blue tunic and cotton trousers. "What about them?"
The king smiled. "I'm not talking about what you're wearing now, though I do think you might need to change your shirt, Tobias. You look as though you've gained a little muscle," he laughed. "N, no...I was talking about what you will wear for your Wedding Ball."
