Chapter 21 –Slums
Zolten waited outside and saw the commander and governor approaching him so he fixed his gauntlets quickly and took off his helmet out of respect. They halted in front of him and he bowed his head, afraid to speak the news that he carried all the way from Balaam. Gabrielle's heart raced and she rubbed her neck anxiously.
He lifted his head slowly and looked into Xena's wily eyes. "The Sabir army attacked us in the Gokturk Mountains. Navaz was supposed to send word to Fairuza and Tuya but our messenger was shot by what we believe to be Boareks' son." He explained and feared the worst especially since Xena's eyes grew twice their size. "We tried our best to fend them off but…they destroyed the entire kingdom in less than four days."
Gabrielle inhaled sharply and shook her head. "What about Navaz?"
The general wiped his sweaty forehead and held the helmet beneath his arm. "He could no longer continue to lead the army after the second day. The Adame was blown up by their machines. I believe they call them cannons. He was inside when it happened."
Xena's tongue swarmed the inside of her cheek and she folded her arms, upset to hear that. "Is he still alive?"
"Yes, barely. He was relocated to Sevan but I don't think he will be safe there for long. The Sabir army has taken over Balaam and they tore down our flag and put theirs in its place." He regretfully relayed.
"Where is the rest of Navaz's army?"
"They are stationed in Sevan but I told them to ride to here if the Sabirs decide to vacate Balaam." He said.
"Thank you for the information. Gabrielle and I will need to devise a plan," she gave him a curt nod and he donned his helmet and left with his horse to go to the stables. She turned around to the pale and distraught blonde. "We need to go to Rome. We have to make Odoacer give us his army. We should have left weeks ago and now Balaam is destroyed."
Gabrielle didn't like the sound of going to Rome. She had many memories of that awful place but this was a dire situation and she had to trust Xena on this. "By the time we return from Rome, the Emperor of China should have received our message and Boareks too. Her son killed the Czar and her other son ransacked Balaam. Our letter is only going to give her the satisfaction she wants. We shouldn't have sent her that letter."
"But the Emperor will send troops to Kazakhstan to stop her."
"But she will escape."
Xena groaned. "Yes, it seems she is very good at that, but I am hoping the Chinese army can at least slaughter her men."
"Assuming that she is using her men. She could be using the Gokturk army."
"Good point." She gazed at the calm and serene atmosphere of Pannonia. These people had no idea what was going outside these walls. "Zolten said that the Sabirs use machines called 'cannons'. We should try and replicate them."
Gabrielle frowned and cocked her head. "We don't even know what they look like or how they work. How are we going to build something if don't know the mathematics behind it?"
Xena smiled deviously. "Farah." She snapped her fingers. "She is good at math. If Zolten can explain what these machines look like and how they operate then Farah can make a…a map to build them."
"You know, you were saying some really doubtful things about Farah and now you want her to make plans for cannons." Gabrielle smiled at the resentful brunette.
"I was wrong about her. She is very smart," Xena grumbled. "Anastasia is horrible at math. She can't even count to eighty without her head hurting. Farah knows seven languages and if she is as good at math as she says she is then she will be perfect for the job."
"Uh huh."
Xena ignored that comment and tapped her fingertips against one another. "We should leave for Rome tonight. If we stop for camp once we can reach Odoacer in a week. And then we could –" She paused and witnessed the four queens throwing Balmaq out onto the field.
The Sabir prince was covered in blood, bruises, cuts and it was obvious at least one of his arms was broken. Gabrielle walked forward to stand beside her consort and observed Anastasia kicking the man forward, yelling at him to stand up. She barely gave him a chance to get to his knees before he was knocked down into the grass again.
"I said get up you worthless piece of goat shit!" she yelled and kicked him a foot away from her and he spat out some blood and exhaled heavily. Anastasia grabbed him by his long hair and thrust his head back and lifted him to his blood soaked knees.
She wrapped her arm around his neck and he swallowed deeply. "Your mother harmed my daughter," she hissed in his ear. "She hurt my son and my daughter in law and wounded Kreka Khatun –a woman who I think of as my mother. And you…you killed one of my allies."
Balmaq smiled and had a hard time keeping his sore bruised eye open while the other was closed shut from all the beatings he received from the Hun queens. "If you kill me then my mother will hunt you. You won't be able…to sleep knowing that she will be hunting you like a fox. And what a sweet fox you are, Hun queen."
"I will be ready for her." She whispered and his smile disappeared. "And she will be surprised to hear that I have her youngest son as my hostage."
His mouth parted for only a moment and she slit his throat with her blade and threw him on the grass to bleed out like the pig that he was. Both Gabrielle and Xena stood off to the side with gaping mouths and huge eyes, shocked to witness such an act from Anastasia. Xena had only seen her daughter behave this way before and that was when she was intent on becoming the commander of Pannonia, which lasted a short time. The woman that Xena raised had become everything that Gabrielle feared. She was just like her mother, except with a higher status among everyone.
Several soldiers ran over to retrieve the body and Ana held up her hand. "Leave him. Let him be an example to everyone here."
"She killed him in cold blood," Gabrielle said while her eyes watched the bright green grass turn crimson and soak the soil with Sabir blood.
Anastasia wiped Balmaq's blood off her cheek and stared at all the surprised citizens around her. She yelled at her fellow queen counterparts. "Bring me the Sabir boy!"
Gabrielle panicked and saw Ernak hurry inside the Adame to retrieve Kutilzis. "Anastasia, what are you doing?!" she ran forward and the furious queen spun around and Gabrielle stopped. She saw that look in her eyes. She recognized that look before. Xena had those eyes decades ago –filled with malice, hate and a hefty desire for retribution.
"Anastasia please…" she begged.
Ernak brought forth the Sabir teenager and Anastasia whipped her head around and smiled. She marched over and grabbed Kutilzis by the collar and forced him over to his elder brother's corpse lying on the ground. She pushed him to his knees and he gasped at the sight of his brother. Feeling sick he felt the need to vomit and she grabbed his head full of hair and yanked his head back, staring down at him.
"You take a good look at your brother, boy, because that's exactly what I'm going to do to your entire family." She said with a promising tone.
Xena frowned and then her daughter held the blade to the boy's throat. Gabrielle ran over to stop her but Anastasia backhanded her. Gabrielle fell to the ground on her back, groaning and rubbed her sore cheek. Xena's heart sank and she whipped her sword out and Anastasia pointed her blade at her mother but held Kutilzis in a tight lock.
"Do not come any closer, mother."
"Let the boy go, Anastasia." Xena told her daughter in calm voice. "You're angry. I understand that. Boareks has caused everyone a lot of pain." She took a step closer and Anastasia held the blade against the Sabir teen's throat. She dropped her sword in the grass and Gabrielle sat up, her head still rattled by the ruthless slap to the face.
Xena put up her hands and took another step closer and the blade's edge drew a small amount of blood from Kutilzis' throat. She saw the fear in the boy's eyes and the malevolence in her daughter's. "It is Boareks you want, not Kutilzis," she added. "His mother is the cause of your pain, not him."
Ana's frown deepened and tears filled her blue eyes. "My daughter is mute because of her!" she cried out and Xena took another step closer. The boy breathed heavily and shut his eyes, almost like he was embracing his impending death.
"But she is alive. You're not going to feel better if you kill him…" she reached out, merely a foot away from the blade threatening to slice the boy's throat. "He is a child too. You don't kill children, do you, Ana?" her hand reached further to grab the sword. Tears streamed down the queen's face. "Give me the sword. He doesn't have to die."
Gabrielle stood up and rubbed her face. She made her way over and Xena raised her hand, knowing that she was attempting to approach her.
Anastasia finally lowered the sword from his throat and Xena nodded. "That's right…give it to me." She quickly snatched the blade away and Gabrielle ran over to grab it. Kutilzis collapsed on the ground and gripped his throat, thanking all the gods that he was still living and breathing. Xena embraced her daughter tightly and felt her trembling in their hold.
Csaba combed his hair with his fingers up into a messy bun and stared at himself in the mirror for a few moments too long. He grabbed the oil that Farah liked using on her body and hair. He peered through the reflection at his wife who was sitting on the bed, muttering to herself as she was teaching herself the language of the Sabirs.
He quietly slipped the oil onto his palms figuring that she wouldn't mind if he used some of it. Smiling, he smoothed the oil on his defined toned arms, neck and taut abdominals. He fingered his hair with the left over oil on his fingertips and casually set the bottle back onto Farah's vanity.
"My mother keeping you busy?" he asked while continuing to work the oil into his skin. She flipped the paper over and kept studying while ignoring his question. "Farah?"
She frowned and tapped the pen on her cheek, looking over her notes. She looked down at herself and rested her hand over the small but prominent bump and smiled. "Csaba!" she set the pen down and waved her hand. "Csaba, come here!"
He ran over and sat on the edge of the bed. "What's the matter?" he instantly worried over her. She grabbed his hand and placed it over her belly. He waited and looked at her beaming face then he felt a small flutter against his palm. "Tatli kucuk," he whispered.
"So adorable," she fixated her eyes on the child within her and Csaba couldn't help but laugh lightly at her enthusiasm. "Our baby is saying hello." She cupped his cheeks and kissed him on the lips.
Dengi opened the door and Csaba pulled away, blushing when he laid eyes on his uncle. "Why is it that every time I see you you're shirtless," he teased.
"I was just getting dressed," Csaba stood up and felt extremely naked standing in his pants. "Do you need something, uncle?" Dengi walked over and smiled briefly at Farah and whispered in his nephew's ear. Csaba nodded and turned, staring at his excited wife. "Thanks for telling me…" he said and Dengi bowed his head and made a hasty exit.
Farah's hand lay rest on her abdomen and she looked at Csaba whose expression changed to solemn as soon as Dengizich left the room. "What is it?" her hand slid off her belly and she got off the bed. "Csaba, what is it? What? You can tell me."
Kreka, Tuya and Fairuza stood in the foyer waiting patiently for Anastasia to return from the field. They stared outside and saw Xena talking to her daughter on the field next to the Sabir corpse. In the midst of quiet circle of queens, Farah's loud wailing-like scream echoed throughout the entire Adame. Kreka lifted her eyes to the second floor and the other queens looked around, alarmed by the Czarina's outburst.
Rabia exited the women's quarters with the other women and they all looked at one another with concern. Farah hurried across the hall and Kreka's eyes followed the girl as she stormed down the long staircase and Csaba shortly followed her.
"Farah!" her sister called out and ran to the stairs. Farah's face was flushed and drenched in tears. "What happened? Did he do something to you?" she frowned at Csaba and he backed away back up the stairs from the look in Rabia's dark eyes.
"No…no…" Farah shook her head and tears continued streaming down her cheeks, leaving her sister puzzled. "Where is the queen? Where is she?" she turned, asking all of the queens.
"She is outside," Kreka said and Farah made her towards the exit. "You can't go out there!" she grabbed Farah's hand and pulled her back inside.
"Let go of me!" she growled and the khatun wrapped her arm around the thin girl and she got elbowed in the stomach. Kreka gasped and backed away, trying to catch her breath. Tuya and Fairuza grabbed the girl by her arms and held onto her tightly so she couldn't escape. Csaba rushed over to Kreka and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Oh my god," he muttered. "Are you alright? I'm so sorry."
She held up her hand and took in a deep breath to subside the throbbing pain coursing through her insides. "I'll be fine…" she reassures.
Anastasia walked inside alone with puffy red eyes and frowned at the White queens holding Farah back. "What is going on in here?" she quickly turned her queen mode on after she nearly snapped on the field earlier.
Farah wiggled out of the hold and rushed over to her, gripping her shoulders. Ana's eyes widened as the Czarina shook her roughly. "My father is dead?!" she yelled and Rabia's jaw dropped.
"What?!" screamed Rabia and dug her fingernails in her perfectly slicked back hair.
"I'm sorry," Ana tells the horrified Czarina hanging onto her. "Ellac and Dengi went to save him but it was too late." She explained and Farah slid down to her knees and buried her face in her hands and sobbed. "I'm very sorry, Farah." She ran her hand over the girl's silken dark hair and walked around her.
Those were not the words she wanted to say as she was fond of Czar Danut for the way he spoke so poorly of his daughter before his death. But she felt obligated to save the man for Farah's and Rabia's sake and because of the long standing alliance he had with Attila. She walked by the star-struck queens and frowned at her son, who was shirtless.
He blushed and wrapped his arms around himself, slightly embarrassed. "Go tend to your wife," she ordered.
"Yes mother…" he felt a sense of coldness from her as she brushed by and walked up the stairs to her bedroom.
Xena dipped a cold cloth in water and dabbed Gabrielle's bloody plump bottom lip. The blonde governor winced and her partner smiled faintly. "I'm sorry she did this to you," she shook her head and looked at the handprint on Gabrielle's cheek. The pain inflicted by none other than her own daughter and if she would have been anyone else, Xena would have retaliated.
Gabrielle massaged her jaw and knew her face was going to be sore for awhile. "She sure knows how to slap someone." She tried to make a joke out of the situation but Xena was having none of it. "It's okay, Xena."
"No it's not! My daughter hit you!" she creased her eyebrows together and touched the wound on her partner's lip.
Gabrielle shrugged a lame shoulder. "I shouldn't have gotten in her way. She was very angry."
"That doesn't give her the right to hit you." She rung out the rag and reached for some herbs and gently smeared some on the blonde's lip. "I've never seen her like that before. She lost control of herself." She gingerly finished off spreading the herbs and then rinsed her fingers. "I should have never left her with Balmaq."
"Xena, that isn't your fault. Stop blaming yourself for everything your daughter does. She is her own person and it's time that you let her face the consequences by herself." She grabbed her partner's chin and turned her face. "You've been doing this since she was a teenager. She's not a little girl anymore. She hasn't been a girl in a very long time. She knew exactly what she was doing and instead of behaving rationally, she chose not to. It's as simple as that."
The commander let out a heavy sigh. "She hit you, Gabrielle."
"And if you were the one who was to step in, she would have hit you too." She grinned weakly and reached for her hands. "She didn't see me. She was blinded by her anger and if I wasn't there or you weren't there, she would have hit anyone in her path. I don't blame her and it doesn't mean that I love her any less."
Xena smiled and kissed the blonde's knuckles. "You're a better woman than I am. I would have decked her." She slightly chuckled.
Gabrielle shared a laugh with the commander and then rubbed her sore face. "Now I know why Ellac flinches every time Anastasia raises a hand to him." She joked. "So, when are we leaving for Rome?" she quickly changed the subject.
"We don't have to leave tonight. I was being ambitious. We could leave in a couple of days."
"Xena," she placed a finger to her talkative lips. "I'm fine and we're going tonight like we planned." She got off the floor and padded into their bedroom to gather the necessities for the journey.
Xena got up and leaned on the doorway. "I'll give you permission to hit her back."
Gabrielle raised her eyebrow and threw her saddlebag on the bed. "No thank you."
"Come on, you deserve some payback. I'll even hold her for you." She smirked with a delicious sneer.
"I'm not going to hit your daughter." She grabbed her bottles of herbs and stuffed them in the bag.
"You know you want to." Her voice changed pitch, inciting the governor.
Gabrielle folded her arms. "How 'bout I hit you instead?"
Xena scoffed and walked over to begin packing as well. "And mess up my face before I see Odoacer? I gotta seduce him somehow."
Anastasia sat in her office and dipped the pen into the ink well as she finished what she gave Gabrielle days ago. She more upset that the declaration wasn't finished before Gabrielle and her mother decided to leave to go to Rome. She lifted her eyes as soon as Csaba entered the room and then went back to finishing the last paragraph.
"You wanted to see me?" he laced his hands behind his back and she nodded in silence and signed her name at the bottom of the parchment and then scooted the document to the edge of her desk and held out the pen.
"I want you to sign this." She ordered and he stepped closer to the desk and flipped through four pages and didn't really have the patience to read every single detail.
"What is it?"
She leaned back in the chair and crossed her arms. "It is a declaration for our empire and Banat. Now that the Czar is dead, I am assigning Banat to you. You will be king of the Szekelys and prince of the Huns. I just need your signature at the bottom next to mine."
He frowned and set the pen down. "What about Farah?"
"She will be queen of her people and princess of the Huns. Same as you. Now sign it." She pushed the pen back towards him and he raised an eyebrow.
"My wife's father just died and she's attending his funeral right now and all you care about is who is going to take over his kingdom?" he said in disbelief and disgust of his mother's behavior. Anastasia stood up slowly, challenging her son and he felt instant regret mouthing off to her.
"I have to look out for our people, Csaba. You have no right to question me. I am your mother but I am also your queen." she picked up the pen and held it a few inches from his chest. "Sign."
Out of force, he signed his name next to hers and she smiled then rolled up the four papers and tied it with a ribbon. "Will I have to move to Banat?"
"Eventually but for now I want you in Pannonia during this Sabir invasion. I have to take this to your father. Tell me when Farah returns and I will fulfill all of her requests."
Csaba's eyebrows rose and he turned around just as his mother was leaving. "You will? Everything?"
"She is my daughter in law. She can have whatever she wants." She winked and left the room. He scratched his head and mumbled under his breath.
Entering her room she closed the door behind her and closed her eyes, taking a moment for herself. She placed the declaration on the table within her room and opened a jar and took a small handful of opiates and stuffed them in her mouth. Leaning her palms on the table, she chewed the flowerets and then poured a glass of wine and chugged it.
Ellac walked in the room and she swallowed the wine and wiped her mouth and finished chewing the opiates. He closed the door and she spun around, smiling softly. "Wine? This early in the morning?" he asked.
"I've had a very stressful week."
He nodded and was handed the declaration and he tucked it into his belt. "Killing that Sabir prince, slapping Gabrielle and almost slaughtering a child. Yes, a busy week indeed." He brushed by her and she scowled. "Arielle keeps asking about Navaz. I told her nothing happened and he's fine."
Her face softened and she leaned up against the table, now feeling the effects of the opiates and her entire body relaxed and her heart raced slowed to a steady beat.
"You should go talk to her." He poured sugar into two glasses of tea and turned to his quiet wife.
"Yes…I will." She ran a hand over her face.
He handed her the cup and she smiled briefly and took a small sip. He kept his eyes on her which made her feel slightly uncomfortable. "What is going on with you?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You almost killed Kutilzis, Anastasia and you hit Gabrielle! You love her. Why would you do that?"
"I hit you all the time," she played coy.
He grabbed her face and she was too high to bother to combat him. He studied her huge pupils that took up almost the entirety of her Aegean eyes. "Are you on drugs?" he asked seriously and she blinked slowly and said nothing. "Where is it?"
He began searching for the drugs and looked through all of her bottles on her vanity and she grabbed his arm. "Ellac, stop." He pushed her back gently and opened all of the jars on the shelves of their bedroom and she eyed the jar on the desk. He spun around and caught her gaze and she was too slow to react so he grabbed the jar and opened it and dumped out all the opiate flowerets on the desk.
"What the fuck is this." He pointed to the table and she dug her fingers into her hair and bit her bottom lip. "How long have you been taking these? This is enough to drug an entire army, Anastasia."
"Not very long…I was just saving it."
"Saving it for what? How much of these do you take every day?" he asked and she bowed her head. "Answer me!" she flinched at his tone. "Who gave these to you? Was it Ebnedzar?"
"No!"
"Then who was it? Tell me so they won't give you any more." He tapped his fingers on the tabletop. "Tell me!"
She growled. "I stole them!" she shouted and the room fell silent. "I stole them from Ebnedzar."
He smiled, nodding his head very slowly. "Who are you?" he wagged his head in disappointment. "I need some air. You stay here and don't come out. I'm going to talk with my brothers and I'm stripping you of your status temporarily."
"Ellac! You can't!"
"Yes I can." He grabbed her wrist firmly. "I'm giving Kreka your position for now. I will say you aren't feeling well and we won't ever speak of this again." He eyed the flowerets sprawled across the table. "And get rid of those. I don't want Cera or Arielle to see that."
After some difficulty trying to get into the gates of Rome, Xena and Gabrielle finally arrived and both were more than eager to talk to Odoacer but they were not prepared for what lay before them when they entered the throne chamber. Theodoric ceased talking with the emperor and both women gazed at them in awe.
"Ladies, I'm sorry if you had trouble getting into my city. It is on lockdown at the moment. Don't want those horrible Sabirs coming in here. Must take precaution." Odoacer chortled.
"What the hell is this?" Xena blurted out, forgetting all of her manners. "You two having tea and cake together?"
The emperor stepped off his throne and threw the long shawl over his shoulder. "I have allied with my dear friend, Theodoric. We have agreed to split the empire."
She smiled and then started laughing. Gabrielle nervously looked up at her and back at the Goth king and Odoacer. "You've got to be kidding." She crossed her arms over her black corset. "Nice joke, Odoacer."
The blonde Goth approached her and she took a step back. "I thought King Navaz would have relayed the message to you. I told him that I was allying with Rome against Justinian."
"Oh how predictable of you to switch sides," Xena felt her stomach burning, threatening to vomit on the both of them. He took another step closer and she snarled. "Get away from me, Visigoth."
"Xena, we can be friends. What happened between us was so long ago."
"I can name plenty of reasons why I would never be friends with you."
Gabrielle interrupted. "Enough of this foolishness. We came here to ask a favor of you, Odoacer." She spoke eloquently and he grinned at her in a way that made her sick to the core. "We're here to ask for your army. The Sabirs attacked Balaam and they might be coming for Pannonia next. Since we are allies with you, we were hoping you could give Xena temporary access to your legions."
Odoacer rubbed his chin and playfully eyed the commander. "Is this true, Xena? Do you really want my army?"
"Yes…" she said through gritted teeth. She had to keep herself in check so she wouldn't pummel the man. "I need to defeat Boareks and her army. She's on her way to Kazakhstan now to infiltrate the Nezaks."
"I see, I see." He pretended to care.
So far, Gabrielle was the one who was about to lose it. "She will come after you too, Odoacer. And since she is best friends with Justinian, he will come for you too. We both know that you don't want that."
Theodoric agreed. "You should give her the army, Odoacer. Xena is very good at handling Romans. Aren't you?" he raised an eyebrow at the heated commander.
"Rot in hell, Goth king." She spat and Gabrielle closed her eyes, taking in a few deep breaths.
"Is that any way to behave to your ally that you so graciously are asking a favor of?" the emperor chided and Xena rolled her eyes. "I'll give you my army."
Gabrielle lifted her head. "You will?" that was too easy, she thought. "What do you want?"
He laughed. "Oh, Gabrielle! You are a very smart woman. I loved it when we worked together. I wish I had a consul as smart as you," he touched her shoulder and she cringed. "Why do you always think that I want something from you gorgeous ladies?"
"Can it, Odoacer." Xena hissed. "Tell us the conditions and we can put an end to this bullshit."
"Alright, alright." He walked back to his throne and took his time situating himself before he sat down. Gabrielle and Xena were both beginning to become very impatient with the Roman. Theodoric was not helping with his sneers and snickering. "I'll give you control of my army if you protect my empire against Justinian."
Xena snuffed a laugh. "I can't promise anything but I will do my best I have a condition too."
"Which is?"
"If I ever see Theodoric again I will cut him into pieces and feed him to the dogs."
The Goth king frowned and walked over to stand beside his new found ally. "You don't get to make threats like that anymore, Xena. I am an ally of Rome now. I am protected."
"Then don't look at me when I am around and we can all get along. What do ya say?" she waved her hand to dismiss the conversation.
"Fine. Whatever." Odoacer relented.
Gabrielle smiled finally out of relief. "Now we can all be civil to each other." She whipped out a paper that she worked on during the trip and presented it to both of the men. "With the army, also comes with expenses. Everything will be paid for by the Roman treasury and nothing will come out of the Hun's treasury. Xena will also be granted the role of general and I will be the commanding officer. I will also record everything that we spend, which includes weapons, armor, food, water, medicine and wine. Any questions?" she batted her eyelashes and the emperor's jaw dropped at the lengthy contract.
Xena and Gabrielle walked through the halls of the grand Roman palace. Gabrielle kept staring at the paper that Odoacer signed and felt very proud of herself. Xena grinned and nudged her arm. "I'm proud of you. That was the best thing I've ever seen."
"His face was glorious, Xena! I wish I could have a portrait of it!" she chuckled.
"I love you very much. You're the best governor, a wonderful friend and aunt to all of the Hun children." Her cheeks flushed and Gabrielle bit her upper lip, enjoying the rainbow of compliments showered upon her. "Even to my ungrateful daughter."
"Ah come on, Xena. I still love her. She's like a daughter to me too. My lip is a lot better now. See?" she pointed to her wounded lip which was now a mere bruise instead of a swollen cut. She received an impish expression from her partner. "Oh yeah, I love you too."
"I was wondering when you were going to say that." The commander says sheepishly. "I promise when all of this is over I am going to give you your surprise."
Gabrielle nods. "I was wondering when you were going to bring that up. Can you please give me a hint?"
"No."
"Fine. Don't tell me." She pouted. "By the way, are we staying here with the army? I really hate Rome."
"Ditto." Xena wrapped an arm around the short governor. "We'll stay for a couple of days and then get the hell out of here. The army comes back to Pannonia with us. Boareks should have gotten the letter by now and China will attack her soon. I hope…"
Csaba walked into his cousin's yurt and Oran jumped up in a fright. Oran smiled and took the pipe he was smoking out of his mouth. "Fuck, cousin. I thought you were my mother!" he slapped him on the back and Csaba smiled nervously. "Come sit with us," he walked over to his two friends sitting on the floor.
"Are you smoking hashish?" Csaba waft his hand through the thick clouds of smoke inside the yurt. He was forced to sit down beside his cousin and saw a huge needle being heated over a small fire. "What are you doing?"
"Tattoos, Csaba." Oran concentrated on heating the needle evenly. He wagged the hot needle in the air and inhaled a large amount of smoke and his two friends grinned deviously. "You want one?" he grabbed the bottle of blue ink.
He looked at Oran's back and arms covered in tattoos much like Ebnedzar. "I don't know if that's a good idea."
Oran clicked his tongue against the inside of his cheek. "Afraid of needles, cousin? Come on, just a small one. I'll be gentle."
"I don't think Farah would approve of any tribal tattoos, Oran. I'll just sit back and watch."
The son of Ebnedzar, also grandson of Attila, shrugged his shoulders and dipped the needle in the ink and began dabbing it on his friend's fresh skin. "How's your wife anyway? Sorry to hear about her father." He sighed. "Excited about being a father, eh?"
Csaba smiled thinking of his child. "Yeah. She let me feel the baby move for the first time."
"You big softie," Oran chuckled. "I must say, she is the most gorgeous woman I've ever seen."
"Oran…"
"Hey, relax, cousin. She's all yours." He winked at the prince and continued tattooing his friend. "You sure you don't want one?" he gestured to the needle and Csaba raised his eyebrow suspiciously. "We can make it a tradition. When your son is of age then he can get one too."
"What if I have a daughter?"
Oran laughed. "God forbid you have a daughter! She'll be just as beautiful as her mother and you'll never get the men off of her!"
Csaba's face drained of color. He hadn't even thought of that. Anxiously, he fidgeted with the fur blankets on the floor and his cousin took notice.
"Csaba! You really need to relax! You're too uptight. You're having a baby you should be over the moon." He dipped the needle in the ink and handed the pipe to his cousin. "You should smoke that. It will help you unwind."
"My mother doesn't approve of hashish…"
Oran scoffed. "Neither does mine. Doesn't stop me, does it?"
AN: Boareks next :)