AN: and so the war begins ;)
Chapter 23 –Silks and Swords Part II
Xena and Gabrielle returned to Rome after dropping off the caravan of black powder in Ashina. Upon returning to Rome Xena found a group of Roman elite soldiers hovering outside of her large villa. Approaching on her horse she frowned and waved her hand for her men to stop behind her.
"What is the meaning of this?" she asked, quite curious as to why a bunch of Valentinian's men were around her home.
Romulus stepped forward, adjusting the buckles on his gauntlets, grinning up at the general, "Valentinian has summoned you to his palace."
Xena lifted an eyebrow, "did he say why?" the soldier shook his head and mounted his horse then rode off with the rest of the group back to the emperor's palace.
Gabrielle frowned watching the soldiers nonchalantly pass them by. "What do you think he wants?"
"I don't know, but we should get going. Wouldn't want to keep his highness waiting," she mocked in a tight lipped smile then turned her horse around, heading back down the road from which they came.
Valentinian was pacing around the room and finally saw the doors open and Xena briskly walked in with Gabrielle beside her. He frowned, folding his arms and spoke in a harsh tone, "were you aware that your little trip to the silk road nearly cost the entire city?!"
Xena frowned and her eyes glanced over towards the courtyard outside. Her eyes widened and saw Attila talking with Kreka alone and they appeared to be fighting. "What are you talking about?" her heart raced, now furious to see Attila here and why on earth was he here anyway?
The emperor chuckled and walked over to his general and wiped his finger along her black coat. "Attila and his army tried to attack Rome while you were gone. You and Aetius left Rome unguarded. Pope Leo I convinced Attila to back off. The Hun King insisted he was not going to leave until you returned."
Xena took in a deep breath and folded her arms, "oh, is that right?" she smirked. "And why exactly would Attila want to attack Rome?" she asked, quite unsure why he would do that as well.
"I don't know, you tell me," he protested and saw her eyes widen with fury and her pupils enlarge at his accusation. He laughed, "it is no secret that you and Attila are close, Xena. Perhaps you may have tricked me and traveled to Aquincicum to arrange this little plan between you two!"
Xena was about to throw a fit of rage until Gabrielle spoke before her, "we went to the silk road in China to search for illegal trading of weapons," she said and Xena snapped her head around and glared at her. The emperor frowned, and kept staring at her. "We found a man transporting...weapons to Constantinople. We –Xena, was able to dispose of the weapons and arrest the man before we returned to Rome."
The emperor eyed Xena, "is this true?" he asked.
The general's mouth gaped and Gabrielle smiled softly, taking a step back. "Yes..." she managed to say. "Theodosius is most likely working with the Chinese emperor to illegally transport weapons for his army."
Valentinian nodded and then the doors opened once more. Aetius walked in, out of breath and Xena turned around and a devious smile crossed her lips. The commander bowed his head to the emperor and then stood beside Xena, giving her a curt nod. "Aetius, I trust your trip went will in Constantinople?"
The blonde commander nodded, "yes, your majesty. Theodosius offered me a position in his army," he said and felt Xena's eyes on him and saw her snicker out of the corner of his eye. He sighed and saw the surprised look on the emperor's face. "But I declined," he announced.
Xena's smile disappeared and she turned to him, cocking her head. "It must have been...difficult for you to turn that opportunity down," she slyly said and Aetius frowned, slowly turning his head to face her. "Theodosius will do anything to get to the top," she grinned.
Valentinian sighed heavily and his general and commander turned their attention back to him. "We need to stop him. He believes that he can turn my own officers against me," he growled and swiped his hand across the table and knocked off all the vases, parchment and wine glasses to the ground. "I need to stop him, convince him to give me his share of the empire."
Xena smiled, "perhaps I can come up with a plan with Aetius to stop the tyrannical emperor," she offered and Valentinian nodded, dismissing them both. She turned around and frowned heavily, exiting the room with Aetius behind her.
Gabrielle trailed behind Xena and Aetius skipped ahead, grabbing Xena's arm. "I am on to you, Xena," he hissed. "Magnus returned to Constantinople with no men, bruised and nearly dead," she snatched her arm away from him and he smiled widely. "And he said that he was attacked by Persians and...you," he chuckled, "now, what were you doing with Persians, Xena?"
Xena narrowed her eyes, "nothing that concerns you," she walked off and Gabrielle followed behind her. Aetius smiled as he watched her walk away, furious and caught in the act of course. He decided to keep this little secret to himself until he could use it against his superior.
Gabrielle ran ahead and they came outside of the palace in a courtyard. "Xena, wait!" she called out and Xena finally stopped. "I told you that allying with the Persians was a bad idea."
The general nodded, "I should have killed Magnus when I had the chance," she cursed to herself. Turning around with a face of disgust, "and what exactly, were you doing back there, Gabrielle?" she chastised her scribe and the blonde lowered her eyes. "You lied to the emperor, you lied for me. Why would you do that?"
"Because he was going to suspect something! You can't exactly tell him that you stole black powder from the silk road, Xena," she folded her arms.
Xena shook her head, smiling mockingly. "A poet and a liar," she sighed and Gabrielle scoffed.
"Excuse me? Who's the liar? You stole illegal weapons and explosives! I tried to help you and you're angry at me for it?! What kind of a person are you?" Gabrielle frowned and Xena lifted an eyebrow, glaring down at her.
"A very different person from you, Gabrielle," she brushed past her, "I'm going to invite Attila back to the villa."
Attila and Kreka sat inside Xena's villa and Gabrielle sat opposite Xena, slinking down in her seat, refusing to say anything. Attila leaned forward in the chair, "Kreka told me what you plan to do, Xena." He sighed, "you shouldn't have allied with Yazdgard. He is a viper, he will betray you."
Xena smirked, "you have little faith in me, Attila. Haven't you trusted me in the past?"
The Hun king rolled his eyes, "yes of course, but this is different. Persians aren't like us, Xena. They are vicious and Yazdgard will try and take over my empire, he has tried to do it before and failed. He will do it again and you've let the gate open for him to come waltzing in."
Xena tapped her fingers on her knee impatiently, "Attila, why did you ally with Theodosius?" she asked and he remained quiet. "You were allies with Valentinian for thirteen years and what suddenly changed?" she smiled deliciously and laughed aloud, startling the Hun king. "It was because of me, wasn't it?" sighing, she readjusted herself in her seat. "I kill a few Romans and they go crazy and try to capture me then they try to kill me and...where were you?" she narrowed her eyes, "oh that's right, you allied with the empire's counterpart to keep you safe."
Attila's temper was rising and he folded his arms, "what are you saying, Xena?"
"You are a coward, Attila," she hissed, "you don't need Romans by your side to rule your empire. You should have listened to me when Aetius first came to us all those years ago! You didn't need them then and you don't need them now!"
He stood up abruptly and she stood up as well, both staring into each other's eyes. Kreka looked back and forth between the two and Gabrielle blinked, feeling the tension in the room rising by the second. "My uncle was king at the time, I had no choice," his tone harsh.
She raised an eyebrow and took a step closer, inches from his face. "We could have defeated the Visigoths if we didn't have Aetius by our side. We lost because of him."
He scoffed, "we won that war, Xena. You were there!"
"We lost hundreds of men because of his poor war tactics! You won a war with the loss of many men, men that shouldn't have died at all –all because of your alliance with the Romans," she whispered and he sighed, looking away from her icy eyes. "And it will happen again. You will lose men fighting against me while you still continue to ally with the Romans. I'd think about your decision wisely, Attila," she stormed off and Kreka sighed heavily, rubbing her forehead.
Attila plopped down in his chair and his wife touched his hand softly. "She is right. You are letting Roman politics interfere with your mind."
He glared at her and pulled his arm from her hold, "you side with her?" he shook his head and left the room. His wife groaned and got up to quickly follow him. Meanwhile, Gabrielle was now alone in the room and saw Kreka running after her husband, trying to talk to him and Xena was probably in her room either sulking or smashing things into pieces.
Gabrielle left the room in search of Xena and checked her bedroom first but she wasn't there. Even her sword wasn't with her. She saw it laying on the bed and her black coat was on the bed as well. Frowning, she left and descended down the long hallway, searching through all of the empty rooms.
As she passed by the prayer room inside of the villa she saw Xena in the room standing by herself in front of a large crucifix. Gabrielle entered the candlelit room and felt confused as to why Xena would come here in the first place. She walked over and stood beside her, glancing up at the crucifix lit by several candles around it and the window shedding a small amount of light onto the floor.
"You don't seem like the religious type," Gabrielle managed to say and Xena continued staring up at Christ crucified on the wooden large cross.
"People don't die in vain –they all die for a reason and if it's useless, then they are forever shamed, destined to hellfire after their death," Xena spoke and Gabrielle lowered her head. "The Holy Roman Empire would be considered sacrilegious in his eyes, wouldn't you say so?" she spoke of Christ and Gabrielle was stumped.
"I guess so," the blonde answered softly, not feeling where Xena was getting at here.
Xena smirked, shaking her head, "Rome is a joke. They preach peace, but they are not tolerant of other religions. Everything they do is in the name of 'God' and they use that as an excuse to wage war against other nations."
Gabrielle nodded slowly, "and you believe that is wrong?" she pressed. Xena shook her head and turned around to face her. Gabrielle widened her eyes as she stepped closer and closer.
"People call me a savage and barbarian," Xena smiled, "some believe I am crazy and that I am tyrannical and...maybe they're right."
"Well, you are kind of crazy sometimes," Gabrielle grinned weakly, "but..." she began quietly, "you recognize that the Roman empire is intolerant, so that's a step in the right direction."
Xena frowned, "what are you talking about?"
Gabrielle fumbled and stuttered, "that y-you...you want peace in the end...?" she now saw the smile on Xena's face and knew that she was wrong, so terribly wrong.
"Peace? You believe I want peace, Gabrielle?" she laughed, "I want the entire Roman race wiped out!" she growled and left the small prayer room. The blonde held in her breath and thought that Xena was slowly changing, but it appeared that was not the case at all.
Gabrielle ran after her down the hallway, "you want to slaughter everyone in your path to get what you want?!" she yelled.
Xena smiled, folding her arms, halting in her step. "I will have every head of a Roman on stakes by the time I'm finished with them, with or without Attila's help."
I thought I was just getting through to you, Xena. "Wait just a minute!" Gabrielle ran forward and grabbed Xena's wrist, pulling her back. "You said yourself you have lost many people and some were close to you. Why would you want to do that to others? Have you no compassion?"
Xena growled and threw Gabrielle against the wall, pressing her weight against her. Smiling deviously, "another vocabulary lesson, huh?" she whispered and felt Gabrielle's heart racing against her chest. "Your heart is racing..." she hissed. "Why should I be concerned for someone's suffering and misfortunes? War is not about compassion –those words will never go together –they're opposite in meaning..." she hummed and Gabrielle huffed. "Just like...us."
"You can't stop war from happening, but peace is all what people want. You can't have war without peace," Gabrielle said and pushed Xena away from her and the Hun woman's eyes widened, though she didn't retaliate. "What will you do when you have conquered all of Rome? Will you keep killing until no one is left? What about your daughter? She is a sweet smart girl and nothing like you and I hope she doesn't turn out like you," she brushed past Xena walking down the hall by herself.
Xena turned around and frowned watching Gabrielle leave. Groaning she stormed outside to find Attila and Kreka to find out if he wanted to agree to ally with her or not.
Kreka stood outside with Attila and watched him pace around like a worried child. "Attila, you will have to give Xena your decision."
He ran his hands through his long dark hair, "if she is allying with the Persians, then I want to speak to them myself!"
"You are considering speaking with the Shah?" Kreka frowned, folding her arms, thinking that might ruin everything. "Xena knows what she is doing."
He turned and grabbed her shoulders firmly, "I don't recall crowning Xena as queen of my empire! She is playing with fire!"
Xena interrupted, "who's playing with fire?" she folded her arms and Attila stepped away from his wife. She smiled and walked down the staircase, approaching the Hun king. "Are you going to be my ally or my enemy?"
Attila pinched the bridge of his nose, "I want to meet with the Shah and discuss this alliance you have made. If I'm going to ally with you, I need to know what I'm getting myself into..."
She grinned widely, "of course, but I want one thing from you..." she stepped forward and Kreka eyed them carefully. "I want you to reinstate me as your commander again."
His eyes enlarged and his mouth gaped, "excuse me?"
"You heard me, reinstate me as your commander in chief unless...someone has already filled the position," she laughed under her breath and the king shook his head and walked away from her, thinking silently to himself.
Stopping, he looked at the ludus a couple of blocks away from this large villa and raised an eyebrow. "And you will still be the Roman General?" he asked, his back turned to her.
Xena nodded, "for the time being," she answered and he turned around giving her a nod. She smiled, thanking him with a curt nod back. "Oh and one more thing..."
"Xena!" he growled.
She held up her hand, "I want your wife to be your second in command alongside me." She proposed and Kreka turned to her with wide, shocked eyes.
Gabrielle grabbed one of the horses from the stables outside in the back of the villa. She slung over a blanket on the back of the horse and strapped her bags to the animal. Xena came outside and saw Gabrielle looking to leave and her heart stopped for a moment. She ran forward, "where are you going?" she asked.
Gabrielle frowned, refusing to look at her, "I'm going back to Athens where I belong."
Xena shook her head and grabbed the scribe's hand, "you can't leave!"
She resisted Xena's grip and struggled to get free, "let go of me! I can leave, I'm not your slave anymore, remember?"
"But...you can't leave," Xena protested with a soft voice.
"Why not? I don't belong here and we are too different from each other!" she wagged her head and climbed up on the horse, wincing at her shoulder's wound that was still fresh and bothered her a lot even after a week of healing.
Xena grabbed the reins and looked up at Gabrielle with wide solemn eyes. "You can't leave because..." she sighed and Gabrielle stared down at her, waiting for her answer, "because I need you."
Gabrielle laughed, "you were doing fine without me before I came along, Xena." She yanked on the reins and was ready to leave.
Xena breathed heavily and she stood in front of the horse, blocking her way. "Gabrielle, please!" she begged and the blonde's smile disappeared as soon as she saw the sincerity in her eyes. "I like you and I like...having you around."
"Give me one good reason to stay," the blonde let go of the reins and folded her arms, glaring at the warrior woman below her.
The Hun woman sighed, lowering her eyes, unsure how to answer that. Gabrielle rolled her eyes and grabbed the reins and slowly turned around. Xena lifted her head, gasping, she ran in front of her path preventing her from leaving. "It's been a long time," she said and saw her opponent's face contort in confusion. "...since...I've liked being around anyone as much as I do when I'm with you," she breathed in heavily, holding her breath. "You make me feel different, think different..." she sighed, "but I can't stop you from leaving," she stepped back, "you're free to go," she frowned and stormed off heading towards the villa.
Gabrielle raised an eyebrow, watching Xena walk away from her. I'm going to regret this later probably. She exhaled sharply then hopped off the horse, running towards Xena, then halted, breathing heavily. "That is the first time I've seen you so vulnerable," she called out and Xena stopped walking then slowly turned around, facing her once again. "Vulnerability isn't a weakness, you know," she smiled.
Xena smirked, "I thought my heart was black," she teased.
"Look, I only wrote that because you were being so awful and cruel towards me. Just forget I even wrote that," Gabrielle sighed and Xena's smile disappeared. She took that chance to walk up to her and grab her hand, "you have a big heart Xena, I just wish...you'd show it more," her cheeks reddened.
The brunette squeezed Gabrielle's hand, "on the battlefield I can't have a heart, otherwise I'd lose every war I fight in."
Gabrielle nodded, "sometimes by losing a battle, you find a new way to win the war."
Xena gave her a questionable look, "and by what way is that?" she tested her.
"War can't kill love. Love can kill a war," Gabrielle smiled and Xena raised an eyebrow, distorting her face, which only made her laugh seeing the confusion and bemusement settle in the warrior's face.
"Are you sure you aren't a priest?" Xena joked and the blonde rolled her eyes. She grabbed both of her hands firmly and stared into the green eyes opposite her. "Gabrielle...I'm...sorry for what I said to you...earlier," her cheeks paled and Gabrielle smiled.
The blonde nodded, "me too, but you're still crazy," she chuckled and Xena sighed. "I want to help you in this war with Attila, but I want there to be peace in the end, will you at least consider it?" she offered and saw Xena's eyes darken. Okay, too far Gabrielle.
"I'll...consider it," Xena finally said as much as it pained her to say that, she grabbed Gabrielle's arm, pulling her inside. "Why did you want to leave anyway?"
Gabrielle shrugged a shoulder, "because you don't respect me still, Xena," she saw the warrior's head hang in shame. Very interesting, she thought. "But I know that you are working on it."
Xena frowned, "respect," she repeated, "respect is supposed to be earned, right?" she asked and Gabrielle nodded quietly. "And to earn respect, someone must show it," she stated then halted and Gabrielle nearly bumped into her. "How do I earn your respect?" she asked innocently.
Gabrielle's eyes widened, "well...um, for one, you could stop treating me like you're an interrogator. I'm here to help you, to be...your friend. Friends don't disrespect each other."
Friends, she still wants to be friends. Patience is a virtue. "And people who are...more than friends?"
The blonde snorted softly, brushing a long blonde tendril behind her ear. "They have mutual respect for one another –they care about each other's feelings and thoughts, it's not just being nice to each other all the time."
Silence.
Gabrielle smiled, "you don't know anything about that do you?" she asked and she received nothing from Xena but a blank stare. "Okay..." she sighed and linked arms with Xena urging her to walk down the hall. "I can't teach you how to respect people, but I can...be there for you...as a friend," she smiled.
"Friends," Xena sighed and Gabrielle hid her shy smile and colored cheeks.
"I'm sure you've had friends in your life once, Xena," she said and a smile came to the warrior's face.
"My brother, Xander, was my friend, my best friend." But I don't want to be just friends with you, Gabrielle. "And Lyceus," she added.
The blonde nodded, "and you trusted them didn't you?" Xena agreed. "So, trust me."
Xena frowned, "but you don't trust me do you?" she regretted to admit that.
Gabrielle chuckled, letting go of her arm, "you need to earn my trust, Xena. Relationships are based on trust and respect –without them, we are nothing." She smiled and turned to walk away. Xena folded her arms and stood dumbfounded and was still processing everything Gabrielle just told her.
The Romans escorted Anastasia and Xander to Athens like they promised. Both stepped out of the caravan and they were in front of a large villa, much larger than the one in Thebes –in fact, it looked more like a miniature palace. Anastasia's eyes widened as she stepped closer to the large white villa. "Wow," she uttered.
The Roman officer trotted beside her on his horse, "you will stay here, it is Honoria's summer home," he hopped off the horse and Xander placed his hand on his niece's shoulder.
"And she won't mind that we are using it?" Xander supposed.
The Roman chuckled, "the empress won't be using it anytime soon," he snapped his fingers and the box of Roman coins was brought to him. He handed it over to Xander, "this belongs with you. I will have a message sent out to Xena that you are here," he nodded and rounded up his men to leave the area.
Anastasia frowned as she watched the Romans leaving, and so quickly. "Why did they bring us here?" she asked, folding her arms.
Xander raised an eyebrow, also quite curious at that as well. "I don't know."
"They were raiding our home, Xander. They thought we were spies for Attila. I didn't see any of the soldiers looking in anyone else's homes..." she hummed to herself and her uncle nodded, grabbing her arm, pulling her close. "They didn't even know who I was and they only stopped when you said who my mother was."
Xander frowned deeply, "let's not worry about that right now," he pulled her along, heading up the stairs leading into the large villa. Despite Attila being in Rome, he had a feeling that someone must have been spying on them the entire time they were in Thebes. Xena told no one that she sent Anastasia to Thebes yet here they were, out of harm's way, supposedly. Those Romans were on a mission to kill. They didn't search any of the other homes, otherwise why were they brought here to Athens? The capital couldn't be any less dangerous than the other Greek cities. Athens was probably even less safe compared to Thebes, considering it was the capital of the nation and one of the largest ports in the eastern empire.
Anastasia entered the large villa and her mouth gaped. She had never been in a nicer place. It was huge and everything looked so expensive. Definitely better than the yurt she lived in for all her life. "Do you think I could go to the Athens Academy for girls?" she asked as her uncle was trailing in behind her.
He sighed, looking around at this place, it reminded him of living in Nicaea. Everything had to be so extravagant. He looked at the statues of ancient Roman gods and goddesses and rolled his eyes. He was tempted to knock them over, but controlled himself. "I don't see why not. You were the best in your class in Thebes."
She nodded, "but Athens is so competitive. Students from all over the world come to study here and I never been to a school before until last year! I'm not smart enough."
Xander shook his head and lifted her chin, staring into her eyes that mirrored his sister's perfectly. "You're very smart and maybe...they might treat you differently if they knew you were Xena's daughter..." he implied and she immediately began wagging her head and pushed him away.
"No! They will say I'm a savage!" she folded her arms angrily. "You didn't hear what those girls said back there, Xander. They always said horrible things about my people. You wouldn't understand, you're not from where I am..." she sighed and he touched her cheek softly.
"They're just words, Anastasia," he smiled softly. "Do you think your mother listens to what people say about her?" the teen shook her head in silence. "And you shouldn't either. You're a strong person, just like your mother," he winked.
She grinned shyly, "could we go to the academy tomorrow?"
"Sure we can," he looked around the large empty home and her eyes lit up.
"I think I'm going to write my mother before those Romans get a chance to. I want her to hear it from me," she trailed down the hallway into the unknown, "I don't trust them."
And you shouldn't, he thought. She disappeared into a room and he frowned, thinking of who could have told the Roman soldiers about them. It was obvious that Xena had no idea about the raid and she probably had no idea Attila was in Rome either considering her last letter said that she would be traveling for awhile.
A week later Gabrielle walked through the halls of the Roman villa in search of Xena. She briskly tread through the villa and found Xena outside by herself in the scorching sun, practicing her swordsman skills. She cleared her throat loudly and Xena halted swinging her sword around.
"I have a letter from Anastasia..." Gabrielle held out the parchment and Xena smiled, running towards her, though Gabrielle didn't really have a good feeling about this letter and took a step backward, ready for anything.
Xena took the letter and frowned, seeing the wax seal on the parchment. "This is from Athens," she ripped open the letter and read over it. "What is this? A joke?" her eyes widened.
"What does it say?" Gabrielle was more than curious.
She crumbled the letter and threw it on the ground, marching inside the villa. Gabrielle gasped and picked up the letter then ran after her. "Those bastards," she threw her sword down and folded her arms, breathing heavily. "They raided their home and took her to Athens!"
Gabrielle blinked, "but...but why? Wait, who did this?" she felt confused.
"Romans! By orders of Valentinian!" Xena growled, "nobody was supposed to know that she was in Thebes," she sighed heavily then calmed herself. "Xander enrolled her into the Artemis Academy in Athens."
Gabrielle's jaw dropped and Xena stared at her anxiously. "Artemis Academy?" she repeated and Xena nodded. "Um..." she fumbled with the crumbled note in her hands.
Xena placed her hands on her hips, "what's the matter? You know the school? Is it good?" she asked and Gabrielle stayed quiet. "Gabrielle!" she yelled.
The blonde smiled nervously, "well, it's a good school, yes..." she began and felt Xena's eyes burning her skin even from afar. "For...warriors in training," she blurted out and Xena's eyes widened with fury.
"I'm going to kill Xander," she picked up her sword and stormed off.
"Xena, wait! Come on, I'm sure it'll be fine..." she ran behind her, trying to catch up, but Xena was walking too quickly. "Only the best of the best can get into that academy!"
Xena halted and Gabrielle nearly ran into her. "Is that supposed to make me feel better?" she hissed. "I sent my daughter to get an education not learn how to kill people."
Gabrielle frowned, "isn't that what you do?"
"That's not the point!" Xena turned and kept walking to her bedroom.
Gabrielle walked into Xena's bedroom and saw her taking off her clothes and she folded her arms, staring at her as she was hurrying to change. "They have regular classes in mathematics, science and literature too. Combat is a minor requirement for the academy," she admitted softly. "Xena, stop!" she yelled and Xena pulled her black tunic over her head and stopped, lowering her head. "You're not going to Athens and you're not going to kill your brother. I think you need to find out why the Romans came to Thebes in the first place..." she tried to talk some sense into her.
Xena let out a large sigh, "alright, fine," she mumbled and grabbed her boots, heading out the door. "But if I don't get answers, someone is going to die."
Gabrielle slapped her forehead and closed her eyes, feeling a headache coming on soon.
Yazdgard sat on his horse outside of the walls of Constantinople in an open field. His officer, Romi, rode in beside him. "How many men?" the Shah asked.
Romi sighed, "two hundred guarding the palace, your highness."
The Shah smiled, "prepare the catapults then," he waved his hand and the front line behind him trotted down the hill towards Theodosius' domain.
"Sir, shouldn't we await for Xena's attack first?" Romi asked, now feeling nervous attacking Constantinople for the second time and the first time they failed miserably. Xena and Attila were far from the holy city and there wouldn't enough time for them to come to their aid if they crashed and burned.
The Persian King sighed heavily, "I grow tired waiting for Xena's attack. I want Constantinople now. It belongs to me. She will have her holy city, Nicaea, just as we agreed." He pulled on the horse's reins and rode up further on the hill. "Attack once you reach the outskirts of the palace," he commanded and Romi shook his head, looking down the hill seeing the soldiers preparing the catapults. And of course, they were attacking at night, which made it very difficult to fight back if the Romans decided to retaliate.
Inside the palace Theodosius sat with his commander, Magnus, in his bedroom discussing Xena and her Persian alliance. The emperor leaned forward, "you say that Xena has befriended the Persian Shah?" he asked.
Magnus nodded, "yes, your grace, I saw it with my own two eyes," he adjusted in his chair, feeling his body aching the more he moved. "You need to kill her. Only an insane person would befriend the Persians!"
Theodosius sighed heavily, "or a very intelligent person," he rubbed his bearded chin. "She is building an empire from the outside. She will do whatever it takes to get rid of me and possibly Rome."
The commander laughed, "she despises Rome! Valentinian would never employ the Persians to get rid of you, your highness. This is all Xena. When I get a hold of her, I'm going to fuck her, then break her legs and crucify her. She will burn like the witch that she is, damning the entire holy empire! Pagan witch –sacrilegious, blasphemous..." he muttered, cursing under his breath, growing angrier by the second the more he thought about Xena being the General of Rome, made him sick.
Suddenly a loud whistling sound was heard from outside and both men frowned, remaining quiet. A loud explosion hit the palace and shook the walls. Statues fell and tapestries fell off the wall. The emperor peered down at their filled glasses and saw the wine swishing side and to side gently. Magnus stood and walked over to the window and saw the west wing of the palace engulfed in flames.
"Jesus Christ!" he yelled and grabbed the emperor, pulling him out of the bedroom. "We need to leave at once!" another explosion hit the palace and they fell to the ground and two large columns holding up the palace, cracked and crumbled, falling in front of them. Theodosius' eyes widened and Magnus lifted him up, running together down a separate hallway.
Yazdgard sat upon his horse watching the Roman palace down the hill burst into flames. Romi stood beside him, watching as well. The Shah laughed aloud, "where is your God now, Romans?!" he mocked.
Romi sighed as he watched the Roman soldiers struggle to escape the burning palace, but the Shah's men were too much for them. They were dying left and right. "Your highness, I believe we should have waited for Xena's attack."
The young Shah growled, "she was taking far too long, Romi! You dare question me?" he threatened and his officer said nothing in return. "This will give her the incentive to act quickly," he chuckled maniacally. "I long to see Attila and her work together again. It will be a treat," he smiled and trotted off. "I'm heading back to my tent. Wake me when it is over."