Chapter 24 –Valor
Flavius Aetius barged into the emperor's bedroom, pushing through the guards, he walked in and threw the blankets off of him. Valentinian awoke and gasped as soon as he saw the commander standing over him in the dark. "We have a problem," he stated in a gruff voice.
Valentinian sat up, leaning against the headboard of the bed, "what is the meaning of this? This couldn't wait until daylight?!" he groaned and folded his arms, not very happy about being woken up in the middle of the night and especially by his commander.
"The Persians have attacked Constantinople, your highness," he blurted out and saw the emperor's eyes widen. "Theodosius has been taken away from the city for safety precautions."
The emperor got out of bed and began pacing around, "Persians?" he shook his head, running his fingers through his short hair. "Why would the Persians attack Constantinople?! We don't have any quarrels with the Shah!"
Aetius rolled his eyes and immediately thought of Xena. When he was visiting the holy city in the eastern empire, Magnus had mentioned he was attacked by the Persian army and Xena was with them. He assumed that Xena had allied with the Shah and now Aetius was beginning to think that this rumor was definitely true, considering what just happened. Although, another strange thing crossed his mind –Xena was in Rome again and she wouldn't be stupid enough to allow the Shah to attack a Roman emperor. Unless, she really was that stupid, but he had a hard time swallowing that. Xena was not unintelligent and everyone knew that, despite where she came from, she put a whole new meaning to cunning and devious when it came to warfare.
He decided not to mention Xena for now. "Just because you do not have any issues with the Persians does not mean that Theodosius doesn't. Yazdgard has attacked Constantinople before and failed. His entire army was pushed out, but this time...he has won. Constantinople is burning to the ground as we speak." He sighed heavily and the emperor kept staring at him blankly, as if he were waiting for good news.
Valentinian stuttered, "w-what...what will we do?" he smiled nervously, scratching the back of his neck. "I wanted Theodosius to submit to me and give me his share of the empire, not to be attacked by heathens and barbarians!" he went to his commander and clutched onto his armor. "The Persians will come to Rome! We will all die!" he panicked and Aetius frowned, grabbing the emperor's hands and slowly pushing him away.
"Now, your majesty, let's not be dramatic about this," the commander smiled, "I will alert Xena and we will devise a plan to hold off these Persians." Valentinian nodded, liking that idea. Aetius turned and scowled as he marched down the hall to ride to Xena's villa in the country side. You're dead, Xena.
Xena lay asleep in her bed with the silk sheets draped lightly over her body. She rolled over onto her side and suddenly the sheets were ripped off of her. Her eyes shot open and grabbed her sword from underneath the bed and sat up, pointing it at her intruder. As soon as she saw Aetius she scoffed and lowered her weapon. "What the hell are you doing here in my room?" she looked out the window, "in the middle of the night..." she grumbled.
Aetius raised an eyebrow, "your Persian friends have attacked Constantinople," he said and saw her eyes widen. He then realized that she had no idea what he was talking about. "You didn't know about the ambush?" he asked.
She climbed out of bed and suddenly felt panic sit in. Gabrielle, you were right. "Where is the Shah and his army now?"
The commander groaned, now feeling like this was pointless. He wanted to pin Xena down with her treachery but it seemed that she was clueless about this attack or...she was an incredibly good liar. "They are still in Constantinople, burning every last building standing," he folded his arms. "You really didn't know?" he wanted to make sure.
She pointed the blade to his chin and he held his breath. "If I did, why would I be here?" she hissed and then smiled, lowering the blade. "You came here to try and arrest me, didn't you?" she twirled her sword with her wrist and Aetius remained quiet. Laughing, she waltzed around him slowly, "oh Aetius...you have much to learn. You need proof to arrest me for a crime, and...you don't have any, do you?" she teased and he turned to leave the room. "Where are you going now?!" she laughed, "to round up my men to attack the Persians?!" she called out and he stormed out of her bedroom.
Gabrielle frowned as she heard some yelling and came to Xena's room only to find Aetius and a couple of Romans exiting her bedroom. Nearly running into them, she gasped and then peered inside Xena's room to find her wide awake and with a sword in hand. Waltzing in cautiously, she wrapped the shawl around her shoulders. "What just happened?"
Xena frowned and threw her sword on the bed, "Yazdgard attacked Constantinople. We agreed to wait until my attack!" she growled and scratched her scalp anxiously.
Gabrielle sighed, "I told you that he was going to do something like this and Attila did too." She said and Xena shot her a wicked glare. She lowered her eyes and cleared her throat, "so what are you going to do now?"
"If I go to Constantinople, Yazdgard will be expecting me to do that, but if I stay here...I can plan an attack on Nicaea with Attila," she smiled and sat on the bed, contemplating her plan.
The blonde scoffed and stepped forward, "I thought you and Valentinian both wanted Theodosius gone? The Shah has already attacked the holiest city in the empire and you don't want to confront him? He broke your agreement!"
"If you are far from the enemy, make him believe that you are near..." the warrior whispered, nodding her head slowly. Lifting her head she saw a rather displeased friend at her disposal and she smiled, grabbing her arm and setting her down beside her on the bed. "Gabrielle, remember when I said that your quill was not a weapon?" she asked and the blonde nodded. She held her hand, gripping firmly. "To hold a pen is to be at war," she said in a soft voice.
Gabrielle frowned weakly, "I don't understand..."
Xena smiled, inching closer, "you are the weapon, Gabrielle!" exclaiming this caused Gabrielle's eyes to widen and she stood up, snatching her hands away.
"No..no way!" Gabrielle put her hands up as she continued backing away.
The general sighed, "I need you to write a treaty of peace to the Shah. I will give him half of my earnings if he stays in Persia until my attack on the eastern empire."
The blonde closed her eyes, breathing in slowly. "Xena...do you know how insane that sounds? He will never agree to that! He doesn't need your money, he has his own kingdom, his own empire."
Xena stood and walked over to her worried scribe, "but Attila is my ally and I am his commander again. And I'm not talking about money...I'm talking about land," her eyes narrowed and now Gabrielle was really frightened.
"You don't have any land, Xena," Gabrielle mentioned.
"But you said to me that nobody has to know that...and besides," she sighed with a sly grin, "Kreka's brother is my ally now. If I have Persia, Ashina, and Attila by my side, all of our men outnumber the Roman empire's army!"
Gabrielle rubbed her temples and exhaled sharply, "and why would you think that the Shah will agree to this? He already broke an agreement with you and attacked Theodosius' empire without your consent."
Xena grinned deviously, "because...I will kill him if he disagrees." She walked out of her room.
Gabrielle's jaw dropped, "that's one way..." she whispered to herself then groaned and ran after Xena. "You can't just kill a king, Xena!"
"Why not? People do it all the time," she grabbed her armor and head to the baths below the villa. "Attila killed his brother for the crown, why couldn't I kill the Shah?"
Gabrielle halted and her eyes widened, "Attila killed his brother?"
Xena chuckled, heading down the stairs to the baths. "He didn't kill him for no reason. His brother killed their uncle for the crown," she said and turned to see the shocked look on the scribe's face. "Anyway, that's not the point," she descended down the stairs. "Are you coming or what?" she halted and waited for Gabrielle. Sighing, "will you...please come with me?" she grinned. Gabrielle shook her head, cursing under her breath and followed Xena to the baths.
"Are you really going to bathe in the middle of the night?" Gabrielle asked.
"Why not?" Xena threw her armor to the side and stripped down to her bare body. "We have a lot of work to do," she winked and placed her hands on her hips, waiting for Gabrielle to do the same. "Well?"
Gabrielle's cheeks reddened and she took off her shawl and then turned around, slipping the straps off her shoulders. Xena eyed her backside and smirked, folding her arms, watching Gabrielle act so shy around her. "Why are you acting so shy all of a sudden?"
"We're supposed to be friends first, remember?" Gabrielle's gown fell to the floor and she turned to see a smug, sneaky look on the dark haired woman's face.
Xena pursed her lips, nodding, "friends. Of course, I didn't forget," she smiled and stepped into the warm water, drenching her long locks. Swimming to the edge, she leaned her head on her elbows, staring up at Gabrielle. "You know who the two most powerful warriors are?"
Gabrielle walked over to the bath and sat down, dipping her legs in the water. She shook her head and Xena smiled softly, "patience and time," she waded past Gabrielle. "And I will be patient with you," she dipped her long hair in the water again and ran her hand over her head, smoothing out her wet hair. "And you will be patient with me, right?"
The blonde smiled and slipped into the water, wrapping her arms around her breasts, "it is hard to be patient with you sometimes, but I will try my best."
Xena nodded, "trying is better than not trying at all," she supposed. She poured some water on her bare arms and looked at Gabrielle's shoulder. "Your wound is healing nicely..." she noticed.
Gabrielle stared at her and gave her a tiny grin, "and soon you will teach me more of your moves, right?" she teased and Xena shook her head lightly. "What? You don't want to teach me anymore?"
The warrior laughed, "it's not that Gabrielle, but I'd rather you use your mind instead of your will to fight right now," she sighed and frowned, thinking of her daughter again. "I can't believe Xander allowed Anastasia to enroll into that academy."
Gabrielle knew that conversation was going to come back up again. "It's a good school, Xena, but I really don't think your brother can force your daughter to do anything," she scoffed and Xena shot her a glare.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Well...it's just...she gets her way all the time, no matter what," Gabrielle nervously averted her eyes and dipped her hair into the water, slightly turning away from Xena's harsh glare. "She isn't exactly a pushover and maybe...she wanted to go to that academy?" she hinted and she saw Xena's eyes darken. She soon regretted everything she just said.
Xena rested her arms along the edge of the bath and tapped her fingers rapidly on the marble floor. "I still don't understand why the Romans took her to Athens," she avoided the topic and Gabrielle exhaled heavily, quite relieved. "Do you think someone was spying on her?"
Gabrielle shrugged, "it's possible. People know who you are and Theodosius knows about Anastasia and so does Attila."
"But I didn't tell anyone that I sent her away," she groaned, "I smell a rat." Sighing she waded in the water, coming closer to Gabrielle. "I don't want anyone to know about this but you and me, understand?" she asked very seriously.
Gabrielle nodded slowly, "of course, Xena. Secret is safe with me. Always," she smiled and she saw a bit of relief from her and also realized Xena was coming closer and closer. Nervously, she waded away from her with a shy giggle. "Xena..." whispering she sunk down under the water, water rising to her chin. "We talked about this."
Xena smiled, rolling her eyes, "respect, I remember," she shrugged a shoulder and Gabrielle smirked. "So...when are we going to write that treaty?" she hinted and Gabrielle sighed heavily and dipped further in the water, swimming far away from her. Xena raised her eyebrow, watching Gabrielle swim to the opposite side of the bath.
Yazdgard camped out in the outskirts of Constantinople a couple of weeks after attacking, knowing that the emperor was definitely alive, he decided to stay in the empire awhile longer to scope out the area. Inside his lavish tent he laid down, smoking from an opium pipe and was rudely interrupted by his leading officer, Romi.
"What is it now?" the Shah breathed out a cloud of smoke and Romi averted his eyes.
"Your majesty, we have blocked all of the exits from the city. The emperor has fled to a safe city," he announced and the Persian king frowned, rolling over on his back, lighting another bowl of the powerful flower.
Sighing, he spoke softly, "and...why...haven't you found him yet?" he inhaled deeply and blew out a trail of smoke, smiling, completely relaxed.
Romi was almost tempted to roll his eyes, "I do not think it is best to capture the emperor. Xena will be very upset, your highness."
Yazdgard growled and looked up at his commander upside down as he laid sprawled across the pillows. "Xena?! I do not care what that savage woman thinks. She is beneath me –I am a king, she is..." he furrowed his eyebrows, "what is she exactly?" he chuckled. "Certainly not a queen," he muttered.
"Your majesty, Xena has Attila and his entire empire by her side. I do not think it would be wise to wake a slumbering dragon..." he pressed, not understanding why his leader was being so lackadaisical about this ambush and also, Xena's lack of response to it was very concerning. "She has more power than you think."
The Shah laughed heartily as he nearly choked smoking from his pipe. Slowly sitting up he leaned against some pillows and smiled, breathing heavily. "Romi, you are quite funny sometimes, you know that?" he scoffed, "and what will Xena do to me? She can't touch me or I will kill her...although," he raised his eyebrows, "perhaps I should invite her into bed with me first," he smiled deviously and Romi rolled his eyes. "I never thought that she would be so breathtaking given...her origins," he cringed in disgust just thinking about those Huns.
Suddenly the horns were sounded by the men guarding their large camp area. Romi's eyes widened and he quickly ran out of the king's tent and saw a woman perched on her horse outside the rim of their camp. His men were obviously not letting her through, but she trotted along the wall of men. Romi raised an eyebrow and definitely recognized that woman and she wore the same clothes as Xena, although, she was a bit paler and her face more hard, though had a beauty about her as well.
He approached the woman sitting on her horse and folded his arms, standing behind his men. "Who are you?"
"Wife of Attila, Queen of the Huns," Kreka smiled and eyed the Persian officer. "Aren't you going to invite me in?" she asked nicely and Romi grinned weakly and allowed her to pass with the Hun soldiers trotting in behind her.
Once in the middle of the camp, a fair distance from the Shah's tent, Kreka dismounted her horse and Romi bowed his head curtly towards her. "What brings you here?" he asked, very confused why Attila would send his wife to a dangerous zone like this. This was technically declared a war zone and Xena was not here, neither was Attila and both Roman armies were absent as well.
She pulled out a scroll from her coat, "I have a message for your king," she smiled, her light eyes lit up seeing the worry and fear set in the man's face. "A treaty from Xena herself."
Romi unrolled the scroll and read it over and it was quite lengthy. Kreka waited patiently and expected Yazdgard to show his face anytime now. "She wants us to return to Persia?" he asked and she nodded silently. He looked at the bottom and saw that it was signed by Attila, Peticus the Bey from the Ashina tribe, and Xena. "They...all agreed to this treaty?" he asked and she nodded once more. He was beginning to think that allying with Xena was a bad idea. She knew a lot of people and especially with Attila by her side, she was willing to maneuver her way around in the political field –which Huns were not known for, but it seemed that being in the Roman atmosphere had done Xena good in the last year. "Very clever.." he grumbled.
"So, what should I report back to Xena? Will your king agree?" Kreka smiled, folding her arms and Romi rolled up the scroll, tucking it in his vest.
"I will have to discuss it with his majesty and see what he says," he looked over at the tent and assumed that the king was passed out by now from smoking for hours on end.
Kreka nodded and peered over at the large lavish tent. "I think he should make his decision very soon. Attila does not like to wait, he is very impatient," she turned back to the officer with a smug grin on her lips. "And Xena...well, you know how she is," she chuckled under her breath and walked back to her horse getting ready to leave. Once she mounted her horse, she stared down at the Persian. "I wouldn't wait long," she threatened with malice in her voice and rode off with Attila's men following.
Romi watched the Hun Queen ride off in the large open field and shook his head. He then marched straight into the king's tent and saw he was not asleep, but still smoking. "Your highness!" he growled, grabbing Yazdgard's attention. "Xena wants us to return to Persia immediately," he pulled out the scroll.
The Shah laughed, "right! I'm not going to return to Persia. I do not take orders from her!"
Kreka reached the outskirts of the city and met with her husband and he was patiently waiting on his horse with a horde of his men behind him. She abruptly stopped and he lifted his eyes, staring at her harsh expression. "He will not agree," she said.
Attila frowned, "is that what he said?"
She scoffed, "the king did not even make an appearance while I was there," she turned her head over her shoulder, looking at the large Persian camp. "Kill them all," she commanded and trotted off.
The Hun King's eyes widened, "you want us to attack the Persian camp? Why?" not that he wouldn't, because he definitely would, but he didn't expect something like that to come out of his wife's mouth –Xena's yes, but not hers.
She halted and scowled at her husband, "do it or I'll do it myself." Attila smiled, nodding at her and waved his hand to his archers in the back to ride to the front. She then rode off to a safer area so she could report back to Xena as soon as possible.
Xena sat at a table in a large room with Gabrielle sitting next to her and both listened to Aetius go on and on about how they should solve this Persian invasion in Constantinople. Xena had been barely listening and tuned him out halfway through the meeting. Meanwhile, Gabrielle was writing away, trying to record everything he was saying and yet Xena had said nothing for the last two hours.
As he kept talking Xena was growing irritated and more impatient the longer she listened to him gripe about how awful the Persians were. She stood up and slammed a dagger into the table, a few inches from Aetius' fingers. "Are you...finished?" she hissed through clenched teeth.
His hand slowly inched away from the dagger and Xena glared at him with those icy blue eyes of hers. Clearing his throat, "don't you have anything to say?" he added.
She pulled the dagger out of the table and threw it at the map on the wall, landing right on Constantinople. "This meeting has gone on long enough," she breathed out heavily and Gabrielle nervously looked up at her, forgetting to write down everything that was being said. "Theodosius has fled Constantinople. Do you know where he has gone?" she asked.
Aetius chuckled, "as if I would tell you. You almost killed Magnus and you were seen with the Shah's army."
Xena folded her arms, "Magnus is a liar. He is our enemy or...maybe...he is your...friend?" she grinned wickedly and the commander shied away from her.
"You are good at many things, Xena, but lying is not one of them," he walked over to the map and yanked out her dagger from the wall. Little did he know that she had allied with Attila once again and the Ashina tribe in China as well, right under everyone's noses. Persia was just a distraction and a very good distraction, though she would have wished that the Shah would have waited for her to attack first.
She chuckled lowly, "I'm sure...I will learn how to get good at it," he turned towards her and she folded her arms, "just like you," she winked and he cringed. "Aetius..." she walked around the table, coming dangerously close to him as he still held her dagger. She continued, "do you know if Valentinian ordered some Romans to raid Greece?" she hissed.
He frowned and now she was inches from his face. He could feel the hatred radiating off of her body. "We have no business in Greece," he said and she snatched her dagger from his hands and he eyed the blade cautiously and saw she put it back in its sheath.
Nodding, she stepped away, "that's very interesting," she waltzed around the table and eyed Gabrielle as she kept jotting everything down meticulously. "I received some information that Roman soldiers were going around Greece, raiding homes to look for Hun spies..."
Aetius' eyes widened, "Xena, I don't know anything of those orders."
"But I'm sure your friend, Magnus, does..." she implied he was lying and the commander became defensive.
"I do not have any sort of relationship with Magnus anymore!" he growled and saw a smile appear on her face, a smile he distained. "Why are you so concerned about these raids anyway?" he hinted and walked around the opposite side of the table. Her smile disappeared and a full grimace was prominent on her face. "Having second thoughts about leaving Attila for Mother Rome?" he smiled and she averted her eyes. "Are you hiding something in Greece?" he chuckled.
Gabrielle stopped writing and lifted her eyes to see Xena's face in panic and her eyes grew in fear once Aetius said that. Xena was unable to say anything and that was only giving Aetius more suspicion that Xena was up to something. So, she decided to speak on her behalf, "she doesn't want the Persians to invade Greece like they've done in the past. Greece is part of the empire, isn't it?" she said and the commander raised an eyebrow towards the blonde scribe.
"Who gave you a voice?" Aetius laughed and Gabrielle frowned deeply. "I think Xena can answer for herself. Xena?"
Xena eyed the scribe and Gabrielle nodded with a subtle smirk. Turning around she felt her stomach tighten, just thinking of how close she was to losing it, until Gabrielle covered for her. "Gabrielle is just as important as you are in this empire, Aetius. She is my scribe, she works for me and whatever she says should be counted as a valid point," she said and Gabrielle smiled, then returned to writing again. Xena grinned and saw the commander was not happy about that –being put in his place. "The Persians have attacked Constantinople and you believe that I had something to do with it, yet...I am here," she said with a cheeky grin. "I want Theodosius' whereabouts by the end of the month." She turned and head for the door.
Gabrielle panicked and grabbed all the parchment she had wrote on for the last couple of hours, hurrying to follow her. Aetius' jaw dropped, "and what if I don't find him?"
Xena stopped just as she was about to grab the door handle and turned around slowly. "Do you really want to find out what happens?" she threatened and opened the door and walked out.
As the two women walked down the hall, Gabrielle struggled to keep all the parchment in her arms as well as keeping up with Xena's long strides. "I thought you were going to crack back there," she said and Xena stopped and suddenly she ran into her and dropped everything. "Great!"
Xena sighed, placing her hands on her hips and Gabrielle knelt down, gathering up all her notes. "You saved me," she knelt down and picked up the last page and handed it to Gabrielle with a smile.
Gabrielle's cheeks flushed and she stood slowly, "that's what friends are for," she walked off, brushing by Xena. "Still, you didn't find anything about those Romans taking Anastasia to Athens."
"I know," Xena walked alongside Gabrielle, "I don't understand it," she was growing more frustrated just thinking about it. "But, the important thing is that she is safe. I trust Xander," she sauntered off and Gabrielle halted, her mouth agape.
The blonde then ran up to Xena, grabbing her arm. "Did you just say you trust your brother?" she wanted to make sure and Xena fell silent. "That's a first."
Xena smirked, "there is a first for everything, right?" she teased. "But...you don't trust me yet, do you?"
Gabrielle sighed, "I'm working on it. Give me time," she smiled and walked off out of the emperor's palace to Xena's horse outside. Xena folded her arms as she watched her gracefully walk down the stairs carrying the abundant amount of parchment in her hands.
After some adjusting, Anastasia was doing quite well in the academy she chose to go to. And also, after she convinced her uncle to attend the school, which took a lot of convincing, he decided to allow her to attend only if she was able to keep up her grades in all of the subjects including the combat training after school.
At the end of the day class was released and Anastasia quickly grabbed her bag trying to make herself less noticeable until her instructor stopped her. "Anastasia..." her young teacher from Antioch called out and she stopped in tracks and the other girls trailed out of the classroom, leaving her behind. Nervously, she turned around with a big cheeky grin.
"Yes sir?" she folded her arms and he walked over to her with a parchment in his hand and her smile disappeared as soon as she saw it was the last exam that they did last week.
"You're doing very badly in my class, Anastasia," he sighed and pointed at all of the answers. "You really should get a tutor."
She lowered her eyes, "I'll do better next time," she grabbed the exam from his hand and stuffed it in her bag. "Can I go now?" she turned and hastily walked away, desperate to get out of his class.
The teacher frowned, folding his arms, "wait a minute," he said and she halted, tapping her fingers on the wall. "You can't participate in the combat arms training unless you have better grades. You know the rules."
Anastasia gasped and faced her teacher, "but sir, I am trying really hard! I am just not good at math!"
He smiled, "we are not good at everything, but you're very good at writing and literature," he gave her some positive feedback, though it didn't seem to be enough as he saw the grimace on her face. "You aren't from Greece are you?" he asked and she lifted her head with wide eyes. "Where are you from?"
She wrapped her arms around her, feeling panic set in, "Thrace..." she uttered and he gave her a simple nod.
"Where exactly in Thrace?" he asked with a smirk and Anastasia's eyes wandered around the room. She didn't know where Thrace was or even what it looked like. She had never been there and that was her mother's place of birth and childhood, but she definitely wasn't a part of that culture at all.
"Amphipolis," she answered finally, remembering the name of her mother's home village.
He smiled, staring at the nervous teenager, "very nice city. Are both of your parents from there?"
Shaking her head she answered, "my father is from...somewhere else," she anxiously adjusted the bag's strap on her shoulder. "I should go. I promise I'll do better on the next test," she smiled and hurried out of the school.
She ran to the training grounds around the front of the school and saw a few girls putting on their boots outside on a few benches. She smiled at them all and dropped her bag on the ground, then pulled out her boots. Alexandria raised an eyebrow, "what are you doing here?"
Anastasia frowned and slipped on her boots and began to lace them, "what do you mean?"
Alexandria chuckled and tightened her laces on her boots, "I saw your last grade in mathematics Anastasia. You know you aren't supposed to be here if you can't pass all your subjects," she said and tied up her long straight auburn hair. Anastasia frowned and the way Alexandria looked reminded her of some of the women back in her tribe in Pannonia. She had olive skin, green eyes and dark red hair, much like the northern Huns, where Attila's first wife, Cera, was from.
"Well, nobody has to know that, right?" Ana grinned mischievously and the redhead shook her head and stood to grab her gloves sitting beside her. "Alexandria..." she said and the redhead smiled down at her, "where are you from?"
Alexandria's smile faded away, "far from here," she said and turned and walked off.
Anastasia raised an eyebrow watching the girl leave and tightened the laces on her boots. She grabbed her bag and ran inside the training area with the rest of the girls.
After the two hour long training session ended all of the girls left and Titus, the combat instructor, saw Anastasia leaving and frowned. "Anastasia," he said and she groaned. "You know you aren't supposed to be here."
She nodded, "I already spoke to my teacher about this. I said I'd do better on my next exam. Alright?" she said with a sassy attitude and turned to leave. Titus shook his head, thinking that girl was going to give him a lot of trouble.
She soon caught up with Alexandria and grabbed her shoulder, startling her. "Hey, sorry about your nose."
Alexandria smiled, shrugging it off. "It's okay, I'll make sure you to get you back next time if...you pass your exam," she teased and Ana gasped. "We can't all be good at everything. I'll tell you what, you help me in Latin and I help you in math, deal?"
Anastasia's eyes lit up, "really?" she asked hesitantly and Alexandria shoved her playfully and she took that as a yes. As they walked together down Athens road they saw a horde of men in black armor and fur coats surrounding the square, frightening all of the citizens. Anastasia squinted her eyes and Alexandria grabbed her hand, pulling her away.
"We should go, I don't want to get into...whatever is going on here," the redhead implied and Anastasia refused to move. "Anastasia!" she growled.
The Hun teenager frowned, cocking her head as she continued staring at the armored men. Her head snapped around and recognized an emblem on their belts and swords. "Attila..." she whispered. Those soldiers were from Aquincicum and they were in Athens, but why? Not to mention they were scaring everyone, searching through their homes and vendors' carts and merchants' shops. She saw a tall slender man in the middle pull out his sword and point it at a small boy. "Hey!" she yelled and ran from her friend's side.
"Anastasia, what are you doing?!" Alexandria called out and stood by herself watching Anastasia run towards the horde of men in the middle of the square. "Dear god, she is crazy..." she mumbled.
Anastasia frowned and marched towards the man holding his sword to the child's throat. She pushed the man down on the ground and fell on top of him. The Hun soldiers turned and almost attacked until they saw it was no regular girl, but Xena's daughter. They decided to back off and surround the two in a circle.
She growled and pulled the man's arm behind his back and squeezed his waist with her thighs. "What is the matter with you, huh?" she hissed in his ear and he moaned in pain as she twisted his arm. "What were you going to do? Kill a child?" she whispered and his eyes widened, recognizing that voice.
"Anastasia?" he choked and her eyes grew in shock and released his arm and got off. He coughed up some dirt and slowly stood and turned to see her. He shrugged her shoulder and rubbed his sore arm.
"Ellac?" her cheeks reddened and he smiled at her and then winced from the twinge of pain in his shoulder. She eyed his face and scanned his body, noting he was a lot taller than she remembered and he even cut his hair short. "I'm...I'm sorry," she said softly.
He sighed, "you could always beat me in a fight. I guess it's still true...for now," he teased and then it dawned on him. "What are you doing here?"
"What are you doing here?" she repeated the question back to him.
Alexandria ran breathlessly pushing through the Hun soldiers and grabbed Anastasia's arm. "Have you gone insane?!" she yelled and then looked up at the young man in front of her and her eyes widened. "Hello..."
Ellac smiled at the redhead, "hello," he greeted back and turned to Anastasia, "friend of yours?"
Ana frowned, folding her arms. "I have to go," she turned to her friend, "let's go," she grabbed Alexandria's hand and stormed off.
Ellac's jaw dropped, "can I talk to you later?" he called out and she turned her head over her shoulder with a subtle smile and he grinned back at her.
The two walked towards Honoria's summer home where Ana and Xander were staying and Alexandria sighed heavily. "Do you know that guy back there?" she asked curiously.
The Hun teen shrugged a shoulder, "sort of," she smiled and the redhead smirked.
"He's a Hun, you know that right?"
Anastasia frowned and walked into the large villa. "So?"
"It's just that...I wouldn't think someone from Thrace would know any Huns..." Alexandria said and saw Anastasia's blue eyes darken and she shied away. "You aren't from Thrace, Ana."
Her eyes widened, "yes...yes I am," she threw her bag on the sofa and plopped down on her back, lounging as she stared up at the marble ceiling.
The redhead smiled and sat beside her, "no you're not. Your Greek is terrible and your accent...is not Thracian..." she alleged and Anastasia frowned, turning her back away from her. "If it makes you feel better, I'm not from Greece either."
Anastasia looked over her shoulder, "you're not?" she asked, although she had a feeling Alexandria wasn't from Greece given the way she looked.
Her friend shook her head, "I'm from Adrianople," she admitted, keeping that a secret for a long time, ever since she came to Athens. This caught Anastasia's attention and she sat up.
"You're a Visigoth?!" she screeched and stormed off.
Alexandria knew immediately from her reaction where her dark haired friend was from. "And you're a Hun, aren't you?" she blurted out and saw Ana pause. "Nobody just knows the Prince of the Huns, Ana," she chuckled and saw her friend sigh heavily and turn towards her.
"If my mother knew I was talking to you, she'd probably kill you. She hates Visigoths."
The redhead shrugged nonchalantly, "I haven't been to Adrianople since I was seven. Your mother's threats mean nothing to me," she teased.
Anastasia grinned, "you never met her before." She sat down on the sofa next to her, folding her hands in her lap. "Sorry, I don't hate you, but you can't tell anybody about this!" she threatened and the redhead nodded.
"I promise," she extended her hand and Ana smiled, shaking her hand. "So...you know the prince?" she had a devious grin on her lips.
The Hun girl rolled her eyes, "it's not like that. We're just friends."
"Okay whatever you say," Alexandria stood and grabbed her bag, "I have to get home, but I'll see you tomorrow for our study session, right?" Ana nodded and she winked then left the villa to make her way back home a few blocks away.
Late in the evening Anastasia told Xander that she was going to study at her friend's house and he allowed her to go. She grabbed her cloak and walked towards the square on Athens road, hoping to find Ellac and the Hun soldiers in the area.
Ahead, she spotted a group of soldiers surrounding a tavern and she approached them, clearing her throat. They stopped drinking the wine from their mugs and straightened. She smirked, "where is Ellac?" she asked.
One of the soldiers thumbed behind him, "the prince is in his room in a villa down the road," he said and she nodded and walked in between them.
Before she walked down the dark path she turned to the soldiers, "does my mother know you are here in Athens?"
All three men looked to one another and another answered, "Attila ordered us to come here, Miss Anastasia."
She rolled her eyes, "alright then," she continued walking down the narrow alley, "and don't call me that."
Walking down the dark alley she saw a villa filled with vines growing on the outside of it. Looking to her right and left she frowned, seeing if she was at the right place, although this area was deserted and this seemed to be the only place in this particular area.
She waltzed inside the villa and cautiously glanced around at all the candles lit throughout the long hallway and Ellac came down the stairs, dressed more casually since she last saw him. He smiled and approached her, taking the hood off from her hair and stared into her blue eyes. "You look...different," he frowned, scanning her entire body and then untied her cloak and his eyes widened as he saw she was wearing the most revealing gown he had ever seen in his life.
Anastasia grimaced and slapped his shoulder, "stop staring at me like that!" he winced and backed off putting her cloak on a chair and grabbed her hand, leading her inside.
"I'm sorry...it's just been a really long time since I've seen you!" he said happily and she remained quiet. "How was your birthday?"
She rolled her eyes, "I don't want to talk about it," she grumbled. "Ellac, what are you doing in Athens? And tell me the truth, I don't want to hear any nonsense like my mother always tells me."
He sighed and brought her into a large atrium and asked her to sit beside him next to a large pool in the center of the atrium. "My father asked me to come to Greece to search for Persian invasions."
She raised her thick dark eyebrow, "Persian invasions?"
He nodded, "yes. The Persian army attacked Constantinople and now my father and your mother are working together again."
A smile came to her face hearing that. It was something she always wanted to happen ever since they left Pannonia. "Really? That's great, I can't believe it," her eyes widened and then saw a distraught look on his face. "What is it?"
Ellac relaxed, leaning back on the chaise and rubbed his chin, "Xena is trying to destroy the entire Roman empire with my father's help."
Anastasia remained quiet and wrapped her arms around herself then the more she thought about her mother's actions, the more angry she became. "She always does this. She doesn't like to lose," huffing she turned away, staring at the pool in front of her.
He knew that feeling all too well. "Forget I even mentioned it," he said with a smile and she was fuming, he could feel the tension. "So, why are you here?" he nudged her and she turned towards him with a small grin. "Come on, I told you why I came here."
She sighed, "my mother thought it would be a good idea to send me away to get an "education"," she used air quotes and scoffed.
The prince chuckled, "you were the only kid in Pannonia that knew how to read and write. You should feel honored that she sent you to Greece to learn. I still can't read or write Latin or Greek."
Anastasia pursed her lips and scooted closer to him, "I can teach you. It's really easy, I swear." She smiled and he stared down at her blue eyes. He leaned in and gently kissed her lips and her eyes widened and she pushed him away. "What are you doing?" her fingertips grazed her moist lips.
His cheeks paled and he scooted away from her, "nothing," he ran his fingers through his short dark locks. "Sorry," he muttered, "you just look...so different."
She frowned, "because I don't look like a boy anymore you think you can just kiss me?" she stood up and he grabbed her hand, preventing her from leaving.
"Anastasia! I'm sorry, really sorry. Don't leave please, I really missed you," he gave her a weak smile and she sighed, then sat beside him again, far apart from one another. He exhaled sharply then she punched him in the bicep. "Anastasia!" he groaned.
"Kiss me again and see what happens," she smiled playfully and he shook his head with a large grin. He pushed her gently and she laughed softly.
Aetius barged into Xena's office inside her villa and saw her lounging in a chair with her chained black boots propped up on the table, twirling a quill in her hand with Gabrielle sitting at a smaller desk, organizing some documents.
She smiled, "my my, Flavius Aetius, what a surprise!" she swung her legs off the table, "what can I do for you?" she laced her fingers on the table and he frowned and approached her and dropped a medium sized box on the desk. She eyed the box and lifted her eyes to the commander, "you brought me a present? You shouldn't have," she smirked.
He opened the box and she stood, looking inside she saw the Persian Shah's decapitated head inside and she puckered her lips. "Oh, you really shouldn't have," she smiled.
"Xena, what the fuck is this?!" he yelled and she closed the lid on the box, tapping her fingers on the desk.
"You wanted the Persians dealt with, didn't you?" she smiled and sat back down in the chair, propping her boots back on the desk once again. "They've been dealt with."
Aetius' eyes widened and his blood pressure rose just staring at her. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"
"The Shah is dead, so your little Persian problem is done. Finished. Finito. Adcuratus." She glared at the blonde commander. "Thank you for my little gift. You may go now," she shooed him away with her hand and he refused to move. "Go now, run along," she smiled and he snarled, turning on his heel he stormed out of her office.
Once he left the room Gabrielle put her quill down and peered over at Xena. "What is in the box?"
Xena sighed, "Yazdgard's head," she said casually and Gabrielle's eyes grew in fear.
"I...I thought Kreka delivered the treaty to the Shah?" Gabrielle nervously asked and kept glaring at the box sitting on Xena's desk.
"She did and he didn't even bother to read it," Xena looked at her long nails and bit off one of her cuticles. "So Attila killed him," she smiled and stood, opening the box, she grabbed the Shah's head and Gabrielle covered her mouth, turning away in horror. She stared into the king's dead dark eyes and frowned. "What a pity. He was so young and so...foolish," she grabbed her sword and jammed the Shah's head onto the end of the blade. "He should have listened to me," she lifted the sword up smiling deviously.
Gabrielle suddenly felt nauseous and lowered her eyes, not able to look. "So um...what happens next?" she nervously asked.
Xena sighed and walked over to the large fireplace and stuck her sword in the roaring fire, watching the decapitated Persian king's head burn and disintegrate before her eyes. "Constantinople..." she lifted her eyebrows as blackened skin began to peel off the king's face, she smiled wickedly, "is mine."