AN: family is important ;)
Chapter 27
After Gabrielle spent the entire rest of the day with Anastasia she thought she should go find Xena since she wandered off by herself earlier. Treading down the halls, she looked through each room she passed by and didn't find her anywhere. She grew more and more frustrated as she went on this goose chase to find Xena.
She found Xander in the hallway sitting by himself, toying with one of his daggers. She approached him, "have you seen Xena?"
He shook his head, "no," he saw Gabrielle hastily walking down the hall, "Gabrielle!" she turned and halted in her step, "is Anastasia okay?" he asked.
Gabrielle lowered her eyes, not quite sure whether to tell him to truth or not, but she figured that'd be a job for his sister to do. "She'll be alright," showing a weak smile she turned back and head down the hall.
A few minutes later she passed by the prayer room that was hidden in a corner of the villa and saw Xena sitting by herself on a bench at the back of the room surrounded by tall lit candles, staring off in the dark. Taking in a deep breath she knocked on the wall and Xena didn't even budge or move a muscle. "I...I've been looking for you everywhere..." she stepped inside and sighed. "Can I sit with you?" she asked and Xena's silence made her comfortable, but she sat down on the bench with her anyway.
Xena was lost and in a daze, unable to process what happened earlier today. She had been sitting in this room the entire day by herself, staring at the crucifix on the wall, lost and confused. Meanwhile, Gabrielle anxiously fidgeted with her fingers in her lap and Xena was so eerily still that Gabrielle almost wanted to hear something –a scream, a yelling fest or even a fit, but there were crickets.
"You're scaring me a little bit," Gabrielle smiled nervously and Xena blinked, still staring off in the distance. "Are you going to say anything?" she frowned, now concerned for Xena's sanity at this point with her lack of voice.
"Nope," Xena finally spoke.
The blonde let out an exasperated sigh, "she thinks that you hate her."
Xena turned her head around with sadness in her eyes, "I don't hate my own daughter."
"Well...that's not what she thinks," Gabrielle quirked her mouth to the side. "Look, sometimes this happens Xena and you can't really do anything about it except support her because she's really scared and she's scared of you."
That disheartened Xena once she heard that. She didn't want Anastasia to be scared of her, but at the same time, she didn't know how to talk to her daughter about this either. She had to walk away from the situation earlier because as Gabrielle said, she said not to yell at her, and Xena definitely wanted to yell at her daughter at the moment, so she chose to walk away to think for herself and have time alone.
"I don't want her to be scared of me..." Xena's eyes filled with tears and Gabrielle nearly gasped aloud seeing Xena on the verge of crying. "I don't know what to do!"
Gabrielle wrapped her arm around her raven haired companion, "I think...you should be a mother to your daughter. She needs your help and your support."
Xena frowned, "my fifteen year old daughter is pregnant. I should be happy about this?" she asked with sincerity.
Gabrielle smiled, "I understand that you're upset but the fact is that your daughter is having a baby and you need to help her. And besides, she's carrying your grandchild," she teased, leaning into her and Xena sighed with a slight eye roll.
"I'm too young to be a grandmother," Xena folded her arms and Gabrielle gave her a warm side hug.
"Just go talk to her," Gabrielle urged her warrior companion and Xena nodded then stood slowly. Gabrielle decided to let Xena be alone with her daughter since she spent basically the entire day with her while Xena was off secluded in the corner of the villa's prayer room.
Xena stormed down the hallway and saw Xander sitting on a bench in the hall and she stopped and he lifted her eyes staring at his irate sister. She glared at him, and balled up her fists. "I'll deal with you later," she growled and left to go to her daughter's room.
Stepping inside the bedroom she saw Anastasia laying on her side, facing the wall. She took in a deep breath and closed the door behind her. Anastasia didn't even budge and Xena thought that she might be asleep. Inching closer she rounded the large bed post and indeed, her daughter was wide awake, staring out the window at the dark sky mindlessly. She didn't even acknowledge her mother's existence, much like when Gabrielle found Xena in the prayer room. She was silent.
Xena sat on the edge of the bed and ran her hand over her daughter's head. "How do you feel?"
Anastasia clutched the sheets to her body, now feeling incredibly self conscious. "You aren't here to yell at me?"
Xena smiled, "no I'm not going to yell at you," she laid down next her daughter, "move over," she teased and Anastasia scooted over and brought the blankets up, covering up half of her face.
Silence passed between the two and Anastasia peered up at her mother and saw she was incredibly distracted and not even paying attention to her that much. She was elsewhere in her mind, which was reasonable, she supposed. "Mom," she whispered and Xena looked at her with warm eyes. "Ellac is the father," she blurted out.
Xena's eyes widened and she felt her heart racing as soon as her daughter said that. At that very moment she wanted to yell at her, and tell her how foolish she was for even having sex in the first place, but having sex with Attila's son and now she's carrying his child? She held her breath and tapped her fingers generously on her thigh as she bit her tongue trying to remember what Gabrielle told her earlier. Be supportive, she reminded herself.
Anastasia felt her mother's anger rising within her and she began to whimper softly. "I'm sorry," she muttered. Xena snapped out of her daze and completely disregarded her daughter's feelings and ran her fingers through her daughter's long hair.
"Don't be sorry," she pulled Anastasia close to her and kissed her forehead. "It looks like I will have to make a visit to the Hun prince in Aquincicum."
The teenager's eyes grew in fear, "you...you aren't going to kill him are you?" she feared for the wost.
Xena smirked, "no, I need him alive."
"Can I come with you?" Anastasia asked in the sweetest voice possible and her mother glared at her with her steely eyes and slowly, she sunk down in the pillow.
"I think you've done enough," she peered down at her daughter's stomach and Anastasia shied away, curling her legs close to her body. Sighing, she glanced around the room trying to change the subject. "Did you eat anything?"
Anastasia shook her head and mumbled, "no..."
Xena hummed to herself and grabbed the bowl of broth that was on the bedside table that she guessed that Gabrielle brought for her but didn't even bother to drink it. She pushed the bowl to her daughter's mouth, "drink this," she commanded and Anastasia frowned, sitting up slowly. "Please?" she smiled softly.
Her daughter sighed and tipped the bowl to her mouth and sipped some of the broth that had gone cold since it was brought to her. "Do I really have to drink this?"
"Yes, you do," Xena pushed the bowl closer to Ana's mouth and she sighed heavily staring at the broth. "It's good for you and...your baby," she sighed, just saying that made her feel so strange and everything about it hadn't really sunk in at all. But she had to realize that she couldn't do anything about this, like Gabrielle said.
Anastasia finished drinking the broth more for her mother's sake than anything and wiped her mouth, coughing lightly. "Thank you for...being so nice to me."
Xena smiled and kissed her daughter's cheek, "I love you no matter what." She finally saw a smile on her daughter's face which made her feel so much better about herself and it turns out that listening to Gabrielle was the right thing to do and not yelling or getting angry was the key to relate to her daughter. "But I want one thing from you," she poked her daughter's shoulder. "I want you to continue your studies with Gabrielle, here, at home with me."
Anastasia nodded, "I can do that," she agreed and saw her mother relax a bit. "Will I...ever see Ellac again?"
Xena furrowed her eyebrows and then turned to see her young daughter's eyes pleading, begging, she groaned lowly, "we'll see." She hugged her and kissed her cheek, "you should get some rest. I have something I need to do," she got off the bed and left the bedroom.
Marching down the hallway in her tight black dress she approached her brother and he stood, nervously looking at her. She frowned deeply and then clocked him in the jaw. He gasped and tumbled into the wall beside him. "What the hell?!" he yelled at his sister and rubbed his throbbing jaw.
Xena pushed him against the wall, pinning his arms back, forcing her body against his. "My daughter is pregnant!" she hissed and saw his eyes widen then she smiled eerily, inching closer to his face. "Oh yes, her belly swells with the Hun prince's seed. What am I supposed to do about that?" she whispered and felt his warm breath against her cheek, fear coursing through his body and his heart racing against her chest. "I asked you to keep an eye on her and you couldn't even do one...simple...task."
Xander pushed his sister off of his body and she raised her hand, then he grabbed her wrist firmly. "I didn't know! I can't chain her to the bed, Xena! She's not a prisoner!"
She groaned, "I trusted you! She is fifteen years old! She is a child!"
"I..." he sighed, feeling defeated and let go of her wrist. "I'm sorry, I don't know what to say. I can't do anything to change what happened."
Xena folded her arms, "you're right about that."
"Can I do anything...please, Xena," he pleaded and she frowned, her eyes roaming around the area. He grew more impatient as her silence invited his nerves to overcome his mind and body.
She titled her chin, "you can come with me to Aquincicum to meet with Attila to discuss...this situation," she grumbled.
He nodded, "anything, Xena," his head hung low and she raised an eyebrow and walked off briskly to her room.
Xena walked out of the conference room a few days after finding out her daughter was pregnant, she was tired of dealing with Aetius and his conferences. She had other plans in mind later down the road which she would assign the commander to, but for now, she had to deal with her family situation.
Aetius followed Xena down the hallway she groaned, "Aetius, I don't have time to talk to you. You bored me for two hours and now I have to go," she rounded the corner and he continued to follow her.
"But Xena, we need to discuss Constantinople. With Theodosius missing we need to survey the city and guard it," he smiled as he trailed behind her, knowing he was definitely getting on her nerves.
She halted and swiftly turned, "we will deal with Constantinople when I get back from my trip," she gave him a tight smile. "Okay?" she pressed.
He folded his arms, "and where exactly are you traveling to, Xena?" he honestly wanted to know just so he could have the upper hand on her even more than he already did.
Xena frowned, growing more and more irritated with this man. "It's none of your business," she walked out of the Roman palace and head for her horse. She asked Gabrielle to stay at the villa with Anastasia this time so she wouldn't be alone.
Gabrielle sat in a chair beside Anastasia as she lay in bed with parchment laid out across the entire bed. She tapped her quill against her cheek and corrected the mistakes on Anastasia's writing. Xena asked her to oversee Anastasia's studies while she stayed here because she didn't want her to fall behind just because she wasn't attending school.
Ana nervously looked at her teacher wondering if she did well. "How did I do?" she asked hesitantly.
Gabrielle sighed and circled another misspelled word, "well, you did pretty good minus a couple of spelling mistakes," she smiled and handed the parchment back to Ana. "Good job," she pat the girl's knee and saw a big smile on her lips. "How are you feeling today?"
Ana nodded, "much better, but I'm still...scared," she shyly admitted.
Gabrielle grinned, "I know you are, but your mother is going to help you and so will I."
The teen lowered her eyes, "do you think she will let me see Ellac again?"
Sighing, Gabrielle said, "just trust your mother, that's all you can do." She suggested and Anastasia sighed, wrapping her arms around her slightly swollen belly and felt self conscious about her body constantly now and she hadn't before. "You know, one time, your mother told me she was very scared before she had you."
Anastasia lifted her head and her eyes lit up, "really?" surprised to hear that she felt a bit more relaxed.
"Yes, but she said she was very happy to have you and that your father loved you a lot," Gabrielle winked and Ana smiled softly.
"I wish I could have met him," she knew that her father died before she was born and he never got to meet her but it was always a relief to hear that he loved her even if he never saw her before.
Gabrielle nodded, "I have a feeling he's watching over you and you have your mother with you."
Xena walked in the room and both of them turned to see her waltz in with her black armor with black harem pants and of course, her signature chain linked boots. She smiled as soon as she saw her daughter and came over to the side of the bed and kissed her forehead. Grabbing her hands she bent down beside her, "how are you feeling?"
Ana smiled, "better, mother," she saw the worry in her mother's eyes and that was definitely a look she hadn't seen in a very long time.
"You aren't feeling sick are you?" Xena asked and her daughter shrugged her shoulder. "Anastasia," she grasped her hands firmly, "I want to help you. So, let me," she grinned and the teen daughter nodded her head, feeling a bit embarrassed. "Gabrielle is going to stay here with you while Xander and I go to Aquincicum."
Anastasia understood, "why are you being so nice to me?" she honestly felt her mother was being incredibly understanding about this entire situation and yet, she didn't know why.
Xena grinned, "because...someone told me to support you and that's what I'm going to do," she peered over at Gabrielle and saw a small smile on her small lips. "I would do anything for you and I know I haven't shown that in a long time but you're my daughter and I love you."
The teen blushed, "I love you too."
Xena nodded and kissed her cheek then stood, pointing at Gabrielle, "take care of her for me."
Gabrielle smiled, "of course I will, you don't have to worry," she reassured her and Xena winked then walked off. She got up from the chair and chased after her, grasping her arm. "Xena..." she whispered. "What did Aetius say in the meeting today?" she huddled over in the corner of the room so Anastasia was unable to hear.
Xena eyed her daughter and saw her writing more on the parchment. "He kept asking me about Constantinople," she whispered back, "I suspect that he knows something. He is far too eager to scout the city. Attila informed me that he was in Aquincicum and Kreka is still in Nicaea. After I...discuss this pregnancy issue," she grumbled, "I will tell him about Aetius and his ideas to invade Constantinople."
Gabrielle nodded, "okay, how long will you be gone?" she wondered.
Xena smirked, "two weeks, three weeks at most," she grabbed her hand and kissed it gingerly. "Thank you for taking care of my daughter for me."
"I'd like to think of her as my own daughter," Gabrielle smiled shyly, "plus, I get to teach her and that's one of my passions in life!"
"I know, I know," she sighed heavily, "I am...really glad that you're here right now."
Gabrielle averted her eyes, "and I'm really glad that you are being so supportive of Anastasia. I'm really surprised –you surprise me."
Xena grinned softly, "I've learned that listening is better than acting out, especially towards my own daughter. So..." she sighed, "thank you," she admitted in a shy low voice, almost embarrassed to say it.
"No need to thank me, it's a learning process...for the both of us," she said and Xena nodded. "You should go, I'm sure Xander is waiting for you."
Xander waited outside the bedroom and Xena exited the room, closing the door behind her, she was slightly startled. He smiled, "ready to go?"
She nodded and walked passed him by, "when we get to Aquincicum, make sure I don't kill Attila."
His eyes widened, "wait, are you serious?" she kept hastily treading out of the villa to the horses. "Xena?!"
In Aquincicum, Attila introduced his eldest son to the young woman that he was going to marry in less than a year. The deal between Attila and Theodosius and his cousin's daughter, Sasha, was obviously shot and there was no way he was going to get Sasha to marry Ellac after he attacked Constantinople. He asked his second younger wife, Kriemhild to find a girl from one of the Hunnic tribes, though he was not specific he forbade anyone from Kreka's tribe, the Ashina, due to obvious reasons and he and Kreka weren't on best speaking terms as of late.
His younger sons, Dengi and Ernak were brought back from Ashina in China for Ellac's courtship ceremony. Attila too had a courtship ceremony when he married Cera, his first wife, and married her after three months of courting the redheaded Hun woman.
Kriemhild was able to find a young woman from Sklaveni. Their tribe bordered the Visigoth territories and most of the people within that tribe were inevitably mixed with Visigoths due to constant border wars for decades. All of the close family of the girl from Sklaveni came to Aquincicum to meet Ellac, Attila, the younger sons and Attila's second wife. Kreka was still in Nicaea per Xena's request, though Attila was sure that she wouldn't have bothered to come anyway.
Inside the Adame both tribes were mingling around, talking with one another and drinking copious amounts of wine. Ellac stood in the corner of the large ballroom in the center of his home and watched all of the guests pass him by, many of them kissing his cheek and greeting him curtly. He nervously smiled and Attila approached his son.
"Why are you so nervous?" Attila smirked, sipping the wine as he watched his younger sons playing with a few of the Sklaveni boys in the middle of the room, completely oblivious to all the adults around them.
Ellac felt his stomach knot up and he downed the wine and set the glass down on a table and adjusted his gold and black vest. "I don't even know what she looks like..."
Attila nodded, "she is very beautiful, trust me," his eyes went back and forth as the Sklaveni women passed by. He leaned in towards his son, "her name is Raya. She is a blonde Hun."
Ellac's heart sank and all he could think about was Anastasia. A blonde wife? Anastasia was the true representation of a Hun girl –dark hair, fair skin and her gorgeous blue stunning eyes –she was definitely the perfect image of her people and to marry a blonde girl he had never met was most worrisome to him. Raya, he repeated in his head, that is not even a Hunnic name, she is probably mixed with the Visigoths bloodline, which were closer to the Franks than to the Huns.
"When will I meet her?" he asked anxiously, suddenly feeling incredibly hot and sweaty.
Attila smiled, "any minute now. She is with her mother getting ready."
Ellac's eyes grew in fear, "ready? Ready for what?" he immediately dread the worst.
His father laughed, grabbing his son in for a warm hug, "why are you being like this? I know marrying someone you don't know well is a bit scary, but courting her will help over the year."
Everyone in the room stopped conversing and parted way in the middle to make way for the Hun Prince's potential bride. Raya stepped inside the ballroom with her mother and sister by her side. She wore a dark long sleeved gown and a red veil over her head with chains and coins draped over her pale face.
Attila grabbed Ellac's arm and brought him to the front of the room and now all eyes were on them. Ellac felt like he was about to be given his death sentence, surrounded by all of his friends and family, including people from an entirely different tribe that he didn't even know.
Raya walked down the center of the room with eyes constantly staring at her and she reached Attila and Ellac. She smiled up at the prince and he barely budged. Attila frowned and nudged his son's arm. Ellac cleared his throat and took off the veil from Raya's head, exposing her face. Her brown doe eyes lifted, staring into his light eyes and he held his breath, seeing his fiancée for the first time. She was certainly a pretty girl, soft face, small mouth, narrow long nose and big chocolate brown eyes as well as long strawberry blonde straight hair.
If he were any other guy, he felt like that guy would feel so lucky to be marrying this girl. She was gorgeous, but she wasn't Anastasia. At this moment he felt terrible because he could never fully commit himself to love this girl in less than a year, although his father said this was a political marriage for his future kingship, but at the same time, Attila married Cera, Ellac's mother, and he loved her. He was absolutely heart broken when she died and then soon after married Kreka, also a woman whom he loved a lot and now their love had grown apart in recent years. But now Ellac realized since his father was bored with Kreka, he married another woman, a woman he didn't truly love at all and Kriemhild did not give him any children thus far and probably would be divorced from one another soon enough. Ellac didn't want to be stuck with a woman he didn't love at all for years and then eventually have children in a loveless marriage. It seemed so miserable to him.
He smiled falsely anyway, "you look...very nice," he whispered and Raya lowered her eyes, shy of his compliment.
"Well, well, well!" Xena's voice boomed through the room as she made an entrance with her brother behind her. She smiled at everyone and she felt most of the women glaring at her. She stopped in the middle of the ballroom and took off her long black gloves. "What's this? A party? And I was not invited?" she eyed Attila with a playful grin.
Attila raised an eyebrow and stepped down off the dais, "Xena..." he smiled nervously and tried to link arms with her but she pushed him away. Frowning he adjusted his colorful cloak, "I would have invited you of course, but...I thought you might be busy in Rome."
Xena's eyes lit up and she smirked, "Rome? Rome is boring, but let's talk about this...party," she eyed Ellac and saw fear in his eyes and then she noticed a beautiful young blonde girl standing next to him. Her smile widened, "oh, if I'm not mistaken, this looks like...a courtship ceremony," she circled around herself and saw all the guests glaring at her. She focused back on Attila as her smile faded and a menacing frown appeared on her lips, "is it?"
Attila sighed and turned back looking at his frightened son. He had never seen such fear in his son's eyes before, especially around Xena, whom he had known all of his life and always liked her. "Ellac is to marry Raya from Sklaveni."
Xena nodded her head slowly and she picked up a glass from a young servant girl standing in awe. She lifted the glass, "well, that must be very exciting," she smiled, "marriage can be so complicated, but I wouldn't know," she chuckled and the room remained silent. She lifted the glass of wine in the air, "I'd like to make a toast in honor of Ellac and his new bride."
Xander stood a few paces behind Xena and hung his head, folding his arms, fearing the worst. His sister was putting on quite a show but it was about to get ugly real fast and he wasn't sure that he was ready for this at all. Why did he agree to this, he kept asking himself?
She raised the glass and Attila eyed her, watching her every move. He knew something wasn't right by Xena coming here unexpectedly. He knew she was going to do something, but what? He saw a certain mirth and malice in her eyes, which worried him. "I'd like to thank you Ellac," she eyed the Hun prince and saw sweat dripping down his forehead, "for impregnating my daughter," she heard gasps and whispers around the room, "oh and congratulations on your new bride," she winked.
Ellac's stomach churned and he suddenly felt extremely nauseous and not to mention Xena's cold stare was not helping at all. Attila grimaced and walked up to Xena and she pulled out her sword, throwing the glass on the ground and pointed the tip of the blade at the king's chest. "How could you make such an accusation like this?!"
Xena furrowed her eyebrows, "accusation?" she scoffed, "your son had sex with my daughter and now she is carrying his child. Do I need to give you the details or shall Ellac do the honors for us?" she smirked and turned her head towards the nervous Hun prince. All eyes in the room looked to him and he froze. "Did you enjoy it?" she hissed at the young prince and he swallowed, unable to move. "How was it Ellac? Taking my daughter's virginity away?" she smiled.
Attila frowned and swung his arm forward, swinging close to Xena's face and she took a step back and sliced his arm with her sword. He groaned and saw a large bloody gash on his arm. "Everyone out!" he yelled to the guests and Xena's lip quivered, glaring at the Hun king.
As soon as the room was vacant Attila glared at his son, "is this true?" he asked his nervous son and saw Ellac's head hang in shame. "Oh my God," he rubbed his forehead, anger seeping out of his skin by the second. "How could you do that?! After we discussed your marriage?!"
Xena frowned, "he can speak for himself since he thinks he is man enough to have sex," she smirked and Ellac took in a deep breath, steadying himself and felt a bit dizzy, almost losing his balance.
"I did...sleep with Anastasia," Ellac finally admitted and saw such disappointment in his father's eyes while there was satisfaction in Xena's.
"I sent my daughter away to get an education and she comes back carrying a child, oh but not just any child, a Hun prince's child no less," Xena pointed her sword at Ellac. "If you weren't Attila's son I would slice you into a million pieces," she threatened.
Attila growled, "enough!" he yelled and Xena lowered her sword, lifting her chin with a scowl on her face. "We can all settle this without violence," he snapped his head to Xena, "right?" he pressed in a terse tone. She rolled her eyes and sheathed her sword, raising her hands to surrender.
"Father, I'm...I'm sorry, I didn't –"
"Be quiet," Attila hissed at his son and Ellac shut his mouth, biting his bottom lip. "We need to discuss marriage arrangements."
Xena's eyes widened, "my daughter is not going to marry him!" she scowled at the prince.
"Your daughter is carrying a prince's child, Xena. I will not allow my son's first child to be born out of wedlock," Attila folded his arms.
Ellac looked at two arguing back and forth, "don't I get a say in this?" he asked.
"No!" both said in unison and he stumbled back, frightened of them both.
Xena focused back to Attila, "just because she is pregnant doesn't mean she has to marry him," she folded her arms defiantly, "I refuse."
Attila stepped forward, close to Xena's face and both glared at one another, "I am the king of this empire. You are not in charge here, Xena. This is my territory, not yours," he reminded her of her place.
"I don't care if you are king of the world," she smirked, "she is my daughter and she is not marrying your son, end of discussion."
The Hun king's patience was wearing thin with this woman and he groaned inwardly. "Then she will stay here in Aquincicum with me and Ellac. You are welcome to come back."
She laughed, "absolutely not! She stays with me in Rome because that's where I work now."
Ellac frowned and his father and Xena kept going back and forth, arguing among themselves. "I want to help," he interrupted and they both ceased talking.
Xena raised an eyebrow disapprovingly, "I think you've helped enough." She gave a disgusted eye roll and Ellac narrowed his eyes.
"If I am not allowed to marry your daughter, then at least let me see her," he said and Xena smiled eerily. "Please, Xena."
She laughed aloud, "let's get something straight, boy," she walked forward, coming up the stairs onto the dais, towering over him. "You don't get to decide."
"But it's my baby!" Ellac yelled in her face and she grabbed him by his throat and his eyes popped out of his head and clutched onto her hands.
Attila's jaw dropped, "Xena!" he shouted and saw she wasn't letting go and his son's face began to redden. "Xena, stop it!"
She heard Attila and snarled, releasing the prince and he coughed, doubling over, holding onto his father's throne for balance. "Anyone else...and you'd be dead," she whispered and he glanced up at her, rubbing his sore throat.
Attila sighed and Xena stepped off the dais. "You came all this way to tell me this and you don't even want to compromise?"
Compromise. Xena's new favorite word, though it wasn't Gabrielle's favorite word. She realized that compromise wasn't a good way to live through life, but she didn't want to Ellac to marry her daughter just because she was having a baby. She herself never married Borias and still had Anastasia, though she was older, but she remembered when she was pregnant and felt much like Anastasia did –like a child. She was inexperienced and had no idea how to raise a child at all even if she was a mere six years older than her own daughter.
She knew that nobody knew how to raise children from the start, but at fifteen, these two were more like children than adults and had no idea what they were getting themselves into. Then she remembered what Gabrielle told her and that these things happen and that she must deal with it and so far, she hadn't been dealing with it well at all, despite showing support to Anastasia, she also wasn't fair to Ellac, but then again she thought...why should she be?
"I don't want to compromise," Xena said and saw confusion in Attila's eyes. "I can't fix this and neither can you. A marriage isn't going to magically fix this."
"But it would make sense," Attila replied in a more calm voice this time.
Xena frowned, "of course it makes sense, but they are teenagers, Attila! I have a pregnant fifteen year old in Rome right now and this is one thing I cannot fix. This is not a flesh wound that I can heal and then a week later it will be gone. All because your son can't keep it in his pants," she glared at Ellac and his cheek blushed.
Attila rolled his eyes, "you are obviously opposed to marriage, so what do you want to do?"
Ellac spoke for himself, "I want to see her," he said and Xena scoffed audibly. "I love Anastasia and if I can't marry her then...I want to at least be with her."
Xena smirked, "and what are you going to do for her?"
The prince sighed heavily, "help her in any way I can. It's my baby too and she doesn't have to be alone," he folded his arms, standing his ground and Attila wagged his head while Xena continued to glare at him. Both of them had a staring contest with one another and she blinked finally, averting her eyes away.
Xena recalled the moment when she told Borias that she was pregnant and she was definitely more scared than she had ever been in her entire life. She felt alone for the first few months and even debated if she should tell him or not, fearing that he'd leave her alone by herself, but his reaction was the exact opposite. That not only surprised her but also made her feel better about the entire situation knowing that she was not alone and realized that Anastasia probably felt alone, though she had her and Gabrielle, she was indefinitely alone. Xena didn't want her daughter to feel as if she had to go through this alone and she had a feeling that Anastasia knew she was carrying a child long before she came to Rome and was too afraid to tell Ellac, fearing that he'd reject her and leave her, much like Xena felt fifteen years ago.
She didn't wish her daughter to feel the same doubts and misery that she herself felt and at least she had Borias with her the entire time and he was more than supportive of her and Ellac had shown the same reaction, even more so at his age. Sighing loudly she turned to the young prince, "if you come with me, I don't want you two in the same bedroom, alone," she stressed and saw a smile creep on Ellac's face. "I want Anastasia to continue her studies and you won't get in the way of that."
Ellac nodded his head vigorously, "of course, anything you want, Xena."
Xena rolled her eyes and walked off, seeing her brother casually leaning in the doorway, waiting for her. He grinned and walked beside her. "You're allowing the boy to come with us to Rome?" he asked with a cheeky grin.
She groaned, "my daughter didn't make this baby by herself," as much as she hated to admit it, Ellac was the father and he definitely had a right to be around Anastasia, though she wanted to rip him to shreds, she felt even more proud of herself that she didn't do any more damage to Attila or Ellac during this unexpected visit.
Xander kept smiling, "I'm impressed with you, Xena. You've actually managed to show some compassion," he chuckled and pat her shoulder and walked off.
She stopped in her tracks and once she heard her brother say that word compassion, she was reminded of Gabrielle. She was told by Gabrielle that she lacked compassion towards others and she had it inside her but refused to show it. One couldn't learn how to sympathize and show compassion, they were either born with it or they weren't. She smiled softly, remembering that Gabrielle's words had definitely stuck in her mind even from hundreds of miles away.
Aetius decided to make a visit to Magnus in the alcove once again and he felt as if he was losing Xena and he wasn't too sure if she was going to ask him to go to Constantinople, especially with her absence for the last week. She was on a trip, but he didn't know where she went and if he could know that, then perhaps that could help him solve this situation.
Magnus smiled, "Aetius, I didn't think you were going to come."
The commander nodded, "well, I'm here and I hope you have some more exciting news than the last time we met."
Magnus agreed, "indeed I do. Attila is back in Aquincicum at the moment but Constantinople is heavily guarded by the Huns. His wife is in Nicaea with the eastern Huns."
Aetius frowned, "and what of Theodosius? Where has he been taken to?"
"Supposedly the Ashina have him in China. I believe that he is still alive. All of my men from Nicaea have relocated to Antioch. Have you heard anything from Xena about the attack yet?" he was desperate to know and he was relying on Xena for most of his information.
Aetius sighed, "Xena is on a trip," he folded his arms, "I am not sure where she went, but perhaps...I should make a visit to her vacant villa."
Magnus smiled sneakily, liking that idea. "Yes, indeed, but not yet. You don't want her to suspect something and you shouldn't go to her villa while she is not there, it will seem as if you are spying are on her."
The commander nodded, "I will make a trip to Ravenna to discuss with Valentinian about what to do with Attila. He is obviously a problem and he has already tried to invade Rome and if it weren't for Pope Leo, he would have attacked mother Rome."
"He has been dormant for awhile but I suspect that he will want to invade Rome and conquer it this time," Magnus stressed.
Aetius agreed that Attila had something up his sleeve and that Xena had to be working for him, it only made sense because Constantinople was taken over by Attila, though Valentinian had no idea what was going on. He was definitely living the clueless emperor life and was completely immature and had no seriousness regarding the danger of the Huns coming into Rome. Valentinian may believe that Attila will stay in Aquincicum for the rest of his life and had no desire to invade the west, but he couldn't be more wrong. Attila was a conqueror and he wanted to expand his empire and Valentinian needed to learn that there were more people that hated Rome and Attila was one of those people especially if Xena is working with him.
"I will make a journey to Ravenna then," Aetius smiled and walked off from the alcove. He wanted to leave as soon as possible and needed to be back in Rome before Xena returned, whenever that might be.
Over the next few days Xena sat with Attila in his large Adame discussing Constantinople and the future of Rome. It obvious that Attila wanted to expand his empire further into the west. He wanted Visigoth territory, Frank territory and Gaul, but he couldn't have that unless he had Xena by his side and Xena was more than willing to help him conquer those regions.
Xena pointed at the map spread out on the table. "Peticus needs to return Theodosius back to Constantinople in order to fool Aetius. I plan to send him to Constantinople for an attack and I wanted you to be there."
Attila frowned, "and you wanted me to attack him?"
She grinned, "yes but I think he is onto me working with you. He keeps asking me about Constantinople and since I haven't given him an answer he is growing more frustrated by the day."
He rubbed his bearded chin and pointed to Rome on the map, "if Theodosius comes back to Constantinople he is going to warn Aetius about you and me."
Xena nodded, understanding his point entirely. "We will threaten him. He will have his palace back and his empire back for now," she winked and he smiled, shaking his head at this woman. "You will station half your men in the outskirts of Constantinople hidden from Aetius when I send him."
Attila smiled, liking that idea very much. "And where will you be? In Rome?"
"Yes, but when I tell Aetius to attack I will be in Nicaea with Kreka. He will pass through Nicaea before he reaches Constantinople. I'm sure he will be surprised to see me," she tapped her fingernails on the map and Attila sighed heavily.
"I think that's enough strategic warfare for today," he stood and she copied him. He grabbed her hand and both walked out of the large conference room in the back of the Adame. "You were very...upset when you came here a few days ago."
Xena frowned, not really wishing to talk about this again, she had avoided it ever since she came here. "It's going to take me a long time to get used to my daughter having a child of her own."
Attila smiled, "a Hun man claims a woman when she bears his child. Anastasia is Ellac's even if they are not married and you can't change that."
She sighed heavily, "I know that," she was once again reminded of herself and Borias when they were together. They too were not married though she was his and he was hers all because they had a child together."I just...feel like I've failed my daughter."
He raised an eyebrow with a subtle smirk, not quite sure how to take that. He had never really seen Xena show such emotion as that and certainly never blamed herself for anything, even if she was in the wrong. "You didn't fail her, Xena. The only way you will fail her is if you're not there for her."
She shot him a shocked glare, "I would do anything for my daughter."
He nodded and brought her close to him, "I know you would and you have," he sensed that Xena was not convinced at all and was still upset and worried about her daughter and his own son, together, and having a child together. "I think that you will love the baby when it comes," he winked and finally saw a small smile on her lips.
"I already do," she admitted shyly, "after I got over the initial shock of course," she smiled and he laughed softly, admiring her vulnerability.
Attila sighed softly, "you should show this softer side more often, Xena. I haven't seen you like this since you gave birth to Anastasia."
Xena watched Attila walk out of the Adame and thought to herself that Gabrielle was right. She was not soft at all, though Gabrielle believed that she was indeed soft on the inside. She supposed that she refused to show that soft side of her because she didn't want to appear weak in front of her enemies but as Gabrielle said, she could never be weak even if she shows her softer side when she was not being a commander or a conqueror. It seemed that she had a lot to work on herself more than anything and shouldn't act so selfish and angry all the time for the sake of her sanity.
In the middle of the foyer Ellac came inside and as soon as he saw her he panicked and immediately turned the other way, leaving the Adame. She sighed and called out, "Ellac, wait," he paused and slowly turned around, anxious and fear stricken eyes. "I want to talk to you," she wagged her finger and his head hung as he approached her. "I'm allowing you to come back with me to Rome to be with my daughter."
He nodded, straightening himself up as he stared up at the towering woman before him, "I will be there for her in any way I can, I swear."
She smirked and definitely felt his sincerity in his words. "I hope you can live up to that."
Ellac felt extremely nervous and he smiled cheekily, "I won't disappoint you. I will take care of Anastasia and the baby,"
Xena was almost tempted to roll her eyes but she controlled herself and closed her eyes for a brief moment and took in a deep breath. "If you hurt her in any way, I will make you wish I were never born, got it?" she threatened and his smile disappeared and he bobbed his head enthusiastically. "It may be your child inside my daughter, but it's my grandchild. Don't make me regret my decision," she smiled and pat his cheek then walked off.
Ellac's face paled as soon as Xena left and he let out a breathy exhale, feeling incredibly nervous. If he wasn't nervous before, he definitely was nervous now. If he messed up one time he was sure that Xena was going to rip him a new one and he'd probably never hear the end of it from his father.
