AN: I made this chapter extra long just for you guys. Enjoy ;)

Chapter 29 –The Academy

Gabrielle stared at all of the children inside the academy. Ages ranging from eight to twelve but most of the children were eight to ten years old and a lot of the students were from Persian territories, some even from other areas of the world that she hadn't been to. This was going to be difficult to teach these children but so far they were being very quiet, waiting for her instruction. Belach decided to come back with them from Ankara and took up Xena's offer to teach alongside Gabrielle when Xena couldn't be there for whatever reason.

She was starting to think this was a running joke with Xena. The first day and Xena was nowhere to be found. Supposedly she was inside her palace organizing a way to redo the election system in her empire to allow people to vote on civil matters. This included the trade ban with China and Mongolia, which Xena was hesitant to open trading with those two territories because she feared that the Khan would come after Persia.

There, Gabrielle stood holding her long wooden staff, dull on both ends. Safety first, of course. She smiled nervously as the children blinked up at her. The room silent and awkward. She was starting to feel sweat dripping down her backside. She had no idea how to instruct these children and Xena had faith in her, but she didn't feel the same way.

Belach stood behind her holding a large staff as well, waiting for her to begin the class. "Any day now, Gabrielle," he whispered.

"I'm getting to it," she hissed then turned back to the quiet children. "Okay so, welcome to the sultana's academy," she smiled and all the children gawked at her. Alright, this is starting to make me feel really uncomfortable. "My name is Gabrielle and I will be your instructor. This is Belach, he is the assistant instructor," she waved her hand behind her.

Belach smirked at all the children. "Hi," he greeted and the children briefly eyed him then diverted back to Gabrielle.

"So...are you all excited to be here?" she asked.

Dead silence from everyone. She sighed heavily. Belach rolled his eyes and stepped forward, tapping her staff with his. She spun around and he smiled, twirling his staff. "Why don't we give them a demonstration? Just so they know what we'll be doing in this academy?" he suggested and she nodded.

Great idea, Belach, she thought. She smiled and walked backward, holding her staff with two hands, facing opposite of Belach. "We will teach you how to use this staff for self defense," she spoke to the children and they watched intently at the two.

He grinned deviously and thrust his staff forward and Gabrielle blocked his blow with a quick swing of her staff. He smiled and swung his staff to knock her off her feet and she jumped and jabbed the wooden staff into his chest and he stumbled backward. All of the children gasped and their eyes darted from Belach to Gabrielle.

"Alright Gabrielle..." Belach groaned and drove his staff downward and she side stepped him and thrust her staff, hitting him in the shin and he winced. She smacked his backside with the weapon and he fell to the ground, face forward. She planted the staff on his back and he sighed heavily.

"And that's how you do it," she grinned and all the children's jaws dropped. "Why don't we thank Belach for demonstrating his...skills..." she chuckled and he rose to his feet, brushing some dirt off his black clothing.

He smirked and all the children clapped their hands and finally had smiles on their faces. "Yeah, my pleasure," he grumbled. Rolling his shoulders backwards and cranking his neck he glared at Gabrielle. "Where did you learn how to do that?" he whispered.

"Your stepmother," she winked and he nodded.

"Of course." He folded his arms, holding the staff between his arms. He glared down at the children.

"So, you want to learn how to do that, right?" she asked everyone and they nodded their heads. "Great! So everyone pick a partner." She said and the children looked at each other shyly and she smiled. She decided to pick their partners for them to help relieve some tension.

A frown came to her lips when she realized there was an odd number of children. She counted everyone and only had nineteen children but there was supposed to be twenty, according to the list that Xena gave her. She looked over the heads of the horde of children and groaned knowing exactly who was missing.

"Where is Alexander?" she spun around to Belach.

The teenager looked around and shrugged. "I saw him eating in the dining room this morning. He was supposed to be here."

"Good morning!" Alexander waltzed into the academy, extremely late. Two hours late in fact. Gabrielle frowned at him and Belach shook his head. "Sorry I'm late I was...doing something else. Anyway, what are we doing today? Something that involves swords I hope." He folded his arms.

Gabrielle marched over to him and smacked him with the staff on his head and he gasped. "Why are you late?" she griped and he pouted, rubbing his scalp. "Your mother wants you here early in the morning just like everyone else, Alexander. Just because you're a prince doesn't make you special. You are just like everyone else here."

He pursed his lips and looked at all the children holding miniature staffs in their hands. Belach shoved a staff in his face and he barely caught the staff before it fell to the ground. He shot a glare to his elder brother and stared back at Gabrielle's angry eyes. He grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry, won't happen again..." he said in a soft voice.

She laughed mockingly and nodded. Grabbing him by the arm firmly she brought him to the front of the class. "Everyone, this is Alexander. Say hello to your teammate," she said.

"Hello Alexander," all the boys and girls greeted and the young prince stared up at Gabrielle nervously.

"He is the sultana's son, Prince of Persia and Greece," she said and Alexander smiled proudly. "And he was late to class today. We are supposed to work together as a team and Alexander isn't starting off as a good teammate."

Alexander furrowed his eyebrows. "Hey, excuse me?" he spat.

She pushed him forward and he gasped, nearly falling over to his knees. Gabrielle planted the staff on the ground and smiled at the arrogant prince. "And since he can't play as a team player then we will all suffer the consequences. So instead of learning how to spar this morning, we will run a few laps around the entire palace."

Belach stifled a laugh and Alexander spun around with horror in his eyes. "Gabrielle this is not fair!" Alexander whined.

"Yeah, not fair to your teammates," she snickered. "Come on, outside, all of you." She said and the children threw down their staffs and walked out of the academy, glaring at the prince. Alexander's face turned bright red from embarrassment and he shied away from their awful stares he received.

Belach trailed behind the children with Gabrielle by his side. "Finally, someone is giving him a proper punishment," he chided. She smiled at poked Alexander in the back.

"You're leading the first lap, Alexander." She ordered.

He groaned and rubbed his back. "Come on, Gabrielle!" he saw the change in her eyes and the irate expression on her face. "Okay, okay, I'm going!" he ran ahead of his classmates to the front of the line.


Xena sat at her desk inside her room, writing up a few documents to open up these subjects with her people. So far, she had three documents written and there was a lot more to be drawn up before the end of the day. She was working on the trade ban with China for the last hour and didn't know how to approach the subject.

She didn't really want to begin trading with China again but she knew that a lot of their supply, food and other goods were from China. She also began to realize that a lot of these items such as metals and silk were probably being traded outside of the Silk Road in a black market because there were still vendors in Persia that sold these items. She'd seen it with her own eyes but never cared enough to arrest the vendors and merchants for illegally obtaining the goods.

Now, if she reopened the trading agreement, she would probably have to go to China herself and discuss the deal and sign a treaty with China again. That was the only way she could promise the people to get what they wanted. So much work, so little time, she thought.

She dipped the quill into the ink bottle and began jotting down the mock treaty to China. She would have to make a real one soon, but for now, she needed to practice. As she was writing she heard yelling outside her window. It also sounded like a stampede of horses running through the sands.

The sultana set her quill down and walked over to the window, unlatching it and opening it she leaned her head out and saw all of her students in the academy, running around the entire palace it seemed like. She saw Belach running with them at a slower pace so the children could keep up with his long strides. Her eyes darted to Gabrielle, who was running in front of them all and Alexander trailing behind her.

"You're not keeping up, Alexander!" Gabrielle yelled over her shoulder with a smug grin on her face.

He huffed and tried to run faster to keep up with her. "I'm running as fast as I can!" he whined and she smiled, rounding the corner of the west wing of the palace.

Xena raised an eyebrow and watched everyone disappear behind the west wing. She smiled and then stormed out of her room, running down the stairs. She came to the north side of the palace on the second floor and saw the group continue to run. She opened the window and watched them all come to a halt in front of the academy. Everyone breathing heavily, except Belach and Gabrielle.

Alexander planted his palms on his knees as he bent over from the waist down, heaving heavily. "Are...are we finished...now?" he begged and wiped his sweaty brow.

Gabrielle folded her arms. "Are you going to arrive to class on time from now on?" she asked.

He lifted himself up and nodded tiredly, still panting from running around the large palace three times. "Yes...yes okay, I won't be late anymore! I swear!"

"Good," the blonde instructor grinned from ear to ear. "Now that we've all warmed up thanks to your teammate, we can begin sparring inside." She spoke to all the young students.

Alexander's mouth parted and he placed his hands on his hips. "Whoa, what? We have more training?"

Belach pat him on the back harshly. "That's right." He chuckled and lead everyone else into the academy while Alexander moaned loudly and stomped into the building with Gabrielle behind him.


A couple of hours after teaching the students how to use a staff properly they were able to spar with their partners. Although it took only a couple of hits to the face to some students to make Gabrielle realize that there were going to be a lot of accidents and possibly broken noses down the road. She decided to tie pads to both ends of their small staffs to make the impact less hurtful on their small bodies.

Belach walked around the room, weaving in and out between the students, observing their form and occasionally correcting and helping those that had some trouble wielding the large weapon against their partners. Meanwhile, Gabrielle remained at the front of the class, her eyes focused on everyone and so far they were doing well especially since the staffs were padded now. She didn't want any of these kids to come home to broken noses or busted lips on their first day. How bad would that look on her and especially on Xena?

Her eyes trailed over to Alexander sparring with a girl in the back of the classroom. He got knocked down onto his back for the second time in a row. She smiled softly, folding her arms, watching the prince get angrier and angrier by the minute. The more times he got socked in the face or knocked down, he relied on his rage and anger to fight, but it wasn't working obviously. Anger clouds the mind, as Xena says and he was letting the anger fuel his fire, which kept getting snuffed out by this red headed girl that kept smacking his face with the staff.

Alexander growled and leapt to his feet. "That's it! I'm done!" he threw down the staff and marched off to leave the academy.

Gabrielle grabbed his shoulders firmly. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Outta here!" he kept trying to exit but she kept her hands firmly planted on his shoulders. He began walking in place and he groaned. "Gabrielle!" he snarled.

She chuckled. "You need to relax." She said calmly and looked down at his contorted face and crinkled nose. His face resembled much of Xena's when she was angry, which was frightening yet more amusing on a child than his mother.

"Let's try again. I'll help you," she offered and he stopped resisting. She spun him around and marched him over back to his partner that was waiting patiently. He stopped and folded his arms, fuming inside. She smiled down at the thin redheaded girl. "What is your name?" she asked.

The girl beamed, "Oona," she said.

"That's a pretty name. This is Alexander," Gabrielle said.

Oona nodded. "You're a prince. I know all about you," she raised an eyebrow and Alexander's face paled.

"You...do?" he said in a timid voice.

"You know, for a prince, you aren't too good with a staff. Isn't your mom the ruler of this place?" Oona teased, gripping her staff.

He frowned and his eyes darkened. "I'm not going to spar with a...girl." his lips curled in disgust.

Gabrielle nudged his shoulder blade and he grunted. "I'm a girl and in case you forgot, your mother is also a girl."

"Yeah but that's different. She's my mom..." he rolled his eyes.

"Yes she is but I don't think she would be very happy with you right now." She advised and he sighed heavily. She picked up his staff from the ground and handed it to him. "Now, let me help you. Oona would still like to be your partner, right?"

Oona smiled. "Yeah, I like him. He's nice," she said and his cheeks flushed.

Xena walked into the academy and stood at the entrance, watching all of the young students sparring with each other. Belach turned, acknowledging her presence and she smiled at him. He quickly walked over to her, weaving through the children.

"So, what do you think?" he asked, folding his arms.

She nodded and looked over the heads of all the children and saw Gabrielle assisting her son with a girl standing opposite of them. "Very nice. I saw you all running around the palace." She turned to him. "Why?" she arched an eyebrow.

He smiled smugly. "Alexander was late to class and Gabrielle decided to punish everyone for his actions."

Clever girl, she thought. Applying lessons that she once taught all of her trainees in the beginning when they arrived to the palace. She was surprised that Gabrielle implemented something like that but Alexander definitely needed to be taught how to be a team player.

She decided to walk through the students to observe everything they were learning today. A few eyes gaped up at her as she walked by them and they stopped sparring with one another. She leered over them and grinned. "Keep going," she encouraged them and they slowly went back to sparring.

"Stop, stop!" Gabrielle said and Xena spun around.

Gabrielle sighed and took Alexander's staff from him. "Listen, Alexander, you keep leaving your face open for an attack every time. That's why she keeps hitting you in the face." She said and he nodded. she nudged her head for Oona to attack her and she immediately blocked the blow, holding the staff horizontally in front of her face.

"That's how you block her attack." She said and handed the staff back to him. "Now, you try."

He inhaled deeply and gripped the weapon with both his hands. Oona grinned widely at him with her big green eyes. She thrust her staff forward and he blocked it with the move that Gabrielle demonstrated to him.

"You learn fast," she said and Alexander smiled proudly at her compliment.

Xena, curious, sauntered over to the pair and Oona gasped, stepping away from her. "Sultana..." she said softly.

"How are things going over here? I heard that you gave your new classmates quite a run for their money this morning..." she eyed her mischievous son.

Alexander's face paled and he gave her a sheepish smile. "I was...late."

She nodded, crossing her arms. "And why were you late?"

He shrugged. "I...I...don't know."

"You don't know?" she pressed. "Don't lie to me, Alexander."

He exhaled dramatically. "I was eating helva in the kitchen okay." He grumbled, a bit embarrassed of himself. Gabrielle rolled her eyes and Oona hid her soft grin. "I said I was sorry and I won't be late ever again, I promise!"

Xena smiled and ruffled his hair. "Good."

"Mom!" he groaned and fixed his hair. His face flushed when he saw Oona trying to stifle her laughter. "You're embarrassing me..." he muttered and Xena eyed the redheaded girl and Gabrielle smirked.

"Oh...right," she got the hint and walked off. "Continue," she said and Gabrielle smiled, watching her leave their side.

Alexander frowned and stared up at his instructor. "Ahem," he said and Gabrielle spun around. "I think I can do it by myself now..." he hinted that he wanted to spar with Oona alone.

She smiled and eyed the redhead then slowly left his side. "Alright but if you need anything, just –"

"Gabrielle..." he groaned. He shooed her away and she walked off, leaving him be with his new sparring partner for the day.


Gabrielle sat with Xena inside her bedroom reading over the mock trade agreement with China that apparently Xena worked on all day. She nodded her head and sipped the wine, reading over the last few sentences. Xena kept eyeing her nervously not even bothering to touch her food until she was done reading.

"This is really nice, Xena! I am surprised that you decided to go ahead and write this." The blonde smiled and Xena was finally able to breathe now.

"You think it is good enough? I will need to make a real treaty of course but this was just for practice." The sultana said and tore off a piece of bread, eyeing Gabrielle intensely.

The blonde dipped the bread into a sauce and lifted her eyes to see Xena staring at her. Smiling nervously, she figured Xena was expecting some response. "Well, I think you did a good job. Can't wait to see the final product."

Xena chewed slowly and tapped her fingers on the table, watching Gabrielle think nothing of this treaty and kept eating quietly. "Gabrielle," she began and her counterpart lifted her head. "I need to go to China and convince the Khan to agree to this treaty. No traveler will go into Mongolian territory to deliver letters."

Gabrielle's jaw dropped and she set her fork on the plate. "Oh..." she paused for a moment going over what Xena just told her. "So, I guess you want me to come with you?"

The sultana half smiled and wagged her head. "No, I want you to stay here. I put you in charge of the academy for a reason. These are things that I have to do."

I am starting to see why you had no time for your family, Xena. You were always away tending to political matters to fulfill your empire and your desires over the years. And now, you can't just let your empire crumble even though you are at the top of the world. You still have to rule. I was foolish to think that would just go away.

Gabrielle put on a false smile. "Well, I'm always here and will do whatever you need to me to do."

Xena put her hand on Gabrielle's knee. "Thank you. It would mean a lot to me." She winked and then grabbed her glass of wine. "You did really well teaching those kids today. I knew you could do it."

The blonde blushed slightly. "Thanks. I think Alexander is finally understanding his place. I'm sure he won't ever be late again to class!"

The sultana chuckled lightly, glad to see that her son wasn't as a nuisance to Gabrielle as she expected him to be. She certainly knew how to put that boy in his place and he actually listened to her. "He did really well sparring with that girl I saw."

"Oh, you mean Oona?" Gabrielle cast a sneaky grin. "I think he likes her."

"I think so too," Xena said. "Just make sure those two don't spend too much time together."

Gabrielle coughed and nearly spit out her wine. "Xena, they're just kids." She wiped her chin.

"I know but I just –"

"There you go again," Gabrielle folded her arms with a crooked smile.

"What are you talking about?" Xena's eyes narrowed.

"You're babying him again!" she laughed lightly. "They're seven years old, Xena, not seventeen."

Xena let out a large exhale. "Which reminds me. Solan's birthday is coming up soon."

A mischievous grin formed on the blonde's lips and Xena saw that look in her eyes. "No we are not having a party. Not after the last one." She shuttered just thinking about it.

"It wasn't that bad, Xena."

"They tied up Saladin's sons and used my horse for a race!" she hissed and Gabrielle's eyes widened then she began laughing. Xena's irate eyes calmed and she too started laughing lightly. "I don't think Saladin will ever step foot in my palace ever again after that incident." She shook her head.

Gabrielle's laughter ceased. "Well, his wife offered to pursue courtship between her daughter and Belach." She said and then grabbed the half eaten bread, snatching it before Xena could. She lifted an eyebrow and bit into the bread teasingly. "Did you ever tell Borias about that, by the way?"

Xena frowned. "No, I didn't."

"But she keeps sending you letters doesn't she?"

"Well, he's not my son!" Xena griped. "I don't want to deal with it. It's not my place. I'll just send all the letters to Borias and he can deal with it. Belach is his son not mine."

Gabrielle grinned and threw the half eaten bread on her plate. "You have soft spot for Belach, Xena. Just admit it," she teased. "You treat him as one of your own sons. I've seen you do it before."

Xena lightly shrugged her shoulder. "I've seen him since he was a year old. It's hard for me not to." She sighed. "Anyway, I will be working on the new treaty for China this entire week. I will try my best to stop by the academy when I have time."

"No worries, Xena. I got those kids under control," Gabrielle said with a proud smile.

"Sure you do," Xena teased. "Just wait until they start talking back to you."

"I think I did okay for the first day! Come on, give me a break, Xena. I've never trained anyone in my life, let alone a bunch of kids!"

The dark haired warrior nodded and drank some of her wine. "We'll see how well you can keep it up, Gabrielle."

"Are you doubting me?" Gabrielle asked with suspicion.

"I didn't say that," Xena took a large swig of her wine, finishing the glass off. "Children get bored with the same routine. Just keep that in mind."

Just like you, right Xena? She eyed the sultana as she poured herself another glass of the dark wine. You will never be able to sit still, will you? You're always working, always moving. You are never in one place physically or mentally. I discover more things about you every day.

"I will," Gabrielle said and scooted her empty glass across the table. The two shared a warm smile together and Xena filled the glass generously.


Over the course of the next few days Alexander made sure that he showed up earlier than everyone else. He didn't want to run laps around the palace again and he certainly didn't want his new classmates to hate him. He had already got a few mean glares the first couple of days and everyone knew who he was. He was the sultana's son and he figured out that he was expected to be better than everyone here, but he also realized that he wasn't. He wasn't good at any of this –the combat training, the staff wielding or even climbing ropes –he was awful at it.

He suddenly wished that he paid more attention to his father's training with Solan back in Ankara. He spent so much time goofing off and now it was really coming back to bite him in the butt. He wanted to prove to Gabrielle and Belach and of course his mother, that he could be a good student in this academy.

Waiting inside he was cleaning his staff with some wax and the students started trailing in. He lifted his head and saw Oona walking over to get her staff for morning training. He immediately jumped up and ran over to her.

"Oona!" he said and she turned, smiling at him.

"Morning, Alexander," she greeted and waltzed over to a bench to sit and polish her staff.

He bit his bottom lip and followed her. "Can I sit with you?" he asked nicely.

She nodded and scoot over to make room for him. He happily sat down and continued polishing his wooden staff. He cast an occasional glance over at her. He saw that she was very focused on greasing her staff and he quirked his mouth, sitting in silence.

"Your hair looks really nice today," he commented.

Oona grinned and turned to him, eyeing his black short hair. "Yours too," she said.

His eyes widened and he kept smiling as they sat together. "So..." he began, "where are you from?"

She eyed him curiously. "From here of course."

He nodded. "Yeah but you have...red hair," he said and she frowned. "I mean, I've never seen girls in Persia with red hair." She kept glaring at him and he suddenly felt like he made a mistake. "It looks really pretty! I like it." he smiled.

She finally smiled and went back to waxing her staff. "My father is from Persia, my mother is from Greece." She said.

He gasped, "really? My mother is from Greece and my father is from the Steppes." He said. "We have a lot in common."

She chuckled, shaking her head then stood up, examining her staff. "You're a prince, Alexander. We don't have anything in common."

He leapt up from the bench and followed her. "What does that mean?"

She shrugged, "you're spoiled and you live in a big palace. We are...different." she twirled her staff with a teasing smile. He frowned sadly and her smile faded seeing that she might have hurt his feelings. "Hey, you're still my partner, right?" she nudged his arm and his face lit up again.

Belach was wrapping his wrists and his eyes traveled to the back of the room and saw his little brother talking to Oona. Gabrielle was busy handing out staffs to all the students that walked by her. He smirked. "Check out stud over there," he nudged his head over to the two.

Gabrielle spun around and saw Alexander with Oona alone together, sparring with one another before class started. She smiled softly. "Looks like he finally made a new friend."

"Can't wait 'til Xena sees this," Belach smiled and grabbed his staff, ready to start the class. Gabrielle rolled her eyes and smiled down at the children.


Solan walked through the gates of his mother's palace and saw a few changes since he last was here. He noticed a large building attached to the palace and peered inside the window and saw about twenty or so children learning how to fight with practice swords. And...Gabrielle leading the class, with Belach? He smiled and then saw Alexander in the back also learning and he was very focused, listening to every word that Gabrielle said.

He nodded and then looked up at the doors ahead. He didn't tell his mother that he was coming back from Ankara and told his father that he didn't want him to send a letter because he wanted it to be a surprise. Also, he felt that since his birthday was coming up, he should spend time with his mother after being three months apart from each other.

Waltzing into the palace he smiled at Dajan whom greeted him warmly with a bow. He slung his bag over his shoulder and ran up the staircase to his mother's room. He walked down the hallway saying hello to all the young servant girls and they were surprised to see him.

He knocked on his mother's door, always closed, of course. No answer and he knocked on the door again. Still no answer so he decided to open the door himself. Turning the knob slowly, the door creaked open and he poked his head inside.

Xena sat at her desk with her head in between her hands, glaring at the mountain of paperwork. She didn't even bother to lift her eyes. "I thought I told you not to let anyone disturb me." she said and then dipped the quill in the ink bottle and began writing.

Solan smirked and opened the door more and she growled. "Dajan!" she lifted her eyes and then saw her son standing at the door. "Solan," her eyes widened and she set down her quill. She smiled and stood then walked over to him. She embraced him tightly and he gasped for air.

He pat her back, "mom..." he croaked, "mom, can't breathe..." he said and she let him go and he exhaled deeply. She cupped his cheeks and stared into his big blue eyes. "Nice to see you too..." he grinned.

She lifted his chin, examining his face and he frowned. She then circled around him and he nervously clung to his bag. She folded her arms. "You got taller," she said with a warm grin. Almost eye level with her soon to be fourteen year old son.

"Well, that tends to happen," he joked. "Sooo...working on something important, huh? I can come back later." He offered and she grabbed his arm and placed him in a chair and she sat across from him. "Or not..."

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" she asked with a serious stone-like expression.

He smiled anxiously. "Oh well, you know...I know you're very busy and I didn't want you to go to any trouble. So I'm here anyway. I told father not to tell you I was coming. I wanted it to be a surprise." He said and she kept staring at him, making him more nervous than he thought. "You're not mad are you?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm not but I wish you would have told me." She chastised and he nodded. "So, how was Ankara? Did you like living there for awhile? Do you want to stay?" she asked, hopeful than he'd say no.

Solan smiled at his mother's spastic questions. "It was okay but I missed you. I saw Belach training some kids...never thought I'd see that."

Xena nodded. "I have an academy now for young students. Gabrielle is the lead instructor. Belach wanted to stay here so I told him he had to be the assistant instructor."

"I guess it's a good thing he stayed here. Natassa Khatun is driving me insane!" he growled and she couldn't help but smirk at that. "Father says that I have to help her with Nadia when he's away but let me tell you mother...Natassa Khatun is way worse than you."

She arched an eyebrow. "What is that supposed to mean?"

He smiled nervously. "I mean...you know, you make me babysit Alexander sometimes but she's way worse, trust me." He saw her eyes darken and he felt a lump in his throat. "You're not mean, I just...you know how she can be. Right?" he said and she remained silent. "Okay well I think I'll go say hi to Gabrielle and the others...and let you get back to your work. You look really busy. I'll come back later, okay!" he grinned and quickly left her room, almost tripping over himself.

She sighed and sunk in her chair. Did he just compare me to Natassa? She snarled at the thought. Then she couldn't help but notice that Solan mentioned that Borias was 'away', whatever that meant. Where are you going? Why? She tapped her fingers on the table and abruptly stood, hurrying to her desk. She was going to write a letter to Osman and ask where Borias has been to soothe her own curiosity.


Inside the academy, everyone was taking a break and sitting at the tables eating in a separate section of the building. Gabrielle sat with Belach alone and they talked about some new techniques they could use during their training sessions together.

Alexander and Oona sat together at a table by themselves. He was enjoying listening to her life with her parents in Jerusalem and he also talked about the other half of his family that lived in Ankara. In the middle of their conversation he spotted his brother walking in.

He dropped his spoon into the bowl. "Solan!" he grinned and hopped off the bench and ran to him.

Solan smiled and hugged his brother, lifting him off the floor. "Hey, Alexander." He ruffled his hair.

"Hey!" the boy grunted and fixed his hair. "Don't do that."

Belach and Gabrielle turned around seeing Solan. "If it isn't the blue eyed Greek boy," Belach teased and took a swig of his water.

"Nice to see you too, Belach," Solan said, used to his brother's teasing by now. "Gabrielle. Mother told me that you are in charge of this academy. That's really great. You definitely deserve it after what she put you through," he nudged her shoulder.

She raised an eyebrow. What is that supposed to mean, she thought? "Uh, thanks, I think?" she rubbed her shoulder. "What are you doing here?"

He sighed. "I wanted to come back for awhile." He eyed his older brother. "Your mother was driving me crazy."

Belach snickered. "Of course she was."

Alexander tugged on Solan's arm. "How is Nadia?" he asked, anxious to hear about his sister.

"Annoying," Solan said and his brother frowned confusedly. "She's fine, Alexander." He eyed the redheaded girl that kept staring over her shoulder at his little brother. A smug grin crossed his lips. "Who's that over there?" he motioned to the young girl.

Alexander turned and his cheeks flushed slightly. "Oh, that's Oona. She's my...friend," he admitted shyly.

"Friend, huh?" Solan said. "Well then I guess I should meet your new friend." He sauntered over to the redhead.

"Solan! No!" Alexander groaned and ran after his brother.

Gabrielle chuckled and picked at her food, watching Alexander die of embarrassment as Solan spoke with Oona. "I've never seen so many shades of red on that boy's face before."

Belach turned and saw his youngest brother hiding his face while Solan was having a polite conversation with the redheaded girl. "Don't you know, Gabrielle? That's obviously his girlfriend."

She scoffed. "He's seven."

"So? He really likes her," he shook his head and turned back around, lounging in his chair.


After lunch hour Belach began teaching the students how to fight in close combat with their hands only. This was the first time that they would be combating their partners. He strongly encouraged that they wrap their hands for this exercise and really hoped he didn't have to send someone home with a broken nose or black eye, but with the way some of these kids fought, he was sure that was bound to happen.

Solan sat, watching off to the side and Gabrielle walked over to him while Belach was teaching the students. She sat next to him. "What do you think?" she asked.

He nodded, admiring the academy his mother built. "I really like it. You're doing a great job as usual, Gabrielle. You know how to talk to these kids."

She smiled, feeling more proud of herself now that she heard those same words come from someone else other than Xena. "What made you want to come back to Persia?"

He sighed. "I missed everyone here. Not to mention...Natassa is annoying. She is so bossy." He cringed. "I forgot how annoying babies are. My mother always made me watch Alexander when he was a baby and he was alright, but Nadia is equally as annoying as he was." He shook his head. "So, that girl Oona, Alexander likes her a lot doesn't he?"

Gabrielle eyed Oona and Alexander throwing punches at one another. She half smiled at those two. "He doesn't really have a lot of friends here you know that."

"I didn't think he was going to befriend a girl!" he laughed. "What does mother think about this?"

"You know how she is."

He nodded, already knowing. "She's babying him again." He stated. There was no question about it.

She nudged his arm. "She's getting better. You should have more faith in her, Solan." She said and he shrugged his shoulder. "She allowed him to join the academy. That's something, right?"

"Has he got hit in the face yet?" he asked and he received a punch in the arm. "Gabrielle!" he chastised and then turned and saw his mother standing behind him. He gasped and fell off the bench at the sight of her looming over him. "Mom..." he sheepishly grinned and stood, brushing it off. "I didn't know you were standing there..."

Xena arched her eyebrow. "I see you haven't been training in Ankara. What exactly have you been doing over there besides being a babysitter?" she crossed her arms.

He slowly began backing away from her. "Oh you know, stuff."

"What kind of stuff?" she asked, taking a step closer and he took a step backward. "Solan..."

Gabrielle grabbed Xena's arm, pulling her aside. "Hey why don't the students show you what they've learned? I'm sure they would love it..." she suggested, trying to get her away from Solan. Xena eyed her son but willingly went with Gabrielle to the front of the class.

Belach turned and saw Xena and he put his hand up to halt the session. All of the children stopped training and stared up at the sultana nervously. Gabrielle eyed him and he nodded. "Oh right," he smiled. "Hey guys...and girls, would you like to show the sultana what you learned today?" he asked and they all nodded with bright smiles on their faces.

Xena observed all of the young students showing her what they learned over the course of the week. She stood with a big smile on her face, her eyes roaming the room, taking time to give attention to every single child in the room. Gabrielle glanced up and saw the warmth in Xena's eyes that apparently had been missing from her life for awhile now.

She clapped her hands as the children stood still, staring up at her. "Very good. You have a very talented instructor," she winked at Gabrielle beside her.

The blonde placed her hand on Xena's shoulder. "Maybe the sultana could come teach a class for a day?" she said and Xena's jaw dropped. "Would you all like that?" she asked the children and they bobbed their heads excitedly.

Belach stood behind them and Solan joined him. "Watch this, she's gonna blow up." He grinned, looking at Xena's face change from happy to irate in a matter of seconds after what Gabrielle suggested. "Wait for it..." he nudged his brother's arm. "Three...two..."

"Gabrielle!" Xena hissed in a hushed voice.

"Called it," Belach said and Solan rolled his eyes.

"Come on, Xena, they love you," Gabrielle whispered. "It's just one day. Your paperwork can wait for one day, can't it?"

Xena groaned lowly and looked at all the excited faces in front of her. She sighed and relented. "Alright...just one day!"

Alexander skipped ahead of the class and grinned up at his mother. "You're really going to teach a class, mother?" he asked and she nodded her head slowly and glared over at her blonde counterpart. "Oh, I wanted to ask you..." he grabbed her hand, leading her aside.

He wagged his finger, motioning her to come closer to him. She bent down close to his face and he whispered. "Can Oona come to the palace? I told her that she can have dinner with us."

She smiled softly. "Well, I guess that's alright," she whispered back.

"But I...I told her that I needed to ask you first," his voice softer than a whisper now.

She nodded and stood up right. He cleared his throat and wagged his finger again. She smiled faintly and bent down to his eye level once more. "And one more thing," he whispered.

"Yes...?"

"Tell Solan to get off my back about Oona!" he growled. She laughed lightly and pat his cheek.

"Okay, I'll make sure he doesn't bother you." She winked and he grinned then ran off to his spot in the back row.

Gabrielle walked over to Xena, nudging her in the ribs playfully. "You're going to keep your word, right? You'll teach a class?"

"It wasn't like I had a choice in the matter," Xena grumbled, crossing her arms.

"Come on, Xena. You know you want to. Those kids adore you."

"No, they adore you, Gabrielle," Xena cast a smile down at her. She looked over at her smallest son sparring with the lanky redheaded girl. "Alexander invited Oona to have dinner with us."

Gabrielle pursed her lips. "Oh boy, Belach was right."

Xena frowned. "About what?"

"Alexander has a girlfriend," Gabrielle said and saw the color drain from Xena's face instantly. She couldn't help but laugh at the hilarious expression on the sultana's face.

"You think this is funny?"

Gabrielle puckered her lips. "A little bit. You should have seen your face!"

Belach walked over to his stepmother, twirling the staff with both hands. "He's quite a looker already. Imagine when he's my age," he winked at her.

Xena frowned and folded her arms, brooding silently. "I'm going to lock Alexander in the palace for the rest of his teenage years."

Gabrielle gasped then chuckled. "That's hilarious, Xena." She said and saw Xena glaring at her youngest son sparring with Oona. "That was a joke, right? Xena?"

"What makes you think that I was joking?" Xena turned her head slowly and Gabrielle's mouth gaped.

Belach chuckled. "Well, you might have to worry more about Solan than Alexander." He slowly began backing away whistling. "Okay, everyone! Back to staffs!" he ordered the class.

Xena then spun around, gaping at her blonde son and Solan caught her eyes on him. He nervously looked about the room. "What?" he asked.


Xena towered over her son as he sat in a chair alone in her bedroom. "You've been spending time with girls in Ankara?" she asked for the third time and his head dipped. She scoffed and threw her hands in the air out of frustration. She began pacing around, biting her fingernail anxiously.

Solan would have to kill Belach later for tattling on him to his mother. "It's not that bad, mother..."

She whipped her head around and glared intensely at him. He sunk in the chair, averting his eyes from her harsh gaze. "Not that bad?" she smiled mockingly. "I don't send you to Ankara to spend time with girls, Solan! Does your father know about this?"

"Not exactly," he muttered.

"What?" she walked over to him and he sighed heavily.

"I said not exactly."

She folded her arms and cocked her head. "What is that supposed to mean, exactly?"

"What is so wrong about hanging out with girls?" he frowned, talking back to her. She widened her eyes.

"You're too young."

"I'm almost fourteen, mother!" he stood up, almost eye level with her. He quickly sat back down once he saw the awful look in her steely eyes. "It's okay if Alexander likes a girl but I can't?"

She rolled her eyes. "Your brother is seven years old. You are not." She said and the tension thickened in the room. She relaxed her shoulders and sat down opposite him. "Solan," she began in a soft voice, "I understand that you want to be around people your own age and that's why I left you in Ankara. But I expected you to be around boys your age not girls."

"So, I can't ever be around girls?" he asked and she smiled gently.

"Well...maybe if I meet them first?"

He groaned. "Mom..." he whined.

"My house, my rules." She smiled and nudged his knee playfully and he slipped a faint grin. "So, you met a girl in Ankara?"

He buried his face in his hand. "I don't want to talk about this with you."

"Why not?"

He lifted his head and saw his mother's eyes boring into him, making him even more nervous than he was moments earlier. "Because...you're...my mother..." he cringed.

"Come on, I'm understanding." She smiled and he gave her an incredulous look. "You told Belach!"

"He's my brother! It's different," he sighed. "Listen, I'll tell you later, but not right now, okay?" he said and stood. She quirked her mouth to the side and crossed her arms. "I promise." He smiled and she stood, looking into his blue eyes.

"I'm going to tell your father about this, you know that right?" she said, ruining the mood.

"I know..." he muttered.


Gabrielle gaped at Xena after she just heard what Solan did in Ankara. She couldn't believe it. Xena was fixing her hair for tonight and stared at Gabrielle through the mirror. "Well, say something, Gabrielle." She urged, starting to feel incredibly uncomfortable. As if the situation wasn't uncomfortable enough.

Clearing her throat, Gabrielle spoke after her long silence. "He is a boy you know...a teenage boy..."

Xena sighed and set down her hairbrush. "He doesn't want to tell me anything about the girl."

Gabrielle chuckled at that. "No offense, Xena, but you're his mother. He's not going to tell you anything."

Spinning around in her chair, the sultana frowned. "But why? I know him better than anyone."

"That's not the point. He's not going to tell you anything about girls, Xena. It's not because he doesn't love or trust you. It's just weird for him. I would never tell my father about any boy I went out with!" she waved her hand dismissively.

Xena's mouth parted, finding this information new to her. She never had to deal with anything like that with her mother back home, but apparently this was a normal thing. "So...what do I do?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?!" Xena scoffed.

"Xena, don't take it personally. He isn't going to feel comfortable telling his mother about girls. If he feels more comfortable telling Belach then let him."

Xena frowned and ran her fingers through hair. "As if he should be taking advice from a boy that slept with Osman's niece."

Gabrielle came up behind Xena and gripped her shoulders firmly. Xena froze and held her breath at her touch. "You really need to relax."

"That word isn't in my vocabulary," Xena smirked.

So I am seeing that, Gabrielle thought. "Well maybe I can write it in for you."