Okay obviously I said earlier in this story that it wasn't going to be as long as its predecessor but I lied lol. It's creeping up to the same amount of chapters as the previous story. Anyway...enjoy the many adventures from Xena, Gabrielle and Hun family ;)
Chapter 37 –Romans, Persians and Khat
Gabrielle picked at the cooked scorpion and cringed in disgust. She set down the scorpion and eyed Xena whom also had the same expression on her face. Although, Gabrielle had to give Xena props for even trying to consume that huge black insect.
"I am getting really sick of eating this stuff, Xena," she complained. "Bugs are not food and neither are giant leaves. No matter how much you cook the leaves it still tastes like a plant!"
Xena nodded and was slightly amused by Gabrielle's attitude towards food. She never thought she would be so upset about food until now. Sometimes in Pannonia, she complained about eating a lot of goat or rice, but this was a whole new level of complaining.
"It's not that bad. Besides, this is only temporary. Once we get to civilization I'm sure they will have regular food." Xena picked at the scorpion and lost interest so she tossed it aside into the sand.
"Yeah, not so good, is it?" Gabrielle folded her arms, pouting."Who knew Africa was so big. Are we even close to Arabia yet? We've been on the road for weeks."
Xena sighed and looked at Kahina's men sitting by a campfire, talking and laughing with each other. "We shouldn't be too far. Maybe a few days until we reach the Red Sea. That's how we'll know when we're close."
"Whose idea was it to come to Africa again?" Gabrielle teased.
"Ha-ha, very funny." She crossed her legs and sighed deeply. "I wonder how Anastasia is doing..."
Gabrielle smiled and scooted closer to the warrior for warmth in the middle of this cold desolate desert. "Well, you could write to her. I'm sure she would be happy to hear from you."
Xena frowned and kicked the sand with the heel of her boot. "I missed Csaba's birthday and Arielle's first birthday and I'm about to miss her second birthday."
"You can send them gifts. I know Csaba really likes your gifts. You haven't disappointed him yet," Gabrielle nudged her partner's arm playfully and then saw Xena wasn't in a playful mood. "Maybe when we're finished here in Arabia, we can go back to Pannonia? You miss everyone. I can tell."
"Of course I miss them. They are my family but we have a mission to do. Plus, we get to explore all of these new places together," she smiled and Gabrielle sighed. "I know you aren't very fond of the desert, Gabrielle. Maybe we can go somewhere else after Arabia."
Gabrielle arched her eyebrow, staring into Xena's wondrous eyes. "Or we could go home."
"Or we could continue traveling," Xena egged her partner on. "Like China..."
"China?!" the blonde gasped. "Xena, I think you're beginning to like this traveling business a bit too much."
Csaba stood outside of the Adame in the middle of the encampment swinging his sword. He practiced by himself since his grandmother wasn't here to teach him and both of his parents were too busy to train him. As he was practicing in peace he felt eyes watching him. Swiftly he turned around with the blade pointing at his spy.
The eldest son of Ebnedzar put up his hands as soon as he saw the blade. Csaba lowered his weapon and grumbled to himself then went back to training. Oran, fifteen years old, only a year older than his cousin, was fascinated by the swordplay and stood, watching his cousin continuously swing the sword back and forth.
"You don't have a lot of control," Oran said.
Csaba frowned and turned around to see the smug look on his cousin's face. "When I ask for your advice, I'll let you know." He heard his older cousin snicker. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing. I just thought you could use some help."
"I don't need your help." Csaba snidely said and Oran sighed heavily, though he did not leave the field and continued watching Csaba swing the sword out of anger. Csaba turned and his arrogant cousin was still present. "You know, just because we are family, doesn't mean we have to hang out with each other."
Oran couldn't agree more to that statement, but he chose to stay anyway. "My father told me I should get to know you better and...your mother threatened me."
Csaba chuckled and stuck his sword in the grass. Folding his arms, he cocked his head at his cousin. "Alright fine. What do you want to do?"
"What is there to do around here?"
Csaba rubbed his chin and spotted the horses at the Adame's stables. He mischievously smiled and nudged his head in that direction. Oran turned his head and saw huge black stallions being groomed by Bulgur servants outside. "We could go riding and maybe hunt something. What do you say?"
Oran raised an eyebrow and saw the royal stamp shaved on both of the horses' hindquarters. The two animals also wore a large sash around their necks and had their manes and tails braided. "Not that I wouldn't want to go hunting with you, Csaba, but those horses look like they aren't to be ridden."
"The large one with the white hooves is my grandmother's horse. She left it here."
Oran frowned. "I thought Kreka Khatun was your grandmother."
Csaba eyed him suspiciously. "I mean, I guess she is, but I don't call her that. I was talking about my grandmother from my mother's side. That's her horse."
The elder cousin nodded. "I see. And the other horse?"
"I'm not touching that horse. He belongs to my mother. We can use my grandmother's horse since she isn't here. So, you want to go hunting or what?" Csaba lifted his eyebrows and Oran smiled.
On the steps in front of the Adame, Erzibet stood as she watched Csaba and his cousin, Oran, take Xena's horse and ride off into the fields together. She couldn't help but feel a bit jealous of the boys' relationship. She was told to spend time with Csaba, ordered by his mother and her cousin, Peroz. But as the weeks went by, Csaba was more preoccupied with training with swords and hanging around his cousin. She knew that his mother was forcing the two to spend time together, but she wanted Csaba to notice her more.
Her fingers grazed along the veil that hid her face and sighed heavily. Erzibet began to think that Csaba was no longer interested in her because of her culture and garb she wore on a daily basis. All the women knew her face well, but she was forbidden to reveal her face to any man unless she was to marry said man. A rule that her own mother gave her when she was a child and her father was very strict when it came to meeting boys. She wondered how her parents were doing in Persia. She knew that Ellac and Anastasia were rounding up Huns around the tribes to invade Persia –her home.
The longer she thought of the invasion, she wondered if she was to be sent back to her parents or remain here with the Huns. She too, was a Hun and Persian mixed together, though she stuck with her Persian customs, completely ignoring her Hun traditions. The more she stayed in Pannonia, the more she wanted to embrace her other side of her culture. She had lived in Persia her entire life and although it was nice to be brought to the palace to see her cousins from time to time, she got the feeling that she wasn't entirely welcome there. Her cousins didn't see her as one of their own kind. She was forever a half breed.
A hand came to her shoulder and she gasped. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Csaba's foreboding mother standing over her. Quickly, she lowered her gaze, feeling suddenly very insecure about herself and cursed her thoughts of the young prince.
"Your majesty..." she greeted in a soft voice.
Anastasia raised an eyebrow at the girl. "Why are you not with Csaba? He was supposed to be with you today."
Erzibet hid her large brown eyes from the queen. "He...he went off riding with Oran."
Ana snapped her head towards the stables and noticed her mother's horse was missing. Of course, she thought, Ebnedzar's son was trouble and Csaba was following in his cousin's footsteps. "I see," she said and crossed her arms. "Go inside and stay with Leila for today. She is in the women's quarters with Kreka, trying on her senlik gown. I'm sure Kreka would love it if you helped her with the fitting..."
Erzibet nodded. "Alright," she brushed by the queen but she was troubled by her own thoughts. "Your highness," she turned and Anastasia frowned.
"Yes?"
"Are you really going to invade my home?"
Anastasia's eyes lowered and she unfolded her arms. "This is your home now, tatli kiz. Forget everything you know about your homeland. You are no longer a Persian. You are one of us now. You won't ever be going back to Persia after what me and my people are about to do to it." she said and saw the girl's eyes grow in fear. "Go to the women's quarters," she ordered and Erzibet briskly walked down the hallway.
She looked beyond the Adame at the fields and forest over the hill. Her mother's horse stolen by her own son. "Csaba..." she growled.
Xena, Gabrielle and Kahina's men crossed the ports along the Red Sea and entered Arabia within a few days just like they predicted. Gabrielle grew tired of the desert and although the flat desert lands in Arabia were far better than the rolling sand dunes in Africa, she preferred to be in Pannonia. Anywhere but the desert was fine with her. She wasn't too sure if her partner was content with the desert lifestyle either.
As they tread through the flat planes of Arabia, they stumbled upon a lively village off the coast of the Red Sea. This place was nothing like Kahina's tribe in the Aures Mountains. This was a village that reminded Gabrielle of her own village of Potidaea. Small and quant with a large enough population living in it.
It was times like this that she missed the booming city of Athens and the busy streets filled with vendors, children playing in the dirt roads and parties on every corner at night. She had grown accustomed to living in Pannonia and that was nice too. The weather was always subtle and easy to adapt to. Each season was clear and the air always crisp, no matter what time of year it was. The grassy planes of Pannonia was nice and much better than this hellhole desert that she and Xena traveled through the last few months.
As they made their way through the village, eyes turned their direction. Whispers and hushed voices were in every corner. Gabrielle looked up at her partner and saw that she was well aware of the surrounding eyes that were glued to them. It was obvious they were outsiders and she wondered if they were going to be arrested here too like in Kahina's tribe. The people seemed more fascinated by their presence and hopefully did not see them as a threat. Although, Kahina's henchmen were no help in conveying their innocence. But, they were not truly innocent. Xena was on a mission and Gabrielle followed through with Xena's plan, no matter how crazy it may be.
"What exactly are we supposed to be looking for?" asked Gabrielle.
Xena observed the numerous vendors, merchants and women veiled from head to toe, walking through the busy streets. Even though she could not see the women's faces, she felt their eyes on her and the crew behind her. "We should lay low. This place is more modern compared to Kahina's tribe."
Gabrielle nodded. "And how are we going to do that? People are looking at us as if we are leapers," she whispered. She felt the urge to cover her face and blonde hair the more others leered her way. If she didn't feel like she stuck out like a sore thumb before, she definitely did now. The desert life was not for her, she concluded.
Walking through the busy streets, they finally came to a more calm area of the village. Xena spotted a man handing over a wad of tree branches to a horseman. "Khat," she muttered. Gabrielle immediately looked in the same direction. Together, they eyed the transaction before the horseman took off with the wad of khat strapped to his horse. "We need to follow him."
"Wait a minute," Gabrielle grabbed Xena's arm. "We can't just do whatever we want here, Xena. We aren't from here. Remember what happened last time? We were prisoners for awhile. We shouldn't be too hasty."
Xena hated to admit when she was wrong, but Gabrielle had a point. "Fine. We'll go talk to the khat trader then." She tugged on the horse and marched over to the man counting his coins.
The dark skinned man halted counting his bounty when two women approached with several men to accompany them. He slipped his coin into a pouch inside his pant pocket. He was not used to seeing women with their faces unveiled and he knew instantly, they were not from this area of the world.
"Such gorgeous foreign women. What can I do for you?" he greeted politely with a charming smile.
Xena smirked and hid her sword with her robes, just so she wouldn't scare the man off. "I don't know if you noticed, but we're not from here. We were wondering if you could point us to a place to stay for awhile?"
He nodded and kept his eyes on Gabrielle. She almost wanted to cringe in disgust, but kept her mannerisms to herself. "Of course. There is a place you could stay just up the road. If you don't mind me asking, what are you foreigners doing here in the desert? Are you from the Byzantine Empire by chance?"
Xena and Gabrielle shared a confused look with each other. "Byzantine Empire?" the warrior questioned.
The trader cocked his head. "I take that as a no," he chuckled lightly. "You must be from Rome then?"
"Sure," Xena said curtly. "We have an abundance of khat in Rome. Surely, you know what that is?"
"Why yes I do, lovely lady. We just got a shipment in today from Tunis. I would offer you a plenty of khat, but I'm afraid that you will have to wait until the next shipment."
She nodded. "And when is that next shipment?"
"Tonight, after the sun sets. If you come back to this spot, I will have branches for you to pick out at your leisure." He said with a cheeky grin and she smiled falsely.
"I'll be sure to be back tonight then. You said there was a place to stay up the road?"
He pointed to a large stone building at the end of the road and almost in the middle of nowhere. Perfect, more desolate areas, she thought. "My friend, Haman, runs an inn for travelers such as yourselves. I am sure he will be more than willing to help you out." He said and she took her leave.
Gabrielle clung closely to Xena and wrapped the scarf of her garb around her exposed face. "What was he talking about when he said Byzantine Empire? I've never heard of that empire before."
Xena frowned and looked back at the khat trader. He went back to counting his coin. "I don't know, but I'm sure we'll find out sooner or later."
Emperor Anastasius stood in front of his table, overlooking a large map of the Hun Empire. He had kept his promise to befriend the Huns and relied on them for aid if the time came. He just received word from King Ellac that his people would be invading Persia by next year and asked for aid from Constantinople.
He wanted to help the Huns, but he didn't want to war with Persia. That empire was far too great and he was positive that the Shahs of the Sassan household, allied with Odoacer. Persians could never keep an alliance with anyone unless it benefited them only. That is probably why the Huns never got along with the Persians over the last hundred or so years. Anastasius assumed that Ellac and Anastasia would need all the help they could get and he wasn't quite sure it was a bright idea to go into a war.
Flavius Justinian, head of the Nicene Council and appointed by the Bishops of Constantinople, walked into the throne chamber. Just then, he spotted the emperor glaring at the huge map as if he were afraid of it. He stomped his heel on the marble floor and the emperor lifted his head slowly, very slowly.
"Sir, you asked for me?" Justinian said a loud regal tone.
Anastasius sighed. "Yes. I have received word from the Huns in Pannonia. They want to invade Persia and require my aid."
The newly assigned general of the Roman army did not like the Huns, but he could not go against his ruler's orders. "Shall I send supplies to the Huns?"
"No. I want to send men to Pannonia. Their queen wants bodies. She doesn't care about supplies, they have plenty of weapons. I know these people and weapons are not an issue for them." Anastasius rubbed his chin and put a paperweight on the capitol of Persia. Peroz and Hormizd would have no idea what hit them if they were attacked by all the Hunnic tribes and Eastern Romans.
Justinian frowned, though he kept his composure. "If I may be so bold, sir," he began and Anastasius waved his hand to allow him to continue speaking. "I do not believe it is wise to befriend these savage people. They have allied with Romans before and were unable to remain fair to the agreement among both parties. This Hun Queen is just a woman and she is less powerful than you." He said. "Sir..." he added when he saw the horrid look on the emperor's face.
The emperor frowned and clenched his fists tightly. "I am in this position because of those people whom you call savages, General. You must not talk ill of the Hun Queen. She is a dear friend of mine and I made a promise that I would help if she asked. We are sending men to aid the people of Pannonia. Do I make myself clear?"
The general lifted his chin proudly. "Of course, sir. Forgive me for questioning your authority. I was just merely pointing out the flaws of the Huns. They don't exactly have a good track record with Romans."
Anastasius was well aware of that but he couldn't go back on his word now. He promised Anastasia, Gabrielle and Xena and he intended to keep their alliance and trust. "This is a different empire, Justinian. You shouldn't question me again."
"I will make sure to send men by tomorrow morning. Is there anything else that I can do for you?" the general asked, trying desperately to hide his irritation.
"Yes," the emperor wagged his finger. "Get me the reports from Nicaea. I want to know what the Bishops say about the economy. I have sent many a coin to their churches."
Justinian nodded and saluted his ruler. "I will get it done as soon as possible, sir." He bowed his head then quickly darted out of the chamber.
He rounded the corner once the doors were closed the throne chamber. The commanding officer of the imperial Roman army approached the irate general. "The emperor requires documents from the Bishops of Nicaea. Make sure they are sent over immediately." He instructed and the officer nodded. "Also, alert the soldiers that I will be sending two legions to Pannonia by dawn."
"Yes sir. Anything else?" the officer asked.
Justinian fidgeted his fingers and turned around, glaring at the closed doors. "Yes. There is something you can do for me. I wish to send a letter to the Hun King and Queen. This is a personal matter and will not go through the emperor. Understand?"
"But sir, I can't do that. All letters, personal or otherwise, if addressed to a monarch, must be overseen by the emperor."
"Do as I say, you insolent –" he raised his voice and noted the guards standing by Anastasius' throne room and calmed himself. "Just have the parchment and pen ready for me in my room. I will be back by nightfall." He grumbled and stormed off.
The sun set in Arabia and Gabrielle accompanied Xena to the roads once more. The desert was much different in the dark. The sand glistened under the moonlight and it look beautiful yet daunting and maybe frightening. Not knowing where you were heading or possibly being ambushed by tribal people were now on Gabrielle's and Xena's radar.
Just as promised, the khat trader received another shipment of khat. Xena and Gabrielle crouched down behind an abandoned fruit stand and saw the horsemen making the transaction with the trader. Gabrielle frowned and whispered, "aren't we going to go over there and buy the khat?"
Xena smiled deviously. "I'm not actually going to buy the khat, Gabrielle. I wanted to see the khat smugglers for myself. We're going to follow them."
"Of course we are," Gabrielle said sarcastically.
"Don't act too excited, Gabrielle," the warrior teased. "Come on, they're leaving."
Soon after the khat dealers from Tunis left the village, the two followed them on horseback across the planes of the desert. Another thing that was awful about the desert was that there was nowhere to hide. No trees to sneak up on your enemies or brush to hide in case they risked being caught. The Carthaginians caught on when they heard horse hooves trailing behind them.
Gabrielle pulled out her saber gifted to her by Kahina, and tapped Xena's shoulder. "Ride up to one of them!" she shouted and Xena gave her a nervous look. "Do it! I got this!" she smiled and Xena shook her head, but kicked the horse to quicken pace.
Closer and closer she rode next to the Carthaginian drug dealer. Gabrielle let go of Xena's waist and jumped over onto the man's saddle. Xena's eyes widened and while distracted, she barely missed an attack from her left side by the other rider. He swung his saber towards her and she leaned back, watching the blade glide over her face, merely inches from slicing her nose.
While Gabrielle was busy handling the other rider, Xena drew her sword and smiled at the Carthaginian. She thrust her sword to the side and he blocked her blow. She continued to thrust and swing her sword in several directions and noticed the poor man was barely able to keep up. She laughed loudly, which infuriated him. She knocked his sword from hand and he nervously looked at her. She thrust her sword, aiming it directly at his chest and he flung himself off the horse and rolled on the cold sand.
Gabrielle wrapped her arm around the rider's throat, causing him to lose control of the animal. Thinking quickly, she kneed him in the spine and he groaned loudly and let go of the reins. She smiled grandly then halted the horse and pushed the rider off onto the sand.
Xena hopped off her horse and walked over to the defeated Carthaginian. He tried to crawl away and run but she stepped on his back, forcing all of her weight onto him. "Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. Whatever will you do now?" she chuckled.
"Who are you?" he muttered as his face buried into the hard sand.
"That isn't important. What is important, however, are you and your little buddy. I know you are from Tunis and you just left that village. You were delivering khat, right?"
No answer.
"Right?!" she growled.
"Yes!"
She smiled and pressed her boot into his spine. Hearing him whine was very satisfying and she hadn't got a good chance to interrogate anyone lately so this would have to do for now. "I heard that your leader, Mustafa, is no longer in Tunis. He was captured by Kahina. Isn't that right?"
He frowned and reached for a dagger on his hip. She saw his roaming hand and smacked it with her blade. He retracted his hand and breathed heavily. He knew he could not escape now. "It is true. He is no longer our king. He has been rumored to be dead all thanks to that hamara, Kahina and the bitch, Xena!" he spat.
Xena raised her eyebrow and poked his back with the tip of the blade. "So, you won't mind telling me how you are still able to sell khat outside of Tunis?"
Gabrielle drug the man she tied up and threw him next to his partner. "I already questioned this one. There's no more khat in Tunis. Kahina burned every tree down."
Xena snarled at the man beneath her boot. "Where are you getting the khat?!"
"Let me go and I will tell you."
She laughed. "Not a chance. Tell me where you're getting the khat and I'll consider setting you free."
He groaned and struggled under the weight of her boot. "A village...south from here...farms hundreds of khat trees. That is the new supply."
"Are you lying to me?" she asked and pressed her heel into the center of his spine. "You won't like what I do to liars."
"I am telling the truth," he pleaded. "Please, I swear."
She let her boot off his back and slowly he rose to his knees. Gabrielle held the rope on the other rider and he saw the state his buddy was in. He took off running and Gabrielle frowned. "Aren't you going to do something?!" she growled.
"No. Let him go. He's a coward." Xena sheathed her sword and turned to the tied man. "Now, as for you..." she knelt down and pinched his cheeks in between her fingers. "Is your friend telling the truth? Is there a village that holds the khat trees?"
The man nodded. "Yes –yes it's true! Please, don't kill me," he begged.
She rolled her eyes and pat his cheek. "I'm not going to kill you. You aren't worthy enough," she smirked. "Let him go, Gabrielle."
Gabrielle eyed her suspiciously, but untied the man like she was told. He too, took off running and grabbed his horse. "You're just going to let them go? Just like that?"
Xena shrugged her shoulder. "They're young and have no idea what they're doing. I'm not going to drive my sword into someone who hasn't lived long enough to know what is right from wrong. That's just stupid."
The blonde arched her eyebrow. Xena waltzed over to her horse and mounted it. "You have changed," she noted and climbed aboard onto the steed. "Maybe I was wrong. Maybe you did need to get away from Pannonia." She teased.
Five days after Csaba and Oran left Pannonia to go hunting, they finally returned in the middle of the night. They were able to catch two rabbits and a small fox in the fields outside of Pannonia. Together, they walked inside the Adame as quietly as possible. They whispered a few words to each other and Oran went to his room in the guest quarters that he shared with his two younger brothers, mother and stepmother.
Csaba, with a big smile on his face, walked to his own bedroom in the back of the Adame. He took off his satchel and threw it on a chair. He turned around and saw a figure sitting down on his bed. He gasped and saw the dark figure rise off the bed. Slowly, he backed away and unsheathed the sword at his hip.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," his mother said in a calm voice as she walked into the candlelight.
His sword fell back into its holster and he stared into his mother's menacing blue eyes. Her features lit by candlelight was probably the most horrifying thing he had ever seen. "Mother...what are you doing in here?"
"I'll ask the questions. Where have you been?" she took a few steps forward and cornered him. "You've been gone for five days and you didn't bother to tell anyone where you were going. I found out from Erzibet that you left with Oran. And you stole your grandmother's horse. Who do you think you are?" she leaned down, glaring into his scared green eyes.
"I –I was hunting with Oran. We didn't do anything bad, I swear," he pleaded and she came closer and closer to his face.
She pinched his face and snarled. "You are not free to do as you please, Csaba. You can't wander off to go on a hunting spree whenever you feel like it. You are a prince of Pannonia!" she spat and he flinched. "You take the crown when your father dies, not Dengizich or Ernak, but you! You are not to leave this camp unless you are accompanied by a family member or royal soldier, do you understand?"
The teenager grimaced and slapped his mother's hand away from his face. "I am not a child."
Her eyes grew and with a furrow of her eyebrows, she grabbed his arm. "Yes, you are!"
"Stop ordering me around like one of your soldiers!" he said while breathing heavily.
Suddenly, her face softened as she stared into her son's eyes. The longer she stared at him, the more she saw her young teenager self staring back at her. She couldn't count how many times she defied her own mother and constantly combated her with the same language that her son just displayed.
"I'm not one of your soldiers! You can't give me orders!"
Anastasia let go of her son's arm and stepped away. Her eyes darted back and forth as her mind raced. She couldn't allow herself to be just like her mother, but it seems that it already happened. Everything that she hated about her mother, she had become.
"I..I'm sorry," she said softly and his frown faded. "You know that I love you very much. I would do anything for you," she smiled faintly and Csaba's frown returned. "But...I want you to understand that you aren't a regular boy, Csaba. You are a prince, Oran isn't. You have more responsibilities and I want you to obey me."
He raised his eyebrow and folded his arms, glaring into his mother's eyes. "We just went hunting," he said flatly.
"And you should have told someone instead of riding off by yourselves," she said calmly.
"What's the big deal? We weren't off at a wild party or anything," he chuckled.
In that instant her eyes darkened and an ugly frown formed on her face. "The big deal is that I don't want you wandering off by yourself, Csaba."
He snorted, "that's hilarious coming from you, mother. At least I didn't get Erzibet pregnant like father did to you."
Anastasia's mouth gaped and she was tempted to raise her hand to strike him. Instead she clenched her fist and stormed out of his bedroom. He poked his head out the door and saw her briskly running down the stairs.
She barged into the king's chambers and Ellac lifted his eyes from the pile of documents on the table. He saw the look in her eyes and she was fuming. She looked like she was going to start spewing fire and she would if she could.
"Something wrong?" he asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.
"I am going to kill your son," she said.
He raised an eyebrow and leaned back in the chair, folding his hands in his lap. "My son? I thought he was our son."
"As of now, he is your problem. He won't listen to me!" she took off her cape and threw it on the bed. He eyed her as she kept taking off every piece of her armor. He rose from the chair and walked over to her.
Ellac gripped her shoulders and shook her. "Anastasia," he said firmly and she stared into his eyes, her nostrils flaring as her chest rose and fell heavily. "He is not a piece of cattle that you can herd. You can't control every little thing that he does. Not even your mother could do that with you."
She relaxed her shoulders and her breathing slowed to a normal pace. "He insulted me."
"Whatever he said, I'm sure he didn't mean it. He's young and only says hurtful things because you are being a mother to him. Just forget what he said."
"But he –"
He put his finger over her mouth, silencing her. "It doesn't matter. Don't worry about Csaba. Don't be so hard on him. The more you argue with him, the more you will push him away."
She frowned sadly. "He told me to stop ordering him around like one of my soldiers," she said and he eyed her curiously. "I used to tell my mother that. I don't want to be like her. I don't want a strained relationship with my son."
He smiled and held her close, wrapping his arms around her. She leaned her head into his chest. "Your mother is a strong woman, just like you. And she was very hard on you growing up. She still is and it's only because she cares about you and wants the best for you. That's why you are hard on Csaba. You care for him. But there's one thing that she forgot."
She frowned and pulled away from his chest. "You were still a teenager and she forgot that. Just let him be a teenager, Anastasia. Don't deny him that like your mother did to you."
He cupped her cheeks and she cast a warm smile. "Thank you," she said and then wrapped her arms around him, leaning into his chest again. "He's still your problem," she said and he rolled his eyes.
Gabrielle and Xena reached the village that the young man spoke of days ago. They stopped on the outskirts of the village and Gabrielle spat some sand out of her mouth. "You know, this is a little bit more south than I expected," she grumpily said.
Xena smirked. "There's the khat trees over there," she nudged her head to the large field filled with planted trees. She saw men watering the trees and a man dressed in white robes talking to men with swords. "And that looks like our guy," she said.
"So what are we going to do now?"
"Talking with these kind of people isn't going to work. We need to do something drastic to get their attention." She watched the man in white robes walk back to a giant tent with a couple of men following him. "We're going to threaten him and force him to burn down the khat field."
Gabrielle frowned. "And if that doesn't work?"
"Then we'll burn it down ourselves!" Xena said with a big smile. Then she kicked the horse and rode down to the small village in the middle of the desert.
Their arrival wasn't welcomed warmly. There were no stares from afar, but instead men on horseback following them and men on foot running at them with swords in hand. Gabrielle panicked and saw at least five horsemen following behind. Men with swords came running at them as well.
One of the men grabbed a rope and looped it around Xena's horse. Now, they were surrounded by swords, javelins, horses and men. They had nowhere to run. Xena wasn't going to escape now. They had come too far to just run away.
"Who are you and why have you come here?" one of the men asked.
"We want in on the khat trades," Xena said with a smug grin. Gabrielle frowned and nervously glanced at the sharp ends of the swords which surrounded them.