AN: okay my writer's block is over lol I know exactly what I'm going to do with this. I really enjoyed writing this chapter and of course a two part is necessary ;) good luck
Chapter 35 –Loss of Innocence and Bound by Fate Part I
Aetius rounded up his men in a camp far away from Aquincicum. After Theodoric told Aetius that he no longer wanted to ally with him to fight Attila for his stolen land, Aetius felt more confused than ever. Gabrielle was able to convince the Goth king to talk with Attila and somehow the two kings were able to come to some sort of compromise. Aetius had a hard time believing that Attila and Theodoric would even come close to a sane relationship with one another due to their past. He also didn't believe that Xena would want to even talk to Theodoric considering how volatile she can be.
Lucas ran up to his commander, "sir, there is a horde of Visigoths and Huns heading west, over the hill."
Aetius frowned and walked to the top of the east hill and overlooked the grassy landscape. He saw Xena and Attila riding in front of the Hun army and Theodoric riding behind them with his army. Folding his arms, he definitely thought it was strange that the two warring empires were together, for whatever reason. "Lucus!" he called out and his second in command came running towards him. "I want the front legion on the hill to shoot Xena down."
Lucas exhaled heavily, "sir, I don't believe that is the wisest idea."
"I am the one giving you orders, not the other way around. I want her shot down!" he demanded. "Do it, immediately," he turned and walked back down the hill to wait for the imminent attack.
Gabrielle kept her eyes peeled and looked around at the area, unsure if Aetius and the rest of the Romans had left the area or not. Her grip around Xena's waist loosened as she turned her head over her shoulder and stared at Attila as he was fiercely riding behind them. Turning her head over her opposite shoulder she saw Theodoric riding behind the Hun army on horseback with his own men. Xena leaned forward, riding even faster through two large mountains.
She whipped her head back around and over the hill she saw a row of soldiers with arrows laying down in the grass with their bows taut and ready to fire. Gabrielle instantly panicked and she grabbed a hold of Xena's shoulder. "Xena! The Romans!" she shouted in her ear and Xena lifted her eyes and she pointed to the hilltop.
Xena frowned and yanked on the horse reins, turning left. She waved her arm in the air and the Hun army split off with her to the left and Attila rode to the right, leading the other half with him. Theodoric split off his army with Xena on the left.
She circled around, retreating backwards and creating a spiral of the Hun army, while she remained in the center. She wrapped the scarf around the lower half of her face as the dust was being kicked up by the horses stampeding. Attila eyed her and she gave him a curt nod and he was now in the center of the massive spiral of men as was she. Halting both of their horses, Xena glared up at the hill and saw the row of archers, pulling their bows back.
Lucas frowned and watched the massive diversion right before his eyes. "Impressive..." he muttered. Aetius joined him, standing beside the archers and witnessed Xena in the dead center of half of the army and Attila with the other half. "They have created a spiraled wall of men. They are quite clever, sir."
Aetius growled, growing more impatient with Attila and Xena. Now that he knew Theodoric was on the Hun's side, which was more concerning. He switched sides so quickly and he had no idea why the Goth king would be willing to ally with the Huns even after decades of chaos and war surrounding the two empires.
"Shoot at them!" he yelled out. The archers looked up at him and refused to shoot. "You idiots!" he snatched one of the bows out of a soldier's hands and pulled the arrow back and shot it directly at Attila.
The Huns surrounding Attila below, held up their shield and blocked the arrow aimed at their king. The Roman commander cried out in frustration and walked behind his archers. "Shoot! Aim for Attila and Theodoric!" he demanded.
Xena saw more archers lining up on the hill and groaned. "I don't have time for this," she grumbled and rode out of the center of the army, unwinding the large spiral and rode through the mountains towards Attila and the other half of the army. Gabrielle frowned and saw the row of archers multiplying. The Huns and Visigoths had an advantage considering there were hundreds more of them and less Romans to fight with, but Romans were excellent strategists. There have been battles before with less than a hundred men against an army of thousands and won with few casualties.
"This is a trap, Xena," Gabrielle said in her ear and Xena ignored her and kept riding towards Attila. "Aetius has more men than you think. His archers are excellent."
"He has less men than we do! He cannot win!" Xena shouted, as her anger continued to build. She was on a mission to get to Barkeno and didn't need Aetius to create yet another distraction because he was turned down in an alliance with the Visigoths.
Gabrielle shook her head, "the amount of men does not matter! You of all people should know that..."
Xena growled and continued riding forward, not taking her companion's words into consideration. Gabrielle was tired of Xena's anger cloud her mind and she knew that she wanted to find her daughter and bring her home, but getting distracted by these Romans was not the way. This could all be avoided. She grabbed Xena's sword from her sheath and cut the horse's reins and Xena lost control of the animal and it reared on its hind legs.
Gabrielle fell off the horse and tumbled onto the grass and Xena fell off the horse as well on her back. She frowned and got up off the ground and walked over to Xena, whom stared up at the gloomy dark clouds and slowly rose, adjusting her headdress. She pointed the sword at Xena's face. "You aren't listening to me!"
Xena ripped the scarf off her face and immediately stood from the ground and grabbed the edge of the blade tightly, glaring into Gabrielle's fierce green eyes. The blade cut into Xena's palm and blood poured down her arm. "Give me the sword Gabrielle..." she ordered, clenching her teeth.
The blonde snarled and pulled the blade away, deepening the cut on Xena's hand and she hissed in pain, holding her bleeding palm. "You're being irrational. You need to stop and think," she held the sword with both of her hands and Xena growled. "We talked about this..."
Aetius had his eye on Attila's men and several of them rode on horseback up the hill, ready to fight. He raised his eyebrow and a wicked smile graced his lips. He spotted Xena off to the side, appearing to have some sort of argument with Gabrielle. "Fire at Xena on my command," he told one of the archers.
The Hun soldiers came charging into the Roman camp and Lucas immediately ran to defend his commander, slicing through two of the Huns. Attila was at the bottom of the hill, overlooking the men and Theodoric was rounding up his men to head through the mountains to join Xena's half of the army.
"Head to the east hill!" Attila instructed and rode to the back of the line, keeping his eye on Aetius, making sure he wouldn't escape. Not this time, he thought.
A few Roman soldiers came running down the hill towards Xena and Gabrielle. Attila spun around and saw a horde of Romans approaching Xena and his eyes widened in fear. He kicked the horse and rode to them.
Aetius smirked, "fire!" he shouted and the archers released their arrows.
Xena walked towards Gabrielle, holding out her hand. "Gabrielle...now is not the time for one of your lessons," she said with an eerie grin. "Hand over the sword that is rightfully mine..." she pressed.
Gabrielle shook her head and took a step away from her slowly and Xena kept creeping up on her with that smile. "Xe –" she said and saw three arrows pierce through Xena's right arm, ribcage and thigh. She gasped and Xena moaned and fell to the ground on her side. Gabrielle stood with Xena's sword in hand, staring at the wounded warrior in front of her.
She frowned and spun around. A Roman ran towards her and lifted his sword in the air to attack. She gritted her teeth and plunged the blade into the Roman's gut. He dropped his sword and she tried to take the large scimitar out of his body, but it was too heavy. She reached into his sheath and stole his dagger and stabbed the second Roman in his throat then grabbed him by his helmet and slit his other side of his throat and he fell to his knees, clutching his neck, choking on his own blood.
Xena lifted her head and looked down at her thigh with the large arrow sticking out and broke the shaft. Wincing, she held her ribcage and leaned to her side. The arrow in her ribs constricted her breathing and she furrowed her eyebrows, breathing heavily, she saw Gabrielle stabbing one of the Romans, after killing the other two. Her eyes grew in shock and fear.
"Gabrielle! No!" she shouted, but her words were lost and Gabrielle was too focused on killing the Romans that attacked her. "What are you doing?!"
Gabrielle's veil fell off her head and she sliced through a Roman's chest and kicked him to the ground. A Roman behind her grabbed her by her long locks and she dropped the dagger, crying out. He lifted her high in the air as she kicked her legs and grabbed onto her hair. He smiled and she frowned, then swung her legs around his neck, choking him with her thighs as he still gripped onto her hair.
He growled and punched her in the stomach and she gasped and loosened her thighs around his neck. He swung his sword around and just before he was to slice her throat, she panicked and kicked him in the chest and he swing of the sword cut her hair, stumbling backwards. She fell to the ground and saw a good amount of her hair in his hand and she touched her now short hair, cut to her ears.
She grabbed the dagger and charged forward, driving the blade into his chest until both of them on the ground and she lay on top of the large Roman. She smiled down at his fear stricken face and stabbed him again in the chest.
Xena witnessed Gabrielle slaughtering every single Roman that came her way and she frowned sadly. "Gabrielle!" she yelled out. "Stop!"
Attila rode up to Xena and saw she was struck with three large arrows. He hopped off the horse and ran to her, immediately aiding her. "Xena, let me help you."
She pushed him away and kept her eyes on Gabrielle the entire time. "I need to stop her!" she cringed and tried to stand only to fall back down on the ground. Attila sighed and scooped her up into his arms with ease. "No!" she tried to get out of his hold and he groaned.
"Xena! Stop moving, you're going to make the bleeding worse!" he reprimanded.
She pushed away from him and turned her head over her shoulder, watching the once such a sweet Greek woman she had come to love as a friend and as even something more, turn into a killing machine. "Gabrielle!"
Gabrielle finally heard Xena's voice and looked at her in distress within Attila's arms. She registered what she had done and looked at the bloody dagger in her gasp in horror. She dropped the dagger and stepped away from the dead Roman lying underneath her. What have I done? I have turned into the thing that I hate. I acted on my impulses...I became Xena. Her breathing labored and tears formed in her eyes as she stared at the dead Roman soldiers surrounding her.
Staring at her bloody hands she sobbed and her heart sank to her stomach as she began backing away slowly. The Huns on the hill began retreating once Aetius decided to halt his archers and cease fire on the army. She ran her fingers through her short locks and smeared blood all over her brightly colored skirt and top.
Attila rest his hand on her shoulder and she jumped. He saw the fear in her eyes and he touched her bloody cheek. "Gabrielle..." he said calmly, "you're alright."
She breathed heavily and saw Xena sitting on Attila's horse waiting impatiently. Her eyes drifted to the concerned king, towering above her and brushed by him to see if Xena was alright.
She touched Xena's hand and the warrior frowned sadly down at her, shaking her head. Gabrielle lowered her head and tears streamed down her face and she buried her face in Xena's pants. "I killed them all," her voice muffled as she kept sobbing, gripping onto Xena's leg.
Attila sighed heavily and Xena ran her hand over Gabrielle's hair lightly. "It'll be alright," she said in a warm voice and felt Gabrielle trembling with fear and heard her whimpering softly.
The Hun king stared up at Aetius, whom now was retreating back to Rome or Ravenna, he hoped. So that meant they could continue on to Barkeno to rescue his son and Xena's daughter. He grabbed the reins of his horse. "We should get moving," he said and Gabrielle stepped away, wiping her cheeks and nose. "We will stop in Gaul to address your wounds, Xena. If that's alright with you..."
She nodded, "I can survive a day," she smirked and he whistled at his men to proceed forward. Gabrielle looked up at her and smiled weakly at her. Xena grazed her cheek with her long fingers and gave her a smile filled with warmth. Attila pulled the horse along and she winced, holding onto her wounded ribs.
Arykan paced around her bedroom with her husband sitting on the bed, watching her walk and back forth, creating a hole in the fine marble floor. She folded her arms, tapping her fingers against her forearms as she was deep in thought. "I don't understand."
King Genseric sighed, "and what don't you understand, dear?" he asked, leaning back on the bed.
She halted and glared at her blonde husband. "Those two ran off and now I am unable to find them. It is as if they have vanished into thin air!" she groaned and began pacing again, trying to wrap her head around all of this. None of it made any sense. "They couldn't have gone far," she shook her head with a stressed tensed smile. "The girl is pregnant, very pregnant," she added.
He raised an eyebrow, "but she is Xena's daughter. I am sure she is just as resourceful as her mother."
"That is true," Arykan sighed heavily and sat in a chair beside the bed, tapping her foot on the floor anxiously.
"And is it true that Xena was with child during several battles against the Visigoths?" he asked with a sneer.
Arykan glared at her husband, disgusted at the sound of Xena's name. "Yes, but she was never on the battlefield. Her daughter resembles her the more than I ever imagined." She slammed her fist on the armrest frustratingly. "I want her found!"
"We have already looked through all of the homes in the city, Arykan. They are obviously not here," Genseric said calmly.
She grunted, "yes they are! They are hiding. Someone is hiding them, I know it. There is no way they could escape the city without me knowing about it." She then stood from the chair and called out to one of her maids, "bring Ranark in, I wish to speak with him."
The maid fetched the Vandal and he waltzed into the room, bowing at the king and queen. "You called for me?" he asked.
Arykan smiled, approaching slowly. "I want you to pay a visit to the Hun woman's house, Sugay. I want her home searched one more time."
Ranark frowned and then bowed his head, "of course," he quickly exited the room and she heard her husband let out a large sigh behind her.
Anastasia and Ellac stayed in a small room in the back of Sugay's home. She was able to acquire some parchment and ink from Sugay which made her feel more at home when she was writing. Sitting in bed, he leaned against the wall, she wrote a lengthy letter more for herself than anyone else. Ellac laid beside her, wide awake and twirled her long locks around his finger mindlessly as she wrote in silence.
His eyes drifted up to her and saw she was incredibly focused and was writing for hours nonstop. She requested pure silence and he respected that and didn't utter a word so she could concentrate. He curiously slid his hand over their child within her and Anastasia frowned, lifting the parchment, staring down at him.
"What are you doing?" she asked and he smiled up at her.
"I'm not...bothering you, am I?" he asked innocently and she raised an eyebrow and kept writing. He had a mischievous look in his eyes and rested his head on a pillow beside her and his hand roamed across her belly and he didn't feel any movement at all like he did before. Frowning he hated to disturb her during her writing session, but he did anyway. "Is the baby asleep?"
She sighed heavily, "I assume so," she misspelled a word and scratched it out furiously then began writing once more, trying not to let Ellac distract her, though that was proving to be very difficult.
He quirked his mouth and scooted closer while his hand still roamed across her belly, he kept waiting for something to happen, but still nothing. He lifted his head and saw she was still writing quietly to herself. Sighing, he tapped his fingers gently on the baby, hoping to invoke some type of response.
Anastasia's eyes widened and she lifted the parchment, "Ellac, what are you doing? I told you I wanted to write in peace!"
He smiled and sat up, "I'm sorry, I was just curious..." he admitted shyly and she sighed then set the parchment aside. "I just want to be involved."
She finally smiled softly and cupped his cheeks, "and I thank you for that and you've done a great job so far. You might even get in my mother's good graces," she joked and his cheeks flushed with color. Ellac grabbed her hand and kissed her palm whilst winking at her.
A loud crash came from the front of the flat and Ellac jumped off the bed, grabbing his sword, watching the door. He heard a lot of yelling coming from Sugay and his heart raced. Anastasia backed up against the wall, bringing her knees to her chest. She reached underneath her pillow to grab a short knife, she hid it underneath the blankets, frowning at the door.
Moments later the door was kicked down and Ranark smiled at the two teenagers. Ellac held his sword towards the blonde Vandal. He chuckled, "put the sword down boy and nobody gets hurt."
"My father is coming for us and when he gets here you'll be sorry," Ellac smiled and Ranark sighed and snapped at his men. They came charging in and Ellac swung the sword around, slicing one of the Vandal's arms.
The other Vandal grabbed Ellac by his arm and kicked his elbow. The prince wailed in agony and Anastasia's eyes widened. Ellac held his now broken arm and the soldier grabbed him by his neck and pinned him to the wall.
Ranark rolled his eyes, "babies having babies," he smirked. Arykan walked into the room, staring at Anastasia with an eerie smile.
"You!" Anastasia cried out and the Hun queen kept grinning at her. "What have you done to Sugay?!"
Arykan sauntered over to the bed, staring down at the girl. "She has been taken care of." She said and Ana's eyes darkened, reminding Arykan of Xena's voracity and viciousness that she witnessed so long ago. "I have to applaud her for hiding you two so well. I was impressed."
Anastasia gripped the short knife and swung forward, stabbing Arykan in her side and she moaned, leaning over on the table, knocking over Ana's letter she was writing. Anastasia got out of the bed and grabbed Ellac's sword off the floor. Arykan held her side and pulled out the knife, tossing it aside, breathing heavily. "Yumurcak!" she spat out and pointed at her. "Grab her!"
Panicking, Ranark came forward and Anastasia pointed the sword at the Vandal and he backed away. Smiling, she climbed onto the bed and kept inching the blade closer to him. She grabbed Arykan by her veil and held the blade to her neck. "Touch me and she dies." Arykan's eyes widened as she felt the cold blade against her skin.
Ranark smirked, "you kill the queen, you can say goodbye to your prince." He turned back and the Vandal that had Ellac pinned to the wall, smashed his face against the wall.
"Don't listen to him!" Ellac cried out.
"I would hate for your baby to grow up fatherless, much like your precious mother's fate. Raising a child on her own must have been difficult..." Ranark chuckled and Anastasia frowned. Her eyes darted from Ellac to Ranark, now unsure what to do. She felt completely conflicted now in the position she was in. She didn't want their child to grow up without a father like she did. She couldn't imagine what it was like for her mother raising a child by herself. She often remembered her mother being frustrated most of the time with her though she hid her as a boy until just a few years ago. She didn't want the same fate for her child so she threw down the sword and Ranark smiled.
"Good girl," he reached forward and forcefully grabbed her arm, yanking her off the bed. He wrapped her arm behind her back and she winced. "You are wiser than your mother," he chuckled and pushed her forward. Ellac frowned at her sadly as she passed by him with Ranark.
As they were exiting the home Anastasia saw Sugay on the floor with a dagger sticking out of her chest and she turned away, feeling sick to her stomach instantly. Ranark pushed her forward, "keep walking," he ordered. "That is what happens when you don't listen, girl."
In Gaul a few tents were set up to allow the men to rest and attend to Xena's wounds, which she was sure were not fatal, given the spots she was hit at. Gabrielle sat beside Xena as she lay on a pile of animal hides. Attila took out the arrow shafts and arrowheads but allowed Gabrielle to dress her wounds in peace and also so they could be together.
Gabrielle dabbed Xena's wound on her ribs and saw her chest slowly rising and falling. It appeared that she was having a hard time breathing. She gently touched the wound and Xena's body tensed. "Sorry..." she retracted her hand and kept cleaning the open wound.
Xena looked at the blonde, who was obviously very preoccupied with something else. She was distressed, but didn't want to show it. She killed all of those Romans and knew that cut deep for Gabrielle. She preached peace and hated war –always thinking it was a waste of time –and never killed a soul or hurt anyone until now. Xena grabbed Gabrielle's wrist firmly and stared in her eyes.
"For someone who talks a lot, you have nothing to say," she smiled weakly.
Gabrielle shied away and snatched her wrist away and dipped the bloody cloth into the water. Xena frowned sadly and grabbed her hand gentler this time around. "Gabrielle...I'm here for you, you can talk to me."
"I...I don't have anything to say," the blonde mumbled and dabbed Xena's ribs again.
Xena sighed and she sat up, wincing in pain. Gabrielle gasped and tried to make her lay down again, but Xena refused. "I'm usually the one who has a hard time showing my emotions, yet...the tables have turned and here we are." She stared at her companion and grabbed her hand firmly, squeezing tightly. "I will listen to you. I won't judge you for what you did, Gabrielle."
The blonde scoffed, "of course you wouldn't. You kill people all the time, it's like second nature to you." She blurted out and then realized that might have not been the wisest thing to say. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't –"
"Don't be sorry. Nothing you said was untrue," Xena winked and Gabrielle bit her bottom lip, tears forming in her eyes. "Gabrielle..." she leaned forward and then Gabrielle sobbed quietly, burying her face in her hands. She reached forward, despite her agonizing pain, she embraced her warmly, wrapping her arms around her. Gabrielle continued to sob in Xena's chest. "I care about you a lot, you know that. Your first kill is hard, I understand."
Gabrielle pulled away, shaking her head. "But I didn't kill one person, I killed many!" she exclaimed and Xena nodded.
"I know, I saw." The raven haired warrior lowered her eyes, sympathizing with Gabrielle's angst and pain in this awful situation. "I don't want to tell you that it gets easier, because it doesn't."
"I...I don't know what happened. I couldn't stop...I..." Gabrielle exhaled heavily and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I went against everything I believe in!"
Xena pursed her lips and she grabbed both of Gabrielle's hands. "Why did you do it, Gabrielle?"
The blonde calmed her breathing and took in a deep breath. "I saw...you get shot with those arrows and..." she lifted her eyes, staring into those enticing blue eyes of hers, impossible to say no to or to shy away from. "I don't know what came over me. I don't know what to do, Xena, I don't know what to do."
Xena felt somewhat responsible for Gabrielle's outrage and her heart sank. She didn't want Gabrielle to ever lose that peaceful way of approaching life. She was always so optimistic about life and now that has changed, all because of her. "This is my fault."
Gabrielle frowned, "what? No, no it's not!"
"Because I got hurt you retaliated in...the worst possible way. You betrayed yourself and everything you stand for, because of me, Gabrielle."
Gabrielle refused to believe that and kept denying it in her head over and over again. Xena obviously thought otherwise and it was clear on her face. She stared into her eyes and saw a sadness that she had never seen before. A sadness that was beyond anything she has seen coming from Xena. An emotion that was so rare, but buried deep inside the warrior, it had shown through and she hated that Xena even thought this.
"You're always protecting me from harm's way," the poet began and Xena half smiled. "I guess I thought...when I saw you get shot by those arrows, that I could protect you too, but then...I couldn't stop. I just kept..." a single tear streamed down her face and Xena smiled warmly, brushing her thumb along her cheek.
"You don't need to protect me Gabrielle."
"But...I wanted to. I chose to do that, I chose to betray my peaceful path." Gabrielle said and Xena grinned sadly, cupping her cheek. Xena leaned forward and kissed her forehead softly and Gabrielle lowered her head, feeling ashamed of herself.
The warrior ran her fingers through Gabrielle's short hair and sighed. "Such a shame about your hair," she tried to lighten the mood and saw a small hint of a smile on the blonde poet's lips.
"I kind of like it," she grinned cheekily and ran her fingers through her hair. "It's a new start for me."
Xena nodded, "I hope you can forgive yourself one day and I'll always be here for you, just like you've been here for me." she said seriously and Gabrielle blushed.
"Thank you, Xena," she leapt forward and hugged her. "I love you."
"I love you too," she whispered and then pried her arms off her, wincing. Gabrielle covered her mouth, completely forgetting about her open wound.
Gabrielle gently pushed Xena back down onto the animal hides and grabbed a bandage, ripping it in half. She pressed gently on the wound and began wrapping the bandage around her ribcage. "So..." she began to change the subject, feeling a lot better about what happened, but she feared this would haunt her for a long time before she came to terms with it. "What was Dengi talking about a party?" she smirked.
Xena groaned, "when a woman is expecting a child, there is normally a large celebration for her within the tribe."
Gabrielle nodded, "when we get Anastasia and Ellac back are we going to have a party?" she hinted and Xena sighed heavily. "You're not still upset about the whole baby thing are you?"
Xena frowned, "no," she said defensively and Gabrielle gave her a look of disbelief. "I'm fine with it now." The blonde seemed less convinced. "Stop looking at me like that."
"You're a bad liar, you know that?" she tucked the left over bandage underneath the tightly wound fabric and folded her arms, staring down at the wounded warrior.
"I'm not upset about it anymore," Xena frowned and Gabrielle's smirk was really starting to irritate her. "I'm...still upset about Ellac, not about the baby. Happy?"
Gabrielle chuckled, "I knew it. You have to get over it, Xena. It could be worse, it could have been a total stranger."
"If it were a stranger, he'd be dead already," she muttered.
A few moments of silence passed and Xena was touching her wounded arm and thigh, adjusting the bandages. Gabrielle smiled and thought she should speak her mind, "Xena," the warrior then lifted her head. "Thank you for listening to me."
Xena grinned, "I'd do anything for you." She grabbed her hand and both kept staring into each other's eyes warmly. "I'll try to be a good listener."
"I think you were a very good listener," Gabrielle answered and saw a light in Xena's eyes that she rarely saw. "So...about this party," her smile grew and Xena huffed, rolling her eyes. "Come on, it'll be fun! I never been to one of these parties before and you said if there was a party you'd invite me..."
Xena sighed and let go of her hand, laying down, tapping her fingers on her thighs attentively. "I'm not very good at planning parties, Gabrielle."
The blonde's eyes lit up immediately and she laid down beside Xena. "I can do it! I'm great at planning parties. Please?"
"Fine," Xena grumbled, "but we need to rescue her first."
Ranark brought Anastasia into a room below the palace and tied her arms behind her back. The room had barely any sunlight at all, except from a small barred window that was near the ceiling, and there was nobody else here, except her. She began to wonder if her mother was ever going to come to save her or if her message ever reached Aquincicum at all. He grabbed her face and she snarled.
"You will no longer receive the nice treatment that you had before," he smiled and she scooted away from him, leaning against the cold stone wall. "You will be fed of course. We are not animals," he winked and walked out of the room and in walked Arykan, whom obviously had her wound addressed and was wearing a different outfit, still in black and red of course.
She smiled and the door was closed behind her. Anastasia glared at her and wiggled her wrists, trying desperately to free herself. The queen walked over and knelt down to her eye level. Anastasia felt her heart racing and this woman was incredibly close to her face, too close, she thought.
"You are a very brave young lady," Arykan said barely above a whisper and Ana's breathing quickened. "You almost killed me, but if it weren't for your compassion for Ellac, he'd be dead because of your choices." She smiled and went on to say, "I'm not so sure your mother would have done the same if she were in your position."
"You don't know anything about my mother," Anastasia hissed.
Arykan chuckled and stood straight, holding her side from the fresh wound the girl gave her hours earlier. "I know your mother very well. We used to live in the same tribe after all," she grinned and then knelt down again, touching Anastasia's soft cheek. "She was a foreigner and not well liked, I'm sure that hasn't changed." The Hun teenager snapped her head away and kept glaring at her, narrowing her icy blue eyes towards the queen. "You are very valuable to her, I'm sure she will come for you, unless her lust for power still lingers in her heart."
Anastasia smirked, "like I said, you know nothing about my mother. She will come for me and she will kill you."
"You seem so sure about that," Arykan frowned and saw the smug smile on the teen's face, which annoyed her to no end. "You look like a Hun, you even act like one, but in the end...you are a half breed," she grinned deviously and Anastasia's eyes widened then she spat in the queen's face. Arykan gasped and she wiped her face in disgust then slapped the arrogant girl across the cheek.
Anastasia inhaled sharply and she smiled up at the queen, still feeling the stinging sensation on her cheek. "You're a traitor. You deserve to be exiled and I promise you, you will die."
Arykan stood with a disgusted mug on her face. "We'll see about that," she turned and stormed out of the room. Ranark walked alongside her and she instructed, "give her nothing."
He frowned, "but my queen, you said –"
"Forget what I said!" she yelled, blocking the doorway. "Give her...nothing," she firmly said and walked up the stairs leaving the prison lying below the large palace.
A few days later the Hun and Visigoth armies arrived on the outskirts of Barkeno. They overlooked the large city on a hill and Attila turned Theodoric. "You're sure your daughter is there?" he asked.
The Goth nodded, "I'm sure of it. Genseric took her from me and I know he has her in his grasp somewhere," he frowned. "And your son...you're sure he's here?"
The Hun nodded, "Xena's daughter sent a letter. Now it's just a matter of finding them."
"We should ransack the city," Theodoric suggested and Attila agreed.
Xena smirked, "we don't want to alarm these people. We should send someone in first to scope out the area. After all, we are in foreign territory and if they see us as an immediate threat, they're going to barricade the city."
Attila turned to her, "what do you think we should do then, Xena?"
Xena smiled and looked over her shoulder at Gabrielle sitting behind her quiet as a mouse. "Gabrielle, I have a job for you."
Gabrielle was busy looking at the landscape and her surroundings. She turned and saw Xena, Attila and Theodoric staring at her. Instantly, she began to panic. "What?"
Later, Gabrielle walked through the streets inside the city's walls wearing Xena's veil and scarf covering half of her face and blonde hair. She kept her eyes peeled for anything unusual, but so far she hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary. Although, there was one thing that was different about this place. Nobody looked uniform, everyone had different faces, different colored hair and she even heard a variety of languages passing by. The entire time she had been with Xena, everyone looked roughly the same –the usual, dark hair, olive or pale skin, dark or light almond shaped eyes, thin and usually tall –but here...nobody looked alike, which lead her to believe that these people were all foreigners in this land.
She rounded a corner and felt she should stay on a large street to save herself from accidentally getting lost. She passed by a group of women wearing all black and dark blue kifayets, similar to the ones she had seen back in Aquincicum and Pannonia worn by the Hun women. Listening closely she definitely recognized the language they were speaking.
Deciding to stick close by she was able to pick up some key words that she recognized when she heard Kreka and Attila speaking to one another. The women kept talking about a death of a woman, she supposed that's what they were saying. She inched closer without them noticing and brought the veil around her body, eavesdropping on the women's conversation. She also heard them talking of a young girl that was taken from the dead woman's home and Gabrielle frowned.
Too familiar, she noted. She turned around and approached the gaggle of women and they immediately stopped talking. Nervously, Gabrielle decided to try and talk to them. She spoke badly in their native tongue, trying to convey her message, but the women stared at her confusedly and she wasn't sure if it was because they didn't understand or that they were shocked she was trying to communicate with them.
Sighing, Gabrielle asked, "do you any of you speak Latin?"
"Yes," one woman answered. "You know our language...where are you from?"
Gabrielle anxiously stared at all the women and wondered what would be the right thing to say. She didn't want to say she was from Greece, that would be strange, considering she knew what language these women spoke. She also didn't want to say she lived in Pannonia, Aquincicum and definitely not Rome. "I am...close friends with the Huns," she said.
The women eyed each other and whispered a few words that were unrecognizable to Gabrielle. After they finished talking to one another the same woman spoke for them all. "Are you an emissary?"
The blonde nodded her head uncertainly, "you could say that. I heard you talking about a dead woman nearby and a young girl, what do you know about that?"
The suspicious Hun woman frowned, "an Onogur woman was killed a few days ago in her home. It was reported to us that she was hiding a girl and a boy in her home."
Gabrielle smiled, now having some sort of lead about Anastasia and Ellac, hopefully. She didn't expect to get any information while she was in the city, but she had something. The plan was to let her roam the city and find any suspicious behavior or any sign of Huns, which it seemed there was a few walking around in the streets, but everyone looked so different she could hardly tell. If she found any information she was to return to the hills and report to Xena and Attila what she discovered.
"I'm...sorry to hear that. Do you happen to know if the girl and boy were Huns as well?" she asked.
The woman quirked her mouth and whispered to both of her friends. "Follow us," she said and all three women turned and walked down a narrow alleyway. Gabrielle was so excited that she might have a lead on something and now she was being asked to follow these strangers into god knows where. She inhaled deeply and decided to follow them and if anything happened, she knew she could at least defend herself.
After turning around several corners and alleys Gabrielle was beginning to feel like she was in a maze and hoped she could remember how to get back, that is, if she ever did return to Xena and Attila. They finally came to a smaller square and Gabrielle looked around and saw a lot of other Hun women and men walking around. It seemed that this place was segregated from the rest of the city. A neighborhood of Hunnic peoples and she wasn't sure exactly if this was good or not.
The women lead her into a large home, at least three stories high and she hesitantly followed them inside. She glanced around and saw several children in the foyer sitting, playing games and drinking tea she assumed. The women shooed the children away and offered Gabrielle a seat on the floor.
She sat down with the other women and was offered tea, which she kindly refused. The woman smiled and set the glass down in front of her anyway. "You insult me by not taking the tea," the woman said and Gabrielle sighed, grabbing the glass. She thought she didn't really have time for this, but information was information.
"What is this place?" Gabrielle asked.
One of the women answered, "all of the Hun refugees live in this area. We are secluded from the rest of society."
Gabrielle frowned sadly and sipped the tea. "That's horrible, but...why are you all here? Shouldn't you be in your own land?"
The women nodded and one spoke for everyone, "we were taken by the Vandals long ago. We haven't been able to return. Some of us have been here for more than a decade."
"Where are you all from? If you don't mind me asking..." Gabrielle eyed all the women sitting in front of her.
"Pannonia."
"Akitziri."
"Sklaveni," the last woman answered.
Gabrielle blinked and all the women looked to be older than her, but not that much older than her and they had all of these children living here with them, which she assumed they were theirs. Frowning she addressed the woman from Pannonia, "you're from Pannonia. So you must know Xena then?"
The woman's eyes widened, "Xena?" she smiled, "I have not seen her in many years, but yes, of course I know her."
"Were you...friends with her?"
The woman chuckled softly, "no, she worked for Attila. People outside of the army hardly ever speak to the commanders or king." She eyed the strange woman, "how do you know about Xena?"
Gabrielle nervously sipped the tea, "like I said. I am friends with the Huns. Can you tell me more about the girl and boy that were in that woman's home?" she hoped for more answers, though these women's stories were sad enough. They were obviously unhappy in this place.
The Akitziri woman said, "rumors were spread around that the girl and boy were thought to be Huns, but nobody saw them."
Gabrielle sighed and finished off the tea. "Thank you for all your help," she stood. "I need to get going, but it was nice meeting you all," she smiled and the women stood with her. "You've been a great help, really!" she walked to the door and the women stared at each other, bemused at her hasty manner. "You will all be able to return to your land soon, I promise." She smiled and then left the large home and quickly walked down the streets, hoping she remembered how to get back.
With some luck, she made it back to the hills and found Xena, Attila and Theodoric waiting patiently on their horses. She breathlessly ran up to them and grabbed hold of Xena's horse's reins. "Anastasia and Ellac are definitely here. I spoke to a few Hun women and they said a woman was hiding a girl and a boy, rumored to be Huns..."
Xena eyed Attila with a frown then turned back to Gabrielle. "There are Huns in this city?"
Gabrielle nodded and caught her breath. "There are hundreds of them! They were taken from their homes and brought here! One woman said she was from Pannonia..."
Attila let out a lengthy exhale out of frustration. "Savages," he murmured. "I say we pillage the city," he turned to Xena.
Xena narrowed her eyes, lingering on the city and the more she stared at it, the more she wanted to see it burn. "Gabrielle and I will go find these Huns and release them. You and Theodoric go to the inner city. If Anastasia and Ellac were hiding, they were hiding from someone."
Theodoric nodded, "King Genseric most likely has them. They are probably not dead because he knows exactly who they are. He wants them alive."
"Then we will attack the palace first," Attila said and Xena agreed.
Gabrielle climbed onto Xena's horse and wrapped her arms around her waist. Xena wrapped the scarf around her face and unsheathed her sword, as did Attila. "Do not harm the women or children," Xena mentioned and Attila gave her a curt nod, then kicked his horse, riding down the hill with hundreds of his troops following behind. Theodoric soon followed and Xena spoke over her shoulder, "are you ready?" she asked.
"Can't turn back now, I guess," Gabrielle shyly admitted, still a bit worried about what was going to happen. Xena smiled and then rode beside the army, catching up to Attila in the front line, leading the army.
Inside the palace, King Genseric, Arykan and Ranark were inside the throne chamber, discussing what to do next with the Hun teenagers. Their conversation was interrupted by loud horns sounded outside and Ranark ran to the window and poked his head outside. The men in the towers were sounding the horns and he looked beyond the wall and saw an army of what looked like hundreds riding towards the city.
"What in God's name..." he muttered and Arykan looked alongside him, witnessing the horde riding towards the city wall.
Her eyes widened in fear, "block off all the gates to the city!" she instructed the guards in the room. She ran out of the room, heading down the stairs. "Lock all the doors!"
Below the palace Anastasia leaned up against the stone wall and tried to rub the rope hard enough to hopefully break it. She had been trying for the last few days, but still nothing. Her mouth had gone dry from lack of water and food, she was losing energy and will to even try to free herself by now.
Outside the room she was in she heard the guards hustling around and yelling loudly at each other. She frowned and then was able to hear people screaming in terror outside of these walls. Glancing up at the window above her she focused her hearing and heard horses stampeding and swords clashing together. She smiled weakly and stopped trying to loosen the ropes around her wrists, hoping that all the chaos outside was her mother and Attila coming to save them.