Chapter 15 –Cherry Blossom

Soran helped his little niece on the horse and set her boots into the stirrups. He placed his hand on the small of her back and gently guided the horse across the field with a slow trot. Aurora smiled and looked back at her grandfather and Safiya who waiting off to the side.

She waved at them and Soran grabbed her hand.

"Hold onto the reins, Aurora. I don't want you to fall off."

"Can we go faster?"

He chortled. "No, not yet. You need to get used to riding a horse first. Your mother would kill me if I let you ride by yourself."

Navaz stood beside Safiya and admired the happiness gleaming in her dark eyes. So far Aurora's visit had been very joyful and eventful. He also was pleased that Safiya really loved spending time with Aurora. Balaam was so different than Pannonia. Balaam was very quiet since it was just the two of them and Soran who was practically an adult now.

In Pannonia there were children everywhere and a lot of commotion happening at all times. He could tell that once Aurora was going to leave that Safiya was going to be very upset and disappointed.

"I see you've taken a liking to her," he mused.

Safiya nods and laced her fingers with his. "She's a very special girl. I'm going to miss her when she leaves."

"You could…always go to Pannonia to see her. She likes you."

Her hand slithered away from his and she folded her arms, glaring at the open field. Navaz sighed, knowing that she would instantly distance herself from this subject. Anything to do with Anastasia she hated.

"Alright Safiya, what is going on with you two? I've tried to ask you several times what the problem is. I asked Ana what's wrong and she won't tell me either. I know you two are hiding something and I want to know what it is!"

"You had sex with her!" she blurted out.

"Ah," his cheeks flushed. "That was five years ago. I haven't done anything with her since then."

"You lied to me! You both lied to me! And that's all you have to say? I don't get an apology?"

Navaz turned and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Safiya. She lost Ellac and she was lonely. I wanted to make her feel better, that's all. I still love you. I always have. I love Anastasia too, but not like I love you. If you want to leave me, you can."

"If I wanted to leave I would've left a long time ago," she mumbled.

"I should've told you. I'm sorry. It was one time only. I haven't done anything with her."

She lowered her head. "I know. She apologized to me. I didn't accept her apology."

Zolten walked up to them and sensed the tension. He cleared his throat and Navaz turned to him with a forced smile. He pulled out a scroll from his coat pocket and handed it over to his king.

"Word from Xena. There was an attack. Someone tried to kill Anastasia."

"What?!" Navaz exclaimed then ripped the letter from the general's hand. "Is she alright?"

"She suffered minor burns. There was a fire in her room and she's been unconscious for a couple of weeks."

Navaz breathed deeply as he read the letter and his hands shook at this news. He didn't know whether to tear up the letter and yell or keep himself calm especially since Aurora was around. He looked at his wife who seemed a bit concerned.

"Xena asked me to…go to the Goth territory to search with Oran. He'll be there in a week. I won't be able to take Aurora back to Pannonia.

Safiya nudged her head to Zolten and he bowed his head then took his leave. She took in a deep breath and her eyes darted from her husband to the ominous letter.

"I can take her back," she offered.

"You'd do that?"

"I adore her and you have things to do."

Gabrielle and Xena stood in front of the very nervous Mongolian woman. The three stood in silence for the last few minutes after Sarnai was called into Anastasia's room. Sarnai expected to be berated when she first came here but was pleasantly surprised she was treated very well, except that encounter she had with Yeter a couple of weeks ago.

The governor forced a smile and said, "Are you adjusting well? Are all of your needs met? Do you need more maids?"

"Oh, no everything is fine," she answered softly.

"I'm sorry that we couldn't talk but a lot has happened here. Arielle should be on her way back from Persia and she'll meet with you. We just wanted to talk to you about being Queen of Assyria."

Sarnai nodded in silence.

Xena rolled her eyes and stepped forward, glaring at the Mongol. "I don't think you thought of the consequences and responsibilities that came along with this, Sarnai. Bayan isn't a regular man. He's a king by my daughter's decree. Assyria is under the empire's control and it's clear Arielle doesn't want to be married to Bayan anymore but she also doesn't want to give up her status. You understand that, right?"

"Yes, I understand. I don't think Bayan wasn't thinking about the future either. He lied to her for so long and I pressured him to tell Arielle several times."

"I'm sure you did," she sighed. "Arielle isn't the easiest person to get along with but if you become queen I'm sure you, Arielle and Bayan can make it work. She told me that Aurora really likes you and I think that's why she spared your life."

Sarnai grinned thinking about the princess. She hadn't seen Aurora in a very long time and she wondered when she'd be able to see her but that probably wasn't up for discussion.

She suggested to the khanum, "There's no way that Arielle would allow Bayan to be married to me and her at the same time?"

Xena laughed. "No, not a chance. She's made that clear to Bayan. Arielle gets whatever she wants and she fights for it but she's not willing to fight for her marriage. She immediately wanted a divorce."

"I think you're a nice girl, Sarnai. I just think you're in the middle of something you don't want to be in. I don't blame you. I don't have a problem with you being queen but Arielle will make the final decision. You can go now."

Sarnai bowed her head and left the room. Gabrielle exhaled deeply and swayed back and forth on her heels then stared up at her wife.

"You really think Arielle is going to allow this?"

"Yes, I do," Xena said and fiddled with her fur collar on her coat. "I think she has her mind on other things and she doesn't want to deal with Bayan anymore."

"She's going to be in the same position as Ana and Navaz. They shared Arielle throughout her entire life. Now she's going to have to do that with Bayan and Aurora."

The khanum chuckled and slapped a hand on her wife's shoulder. "I don't think Arielle cares about Bayan. Ana still cares for Navaz. It's not the same. Those two are more alike than they think, but yet they're so…different," she spoke of Ana and Arielle.

"Yeah, she gets her fire from you," Gabrielle snickered.

"Shut up, Gabrielle."

"I never said it was a bad thing! Arielle's a great combination of you and Anastasia!"

Ursula ran inside with a big smile on her face. She got a strange stare from the two and couldn't stop herself from rushing in.

"Anastasia just woke up."

Imperial Palace, Japan

Ernak and Csaba waited outside the palace for days until they found suitable guards that were their size in armor and stature. At the right opportunity the two killed the Japanese soldiers and stole their weapons and armor. They wore black scarves around their faces and were welcomed into the palace without question.

The two stayed inside the palace for about five days, watching and lurking. They had yet to see the prince and weren't able to get close to the harem. They didn't even see any women walking around and figured there was a special wing just for the women and harem much like how their home was.

Ernak went off by himself to search the empty sections of the palace and while he was searching he saw a woman in fine silk robes pass by with a couple of other women tagging along behind. He rendezvoused with his nephew in a secluded area of the palace.

Csaba pulled the scarf from his mouth and stared at his uncle who approached him then led him to a separate hallway so they could talk quietly.

"I saw a woman. She was escorting two women somewhere. Judging by her clothing she must belong to the royal family," he whispered.

Csaba groaned. "I don't like all this waiting around. Stealth missions aren't our specialty, Ernak. We should follow the women. She's probably taking them to see the prince."

"Wherever the prince is, he is heavily guarded. He's not going to be alone."

"I don't care! I want to find him and bring his head back to Pannonia!"

Ernak nodded. "I know you do and we'll find him but we need to be careful."

They stepped out of the hallway and covered their faces. They immediately bowed their heads when a few soldiers walked by and then Csaba lifted his head slightly to see the guest the Japanese soldiers were escorting.

Emperor Liu and Princess Bosi walked together down the hallway and a group of four soldiers followed behind them. Csaba hastily stepped behind the soldiers and pretended to be a part of their entourage. Ernak grumbled and jumped in line. They stuck out like sore thumbs because of their height but luckily there were a few tall Japanese soldiers but not many. Csaba was careful to hide his green eyes from everyone.

Prince Senka welcomed the Emperor of China and his daughter. The three bowed at each other. Senka offered them tea before they sat down together to have a meeting.

Emperor Liu did his best to keep his composure but he had no desire to meet with the Japanese Prince. He knew the Emperor of Japan was ill and nobody was allowed to see him. He had the feeling that the emperor might be dead and it was kept from the public.

"Prince Senka, thank you for accepting my invitation," he said.

"Of course, Emperor. I would never refuse a visitation from the leader of China. I heard you had a run-in with the Huns. They attacked your imperial city, is that right?" he says with malice and sipped the tea.

"My plan to execute them all failed when my city was attacked. They fled back to Pannonia but I know it won't be the last time I see them. My son is still alive and he has taken over the Tibet Kingdom."

Senka nodded. "How unfortunate for you. I also had a problem with the Huns, or should I say a Hun," he chuckled. "My mother was kidnapped by the princess. You would know that since you received a letter from their queen."

"Yes, I did. I think we should join forces, your highness. We should wage war on the Huns as soon as possible. The Persians are no longer my ally even though their shah was killed by Xena."

"Xena! I've always wanted to meet her. I must say her granddaughter was quite a cherry blossom. She's very pleasing to the eye."

Csaba frowned and almost lunged forward to attack the prince head on until his uncle pulled him back.

"Not now, Csaba," he hissed. "You'll blow our cover."

"He raped my sister!"

"He will get what he deserves but you must be patient. This information is very valuable to us."

Csaba couldn't stand to look at the prince and his smug of a smile. He felt sick to his core and the only thing keeping him from strangling the prince was Ernak standing by his side. That and he had other plans in this palace aside from killing Prince Senka.

"Look at him. He doesn't even care that he raped Cera. He is bragging about it!" he whispered.

"What did you expect? Look, Cera is my niece; she's my brother's daughter. I'll do anything for her but you need to keep yourself in check or you'll ruin this for the both of us. I don't want to get killed because of your ill thought actions. I'd like to go home to my wife and children and I'm sure you would too."

Xena waited patiently in the clinic as she stared at her daughter. Anastasia wasn't fully aware of her surroundings as her entire body had been pumped with medicine and herbs over the last two weeks. She asked for nobody to come in the room except for Gabrielle and the physician. She also requested someone to come help them take Anastasia to the baths which luckily there was a room beside the clinic.

Gabrielle smiled at the queen and Anastasia kept looking around as she was still lying down. Her arms were glued to her sides and she didn't dare to move her legs either. The longer Gabrielle gawked the more she realized Anastasia had no idea what was going on.

"Can she…hear us?" she whispered.

Xena kept eyeing the door and turned to her wife. "She's just in a state of shock. It'll wear off soon."

Mirac showed up and hesitantly approached the bed. His eyes widened at his mother in law who was in a strange comatose state. He did his best not to stare and he cleared his throat and smiled over at the khanum who was patiently waiting for him.

"Mirac," she wrapped her arm around him. "You're a strong man. I need you to carry Anastasia to the baths. I'd ask Bayan to do it but I don't like him."

"Yes khanum, I'll do it."

The physician removed the sheets and Mirac readied himself and gently scooped his arms underneath the khatun's body. Anastasia's eyes drifted over to him and he stared at her for a moment but it didn't look like she was staring at him, at least not directly.

Gabrielle bit her nail as Mirac lifted Ana out of the bed and her arms fell limp. She studied the look on the queen's face and noticed something strange –stranger than what she suspected when Ana was to wake up.

In the bathhouse Xena took off her headdress, coat and belt. Mirac's face paled as he held the queen in his arms. He eyed Xena as she was taking off her boots and stockings as she sat on the bench.

"Should…I…should I leave?"

The khanum frowned and tossed her boots to the side. "I'm not getting naked in front you, boy."

After she took off all her heavy robes she was left in a tight black dress and descended into the hot water then stretched her arms outward. Mirac walked over and knelt on his knees and slowly let Anastasia into the baths with her dress on and bandaged covered arms and legs.

Xena grabbed onto her daughter and set her down on the marble bench within the bath and looked over at Mirac, instructing him to leave with just a glare. He bowed his head and then nearly bumped into the governor on his way out.

Gabrielle closed the doors and sat on the edge of the bath, staring at Ana's strange-looking expression while Xena took the bandages off her arms. She kept staring at Ana's wandering eyes but she didn't appear to be looking at anything, at least not anything she could see.

Xena was too distracted with caring for her daughter to notice Gabrielle's odd gawking. She slipped the gown off her daughter's shoulders and eyed the mild burns on her shoulders. She grabbed a cloth and gently squeezed the hot water over her skin.

While she continued to wash her daughter's skin and then pour water over her head, Gabrielle sat off to the side, observing.

"You'll feel better after the bath, I promise," she whispered.

Anastasia said nothing but her mouth parted slightly as she felt the cloth touch her face, almost as if she wasn't expecting it. She stretched her arm out and tried to find her mother's face and instead touched her shoulder. Her fingers traveled upward and finally her fingertips glided along her mother's chiseled jaw.

Gabrielle lowered her gaze at her wife's oblivion and Ana's fear written all over her face.

"Xena, I…I don't think she can see you," she muttered.

The khanum frowned and whipped her head around. "What are you talking about?"

"I mean, she can't see you. She physically can't."

"She's not blind Gabrielle."

The governor sighed and then Xena looked back at her daughter's eyes filled with emptiness. She dropped the cloth into the water and cupped her daughter's cheeks, staring directly into her eyes.

"Anastasia? You can see me, can't you?" she asked and her daughter's eyes swelled. "Can't you?"

Gabrielle stood up and thumbed the doors. "I'm going to get the physician…"

"Ana? Tatli kiz…" she murmured and wiped the tears away with her thumbs. She kept staring into her daughter's eyes but there was nothing.

"Mother, I…I can't see," Ana croaked out.

Xena's lips curled and she wrapped her arms around her daughter's slender frame and sobbed quietly. She opened her blurry eyes and stared at Gabrielle who brought the physician in to look at her daughter.

"Get out," she ordered.

Gabrielle frowned sadly. "Xena, he's just here to help."

"I said get out!"

She led the physician out of the bathhouse and closed the doors quietly. She saw the worried look on his face. She put him at ease with a hand on his shoulder.

"Is there anything that you gave her to cause this?"

He stammered, "governor I –I would never. All the medicines I've used are safe. I would never."

"Alright, calm down. Relax," she reassured him. "Perhaps you could find out what happened before the fire? Did Diana give her something? Did she ingest something harmful?"

"I have no idea, governor. I can have her room searched if you want. I'll double-check all of the medicines in the clinic but I assure you that I gave her nothing harmful."

She nodded.

"When she's back in bed I can try to pry information out of her but I doubt she'll remember. Oran found her unconscious in her room, so it's unlikely she'd remember something from two weeks ago."

"I need to put medicine on her burns," he whispered.

"Xena can do that. I don't think she's going to let anyone come near her but I'll let you know if I need you," she informed him and he walked down the hall back to the clinic. "Wait!"

He turned at her call.

"If you tell anyone about this I'll kill you."

He put a hand over his chest and bowed his head. "I won't say a word, governor."

Ravenna, Italia

Alaric sat inside the military fortress with his boots propped up on the desk. He tossed the documents he was reading to the side and reached for a glass of wine. Before he took a sip the loud war horns sounded outside and he swung his boots off the desk and sat stilly for a moment.

There was screaming outside and loud horse hooves that rattled the fortress. He looked at the wine and it swished gently in the glass. He grabbed his sword and ran over to the balcony and a horrible sight of hundreds of horsemen rode towards the city over the grassy hillside.

His men at the edge of camp who sounded the horns tried to run but were trampled by the large horses stampeding their way down the hill. He grimaced and looked at the flag waving in the air which was carried by the frontline horsemen.

The Goths were in a fit of panic and tried to load their catapults before the invaders rode into their camp. Alaric turned on his heel and stormed back inside.

Gal, one of the commanders of the army ran inside and took off his helmet.

"Sir, the Gepids are invading."

The king nodded. "I'm aware. Get the men to their horses immediately and try to hold them off as long as possible. I don't want them to come into the fortress."

"Yes, your highness."

Alaric growled and slammed his fist on the desk. "Eksama…" he growled.

Imperial Palace, Japan

Ernak lingered in the hallway and Csaba hid in the next hall. They were on lookout for the last few hours and it'd been days since the meeting between Prince Senka and Emperor Liu. Ernak peered from around the corner and saw Princess Tashibana hurrying down the hall. He covered his face and nodded to Csaba.

Tashibana passed by the corridor and Csaba grabbed her and pulled her into a dark hall with his hand wrapped around her mouth. She screamed and tried to escape and he shoved her into in the wall and brought her arms over her head.

"Where is the harem and Prince Senka?" he questioned.

He removed his hand and she let out an ear piercing scream. He slapped her across the face and put his hand back over her mouth. Ernak stood guard and looked around to see if any soldiers were around and he nodded to Csaba.

"You're going to take us to the harem. The prince is expecting a woman tonight, isn't he?" he hissed.

She refused to answer and he pulled out a dagger and held it up to her throat and she panicked.

"Isn't he?!"

She bobbed her head up and down vigorously.

"Take us to the harem or I'll slit your throat. Got it?"

The three walked down the hall into the red room and as soon as the doors were opened Princess Tashibana screamed.

"Huna!" she yelled.

All of the harem maids scattered and Ernak sighed then closed the doors behind them and locked them. He grabbed the princess by her robes and shoved her onto the floor. He sat on top of her and whipped out his dagger and hiked up her kimono.

"Where is he?" he whispered in her ear. "I'll cut you in a place you don't want to be cut."

Her eyes widened and she pointed to the far left side of the room. Csaba watched her hand and then ran in that direction. Ernak waited until his nephew left and then he slit the princess' throat and let her bleed out on the floor.

He got up and took the scarf off his face and saw the horror in all of the concubines' eyes. He wiped the bloody dagger on his pants and heard guards yelling from the other side of the doors.

"Where are the Hun women?" he asked calmly.

Everyone gawked at him with fearful eyes.

"Huna! Where are they?!" he shouted.

The harem maids backed up against the wall and looked over to a secluded room on the far side of the harem chamber. He marched across the room and sheathed the dagger into its holster.

He kicked open the door and saw three young Hun women sitting in a corner together. They immediately cowered in fear and he sighed and pulled out his sword and they covered their eyes. Slowly, he made his way over to the women and twirled his sword around so the sharp end was facing away from them.

"Ben kral Ernak. Seni kurtarmak icin buradayim," he spoke in a soft tone.

The women lifted their eyes, recognizing the language. They stared at the crest on his sword and all three of them smiled from ear to ear.

"Anastasia Khatun gönderdi beni…" he sheathed his sword and extended his hand.

Csaba ran down the hallway and was met with two men guarding the prince's room. He charged right for them and drove his sword in one of their chests and kicked the other into the wall. He withdrew his sword from the Japanese' soldier's body and then sliced through the other soldier's throat.

He opened the double doors and saw Prince Senka smoking opium on the floor with a young woman who appeared to be of Chinese descent. The concubine gasped and stood up then grabbed her robe and covered herself.

Csaba wiped the blood off his blade and ripped the scarf off his face. "Prince Senka…" he snarled.

The prince stood slowly and backed away. He eyed the katana on the wall and Csaba saw the direction he was looking in.

"What…do you want?"

The Hun king sauntered across the floor, gripping the sword tightly. "You raped my sister –my little sister Cera. You remember her."

Senka smiled briefly then ran to grab the katana. Csaba ran and sliced through the prince's backside. Senka cried out in agony and then dropped to his knees and palms. Csaba knelt down behind him and yanked his head backward.

"You should know better than to wage war with the Huns, Senka," he hissed. "And you should've never allied with Emperor Liu. My people will destroy your kingdom and China's."

"Hun –"

Csaba slit his throat and the prince choked then wrapped his hand around his throat. Csaba's lip curled in a snarl and he grabbed Senka by the hair and finished the job by decapitating his head from body. He held the prince's head, dripping with blood and looked into the lifeless dark eyes.

He frowned and stuffed the prince's head into a bag then ran out of the room.

He met up with Ernak back in the red room. He held up the bloody bag with a big grin.

"I have the prince's head."

Ernak raised his eyebrow at his nephew's grim excitement.

"Fantastic. I have the Nezak women. We need to leave. Our men are waiting for us outside and there's a ship waiting for us at the port. It won't be long before the guards figure out what happened."

"I guess this means we're officially at war with Japan and China."

Ernak sighed. "Your sister better be ready for that. Let's go. Hadi, hadi!" he yelled at the Nezak Hun women behind him to run ahead of them.

Anastasia opened her eyes and saw a sea of black. She sat up slowly and struggled to use her arms for support. She tried to find the cup of water beside the bed and reached out into the open and her fingers felt the bedside table. She searched for the cup of water and instead of grabbing it, she knocked it over and the silver cup fell to the floor.

Xena woke up to the crash and she jumped out of the bed beside her daughter's and stared at the spilled water on the floor. She knelt down and picked up the cup and stared at her daughter's blank eyes.

"I'll get some water for you," she says softly.

She filled up the cup with fresh water from the silver pitcher and sat on the edge of the bed. Anastasia wiggled her fingers, trying to find her mother's hand. Xena crinkled her eyebrows together and grabbed her daughter's hands and helped her wrap her fingers around the cup.

Ana drank the water after trying to find her mouth for a couple of moments. She set the empty cup in her lap and sighed heavily, relieved that her thirst was quenched.

"Mother, I appreciate you staying with me," she began.

Xena sensed there was more. "I'll always be here for you."

Ana nodded and reached to touch her mother's hand. Xena moved closer and gripped her hand firmly.

"But I want you to leave."

Xena's mouth parted and she scratched her head. "Ana, please I –"

"I'm not doing this to be mean. I love you, and I thank you for helping me. You always help me but…" she trailed off. "I want to see my grandchildren." She caught herself and added, "I want…to talk to them. I –I miss them and Cera. I can't see them but I want to talk to them. Please?"

Xena inhaled sharply and covered her teary eyes. Anastasia listened and heard her mother whimpering.

"Don't –don't cry, mother," she advised and smiled warmly. "You never cry. I'm not deaf you know. I can hear you at night. Don't cry because of me. The physician said this might be temporary. I just want to talk to them."

Xena wiped her eyes and stared at her blind daughter. She was sort of grateful that her daughter wasn't able to see her face, puffy eyes and reddened nose from sobbing for days on end.

"I will…bring them to you. Cera has been teaching at the school again."

Ana grinned. "Good, I'm glad to hear that. I know she loves art."

Their hand grip tightened and Ana lifted her eyes, staring blankly at her mother.

"I also want to know what is going on in the empire. After I talk to the children, I want you to tell me everything. I hope you've been running the empire in my absence?"

The khanum faintly smiled. "Yes I have. I'll tell you everything later."

Late in the evening, Gabrielle came to her bedroom and hung up her coat then turned around and surprisingly saw her wife sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace. There was a tray of untouched food and a glass of wine nursed in Xena's hand.

She sat down on the floor pillow and eyed the food then her wife. "I hope you weren't waiting for me to eat?" she tried to make conversation.

Xena gave a brief smile and then continued staring at the roaring fire. "Where have you been?"

"I…was in Ana's room. I was searching for anything that could've caused her blindness. I haven't found anything by the way."

Her wife slowly nodded her head.

"All of the children are still in the clinic visiting Ana. I don't know if they will go to sleep," she chuckled lightly. "They've been keeping her busy for hours. You know Farah's boys are very talkative."

"They are."

The two sat in silence and then Xena turned away and sobbed under her breath. Gabrielle set down the bread and listened to her wife's soft whimpers. She crawled across the floor and sat beside her.

"Don't do this, Xena," she whispered. "Don't do this to yourself. This isn't your fault, my fault or anyone else's fault. You heard what the physician said. It could be temporary! He's working very hard to find a cure. I talked to him yesterday."

"Could be!" she spat back. "But what if it's not?"

The governor rested her head on her wife's shoulder. "Then we will deal with it like we've dealt with everything else. We thought Cera was going to die when she was little and her throat was slit by Boareks but she didn't! She recovered and she's alive. She has a really wonderful husband and people who love her. She has learned to adapt and if Ana…can't ever see again then she will adapt too."

Xena wiped her eyes and had a raging headache. She barely had any sleep for the last two weeks, especially the last few days. She was tired of crying and she couldn't remember any time in her life in which she shed so many tears, at least not all at once.

She lolled her head to the side and Gabrielle smiled up at her. She kept gaping and Gabrielle pulled away and quirked her mouth to the side. She leaned in close and cupped her face and planted a kiss on her lips.

Gabrielle's eyes widened and then reacted to the kiss slowly and tried not to give a toothy smile. She tasted the remnants of the wine and then just as she was about to wrap her arms around her wife's neck, she felt their lips separate.

She opened her eyes and wiped the corners of her mouth.

"W-what was that for?"

Her heart palpated and she felt her stomach churn at the sight of the khanum's crystal blue eyes glistening in the fire-lit room. She put a hand over her chest and felt almost breathless.

Xena smiled. "I just wanted to remind myself that I enjoy seeing your face every day."

"Maybe you should remind me more often!" she eagerly said and Xena rolled her eyes playfully.

She then saw the sadness settling in and grabbed her arm.

"Hey, we've been through a lot and we'll get through this too. You're never alone here."

Xena's face contorted and she felt tears coming on again. "Gabrielle, I –"

"No." she put a finger to her wife's lips. "Don't. No more thinking about it. We can go to bed if you want. You must be exhausted."

"I…don't want to go to bed. I just want to sit here for awhile."

The blonde nodded and cuddled up close to her and pecked her wife's cheek.

"Then I'll sit here with you."

Due to Farah's persistence she, Arielle and Xerxes returned to Pannonia sooner than anticipated. Everyone in the camp waved at them as they passed by on their large black horses. Xerxes received a lot of strange looks from everyone but he tried not to let it bother him. He hated his time in his homeland with the princess and queen.

His father was adamant about the alliance which was a good thing but he kept thinking about what his brother planned to do in the future. He felt like a traitor of his father and the Huns. He liked Arielle and Farah as well as the rest of their family. They showed kindness to him without questions asked. He hoped his brother would change his mind once he saw what a great ally the Huns are.

Arielle dismounted her horse and ran up the stairs to greet everyone but as soon as she entered the Adame she felt heaviness. It was also quiet, too quiet. She entered the foyer and the guards greeted her. She looked around and then her mood dampened at the sight of Sarnai and Bayan standing together, chatting.

Xerxes and Farah followed in after her and they too felt a strange atmosphere. Farah looked up at Xerxes who tried not to look her in the eye.

"I will talk to the khatun and make arrangements for you. I've built a suite designed for politicians. It's on the opposite end of the palace so you won't be around the family," she told him.

The Persian prince smiled.

"You're very kind, your highness. I've enjoyed my time spent with you and the princess."

Her eyes darted to Arielle and back to him. "Don't go near Arielle."

"I wouldn't dream of it. I'm an ambassador to your people that is all."

Sarnai stopped talking with Bayan as soon as she saw Arielle approaching. She'd never laid eyes on her before and she didn't have to, to know who she was. It was obvious. She looked like the khatun and khanum. Tall, dark curly hair, fair olive skin, big blue eyes, lean muscular frame and a grimace on her face that could scare anyone.

"Your highness…" she addressed her and bowed her head.

Arielle examined the small framed Mongol woman. She arched her eyebrow and folded her arms. Not too tan, not too fair, very thin, smaller than Gabrielle, small eyes and a heart-shaped face. She looked at Bayan and chuckled out loud.

"You left me for this?"

Bayan narrowed his eyes. "You don't need to insult her, Arielle. You're the one who invited her here."

"And I was expecting something else…" she laughed and circled around the nervous Mongolian. "I'm not impressed Bayan but she seems sweet. I guess you like her for a reason if you've been with her for two years."

"Your grandmother talked to her and said she would be a good fit for queen. We're waiting for you to make the final choice and where is Aurora? I thought you were going to pick her up on your way back from Persia."

The princess shrugged a shoulder.

"My father is taking her back. My decision." She sighed and stared at the petite woman. "She can be your queen. I'll sign the papers tonight then you can be on your merry way back to Harran."

She began to walk off and he grabbed her arm forcefully. She snapped her head around with a harsh glare. Xerxes watched the exchange between the two and couldn't keep his eyes away from Bayan's hold on her.

"What about Aurora? Can't I take her back with me?"

"Fuck you, Bayan. I sent her away with my father for a reason. I didn't want her to be here when your mistress arrived. She'll never live with you again. She's staying here with me and she will never know about your son. Got that?"

She yanked her arm away and he tried to grab her again and she shoved him into the wall.

"Don't touch me," she growled.

"You can't do that, Arielle. She's my daughter too!"

"Then you should've thought about that before fucking her," she shot a glare towards Sarnai.

She stormed down the hall and was about to make her way up the staircase until Xerxes called her name. She paused with a smile and turned around.

"Are you going to let him talk to you like that?" he asked.

She treads down the stairs and cocked her head. "Why do you care about my relationship with Bayan?"

"I…I don't. I just don't like the way he speaks to you."

"What're you going to do? Beat him black and blue?" she scoffed.

Xerxes' relaxed his eyebrows. "If you ask me to I will."

She pursed her mouth and pat his shoulder. "That's kind of you. I might take you up on that offer later." she winked and ran up the stairs.

She walked by her bedroom and then smiled at the doors to her mother's room across the way. She walked over and knocked on the door but received no answer. Instead of waiting, she opened one of the doors and her jaw dropped at the empty room.

The walls were blackened, the wooden floor was destroyed and it smelt of soot and old oil. She backed out of the room and bumped into the railing of the balcony. Breathing heavily she ran back downstairs, searching for anyone who had answers.

She grabbed a maid by the arm. "My mother! Where's my mother?!"

"She's in the clinic, your majesty…"

Xena stood at the end of the bed telling Ana everything that had happened in the last few weeks. Gabrielle recorded the conversation as she would in Ana's room. In the middle of their conversation Arielle burst through the doors.

Xena stopped conversing and blocked the bed. Arielle tried to get by and she kept side stepping her.

"I want to see her!"

Anastasia lifted her head at the sound of her daughter's voice. "Arielle?"

"Mom!" she yelled back with tears in her eyes.

She pushed her grandmother aside and ran to the edge of the bed. She grabbed hold of her mother's hand and then looked at the bandages on her arms and then looked at her mother's face. The tears held for a moment and she sniffled.

"Mother?" She spun around. "What happened? Who did this?"

Xena looked over at Gabrielle and kept her mouth shut.

"I want to know!"

Ana squeezed her daughter's hand. "My room was set on fire by my chambermaid. She was sent by someone to kill me. Your grandmother has people looking for whoever was behind this."

Arielle wiped her cheeks and she kept staring at her mother's eyes confusedly.

"My father. Did you tell him too? Does he know?"

"I told him, Arielle," Xena finally spoke. "I sent him to scout the Goth territories with Oran."

The princess leaned inward and waved her hand back and forth in front of her mother's face but got no response –no reaction or eye contact. She looked back at the governor and khanum.

"What's wrong with her?"

Silence.

"Gabrielle?" she asked and the blonde slumped in the chair. "Grandma?"

Xena smiled weakly then Arielle turned to look back at her mother. Anastasia reached out with her other hand to find her daughter's face. Struggling a bit, she furrowed her eyebrows and Arielle sat, frozen and very still.

Her eyes wide and horrified as she watched her mother reach out blindly. She finally grabbed her mother's hand and nestled her cheek into her mother's palm.

"I'm fine, Arielle. The burns aren't even that horrible so I'm told," she says with a crooked smile.

"You…you can't see me."