This story moves at a slower pace compared to the others but be mindful that shit is about to go down lol. We have conflict with China, Japan, Persia, Tibet and the Gepids. There's a lot going on so I don't want to cram a lot in the early chapters. Later the Byzantines will reappear but not for awhile. Just thought I'd give y'all some info at this point in the story.

Good luck and thanks for reading :)

Btw, there seems to be a problem with the site's line breaks in between scenes and I don't know how to fix it so, sorry about that.

Chapter 16 –A Heavy Burden: Part I

The family physician tried several serums on the khatun's eyes and after several attempts and failures; he had found something that could work. Every day for the last two weeks he gave her multiple drops but advised that she continue to stay in bed. He wasn't entirely sure that the serum was to work completely but as time went on, he hoped it would.

Anastasia was tired of lying in bed for days on end and hadn't seen anything outside the clinic walls. She had several visitors throughout the day and she never tired of visitors. The last few days were especially exciting because she could partially see, although everything was extremely blurry and she wore a black sheer veil over her face to block the harsh sunlight or any light for that matter.

Gabrielle stayed with her this morning and watched the physician cautiously as he dropped a few drops of the serum into Ana's eyes. Now they would wait and she knew Ana was very anxious and didn't want to stay in bed for another minute.

The khatun sighed heavily and stared at the black veil shielding her eyes.

"You know Gabrielle, it was scary to wake up and see nothing but darkness. I never want to experience that again but it seems I'm still in the dark."

"Your vision could possibly return to normal but the physician said to wear the veil at all times especially if you go outside."

Anastasia scoffed. "If I ever get out of this bed. Where's my mother? She didn't come to see me this morning."

"She…she's having a conversation with Arielle."

"A conversation or an argument?"

The governor chuckled. "You know how they are. They both want their way at the same time."

"Those two should learn how to compromise."

The doors opened slightly and Safiya came inside with Aurora holding her hand. Gabrielle smiled at the two and waved at them to come over. Aurora had a concerned look on her face and she was glued to Safiya's leg as they made their way over.

Anastasia laced her fingers together and continued, "I really don't like being out of the loop. Arielle is probably running the empire without me and I have no control over it. My mother is in charge yes, but you know how Arielle is. She thinks she knows everything!"

Safiya cleared her throat and Ana sat up slowly and narrowed her eyes, trying to make out who was at the end of the bed.

"Anastasia," she announced, "I brought Aurora with me. She was very worried about you."

The khatun grinned and sat up straight and saw the small outline of her granddaughter. "Benim prensesim!"

Aurora walked over to the bed and Gabrielle helped her up. She stared curiously at the black veil and tried to see her grandmother's blue eyes beneath it. She leaned in very close and Anastasia felt her breath and pulled away slightly.

"Why you wearing that?" she asked.

"Because I need to. Just for a little while." She grinned and reached for the princess' hand. "Tell me about your trip to Balaam. Did you like it there?"

"Uh huh. Soran taught me how to ride a horse and grandpa gave him to me but he says the horse will stay in Balaam. When I go back I can ride him again!"

Anastasia raised her eyebrow and wasn't a bit irritated she couldn't look Safiya in the eye. In fact, she was surprised Safiya was here after secluding herself for five years. Perhaps she wasn't here on her own free will but Navaz insisted she come with Aurora to Pannonia.

"A horse…" she muttered. "I hope you told your mother about this."

Safiya butt in, "We haven't gotten a chance to see Arielle yet. I thought we would drop by to visit you first."

"I see."

Arielle took off her headdress and scratched her scalp, glaring at her grandmother. She tried to set the kozak down until Xena grabbed it and placed it right back where it was supposed to be. She puckered her lips into a pout and let that slide.

"Okay grandma, I have this plan. I think you're gonna love it!"

The khanum folded her arms, unimpressed already. "Let's hear it then, oh wise one."

"Cute. Anyway, Xerxes told me there are seven houses in Persia! Sassan is only one of them! Can you believe it? Of course you can't because you didn't even know that. Ha!"

"What is the point, Arielle?"

"My plan is to go to the houses. He mentioned that the House of Karen is the second largest in Persia. We should befriend every single royal household just in case this alliance with the Sassanians doesn't work out."

Xena approached the commander and stared her down. "What makes you think it won't work? Did you see anything that could cause doubt?"

"I'm just thinking ahead. I think Farah did a great job negotiating with Shah Kavad. I didn't like Shehzade Kawus. That's Xerxes' brother if you didn't know."

"I read the report," she said flatly. "What is the point of meeting the other Persian houses?"

"Oh yeah!" Arielle snapped her fingers excitedly. "We should invite the Karens here. The entire family could come here so we could get to know them. We'll make them feel welcome. I'm going to run this by Xerxes later to see what he thinks."

That struck odd in Xena's mind and she clicked her tongue on the roof of her mouth.

"Why would you need to talk to Xerxes? He's just our ambassador."

Arielle's cheeks turned a bright pink. She could feel the heat radiating off her skin and tried to act like she wasn't embarrassed but knew she couldn't hide anything from anyone in this house. She sometimes hated living with so many people. Privacy here was hard to come by but at least everybody had their own rooms far apart from each other.

"He's Persian…so I thought he could give some advice."

"Mhm," Xena said unconvincingly. "You want to have a party for the Karens, is that right?"

"Hey I didn't think of that. Great idea grandma. I mean…khanum," she teased. "I'm going to see mother later tonight. Xerxes and I are going to train the army together. He wants to know our techniques and strategies."

She added, "So you'll organize the party?"

Xena laughed. "I don't organize parties. Who do I look like to you?"

"You are in charge, aren't you? Unless of course, you're too proud to do it."

"Watch yourself, girl."

The commander planted a hand over her heart. "I am not a girl, grandma. I'm a woman. If you don't want to do it then I'm sure Farah would love to. She loves throwing extravagant parties; Banat style!" she exclaimed whilst wiggling her fingers. "I need to get to the field. We'll talk later."

"Hmm. Oh wait, you know Aurora is home."

Arielle beamed. "I will see her first then go to the field or maybe I could take her with me."

"Arielle!"

"Kidding. Where's your sense of humor?"

Gabrielle drew the curtains after Safiya left with Aurora. Anastasia pulled the veil back on top of her head and shielded her eyes from the sunlight from the large windows until all of the curtains were drawn. Gabrielle ran back to the bed and gawked at Ana's eyes.

They were not the pretty blue that reminded her of her wife's eyes. They were cloudy and almost white. Anyone who would stare at her would probably be horrified at the sight of her eyes. Anastasia looked around the dark room, unable to make out anything but shapes and dark figures.

"I want to sit out on my balcony."

Gabrielle cringed. "Ana, the physician said to stay inside."

"I know what he said but I've been locked in here for a month without sunlight. I just want to sit outside."

The blonde sighed and pulled the veil back over Ana's face to shield her sensitive eyes. Ana swung her legs over the side of the bed and tried to find her black flat shoes and Gabrielle knelt down and helped her slide her narrow feet into the flats. She then held Ana underneath the arm and tried to lift her off the bed.

Xena came in and rushed to her daughter's side. "What are you doing?" she panicked.

"She wants to sit on her balcony," Gabrielle informed her. She glared at her for a few moments and her wife sighed.

Xena then grabbed her daughter's other arm and hoisted her off the bed. She and her wife guided the khatun towards the balcony and drew the curtains back. Anastasia felt the sun's warmth against her body and she never knew how much she missed the sun until it was taken away from her.

They assisted her onto the balcony and eased her down onto one of the cushioned chairs. She exhaled heavily and her heart beat quickened from the walk from her bed to the balcony. She clutched the armrests and felt the breeze barely graze her skin beneath the dark veil.

Xena and Gabrielle stepped away and stared at her with concern.

"Do you want us to sit with you?" the khanum asked.

"I think I can manage sitting here by myself. I want to be left alone for awhile."

"We'll be inside your room if you need us."

Ana nodded and smiled, enjoying the fresh air and sun beaming against her. Gabrielle and her wife slowly backed away back into the bedroom to allow Anastasia have time to herself.

Xena couldn't take her eyes off her daughter and crossed her arms. "Did she have the eye drops this morning?"

"Yes. How did your meeting go with Arielle? Any news?"

Xena rolled her eyes and turned to her wife. "She is in a much better mood since Bayan left with Sarnai –too good of a mood if you ask me. She wants to have a party for the House of Karen. They're an important family in Persia. Apparently there are six other houses aside from the Sassanians."

"That's…interesting. Why a party?"

"She says she wants us to have a better understanding of the Persian families. I don't think it's a bad idea but it's strange that she is eager to have a party for them. Could you imagine?" she cackled, "the Adame filled with Persians!"

The governor smirked. "That would be a sight to see. Where is she now?"

"In the field with Xerxes. She asked me to organize the party which I'm not going to do. I'll leave that to Farah."

"I bet you could organize a great party if you really wanted to," she teased her wife.

Xena ignored the jest and kept staring at her daughter. "What if she's stuck this way forever, Gabrielle? Is she going to wear that veil over her eyes every day until she dies?"

The blonde bit her bottom lip and grabbed her wife's arm. "Like I've been saying for the last month; if she remains in this state, we'll be here for her and we'll deal with it. She's alive and that's all that matters."

"I wish it would've been me instead of her."

Gabrielle's eyes drifted to the floor and smiled faintly. "I love you, Xena."

The khanum slowly turned her head and grinned. "I love you too."

"Are you two done talking about me? I can still hear you," Ana said from afar. "My ears work just fine."

She drummed her fingers on the armrest and inhaled the fresh air then turned her head to the women as she was staring directly at them with her veiled eyes.

"I think you should organize the party, mother. You're filling in for me and I don't want Farah to do your work for you. Prepare a grand party for the Persians."

Ravenna, Italia

Ebnedzar arrived to the place he was supposed to govern and remain as King Alaric's commander but when he came to the old Roman province there was death surrounding him. He halted the small army he had with him and gawked at the hundreds of bodies laid across the field.

He trotted forward hesitantly and could smell the rotting flesh so he covered his mouth with the scarf around his neck. As he got closer he could see birds eating the faces of the Goth soldiers and he turned away and stared at his men who were also very disturbed.

"Spread out and look for any sign of life!" he ordered.

A few of the frontline men dismounted their horses and went to search on foot. They walked in between the corpses and tried not to gag in the process.

Ebnedzar shook his head and rode to the Roman palace which was covered in blood. He made his way round to the front of the palace to a large tree and looked up to see even something more horrific than the field. There were five men hanging from the largest tree branch.

He sighed heavily and hopped off the horse and walked towards the hanged men and waved his hand to a soldier nearby.

"Cut them down and burn the bodies."

He stared at the hanging bodies above him for a moment longer before entering the fortress. Upon entering there were guards scattered everywhere, blood all over the walls and the floors. He hadn't seen something so heinous before. He gathered this attack had taken place awhile ago due to the smell of the rotting bodies and the blood had since dried.

He pushed open the door to the throne room and gawked at a body which hung from the door frame and closed his eyes to take a moment for himself. He tried to ignore the smell but it was nearly impossible.

As he walked through the chamber he saw Alaric's arm hanging off the armrest of a chair. Ebnedzar cleared his throat and covered his nose and mouth from the stench. Slowly, he circled around the desk and gasped.

Alaric was strapped to the chair with a sword impaled in his throat. His eyes were wide open and maggots infested the wounds on his arms, legs and cheeks. Ebnedzar had never felt so ill before seeing dead bodies.

He saw a necklace hanging out of the deceased Goth king's mouth. He shook his hands and reached forward and grabbed the necklace and yanked it out of Alaric's mouth. He gagged at the blood and maggots infested necklace.

He picked the maggots off the necklace and held it in palm. His eyes widened at the Hun pendant attached to the necklace. He also wore the same necklace around his neck that was given to his mother by his father.

"Sir, we didn't find anyone alive." A soldier shouted from the other end of the room.

Ebnedzar grazed his fingers along the pendant and closed his hand into a fist.

"Sir?"

This was an attack strictly made by people connected to Attila's clan. This person somehow got a hold of this necklace and tried to make a mockery of the entire clan. That was Ebnedzar's best explanation for this massacre.

He slipped the pendant into his pocket and turned to the soldier.

"Gather all of the bodies and prepare a ceremonial fire for them. I need to send a letter back to the capital."

"Are we going to remain here in Ravenna?"

Ebnedzar frowned. "Yes. This is our base but I want to send scouts to surround the area. We need to find out who attacked the Ostrogoths."

Arielle sat on the floor with Ku as they shared a meal together. The commander smiled at the Assyrian woman and Ku chuckled softly and kept picking at the tray of food.

"I missed you when I was in Persia."

Ku raised an eyebrow. "Didn't seem like it. You've been with Xerxes ever since you came home."

"Are you jealous?"

"Who said anything about being jealous? I just notice things."

Arielle shrugged a shoulder and licked her fingers. "We're training the army together. He's very observant and takes orders easily. Although I can see why; he's a general for his father's army. I'd love to be general of an army one day."

Ku rolled her eyes and wiped her hands on a napkin. "You don't like being commander?"

"No, don't get me wrong, I love being commander plus I get on my grandma's nerves all the time. She gets so mad when I do something different than her! She still wants to control me but now she can't," she snickered. "Ever since she became khanum she has to be in control of the empire while my mother is recovering."

The handmaid nodded and wiped the corners of her lips and stared at Arielle who was grinning at her while drinking a glass of wine.

"How is your mother?"

"She's doing better. I saw her this morning but she doesn't want anyone to look at her. I feel like I am back in Persia, surrounded by faceless women!" she joked but saw Ku didn't find it amusing.

Ku lifted her glass to her mouth and subtly said in a muffled voice, "We should be careful who we allow to serve the queens in this household."

Arielle lowered her wine and stared at her friend. "What does that mean? It's obvious Diana was a spy for someone. She tried to kill my mother."

The Assyrian sighed and folded her hands in her lap. She knew that this was going to come to light but she didn't expect it to remain dormant for so long. She was just as disturbed as everyone else in the home over what happened to the khatun but she kept her mouth shut for several months now.

"Diana isn't the only maid that tried to harm a queen in this house, Arielle."

"Go on."

"While you were in China, myself and Queen Farah's maids were taking care of the children while they were sick. The queen was trying to have another child but Gurda prevented that. She kept giving the queen oleander tea for a long time, probably a month or so. The queen fell ill and I knew Gurda was poisoning her…I even threatened her that I'd reveal her."

Arielle's eyes enlarged and she jumped up off the floor.

"Ku, how could you keep this a secret?!"

"I thought your mother would've figured it out! She had everyone questioned but Gurda lied!"

Arielle grabbed her sword and headdress and Ku struggled to stand up.

"Arielle! Wait!"

She spun around and grabbed the handmaid's arm. "That woman is in charge of caring for my nephews and she poisoned my brother's wife! Who knows, she could do it again! Stay here."

"A party!" Farah cheered.

Gabrielle sighed and couldn't help but smile at the queen's gleeful expression. She set a parchment of all the instructions given by Xena on the desk and Farah immediately read them over and stared up at her.

"I love parties! How many people will be coming?"

"I don't know how many members are in the House of Karen but I assume it's a lot. Xena wants you to divvy out the funds for the party. She said nothing lavish but make sure everyone's needs will be met. Also, this is a political party so none of the children are invited."

Farah nodded and reached for her pen and began jotting down some notes and ideas. She also grabbed a few other documents that held the records for the funds within the treasury. She crossed out a couple of logs that had been fulfilled since Oran and Ebnedzar left.

"I will need Arielle to come see me and tell me how much she spent in Persia. She didn't send me the report."

Gabrielle grumbled. "I'll make sure she gets that information sent to you. When will I be able to tell Xena about the dispersed funds? She wants it ready as soon as possible."

"I can have it to you by tonight if I don't have any interruptions." Farah smiled and waved her hand for the governor to leave her be.

Arielle charged into her nephews' room and Gurda was busy dressing the twin princes for bed. The boys turned around and smiled at their aunt. They ran over to her shirtless and dressed in their willowy black pants.

Gurda stared at the sword the commander was holding and held the princes' blouses in her hands.

"May I help you with something, princess?" she asked.

Arielle looked down at the princes and smiled warmly at them. "Grandma khatun wants to see you two."

Aman folded his thin arms. "But we already saw her!"

"Well she wants to see you again," she said, desperately trying to get them to vacate the room. "There's kanafeh…" she bribed them with desserts.

The boys gasped and darted out of the room. Arielle arched her eyebrow and approached the nervous maid. She swung her sword and Gurda dropped the blouses and ran to the other side of the bed. The commander's sword sliced through the mattress and goose feathers flew up in the air.

Xena walked up the stairs after visiting her daughter and then the shirtless twin princes ran right by her. She stood in the middle of the stairs and tapped on the railing and looked over her shoulder at the princes running down the steps. She sighed and proceeded upward. She wasn't in the mood to question what was going on.

She walked down the hallway and then heard loud screaming from the other side of the hall. She paused and then saw Gurda running out of the princes' bedroom and Arielle chasing after her with a sword.

The maid ran right by her and Xena leaned up against the balustrade as Arielle raced by her.

"Arielle! What the hell are you doing?!"

The commander ignored her grandmother and caught up with the maid right before she was to make a run for it down the staircase. She smiled and shoved Gurda forward and the maid tumbled down the stairs.

Xena spun around and watched in horror as the maid's body rolled down the stairs and then collapsed onto the wooden floor in a contorted position. Blood slowly seeped from the head wound. Xena gawked at Arielle with wide eyes.

Gabrielle came from the treasury room and stopped at the foot of the stairs where Gurda lay. Her eyes drifted upward to see Xena with the same look of shock and Arielle breathing heavily at the top of the stairs.

Now that the khatun's room was inhabitable for the time being, Xena gathered Arielle, Farah and Gabrielle in the next available room which was Farah's chambers. Farah had to put a hold on her work to come up to have an impromptu meeting which she had no prior information of.

Arielle stood in front of the three women with not a care in the world and even a bit of a smirk on her face. Her grandmother was less enthused and sent nasty looks to her. The four stood in silence for awhile until Xena decided to speak her mind.

"What were you thinking? You can't go around killing people, Arielle!"

"I couldn't just stand by and let her live! She deserved it!"

Farah interrupted, "what is going on here? Who died?"

Gabrielle whispered in her ear, "She pushed Gurda down the stairs."

The queen gasped and glared at her sister in law. "How could you?! She is my most trusted chambermaid! She takes care of my boys!"

"Farah, she tried to kill you. She was the one who poisoned you with oleander tea. Ku told me what happened. Anyway, why are you angry with me?" she addressed the khanum. "Gurda almost killed my brother's wife, our empire's queen, my nephews' mother!"

Farah smiled and put a hand over her heart. "You did that for me?" she said and Xena glared at her. The smile on her face disappeared and she looked the other way.

"That still doesn't excuse what you did, Arielle. If you came by this information you should've told me and we could've handled it another way. You can't just swing your sword mindlessly at people," Xena told her.

"I didn't use my sword," the commander spat back. "And if Ku knew about it then surely Ramora knows too. She and Gurda were friends. She should be punished too."

"We need to question her first but leave that to me. Do not ever do that again."

Arielle grimaced. "You would've done the same thing if you were in my position."

She bowed her head and then backed away from the women then stormed out of the room. Xena ran her hands down her face and then walked out. Gabrielle smiled briefly at Farah then followed her wife.

"She's right you know," Gabrielle said.

Xena paused. "What?"

"If you were still acting as commander you would've killed Gurda no questions asked."

"I didn't ask for your insight, Gabrielle."

The governor frowned and approached the khanum cautiously. "I've seen you kill people for less, Xena. You killed your right hand man in Troy because he made a simple mistake. You didn't let him explain and you killed him. I remember."

"Tanranus?" she scoffed. "He deserved to die. He was no good at his job."

"I could go on but your list of kills is endless. Arielle did the right thing and it's been kept a secret for a long time. Gurda lied to Anastasia. She would've been found out eventually and you know what would have happened? Ana would have ordered her to be beheaded in the square."

Xena laughed mockingly. "I see you're always going to take her side, Gabrielle. You always defend Arielle even when she's wrong."

"I am not taking sides! I'm just pointing out that she's right!"

"And I'm wrong? I'm always wrong apparently. Arielle is a spoiled princess and it's clear she can do no wrong in your eyes."

Gabrielle gasped. "Don't turn this on me! I do not defend her when she's wrong! She's been in the wrong plenty of times and so have you!"

"You always take someone else's side besides mine! You defend Anastasia when she talks back to me and now you're doing the same with Arielle."

She waved her hand and hurried down the stairs.

"I do not! Xena!"

Arielle immersed herself in her work in the field, brutally training her men and women to death. Xerxes stood by her as she yelled at the exhausted soldiers carrying heavy logs over their heads for several minutes. She made them do drills of holding the logs above their heads then dropping to the ground to do pushups until she said otherwise.

This exercise lasted for over an hour and Xerxes rubbed his trimmed beard and felt bad for the soldiers. They were drenched in sweat and some of them could barely keep up. A few of them dropped to the ground in the back line and Arielle raised her hand for her army to rest.

She walked through the lines of soldiers and came to two of her men passed out on the ground. She grabbed the animal skin on her belt and squirted water in their faces and the two men opened their eyes.

"Did I say you could stop?" she yelled. "Get up!"

The Persian prince covered his eyes as he watched her berate the soldiers. They could barely stand up and everyone else was heaving and wheezing from the hot sun beating down on their faces.

"Commander!" he yelled.

Arielle spun around, glaring at the prince.

"Call a break. They need water and rest for now."

She marched up the hill and then looked back at her soldiers. She nodded and everyone collapsed onto the ground and moaned loudly. Rolling her eyes she walked further up the hill and Xerxes went after her.

"Princess," he called out while running to catch up. "Princess, you don't seem like yourself. You've been training these soldiers to death for the last week."

"Why do you care?" she snapped.

He lowered his eyes and then she turned to him and sighed.

"I'm sorry. I'm not in the best of moods. I had an argument with my grandmother earlier this week."

"You shouldn't argue with your family. They are your backbone," he advised. "She's a very smart woman. I'm sure what she said isn't really what's bothering you."

She half smiled. "Everything she says bothers me. I should've just stayed in Harran and never came back home."

Xerxes furrowed his eyebrows. "You mean stay married to Bayan? Then you wouldn't be commander."

"That's true but at least I wouldn't be yelled at all the time. You know, I left Pannonia because I wanted to have a place of my own. Bayan and I formed a tribe together in Harran then I became Queen of Assyria. Now I have no husband and I'm no longer queen yet I am commander to my mother and brother's military and I'm stuck in Pannonia. Funny how that works, huh?"

"Sometimes you need to take what life gives you. Not everything is going to work in your favor, princess."

She nodded and had heard all of this before from her mother, her grandmother, Gabrielle, her father, her brother. She was really sick of hearing the same things over and over. She wondered if it was ever going to stop.

"I still want to be someone important one day. Being commander for my family's empire is nice for now."

"You don't want to remain commander?"

She raised an eyebrow with a sly smile. "Not forever. My grandmother was the best commander in the world and nothing I do pleases her. I'll never be good enough for her or anyone else."

"You speak boldly about the khanum, princess. You really believe she doesn't have any faith in you. It's a shame, really."

"What do you know? You don't know her like I do. You're a general for your father's army! I'd love to be general! That's the highest rank anyone could ever have in the military!"

He chuckled. "Everything comes with a price, princess."

"Sometimes it pays off."

He put a hand on her shoulder and she gaped at his hand. "Be nicer to your grandmother, princess. She is your superior and is more experienced than you. If you are respectful towards her then she will respect you back. Life is not a one sided mirror."

In the afternoon a messenger from Ebnedzar's camp delivered a message directly into Xena's hands. She immediately went to see her daughter and inform her of horrible news. For once, she didn't know what to do but she certainly didn't want her daughter to stress even more than she needed to.

Ana listened to her mother read the message aloud and sat in silence for a couple of minutes. She sighed and tapped her fingertips against one another.

"Alaric is dead," she said aloud softly. "What the hell is going on outside this room!" she yelled.

Xena flinched.

"Arielle killed Gurda, Diana was found dead in the woods and now our only ally in the West is dead! What the hell are you doing, mother?! My entire empire is going to shit and you're just allowing this to happen!"

"Anastasia, I have no control over this."

"I ordered you to be thorough and you're too busy clouding your damn mind on Arielle and fighting with Gabrielle! If you had been more careful then none of this would have happened!"

Xena frowned and felt hopeless at this point. She was not on speaking terms with her wife or her granddaughter and now she angered her sickly daughter as well.

Anastasia swung her legs out of bed and stood up slowly. She could barely see but she could see enough to get around. She wrapped her hand around the bedpost and reached for her tall walking cane and made her way to the door as quickly as she could.

"Where are you going? You can't leave this room!"

"I'm going to put an end to this. Don't try and stop me."

She pushed open the doors and the guards bowed their heads, surprised to see her up and walking. She made her way down the hallway and all of the maids immediately moved out of her way. They gawked at her veiled face but fell silent.

She made it into the foyer and all the conversation ceased when she arrived. Xena was a few feet behind her and saw the strange looks on everyone's faces. Anastasia walked outside the foyer and the sun hit her eyes and she closed them shut.

"Arielle!" her voice carried across the field.

The commander and Persian ran towards the Adame and up the stairs to greet her. Arielle fearfully stared up at her mother from a few steps below.

"Mother, why are you out here? Shouldn't you be resting?"

"I want you to stop this," Ana began, "Stop this argumentative attitude with your grandmother."

"But mother, she –"

"I don't care what either one of you said!" she raised her voice and Arielle bowed her head. "Learn to get along or I will strip you of your title. I don't want anyone coming to me and telling me a 'he said, she said' story."

She turned around and exhaled heavily.

Arielle frowned. "Aren't you going to talk to her too? She thinks she's right all the time."

The khatun looked over her shoulder and even though her eyes were shielded, her daughter backed down and felt the glare upon her.

"I will deal with her."

Xena waited for her daughter in the foyer and folded her hands together in front of her body. She watched her struggle to walk towards her and then Ana halted a mere foot away from her.

"Stop arguing with her," she warned. "I'm tired of it. I don't have enough energy to deal with you and Arielle. You're both hard headed and stubborn. You two are going to kill me."

The khanum stood firm and had nothing to comeback with. The two stared at each other for quite some time and the maids lingered in the hallway, staring at them intensely. The tension in the foyer heightened.

Anastasia finally broke the stare and slowly tread back to the clinic.

"Now, let's talk about this situation in Ravenna." She told her mother and then halted. "Are you coming?"

Gabrielle hated being at odds with Xena but sometimes it was difficult to appease her. Aside from going to sleep angry at one another, she wasn't willing to talk to her and obviously Xena felt the same way. She knew that her wife was never going to apologize. Even the two had been on non speaking terms; Gabrielle was able to get a lot done which included the disbursement of funds for the Persian party.

Farah also sent invitations to the House of Karen which would probably reach them within a couple of weeks. Gabrielle wasn't present for the meeting between Ana and Xena but she was given information about Alaric's death and attack in Ravenna later in the day.

She searched for her wife for the remainder of the day and asked around the Adame but nobody knew where she was. She didn't dare go to Arielle and ask her whereabouts. Instead, she decided to venture outside and after walking around the encampment she finally found her.

The blonde governor stood at a fair distance from Kreka's gazebo and there Xena was, standing inside of it. She took in a deep breath and walked over and stopped a couple of feet away from the gazebo.

Xena's eyes were fixated on the bronzed headdress and she twirled the necklace that Ebnedzar sent along with the letter, in between her fingers.

"I…I've been looking for you everywhere."

Xena hadn't heard her sneak up and wiped her wet cheeks.

"No matter how long you stare at the thing, it's not going to talk back," she joked.

Xena turned with a weak smile then looked at the kozak.

"Ana's condition isn't going to improve. She's going to remain that way for the rest of her life."

"That's not true. She could –"

"Gabrielle!" she hissed, "Don't try to tell me otherwise. I know it's true and so do you. Stop trying to make me feel better with a bed of lies and false encouragement."

Gabrielle sighed and stepped inside the gazebo and looked at the bronze kozak. She then looked at the necklace in her wife's hand and then her eyes widened. Suddenly she felt very uneasy standing before Kreka's headdress.

"She tried to tell me but I didn't listen. I haven't been focused lately. My mind isn't clear. I didn't pay attention to what you said about Diana. I should have been more careful. I'm too worried about Arielle making mistakes to notice anything. I also don't want to make a mistake being in the position that I'm in."

She lifted her eyes and smiled softly. "Being in charge of an empire is difficult. I don't know how Kreka did it for so long. It's no wonder she was so rude to everyone."

Gabrielle cracked a genuine smile for the first time this week since their argument.

"It killed her," Xena said and gripped the pendant tightly. "This empire killed her, Gabrielle. It was too much for her."

"Where is this coming from? Are you going to give up being khanum?"

"No. I'm just going to pay attention more. Kreka was trying to tell me something in that dream and I didn't understand it at the time but now I do."

Gabrielle puckered her lips in confusion and her wife waved the necklace in her face.

"Attila has another heir. Only the children of Attila wear this necklace."

"So…what you're saying is…this person is trying to kill Anastasia? Are you sure that this person didn't steal the necklace?"

"Gabrielle, Attila never gave out these necklaces to just anyone. When Ellac was born he had one made for him. He did the same for Dengizich, Ernak and Ebnedzar. This belongs to yet another child of Attila and I need to know who it is."

The governor scratched her head.

"But…but if Kreka knew, why keep that a secret?"

"She was probably in denial. She didn't know how much her husband slept around obviously. Whoever this is left the necklace for a reason. It was found in Alaric's mouth. He wants us to find him. He wants to be found."

Old Visigoth Territory

Oran and Navaz traveled through Ostrogoth territory and their search was uneventful. The two didn't want to come back empty handed so they went further north into Visigoth territory and most of the place was deserted aside from a few buildings that were mostly destroyed from Alaric's takeover.

They walked together with their horses following behind them and men emerged from tents. They got rude glares from the men and Navaz kept his eyes straight forward as did Oran.

"Something is off about this place," Oran whispered.

"Don't pay attention to the lurkers. We are travelers. They don't know who we are."

They continued to walk down the dirt path and then a thin woman with wild curly red hair emerged from a large building at the end of the road. She put up her hand. Oran and Navaz stopped in the middle of a large square and more men appeared from out of nowhere. Navaz put a hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to strike at any moment.

"Who are you? You're trespassing," she said loudly.

Navaz took his hand off his sword and smiled at the young woman. "We're travelers. We're looking to trade with Goths. Do you happen to be Goths?" he tried to sound ignorant.

The woman laughed and the men around her joined in. She put her hands on her hips and sauntered over to them and sent a tantalizing smile towards Oran.

"We're not Goths. We're Gepids and you're not from around here by the looks of you."

"He said we are travelers," Oran reiterated.

Eksama came out of the large building and all of her subjects bowed their heads. She frowned and folded her arms.

"Austraia!" she yelled at the red haired young woman. "Step aside."

She did as told and backed away from the travelers and Eksama smiled. She approached Navaz and Oran and sized them up from head to toe.

"You two have very posh coats. Rabbit fur. Very nice." She mused. "You aren't Goths neither Franks. Oh wait, let me guess, you two must be Huns!"

Navaz narrowed his thick brows together. "Who are you?"

"Eksama, Queen of the Gepids. It's mighty bold of Queen Anastasia to send you to this area. I knew someone would come looking for me but I didn't know it would be this soon."

The two Huns' faces paled and then they reached for their swords. Eksama was quick to notice and she held up her hand and the men surrounded them with spears and blades. Oran's eyes darted from left to right and knew if he and Navaz tried to attack, they'd be dead in seconds.

"If you behave I won't cut off your limbs. Would you two like to have a meal with me?" she offered with an eerie smile.

Navaz and Oran looked at each other.

Eksama laughed and put a hand on her hip. "I'm not going to kill you. Come, come." She waved her hand to her men and the weapons were lowered. She walked off back to her abode.

"You must excuse my granddaughter. She can be very forthright."

They followed the queen and Oran glared at Austraia as he walked by her.

"Who the hell is this and how does she know the khatun sent us?" he whispered.

"I haven't the slightest clue," Navaz answered.