I bottled up all the action for this chapter lol
Chapter 21 –Eksama the Terrible: Part II
Secluded from the rest of the Adame, there were hallways specifically for servants and chambermaids to wander through to each section of the household. Farah, Yeter and the two princes walked through a long windowless hallway lit with torches along the walls.
Farah led the group and then came to a narrow stairwell with descending stairs. She turned around and the boys looked less than nervous and more curious. She grabbed their hands and told them to go down the stairs first.
She then extended her hand to Yeter to help her down the dark stairway. "This leads to the kitchen in the basement," she reassured her. "Would you come on? I'm trying to help you."
Yeter frowned and finally grabbed the lending hand. "Only you would design a palace with hidden passageways."
"You can thank me later."
They arrived in the deserted kitchen with the princes waiting for them. Farah helped Yeter to sit down in a chair then searched the entire area to make sure there wasn't anyone else around. She grabbed a knife and then went to the double doors leading out to the long hallway that connected to the dining hall and discovered they were open.
She smiled and tucked the knife into her belt. "You three stay here and I'm going to find out what's happening out there."
Issik ran up to her with an eager smile. "Can I come? I want to help."
"That's sweet of you but I think you should stay with your mother and brother. Someone should protect them, right?"
The prince shyly smiled and she cupped his cheek.
"Lock this door when I leave and don't open it until I come back. Do you understand?"
He nodded.
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Amidst the roaring tribe outside and with everyone locked inside the clinic, Austraia peered from behind the drawn curtains on the balcony and looked at the civilians throwing barrels of wine at the Adame's entrance doors.
Being on the first floor wasn't very safe but at least the first floor of rooms was a good fifteen feet above the ground. Austraia sighed watching the Hun army struggle to keep the tribesmen and women away from the Adame. There was a lot of pushing and shoving but so far the soldiers refused to use weapons to keep the people away.
Gabrielle grabbed the princess by the arm. "You shouldn't stand so close to open windows."
"She did this."
"Who? Eksama?"
Austraia gave an apologetic frown. "Governor, you should have listened to her. When she wants something she doesn't stop until she gets it. I know she is behind this rebellion somehow."
"That doesn't explain why we are locked in here," Gabrielle said. "Austraia, are you sure that Eksama is your grandmother? She is very young. She's not even forty years old and her son is around twenty six or so from what you told me. There is no way that Elemund is your father."
She noticed the girl's face turn a few shades paler.
"She's not your grandmother is she?"
The princess wagged her head and Gabrielle exhaled deeply.
"Why did you lie to me? Did you think we wouldn't figure it out?"
"She threatened me not to tell anyone!" the redhead exclaimed, drawing attention from Anastasia and Ursula who were looking after the khanum. "Queen Eksama is my mother," she muttered. "Prince Elemund is not related to me or my mother."
Gabrielle slapped a hand over her face and groaned.
"You aren't going to tell everyone, are you?" she pleaded.
Gabrielle looked at the girl's big brown eyes and folded her arms, thinking of what to do. This was not the opportune time to be revealing secrets while there was a riot outside and no way to get out of this damned room.
She grabbed the princess' arm firmly and took her aside. "I won't yet but from now on you tell us the truth and nothing but the truth. You're going to explain yourself to everyone."
Xena's eyes fluttered open and her head was pounding. She looked up at Ursula who was standing over her and Anastasia sitting beside the bed. Sitting up in the bed she felt the bandage wrapped around her head and groaned.
Gabrielle smiled and hobbled her way over to see her wife. She sat on the bed and looked at Xena with a big grin. "How do you feel?"
"Terrible. What in god's name is that noise?" she covered her ears.
"The tribe surrounded the Adame. We made it back here just in time. I thought they were going to kill us!"
Xena grumbled and glanced around the clinic. "What are we doing in here? Ernak and Csaba probably need help."
The room fell silent and Anastasia gripped her mother's hand. "We're locked in here. I have no idea what's going on outside this room."
"So we're just going to stay here and hope for the best?" Xena chided. "This is ridiculous! We need to find another way out of this room."
The governor pursed her mouth. "Xena, we've checked all the exits in this room. They're all locked from the outside. And I'm sure as hell not jumping out of the windows. The people will pommel us with stones and god knows what else."
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That feeling. That gut wrenching feeling of betrayal had to be the worst feeling of them all. Arielle was experiencing that feeling right now as she stared at the Persian prince. She hadn't felt this way since Bayan told her about his affair. She felt more so betrayed by Xerxes than by Bayan.
To make matters worse the very people who planned to assassinate her family were in her home. At first she was speechless then as the minutes flew by listening to the crowd outside, anger set in. Arielle narrowed her eyes and walked across the room to the Persian.
"You planned this all. You wanted to kill my family? Kill me? Were you planning to kill my daughter too?"
"No!"
She dug her nails into her hair. "My grandmother was right. You were hiding something but…but I didn't think it was something like this! I can't believe my brother invited you to live with us! I've been living with a mercenary!"
Xerxes tried to touch her and she smacked his arm. "Please, believe me; I have nothing to do with this. Zarmihr sides with my brother. They want to dethrone my father because of this alliance between our families."
"But you went along with it and now we're trapped in this room!"
"I did at first! I was upset that my father wanted an alliance. I won't lie about that. I went along with Kawus' plan but I changed my mind. I stopped writing letters to him."
She gasped. "You what?!"
"Your majesty, the Karen brothers locked me in my room because they think I'm a traitor. I no longer side with Kawus and they see that. They aren't stupid. Believe me I am not involved."
She shoved him onto the bedpost and wrapped his arms behind his back.
"Why should I trust you just because you've given me this information?"
He smiled. "Because if I wanted to kill you I would've already done it. The khanum sent you to spy on me. I know she did because you've been on my tail for a month. Is this how you get information –seducing men to have sex with you?"
Arielle's eyebrows rose and she slapped him across the face.
"I'd never have sex with you." she turned around, facing her back to him and crossed her arms.
He rolled his jaw and rubbed his cheek. "Hmm. Do you want my help or not?"
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Farah crept in the hallways and the silence made the hair on her arms stand up. She came to the princess' wing and gasped when she laid eyes on a few dead chambermaids and guards sprawled across the floor.
She stepped over the bodies and opened every door in the hallway and all were empty, even Xena and Gabrielle's room was vacant. She rounded the corner and unlocked Aurora's doors and swung them open. Ku and Aurora were huddled together in a corner of the room.
The princess smiled and ran over. "Teyze Farah!"
She kissed the top of the girl's head and stared at the pale Assyrian. "Are you alright?"
Ku nods. "Yes, your highness. What's going on?"
"I don't know but take Aurora to the kitchen. Yeter and her sons are waiting there. Make sure to get Nisa and her children there safely as well. Do not make any detours!"
Ku grabbed the princess' hand and they stepped out in the hallway. Aurora let go of her maid's hand and blocked Farah's path.
"Where's my mommy?"
Farah grinned. "I'll find her. Go with Ku. You'll be safe with her."
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In the foyer, Farah poked her head out from behind a wall and there was Ernak, Csaba and Oran cornered. The three were back to back, huddled in the center of the room surrounded by twenty or more Persians. Dead Hun soldiers were scattered across the floor and whatever was left of the elites guarding the doors were now dead as well.
She put a hand over her mouth. This was far worse than she imagined. The Persians were attacking from within the walls and the Pannonians from outside. It was clear that Oran was injured due to a large bleeding wound on his left thigh. Csaba also had dried blood on the side of his face and Ernak a sore shoulder by the looks of it.
She eyed the staircase that lead to the rooms upstairs and knew it wasn't going to be easy to bypass the Persians. She ran across the hall and made it to the other side of the foyer and slid her back against the wall and poked her head out the other side.
A glimmer caught the corner of Oran's eye and he turned his head. He saw Farah's shiny headdress and she put a finger to her lips. She pointed to the stairs and he gave a curt nod.
The father of the Karen brothers and leader of the House stepped forward, smiling at the Hun kings and khan. Sukhra examined the injuries they've endured whilst fighting off his men and they were pretty good for it being an unfair fight of twenty five to three.
The people outside began chanting the khatun's name and Sukhra looked to the open windows, hearing Ana's name loud and clear.
"It seems they want your queen," he mused.
Ernak's eyes darted left and right. "We signed a treaty with Shah Kavad. You will be beheaded when he finds out about your betrayal."
"Assuming that you'll be alive to tell him what happened here, Hun king." He snapped his fingers at a couple of his men. "Bring me Anastasia Khatun."
While the Persians were distracted, Farah ran up the stairs as quickly as she could without being seen.
Csaba growled and ran after the Persians. He clashed swords with the two of them and pushed all of his weight on the sword and rammed one of them onto the ground and drove his sword into the soldier's chest.
He spun around and grabbed the other Persian by the shoulders and flung him aside. He stood up slowly and withdrew his sword from the corpse and then another sword from behind sliced his back. He screamed and dropped to a knee.
Ernak ran up from behind and with a swipe of his blade he decapitated the Persian who attacked his nephew. He hooked his arm underneath Csaba's arm and hoisted him off the floor. Four or five blades surrounded him in a circle and he locked eyes with Oran who was also surrounded.
Four Persian soldiers ran down the hallway towards the clinic and Csaba looked over his shoulder.
Zarmihr grinned at the distraught kings. "Today marks the end of your empire. Perhaps your people will behead your queen as well."
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Xena held her head and felt like the room was spinning. She snatched Ursula's arm and glared up at her. "What did you give me, shamaness?"
"Opium syrup. Your head was bleeding a lot. I was sure that you'd have a lot of pain later so –"
"So you decided to drug me? I didn't ask for this!"
The lock from the other side of the door unlatched and Gabrielle rose from the bed. She unsheathed her sword and stood in front of the bed, facing the double doors. The wounds on her legs ceased to exist and her heart raced as she watched the doors creak open.
Persians stormed into the room and were met with Gabrielle's blade pointed straight at them. The four dispersed and Gabrielle blocked a path for at least two of them.
Xena's blurry vision soon gave out and she fell backward onto the pillow again. Ursula saw the two other Persians coming towards Anastasia and she grabbed Xena's sword at her hip and stood in front of them. Austraia looked at the governor who was fighting off two men by herself by the entryway and Ursula protecting the khatun who must've had no idea what was happening.
The Gepid princess ran forward and jumped on one of the Persian's backs and wrapped her legs around his waist. She held him in a choke hold with one arm and then grabbed his jaw. She twisted his neck, breaking it in a second and he fell to the floor.
Ursula's jaw dropped and then the Persian smacked her across the face and she fell on the floor. He grabbed Anastasia's arm and pulled forcefully. Austraia ran after him and he turned around and sliced her across her midsection.
She dropped to her knees and wrapped her arm around her stomach, heaving deeply.
Gabrielle rammed her sword through one of the Persians but wasn't quick enough to slay the other. She whipped her head around and saw Anastasia being hauled out of the room and the other soldier she was fighting, escaping as well.
"No! Anastasia!" she yelled.
She got up off the floor and the doors slammed in her face and were locked again. She kicked the doors and turned to see the princess on the floor, weeping softly. She dropped the sword and ran over to Austraia.
"Are you okay? What happened?"
Austraia lowered her arm and it was drenched in blood. She was helped up by the governor and lead to the bed. There Ursula was on the floor knocked out and Gabrielle shook her head. She immediately grabbed some gauze and told the princess to press it against the wound.
Jumping over to the other bed, she shook her wife's shoulder. "Xena! Wake up! Xena!" she slapped her face multiple times.
Austraia sobbed. "I'm sorry. I tried to save her."
Gabrielle smiled weakly. "It's not your fault. You did your best." She stared at the shamaness on the floor. "See if you can wake her up. I need her to give something to Xena to wake her up."
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Upstairs Farah unlocked her sons' bedroom doors and the three of them rushed towards her. Her twin boys hugged her legs and Edemen wrapped his arms around her neck. She grinned and then pulled away.
"We must hurry. Everyone is waiting for us in the kitchen."
The four briskly walked down the hallway and then two Persians were at the top of the stairs. Farah frowned and stepped in front of her sons and drew the knife from her belt. Edemen grabbed his brothers' hands and they backed away to stand against the wall.
They were considerably larger than her in weight but equal in height. She studied the size of their bodies and then they came running after her. Acting quickly she threw the knife at one of them and it landed directly in the center of his forehead.
A sword swiped towards her and she ducked then kicked him in the shins. She sat down on the floor and then pushed him with all her leg strength. The Persian busted through the balustrade and fell off the second floor.
Her sons stared in awe and Aman gasped. "Wow…" he mutters. "Go mom!" he cheered.
Farah breathed deeply then stood up, giving her just enough time to fix her headdress and dress. She smiled at her children and Edemen had a look off horror in his eyes.
"Alright, we can leave now," she says nonchalantly.
"Mom…where did you learn how to do that?" asked Edemen.
She hurried down the stairs and looked back at her eldest son. "Just now."
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Arielle tied all of the sheets together to make a long rope and then wrapped them around the handles of the door. She gave one set to Xerxes and together they pulled as hard as she could; forcing the doors to buckle and stretch.
Xerxes looked over at her and raised an eyebrow. She wasn't a very big woman, albeit tall, but very slim. He admired her strength and was a bit shocked to see how she took a few steps forward, pulling harder and quicker than him.
They leapt forward and the lock unhinged and broke from the outside. Arielle ran her fingers through her hair and smiled at the prince then reminded herself she was still angry at him. Her smile dissipated and she got off the floor and grabbed his bow and arrows sitting on his desk.
He ran after her. "That's my bow!"
"That's right," she said as she marched down the hallway. "Didn't your brother tell you? I'm the best archer in the world," she turns with a smile and winked.
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The Persian soldiers forcefully pulled Anastasia through the foyer and she faltered. They pulled her up and she tried to keep up with them as they hurried along. Csaba, Ernak and Oran all had swords held to their necks and were on their knees.
Csaba's stomach dropped. "Mother!"
Ana looked around the room. "Csaba!" she cried out and then she was pushed forward. She stood in front of the doors and heard the crowd yelling loudly from the other side.
Sukhra approached the queen and ripped the veil off her face. Her weak eyes fluttered at the bright light shining into her poor vision. He circled around her and smiled.
"Open the doors," he ordered his sons.
The board was released from heavy doors and it took all three of his sons to push the doors open. Anastasia's eyes narrowed at the bright sunlight. As soon as the people of Pannonia saw her the entire camp went dead silent. She could feel the threatening stares. She didn't need her eyes for that.
She was guided outside and she willingly went with them. It had been so long since she was outside and she closed her eyes as she took her steps forward, breathing in the fresh air. Her ears piqued and heard the doors behind closing.
The Persians pushed her down to her knees and ripped the headdress off her head, exposing her long raven hair. The Pannonians gawked at her in disbelief. Anastasia lifted her head and stared blindly at the sea of people –her people –wishing she could see the looks upon their faces.
Afar, beyond the crowd, Eksama sat on her horse with Samtas beside her. The army she lugged around with her waited for her command. They had since emerged from the woods and were close but yet far enough. Eksama titled her head and raised an eyebrow.
"Interesting," she said aloud. "They seem to be doing all the work for us."
She gazed at the helpless khatun kneeling before her people. The black kozak was tossed to the crowd and then one of the Persians drew his sword and raised it high into the air, showing the Pannonian people.
Eksama gripped the horse's reigns and raised her eyebrows, waiting in anticipation.
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Arielle and Xerxes ran to the foyer and halted behind a wall. She knelt down on one knee and looked at how many Persian soldiers were in the room. Three of them were behind her brother, Ernak and Oran. Each had a sword held to their throats.
She saw tears streaming down her brother's cheeks and she breathed in and out deeply. Pulling out an arrow, she loaded the bow and Xerxes watched her work, standing over her. She held the bow outward and pulled the bowstring tautly with ease.
Xerxes' mouth parted at how easily she was able to pull the bow. The weight of the draw must have been eighty to a hundred pounds. The arrow was released and it hit the Persian behind Oran. She loaded the next arrow swiftly and shot the Persian behind Ernak.
He half smiled and watched Ernak and Oran glance around the room confusedly. Arielle loaded the bow once more and closed one of her eyes, aiming at the Persian standing behind Csaba. She smiled and released the arrow.
Instant kill.
It didn't take long for the other Persians standing by to find out some of their own kind had been killed. Xerxes ran out from the shadows and drove his sword into several of the soldiers.
Arielle kept shooting arrows from behind the wall until she and Xerxes killed the last of them, all except the Karen noblemen. She slung the bow over her shoulder and walked out, kicking a body out of her way.
Sukhra and his three sons held their swords out, backing away cautiously.
Ernak stood and smiled. "You're surrounded now. What ever will you do?"
Csaba ran over to his sister and wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her tightly. Tears poured from his eyes and he kissed her cheek.
"Thank you," he whispered.
"Where are grandma and Gabrielle? Where is everyone?"
He pulled away. "They're in the clinic but mother…she's outside."
Arielle looked at the double doors. "You go to the clinic. Get them out of there and I'll get mother." She whistled. "Xerxes, I need your help!"
The prince eyed the Karens and cautiously ran over to aid in whatever she needed. Together, they pushed open the heavy doors and Anastasia was knelt on her knees with a sword grazing the nape of her neck.
"Get away from her!" Arielle shouted, alarming the executioner.
Ana's eyes shot open and exhaled a sigh of relief. Waking up to a sea of darkness was one thing but never to wake in darkness was not something she wanted to experience just yet.
Xerxes apprehended the Persians and then the Karen noblemen ran right by him like cowards they were. He tossed the soldiers down the steps and glared at the Hun citizens, appalled at their behavior, yet they wanted more. They wanted her dead –Anastasia. Their eyes were filled with such malice and hatred even though he knew that she was a great queen to them. He'd seen it with his own two eyes.
Arielle helped her mother stand and looked out into the field –Gepid Queen. She saw Eksama mounted on her horse, auburn hair willowing in the gentle breeze, leading the front of her massive Gepid army.
"Eksama…" she whispered.
"What?" Ana replied.
"Eksama's…Eksama's here. Get inside!" she guided her mother towards the doors and Xerxes ran in after them. "Seal the door!"
Csaba rushed back into the foyer, carrying his grandmother in his arms. Gabrielle and Ursula trailed behind with Austraia leaning onto their shoulders. Arielle looked over and desperately wanted to know what happened there but she kept her mind focused.
"Ernak," she grabbed his shoulder. "Eksama is here with her army. We can't stay here. We need to leave the Adame. If you think the rebellion is bad now, wait until her army comes."
Xerxes looked out the window and the Gepid army was charging straight through the field. "She's right. We need to go."
Ernak heard his people screaming but not out of anger, but out of fear. The loud horses stampeding through the field rattled the wooden palace. His eyes lifted to the chandelier that gentle swayed back and forth. He sighed and looked around at everyone in the foyer.
"We'll go through the back entrance. The stables are nearby. We can acquire horses there."
Csaba frowned. "Then what? We're going to flee? We're leaving our people to die at the hands of that crazy woman!"
"What does it matter? They were attacking our home!"
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Below in the kitchen all of the children were huddled together on the floor, completely unaware of what was happening above them. Farah and Ernak's eldest teenage son Kurt stood by the door in case someone tried to break through.
Aurora sat on Ku's lap, toying with her hair but it wasn't enough to keep her occupied. She huffed and looked around at all her cousins' mothers with them. She glanced up at Ku who smiled warmly down at her.
"Ku-Ilm, where's mommy?"
"I'm sure she's fine, halu," she reassured her. "She's probably fighting off all the bad men." She poked Aurora's nose playfully.
The princess giggled. "Yeah, probably," she agreed.
Farah listened at the door and heard very familiar voices. She hurriedly opened the door and ran up the staircase. She ran into her husband who was carrying Xena and smiled from ear to ear. Everyone behind him halted and was surprised to see her emerge from out of nowhere.
"I…I have all the children in the kitchen."
Csaba nodded. "Good. We need to leave immediately. Eksama is here and she isn't alone. Her entire army is here."
"Oh….alright. Where are we going to go?"
"We haven't exactly figured that out yet."
She rubbed her chin and looked at Arielle and Gabrielle helping Austraia bandage the wound around her midsection. She then stared back at her husband and snapped her fingers.
"We can go to Banat. We'll be safe there."
Csaba nodded. "Good idea."
Farah peered over at the khanum and arched her eyebrow. "What happened to her?"
"I have no idea but she's going to be furious when she comes to find out I've been carrying her around all this time," he joked.
Ernak stepped in between the married couple. "Enough of this chitchat. We need to get a move on. Farah, get the children. Xerxes, Oran and I will get as many horses as we can. We probably won't be able to get horses for everybody but we need at least five for the injured, Yeter and Nisa."
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Eksama galloped up to the steps of the Adame and dismounted her horse. She marched up the staircase with a horde of men following behind. The Hun army was directionless although they did their best to fight against the Gepid army without a commander by their side. The citizens on the other hand were running in several directions or being killed trying to flee.
She stood at the top of the stairs and waved her hand to the men. "Break down these doors!" she ordered.
The ten men gathered in front of the doors and pushed their weight against the heavy doors. The queen lifted her chin and turned around, surveying the chaos unfolding in Pannonia. Yurts were set aflame and bodies lain on the grassy plain. Grass once green will soon turn red.
Eksama grinned and while the Hun army tried to fight against hers, they were also being attacked by the citizens as well. The Pannonians had long since forgotten their trust in their empire's leaders and the army was just a mere reflection of the leaders.
After several attempts, the doors to the infamous Hun Adame were broken down and the Gepid soldiers charged inside. Eksama sauntered inside and stopped at the sight of several Hun and Persian corpses on the floor.
"Search everywhere! If you find any survivors I want them brought to me!"
Stepping over the bodies her eyes caught the clan of Attila flag hanging on the wall. There was also a flag of a different Hun tribe next to it. Grimacing, she grabbed the unfamiliar banner and yanked it off the wall and ripped it in half.
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In the woods, far from the Adame, Arielle looked at the camp up in flames and could hear women, children and men screaming for their lives. She held the reigns of a horse which had Aurora, Aman and Aladar aboard.
"Where are we going?" asked Aladar.
She turned and smiled at her nephew. "We're going to the place where you were born. I think you're going to love it there."
What a time to be a child, she thought. They were all oblivious and probably thought this was a vacation.
Gabrielle trotted up beside the horse carrying the three children. "Arielle? We have to go."
"I'm coming." She pulled on the reins and walked slowly beside Gabrielle's horse. She looked up at her grandmother who was also on the horse, leaning against Gabrielle's backside, groggily coming to her senses hours later.
"What happened to her?"
The blonde sighed. "We were attacked by the citizens in the market. They threw stones at us. Long story short, Ursula gave her some opium syrup and she's been knocked out for awhile."
Arielle nodded and stared ahead at the trail of horses and older children walking by themselves with Ernak and Csaba leading the way. She glared at Austraia who shared a horse with Oran and little Muqan.
"What about her?" she nudged her head. "Gepid Princess."
"Ah," the governor smiled. "She's harmless. She tried to save your mother but ended up getting sliced across her abdomen by a Persian's sword."
"I still don't trust her. She is related to Eksama."
Aurora jumped up and down on the saddle, feeling extremely restless. "Mommy!"
Arielle looked over her shoulder. "Yes, tatli kiz?"
"Where is Banat? Is it nice? Will I like it?"
"I think you'll like it. There's a huge palace!"
"Bigger than ours?"
"Yes, much bigger."
The princess slapped her cheeks and gasped.
Gabrielle chuckled. "Banat is where Farah and her sister are from. We'll be staying in their palace for awhile," she told the princess.
Awhile being the operative word. She couldn't help but think that living in Banat was not temporary but permanent. Indefinitely.
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Banat Kingdom
Two days of extensive traveling the royal Hun family arrived at the palace. Rabia was there in front to greet everyone unexpectedly. The kingdom was rather quiet and with an empty palace Rabia was kind of grateful that she was going to be sharing her massive home with others.
She just didn't know for how long. Everyone was shown to their rooms and the smaller children were especially excited to pick out their rooms. Even though they traveled for two days straight with minimal food they were little balls of energy.
The palace had an abundance of maids and servants. They lived a life of leisure with Rabia as she was the only person living in the palace until the children arrived. Their peaceful time had come to an end and for the next few days they continually chased and chastised the princes and Princess Aurora around the place.
In a secluded section of the palace a huge suite was given to Gabrielle and Xena. It was much larger than their bedroom in Pannonia. In the middle of the journey Xena woke up and was completely baffled as to why she was on a horse in the middle of nowhere.
The maids tended to her wound and after awhile she kicked them out. She grew tired of people trying to serve her. It was annoying and she never had any servants while living in Pannonia and she wasn't going to have them in Banat either.
Sitting in bed, Xena felt the sizeable bump on the side of her head. She wasn't too worried about it but she couldn't say the same about her wife.
"What?" she asked since her blonde wife kept staring at her.
"Are you feeling okay? You were out for over a day. I just want to make sure you're not seeing double. Are you?"
Xena frowned. "No," she answered sharply. "I'm fine, Gabrielle. I wish I wasn't knocked out for that entire disaster. I could've helped."
"I don't know how you would have. We were locked in the clinic and then the Persians took Anastasia."
"Don't remind me."
The blonde gave a breathy sigh. "We should really be thanking Farah and Arielle. Those two saved everyone, especially Farah. She rescued all of the children on her own despite the Karens taking over the inside of the Adame. We owe everything to her."
Xena nodded with a faint grin. Her mind was elsewhere as her eyes were focused on the silk sheets and then felt her wife put her hand on top of hers.
"Eksama did it. She took Pannonia right under our noses," she utters in a soft and defeated voice.
Gabrielle scooted close to her and laid a head on her wife's shoulder. "We'll get it back. Pannonia has been taken from us before."
"Gabrielle, she didn't just take Pannonia. She claimed it. She made herself the ruler of the empire and we weren't able to fight against her. She came in like a plague."
"We should've taken her more seriously," she said and paused for a moment. "Austraia…told me that she is Eksama's daughter. Elemund is not related to either one of them."
Xena furrowed her eyebrows.
"I don't know why Eksama lied about that but I'm sure she has a reason."
"She's always got an answer for everything," she snidely says. "How is Ana? Have you checked on her?"
"I think she's fine with the amount of maids in this place." Gabrielle teased. "We can see her tonight. Rabia is having a huge dinner prepared for everyone."
Xena could only imagine the amount of food the chefs were going to cook. She felt bad for them. "I hope they won't be serving that god awful wine at dinner. Banat wine is disgusting."
"Well you really shouldn't be –"
She received a glare from her brunette wife and bit her bottom lip. She leaned over and kissed her cheek instead of trying to tell her what to do. She thought she should know better by now but apparently not.
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Arielle stood in front of a mirror dressed in her brassiere and long black pants. She picked up a dress that one of Farah's maids sent over. She hated wearing dresses but had grown accustom to them when she was forced into fulfilling her duty as queen.
She held the blue silk dress against her body and stuck out her tongue. "Gross." She threw the dress aside and it was the third dress she looked at today. The maid was supposed to come back with more options soon so she waited patiently.
A knock came to the door and she kept staring at her reflection in the mirror.
"Come in!" she called out.
Xerxes opened the door and stepped inside, searching for said queen. He closed the door and then walked in a few more paces then halted. Her backside was facing him and she had her long hair pulled up into a clip, showcasing her entire back which was covered in tattoos.
That surprised him. He gawked at her slender toned back and then noticed her arms were also covered in tribal ink as well. He wondered if her legs also had the same markings.
"You can put the dresses on the bed," she said.
He cleared his throat loudly and Arielle paled. He turned around so she wouldn't feel totally embarrassed but it was too late for that.
She grabbed a robe and quickly dressed herself. "What the hell!"
"You said come in so I did," he replied with a smirk on his face.
"I thought you were the maid coming back with dresses!" she growled and tied the sash around her thin waist. "Why are you in here? You can turn around now."
He did just that and smiled at her annoyed facial expression. "I didn't mean to walk in on you. I just wanted to talk to you."
She crossed her arms. "Go ahead."
"I told King Ernak everything. I told him about my brother's plan to dethrone my father and how I cooperated with Kawus until I arrived in Pannonia. I also told him that the Karens are also working for my brother."
"And?"
"He thanked me for my allegiance," he says in a chipper tone. "He forgave me and allowed me to continue to live with you all. Looks like you're stuck with me."
She scoffed.
"So, that's it? That's all you've got to say?"
"Are you going to use your seductive ways to press me for further information?" he asked and took a step forward, closing the space between them.
Arielle inhaled sharply and looked into his dark eyes. His smug smile was unnerving and irritating her so she slightly shoved him backward. He chuckled and ran his fingers through his silky dark hair.
"My grandmother told me that you liked me but I can see that was a lie. You've been lying this entire time." She spun around and took the clip out of her hair and the curly locks fell, tumbling down her back.
"I do like you, Arielle."
It was the first time that she heard him call her by her name instead of calling her by her titles. She ran her fingers down the silk robe and turned around.
"I'll see you at dinner," he concluded and bowed his head.
XXXXXX
Aladar jumped up from the floor pillow and began animating the fight scene he witnessed between his mother and the Persians. He smacked his fist into his palm and bent his knees, staring at everyone. They all watched and listened to him intently.
"And then she threw the knife at his face!" he exclaimed and made a squishing sound with his mouth. "And he fell to the ground! And then she hit the other guy and then…pow!"
Everyone jumped at his exciting tale.
"She pushed him off the balcony!" he finished telling the story and sat down in between his brothers.
Csaba smiled at his son and looked at his wife. "Looks like we missed some fight."
Farah nudged his elbow. "I was just protecting my children. It was nothing."
"And you say you're bad at combat," Xena said and winked at the shy queen. "If it weren't for you then I don't think we would've made out of Pannonia on time or at all."
Everyone nodded their heads and Farah smiled brightly with blushing cheeks.
Anastasia interrupted, "I've sent a letter to Navaz and Cera. I'm glad that Cera was not there during the attack. It was good that she left when she did."
"What'd you do that for, Ana? Now she's going to be worried sick over everyone. You know how sensitive she is."
"I can't keep her in the dark! I don't want her to suddenly show up in Pannonia and have her accosted by Eksama, mother."
Gabrielle spooned some rice onto her plate and stared at Arielle sitting across from her. Among the entire family she was the quietest one this evening when usually she was very talkative.
"Arielle?"
The young queen lifted her head and stopped tapping her spoon on the plate.
"Are you alright?"
She looked at the eyes all pointed in her direction and stared at Xerxes further down the row of people opposite her. She set down the spoon and exhaled.
"I'm going through with my campaign and I'm going to get rid of Eksama," she stated.