The Lieutenant Part II

The Birth of The Avar Khaganate

One Month Later

"Let's go over this again."

Austraia shifted uncomfortably in bed and stared up at her uncle nervously. Ernak had his arms folded, staring down at her. This felt more like an interrogation than anything else. It also didn't help that the governor and khanum were standing on either side of him. They both were encouraging her to speak.

"My mother…married Gepid Prince Ardaric when she was fifteen."

Ernak nodded. "Not thirteen like you said before."

She sighed. "Well they were engaged when she was thirteen. He already had a son five years prior to the marriage but my mother didn't know that until a year after the marriage."

"That's Elemund, right?"

She nods her head and continued, "My mother took care of him but…as soon as Prince Elemund was old enough to go war he began to go on excursions with Ardaric and King Theodoric."

Xena scoffed. "That man. I suppose getting rid of Theodoric was the only thing Odoacer was good for."

Ernak turned around with a menacing frown. "Xena, no interruptions." He firmly said and looked back at his niece. "Continue, please."

The princess wrapped an arm around her sore gut wound and winced. "Well, ten years after the marriage my mother had me but it was…when Ardaric was gone during a war. She never told me who my father was. Instead of telling Ardaric about me she sent me away to Elemund's fortress in the north. Elemund was old enough to have children by then and he really liked my mother a lot so they both lied and said I was his daughter."

She finished explaining herself and didn't feel good about it either especially with Ernak gawking at her with wide eyes.

Ernak chuckled and turned to Xena and Gabrielle. "Not only is my sister crazy, she's a slut too. I guess it runs in the family."

Xena slapped his arm and smiled tersely at the teenager. She stepped forward and Austraia's brown eyes grew twice their size.

"The Goths love to kill female infants and children. Your mother hid you because you would've been killed. Isn't that right?"

"How did you know that?"

"Me and the Goths go way back. There was a time in Pannonia when the camp was filled with only sons and no daughters. I remember it very well because my daughter was the only girl in the tribe for a long time."

Austraia scratched her throat and averted her gaze.

Gabrielle intervened and stepped in front of her wife, shoving her out of the way. She sat on the bed and grabbed the princess' hand which forced them to make eye contact.

"I know you think we're going to kill you, but we haven't and we won't if you continue to cooperate with us. We've allowed someone asylum with us before and that person ended up betraying us and he killed several women; one khatun, a queen, two princesses and a Suevi woman."

"I –I would never do that!" the teen exclaimed. "I'd never kill anyone here, governor. You must believe that."

She squeezed the girl's hand. "Relax. I know you wouldn't hurt anyone. Perhaps your mother did the right thing by not raising you herself."

Ursula walked in and addressed the princess. "Anastasia Khatun wants to see you."

Austraia gasped and stood up slowly. She ran her fingers through her curly hair a couple of times and looked over at Ernak who was staring out the window in silence.

"You may leave," he said with his back turned.

Once she left with Ursula, he sighed deeply and kept his eyes on the gardens outside. He didn't know how long his entire clan was supposed to stay here and he didn't know if they'd be safe here either. He wished that he were more careful with Eksama. He felt like he failed his family and people by not being able to protect them from external entities which also unfortunately included the Karens.

"Am I doing the right thing by letting her stay here?" he asked the women.

Gabrielle rose from the bed and eyed her wife. "She is a sweet girl, Ernak. She's the one who brought Oran home. It's clear that she isn't like Eksama."

"Eksama," he half grinned. "My little sister. Things could've been different if she was brought to Pannonia. Maybe she wouldn't have turned out the way that she did."

"Or maybe she would have," she told him. "We never know what the future holds."

He stared at the gardens for a moment longer then turned to look at the women. He briefly smiled and left the room. Xena watched him leave and frowned sadly. She'd known Ernak since birth and he was always the kindest out of the princes and well behaved. He was Kreka's favorite son, perhaps because he was the youngest, but he was a strong ruler and even better than his father and Ellac.

The governor sat down on a bench close to one of the large windows and crossed a leg over the other. "If I didn't know better I'd say that he cares more about Eksama's downfall than losing Pannonia."

"He has a lot of compassion," Xena says softly."Gabrielle, do you remember when Kriemhild killed her twin boys?"

"I try not to but thanks for bringing that horrid memory up again…"

Xena smiled and sat down next to her wife, forcing her to scoot over. "Ernak was devastated. He loved those boys. He was a young teenager when that happened. They were his little brothers. He feels the same way about Eksama."

Gabrielle scrunched her eyebrows together and fiddled her thumbs back and forth.

"How is that the same thing?"

"Because he knows that he might have to kill his sister to win Pannonia back. He's already lost his two older brothers and his mother. I don't think he wants to lose another family member."

"What if…Eksama has a change of heart? What if she becomes a part of the family?"

Xena grinned and a placed a hand on her wife's shoulder. "I like it when you're optimistic, Gabrielle. That's my favorite trait about you. You're always trying to see good in evil."

"I have to otherwise I'd kill everyone."

XXXXXX

He stood in front of his sister for almost half an hour and was ready to give in. he hated arguing with her but she was incredibly stubborn and always wanted her way no matter the consequences. Magically, she did get what she wanted. She married Bayan, she ran away from home, she became queen, lost her status as queen, became commander, lost her status as commander and now she was queen and de facto.

Csaba was having a staring contest with her and so far she was winning. Nobody could beat those blue eyes that she got from their mother and grandmother. He wished he had the same eyes sometimes. Maybe they'd make him seem more menacing?

"I said…no," he hissed.

"Why not?"

"You cannot have the Banat army for your campaign, Arielle!"

She huffed and folded her arms. "Then I'll ask my father for the Balaam army. I know he'll let me have his soldiers," she says with a pearly white grin.

He laughed. "Navaz spoils you to no end but he'll never give you his army. Keep dreaming, sister."

"Wanna bet?" she held out her hand.

Csaba's eyebrow arched. "Alright…"

She spit in her palm and grabbed his hand. He cringed in disgust and yanked his hand away then wiped it on his pants.

"Arielle! What the hell! İğrençsin!"

"You'll see, Csaba. I'll have a huge army and I'll come knocking on Eksama's door. She's going to be sorry that she ever set foot in Pannonia!"

He kept wiping his hand on his pant-leg and glared at her. "Of course you do realize that you'll have to take Xerxes with you," he smugly smiled and her triumphant face withered away like a wilted rose.

"Excuse me?"

"Ernak is keeping him as commander. We're going to have a lot of problems with Persia now so it's best if we have Xerxes on our side."

She growled and stormed off. "I fucking hate this family," she muttered.

"Love you too, squirt."

"Stop calling me that!" her voice echoed in the marble hallway.

"Oh, by the way!" he shouts and she halted. "I wrote Bayan. His tribe is part of our empire as you know."

Her lip quivered and she stomped off.

XXXXXX

It was easy to keep the children occupied when they first arrived in Banat but as the weeks went by they began to ask several questions. Princess Aurora realized that this was not a regular visit and asked all of the adults what was going on but she received no satisfying answers which frustrated her.

Unlike her mother she was more sensitive to her surroundings although much to everyone's surprise she had a bit of an anger streak. Undoubtedly she got that trait from her mother. Aurora was a sweet girl until she got extremely bothered and then she was very unruly.

Today was one of those days. With all of the recent changes and being uprooted from her home, the princess couldn't properly process anything and instead of talking about her feelings she ultimately became very destructive.

She lashed out and complained that she didn't have her favorite blanket or her bow that she was gifted from her grandfather, nor any of her favorite clothes. She broke several of the vases, busts and ripped the sheets off the bed.

The Banat maids were unsure of what to do and none could attempt to calm her. Xerxes was passing by and heard the princess yelling at the maids in her mother tongue mixed with Syriac vocabulary and he walked by to see what the issue was.

He saw a very flustered princess, tears streaming down her cheeks, wild eyes and flushed cheeks. Her room was completely destroyed. Xerxes was not usually around many children as it was forbidden to go into his father's harem as well as his brothers' harems. He only saw his nephews every once in awhile but that was rare.

He took it upon himself to distract the furious princess and he took her outside to one of the large royal gardens in the back of the palace. It wasn't difficult to coax her into coming with him, in fact she willingly went.

Outside, he knelt on one knee behind her holding his large steel recurve bow. He remembered that she enjoyed the bow Navaz gave her and decided to teach her how to hold a much larger bow. The weapon was as big as she was tall and weighed more than her.

He held the bow out in front of her and she had a grimace on her face, intimating that awful look her mother had often.

"You like bows, right princess?"

She had her arms folded and refused to look at him.

Xerxes smirked. "You shouldn't frown, princess. Your face is going to be stuck like that."

Her face softened and she looked at him with wide fearful eyes. She almost looked like she believed him.

"I'll teach you how to hold a real bow. Would you like that?"

She stared at the weapon and thought about it for a moment, putting her anger aside. She sniffled and wiped her wet cheeks then nodded.

XXXXXX

On the opposite side of the huge garden, Anastasia walked with her mother and Gabrielle. Ana no longer had a fear of going outside now that she was far from her people but she was distressed and upset that she left the entire tribe in the hands of Eksama's wrath.

She had her arm hooked with her mother's as they waltzed through the garden's pathways. Even though she couldn't see properly she appreciated the beauty around her and could smell the flowers all around. Pannonia was a gorgeous place but Banat had a beauty of its own. She really liked the gardens here and wished there was something like this back home.

"Austraia was very nervous to speak with me," she told the two women. "I thanked her for risking her life to save me. It's fascinating to me that she would do that while her mother was planning an attack on us."

Gabrielle glanced up at the blue sky and saw dark clouds hovering over the city. Rain, she thought. "It makes sense, Ana. She wasn't raised by Eksama. Are you going to allow her to stay with us?"

"Yes, I will. She told me she wants to get to know all of her cousins. She was very excited to find out she has several family members. I don't want to keep her locked in a room forever but I know Ernak is very cautious. She will be watched closely for awhile longer."

"The children might have a hard time adjusting to her. Edemen, Kurt and Issik know that Eksama attacked us and they know Austraia is her daughter," Gabrielle advised.

The khatun sighed and nodded. "They have a right to be worried but I'll talk to them."

Xena halted and gawked at Xerxes teaching Aurora how to use a very large bow in the center of the gardens. Gabrielle leaned over and stared at her wife.

"Xena? What's wrong?"

"Look over there." She nudged her head towards the Persian.

Anastasia scoffed. "Very funny, mother. I can't see."

Xena slapped her daughter's hand gently. "Xerxes is with Aurora. He's instructing her how to use a Persian recurve bow."

"He's what?" Ana's head turned in several directions.

Gabrielle smiled, enjoying how serious the princess was and listening to Xerxes from afar. "Looks like the lesson is going pretty well. I think she likes him."

"Just what I need," Ana grumbled.

Xerxes stood and walked Aurora back towards the palace and then spotted three women staring. He and Aurora head that way and he bowed his head to the group of women. Xena had an arched eyebrow while the governor had a beaming smile. The khatun luckily had half her face covered aside from her eyes so her disdainful frown was concealed.

"I was teaching the princess how to use my bow," he informed them. "I told her that I will teach her how to make her own bow. I learned how to make them when I was a child."

"And what brought on this little…lesson?" asked the governor.

The Persian peered down at a very meek princess. "We both thought she needed a break. Isn't that right, your highness?"

Aurora looked up at him and then to the women. "I did…something bad," she admits in her soft tiny voice.

Gabrielle knelt down to her eye level and held her hands. "What happened?"

The little princess exhaled and hung her head. "I made a mess in my room 'cause I was angry."

Gabrielle nodded and lifted her eyes to Xerxes. "You were having a tantrum?"

"Mhm," she mumbled. "Well, I didn't mean to…"

"And why did you do that?"

Aurora frowned. "I don't wanna talk about it."

Gabrielle stood up and silently thanked the shehzade for his interference. "Okay, we can talk about it later. Go back inside."

Xerxes grinned and bowed his head once more then escorted the princess into the palace. Gabrielle shook her head and turned to her bemused wife. Anastasia also had a bewildered look in her pale eyes.

"Since when does she have tantrums?" asked Xena.

XXXXXX

Estakhr, Persia

Grand Vizier Rüzem received an important letter from Karen nobleman, Sukhra. The messenger was sent away by the guards and he immediately rushed through the large palace in search of Shehzade Kawus. He entered the shehzade's bedroom and Kawus was having a conversation with his youngest brother at the moment.

Khosrow expressed his hatred for the vizier and while he sided with Kawus he did not trust the vizier and tried to steer clear of him at all times. He looked at his eldest brother and brushed by Rüzem on his way out.

Kawus waited until the doors were closed and he laced his hands behind his back. "What do you have for me?" he asked.

The vizier pulled out a letter incased in a metal tube and handed it over to the shehzade. "A message from the House of Karen was just delivered. Sukhra wrote that the Huns were under attack by their own tribe. The Gepid Queen, Eksama also invaded Pannonia with her army."

Kawus grinned. "Good." He read over the letter and frowned. "Xerxes betrayed us?"

The elderly vizier sighed. "Yes, your highness. It is clear that he sides with the Huns. He had no intention of keeping his promise, shehzade. He is a traitor."

"Ah, little brother." He walked over to the fireplace and threw the letter into the fire. "I want you to tell my father exactly what I'm going to tell you word for word. I don't want him to suspect that I am behind the rebellion. Do not say a word of this letter to Khosrow."

Rüzem grinned and bowed. "Yes, shehzade. What do you want to do about Shehzade Jamasp? He is still in China fighting against Prince Houfei and Emperor Liu."

"Let him continue the war. It's best that we keep China away from Persia. What happened to Attila's clan?"

"Sukhra did not say, shehzade. He and his sons fled Pannonia as soon as the Gepids invaded the state."

XXXXXX

In Shah Kavad's harem within a private sector of the large Sassan palace, there held at least twenty women. The time of bearing children had long been put to rest as soon as the princes were old enough to have their own harems. Each of the harems for the four princes were allowed to mingle together throughout the harem wing.

The concubines who bore the Shah the princes had special privileges compared to the other concubines. They each had their own suites and maids to tend to their needs. They were not allowed to leave the harem so they had people come in and out to give supplies, food and clothing.

Shahbanu Sambice was head of the harem and controlled the women's wing. It was very rare to see the shehzades come to the harem but today was one of those rare days. As the twenty some odd women were in the center of the large living area, two guards entered the room.

All the women immediately covered their faces with their veils and gawked at the guards. Shehzade Kawus stepped inside and all the concubines stood and bowed their heads in silence.

"Banu Nousha! Where is she?" he called out.

A woman of average height emerged from the crowd of women. She wore a colorful turban underneath the peach colored veil. She uncovered her face and stared at Kawus nervously.

"Yes, shehzade?"

He tilted her chin with a finger and gazed into her bright blue-green eyes. Her pale rounded face had such youth for a woman her age. Out of all the concubines Nousha was the Shah's favorite and Kawus understood why. She was unlike the other Persian women with her fair skin, big eyes, small mouth and petite frame.

He furrowed his eyebrows and stepped away then waved his hand at the guards behind him.

"Take her and lock her away in a cell."

All of the women gasped and Nousha fearfully stared at the guards. She tried to run away and the two tall men grabbed her by the arms and dragged her across the floor. Nousha dropped to her knees and the veil fell off her head. She sobbed, staring up at Kawus.

"Shehzade! Please! I haven't done anything wrong! What did I do?"

She leapt forward and grabbed his black cape. The guards pulled up off the floor and forcefully took her out of the room while she continued to wail and call out Kawus' name.

XXXXXX

"Xerxes plans to dethrone me?"

Rüzem kept his gaze low and smile hidden. "Yes, Shah. It is unfortunate news. He has sided with the Huns to take your thrown and empire."

Kavad rubbed his beard and stared suspiciously at the vizier. "Who gave you this information?"

"Sukhra Karen, your majesty. He sent a letter over once he returned to Hamadan. He said that he and his sons were accosted by the Huns and held them captive in their home. Luckily they were able to escape before they were all killed."

The Shah rose from his throne and walked over to the balcony overlooking the gardens. The first time he met Queen Farah and Princess Arielle, he did not sense that they were hostile or had ill intention. He had doubts of Rüzem's information received by the Karens. The vizier worked for Balash and he had a reputation of working behind the scenes of the empire.

He didn't dismiss the information but decided to keep a cool head about the matter.

"Thank you for relaying the message, vizier. Find Tegin Irkin and tell him to come see me immediately."

Rüzem raised his eyebrow and backed away. "Yes, Shah."

XXXXXX

Banat Kingdom

Swords clashed. Boots scraped across the sand. Breathy exhales encompassed the thick warm air. Xena lowered her posture and bent her knees, focusing her eyes on her opponent. She twirled the sword in her hand with a swivel of her wrist. The sword was as light as a feather.

She circled around and then couldn't help herself but to smile. "Gabrielle…" her voice sultry with a hint of mischief. "I'm waiting."

"I know you don't like surprises," replied the blonde. She watched Xena's boots glide against the sand.

"And yet you haven't surprised me at all during this session." She swung the sword away from her and loudly grunted then the blade swiped air instead of her opponent's metal.

Gabrielle ducked moments earlier and swiftly ran to the other side, behind her wife. She heard her growl and this brought a smile to her lips. She took the opportunity to use her body instead of her weapon and projected her boot in the air to hit her wife's back.

Xena turned and grabbed the ankle of her attacker and twisted her leg. Gabrielle dropped her sword on the ground and she yelped.

"Nice try. You almost had me. Would you really want to find out what would have happened if you actually kicked me?"

"Xena!" she begged and had her elbows on the ground while her leg was high into the air and twisted in a very painful awkward position. "God dammit, Xena! Let go! I'm finished! I lost, you won!"

Anastasia stood off to the side while the governor and khanum were having their sparring session. Arielle came to join her mother and she folded her arms, watching Gabrielle begging for her life. She smirked at the expression on her grandmother's face.

"Now that's just cruel," she commented.

Ana turned to her daughter and smiled.

"What are you doing standing out here by yourself?"

Ana held out her hand to the battle before her. "I'm listening to them fight. I enjoy their banter. It's amusing," she said and Arielle eyed her mother with a strange stare. "Aurora destroyed her suite a few days ago."

"Yes…Ku told me. I talked to Aurora and she didn't tell me why she did it."

"Tatli kiz, you must understand that her tiny world has been turned upside down. She doesn't know why she's here and she also spoke of Bayan a few times when she came to see me yesterday."

She sensed her daughter's anger seething.

"You should tell her the truth, Arielle. She's old enough to comprehend things you and I would understand. She's a very smart girl and the longer you lie to her the more resentful she will be towards you."

Arielle nodded. "I'll tell her but I need to talk to Gabrielle and grandma about this campaign. I can't wait in Banat forever. Who knows what Eksama is doing in Pannonia?"

"Hmm." Ana simply replied.

"So…when father arrives I will talk to him about giving me his army for the campaign. Csaba said I can't have Banat's army."

Anastasia furrowed her eyebrows and glared at her daughter. "What makes you think he's going to come here? I didn't tell him to do that."

"Mother, please! He'll come. You never need to ask him."

A maid came running up to them and held out a small rolled up parchment. "Queen Arielle, this is for you," she said and bowed her head.

Arielle frowned and snatched the small scroll from the maid's hand. "Who's it from?"

"I do not know your highness. I was just told to deliver it." She smiled at Anastasia. "Khatun," she acknowledged her then took off back to the palace.

Arielle opened the scroll and narrowed her eyes.

"Not every isolated soul is looking for a savior. To see the proof, and silent truth, just take a look at nature. A single solitary flower is as beautiful alone."

She grunted and rolled up the message. "Tanrı aşkına…" she muttered.

"What was it?" asked Ana with a hint of curiosity.

"Nothing. I have to take care of something but can you tell them I want to talk before dinner?"

Anastasia nodded and heard footsteps drifting further away. She looked over her shoulder and hummed quietly to herself. Interrupting her peace she heard Gabrielle yell aloud.

Xena leaned over her wife on the sand holding her leg over the blonde's head. "My, you are very flexible, Gabrielle," she teased.

"Only because you're forcing yourself on me! Get off!"

"No, no. You put yourself in this position!" Xena grit her teeth with a wild smile and pushed her wife's leg further back. "Say it, Gabrielle!"

"This is pure torture," she grunted and squirmed. "Do you come up with new ways to torture me while you sleep?!"

Xena arched an eyebrow. "No but now that you mention it, I'll start doing that. Say the magic words…" she whispered.

"You win!"

"Those aren't the magic words, Gabrielle."

The blonde looked up into her wife's eyes. "I'm a loser?"

"Try again."

"Xena! Give me a break here! I'm going to tear a muscle for sure."

Xena chuckled and finally released her wife's leg and stood up. Gabrielle collapsed and curled into a fetal position, holding onto her leg. She extended her hand as a sign of truce and the petite governor took the kind gesture. Xena grinned wily and dropped her back onto the ground.

"Xena!" she rubbed the back of her head and jumped up. She felt the numbness in her leg and nearly fell over. "That was dirty."

"Yeah well that's what you get for calling me old."

Gabrielle threw her hands in the air and scoffs loudly. "That's what this was about?!" she exclaimed and grabbed her sword. "I'm sorry okay!"

"Hey, there are the magic words!" Xena called out and winked at her wife. She sheathed her sword and smiled at her daughter. "Ana, what are you doing out here? How long have you been standing there?"

Anastasia lifted the veil over her head and gave her mother a knowing disapproving look. "You're terrible, mother. Arielle wants to talk to you two before dinner."

Xena sighed. "Perfect. I can only imagine what she wants to talk about," she adds with a thick layer of sarcasm. "You coming Gabrielle, or are you still trying to get off the ground?"

"I hate you."

"Yeah, yeah." She dismissed her wife and grabbed Ana's head, waltzing back to the palace.

XXXXXX

Xerxes kept his mind busy polishing his bow with several layers of oil and wax. He rubbed the steel bow with a cloth dripping in wax at a desk in his room. He lifted the unstrung bow and examined the shininess of it in the sunlight beaming into the bedroom.

He smiled, satisfied with the work he had done and then the doors swung open. He lowered the bow and saw a very angry queen marching towards the desk. Arielle slammed the parchment on the desk and he glanced down at it and then looked into her eyes.

"May I help you, your highness?" he asks politely.

"What the hell is this? You wrote me a poem?" she hissed.

The prince grinned and stood from the desk. He walked over to the chest in front of the bed and gently placed his freshly polished bow on top, ignoring her. Arielle walked over to him and folded her arms.

"You're just going to pretend this never happened? I know you wrote that. Why would you do that?"

He spun around. "I seem to remember you asked me to write more poems for you, your highness. Do you remember that?"

She was taken aback by his smart mouth comeback and swallowed. She refused to show that she hesitated in response so she faintly smiled.

"That was different. That was before I knew that –"

"Knew what?" he took a step closer. "You don't still think I'm going to kill you, do you…Arielle?"

She exhaled slowly and gazed into his brown eyes. For a tall woman she never felt so small until this very moment. He leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. He pulled away, still very close to her face and he smiled sneakily.

"Did you like it?" he whispered.

"W –what?"

"My poem. Did you like it?"

Arielle grimaced and she slapped him across the face. He closed his eyes for a brief moment and felt the sting on his cheek and rattling through his jaw traveling up to his head. His eyes shot open and his eyebrows lifted.

He rubbed his jaw and stood up straight. Sighing deeply and gave her a charming smile which she was not fond of judging by the look on her face. She raised her hand again and he grabbed her wrist with a firm grip.

"I didn't know you Hun women were so violent otherwise I would've prepared myself," he joked.

"What're you going to do? Hit me back?"

Xerxes chuckled and lowered her arm to her side. "I'd never hurt you with my hands nor my words, your highness." He paused. "But you insulted me," he kept toying with her. "I guess I'll have to choose my words more wisely when I write poems."

She gasped and shoved him against the large bedpost. She breathed deeply and he kept smiling down at her while he willingly allowed her to pin him. They locked eyes with each other for several moments and then she smashed her lips against his.

His eyes widened and then he felt the laces on his tunic being untied and then she pulled the blouse over his head. Arielle stopped for a moment and then slipped the dress over her head and then gawked at his muscular chest and arms.

She lifted an eyebrow with a smug grin.

XXXXXX

Estakhr, Persia

Darkness surrounded the cells below the Sassan palace. Nousha had been locked away for days and she was given minimal food such as almond soup and bread with a small glass of water. She refused all three meals a day for almost a week now.

She sat on the stone bench with only torches surrounding her, giving her any kind of light. She sighed and leaned her head on the wall, staring at the food that was left for her since this morning. The cell door was opened and a black cloaked figure walked into the cell. Nousha frowned and stood up.

The door closed and the guest revealed their face. Nousha smiled and bowed her head with her hands close to her chest.

"Shahbanu!" she said with relief. "Have you come to free me? I don't know why I am in here. I was taken against my will!"

The Shah's wife curled her lip and stared at the petite fair skinned concubine. "Nousha," her voice dripped with hidden derision. "You are in here because of your son."

"Xerxes?" she held her breath. "What happened? Did something happen to him?"

Sambice raised her hand for silence. "Your son is a traitor. He has allied with the Huns and plans to overthrow the Shah so therefore you will also be punished for his crimes. Carry the sins of your son on your back, Nousha."

Nousha gasped. "No, that's wrong. My son would never do that. Please, I can talk to Shah Kavad. He will speak with me if you tell him –"

"You will not speak to the Shah! He's the one who put you in here."

"What?" Nousha took a step back. "He wouldn't do that. How long will I have to stay here?"

"Until a punishment is decided by the shah you will remain here."

Sambice pulled the veil over her face and tapped on the barred cell door. The guards opened it for her and Nousha ran towards her. She reached through the bars, desperately trying to grab the woman's garb.

"Shahbanu!" she yelled as she watched her walk down the dark hallway. "Sambice!" she growled.

XXXXXX

"Observe!"

Gabrielle turned around as she was combing her short locks. She stared at the floor that her wife was pointing at. "What am I supposed to be looking at?"

Xena put a hand on her hip. "Dirty clothes. You leave them on the floor and they magically disappear in the morning. These Banat maids are slick. I don't even see them come in here in the mornings!"

"You're too easily amused." She swiveled in the chair and began braiding her hair. "My legs feel like a blazing fire thanks to you."

"Shouldn't have called me old. A hard lesson learned, huh?" she teased and sat on the bed, picking at her nails. "Do you ever get that feeling that you're forgetting something?"

Gabrielle had a pin in her mouth as she was braiding her short hair into tight rows on her scalp. "Arielle was supposed to come talk to us yesterday."

"Oh yes. That child," she stared at her wife's reflection. "I mean woman…" she muttered. "It's not really like her to forget. She's all over the campaign." She bit her cuticle and cursed beneath her breath.

"Navaz arrived last night. I saw him after we left the dining room."

Xena wiggled her eyebrows. "No doubt he's talked to Anastasia. Today is going to be very fun. I sense a very awkward breakfast in the dining room this morning. So who do you want to sit next to? Ana or Arielle? Their excuses are going to be either really good or really unbelievable."

The governor pinned her hair back and stood from the vanity and placed a hand on her hip. "Seriously?"

"What? I don't have anything better to do at the moment."

"Obviously."

XXXXXX

Her eyes fluttered open and she groggily lifted her head off what she thought was a pillow. She blinked and stared at Xerxes sleeping beneath her. She gasped and rolled off the bed and plopped onto the floor. He jolted awake and peered over the side of the bed.

"Good morning," he says with a big grin.

She looked down at herself and realized she was completely naked. She yanked the sheet off the bed and wrapped her body with it and stood up. Her cheeks reddened at the sight of his nude body laid out on the bed.

She spun around and clutched the sheet close to her body. "Oh god."

Xerxes put his arms behind his head and lifted his knee, staring at her turned back. He admired her long hair that dipped just below her hips. He sighs heavily and she didn't dare look at him, instead she closed her eyes.

"Well I guess you find me more repulsive in the sunlight?" he teased.

The sheet was thrown at his face and she quickly dressed herself. "Nothing happened last night. You will not say a word of this to anyone! You understand?"

He pulled the sheet off his head and smiled at her. "I think I recall something did happen last night, your highness."

She tried to smooth out her wild curls and turned to find him standing right behind her. She inhaled and pushed him away. "If you tell anyone about this I will chop off your fingers!"

"Oh, I'm real scared," he placated her.

"I'll go lower," she hinted and his eyes widened. "I'm warning you, Persian!" she pointed her finger in his face then ran out of his bedroom.

He folded his arms across his chest and wagged his head. "Persian," he repeated with a scoff.

XXXXXX

Austraia was able to sit with everyone in the dining room. She eyed all of the children who paid no attention to her and were more focused on eating their food. She sat across from Oran and Yeter who were talking amongst themselves.

She stared at the Gokturk queen and interrupted their conversation. "Are you hoping for a girl? There are a lot of princes," she tried to make light conversation.

Yeter lowered the bread from her mouth and weakly smiled at the teenager. She would've normally snapped back at anyone but she was thankful that Austraia brought Oran back home and so she remained very cordial with her.

"I don't mind having another son," she told the Gepid princess.

Muqan blurted out, "Boys are better anyway."

Austraia grinned at the little prince and then heard loud boots rush into the room. Everyone turned their heads and Arielle was bolting down the hallway with dripping wet hair and she dropped to her knees on the floor pillow whilst heaving heavily.

Arielle smiled nervously at everybody and kissed the top of her daughter's head then reached across the large spread of food and grabbed the basket of bread. Xena spooned some rice into her mouth all while watching her granddaughter frantically grabbing several plates of food to pour onto her plate.

Aurora looked at her mother and giggled. "Your hair is soaking wet!"

"I was washing my hair, tatli kiz," she replied sweetly and poked her daughter's nose.

Xena wiped her mouth and tapped her fingers on her knees. "Why are you so late?"

"I…I overslept." Her eyes drifted down the row of people and saw Xerxes eating at the end of the rug. She wondered how he made it to the dining room before she did.

"Mhm. You wanted to talk to me and Gabrielle yesterday but you never did. What happened to that?"

Arielle looked up and ripped a piece of bread in half. She cleared her throat and looked to her left at her mother and then noticed her father sitting across from her mother. Her cheeks turned sour and she sank low on the pillow.

"Um, it was about the campaign. I want to go to Persia," she said loudly, purposefully trying to grab Xerxes' attention. "I want to raid the House of Karen. I thought you and Gabrielle would like to come with me. Will you?"

Gabrielle stopped chewing and turned to her wife.

Xena answered for both of them. "Sure we will!"

"What?" the governor spat. Her wife jabbed her in the ribs and she coughed. "Xena!" she whispered. "You tortured me enough yesterday! I'm so sore…" she whined.

"Quit your complaining, Gabrielle," she whispered back. "Xerxes can come with us since he knows the area. It is his land."

Arielle locked eyes with the Persian and she forced a smile then stabbed her runny egg with the fork.

"Of course…"