I'm having a difficult time writing these days. I've also not been feeling that great due to being locked in my house during this pandemic. So I want to apologize if my writing isn't that great right now. Alright, end rant. Thank you for reading as always :)

X&G are going to go off on a little adventure of their own soon…

Chapter 32 –The Shah: Part II

Gabrielle hurried back to the bedroom and tapped on her wife's shoulder. Whispering her name several times, she finally slapped her on the arm and Xena awoke, turning over, glaring up at her wide-eyed wife.

"We have a problem."

Xena groaned and slipped her arm out from underneath Anastasia and covered her with the blanket. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and inspected her wound beneath the bandages. Ignoring the urgency in Gabrielle's tone, she picked at the stitches which were now falling out. At least that was one positive thing she had happen in awhile.

Gabrielle cleared her throat and her wife lifted her head.

"What is it?"

"Kavad's harem is here…in the women's quarters. They were kicked out of the palace. I'm assuming Jamasp forbade them from living in Persia," she said which didn't strike Xena's nerve in the least. "Also…Nousha is here."

Her blue eyes widened. Just what she needed, more problems. She wondered when her life was to settle down but with all these foreign entities invading her life she feared problems would never escape her. As much as she hated to admit it she wished all of the Sassanians were dead but that dream was farfetched. Those Persians reproduced at a rapid rate and as long as there were harems in their House, heirs would continue to take over the throne.

To make matters worse since she came to know that Persia had seven houses in the empire, if the Sassan House fell one day, which was unlikely by the looks of it, another royal household would take charge.

Xena lingered behind the wall, looking in at all the Persian women gathered in circles, talking to each other. She kept staring at Nousha who seemed to be the matriarch of all the concubines, and rightfully so, as she was the mother of a prince. Could there seriously be a hierarchy in a harem?

"You know," she whispered, "not many people scare me but she does."

Gabrielle laughed. "You? Scared of Nousha?" her laughter erupted and she wrapped an arm over her aching stomach. "Xena, you're twice her size! She's shorter than me for god sake!"

"Size has got nothing to do with it!" Xena whispered. "She's dangerous, Gabrielle. She's going to cause a lot of trouble, I just know it. Look at her, with that self-righteous smile," she shook her head.

At that moment, Nousha met eyes with her from across the room and waved, ceasing conversation with the women around her. Xena paced backward and grabbed Gabrielle's arm, hurrying away from the women's quarters.

"She saw me. We need to leave before she tries to strike a conversation with us."

"Xena, what are you –"

"Khanum!" Nousha called from down the hall.

Xena halted and braced herself for the conversation she was so desperately trying to avoid. Spinning around she laced her hands together, flashing a terse tight-lipped smile at the Persian woman. She made no attempt to reciprocate and walk to greet her and instead, kept glaring into Nousha's light eyes.

"So nice to see you again," Nousha said, walking forward meeting her face to face. "Where's your daughter? I should show her my appreciation for hosting me here."

"She's still sleeping."

Nousha nodded. "Perhaps later then."

"Mhm." Xena falsely smiled.

Aurora raced down the hallway, wearing her nightgown and stockings. She slipped onto the floor and collided into Gabrielle's legs. The princess giggled softly and then hid behind the governor from her caretaker. Ku snarled, holding a burgundy dress in her arms and a pair of black and gold flats. So early in the morning and she was already sick of dealing with the princess' antics.

While she was feeling mischievous and no doubt angering Ku, she peeked behind the governor's legs, staring at Nousha. She stepped forward and smiled at the petite Persian woman, scanning her from head to toe.

"Hello," she greeted sweetly.

Nousha raised an eyebrow and grinned at the little child. She bent over, hands on knees, to meet Aurora's eye level. "Well, hello there. Aren't you precious," she touched the girl's long hair. "Basha shereena."

Aurora, unfamiliar with the language, turned up to Gabrielle and Xena, searching for an answer. They shrugged their shoulders so then she smiled back at Nousha.

Ku held out her hand. "Aurora, gel şöyle," she wiggled her fingers and the princess slipped away, joining hands and was taken back down the hallway from which they came.

Nousha eyed the girl trail away and flashed a smile to Xena. "And who was that little creature?"

"Princess Aurora," Xena hid her deviousness from the woman. "Arielle's daughter." And just like that, the smile was wiped clean from Nousha's lips, shocking her indefinitely. Xena on the other hand kept grinning from ear to ear; satisfied that she was able to ruffle the woman's feathers with just two words.

Gabrielle kept her eye on the oval faced beauty, sensing an implosion. Xena was right about one thing; Nousha had quite the temper for someone so small. She also didn't like to be put in her place by anyone. The difference between Nousha and everyone here was that she had no royal status and was considered the lowest of the low in Hun territory. Back in Persia she was obviously favored by Shah Kavad and 'mother of the concubines' so to speak.

"Nousha, we are going to have breakfast on the terrace in the queen's chambers. Would you like to join us?" she politely offered.

Xena grimaced and nudged the small of Gabrielle's back, implying that she did not want to partake in any meal-sharing with the woman.

Navaz studied the dark eyes belonging to Tegin Irkin. He met with him outside of the Adame and after the recent events in his life he didn't want the burden of caring for twenty Persian women and almost half of the dethroned Shah's soldiers either.

"How am I supposed to house all of these women in my home?" the king asked.

Tegin Irkin lowered his gaze and wiped his nose. "Your highness, you are obligated to help an ally in need. All of Shah Kavad's concubines are no longer welcome in Persia."

"I got that," Navaz interrupted. "While I have compassion for these women and Shah Kavad, how am I going to provide housing, food and supplies for his soldiers and his women?"

The Persian snorted and eyed the soldiers he brought with him. He unfortunately had to stay in Armenia while his ruler was locked away in a prison. He expected Shehzade Kawus to claim the throne but was surprised when the younger prince took the crown. The young Shah was already making several changes in the empire and kicking out everyone who sided with his father was step number one. There were going to be many more steps to come.

"Perhaps you should build a bigger palace," his snarky tone annoyed the Hun king. "I have no funds to provide you as Shah Jamasp took everything in the treasury."

Navaz groaned and folded his arms. A headache was brewing with the amount of stress he was put under. After the jarring conversation he had with Arielle and the lack of funds and support from Persia, he was considering her offer might help his kingdom in this dire situation.

"I need to speak with my daughter. You may take your men to the field where my men are stationed. They should be able to share yurts until I find a solution."

Tegin ran after the king and tapped his shoulder. "What about the women?"

Navaz sighed, staring at the foreboding Adame. He didn't wish to enter it himself. That place was crawling with women and while he did feel lonely sometimes with just his son around, he did not enjoy a home filled with nearly thirty women.

"They will stay in the women's quarters for now. Take your hand off me, Persian." He snarled, shrugging his shoulder and ruffled the fur collar, marching back to his abode.

Out on the terrace, Nousha picked at her food, casually eyeing the three women surrounding her. She poked the quail eggs in the rice and smiled at the governor who looked her way. As soon as their gaze halted, she went back to scowling.

She set down the spoon on the plate. "Khatun."

Anastasia had her mouth wide open with a spoon of rice. She lowered the utensil and cleared her throat. "Yes?" she dreaded any conversation with the Persian.

"Do you go by any nicknames?" asked Nousha curiously. "Tasia? Nasia?"

She furrowed her eyebrows and drummed her nails on her knee. "I go by Ana but you may refer to me as Anastasia Khatun or Khatun." She quickly shutdown the woman. her relationship was meant to be cordial and nothing more. She didn't want possible issues to rise in the future if she allowed Nousha to speak down to her.

"Nasia would suit you better," the Persian snidely said, "Khatun," she added with a curt bow of her head.

Gabrielle felt the heat between the two and intervened. "It was nice of you to join us, Nousha."

"And it was so nice of Gabrielle to invite you," Xena remarked with a tight smile. "Since you'll be staying here for awhile you should get used to sharing meals with Anastasia. I'm sure you two will become great friends."

Ana whipped her head to her mother and widened her eyes. Her mother's subtle way of pushing her and Nousha together was ill advised. She wasn't sure if her mother was being facetious or meddling to get some sort of strange rouse to cure her boredom. Either way, she didn't want to be in the same room much less under the same roof as Nousha.

The Persian finished off her juice and sent a smirk of a smile towards Xena. "This arrangement is temporary, khanum. As much as I would like to be friends with your daughter, I'm afraid it is not possible."

Ana arched her eyebrow. "And why's that?"

"I have no intention of being friends with you, khatun. I don't like your people and I especially don't like that your daughter is sleeping with my son. She is not part of his harem nor is she his wife. That is why you want to be amiable with me, isn't it?"

"You should be careful of what you say, Nousha. You're under my roof now," Anastasia said, gripping the spoon to quell her anger.

"I had the pleasure of meeting your granddaughter. She's a beautiful child," Nousha eyed the raging queen. "I should let you know that divorce is frowned upon in Persia. My son would never marry your daughter especially since she had a child with another man."

She stood and threw down the napkin on pillow and stormed off the terrace. Everyone watched the petite woman march away and heard the doors slam shut inside the bedroom.

Guilt washed over Gabrielle as she felt somewhat responsible for causing this disaster. This entire visit was a disaster from the start, from Cera to the news of the Shah and now Nousha.

"I…I'm sorry, Ana," she softly says. "I didn't know she was going to be so…rude."

Anastasia released a throaty growl and took hold of the small table then flipped it over. She got to her feet and then stomped on one of the plates, shattering it to pieces. Glaring at her mother below, she huffed and stormed back into the bedroom, ripping the veil off her head and tossed it against the wall.

"What did I say?" Xena turned to her sulking wife. "That woman is trouble. I know Arielle likes Xerxes but I don't know how this is going to work with Nousha in the picture."

"Are you saying that she shouldn't see him anymore? Xena, that is going to crush her."

With hope that he'd awaken, Arielle stayed by the prince's side all night. She fought the will to sleep, watching his closed eyes for hours until finally sleep overcame her. Slouched in a chair she sat, holding his hand firmly with her head lolled on her shoulder, breathing heavily.

Navaz caught the sight of his daughter's determination to stay. When she had her mind set to something she was determined to finish it through no matter the cost. It was one of the admirable things about his daughter even though her attitude thwarted some of her good qualities. Being headstrong and stubborn was a common theme throughout this family, especially with the women.

"Arielle," he shook her shoulder and she jumped at his touch, rubbing her sleepy eyes. "Morning," he greeted with a smile. "I need to talk to you about your offer. I haven't had the chance to talk to your mother but I imagine she is busy at the moment."

She yawned and crossed a leg over her knee. "Busy sequestering herself in her room?" she implied the 'busyness' her father tried to sugar coat. "Did you come to a decision?"

"Yes," he thought this over very quickly and he wondered if Anastasia was going to comply. "I'm going to sign your treaty. Last night Shah Kavad's harem arrived. They were kicked out of the palace. His soldiers were also left to the coyotes."

She stood, flashing a smug grin. "Ah, so now the time has come for the Persians to bow down to us," she nods with satisfaction. "I will go return to Scythia and send you the treaty. I will also send the treaty to Ernak and Csaba. There's no way they will counter my offer!"

She charged to the doors and met with Nousha on the other side. Standing idly, she gawked at the small woman in front of her. Nousha had the most awful scowl on her face that even someone as beautiful as her, made her appearance hideous and menacing to the naked eye.

"Banu Nousha," she uttered with a crack in her voice. "Xerxes…he…he's doing better. He still hasn't woken up yet."

"Stand aside," the Persian demanded.

Arielle creased her eyebrows at the defiant behavior. "I'm an empress, Nousha. You are not in the right to give me orders. I don't care if you don't like me, you will respect me." She crossed her arms, blocking the doorway.

The petite woman forced a smile and inclined her head. "Please, step aside," her voice laced with malice, "Empress…" she said coldly.

Navaz studied their faces and the silence between them was uncomfortable to witness. He feared that Arielle might talk back to Nousha and while she had every right to do so, he wished she wouldn't because it'd only cause more friction between everybody. He already had to deal with an entire harem in his household and Nousha was not the easiest to get along with. This was without a doubt due to Xerxes' relationship with his daughter.

Arielle towered over the woman and leaned downward, meeting eye level with her foe. She emits a chilling smile.

"Very good, Banu Nousha. I strongly advise you to be respectful to my family during your stay, especially my mother. I'd hate to find out you were unkind to her. It won't be a happy ending for you." She lingered for a moment then brushed arms with her as she strolled off.

Navaz smoothed out his beard and sighed heavily after the exchange was over and done with. His daughter's way of words reminded him of how Xena used to be. Her words were so cold and threatening; sure to scare off anyone with that icy stare she inherited from her grandmother. He wasn't sure if he liked that or not but at least she put Nousha in her place.

Princess Aurora ran throughout the Adame trying to evade Ku. She ran into her mother as they met in the middle of the foyer. She smiled up at her mother who gave her a questionable stare.

"Good morning," Arielle knelt down and cupped her daughter's cheeks. "We have to head back to Scythia by the end of the day. You should probably say goodbye to everyone before we go."

Aurora gasped. "Nooo," she whined. "We just got here! I didn't get to ride my horse or see grandma khatun or, or…or draw with Teyze Cera. Can I stay, please?" she begged, joining her palms.

"You don't really want to stay with all these Persian ladies here, do you?"

The princess held her mother's face in her tiny palms. "Mother, I can take care of myself. Don't worry about me. Ku will look after me!"

Arielle's lip twitched into a smile. "Mother?" she felt a little hurt being called that. "Since when do you call me 'mother'?"

She was used to her daughter calling her mommy that she was taken aback by being called by a much proper title. Now she felt like this was an entirely different level of relationship with her daughter. She didn't want to be called mother. That's what she called her own mother.

She stared into her daughter's pleading eyes and relented. "Well, I guess you could stay a little longer but I want you to focus on your studies when you come back home."

Disappointment crossed the girl's features. "Okay…" she sighed.

Nousha, holding back tears after visiting her son, crossed paths with the khagana once more. She stood at the end of the hallway as she was being glared at by Arielle. Her eyes drifted to the small princess and smiled at her. She didn't want to show any hatred for the child even though she was born from the woman who her son was infatuated with.

Aurora waved her hand and Arielle frowned at the silent exchanged. She left her mother's side and waltzed over to the Persian and thought to introduce her properly. She extended her hand, grinning from ear to ear.

"I'm Princess Aurora," she said. "What's your name?"

Nousha shook the child's hand. "Banu Nousha. I am Shehzade Xerxes' mother."

"Xerxes!" she beamed. "I like him. He's very nice and he promised to make a bow for me!"

Nousha tried to conceal her disdain and avoided Arielle's harsh glare. "Isn't that sweet," she forced a smile. "Excuse me princess, but I must get back to the women."

Arielle had her eye on the woman leaving the foyer and then felt a tug on her pants. Smiling at her daughter she grabbed her hand and walked down the hallway together whilst keeping her gaze on Nousha.

"She's Xerxes' mother?" Aurora inquired. "She's very pretty. Can we go to the stables now? I wanna see my horse."

It was a difficult task to keep Farah out of the infirmary so the physicians and servants kept the doors locked at all times in order to keep her away. With each passing day, Csaba was fed small portions of liquids such as water and soup. The physicians were baffled by his unconscious state. All of his external wounds were healed including the nasty head wound he acquired on the battlefield.

This was the third month the king lay in bed as a living corpse so one of the physicians said. An ice bath was prepared for the king and his limp body was carried to the bath. The main physician hoped that this plan of his was going to startle the king's body and wake up once he was submerged into the water.

Slowly, two male servants lowered Csaba's body into the ice bath and with extreme caution his head was gently lowered in the frigid water. The physician timed the submersion, counting the seconds in his head. He watched the bubbles escape the king's nostrils and float to the surface.

Csaba wiggled his fingers in the water and then his eyes shot open underneath the water. Opening his mouth, he inhaled a large helping of water and jolted upward, spewing water and coughing. He hung his arms over the sides of the tub and eyed his surroundings.

The servants wrapped a towel around his shoulders and helped him to stand. Holding firmly onto their arms, Csaba rose in the tub and felt his legs about to give out and toppled forward. The servants grabbed hold of his body and dragged him out of the tub.

"Praise the lord!" the physician exclaimed. "I will inform King Ernak of the great news. Surely, her highness, Farah, will be overjoyed by this."

Csaba was put back to bed and had several attendants serving, drying his arms and legs. He furrowed his eyebrows, staring at the loss of muscle mass on his body. Once he was quite proud of his muscular physique but now he looked almost unrecognizable. Exhaustion and weakness overcame his body and mind.

"I have great news!" Ernak boomed as he walked in the dining hall.

Most of the family was sitting on the floor, eating an early dinner. All heads turned to him, waiting anxiously to hear the great news he spoke of. Farah sat in between her three sons, lifting her eyes from her half eaten bowl of food.

He placed his hands on his hips with a huge smile. "I am to be a father again," he announced.

There was an array of silence and then Ernak's youngest son groaned. "What! Another baby?" Utighur griped, throwing down his spoon. "It better not be a girl again…" he mumbled. He received a smack to the back of the head by his elder brother, Kurt.

Ebnedzar smiled at his nephews and looked up at his little brother. "Congratulations to you, Ernak. I'm sure Nisa is very excited."

"She is, she is," Ernak sat down beside his sons and eyed Farah, sulking at the end of the table. "I should announce some more good news," he grabbed everyone's attention once more, "Csaba has woken up. The physician just informed me."

It took awhile for those words to register in Farah's mind while her sons smiled and cheered happily. She looked into Ernak's honest dark eyes, waiting for confirmation of his announcement. He gave her a slow inclination of his head and she felt her breath escape her. Everybody sitting around the table rejoiced and her sons tugged on her arms while she sat, flabbergasted.

She finally broke out into a smile and then stood up, darting towards the doors with her sons chasing after her. It was the first time Rabia saw a smile on her sister's face and for that, she was glad. Rabia didn't know how much longer she could take seeing her sister waste away. It was not only affecting her but her nephews as well.

Taking a swig of the juice, Yeter casually butted in, "at least she won't be wallowing anymore. She ran her eyes dry."

Ursula frowned, glaring at her daughter in law beside her. "Yeter, now is not the time to make unnecessary petty comments."

"Who says I was being petty? I was being sincere. Her mood was putting a damper on everyone!" she said aloud and all of the children fell silent. "Can I have my son back now?" she held out her arms.

The shamaness smiled tersely, holding her baby grandson close to her chest. "He's mine for the day. You said I could watch him for you or did you forget that you told me you were tired?"

Yeter pressed her tongue on the roof of her mouth. "I…need to feed him," she wiggled her fingers.

"You fed him an hour ago."

The Gokturk Queen scoffed and got up off the floor and walked off, muttering curse words beneath her breath. Austraia sat on the opposite side of Ursula and as much as she liked her new found family, she thought Oran's wife was always in such a foul mood compared to Farah and Nisa.

"Is she always like that? Rude, I mean," she asked Ursula.

"Unfortunately, yes," the shamaness grazed her finger along her grandson's full cheek. "But we all put up with her. At times she can be intolerable but we've all learned that she's never going to change."

Austraia nodded, pulling her fingers through her curly red hair. "I wish my mother would come to her senses. She is missing an opportunity to have a real family. She's been alone all her life. She doesn't know what it's like to have a family who cares and supports her."

Ernak shared the same feelings for his estranged sister. He wished that Eksama would have come to live in Pannonia when she was a child. He could've had a little sister to play with and get to know but that was only an alternate world. He had high hopes that Eksama would change her mind and stop this feud. Ebnedzar came into his life and ever since then he was able to become extremely close with another brother. His elder brother was all he had left. If only Eksama would see what she was doing was wrong and only hurting herself in the end.

"I too, wish to have a relationship with your mother," he told his niece.

"I –I'm sorry she did this to you –to all of you," Austraia addressed everyone around her. "But she isn't going to stop until she gets what she wants."

Ernak nodded, understanding the ways of his sister. "She wants to be khatun but she's going all about it the wrong way. Perhaps I would've given her a title if she didn't try to kill my brother's wife." He saw the sadness in his niece's brown eyes. "Anastasia and I grew up together. She's like an older sister to me. I'd do anything to protect her even if that means killing my blood sister."

She sat, shuffling papers for hours, bored out of her mind. That was the only downside of being a ruler; so much paperwork and demands were made of her. Kuba gave her a list of complaints from her new subjects and while she cared for the Avars and Scythians, some of the complaints were so ridiculous. She now understood why Khagana Jiulu didn't have time to marry or have children with this insane workload.

She took her life as a princess for granted. She always wanted more responsibility but now that it was staring at her dead in the face, she saw a busy future in her hands. Not even a week back in Scythia and she had mountains of work to do which included merging her family's empire with hers.

It was a tall order like her father said but she was prepared to do anything and everything to make sure that her family didn't suffer at the hands of Justinian or Eksama. While she tended to her people's needs and wants during the day, at night she wrote relentlessly to come up with a feasible treaty for Ernak and Csaba. She hoped that they would comply and be reasonable with her proposal.

With the recent events in Balaam, she couldn't keep her mind focused on the necessities. Sitting at her desk with her legs propped up on the desk, she chewed her fingernails, staring off into space.

"Arielle?"

She shook her head and looked at Gabrielle who stood on the opposite side of the desk. She scrambled to find the written treaties on her messy desk and handed them over. She nearly forgot that Gabrielle was stopping by her quarters today.

"Here are the treaties. I want you and grandma to go to Banat and deliver them personally. I will also send two thousand of my men with you." she said and Gabrielle stared at her, wide-eyed. "Just in case Eksama attacks, I want Banat to be protected."

"I see." Gabrielle tucked the scrolls underneath her arm. "Is there something on your mind? You seem distant."

Arielle swung her legs off the desk and laced her fingers together. "Aurora called me mother," she snidely remarks. "I don't want to be called mother." She heard a chuckle from the governor. "Do you think I'm a good mother to my daughter, Gabrielle?"

"How could you think otherwise? Of course you're a good mother. You've given her everything she's ever wanted. She's never been without."

Arielle nodded but couldn't help but feel guilty. "Except providing her a good father," she muttered sourly. "Am I making a mistake keeping her from Bayan? Should I tell her about his son?"

"That is entirely up to you, Arielle. She took the news of the divorce very well and she spoke highly of Sarnai." Gabrielle set a hand on the khagana's arm. "If you want to tell her, you can."

"My father was always there for me and in my life even though he married Fairuza and Safiya. He never missed any of my birthdays and he always wrote me." She frowned and slammed a fist on the desk. "Bayan hasn't even tried to reach out to Aurora all this time!"

Gabrielle felt this was an area she wasn't too skilled in but she saw her fair share of husbands cheating on their wives although Arielle's circumstance was special.

"Well…you don't have to decide right now. Maybe talk to Aurora and see what she wants? He's her father after all. If she wants a relationship with him then that should be her decision."

The fiery empress snarled and focused her mind on the treaties, ignoring what Gabrielle told her. Another day, she told herself.

"I want you and grandma to leave by tomorrow. I've asked Kuba to prepare the soldiers for the departure. Make sure to read those treaties very carefully before you present my case to Ernak."

Gabrielle nodded, inwardly taking down notes of her specified orders.

Arielle raised an eyebrow. "Where is grandma anyway?"

"Oh…she's…taking inventory of all the weapons," she meekly told the empress. "What can I say? She loves her weapons."

One Month Later

Standing in the foyer of the Banat palace, their arrival was not silent at all but rather incredibly loud as everyone was woken up to the loud horns outside the palace. Xena stood alongside Gabrielle, waiting for Ernak to greet them.

Gabrielle had a smile on her lips, admiring the Banat palace. She did miss it here and she knew that there were children scattered everywhere. She was more anxious to see them than talking with Ernak about the plan Arielle concocted.

"Where is he? He's taking his sweet time," chided Xena.

"Patience is not one of your virtues, Xena." She snorted. "I hope we didn't wake up everyone."

Ernak strolled down the stairs and welcomed them both open arms. He kissed Xena's cheek much to her disgust and hugged the small governor, lifting her up off the ground.

"Xena!" he lightly slapped her arm. "How I've missed you. I sure could've used you on the field during the war with Eksama."

"Hmm." She flashed a small grin. "I was needed on the field in Armenia but I think we'll be working together a lot from now on. Gabrielle, that's your cue."

He brought his eyebrows together as Gabrielle took out several scrolls from her satchel. She opened one of them to briefly collect her thoughts of how to begin the discussion and also to refresh her memory. She handed off one of the treaties.

"Arielle is the Khagana of the Avar Empire as you know," she began and Ernak nodded, reading the document. "She made an offer to Navaz and he signed his portion of the treaty. She sent me and Xena to discuss the proposal to you."

He mouthed the words and lowered the parchment, staring at the women in awe.

"She wants the entire Hun Empire?" he questioned and they both nodded. "I will have to pay taxes to her?" he asked and they nodded once more.

Gabrielle leaned over and pointed to the clause at the end of the treaty. "You will still be king over the tribe. You will have control of Pannonia and Csaba will have Banat, just like it was before. She –she ah, she's willing to put a hold on the tax until Pannonia is relinquished from Eksama."

"My, how the tables have turned," he laughed. "I am taking orders from Navaz's daughter," he sighed and handed the treaty back to Gabrielle. "I am willing to sign the treaty and join empires."

Gabrielle grinned and nudged her wife's arm. So far, the plan was a success.

"But."

"But?" she held her breath.

"I want Bayan to have some control over Pannonia."

Xena's jaw dropped and she snorted a one note laugh. "I beg your pardon?"

"I understand what you're thinking, Xena. He's a piece of goat shit. That isn't debatable but he is a very good commander. He saved Banat from being completely ransacked by Eksama's army. His strategies on the field are impeccable. He managed to come out without an injury or a scratch after the war."

She clenched her jaw and stepped forward, closing the space between her and Ernak. "Do you have any idea what you're saying, Ernak? Have you completely lost your mind?" she hissed.

"These are my terms. I know Arielle isn't going to be happy about my condition," he smirked. "But I believe we can live peacefully with Bayan. He is on our side and I don't need to make any more enemies."

Gabrielle stepped in between them before things got heated. "We'll tell Arielle and ensure Bayan…gets the recognition he deserves. Could you at least sign the treaty? We've come all this way." She pulled out a pen.

He smiled and gladly took the pen. "Anything for you, Gabrielle," he says sweetly, inking his name on the bottom of the parchment.

While Xena was fuming he took the opportunity to change the subject. Gabrielle blew on the wet ink and eyed her spouse, hoping that an argument wasn't to ensue.

"How is my little niece? She should have the baby soon, right? In a couple of months? I haven't had time to write her but I'd like to send her a gift."

Finally, Xena's hard features softened. "Ernak…" she thought of how she wanted to explain this in the easiest way possible. "Cera…she –she lost the baby."

His smile faded and his stomach churned. "Oh," he frowned, "I'm very sorry to hear that. How is Anastasia? I know she was very excited."

"She'll be alright," Xena assured him. "You know how she is. She can overcome anything."

Ernak faintly grinned. "Yes, she can. I hope we can all live under one roof again one day."

Gabrielle cleared her throat and brought out another scroll. "Well, actually…" she presented the document. "Arielle has requested that…Farah work for her. She wants to bestow her the title of 'Vitruvius'."

He wiped his teary eyes and grunted, reading the document. "You ladies know I am not skilled in reading Latin. What is a Vitruvius?"

"It's an architect. Arielle thought that she could really use Farah's help in designing a new Adame in Scythia, lower Pannonia and possibly…Italia," she explained. "After we take back Pannonia of course."

He laughed. "You do remember that Eksama is there right?"

Xena held up a hand. "Arielle has provided two thousand Avar soldiers at your disposal and…" she paused, grinning smugly at Gabrielle who rolled her eyes. "Put me in charge of the army. You like raids, don't you Ernak?" she wiggled her eyebrows.

"Do I ever!" he squealed in delight and embraced her.

"Ernak!" she griped, shoving him away. "Don't do that."

Csaba couldn't have felt more like a child than at this very moment. He sat up in bed, propped up with several pillows while his wife was spoon feeding him. He told her that he was perfectly capable of feeding himself but she wanted to help and who was he to deny her?

After the third spoonful of soup he raised his hand, signifying that he didn't want any more food. He adjusted the pillows and smiled warmly at his helpful wife. Last night he was able to get up on his own though he wasn't without help. The physicians were always by his side and of course Farah tried to be with him every hour of the day which was a bit unnerving, though he appreciated her diligence.

"If you're feeling up to it we could take a walk in the gardens?" Farah suggested.

"That would be lovely. I'm tired of lying around all day. How long have I been in here?"

"Well, you've been unconscious for three months and awake for a month." She grabbed his hand. "I had hope that you would wake up eventually. I waited here every single day, watching over you!"

Csaba widened his eyes. "Did you? You are the epitome of a dutiful wife, Farah," he chuckled.

He squeezed her hand and then saw his grandmother enter the room with Gabrielle. He sat up, grinning brightly by their presence. Farah turned around and stood to greet them. They were shocked to see the women here and Csaba looked around, hoping to see his mother behind them. He knew that the news would've reached Balaam and she was probably very worried about him. He hated to worry her.

Xena leaned over and kissed his forehead. "Glad to see that you are awake. Your mother is going to be very happy to hear this."

"What are you doing here? Did mother come with you?" he asked quickly. "How is Arielle? And Cera? Is everything alright in Balaam? Ernak told me that the Persians attacked. I wish I could've helped but…"

"Relax, Csaba," she was slightly amused by his millions of questions spitting at her. "Arielle was able to get rid of the Persians with her army. Unfortunately, we have some new problems with the Persians."

"Such as?"

"Shah Kavad was dethroned and his son, Jamasp is the new Shah."

His jaw dropped.

Xena nodded. "I don't want to talk about it. It's a load of bullshit if you ask me. How are you doing? I heard that you're recovering slowly, thanks to Farah I'm sure."

He eyed his wife and smiled. "Yes, she's been very helpful. Hopefully I can get up and walking around more soon without anyone's help."

Farah clamped her hands together. "How is Cera? Did she enjoy the dresses I sent her? She and I are the same size although she is a bit taller than me so I hope the gowns fit."

Xena and Gabrielle lowered their eyes and sighed heavily. They were the bearer of bad news recently and this subject was bound to upset both Farah and Csaba. Gabrielle grabbed Farah's hand and ushered her away from the bed to talk about the plans Arielle had for her while Xena sat down, facing her grandson.

Csaba cinched his eyebrows. "What happened?" he asked, keeping his eye on Gabrielle quietly whispering with Farah.

"There were some complications," she began, "We don't know what happened but Cera unfortunately lost her child. We went to visit her and of course your mother locked herself away in her room."

He ran his fingers through his hair and wagged his head. "Poor Cera. I hope she is doing better now?" he asked and Xena nodded with a faint smile. "She's always been a very strong person. I'm sure she will be gifted another child in the near future. I wish I could be there for her."

"She's surrounded by people who care for her. Yana is always by her side and she has your mother there."

"I'm glad." He slowly digested the news. "I know you didn't come all the way to Banat to give me this news, grandma. Why are you here? Did Arielle do something again?" he feared the worst.

Xena snorted. "Oh she did something alright."

"So, this is what we're gonna do." She pointed to the map of Pannonia. "We're going to send someone to speak with Eksama and of course you know she's not gonna listen. After that poor soul dies or runs for his life, we will raid the entire tribe!"

Gabrielle sat on the floor with her feet propped up on an ottoman, staring up at her wife, upside down. She blinked several times at the ferocity in Xena's voice. She knew that Xena wanted to get out into the field again she also knew she couldn't stop her since the wound was almost healed.

"That sounds very dangerous," she chimed in.

"Well of course it's dangerous," Xena mocked. "Can you stop eating those nuts and listen to me?"

Gabrielle grabbed a full walnut. "They're really good! Fresh off the fire," she threw the walnut across the room onto the table. "But you have to crack it open first."

Xena smashed the walnut with the hilt of her dagger with a slick smile. "Will you listen to me now?"

"I'm listening, I'm listening!" her incessant loud chewing was bound to get on Xena's nerves.

"We're going to need to strategize accordingly. I want to raid Pannonia. That sounds a bit strange I know."

"You've done it before," Gabrielle interrupted. "If you recall that one time when Attila and the Romans were on your tail."

Xena put a stop to that painful time in her life. "Alright, alright. Let's not address that again. That was…a different time –that was a different me. I'm no longer that person and I never harmed any of the women and children in Pannonia."

"Mhm." Gabrielle rolled over onto her stomach. "Go on with your plan," she waved her hand.

"Anyway," she stabbed the Adame drawn on the map. "We send in the messenger and he fails inevitably. We take the Avar army and raid the entire tribe. After that we can take Eksama as prisoner and either she will be killed or forced to submit to us."

The blonde nodded, rubbing her chin pensively. "You honestly think Eksama is going to submit? I doubt that."

"One can hope."

"You want Eksama to submit." Gabrielle crawled across the floor and climbed onto the bed. "You feel bad for her, don't you?" she took her spouse's hand. "Or maybe you feel betrayed that Kreka kept this secret from you all these years?"

Xena twisted her mouth. "I hate when you do that –get inside my head."

"If I didn't then where would we be today?"

"You make a good point, Gabrielle. It's hard to argue with you but it is irritating when you're right."

"Yet you have put up with me all these years!" she cheered then she was shoved backward onto the bed playfully. "Hey, I'm still counting and you're healed now. You know what that means…" she hinted with a raised fist.

Xena climbed onto the bed and pinned the governor down. "You really want to go down that road, Gabrielle?" she teased.

In the bath chamber Anastasia found solitude. She kicked out all of the maids who wanted to help her. It was her time to be alone and reflect. She sat in the teaming pool, scrubbing her bare skin with a soapy cloth, poured water onto her soapy hair and drenched her face, exhaling deeply.

Squeezing the soapy cloth over her scalp she felt the water dip and opened her eyes, looking around she saw a figure beside her. She kept scrubbing her scalp and rolled her eyes.

"Navaz, what do you want? Can't you see I'm busy?"

He swam over to her and took the cloth out of her hand. He scooped the water into a bowl and gently poured it over her soapy midnight tresses several times. He always admired her hair and thought it was one of her best features long ago. That proved to be true to this day.

Much to her annoyance, he poured water along her shoulders and arms to wash away the soap residue. "I haven't heard anything from the Persians. I'm sure they got Xena's little message."

"My mother sure knows how to rile up anyone," she joked. "You have to admit she's a lot tamer now."

"She is." He grabbed a handful of her hair, rubbing in the soap at the ends. "I remember the first time I met her. She looked at me as if I were some kind of horrible person for marrying you and getting you pregnant."

Anastasia snickered. "She gives every man who comes near me that look. You are not special, Navaz."

"I know Ellac had it worse than I did."

She frowned, thinking about Ellac. She thought about him every day since his passing. Her relationship with Ellac was very different than hers with Navaz. She was Ellac's childhood friend. She remembered playing with him in the fields when they were children and knew from a young age that she had a special bond with him that she didn't have with Dengizich or Ernak.

"You miss him," he stated, running a comb through her hair.

"I do. Very much."

He hummed softly and massaged oil into her wet locks. "I promised Ellac I would take care of you. Before you interject, we had a private discussion and we agreed. I liked Ellac very much and I've waited for the right time to ask you."

She flipped a heft amount of hair behind her shoulder as he rubbed the oil into her skin. She waited in anticipation. She had no idea that he and Ellac had a private conversation about her which was a bit infuriating to say the least. She didn't like being talked about without her presence especially behind the backs of men she was once married to.

"I offered to marry you once and you shunned me."

She laughed. "As if that worked out so well the first time, Navaz."

He smiled, seeing the light in her eyes again after so long. "That was different, Ana. I didn't know you at all. I know you much better now. I've known you for twenty years, Anastasia."

"Thanks to Arielle," she wagged her finger.

"Yes, thanks to her, and many other events in our life. I would still marry you."

She paused and met his gaze. "Well, you can't be serious?" she snorted at the idea.

"I'm very serious." He kissed her shoulder. "I want you to marry me. You're already in my bed anyway," he slyly said with a raised eyebrow.

"Navaz…" she wrapped her arms over her breasts. "Do you have any idea what you're saying? You want me to be your wife…again?"

"Yes."

"Your wife."

"Yes."

"Again?"

"Anastasia!" he laughed and grabbed her slender waist, settling her in his lap. "Would it really be so bad to be married to me? I wasn't such a horrible husband." He joked.

She pinched his chest. "I don't know whether I should be angry that Ellac told you to marry me or that you two confided in each other without me."

"Is that a yes? I've been waiting to ask you for four years, Anastasia."

"Four years! Bir tanrının sabrınız var!"

He lifted his eyebrows, waiting patiently. "Ana…"

"Oh," she briefly forgot he was waiting for an answer. "Yes, I will. At least we won't have to worry about Arielle calling us hypocrites anymore." She leaned in and kissed him, wrapping a hand around his neck.