Expect the unexpected…
This chapter is a bit long. I'm filling in the necessary gaps. We'll see more of Csaba's adventure and Xena & Gabrielle in the next chapter. Hope you all enjoy :D
Chapter 49 –Aslan
Gabrielle sat on the disturbing revelation for a little more than a week. She didn't like to keep secrets as that usually ended horribly for her in the end. She couldn't tell Xena about what Kubrat said. If he had this conversation with Arielle there was no way she would agree. Gabrielle couldn't tell Xena. She just couldn't because she knew that her wife would blow up.
She also couldn't speak to Anastasia as her react would be much the same. Navaz wasn't approachable at this point. He would probably kick Kubrat out of Pannonia. Gabrielle had to talk to somebody in private without causing suspicion.
She decided to talk to a neutral person in the family but someone who was also very close to Arielle. She knocked on Ku-Ilm's bedroom door and opened the door after she was allowed entrance.
Ku welcomed her inside and offered her a seat while she finished braiding her hair. Gabrielle sat, anxiously twiddling her thumbs and looked around the room. Her brow formed a line of sweat and she wiped her forehead with the back of her hand.
"We don't normally talk alone. I hope you haven't come here to relay bad news," said Ku.
"I…actually want to speak with you about Arielle and Kubrat."
Ku tied the end of her plaited hair with a ribbon and sighed. "Did he do something to her?"
"No, not at all," Gabrielle denied and saw relief in the woman's eyes. "I've been sitting on this for awhile and I really needed to tell someone so I came to you."
"Okay…" Ku crossed a leg over her knee. "You're making me nervous."
She took in a deep breath and spoke softly, "Kubrat told me that he wants Arielle to convert or he won't marry her and if she doesn't then he'll break the alliance. I haven't told anyone about this."
Ku scratched her arm and frowned, gnawing on her lip. "He is a hypocrite. He is a Christian yet he wants to stay married to two women at once."
"I'm afraid if she doesn't comply then he will turn on us and attack us."
"And why are you telling me this? Are you hoping that I can talk her into it?"
Gabrielle sheepishly smiled.
"Ya 'illhi," she muttered. "Arielle has always been tolerant of other religions and she respects others–me for example –but I don't know if she will want to convert."
"Would she be open to the idea?"
"I honestly don't know, Gabrielle. Maybe you should tell Anastasia Khatun about this."
"No!" Gabrielle yelped. "I, ah, no that's not a good idea. Nobody can know about this. Just talk to Arielle first and see what she says."
After her bath, Drusilla walked her back into the bedroom and already picked out a dress for her to wear. Arielle sat down and threw the towel off her body and grimaced at the dress. She wasn't in a position to argue as she was grateful for Drusilla's help. She slipped the dress over her head and Drusilla helped her slide the long sleeve over her arm.
Ku-Ilm knocked on the door and let herself in. She briefly smiled at Drusilla and came to Arielle's side and kissed her forehead.
"How are you feeling?" she asked.
"Bored."
Ku eyed the Khan's wife and said louder than expected, "I'd like to speak with Arielle alone for a little bit."
Drusilla set down the folded towels and turned to Arielle who gave her a head nod. She took the basket of soiled towels and linen then excused herself from the room. Ku sat down on the bed and Arielle inched her way towards the pillows and exhaled heavily. It took a lot of effort to move such a short distance.
"I hardly see you!" Arielle twirled a strand of Ku's hair around her finger. "Who sent you in here? My mother?"
"No," Ku laughed.
"My grandma?"
"No! Arielle, I need to discuss this marriage between you and Kubrat."
She rolled her eyes, "Ku, I already told you, you don't need to be jealous. You're my best friend. You're more than my friend. I'm not going to kick you out and replace you with Kubrat."
"It's not about that but thank you," Ku's cheeks tinged pink.
"Then what is it?"
Ku tapped her fingers together. "Kubrat said that he wouldn't marry you unless you…convert to the church or…he'll break the alliance."
Arielle's eyes widened at the surprising news. It took a few moments to allow it to sink in and she furrowed her eyebrows. She rose from the bed and wrapped an arm over her sore abdomen and charged to the doors with a stilted limp.
"Arielle, wait!" Ku jumped up and ran after her.
Now that the message of the loan request had been sent to Persia, everyone had to wait for a response. Anastasia was heading over to meet with Farah to discuss the empire's budget. While Arielle was out of commission for awhile, Ana was in charge and she was immediately overwhelmed with the workload.
She received a letter from Bayan that gave an update on Csaba's location. He was now in the Baltic region and had reached out to Bayan. For this mission the rest of the time spent in that area was supposed to be a secret. Csaba couldn't make contact with anyone outside for months while he was on the dangerous mission of spying on Chieftain Mezamir.
Anastasia let herself into Farah's room and looked around. She brought a tray of tea and fruit for their morning meeting and set it on the floor. She knelt down and took the cups off the tray and grabbed a few pillows then set the plates of fruit.
Farah left the bath chamber and dried her hair with a towel and halted when she saw her mother in law in her room. She gasped and searched for a robe to put on her naked body.
Ana's eyes lifted and smiled. "Good morning."
"Morning," Farah slipped the silk robe on and tightened the sash around her waist.
She walked over to sit on the floor and Anastasia put both hands on her small bump. Farah timidly smiled and brushed her wet hair behind her ears.
"Look at you!" she grabbed Farah's hand and eased her down to the floor. "Maybe you will finally get that daughter you've always wanted.
Farah put a protective hand over her stomach. "I think it's a boy. I'm almost one hundred percent sure it's a boy."
"We'll see," Ana smiled, sipping the tea. "I wanted to talk to you about the budget. Previously, Khagana Jiulu divided up her entire treasury to be distributed to everyone in the empire but it's obvious Arielle can't be trusted with money. She's been spending nonstop for two years."
Farah voraciously ate an entire plate of fruit in less than a few minutes which left Anastasia speechless. She stifled a laugh with a mouthful of fruit and ran her hand across her stomach.
"I'm sorry. I'm really hungry," she managed to say and swallowed. "Arielle will no longer have any access to the treasury but I'm going to apply this rule to everybody."
Ana gaped. "What?"
"Mhm," she licked her fingers and reached across to grab the plate of bread and cheese. "Everyone will need to sign a document to get access to our funds and I'm the only one who can approve the request. That includes you too, your mother, Ernak," she went down the list, "everybody."
"Does that include the Nezaks, Bayan and Navaz too?"
Farah nodded. "I said everybody." She eagerly eyed the extra plate of fruit. "Can I have that?" she asked, pointing to the plate.
Anastasia pushed the plate across the rug and saw the bright smile on her daughter in law's face. She set down the cup in her lap, contemplating how this situation of the treasury in Farah's hands was going to affect everyone in the family. Nobody was going to support this decision. There was going to be backlash and she had to be prepared for it.
"I'm glad you got your appetite back," she grabbed Farah's knee.
Babylon, Persia
Tegin Irkin rode in from the Sassan palace in Estakhr on orders of the Shah. He had to come in secret and he was always at risk of being caught by Shehzade Kawus' soldiers posted on every other corner of the large city. Tegin had several of his men accompany him but from a certain checkpoint in the center of the city he opted to ride alone so suspicion wouldn't arise.
He walked through the streets and came to a very large villa that belonged to the Shah's sister, Esther. The home was completely guarded by Esther's men and he showed his face to allow him entry. He waltzed inside after he scanned the area to make sure he wasn't being watched.
Tegin flipped the hood off his head and politely asked one of the maids where he could find Esther. He trolled down the dark hallway and came into a large room where he saw the Shah's sister sitting in a chair, sewing with her back turned in the chair.
He bowed and Esther raised her hand to briefly acknowledge his presence. He averted his gaze while she covered her face with the veil so she could address him properly. In all his years of serving the Sassan family he'd never seen any of the women's faces aside from Nousha's and the other concubines in Kavad's harem.
"If my brother sent you this late in the day then I assume what you have to say is urgent," she said, rising from the chair. She turned to him with her veiled face and Tegin lowered his gaze.
"Yes, your majesty. Where is the Shehzade? I need to speak with him immediately. I cannot stay long."
Esther slowly turned to the left and pointed down the hallway. Tegin bowed his head once more and then quickly ran down the hall into another room which was blocked off from all human contact. The room had no windows and there were four guards posted outside the doors.
The doors opened and Tegin Irkin saw the Shehazde sitting on a couch, repairing one of his bows. He smiled, greeting the prince with a head bow and approached him. The doors closed and he heard them lock from the outside.
"Shehzade Xerxes," he said.
"I hope you brought news from my father that I can leave this hellhole," Xerxes said without lifting his head and kept oiling his war bow. "I am tired of waiting here. I've done everything my father asked of me."
Tegin understood the prince's frustration. Essentially, he was a prisoner in his own land for the sake of saving his life. Shehazde Kawus truly believed that Xerxes had been killed more than a year ago and he would have been if it weren't for Kavad's soldiers who saved Xerxes at the last minute. From then on out Kavad decided to entrust his sister to his son and planned to assassinate his eldest son, Kawus.
"I'm afraid that you can't leave yet, Shehzade but you will be able to soon. Shehzade Khosrow is gathering a group of assassins to get rid of your eldest brother."
Xerxes groaned and threw the bow at the wall. "I have not seen the outside world in a year!" he growled and grabbed Tegin by the arms and shoved him against the doors. "If my father doesn't get rid of my brother soon then I will do it myself."
"Noted, your highness…" Tegin smiled nervously. "I came here to tell you something else."
The prince let go of the pasha and folded his arms, waiting for the news he had no desire to hear.
"The Huns have asked us for a loan. I am going to Pannonia to negotiate an arrangement for payment with them," he said slowly and added, "Khagana Arielle moved to Pannonia a few months ago. She is set to marry Khan Kubrat."
Xerxes' arms dropped to his sides and his heart thumped rapidly. He tugged at the tunic around his throat and frowned, turning away from the pasha. He felt ill the moment he heard the word 'marry' come out of Tegin Irkin's mouth. In a way he felt like he betrayed Arielle by hiding out at his aunt's home. His life was at stake here and Kawus had such a huge following that it was becoming a problem for his father to run the empire.
He slammed his hands on the desk and hung his head, feeling his chest radiate and stomach rolling. His breath hitched and he closed his eyes to compose himself. The bitterness in his mouth lingered of bile.
"She will marry…this khan?" he spat with obvious hatred.
"I believe it is a political marriage."
He was supposed to be the one to marry Arielle. He was supposed to be with her right now, not hiding in his family's estate. The thought of her marrying someone else, someone she didn't even love, made him violently ill. This was the fault of both Kawus and Shah Kavad. It was their fault that he had to hide and lie to everyone.
"When….when," he could barely speak, "when will you leave?"
"Right now, Shehzade."
Xerxes lifted his eyebrows and spun around. "Could you deliver a message for me?"
The pasha frowned. "Your highness that is not wise."
"Please?" he sat down and grabbed a parchment and quickly wrote a short message. "Deliver it to Arielle. I want her to know I'm alive." He rolled up the parchment and stamped it with a royal wax seal.
Tegin sighed and took the letter in his hand. "If Shah Kavad finds out about this he will have my head."
"My father won't find out!" he barked. "Once Kawus is killed then I won't have to hide anymore."
Tegin felt like he was wedged in a tight spot. He had to please the Shah but also obey all of his sons as well. He wanted to help Xerxes but he knew that if anyone found out about this that he'd be sentenced to death for betraying the Shah's trust outright. He tucked the letter in his vest and saw Xerxes' dark eyes sparkle.
"Shehzade, your father doesn't know about your relationship with the Khagana."
"I don't care. I will marry her one day," Xerxes sat back, gripping the chair's arms. "I love her," he said out loud for the first time. He never got the chance to tell Arielle that before and now he still couldn't. "I hope she loves me," he muttered in concern, rubbing his beard.
Tegin hid his smile. "I should be on my way now, your highness."
For the first time in a year Xerxes had hope for the future. He didn't know how long he could take being cooped up in this villa. He longed for fresh air and human contact other than seeing his aunt every single day. Now that the assassination of Kawus was nearing he could be free from his imprisonment.
He often thought of Arielle and how devastated she must've been when the news of supposed death was delivered to her. He tried to put that image out of his mind but he couldn't help but see her teary blue eyes staring back at her. Xerxes then thought of how angry she was going to be when she was to find out that his death was all a hoax.
She is going to kill me, he thought.
"Your mother is going to be very distraught when she finds out you still long for the Hun woman," said Esther from the doorway. She flipped the opaque veil over her hair, exposing her pale face.
"Aama Esther," he jumped up, addressing his aunt. "You heard everything?"
A smile graced her pale features and the wrinkles crinkled around her dark eyes. "Your father will not allow you to marry the Hun woman, Xerxes."
"I will marry without his consent and knowledge. He doesn't need to know."
"That will not end well for you," she warned. "Your mother was kind enough not to tell your father about your relationship with the Hun."
Xerxes grimaced, thinking of his mother. He wouldn't be able to keep this a secret from her and she wouldn't dare anger his father over this. She only hid his relationship with Arielle because she cared for his well being.
"I won't be able to hide this from her, will I?" he assumed.
Esther raised an eyebrow. "Your secret is safe with me. I won't say a word to my brother but I strongly advise that you tell your mother."
"You!"
Arielle yelled from down the hall, glaring at Kubrat who was chatting with one of the soldiers. She walked to him, pressing a firm palm on her wound, ignoring the stabbing pain in her side and lower back. She bit her bottom lip and halted in front of the khan with a heaving chest.
Kubrat studied her irate eyes and then his cheek was given a hard slap. His jaw dropped and he grabbed her wrist when she tried to strike him again.
"What the fuck are you doing?" he growled.
She grunted, struggling a bit and stomped on the instep of his foot and his eyes enlarged, holding in a muffled scream. She pushed him backward with a hard shove of her palms. She kept pushing him back until his back met with a wooden column.
"How dare you?" she spat venomously. "Who do you think you are to give me orders?"
He shielded his face, though it was tempting to retaliate. "You have the nerve to hit me without telling me what my fault is?!"
"You kneel before me!" she reminded him. "I am your superior. I am your ruler!"
Down the hall, Xena and Anastasia talked together about the regulations Farah put in place. They came to an abrupt halt when they saw the altercation up ahead. Xena quickly left her daughter's side and grabbed Arielle's shoulders and yanked her away from Kubrat.
Arielle's arms went flying and she pushed Xena back and went to attack Kubrat yet again. "This was never discussed!"
"Arielle, please calm down!" Xena grabbed the irate empress again and bear hugged her. "Stop it!"
Kubrat rubbed his sore jaw and adjusted his coat and received a glare from Anastasia Khatun. He flashed a smile and then tried to slip away.
"Where do you think you're going?" said Anastasia. "My daughter doesn't just hit people without good reason."
Arielle's lips pulled into a vicious snarl. "He won't marry me until I convert to his precious religion!" she said with a guttural growl. "Or he'll call off the alliance!" she wiggled around, "get off me!"
Xena released her granddaughter, relying on Arielle to control her temper. So far, Arielle wasn't going to run forth and slap the khan again.
"Is that true, Kubrat?"
"Yes," he said unapologetically.
"You pledged an allegiance to me!" Arielle thumbed her chest. "You don't get to make the rules in the marriage, Kubrat. I have been very reasonable. I invited your family into my home."
"I can't marry a pagan," he said flatly.
A couple of stitches broke on her wound and she put a palm to her side, wincing. She smiled, hiding her pain the best she could.
"Then get the hell out of my land," she pointed to the doors. "Go back to your tribe. You already signed your life to me. You are bound to my empire and you will remain my ally. I suggest you don't become an enemy."
Xena saw the blood staining Arielle's dress. "You're bleeding."
"I know!" she snapped. She waved her hand, disgusted by the entire situation and walked down the hallway, applying pressure to her wound. "You have three days to leave Pannonia or I'll behead you, Kubrat!"
Gabrielle knew something like this was going to happen. Obviously Ku wasn't able to convince Arielle to convert but that was inevitable. The outcome was worse than she expected and after she finished her meeting with Ernak she came by to see how the fuming empress was doing.
Xena sat beside the bed and carefully stitched up the ripped wound on Arielle's side. She did her best to be gentle but even after weeks of healing the wound was very deep. Since it had reopened the wound was going to take a lot longer to heal which meant Arielle's recovery was going to be longer than she wanted.
"Are you almost finished?" asked Arielle.
"You know, if you had allowed Kubrat to cauterize your wound completely you wouldn't need stitches in the first place."
Xena cursed quietly and saw her wife out of her peripheral vision. She snipped the thread and slipped it through the needle's eye. The needle dug into Arielle's flesh and she pulled the thread tautly. It pained her to see Arielle in such discomfort but there was nothing to be done except to finish the job as quickly as possible.
"Looks like I missed some excitement," said Gabrielle.
"Arielle nearly mauled Kubrat before Ana and I intervened," Xena murmured, concentrating on sewing. "He wanted her to convert or he was going to break the alliance."
"I know," she said plainly and Arielle cocked her head in confusion. "Kubrat told me earlier in the week. I asked Ku to talk to her first and see what she said. Clearly, she didn't like the idea."
Xena licked her lips. "You knew about this and kept it from everyone?"
"It wouldn't have made a difference when I told everyone." Gabrielle leaned over her wife's shoulder, inspecting the bloody wound and wrinkled her nose. "The reaction would've been the same either way."
Xena looked up at the blonde and scowled. She dabbed the wound with a fresh damp cloth and then trimmed the excess thread and pulled the dress over Arielle's torso. She washed her hands vigorously with a bar of soap and saw Arielle try to rise from the bed.
"Lay back down," she ordered. "I stitched up your wound for an hour and you'll just reopen it. Lay down."
Arielle huffed and settled in the pillows. "I told you I was cursed."
"You are not cursed."
"Then why do all my marriages fall apart?!" she said, tears filling her eyes. "Something must be wrong with me."
Xena sighed and sat on the bed, wiping her wet hands on her pants. "Nothing is wrong with you. In the words of Kreka; 'men are goat shit'," she said, smiling. "This isn't your fault, Arielle. You're better off without Kubrat."
Gabrielle nodded in agreement. "Now you don't have to be stuck in a loveless marriage."
Arielle wiped her eyes. "But now I'm going to live in fear of him revolting. He's not going to uphold his end of the deal. He won't remain my ally anymore. You both know it's true."
"Maybe," Xena shrugged. "He might be too afraid to rebel. You also got rid of all the Byzantine soldiers in his tribe. If he does want to fight us it's going to take a lot of convincing to let Justinian to lend him more men."
"That's true." She put a hand over her sore abdomen and wrinkled her nose. "I think I want to rest for awhile." She inhaled sharply and added, "don't tell Aurora what happened. She is always worrying over me," she weakly smiled.
Xena leaned over and kissed Arielle's forehead and grazed her cheek. "I'll send in Ku to watch over you."
Navaz threw a dagger at the wall. He sat at the desk in the suite he shared with Anastasia, throwing daggers at the wall for the last hour. So far he had gone through more than ten turns. It was the only thing keeping him from marching over to Kubrat's room and beating him senseless. It weren't for his wife he would've smashed Kubrat's face in hours ago.
Anastasia came up behind him and draped her arms over his large chest. She slipped her hand underneath his shirt and swirled her fingertips across his chiseled abdominal muscles.
"You're distracting me from my target practice," he said gruffly.
"That's the idea," she kissed his neck and scraped her fingers through his short hair. "Take a break and come to bed with me."
Navaz grabbed her hand and pulled it out from beneath his shirt. "I'm not in the mood, Anastasia. I want to kill that man." He threw another dagger at the wall. "I'm only keeping my distance because you asked me to."
She grumbled and sauntered towards the bed and removed her dress. It fell to the floor around her ankles and she took the several pins out of her bun and her long hair tumbled down her backside. Ana looked over her shoulder with a glint in her eyes and mischievous smile.
He peered at her from across the room and clenched his jaw, forcing himself not to give in to her. He shifted in the chair and sunk down, spreading his legs apart and scratched his beard. His eyes darted over to his wife once more and admired her shapely hips and thighs hidden by the veil of hair.
He was too upset over the altercation between his daughter and Kubrat to focus on his wife. He groaned and ran a hand over his face and turned away as soon as Anastasia turned around.
"Ana," he sighed. "I don't know what you're trying to do but you need to stop."
She put her hands on her hips. "Navaz stop thinking about plunging a sword into Kubrat."
"In three days if he's not gone," he raised an assertive finger, "don't try and stop me from doing just that."
Ana's upper lip quirked up. There was no doubt in her mind that Navaz would fulfill his promise. She wanted Kubrat to follow the rules and leave before it came to that.
Baltic Region
Csaba sent his correspondence to Bayan the moment he arrived in the region. After that he was on his own with the men assigned to roam alongside him. He searched the area and it wasn't difficult to find the Antes tribe in the north. He bought several new clothes so he wouldn't stand out from everyone else here.
This trip was necessary but he needed to make sure he returned quickly. He wanted to be with his children and Farah. All he could see was his wife's weeping face replaying over and over in his head. To be separated this long from his family was going to be hard but he had an obligation to fulfill.
He and two men came with him to the Antes tribe and instantly he was gawked at by several blond men. He was obviously an outsider but he couldn't let anyone know that he was a Hun otherwise he'd be dead in less than a second.
Radogost approached with a halting hand. "Who are you?"
Csaba stared at the long haired blond. "I'm traveling through the area. I need a place to rest. Are you able to host me and my men?"
"Where are you from?"
"Ravenna," Csaba studied the blond man's distrusting eyes. He hoped his accent wasn't going to give him away.
"Wait here."
Csaba knew that he was a spectacle for these Antes. They were examining him from afar, studying the way he carried himself, the clothes he wore, the horse he had. He didn't make eye contact with any of the onlookers and waited for the blond to come back.
From afar, a man with red hair and long beard exited a large tent. Csaba raised an eyebrow at the man. He assumed this man was Chieftain Mezamir. It was obvious he was in charge of this tribe by the way he looked and everyone turned when he came out of the tent. They looked fearful of him. This was definitely our guy, Csaba thought.
Mezamir marched across the tribe and all lowered their heads when he passed by. He stopped in front of Csaba with a smirk on his face. His fingers ran through his frizzy coiled beard. Csaba avoided eye contact and kept his head at a slight angle.
"I hear you're traveling from Ravenna."
Csaba raised his head gradually. "Yes, that's right. I'm looking for work."
"Ravenna is overrun by Huns and Gepids. Are you one of them?" Mezamir narrowed his light eyes.
"No, I'm Roman."
Mezamir hummed, suspicious of the traveler. "What work do you need? What are your skills and why did you travel all the way up here?"
Csaba felt his mouth become arid. "The Huns don't give jobs to Romans. I am an excellent blacksmith and I know how to make war bows."
"War bows," the chieftain smiled, nodding his head. "I'll allow you to stay. Radogost will set up a tent you and your boys," he winked at the accompanying men. "We'll talk later."
"Thank you. It's very kind of you to allow us to stay in your tribe."
Mezamir chuckled. "What is your name?"
"Lukas."
A couple weeks later Kubrat left with his family within the three days. The Adame was tense for those few days and there many questions from the children who were oblivious to the situation but ultimately they were left in the dark. Before they left, Drusilla fought with Kubrat and chastised him for asking so much from Arielle.
Out of all people, Drusilla was the most disappointed to leave. She had her mind set on living in Pannonia and slowly developed a mutual relationship with Arielle and the other children in the tribe. Her plan to unite the tribes was foiled and now she was going to be stuck in the Dulo region, living in fear that her husband might rebel against the empire.
Xena sat with Aurora in front of her, brushing the girl's long hair while she listened to Gabrielle's plan for Eksama concerning the Lombards in the south.
"All the tents have been set up in south Pannonia," said Gabrielle. "Farah is reviewing all of the costs needed for the soldiers."
Xena hummed quietly, brushing Aurora's hair. "Did Ana talk with Arielle about the Adame and church?"
"Farah says that the construction of the church isn't a priority right now and the Kazakh Adame will be built in the spring."
Aurora picked at the hem of her pants. "Why did Drusilla leave? I liked her."
"I know you did," said Xena. "They had to go back to their tribe because Khan Kubrat and your mother didn't…come to an agreement on the marriage."
The princess frowned. "Was he mean to her?"
"Something like that." She set the brush down and ruffled Aurora's silky locks. "All done. You're lucky you don't have your mother's hair otherwise we'd be here for hours."
Aurora held the small mirror, inspecting her silky hair and turned around with a smile. "Thanks. I think I'm gonna go play with Kazem now. We're supposed to practice some archery."
Xena arched her eyebrow. "And who will be watching you two?"
"Umm…" the girl tapped her cheek. "Ku-Ilm?"
"You didn't ask her, did you?" Xena asked and the princess laughed awkwardly. "Go get her. I don't want you two wandering off again. You caused a lot of trouble back in Scythia."
"I'll be good I swear!"
Aurora got up off the floor and took off running, screaming for Kazem who was already outside. Xena rolled her eyes, shaking her head. There were some traits that Aurora shared with her mother but for the most part she was better behaved than Arielle ever was as a child.
"We've all heard that before," Gabrielle said.
She took out her journal and pushed it across the rug towards Xena. She grabbed her quill pointed to the bottom of the page and waved the pen in her wife's face. Xena furrowed her brows and hesitantly took the pen into her grasp and read over the page quickly.
From what she read she was going to have to be on patrol of Pannonia further north. She always hated being on patrol as it consisted of a lot of waiting around for something to happen and usually nothing ever did. Justinian also sent more men around to Assyria and they were on the borders of Persia as well.
"I'll be patrolling the border for a week?"
Gabrielle confirmed with a head nod.
"What fun," Xena said in a hushed tone and signed her name on the document. "You're going to keep me company, right?"
"I do have to be there if anything happens," Gabrielle hinted. "Maybe we'll get lucky and it won't snow while we're out there!"
Anastasia walked into the women's quarters and waved down Gabrielle. "Tegin Irkin is here to discuss the loan."
Gabrielle nodded. "I'll tell you everything after the meeting," she whispered and got off the floor.
Xena crossed her ankles and sprung up from the floor and placed her headdress on, eyeing her daughter from afar. She took her gloves out from her coat pocket and slipped them on her hands. Since she wasn't going to present in the meeting and Ernak didn't need her with Eksama, she was stuck in limbo with nothing to do.
"I'm going to go outside to keep an eye on those two rugrats. I don't want them to get into trouble," she winked and waved at Anastasia then made her way outside.
Tegin Irkin waited in a large room decorated with several long tables and couches lined against the walls. He looked down at the huge rug beneath his feet and recognized it to be a Persian design. He sighed heavily and heard the doors open behind him.
He spun around on his heel and in walked Anastasia, Gabrielle and Farah. He bowed his head and took a step aside to allow them to pass. All three women sat down on the floor and Farah set down a large stack of journals and began organizing them, ignoring the Persian pasha.
He sat down opposite of the three and smiled nervously. He expected to see Arielle here attending this very important meeting but was too afraid to ask where she was. The letter tucked in his coat was a reminder to ask to speak to Arielle alone later.
"Anastasia Khatun, it's very nice to see you again," he said and she briefly smiled. "Queen Farah," he inclined his head.
Farah lifted her eyes to give a quick glance and then continued flipping through two journals at once.
"Governor," he greeted.
"Tegin Irkin," Gabrielle said with a soft smile.
Farah handed Anastasia a journal of the plan she wrote down for the last couple of weeks. Ana instantly was overwhelmed by the amount of information handed to her. The loan was going to be quite a lot and the Shah wasn't privy to the amount. Farah had worked out a very concise plan to distribute the funds to every single part of the empires which also included a payment plan as well.
Anastasia cleared her throat, unsure of how to begin this awkward conversation.
"We're requesting to borrow a little over 100,000 dinari from your Shah."
Tegin raised his eyebrows. "That's quite a lot, khatun."
"I'm aware but we need it for the war against the Lombards, Antes and Byzantines. We aren't able to pay our soldiers, feed our tribes or provide proper weapons for the army."
"And how are you going to repay the Shah if we give you these funds?"
"We won't be able to start repaying him until we get the Lombards out of Banat and south Pannonia. We'll also tax all of our other tribes too."
Tegin rubbed his smooth jaw. "How long will it take to pay the loan back?"
Farah spoke out of turn, "three years minimum, five years maximum."
Anastasia grimaced and shot her daughter in law a wicked glare. Farah shied away and turned her cheek.
Tegin broke the tense silence. "What if I supply 50,000 dinari and give you some soldiers instead? You don't have to worry about housing them or feeding them."
"But I worked for weeks on this payment plan!" Farah complained.
Anastasia craned her neck and snarled, "Farah! If you don't stop talking without permission you're going to have to leave," she whispered for everyone to hear.
Gabrielle, busy recording the meeting, chimed in with her two cents, "I think Tegin's offer is reasonable. We don't want to be indebted to Persia for five years." She too, received the terrible glare from Anastasia.
Farah leaned over and ripped the journal out from Ana's grasp and scratched out all of her hard work. She cursed under her breath and opened a spare blank journal and began quickly jotting down extensive math equations. She counted silently and drew up an entirely new plan on the spur of the moment while everyone else waited for her.
She tossed the journal down in front of the Persian and threw her pen down. "There is the new plan. We can pay your Shah back in a year if everything goes according to plan."
He half grinned, nervous to say anything more.
"I'm more than willing to give you the original amount requested but it will put a huge dent in our treasury as well. We also have a large empire to care for."
"We need to talk about it a little bit more," said Anastasia through clenched teeth.
"Take all the time you need," he raised a hand. "If you don't mind, I'd like to speak with Khagana Arielle. Is it possible to speak with her?"
The children knew they couldn't do anything aside from archery the moment Xena arrived. Kazem was quieter than usual and focused on shooting the target. Aurora looked over her shoulder after she shot her arrow at the target and missed horribly.
She lowered her bow and quirked her mouth upward. "You know you don't have to stay here…"
Xena looked down at the small princess. "Oh, I think I do."
"But we're being good. We haven't done anything!"
"And I'm going to make sure it stays that way," she smiled and pinched Aurora's cheek.
Horns at the edge of the camp sounded and Xena turned around to see who was entering. She squinted and saw Empress Theodora on horseback with her husband's soldiers following behind her. Eksama escorted the empress, leading the entourage.
"Shit," she mumbled. "Archery practice is over!" she called out to the children. "Go inside."
Aurora ran ahead to see the guests. Her mouth gaped. "Who is that?"
"Nobody, just go inside." The children refused to move as they were too intrigued by the guests. "Now!"
Aurora squealed and took Kazem by the hand and they ran back into the Adame. Xena took in a deep breath and stalked over to the center of the field and met with Empress Theodora and Eksama. The Byzantine flashed a smiled and dismounted her horse and approached Xena.
"Empress," she greeted politely.
"Xena. Still alive, I see."
"I know how much that must excite you," Xena winked. "What are you doing here?"
Theodora looked around the camp and spotted three large Adames. She walked forward and slipped the fur gloves off her hands and nodded, admiring the fine craftsmanship of the Hun homes. Some of the people emerged from their yurts to satisfy their curiosity. Most of them immediately crowded together once they recognized who she was.
"You Huns have been very busy." She paddled the gloves on her palm and turned to Xena. "I would like to speak to your granddaughter. I hear that she is in charge now."
Xena looked at Eksama who was very silent. "Arielle is not available. You can speak to me or my daughter."
The empress rolled her eyes. "I don't wish to speak to Anastasia. She annoys me."
"Well, those are your options, empress." Xena bit her tongue, refraining from saying something she might come to regret later. "You and I should talk. We haven't had a decent conversation in a very long time," she smiled.
"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Theodora mocked. "I'm not leaving until I speak with Arielle."
"What is the reason for your visit?"
The empress let out an annoyed sigh. "Xena, you've always been hard of hearing or maybe you just don't like to listen. I want to speak with Arielle so if you wouldn't mind fetching her?"
"Fetch?" Xena clenched her fist. "Do I look like a dog to you?"
Eksama stepped in. "I'll go get her."
"Finally, someone who listens," the empress smiled.
Arielle's frustration level was through the roof today. She had several maids who treated her wound and arm. There was hardly time in the day to be by herself without anyone checking up on her. she sat on the edge of her bed in a silk robe and waited impatiently as a maid was applying a salve to her wound.
Three loud raps at the doors caused her eye to twitch. She smacked the maid's hand and wrapped the sash around her waist gently.
"Go away," she ordered and leaned back, wincing. "Come in!"
Tegin Irkin stepped inside with a maid who escorted him to the room. Several other women passed by him and he acknowledged them with short head nods. He took the coiled turban off his head and cleared his throat loudly.
Arielle's head spun around and her eyes widened. "Tegin."
Slowly, she rose from the bed with a hand supporting her sore lower back. She flicked her wrist at the other women who lingered in the room. Once they were both alone, she sauntered across the room with a frail smile. She knew Shah Kavad was going to send someone here but she didn't expect to see his right hand man.
"It's been a long time."
"It has," he agreed. "I heard you are to marry Khan Kubrat from the letter I received."
Arielle frowned. "Not anymore. I called it off." She dismissed the topic with a wave of her hand. "I don't want to talk about it. Since you're here it must be important. My mother hasn't allowed anyone to come see me."
Tegin pulled out the letter from his inner coat pocket and saw her eyes narrow. "I was ordered to deliver this to you."
"Me?" she took the letter, inspecting the royal seal. "Is it from Shah Kavad?"
He remained quiet and Arielle pursed her mouth. She broke the seal and unrolled the parchment. She read through the few sentences not once but three times in a row. Her eyes skimmed the page and she looked to Tegin who was emotionless. Her fingers crinkled the sides of the letter and her breath hitched.
She recognized the poetic and melodious words to be from someone whom she thought was dead. She knew Xerxes' handwriting like the back of her hand. Suddenly, she thought this might be some sort of trick and she was being made a fool of. She remembered that day when her father came to see her. it was a day she'd never forget.
"What…w-what is this?" she croaked and waved the letter in Tegin's face. "What is this?!"
He knew this meeting wasn't going to go well. Tegin didn't want to be the brunt of her wrath but he was intent on defending himself if necessary. By defending himself, he meant to move as swiftly and far away as possible from her.
"A letter from Shehzade Xerxes, your highness."
"Xerxes is dead!" she crumpled the letter and threw it at him. "He's gone!"
He sighed. "He is very much alive, khagana."
She laughed out loud. "Kawus killed him. You delivered a letter to my father saying so!"
Tegin licked his lips. "Yes, I did. Shehzade Kawus did try to kill Shehzade Xerxes but failed. The Shah put him into hiding and Shehzade Kawus still believes his brother is dead. He has been living with his aunt in Babylon."
This wasn't a dream nor was it reality. Arielle couldn't believe what she heard. For over a year she grieved Xerxes' death. She hadn't completely gotten over his death and now that she came to know that he was alive, anger slowly rose within her. She'd been lied to this entire time.
She didn't know how to feel but she did know that she felt like throwing up at any moment. She turned around and put a hand over her queasy stomach and took in several deep breaths. Her eyes shut tightly and tears streamed down her cheeks.
"He's…really alive?"
"Yes."
Her face dropped into her hands. The knock at the door startled her and she wiped her cheeks and nose.
"Yes?" she called.
Eksama opened the door. "Empress Theodora is outside waiting to speak with you."
The conversation between Theodora and Xena was nonexistent. Instead, they stared at each other while they waited. More people began to trickle out of the Adame and the empress smiled as soon as Arielle walked down the stairs, dressed very informally she noted.
Arielle briefly eyed her grandmother nervously. She tried to hide her puffy red eyes but Xena noticed immediately. They were definitely going to talk later, she knew it, but for now, she had to behave and act like the ruler she was.
"My, how much you've grown since I've seen you," said Theodora with a shimmer to her eyes.
"What can I help you with, empress?"
Theodora stepped forward and Arielle raised a hand before she came closer. She chuckled and took a generous step backward. "It's come to my attention that you plan to build a church here in Pannonia."
Arielle studied the woman and was more concerned how that information slipped out of her territory and whispered into Byzantine ears. She made eye contact with her grandmother who shook her head. She played it calmly and chose not to question as to how Theodora knew about the church's construction.
"That's right. It will be built in the spring."
"If I do remember correctly, you and your entire empire are pagans, correct?" she asked and Arielle nodded. "Yet you want to build a church here. I commend you for being so tolerant."
"Thank you, empress."
Theodora hummed softly and continued, "I'd love for you to build a church here but you must understand that you can't just build a church here. You will need to pay taxes to my empire. You also need permission from the bishop at the Hagia Sophia to build a church."
Arielle swallowed her anger. She had no desire to continue this conversation. Her mind was so focused on Xerxes that she didn't think she could form sentences to combat her enemy standing in front of her.
"There were churches in Scythia and I gave plenty of money to those churches and charities. I don't need your husband's or anyone else's permission to build a church. This is my land, my territory, empress."
"Just know that if you build a church here you will pay taxes to us, Arielle."
"That's Khagana Arielle to you," she corrected with a proud smile. "You're welcome to stay in my Adame. I am an excellent host."
The empress' lip twitched. "A kind offer but no thank you. I have a place to stay."
Arielle nodded and bowed her head. "It was nice talking with you, empress."
As soon as Theodora mounted her horse and began to leave the premises, Arielle put a hand to her sweaty forehead and her balance wavered. She staggered backwards a couple of steps and Xena whipped her head around.
She walked towards Arielle but was a few seconds too late. Arielle's eyes rolled in the back of her head and she collapsed onto the grass. Xena gasped and ran over, dropped to her knees and scooped Arielle into her lap.
"Arielle," she slapped her peaked cheeks gently. "Arielle, tatli kiz," she whispered.
Anastasia and Navaz opted to stay in Arielle's bedroom as soon as they were notified that she fainted. Outside the room, Tegin Irkin was cornered by both Gabrielle and Xena. They interrogated him for several minutes until Xena was able to pry the information out of him just before she drew a weapon to his throat.
More than an hour later they sat in the women's quarters, sharing a bottle of wine together. Neither one of them said a word for awhile and kept filling their empty glasses. Tegin Irkin broke his promise to the Shah and told them about Xerxes' faked death. This certainly changed everything and explained why Arielle dropped like a fly so suddenly.
Xena licked her wine stained lips and tapped her fingers on her knee, staring off in the distance. She blinked rapidly and turned to Gabrielle who looked equally as bemused as she did.
"What's going to happen now?" she asked.
Gabrielle took two swigs of the wine and exhaled. "I'm not sure."
"I think Arielle was just getting over Xerxes' death and now this happens…" she finished off the wine and reached for the bottle.
Xena poured the wine into her glass and Gabrielle's respectably.
"Maybe she's right. Maybe Arielle is cursed."
"Shut up, Xena."
"I don't know what I would do if I lost you. I can't imagine what is going through Arielle's mind right now." She swished the wine around. "Well, she's not really thinking right now because she's unconscious," she laughed under her breath.
"Stop it. You're being insensitive."
"Alright, I'm sorry," she raised a hand to surrender. "Anastasia is going to freak when she hears about this. Good luck telling her."
Gabrielle nearly choked on the wine. "Excuse me?" she wiped her mouth. "You're not sticking me with that! You always do that to me."
"Fine. I'll do it."
"Thank you…"
Xena's nails tapped on the glass and she pursed her mouth. "You know what this means, don't you…"
"No?"
"We're going to have to deal with Nousha. And here I thought that we wouldn't ever have to see her again!"
Gabrielle laughed. "I can't ever tell when you're joking or not but…are you seriously afraid of her?"
"You keep asking me this question and my answer is always 'yes'." Xena ran her fingers through her hair. "She's a scary firecracker."
"Now you're just being ridiculous."
"She has a really bad temper, Gabrielle."
"So does Arielle and…you do too sometimes."
Xena's upper lip twitched. "You're not doing yourself any favors right now."
Estakhr, Persia
Even though Shah Kavad and Sambice were married, the two hadn't gotten along in several years. The tension between them heightened when Sambice conspired with her son to overthrow Kavad off the throne. She left the palace and went into hiding for awhile but after nearly a year, Kavad ordered her to come home.
Despite her traitorous actions against her husband, Sambice was allowed to stay. She was obligated to stay to keep face for the empire but the two hardly spoke and lived on opposite ends of the palace. It was apparent to both Kavad and Sambice that Kawus had tried to assassinate Xerxes.
Sambice was convinced that Xerxes was long gotten rid of and since then, she was in a far better mood than she'd ever been in a long time. Kavad kept an eye on his wife for an entire year and often sent people to spy on her conversations she had with their son.
When she wasn't conversing with Kawus, she often liked to make surprise visits to the harem wing of the palace. She strolled through the long corridor with her maids trailing behind her. She stepped through the large doors once opened and all of the concubines, who were sitting and chatting, fell silent.
She flipped the veil over her head and the women stood up immediately and bowed their heads. Sambice walked through the women and they parted a path for her. She stopped at the back of the room where Nousha sat by the window, refusing to acknowledge her.
"Nousha," she announced loudly.
She lifted her light eyes and cast a smile. "Shahbanu Sambice. Hello again. Weren't you just in here yesterday?"
Sambice furrowed her thick eyebrows. "I just saw Mera from the House of Varaz leaving the palace. You wouldn't have anything to do with that, would you?"
Nousha finally stood up, facing the towering queen. "Why do you always suspect me? Why not anyone else here?" she motioned to the other women in the room.
"So, are you playing matchmaker for Shehzade Khosrow then? As you know, your son and Jamasp are both dead. There is no need to converse with the other Houses in Persia," she grinned maliciously.
Nousha folded her arms. She tried her best to contain herself from cursing Sambice outright. She wanted to tell her to jump off a bridge. Ever since she came to the palace she didn't receive a warm welcome from Sambice. She was often jealous of Talia, mother of Khosrow and Atossa, mother of Jamasp, because they weren't hated or ridiculed as much.
"Maybe you should talk to the Shah about Mera Varaz's arrival. As you know, you two are on such great terms," she chided with a smug smile which irritated Sambice. "If I were you, I'd keep a close eye on your son."
Sambice made a visible snarl and flipped the veil over her face and pushed her way through the concubines. She left in a hurry and Nousha kept smiling. All of the women began gossiping and whispering as soon as their queen left.
Talia, a blonde Persian and once favored concubine of the Shah, approached the petite woman. "Nousha, you shouldn't speak to Sambice like that," she whispered, shielding her eyes from the curious women.
"She's a bitter old woman. I don't care what she has to say. She's been out to get me ever since I came here. It's not my fault that the Shah doesn't find her attractive anymore. I wonder when the last time she shared a bed with him was," she snickered.
Talia sighed.
"She is still our ruler, Nousha. Just because she and the Shah aren't on good terms doesn't mean that she can't hurt you. She can exile you!" she grabbed Nousha's arm. "She is in charge of the harem!"
Nousha shrugged it off. "She's tried to get rid of me before. I'd love to see her try again." She plopped down onto the sofa. "The Shah loves me. He wouldn't allow any harm to come to me."
"I sure hope you are right, Nousha. I'd be very careful if I were you."
Little did the Shahbanu know that Xerxes was in fact alive and well. Nousha was sworn to keep her son's faked death a secret. Her son was the only weapon she had in this palace. He was also the only thing that kept her alive from Sambice's repeated and failed attacks over the years. Nousha was protected by the Shah and that infuriated Sambice.
Anastasia sat in front of her mother and Gabrielle in complete shock at the news. She sat for a few minutes, not knowing how to react or what to say. It certainly explained Arielle's fainting spell. The news was too much for her to handle.
"Xerxes is alive?" she asked a second time.
The women bobbed their heads, silently staring at the flustered khatun.
"What if –what if it's just a ruse? What if this is a sick game concocted by Shehzade Kawus?"
"We both spoke to Tegin Irkin," said Gabrielle. "He has been communicating with Xerxes for over a year. He swore on his life that the letter he delivered was written by Xerxes himself."
Anastasia picked at her nails anxiously.
"How could…Shah Kavad do this? How could he cause Arielle such distress? She's been suffering for a year! She's been –been so miserable!" she clenched her fists.
Xena's gaze dipped downward. "Anastasia…I don't think the Shah knew about their relationship."
Ana's face fell into her hands and tears slowly trickled down her cheeks. Xena moved across the rug and wrapped her arms around her trembling daughter. She pressed her lips against Ana's temple and gently rocked her back and forth.
Anastasia raised her head from her palms and let out short spurts of breaths. Her mother's hand brushed the tears from her cheeks. She sniveled and wiped her nose with the backside of my hand.
"I…just want my daughter to be happy," she uttered in between hitched breaths.
"I know you do." Xena brushed her daughter's hair behind her ears. "Mothers always want the best for their children."
Anastasia met her mother's warm eyes and weakly grinned. "She's been unhappy for a long time. I don't know if I can be relieved that Xerxes is alive. Their relationship is bound to go through several obstacles."
Gabrielle placed a hand on Ana's shoulder. "But despite all the hoops they've had to jump through so far, Arielle was very happy with Xerxes. She knew the road was going to be tough going in and Xerxes knew it too."
"Where do we go from here? Will Arielle want to be with him again?"
Xena swiped her thumb across her daughter's cheek. "I think that's for her to decide. How much do you want to bet that she slaps Xerxes?"
"Mom!"
Navaz argued awhile with Anastasia to offer to watch their daughter while she got some much needed rest. After several minutes of bickering he was able to convince her to go to bed for the evening. He stayed with Arielle and waited for her to wake up. He stayed awake most of the night and nodded off every so often.
That following morning, exhausted and mentally drained, he sat in a chair with Aurora sitting on his lap. She was very talkative and told him all about the games she played with Kazem last night and the archery lessons they had often.
He tried to seem intrigued by his granddaughter's tales and occasionally smiled at key words she said throughout her long winded sentences. In the middle of one of her stories, Arielle stirred awake and slowly opened her eyes.
Aurora gasped and hopped off Navaz's lap and ran over to the side of the bed. "Mom, mom! Are you feeling better now? Grandma khanum said you fell down outside. Why did that happen? Are you sick?"
Arielle, jarred by the twenty questions coming at her, began to hyperventilate. This caused her father to instantly grab the princess and whisk her away.
He knelt down and whispered, "why don't you go tell everybody that your mother is awake?"
Aurora glanced back at her mother with concern. "Is she okay?"
He held her small face in his palms. "Absolutely. Go tell everyone the good news," he paddled her thigh.
Once she darted out of the bedroom, Navaz sat back down beside the bed and kissed his daughter's hand. Finally, her breathing returned to its normalcy by her father's calming presence. Navaz scooted closer and checked her forehead with the back of his hand.
"I heard about Xerxes," he said.
Arielle's face scrunched up and she started to whimper. She put a hand over her eyes and felt her father squeeze her other hand.
Instant panic set in and he rubbed her arm. "Don't do that," he pried her hand off her eyes. "Don't cry aslanim."
She inhaled sharply when her father called her aslan. It was one of the first words she heard Xerxes say in her mother tongue. In his letter he also addressed her by that pet name. She knew the letter was written by him but she couldn't believe it. Was that just yesterday? The days were all running together. Her life changed completely a year ago when she heard of Xerxes' death and now her life was once again affected by him.
She swallowed the lump caught in her throat and sniffled. "I…was supposed to marry him," her voice, defeated and broken.
Navaz let out a soft sigh. "I know."
He knew Arielle had some reservations concerning marrying anyone again. From what he remembered, she wasn't too excited about the idea even though Xerxes was courting her. She never actually said that out loud that she wanted to marry Xerxes until now. She was a master at hiding her feelings.
"What am I supposed to do? I don't know how to feel. I'm confused…and…hurt. Why was this kept from me? I would've kept it a secret! I would've…I…"
"Alright," he calmed her down with a finger pressed to her lips. "You know how secretive the Sassanians can be, Arielle. They don't trust anybody and look what they're doing; killing their own family members."
"Kawus deserves to die! He's a snake who lurks in the garden."
"I agree with you but Xerxes' was being protected by his father. His life is vital to Persia. If Kawus dies then Xerxes and Khosrow are the only two princes left to the throne after the Shah dies."
Arielle bit her lower lip. "I don't know what to do."
"Do you…love him?"
She nodded.
"Then maybe you should write him a letter. Tegin Irkin can deliver it when he returns to Persia."
"I –I don't know what to say! What should I say?" she sat up slowly. "Can you help me write it?"
Navaz smiled. "I will get the parchment."
He stood and walked over to her desk to scrounge around for some blank parchments. He flipped through her piles upon piles of documents and opened a couple of drawers. He rummaged through the messy desk drawer and grabbed a small stack of blank parchment and grabbed an inkwell and pen.
Arielle nervously smiled when he sat back down and set the items in her lap. She gazed at the parchment and gingerly took the pen from his grasp.
"Dad, do you think I'm doing the right thing?" she asked, unsure of herself.
"I said I was going to help you write the letter. Don't be nervous."
She laughed softly. "No, I'm not talking about the letter. I mean, wanting to marry Xerxes. Is it the right thing to do?"
Navaz chose to keep his opinions to himself and he truly wanted the best for her even if that meant giving her to a Persian. He wasn't very enthralled with the idea from the start but he couldn't control her life. She wasn't a child anymore.
"I will support you no matter what." He kissed her hand.
She released a sigh of relief. She had doubts of marrying Xerxes and building a life with him during their short courtship but ever since he was ripped away from her she came to the realization that she took him for granted.
I wasn't actually going to kill Xerxes. I have plans for him later. He just needed to disappear for a little bit lol.
Fact: Shehzade Xerxes was very close to the Huns and Avars which made him extremely unpopular in the Sassanian Empire. He got numerous amounts of death threats from his brother Kawus and other politicians in Persia.