Chapter Twenty-One: Peak of The Peeking Piqued Peacock
Over the next three weeks, Xena made it her mission to read letters from her people. It wasn't an easy task by any means, but she was determined to find out precisely what every single person in all the Steppe regions thought and expected of her. Of course, she was not surprised to find that many people in Edirne had the harshest criticisms of how she ruled the area. Edirne had seen many massacres and wars, though the region always recovered eventually. There were many lives lost, and due to that, Xena thought it might be best if she relocated. But she couldn't do that since everything she created was here, in Edirne.
The areas outside the villa were still being rebuilt from Eylül's massive destructive plan, and Xena knew that she'd have to somehow gain her people's trust again. But there was a noticeable difference since she had Eylül in her grasp. The chaos and destruction seemed to cease, which convinced Xena that Eylül was doing a lot behind closed doors than she initially led on. She was lying through her teeth.
Aside from the perimeter of the villa being relatively quiet, the hearth was also incredibly quiet. Erva was the silent walker of the household and mostly kept to herself and locked herself in her room. Xena stopped trying to ask questions after about five days of persistence. Erva refused to speak what was on her mind—speak the truth—and chose the same story each time Xena interrogated her. No amount of persistence was going to make Erva talk. Xena concluded that a while ago.
Now that everyone knew that Augusta Sabina received all messages to and from Edirne, Xena decided to write a proclamation that would surely get the Augusta's attention. She planned to invade Rome once again, but she would be prepared. Sabina should've received the letter by now, and Xena was already preparing ships to sail from the ports. She imagined that Nero had no knowledge of his wife's devious plans, but that made it all the more exciting, at least for her.
Gathered in the sitting room, Gabrielle sorted through a stack of letters sent in by the citizens of Edirne. She peered over at Xena, who was writing, albeit slowly, and deciphering texts. Then, smiling softly, she placed the finished pile of documents on the far end of the low table and crossed her legs on the giant pillow on which she sat comfortably.
Xena felt eyes upon her, and without lifting the quill, she said, "is there something I can help you with?"
"Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing!" Gabrielle rocked back and forth on the pillow. "Do you need help with any of that?"
"No."
Briefly, Xena eyed the blonde sitting very close to her, and with a softer tone, she said, "no, thank you," she shared a smile with her and kept writing.
Gabrielle blew a few wispy hairs from her eyes and sat silently, all while reading the sentences that Xena was writing ever so slowly. Pretty good handwriting, and very straight lines, she observed. So far, so good with the spelling, even though the vocabulary definitely needed some work. This entire process was a work in progress, but so far, Gabrielle was impressed.
Crumpling her eyebrows, Xena studied a single word on the page, tapping the quill on the table perkily. Her attention focused on Gabrielle, who traced the etching on the wooden table, trying so hard to appear occupied.
"What does this say?" she pointed to the word on the page.
Happily, Gabrielle leaned over the table, scanning the sentence. Her lips crinkled as she understood the sentence. Xena seemed to understand the concept of reading and writing, but Gabrielle wasn't so sure if Xena actually comprehended everything she read and wrote.
"Fearmongering," she lifted her eyebrows, biting her lower lip.
Nodding her head, realizing the words of her citizens, Xena released a heavy sigh. She set the parchment against the stand and continued writing a response. As if reading and writing were hard enough, she needed to convince her people that she wasn't as horrible as they believed her to be. That was up for the challenge, especially since she proclaimed herself a vital enemy of Rome. She'd read several harsh words spoken against her over the last few weeks, and it never got any easier.
"I think it's really great that you're doing this."
Xena glanced over and dipped the quill into an ink bed. "Doing what?"
"Writing a response to every single letter!" Gabrielle chirpily replied. "Your people will see that you do care about them since you took the time to read everyone's opinions."
"That's the idea, right?" she licked the dry tip of the quill, rendering a grin.
Varinia opened the door to their bedroom with her hip, carrying a large basket. She blew her hair from her face and was very unimpressed to see Xian still sleeping. His hair splayed across the pillow, and his body twisted in a strange position, shirtless and his mouth ajar.
She plopped the basket on his legs, and Xian jolted awake. He peered down at the basket, dangerously close to his groin, and raked his fingers through his hair, glaring at Varinia. Then, he sat up, rubbed his face, and pulled his hair into a topknot.
He finally noticed the basket, which wasn't very heavy, filled with pieces of fabric. He slipped a shirt over his head, and Varinia jumped onto the bed with a giddy smile. Xian raised an eyebrow, slightly amused at the bright expression on her face.
"You promised me you would go look at fabric with me," she instantly saw his face chalk. "But since we can't go outside, your very generous mother got several swatches of fabric!"
Xian sighed, picking through the masses of fabric. "What's the fabric for?"
"Dresses!" she reached over and thwacked his thigh. "I can't wear the clothes I have now forever," she gestured to the dress that hugged every curve. "But, you can have some new clothes made too."
"That's okay. I don't need anything."
"Evander, just let me do this. I have a lot of time on my hands."
He was beginning to see that he, too, had a lot of time on his hands. He didn't like sitting around inside this house full of women. And even better, all of these women had completely different personalities, which wasn't helpful. But, at least in Abydos, he had a place to work, even if he did ignore Varinia at the time. He promised he'd never do that again, and he had a feeling that if he acted on that behavior again, his mother would get onto him. She was watching his every move; he could feel it whenever he was near her.
Varinia must've sensed his distant mind and stopped talking so much, and the room fell silent. Xian blinked and looked over to her big green eyes that only widened the more they stared at one another. His mouth curled into a smile, as did hers.
"Something the matter?" she asked, crawling across the bed to sit beside him. "I can ask for more fabric swatches."
He chuckled, "no, the fabric is great. I was just thinking that I should do something while I'm here," he fiddled with her thin fingers, "for work."
Varinia swiped her thumb across his hand, "you don't have to work, Evander. I'm pretty sure your mother's wealth is equal to that of Emperor Nero."
In an instant, she saw Xian's eyes narrow, mirroring much of his mother's intensified expressions she wore from time to time. His hand slipped from beneath hers, slid off the bed, and began rummaging around for a vest and boots. Varinia sat on her heels, tapping her thumbs together.
"I don't want to fight with you," her voice cracked, and her eyes brimmed with tears.
Xian paused and turned around, "I'm not angry," he reassured her with a faint smile, "but I don't want to be useless here."
"But you're not useless, Evander."
He grunted after searching through the closet and finally found his vest tucked away. Never again will he allow Varinia to organize his wardrobe. He could never find anything whenever she started cleaning.
"Maybe I can ask my mother where the best area in Edirne to find work is."
"Or…you could ask her for a position," she offered with a hopeful smile.
Xian incredulously replied, "work for my mother? She would be paying me. Varinia that is…no. No, I will not do that. I want to make my own money." He could tell she was discernibly annoyed by his decision. "I will accept her help," he added, "but I still want to be useful—useful to you and our child."
"I think I'll take a break," Xena said, pushing away the pile of letters.
Gabrielle gathered the parchments and set them aside. "It's tiring, isn't it? But you did a good job, and you made quite a dent in this stack here," she pointed to the finished pile.
Xena knew she was trying to be positive, but it would take ages to address all of her people's concerns. She now understood why Erva was so exhausted after writing for hours. It took up a considerable amount of time, and the words must be chosen so carefully. She already guessed that she offended many of her people across the Steppe regions, so she had to be extra cautious of her chosen words.
There was a brief knock on the front doors, and Ardan walked into the foyer. He hurried over to Xena, nonverbally calling for her attention. While Gabrielle sat idly, organizing the parchments, Xena stood, noticeably stiff from sitting so long, and went to meet the eager officer.
He pulled her aside, whispering, "I just received word that Roman ships are sailing towards the western ports."
It seemed the message to Augusta Sabina sparked more than fear. She wasn't exactly prepared to sail out just quite yet. She needed another two weeks at least, but now she had no choice except to prepare and quickly.
"How many ships are there?"
"As far as I know, there are thirteen," he said with much regret.
She rested her hands on her hips, thinking swiftly on her feet. That wasn't too many ships to deal with. But it depended on how many men were on board and the weapons they carried. The only advantage that she had was that Rome didn't have a strong navy, but as much as she hated to admit, she didn't either. She spent most of her days fighting on land, in the mountains, across plains, and marshlands. The only advantage that she did have was that Edirne was a bit of a trek from the ports. It would take nearly two days for Romans to march inland.
"Send men to the ports and block the docks. I want to deter the Romans from coming into Edirne."
Ardan nodded, readily heeding her command, but as he stood idly, Xena sensed there was more news. His eyes spelled fear, and whatever was to come out of his mouth, she knew she wasn't going to like it.
"What is it?"
"More ships were sailing from the east."
She drew her eyebrows inward, stepping closer to the anxious officer. "I thought you said there were only thirteen ships, Ardan."
"They are…not Roman, ma'am. And they're now on foot, coming to Edirne."
Overhearing the conversation and making a sudden and abrupt appearance, Erva trailed down the stairs.
"They're Parthian," she blurted out.
Xena spun around, heart racing, and glared at Erva. Her eyes switched to Ardan, then back to Erva. She flicked her wrist, dismissing Ardan so he could carry out her orders, then slowly approached Erva.
"And how would you possibly know that?"
Erva clenched her jaw, sweat dripped down her back, and her hands iced. She locked herself in an intense staring contest of some sort, and Xena folded her arms, waiting so patiently for an explanation. Finally, after a minute that felt like years, her arms dropped to her sides.
"Gabrielle," she spoke over her shoulder without breaking her gaze with Erva, "go tell Xian and Varinia that they will be leaving soon."
Hesitating, Gabrielle passed by the two tall brunettes and made her way down the long hallway. Briefly, she looked back and could still see the two staring at each other and could even feel the thickening of the air around her, leaving her breathless and tight in the chest.
Finally, alone, Erva never felt she was put in such a dangerous situation until right now. So it was even more unsettling when Xena gestured for her to come to join her in the sitting area. She managed to pick up her numb legs and walk over to the couches. While Xena sat with a leg over her knee, she opted to stand. Although that didn't last too long as Xena waved her hand for her to take a seat.
Lowering herself to the couch, all her muscles stiffened. For knowing Xena for as long as she did, she couldn't quite read the blank expression across from her.
"Care to share what's on your mind?"
No. But Erva couldn't escape from this. She had now entrapped herself. But, ready or not, she steeled herself and took a long exhale before speaking, giving away that she was incredibly unhinged.
"I…knew the Parthians would come here weeks ago. They told me they were coming to attack Edirne."
Xena's mouth parted, and she stared at the leftover bruises across Erva's jaw, cheek, and lower lip. Her fingers gripped the edge of the sofa, abstaining from uttering a single word or anything audible.
"They cornered me. And tortured me," a hand absentmindedly came to her purple-tinged cheek.
Holding her breath, Xena calmly asked, "and why would the Parthians have any interest in you now?"
"Because it is…not a new interest," Erva muttered. Tears brimming in her eyes, she continued, "I have met with them for years. I passed messages to them—to Pacorus' men," she wiped her cheek. "Messages to find out where you were so they could…kill you," tears flowed freely as she spoke, and she wrapped a hand over her eyes.
Simmering, Xena refused to blink as if she thought she might miss something.
"Erva."
The warrior uncovered her eyes, breathing heavily, and made eye contact, but felt like she was looking straight through Xena.
"You aren't referring to the peacock arrows, are you?" she asked with a hint of doubt. By Erva's still silence, her seething anger activated to surge a slow boil. "Erva. Tell me that isn't what you're referring to."
Licking her lips, Erva wiped her nose, and ran her hands down her thighs, and curled her fingers over her knees, gripping so tightly, she felt her legs might disintegrate.
"Erva!" she screeched and jumped from the sofa.
Dropping to her knees, she held onto Xena's ankles, sobbing profusely. Her arms were grabbed, and she was hoisted to her feet, though she felt like crumbling under herself. Xena pulled her close, crushing her arms beneath the grip. She felt the trembling fingers, subtle shaking emanating from the conqueror herself, from her friend, from the one person she spent half her life with.
"You," her speech wavered, "you were involved in a plot to kill me!"
"No! No!" Erva vehemently shook her head. "I—I deterred them! I kept lying—to them."
"So, that makes it alright?" Xena cocked her head and shoved Erva. "You lied to my face! I've been…been trying to figure out this mess, and you sent me down a labyrinth!"
Continuing to sob, Erva shielded her face.
"Don't hide from me!" she swatted Erva's hands. "You're just as guilty as Pacorus. You lied to me, you were involved, you lead them straight to me," there was evident hurt laced in her tone but mostly glossed in her eyes. "How could you do this to me?"
"Xena, please…" she clasped her hands, "please, I saved you many times. I did—I was beaten because of my choices!" she pointed to her face.
"Oh, well, thank you for giving me a few more months to live. Greatly appreciated."
Amidst the fiery conversation, Gabrielle brought in Xian and Varinia, carrying bags. Erva, with her head hung, wiped her cheeks and tapped her eyes, reluctant to look anyone in the eye. Xena brushed by her and met the three at the other side of the room.
"Gabrielle, I want you to take them to the basement. Ardan will take you to a safer place in the mountains later."
Gabrielle nodded, peering over at the sobbing warrior. "What's going on?"
"Just take them."
It was clear that she did not want to be argued with or countered, so Gabrielle complied. She took Varinia by the arm, all while keeping her eye on Erva.
Xian stepped forward, letting go of Varinia's arm. "Romans are coming here? Can I help?"
Xena's patience was dwindling down to a single thread of a ball of twine. "No. I want you to go with Gabrielle and Varinia."
"But I can help!"
"You really want to help?" she asked, and her son looked optimistic. "Then do as I say," she said, pointing to the hall ahead.
After the room cleared, Xena was left to continue her discussion with Erva, which made her stomach churn and bubble within. She took in a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for an upcoming war in her city and the war she had with her long-time trusted friend.
Erva, now with dried eyes, was calmer or as calm as she could be. "I'm coming with you."
Xena snorted. "How could you do that bastard any favors after what he did to your family and daughter?"
"I was planning to get rid of him."
"You could've told me! We could've worked together like we always do!"
Erva nodded, lowering her gaze. "Then, let's make sure that Pacorus never comes here again."
"It's your fault that he's here in the first place."
She sighed, drained from this entire afternoon—tired from all the pent-up lies—but she had to keep going, whether she lost Xena's trust or not. And she certainly did.
"Please, Xena," she begged, taking Xena's hands in her own. "Please, let me help."
As Gabrielle led them down to the basement, she nearly forgot that Eylül was being housed down here for the moment. Treading down the stairs once the doors unlocked, Eylül stood from the bed, nearly hopeful that she would have interaction with someone, anyone but Xena. But, instead, she was pleasantly surprised to see not one, but three people join her in her new abode.
Eylül caught eye of Varinia and twirled a long tress around her finger. "Look who it is," she smiled, "the Syrian. Did Xena capture you too? Oh, obviously not because you'd be down here with me."
Varinia, visibly uncomfortable, clung to Xian's arm. She wrapped a hand over the swell that perfectly cradled in her palm. She knew this interaction was going to be awkward, but she didn't realize how she would feel to see the Bastilia until she actually made contact with her. She wanted to leave, desperately.
Xian stared at the petite woman, stunned to see her for the first time. He never thought a woman, who appeared so harmless, could cause such destruction in his mother's city.
"This…is Eylül Bastilia?" he whispered to Varinia.
Eylül folded her arms, sizing up the tall young man in front of her. "Well, aren't you handsome," she snickered, noting the closeness between Varinia and Xian. "You must be the man that Erva picked up in Abydos."
Catching a moment to escape, Varinia hastily went to Gabrielle. She grabbed her arm firmly and pulled her aside, interrupting the conversation between her and a soldier.
"Gabrielle, please, when can we leave? I don't want to be here with Eylül."
Patting Varinia's arm, she eyed the intrusive woman from afar. "She won't hurt you. We have to wait for Ardan to come back. He will take us somewhere safe."
"How long do we have to wait?"
That was an answer she didn't know, but she was about to disappoint the poor girl even further. "We'll need to be patient. We do have to take Eylül with us…" she paddled Varinia's hand. "She's a prisoner. We can't leave her here."
Hours later, after donning her leathers, Xena rode with half of her men towards the outer rim of Edirne. Erva followed behind her, keeping the soldiers in line and spitting out orders given to her. They hadn't spoken the entire ride so far, and Erva was certain that Xena probably wouldn't ever want to hear a word from her mouth again after this.
Stopping at the edge of a hill, Xena raised her hand to which Erva copied the motion, whistling to the men to halt. Then, narrowing her eyes, she focused on the small black dots marching steadily up steep hills and flat middle plains. There were far more men than she expected. Not only did she have to protect Edirne from Romans but now the Parthians too. They came from two entirely different directions, and she split the army in half, though she was convinced that she was outnumbered on both ends.
Erva trotted up the hill, adjusting her fur hat, and set her eyes on the hundreds of Parthians. She could see the lines of archers in the back, holding their war bows. She remembered telling Xena to train more of her soldiers to shoot instead of hand-to-hand combat. But that would be such a sore topic to bring up now.
"What should we do? Are we going to wait for them to approach, or should we just attack head-on?" asked Erva, feeling an unsettle knot twist in the pit of her stomach.
Xena tugged on her glove with her teeth and pulled it off one hand. Erva observed, wondering if Xena would reach into her saddlebag to grab a dagger and thrust it into her. Instead, Xena scratched the surface of her hand before returning the glove to its rightful place. Nervous, Erva thought. She was nervous. As she should be.
Clearing her throat, Xena kept her eyes forward, studying her enemies below, inching forward. "I should've left you to guard the western port."
Erva felt the sting of the icy tone burn her flesh. At this point, nothing she said had any value or worth. Her mind was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She couldn't focus on the hundreds of soldiers ahead. She only thought of what to say to fix this, but the realization hit her earlier, and she knew she probably never would be able to fix this at all.
At least she was alive, Erva reminded herself. If anyone else committed such an act of betrayal, they'd be set on a pike for the world to see—anyone else.
"We'll send the men in waves."
Erva knocked herself out of her overbearing thoughts and nodded silently at the order. She heard the hooves of Xena's horse fade further and further away, and she glanced over, eyeing her galloping up the hill to the back of the cohort. Clenching her teeth, she steered her horse and rode in the opposite direction, rounding around to the back as well.
While Xena always gave the orders, Erva was always the one to carry the orders out. Waiting on the other end of the cohort, Erva waited for the signal, hoping that Xena would have one last string of trust. Finally, Xena looked over and inclined her head. She half smiled, raised her palm, and shouted to the men to advance forward.
With no concept of time locked in the room, Ardan finally came to escort the group to the mountains just like Xena commanded him to. Edirne was quiet, a little too quiet. Most people vacated their homes and were told to go further north, where it was presumably safer.
They traveled by horse with minimal escorts. Gabrielle shared a horse with Varinia, and Xian rode with Ardan. Meanwhile, Eylül had her own horse with a soldier sitting behind her on the saddle. Her wrists were shackled, as was her neck. Unsurprisingly, she complained most of the journey, but her tongue quickly fell limp as they trekked into the mountainous terrain.
Gabrielle, using her minimal horseman skills, tried steering the horse to follow the others. Making their way through an icy river, the sun began to disappear behind the tall mountain peaks. It would be dark soon, and Gabrielle had an inkling that they weren't near their destination yet since Ardan had no intent on stopping. Wherever Xena was sending them must be very far since there were no homes in this area or any livestock.
Grunting, Gabrielle trotted ahead, meeting Ardan. "Are we close?"
"Very," he pointed ahead, "we will pass this mountain and make camp there."
She almost assumed that they would be staying in one of Xena's many villas, but no, they were possibly sleeping under the stars in these cold mountains or in a tent. She felt a tap on her shoulder and slowed her speed.
"What is going on?" Varinia whispered. "Are Romans really invading Edirne?"
Gabrielle faintly smiled, "I'm sure we'll have answers soon. Try not to focus on that for now. He said we're almost there. One step at a time."
She almost convinced herself of her own words. Although she might have been able to persuade Varinia to keep calm, she wasn't calm herself. The last time she was sent away from Edirne, the small chaos that sprouted in the city was quelled in a couple of days. This wasn't a small matter, and last time, Xena endured minor injuries. This time, she could bear more or even lose her life. And for that, Gabrielle's guilt seeped through her, feeling she could do more.
And yet, she was left in the dark to wonder again, wonder if she was going to be left alone. Indefinitely.
Mid-morning the following day, more Parthian carcasses splayed across the field, which normally felt like a win. But since there seemed to be more Parthians coming in waves, Xena saw nothing but more death leering her way. Sending her men in waves, at considerably low numbers at a time, was a fine strategy, but as more Parthians covered the field like insects, the more hopeless she felt.
Despite the animosity towards Erva, she was able to rely on her throughout the battle. Each command given was carried out just as it had always been. They both managed to stay on the sidelines, shouting commands unanimously, until they were then forced to fight on the field themselves.
Still, mounted on her horse, stuck in the thick of the field, she sliced through a Parthian soldier, who came charging towards her on foot. A javelin soared her way, and she ducked, steering her horseback to stomp on a soldier, who was just about to rise to his feet to strike. Xena wiped the blood-spattered across her cheek and looked around, seeing more and more of her men fall into the crimson field of grass.
On the far side of the field, she saw Erva fighting on the ground with four men surrounding her. Creasing her eyebrows, she advanced forward, plunging her blade into oncoming Parthians, creating a natural pathway towards the army's commander.
Finishing off the enemies around her, Erva pulled herself up and searched the field. Her eyes rapidly scanned the area, and she spotted Xena, charging through a crowd to ride to the steepest of hills where the Parthians' tents were. Wiping the sweat off her brow, she looked to the archers centered near the hilltop, and they began to load their bows.
Reacting quickly, Erva mounted the nearest horse she could find and trampled through piles of carcasses. Then, cutting through the center of the field, her eyes danced from the Parthian archers, and Xena, who was completely oblivious, focused on the task of flattening a sea of soldiers.
Stampeding across the field, she leered back at the archers, who already set fire to their arrows. Grabbing a javelin sticking up from the ground, she twirled it around with the blunt end facing front. She whistled loudly, catching Xena's attention for a brief second—less than half a second—then whacked her with the javelin, and Xena fell from her saddle with a loud thud on the ground.
Erva lurched forward as her body was punctured with six arrows to her spine, shoulders, and arm. The javelin never felt so heavy, and she tried to grip the handle with a trembling hand. Everything around her seemed to fall silent as she tried to grasp for air. The javelin fell to the ground, the spear end clashing with a sword, hitting it with a loud clank.
Xena, rising to her feet slowly, pushed her horse from her view and laid her eyes on Erva, struggling to sit upright on her horse. As Erva leaned forward, blood seeping from her lips, Xena finally saw the plunged arrows in her back. She dropped her sword and ran to the horse, allowing Erva to collapse into her arms.
She dragged Erva away from the field as far as she was able. A group of her men instantly surrounded her, and she broke the arrow shafts in half, gently leaning Erva against her chest. Peering down into the brown eyes, glossed with tears, she threw the arrows aside and wrapped her arm around Erva. Warm blood stained her leather and sleeves.
Erva lifted her head as tears rolled down her cheeks, only for them to be wiped away. Weak and tired, she managed to smile and inhaled with a painful breath that coursed through her entire body.
Xena stroked her thumb across Erva's cheek and held her close while holding her hand. She surveyed the field and began to see smoke rising in the air. The grip on her hand fell limp, and the hand she held slipped from her hold. Pulling Erva away from her chest, she cradled her cheeks and kissed her forehead tenderly.
Gabrielle looked through one of the sheer windows inside the large war tent, which overlooked the huge mountains. She nursed a warm cup of wine, which she heated over a fire outside. The wine, which she hated before, was now her best friend in this frigid climate. She'd been awake for nearly three and a half days, without a word from anyone.
Sipping the wine, she heard horse hooves peddling in and grabbed her coat. Peering over at Xian and Varinia sleeping on animal furs, she thought it best not to disturb them. Flinging her coat on, she rushed out of the tent. She was hoping for some good news but was even more delighted to see Xena riding in with a small entourage.
Icy breath escaped her lips, and she smiled, occasionally licking her dry cold lips. She padded through the thick dewy grass and waited for Xena to dismount. Even though she was overjoyed to see Xena, alive and well, she felt a coldness from her, almost a cold distance between them. Gabrielle kept walking forward, wrapping her arms around herself, then stopped midway.
Her eyes focused on the gurney pulled by horses. A body lay beneath a tattered blanket with a sword strapped to the chest. Gabrielle's hand rested over her chest, finding her lungs too tight to breathe in the mountain air. She pulled her gaze away from the gurney and turned to Xena, covered in spattered blood, tufts of animal fur, and scratches raked across her face.
"Xena…" she stretched her arm out and was ignored. Her shoulder bumped as the warrior passed her by.
Gabrielle watched her enter the tent and sighed, feeling her heart sink to her core. She scurried over to the soldiers, who were cutting the straps off the gurney. Coming closer, she saw Erva's pale face uncovered from the blanket. She grabbed one of the soldier's arms.
"What are you going to do with her?"
"Burn her body on a pyre," he told her and continued slicing the ropes.
Hours later, when the sun began to set, everyone gathered in the large tent big enough to house sixty people or more. The only person who was noticeably and audibly upset about Erva's passing was Varinia. The initial shock wore off fairly quickly, and for the last three hours or so, she centered herself in a puddle of her own tears. While Xian did his best to calm her down, he finally managed to do so once the fourth hour passed.
Behind a partition, Gabrielle lurked, anticipating if she should go talk to Xena or not. For hours, Xena hadn't spoken to anybody or come out of the tent's adjoining room. Gabrielle could see her silhouette hidden behind the sheer partition. A warm firepit centered in the tent perfectly outlined the armor, which Xena had yet to remove.
Exhausted from expelling all of her tears and energy, Varinia fell asleep in Xian's lap. Xian kept eyeing Gabrielle, who hopelessly lingered by the curtain. Stroking his fingers through Varinia's curly tresses, he clicked his tongue against his teeth.
Gabrielle turned at the sound, almost flinching. She was met with a concerned face—a face that looked far too much like Xena's. Biting her fingernail, she became aware of her behavior and let her hand drop to her side.
"You should get some sleep, Gabrielle. She's not going to talk to you," he whispered.
Frowning, she peered through the curtain, eyes following the silhouette. "I'm going to stay here," she looked back at Xian's incredulous expression. "Just for a little while longer…."
How many hours had it been? Gabrielle jarred awake, realizing she dozed off while standing up. She rubbed her eyes and looked out the window. The sky was purple. It was close to dawn. Did the soldiers already burn Erva's pyre? Did Xena slip away from her while she was asleep?
Gabrielle parted the curtain with two fingers and could see that Xena was very much awake and now standing, facing the wall. She was in the exact same position when she arrived; stoic and still.
Ardan's voice carried through the tent from outside, causing Gabrielle to flinch. In a flash, Xena divided the curtain, nearly bumping into Gabrielle. The two locked eyes with each other, and Xena merely blinked slowly, showing not an ounce of emotion, whether upset, angry, sad, or joyful. She passed by, brushing Gabrielle's shoulder, and exited the tent. Gabrielle sighed, lightly patting her cheeks to wake up.
Outside, Xena was greeted with two men, one Roman and one, presumably Parthian. Ardan approached her, talking in hushed tones.
"We were able to capture a Roman. The siege was thwarted at the ports."
She nodded, satisfied that at least something good came of this.
"Your men are still pushing Romans back, but we expect they will retreat. Ten of their ships were burned."
"Hmm," her eyes flared at one of the captives struggling and cursing. "And who is in charge of the naval fleet? Nero?"
Ardan pursed his mouth and relayed, "no. We found out that Gaius Julius Vindex is in charge."
Xena snapped her head around, mildly annoyed. Her gaze displayed confusion. "He is supposed to be dead." She clearly remembered ordering Gölge to kill him, which seemed like eons ago.
"Evidently, he is not," Ardan walked over to the cursing captive. "This is supposedly Soner Bastilia. He is working with the Parthian Prince, Pacorus."
Xena cleared her throat, flashing a glimpse of a smile. Lacing her fingers behind her back, she stared at the man. She then yelled for her son to come to join her outside. Moments later, Xian ran out of the tent and halted beside her.
She turned to him and asked softly, "is this Soner Bastilia?"
Xian, timorous to answer while he locked eyes with the captive, "yes, that's him."
Once she received the answer she was hoping for, she tipped her head to Ardan. Turning around, she made her way back to the tent, leaving Xian to stand in the cold. Xian stood by, watching as soldiers carried off Soner and the Roman soldier. They were forced to their knees, swords were held to their throats, and—
"Xian," she called.
He traced his steps back to the tent, unable to tear his eyes away. Then, finally, he was forced by his arm to enter the tent and heard the searing of the blade slice through flesh, and his eyes flared.
A gentle breeze blew into the tent, and Gabrielle stayed awake, circling around the room. Her eyes danced from the sleeping couple on the floor to the partition. Cursing under her breath, she filled a basin with a pitcher of water and draped a couple of linens over her shoulder. She decided she wasn't going to wait for Xena to come to her because that simply wasn't going to happen.
Gabrielle stepped through the partition's natural divide, holding the water basin. Xena, sitting on the bed, still in her armor, had her face buried in the meat of her palms. Gabrielle etched across the room and knelt down, setting the basin on the floor. Xena balked, lifting her head, and peered down at the timid smile below.
"Let me help you take this off," she gestured to the armor.
Too tired to resist, Xena averted her eyes and sat as her gauntlets were removed. A heavy weight lifted off her when the cape and leather vest were thrown to the floor. Stripped of her dark tunic, now in her brassiere, all that was left was her pants and boots.
Gabrielle smiled faintly, took one boot off gently, and noticed the number of bruises and cuts across Xena's shins. Trying not to show any disconcertion, her hands went to the belt, and her wrists were firmly grabbed. The abrupt gesture didn't deter her, and instead, she continued. She was not shy of seeing many injuries on Xena's body but was somewhat horrified to see the amount of old scars, new ones that would soon form, and blood caked on her thighs.
Concealing her concern, she dipped the linen into the cold water and gently scrubbed, wiping the blood off her legs. She saw goosebumps forming and smiled, meeting Xena's eyes above hers.
"Sorry about the water. It's a little cold outside, you know."
She squeezed the cloth's remnants of water into the basin, and the water turned a murky red. She poured the pitcher of water over Xena's feet and ankles. There were indentions of the boot's laces embedded into her skin from wearing herself down, being awake too long, not enough water, not enough sleep, not enough time to think or process.
As she dipped the linen into the frigid water, she felt something wet drip off her nose and looked upward to see tears streaming down Xena's cheeks. She dropped the linen in the basin and climbed onto the bed, indistinctively embracing her tightly. She felt trembling within the embrace and reached for a blanket.
She draped the blanket over Xena's shoulders and brushed her frayed hair from her face, wiping her cheeks. She laced their fingers together and felt the grip returned with such force.
Gabrielle leaned her head on Xena's shoulder, allowing the silence of her tears to take over. that lasted for a few minutes, or maybe more. She wasn't counting, and then the sniveling and snuffling faded. A beam of sunlight crept in from a broken seam in the tent from above, and Gabrielle's eyes tilted upward. It had been several weeks since she'd seen sunlight instead of dark clouds that showered over Edirne.
Keeping still, Xena rested her head against Gabrielle's, staring in the distance. Slowly, she steadied her breathing, her mouth arid and eyes burning from lack of sleep and a canal of tepid tears. Hugging the blanket close to her now cold flesh, she lifted her head and turned to Gabrielle. Always welcomed with a smile of some sort.
She finally returned a smile, a worn one at that, and pressed their foreheads together.
"Thank you for staying here," Xena muttered in a soft whisper.
Parting faces, Xena's eyes fluttered, and through a tired smile, joined her lips with Gabrielle's in a demanding kiss. Maybe time stopped when their lips met, but the flutter inside Gabrielle only intensified. She could only focus on how soft her lips felt, how addictively the moment invaded all of her sense of reality.
Her heart rose from her core to her chest, only for her lips to be self dissatisfied. The warm lips she had enraptured in a latch now pulled away. Xena's forehead rested on her shoulder, and her heart still pounded, ringing in her ears. You're tired; you're more than tired. You're exhausted.
Warm tears trickled down her cheeks, soaking Gabrielle's tunic. Crinkling her eyebrows, Gabrielle wrapped her arms around her warrior, bringing her close. Crying. You're crying again.
"I'm here," she stroked the raven tresses, "I'm not leaving."