This is so suspenseful lol. I'm keeping y'all in the dark for awhile

Chapter 6

Two weeks were given for Wang to recover so he could travel by horse back to Prince Houfei's encampment. Gabrielle marked the map of all of the prince's hideouts but she didn't exactly trust Wang anymore. He was once a great friend to Csaba and Farah but now, he was hiding something very important, something that Arielle couldn't get out of him.

Wang was tied to the saddle and his wrists were bound. Gabrielle guided them through the thick forests with the map while Xena held onto Wang's horse with a rope attached to its neck. She frowned at the map and halted her horse, tilting the map left and right, looking over it several times.

"What's the problem?" Xena asked.

The governor turned and glared at the Chinese soldier. "I don't know. Wang? Would you like to lead the rest of the way? We've been traveling for three days now and yet we aren't even close to any of the prince's hideouts."

Xena snarled and yanked the rope, pulling his horse forward. "If you are hiding something from us, Wang, now is the time to tell us. Maybe I won't kill you."

"You would betray the commander's orders? I am to be delivered unharmed, remember?"

"I am following orders but I am allowed to do whatever I want to you. Why are you making us travel around in circles? Is this amusing to you?"

He smiled. "I am not making you travel in circles, Xena."

Men hidden in the brush appeared in full armor. Gabrielle spun around on horseback and pulled out her sword, ready to attack. Xena's mouth gaped and she backed away from Wang's horse and drew her blade, pointing it at the nearest man. It was dark in the forest although it was daylight. She tried to make out the men but they had their faces concealed.

"Xena," a voice lurked in the shadows and she whipped her head around to a shadowy figure walking towards her. "The infamous commander. Do you drink from a fountain of youth? Will your nine lives ever run out?"

He stepped out of the darkness and she grimaced. "Shah Balash. Of course, another Sassan brat. Does your family have an endless supply of cousins to spare?" she spat.

"I should thank your daughter for killing my cousins, one being my wife," he sighed. "Release Wang. He belongs to me."

Gabrielle pointed her sword at the arrogant young shah. "He isn't going anywhere with you. He's our prisoner now."

Balash stepped forward, not fearful of the blade. "Put away the sword, Greek woman. You will no longer need it. Release Wang or I'll decapitate you both right now."

"You lie, shah."

Xena eyed the amount of men surrounding them and lowered her weapon. "Put down the sword, Gabrielle. Do as he says."

"What!" her wife yelled back. "Have you lost your mind? You are not willing to fight them? We can take them."

"No, we can't, Gabrielle! Just do as he says."

Xena looked back at Wang and untied his wrists and ankles from the saddle. She pushed him off the horse and he fell on his back, moaning and groaning. He wrapped his very injured arm around his sore torso and hobbled over to the Persian king. All the while Gabrielle was glaring at her wife, shaking her head.

Balash nodded to his men to take Wang away from the area. "Well done, Xena. You can see when you will lose a fight. A wise decision you've just made albeit I've never seen you surrender so easily, perhaps it is your age," he snickered. "Come. Both of you. I wish to show you something."

Gabrielle shared a nervous glance with her wife.

"I'm not going to kill you. In fact, I'm going to release you but not before I show you this." He waved his hand. "Follow me."

Xena nervously trotted behind the shah, eyeing all of the Persians hording around her like wolves. Gabrielle angrily sheathed her sword and side eyed her wife during the ride. Xena did her best to ignore her glare, but it proved to be difficult. It wasn't that she couldn't take the Persians but it was only two of them and they had no backup. She recognized she'd be badly injured or worse if she instigated a fight with the shah and his soldiers.

The shah stopped at the cliff and waved his arm in front of the huge valley. Xena and Gabrielle dismounted their horses hesitantly and approached the Persian. He grinned and bowed his head at the women and took a step back so they could observe.

"Behold," he points ahead at the black smoke across the valley. Fire spread across the area and Xena walked towards the cliff, shielding her eyes from the falling snow.

"Your commander's camp is up in flames," he alarms them. "You've really lost your touch, Xena. I am disappointed in you. I expect the best from you but you fell flat. Perhaps all of your granddaughter's training did not pay off or maybe…you're just not as ruthless as you used to be. My cousins' grandfather used to tell them tales about you and how you ran rampant through the Balkan Steppes, Goth plains and Persia. What a shame," he sighed.

Xena narrowed her eyes, staring at the Hun camp engulfed in flames and black smoke towering over the mountains. She could hear the shah babbling on and on about her past and future. She clenched her fists and lifted her chin as he continued to talk and she continued to listen.

"You're careless, Xena. You've grown weak. All of those princes and princesses in your clan have really softened your hard heart. I was once told you were a ruthless commander, but now you allow your granddaughter to take your position and get herself killed? This must be very embarrassing for you."

Her heart raced and she spun around, fire in her eyes, and grabbed the shah by his shoulders and threw him over the cliff. Gabrielle's eyes enlarged twice their size and she ran to her wife and looked down at the shah hitting a few rocks and trees on the way down, breaking his arms. His screams filled the mountain valley.

Xena breathed heavily and drew her two swords and eyed all of the Chinese and Persian soldiers gaping at her. They quickly grabbed their weapons and slowly approached her.

"Oh Xena…" the governor says, "what have you done…" she covered her mouth and tears welled in her eyes; not tears of sadness but tears of anger and frustration.

She cautiously turned and looked at her wife's eyes and smile on her face. It was eerie. She had seen it before, several times, several years ago. She was afraid to approach her and instead backed away, especially since there were dozens of men surrounding them in a circle.

Xena crossed her swords and eyed all of the Persians and Chinese. "What will you do now? I've killed your shah. Do you have any cousins hiding in the tents?" she asked and the crowd was silent. "I didn't think so because my daughter and I killed all of the shahs. It'd be wise of you to surrender to me."

"Xena…what are you doing?"

"Just go along with me, Gabrielle," she whispered.

The men slowly lowered their weapons and she smiled then walked over to the shah's tent with the Persian flag with the lion head on it. She ripped down the flag and sliced through with her blades and then tossed it into a bonfire.

"Take me to Prince Houfei's camp."

Ernak galloped throughout the encampment and yelled at all of his men to put out the fires with buckets of snow. So far, there had been three major fires put out and Bayan was fighting off a few Chinese soldiers along with Arielle's female soldiers accompanying him.

He searched the field for the commander and pushed thick clouds of black smoke away from his path. He coughed and wrapped a scarf around his mouth and rode downhill from the burning camp and saw Arielle's body in the snow.

"Arielle!"

He stomped on a few bodies that were already laid dead and jumped off the horse then collapsed to his knees. He turned her body over onto her back and saw a bloody shoulder wound, the side of her face burnt slightly and blistering already. Quickly, his eyes examined for any further injuries and his hands roamed across her body and felt warm blood seeping from her ribs.

Ernak scooped her into his arms and carried her up the hill, leaving his horse behind. "I need aid!"

A few soldiers rushed over and Bayan whipped his head around and saw his wife in Ernak's arms. He darted across the camp, jumping over burning debris and corpses of their enemies. He saw how badly injured she was and his stomach turned to knots.

"Is she alive?" he asks.

The Hun king nods. "She is. She'll be taken care of." He passed Arielle off to the soldiers so she could be tended to.

Bayan panicked and he tried to sidestep the king but Ernak wrapped his arm around his shoulder, forcefully pushing him away. "Where are they taking her? I want to go with her."

Ernak raised his eyebrow at the Kidarite's sudden concern for Arielle. "I need you right now. You can visit her later," he said and pulled Bayan along. "We need to go back to the imperial city. This ambush shouldn't have happened. Wang must have alerted Houfei before his arrival and waited until Xena was gone to attack."

"But…but why would he do that? I thought Arielle interrogated him?"

"She did but he obviously had plans of his own. Meeting Gabrielle in the village was not a coincidence. This isn't anyone's fault. These things happen sometimes and now we need to be extra cautious of where we go, who we talk to and how we conduct attacks."

Bayan eyed the tent where his wife was frowned sadly. "Shouldn't we wait for Xena and Gabrielle to come back before we go to the imperial city? What if something happened to them?"

Ernak shook his head and gripped the Harran king's shoulders. "They can take care of themselves. Xena is very good at what she does. We need to pack up and leave by tomorrow. I'm going to send you to ride ahead to alert the Emperor about this attack."

"But Arielle…"

"She's fine!" he snapped. "She's not dead! Go, now. I am ordering you!"

After Bayan took off, Ernak went to check up on Arielle and he walked into the tent just as the healer was about to cauterize the wound on her ribcage. She was unconscious and the shoulder wound was mended and bandaged. He sighed and nodded his head to the healer who was awaiting permission.

The hot iron met with her skin and Arielle's eyes shot wide open and her wails of agony echoed in and out of the tent. Ernak cringed and then he knelt down beside her and put a hand over her mouth and pinned her arms to the floor.

"Congratulations. You've achieved your first battle scars," he says to lighten the mood.

Tears were flowing freely as she stared up at him almost like a child crying out for help. Her chest rose and fell heavily and he kept his eyes on her the entire time so she could forget about the pain while the healer taped a cloth over the cauterized wound.

Ernak smiled and released his hand off her mouth then took off his coat and draped it over body. "We're going back to the imperial city. We need more help and guidance. Wang tricked us."

She frowned and winced as she shifted slightly. "But where –where is Gabrielle and –"

"Don't worry about them," he interrupted. "They can handle whatever is thrown at them. It is my job to protect the army and I've failed."

"No, it's my fault."

Ernak folded his arms. "It's not your fault, Arielle. I saw you in the field today. You did really well but there were too many men."

"Grandma said that I should always be prepared for an attack and I wasn't. I should've listened to her."

He rolled his eyes. "Arielle, you really are being way too hard on yourself. I've seen Xena return from raids and missions with broken limbs because of ambushes. She and my father always came back together and she was always the more injured one because she never stopped fighting. She recovered and went back into the field several times and you will do the same. This is just part of the job but just to let you know, you don't always need to go into the field. If there are too many men you should pull back. Your life is important than a soldier's. Remember that."

She sat up and looked down at her ribs and groaned. She threw off the coat and stood up, hobbling towards the camp. Ernak stood up and grabbed his coat and tried to pull her back to the bed and she snatched her arm away.

She walked outside half dressed into the snow. All of her soldiers bowed their heads and stopped what they were doing. Her eyes scanned the encampment and Ernak draped his coat over her bare shoulders.

"Find me a Chinese soldier who is alive. He will come to the imperial city with us," she demands.

Farah sat at her vanity, massaging her temples and breathing in and out deeply. Gurda stood by her side silently and stared at the queen's pale face and sunken cheeks. Farah groaned and opened her eyes, staring at her reflection and then looked at Csaba sitting at his desk, flipping through pages among pages of treaties sent over by the Goth king, Alaric.

"I have a headache," she turns to her chambermaid. "Bring me some mint tea, please."

Gurda smiled. "Yes, your highness."

Farah slouched in the chair and wrapped an arm over her stomach and frowned at her husband. "Have you heard anything about your sister?"

"Which one?" he asks while flipping through the documents.

She paused. "Cera of course…"

"No, my mother hasn't sent a message over yet. I am unsure of her whereabouts but I'm sure my mother will find her. Arielle hasn't sent me a report about her mission yet either."

"What a surprise."

Csaba lifted his eyes slowly, gawking at his pale wife. "Are you alright?"

"I have a headache."

He stood and collected the documents to be sent over to Alaric. He walked over and kissed her forehead. "I'm sure it'll pass soon. I'm going to meet up with Oran so he can send a messenger to deliver these documents. If you need anything just ask Ursula. I'm sure she'd be willing to help you."

Ku tried to spoon yogurt soup into Aurora's mouth and for the fifth time of failing, she was about to give up. She threw the spoon into the bowl and glared at the princess. Aurora had her arms folded and chin lifted proudly, refusing any type of food or drink.

"This is your favorite. I made it myself. Why won't you eat it?"

The princess huffed. "'Cause, I don't want to."

"You are turning into your mother," Ku muttered. She organized the tray and took it into her hands and stood up. "I'm going to return this to the kitchen since you don't want to eat it. It's now gone to waste."

Aurora waited until her caretaker was gone and smiled deviously. She hopped off the bed and took off her dress and underneath she secretly put on a black tunic and pants. She didn't care much for dresses but Farah insisted that she'd wear them. Aurora was kind enough to listen to her aunt but whenever Ku wasn't around which was rare these days, she preferred to wear clothes she actually liked.

Being stuck in the guest suite was becoming tiresome and boring. All of the bumps on the children's bodies had faded dramatically and they didn't complain about the itchiness as much. Aurora was eager to get out of her room of solitude and play with her cousins. This was one of the few times she could escape from Ku.

She ran out of the room and saw her twin cousins wrestling on the floor while Utigur and Muqan were cheering them both on. Issik was the prince of gloom much like his mother and Kurt, being the eldest, was in charge of everyone, but he looked equally disinterested as Issik.

"Can I play with you guys?" she asks.

Aman poked his head out from underneath his brother's leg. "You can't play with us."

"Why not?"

"Cause, you…you're a princess!" Aladar told her.

She frowned and pushed them both down onto their backs and they whined, scowling at her. Kurt stood up and walked over to the small princes and princess. He placed a hand on Aurora's shoulder. "Why did you do that?"

"They won't let me play with them!"

He sighed. "You're too little, Aurora."

She gaped at her cousins who were the same age as her. "They're little too!" she pointed to all four of the princes.

Kurt didn't really have an answer for her and instead of behaving rationally; Aurora stormed off and swung open the doors. Ramora gasped and hurried after the princess.

"Princess, wait!" the maid called out as she was running after the little girl. Aurora ran up the stairs, bypassing all of the servants who immediately moved out of her way.

Farah sipped the hot tea and continued to massage her left temple. Gurda stood a few feet behind her and eyed the tea. The doors were swung open and Aurora walked into the room with determination. Farah spun around in her chair and looked down at the tiny princess standing next to her.

Ramora ran in a few seconds after and breathed heavily. "My queen…I am sorry. I couldn't catch her in time!"

Farah nodded and dismissed her maid. "Aurora, what are you doing in my room?"

"Aman and Aladar won't let me play with them! Teyze Farah, please, I wanna play with them."

She sighed. "I can't let you do that, Aurora. You aren't going to play with the princes. These are my rules. Go back to the guest suite."

"No! Teyze Farah, I can do what I want. This is my home too!"

Farah frowned at the mouthy child. "Aurora. I do not have time to deal with one of your tantrums. I do not feel well. Please leave. Ramora, take her back to the room."

Aurora folded her arms, refusing to move. She muttered, "majnuna."

Farah slowly rose from her chair, glaring at the princess. "What did you just call me?" she asks and Aurora's mouth gaped. "I understand Ku-Ilm's language very well. It seems you've picked up on quite a lot of it. Listen here, child, I am a queen and you can't speak to me that way."

"My mommy is a queen too."

"Your mother is not here nor does she have any authority over me!" Farah yelled.

Aurora's face paled and she flinched at her aunt's tone. Farah put a hand on her forehead and slammed her hand on the vanity set, trying to steady herself. She stepped forward and Aurora raised her eyebrows and took a step backwards. Farah's eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fell backwards onto the floor.

Aurora gasped and ran over to the fallen queen. "Oh, no!" she cradled her aunt's face in her tiny palms. "Teyze Farah?"

Csaba returned to the queen's chambers and his heart stopped when he saw his wife on the floor. He rushed over and Aurora stood up, wiping the tears off her face. He gently slapped Farah's cheeks and then scooped her into his arms.

"Go get the physician!" he yelled at the chambermaids.

Aurora ran to the side of the bed, hovering over her aunt. "This is my fault…"

Csaba looked at his niece and half smiled. "It's not your fault, Aurora." He cupped her cheek. "Take her back to the sick room," he instructed the two maids. Gurda grabbed the princess' hand and gently pulled her along.

Gurda and Ramora left the room and Ku was heading in their direction as soon as she heard that Aurora took off. The chambermaids were whispering among one another and gawked at the Assyrian handmaid. Ku frowned and halted.

"What's going on?" asked Ku.

"The queen fainted. I will take the princess back to the room," said Gurda.

Ku grabbed the woman by the arm. "No, you won't. Ramora will take her." she says.

Remora hung her head and took Aurora, leaving the two women by themselves. Ku inched closer and closer to Farah's maid and folded her arms. "The queen fainted, hm?" she questioned and backed Gurda up into a corner.

"I know what you are doing, Gurda. You've been giving the queen oleander tea. If you were smart enough, which I think you are, you'd know that too much oleander kills a person. Are you trying to poison the queen?"

Gurda nervously smiled. "Of course not. I would never do that. She's my queen."

"If the physician finds one ounce of oleander in her body, you will be exposed. You're the only one who makes the queen her tea plus I heard you and Ramora gossiping in the kitchen weeks ago. I'd hate to tell the khatun about this. She will surely behead you."

"Who do you think you are, Ku-Ilm? You think you are above me, but you are just a servant like me. The khatun would never believe a dirty Arab like you," Gurda snidely spits.

Ku shoved the maid into the wall and pinned her arms. "I will destroy you. Don't ever come near Aurora again or I'll pluck out your tongue. Mumass qadhara," she mutters.

Gabrielle stood far away from her wife inside Shah Balash's tent. Xena was looking through the chests of documents and it wasn't surprising that all of the documents were written in Persian. Not a single one in Latin or any other language. Some were written in Chinese but that was no help to her at all. Xena pulled out all of the rolled up documents and placed them in a neat pile.

She turned to the anxious blonde and smiled. "Something on your mind?"

"You just killed the shah, Xena."

"And? He needed to be gotten rid of somehow. Arielle and Navaz lost to him a few months ago. Now we don't have to worry about any Sassan family members tormenting us."

The governor sighed. "If I had known you were going to do that, we could've brought some men with us. What do you think is going to happen now? The Sassan family is huge. They have family members scattered across Persia and Asia. Who knows what the future will hold."

"You believe there is another heir to the throne? If so, then we will be ready to take them down."

"Xena, the Sassan Dynasty is huge! There will be a new shah and I think you've made a huge mistake by killing Balash. His subjects will inform the family and attack us, maybe even attack Pannonia."

The lieutenant nodded and scooped the documents into her arms and smiled at her wife and placed them into Gabrielle's arms. The governor grunted and held the scrolls close to her chest; and there were dozens of them.

"We'll worry about that later. I need you to take these documents to a translator. I want to know everything that Balash and Houfei agreed upon. I really don't buy that Wang is working for Princess Bosi. If he was working for her then why did he attack us?"

She frowned, thinking of the burning camp and hoped that Arielle was able to quell the invaders and put out the fires. She also knew that Arielle was not exactly very experienced but she was lucky that Ernak is there to help her. Although, Ernak knew nothing about China and this was to be their downfall.

"He could be double-crossing her," Gabrielle suggested. "Xena…you worry me. You acted impulsively back there. You don't normally do that."

All Xena could think about were Balash's last words to her. He continuously insulted her over and over again right to her face. She knew that he was trying to get under her skin and unfortunately it worked. She let anger rule her decision and instead of responding with a witty remark she resulted to throwing him over the cliff. She kept trying to rationalize her choice but it didn't make her feel any better. She told herself that he deserved it and he did but maybe his death was premature.

"What's done is done," she says unconvincingly. Her wife eyed her doubtfully. "Find someone in the camp who is willing to translate those. I will wait here."

Not long after Gabrielle was able to find someone to translate all of the documents. She stayed with the soldier until dusk around a bonfire. She wrote down everything that he said and looked around at the Persians staring at her like she was fresh meat for them.

She questionably looked over the paper that she finished after he translated the tenth document. She held up her hand to stop him from speaking and read over the translation quickly.

"This doesn't seem right. If you aren't translating these correctly I'll hand you over to Xena."

The Persian smiled and bowed his head. "This is what the paper says, Greek woman."

"Hmm."

"You are skilled in writing treaties and declarations. Did you not serve the Roman Empire at one time?"

She frowned and stares into his brown eyes. "For a short time, yes."

"The Hun woman has taken over my Shah's camp. She is very arrogant to take upon such a role. She is humiliating the Sassan family. Huns love to conquer any land that they step on. You follow in their footsteps, Greek woman. You've abandoned your traditions, customs, language, religion, to become a Hun yourself. You are just as bad as them."

Gabrielle emits a soft smile and chuckles nervously. "The Sassans are not without fault. They are equally as blood thirsty as the Huns. The Sassans are known to overtax their people and beat their women whenever they please. Yet here you are, serving barbarians." She says with a charming expression.

"Fair enough, Greek woman," the soldier nods. "You are brave to say such things out in the open. Do you really believe that we will take the Hun woman to Prince Houfei?"

"If you don't comply I'm sure Xena will find a way to get there one way or another."

"I'd like to offer a deal to you, Greek woman."

She set the papers down and looked at the tent which Xena was in and inhaled sharply. "What deal might that be?"

"Shah Peroz's son is destined to the throne. Now that Balash is dead, Kavad will become the shah. There is a messenger who left earlier to the capital of Persia to inform the son of Peroz. You are the governor of the Huns and you would be a valuable asset to Kavad. Consider working under him as a spy."

Gabrielle snorted. "You want me to betray the entire Hun Empire for Peroz's son? Who do you think I am?"

"I think you're a very smart woman. Kavad is young. He wants to make peace with the Huns but it would be better if you provide him with all the information he needs to make that call," he tells her. "It's on the table. You can decide later if you wish but do not tell your Hun woman about this conversation. I will be watching every step you take from here on out, Greek woman."

He stood up and bowed his head then left.

She put a hand over her beating heart and then dug her fingers into her short locks, exhaling deeply. She would never dream of working for a Persian and she didn't understand why that soldier was so keen on speaking to her in secret. Her eyes darted across the camp and she felt like everyone was looking at her, watching her.

She wasn't sure what to think about his offer and the fact that he said that he'd be watching her, unsettled her. He also said not to tell Xena about this and she was hesitant to keep secrets from her wife but at the same time, the conversation with the Persian was odd, invasive and disconcerting.

Xena sat at Balash's desk and overlooked the translated documents and frowned. She lifted her eyes to her wife who was being awfully quiet and distant. She waved one of the papers in her hand.

"What is this? All of this talks of slave trading and grain trades? This is of no use to us."

Gabrielle shrugged a shoulder. "That's what was in the documents. The man who translated them said so."

"It doesn't even say where the Chinese are getting slaves from. Are you sure he translated this correctly?"

"I am not sure, Xena. You can't really trust Persians."

She mutters under her breath and flipped through several of the papers, skimming through them. All the while Gabrielle stood, twiddling her thumbs behind her back, debating whether she should mention anything about Peroz's son, Kavad, who would be the next successor of the Sassan throne.

"Xena."

The brunette lifted her head with raised eyebrows.

"I think we should go back to our camp. Arielle could be wounded. Balash sent men to attack us. It was a trap allowing Wang to come there."

"Arielle will be fine on her own. I know she's not dead because Ernak is there."

Gabrielle quirked her mouth. "But Xena, this doesn't feel right. I think we should go back."

"Gabrielle. You are getting on my nerves. Arielle gave us orders to find Houfei's camp and that's what we're going to do."

The guards inside the foyer of the Adame saw their queen approaching with her elite guards and stood up straight, holding their spears.

"Destur! Anastasia Khatun senin huzurunda!"

Csaba stood to meet his mother and waited for awhile when he was notified she was crossing the border. He smiled and kissed her hand and both of her cheeks then gave a soft bow of his head.

"Mother, you didn't send word that you were coming home so soon."

Ana looked around the foyer and brushed the long black veil behind her shoulders. "I had to leave quickly and didn't have time to write you. I hope everything here remained in order while I was gone?"

"Yes, mother."

Aurora ran down the hallway with Ku chasing her. She couldn't contain herself when she heard Farah's chambermaids talking about her grandmother's arrival. She ran across the foyer and rammed herself into Anastasia's legs, hugging them tightly.

"Benim kücük prensesim," Ana said with a big smile and picked up Aurora into her arms.

"Grandma Ana, you were gone for so long!"

"Grandma khatun," she corrected.

Aurora wrapped her arms around her grandmother's neck. "Grandma khatun…" she whispers, still not used to calling her that. "Did you see Cera?"

The queen hid her emotions from the princess. "Yes, I did." She paused briefly. "Where's your mother?"

"She's in China."

Anastasia's eyebrows rose. "China, huh?" her eyes drifted to her pale-cheeked son. "I hope you were on your best behavior for Ku-Ilm then…" she says while glaring at Csaba.

"Mhm. Me and the boys had red spots all over our skin!" she says and points to her healed skin. "We were stuck in a room together forever! And then Teyze Farah fell down. She's sick but she'll get better, right Csaba?" she asks cheerily of her uncle.

Ana's frown deepened and she set Aurora on the ground and folded her arms. "Csaba, I don't like what I'm hearing."

"Mother, I can explain everything."

Later Csaba stood in front of his mother in her room upstairs. He awaited his lecture and her silence was not settling the knot in his stomach at the moment. She sat in her chair, tapping her fingers on the armrest slowly while glaring at him. He didn't dare look into her icy eyes.

"Where is your grandmother?"

He held his breath. "She's with Arielle in China."

"Oh really," she laughs softly. "And exactly how did she get herself involved in the army again? She has no authority over the army anymore. Arielle is the commander now."

"I…gave her the position of lieutenant to aid Arielle in the campaign."

She slammed her fist on the chair's arm. "Csaba! You are a king! You let your grandmother walk all over you! She shouldn't be allowed in the field anymore especially without my permission. I'm assuming Gabrielle is with them too."

He fell silent.

She rose and walked over to her son. "You sent your sister off on a campaign without my permission."

"Mother I –"

"Csaba! How dare you override my authority like this! Cera is missing and you decided to give in to your grandmother's conniving plans and send Arielle off to China. She is too inexperienced to handle such a task."

"But that's why I sent grandma and Gabrielle with her. Mother, I was in acting in your place. I didn't –" he lifts his eyes and backs away slowly at the anger written clearly on her face.

"All campaigns are supposed to be approved by me and instead you acted on your own."

He immediately dropped to his knees and clutched the trim of her black gown and buried his face in it. "Mother, I'm sorry," he gave his deepest apologies to her.

She snatched her dress away from him and turned around.

"Tell Oran to come to my room. I want him to interrogate Madhiya's Alps. I bought them from her and they are now in my custody. I believe they know what happened to Cera."

He stood up and stared at her backside. He felt insulted that she would ask his cousin to do a job that was his in the first place. "Mother…"

"Get out!" she yelled and spun around. "As soon as I finish speaking with Oran I will go see Farah. I don't want to see you in my presence. Get out of my sight before I do something I might regret."

Csaba sighed. "Yes mother."

He stepped out of her room and closed his eyes. He took in a deep breath and turned around to Aurora standing in front of him holding her blanket close to her chest. Ku stood at a fair distance away from the doors with her eyes lowered.

"Is grandma mad at you?"

He smiled and knelt down to brush wavy locks away from her face. He looked into her big innocent green hazel eyes and wished he could lie to her, but he couldn't. She heard everything and apparently so did Ku.

"Why don't you go see Farah? I'm sure she'd love to see you. She loves visitors."

"Okay," she went over and grabbed Ku's hand. "After we see Teyze Farah can we see Nisa too?"

"Sure, halu." Ku smiled and looked at the distressed king.

Aurora led the way through the corridor. Csaba watched the two drift further and further away and frowned back at his mother's bedroom doors. He didn't want to call upon his older cousin to do his work but he figured since he angered his mother enough, he ought to obey her orders.

Xena took a mass of Persians with her to Prince Houfei's camp. She was told that his camp was not anywhere near the Himalayas. Throughout the journey which had lasted four days so far, she was beginning to suspect that every single word that the emperor and Wang said was dishonest. Emperor Liu said his son set up camp in the Himalayas but now the Persians say Houfei's camp was not in the mountains.

She played along and rode slowly through the thick snowy forest with her wife riding beside her. Gabrielle was quiet and hardly said a word over the last four days. She didn't want to pester her so she also was silent.

Gabrielle looked at the thick brush ahead of them and snow flurries fell atop her horse's mane. She pulled the hood of her cloak further to cover her face from falling snow. The cold didn't bother her as much now and she didn't know if it was because of her nerves or because she gotten used to the weather by now.

She peered over her shoulder at the soldier she spoke to a few days ago back at Balash's camp. He smiled in her direction and she whipped her head around, facing frontward. She sensed bad things for their future here in China, so many bad things. She told Xena to go back to the camp but her request was denied several times so she finally stopped begging.

"Xena," she whispers, "I don't like this."

"We're not turning back, Gabrielle. We've come too far now."

"I don't trust the Persians. What if they are leading us to another ambush?"

"You should know the Persians well enough by now that they don't do ambushes twice in a row. They didn't send men to ambush our camp anyway. The Chinese did that."

The governor sighed and pulled her cloak closed with a hand and stared at the Persian soldiers riding and walking behind them as if they were following their new leader. She trusted Xena with her life. She trusted her even when times were tough but right now, she didn't feel like she could put all her faith and hope into her.

One of the Persian soldiers galloped ahead and stopped in front of them. Xena frowned at him and Gabrielle curiously looked around at the other soldiers, fearing they were going to be killed or ambushed.

"This is the Tibetan kingdom territory. We will go no further than this, Hun."

Xena gazed up ahead at the mountainous area. They were north of the Himalayas now but the territory the man spoke of must be miles and miles ride ahead. They weren't even near the area that he named.

"Houfei resides in the Tibetan territory?"

He gave a curt nod.

"If you're allies with Houfei why are you not going to pass into the territory?" she asks suspiciously of the Persian soldier.

Gabrielle grabbed her wife's arm. "I told you something was off about this."

"Our Shah forbade us to go into the kingdom."

"Your shah is dead," Xena so kindly reminded him.

He sends her a wicked glare. "We will not betray our empire and the shah's orders, Hun. You may go as you please. We will return to our camp and wait for further command from our viziers and advisors."

With those last words the Persian soldiers turned around and began their trek back to the encampment near the Himalayas. Xena and Gabrielle sat on their horses alone and a bit confused by the Persians lack of interest of going into the Tibetan area.

Gabrielle eyed the man she spoke to and he smiled briefly before he galloped off. "Okay we know where Houfei is. We should turn back now and tell the others where he's hiding out at."

"Bold move of you to assume that's where Houfei is, Gabrielle."

"Xena! This entire trip has been strange from the beginning! Wang showing up out of nowhere, lying to us, allying with the Persians, our camp being ambushed, and now we're here in an area that the Persians won't go into. Don't you think that's weird?"

"Don't you think I know that!" she snapped at her blonde wife. "What is with you lately? You've been avoiding me and you won't even look me in the eye. It's like you don't trust me."

Gabrielle turned her cheek.

She creased her brows. "You don't trust me…"

"I don't know what to think. This mission has been…unusual. I've never had so many things go wrong at once and you killed the shah, Xena! Persia will have every single one of our heads for that little stunt you pulled."

"It's not like I haven't done it before. Why are you acting like this? Did something happen that I don't know about?"

This was the moment that she could tell her wife everything that was said to her. She debated telling her ever since that Persian told her about Peroz's son and the offer of being a spy. She wasn't going to spy and betray Anastasia but the offer was better kept locked away. Perhaps, she thought, she could use this to her advantage later.

"No, nothing happened," she says. "What do you want to do now?"

"You want to go back to the camp."

"I think it's safer if we do. We don't have backup to help us. I know you want to go into the Tibetan territory."

Xena licked her lips and sighed. "We'll go back since it will ease your mind."

Aurora sat on Farah's bed along with her three cousins. She visited her aunt for the last few days as she felt somewhat guilty for what happened even though Ku told her it wasn't her fault. The twin princes sat on either side of their mother and Edemen sat on the end of the bed with Aurora.

Ku stood a few feet away from the bed until it was time to take Aurora back to her room. She eyed Gurda standing on the other side of the bed by Edemen and they stared at each other for awhile. Gurda averted her eyes and Ku smirked. She figured the Banat maid was fearful of her after the threats she gave.

Anastasia entered the room and all of the children stopped bickering with each other. Farah sat up in bed to greet her mother in law. Ana held up her hand. "Don't get up, Farah."

"Csaba told me you arrived a few days ago. I'm sorry I couldn't come see you."

"It's alright. He told me you were ill. Did they find out what was wrong with you?"

Farah sighs. "No. The physician suspects it was something I ate but he was not too sure."

Edemen got off the bed and kissed Ana's hand. He looked up into her eyes. "Grandma khatun, did you see Teyze Cera? Is Mirac being nice to her?"

She looks over to Farah and who frowned sadly. She smiled and cupped her grandson's cheeks. "Yes, he's been very kind to her."

"Good," he nods, "because if he hurts her I will make sure he suffers."

She squeezed his shoulders. "That's very sweet of you, Edemen."

Oran walked in and bowed his head to Farah and cleared his throat. "Teyze Anastasia," he announces and she turned around. He nudged his head to the doors to speak privately.

She excused herself and they lingered in the doorway. "Were you finally able to make one of them talk?" she whispered.

"Yes. The lead Alp by the name of Selim confessed he took a few Nezak girls during the attack. He told me one of them had red hair so I assume that's Cera."

"What did he say? Where did he take them?"

Oran was reluctant to say anything and she gripped his arm firmly. He gave in. "He sold them, khatun," he said. Her grip tightened. "He sold them to a merchant. He sent them to the imperial palace in Japan."

"Japan!" she shouts, alarming the children. She pulled him out of the room and closed the doors. "Oran, I need to send a message to Emperor Liu in China. Arielle is there and if she knows about Cera, she could go to Japan and save her. Who knows what they will do to her…"

He nodded. "Yes, Teyze but…Arielle is on a campaign for the emperor. He will –"

"I don't care! China is next to Japan. Cera is more important to me than a campaign that was put into action without my approval."

She entered Farah's chambers and approached the bed. "Children, leave the room."

"But grandma khatun we want to stay here," Aurora pleaded.

"Ku, Gurda, take them out of the room right now."

The maids nodded and grabbed the children off the bed and head out quickly. Farah looked into the khatun's uneasiness and wily eyes. "Is something wrong?"

"Farah, I need your language skills. I know you aren't feeling well but I need you to write a letter to Emperor Liu. Cera is in Japan and Arielle is close by so it will be easier if she goes to Japan herself to retrieve Cera."

"Of course. I will help."

"I'll send parchment and ink to your room."

She made her way back to Oran who still lingered outside the doorway. "Bring your mother to me."

He frowns confusedly. "My mother?" he questioned which was not wise of him to do so by the look on her face. "Yes, khatun. I'll take her to your room."

Ursula immediately left her duties to a maid to take care of Nisa as soon as her son informed her that she was wanted by the queen. She was granted permission to enter the chambers and Anastasia stood by the fireplace waiting anxiously for her arrival.

"Anastasia Khatun, you asked for me…"

Ana turned to the shamaness. "Yes. Come sit with me."

The two sat down on the floor and Ursula smiled nervously, unsure of what this meeting was supposed to entail. She never had private meetings with Anastasia before and she was hardly around Kreka Khatun during her reign either.

"Your son is the Khan of the Gokturks," she states. "I'd like for Yeter and Oran to return to their home in the mountains. Their children may stay here for schooling of course."

Ursula nods slowly, a bit disappointed that her son and grandchildren were going to be far away from her but she respected the queen's decision.

"Your husband is Ellac's older brother and he hasn't received the status he deserves in the empire. I want to give him a piece of land to govern. Csaba told me the Goths in Rome are in need of a commander. I want to bestow the role to Ebnedzar."

The shamaness grinned. "That is very kind of you, khatun. I'm sure Ebnedzar will be pleased with your choice."

Ana nods with a soft smile. "Your skills as a healer are revered in the tribe. We are grateful for your help especially when you helped Kreka Khatun during her illness," she mentions with a hint of sadness. "I'd like to give you a role in the empire as well."

Ursula's mouth gaped at the offer and she hadn't even heard it yet. She expected nothing from the empire ever since she moved here with her family. She lived comfortably here and even had a room in the Adame.

"I'd like you to be the Chief Shaman of the tribe," she began, "and I'd like you to be my advisor. You will be very close to me and I'll move you into a larger chamber closer to mine upstairs. Will you accept my offer?"

Ursula's brown eyes wandered around the room and she grasps Anastasia's hands. "Of course I will accept. I didn't expect this from you, khatun."

"It is well deserved. Your family has been ignored long enough. I'm just sorry it took my husband's passing for me to realize it." She sighs and smiles at the eager shamaness. "Our first meeting will begin right now."

Ursula pulled her hands away and waited patiently.

"Tell me everything you know about the Ostrogoth's conflict with the Franks. I know your tribe had many run-ins with the Goths years ago before you came here."