There will be a very interesting character introduced in this chapter but I will keep her true identity hidden until the right moment. This character will be a huge challenge for the Huns, even more so than the Sabir Queen Boareks.
I'm excited lol. Okay, enjoy :)
Chapter 9 –Mother of All Mothers
Ren stood awkwardly in the Hun camp and gave curt nods to everyone who passed him giving him odd looks. He eyed Xena and Gabrielle who came out of the commander's tent. He didn't even have time to catch either of their names either. He was only able to meet them briefly but they were too eager to see Cera to notice his existence.
He figured that the young princess was missing for quite some time and everyone was very happy for her return. He walked over to the women who spoke quietly under their breaths. When he halts in front of them they stopped conversing and furrowed their eyebrows.
"How is the princess? Is she well? She hasn't had a proper meal in awhile, I guessed," he says.
Xena smiles at the sailor. "She is resting with her sister. Your name is Ren? Where are you from?"
"Arabia, ma'am."
Gabrielle chuckled and her wife sneered down at her.
"Arabia. I've been there."
Ren's face lit up. It was rare to hear that someone had been to his land as there were hardly outsiders who came and went.
"When did you come to my homeland? I've never seen Huns in Arabia."
She smirked, "it was ages ago. Probably before you could walk, I'm sure. Arielle mentioned that you are a sailor. Does that mean you're a pirate too?"
Ren's face turned a chalk white. "Pirate is a loose term, ma'am. I trade supplies across Asia, Africa and Assyria."
"Hm. Assyria. So you are well aware of the king and queen of Harran, is that correct?"
"Well, I've never seen them before. Forgive me but I don't involve myself in politics nor have I met any royal members of the infamous Hun clans."
Gabrielle and her wife shared a snide smile.
"Ren, you will be coming with us to Pannonia. My daughter will reward you for guiding the princess to safety."
He bowed his head. "And may I ask who your daughter is?"
Xena emits a devious smile. "Anastasia Khatun of the Hun Empire."
His jaw dropped and he fell to his knees before her. Gabrielle covered her mouth, barely able to contain herself from going into a fit of laughter. Xena allowed him to stay that way for a few moments until she tapped his shoulder.
"Get up, boy. I'm not a queen."
He stood up and now he felt he couldn't look her in the eye. "I didn't know. Princess Cera is her daughter, isn't she?" he asks and lifts his eyes to see her haughty face. "Please, ma'am. I cannot meet the khatun. I am not worthy. I'm a sailor, nothing more. I belong to the sea. Allow me to return to my ship."
"You would disobey orders from a queen, Ren?"
He lifted his chin, staring at her confusedly.
Gabrielle cleared her throat to explain further. She stepped close to him and whispered in his ear. "Princess Arielle is Queen of Harran."
"Rab yahrem," he mutters. "Excuse me, ladies." He bowed and hurried off.
Gabrielle laughed and lightly hit her wife's arm. "Did you see him? I thought he was gonna pass out."
"Anastasia is going to have an amusing meeting with the sailor. Did Arielle tell you when we're supposed to leave? It's going to take awhile to get back home."
"She didn't say. She was too worried about Cera. I gotta say, Xena, she looks awful. How do you think she ended up in Japan? Who would dare to kidnap a princess of the empire? Whoever they are should fear for their lives."
Xena glances back at the tent. "I'm sure they will be punished severely when they're found."
Arielle lay beside her sister, watching her sleep soundly. She gently caressed her sister's pale cheek and Cera woke up abruptly and wrapped her hand around Arielle's throat. It took only a few moments gazing into her sister's blue eyes to realize what she had done.
She retracted her hand and breathed heavily, staring up at the tent ceiling.
Arielle rubbed her throat and gazed at her sister. "Cera, what's wrong?" she asks but received no answer. "Did they do something to you in Japan?"
Cera turned her cheek and placed a hand over her heart to steady her breathing. Her sister grabbed her arm and inspected it carefully.
"You look like a skeleton. Why won't you eat anything? I brought everything we have. It's not much but it's better than nothing."
She awaited her sister's reply and still she was left in the dark. Cera hadn't said a word since they laid eyes on each other this morning. She sighed and propped her head up on her elbow, keeping a watchful eye on her little sister.
"You can tell me anything, Cera."
Cera sighed and lolled her head to the side to look into her sister's eyes. She lifted her hands tiredly and signed, "Those herbs you got from Ursula a long time ago. Do you remember?"
Arielle lifted her brow and nodded.
"I need you…to get me those herbs."
Arielle frowned deeply and sat up. "What are you saying, Cera?"
"Please, Arielle. I need them just for a precaution. Please don't tell anybody. I don't want anyone to know."
"Precaution!" she yelled. "Someone forced themselves on you?" she presses. "Who was it?"
Cera began to weep quietly and wrapped arms around herself.
"Cera, this is very important. Tell me who it is. Tell me!"
Cera covered her eyes and continued to sob.
Arielle growled and stood up. "Gabrielle! Grandma!" she called out.
Cera gasped and crawled across the tent and hugged her sister's legs. She quickly dried her eyes and tugged on Arielle's pants and finally she looked down at her sister's desperate brown eyes. Quickly, Xena and Gabrielle came into the tent and witnessed Cera on the floor, hugging Arielle's legs.
"What happened?" asked Gabrielle.
Arielle creased her eyebrows and sighed. "Cera…" she began and the little sister looked up at her helplessly. "She needs more water."
Xena folded her arms. "Is that all?"
The commander bit her tongue for her sister's sake. "Yes and bring more blankets. We'll leave in a couple of days."
Gabrielle immediately left without further questioning and Xena glared at her granddaughters, one who looked irritated and the other very disturbed and distressed. Neither one of them could look her in the eye. She lingered a few moments longer, staring at them both until she exited the tent.
Arielle exhaled deeply, not sure why her grandmother was being so dismissive but she would surely have this subject brought up again. She knelt down and cupped her sister's cheeks.
"I will get the herbs for you."
Cera smiled in relief.
"But first, tell me who did this to you and then, only then, will I get the herbs for you."
Madhiya got the news that since she sold her best Alps that her sales were plummeting. She immediately sent the remaining Alps to scout for others in lower Siberia and northern Mongolia so they could recruit more men for her. As long as she had her Alps she never had to lift a finger.
Now she waited in yurt for their return and went over the amount of coin she had left to distribute to her tribe. Viktoria, her handmaid entered the tent with her head down.
"Governor, Chieftess Yana is here to see you."
She rolled her eyes and grabbed her kozak and rushed outside to meet the Nezak woman. She adjusted the headdress and smiled at Yana who was on horseback and apparently brought one of her many brothers with her.
"Yana, always a pleasure to see you. Are you here to steal all my grain again?"
"You wish you were that lucky, governor," Yana says with a brisk grin. "Anastasia Khatun asked me to give you this. It is a gift directly from her."
The large chest was carried across the field and dropped in front of the Yakut governor. She looked at the ornate chest covered in jewels and the wood carvings were nothing to balk at. Clearly, this was definitely sent from Pannonia.
She skeptically looked at the chieftess. "What is it?"
Yana gestured with a wave of her hand to open it. Madhiya nodded to her men to open the box. Once opened she stared at a glossy liquid. She stepped forward and dipped her fingers in it and took a quick whiff of it. Sweet honey from the Matra Hills of Pannonia. When she dug her fingers in for a second time she felt something feathery.
She reached in and grabbed hold of the mystery item and slowly pulled it out of the honey box. Her eyes widened when she saw one of her Alps heads and she tossed it to the side and wiped her glazed fingers on her pants.
"What is the meaning of this? I gave her my best Alps and she beheads them?!"
Yana smiled. "The khatun orders you to surrender unto her or she will have your head."
"I'd like to know why she killed my Alps! I will not surrender to her."
"Your Alps kidnapped Princess Cera from the Nezak tribe awhile back and sold her into slavery. Be grateful that Anastasia Khatun did not kill you when she had the chance."
Madhiya scoffed. "I did not order my men to kidnap the princess. I don't even know what she looks like. I will not surrender to Anastasia. I have done nothing wrong." She turned and walked back to her yurt.
Yana yelled, "Askerler!"
A horde of Nezak and Pannonian Huns surrounded the governor just as she was about to leave. Madhiya turned around slowly, staring at all the swords pointed at her mere inches away. She laid her dark eyes upon Yana.
"As I told you, Madhiya, surrender or I will take your head back to the khatun."
During the ride back to Pannonia, Cera was escorted by her grandmother in the back of the army while everyone rode faster than everyone else. Gabrielle stayed beside Arielle during most of the journey and Ernak lead the entire army through the snowy terrain of China. Soon they would reach Persian territory and they'd have to lay extremely low and go unnoticed which meant they'd have to go in the barren areas so they wouldn't be risked spotted.
Gabrielle studied Arielle's hard face throughout the journey. The commander was very mouthy usually but she hadn't said a word since they departed a few days back. She wondered what happened back in China but didn't question it and neither did Xena.
"Did Cera say how she got to Japan?" she inquired.
Arielle curled her lip. "She doesn't remember what happened."
"Ah." She sighs and looks up ahead at Ren who was trailing behind Ernak. "Ren is a very nice young man. It was very brave of him to look after Cera. He could've taken advantage of her or worse."
"Gabrielle!" she griped. "I don't want to talk. I just want to focus on getting home."
She flinched and gaped at the commander. "Okay…sure. If there's anything you want to talk about I'm here for you. You know I don't tell Xena anything that we talk about."
"I'm going to scout ahead. We're about to cross into Persia." She said and rode off furiously passed the army and Ernak ahead. Gabrielle raised her eyebrow and looked behind her at Cera who was barely able to ride without discomfort written all over her face.
Xena glanced over at her granddaughter and smiled. She paddled Cera's leg to grab her attention. "Your mother is going to be very glad to know that you're alright. I'm sorry we couldn't come for you but we didn't know you were kidnapped."
The princess nods gently and wrapped the scarf around her face, protecting against the harsh cold winds that brushed by.
"Aside from what happened, are you happy living with Mirac's family?"
Cera looked at her and nodded.
"Mirac is a very nice boy. He has a lot of siblings. I can't remember any of their names. He has two sisters, right? Hopefully I can meet them again. I'm sure your mother will want them to come to Pannonia after we arrive."
Cera turned away and closed her eyes then began weeping.
Xena heard the soft sobs and pulled on both of their reins and grabbed Cera by the chin, turning her face. She saw tears streaming down her cheeks and wiped them away with a swipe of her thumbs.
"Cera, why are you crying? You should be happy. We're taking you home."
She could see those tears were not of joy but were from hurt and pain. Now that they've stopped they were further away from the army. She kicked her horse and held onto the princess' horse and trotted to keep up so they wouldn't be lost in the snow.
She frowned. "You and Arielle are hiding something. You two have been acting strange ever since we left the camp."
Cera shook her head. "Please grandma, I don't want to talk about it."
"The truth will show itself sooner or later."
Anastasia tried to distract herself with several tasks she gave herself. She anxiously waited for word on Cera but so far she was left dry. Since she was dispersing positions to all of the family there was a bit of unrest in the Adame like Ursula said there would be.
Rabia was very eager to return to Banat and gladly accepted her title as governor. Instead of waiting until spring to return to her homeland, she left a week after Csaba handed her the contract. Farah wasn't so excited to see her sister leave but she knew that Rabia would much rather be in Banat than in Pannonia.
Ana decided today was going to be an easy day for herself and she spent almost the entire day with Aurora. She and the princess were to pay a visit to Farah in the treasury to see how her work was progressing.
They walked in the room and Farah was busy writing and counting under her breath, too busy to notice their arrivals. Aurora gazed at the several chests, large, medium and small, stacked in neat piles scattered across the small room.
"Farah," she said, alarming the young queen. "How is everything coming along?"
Farah stood up and smiled at the small princess holding the khatun's hand. "Very good I think but I did find that your mother has a lot of coin saved from years of serving as commander. She hasn't touched even half of it in years."
"I'll talk to her and see what she wants to do with her earnings."
Aurora saw a large chest of gold coins and she gasped. "Grandma khatun, what will you do with all this gold?"
"We'll use it for many things, tatli kiz."
"Like…buying a horse?" she hinted.
Farah raised her eyebrow and Anastasia stifled a laugh. "You want a horse? You should probably talk to your mother about that when she comes home."
"Don't worry. I have a plan."
"Ah, plans. Those are never good."
Farah reached over and touched Aurora's soft wavy locks and turned her attention to her mother in law. "Anastasia, I heard you are sending Ebnedzar to Rome to help the Goths. How much coin should I distribute to Alaric?"
She looked around the room for a few moments and then spoke, "I'll leave that up to you, Farah."
Aurora tugged on her grandmother's sleeve. "Can we go now? I want to play with Aman and Aladar."
"Am I too boring for you now?"
The princess giggled. "Nooo. I just wanna play with the boys."
Anastasia smiled. "Wait for me outside. I'll take you to them." She watched the princess dart out of the treasury and anxiously wait in the hallway for her. Her smile disappeared and she stared seriously at her daughter in law.
"Is there anyone here you might suspect who gave you the oleander?"
This question caught Farah off guard. She stuttered, "well I –I haven't thought about it lately. I put it behind me."
"Farah, oleander kills people. Could it be one of your chambermaids?"
"No! They have served me for years! They would never do that to me."
"You never know what people are capable of. The physician said you were exposed to it for a long time. I hope you are feeling better now."
The queen nodded her head slowly.
"I've had Gurda and Ramora questioned but they didn't give any useful information at the time. If you change your mind, I will question them myself. They aren't stupid enough to lie to my face, are they?" she smiled and walked off.
Ravenna, Goth Territory
Galoa, the political advisor for King Alaric delivered a message delivered by a currier from Pannonia to the Roman palace in Ravenna, now occupied by the Goths. He waited in front of his king's desk which once belonged to Odoacer.
Alaric smiled and handed the letter back to his advisor. "Very good. Anastasia is sending Attila's eldest son to help us against the raiding Franks. I will expect him in a few months after winter passes."
"Yes sir." Galoa rolled up the letter and handed it to their scribe to lock it away in one of their safes filled with messages from Huns and several other allies of theirs.
"If you don't need anything else, I will check on the weapon supply room. We are supposed to receive weapons from the neighboring Goths in the plains."
The Goth king waved his hand to dismiss his advisor. He leaned back in the chair and stared at the fireplace with his fingers laced. The Franks were coming into Goth territory and they were already attacking the Scandinavian tribes further north. They weren't nearly as damaging as the Vandals but they knew how to conquer small areas and the tribes were spreading rapidly within the last couple of years.
A young soldier ran into his office and saluted. "Your highness, a woman who claims to be the Gepid Queen is here to see you."
He frowned and unlaced his fingers. "Gepid? We have not heard anything from them in a long time since Theodoric was killed."
"Should I send her away, sir?"
"No, no. Send her in. I will see what she wants."
He waited patiently for his soldier to return and went over what to say to this woman. He had several issues with the Gepids in the past but they turned into recluses after Theodoric was slain by Odoacer's will. He had never met the Gepid king before nor did he ever mention a wife.
The soldier returned with the woman and Alaric stood then walked around his desk to meet her. A tall woman with a slender frame marched into the room clad in leather armor and a skirt that covered her leather pants. She had long reddish brown plaited hair. The several braids draped across her shoulders, breast and backside.
She stopped a few feet in front of him and he gazed at her freckled cheeks and huge brown eyes that complimented her olive skin. She gave him a big smile and extended her hand. He immediately noticed her hands were covered in blue tattoos.
"Goth king. It is a pleasure to finally meet you. Queen Eksama of the Gepids," she introduced herself.
He gestured her to sit opposite him and a chair was brought for her. She sat down and propped her boots on his desk to which he eyed her cautiously. Eksama grinned and folded her arms, leaning back in the chair.
Alaric cleared his throat and slowly took a seat. "Eksama, was it?"
"In the flesh, Goth king."
"What can I do for you, Queen Eksama?" he asks nicely.
"I've heard from a little birdie that you are allies with the Huns. Are my sources correct?"
"Yes, we made an alliance after I helped get rid of the Roman Emperor, Odoacer."
She nods and swung her legs off the desk and slammed her palms on the table causing him to flinch. "Listen Goth king, I know you are not fond of my people and I don't really like you either. It'd be wise if you cut ties with the barbarians. The future does not bode well for you. I've made an agreement with the Franks. They are on my side. I highly doubt the Huns will protect you. They're too busy with Justinian at their back door."
He chuckled at her forwardness. "Are you threatening me, your highness?"
She shrugged a shoulder and stood up straight. "No threats yet, Goth king. I'm offering you a way out. I want your land and if you don't cut off the Hun alliance I will make sure every single one of your people suffers. Now, that was a threat."
Alaric folded his arms and gawked at the tall woman, unsure of what to think. It'd been awhile since he encountered such a brash woman such as her. Xena came to mind as she frequently spoke her mind but she used manipulation to get what she wanted. Eksama did no such thing. She told him what she wanted and she wasn't going to take no for an answer.
"Who are you to come in here and demand I betray the Huns and surrender my land to you? I've never met you before in my life."
Eksama smirked. "I am more important than you think. Consider my offer, Alaric. I'll be making my way to Hun territory soon to talk to their queen as well."
"And what is the purpose of doing that?"
"I'm going to make an offer to the Hun queen. I'll be on my way. I hope we can talk again soon." She bowed her head then quickly sauntered off.
Alaric rubbed his chin and kept quiet at his desk after the Gepid Queen left and she certainly made her mark. She was straight to business which he liked but the way she behaved was not like a woman at all. Her mannerisms were of a man despite her feminine features and pleasing face.
"Interesting woman…" he mumbled.
Nearing sunset the Hun army returned to Pannonia after their long journey from inland China. Anastasia was immediately alerted by her guards that they were approaching the border and she hurried outside to wait for them. She stood at the bottom of the stairs outside the Adame with a big smile on her face.
The first person she saw on horseback was Ernak and then Arielle trotted up behind him. She titled her chin upward in search for the others and hoped to find Cera with them. Farah, Ursula, Csaba and Ku waited behind her. Ku had her arms gently wrapped around Aurora to keep her from darting across the field.
Aurora saw her mother walking towards them after dismounting the horse. She excitedly waved her arm in the air and Arielle smiled and knelt down and spread her arms outward. Ku released the anxious princess and she rushed towards her mother.
"You came home!" she cheerily says and hugs her mother tightly.
"Of course I did." She kissed her daughter's head and never before in her life had she missed something so much until now. She'd never been away from Aurora for such a long period of time and unfortunately she knew she'd have to do it again several more times.
She pulled away and fixed her daughter's burgundy dress. "I don't remember seeing this dress before…"
"Ku made it for me." Aurora leaned in to her mother's ear. "Grandma made me wear it."
"Ah, now it all makes sense." She winked up at her mother who could clearly hear the princess' not so subtle whispers. "There's someone who wants to see you." she turned her daughter around and Bayan waited for her by his horse.
Aurora gasped and ran over to her father and crashed into his legs. Arielle looked at the two reuniting after a long time being apart and sighed. She felt a hand on her shoulder and didn't bother to turn around.
"Arielle…"
The commander turned her head and stared at her mother's worn face. She figured her mother made herself stress too much with Cera's disappearance thus making her look sickly and thinner than usual.
"I brought Cera back mother, but just a fair warning, she isn't well." She says with a stern face.
Ana looked over her daughter's head and saw her mother and Gabrielle escorting Cera towards her. They held onto her thin arms and Anastasia brushed by Arielle to greet the three of them. The redhead princess slowly raised her chin and met eyes with her mother.
"Cera!" she beamed and embraced her warmly. She kissed her cheeks and forehead then looked into solemn brown eyes. Her daughter only a bit taller than herself, but she appeared so small and very weak. She inspected her arms which were scrawny almost and her skin pale.
"What happened to you? What did those people do to you?"
The princess crinkled her nose and if she could secrete tears she would but her eyes were dry from crying for days on end. She didn't want to think about what happened to her anymore and she definitely didn't want to tell anyone. The only person who knew was Arielle and she hoped it would remain that way.
Ana ran her fingers through her daughter's hair and waited for an answer that was never to come. "Well…Arielle will take you inside and we will talk later?"
Cera nodded and Arielle grabbed her hand and ushered her inside. Arielle briefly nodded to Ku-Ilm then slowly guided her sister up the stairs.
The khatun couldn't bear to see her daughter look the way that she did and by her behavior, she was sure something happened to her. She turned and frowned at her mother and Gabrielle who stood off to the side in silence.
"Mother," she greeted.
Xena grinned. "Tatli kiz."
"You and I need to have words. Come with me." She turned and head back to the Adame.
"Well hello to you too."
Gabrielle bit her lip. "She's mad, Xena. She's real mad."
"Time to get a lecture from my daughter. What fun." She sarcastically said with an eye roll.
Anastasia stood in her bedroom with her mother and governor staring at her from a couple feet away. Her mother didn't seem the least bit concerned about what was to come. That face of hers was irritating. She was so calm. How could she be so calm?
"Mother, just what…on earth were you thinking going to China to help Arielle?" she blurted out.
Xena inhaled deeply. "Anastasia, believe me, I didn't want to go."
"Oh please."
"Are you going to listen to me or not?"
Ana pursed her lips and folded her arms. "Go on, explain yourself."
"Arielle's behavior was reckless. She was very upset when she found out Bayan would be accompanying her. I decided to go and Csaba gave me the go ahead. He assigned me to a role."
She stopped her mother right there. "I know very well what role he gave you. I already scolded Csaba for demoting you. He should have never given you a position so low in rank. You shouldn't have to take orders from Arielle. She is inexperienced."
"She did a good job without me. She wiped out the entire imperial city without my help."
Ana's mouth parted. "She did what?"
"She did, Ana. China is not our ally anymore. Emperor Liu set a trap for us. I'm not sure what his motive is but we can't trust him. I suspect that we will be dealing with him in the very near future."
The queen ran her hand down her face and groaned. "I don't need China on our backs right now. What else happened?"
Xena shared a nervous glance with her wife.
"What?"
"You see, Ana, we had another altercation…"
Ana lifted her eyebrow. "What does that mean?"
"She killed Shah Balash," Gabrielle blurted out.
"Excuse me? Mother, you did what now? You killed Balash?!"
Xena grinned awkwardly. "He pushed my buttons. He had to go. Gabrielle found out that Peroz's son, Kavad, will be the new shah."
Anastasia buried her face in her hands. "I don't know what to say to you right now. You may leave."
Xena curtly bowed her head and walked towards the doors. Gabrielle stayed for a moment longer but quickly tried to exit as well.
"Gabrielle," the queen called out. "You stay."
Ernak waited until the army settled and cleared the area of supplies and horses before he went to see his family. It was dark now and the encampment was very quiet except for some soldiers who began drinking outside their yurts and laughing loudly.
He thought it best to see Nisa first and then he'd see Kurt and Utigur in their rooms later. His mind was focused on battle at the time in China but the thought of Nisa and his new child was also something he thought about every day while he was away.
He opened the door to his room and there he saw Nisa huddled over a bassinet on the floor next to the bed. Closing the door as quietly as he could he crept up beside the bed and Nisa heard loud boots approaching. She spun around and gasped.
"Ernak!" she squealed and he kissed her lips generously and stepped back, eager to see the baby in the cradle.
She smiled and grabbed the gurgling child into her arms and Ernak's eyes sparkled. He gently caressed the baby's head and turned to his wife, eagerly waiting for her to tell her the sex and name of their child.
"Her name is Maria. It was my mother's name."
"Maria," he whispers.
He never thought that he'd be a father to a princess as he had two sons already. Although, when he was younger he boasted over having two sons while his brother, Ellac, had only one. Now, he could say that he had a daughter and he immediately fell in love with her.
Nisa passed their daughter over into his arms. He took her carefully and then sat on the bed. His daughter stared up at him with big brown eyes and he thought he'd never wipe the smile off his face. He looked up at Nisa who seemed amused at his expression.
"If my mother were here she'd be over the moon," he said. "I spent a lot of time in my mother's old tribe which has been taken over by Mongols."
His wife sat down and wrapped an arm around his large frame. She knew how much he missed his mother as she was the most important person in his life for a very long time, especially after his father died when he was very young.
"I would like to move there with you, Kurt, Utigur and…Maria."
"You would? What about the boys' cousins? They will miss them here in Pannonia."
He nodded. "There are plenty of boys their age in Mongolia. After all, my mother gave me control of the area. I think it would be best if we move there. We can wait until the summer."
Arielle stayed with her sister in her room and they were in the baths together. Cera had her arms wrapped around her breasts and Arielle filled a pan of water and poured it over her sister's dry and tangled hair. She lifted Cera's chin and smiled softly at her.
She then poured water over her own hair and then grabbed a comb and oil to run through her sister's hair. Tugging at the knots from the ends of the hair, Cera stared at her sister who stood in front of her. How she missed the hot baths here but she grew accustomed to the cold baths she received in Japan.
Cera finally let her arms drop and then lifted her hands out of the water, grabbing her elder sibling's attention. "You will get the herbs for me, right?"
"I promised I would but you need a bath and rest first, Cera."
The younger sister began to panic and she started to get out of the bath.
"Cera!" she pulled her back into the water with a firm yank.
"Let me take care of you. You will get the herbs, I promise. I am going to talk to Ku. I'm not going to get them from Ursula. She will suspect something's up and tell mother. Ku is going to find another shamaness."
"Are you going to tell mother about this?"
Arielle stopped combing her sister's hair. "Yes, but not right now." She looked into her sister's watery eyes. "Cera, she's not going to be mad at you. This isn't your fault. She needs to know. She will make sure Prince Senka suffers. He will definitely get a taste of mother's wrath," she chuckled and Cera half smiled.
"Did you…tell grandma?"
"Do I look stupid to you?"
Cera grinned for the first time in awhile.
"If I told her she would have gone to Japan and raided the fuck out of that palace. Don't worry, I won't tell them until you're ready but you can't wait too long." she grit her teeth and cursed while she was brushing the knots out of her sister's hair. "Besides, she already suspects something is wrong."
Cera shrugged her shoulders. "Grandma knows everything."
"Gabrielle," Ana said and the governor straightened herself. "I'm making a lot of changes in the empire. I've given your treasurer job to Farah and Ursula is my advisor now. I thought I'd lighten your load."
The governor smiled and was actually relieved to hear that. "Thank you. Farah will be a great treasurer. She loves math."
Ana nodded. "She's already doing a great job. I assigned Rabia as governor to Banat and also have given the role of commander of the Goths to Ebnedzar. He will leave in the spring season."
"You did all of this while we were away?"
"Yes. I thought it was necessary. But I wanted to talk to you about my mother."
Gabrielle's cheeks soured. "Your mother…"
The khatun sighed. "She deserves so much more than what has been given to her. I know she feels displaced after Arielle took on her role which I think was part of the reason why she wanted to go to China. She misses the battlefield."
That was something Gabrielle couldn't disagree with. She'd seen her wife's pain right before her eyes.
"And that's why I want to give her a title. She will not just be mother to the empire's queen. I will promote her to Khanum."
Gabrielle contorts her face and tapped her fingers on her cheek. "Khanum. What exactly is that?"
Anastasia thought of the best way to describe it to her. "It is…sort of like the mother of the queen mother. I already told Ursula to make a really extravagant kozak. It will be black with gold trim and lined with several gold coins on the headpiece. What do you think?"
She emits a smile and snorted. "Anastasia, I know you mean well but I really don't know if…your mother is going to like people calling her 'Xena Khanum'. She doesn't like that kind of attention."
"How do you know? She might like it. She'll get to make decisions without my presence. She will be over me, Csaba and Farah. All the decisions will go through her."
"So…she is the equivalent to a queen?"
Ana put a hand on her hip. "More or less. I would really like to work with her. I know that we don't always agree on everything but things are different now."
Gabrielle's eyes wandered the room. "I don't know, Ana."
"We'll see what happens but I don't think she will deny the position. She loves to be in charge. Oh and one more thing: Do. Not. Tell. Her. Anything about this! I want it to be a surprise."
"Ah…" the governor gave a cringe of a smile. "Because we all know how much your mother loves surprises…"
Ku-Ilm inconspicuously brought in a shamaness from the Suevi tribe into the Adame. She brought the woman dressed in a black cloak, covering her face, to Cera's bedroom. Ku entered the room and told the shamaness to follow in after her.
Cera sat on her bed wearing a black silk robe and her wet hair was pulled back behind her shoulders. Her stomach knotted upon seeing the cloaked woman. Arielle walked over as the shamaness revealed her face.
Ku introduced her, "This is Lutifah. She told me she will be able to help."
The tan skinned shamaness bowed her head to Arielle. "Princess."
Arielle grabbed hold of the woman's cloak. "If you breathe a word about this to anyone I will personally rip your throat out."
Lutifah smiled softly. "I will not say anything, princess."
She took the satchel off her shoulder and pulled out several small bags of herbs and sticks and spread them out on the bed. Cera frowned, staring at the many herbs while her sister stood right beside her and Ku waited outside of the door in case someone was to come in the room.
Lutifah approached the young princess and inspected her face. "When did it happen?"
Cera looked over to her sister who gave her a nod of approval. She signed something the woman didn't understand and Arielle translated for her.
"She says she doesn't remember but it was recent."
The shamaness nodded and while she poured a bag of herbs into a glass she then requested Ku to heat the water over the fireplace. As she was stirring the herbs Cera watched her with curiosity but still, she was very nervous. She remembered when she found Arielle on the floor, bleeding to death.
"After you take this you will bleed mildly for a few days. It's best if you stay in bed." She explained and tapped the spoon on the glass and looked at the nervous princess. "You will experience cramping the first few hours and you will feel weak for a day or two. If the bleeding doesn't stop after three days then I will come back to see you. Do you understand?"
Cera nodded.
Arielle crossed her arms and leaned on the bed post. "Are you good friends with Ursula?"
Lutifah turned and smiled. "Yes, princess."
"Do not tell Ursula about this either."
The woman focused on making the tea. "Of course, princess." She paused. "If I may ask, does the khatun know about this?"
"No and she doesn't need to know. Can we get on with this already?"
Gabrielle mumbled all the way back to her bedroom. She couldn't wrap the word 'khanum' around her head. What was Ana thinking? She didn't want to see the look on her wife's face when the big surprise was to be revealed.
She flung her dirty coat on a chair and leaned her palms on the desk, continuing to mutter all the possible scenarios that could happen or could not happen. While she was too busy focusing on the future, Xena walked out of the baths, but had not yet bathed, and smiled at the distracted blonde.
Quietly she went up to her petite wife and said in soothing voice. "Gabrielle…."
The blonde wife screamed and spun around then put a hand over her beating heart. "Xena! Don't do that!"
"Hmm." She mused with a sly grin. "Why were you talking with Ana for so long?"
"I…she was telling me…all the changes she's made during our absence."
"Oh? Like what?"
Gabrielle backed away and her wife's piercing eyes followed her every step. She made her way to the baths and grabbed a towel, trying to act natural.
"Um, well, Farah is treasurer now and Ursula is Ana's new advisor. Rabia is governor of Banat and Ebnedzar is the new commander for Rome."
Xena sauntered across the room with a curious disposition. "Very fascinating."
Gabrielle bumped into the wall and nearly missed a step as she walked into the marble baths connected to their room. She turned around and inhaled deeply then began to loosen the buttons on her blouse.
"I think she's making a lot of great changes. Wouldn't you say so?"
Xena walked around the steaming baths and tried to keep herself from snickering at her wife's odd behavior. "I guess so. What's got you so flustered?"
"I'm not flustered. I'm just tired. We did just ride all the way from the other side of the world."
"Ah yes, that is the reason," she mutters.
"What did you say?"
"Say? I said nothing, Gabrielle. What did my daughter say to you to make you so nervous?"
Gabrielle laughed awkwardly and slipped off her blouse and untied the laces on her brassiere. "I'm not nervous. Stop reading into things." She turned away from her wife's prying eyes. "Tomorrow we can see Ernak's baby. We haven't had a baby in the home for awhile."
She felt heat radiating behind her and she slowly looked behind her shoulder and her wife stood behind her with folded arms.
"What are you hiding from me?"
"Xena…nothing. I'm not hiding anything."
"Yeah right." She grabbed her wife's arms and flung her into the pool of water.
Gabrielle emerged and spat out hot water and brushed her wet bangs away from her eyes. "What did you do that for?!
The tall brunette knelt down beside the bath and exposed one of her bare legs and dipped it into the water. "I'm going to find out what you're hiding from me, Gabrielle. I don't like it when you and Anastasia conspire together. It never ends well for me."
"We do not conspire…"
"Is that so? You and Arielle also spoke back in China. Doesn't anyone tell me anything anymore?"
Gabrielle scoffed and swam away from the edge of the bath. "Have you looked in the mirror lately? You must not be seeing the person everyone else sees."
Xena gasped audibly. "What are you implying?"
"You're smart, Xena. You can figure it out." She teased.
Ku waited outside of the room patiently for what felt like an eternity. She bit her fingernail and then saw Anastasia round the corner. Her swift strut created a vortex of wind and her black robes flowed behind her as she made her way down the hallway. Ku gasped and quickly entered the room.
She shut the door and Arielle turned away from her sister and the shamaness.
"The khatun is coming!"
Arielle panicked and hurried Lutifah to pack up her herbs in her satchel. Luckily Cera drank all of the tea. She grabbed Lutifah's arm and snapped her fingers at Ku.
"Take her out the back way. Make sure she's not seen by anyone."
The handmaid nodded and hurriedly escorted the shamaness out doors that lead into an adjoining room. Arielle ordered her sister to get in bed and pulled the silk sheets over her body.
"Close your eyes. Pretend you're sleeping," she whispered and Cera shut her eyes and feigned slumber, although she knew that her false sleep would be interrupted in a matter of hours due to the symptoms that Lutifah described.
Anastasia entered and smiled at Arielle who was sitting on the bed. She walked over and sat down next to the bed, eyeing her youngest child lying in bed sleeping soundly.
"Did she tell you anything? About Japan I mean."
Arielle's face paled and she ran her fingers through her wet hair. "No, she fell asleep after her bath. You don't have to stay, mother. I can watch over her."
"You just got back from a long trip, Arielle. I'm sure you're tired. I can stay here with Cera."
"No I'm fine, really. Bayan is spending time with Aurora anyway. I won't be missed. I think I should stay with her. She asked me to."
Anastasia studied her daughter's face and frowned then looked at Cera. "I will send a message to Mirac's family. I think she should stay here for awhile so I can keep an eye on her."
"Wise choice, mother."
The khatun stood and Arielle stood up as well. "Since you're so eager to watch over your sister, I will come back tomorrow and check on her. I'll also bring our physician to examine her."
Arielle deadpanned. "That's not necessary. I had someone examine her already in China. He said that she needs to rest for a few days and drink plenty of fluids."
Ana raised her eyebrow. "It looks like you've done everything. What is there left for me to do?"
She grabbed her mother's arm and took her away from the bed. "Mom, you'll be here for her. Don't worry. I'll take good care of her. I'll see you tomorrow." Her eyes darted to the doors and back to her mother.
"Iyi geceler," she said to part ways.
Arielle smiled. "Iyi uykular, mother."
Khanum = woman of aristocratic status