Chapter 11 –The Walls have Ears: Part I

Anastasia stood in the hallway for a few moments and watched her daughter breathe heavily in the doorway, blocking the entryway. She turned to her advisor and asked her to wait outside. Ursula stepped backwards and Anastasia walked inside. Her daughter immediately moved out of the way and then closed the doors whilst glaring at Ursula.

The khatun briefly eyed her sickly daughter sitting up in bed with terrified brown eyes. She slowly turned and Arielle was backed up against the doors and she also mirrored the same expression as her little sister.

"Who do you think you are, Arielle? Who do you think you are to lie to me?"

The commander's heart beat rang through her ears. "Well mother, I –"

"Sesini kesmek!" she yelled and her daughter flinched. "I specifically asked you if you knew anything about Cera and Japan and you outright lied to my face! It wouldn't be the first time you've done that. You're the princess of lies! How dare you keep this from me?"

Arielle took a step forward and her mother put up her hand. "I was going to tell you after Cera…recovered."

"You didn't think it would've been wiser to tell me right away? You didn't think that I'd like to know what happened to my own daughter? You have your own daughter. Take care of her instead of getting your handmaid to do all of your work for you."

Arielle's eyebrows rose and she marched up to her mother, looking her dead in the eyes. "You didn't expect her to keep the baby, did you?"

"Of course not but I would still have liked to know! Instead you lied to me and had Ku do all your dirty work for you. Cera could've died!"

"No she wouldn't have. I was here with her the entire time."

Ana smirked. "You would know how such things work, wouldn't you Arielle?"

The princess raised her hand and her mother caught her wrist and slowly bent it backwards. Cera covered her eyes, witnessing this entire argument. At this point she wished she were deaf instead of mute so she wouldn't have to hear them fight anymore.

Anastasia raised her eyebrow. "Have you lost your mind, girl?"

"I was trying to help and you keep insulting me!"

"Then…stop lying to me…" she grabbed her daughter by the hair and reared her head backward. "This is your last warning, Arielle. You are walking on very thin ice with me right now."

The princess smiled. "Oh? What will you do if I don't heed your words? Will you kill me?"

Cera dug her fingernails in her hair watching the two from afar. She began breathing heavily almost to the point of hyperventilating. She closed her eyes and continued to listen to her mother and sister bicker with each other –back and forth, back and forth.

In the midst of the argument a high pitched scratchy scream echoed throughout the room. Arielle and her mother turned to see Cera screaming in bed. They gawked at her with mouths ajar. Cera's voice died down and then she collapsed onto the pillows and stared at the ceiling.

Anastasia ran over and sat on the bed. She held her daughter's hand and inspected her sunken cheeks. Arielle kept her distance but she stood behind her mother, staring at her sister in awe. Cera's eyes were so unfocused and she couldn't hear what her mother was saying as she spoke to her.

"Cera, tatli kiz, can you hear me?" she asked for the third time and slapped her daughter's hand.

The redhead princess gathered her eyebrows and the loud ringing in her ears faded and she turned slowly to look into her mother's big eyes. She looked at Arielle who kept smiling despite the argument earlier.

Anastasia had missed her daughter's sweet voice and hadn't heard it since she was five years old. She kissed Cera's hand and kept her big warm smile on her lips while her daughter kept staring at her confusedly.

"Cera, you realized what just happened, right?"

The princess nodded slowly and put a hand to her sore throat. The vibrations of her vocal cords she hadn't used in so long throbbed inside. She had trouble swallowing and she reached for a glass of water which her mother handed to her.

Arielle smiled. "So, you do have a voice after all."

Anastasia frowned at the sound of her eldest daughter; a voice she did not want to hear. She rose from the bed and turned around. Arielle's smile disappeared in an instant. She walked towards her and Arielle took several paces backward.

"I don't want to see you anywhere near Cera. Get out of my sight."

Arielle grimaced.

"Gözümün önünden kaybol!"

Cera sat up weakly as Arielle stormed out of the room. She opened her mouth to say something but croaked out incomprehensive sounds instead. She reached outward and then slammed her hand on the bed angrily. She turned to her mother and breathed heavily through her nostrils.

In all the years she'd seen her daughter act as a very sweet girl but at this moment in time she saw such anger in her eyes. She'd never seen that side of her daughter before, not until today. She touched her cheek and Cera smacked her hand away.

"Cera, let me help you. I can stay with you."

The princess threw the blankets off and swung her legs over the bed. She grabbed onto the bed post, refusing any kind of aid. Slowly, she stood up and wrapped an arm around her sore abdomen and made her way towards the doors.

Anastasia saw her daughter struggle to walk and almost to the point of falling over. She grabbed her hand to help her balance and received a glare only to remind her that she was not wanted –a glare that she'd seen before –a glare that belonged to her mother. She didn't know that her sweet daughter could ever possess such feelings.

Cera made it outside of her room and clung to the doorway. Ursula tried to help and she held up her hand, heaving deeply. She had her eye on the end of the hallway and hobbled her way down the hall with determination.

Xena appeared from around the corner and saw Cera walking on her own. She saw her swaying from side to side and then collapse to her knees. She hurried over and wrapped an arm around the princess' thin frame.

Cera tried to resisting and Xena tightened her grip. "What are you doing out of bed?" she asked.

The princess stopped struggling once she heard the soft voice whisper in her ear. She turned to her grandmother and fell into her arms, weeping quietly. Xena raised her eyebrow and wrapped her hand around the auburn haired princess' head.

"Where's Arielle? Isn't she supposed to be with you?"

Anastasia appeared and she stared down at her mother with forlorn eyes. It seemed she was going to receive nothing but mean glares from every single woman in her life tonight. First Arielle, then Cera and now her own mother.

"What happened? I heard a scream and a lot of yelling. And where is Arielle?"

"She…I sent her away."

"You what?" Xena stood and helped Cera stand up. "Ursula, take Cera back to her room."

The shamaness rushed over and took the princess by the arm and walked away. Xena narrowed her eyes and backed her daughter into a corner. Anastasia's eyes enlarged and she slammed herself against the wall.

"You just can't stop, can you? You're always yelling at Arielle and giving her a hard time. I could hear you all the way from my room! I'm two halls down!"

"Why are you defending her? You yell at her too!"

"No!" Xena hissed and got closer. "I yell at her because I want her to do better. It's constructive criticism. It's my job to make sure she commands the army correctly. You have no authority to put her in her place. That's my department."

She poked her daughter in the chest. "It's your job to make sure the empire doesn't fall apart. Whatever Arielle does regarding commanding the army is my territory. Do not overstep your bounds, Anastasia. But I know you weren't yelling at her because of that. Don't forget that you are a mother first and queen second."

"But…she lied to me!" the khatun tried to defend her actions.

Xena put her hand to her daughter's throat lightly. "She's going to do that, Ana, but there is difference this time. She wasn't lying to betray you; she lied because she was trying to protect Cera from you."

Anastasia's mouth parted. "You knew…"

"It doesn't matter if I knew or not. Do not keep this up Ana or you will become a tyrannical queen at this rate. Learn to separate your queen duties from your personal life."

"This is also political! Cera has information about Japan and both of my daughters lied to me. How do you expect me to react?"

Xena pinched her daughter's cheeks together. "Rationally. I expect you to react rationally. I know neither Ellac nor Navaz would appreciate the way you're treating their daughters. Go to your room."

Days after the heated confrontation, Anastasia decided to keep away from her family and remain in her room. It wasn't exactly how she expected that night to end. Now she had both her daughters against her and her mother giving her a lecture like she was a little girl. She couldn't have been more embarrassed than she was at this very moment.

Arielle delved into her duties as commander and put her feelings aside for her mother. She spent four days straight in the field and only came to bed late at night when everyone else was sleeping. She only had a chance to see Aurora when she was asleep at night and when she was awake early in the morning.

Now, she was in the governor's office with Bayan. She proposed her divorce decree and even though Bayan did not object to it, he really didn't like the idea of marrying Sarnai as he still had strong feelings for Arielle.

Gabrielle sat at her desk, reading over all the demands that Arielle wanted in the divorce. She scratched her head and drummed her fingers on the desk in silence. Arielle grew impatient and let out a hefty sigh to grab the governor's attention.

She cleared her throat and held the parchment in her hands. "Arielle, this is a very detailed decree."

"I worked on it for two days. So, what's wrong with it? Are you going to send it off to mother to approve it?"

"Um, I would but there's one problem."

"Problem? What problem?" Arielle said in a frantic tone.

Gabrielle didn't know how else to explain this without infuriating the princess. "Well…there is no doubt that your mother will sign this but you…can't demand to continue to be Queen of Harran. According to the laws of the empire, if you divorce a king, you lose all of your rights and status as a monarch. Your mother had the same thing happen to her when Navaz divorced her. She was stripped of her title as Queen of Balaam."

Arielle laughed sarcastically. "So what you're saying is that if Bayan marries that whore then she becomes queen?"

The governor nodded.

"This is bullshit!" she yelled. "This is all your damn fault, Bayan!"

"I'm aware," he grumbled. "You made that very clear every single second I'm with you."

She slammed her fist on the governor's desk. "There is no way in hell I am letting a Mongolian whore run my tribe! She knows nothing about our empire! She isn't one of us!"

"Neither is Ku and you seem to put her on a pedestal," Bayan snapped at his wife.

Arielle snarled at him. "Leave her out of this. Ku would never betray me."

"Of course not. She sleeps in the same bed as you. Why don't you marry her?" he chuckled light heartedly. "You're still a princess of the empire, Arielle, and you're commander! What more do you want?"

"I want my tribe in my control!" she drew her sword and held it to his throat.

Gabrielle sank in her chair nervously. "Let's not use weapons in my office, please."

The commander lowered her sword and smirked at Bayan who was grateful that he was to be chopped in several pieces.

"Ah, okay, anyway. There is one way," Gabrielle suggested. "You could let Bayan marry Sarnai but you'd still be married to him. There would be two queens of Harran. Kreka had to share her reign with two of Attila's wives."

Arielle snickered. "And where are they now? Oh that's right: they're dead!"

"You have two options. Remain married to him to keep your status or divorce him and hand over your reign to Sarnai. What's it going to be, Arielle?"

The princess folded her arms and briefly eyed Bayan who had no say in any of this. "Send a letter to the Mongol witch. Tell her to come to Pannonia."

Gabrielle puckered her lips and rubbed her chin. "Why would you want that? You sound like you hate the woman."

"I want to meet her."

Bayan scoffed. "Why? So you could kill her?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm not going to kill her. She has a baby to take care of. When I meet her I will make my decision. Send the letter, Gabrielle." she nodded and hurried away.

Xena ran into Bayan on her way in. he didn't make eye contact with her and brushed by so he could run off. She smiled at the sight of her wife and closed the doors behind her. Gabrielle tapped the quill pen on her head, looking over Arielle's demands and requests.

"Busy working?"

The governor jumped and half grinned. "I didn't hear you come in."

"I must be doing something right." She sat on her wife's desk and snatched the parchment up. "Arielle's divorce decree?"

"Yes…" the blonde rolled her eyes. "It is difficult to reason with her sometimes. She's still hurt over what Bayan did."

"Rightfully so, Gabrielle. He's lucky he's still alive. Don't you remember when Kreka found out about Kriemhild and Ildico? And how about Dengizich and Leila? That tiny little thing beat up big strong Dengi," she laughed just thinking about it.

Gabrielle nodded. "Oh I remember. Leila was half his size and he was cowering in fear," she recalled. "Why do men do these things to their wives?"

"We'll never know. If Borias ever did that to me, he and his woman would be dead."

"So…he never slept with other women on one of your missions like Attila did? After all, that's how we discovered Ebnedzar was Attila's son."

Xena frowned and leaned down towards her wife. "Never."

Gabrielle held her breath while her wife stared her down. Xena then smiled and kissed her forehead and hopped off the desk.

"Anyway, where's this surprise you and Ana are hiding from me?"

"Speaking of Ana, why hasn't she come out of her room?"

Xena stared at the fireplace and laced her fingers behind her back. "I told her to stay there. She wrongfully scolded Arielle."

"Over what?"

She waited for her wife to answer but sat in silence for over a minute. She folded her arms and watched her wife focus on the fire, refusing to speak to her about what happened that night. Gabrielle didn't hear anything about the situation until a couple days later but she was clueless about everything.

"I heard a scream that night," Xena finally spoke. "I found Cera on the floor outside of her room. The rest doesn't matter," she inhaled deeply. "Arielle told me that scream belonged to Cera."

Gabrielle stood out of her chair. "Cera? Is she sure?"

"She was there when it happened. I'm pretty sure Arielle wouldn't fib about something like that."

"How is that possible? Cera hasn't been able to speak since she was a little girl."

Xena smiled. "It's either divine intervention or extreme will power. I'll go with the latter."

"This is great news! Why didn't you tell me? Did she say anything else? Has she spoken since? We could get a teacher for her."

"Gabrielle, Gabrielle!" she put her hands on her wife's shoulders. "Don't pressure the girl and no she hasn't said a word since."

"But how great would it be if she could actually talk again? I wonder what she would sound like. Do you think it's possible?"

Xena rolled her eyes. "I have no idea. She's still resting in her room but she did promise to write a report about what went down in Japan."

Persia

Kavad, the son of the late Shah, Peroz and cousin of Balash, was crowned as Shah of Persia a few weeks after the Persian army fled China. There was talk among all of Kavad's four sons, who were grown men and longed for the crown. The eldest son, Kawus, was counting on the crown as he deemed his father was not a strong fit to be a ruler.

The Grand Vizier, Rüzem, ruled the empire by Balash's side and now he was to serve Kavad. Right under the new shah's nose, the vizier confided in Kawus that his father was planning to make an alliance with the Huns. The news was kept a secret from all the politicians but Kawus soon spread this information to his brothers.

Kawus gathered his three brothers, Jamasp, Xerxes and Khosrow, into his private chambers. They all sat on the floor drinking coffee and eating sweets that were brought to them by the servants. Kawus allowed his brothers to sit in silence and enjoy the food and drink.

Xerxes waited until all of the servants left the room and eyed his elder brother. "Why did you bring us here, brother?"

"You have no patience, Xerxes but if you must know, I have valuable information about father."

"I hope it is not more slander," Jamasp chimed in.

Kawus held up his hand. "This comes from a reliable source. I've found out that father plans to make an alliance with the Huns. He will start by writing a treaty to the White Huns."

Xerxes, outraged, tossed the tray of sweets over with a flip of his hand. "We've never been friends with those savages. If father allies with them then he will taint our family's name and reputation. We should focus on our rivals, the Byzantines. Justinian betrayed our grandfather and cousins. He backed out on his deal. Why not attack Justinian instead of allying with the Huns?"

"I'm not one to question our father's intentions, Xerxes." The eldest brother took a pause. "If he decides to go through with this alliance we need to devise a plan to dethrone him."

Khosrow, the youngest of them all, laughed aloud. "And what then? You will take the crown?"

"Do you not think I'm right to hold the title, brother?"

"You do nothing but drink wine and invite women to your bed, Kawus. You already shame our family by participating in blasphemous activities. You're too irresponsible. I would be a better fit for shah or even Xerxes. He's been father's general for five years."

Kawus chuckled at his little brother's arrogance. "We'll see what happens but don't get wrapped up in your arrogance, Khosrow. A soldier told Rüzem that he spoke to the Hun governor and commander, Xena."

"Xena is the one who killed Balash. Why didn't our soldiers behead her on the spot?"

"No patience with you, Khosrow. Listen here, our soldier offered a position to the Hun governor. It will help us. He told her that father will make an alliance with the Huns and asked her to be a spy for us."

"She would never agree to do that."

Kawus nodded. "I know that Huns are very loyal but if we can convince the Huns that we want to be allies, it will get us closer to dethroning father and taking over the Hun Empire. Father will send an ambassador to speak on his behalf. I will convince Rüzem to send…" he scanned his brothers. "Xerxes."

Xerxes lifted his eyes. "Me?"

"You will be our eyes and ears. You are father's favorite. He will send you in a heartbeat."

Jamasp nudged his little brother. "Maybe you can get close to the Hun princess, Arielle. I hear her beauty rivals those across the Steppes."

"You exaggerate. She's probably hideous," Xerxes hissed.

All the brothers snickered.

One Month Later

Xena steered clear of the Adame every time her daughter showed her face to everyone. She knew that Anastasia was hurting inside now that both of her daughters were not on speaking terms with her. Instead of getting herself involved in that mess of a triangle, she decided to go back to what she did best –mentor future soldiers.

Edemen and Issik were under her watchful eye as they trained with practice swords in the field together. Xena cringed as the two kept arguing and hitting each other on purpose instead of working together and learning how to spar. The princes began furiously clashing swords and then started to hit each other in the face.

"Hey, hey!" she yelled and grabbed their arms and pulled them apart. "This is a training exercise. You two act just like your mothers," she mumbled.

"But he hit me first!" cried Edemen.

"If you two don't stop I'm going to punish you by sending you to the stables."

The boys hushed their mouths and stood up straight.

Xena grinned. "I thought so. Now, back to training. No more hitting each other, got it?" she pressed and they nodded their heads.

In the middle of their training session, Navaz and Soran rode into camp which grabbed everyone's attention. Xena paused and Navaz gave a curt nod. She eyed the prince who definitely didn't look like a child anymore. It had been a few years since she'd seen Soran and he was a scrawny kid at the time, but that was no more.

Navaz dismounted his horse and made his over to greet the princes and the woman he once called his mother in law. He smiled and kissed her hand. "Xena, very nice to see you again."

"Always the charmer." She snatched her hand away and Soran approached her who was equal in her height. "Soran. Look at you."

The prince blushed and bowed his head to her. "It's nice to be back in Pannonia. Where's my sister? I haven't seen her in a long time."

"Uh…she's in the field." She pointed at Arielle who was yelling at her men from afar.

Soran nods his head slowly. "Ah, I guess I will catch up with her later. Is everyone inside? I'd like to see them."

"Anastasia is in the foyer with Gabrielle. Csaba and Ernak are in a meeting but I'm sure they'll be finished soon."

He smiles and took off to the Adame. Navaz stood awkwardly beside Xena and briefly greeted the princes while he waited. She folded her arms and eyed the king from head to toe.

"What're you waiting for? Ana is expecting you."

"I must brace myself, Xena. I have not seen her in a year."

"I'm sure she'll be happy to see you especially with all the tension around here."

He frowned and whipped his head around. "What's going on?"

"Trust me; you don't want to open that can of worms."

Anastasia looked over the report that Cera finally was able to write up. The report was several pages long and she had to work up to reading it all at once. She flipped through the pages going back and forth between the second and third pages while the governor stood beside her, waiting patiently.

"She was a concubine for Prince Senka?"

"Yes that's what she wrote. She was chosen by his wife, Princess Tashibana and his mother, Menokohime. It says that she was able to escape but she held Menokohime hostage. She met Ren at the port in Kusuba and he saved her from the imperial soldiers."

Ana nodded and handed the report back. Reading it over several times was beginning to make her feel ill. She didn't wish to imagine a stranger on top of her daughter, or her being beaten by the harem maids.

"So, Emperor Liu knows Cera was held in Japan as a slave and now the Japanese prince will know that his concubine was in fact a princess." She hummed and folded her arms.

Gabrielle could see that this subject was not well liked and truth be told, she didn't read the entire report either. She was surprised that Ana was able to read it over multiple times.

"Ana, I am concerned about Emperor Liu and Persia more than I am about Japan. China is more powerful than Japan and if they are allies with the Sassan family, things will not bode well for us."

"I understand your concern, Gabrielle. I am sending Ernak back to Mongolia. He will keep an eye on China for me. He wants to bring his wife and children with him but I won't allow it until I know that area is safe."

The governor tucked the Japan report into her satchel. "You know best."

Anastasia sighed. "Lately it seems whatever I do is wrong." She turned to the governor. "My daughters won't talk to me. Cera won't come out of her room for anybody and Arielle ignores everyone except her soldiers."

"Xena didn't tell me everything that happened that night but she did tell me that you scolded Arielle," she cautiously brings up the subject and the khatun gave her a cold cheek. "I know how stubborn you can be. You definitely get that from your mother but one thing your mother learned is to stop being prideful when she was wrong. I think you should…consider apologizing to Arielle."

The khatun scoffed. "She would never accept my apology. If I am stubborn, she is the queen of stubbornness."

Gabrielle put a hand on the tall queen's shoulder. "You know what you did was wrong Ana and that's why you're angry. Own up to it. It'll make your life a lot easier," she says quietly and smiled, gazing into blue eyes that mirrored the queen's mother's so perfectly.

Navaz walked into the foyer and spotted Anastasia from afar. She turned and he gave her a big warm smile. Gabrielle briefly nodded to the king and slowly backed away.

"I will come back later when you're ready to discuss Persia," the governor whispered. "Navaz," she greeted and then made herself scarce.

"Anastasia." he walked over to her and kissed her hand. "Did Soran greet you? He came into the Adame."

She frowned and looked around the foyer. "I must've not seen him come in. I was busy talking with Gabrielle."

He kept smiling and took a step back to take a good look at her. "You look very nice."

"Thank you for coming, Navaz. I know you have your own duties to worry about in Balaam."

"I would never deny a request from you," he winked and she nervously smiled. "How is Arielle doing as commander? She wasn't in good shape when she returned from Balaam."

Anastasia sighed. "Let's not talk about Arielle right now."

"What did she do now?"

She waved her hand dismissively. "How is Safiya?"

Navaz was skeptical of her coyness regarding their daughter but he could see she was bothered by something so he kept his comments to himself. "She's doing well. I asked if she wanted to come but she decided to stay home."

Ana's eyebrows rose, not surprised to hear that.

"Anastasia," he began, "I don't know what is going on but Safiya doesn't like to hear about you at all when you're mentioned. Did something happen between you two?"

"Nothing happened."

He raised an eyebrow. "Ana…"

"Navaz. Nothing happened. Let's just drop it."

Cera sat on her bed holding a dagger in her palms. She stared at the blade for two hours. The news about Mirac coming to Pannonia did ease her a little bit but she kept thinking about Prince Senka. She had repeated dreams of him arriving in front of the Adame with his imperial soldiers.

The moment she finished writing the report she decided not to leave anything out. She wrote down every single detail that happened to her. The image of Gabrielle's face was burned into her mind as she watched her read the report in front of her. She was horrified and she should be, Cera thought. Cera could only imagine what her mother's reaction was to be. She hadn't told Arielle everything that happened and she was frightened to.

She knew her sister to be a bit of a wild card and she reacted with extreme emotions and passion. Csaba had always been reasonable but Cera wasn't too sure what he'd do if he found out about her time spent in Japan. His behavior had wavered over the years especially after he brutally beat up Bayan five years ago. That came to a shock to everyone although she remembered that night perfectly.

Cera watched her sister suffer and her anger lead to resentment towards their mother. She never thought she'd feel resentment towards her mother. She thought she wasn't capable of possessing those feelings until now. She sensed much change in her mother this last year since Kreka Khatun passed.

She gripped the blade and it cut into her palms. A knock came to the door and she quickly stuffed the dagger underneath the mattress then wiped the blood on a washcloth she used for her face this morning.

Soran entered and she stood up and hid her bloody hands behind her back. "Cera!" he rushed over and kissed her cheeks multiple times. "It's so good to see you're here. Safiya and I came to Kazakhstan to look for you after you were taken. Are you feeling alright?"

She nodded with a big smile. She touched his short hair and her fingers ran down his chiseled jaw. The last time she saw him was at Arielle's senlik and he was just a thin teen at the time. He looked almost unrecognizable now.

He caught a glimpse of blood out of the corner of his eye and grabbed her wrist. He gasped at the sight of a large slit across her palm.

"Cera, what is this? Did someone hurt you?"

She frowned and shook her head.

"I should get the physician."

He head off and she balled up her throbbing fists and opened her mouth slowly. "N-n-o!" she yelled.

Soran paused and spun around at the sound of her voice. "What? Did you…"

That night everyone turned in early and tomorrow there would be a meeting about Persia. Gabrielle tried her best to convince Anastasia to apologize and even told her wife about the conversation. Xena was not impressed by her daughter's behavior as of late. Disappointed couldn't even describe the feelings she felt.

Xena requested that food be sent to her room as she didn't want to eat in the hall with everyone else. She hardly touched her food and fell asleep earlier than Gabrielle. In the middle of the night she tossed and turned several times in bed, although her constant movements didn't seem to disturb her wife.

She turned over onto her back and creased her eyebrows. Sweat dripped down her face in her slumber and she dug her fingers in the sheets.

Xena opened her eyes and sprung up from the bed. She looked at her surroundings and they were foreign yet familiar. It was a place she had long forgotten. She got out of bed and slowly approached the curtains of the bedroom and separated them and cautiously poked her head out.

She was in her old yurt back in the original capital of Pannonia. She stepped out of her room and looked around at the large pillows on the floor, table next to the entrance. She slowly turned her head and saw a thick curtain.

Breathing in heavily, she treads close to the curtains and pulled it to the side. Anastasia's old room. She raised an eyebrow, wondering what kind of nightmare this was. She walked inside and saw her daughter's clothes laid out on the bed. They were quite small which meant this was a very, very long time ago –a different kind of time.

She felt a hand grasp her shoulder and she spun around, breathing heavily, yet nobody was there. She wondered how long this nightmare would last and she questioned if Ursula slipped something into her food to make her dream her past life so vividly. A brush of cold air rushed by her and she circled herself.

Something told her to go to the Adame. She ran outside the yurt and looked at the old Adame. It was a lot smaller than she remembered especially compared to the new home. She made her way towards the Adame and hurried up the stairs.

She felt like she was being guided and she ended up standing outside of Attila's room. She peeked through the crack in the doors and there was Attila talking with Kreka. A small smile crossed her lips as she saw the two of them.

Xena's eyes widened and she thought she was dead but then she inwardly hit herself. Dead people can't visit the past. She heard the two monarchs arguing and by the looks of it, the khatun was very upset. She looked around the room and saw a baby in a bassinet on the floor.

"How could you do this to me?" Kreka said with obvious pain in her harsh words. "You lied to me."

Attila pinched his brows together. "I still love you. I don't need to tell you that because you already know, don't you?" he touched her cheek.

Kreka closed her eyes and sighed. "You betrayed my trust, Attila. I want you to get rid of her and we won't speak of this again." She shoved him away.

"I do not care about this woman. I didn't even get her name. She means nothing to me. It was a night after a battle."

"And what? You could not contain yourself? Did you think I wouldn't find out? She contacted me! Who does she think she is?!"

"I will take care of it," he reassured her.

Kreka folded her arms. "I already did. I gave her a salary for a year. She will never show her face here again and this is over as far as I'm concerned."

Xena listened to their conversation and backed away from the doors slowly. She had no idea what the two were talking about and how this was kept from her if this actually happened in her past. She kept backing up and then bumped into something on the floor.

She turned around and saw Anastasia lying on the floor, this time as a grown woman, in a pool of blood.

Xena jolted awake and inhaled sharply. Gabrielle woke from her wife's abrupt movement and studied her face. She was pale as a ghost and her face and neck drenched in sweat.

"Are you alright? Xena?"

She wiped her forehead and threw the blankets off her body. "Anastasia…" she sprung out of bed and darted out of the room.

"Xena! Wait! What are you doing?" Gabrielle yelled and hurried out of bed and slipped on her shoes to run after her wife.

She ran up the stairs as quickly as possible and her daughter's chambermaid, Diana, was standing outside the doors. Zelda saw her coming and immediately bowed her head and took a few generous steps back. Xena bolted through the doors into Ana's bedroom.

She ran to the bed and shook her daughter's arms furiously. "Anastasia!"

The khatun opened her eyes lazily in the middle of a deep slumber. She squinted her eyes in the dim-lit room and was a bit taken aback by her mother hovering over her. She sat up groggily and raised an eyebrow.

"Mother? What are…you doing in my room?"

Xena smiled and cupped her daughter's face. "I'm just…glad to see you're alright."

"What time is it? Did something happen?"

Gabrielle finally caught up and entered the room, heaving from loss of breath. She clung to the bedpost and stared at her wife confusedly. "Xena…" she says breathlessly, "what is going on? Why did you take off like that?"

Her wife's cheeks flushed. "N-nothing. I just had a bad feeling."

Anastasia and Gabrielle both shared the same puzzled expression. The queen grabbed her mother's hand. "A bad feeling?"

Gabrielle brought a glass of water for her wife and sat down in front of the fireplace in the room. It was nearing dawn now and there was no way that she was getting any sleep. Xena thanked her for the water with a simple nod and stared at the fire.

"Are you going to tell me what happened? I've never seen you run so fast out of this room."

Xena sipped the water and puckered her lips. "I…had a dream but," she paused. "It wasn't a dream. At least I don't think it was. Everything felt so real, Gabrielle."

"Care to elaborate? I'm not going to sleep anytime soon."

Xena tapped her fingers on the glass and didn't know how to explain without sounding like a crazy person. But she knew her wife wouldn't shame her or make fun of her as they'd been through a lot together. It wouldn't be the first time she had dreams like this before. They were warnings usually.

"I woke up in my old yurt. It was a long time ago. Ana was a little girl and…I went to the Adame. I saw Attila and Kreka. They were talking in their room and from what I heard, Kreka was talking about a woman whom Attila had sex with one night."

"Ebnedzar's mother?"

She shook her head. "No, she didn't know about that night and that was before he married Cera. This was much later. Kreka said the woman he slept with contacted her. She gave her money to silence her. I didn't know about this. How could I not know? Why would Kreka keep that a secret from me? I knew everything that Attila did. I was always there."

Gabrielle rubbed her chin and sat back on her palms. "Maybe you weren't there when it happened." She suggested and her wife gave a conflicted frown. "What do you think it means?"

"I don't know but…after I listened to their conversation I turned around and saw Anastasia. She was dead, lying on the floor in a pool of her own blood."

Gabrielle blinked several times and gazed at the fire, unsure of what to think of that dream. It definitely explained her wife's sudden departure and scaring Ana half to death in the middle of the night.

"Do you think someone is plotting to kill her?"

"I don't know but someone was trying to tell me something."

Gabrielle took in a deep breath. "Who would send a message like that?"

Xena set down the glass and grabbed her coat and slipped on her shoes. Her wife turned around and sat up on her knees, watching her get ready to go somewhere, somewhere else again. Xena grabbed her kozak and put it on her head and tucked her bangs underneath the headdress.

"Where are you going now?" Gabrielle asks.

"I have to do something. Wait here."

"I am not leaving you again."

Xena grimaced. "Fine, you can come but hurry up."

Arielle briskly walked out onto the field just before sunrise to train her soldiers. She fluffed the veil on her headdress and set it on her head as she quickened her pace. She hoped she wouldn't have to wake up her soldiers as harshly as she did last time. She told them to be awake before she arrived the next time or they'd be severely punished.

As she kept walking up the hill she turned to see her grandmother and Gabrielle heading towards the woods. Her pace slowed to a stop and she stared at the two dark figures treading across the camp. She watched them for a few moments longer and then went on her way to the training field.

Badr ran from the gates and Arielle stopped. He bowed his head before her and put a hand over his chest.

"Commander, there is a Persian Ambassador here to see you. He is Prince Xerxes from the House of Sassan."

She grumbled and looked back at the gates, barely able to see anything but the torches the soldiers held. "Doesn't he want to speak to the khatun?"

"No, commander. He wants to speak with you. I've already inspected him and my men are scouting the area for assassins."

She sighs and nods. "Alright. I will meet with him. Bring him to the field. I don't want my time wasted on Persian politics. I have a lot of work to do."

"Yes, commander." He said and ran back to the Persian waiting at the gates.

Xena, accompanied by her wife, came to an area just outside of the woods and the encampment. They stopped at a large wooden gazebo covered in vines that lacked flowers due to the winter season. Xena stared at the gazebo for a moment longer and put her hand up to Gabrielle, telling her to stay behind. Gabrielle wrapped the scarf over her hair and looked around to see if anyone was watching.

She approached the gazebo and saw one flower that had bloomed on the vines. The first sign that spring is on its way and very early this year. She stepped inside and stared at the bronze headdress that which used to belong to Kreka Khatun.

After the khatun's death all of wealthiest in Pannonia contributed to build a special place for her. They even bronzed her infamous burgundy kozak and put it on a pedestal. Not even Attila had such a memorial back in the old capital.

Xena gazed at the bronze kozak and could almost envision Kreka's face wearing it in front of her. She smiled softly and felt a bit strange standing in silence.

"I told you to stay out of my dreams," she joked. She cleared her throat. "But I can see that I will never be rid of you," she admits quietly and then looked back at Gabrielle who smiled warmly.

"If what I saw was true and it did happen…why did you keep it a secret?" she asks aloud and kept her eyes on the bronze headdress. "And why would you show this to me now? What is the point?"

Gabrielle kept hearing her wife mumbling and she turned around, trying to avoid eavesdropping. She didn't quite understand why they were here but it obviously had to do something with the dream Xena had. She looked out beyond the camp and saw a Persian walking with Anastasia's elites.

Her jaw dropped and she walked away from the gazebo and there he was. He was heading towards Arielle on the top of the hill. She treads backward carefully.

"Xena…"

She was ignored and she ran over and repeated, "Xena!"

"What!" she spun around.

Gabrielle pointed to the field and Xena stepped out of the gazebo, glaring at a Persian making his way to Arielle's training grounds.