This is a slow build up for what's to come later. I appreciate the feedback, y'all are awesome. Enjoy :)

Chapter 12 –The Walls have Ears: Part II

"What is a Persian doing here? Maybe Kavad sent someone to kill you?" Gabrielle exclaims and grabs onto her wife's arm.

Xena grunted and shoved her off then walked forward and hid behind a large tree, eyeing the mysterious Persian make his way up the hill with Ana's elites following right behind. She squints her eyes, barely able to see in the dark.

"He isn't here to kill me. If they wanted to kill me they could've done it back in China. My question is: why is he going to speak with Arielle?"

Gabrielle bit her lip and rubbed her cold hands together. "Um, Xena, there is something I should tell you."

Xena turned around and waited for her wife to speak. "Yes?"

"How do I say this…" the blonde mumbled. "Um, so that Persian soldier who translated those documents for us –you remember him right?"

Her wife nods her head slowly then crossed her arms.

"Well, he's the one who told me that Kavad would be crowned as the shah but he also told me something else." She inhaled deeply and almost forgot to exhale whilst staring at her wife's unexpressive face. "He asked me to spy on the empire for Kavad."

Xena slapped a hand over her face. "That's just fantastic, Gabrielle! You couldn't have mentioned this earlier? We could've been prepared before this Persian showed up!"

"Well, how was I supposed to know that Kavad would send someone over?!"

"Forget it. We need to tell Anastasia and Csaba about this. Come on you…" she grumbled and grabbed Gabrielle's arm.

Arielle stood with her back turned and heard footsteps approaching from behind. She smiled and put away her sword then spun around to face the Persian prince. She was shocked to see that he did not bear the same face as his cousins who were not very attractive. In fact this Sassanian prince was handsome.

His long straight chestnut hair came just above his waist and his beard accentuated his strong jaw and prominent long nose. His eyes were a dark brown and the shape reminded her of ripe large almonds. His strong brow indicated that he had a strong personality.

"Xerxes, Prince of Persia," she says.

He looked at her face in the torchlight fire and his eyes widened. "Yes, commander, that's correct." He glanced around and stared at her youthful face once more. "You're the Hun Commander?" he questions skeptically.

She chuckled and walked a few paces forward. "Were you expecting someone else?" she asks and he lowered his gaze. "Xena, perhaps?"

Xerxes frowned at the sound of her name and that was all that Arielle needed to know that he was indeed looking for her grandmother.

"I'm the commander now. If you've come to see my grandmother, she isn't available."

"Your grandmother…?"

She extended her hand. "Princess Arielle of Pannonia. Hoşgeldiniz."

Xerxes shook her hand and began chuckling under his breath. "Ah, my brothers have played a dirty trick on me."

"Pardon?"

"Never mind. It's not important. Pleased to meet you, princess. You're famous across the Steppes and widely talked about in Persia."

She grinned. "Am I?" she feigned innocence. "What brings you to Pannonia? Too bad I can't interrogate you since you are royalty. What a shame." She sighs and saw he instantly became uneasy. "Anyway, if you've come to talk politics, you need to talk to Anastasia Khatun. I don't deal with politics."

"Actually, I wanted to speak with you if you have time to listen?"

Anastasia sat on the edge of her bed, still not yet dressed for the day. Csaba came in the room shortly after he was called and he raced in with his hair a mess and in a robe. Gabrielle and Xena stood at a fair distance from the bed and Csaba ran over to stand beside his mother.

"Why was I woken up at the crack of dawn? More bad feelings?" the khatun eyed her mother.

Xena pushed her wife forward. "Gabrielle has something to tell you."

"Ah…" the governor started with a meek grin, "in China when…me and Xena…went to the Persian camp, I met with a soldier and he asked me to consider being a spy for Kavad. I didn't say I would! I declined immediately."

Ana gasped. "That wasn't in the report! You were supposed to record everything that happened!"

"I know but I didn't think it was important until now."

"What does that mean?"

Xena interrupted. "A Persian is in the training field right now. He's talking to Arielle. We saw them from the woods and that was when Gabrielle decided to relay this information that she kept to herself."

Anastasia pinched her eyebrows together. "Have this Persian brought to me after I get dressed. And what were you two doing in the woods before sunrise?"

"That is not important."

"Mhm." Ana turned to her sleepy son. "Csaba, wake up Farah and tell her to come to my room. We will all have a meeting with Arielle before I see the Persian. Everyone is dismissed," she says. "Except you, Gabrielle."

The governor got a mean glare from her wife and stared at the floor. Everyone left the chambers and she briefly lifted her eyes to the khatun who had a puzzled look upon her face. She chastised herself for keeping that a secret for such a long time but she didn't know it could come of use to them until now. She also didn't know that the new shah was going to send an adversary so fast.

"Ana, I know that I should've told you right away about this. I was going to tell you but I –"

"It's alright, Gabrielle, but don't let it happen again. I'm going to let it slide because you've never made a mistake in the past. But you will be staying for the meeting and write everything that everyone says."

Gabrielle nodded.

Zelda lingered in the background listening to the entire conversation between everyone that was in the room. She laid out the queen's black dress and headdress for the day slower than usual. She needed an excuse to leave the Adame in order to give her daily report.

Anastasia smiled at the uncomfortable governor. "Ursula told me that she finished the kozak for my mother. I'd like to have a ceremony for her soon and crown her as Khanum. You didn't tell her anything, did you?"

"No, I haven't but she's been on my tail. She hasn't figured anything out. Are you going to tell her what the ceremony is for?"

"If I did it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it?"

Gabrielle scratched her head. "Ana, I know you want to surprise her but she doesn't really like parties. What if she doesn't want this position?"

"You're worrying over nothing! She's going to love it! Don't say a word about this to her. I'll handle the preparations. We'll see how this meeting goes with the Persian before I plan the ceremony."

Zelda walked over with the dress and bowed her head. "Your highness. Your dress."

Ana stood up and grabbed the dress from her chambermaid. "You may go get ready for the meeting, Gabrielle. We will meet within the hour."

She nodded and left the room in a hurry. Zelda waited for the petite governor to leave and then followed the khatun towards the baths.

"Your highness if it is alright with you, I'd like to go to the kitchen. I will ask the chefs to prepare your food for the dining hall."

Ana raised her eyebrow at the maid then nodded and walked through the door into the baths.

It was difficult to go back to sleep once Arielle woke up to train her soldiers. Ku's conversations with Arielle were short in the morning and almost nonexistent at night before bed. She was beginning to regret deciding to stay in the same room as her.

But since she was awake early she needed to get Aurora up and that was also proving to be a very demanding task as the days went on. She struggled to get the little princess out of bed. She stood over the bed and Aurora pulled the wool blanket over her head.

"Come on, you need to get in the bath, Aurora. You have school today."

"I don't wanna go," she mumbled.

Ku frowned and paddled the girl's thigh. "I don't have time for this. Your cousins are going to walk you to school. I don't want you to be late." She pressured. "Aurora!"

Navaz slipped into the room unnoticed and smiled at Ku trying to get his granddaughter out of bed. He walked over quietly and tapped the maid's shoulder. Ku-Ilm stepped aside and folded her arms. There was no way he was going to get her out of bed, Ku thought.

"You should do as she says," he whispered.

Aurora threw the blanket off her head and sprung up quickly. She jumped into his arms and Ku rolled her eyes, annoyed that he was able to get the princess up in a snap of a finger and she struggled. Navaz sat down and adjusted the princess on his lap.

"When did you get here?" she asked.

"I arrived yesterday."

The princess smoothed down his thick beard and looked into his eyes. "Why didn't you come see me?"

Navaz smiled and brushed her hair away from her face. "It was a long journey for me. I had to rest to make sure I had plenty of energy to come see you." he poked her chest and she gave him a big bright grin.

"Did you bring me a present?" she hinted.

"Of course but you won't get it until after school. So, you should mind Ku-Ilm and get ready, right?"

Aurora hopped off his lap and snatched the dress out of her caretaker's hand then ran to the bath chamber. Ku sighed and folded her arms, shaking her head at the princess. She then turned to the king and gave a thankful smile.

"Thank you for that. She has been unruly lately since Arielle began training the army."

He understood how demanding a commander's job could be but he also knew there wasn't a way around it. "Arielle is lucky to have so many people here to help her with Aurora. I heard Bayan was here."

Ku nervously nodded. "Yes, your highness. He spends the afternoon with Aurora after school."

"Do you know when he will return to Harran?"

"I do not, your majesty."

Navaz rubbed his beard. "I see." He smiled tersely. "You may tell Bayan that I will be spending time with Aurora after her classes. I'll come back at noon."

She bowed as soon as he walked by her and exhaled heavily after the doors closed. She heard Aurora calling for her and she pinched the bridge of her nose.

Arielle stood in front of her brother, mother and Farah for the meeting. She removed her headdress and side eyed her grandmother he stood beside her. Gabrielle was gawking at her, ready to write everything down. Her eyes circled around at the three monarchs who anxiously waited for her report on the Persian.

She took in a calming breath before she spoke. "Shah Kavad sent an ambassador to discuss an alliance of peace. The ambassador is his son, Prince Xerxes. I told him to speak with you because I'm not in charge of politics but he insisted on speaking with me."

Anastasia cleared her throat. "And what did he say about the alliance?"

"He…said that he wants to make peace with the White Huns first since they share borders. Xerxes is also his father's general of the Persian army. The reason he wanted to talk to me was because he wants to combine armies and fight Justinian."

"Justinian? What about China? Did he mention Emperor Liu? I thought Balash was allies with China."

Arielle shook her head. "He didn't say anything about China but he did say that Balash was unpopular among the Persian Empire. He made a lot of enemies and it was inevitable that he was going to be killed. The shah gives his gratitude to…his cousin's killer," she eyed her grandmother who smiled widely.

The khatun licked her lips and folded her arms. "I will go to Persia with you and Xerxes to seal the deal about combining armies. I want to meet the shah face to face. I don't want to be placed in the middle of a trap."

Xena's heart palpitated when she heard that her daughter was going to leave. After that awful dream she had she didn't want her daughter out of her sight.

"No!" she blurted out. And then everyone stared at her. "It's…best if you stay here, Ana. You are in charge of the empire and we need you here. Consider sending someone else in your place."

Anastasia lifted a brow. "Alright…" she muttered. "Then I will send Farah. She knows the language and can sign the treaty without my presence."

Arielle groaned. "Great. I'm going to be stuck with beauty queen."

Farah scoffed. "It's not going to as bad as you think, Arielle. We're going to be a great team. This will be my first mission!"

"Just try not to break a nail or something," the commander chided.

Csaba put up his hand. "Okay, enough!" he firmly said and put a hand on his wife's shoulder. "Mother is right. Farah knows the language of the Persians. She is a perfect fit for the mission. I trust you can behave yourself, Arielle."

"Don't worry, brother. I will follow orders. When do we leave?" she anxiously asked.

"At the end of the month. Until then, Xerxes will live in the Adame in one of the guest suites. Anything else to add, mother?"

Anastasia sighed. "No, that's all. I'll speak to the Persian now. You're dismissed, Arielle."

Xena stepped forward, taking her granddaughter's place. "Anastasia, what are you going to do about the Japanese Prince Senka? What he did to Cera should not go unpunished."

Csaba paused and he whipped his head towards his mother. "What happened to Cera?"

Gabrielle dipped the pen in the ink well and wrote the last bit of Csaba's words. She could feel tension rising in the room and lifted her head from the parchment. She witnessed mother and daughter having a staring contest with each other and Csaba's eyes dart from his mother and grandmother nervously.

The khatun uncrossed her arms. She addressed her mother, "I will deal with Japan once we figure out what is going on in China, mother. I don't want to start a war with Japan. We're already at odds with China and we don't know if Prince Houfei is in the Tibet area like you said. Xerxes will tell us the truth about Houfei and then we'll decide where to go from there."

"As far as I'm concerned, we're already at war with Japan!" Xena shouted. "They held a princess hostage and enslaved her as a concubine!"

Csaba gasped and stepped in between his mother and grandmother. "Wait a minute! Why wasn't I notified about this? Cera was a concubine in Japan?!"

"That's not all she was, Csaba. She was raped and impregnated by the prince of Japan."

His eyes widened and he turned to glare at his mother. "How could you keep that from me? I'm supposed to know everything that you do! You're not the only one in charge of the empire, mother!"

"Csaba, I couldn't –"

"Where's Ernak? Has he already left for Mongolia?" he asked and grabbed his cloak.

"Csaba!"

He flung the coat over his shoulder and stormed out of the room. Farah stood flabbergasted and suddenly felt sick at the news. She gawked at her mother in law in shock and horror. She soon left after her husband. Meanwhile, Gabrielle tried to write the entire dialogue down but felt like this shouldn't go on record but she was ordered to write down everything, so she did.

Ana huffed and marched up to her calm mother. "That's just great! Now I have all of my children against me!"

"And whose fault is that," says Xena.

"You're dismissed."

Xena smiled and bowed her head then turned on her heel. Gabrielle stopped writing and left the pen in the ink well. She hurried away from her desk and didn't bother to look Anastasia in the eye and skipped ahead to catch up with her wife.

"Way to drop a bomb," the governor whispered.

"Csaba has a right to know. He's the king."

"I still think that was not the best way to introduce that subject. He's furious, Xena."

"I know," she laughed lightly. "Japan's going to be in for a rude awakening. I'd love to have a front row seat."

Zelda returned for her weekly report at Queen Eksama's camp. She missed two weeks because as she figured out quickly, it was hard to get away from the Adame without suspicion. She entered the tent of her queen and greeted her with a curtsey.

Eksama grinned and swung her legs off her desk and approached her servant. "Zelda, I was beginning to think you were dead."

"I'm very much alive, my queen. I have very interesting news for you."

"You do? Spill it."

"A Persian came to Pannonia. He was speaking with the young commander, Princess Arielle. I am not able to witness any of the meetings conducted in the queen's chambers but she seemed disturbed."

Eksama nods her head. "That is interesting. The Persians aren't good friends with the Huns. They will be distracted with this Persian. Is it true about what you said that Attila's son is going to aid the Goths in the spring?"

"Yes, your highness. He will leave in a couple of months after the snow clears."

"Excellent. I will write a letter to my son to move the troops to Italia in the spring. I want the Huns to know exactly who is in charge. I will wipe out Alaric and his army while the Huns are preoccupied with the Persians."

Zelda smiled. "A great plan, your highness. How long will I have to serve the Hun queen?"

"Until I say not to!" Eksama spat. "Return before you're missed. I want you to watch the commander very closely if you are able to."

"Yes, my queen."

Gabrielle and her wife walked outside and there was Navaz with Aurora in the square. He was teaching how to shoot with a small bow. Gabrielle smiled at the two and looked up at her wife as they walked side by side together. They head in the direction of the king and his granddaughter.

"Why did you tell Anastasia to stay here instead of going to Persia?"

Xena laced her fingers behind her back. "She's the backbone of the empire and she should stay here. Farah is the ideal choice for this mission."

The governor sensed there was another motive to her wife's sudden outburst while ago. "Does this have anything to do with that dream you had?" she asked. Her wife lowered her gaze at the question. "Is that why we went to Kreka's gazebo? Were you searching for answers?"

Xena halted and gazed down into her wife's green eyes. "I don't expect you to understand, Gabrielle, but that wasn't just a dream. It was a warning. Kreka is warning me about something and I don't know what it is but Anastasia's life is in danger."

"The dead can see things that we can't but Xena, you can't keep Anastasia attached to your hip just because of a dream."

"It wasn't a dream! It was real! I took a step back into the past! Kreka is trying to tell me something and whatever it is has to do with Ana. I can't let anything happen to her. I don't know what I would do if I lost her."

Gabrielle reached over and grabbed hold of her wife's hand to reassure her that everything would work out. "I believe you and I won't let anything happen to your daughter. I promise."

Xena weakly smiled and squeezed the blonde's hand.

Aurora ran towards them and waved her new bow in the air. "Grandma Xena! Gabby! Look at my bow! Grandpa gave it to me."

Gabrielle knelt down to inspect the bow. "Wow, look at that. Is he teaching you how to use it?"

"Yeah and he will give me a horse too!"

Xena raised her eyebrow at Navaz's sheepish face. "A horse, huh? Navaz, I hope you cleared that with Arielle."

"I don't need permission to give gifts to my granddaughter," he says with a charming smile.

It was obvious that Aurora was the apple of his eye and he'd do anything for her. She was his only grandchild and he didn't have the luxury to see her as often as Anastasia did. Despite Ana having four grandchildren of her own, everyone knew that Aurora was her favorite. As expected, Navaz was a pushover when it came to princesses. Arielle got the same treatment as Aurora when she was a child and she was given everything she asked for when she visited her father in Balaam. Aurora was no different.

Aurora tugged on her grandfather's pants. "Can I show daddy my new bow?"

Navaz clenched his teeth together and tried his best to hide his inner hatred for Bayan. He put on a face for the princess. "Of course, tatli kiz. I'll meet you at the Adame."

She ran off and he had a huge frown on his face to which his forehead was ridden with creases and wrinkles. Xena nudged his arm to knock him out of his seeping dislike for Arielle's unfaithful husband.

"Bayan is not the best husband but he is a good father," she reminded him.

"Nothing you say will change what I think about him, Xena. I loathe him."

Gabrielle chortled. "Arielle is definitely a daddy's girl."

The king's face softened and he turned to the field to see his daughter training the army. He didn't have a chance to see her yet since he arrived and he lost track of Soran as well.

"When is Arielle done training? I have a gift for her."

"That's not a surprise," Gabrielle muttered and she and her wife gave each other a high-five behind their backs. They both smiled at the annoyed king.

Xena wiped her face of the goofy smile she had. "She's finished at sundown. You must stop spoiling those girls, Navaz."

"I do…not spoil them."

Xerxes wrote two letters after his late evening meeting with the khatun that were to be delivered by his messenger. He told her everything about Balash's alliance with China which was now void since his father was crowned as shah. He was given a room to stay in which he was surprised that the Huns allowed him to be in such close proximity to the family members.

The khatun told him that he'd be leaving with Arielle and Queen Farah to Persia to discuss the merge of armies. He was anxious to work with the commander and she was everything his brothers said she was. She was stunning which took him for surprise.

"Persian!" Arielle shouted.

He spun around as soon as he gave the messenger his letters. "Princess," he greeted with a warm smile.

She stopped in front of him and took off her leather gloves. "What are handing off to your messenger boy?"

"Ah, a letter to my father and brothers. I'm informing them that I will be returning to Persia with you and Queen Farah as my guests."

"How was the meeting with my mother?"

Xerxes bit his bottom lip. "Very intimidating."

She laughed lightly. "She can be daunting sometimes. I know your father wants to ally with us but it's never been done in history before. Your family isn't exactly friendly towards my people."

"We will have to change that, princess. I am looking forward to meeting Queen Farah. I hear she is very intelligent."

Arielle rolled her eyes. "Yes, she's very smart but she's also the most gorgeous spoiled woman in the empire. Don't pay attention to her if she complains during the journey," she joked.

Xerxes nodded and took a step closer to the Hun princess. "I think you are very gorgeous, princess," he whispered then walked back to the Adame.

Her cheeks flushed bright red and she looked over her shoulder at the Sassanian prince.

One Week Later

Gabrielle thought of everything to keep Xena out of the Adame. The ceremony was going to happen whether she liked it or not and Anastasia prepared everything in secret with the exception of Gabrielle's and Ursula's knowledge.

Over the last few days Xena grew more and more suspicious as she was given several tasks that involved her absence from the palace. Whatever it was she knew it had to do with her daughter and Gabrielle but she played along and did every task that was given to her.

She had the pleasure of spending time with Cera which technically meant that she was in the Adame but she chose to ignore the scurrying maids and servants around her. She and her granddaughter sat on the floor together playing a game of chess and drinking tea.

"Your brother is going to Mongolia with Ernak and from there they'll go to Japan."

Cera frowned sadly. She didn't want to put her uncle and brother in harm's way. She was still upset at her mother for the way she treated Arielle and hadn't spoken to her in over a month. Her anger refused to subside and she didn't know if she could face her mother after that night.

"That Japanese prince will definitely get what's coming to him," she says and Cera smiled. "Your mother is worried about you. You haven't come out of your room since you came home."

The princess exhaled heavily and moved a chess piece across the board.

Xena sat back and refused to make her next move. Cera stared at her, waiting for her move. "Badr told Arielle that Mirac and his sister are on their way. They should arrive in a few days. I bet you're excited to see Mirac."

Cera blushed and nodded. Although, she was worried about what Mirac would say when he'd hear what happened to her in Japan. She had faith in her sister's words that her husband would always be there for her no matter what but she had doubts in the back of her mind.

"Soran mentioned that you spoke to him," she pried and Cera hid her face with her veil of auburn hair. "Have you said anything since?"

The princess wagged her head.

Xena lifted Cera's chin. "If you have the ability to talk, we will do anything to help you. I'd love to hear your voice again." She says warmly and cupped her cheek.

Cera put a hand to her throat and swallowed deeply. She took in a sharp breath. "M-me…too," she says barely above a whisper.

Xena's eyes widened. She didn't believe it when Arielle said that Cera screamed or said a word. Her suspicions withered slightly when Soran said the same. Now that she heard her speak two words she could finally say that the rumors were true and believable.

Two words wasn't a lot but it was something. Cera's voice was definitely not what Xena imagined it would be. It was scratchy and supple but she detected the same sweet tone that she remembered from when Cera was a little girl.

Overjoyed, she kissed Cera's hands and stared into her brown eyes.

Arielle padded down the hallway holding her daughter's hand. She wore the black fur coat that her father gifted her. She was not expecting her father to give her daughter a bow and promise her a horse of all things. She'd definitely have to talk to him about that later.

Aurora swung her mother's arm back and forth as they walked together. "When will I get the horse?"

Arielle sighed. "I need to talk to your grandfather about that. We'll see if you can have a horse."

"But grandpa said I could!"

"Grandpa says a lot of things," she muttered.

They stopped in front of one of the guest suites and she knocked on the door. The door opened slowly and Xerxes smiled upon seeing her. His eyes drifted downward to the tiny raven haired princess who stared up at him with big green eyes.

"Princess, I didn't know you were coming by. I'd ask you inside but my room is a bit of a mess."

Arielle grinned. "This is my daughter, Aurora. She wanted to come with me. She's never met a Persian prince before."

Xerxes knelt down and the little princess extended her hand which he gladly received. "Aurora. That's a pretty name. It means dawn of the day."

The commander frowned confusedly. "How do you know that? Do you know Latin?"

"My childhood teacher was from Rome. And your name means lion. A very fitting name for you, princess," he winks.

Arielle half grinned and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Our governor asked me to tell you that you're invited to a ceremony tonight after sundown."

Xerxes stood up and brushed his hands down his black tunic. "What is the ceremony for?"

"I have no idea but it would be rude if you refuse the invitation."

He bowed graciously. "I will be there. It was a pleasure meeting you, Aurora."

The princess responded, "Very nice to meet you."

Gabrielle led her blindfolded wife to their bed and gripped her arms tightly then they abruptly stopped. Xena groaned and grew impatient with all the secrecy going on in this household. She also didn't like being led blindly.

"Gabrielle, I don't like this game anymore."

The blonde spread out the black and gold dress with a matching cape attached to it. "Okay you can take the blindfold off now!"

Xena ripped off the cloth from her eyes and stared at the black dress with gold patterns woven in the sleeves and bodice. The sparkly black cape attached to it signified that this was no ordinary gown. She glared at her grinning wife.

"Am I supposed to wear this? Have you lost your marbles, Gabrielle?"

She had a feeling this was going to be difficult. There was no way she was going to get her wife to wear this extravagant dress especially in front of a sea of people no less. She held up the dress to her wife's tall slender frame.

"You will look very pretty in it…" she tried to coax her.

Xena looked down at the dress and held the sleeve up against her arm. "It's a gorgeous dress," she said.

A glimmer of hope, Gabrielle thought.

"But I'm not wearing that."

"Come on, Xena! Ursula worked very hard on this dress! You need to wear it!"

Xena folded her arms and lifted her chin. "I don't know what you and Ana are planning behind my back but if it involves a dress then that must mean there's a party. I refuse to wear this."

"Xena!" she screamed and threw the dress on the bed. "You're wearing the dress or else."

"Or else what?" she snickered.

Gabrielle grabbed her wife's arms and backed her up against the wall. "Or else…I'm going to sleep in another room far from you."

"Yeah right."

"Try me."

Xena stared at the seriousness in her wife's eyes and her smile faded.

A couple of hours later with a lot of talking into, Xena finally put on the dress. She was then escorted by Gabrielle to the large ballroom. The moment she entered the room she was taken aback by the amount of people. Half the tribe was here it looked like. She had to be pushed forward by her wife. Her wide eyes darted from left to right, gawking at all the citizens staring at her.

"Gabrielle…what is this…" she hissed.

"Just keep walking," the governor whispered. She held onto her wife's arm to make sure she wasn't going to make a run for it.

Anastasia stood at the front of the room with Arielle, Navaz, Cera, Farah, Csaba and Ursula. Everyone was just as bemused as the guest of honor was. The only person who had a confident expression was Anastasia and now Xena knew that she was the center of attention which she hated.

She tried to pull away and Gabrielle held her arm firmly. They walked down the aisle and everyone in the room was silent. She furrowed her eyebrows while glaring at her all knowing daughter at the front of the ballroom.

"I'm going to kill you for this embarrassment," she whispered to her wife.

"You can kill me later."

Xena halted in front of her daughter and Gabrielle stepped to the side. She pursed her mouth and looked around at the sea of eyes that bore into her backside. She inhaled deeply and was about to say something but then Ana's hand prevented her.

"Ursula, the box please," the khatun ordered.

The queen's advisor carried a wooden box forward and presented it to her. Anastasia opened the lid slowly and Xena tried to peek inside. The anticipation was killing her. Ana lifted a black headdress out of the box that was adorned with cold coins. She fixed the long veil that extended to the knees, matching her own headdress.

Xena's mouth parted slightly and her entire body tensed when her daughter approached her with the kozak. Anastasia grinned and brushed her mother's bangs backwards and placed the elaborate headpiece on her head.

"I just want to say that you're a very important asset to the empire and to this family," Ana began. "You've served the empire as commander for several years. You always put others before yourself. I know how hard it was for you to pass down your position to Arielle but you are a great mentor to her."

Xena smiled shyly and looked over at Arielle who gave her a glimmering grin.

"And I invited everyone here because you should be recognized for all your hard work."

Xena held her breath and stared into her daughter's scheming eyes.

"I am promoting you and bestow to you the title of Khanum."

Xena's jaw dropped and everyone in the room gasped as soon as the queen announced the unexpected and surprising news. She definitely wasn't expecting those words to come out of her daughter's mouth at all and apparently neither was anyone else.

The silence in the ballroom lasted no more than a few seconds. Everyone began clapping and Xena looked over her shoulder at nearly half the tribe who had beaming faces and continued clapping.

Arielle clapped her hands and leaned over to Csaba. "Great. Now grandma outranks mother. She's going to be unstoppable now."

Gabrielle walked over and grabbed her wife's hand. "Surprise…"

Xena turned to her with wide eyes and then Anastasia clasped hands on her shoulders.

"What do you say, mother? Will you accept the position?"

"Um…I don't really know what to say."

"Please say yes," she pleaded. "I'd love for you to work by my side. You have a huge influence in our empire. You'll be the second Khanum in Hun history next to Attila's great grandmother."

Xena felt short of breath and looked at her wife. "You helped orchestrate all of this?"

Gabrielle nodded. "Sorry I had to keep lying to you but you deserve this, Xena. Ana is right; you're a very important part of this empire and family."

She finally broke out into a smile. "Thank you. This means a lot to me but…you could've told me instead of embarrassing me in front of the entire tribe."

Anastasia chuckled. "They accept it, why can't you? Don't let your pride get in the way, mother!"

"Oh I accept," she says with a mischievous smile. "So this means I am above you, right?"

The khatun nodded.

Xena eyes her two granddaughters and grandson on the sideline. She pulled her daughter off to the side. "In that case: I order you to apologize to your children," she whispers. "This has gone on long enough. I don't like seeing the four of you at odds with each other."

Anastasia let out a big sigh and eyed Arielle, Cera and Csaba. "They will never forgive me."

"Yes they will. Go on. I'll be here."

Her daughter nods and made her way over to her sulking children. Gabrielle curiously slid over to her wife's side and wiggled her eyebrows.

Xena smirked. "This is the only time I will permit you lying to me."

"You're welcome."

She pecked her blonde wife's lips and squeezed her hand. Gabrielle blushed as if she'd been kissed for the first time. Her worries about her wife refusing the role of Khanum had disappeared. She'd seen Xena happy many times before but this was different. She was more than happy, she was elated and it showed in her eyes and bright face.

Suddenly they were bombarded by children and Xena nearly fell over as the twin princes and Aurora grabbed hold of her legs. She held onto Gabrielle's shoulder for balance.

Edemen, being the eldest and only one in charge of his brothers and cousins. "Hey guys, knock it off! Let go of her."

The smaller children obeyed and took a step backward. Aman grabbed her wrist. "Grandma Xena, will you come dance with us?"

Gabrielle cringed. "Oh, I don't think that –"

"Sure, I would love to," Xena interrupted and her wife's shocked face was something to laugh at. "Come on, Gabrielle. You look like a frightened doe."

She pulled the governor with a strong yank and all of the children cheered and skipped ahead of them to the dance floor.