Chapter 14

Gabrielle waited in the foyer impatiently for Badr and the other soldiers to return. After what happened in Anastasia's room of course she and Xena were alerted immediately. Gabrielle expected her wife to react much differently and possibly rage at the fact that her daughter almost died, but she didn't. Surprisingly, Xena was very quiet and had been in the clinic for the last hour without saying a word.

All of the women and children were told to stay in the women's quarters downstairs until otherwise. Gabrielle thought to give Xena some space but this was different. Xena wasn't a commander anymore. She had a much higher position and if anything happened to Anastasia then she was in charge and so far, Xena had done nothing.

Badr ran into the foyer and Gabrielle walked forward with her arms folded. He bowed his head and took a moment to catch his breath.

"I've questioned the guards who were on shift upstairs. They saw the khatun's chambermaid leave the room."

She nodded. Of course, why didn't I see that before? "Diana. She did this. It was her. Nobody has seen her since the fire, correct?"

"Yes, governor."

"Send out people to look for her. She must have reported to whoever was in that tent in the woods. I'm sure whoever was there is gone now. I need to send people to scout the area."

Badr frowned confusedly. "Excuse me but governor, shouldn't the khanum be giving the orders?"

Gabrielle sighed. "She's preoccupied at the moment. Find Diana. She couldn't have gone far."

He ran out of the Adame and whistled to the soldiers to mount their horses. Gabrielle rubbed her forehead and turned to go to the clinic to inform Xena about the plan. Yana head down the corridor and spotted the governor leaving.

"Gabrielle!"

The governor paused and turned. "Chieftess," she greeted.

"I couldn't help but overhear about the chambermaid. I want to help search the area."

"Oh, we have plenty of soldiers to scout. You don't have to do anything."

"But I want to. The khatun is my family," she says with a warm smile. "My brother will come with me to scout the area. I am no stranger to danger, governor."

Gabrielle tapped her fingers together and stared at the tall chieftess for a moment then saw Mirac marching towards them with Cera by his side. She grinned at the redheaded princess and Cera hurried over to hug her tightly.

"Your mother is in the clinic. You can go see her if you want," she whispered. Cera nodded and looked back at her husband who gave her a curt nod. She left everyone and ran down the hallway.

She stared at the Nezak siblings. "So, you really want to help?"

Xena sat beside the bed watching over her daughter hoping that she'd wake soon. The physician had several servants to help him while he dressed the burn wounds on the khatun's arms. He stood beside the bed and gently wrapped bandages drenched in medicine around her arms.

Xena eyed the man and frowned then grabbed his wrist. "I can do that."

He immediately backed away and she took the bandages and finished wrapping her daughter's arm. She took a wet cloth and cleaned off the soot on Ana's face.

The physician lingered at the table and began preparing a medicine for the khatun. He was scared to even get close as long as Xena was there overseeing his every move.

"Khanum, I will need to give her medicine soon," he whispers.

"I told you I can take care of her myself!" she hissed.

"As you command…" he muttered and took the dirty water basin to dump outside.

Ursula waited by the doors and then Cera rushed. She grabbed the princess' arm and Cera's eyes widened at her mother lying in bed with bandages all over her arms and legs.

"You shouldn't be here," she said and Cera put a hand over her mouth. The only unscathed part of her mother's body was her face. Her face was sparred somehow by Oran's interference no doubt.

Ursula held onto the princess and tried to usher her out of the room.

"Cera please. Come back later. Your grandmother will take care of her. You should be with the other women."

The princess angrily pushed the shamaness into the wall and ran to the bed. Ursula fell to the ground and her headdress fell off her head. Many of the maids came to help her up and she glared at the furious redhead.

Xena peered up at her granddaughter and rose from the chair. "Cera, you need to go. I don't want anyone to come in here."

Cera sobbed at the sight of her mother's condition and tried to approach the bed until her grandmother grabbed her arm and forcefully pulled her to the side. Cera looked into her eyes as she breathed unsteadily.

"Leave before I have to use force."

In the women's quarters it was difficult for the children to sleep since they were woken up late in the evening. Instead, all of the boys were playing games on the floor while Nisa and Yeter sat on the floor sofa together trying not to fall asleep.

Nisa sighed and looked over at her infant daughter sleeping in a bassinet beside her. She leaned back and turned to the Gokturk queen who was very displeased about her sleep being interrupted. It didn't seem to matter that someone tried to assassinate the khatun or not.

"I can make some tea for you," Nisa offered.

Yeter raised an eyebrow and slowly turned her head to the woman. "I'm fine."

"Well, I heard from Ursula that you aren't feeling very good. You're very pale."

"Yes. I'm pregnant. Leave me alone. I don't need your pity."

Nisa leaned back and stared at the plethora of princes playing games with each other. She couldn't help but notice Sarnai sitting by herself with her two maids and her son in one of the maid's arms. She cocked her head at the petite woman and Yeter exhaled heavily and wrapped an arm over her queasy stomach.

"Why is she sitting over there?"

Yeter looked over in Sarnai's direction and smirked. "She's Bayan's mistress. She probably doesn't want to sit with us."

"I'm going to ask her to come over here." Nisa stood and smoothed out her dress. "Are you sure you don't want any tea?"

"I don't want tea!"

Nisa smiled at the grumpy queen. "Some mint oil then. I'll get some for you."

Cera came into the room with two maids following behind her. She wiped her nose and stared at all of the children with puffy red eyes. Yeter ran her fingers through her long dark hair and noticed the solemn princess standing by the entrance.

"Cera, did you see your mother?" she asked.

Aman and Aladar jumped up and ran over to the puffy-eyed princess. "Teyze Cera! Is grandma khatun okay? Nobody tells us anything," Aman said.

Cera grinned weakly at the twin princes and nodded.

"Do you wanna play with us? Muqan and Utigur are learning how to play with marbles. We are teaching them."

Aladar nodded excitedly and grabbed her hand. "Yeah, sit with us! You never play with us anymore."

Cera sighed and was led to the floor by her two nephews and she sat down with the other two boys who eagerly passed her a bag of her own marbles. She looked behind her at Yeter who sat by herself and she didn't expect to see a smile from the Gokturk but it wasn't a happy smile, it was a sad smile. She knew. Everyone knew except the children.

Nisa walked back over with Sarnai and Yeter glared at the petite Mongol. Nisa gently pushed her forward and it was clear the young woman was fearful of Yeter which was easy. Yeter didn't exactly have a very pleasing face to look at when she scowled at everyone who came within five feet of her.

"This is Queen Yeter of the Gokturks. She's from the Caucasus Mountains," Nisa introduced.

Sarnai bowed her head slightly and Yeter scoffed and crossed one leg over the other.

"Very nice to meet you, your highness," the Mongol tried to appease everyone who she met. She felt like an ultimate outsider here.

"Are you going to stare at me or sit down?"

Nisa rolled her eyes and gripped Sarnai's shoulders. "Don't pay attention to her. She doesn't like anybody," she whispered. "Sit on the sofa. I will get some tea for you."

Sarnai nervously sat down to the Gokturk queen and anxiously fiddled with her dress. "So, have you heard any news about the khatun?"

"Why do you care? You have no status here."

"I haven't heard anything," she says shakily. "I wondered if –"

"No. Nobody has told us anything," Yeter interrupted. She turned to the petite woman. "Listen, I don't care about you and where you come from. I'm surprised Arielle even invited you here. Everyone knows who you are and what you did. Arielle is a princess of the empire. Nisa is being nice because that's just her nature but I won't be nice to you. I don't like you and if Arielle decides to give you her title then don't expect anything from my kingdom even if we are allies."

Sarnai's face blanched chalk white and Nisa returned with two glasses of tea and a vial of mint oil. She set the tea down on the low table and felt the tension between the two women.

"Is everything alright over here?" she asks nervously.

Gabrielle remained outside the steps of the Adame for the remainder of the evening. She closed her coat and breathed out deeply. She hated staying out at night especially at this time of year. Spring was approaching quickly but the cold would not subside for another two months at the least.

Badr trotted up on his horse and she brushed her bangs out of her face and approached his horse. He jumped off and pulled a body off the horse and dropped it on the ground. Gabrielle frowned and kicked the body over with her boot and gasped. It was Diana's body and there had been several stab wounds to her chest and gut.

"She was dead when we found her in the woods, governor."

"Damn," she muttered. "The person she was working for killed her so she wouldn't say anything. That's just great. I've got nothing to tell Xena now."

Yana and Mirac pulled up and dismounted their horses and Gabrielle turned to them. They both eyed the chambermaid's corpse and their jaws dropped. Yana side stepped her brother and grabbed the governor's shoulder.

"We couldn't find anything on the perimeter of the camp."

"Not even tracks? They couldn't have gone on foot."

Yana shook her head. "I'm sorry. Whoever we're dealing with obviously knows what they're doing. Do you have an idea who it could be?"

Gabrielle rubbed her chin and looked back at the deceased blonde woman. "She said she was found by Alaric but I doubt he would send someone to kill Anastasia. We are friends now. We helped him overthrow Odoacer and conquer Italia."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm not sure of anything right now. This has happened before. Anastasia was poisoned but it was by someone in the Adame."

Yana folds her arms. "Usually assassinations are done by those we are close to. I know the khatun might have enemies aside from the Chinese and Japanese but that's clear this has nothing to do with them. It's someone closer."

Gabrielle thought about Xena's dream or more like premonition. She was repeatedly told that Kreka was the one who warned Xena. She refused to believe it at first but after this, she wasn't too sure what was going on or who was behind this. Now she wished that she would receive a similar type of warning from the late khatun. The dream Xena had hardly made any sense to either one of them but it meant something.

She backed away slowly and thumbed the Adame. "I'm going to my office. I have to go check something."

Arielle and Farah arrived at the infamous Sassanian palace and it was large. Very large. This palace made Farah's home in Banat look like a regular villa. The entirety of it was built out of small blue tiles that were clearly hand painted. The doors of the entrance had to be pulled open by four men and the doors must have been at least thirty feet tall.

Farah gazed up at the tall doors opening slowly and looked over at Arielle who was equally in awe. Xerxes stood in front of them as they all waited for the doors to open. He waited patiently and turned to the women and smiled at their shocked faces.

They head inside the large Persian palace and found themselves in the throne room where Shah Kavad waited for their arrival. Xerxes stared at his older brother who stood by their father with a smug smile on his face.

Arielle had heard of the many wars and adventures with the Sassanians but she never actually imagined their home would be so extravagant. She wondered why her family was never able to conquer this place but now it all made sense. This family was dangerous and they were very powerful. And her grandmother was right; there was always a shah on the throne. They were unstoppable.

She and Farah bowed their heads as did Xerxes. Shah Kavad smiled at his son and the guests.

"Welcome to Persia," he says exuberantly. "I'm pleased to finally meet some members of the Hun Empire and very beautiful ones at that."

Farah raised her eyebrow and Arielle chuckled under her breath. Farah lifted her head and stared at the shah with curious eyes. He didn't look like a tyrant like the other shahs but the man standing next to him did not look the least bit friendly.

"Shah, I'm Queen Farah of Pannonia. I don't want to stay longer than I need to so I think we should talk about our alliance. Anastasia Khatun has sent me as her envoy. Address me as if she were here before you."

Kavad lifts his eyebrows. "Of course, your highness. Please, tell me what you have to say." He waved his hand and sat back down.

"King Khushnavaz of Balaam has already signed an alliance and I have it here with me. Your son also spoke to my commander, Princess Arielle, he wants to combine the armies. The khatun agrees but she has some concerns."

Kawus smirked and addressed the queen, "and what concerns might those be, your majesty?"

Farah frowned at him. "The Sassanians and Huns have never been allies. We have been enemies since Attila's grandfather ruled the tribes. She is concerned that you will attack the empire in the future. A past deal with Shah Peroz with a marriage alliance did not work out and it resulted in violence and bloodshed. She fears that this will happen again. Can you give us any assurance that it won't come to that?"

Arielle blinked as she was surprised Farah did a lot of homework before this trip. She was worried that the beauty queen was not going to represent her mother very well but in fact, she was doing better than her mother. Farah was very skilled in diplomacy and it definitely showed here in this throne chamber.

Shah Kavad scratched his beard and was puzzled that the queen was asking such questions. He gave her a smile and adjusted uncomfortably in his chair.

"Queen Farah, I understand your concerns. You have every right to be concerned but I am not my cousins, uncles or father. My cousin, Balash, was disliked by my people. I decided to end this feud between our families. There is no point in continuing to war with one another."

"Words are just words, shah," she persisted. "I need something concrete."

Kawus stepped down and approached the queen and Farah raised her chin. "Hun Queen," he gave a charming smile, "My father does not spew empty words. If you are here to make threats then I don't see any alliance happening between our families."

"Shehzade!" Kavad yelled.

Kawus backed away at his father's command and went stand beside him again. Arielle furrowed her eyebrows at the elder prince and then saw that Xerxes was disturbed by his brother's arrogance.

"Your highness, I will give you my word and my son, Shehzade Xerxes. He will be my ambassador and live in Pannonia. This will give you peace of mind. Is that suitable?"

Farah looked over at Arielle who had an eager smile on her lips and saw the princess eyeing the tall Persian prince. She inhaled and addressed the shah.

"It is suitable. I will sign the alliance documents when you have them ready."

"Excellent. I look forward to hearing from Anastasia Khatun herself. My servants will show you to the women's wing where you will stay for as long as you need."

Arielle picked at the food that was provided in her suite she shared with Farah. She also was brought several bottles of wine from different parts of the world. She sampled each one in small glasses. As she was enjoying the entire experience she was being given an unpleasant glare from her sister in law.

"Can I help you?"

Farah drummed her fingers on the floor and stared at the huge spread of food across the rug. "Yes, actually. I saw you looking at Xerxes."

"And? I'm not allowed to look at him?" the commander snorted and sipped her third sampling of wine then gave the other undesired bottles to the servants behind her.

"Arielle, don't get any ideas. I'm aware that he is handsome, very handsome compared to other Persians I've seen here."

The princess carefully set down the wine glass and gawked at the queen.

"I'm not interested in him, Farah. He's nice to me, nicer to me than Bayan anyway."

"It's hard for people to be nice to you. You're a handful, Arielle. You always have been."

"I'm not a child and you sound like my mother. She said for you to be her envoy, not to embody her personality," she barked.

Farah falsely smiled and plucked a few grapes off the vine and threw one at Arielle's face. The commander gasped and threw it back at her and Farah caught it midair before it hit her dead in between the eyes.

"Watch yourself, Arielle. I don't think we should stay here for a long time. I'd like to return home as soon as possible."

Arielle snidely remarked, "Someone is sucking up to my mother," she joked. "We'll stay for a couple of weeks then we can go home."

"A couple of weeks?!"

"Yeah," she finished off the wine. "I need to scope out the area. I'd like to see what the people in Persia are like. I'd also like to know more about the Sassanian family if we are to be allies with them."

She stared at the doe-eyed queen and laughed.

"I thought I'd go to the market in a couple of days. Wanna come?"

"No, not really."

"Well, grandma said I can't let out of my sight so you're coming. Khanum's orders," Arielle winked and took a swig of the wine while Farah mumbled.

Gabrielle spent four days in her office going over all the old documents during Attila's reign. Despite everything that happened luckily all of the documents and old treaties had been saved. Her office was now a mess and there were hundreds if not thousands parchments and scrolls scattered on the floor and on the desks.

She hardly slept at all and resorted to napping in her office, determined to find anything in relation to what Kreka mentioned in Xena's dream. Kreka told Attila, according to Xena, that a woman came asking for aid and Kreka gave Attila's mistress money and sent her away.

Gabrielle picked through a box of incredibly old scrolls and then found a box in the back of the room. She took it out and blew the dust off and walked over to her desk. She pushed off the other scrolls and set down the box.

Once she opened it she found of course, more scrolls. She opened each one and they weren't that important. A treaty with Farah's father, one with Navaz's father from decades ago, and one from Kreka Khatun.

Her eyes lit up and she read over it but it was very vague. It was an exchange of funds made with an unnamed person from the Goth territory. Her face contorted and she plopped down in the chair and stared at the old document. It wasn't a fake paper. It had Kreka's seal on it and she signed it.

This could be something related to what Xena dreamt of but it also could be something completely unrelated. She really wished Kreka was alive so she could ask her but unfortunately, she couldn't.

She rolled up the small scroll and stuffed it into her belt then looked around at the mess she had made and groaned. Sleep deprivation was settling in and her adrenaline long left her two days ago.

Xena was not fortunate enough to get any sleep as she stayed in the clinic watching over her daughter. Four days passed and Anastasia had not woken up but by the subtle rising and falling of her chest, she was alive. She constantly had her eyes on her daughter and changed her bandages three to four times every day and slipped medicine into her mouth.

She didn't allow anyone inside the room and asked for guards to be posted outside. She had no knowledge of what went on outside this space and for once, she didn't want to. She acquired patience over the years and she applied this patience at this very moment. Each day she hoped to see her daughter open her eyes and she'd wait until she was able to witness it.

As she sat in silence she heard commotion outside the room and didn't react to it. She was too tired to but the yelling persisted which became hard to ignore.

The doors swung open and Gabrielle charged into the room. The guards followed her inside and dared to put their hands on her. Xena didn't bother to turn to her wife and put up her hand. The guards let the blonde go and backed out of the room and shut the doors.

The disgruntled governor fixed her blouse and huffed loudly and gawked at her comatose wife.

"That's quite a couple of brutes you got there," she says with some irritation in her tone.

"I didn't want anyone in here."

Gabrielle's stance softened and she stared at the unconscious queen lying in bed with arms and legs bandaged and long hair sprawled across the bedspread. She sighed and placed a hand on her wife's shoulder for comfort.

"Xena, I'm a little worried about you. You haven't come out of this room in four days. You need to rest."

"I'm not leaving until she wakes up."

She pulled up a chair and sat beside the khanum and stared at Anastasia's unconscious state. The silence was a bit unsettling but she knew that Xena couldn't stay in this room forever. There were duties to be done and things to be handled.

"Xena," she began softly, "I understand you want to be with Ana but…"

"But what?"

"But…you're khanum. If anything happens to Anastasia then you're automatically in charge. People are wondering when you're going to act. Everyone is just as confused as you are but we really need you. Ana will be fine here. We have the best physicians here to take care of her."

Xena frowned and shifted to stare at her wife.

"I'm staying here with her. Nobody can tell me what to do now. I can do what I want. So, please leave Gabrielle."

Gabrielle pulled out the scroll from her belt and cradled it in her palms. "I found this in my office. I searched for four days to link what Kreka said in your dream to what happened to Anastasia."

Xena stared at her with teary red eyes then peered down at the parchment in her wife's hands.

"Diana set the room on fire. I sent Badr to find her after the attack. He found her dead in the woods. I never got a chance to tell you but Diana is or…was working for someone. I spied on her for over a week and there was a tent not far from here. Whoever it was wants Ana dead and perhaps others too. I don't think she was sent by Alaric."

She presented the scroll and Xena glanced at the handwriting. It was definitely Kreka's handwriting. Nearly perfect and very symmetrical just like everything she did.

"You mentioned that Kreka gave a woman Attila slept with a salary in your dream. I found this and it doesn't have a lot of information. I thought you could give some insight?"

The khanum gently took the parchment and read over it several times with her tired eyes. She was right. There was hardly anything to off from this. All it said was that there was money sent to the Goth territory but that could be anywhere. Visigoths were a big problem during that time but there were others in the areas that were less of a hindrance.

"She…she would never send money to a Visigoth. Theodoric would've been in charge back then."

Xena recalled the timeline in her dream and a baby in the bassinet in the room while Kreka was talking with Attila. It was either Dengizich or Ernak. It had to be.

"Well…who would it be then if not a Visigoth?"

"I don't know."

Gabrielle nodded and placed a hand on the khanum's thigh.

"Xena, I think we need to search those areas. I know Alaric is the only Goth tribe left and if he didn't send Diana, then I don't know who did but…I need you to give the order. I can only do so much with my status as governor."

A tear trickled down Xena's cheek as she laid eyes on her daughter. She crumbled the parchment up and Gabrielle slowly slid her hand off her wife's thigh.

"Please, Xena. I need you to help make decisions. We will find out what happened to Ana, but I need your help." She said and saw her wife's knuckles turn white holding the parchment in her fist.

She added, "if not for me, then for Anastasia. She wouldn't want you to stay here and abandon your duties. You're not a commander anymore. You have the highest status in the empire. Use it."

Xena's hand relaxed and she swallowed. "Alright," she says softly. Turning to her blonde wife with tear stained cheeks. "I will do it."

Gabrielle smiled and kissed her cheek. She quickly got up and grabbed her wife's kozak that was on a chair beside the bed and brushed the beads with her fingers.

"I think you'll need this."

Xerxes sauntered down the hallway and was grabbed by his brother and shoved into another hallway. He growled and nearly hit his elder brother in the face. Kawus smiled and took his hands off Xerxes.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"I wanted to talk to you. I see that Princess Arielle is very beautiful just as I said. Don't get too close to her."

Xerxes adjusted his collar of his blouse and pulled his long hair back, ignoring his brother's remarks and teasing.

Kawus put a hand on the wall and leaned forward. "You remember the plan, right? Father will ally with the Huns and then we will find an opportune time to attack Pannonia. Then after that we will attack the Nezaks and every other tribe that exists."

"Yes, I know the plan."

"It's good that father is assigning you as ambassador. You will be around those barbarians all day, every day. You will send a report to me directly and tell me everything that goes on over there. We will need to wait for the perfect time to attack."

Xerxes nodded and looked around anxiously.

"I got it. I need to go. I am escorting the princess and queen to the market."

Kawus chuckled and slapped his brother's cheek gently. "Good for you, brother, looking out for women."

Arielle and Farah waited by the entrance of the palace and Xerxes was seen at the end of the hall. He waved at them and Arielle smiled and waved back then Farah grabbed her hand. The commander shot her a glare.

The more Xerxes was pressured by his older brother to dethrone their father the more he hated the plan. He didn't mind the Huns. They were very kind to him when they didn't have to be. His father had good intentions but he couldn't help but think that Kawus was going to destroy this entire empire if he was crowned as shah.

He stopped in front of them and bowed his head.

"Good morning. I hope I didn't keep you two waiting long. I had some things I needed to take care of."

"We're perfectly fine," Arielle said and Farah rolled her eyes. "Shall we be on our way now?"

"Oh, yes but you must wear these." He snapped his fingers to the servants and they brought over face veils. He presented them to the women and they gawked at him as if he were some foreign creature.

He laughs lightly. "No woman is allowed to show their face in the city. Don't be offended. Every woman wears them, even my father's wife."

Arielle snatched the veil and stared at it strangely. Farah seemed even less enthused about this than she did.

Xena laid out a map and had Ebnedzar and Oran invited to a meeting in Ana's quarters. She pointed to the Goth territories and eyed father and son who waited for instruction.

"Ebnedzar you will continue your journey to Italia to meet with Alaric. Oran, I know Anastasia told you to go back to your palace but I want you to scout other areas that belong to the Ostrogoths."

Oran nodded. "I will do anything you say."

"Good because I want you to bring explosives with you," she says with a smile. "Threaten the Goths that you will obliterate their homes if they don't allow you to search the area."

He swallowed. "Yes, khanum."

"Do you think that Alaric is behind the attack?" asked Ebnedzar.

She stared at the map and occupied area which now belonged to the Goths. "No, I don't think it was him. I have no idea who is behind this but it's someone in that area. The Franks? I'm not sure. Our main enemies are the Chinese right now and I haven't received a report from Ernak or Csaba yet."

"They are probably still on their way to Japan. I hope they have not been accosted by Emperor Liu."

She hummed. "Yes, let's hope not. You both can go now. Prepare to leave soon and notify me if you run into any problems."

After the two scurried out of the room, Ursula waltzed in with a satisfied smile on her lips. Xena was busy rolling up the large map to even notice the shamaness entering the room.

"I wrote Madhiya and told her to come here as soon as possible. I also sent a few of Ana's elites to retrieve Yana's brother," she says with concern. "Is there a reason you want him to come here?"

The khanum hid her emotions and feelings about that man. "I want to talk to him. I made a promise to Yana. I don't break my promises."

She casually set the map on the far left side of the desk and tapped her fingers on the desk while Ursula idly stood.

"Is there any word on Anastasia's state?"

Ursula smiled softly. "There isn't but she's being taken care of. Cera is with her. I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything."

Xena sighed heavily. "Thank you for helping."

"It's my job to help you. If you need anything I'll be here, Xena."

She nodded. "You still creep me out a little bit," she joked. Ursula smiled at the light tease. "Could you tell Gabrielle to come see me?"

Xerxes walked through the market and he was recognized by everyone which was unnerving to say the least. He was well known by the public but his two female guests were causing most of the strange stares that went their way. Arielle was too busy eyeing every little thing that they passed by. Farah was not interested in anything and kept her eyes wide and open.

Arielle eyed a jeweler and she wasn't much for buying jewelry but she was just trying to distract Xerxes but that wasn't hard. He looked very distracted since they left the palace.

"Your brother doesn't seem to like us very much," she hinted.

He chuckled awkwardly. "He's a bit of a hot head sometimes. He is hard to get along with."

"Mhm. Your people don't seem to be suffering and are well off," she noted. "Does your family have infinite wealth as well as infinite shahs?"

Xerxes hung his head and kept walking in between her and the queen. "There is more than one House in Persia."

Farah's attention was now grabbed and she shared a glance with Arielle. She listened carefully to what the prince said from here on out.

"More than one? What does that mean? Your family isn't the only one in charge?" Arielle asked.

"There are seven houses, mine is only one of them and at the moment, my family is in control. The most famous house under us is the House of Karen."

"I see," she hid her smile beneath the black veil. "Will I ever meet these other families? Since my family is allying with yours I think we should know the other Persian nobilities, don't you think so?"

Xerxes stopped and then two Huns looked back at him. He was nervous, his hands were clammy and the nape of his neck was sweaty. He didn't like lying to them. They were nice women and their family was kind. They certainly weren't the savages that his brother said they would be. The only thing that was true was that Princess Arielle was a gorgeous creature.

"The other Persian Houses follow what my family decrees," he told them. "I only associate with the other Houses when it's necessary."

Arielle hooked arms with him and continued on their way altogether.

"Perhaps we could invite them over and have tea?" she said in a playful tone and then Farah punched her in the middle of the back. "Ne oluyor be!" she whispered.

The governor knocked on the side of the doorframe to alert the khanum who was standing in front of the fireplace. Xena turned and smiled at the sight of her wife and made her way over and grabbed hold of both of her hands.

"Thank you, Gabrielle, for pulling me out of…whatever I was in."

"You don't have to thank me." She kissed the khanum's hands. "Is that why you wanted to see me?"

"Yes and I have a job for you."

"Okay…" the governor laced her fingers in her wife's.

Xena took in a deep breath and looked into the sparkling green eyes beneath her. "When Arielle comes back I still want to be her lieutenant. If we find whoever attacked Ana then I want to be there and I want you there with me."

"You mean…you want to go on a mission? That's my job?"

"Yes…?"

"I don't know why you bothered to ask. I'm always with you, aren't I?" she joked and then got punched in the arm. "Ahh! Xena!"