Thank you to everyone reading along!
Chapter 29 –War upon War: Part II
Mirac sat in bed next to his wife, sketching a portrait of her. He occasionally looked over to study her face when she wasn't looking. He sketched Cera with his back turned and even though Cera was busy with a sketch of her own, she tried to peek at his artwork. Playfully he shrugged her hand off his shoulder and kept inching away from her.
She smudged her fingers along the canvas, examined her charcoal sketch and smeared her charcoal covered fingers along her cheek accidently. Grunting she tried to wipe her face and evidently worsened it, blackening one side of her face.
Mirac kept feeling the mattress shift and he looked over his shoulder at Cera attempting to wipe her face with a cloth. Chuckling softly he went back to sketching and then she reached for his hand and yanked it behind his back.
"Cera!" he barked.
The sketchpad fell on the floor and he turned around with a frown. His face softened when he saw his palm resting on her abdomen. Cera's brown eyes widen gleefully as did her smile. He twisted his mouth, waiting anxiously.
"I don't feel anything," he said.
She kept a big grin and held up her other hand. Finally, he felt a few small flutters against his palm and he looked into her sparkling eyes.
"çok güzel," he spoke softly.
"You should talk to the baby since I can't," she signed with a big grin.
Mirac pulled his hand away and let out an awkward laugh. "What am I supposed to say?"
She shrugged her shoulder and waved her hands around to indicate him to say just about anything on his mind. His face appeared a bit apprehensive at the gesture so Cera pouts with her lips, fluttering her eyelashes and sneakily traced her finger against his arm.
With a roll of his eyes he relented. "You make it very difficult to say no when you make that face."
Yana slipped into the room to deliver a few linens for the room. She opened one of the large wardrobes and folded the linens neatly on a bench inside. As she was tending to the laundry she heard her little brother talking softly.
She leaned backward, peering from behind a half wall and raised an eyebrow. She grew accustom to hearing her brother talk aloud since Cera was unable to but the sight she saw was quite comical and even, dare she say, sweet.
After she finished putting away the last of the linens she walked into the inner bedroom and smiled. Mirac lifted his head and his cheeks reddened upon seeing his elder sister lingering at the end of the bed.
"Don't let me stop you," she avowed. "Go on, keep talking."
He rubbed his neck and bit his lower lip out of nerves. "I didn't know…you were standing there, Yana."
She could tell he was a little embarrassed. "I was just dropping off some linens and I was going to ask Cera if she wanted anything special from the kitchen," she casually said.
Cera quirked her mouth and couldn't think of anything and shook her head.
Yana nodded and slowly treated. "Alright then I will leave you two alone since you obviously have a lot to discuss," she openly teased her brother. "I'm going to see Anastasia Khatun to talk about the party. I'm sure I'll return later just to let you know."
Mirac groaned. "Okay, Yana. You may go now," he said under his breath and flicked a dangling strand of hair from his brow line. "Did you know she was there?" he asked Cera.
The princess had a certain glint in her eyes.
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Anastasia was updated constantly about the war a couple of hours away from Balaam. She received several letters from Navaz which were read by Zolten. She was tired of hearing talks of war and didn't like to hear that their side was neither winning nor losing at this point.
She kept to herself throughout these three weeks, secluded in her room, inevitably waiting for another letter from Navaz. To keep her mind occupied she focused on Cera for the most part but delved into her old habit of smoking opium in her suite. It was one of the reasons why she declared she shouldn't be bothered.
Yana knocked on the khatun's door and entered shortly after a few raps. Her eyes widened at the cloud of smoke in the room and she put a hand over her mouth, wafting the opium fog with a heavy hand. She treads cautiously and wrapped her veil over her mouth and nose.
As she parted the cloud of smoke she found Anastasia sitting on the floor with crisscrossed legs and a two foot tall brass water pipe in front of her. Yana uncovered her mouth and Ana raised her eyes, drawing in a large inhale and slowly blew out the smoke.
"Yes?" she stared at the chieftess. "If you've come with bad news I don't want to hear it."
"Ah," Yana smiled faintly, "I wanted to talk about Cera's party."
Anastasia nodded and paddled the empty pillow next to her. Yana sat down and kept gawking at the water pipe. Ana grinned and said, "Do not tell Cera about this. She hates it when I smoke opium."
So this has happened before, Yana thought.
"I won't, khatun. I…I already informed my brothers, sister and father about the party. We have a few months to prepare and since you're already doing so much I thought I could help you."
She was never one to organize parties and in fact she wasn't very good at it, despite enjoying the celebration and guests. She inclined her head for Yana to continue.
"I'm not familiar with senliks as I told Cera already. We do have something similar in Kazakhstan but the women and men celebrate separately. We could have all the women in the women's quarters together and the men could gather elsewhere."
Anastasia furrowed her brows and glared at the woman. "Mirac will not be in the same room as Cera?"
Yana fearfully answered, "That's correct but they will spend the evening together."
She remembered the amount of compromise she had to endure when Farah had her senlik combined with Szekely traditions. That was a hassle, complicated and ended in a lot of arguing between Kreka and Rabia. She not only had to do that once but twice and she wasn't even consulted on the second celebration.
"I don't approve."
Yana frowned. "We could have two celebrations. A Pannonian party and the following day a party with Nezak traditions," she suggested.
The khatun blew a large puff of smoke into Yana's face and leaned in close. "She's my daughter, Yana. I don't want two parties."
"And she's my brother's wife," she quickly reminded her superior. "I want nothing more than to make Cera happy and I want to include Nezak traditions. Whether you like it or not, khatun, Cera's child belongs to our tribe first and yours second."
Anastasia fluttered her eyes and dropped her jaw.
"I think Cera should have the final say. I will discuss the options with her and get back to you," Yana said and rose off the floor. "Remember that is your grandchild, khatun. I realize you are under a lot of stress and pressure to keep the empire afloat. I am merely here to make your life easier and I care about Cera very much. I'm not here to steal your glory."
Zolten urgently ran into the room, interrupting their conversation. He bowed and awkwardly stared at Yana and Anastasia.
"Forgive me for intruding but I bring news from the field."
Ana waved her hand. "What is it now?"
He eyed Yana and stood in silence.
"You can speak freely in front of her," she assured him. "What did Navaz say?"
"It's not a message from the king but from your daughter," he informed her.
Anastasia set down the water pipe's hose and creased her eyebrows together. This was the first time in weeks she received anything from her daughter. If it wasn't a letter from Navaz it would be from her mother second.
"Arielle?"
He swallowed and gawked at the look of shock on her face. "She requests your presence."
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Gabrielle confined herself inside the tent and drew up a map to combat the Persians. While she heard quite a lot of yelling from Arielle outside she started to hear loud explosions. She only hoped those sounds were coming from their side and not the Persians camp.
It was hard to distinguish what was occurring outside in the field from within the tent but she tried to focus and draw up a plan per Xena's demands. She scrambled to smear the ink across the parchment and heard her wife enter with a loud growl.
Xena took off her headdress and threw it on the floor. She was drenched from head to toe, hair dripping wet and armor heavy. She detached the soaked cape from her shoulders and it fell to her boots with a loud thud.
"Eight days!" she waved her finger in the air. "Eight days they've been attacking us!"
Gabrielle periodically lifted her eyes from the map. She paused at yet another explosion. "I hope those catapults are coming from us."
Xena spun around with a tight smile. "Those aren't catapults, Gabrielle. They're siege towers. And the Persians have two of them continuously firing at us."
"Siege towers!"
Xena nodded and walked over, leaning her palms on the desktop. "What do you have for me? Did you come up with a strategy?"
"Well…I wish I would've known about the siege towers," the governor muttered. "When you fought against Peroz with Navaz you used a Roman tactic to trap them but that plan isn't going to work since they have towers!" she tossed the parchment and sulked.
A loud clap of thunder roared across the sky as soon as Arielle rushed into the tent. She breathed heavily, covered in mud and soaked from the pouring rain. She clomped her way across the rug and wiped the globs of mud from beneath her eyes.
"Remember..." she slowed her breathing, "remember when you told me to tell you when I wanted to be reckless?"
Xena crossed her arms. "What did you do?"
The drums in the camp sounded and Gabrielle immediately stood from the chair which she sat in. her eyes wandered and Xena whipped her head around with a wry way about her gaze. They both slowly turned their focus to Arielle.
"Arielle…" the governor made her way around the desk, "did you invite someone to the camp?"
The flaps of the tent were parted by the two guards posted outside in the storm. Anastasia walked in and flipped the dark hood off her head and lifted her face veil. She brushed her wet long sleeves and smiled at everyone.
"I may not be able to see the chaos but I sure can hear it and I don't like what I hear," she announced.
Arielle sheepishly smiled at her mentors. "I invited mother to come help us. A little late to inform you two but I was a bit preoccupied. I hope you don't mind."
Xena stepped forward with clenched teeth. "I do mind," she hissed. "Anastasia," she grabbed her daughter's hand. "You shouldn't have come here. It's dangerous."
"I'm very aware mother but Arielle asked for my help. She wanted some insight on the campaign I lead with Ellac and Navaz years ago. If you recall, I won that war against the Shah Brothers."
Xena swiped her wet bangs away from her forehead. "I recall." She glared at Arielle. "You and I are going to have a little talk later."
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Eksama pushed what little men the Huns had left behind the large wall that surrounded Banat. She not only slaughtered hundreds of men on the field but she also watched the war from afar underneath a large canopy. Now that she had her brother's army cornered she began firing at the wall with her front line of ballistic machines.
Behind the wall, Ernak continued to command the archers to keep firing at the Gepids. Every few minutes the ground shook from the explosives aimed directly at the wall. He lost a few archers every single time the wall took a massive blow.
He wiped his forehead and eyed the palace where his entire family was and breathed deeply. He no longer felt confident that he was going to win this war against his sister. As soon as the archers toppled over the wall he sent in new men to replace the ones lost.
Bayan ran down the stairs of the west wall and waved his arms to grab Ernak's attention. He too lost a lot of his Assyrian soldiers but he was the only person besides Ernak to remain unharmed. Csaba and Oran left the field but soon rejoined but ultimately were so severely wounded that they were sent to the palace to recover.
"She's going to tear down this wall!"
Ernak nodded and felt another hit. "I know…" he regretfully whispered.
"When that wall comes down she's going to raid the entire city!" Bayan yelled in between the explosions. "And then we're all fucked!"
The king frowned sadly and looked up at the dark clouds looming over the city. The air was moist, indicating rain. He almost welcomed the downpour as it might be a sign that could deter Eksama's men from breaking down the wall.
Bayan eyed the south wall begin to crumble and men fell to their deaths. With the little energy he had he didn't want to see his end by a Gepid's sword. He grabbed Ernak's arm, knocking him out of a hazy daze.
"I sent for aid!" he says loudly.
Ernak whipped his head around and tightened his jaw. "Arielle will never make it here in time!" he assumed Bayan meant Arielle.
Bayan smiled. "I figured! I sent for someone else!"
The king stared confusedly at Bayan and he turned to see the south wall had been broken down completely. Gepids began to make their way through the opening and swarm the area. He panicked and ran with Bayan to the west wall.
They climbed the stairs quickly and Ernak commanded the men below to protect the gates to the palace up ahead. He felt a few raindrops hit his nose as he tiredly ran to the remainder of the south wall and looked out onto the field of corpses.
He spotted Eksama sitting leisurely underneath a canopy, guarded by several of her men. No doubt she was enjoying this, he thought. Out in the distance he saw a large army heading towards the field. He cocked his head and turned to Bayan.
"Is this the backup you spoke of?"
Bayan nods with a smug grin. "I asked Ebnedzar for assistance."
Ernak's gloom outlook on this war left his mind and he embraced Bayan and gave him a big kiss to the cheek. He slapped him on the shoulder.
"I hate you a little bit less than I did before!" he cheered with a hearty laugh.
Bayan arched an eyebrow, unsure how to take the backhanded compliment.
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Meanwhile in the palace Farah tended to Csaba's wound in the infirmary. Her sons were concerned for their father and begged her to allow them to stay to oversee his progress. The infirmary soon turned into a gathering for all the princes.
Oran was looked after by his mother even though he wasn't in nearly as bad condition as Csaba. Ursula forbade Yeter and Nisa into the infirmary and encouraged them to stay in a room together with their infant children. They were constantly watched over by Rabia.
Austraia took it upon herself to entertain the children by telling stories to distract them from the rumbling explosions outside. For the most part they paid attention except for the older princes. Edemen, Issik and Kurt lurked on the balcony, watching the battle and Gepids pouring into the city.
As far as Kurt knew, his father was alive but with all the chaos he couldn't make out who was who. He scanned the field and walked further out onto the balcony and a smile formed.
"Uncle Ebnedzar came!" he shouts. "He came with the rest of our army!" he ran into the infirmary.
Ursula sighed with relief and looked to Farah's sunken red eyes. She left Oran's side and grabbed the queen's wrist.
"Let me take over for awhile. You've been watching him for days."
Farah shook her head and sobbed uncontrollably the longer she stared at Csaba's unconscious state. Kurt's excitement faded when he saw Farah at her wits end. He rushed to her side and pried her off the bed which wasn't too difficult due to her lithe body.
He wrapped his strong arms around her thin frame and forcefully but gently, dragged her away from the bed. She continued to resist and dropped to the floor as he still had his arms around her waist. Tears streamed down her cheeks and she buried her face in her hands.
Aman and Aladar hesitantly walked over to their wailing mother. Aman, being the braver one of the twins, placed a hand on her shoulder.
"It's okay mom," he says in a soft voice. "Father will get better soon."
Farah choked and looked at her sons and smiled weakly. She cupped both of their cheeks and then brought them into a tight embrace.
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With time not on their side, Anastasia quickly went over a few strategies that they could use to combat Kawus and the Karens. The siege towers were the main obstacle and with those still operating in the field nobody stood a chance even with the catapults aiming at the soldiers invading the field.
Arielle took in everything her mother said carefully. She absorbed the information like a sponge and understood what needed to be done. She wasn't sure if this plan was going to work but it could deter the Persians a bit longer so they could devise a more secure plan.
Underneath a canopy outside in the pouring rain, Anastasia stood with Gabrielle and Navaz. The three were not keen on staying in the camp but were not only ordered by Xena but also Arielle, to stay behind.
Gabrielle had been through several wars throughout her life and witnessed Xena ride out onto the field more times than she could count but this time she didn't want to see her in the field at all. But as she learned a long time ago; she couldn't stop her wife from doing anything.
Xena, Arielle and Xerxes trotted towards the canopy on horseback, dressed in dark heavy cloaks. Xena lifted the hood just above her eyes and smiled down at Gabrielle. She could see the anxiety and fear in the blonde's jade eyes.
"We've informed the front lines about the plan," said Xena. "Arielle, you will do what I told you."
The khagana smiled. "I remember the plan perfectly, grandma." She tapped her head.
Gabrielle stepped out into the rain and grabbed her wife's hand. "Come back in one piece."
"Don't I always?" she winked. She slowly steered her horse backwards and whistled at the Avar soldiers waiting for her to ride out into the field. Trotting ahead slowly down the hill, a legion of Avars followed her.
Arielle nudged her head to Xerxes and they split, one riding east, the other west. Anastasia sighed heavily and tapped her fingers on her folded arms. She felt Navaz's arm creep up behind her and her head turned upward.
"I don't like it that you came here," he thought to tell her.
"Who am I to defy our daughter's orders?" she teased and leaned into him.
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Increasing speed, Xena guided the soldiers towards the center of the field. Her heart raced in her ears as they neared the lake where the siege towers were stationed. Holding her breath she drew her sword, riding directly towards a wall of Persians protecting the lake.
A ramming technique she learned a long time ago working for the Romans was never a strategy she liked to use. In fact it was deadly but she didn't tell Gabrielle that. The Persians guarding the lake were resilient and she couldn't fathom the stubbornness.
With a loud cry her sword swiped through a few Persians and the wall of soldiers was broken by an invasion of Avars behind her. The focus was not the ground soldiers at all. It was merely a distraction. She rounded the soldiers, galloping across the bridge beneath the lake. The goal was not to kill as many Persians as possible but to thwart their attacks.
Killing a minimal amount of Persians, she rode around the lake, making a large circle, dangerously close to Kawus' camp. She ducked at the arrows being aimed directly towards her. Her eyes focused on Arielle on the west side of the lake with two catapults.
Arielle raised her arm in the air and commanded her men to fire the catapults. The shot was directly aimed for the tower on the west. Xerxes waited for her signal and on the east side, he waved his hand to the ballistic line to aim for the other tower.
Xena looked back at Kawus scrambling in his camp. At this point he was panicking which brought a smile to her lips. Rounding the soldiers to the west side of the lake she felt a stab to her shoulder and inhaled sharply.
Gabrielle saw from under the canopy that Xena had been hit with a Persian's arrow. She gasped and watched as Xena broke the arrow shaft in half and kept riding through the field.
"What? What happened?" asked Ana. "Gabrielle! Tell me what happened!"
"Your mother," she paused, holding her breath, "was hit."
Arielle's eyes focused on her grandmother continuing to ride through the field, guiding the army back towards the Hun camp. She could see the pain written all over her face. Narrowing her eyes, she commanded for the catapults to keep aiming at the siege towers.
Taking it upon herself, she scanned the field and there was a group of Persian archers. They were continuing to shoot at her grandmother. She pulled out her bow and arrow from the holster. What a horrible aim, she thought.
Pulling back two arrows at a time, she released the arrows and hit two Persians. Whilst yelling at her men to continue firing, she continued shooting arrows with incredible speed and accuracy until the group of Persians fell on the muddy grass.
Gabrielle ran forward as soon as her wife returned to the camp. The sight of the arrow didn't alarm her as much as the paleness of Xena's face. She reached forward and tried to aid her wife off the horse and Xena grabbed her hand, attempting to dismount from the saddle gracefully.
Slowly her grip loosened and she slid off the saddle. Navaz darted forward and grabbed her before she collapsed to the ground. He scooped her into his arms and brushed by Anastasia, entering the nearby tent.
Ana grabbed Gabrielle by the arm. "Is my mother hurt badly?"
Gabrielle pats the khatun's hand and felt a lump in her throat. "She'll be alright." She has to be, she thought.
Multiple explosions from the field snapped Gabrielle back into reality. She spun around and saw both towers crumbling. She smiled at the fall of the siege towers and the Persians retreated from the bridge, running back towards their camp.
"Your daughter is just as crazy as your mother," she marveled.
Anastasia grinned and squeezed the blonde's arm.
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Dawn approached and Ebnedzar was finally able to reunite with his little brother. They embraced and pat each other on the backs, laughing at the victory from Eksama's wrath. Not only did the Hun army push out the Gepids from the inner city, they also dissuaded Eksama from further attacking.
Ernak pulled away with a great big smile. "I really owe you one, brother."
"She's going to come back you know," he says to dampen the mood. "This was a battle won and a war lost, Ernak. Our insane sister is going to attack again."
The king nodded and sighed heavily. "At least let me enjoy this moment."
Bayan was busy helping the soldiers gather up the wounded to be transported to the mansion where he lived and the palace up ahead. He locked eyes with the sons of Attila and shied away, continuing to order the men around and pick up the pace even though everyone was beyond exhaustion.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Ernak's beaming face.
"I really hate your guts," Ernak's smile faded and Bayan's eyes widened. "But you are a good soldier and excellent commander." That smile crept up on his lips again and Bayan relaxed his tense shoulders at the genuine praise.
"Thank you."
"If only you were a good husband to my niece," Ernak snidely said and slapped the Harran king's shoulder several times. "But perhaps I will put in a good word for you to Arielle since she is an empress now."
Bayan cleared his throat. "Empress?"
Ebnedzar chuckled at the awkward exchange between the two kings.
"Ah, it seems I forgot to mention that tiny detail," Ernak snickered. "Arielle is now the Empress or Khagana of the Avar Empire. I'm impressed with your skills on the field and I would like to work with you again but that is a discussion for another time."
He wrapped an arm around his elder brother's broad shoulders. "Come! We shall go see the women and tell them how victorious we were," he sauntered away with Ebnedzar.
Bayan muttered to himself and ran a hand through his long wavy hair.
"Are you coming, Bayan? I have wine and it's not that shitty Banat kind!" Ernak roared in laughter shortly after.
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Rabia quietly entered the infirmary and closed the door. All of the princes were cuddled in a corner on the floor, sleeping together on a mound of pillows and blankets. Austraia was also asleep with her back against a wall and Muqan cuddled against her with his head resting on her thigh. Utighur lay his head on her other thigh, breathing deeply.
She smiled at the slumbering princes and made her way to the beds where Oran and Csaba lay, resting and recovering. Ursula was asleep on a chair next to Oran's beside and Rabia expected as much when she saw her little sister lying down next to Csaba on the bed.
She titled her head and loomed over her sister. She grabbed a blanket at the foot of the bed and draped it gently over Farah. A tug on her dress caused her to turn and she peered down at a very tired prince.
Aladar rubbed his eyes and yawned. "Teyze Rabia…" he mumbled.
She knelt down and smoothed out his bed hair. "Yes, tatli cocuk?" she whispered back.
"Is the war over?"
"Yes and we won!" she cheered quietly and kissed his forehead.
Aladar smiled and looked over at his parents. "Will my father wake up now?"
Rabia turned to her sister and Csaba then grabbed the prince's hand, ushering him away from the bed. The mind of a child was so simple but this child was no ordinary child and she certainly couldn't lie to him. He had his mother's incredibly smart intuition and sharp mind as well as her good looks. He wasn't a dumb boy by all means even though his questions were the same as every other six year old in the world. He expected a truthful answer.
She stared into his eyes that reminded her so much of Farah's. She sometimes wished she inherited even half the brains her sister had.
"He'll be alright, don't worry," she tried to assure him but the look on his face showed he wasn't convinced.
"But mom was crying all night!" he said louder than he should have.
Rabia nodded her head slowly and watched some of the children stir. "She's just worried about your father like you are. He'll wake up soon."
He crinkled his nose and pursed his lips. "You promise?"
"I promise." She pecked his hand. "Hey, there's some lokmas in the dining hall," she coaxed him to delve his feelings into eating sweets. "You'll be the first to eat the freshest lokmas of the day."
Aladar looked back at his slumbering twin brother. "Can Aman come too?"
"Of course!"
He smiled. "Okay!" he padded over to his brother and shook him awake.
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Gabrielle dabbed a damp cloth on her wife's ghastly wound. Sleep didn't even occur to her and she remained awake for the remainder of the afternoon all the way up until the following morning. The hope of her wife waking up did not come though a sense of relief overcame her each time she saw the rise and fall of Xena's chest.
She was still alive and she was breathing, although a bit sharply and painfully, Gabrielle imagined. She replaced the bandages three times since the hit. Navaz was kind enough to remove the arrow's shaft yesterday and stayed to pick out the splintering wood with tweezers.
As she kept her eyes firmly on her wife she counted how many times she'd been put in this situation throughout their lives. Each time was the same; the same fear of death encroaching on them both. It never made it any easier.
She wanted to slap her and she would probably keep that in mind later after the recovery period ended. Every single time Xena went into the field a little piece of Gabrielle left. This time she wasn't in the field alongside her and she understood why. Xena wanted to be in charge of everything much like Arielle.
Gabrielle did all that she could and now it was time for the waiting game. This was the worst part of it all –not being hit by an arrow but the waiting. So much waiting. She held her wife's limp hand and swallowed the large lump in her throat which traveled to her tightened chest.
"I know you'll be alright," she says aloud. "Just like all the other times."
The corner of her mouth twitched.
"You are insane and I will never get tired of saying that."
She leaned forward and brushed a strand of silver hair away from Xena's sweaty cheek.
"You've always complained about your hair," she mused. "But I like it. It definitely suits you."
All she could think about was how she might get slapped later for remarking on any comments concerning her wife's few strands of silver sprinkled through the raven locks. A sense of mocking fear surged through her as she thought Xena might be listening to every single word she was saying out aloud.
She continued to wait in silence, holding onto the khanum's hand, squeezing it gently. The exhaustion began to weigh on her and the lids of her eyes started to shade her vision. She felt a return squeeze of her hand and jolted awake.
"Xena?" she whispered.
A twinge of a smile formed on Xena's mouth and Gabrielle beamed. Leaning over to inspect her wife's wound she found slight discomfort on her wife's face. A breathy exhale escaped her lips before she fell into a deep state of sleep again.
Gabrielle sighed and sat back. At least she was alive but that also meant she was listening. The governor grinned, somewhat satisfied that she'd been heard and Xena was alright. The firm grip on her hand was still present more than comforting.
She gradually descended onto the floor, still holding onto her wife's hand, and fell asleep with her knees curled close to her chest.
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Anastasia anxiously awaited in Navaz's tent for his return. She bit her fingernails and heard boots approaching. She tried to stand up and a gentle hand pushed her back down on the sprawled rugs. Navaz smiled and sat down next to her.
"Is she alright?"
"Yes," he said and relief crossed her features. "I checked on her and she's asleep and so is Gabrielle."
Ana nods. "Good, good."
He stripped himself of his armor hours ago and was now in a light fresh tunic and fresh pants. He kept his gaze upon her and grabbed her hand to hold in his.
"I doubt Kawus is going to pull back anytime soon."
"I wouldn't expect any less from Persians but he is odd. He doesn't attack like a normal Persian would and he had siege towers! Who has siege towers?!" she scoffed.
Navaz stifled a laugh. "We're going to be at war with him for a long time."
She nodded and felt a firm grip on her hand. Turning her head slightly she smiled softly, blinking her pale blue eyes that were once so vibrant. For such a tall, strong and intimidating looking man, Navaz was soft and had a huge heart. Nothing changed with him. He was also an incredible enabler when it came to Arielle and the woman he once called wife.
"You know…" she trailed a finger along his muscular bicep. "Your daughter really likes Xerxes."
He groaned and that instantly turned his mood sour. "She's your daughter now, remember?"
Ana grimaced and punched his arm, quite hard actually, more than usual. He winced and cowered in fear of her. The two stared at each other and then laughed softly.
"You must stop doing that," he jests. "Why are all the women in this family so violent?"
"It's in our nature I suppose," she says nonchalantly and playfully flutters her eyelashes.
He shifts and averts his gaze elsewhere. "I will send someone to take you back to Balaam."
"I want to stay," she protests. "With you. I want to stay with you," she professed coyly.
"You can't stay here, Anastasia. This is a war zone."
"What's your point?" she scooted closer to him. "I've been in several war zones with you." her fingers traveled up his chest and she bit her lower lip.
Navaz widens his eyes and he immediately stood up. "Ana."
She leapt forward, not expecting him to retreat. "Sit down!" she ordered.
He did as he was told and the sneaky smile returned to her lips. He inhaled deeply and closed his eyes as her hands roamed along his chest then to his abdomen and then to his thigh. His eyes shot wide open and he grabbed her hand.
"What are you doing?"
"Oh I see. You are refusing me now?"
"No, no!" he smiled tensely.
"Good." She shoved him down to the floor and climbed on top of him. She pinned down his arms. "You have guards posted outside this tent, right?"
His mouth parted. "Yes?" he says unsure.
"Tremendous."
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In the middle of her tent Arielle sat, pouring a pan of water over her hair. She'd hardly gotten any sleep and desperately wanted to wash her hair of the mud and dirty rainwater. She was missing the baths in her new palace right about now.
This water was frigid but at this point she didn't care. She poured another pan of the cold water over her arms and closed her eyes as the water rained down over her head and face. Setting the pan down, she smoothed her palms over her curly soaked locks.
"Good morning."
A familiar voice sounded behind her and she turned around. She shyly smiled at Xerxes and wrapped her arms around the wet towel around her body.
"Morning yourself," she greeted. She wiped her face with a cloth and rung out the water remnants of her long hair into the pan set on the floor.
"How do you manage to keep such long hair?" he asked with mild curiosity.
Arielle chuckled and tugged at the knots in her hair with a simple run-through with her fingers. "My mother's hair is almost to her ankles."
He raised his eyebrows. "I've seen. It's quite impressive."
She focused on ridding her hair of the knots and looked up to his wandering eyes. He decided to sit and watch her. Laughing under her breath she reached for a comb and extended her hand.
"Might as well make yourself useful."
He gawked at the comb and then she slid down onto the floor, waving the comb in his face. He grinned and took the comb and gently ran it through her curls. They sat in silence for a few minutes until their eyes met briefly.
"Your parents really love each other."
She rolled her eyes. "I don't think they truly loved each other until many years after their divorce." She paused and laughed. "You know, if my father could throw rose petals behind my mother when she walked I bet he would!" she joked.
Xerxes arched an eyebrow. "Still, it's obvious they care deeply for one another. And your grandmother and the governor too."
Her cheeks flushed. "Yes. They –they've known each other for such a long time. Before I was born even." She tried to avoid all subjects related to love. "They've known each other since my mother was a teenager."
"Is that so?"
"Mhm."
Xerxes could tell she was being rather shy which was odd for her. He continued combing her hair in silence. "Arielle."
Oh no, here it comes, she thought.
"Hmm?"
"I think you've figured out I'm not going to leave and you're afraid of that."
She rubbed her throat. "I'm not afraid of anything."
"You don't have to act tough around me, Arielle," he found it amusing. "Although I admire your spirit but I guess you're just going to continue to push me aside out of pride. That's pretty low of you," a smile appeared.
Arielle frowned. "Shut up."
"There it is. I was wondering when you were going to spout off with that obnoxious mouth of yours," he chortled.
She leapt forward and pushed him onto his backside and leered over him. The towel around her body slowly slid off her tattooed body and the Persian's eyes wandered to her bare breasts.
"Got something else to say, Persian?" a curl to her lips formed into a mischievous smile.
"Maybe?"
She grumbled and met lips with his forcefully and he could feel the air practically being sucked out of him. She yanked her mouth away with a satisfactory smile.
"What about now?"
"I –I don't have any objections."
She smiled and ripped the towel off her body and threw it behind her. She reached for the laces on his pants and sat on his thighs. Xerxes grabbed her hands and she gave a menacing frown.
"Your…father?"
"Is probably having sex with my mother," she says indifferently.
XXXXXX
Late in the afternoon Xena awoke with a sharp aching pain in her left breast. She tried to sit up and moaned softly. She felt a weight on holding down her right arm and scooted over on the cot. Grinning, she gazed down at Gabrielle sleeping on the floor with no blanket or mat beneath her.
She hissed and reared her head back on her folded cape. "God dammit!"
Gabrielle shot up and immediately cupped her wife's cheeks. "You're awake!" she kissed her cheeks, forehead, nose and then her lips generously. Pulling away with a grand smile and kissed her wife's forehead again.
"Gabrielle…" she complained. "Alright, alright!"
"Oh." The blonde retracted her hands. "Sorry."
She momentarily forgot about the wound. "I stayed up all night waiting for you to wake up. I thought you weren't going to awaken."
Xena scoffed. "Please." She put a hand over the bandaged wound. "I promised I wouldn't leave you besides I could hear you."
"Oh really…" she sheepishly sank down on the floor. "What did you hear exactly?"
"You like my hair," she grossly sneered at her petite wife. "At least one of us likes it." She teased and then coughed.
Gabrielle reached for a skin filled with water and aided in helping Xena sit up slightly to sip the water. After taking heaping gulps of water she eased her back down to a gentle resting position. The goofy smile on her face was enough to cause Xena discomfort by laughing so she refrained.
"Should I expect a lecture from you about my recklessness?"
"Not today." Gabrielle said. "Maybe later." she winked. "I'm just glad you're alright."
Xena nodded and took in a painful breath. "Yeah, it could've been worse. The arrow could've been laced with poison."
"Xena!" she groaned and heard her wife release a short snicker. "What am I going to do with you?"
"You love me."
Gabrielle rolled her eyes dramatically. "You're lucky in that respect."
"I'm just a lucky person." She waved her hand, feigning innocence.
"I'll say." Gabrielle shook her head. "Kawus is still across the lake, fuming at the bits I'm sure. He will attack again but I'm sure he'll have to gather more troops. That will buy us some time."
Xena nods and grazed her fingers along the bloody gauze. "I'm going to find that bastard who shot me."
"It's been taken care of. Arielle killed the archer and then some…"
The khanum puckered her lips and gave a curt nod of her head. "Good girl."
"You didn't keep your promise."
"What are you on about?"
Gabrielle nudged her head to the arrow wound. "You promised to come back in one piece."
Xena sighed heavily. "I still have all my limbs, don't I?"
XXXXXX
Navaz yawned and stretched an arm over his head. He rolled over to Anastasia's slender bare backside, lying on her side, sleeping soundly. He rested his weight on his elbow and carefully ran his fingers through her hair sprawled across the fur skins. A lot of damn hair, he mused.
He was about to reach beneath the blanket until one of his soldiers entered the tent. He frowned at the young man with a bowed head.
"What?"
"A letter from Shehzade Kawus, your highness." The soldier briskly walked over and handed over the scroll and backed out of the tent swiftly.
He sat up with the blanket draped over his lower half and read the Persian's letter. His growl awakened the woman beside him and he turned to her with a smile.
Anastasia rolled over and brushed a mound of hair behind her shoulder. "Who was that?"
"A soldier. I got a threatening message from Kawus."
"Oh?"
He rumbled. "He said he will stop at nothing to take all of Armenia and any territories I possess."
"Persians." She spat. "Thinking they can own the world. Such entitlement!"
She reached for her dress and lazily slipped it over her head and slid her arms through the sleeves. She felt an arm wrap around her waist and she snapped her head around.
"Not now," she whispered.
"Why not?"
"My mother awaits me!" she paddled his cheek and grabbed onto his shoulder to stand up.
Disappointment and mild aggravation was apparent on his face at any mention of Xena.
"Don't you want to know if my mother has recovered?"
"Of course…" he relented. "She has Gabrielle with her," he adds meekly.
"Navaz!" she whacked the back of his head and snatched her veil off the floor then exited the tent.