Chapter 39 –War of The Shahs: Part I
She slipped her leather gloves on and stared at the blonde man that was kept captive for over two weeks. She requested to be left alone in the room with him and so far all of her visits had been unfruitful. With all her years as an interrogator she never encountered such diligence from anyone before. He refused to utter a single word no matter how much he was tortured.
Xena pulled up a stool and sat down opposite the captive. She rested her elbows on her thighs and smiled. He lifted his head slowly and stared at her from one of his good eyes. He'd been beaten severely over the last couple of weeks. He lost count how many times he'd received a whip to his back and he'd been backhanded more times than any human should've.
She strategically beat him senseless and slashed his arms and backside almost every single day. She thought to give him a rest and let him recover for a few days.
"I don't know why you keep prolonging this," she said. "I'm not going to kill you. I'll keep you here as long as I need until you give me the information I want."
He licked his cracked lips and shifted in the chair which he sat on. He let out a sigh of exhaustion and hung his head, dreading his very existence.
"Once…I tell you, if I do," he croaked, "you'll just kill me…anyway."
Xena wore a lopsided smile and paddled his sore thigh. "You're wrong. Maybe thirty years ago I would have no problem killing you but that was then. This is now. I'm going to let you go. I just need you to tell me who you work for."
He gazed at her with surprise and then his face darkened with an eminent frown.
"You lie."
"I'm not lying." She held up her hand. "I swear. Once you tell me who you work for then I will let you walk free. I'll even have the physician patch up your wounds. So…" she leaned forward, "who do you work for?"
His silence told her all she needed to know. Xena huffed and stood from the stool. She walked over to the wall adorned with several weapons and picked up one of the leather whips and turned around, smacking the handle against her palm.
"I see we're going to have to do this the hard way," she presumed. "So be it."
His light eyes enlarged at the dreaded whip. He became best friends with that weapon and he had the wounds to prove it. If he made it out of here alive he was surely going to complain to his commanding officers about the torture he endured. But the only way out of here was to talk and he was insistent on remaining quiet.
"You don't know how much it pains me to do this," she revealed an impish grin.
He highly doubted that. She enjoyed this –enjoyed torturing him –and she was quite skilled at it. She was a skilled torturer and interrogator; so skilled that he nearly cracked a few times.
Xena held the whip over the flames of a torch and then turned to the captive. He tried to wriggle his way out of the chair he was bound to. She came over and pressed her hand on his shoulder, holding the flaming whip above her head.
"Last chance."
His body immediately tensed and he shut his eyes to endure the onset of pain he was about to receive.
Lost in the large library within the palace, Gabrielle dove into a world of thousands of documents and manuscripts that were archived by several past rulers. She tried to look for any useful information that might help their case with the captive but so far, all she found were old documents from Tomiri's reign and Jiulu's.
Any other documents she found were useless treaties that Tomiri broke several times over. She did however find a treaty with Persia which she found interesting. It was a document signed by Peroz long before the Huns decided to invade. There were also a few treaties made with the Magyars which were also useless.
The Magyars had disappeared off the face of the earth once Tomiri took over Scythia and the surrounding areas. Gabrielle recalled a long time ago when the Magyars came to Pannonia and asked for an alliance with Attila. That didn't last long.
"Maybe the captive is a Magyar," she thought out loud.
While she focused on flipping through the documents she lifted her eyes to see Cera walk into the quiet library with a tray. She smiled warmly at the princess and pushed the piles of parchment across the desk. Cera set down a tray of coffee and dessert.
Gabrielle peered at the single saucer and eyed the princess. "Aren't you going to have any for yourself?"
Cera gave a worn-out grin and spoke with her silent hands, "Arielle forbade me from drinking coffee."
"I see." She took the saucer. "Thank you, Cera." She sipped the scalding sweet coffee and burned her tongue. "Your sister just cares about you but I must say she is worse than your mother."
Cera couldn't agree more. She pulled up a chair and slowly lowered herself and smoothed her hand over the very active child inside her. She made a poor excuse to come into the library to spy on the governor's investigative work. She was more than curious and she wanted to escape from her sister and mother so she slipped away just for a little while.
"Did you find anything?" she knocked on the desk.
Gabrielle swallowed the hot coffee and coughed. "Oh um," she grabbed a couple of documents. "Not really. I have no idea who the captive is or where he comes from. I think I've read over four hundred documents. Tomiri is a piece of work I'll tell you that."
Cera rubbed her chin. "Can I help?"
"I don't know if that's such a good idea," she lamely said. "If your mother…"
She saw the pouty face that Cera made and it was too difficult to say no. Unlike Csaba and Arielle, there was a certain sweetness that Cera had that her siblings didn't possess. Gabrielle had only seen one side of Cera and that was the charming side but according to Arielle there was a super vengeful side that was kept locked away.
She relented, "I'm a major pushover," she grumbled. "Okay Cera, you can help but not a word about this to your mother! She'd kill me if she found out I allowed you to help with this."
The princess gleefully clapped her hands and scooted the chair closer to the desk. She took half of the stack for herself and began sorting, skimming over the documents and sent a grin Gabrielle's way.
Instead of holding a meeting in the council room, Xerxes joined Arielle in the bath chamber. He returned from his escapade in Persia a few days ago and he set eyes on Arielle the moment he entered the palace. His mind was clouded once he saw her but he had to remain focused. That was going to be quite a task considering she was sitting in the bath, entirely naked, washing her body and hair.
She flipped her hair over her head and sent a smile towards his way. Xerxes sank lower in the hot water and tried to keep his mind focused on anything but her bare breasts. He knew that she was teasing him. This was a horrible idea to have a meeting in a bath chamber. A very horrible idea.
He cleared the lump from his throat. "Siyawush is on his way to Anosbord. Tegin Irkin is also with him. My aunt has sent your father a sum of funds to get my father out of prison."
"Very good," she squeezed the soapy cloth onto her arm. "Once your father is broken out he will live in Balaam until the war with your brother is over."
He sank further down into the water and his stomach churned. "Yes…that's the plan."
"Looks like my mother is going to get her wish. I'm not going into the battlefield because my life is in danger. Someone tried to assassinate me!" she splashed some water with a hard slap of her hand.
"Is the khanum –your grandmother –going to war then?" he asked and she nodded. "I'm surprised that she wants to put herself in that position given her age."
Arielle twisted her hair around her hand and snorted at his comment. "War is like her baby and don't ever call my grandmother old. She really hates that."
"I would never," he said with a charming smile. "She doesn't look her age."
"I'm sure she'd love to hear that," she mused and set the cloth outside the pool. "You won't be going to war?"
He swam over and sat on the bench beside her. "No, I'll be here with you. If my brothers see me then I'll be killed immediately."
"Ah." Her cheeks tinged pink. "You better not distract me, Xerxes. I am an empress and I have duties." Her tone was obviously more playful than serious but she wanted to make sure that her responsibilities as a ruler came first.
"I promise I won't get in your way." He kissed her hand. "Just make sure you fit me into your busy schedule." His lips traveled up her arms and she quivered at his touch.
She gently shoved him and lowered her body beneath the surface of the water. "My brother knows about us," she broke the sensual moment between them.
Xerxes felt his body reacting to her touch and quickly fell limp once she mentioned Csaba. He leaned against the wall and raised his arms over his head, stretching with an audible groan.
"Really." He was rather impartial in the topic.
"Good news; I don't think he's going to pommel you into the ground," she let out a giggle.
"That's great. You really know how to kill the mood, Arielle." He flicked water at her face. "If I didn't know better I'd say you're afraid of me getting close to you."
"I'm not!" she rose from the water and placed her hands on her hips.
Xerxes' eyes widened, focusing in on her breasts and then he grinned mischievously. "Then prove me wrong."
She wrinkled her nose. "Not in the bath!"
"Okay, we'll go to your room then," he stood and walked up the steps, exiting the pool. He wrapped a towel around his trim waist. "The bed awaits, your highness."
Infuriated by the lack of confession from the assailant, Xena left the prisoner's cell in a hurry and tossed her gloves at a couple of guards passing by. She angrily stomped up the stairs into the library and searched for Gabrielle. Around a large shelf that reached the ceiling, she found Gabrielle and Cera sitting together, reading in silence.
Well, she guessed she couldn't release her anger here since Cera was present. She calmly approached and Cera swiveled in the chair. She smiled and smoothed a hand over the princess' red hair.
"What are you doing here?" she asked. Her heart thumped rapidly as her rage was slowly consuming her.
Gabrielle took notice of her spouse's feral eyes and red swollen knuckles. "Um, she's helping me sort through these piles of archived documents."
"Hmm." Xena's hand traveled to her granddaughter's shoulder. "You really shouldn't bother yourself with this, Cera. I don't want you to stress."
Cera grinned. "I'm fine, grandma." She put a hand over her chest and gave a slow incline of her head.
"Why don't you let me and your grandmother talk for a bit?" Gabrielle offered and turned over a page she was in the middle of reading. "You've been such a great help, Cera, truly."
Cera peered up at her grandmother and knew they desperately needed to talk alone. She hated being left out of everything recently and everyone breathing down her neck constantly was super irritating. She nodded to Gabrielle and set down the documents in her lap onto the desk. She braced herself to stand and pushed her hands down on the armrests of the chair.
Xena immediately grabbed the princess' arm and hoisted her out of the chair gently. It was strange to have her granddaughter stand taller than her. The longer she stared into Cera's brown doe eyes, the more the smile on her lips expanded. Her mind wandered elsewhere and the anger she'd harbored inside her exited from her body.
"Yes…you've been such a great help, Cera," she said just above a whisper.
Cera arched an eyebrow and then her grandmother kissed her forehead. She scratched her head in confusion and slowly made her way out of the library.
Gabrielle folded her arms. "What's on your mind? You have that look."
"We're going to the Caucasus Mountains to meet with Csaba and we're also going to take our prisoner." Xena clasped her hands together, internally concocting her plan.
"I take it that you didn't get anything out of him," the governor deduced.
"No but Eksama speaks his language. She will be able to help us."
Gabrielle couldn't help but snort at her wife's sudden gleeful disposition. Any mention of war around her wife immediately caused a rush of adrenaline. She was going to be like this even on her death bed, Gabrielle thought.
"When are we leaving?"
"We can leave in a few days. Since Arielle is staying behind I won't have to worry about protecting her and Anastasia won't have a reason to worry either. It all works out!"
Gabrielle pinched her wife's arm. "The only reason Arielle isn't joining us is because there was an attempt on her life."
While the palace was filled with numerous guests, after the wedding ceremony, Navaz had to return to Balaam with the Persian concubines, but soon after there were more guests that filled the spacious palace. Yana and Inzhu opted to stay with their brother and Cera for as long as necessary. Soran and Pamira also remained in the palace but mostly because Anastasia insisted on it.
Anastasia didn't imagine spending so much time apart from Navaz especially after they recently married but they'd known each so long now that being apart for large amounts of time was normal. Her attention was focused on Cera but now she had Pamira to focus on as well. She'd always considered Soran as another one of her children and she never treated him differently than any of her other children.
Everyone sat in a large circle for their daily dinners to share food and conversation. Anastasia sat wedged in between Cera and Pamira, giving them both her undivided attention.
Yana smiled seeing the khatun's face glowing with adoration for the girls on either side of her. "Pamira, I will be making a dress for Cera's party. Would you like Inzhu to make a dress for you too?"
Pamira gaped at the offer and she shyly looked at the Nezak Chieftess. "That is so nice of you. I don't know what to say."
"You need not say anything!" Inzhu said. "I will happily make a dress for you. Have you told your family about the baby yet? You're farther along than you thought," she indicated to the Persian's small bump present under her dress.
The thought of revealing the news to her brothers was going to be strange. Her family wasn't exactly very friendly with the Huns despite the forced alliance. She too, had several brothers just like Mirac, and they were all protective of her since she was the only girl in the family. She wasn't sure how they were going to take the news but she couldn't wait too long to tell them.
"I haven't told them yet," she admitted and her eyes watered. Her face dropped into her hands.
Arielle reached over and smacked Soran's leg. "Comfort her, you worm," she whispered.
He glared at his sister and then made a poor attempt to comfort Pamira and awkwardly wrapped an arm around her small frame. He felt like everyone was watching their interaction and embarrassment was blatantly obvious on his reddened cheeks. There were far too many women here judging him.
Xena clearly saw how uncomfortable Soran was. He reminded her of Navaz when her daughter was pregnant. He was so afraid to touch her or say the wrong thing to upset her. Both men had a certain quality that women sought after. Even Csaba wasn't as polite and affectionate as Navaz and Soran. Like father like son, she supposed.
"Soran, you should take Pamira to her room," she suggested. "Comfort her in private." Her glare was directed towards Arielle.
After everyone finished their meals and Soran left with his weepy wife, Xena glanced around the circle. Everyone was so focused on their conversations with each other and she was itching to drop a massive bomb that would most likely ruin the tranquility.
"I would like to announce something," she said and the air cleared. She put on a big grin and told her family, "Gabrielle and I are going to the Caucasus to meet with Csaba. We're taking the prisoner so Eksama can interrogate him. Who knows how long we'll be gone but I'm also taking the Avar army with me. I'm sure Shah Jamasp will be attacking soon. We're going to leave in a few days so I'll need the army to go ahead and march out to the mountains."
She spoke too quickly for everybody to process what she just said. It was Anastasia who was the most worrisome of the group but she was glad that Arielle was staying behind. She still worried that her son was going to be in imminent danger but there was nothing she could do except wait and seclude herself in Scythia.
"I…hope you'll be careful, mother," Ana said with an uneasy voice. "Please watch over Csaba. I don't want to receive a letter of him being hurt again."
"I can't make any promises but I'll keep an eye on him of course." Xena reached over and caressed her daughter's arm.
"Mom, Csaba is not a little boy. He'll be fine," Arielle chided and continued eating casually.
"He's my son!" Anastasia snapped back. "I will always worry about him."
Arielle didn't reply and pointed her finger at her grandmother. "I want a full report about everything. Don't leave anything out, Gabrielle," she narrowed her eyes.
The Caucasus
After Csaba took a quick sabbatical to see his mother's wedding ceremony, he was thrust into a war zone in which Shah Jamasp decided to move his troops further through the mountains. He had just about the same amount of men as Jamasp but he didn't feel nearly as prepared as he wanted to.
The last major war that his family had with the Sassanians, his father lost his life and his mother was left alone again. He felt like he was going to hurl the more he thought of his family being invaded and attacked again. Only last year, he fought against his aunt and now they were fighting on the same side.
He twirled his family's pendant in his hand and heard horses enter the camp. He sprung up from his bedroll and got to his feet. He ran out of the tent, shirtless and barefoot, sweating profusely from the blistering heat. A smile formed on his lips when he saw Gabrielle and his grandmother ride in together.
"Over here!" he waved his arms.
Xena dismounted and walked over to him and contorted her face in confusion. She had barely gotten used to seeing him as an adult and not a little boy. Seeing him shirtless was strange at its best, muscular lean frame and all, and he reminded her of Ellac so much.
"Where's your shirt?" she pinched his chin.
He looked down at himself and blushed. "I'm so happy to see you!" he hugged her.
"Csaba!" her body stiffened. "You're nearly naked! Get off me!"
"Sorry," he stepped away and wiped the sweat off his chest. "It was really great to see everyone at the wedding. I missed Cera a lot. I'll have a tent set up for you and Gabrielle. Did I mention how happy I am to see you?"
"Uh huh," she adjusted her crooked headdress. "Where's your crazy aunt? I've got someone I want her to meet."
He backtracked towards his tent. "Oh, she's preparing the front line in the east. Jamasp is moving his troops inland. We expect an attack any day now hence why I said I'm happy you're here."
She crossed her arms over her chest. "You don't trust Eksama to do her job? She is commander."
"Is that jealousy I detect?"
"Get over yourself, Csaba. Are we going to go to the front line?"
He entered the tent and grabbed a loose tunic and threw it over his head. "Actually, I'm supposed to stay here," he called out. "But you're more than welcome –"
He ran out and saw her galloping off without responding to him at all. Gabrielle galloped ahead with the captive bound to another horse tied to hers. She halted in front of the disgruntled king and snapped her fingers in front of his face.
"She's going to do what she's going to do." Gabrielle laughed under her breath.
She despised working with Byzantines and even more so now that she knew Elemund sided with Justinian. At first, her relationship with the army was incredibly stilted but after months of training the soldiers, they slowly grew on her. Being part of the family was tough and she often excluded herself from family get-togethers in Pannonia. Constantly making excuses to train the army weren't going to work forever.
Eksama split the Byzantines and Huns in half along the eastern mountains. She could see the Persians on the other side of the crevice in the mountains. If she had her men she'd know exactly what to do and that was to attack head on but since she never fought against the Persians before she didn't know what to expect.
She took a mental note of the placement of her enemy's army and walked back towards camp. Much to her surprise, she found the infamous khanum and governor at the campsite and they weren't without company. Hundreds of Avars joined them.
Xena jaunted over to meet with the redhead and passed her horse to an Avar. She took a quick glance around the camp, studying the clusters of soldiers spread across the rough terrain. Not exactly what she would have done but she was curious to see what Eksama planned to do.
"Khanum," the redhead bowed her head. "You're early."
"I thought I'd pay you a visit Eksama and I've brought someone that I want you to meet." She waved her hand to Gabrielle off to the side.
Eksama gawked at the scruffy blonde man who was forced to his knees. His face was severely bruised and eyes almost swollen shut. There were gashes across his neck and forehead with slashes spattered along his barely exposed chest.
"I assume that he is not a friend," she stated.
Xena slapped a hand on the captive's head. "My granddaughter has a bounty on her head. Someone attempted to kill her. This is one of the men who were involved in the scheme. He speaks your language."
"Ah," Eksama understood everything now. "You want me to make him talk? He's not one of my men if that's what you're thinking."
"Now, now," she wagged her finger. "I never said that. Be a dear and interrogate him. Maybe he'll talk for you. I obviously couldn't get him to utter a word except call me horrible names."
Eksama lifted the man's chin with a finger and felt nauseous at the sight of the ghastly wounds. She didn't know how the man was still alive and wasn't sure if he was up to talking, if he could.
"You did a number on him. I'll see what I can do but I can't promise anything."
"Great, I'll leave you to it then." Xena clamped her hand on the commander's shoulder. "While you're busy with that you don't mind if I take a look around the camp, do you?" she winked and slowly sauntered off towards the front lines of soldiers.
Eksama knew she was being watched constantly and now she knew why the khanum had come here early. The real reason was obvious. Xena didn't come here with a prisoner to be interrogated. She wanted to spy on the camp and how the army was operating in terms of attacking the Persians.
"Xena," she called with her back turned. "How is Anastasia?"
Does she really care? Xena studied the woman's stance from afar. "Better."
"You aren't ever going to forgive me, are you?"
"Just interrogate the man."
Evening rolled around and while Xena scoped out the campsite, she could say she disapproved the way Eksama had the soldiers spread out the way that she did. She would never put so many men on the defense especially since the Persians were waiting on the other side of the mountains. Everything Eksama did was wrong. It was all wrong.
Gabrielle bumped her wife's arm and came to join her on the hill. Torches were lit throughout Jamasp's campsite. There were hundreds of tents and horsemen guarding the camp. It was too dark to tell if Jamasp kept ballistic weapons but knowing him, there were probably catapults saved for the attack.
"I just came from Eksama's tent. It didn't sound pretty," she shuddered, recalling the screams of the captive echoing in the camp. "If he doesn't talk soon I don't know what will happen. She might kill him."
Xena took in a deep breath. "She won't kill him. She knows better."
"I know you don't trust her and I'm partially to blame for that," Gabrielle said quietly.
"You didn't blind my daughter, Gabrielle. She did that, not you."
"But I gave her the role of commander."
Xena turned and gripped her wife's arms. "We're not talking about that anymore. We've moved on." She said and Gabrielle gave a slow head nod. "I'm the one who bestowed the title to her in the end. She won it fair and square."
"Yet here you are, judging her strategies." Gabrielle slyly said. "I know what you're doing, Xena. You can't let it go. You can't let anyone upstage you."
"It's not about that," Xena defensively spat. "She's got the army scattered."
Gabrielle snuffed a laugh. "Trust her, Xena. Easier said than done, I know. You're going to have to let this go. She knows what she's doing."
"Does she?" she revealed a menacing frown to which Gabrielle backed off.
To break the silence, Eksama trotted through the thick grass and wiped the blood on her chin. She took off her gloves and smiled awkwardly at the two. She was sure that Xena was judging her on the way she was conducting soldier placement.
"His name is Tait, although I'm sure that's not his real name given the meaning," she snickered under her breath and Xena's frown deepened. "He didn't tell me who he works for but he did say that he's from the Antes tribe."
Gabrielle snapped her fingers. "Antes. Csaba mentioned that tribe in his letter to Arielle. Is Elemund aligned with that tribe?"
Pain clearly crossed Eksama's face at the mention of her adopted son. "I believe he is from what my spy told me. Justinian is funding that tribe as well as the Lombards and Franks."
"They're creating a huge alliance. I don't think it was a good idea to join forces with Justinian after all. He wants a peaceful Persia because it helps him form a huge empire to fight us in the future." Gabrielle pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a frustrated sigh.
"I told Csaba that we don't need the Byzantines but he was adamant that we keep them to fight the Shah," said Eksama.
Xena's eyes darted to the Persian camp and felt a burst of fire swelling in the pit of her stomach. They were caught in between two enemies and yet helping both of them at the same time. If Shah Kavad was going to be broken out of prison and put back on the throne, it would weaken Justinian. He always wanted to be on top and what better way to do that than to ally with his foe to put Kavad back on the throne all while building a stronger and more diverse empire from varying northern tribes.
"You're right, Eksama."
Both Gabrielle and Eksama widened their eyes at her sudden honesty.
"Justinian allied with us because he needed a distraction. Whatever he and Elemund are up to isn't going to be good for any of us," Xena raised her chin and frowned at the Byzantine soldiers huddled on the west side of the camp. "And he wants Arielle dead so his allies can take over Scythia."
Gabrielle could sense there was going to be a change of plans. Her wife's recent impulsive behavior was something to be cautious of. Dealing with multiple entities was not unusual in war but this time was different. They were allied with Shah Kavad and their goals of dethroning his son were only one part of this massive conflict. Justinian had plans to completely wipe out the Huns and Avars.
"What are you thinking?"
"We're going to send the Byzantines back to their emperor," Xena said with a smile.
Gabrielle pursed her mouth. "Pardon? It's too late to do that. They're already here."
"I never said that we'd send them back alive." She circled around Gabrielle and met with the commander. "Eksama, provoke a riot and kill all of the Byzantine soldiers in this camp."
Eksama's eyes grew wild. "You and I think alike."
"Let's not get carried away." She began walking to Eksama's tent to release the prisoner as promised.
Gabrielle didn't understand what just happened in those last few seconds. One moment everyone was on each other's side and now there was going to be a massacre.
"Xena, you're going to weaken the defense if you kill the Byzantines."
"We have Arielle's men with us. We don't need Justinian's men to fight this war." She untied the man supposedly named 'Tait' and threw him to the floor. "You're free to go. Take the horse on which you arrived on and go back to where you came from."
Tait rose to his feet and hobbled out of the tent, holding his sore ribs. He glared at Gabrielle on his way out and pushed through the tent flap.
Gabrielle adjusted her gauntlets and turned to her oddly calm wife. "We can't possibly kill all of the Byzantines. Some are going to escape and tell Justinian that we violated the treaty."
"Good. I want Justinian to know what a piece of shit he is."
"I hope you know what you're doing."
Xena stood before her wife and caressed her arms. "Justinian had this coming, Gabrielle. He's the one who violated the treaty when he tried to assassinate Arielle."
She had a point there, the governor thought. She kissed her wife's hand. "How can I help? You're not going to let Eksama do all your dirty work alone."
Scythia
Aurora completed her work for the day and since it was Friday she didn't have Ku-Ilm to follow her around for the remainder of the day. Bored after a couple of hours of alone time in her bedroom she went to the large sitting room which was very similar to the women's quarters in the Adames.
The women were gathered in a circle, gushing over fabrics brought in by the head seamstress. Aurora went to look for her mother but Kuba kindly kicked her out of the conference room and told her to come back later. She stood by the entrance and listened to all the women talking all at once and passing off the fabric to Cera and Pamira to look over.
She skipped over and tugged on her grandmother's sleeve to get her attention. Anastasia turned to her with a big smile and kissed her hand.
"Tatli kiz, sit with us. We're picking out fabric for Cera and Pamira. Would you like to help?"
Aurora scrunched her face. "No thanks. Will you play a game with me?"
"Not right now, sevimli kiz," Ana squeezed the girl's arm. "What do you think of this?" she presented a yard of dark blue fabric.
Aurora expressed dim interest in the choice of fabric. She shrugged a shoulder and grabbed Ana's arm. "Grandma khatun, come on, let's play a game. I wanna play backgammon."
"We will play another time, Aurora. Right now I'm doing this, okay?"
"You're always spending time with Teyze Cera and Pamira!" she yelled and all the women fell silent.
Yana suggested, "I'm sure we'd love your input, Aurora. I was going to go to the market to buy some items for the party. Maybe you could help pick out a few gifts for your baby cousins."
"I don't want to go to the market!" she raised her voice and balled her tiny fists. "I wanna play a game!"
She was really trying Anastasia's patience. She grabbed her defiant granddaughter's wrist firmly. "I said we will play another time. If you don't want to help then you can go to your room until you've calmed down."
"I am calm and I don't need to listen to you!"
Arielle walked in and heard the last bit of the argument between her mother and daughter.
"Aurora!" she yelled and the princess craned her neck. "You can't speak to your grandmother like that." She marched over and gripped Aurora's shoulder. "Apologize. Now."
The little princess folded her arms and lifted her chin, staring down at Anastasia. She was given a hard shove by her mother and still she refused to utter an apology.
"I said apologize." Arielle said in a low growl. She was met with silence. "Go to your room. I'll deal with you later."
Aurora huffed and spun around then shoved her mother as hard as her little body possible could though her mother didn't even stagger backward an inch. She gazed up into her mother's furious eyes and then ran out of the room.
Arielle sighed and glanced at all of the women, a bit embarrassed by her daughter's behavior. She rubbed the back of her neck with an apologetic smile.
"I'm sorry mother. I don't know what's gotten into her."
"She needs children her own age to play with. She can't study all the time," said Ana. She tossed the fabric on the floor.
Arielle nodded and was met with Kuba standing right behind her. He greeted the women with a warm smile then whispered into Arielle's ear. At the news, her mouth gaped which caused everyone to crinkle their eyebrows at her reaction.
"Are you fucking kidding me?!" she barked in Kuba's face. "Sorry everybody. I have to go. I'm really sorry, mother." She pleaded with clasped hands while backing away hastily.
Xerxes was in the middle of writing in his room until Kuba hurried into his room and called him to the conference chamber. Breathlessly, he stood in front of Arielle sitting on the chaise, drumming her fingers on her knees impatiently.
"I'm here. What's the big emergency?" he asked.
"We have a fucking problem." She groaned and sat back, stroking her hair. "I received a letter from my father. He said that Tegin and Siyawush are blowing up the prison! They've let every criminal out of Anosbord!"
"That is…definitely a problem," he approached her and she put a halt to him with a raise of her hand. "Did they get my father out?"
She pressed a finger to her pulsating temple. "I assume so. I need a report from Gabrielle as soon as possible. This war could go on for a long time. This rescue mission was supposed to be discreet! Now that's ruined!"
He tapped his boot on the rug and avoided eye contact. "My father will be safe in Balaam for awhile. My brothers will attack once they figure out who's behind this."
"Then we better hope this war ends quickly," she jumped up from the chaise. "I have to go talk to Aurora. She had a little outburst earlier and yelled at my mother."
Xerxes smiled and took her hand, kissing her knuckles. "You have enough on your plate. Let me talk to Aurora. She likes me," he flashed a charming smile.
"You'll do that?" she asked skeptically and he raised his eyebrows. "I can't let you do that. She's my daughter, not yours. I need to set her straight. She can't talk back to my mother like that."
"Looks like she's taking after you," he hinted.
"Oh…" she chewed on her bottom lip. "God, what kind of mother am I?" She slapped her cheeks and moaned. "She's copying my bad behavior! How could I allow this to happen?"
"Don't be so hard on yourself." He pecked her forehead. "Let me talk to her. If I'm going to be around you then that means I'll be around Aurora too. She should be comfortable with me, right?"
She was puzzled and touched by his willingness to conform to her family no matter what his mother or father thought of their relationship. She took his hands and she embraced him with her rose colored cheek settled in the crook of his neck.
"Where have you been all my life?" she muttered.
"Fighting your family," he jested and then she pulled back and whacked him across the chest. "I'll go talk to her. We'll get started on that bow I promised to help her make. That'll give her something to do."
She twirled a strand of his hair around her finger. "You really don't have to do this."
"I want to."
The Caucasus
Well into the morning, the massacre of the Byzantines continued. Gabrielle continued to send Avar archers out to continue the round of arrows. She had the higher ground and watched as hundreds upon hundreds men were slaughtered be it by arrow or sword.
She yelled at the top of her lungs to send in the next wave of archers. Her voice had gone hoarse since yesterday afternoon. As much as Xena wanted to be on the field Gabrielle made sure to keep her far away from all the action. Surprisingly, Xena was amenable and bended to her condition. Gabrielle was impressed that Xena was able to keep off the field but of course that didn't stop her from overseeing the soldiers from afar. Strategy was her game and this little plan was definitely a huge game to her.
Eksama steered her horse across the field and trotted over to the line of archers. Her hair wild like a cluster of roaring flames, eyes untamed and Byzantine blood spattered on her armor and smeared on her cheeks.
"A hundred of them escaped!" she yelled in the midst of the chaos.
Gabrielle heard her and waved her hand for the archers to make their marks. She sauntered away from her legion and looked back at Xena standing by the tents talking to a group of Avars.
"Let them go. Xena wants them to flee." Her eyes darted to the Persian camp and they were beginning to spread out along the mountains. "We need to focus on Shah Jamasp now."
Eksama nodded and heaved from exhaustion. "What's the best method to use against the Persians?"
Caught off guard, Gabrielle stuttered. "Um, Persians love ballistic weapons. You can count on them having a few catapults."
"We don't have any of those."
"That never stopped us before," Gabrielle smiled sneakily. "I'll tell you a secret. Xena loves to use Roman formations in battle: three large blocks of soldiers on the field and archery front-liners and those on the defense as well on the sidelines."
Eksama crinkled her nose and wiped the blood from her cheeks. "That's a little predictable."
"It works every time but she also likes to use spiral formations."
"Spiral?"
Gabrielle rested a hand on her hip. "It's a head on attack and she leads the charge first. She guides horsemen into a spiral with archers shooting on the outer rim. She traps the enemies in the center of the spiral and it confuses them so they don't know who to attack first."
The gears were churning in the commander's head. "Do you think Xena could explain it to me?"
Exhaustion and sleep deprivation affected not only Eksama but Gabrielle and Xena too. Hours after the massacre of the Byzantine soldiers, many of the Avars took to the field. Jamasp was not only advancing his men through the mountains at an incredible pace but he also loaded the catapults with heavy ammunition.
Eksama didn't exactly have a set plan mapped out and it took some time before Gabrielle could find some parchment to work with. She sketched a quick map of the area with some charcoal she scrounged up from a soldier's supplies. She drew each side of the opposing armies and marked their army with 'X's' and Persians with 'O's'.
Gabrielle wiped her blackened hands on her coat's breast and passed the charcoal over to her partner. "The floor is yours, Xena. Tell her everything you know."
Eagerly, Eksama leaned her palms on the table and tilted her head from side to side, studying the map. She was impressed with the detailed map which was drawn in a matter of minutes. Working under her husband for years didn't prove her worth until she was able to put her skills to the test when she fought against Ernak and Csaba.
Xena drew a few lines on the Persian side of the map. "Jamasp has a row of catapults. It's dire that we take those out first before we begin a head on attack. How many catapults are there?" she asked Gabrielle.
"Twelve confirmed but he probably has more. It wouldn't surprise me if he had siege towers."
Eksama blew out a large gust of air. "Siege towers, huh?" she pointed to the 'O's' on the map. "I won't be able to take out twelve catapults and defend the army at once. This would be easier if I was allowed to bring my ballistic machines."
"You have to work with what you got," said Xena and circled the lines she drew earlier. "Even if you take out half of his catapults you still have a chance."
"Persians are show offs," Eksama chuckled. "They like big fancy machines to show who has the bigger cock in war."
Gabrielle muffled her laugh with a tight mouth at the comment and saw her wife's cheeks redden. She turned and covered her mouth, continuing to guffaw.
Eksama lifted her eyes and gave an uneven smile. "Am I wrong?"
"No…uh, you're right on the mark," Xena awkwardly replied. "Big egos. Anyway, you need to destroy the catapults. We can use block formations until the machines are destroyed."
The commander drummed her fingers on the desk. "Show me the spiral formation. I need to know how it works in the field."
Xena dipped her head and glared at Gabrielle. "That…tactic won't work in a tight space. There isn't a lot of leeway between the mountains. You'd lead the army to their deaths."
"Either way I need to get close enough to dismantle the catapults. A hundred archers on horseback aren't going to take those things down." Eksama arched her brow. "Explain the spiral tactic, khanum."
There was a long moment of silence and Gabrielle chewed on her fingernails. Xena and Eksama were staring each other down, both studying each other's next moves and predicting who was to say what next. Two headstrong and stubborn women in one tent wasn't the brightest idea. It was definitely a recipe for clashing opinions and both had a superiority complex and competition between them.
Xena broke the tension. "Fine, but on one condition." She stared directly into the commander's amber eyes. "We use block formations on the defense and I'm in charge of the archers."
"That's two conditions." Eksama said seriously and then winked with a sneer. "I'm just pulling your leg, khanum. Back to business." She tapped the map.
Scythia
To pique her interest, Xerxes instructed Aurora on how to build the foundations of a recurve bow from his motherland. It took some time for him to get the princess to open up and even allow him entry into her bedroom. Using materials that he ordered from the armory he coached Aurora on how to bend the wood with minor tools.
They sat together on the floor and Aurora meticulously bound the leather around the end of the bow while asking minimal questions during the process. Since this was her first time learning how to construct a bow it required a lot of patience and thankfully Xerxes had more patience than anyone. He answered all of her questions and helped her with the leather.
Arielle peered through the crack of the door at the two bonding together. She leaned her hip against the wall and folded her arms across her chest. Smiling at the two exchanging a quiet conversation together was the highlight of her day.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw her mother approaching. She straightened up and hid her embarrassment with a veil of curls covering half her face.
Anastasia stood beside her daughter and peeked into the bedroom at the two blurry figures inside. She recognized both figures as Xerxes and Aurora.
"What's going on in there?" she asked quietly.
Arielle brushed a tendril behind her ear. "Xerxes is teaching Aurora how to make a bow." She turned her body to face the khatun. "Mother, I am so sorry. Aurora should've never talked back to you like that."
"It's alright," Ana shrugged it off.
"No it's not! This is my fault. I'm supposed to set a good example for her and it doesn't help that I sometimes lash out at you and grandma."
Anastasia's eyebrow rose. "She pays attention more than you think she does."
"I'm a terrible mother."
"You're not, Arielle. Mothering is never easy no matter how old your child is," she nudged her daughter's elbow. "Aurora is older now and she's just starting to figure out who she is and express her authority."
Arielle huffed. "She still can't talk to you like that. I don't want her to be like me. I want to raise her right and I've already screwed that up by not providing her a good father."
The khatun released a muffled laugh.
"Mother, this is not funny."
"It isn't your fault that Bayan had an affair, Arielle. Bayan is her father but Xerxes seems to be doing a fine job with her so far," she nudged her head to the bedroom.
Arielle's attention was drawn to her daughter and Xerxes again. This felt like a strange alternate reality. She could never see Bayan with their daughter like this. He was very helpful and easy to be around during their daughter's birthday ceremony but they only spoke for a few minutes the entire three days he was here.
She thought about Bayan's offer to allow their daughter to go spend time with him in the other Avar palace. Seeing Aurora with Xerxes and remembering how her parents were split when she was young, made her realize that she wasn't doing Aurora any favors by keeping her away from Bayan. Arielle had her father there for her always but when he wasn't there, Ellac was.
The only difference between the two situations was that an affair wasn't the cause of her parents' divorce.
"I should tell Aurora about Bayan's son," she divulged.
Anastasia, surprised by her daughter's words, turned her eyes away from the room. "Are you sure you want to do that?"
"Yes." Arielle lowered her eyes. "She should know that she has a brother especially if I'm going to let her go see Bayan every once in awhile."
Ana smiled and kissed Arielle's temple. "That's very mature. I'm proud of you, tatli kiz."
"She can go visit him once a month and spend birthdays with him but he is not, I repeat he is not, allowed to come here!" she assertively put her foot down.
The princess got to her feet and was very anxious to show her mother the progress she made on her new bow. She ran to the door and rose to her toes and pulled the door handle. She gaped at her mother and grandmother standing just outside the door. She had a feeling she was being watched for some time now.
She swallowed the lump in her throat and held the unfinished bow in her palms. "Grandma khatun…" she sheepishly greeted.
Anastasia knelt down on one knee. "That's a very nice bow you got there. Did you and Shehzade Xerxes make that?"
"Mhm," she refused to look into Ana's eyes.
Xerxes gave her a gentle nudge and she inhaled then looked into her grandmother's eyes fearfully. Her gaze averted to her mother standing in the hallway. Suddenly, there was an immense amount of pressure put on her.
"I'm…sorry," she murmured.
"Apology accepted." Ana smiled and kissed the girl's forehead. "Yana hasn't gone to the market yet if you still want to join her."
The Caucasus
"Don't stop shooting until I say otherwise!" Xena yelled at the archers.
Only two days after the onslaught with the Byzantines, Jamasp and his army decided to attack. Unlike his family members, he didn't use the catapults immediately. He was saving his heavy ammunition for when everyone's defenses were down. Most of the fighting was long range which was very peculiar for a Persian.
Normally, from Xena's experience, Persians would attack using all of their assets: swordsmen, spear throwers, archers and catapults. It was a quick way to end a war. But Jamasp was not like the other Sassanians. He was going to tire his archers and save his brute force for later.
She walked behind the archers and met with Gabrielle who observing the battle of the arrows. They both stood, arms crossed, and mouths pursed. Their eyes followed the Persian arrows raining down on the defense block in the crevice of the mountains.
"This isn't going like I thought it would," Xena declared in slight disappointment.
"Agreed."
Gabrielle cocked her head to the side when arrows pierced their archers' and fell to the ground. She was too worried about the outcome of this little archery battle to mourn over the losses. She was sure that Xena didn't expect this many losses in such a short span of time.
One of their three block formations had dismantled and the soldiers ran back to the camp once they realized the Persian rain of arrows wasn't going to cease.
"Dammit!" Xena screeched. "Where's Eksama? This isn't working!"
She searched the area and a loud horn was blasted into her ear. She grabbed the horn blower by the collar and threw the man aside. The ringing in her head caused her vision to distort for a few seconds. She kept walking across the camp and Csaba trotted in.
He immediately saw the bloody field and was outraged by the amount of corpses displayed from his side. He growled and marched over to his grandmother.
"What the fuck is going on? Are you in charge of this disaster?" he gestured to the failing plan before them all.
"I was about to find Eksama. We need to change our strategy. Jamasp isn't like most Persians and he has three times the archers that we do and this time…they're actually good," she made a small joke and Csaba was unimpressed.
His upper lip twitched. "You better fix this, grandma. I was told the Persians have almost fifteen catapults."
Xena rubbed her lips together, unsure of what to say. He was very angry.
"I wrote Oran and told him to give us his catapults." He brushed by her to oversee the damage. "Holy…god, what the hell?!" he slapped his thigh.
"You asked Oran and Ebnedzar to come?" she asked skeptically.
Csaba craned his neck. "Yes and I'm glad I did!" he searched for his aunt. "Where is Eksama? Tell everyone to fall back, now!"
Gabrielle overheard his orders and she signaled the horns to be sounded and flags to be raised to call a retreat. All of the soldiers began making their way back to camp and even though it was apparent that there was a temporary fall back and truce, Jamasp's men kept firing. Gabrielle stood by and watched several Avars tumble into the grass with multiple arrows plunged into their backs and lower legs.
Very few times had she seen a retreat and never had she seen the opposing side continue to attack. She narrowed her eyes and scanned the field and heard Csaba calling out for Eksama.
While she heard the sounds of yelling, arrows snapping, soldiers crying out, she blocked everything out and focused on the field. Close to Jamasp's camp, she spotted long flowing red hair wafting in the wind. Eksama.
Gabrielle staggered forward and a few soldiers bumped her shoulders. Too frozen to notice, she gaped at the sight before her. Eksama ignored everything she and Xena talked about days ago. She went out with elite Avars and went about commandeering one of the Shah's catapults.
"She's stealing a catapult," she uttered softly.
Xena gripped her shoulder. "Gabrielle! We need to go to the camp for safety!" she advised. Her wife refused to budge. "Gabrielle! Come on! Why are you standing there?"
Gabrielle lifted her arm slowly and pointed to the field.
There, she followed Gabrielle's finger and gasped. Eksama now confiscated one of the catapults while Avars fought off the Persians who attempted to attack her. In the field, Eksama instructed the men to load the catapult and centered the machine to aim directly at the mountainside.
"Oh, she's more insane than I thought."
Csaba grabbed both of their shoulders and tried to pull them away. "Have you two seen Eksama? We need to get to the tents!"
Xena and Gabrielle pointed to the field and he parted their shoulders and stepped in between them.
"What…the fuck is she doing?" his voice was wobbly and unstable by his fury building within.
An eerie silence fell over the field and then a loud boom echoed throughout the territory.
It was as if everybody stopped fighting and turned their heads to the smoldering mountain that crumbled down onto the field. Csaba stood with wide eyes as he watched an avalanche unleash onto the battlefield crushing Persians.
"God almighty," Xena yanked on Csaba's arm. "We need to go!"
Gabrielle acted instantly and rounded up the soldiers. She was on crowd control and forced everybody to leave the area. She mistakenly looked back and saw hundreds of Persians being buried by rubble and snow on the mountains that lingered from last winter. She persevered and pushed the soldiers up the hill.
"Csaba!" Xena barked. "Stop standing there like a gazelle!"
He finally came to his senses and acted. "Right!" he charged through the sea of soldiers. "Everyone vacate the area! Leave your posts and weapons!"
Riding furiously through the field, Eksama dangerously outran the avalanche which chased her. She peered over her shoulder at the mountain of snow and rock following behind. She saw one of the Avar men being swallowed by the monstrous muddy snow slide.
She stripped herself of the heavy armor and coat she wore to lighten her load. She unhooked the sword at her hip and slashed the saddlebags tied to the saddle. The roaring avalanche behind her rung in her ears as she continued to dart and weave through the barren field, stomping on dead bodies of Persians, Avars and Huns.
Xena waited atop of the hill watching Eksama play a dangerous game of chicken. She could barely watch as the commander struggled to guide her steed up the hill.
Once the area had been cleared, Gabrielle double-checked for any soldiers left behind. She ran back to the hill and found her wife standing by herself. This was no time to be fearless.
"Xena! What are you doing?" she cried.
Eksama fought the losing battle of trying to force her exhausted horse to climb the hill. She felt the animal slipping down further and further down leading them both to their deaths. She leaned forward on the saddle, forcing all of her weight to push the horse up the hill. Sweat drenched her hands and the reins slipped out of her palms. Her body reared backward, nearly causing her to topple off the horse.
On the verge of bursting into tears as death was calling her name, light shined down upon her. She gazed up at Xena holding a hand to help her. She smiled graciously and took Xena's offered hand and she was lifted off the saddle and dragged up the hill, scraping her legs and unarmored chest along the rough rocky hillside. Her horse was swallowed instantaneously.
Xena pulled up the commander and wrapped an arm around her.
"You saved me…" Eksama said warily.
"Don't get too excited."
Gabrielle smiled in relief and waved over to them to hurry across the hill to safety on the other side of the mountains where the camp was stationed. Eksama hung onto Xena's shoulders and hobbled her way over to the anxious governor who kept waving her arms in the air speedily.
As soon as they were in the clear, barely missing the roaring wave of snow and mud, Eksama collapsed into Xena's arms. She carefully lowered Eksama's thin body onto the ground and cradled her head in the crook of her arm.
"Get one of the men to carry her to a tent," she told Gabrielle.
Csaba pushed through the crowd and rushed over to the edge of the camp. He caught a glimpse of auburn hair splayed across the grass and felt his heart sank to the pit of his stomach. Hesitantly, he approached then dropped to his knees at the sight of Eksama's limp body in his grandmother's arms.
"Is…she…?"
Xena checked Eksama's pulse. "No, she's very much alive."
He let out a sigh of relief.
She crinkled her eyebrows at the warm liquid she felt on her palm. She lifted Eksama's tunic to reveal a large gash across the entirety of her torso beginning from her hip to her left breast.
Moments later Gabrielle returned with a couple of willing soldiers to help. They gently lifted Eksama onto a stretcher and carried her to a nearby tent. Gabrielle got a good look at the gash and felt sick.
"Is she going to be alright?"
Xena stood and wiped her bloody hands on her coat. "She'll be fine. It's not a deep wound. When she wakes up she's going to have a lot more to worry about than a chest wound."
"That was a very risky thing she did," Gabrielle grabbed her spouse's hand and walked to the tented area.
"She was so close to death."
Gabrielle smiled, leaning her head on Xena's shoulder. "But you saved her. That's a ghastly wound she's got. She's going to be held up for awhile. You know this isn't going to stop Jamasp. He's going to come after us harder and stronger than ever before."
Xena sighed and peeked through the tent at the soldiers tending to Eksama's wounds. It wouldn't be long before Eksama was to wake up writhing in pain but the soldiers were working as fast as they could. Eksama's fingers twitched as her body was being jostled and prodded.
"Hey," Gabrielle pulled her wife away from the tent. "We should rest. She'll still be there tomorrow."
Scythia
Arielle found her daughter in the one place she didn't think to look first: the bedroom. She quietly slipped into the room and shut the door, trying not to alarm her daughter's study session. She stood in front of the bed for a few moments until Aurora caught her shadow.
"Mom!" she set down her notepad and pen. "I was writing some Latin. Wanna see?"
"Maybe later." Arielle sat down and scooped her daughter into her arms. "I have something that I've been meaning to tell you for awhile."
Aurora played with her mother's hair. "Is it bad?"
That definitely depends on the reception but she was already here. There's no turning back now and she didn't know what to expect from Aurora. She went over this conversation with Ku for the last few days over and over again. She also spoke to her mother as well and she was convinced she was ready. But now that she had her daughter present, she wasn't so sure this was a good idea.
Her stomach knotted and felt like vomiting. "No, it's not bad," she said. "You would like to spend some time with your father, yes?"
Aurora looked up at her mother. "Yeah!"
She should just get this over with. Arielle took in a deep breath. "You should know that you have a little brother."
Aurora crinkled her nose and peered down at her mother's stomach. "You're having a baby too?"
Arielle's cheeks flushed. "No, no. No, I'm not." She adjusted her daughter on her lap. "Your father had a baby with Sarnai. They're married now, remember?" she asked and Aurora kept staring at her confusedly. "You can go spend time with your father once a month like you used to in Harran. I'm sure your brother would love to meet you."
The princess tapped her cheek pensively. "A little brother," she whispered. "I'm a big sister?"
"That's right." Arielle pinched her daughter's arm. "What do you think? Would you want to go see your father and meet your brother?"
Aurora's face lit up and hopped off her mother's lap. "Do you think my brother will like me? Can I bring him some presents? I can teach him Latin!"
This wasn't exactly the reaction she was looking for but she was happy to hear that Aurora was very accepting of this jarring news. When she was a girl, younger than Aurora, she was absolutely furious when she found out that she was going to be a big sister, not once, but twice in one year. Aurora was light-years ahead of her maturity-wise. She thought she at least did something right.
"You'll be a great big sister, tatli kiz."
The Caucasus
A few days of coming and going in and out of consciousness, Eksama woke up groggily. Her eyes fluttered and with every move she made she felt the stitches on her abdomen and chest twitch and sting. She turned over onto her side with great effort and let out a dry heave.
Startled by Xena who sat on a stool beside the bed, she nearly jumped back. She lifted herself up off the cot and rested her cheek on her palm with a supporting elbow on the pillows.
"Khanum…" she hissed with a sharp painful inhale. "How long have you…been here?"
Xena grinned weakly. "Awhile. How are you feeling?"
"I've felt better." Eksama peeked under the sheet at the large bandages wrapped around her body. "I never got the chance to say thank you."
"Don't thank me yet."
Outside the tent several horses galloped through the camp and soldiers yelled at one another. Eksama furrowed her eyebrows at the ruckus outside and she attempted to get out of her sick bed. Xena reached over and firmly clasped a hand on Eksama's arm.
"You aren't going anywhere."
"What's going on out there?" asked Eksama.
"Jamasp is gathering his troops. We're going to attack him soon."
The commander huffed and slowly rose, adjusting her stiff body. She put an arm around her sore midsection and looked down at the blood seeping through the gauze bandages.
"I should be there…"
Xena nodded. "Yes, you should be."
Eksama sneered. "I see. You're going to take over for me."
"For now but I need you to heal. You're a valuable asset to the army." Xena stood up and saw the shock on the redhead's face. "Don't ever do something like that again. Next time you might not be so lucky and I won't be there to save you."
Eksama hung her head shamefully. "Thanks."
"I'll send Gabrielle in to go over battle plans with you." she tidied up the tent to keep her mind busy. "Csaba was very worried about you. I'll tell him you're awake." She trailed backward and flashed a quick smile then disappeared.