Chapter 58—A New Generation of Shahs

For safety reasons, Eksama forced both Gabrielle and Xena to leave the camp and return to Pannonia. Throughout the journey, they stopped once during a horrible storm. Now, they were on their second rest stop and only a few days away from home. Gabrielle increasingly worried over her spouse's condition worsening as they continued onward.

As they came closer to Pannonia, the storm withered away, but the rain followed them. In the tent, Gabrielle sat, writing notes from what she observed in the Baltic camp. She was optimistic that Eksama would handle Mezamir's army, but she had some doubts. As she kept writing, she peered over at Xena sleeping curled under heavy blankets.

Unable to focus on her notes, Gabrielle closed her journal and crawled on the floor to lay down beside Xena. She sighed, laying on her side using her elbow as support. She brushed several strands of hair behind Xena's ear and checked her temperature with a hand to her forehead.

Xena stirred awake, eyes fluttered open, and smiled.

Gabrielle grinned weakly. "How are you feeling?" she whispered.

"Better."

Gabrielle arched her eyebrow, "you said that two days ago, and you look worse now."

"I just don't want to worry you," Xena teased, shifting underneath the blankets. "How far away are we?"

"Just two days." She toyed with Xena's fingers, drifting in thought. "I think you should ride the rest of the way in the caravan."

Just then, Xena's eyebrows pinched, and she coiled her fingers beneath her chin. "I am not incapable of riding my horse. I'm not a cripple," she cleared her sore throat. "I left on my horse, and I'm arriving on my horse."

That stubbornness was something Gabrielle knew all too well. There was also a sense of pride that Xena forbid to forgo, but it was time that she stopped. Gabrielle couldn't witness her wife's condition worsen as the days went on, and the only thing getting in the way was pride. Sole, ugly, festering pride. That was it.

"You're very sick, Xena. You're only making it worse by riding through this weather."

"I'm riding my horse. End of discussion."

Gabrielle sighed. "I don't want something to happen to you. You're letting your stubbornness get in the way. Look what happened to Kreka! She became so ill so quickly, and she refused treatment."

"It took her five years to die!"

"And do you want to die in five days?" Gabrielle spat.

Xena swallowed, widening her eyes. She licked her dry lips and settled into the pillow, averting her eyes. Most days, Xena forgot how old she was compared to everybody else. She never felt her age, but now she felt the age that she was supposed to be. She couldn't remember the last time she was this ill. Maybe when Anastasia was a child was probably the last time she was in such poor health from contracting an illness on one of her raids.

She also denounced how concerned Gabrielle was and didn't take that into account either. Smothered in her own guilt, she reached for Gabrielle's hand and gripped tightly.

"Sorry. I don't like being reminded of my own mortality."

Gabrielle kissed Xena's hand. "Nobody does. Will you please ride in the caravan tomorrow?"

"This topic isn't up for debate, I see."

Gabrielle shook her head. "I would hate to have to report your behavior to your daughter."

"That's just dirty, Gabrielle. You two always gang-up on me."

"Then quit being so difficult," she playfully pinched her wife's hand.

Assyria

In the middle of a siege against the Lombards, Navaz was by himself, observing how well Rodelinda was able to keep afloat despite losing hundreds of her soldiers. Xerxes remained on the lower field, instructing archers and the ballistic fleet. Navaz figured out that he didn't like any of the Persian tactics early on. It was no wonder that the Persians were easily defeated in small numbers, although their army was usually so massive that nobody could beat them. That was the Persians main flaw—they relied on pure manpower and not on strategy alone.

Xerxes may have been the General of his father's army, but he wasn't very good at dividing up the military and relied solely on the archers to do most of the work. This, in the end, wasn't a good idea, which Navaz coached him several days into the war. When they had a little bit of downtime in between sieges, Navaz was able to teach Xerxes some strategies he learned over the years, either through Anastasia, Ellac, Xena, and even his own daughter, Arielle.

So far, the plans were working, and slowly, Rodelinda's men retreated from the area. As Navaz stood by and watched underneath a canopy, he kept picking at his beard to calm his nerves. To his left, he heard horsemen traveling into camp. He walked ahead, keeping an eye on the field, and frowned at the Persian horsemen.

"Another message from the Khagana?" he asked, slightly annoyed.

"Shehzade Xerxes is ordered to come back to Pannonia."

Navaz's mouth gaped. "Ordered by whom? The Khagana?"

"By Banu Nousha, your highness," the soldier said, and Navaz groaned. "I have a letter specifically written for the Shehzade. I need to deliver it to him."

Navaz held out his hand. "I will give it to him."

"I'm sorry, your highness, but I must make sure this is hand-delivered."

Navaz peered back at the field, watching Xerxes command the archers. "He's a little busy at the moment."

"We can wait."

Navaz eyed the mounted soldiers and sighed. He knew that they weren't going to leave and decided to send a few men to retrieve Xerxes from the field. He didn't understand why the Persians were so secretive at times, but he wasn't going to question their ways anymore. It was best if he knew less and went through the motions.

Minutes later, Xerxes traveled uphill and hopped off the horse to greet the horsemen. Navaz grabbed his arm, pulled him aside, and whispered, "your mother is requesting you go back to Pannonia. This better be important, and it better not involve gossip among the women in your family."

Xerxes smiled nervously and approached the soldiers, taking his mother's letter of their hands. He read through the message quickly, and with each sentence read, his eyes enlarged, and his mouth opened inch by inch. He gaped up at the soldiers who calmly waited for his reply.

"Is this true? Is this really written by my mother?"

"Yes, Shehzade."

Xerxes walked over to Navaz, who was overtly irritated. "I need to go be with Arielle. She…she came back from the campaign," he could barely speak.

"Is she hurt?"

"No, I…no," Xerxes' hands trembled as he held the parchment. "She's carrying my child," he said aloud, then grinned from ear to ear. "I don't know how given the last letter...I need to go back."

"We are in the middle of a war!" Navaz shouted, motioning to the chaos below.

"It's tradition. I can…" he thought quickly for a solution, "I can ask my little brother, Khosrow, to come here. He is not far and is currently guarding lower Persia. He will aid you."

Navaz pinched his nose and waved his hand, dismissing the prince. Xerxes smiled and ran over to his horse, tucking the letter into his coat pocket. He ordered the soldiers to ride over to Persia immediately to ask for his brother's aid. As soon as he gave the orders, he called for his men to follow him, and then, as a group of six, they rode out of the camp.

Navaz ran a hand over his face, fingers digging into his skin. "Dammit, Arielle."

A week since her arrival, Arielle was immediately bombarded with more Persian customs and traditions to follow. It was painfully evident that she lied when she told Nousha she was aware of all the rules and rituals she had to commit to when it came to delivering an heir. She really was tired of hearing that word and felt like her child was more of an object.

Not only was she supposed to adhere to a specific diet, which wasn't too terrible, but she didn't see it necessary to be so strict. Arielle was also schooled by Nousha and learned that there were not one but three ceremonies prior to the birth she had to participate in. Arielle really despised parties focused primarily on her, but she was kind enough to allow the Sassanian traditions to follow through.

Arielle stood in the center of her room while several maids were circling around her like pestering hens. She allowed them to mumble and inspect her, pick at her dress, and pinch her. She didn't like Nousha talking to the maids in her native tongue, leaving her clueless.

Off to the side, Anastasia sat with Cera and Farah. All three women listened to the Persians talk amongst themselves, wearing the same confused expressions.

After finishing discussing, Nousha stepped forward, smiling at her daughter-in-law. "If you don't mind taking off the dress so you can be measured."

"Ha…" Arielle nervously smiled. "Take off my dress?"

"We're all women here," Nousha reassured. "You need to be fitted for two different gowns. We already missed the first ceremony because you were away," she snidely added.

Not in the mood to argue, Arielle pulled her dress over her head and tossed it aside. She heard gasps from her family and shielded her face.

Farah sat with her mouth agape. "Arielle! I didn't know your entire body was covered in tattoos!"

Arielle avoided looking at every pair of eyes in the room. She flinched at the hands, wrapping around her waist from behind. The intrusive maids measured almost every inch of her body, and Nousha walked around, whispering to the maids. A pair of cold hands touched the middle of her back, and she took in a deep breath.

"Are we almost finished?" she hoped.

"Have you been eating everything I've given you?" asked Nousha, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

Arielle's face reddened, and she nodded. She then heard Nousha whispering to her maids again, and that immediately hit a nerve. "Is there something wrong with the way I look?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"You're too thin."

Arielle snuffled, mildly insulted, "well…I still have my exercise routine I stick to."

"You're still exercising?" Nousha widened her eyes.

"Is that a problem?"

"May I remind you that you're carrying my son's child, a Sassanian heir, a dynasty member!"

Arielle growled inwardly. "Stop talking about my child like it's some sort of forbidden treasure!" she snapped, silencing the room. "It's my baby, and this is my body. I've done everything you've asked of me, Nousha, and I've been very tolerant of your rules, but I draw the line here."

She snatched her dress off the floor, threw it on quickly, and then grabbed her bow that hung on the wall. She marched across the room, desperately needing to get out of this room before she said something to Xerxes' mother that she would surely regret later.

Nousha gasped, "where are you going?"

"Target practice!" Arielle swung open the doors and stormed off.

Anastasia resisted the urge to laugh. "She just needs to blow off some steam."

"She needs to cooperate with me. Because of her little disappearing act, we missed a significant ceremony for the fifth month. I need to have this dress made for next month!" Nousha growled, throwing down the fabric onto the ground.

Ana sighed and whispered to Cera and Farah to leave the room. She stood up, waving her hand to the maids, who then quickly left the room. She waited for a few moments until the room was completely void of extra bodies. Staring at the petite Persian, there were so many things on her mind that she wanted to say, but she promised Cera that she would be on her best behavior.

She never had to deal with in-laws before, aside from Navaz's mother, but Tuya was nothing compared to Nousha and Sambice. Ana also recalled a few tiffs she encountered with Yana, and even then, Yana was more accommodating than Xerxes' family members.

"Nousha," she began, and the Persian looked up at her with piercing eyes. "I know you mean well, and I know your traditions are very important, but you need to be more reasonable."

"Considering that I even allowed this union and that I'm living with you all proves that I am very reasonable," Nousha spat back.

Anastasia dug deep inside herself and put on her diplomacy act gained through decades of practice. She took in a deep breath to keep her composure and prevent herself from yelling at this woman.

"You can't control my daughter. I can't even control her," she mildly joked. "I haven't been able to control her since she was three. Arielle loves your son, and it's the only reason she's participating in all of these rituals. You need to give her time to process everything."

Nousha softened her rigid posture. "Delivering a Sassanian heir is very important. I want to make sure she does everything properly."

"Yes…" Ana sighed, "I can see that you all take this baby thing very seriously," she snorted, receiving a glare.

"Her health is my only concern."

Anastasia raised her eyebrows, surprised to hear that. "Mine too."

"Xerxes should've received my letter by now. He should know better than to be off at war during a time like this," Nousha smoothed her tongue across her top teeth. "The father must take care of the expecting mother."

Ana found that hard to believe, especially since Xerxes hardly had to follow any of the extensive rituals before, during, and after the wedding. Now, she wished she were here from the very beginning when her mother filled in for her when the rules of all these rituals were laid out.

Nousha noticed the dumbfounded look on the Khatun's face and smirked.

"I expect my son to take excellent care of Arielle. If he doesn't, I will find out."

Confined to her bed since arriving back home, Xena was forced to work from her bedroom, which wasn't an ideal situation in her mind. She did convince Gabrielle to write a proclamation to hold Arielle's duties off for an entire year and hand them over to Anastasia for the time being. At first, Arielle refused to sign the decree, but after receiving an abysmal and terrifying lecture from her mother, she finally signed the order three days after it was written.

Xena now understood why Gabrielle wanted to leave the bedroom after just a few days recovering from her life-threatening injury. She was restless and hated doing work in bed. The only nice thing about this situation was that everything was brought to her, including Gabrielle and Anastasia. They all came to her, spent hours going over paperwork, and discussing future plans.

Today, they went over plans to send more ammunition to Eksama in the Baltic Region. As far as they knew, they were winning against Mezamir, but Xena couldn't be too sure of that since she was there overseeing the battle herself. She had many reasons to distrust Eksama, but she hoped that the reports were truthful.

Sifting through the documents, Gabrielle plopped another stack down onto her lap, and she released a heavy sigh. Gabrielle handed her a quill, which she snatched into her hand and wickedly glared at the blonde sitting by the bed.

"Sign here," said Gabrielle, pointing to the bottom of the page.

"Just wait a second. I need to know what I'm signing first," Xena muttered, reading the document until about halfway through she realized it was written in Persian. "What the hell is this?"

Gabrielle hesitated to explain, "it's an order for…a Persian midwife to come here, and family members to come to stay here for the upcoming ceremony. Anastasia already agreed, so I just need you…to…sign it," she smiled.

Xena tapped the pen on her knee. "But we have plenty of midwives here. Why do we need one from Persia?"

"Because Nousha wants one from Persia. Can you just sign it? You're supposed to be Ana's de facto notary because she can't sign."

"My goodness, I swear," Xena muttered under her breath, signing the document. "It's like this child is made of gold or something. Anything else I need to sign my life away to?"

"No, I think that's it for today. At least I hope it is," Gabrielle gathered the documents and placed them in her journal. "Did you take your medicine today?"

Xena reclined on the pillows. "Yes…"

"All of it?"

"Gabrielle, come on."

"What? I can't trust you!" she chuckled softly. "I know that you tried to get out of bed this morning. I have spies, you know."

Xena shifted her weight and pulled her hair back, fanning her neck. "I know you're very concerned, but I'm fine now. I feel a lot better, and I'm not just saying that so you'll get off my back."

"I'll tell you what," Gabrielle climbed onto the bed. "If you're really good, I'll let you come downstairs and eat with us tonight," she winked.

Xena frowned and lightly slapped her wife's arm. "Don't patronize me, Gabrielle."

"Hey, I just want you to get well. I don't know where we would be right now if I hadn't forced you to ride in the caravan the rest of the way. Your stubbornness could've killed you—no, it would have!"

Xena's lips curled into a weak smile. "I'll work on that."

"So you've said for the last thirty years."

"I try my best. That's all you can ask for, isn't it?"

At great speed, Aurora charged through the doors and hopped onto the bed. She stood up, twirling around, jumping lightly on the mattress. Xena's eyes danced around, watching the energized princess prance around on the bed.

"Are you," Aurora made a final turn around herself and plopped down onto the bed, "feeling better?" she asked, crossing her legs, breathing heavily.

Xena, amused, smiled. "Yes, thank you for asking. You're in a good mood. What's going on?" she narrowed in, skepticism blatantly apparent in her eyes.

"You know why I am in a good mood," Aurora hinted.

Xena looked over at Gabrielle and comprehended her wife's silent words being mouthed to her. It took a few seconds for the words to register, and she smiled, resting her hands on her knees.

"Ah, your birthday is next week."

The princess threw her hands in the air. "Yeah! And daddy is sending me presents. I wish he could be here, but he's busy with the campaign."

This was news to Xena, and she instantly snapped her head around to Gabrielle, who was shielding her face. She didn't know that Bayan had been helping Eksama with the campaign, nor was she notified that this decision had been made without her. This was definitely Anastasia's doing, and there was no way Xena would've allowed this. This was the very reason why she hated being out of the loop when it came to decision-making.

Gabrielle switched topics and asked Aurora, "where's your mother? I'm sure you're enjoying spending more time with her."

"She's taking a nap. She promised she'd take me to the field for archery practice later."

"That should be fun," Gabrielle smiled, nudging her irritable wife's arm. "I hear that the upcoming ceremony for your mother is very important. Are you excited about the party?"

Aurora sighed, "I'm not invited." She twisted her hair around her finger. "You're not invited either, Gabby."

Xena crinkled her eyebrows. "What do you mean, Gabrielle isn't invited? Isn't everyone invited?"

"Only mothers are invited to the party," Aurora said, disappointed. "Some ladies from Persia are coming too."

"Who's all invited to this…party?" Xena clenched her jaw.

"Um, you, grandma Khatun, Teyze Cera, Teyze Farah, Teyze Nisa, Teyze Pamira," she went down the list, counting mentally. "That's it, I think."

Picking at her nails in her lap, Xena smiled tersely at the oblivious princess. "Aurora, why don't you go polish your bow before your session with your mother?"

Once the room was clear, Xena glanced over at Gabrielle, who was painfully trying to hide how hurt she was, but it wasn't working. She could see that Gabrielle was trying to hold every emotion she was experiencing at the moment deep within her. Many things could be tolerated when it came to the Sassanian rules, but this was one of those times when the rules could be bent.

Gabrielle swallowed and peered over at her spouse, smiling weakly.

"Nousha can't do that. You should be there too," said Xena.

"It's alright, Xena, really. If this is one of their rules, then I won't attend. I can't, anyway."

Xena threw the blankets off her body and got out of bed. She grabbed her robe, gently making her way around Gabrielle, who tried to force her to get back into bed. She swung open the doors and marched off, searching the halls, asking maids where Nousha was. Gabrielle raced out of the room, yelling in desperation. Inwardly, she panicked as she anticipated that Xena would cause an egregious scene that would be gossiped about for weeks leading up to the auspicious ceremony.

Xerxes arrived in Pannonia quicker than he thought, but he assumed that would happen since he only stopped once to allow the horses to rest. As soon as he rushed into the Adame, he asked where Arielle was and ran upstairs to her room. Covered in blood, dirt, and drenched in rain that soiled his clothes beneath his leather armor, he entered the bedroom quietly.

He began stripping his leather armor off and took off his boots, leaving them by the door. He leaned to the side and saw Arielle sleeping on her side, hugging a pillow. Smiling, he took off his long-sleeve tunic and approached the bed. He kept his distance to not wake her up.

Too eager to wait for Arielle to wake, he decided to take a bath in her room. He didn't even bother to heat the water and took the quickest and coldest bath he thought he ever had in his life. Xerxes, knowing he didn't have any clothes with him, wrapped a towel around his waist. That is after he found one.

Stepping back into the bedroom, he found Arielle sitting up in bed, yawning. He grinned, holding the towel to his hip. Once Arielle rubbed her face and gave her hair a couple of rake-throughs, she spotted a figure by the door and gasped.

Xerxes smiled and climbed onto the bed, water dripping off his bare chest. He leaned over and kissed her, tasting the sweet fragrance of the rose sherbet she drank earlier. He nibbled on her pulsating lips, pulling away to see the delight and shock in her blue eyes.

"Wow," she licked the corner of her mouth, "thank you for…whatever that was," she said. "I…didn't know you were here!"

"I just arrived," he said, sitting in front of her.

"I know what you're thinking," she hinted playfully, "I look different," she gave him a cheesy grin.

Different wasn't the word Xerxes had in mind. He fixated on her belly, unable to believe it was true. Suddenly, his face contorted, rendering a worried expression from his wife.

"What is it? I mean, you knew I was going to look like this," Arielle teased, lightly punching his bicep. "Don't look so shocked. I told you I was pregnant months ago. You were the first to know! Well, aside from Ku," she stopped herself when she realized she was rambling. "Xerxes?"

"I…uh," he rubbed his throat, "I received a letter saying that you…miscarried."

Her eyes widened. "What? I never sent a letter saying that! I…" she paused, narrowing her eyes. "Sambice. That hag. She tried to kill me, you know!"

"Arielle," he gripped her shoulders, quieting her down. "I don't care about Sambice. She's always trying to ruin my life. I just care about you."

"But she –"

He pressed a finger to her lips, and Arielle's eyelashes fluttered. Chuckling softly, he kissed her hand. "I left the camp as soon as I received my mother's message. I'm sorry I didn't come back sooner but I…didn't know."

"Once again, you can blame Sambice for that, but I'm glad you're here!" she cupped his cheeks, swiping her thumbs across his strong jaw. "Thank you for rushing back, but you really didn't have to do that."

"Yes, I did. It's part of the tradition that I take care of you. Don't worry, I will do everything for you. Anything you want."

Arielle smiled mischievously. "Anything I want?" she asked, and Xerxes nodded. "Really? Anything? You'll do everything I say?"

"Yes, really."

She reclined on the pillows, eyeing Xerxes with a smug grin. "Well, I think this is the only tradition in your culture that I might actually like."

Xerxes shook his head and rose off the bed. "First, I need to grab some clothes."

She snatched his wrist, "you don't need to do that."

Xena stormed into Nousha's chambers unannounced, startling the maids who were standing by the doors. Nousha sat at the desk, writing several letters to many women from different Persia regions to attend the ceremony. She lifted her head, calmly dipping the quill into the inkwell, barely acknowledging Xena.

"Feeling better, I see, Khanum," she said smoothly.

Xena called over her shoulder to the maids, "get out."

This time, Nousha frowned, setting the pen down. "They're my maids. You can't give them orders."

"I said get out," Xena's voice deepened. At that, the maids left and closed the doors.

Nousha crossed her arms. "You have my full attention. What do you want?"

"I need to talk to you about this ceremony."

"Ah, the Agarni," Nousha smiled, "what would you like to know?"

Xena opened and closed her fist several times before speaking. "I was told that only mothers are invited to this ceremony. No children or men are allowed."

"That's correct."

"Gabrielle isn't on the list."

Nousha smiled uneasily and let out a nervous laugh. "Well, she's not a mother. Only mothers attend Agarni because they bring good fortune to my son's child. You understand, don't you?"

"No. I don't." Xena stepped forward, resting her palms on the desk. "Just because you don't give birth to a child doesn't make you any less of a mother. Gabrielle has helped raise most, if not all, of the children in this clan. She was there when Arielle was born. Arielle is named after her!"

Nousha sat, doe-eyed, unable to utter a sound.

Xena stood up straight, tracing her fingers on the wood. "Arielle will be very upset if Gabrielle isn't invited. And something tells me that my daughter doesn't know about this. Otherwise, we wouldn't be having this conversation, but instead, I heard this little tidbit from Aurora's mouth."

She walked backward and turned, holding her laced hands behind her back. She knocked on the door, and the maids opened them from the other side.

"I look forward to attending the Agarni," she said as she walked into the hallway.

Estakhr, Persia

Sambice anxiously waited to hear the news of the Shah's sudden illness. She wasn't looking forward to returning to her home, and she was ready with a slew of complaints to tell Shah Kavad. But as soon as she heard that her husband was ill, the only thing she could think about was the loss of her status in the empire.

Whenever the Shah was ill, it was meant to be kept secret from the public. Sambice made sure that the only people who knew of Kavad's illness were the physicians and herself. She thought to keep this underground but knew that Esther would raise hell if she kept out of the loop. Waiting more than ten days, Sambice finally informed Esther of her brother's condition, and now she waited for Esther to show up at the palace.

She tried to be calm and not alert the harem about what was happening behind closed doors. She made frequent visits to the harem wing, and she wished she wouldn't have. News of Xerxes' child had reached all ears within the harem, and the women talked about it nonstop for almost two weeks.

Clueless about the Shah being on his deathbed, several women were invited to the Agarni in Pannonia. They began trickling out of the palace day by day to make the trek over to Hunnic land. Sambice stood outside the harem doors, watching several maids carry trunks of clothes, gifts, and other necessary items for the ceremony.

Sambice stepped into the harem quarters and spotted Shehzade Khosrow's mother, Talia, talking with her son's leading concubine, Sherine. Unlike the other concubines, Talia was basically untouchable due to her status, hailing from the House of Ispahbudhan. As Sambice walked further into the room, the women quieted down, and Talia looked her way.

Talia whispered to Sherine and walked over to greet Sambice. She bowed hesitantly. "Shahbanu, good morning."

"Preparing for your trip to Pannonia, I see."

Talia smiled, "yes, I received Banu Nousha's letter. It will be bizarre to host an Agarni in a foreign land. I look forward to meeting the Shehzade's wife."

Sambice nodded, looking over at Khosrow's three small sons, one still an infant. "And, Sherine will be accompanying you?"

"Of course. We will be staying in Pannonia until after the birth. I hope the Huns won't mind putting up with all of us for a few months."

"I'm sure they will have no problem hosting you, Talia."

She did her best to hide her malice, though everyone knew how she felt about the Huns and Xerxes' wife. The only thing on her mind was the thought of the Shah's imminent death, and that meant that Talia would become the new ruler if Khosrow were to become Shah. Sambice couldn't allow that to happen, but Khosrow would make a far better ruler than Xerxes. And Talia was easy to sway, so Sambice thought to use this to her advantage for the foreseeable future.

Then there was Sherine. She was a quiet woman, and never caused trouble in the harem, unlike Nousha. She would become the new Shahbanu if Khosrow were to take the throne. Lost in thought, Sambice didn't even notice Talia speaking to her until a few minutes later.

"Shahbanu?"

She blinked, staring down at the lithe blonde. "Hmm?"

"I asked if you were going back to Pannonia for the ceremony."

"No," she answered quickly. "I am needed here, but please do enjoy yourself. The Huns are very hospitable," forcing a smile, Sambice turned on her heel and exited the room.

Overlooking the main balcony, Gabrielle watched as a horde of Persian women entered the Adame. Many of the women were older, but a few were younger, perhaps around Arielle's age. She felt bad for Arielle, knowing that she was going to be smothered by these strange women. Gabrielle turned around as a hand clamped on her shoulder.

Xena whistled upon seeing the trail of women. "This is going to be fun."

"Look at all of those chests!" Gabrielle pointed to the maids carrying the trunks through the foyer. "It looks like they're moving in."

"I'm sure most of those are filled with gifts. That child isn't even born yet, and it's going to have a mountain of presents."

"I'll say," Gabrielle sighed, turning to her wife with a smile. "Oh, I forgot to tell you. I got a letter from Eksama. The Antes are slowly pulling back, but she thinks it's just a diversion so Justinian can ship in more soldiers."

Xena rubbed her chin. "Is Bayan still there helping out?" she asked, and Gabrielle confirmed with a curt head nod. "Then, I'm not worried. He may be a lying, cheating, piece of goat shit, but he is very good at commanding an army."

"That's probably the nicest thing you've ever said about him. I'm proud of you," she paddled Xena's shoulder.

Xena rolled her eyes and walked down the hallway, and heard Gabrielle laughing from behind. She walked to the bedroom and was advised by her wife, daughter, and almost everyone in the household to stay in bed as much as possible. Xena came to terms with this weeks ago, mostly because she hated arguing with everyone here, and it wasn't like she could win. But, she couldn't get used to the fact that she couldn't be on the field, advising Eksama. Letters were the only way to communicate, and she hated waiting on the sidelines. Suddenly, she knew precisely how Anastasia felt and realized that she had been too hard on her over the last couple of years.

She really downplayed how her daughter felt about being left out of everything to do with the empire. But currently, Xena was forced to work with her daughter since Arielle was on leave. She thought that was going to be a disaster, but Anastasia proved that she was very easy to work with this time around. It was a nice distraction from Nousha and the Sassanian traditions being shoved down everybody's throats.

As they walked together, Gabrielle discreetly clasped hands with Xena and then paused at the balustrade as soon as Nousha was making her way up the stairs. Xena halted, feeling a tug on her arm, and spun around. She leaned over the railing and frowned at Nousha leisurely, walking up the stairs, clearly with a mission on her mind.

Nousha huffed and came to stand before the women. She held out two folded letters.

"Invitations to the Agarni," she said.

Gabrielle gasped, taking the letter and ripping it open. She grinned, eyeing her wife, who returned the gesture. Meanwhile, Xena was glad that Nousha changed her mind and decided to invite Gabrielle to the ceremony. For once, she was listened to.

"Thank you!" she held the letter to her chest. "Is there anything you need from us? Do we need to bring anything? Gifts?"

Nousha cleared her throat, "no gifts are necessary. Gifts are to be distributed by the husband's side of the family. I do request that you wear…dresses," she fixed her attention on Xena.

"She'll wear one," Gabrielle said enthusiastically. She received a pinch to her back and winced.

Nousha crinkled her eyebrows then made her way back down the stairs. Once she left the area, Xena dug her nails into her wife's back.

"Ow, stop!"

"Gabrielle," she growled.

"What? You heard her! Now you have no excuse. You have to wear a dress."

Feeling restless, Arielle sat on her bed, chewing on her nails, waiting for Xerxes to return from the kitchen below. She could hear a sea of voices from outside her bedroom and knew the women were here. They arrived, which meant the ceremony was happening. She secretly wanted to avoid this entire party but knew she couldn't.

At first, she was okay with the idea of having the Agarni, but now she wanted to cloister herself in her bedroom and never leave. In a few short days, she would be surrounded by women she's never met in her life, and they would be giving gifts and greeting her.

She took in a deep breath and dropped her hands in her lap. Xerxes entered the room, holding a glass of juice. He smiled at her, closing the door to block off the talkative crowd outside. He sat on the bed, handing her the glass.

"Amba juice," he said.

Arielle took in a shaky breath and stared at the drink. She didn't mind all of the attention he gave her over the last couple of weeks. It was nice, but it took a while to get used to it. She also didn't mind having this juice every single morning, but today, she just couldn't bring herself to drink it.

"I'm going to be sick," she said aloud.

Xerxes' cheeks chalked. "What? Should I send for someone? You were fine earlier." He began checking her pulse.

Arielle smiled, finding his concern amusing. "No, no, I'm okay. I just…I'm a little nervous about this ceremony. And I hope your family likes me."

"Oh," he laughed. "They will love you."

"I wish you could be there. I would feel so much better if you were with me," she grasped his hand tightly.

"I wish I could," he kissed her nose. He now focused on her stomach and smiled. "Can I?"

Arielle sighed and reclined on the pillows, adjusting her body. Finally, able to stomach the juice, she sipped it slowly and kept herself from laughing as Xerxes inched closer to her. She mentioned to him several times that she wasn't accustomed to the attention received, mainly due to Bayan. He didn't acknowledge her very much when they lived alone, so it was different to see how attentive Xerxes was with her.

Lifting the dress, Xerxes looked up at his wife's smirk on her lips. His hand roamed across her tattooed belly, then pulled his hand away to wait for a response. Raising an eyebrow at the lack of reaction, he tapped his unborn child a few times.

"It seems that someone is sleeping," he said.

Arielle wiped the corners of her mouth and set down the empty glass. "I would hope so, especially after last night. I couldn't sleep for the longest time."

"Why didn't you tell me?" he gasped.

"You were passed out," she flicked his shoulder. "Besides, you're no help. The baby seems to like your voice, and…" she paused and felt a small flutter. "You see what I mean?" she pointed to the side of her belly.

Xerxes grinned, "our baby likes me. What can I say?" he placed his hand on her stomach. "By the way, the midwife is coming here next month. Her name is Mehry. She delivered my brothers' children and several other children in the empire."

She exhaled heavily. "I don't see why your mother wants a Persian midwife. We have plenty here that are very good at their jobs."

"It's just trad—"

"Tradition, I know," she finished his sentence, and Xerxes snorted. "I'm trying my best, I really am."

"And you're doing a great job. You and my mother seem to be getting along better."

Arielle cast a skeptical look. "Xerxes," she grabbed his hand, "your mother does not like me. She only puts up with me because of this," she pointed to her stomach.

"That's not true."

"Oh, yes, it is. And she hates my mother."

"Well…" he furrowed his eyebrows, "at least my mother never tried to kill you," he winked.

On the eve of the ceremony, the women's quarters were completely blocked off from all children and men in the Adame. While Anastasia suggested hosting the party in a larger room, Nousha wanted to make sure that all women were secluded from everyone else, so Ana immediately lost that argument.

Gabrielle opened one of the doors and stepped inside with a big grin on her face. All of the Persian women had their own little circles, talking amongst themselves. They all kept talking, waiting for Arielle to arrive. Gabrielle looked around at the decorations and spotted a dais in the back of the room, adorned with flowers and fruit.

"Wow, you know, I thought Farah's people were big on parties, but this is insane!" she said aloud and reached behind her and grasped air instead of a hand.

"Xena?" she turned and pulled her wife's hand, jerking her in the room."Get in here!"

Xena groaned, adjusting her dress. She had an urge to hide her face with the veil of her headdress. As soon as she walked into the room, most Persians turned to her with uncertain smiles.

"This is going to be a very long night," she whispered, forcefully smiling at the several eyes. "At least with our parties, men are allowed to come! This is going to be torturous, Gabrielle."

"You're overexaggerating." She pulled Xena through the crowd, nodding and smiling at the Persians. "We're here for Arielle. I'm just glad that I got invited! How did you convince Nousha to invite me anyway?"

Xena crookedly smiled, "oh, you know me, I have a way with words."

"No, you have a way with swords. Did you threaten her with a weapon?"

"I do a nice thing for you, and you accuse me of threatening? I'm offended."

Gabrielle rolled her eyes playfully.

"I told her that you deserved to be here, which you do," Xena whispered. "Besides, I wasn't going to stay here all night by myself. These women are like piranhas."

Letting out a soft laugh, Gabrielle weaved her way through the sea of women and finally found the lonesome Hun women huddled at the back of the room. They all stood by the dais, waiting for Arielle, Nousha, and Anastasia to arrive. Farah halted her conversation with Nisa and smiled at the two.

"You two look nice," Farah complimented.

Gabrielle smiled, "and you look gorgeous, as always. All of you look gorgeous! So, how come you all aren't mingling with the others?"

"I'm going to need several glasses of wine to converse with these women," mumbled Farah, sipping the wine.

Nisa leaned over, "they're not very friendly."

"She's right," said Pamira. "They're my people. I know them very well. They're only here because of Nousha and Shehzade Xerxes."

Gabrielle frowned, taking another look around the room. "But this ceremony is for Arielle."

"They're here out of respect. It would be rude to turn down an invitation from the Shehzade's mother."

Halfway through the ceremony, Arielle lost count of how many women had kissed her cheeks and hand. She began to feel overwhelmed by the gifts that kept piling up behind her. She also felt a bit of tension from her mother and Nousha. They hardly said a word to each other throughout the evening, and with the two on either side of her, she was more anxious.

The celebration was quite different from a senlik, since the guests were only women, and Arielle didn't know any of the women at her own party. There also weren't any dances, children, or men present, which she thought strange. She got the feeling that the women on her side of the family were bored out of their minds. Especially since none of them made an effort to talk to the Persians.

After the last of the women gave their gifts and greetings, Arielle was itching to get out of the chair and walk around. She sat for the last couple of hours and was uncomfortable with the amount of attention placed solely on her. She also wanted to wipe all the makeup off her eyes and lips. Her eyes immediately went to the table filled with food, and she turned to Nousha.

"Can I get up now?" she whispered.

"Not yet. We have to recite a prayer with everyone here."

Arielle groaned. "I've been sitting here for hours!"

Anastasia raised an eyebrow, listening to the hushed conversation. In order to preserve the tranquility among everybody while also appeasing Nousha to not disrespect their traditions, she decided to intervene.

"Nousha, let her get up. We can do the prayer later." She suggested, noticing her daughter about to lose her temper.

"The priestess is going to recite the prayer soon. She's about to gather everybody to sit on the floor. It won't take long," Nousha said, glaring at Ana.

Arielle, impatient, rose from the chair, stretching her back, and stepped off the dais. She heard several women stop talking as soon as she walked through the crowd. A path was made for her, and it was then that she heard whispering. She assumed that they had nothing nice to say. She stood in front of the table, lined with several trays of food.

She grabbed a silver tray and began putting several bowls of various foods onto it. She turned, smiling at the women who gawked at her as if she was committing some blasphemous act. She carried the tray and walked over to her family members, and took a seat on the floor with them.

Xena lowered the glass of juice from her mouth and saw the Persians' horrified eyes upon them. Farah picked at the food she ate on the floor and snickered, amused at the chaos that was about to unfold.

Arielle ignored the stabbing stares boring into her backside and ate quietly, barely acknowledging everyone else seated in a circle around her. She lifted her eyes briefly as she scooped a handful of rice into her mouth.

"Are you supposed to be sitting here?" Xena whispered, nervously staring at the Persian women who gossiped from afar.

Arielle said with a mouthful of rice and bread, "I am starving! How can she expect me to sit there for hours like that? They can wait. This is my party, after all."

Satiated with the amount of food, she was already in a better mood than just moments ago. She finished off the rice bowl and then began eating the yogurt with just a spoon and nothing else. Cera, sitting across from her sister, gaped in shock, astonished at how quickly her sister was finishing off every single bowl on the tray.

Farah wiped her hands, tilting her head, also in amazement.

Arielle paused and looked around at the many eyes fixated on her. Embarrassed by her ravenous appetite, she wiped the corners of her mouth, set down the finished bowl of yogurt, and then smiled at all the women.

At the room entrance, the door creaked open slightly, and Aman poked his head inside. He tried to search for his mother in the crowded room, but it was nearly impossible to find her. He slipped into the room, hoping to go unnoticed. As soon as he tried to stay hidden behind the pillars, a few Persian women spotted him.

The women gasped, and Aman smiled nervously. He made himself visible and side-stepped out from behind the pillar and bowed his head.

"Good evening, ladies. I don't want to intrude, but I'm—"

"Aren't you handsome," said Talia, causing the prince to blush.

"Um…I was just looking for my mother. Do you know where she is?"

Talia smiled at the other women and stepped forward. "And who is your mother?"

Aman felt he was about to be bombarded by these women, and he regretted ever stepping foot into this room. "Ah…Queen Farah…"

She pointed to the back of the room, and Aman quietly excused himself. He escaped just in time before the women were to question him. He tried to make his way through the sea of Persians, and many of them made a path for him, which he thanked them for. Utterly oblivious to the fact that they talked poorly about his appearance, he waltzed over to the back of the room where he saw his mother sitting with the others.

Xena, in the middle of a conversation with Gabrielle, looked up at Aman heading their way. She could see Nousha seething from afar and held in her laugh. The prince happily approached, smiling at the women.

Farah gasped, "Aman, what are you doing here?" she whispered. "You aren't supposed to be in here."

"Sorry, I know. You ladies look very pretty," he nodded, admiring their dresses.

Xena nudged her wife, "look at Nousha. She's going to implode. Nothing is going according to her plans."

"You're enjoying this a bit too much," Gabrielle whispered.

Aman continued to say, "um, father wanted me to tell you that he's going to the west wall with Ernak because the Byzantines are trying to breakthrough."

Farah screamed, "what?!"

Arielle smiled, "does this mean I have an excuse to leave?"

"No," Xena spat then whispered to Gabrielle, "did you know about this?"

"It's the first time I'm hearing about it."

Anastasia hurried over to the circle and bent over next to her daughter, "Nousha wants you to come to sit back down in the chair. She said once the prayer is finished, then you're free to do what you want."

Arielle groaned. "Fine, but this better not take long!" she grabbed her mother's hands and stood up.

Ana kissed her daughter's forehead and gently pushed her along to meet with Nousha. She tilted her head, staring at her grandson, who stuck out like a sore thumb. Aman grinned boldly and kissed her hand, putting on the charm.

"Grandma Khatun…" he nervously laughed. "That dress looks good on you!"

"Ah, thank you, now, run along. You aren't supposed to be here," Ana waved her hand, shooing her grandson away. "Is everything okay over here?" she asked the women, specifically her mother, who was awfully quiet.

"We'll talk after this party is over."

All the hard work the soldiers put in building the wall had been wasted. Catapults were aimed directly at the wall, slowly breaking through into west Pannonia. All Huns and Persians stood on the other side of the border, watching the massive stone construct crumble and fall apart. Ernak encouraged the soldiers to climb the wall and shoot at the Byzantines on the other side.

Csaba sat on his horse, watching the chaos unfold. He knew that once the wall was completely torn down, the Byzantines would rush forth into his territory. He wondered when this was ever going to end. Everyone always targeted his home and people. Their enemies wanted their land because it was considered the best. It was in the center of all surrounding empires.

Justinian, nor anyone else, was going to stop warring with the Huns. Csaba doubted that the wall would hold the enemy for long, considering how fast they were chipping away at it. Last time this happened, Arielle was in charge and so was Xena, but Csaba was alone with Ernak. Despite his many years of training and experience, he had to give it to his sister for being one of the best military leaders, aside from his grandmother.

Occupied by his uncle shouting commands yards away, he heard loud horse hooves from behind. Csaba looked over his shoulder, grateful to see his grandmother approaching with over fifty soldiers in tow.

Xena pulled up beside him, smiling softly. "Farah has been crying her eyes out for three days, by the way," she said casually.

He knew that this was going to upset his wife, but he had no choice but to leave their home. He needed to be here. Ernak couldn't defend Pannonia all by himself.

"Does mother know you're here?" he asked curiously. "Better yet, does Gabrielle know? I thought she forbid—they both—forbid you to go onto the field."

Xena ignored his questions and persisted, "you can't let Justinian's men through. Pannonia has been attacked more times in the last two years than I can count on one hand."

"I know. Ernak is trying his best to hold them off. I don't know what's going to happen. That wall is going to fall eventually."

"And when it does, you will make sure that they don't go beyond the western pass. Do I make myself clear?"

Csaba scratched his throat, but agreed silently, staring into her stern eyes.

"Do whatever you have to do to stop them."

She steered her horse to ride back and Csaba felt instant panic settle in the pit of his stomach. He reached for her arm, gripping firmly.

"You're not staying?"

Xena smiled, setting her hand on his. "I'm not always going to be here to save you, Csaba. I trust you know what to do. Be careful," she gave his hand a strong squeeze.

Bored from her satiated lifestyle at the moment, Arielle decided to wait in her grandmother's room until her return. She constantly had Nousha on her back, as well as Xerxes, but she also couldn't get rid of Aurora. On the one hand, Arielle was happy that she had so much extra time to spend with her daughter, but she rarely had a moment's peace.

Sitting in a chair with her legs propped up on a stool, she watched Gabrielle pace back and forth, chewing her nails. On the floor, Aurora sat quietly, painting with the new brush set that Cera gifted her on her birthday. Arielle anxiously bobbed her ankle as her eyes followed Gabrielle, making a hole in the floor.

Aurora tugged on her mother's arm to grab her attention. "What do you think?" she lifted up the parchment.

Arielle looked at the painting of trees and what looked to be a river. "Wow, it looks great. I see you're really enjoying the new brushes."

The princess nodded, smiling at her own work. She stood up and began fiddling with the lace on her mother's long sleeve. "Can we go practice some archery today?"

Distracted by Gabrielle's pacing, Arielle spaced out for a moment. "Oh, um, I'm actually really tired today, tatli kiz. We can practice tomorrow, okay?"

Storming into the room, Xena growled, "those motherfu—" she paused at the unexpected company in the room. "Oh, hi…"

Gabrielle gasped, "you're here!" she wrapped her arms around her wife, embracing her tightly.

Xena sighed and noticed Arielle attempt to rise out of the chair. "Don't get up," she raised a hand, "it's painful to watch you struggle," she teased.

Arielle rolled her eyes. "Well? What happened? What's going on out there?"

Gabrielle finally released her wife, checking her over. "Is it really that bad? Are the Byzantines breaking through the wall?"

"I expect they'll break through in the next three days. Maybe less," Xena took her headdress off, smoothing out her hair.

Aurora gasped, slapping her hands to her cheeks. "We're gonna get attacked again?! I can't go through this again!" she breathed heavily.

Xena walked over, lifted the frantic princess by the waist, and plopped her down onto the bed. She bent over with her palms resting on the mattress, staring into Aurora's teary eyes.

"Nothing happened last time, and nothing's going to happen this time," she calmly explained.

Aurora, on the verge of tears, spoke brokenly, "all this war stresses me out."

Everyone in the room wore smiles, and Xena rubbed her lips together, trying not to laugh at such a serious, yet relative, comment from the child.

"Me too."

Breaking the tension, Anastasia walked through the open doors and glanced around the room, seeing quite a few more bodies than she expected. She supposed she couldn't scold her mother in front of Aurora, so she contained her thoughts and emotions for the time being.

"I didn't realize there was a party in here," she announced, causing alarm.

Aurora grinned, free of tears, and soared off the bed, running to Anastasia. She wrapped her thin arms around her grandmother's legs, hugging tightly. "Did you hear? We're gonna be attacked again!"

"Don't worry, you'll be safe here."

Xena closed her eyes and turned to her slightly annoyed daughter. "Hello there."

"Hello," Ana responded with a terse smile. "Navaz just arrived. Either we're victorious against the Lombards, or we sorely lost."

Arielle's eyes lit up, "father's here?" She sprung up from the chair, brushed by her mother, and hurried down the hallway to greet her father.

Anastasia frowned and thumbed over her shoulder. "She's never that eager to see me."

Gabrielle shrugged her shoulders.

"Yeah, I'll say. That's the fastest I've seen her move in a week," Xena joked, receiving a nudge to her arm from Gabrielle.

Outside the Adame, Navaz stood around, ordering soldiers to move horses, wagons, and weapons. He was looking forward to seeing everybody, but he carried some rather unsettling news. Knowing that both Nousha and Xerxes were here was a good thing, but then again, this news was bound to upset them. After he left Assyria, pushing the Lombards out, both he and Shehzade Khosrow were greeted by Persians who traveled all the way from Estakhr to report the news.

Navaz had no idea that the Shah was so ill, but he was sure that was kept a secret for a reason. This was going to change everything, for better or for worse. He hated being the barrier of bad news, and he remembered how upset Arielle was. Now, he was going to have to upset a few more people other than his daughter.

In the middle of a conversation with a soldier, Navaz heard his daughter yelling for him across the field. The soldier kindly excused himself, and Navaz smiled, albeit exhausted and worn from the journey, he was ecstatic to see Arielle.

She waved her hand and then picked up her dress, stepping around the large mud puddles. Hurrying as quickly as she could, she stepped over a large puddle, separating them both. Navaz grabbed hold of her hands and pulled her towards him.

Hugging him warmly, she dug her nails into his back. "Thank god you're back! I feel like you've been gone forever! How was the trip? How are you?"

Navaz kissed her forehead and then peered down at his daughter's belly, sighing gutturally, then looked into Arielle's big blue eyes.

"Don't worry about me. How are you?"

She brushed a few strands of hair behind her ear. "Oh, you know," she awkwardly laughed, "having a baby," she said, twirling hair around her finger.

"Yes, I can see that," he raised a thick eyebrow. "You shouldn't have gone on the campaign, Arielle."

She rolled her eyes, fluttering her eyelashes. "Can we not talk about that right now? I do not hear the end of it from anybody."

"Later then," he pinched her chin. "I have some upsetting news."

"Did we lose the war?"

Navaz took in a deep breath, "Shah Kavad is dead," he blurted out, and Arielle's jaw dropped. "Shehzade Khosrow is going to be crowned Shah."