Chapter 5

"Remember what we talked about, Xena. You are to remain hidden from prying eyes. You are a fly upon the wall, nothing more," Malka said as the two walked down the long hallway to meet their awaited guest.

She flipped the hood over her head and walked behind Malka. "It is the first time that I live among the shadows," she smirked and tried to keep up with his strides. Her legs ached, her hip bones grinding against one other. She didn't feel the same but tried to work through the pain.

Shah Hormizd waited in the large foyer inside Bey Malka's home. He spun around and smiled seeing the Bey and a hooded guest accompanying him. "Bey Malka, so kind of you to invite me into your home," he bowed his head.

"The honor is mine, Shah. Your brother does not accompany you?" Malka noted the absence of young Peroz.

The Persian king nodded. "He is busy attending to other duties back home. I hope that my presence alone is enough?" he half joked and Malka grinned.

"Of course. Please join me outside in the gardens," Malka motioned the way beyond the foyer and into the gardens. He eyed Xena and saw a smile on her lips beneath that dark hood. She quickly trailed the Persian and he followed suit.

King Hormizd sat opposite of Malka and his strange hooded guest sat beside him. He could feel the person glaring at him from beneath the hood and it made him most uneasy. He eyed Malka whom was pouring everyone some coffee.

"Your hooded guest is most ominous," the shah alleged.

Malka grinned and saw Xena hid her face further and turned to the shah. "My political envoy. I hope you don't mind an extra body during our discussion? Anything you say is confidential in front of my envoy." He said.

Hormzid nodded and took the coffee. Xena reached for the small cup and the shah noticed the hands of the envoy. Feminine hands. A female envoy? Most interesting, he thought. "I do not mind..." he sipped the coffee. "You brought me all the way from my home. You wish to discuss an alliance I am assuming?"

Malka cleared his throat. "I want more than an alliance. I want your empire to stay out of my land. It is my duty to protect my people as you must protect yours. You understand, don't you?"

"I understand," the shah bowed his head curtly and watched the female envoy sip the coffee, listening quietly. "My...brother has recently visited the White Huns in the Caucasus. King Navaz and his wife were most unruly. They did not accept my brother's offer. I hope we can have a more reasonable conversation and more fruitful as well." He lifted the cup.

The Bey rubbed his chin, "why did they turn down your brother? Was the alliance not worthy? Those Caucasus Huns can be very flighty with their decisions. It is the reason they remain secluded from all –"

"It was not King Navaz who turned down the offer," Hormzid interrupted. "His wife, Anastasia, declined the offer. She has quite a mouth, so my brother told me."

Xena's eyes widened once she heard her daughter's name. She had thought her daughter lost and gone from her side forever, but she was not. She set the cup of coffee and listened to the shah further. The sound of her daughter's name made her heart flutter, beat faster than ever. A wave of warmth filled her body and she had hoped for this day to come. She was so close, yet so far. She wished to hold her once more.

But, one thing, she also heard the shah say Anastasia was the wife of this White Hun king. Anastasia got married? Something about that marriage proved to Xena that her daughter was desperate and needed some way to survive. She wished to know more but did not want to risk her person to be discovered so soon.

"I was not aware Navaz had a wife," Malka frowned and eyed Xena's fidgety fingers in her lap. She grew nervous or perhaps anxious? Xena knew something and it was bothering her, he could tell.

Hormizd chuckled. "Have you not heard the Huns rave about her beauty? She is supposedly the most gorgeous Hun woman in all of the eastern lands. If her blood was not tainted with the Hun line, I might have my brother marry her."

Xena's fists clenched and she was tempted to throw herself over the shah and tackle him to the ground, but she refrained. Her blood boiling, her lip curled with a subtle snarl.

"No offense, of course. I know Hun women to be the most beautiful among all women, even of my own kind," Hormzid held his hand to his chest, bowing slightly. "I wish to discuss an agreement if we cannot ally with each other. The Pannonian Huns are no more and the Bulgur Huns have taken over Attila's homeland. What a shame. I would not dare ally with those heathens." He chuckled.

He continued onward, "I do not believe the Nezak Huns to be of the same blood as the Bulgurs and Pannonians. You are a more civilized people and I would never ally with the Bulgurs. They are far too barbaric for my liking. You Nezak Huns are very warm and welcoming. I am counting on you to come to an agreement with me, if you'd like to hear it?" he leaned forward.

Malka smiled apprehensively, "of course." He was not sure if he should be insulted or not, but he was willing to do anything to get these Persians off his back and stay far from his land. He worked hard to keep intruders out for twenty years and he did not want to stop that winning streak.

"You pay a tax to the House of Sasan and you may keep your peaceful land." Hormzid provided and he heard a snort from his envoy. He eyed the hooded woman and frowned. "Your envoy does not agree? She finds this amusing?"

Malka's eyes widened and Xena turned her cheek away, hiding her face. "Perhaps I should trust my envoy. What kind of tax is this?"

"A religious tax. I know you Huns believe in your deities but that is not permitted among my empire." The shah said.

"If I am to pay a tax that would mean you control my land under your House?" Malka frowned, not liking this idea at all. It was not what he had in mind.

Hormzid sighed. "But of course. That is why you called me here isn't it? You didn't think you could keep your land, did you?" he stood, adjusting his robes and cape. "Agree to the tax or I will bring the wrath of God upon your people, Bey Malka."

He stormed off and Xena rose from her chair, uncovering her face. "Malka!" she grabbed his vest, bringing him close to her face. "You underestimate the Persians! You are a fool!" she hissed.

He growled and pushed her aside, adjusting his collar. "It would seem so." He rubbed his neck and saw her eyes filled with fury. "You are not well. Your eyes show much malice. Something bothering you?" he inquired.

Her eyes lowered and her heart softened. "The King's wife," she said lowly.

"Navaz?"

She folded her arms. "His wife is my daughter," she admitted and looked into his surprised eyes.

"Oh," he cleared his throat. "That is wonderful news. Your family is still alive!" he grinned, but she saw she was less enthused. "You are not happy?"

"I fear my daughter is unhappy. She did not marry this man out of love." No, she only loved one man and now he was gone. Everyone was gone. Anastasia looked for a way to make a name for herself and Xena felt responsible. She felt like she failed her, failed everyone.

She lifted her eyes and clenched her jaw. "I want to go to the Caucasus. If my daughter is there I want to see her."

"And if she is not?"

"I will find her."

Dengi glared at Anastasia as they were inside a large iron rod cage being transported across the Steppes, passing by the Goth territories and soon into the Roman empire borders. Ernak sat beside Ana, playing with a piece of hay trying to find the light in this situation, though there appeared to be none.

"This is all your fault, Anastasia!" Dengi snarled and she lifted her tired eyes. "We should have just gone straight to Rome, but no! You wanted to stop by and pay a visit to the Bulgurs!"

"I realize I have made a mistake. You don't have to lecture me," she sighed heavily and stretched her arching legs outward, crossing with Dengi's in the small space they shared. The horsemen weren't exactly taking an easy route and it was extremely bumpy, which unsettled her stomach.

"This is so ridiculous. We shouldn't have been in this mess but because of your stupid –"

"Enough!" Ernak yelled. "Do not make her feel even worse, Dengi."

"He is right," she said softly.

The wagon halted and they jolted forward and groaned. Ernak rubbed the back of his head and then heard footsteps approaching from behind. A Bulgur Hun came to the cage and smiled at them all. "We will be passing you off to the Romans in Milan." He said and eyed Anastasia, her cheeks pale and her eyes worn.

He waft a fresh piece of lamb in her face from the camp the other soldiers made. She cringed and turned her cheek away. "Do you not wish to dig your teeth into this, all mighty queen?" he teased.

Ana shook her head and turned away. He grabbed her cheek from inside the iron rods and stuck the meat close to her nose. She winced in disgust and her eyes widened. Ernak snarled and grabbed the Bulgur's wrist firmly.

Dengi rolled his eyes and scoffed. "She's pregnant you stupid fuck," he said to the Bulgur and the man released Anastasia's cheeks. "Salak..." he muttered, calling the man the idiot he truly was.

Ernak clung close to her and she gagged, breathing heavily, almost to the point of dry heaving. He brushed her hair away from her face and whispered to her, wrapping his arm around her. She leaned against his chest and steadied her breathing.

The Bulgur frowned and stepped away. He then walked back to the camp and Dengi watched him out of the corner of his eye. He saw him talking to a few men and all of the soldiers turned their eyes towards his direction.

"They're coming back," Dengi whispered.

General Salezar came to the cage filled with the treacherous Pannonians. He folded his arms and looked to the woman grasped within Ernak's arms. He snapped his fingers and one of his men stepped forward with a bowl of grain and another bowl with water.

"Food and water for your child," the general said with a bit of distain. Ernak eyed the man with vehemence and he clung to Anastasia, not trusting the Bulgur at all. "Do not think I am a monster! Take the food you aptal kadin!" he yelled and Dengi lunged forward. The soldiers surrounded the cage with swords, ready to pierce the prince's throat.

Ernak held up his hand and Dengi relaxed. Slowly the soldiers lowered their weapons. Ernak then extended his hand and grabbed the bowl of grain and the water and set it in front of himself. "A Bulgur shows his kindness. How generous of you," his words dripping with malice and sarcasm.

Salezar scoffed. "I would not deprive a pregnant woman of food and water. We are Huns, are we not? We take care of our own, yes?" he winked and walked off with the soldiers in tow.

"What a piece of goat shit," Dengi muttered.

Ernak sighed and brought the warm grain to Ana's face. "For you," he said with a smile and she looked up to him with tired eyes.

She dug her fingers into the grain and spoon it into her mouth slowly. Ernak nodded and held the bowl of water close to his chest. Dengi groaned and banged his head against the rod iron cage. "We need to figure a way how to get out of here." He said.

"We will, but we need to get to Rome first. If Gabrielle is there, she might be able to help us," Ernak suggested.

"If she's even there," Dengi snorted.

"She is, I swear it." Ana lifted her eyes and glared at Dengi.

Gabrielle walked out of the senate with Lucius and felt so drained after the speech she gave. She gave a false speech of finding the cohort that wrote the letter to the Huns, but if the emperor found out it was her, she would be ruined. She'd be dead. She felt sick just thinking about it.

She did not like to lie, but she desperately wanted to call out to someone, someone close enough to Xena. Anastasia was the closest thing she had to Xena and knowing that her daughter was alive warmed her heart. She only wished it would have happened some other way. If only there was a way.

"You seem distracted," Lucius noted.

She smiled softly. "I have a lot on my mind at the moment."

"Finding the traitor who sent that letter is bound to have anyone on edge," he said and they walked through the streets, weaving through the commoners in the narrow pathways.

Loud yelling was heard from the square and Gabrielle frowned. She heard people yelling out obscene words and phrases that she thought were most foul. She pushed the crowd of people while Lucius shortly followed, trying to keep up with her.

She pushed her way through the front line of people and saw a horde of Roman troops, transporting prisoners in a large iron rod cage. She ran down the line to see who they were. It was not normal to see such a sight in Rome of all places and so public.

She breathed heavily and saw people throwing rotten fruits and vegetables at the prisoners. Her heart sank once she saw who they were. "Anastasia..." she whispered beneath her breath. She then spotted Ernak and Dengi inside the cage with her and she ran to the other side of the street to take a closer look, while dodging the fruits and vegetables flying by her.

Anastasia lifted her head and saw Gabrielle's emerald eyes gaping at her. She lunged forward to the opposite side of the cage and clung to the iron bars. She reached her arm out through the bars and Gabrielle smiled softly.

Gabrielle reached forward and their fingertips glided against each other like soft quill feather. She felt the warmth she had missed for so long finally touch her. As the Romans continued onward, Anastasia kept staring at her with a big smile and tears swelling in her eyes, unable to speak a word, but the touch was enough. Enough for now.

Lucius found Gabrielle and saw she had a forlorn look in her eyes. "It seems the emperor has captured those Hun animals and brought them for quite a show."

Her eyes darkened and she spun around, glaring at the young senator. "They are people too. They do not deserve to be treated like this." She stormed off.

"They are savages, Gabrielle!" Lucius scoffed. "Gabrielle!"

Ernak and Dengi were thrown onto the marble floor inside of Emperor Odoacer's chambers. The Roman soldier grabbed Anastasia by her arm. "Kneel!" he yelled and she cringed and knelt down slowly beside the two brothers.

Odoacer grinned and tapped his fingers together, gawking at the trio. "You've brought me Huns. What an unexpected surprise!"

The Roman General, Basilius stepped forward to claim this rare bounty. "Unexpected indeed." He grinned at his ruler. He showcased the two brothers. "Sons of Attila," he said and Odoacer's eyes grew with excitement. He stepped back and ripped the headdress off Anastasia and gripped her hair and she growled. "And daughter of Xena. Gifts from Bey Basil himself."

The emperor stood from his throne and walked down the dais. He approached the woman with wide curious eyes as if she were a rare jewel. He grazed his fingers along her soft dirty cheek. "Xena's daughter," he whispered and looked into those gorgeous eyes of hers with the long black eyelashes.

"What a rare bird she is. Even more beautiful than her mother. Those eyes. Piercing. Icy. Blue as the Mediterranean and skin as soft as Egyptian cotton. Rose colored lips." He hissed and her nostrils glared, glaring into his eyes. "What a thing of beauty that sprung from Xena's loins. I would not have imagined it so..." he chuckled.

"My husband will kill you if you lay a hand on me," she spat.

He folded his arms. "Husband?" he snapped his fingers. "You must be the wife of Navaz! The White Hun King. I envy him. You cling to his arms, spread your legs for such a mighty king. He is so lucky to have you, little bird." He winked and she snarled. "And feisty too."

"What should I do with them, emperor?" Basilius asked and grabbed Ana by her arm, hoisting her up to her knees, arching her back.

"You touch her, you die!" Ernak yelled and a Roman kicked his spine and he fell face flat onto the hard marble.

Odoacer laughed loudly, his voice echoing in the grand palace. "Remind me to send a thank you note to Basil for these lovely gifts he has given me." He sighed at the two brothers. "Sons of Attila. How I've longed to meet you both. I've heard so much about you. Although, there seems to be one brother missing..."

He grinned, "oh that's right, he's dead!"

Gabrielle ran into the palace and observed from far away, hiding behind the throne chamber walls. She saw Odoacer's general holding onto Anastasia and Ernak with Dengi on the floor, glaring. She felt the heat radiating off her body. She could not allow them to be treated like this. She couldn't do it. if Xena were here, what would she do?

"Xena, what would you do?" she whispered to herself. "Help me, Xena. I need your wisdom and guidance more than ever." She shut her eyes for a split second, hoping to hear her companion's long lost voice.

Nothing.

Her eyes opened and she sighed heavily. "Please, Xena," she begged, her breath unsteady and heart racing faster by the second. "What do I do?"

"Sometimes, the mind is much stronger than any weapon in your hand," Xena said.

Gabrielle frowned and looked up into those blue sincere eyes. "What if I don't know what to do when I am left with a weapon and my own mind? How will I know when it's the right time to make that choice? To use my mind or my weapon?"

"You'll know when the time is right, Gabrielle." Xena smiled."Just follow your heart."

Gabrielle breathed in deeply and marched into the throne chambers, interrupting the little fun that emperor was having with these Huns. Her people. Her family she had grown to love over the years.

"Gabrielle, you've come at an opportune moment. Look what Bey Basil has sent me!" Odoacer grinned.

My mind is my weapon. She tread carefully and tried to not to make eye contact with Anastasia, Ernak and Dengi. She must remain calm in front of the emperor or risk everything. "What will you do with them? Have they committed any crimes?"

"Crimes?!" Odoacer cackled. "They are Huns, what could be more criminal than that?"

Xena, this is not working. "Maybe...you would like to hear their side of the story? Why would the Bey give these Huns to you? Unless, he wants something in return?"

Ernak eyed Gabrielle and she quickly made eye contact with him with a blank slate face. He lowered his eyes, feeling this was hopeless.

Odoacer rubbed his chin. "You make a valid point, Gabrielle," he wagged his finger at her. "You are a good one, I can always count on you." He smiled and she nodded her head slowly and saw the pain on Ana's face, which made her heart sink.

"I could behead them publically but that would be too easy and take the fun out of everything. What do you suggest, Gabrielle?"

Her eyes widened and she stepped forward. "Hold them as prisoners until we get more information from them." She suggested.

He nodded. "Fine idea. And to think that you were once in the company of these savages pains me, Gabrielle. You must have felt like such a prisoner, especially at the hands of Xena herself. She is brutal, is she not? A serpent rising from Hell itself, unleashing her barbarity upon the earth to destroy Mother Rome!"

She frowned. I want to kill him. Guide me, Xena, tell me what to do so I don't rip out his heart. "We are all our own prisoners, sometimes," she said calmly with a faint smile, trying to satiate the emperor awhile longer.

"Put them in the holding cells," Odoacer waved his hand. The Romans grabbed the three and pushed them along.

Anastasia turned her head over her shoulder, frowning sadly at Gabrielle. Her other mother that she had grown to love. Gabrielle turned away, not able to look at the sadness within Xena's daughter's eyes. She couldn't bear to see that look. She felt like a traitor and failure, but she could not do anything else at the moment. Everything would be soiled and ruined.

"Xena's daughter is quite a treasure. She is a woman of every man's dreams. A fine jewel that I should have kept in my grasp if I had known Xena bore a daughter instead of a son, I could have married her." The emperor said.

Gabrielle's heart raced and she had to remind herself that she couldn't just leap forward and strangle the Roman just yet. Not yet, she told herself, not yet. The time is not right. Xena wouldn't do it. She would play her famous riddle game to get what she wants and that's exactly what Gabrielle was going to do.

"You would not want to taint your line of potential heirs with a Hun, would you, sir?" she grinned deviously, feeding into the man's lust for Anastasia and her exquisiteness.

He sighed heavily. "Alas, another great point you make, but I am not so far off from the Huns." He said.

This peeked her interest immediately. "Oh?" she played coy.

"I was born in Pannonia, but the senate made sure that was eradicated from all documents. I am Roman now. I belong to Mother Rome. I. Am. Rome." He grinned triumphantly.

Well, that explains everything, she thought. That explains so much as to why he knew so much about Xena and Attila from so long ago. So long ago that she did not even exist in the life of Xena or embrace her love. Odoacer, you are a fool.

"You chose to ignore your heritage on purpose?" she asked, stepping forward. "And you hold your own people prisoner?"

Odoacer spun around with malice in his eyes. "Those savages are not my people any longer! I am Roman. My past ceases to exist! They are dogs beneath my feet!" he scoffed and walked off with General Baslilius to follow.

The following day Gabrielle came to the cells below the palace and looked to the guards. She peered through the bars and saw Anastasia sitting on the ground with the two sons of Attila, chained to the wall. Frowning she looked up to the Romans.

"Odoacer said I can interrogate them," she said sternly and the Romans looked to one another. She grinned, "you wouldn't disobey a command from your emperor, now would you?" she arched a brow.

Gabrielle walked into the dark cell filled with very little sunlight. She smiled sadly, staring at all three of them. Anastasia lifted her head once she saw leather sandals at her feet, blocking the very little sunlight there was in here. The young Hun woman smiled upon seeing the petite blonde, finally, after a year, a year of silence.

"Gabrielle..." she whispered in a hoarse voice and began sobbing softly, her eyes red from exhaustion and the swelling of imminent tears. She reached forward with her wrists bound in chains, touching Gabrielle's soft plump cheeks.

Gabrielle grinned and kissed Anastasia's dirty palm and held her hand close to her, squeezing it gently. Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, she had something close to Xena. Ana was not Xena, but she was close enough. Her same eyes, her long hair, her height, her kindness –all from Xena.

"Anastasia," she looked into those tired blue eyes. "What...what are you doing here? How did you get here?" she looked back to check if the Roman guards were looking and kept her voice low to a whisper.

"I...I wanted," she began unsteadily, her breathing labored in between words, "I...wanted to see you...Gabrielle," she smiled dimly, though her eyes beaming with joy and a bit of relief. Gabrielle shook her head at the thought and felt responsible for this entire mess.

Ernak yawned and lolled his head, opening his eyes. Dengi was still asleep, leaning against the wall with his wrists shackled to the stone. He blinked once he saw Gabrielle and smiled brightly. "Gabrielle!" he whispered harshly and the consul turned her head.

She gave him a faint grin and turned back to Anastasia. "What happened? Maybe I can help you."

Ernak scooted over as far as his shackles would allow him. "We were coming to Rome to find you, but Anastasia decided to take a turn and go to Pannonia." His voice still sour from the disaster that she got them into. "The Bulgur Bey, Basil, figured out who we were and sent us to the emperor as his gifts."

Basil. Odoacer spoke of that name and the two seemed to know each other very well. Gabrielle heard Odoacer confess he was indeed a Hun, a Hun from Pannonia. She needed to keep that secret to herself or risk everything and the safety of her family –of Xena's family.

"You shouldn't have come here," Gabrielle whispered. "It's too dangerous."

Anastasia shook her head and cupped Gabrielle's cheeks, her hands shaking, in awe of being able to look into her eyes again. "I...would do anything to see you again," she smiled and a tear streamed down her cheek.

Gabrielle couldn't help but smile and wiped the tear from Ana's cheek with her thumb. "Not this way..." she sighed. She then saw the look of disappointment in Xena's daughter's eyes. "But, I am happy to know that you are alive," she added and squeezed her hand.

Ernak coughed and exhaled heavily. "Could you, perhaps, bring us food and water?" he whispered, eyeing the guards. He saw the distraught look on Gabrielle's face and frowned. "Please, Gabrielle?" he glanced over at the woman he called his sister. "For Anastasia's child."

Gabrielle's eyes widened and she looked into Anastasia's eyes with concern and fear. "You –"

Ana pressed her fingers against the blonde's lips. "No, do not tell anyone, please," she begged.

"Consul!" one Roman guard yelled from afar.

Slowly, she stood and immediately let go of Anastasia's hand, trying to appear less intimate with them all. "I'll see what I can do," she whispered.

"Wait!" Ana called out and Gabrielle turned around. The Romans awaited for her and opened the door. "My mother...her body...was never found," she said.

Gabrielle felt her heart sink to her stomach and she wrapped one arm around herself. The guard frowned. "Consul!" he yelled again and she nodded, looking over her shoulder at the three, Ernak and Anastasia staring at her with pleading eyes.

She stormed down the hallways of the palace and left quickly to go to her living quarters down the road in the largest street in Rome. She swung open the door to her flat and marched to the desk inside her room and ripped a piece of parchment from a large scroll.

Sitting down, she wrote furiously, her handwriting messy and unkempt, which was unlike her. She felt a fire inside her when Anastasia said that Xena's body was not found. That could mean two things –she was dead and taken by the Romans, perhaps Zeno, or she was alive. Gabrielle hoped and wished for the latter.

And if Xena were alive then she was out there somewhere, hiding, or perhaps lurking, Gabrielle didn't know. She knew Xena couldn't be dead. The Romans had celebrated victory too soon. But why Xena? Why are you hiding or are you truly gone from this world? From me?

She folded the letter up and stamped it with a wax seal and smiled, lifting the letter into the air. She thought it was good enough and ran outside to find a currier. It was the middle of the day and she knew that most curriers left in the morning, but she had to find someone.

Running through the streets of Rome she came to the square and saw a man on a horse holding a large bag of scrolls, letters and other important documents. Gasping, she quickly ran to the young currier and grabbed the horse's reins before he was able to leave.

"Wait! Where is this horse going?" she asked the currier.

He frowned, "Ravenna, Milan and Aquincium," he said.

She tapped her finger against her chin and he was about to leave. "Wait, please! Could you deliver this to Stagira?" she held the letter out and the currier widened his eyes in shock.

"M'lady, Stagira is Hun territory. No letters are permitted to go through lower Thrace."

"I can pay you extra," she dug into her small pouch of coin and presented him with a few extra Roman pounds. Her eyes plead and he sighed. "It's very important," she pressed.

He took the coin and looked at it in the sunlight and tucked it into his pocket. He grabbed the letter from her hand and stuffed it into his bag filled with the others. "I cannot promise you that it will be delivered to Stagira."

"I need it to be delivered there," she said with urgency in her tone. She was not going to take no for an answer. "What can I do to make sure that the letter is safely delivered to Stagira?" she asked, desperately wanting to do this. For you, Xena.

The currier grinned and held out his hand. She rolled her eyes and gave him two more pounds. "I will see it done." He gave her a curt nod and rode off outside of the square.

She ran forward and watched the horse leaving the city gates. She exhaled heavily, her breath unsteady and hesitant. She gripped her throat, feeling anxious. "Forgive me, Xena," she whispered and smiled softly, looking at the bright sunlight in the horizon. A light of hope.

"I'll find you, wherever you are."