Chapter 19
Four Days Earlier
Ernak sat inside his father's home. His home. He missed Pannonia a lot but now he was here with the White Huns and Bulgur Huns. He was the only person here that actually grew up here and had inherited this land from his father and grandfather before him. He hadn't received word from Xena, Gabrielle or Navaz to return to Balaam. He figured that Xena wanted him to stay here until further notice, which he didn't mind.
He used Navaz's army to guard the perimeters of Pannonia and of course he made all of the Bulgur Huns submit to him under the Caucasus kingdom's reign. Now that Basil was gone, the Bulgur Huns had no one to turn to except him and Navaz, their new king. He began to wonder if Pannonia would ever be the same again and would he and his family move back? Would Anastasia, Xena and Gabrielle stay in Armenia forever? He didn't know, but for now, he was given orders to stay here and that's what he planned to do.
"Your highness!" a White Hun soldier ran inside the Adame and Ernak jumped off his father's old throne.
"What's wrong?" he asked, seeing the soldier panting heavily and covered in snow and mud.
"Zeno...his army is approaching Pannonia. They are near the Black Sea coming towards us. They should be here within two days." The soldier said and Ernak frowned at that.
The Pannonian king walked outside and saw Navaz's army huddled in several groups. "Son of a bitch, Xena," he muttered. He turned to the soldier, "gather up everyone and barricade the territory. No Roman comes in here, you got that?" he said and the man nodded. "Kill anyone that comes within fifty yards of Pannonia." He ordered.
Loud horns sounded throughout the entire camp and Ernak whipped his head around. "What now!?" he growled and marched forward to see people riding into the camp through the gates. He took a good look at the riders and smiled. Friends.
"Atlyn Huns!" he shouted and ran towards the gates. There he saw Xena's younger brothers on horseback and both brunettes smiled at him. "What are you guys doing here?"
Pirro shrugged his shoulder, "word got around that my sister seized Pannonia. We came to see for ourselves." He said and his brother, Ditron nodded in agreement. "Is she here?"
Ernak sighed. "Unfortunately she's not. She's back in Balaam. She left me in charge of Pannonia."
"An order that is well deserved!" Ditron commented.
"Except, Zeno's men are marching towards us right now. I have to barricade Pannonia's perimeters."
"We can help with that. We brought the entire army," Pirro said and Ernak's eyes lit up. "Tell us where you want us, Ernak." He said with a big grin and Ditron smiled along with his brother.
Anastasia sat in a chair while her hair was being done by Kreka and Tuya. She felt like she was a dress-up doll at the moment and heard the two women arguing over how to style her hair. She allowed them to help and ignored their snide comments to each other.
Csaba stood in front of the full length mirror, trying to button his black vest. He groaned and walked over to his mother. "Can you do this for me?" he asked.
She smiled and pulled him closer to her as her hair was being pulled back with a tight comb. She winced and then buttoned her son's collar. "You look very handsome," she pat his cheek and he grinned. He sat down beside her in a chair and listened to Kreka and Tuya arguing with each other. Anastasia frowned and felt her hair being tugged by the wide tooth comb.
"Where is my mother?" she asked.
Kreka began braiding a section of Anastasia's hair. "She's getting ready with Gabrielle. You know how she is with dresses." She said and Ana nodded. "Stay still!" she hissed.
Tuya hovered over Anastasia, holding a black sparkling veil in one hand and a burgundy one in the other. "Which one?" she asked her daughter in law.
Anastasia looked at the two veils and eyed her mother in law suspiciously. "The black one..." she said and Tuya smiled softly. As she sat patiently while her hair was being style she felt someone prodding her stomach and frowned.
She turned to her son, whom was poking her stomach and she raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?" she asked with a curious smile.
Csaba lifted his eyes and had a sheepish grin on his face. "Nothing..." he said and she leaned down closer to him.
"I don't think your brother or sister would like being poked, do you?" she teased.
His eyes widened. "No..." he stopped prodding his mother. "I'm just really excited," he beamed and she ruffled his hair. "I hope it's a girl."
Kreka grinned. "I hoped you were a girl but that didn't work out very well."
Csaba frowned and shot the khatun a glare. "Anyway, I really want a sister." He eyed his mother.
"We'll see," she winked and then cringed. "Kreka!" she felt her hair being pulled back extremely tight on her scalp.
Xena and Gabrielle walked into the bedroom and Anastasia's gasped. Gabrielle smiled smugly and pushed Xena forward. "Mother!" she beamed with a huge grin on her face. "I love your dress," she tried to get up but Kreka pushed her back down.
"Tatli kiz!" Kreka groaned. "I am not finished with you!"
Xena folded her arms, brooding about wearing this dress that Gabrielle picked for her. She decided to go with the dark red dress that hung off her shoulders and had a long train. "Gabrielle picked it out," she grumbled.
Anastasia stifled a laugh at her mother's obstinacy. "Well, it looks really nice on you."
"Thank you!" Gabrielle said proudly and nudged Xena's arm. She walked over to the Hun queen. "Wow, your hair looks great, Anastasia."
"It better look fantastic. I've been spent two hours on this!" Kreka groaned and Ana frowned. "Do you want me to do your hair next, Xena?" she teased and the commander glared at her.
"I already did my hair..." Xena snarled. She ran her hand across her hair that was pulled back into a large bun on the top of her head. Kreka winked at her and then stuck a pin in Ana's hair, finishing the braid finally.
Anastasia turned to her son. "Why don't you go wait in the ballroom with Dengi and Navaz?" she whispered.
He hopped out of the chair. "Okay," he walked by his grandmother and Gabrielle with a smug smile. "Nice dress, grandma," he teased. Xena groaned loudly at her grandson's remark.
She decided to ignore that and pay attention to her daughter. Also, she was ignoring Gabrielle's stare as well. She didn't want to be the center of attention and Gabrielle had that smug on her face, which was incredibly annoying.
"I'm only wearing this for you," she said to her daughter.
Anastasia smiled. "That's what you said last time. That might have been the last time I saw you in a dress now that I think about it."
"And I'm not wearing another one after this." She said and Gabrielle wrapped her arm around Xena's neck.
"Unless someone else has a baby!" Gabrielle said and Xena rolled her eyes. "Or someone gets married."
"Not me," Ana said.
"Get off me," Xena hissed and Gabrielle quickly unwrapped her arms from her partner's neck and came to sit beside her. "Well, you look beautiful, as always."
Anastasia grinned. "Thanks but you always say that. You have to say it, you're my mother."
"She doesn't have to say it," Kreka interrupted.
"Shut up," Xena said and the khatun frowned. She turned back to her daughter. "Are you nervous this time? You were last time."
The queen sighed. "Not really. I don't even know these people very well. They're not my people."
"Maybe you could walk around and talk to a few people?" her mother suggested.
Csaba ran over to his uncle and stepfather. Dengi smiled and ruffled the boy's hair. "So, are the ladies finished getting ready or what?" he asked.
"Almost. Kreka Khatun is working on mother's hair," Csaba said and looked around at all the people. "Wow so many people!" he grinned at everyone and the women smiled at him from afar.
"Those women take so long to get ready, I swear to God," Dengi groaned and Navaz smiled. "But the moment there is a battle, they will get out of bed in the dead of night! No questions asked! Pretty strange, eh?" he nudged the king's arm.
"I expect nothing less from the women of Pannonia," Navaz commented. "Dengi, you've been to these...senliks before. What am I supposed to do?" he whispered.
The Hun prince laughed and slapped the king on the shoulder lightly. "Nothing. Just sit there and observe. This party is for Anastasia and the baby, not you. You just get to sit next to her all night while people tell you how beautiful your wife is. Which she is," he eyed the king.
"Of course," the king grinned. "Very beautiful."
"Whatever you do, don't look at Xena," Dengi whispered.
"Why?"
"She's probably wearing a dress and she hates wearing them. So, word of advice, say nothing, do nothing. Don't compliment her."
Navaz scoffed, finding that ridiculous. "I'm sure Xena looks fine."
Dengi sighed. "Well, just between you and me, Navaz, she looks amazing in dresses, but for the love of God, do not say anything to her!" he hissed.
"They're here!" Csaba said.
Anastasia hooked arms with her mother and then looked to Tuya on her right. She lend her arm out for her and the queen mother smiled meekly and hooked arms with her as well. Xena raised her eyebrow and they walked together through the sea of people, gawking at the three of them.
"You're being awfully nice, Tuya," Xena said through a tight smile as she looked at everyone.
"Mother, please." Ana whispered.
"Isn't that the idea?" Tuya responded and smiled at the women that she had known for years. She thought it must be extremely awkward for Anastasia and Xena to have this party and not know anyone. Also, nobody had senliks here so nobody knew what to do.
They walked up to the front of the room and Anastasia smiled at Navaz and his face was blank as he kept gazing at her. Xena and Tuya handed her off and he grabbed her hand. She kept the smile on her face and stood beside him.
"You look stunning," he whispered.
"Thank you but you need to say hello to my mother," she whispered in his ear and his face immediately paled. She let go of his hand and he nervously looked at Xena, wearing a dark red dress that accentuated her figure very nicely and showed off her square shoulders.
Xena smirked seeing the fear in the king's eyes. How she had missed that fear. It was the same look Ellac had. She wondered if this was going to be some kind of pattern with these men? "Navaz," she said and extended her hand.
Anastasia nudged him in the ribs and he took Xena's hand, kissing her knuckles. Their eyes never left each other and Xena's smile widened. That fear. So exhilarating. "Xena you look..." he began and saw her smile fading. "Very lovely." He grinned and she snatched her hand away then walked over to stand beside her daughter.
He breathed in deeply and smiled, happy to see his mother and now that greeting Xena was over with he could relax. He kissed his mother's cheeks and she came to stand beside him. Anastasia grinned and sat down while he kept standing.
"Navaz, sit," she whispered and he sat down next to her. He heard her chuckle under her breath and then regrettably looked up at Xena. She was glaring down at him. He immediately averted his eyes to the crowd of people in the ballroom.
"So, what do we do now?" he whispered to his wife.
"We sit here. For the entire damn evening," Ana grumbled. "So boring."
Gabrielle waltzed up to Xena with her hands behind her back. She was feeling very adventurous now and she saw Xena was already drinking wine so early in the evening. Everyone in the ballroom was talking to one another. She peered over and saw Anastasia was already bored and Navaz was amused by this party as they weren't very common in Armenia.
"So..." she hooked arms with Xena. "Are you going to dance with me or what?"
"Nope."
"Awh, come on Xena! I convinced you to wear the dress, the least you could do is dance with me at least once."
Xena frowned and lowered her glass of wine. "Remember what I said after Anastasia's first senlik?" she asked and the blonde raised an eyebrow. "I said I was never going to dance again! I meant that."
"Xena, don't be ridiculous." Gabrielle smiled and nudged her ribs. "Come on. You look gorgeous and I want to dance with you."
"Forget it."
"Please."
"No."
"Please."
"No!"
Both of the women glared at one another and Dengi grabbed Xena's arm. "I'll dance with you, Xena," he winked with a charming smile.
"Take your hand off me!" she snarled and he pulled her onto the floor. "Dengizich!"
Anastasia smiled when she saw her mother with Dengi on the dance floor, scowling at him as he held her hand, twirling her around. She tapped her husband's arm. "Look," she pointed at the two. "My mother hates dancing."
Navaz grinned. "But why? She seems to be good at it."
"I think it embarrasses her. The mighty commander of the Huns is embarrassed to dance. Imagine that, right?" she chuckled lightly and he nodded.
Tuya walked over to her son and wife. The look of distain crossed Anastasia's face as soon as she saw her mother in-law. Tuya smiled faintly at her. "Anastasia, I have a special gift for you." She said and the young queen arched an eyebrow. "I'm afraid I can't physically bring it to you. Kreka told me that you aren't allowed to open anything until after the senlik so, I'll tell you what it is."
Navaz eyed his mother cautiously and Anastasia looked over to him briefly. "What is it?" she asked.
"I converted one of the sitting rooms into a room for the baby. It's right by your room."
Anastasia's eyes grew by her mother in-law's gift. "You really did that for me?" she asked skeptically.
"Yes and I even asked your mother to look at it for me," she said, hoping that Anastasia would approve.
The blue eyed queen smiled from ear to ear. "Wow, I don't know what to say." She said and then looked over at Navaz with her smile that didn't seem to leave her face. "I want to see it." she got off the throne and Tuya held her hand to assist her.
"Do you want me to come with you?" Navaz asked and Ana shook her head.
"I'll be fine." She said and he gave her a curt nod. She went off with Tuya to the back of the Adame. He sat in his throne, sighing heavily, watching everyone dancing and drinking. She was right, he thought, this is incredibly boring.
Gabrielle took the opportunity to grab Xena's hand and force her to join the circle of people dancing. Times like this were extremely rare and the last time she was able to dance with Xena was at Anastasia's last senlik and that felt like a lifetime ago. Dengi held Xena's hand while Gabrielle held her other hand.
"I know the steps this time," Gabrielle snickered and Xena groaned, not happy about being in this circle of people.
Dengi chuckled as the circle moved and Xena was being pushed by him as she was squished in between him and Gabrielle. "Come on, Xena, I know you know the steps to this dance." He teased.
"Of course I know the steps I just don't want to do it!" she griped.
"Xena, stop being such a grumpy old lady and just dance," Gabrielle laughed and the warrior snarled down at her.
"I am not an old lady!" Xena hissed.
"Prove it!" Dengi said and she grunted. "Come on grandma," he teased and she whipped her head around, glaring into his dark eyes. He pushed her to the side and she pursed her lips, already annoyed with the both of them.
Twenty Years Ago
Xena walked into the Adame holding her seven year old daughter's hand. She made it a point to make Anastasia dress like a boy and so she wore the same thing as all the other boys in Pannonia, including Ellac. The ballroom was filled with people gathered for Attila's wife's second senlik.
Her eyes roamed the room and saw Attila sitting on his throne with Kreka sitting next to him. Dengizich sat on his mother's lap playing with her long stick straight black hair. The three year old was more enthralled with his mother's hair to care about the numerous amount of people here.
Anastasia tugged on her mother's pants and Xena peered down at her. "Mother, do we have to stay a long time?" she asked.
Xena smiled. "Just for a little while, okay? Don't you want to say hello to Kreka first?"
Ana quirked her mouth, unsure. "I donno."
"I think she would really like it if you would," she said and her daughter let out a hefty sigh. "I'll come with you." She grabbed her daughter's hand and walked over to the monarchs in the back of the ballroom.
Kreka caught eye of Xena and her daughter coming forward. She raised an eyebrow at what Anastasia was wearing. The child looked like a little boy, dressed in black robes and a turban to match, like all the other boys here. Attila smiled at his commander. The toddler on Kreka's lap slid off her and sat on the floor, playing with his wooden toy that Ellac made for him.
Xena halted and stared at the heavily pregnant Hun queen. Kreka tapped her fingers on the armrest and Xena's eyes wandered around, smiling forcefully. "Kreka."
"Xena." The queen said and eyed her outfit. "Not wearing a dress, I see. Again."
"You know I'm not one for dresses, Kreka," Xena smirked.
"And neither is...Annas," she eyed the little girl clinging to Xena's leg.
Xena chose to ignore that snide comment by Attila's wife and pushed her daughter forward. "Go ahead," she whispered and Anastasia lifted her big blue worried eyes. "She's not going to bite you," she chuckled.
Anastasia breathed in heavily and walked up to the queen sitting on her throne. She saw Kreka's frown apparent on her face which probably meant that she was not happy to see her. She dug into her pant pocket and pulled out a small gift. Lifting her palms as high as she could she stared into the queen's almond shaped hazel eyes.
"I..." Ana began and turned back to her mother. Xena smiled and nodded, giving her the go-ahead. Turning back to the stoic queen she smiled softly. "I got this for the baby," she said and Kreka took the small gift and examined the box.
"Thank you," Kreka said and finally she faintly smiled. Anastasia's smile widened.
Attila rose from his throne and approached Xena. "You should wear a dress some time, Xena. You look nice in them," he whispered in her ear.
Xena scoffed. "You'd like that wouldn't you?"
"Maybe when your daughter," he whispered, "has a senlik of her own you will change your mind." He grinned.
"That'll be the day," she smirked and folded her arms.
"Annas!" Ellac came running towards Xena's daughter and crashed into her. They fell on the floor. Kreka frowned and rubbed her forehead at those two. She began fanning herself from the immense summer heat and the amount of people in the Adame was not helping.
"Ellac!" Anastasia grinned and fixed the turban on her head. "Where have you been all day?" she bit her bottom lip and tucked her tendrils inside the turban, concealing her long hair. Xena smiled softly and Attila folded his arms.
He shrugged his shoulders. "I was helping my..." he eyed Kreka, "stepmother." He grumbled and then grabbed Ana's hand. "Come on, I gotta show you my new horse!" he took off running with her through the sea of people.
Attila chuckled at those two and turned back to his commander. "Are you going to dance with me or what?" he lend out his hand.
Xena eyed the king's wife and saw she was preoccupied with her son, Dengizich. "I don't dance, Attila."
"Stop being an old lady and dance with me, Xena."
She gasped. "I am not an old lady."
"Prove it," he winked and grabbed her hand, leading her to the dance floor.
Xena was pushed into the middle of the circle and Dengi grabbed her hand, lifting both their hands high into the air. They began circling around one another and he smiled charmingly at her. She rolled her eyes and they switched hands, circling the other way. She turned and saw Gabrielle dancing with Csaba a few paces away from her and Dengi. A smile crept up on her and she was forced to switch hands again.
"See, you know how to dance, Xena. You just don't want to," the Hun prince teased.
"You're just like your father, you know that?" she said and he chuckled lightly.
They switched partners and she held Gabrielle's hand in the air as they walked around in a small circle. Gabrielle smirked. "Finally, I get you to dance with me! Only took you, what? Eleven years?"
"And it'll be another eleven years for our next dance," Xena winked.
"I hope not."
They switched partners again and Xena was paired with her tall grandson. He grinned up at her. "So, my birthday is in a few days. What did you get me?" he hinted as they circled each other then switched hands.
"As if I'd tell you, Csaba." Xena smiled and switched hands with him once more, following everyone else around them.
"Do you know what Navaz got me? Mother won't tell me."
Xena rolled her eyes. "That's because she doesn't know either!"
"I hope it's a bow or a sword!" he grinned and then switched partners. Now, Xena was stuck with Dengi again and he lifted an eyebrow at her.
"Commander!" Zolten called out from outside the circle of people. Xena spun around and stopped dancing with Dengizich. She pushed through the crowd of people and he had a slew of men behind him with weapons in hand.
Frowning she eyed Zolten with a letter in his hand. "What happened?"
He gave the letter to her. "Pannonia is being surrounded by Emperor Zeno's men. Ernak sent this and said the Atlyn Huns are aiding them."
She grumbled and tapped her fingertips on the parchment. Gabrielle panted and grabbed hold of her arm. "What's the matter? What's going on?" she asked.
"Pannonia is being attacked. I knew we should have left for Troy two weeks ago." Xena shook her head. "I will tell Navaz. We are leaving immediately."
"Immediately?!" Gabrielle griped. "Xena, are you sure you want to do this right now?"
"Yes! I can't let those bastards win again! I want to eradicate Zeno and his army. We will overthrow him and put Anastasius on the throne. This coup will work if we go to Troy first. You still think my idea about the opium is ridiculous?"
Zolten got Navaz and Anastasia to come to the conference room in the middle of the party. Xena breathed in heavily as she stared at her nervous daughter and confused husband. "Navaz, Pannonia is being attacked. We need to start this coup and ride to Troy."
Ana gasped. "Ernak is there! You're going to leave him by himself?!"
Gabrielle shook her head. "The Atlyn Huns came to help. We need to go to Troy immediately."
Navaz nodded. "Alright, we can leave by tonight."
"Tonight?!" Ana growled and folded her arms. "You will all be gone for weeks." Her eyes swelled with tears. "Mother, you promised you would be here when the baby arrives."
Xena smiled sadly. "And I will. I don't break my promises. I'll be there for you, don't worry." She rubbed her daughter's arm and Ana sobbed softly. "Sorry to ruin your party with this news." She sighed.
Kreka walked into the room and placed her hands on her hips. "There you are!" she grimaced at Navaz and Anastasia. "Everyone is wondering where you two went." She said and then saw Ana whimpering softly. "What happened?" she lowered her defense.
Xena turned to the khatun. "We have to leave for Troy tonight to go ahead with the coup. Pannonia is being attacked by Zeno. We need to put a stop to him before he comes to Balaam next."
"Oh," Kreka walked over to the gaggle and stared at Anastasia warmly. "I will be here with you, Anastasia." She wiped the tears from the young queen's cheeks. "Tatli kiz," she smiled and kissed her forehead.
"We'll be back before you know it!" Gabrielle said with a big grin and Ana nodded, wrapping her arms around herself. "Right Xena?"
"Right." Xena smiled weakly, not too sure about that. Troy was far from Balaam and it would take a week to travel there at most. Who knows how long it would take for this coup to overthrow Zeno. She didn't want to disappoint her daughter but at the same time she couldn't let Zeno win and invade Armenia just like he did with Pannonia. She wouldn't allow another massacre to happen again under her watch.
Xena stood outside watching the army prepare to leave for their long journey to Troy. She hoped that it wouldn't take ages to reach the city, but she also knew they couldn't go right through Constantinople to get there. It would be too dangerous. They would have to go around the big cities to get to Troy without anyone noticing. She knew that Zeno's men were in Pannonia and that meant he probably used two or three legions to invade the Hun land. His other legion would be stationed in his grasp, close to him, the borders unguarded.
Gabrielle walked up to the commander, sheathing her sword by her hip. "I think we have all the bags of opium on the caravan now." She said and Xena gave her a curt nod. "Are you sure that this plan of yours is going to work?"
"Don't my plans always work, Gabrielle?" Xena said.
The adviser sighed deeply and crossed her arms, her icy breath escaping her lips. "It seems like a crazy idea, I have to admit. I don't know if we're going to make it back here on time for Anastasia." She said and saw Xena frown sadly.
"I know," the warrior said softly. "But this is important. It will be worse if Zeno comes to Balaam if Ernak doesn't defeat the legions in Pannonia. I'd rather keep Romans out of Armenia than standby and do nothing. Besides, she has Kreka there with her. I know she will be safe."
Gabrielle nodded. "Maybe we could send Navaz back to Balaam if we can't make it on time. I don't think this is going to be a clean easy sweep, Xena. Not this time. Zeno is no Theodosius and Odoacer is no Valentinian. This a whole new ball game of Romans."
"I'm not going to let them win this time, Gabrielle. I can't." Xena stormed off to her horse and Gabrielle followed her. She mounted her horse and Gabrielle hopped on hers as well.
Xena steered her horse towards the front of the army getting ready to ride through the gates of Balaam. "When I see Zeno face to face..." her upper lip quivered, "he's mine." She snarled then trotted off, wrapping a scarf around the lower half of her face.
Gabrielle squinted her eyes like daggers as she watched Xena ride to the front of the army, commanding, ordering –doing her job –a job that she would always do until the day she died. Died for eternity. She too, wanted Zeno gone, but she hoped that Xena would remember to keep her conscious clear and void of rage. Zeno left the infamous commander for dead and now Xena wanted to do the same. Gabrielle tried to fight Xena on the vengeance against the Roman Emperor, but she couldn't. how could she when she too felt the same feelings as Xena did? She wanted Zeno dead as much as her partner did.
But the question was –where do we go from here? What happens after Xena kills the emperor and Anastasius is put on the throne? What will become of Pannonia? What of the Persians? Gabrielle wished she knew the answers to these questions but she didn't. War could be unpredictable sometimes and the outcome of war and conquest was not always great. She hoped this outcome would be great.
Navaz clasped his cloak around his neck and glanced over at his wife standing in front of the Adame. He smiled and left his steed to go say goodbye to her. He cupped her cheeks and smiled down at her. He stared into her icy blue eyes.
"I'll come back for you," he said and she nodded, her eyes filling with tears once more. "Güzel hanim," he whispered and kissed her forehead. "We'll be back here before you know it." He gripped her shoulders firmly. "Don't have him without me," he peered down at their child she carried.
Anastasia half grinned, "or her," she remarked.
He nodded. "Or her," he kissed her lips then left her side to mount his steed.
"Navaz!" she walked forward, wrapping the dark cloak around her shoulders. He turned to her as he was about to climb onto the horse. "Don't let my mother walk all over you."
The king smiled and climbed on the horse. "I don't think you have to worry about that, Anastasia." He kicked the animal lightly and rode off to meet with Gabrielle and Xena at the front of the army.
She frowned. "You don't know her like I do," she whispered, watching him ride off.