I really need a map to show everyone what I'm talking about in this story I swear lol. Sorry to those that may not understand this geography very well. Lots of switching around from place to place.
Chapter 23 –Scythians vs Huns
Early in the morning Navaz came out of the queen's bedroom and saw Csaba laying down on the bench, throwing a small ball up in the air repeatedly. He folded his arms and cocked his head, watching the thirteen year old wide awake and obviously very bored.
He waltzed over to the boy and Csaba turned his head then immediately hopped off the bench. "Have you been awake all night?" he asked.
"Yes," Csaba peeked behind him at the doors to his mother's room. "I wanted to see if anything happened."
Navaz smiled softly. "She's sleeping."
The boy contorted his face in confusion. "But, I heard her a couple of hours ago. How can she be asleep at a time like this?!"
"Well, she's not really asleep," the king said and Csaba arched an eyebrow. "Your grandmother gave her something to ease the pain." He said and the boy nodded his head. "She also kicked me out."
"Of course she did. How come I can't see my mother?"
Navaz shrugged his shoulder. "I'm not the one to ask those questions to, Csaba." He eyed the boy that kept tossing the palm sized ball in the air continuously. "I haven't forgotten about your birthday. Your mother said we can celebrate it later, maybe tomorrow?"
Csaba's eyes lit up then he sighed heavily. "The baby is more important. I can wait." He said, trying be very patient and he had waited almost all day yesterday and all night for some news but was left in the dark. Now he understands what Ernak meant by men not knowing anything that goes on behind closed doors.
Tuya came walking down the hallway, her face flushed and her hair wild beneath her veil. Navaz rose and frowned at the sight of his mother, whom had been missing in action for hours now. "Mother, where have you been?" he walked to her and brushed the dirt off her cheeks.
She sighed. "I had to take care of something." She eyed Csaba cautiously and then turned back to her son. "Gokturks."
Navaz nodded, understanding. "Anastasia has been in labor for hours. I was kicked out by the women," he thumbed the door behind him.
She smiled. "Oh really?" she looked at the closed doors. "I'm going to change and I will go see her." She briskly walked down the hallway to change into another dress for the day. Navaz turned to Csaba and saw he was dying of boredom.
"Do you want to go do something?" he asked.
"I want to stay here," Csaba said, remaining in his place.
"Well, I don't think anything is going to happen with you just sitting here. Why don't we go check on your uncle?" he offered and Csaba looked at the doors and heard Xena talking, or rather arguing with Kreka Khatun.
"Alright," he set the ball down on the bench and walked with Navaz down the hallway.
Gabrielle sat on the bed next to Anastasia while Xena sat on the edge on the other side of her daughter. Kreka loomed over the bed with her arms folded and quite irritated with everyone and everything at the moment. All the women slept in the room last night, minus Tuya, after Xena gave Anastasia the herbal tea.
"This is taking far too long," Kreka commented. Anastasia lolled her head to the side, barely able to open her eyes. Gabrielle held onto her hand and Kreka rolled her eyes. "How much of that stuff did you give her?" she turned to Xena.
Xena frowned and looked up at the irate Hun queen. "You've been on edge for the last few hours!"
"Well, this is not normal. She is high out of her mind, Xena! Look at her!" Kreka groaned. She turned when she saw Tuya enter the room. "Oh great," she muttered.
Tuya stood next to Kreka and looked down at Anastasia whom was completely unaware of what was going on around her. "How is it going?"
"Not good, obviously," Kreka turned to the queen mother. "Where the hell have you been?"
"I had to blockade the Gokturks before they came into Balaam." She said and Xena spun around. "I handled it."
"Gokturks live nearby?" Xena asked worriedly and Tuya nodded. "Fantastic." She turned to focus on her daughter and snapped her fingers. "Anastasia," she said firmly and her daughter opened her eyes, staring at her confusedly.
Gabrielle pat Ana's hand, trying to wake her up. "Ana," she said in her ear. "Can you hear us?" she asked and Anastasia nodded her head. "How do you feel now?"
"I feel..." Ana smiled, "fine."
Tuya frowned. "What is wrong with this girl? What did you give her?"
"Crampbark," Kreka said. "We should have given her scullcap root."
"Or chamomile," Tuya suggested.
Kreka scoffed. "Chamomile? You want to be her to sleep indefinitely?" she spat.
Xena rolled her eyes and Gabrielle sighed heavily, listening to those two argue back and forth. She placed her hand on her daughter's abdomen and frowned. As she was trying to focus she kept hearing those two women behind her bickering. Her eyebrows rose and then she got off the bed and spun around.
"Shut up! Both of you!" she yelled and both queens folded their arms, glaring at each other. Xena grabbed them and pulled them aside to talk to both of them.
Anastasia frowned and turned to Gabrielle. "She made a face. What does that mean? Why did she make that face?" she began panting to the point of hyperventilating.
Gabrielle smiled softly. "Hey calm down. Don't worry." She tried to calm her and had her eyes focused on the circle of women talking in a corner. Xena using her hands as she spoke softly and both women nodded their heads over and over.
Ana looked over and saw the three long dark haired women whispering to each other. "They look like a gaggle of hens," she scoffed and Gabrielle stifled a laugh. "Hens...Huns...what's the difference, right?" she smirked and Gabrielle chuckled lightly.
Xena came back to the bed and exhaled heavily. "We will see what happens in a few hours. If nothing happens then we will have to resort to something else."
Anastasia's eyes widened. "What is that supposed to mean?" she asked, panic setting in. Kreka and Tuya stared at her with stone faces and their arms folded. "Why do you all have that same expression on your faces?!" her eyes darted from each woman and then breathed heavily.
"Anastasia, please," Xena grabbed her arm firmly. "Just relax and –"
"Something is wrong, isn't there?" she asked, fear in her big eyes.
Xena groaned and shook her head. "No, just stay put. I will be right back." She said and eyed her partner. "Gabrielle, come with me," she nudged her head towards the doors.
Gabrielle closed the doors behind her and stared up at Xena. "You just lied to her." She stated then folded her arms. "What's wrong with her?"
"Nothing is wrong with her," Xena started walking down the hallway. "Is there no midwife in this place?" she growled, growing more irritated.
Gabrielle grabbed her arm, pulling her back. "Xena, what is going on?"
Xena sighed and rubbed her forehead. "If she doesn't deliver the baby soon then we will have to perform a caesarean delivery and I don't know how to do it!" she grunted. "I need to go find someone that knows how.
"Oh..." Gabrielle rubbed her chin. "I see the problem."
"Xena!" Ernak ran up to her with a letter in his hand.
"What is it now?" Xena frowned and he approached her cautiously.
Holding the letter out she snatched it from his hands. "A message from the Queen of Scythia." He said and she sighed, unfolding the letter.
"I don't have time for this," she muttered and crumbled the letter and threw it on the ground, storming off. "Where is Navaz?" she asked, whipping her head from left to right, scanning the halls.
Gabrielle caught up to her. "What did it say?"
"Arpad allied with the Scythian Queen because we took his army and didn't pay him." Xena said and marched down the hallway, looking through all the empty rooms searching for Navaz. "God damnit! Ernak!" she yelled and he came running to her side.
"Yes, Xena?" he said, staring into her wild eyes.
"Find Navaz. I have to go do something."
He nodded. "Alright. What do you want to do about the Scythian Queen?"
"I don't care about her. She's not even in this territory. Just find Navaz and we will deal with her later," Xena said dismissively. He ran off and she walked outside, surveying the entire encampment. "Now, I need to find a woman skilled in this."
Gabrielle sighed and saw the thousands of yurts. "How are we going to do that? There must be hundreds of women here."
Xena turned and grabbed one of the guards by his collar. "Do you have a signal to call everyone to the center of the city?" she growled and he nodded. "Do it." she demanded and he ran to the guards by the drums and horns beside the Adame.
"Are you sure this is going to work?" Gabrielle asked skeptically.
"Do you have any better ideas?"
Gabrielle sighed. "Didn't we try to make a deal with the Scythian Queen years ago?"
The commander nodded. "Yes, but it didn't stick."
"I can't remember why..."
"She wanted to kill everyone." Xena said flatly.
"I'm surprised you and her don't get along," the blonde jested and she received a harsh glare from the brunette next to her. "Maybe you could work out a peace treaty with her?" she suggested.
"Doubt it."
Queen Tomiri of Scythia sat on her throne with one leg over the armrest, waiting patiently for her son to return from the mountains of the Caucasus. She told him to remain discreet and not to get involved with the Gokturk tribes that lay dormant in the mountains. A small tribal mountain people were not of her concern but the Huns were. She didn't like them and she wanted them gone so she could expand her empire in the Caucasus Mountains and maybe even take Pannonia like she tried to years ago but failed.
General Sparga, also the only son of Queen Tomiri, ran into the throne room and she swung her leg off the armrest and stood, waltzing over to him. She smiled and brushed her two long braids behind her shoulders.
"So, what did you find?" she asked.
He wiped the sweat from his brow and stared into his mother's chocolate brown eyes. "There are thousands of them, mother. Thousands of Huns in Armenia."
"God damnit," she mumbled and turned around, crossing her arms.
"Pannonian Huns, Bulgurs and White Huns are there."
She spun around with wild eyes. "Pannonian?!" she snarled. "I thought they were wiped out by Zeno?"
He shook his head. "No mother. The wife of Khushnavaz is Xena's daughter."
Tomiri smiled and tapped her fingers on her arms as she stared out the windows, overlooking the mountainous terrain. "Xena. I remember her. It seems our Magyar King forgot to tell me that little detail." She turned to her son. "Bring Arpad to me at once. I wish to have words with him."
"Yes, mother." Sparga bowed his head then quickly exited the room.
Moments later King Arpad walked into the throne chamber and he was alone with the queen. He nervously looked at her as she was admiring her blade in the sunlight through the window. The light reflecting on the blade almost blinded him. Tomiri smiled and turned to him with a most menacing smile. A smile that most definitely did not compliment her gorgeous features, her pale skin, jet black hair and big brown eyes.
"Arpad." She walked over and twirled the sword with her wrist. "Friend. Ally. Liar."
His eyes grew. "I did not lie to you, Tomiri."
She laughed. "Oh but you did. You failed to tell me that Xena is in Armenia and her daughter is a queen. I can't have a Pannonian queen so close to my empire. I am the only queen in this area. There is no room for another."
"You should not be so concerned with Xena's daughter. She is nothing like her mother and she's carrying a child." Arpad folded his arms.
Tomiri's eyes widened as did her smile. "A baby. Remind me to send a gift to her when I ransack her kingdom." She tapped the tip of her blade with her fingertip. "As for you!" she pointed the sword at him and slowly walked towards him. He backed away as her blade inched closer and closer.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you."
Arpad eyed the blade and then the queen's dark looming eyes. "I can act as your envoy and go to Balaam to talk with Xena and Anastasia. I can convince them to give me back my army and then...my army will be yours." He offered and she smirked.
"Why would I want your army? You were stupid enough to give it to those fucking Huns because you were greedy!" she spat and raised her sword up to strike him.
"I can convince them!" he begged.
She lowered her sword. "Guards!" she yelled and they ran to her aid. "Tie him up outside." She smiled and the guards grabbed Arpad, dragging him off. "Hopefully you won't die of hypothermia. I will consider what you said." She waved her hand, shooing the guards away.
Sparga came into the room after he watched the Magyar King being dragged off by his mother's men. He turned and saw her admiring her sword in the sunlight. "Mother..."
"Yes, sevgilim?" she said.
"Will you attack the White Hun kingdom?" he asked, eyeing her.
She turned and cupped his cheek. "Of course and when I seize Armenia you will be in control." She smiled.
Sparga lowered his eyes and then Tomiri left his side, sheathing her blade. "And what of Arpad? Will you allow him to help you?"
"No. At sundown he will be executed." She said and the doors opened for her as she trailed down the halls of her palace.
Navaz ran inside the Adame and found Xena, Gabrielle and one of the middle-aged women that he had known for years. He frowned at her and the woman lowered her eyes. "Why do you have Kosem?" he asked suspiciously.
"Don't worry about that," Xena said. Anastasia's loud screeching voice echoed throughout the Adame and his eyes widened. "Listen," she grabbed his shoulder, "I want you to send men to the borders of Balaam. The Scythian Queen sent a message to us that she has allied with Arpad. I don't want her army coming here. Scythia isn't far from here and knowing her, she probably has scouts in the mountains."
He heard his wife screaming again and he cringed. Trying his best to ignore that he focused on Xena's task. "Alright...I will do that." He said and she nodded, grabbing Kosem's arm, heading towards the queen's room. "Xena! What is going on?"
"Nothing! Just go!" she ordered and he arched an eyebrow, then ran out of the Adame.
Kreka sat on the edge of the bed, holding onto Ana's hand tightly, wiping the sweat off her forehead. Tuya frowned and stood by her side, looking at the flushed face of the young queen and her hair sprawled across the pillows.
"Where the hell is Xena?!" Kreka growled and another ear piercing scream filled the room. Tuya pinched her nose and exhaled heavily.
"Right here," Xena rushed inside, holding Kosem by her arm and Gabrielle stood beside Tuya. "I found someone," she said Kreka got off the bed, leaving Ana's side.
Anastasia breathed heavily and lifted her head, staring at a strange woman. "Who...who is that?" she eyed her mother, creasing her eyebrows. Xena sat down beside her daughter and pulled back her drenched hair back from her flushed face. Ana watched the woman heating up a knife over a fire and her eyes widened.
"What is...she doing?" she eyed her mother and Xena grabbed a cloth and twisted it tightly. "Mother!" her breathing quickened as she saw the woman come closer to the bed with the blazing knife.
"Bite on this," Xena shoved the cloth into her daughter's mouth. Kosem nervously approached the frightened young queen and lifted her dress. Anastasia's eyes grew in fear and she screamed muffled by the cloth in her mouth. She scooted back against the headboard and Xena wrapped her arms around her, firmly holding onto her. "Stay still!" she ordered and Ana shook her head vehemently as the knife came closer to her bare stomach.
Gabrielle cringed and turned away. Kreka folded her arms and leaned against the bed post. Tuya put a hand over her eyebrows, staring at the fear in Anastasia's eyes. Kosem cut into Anastasia's skin and Xena held onto her arms as she tried to squirm away. Tears streaming down her face as the knife cut deep into her womb.
Kreka peered over the woman's shoulder observing. Kosem set the knife down on the sheets and reached inside the young queen's womb. Xena arched her eyebrow watching intently and Anastasia's eyes rolled in the back of her head and passed out onto the pillow from exhaustion. Xena spun her head around and pat her daughter's cheek softly.
Gradually, Kosem pulled out the baby by its feet first and smiled softly. Kreka grinned and heard the infant's cry. Tuya leaned over and grinned staring at the crying baby. Gabrielle finally turned around and came around to the side of the bed and saw Kosem handing the baby to Kreka in a blanket.
"Finally!" the khatun grinned and cleaned off the baby's face with the blanket. "A girl to break the cycle of princes."
Gabrielle and Xena shared a wide smile together. Kosem quickly sewed up the incision and eyed the unconscious queen. "She should wake up in a few hours. There was not a lot of blood. She is probably just tired."
Xena nodded and took the cloth out of her daughter's mouth and covered her body with the clean sheet. "Thank you," she said and Kosem grinned, bowing her head then turned to leave. She stood and looked at Kreka fondling over the baby in her arms. "Kreka," she held out her arms.
Reluctantly Kreka handed off the baby to Xena and folded her arms. "I will go tell Navaz," she said and hurried over to the doors.
Swinging open the door she saw both her sons, Csaba and Navaz standing outside altogether. Ernak grinned at the shock on his mother's face. "We heard a baby." He said and she arched an eyebrow. "Could you tell Xena that we have the borders guarded?"
"I will but I came to get Navaz," she turned to the anxious and nervous king. Allowing him to pass she smiled softly. Csaba followed him and she grabbed his shoulder. "You can't go in there."
The boy frowned sadly. "Why not? I want to see the baby and my mother. I've been waiting forever!"
"You can see them later." She said and he sighed heavily.
"Sooo?" Dengi looked at his mother eagerly.
"A girl, finally," she said with a big grin. Dengi and Ernak nodded at each other and Csaba's eyes lit up.
Dengi stepped forward nervously. "Mother, I want to tell you something." He said and she folded her arms, staring at him intensely. "I want to marry this girl I've been seeing for awhile and I want to –"
"The Caucasian girl?" Kreka said and his face paled. "I've seen you with her before, Dengizich. You think you're so sly." She smirked and then kissed his cheek. "You can marry her but in Pannonia! Not here."
"Really?" he asked, quite surprised at his mother's reaction. He expected her to lash out angrily or worse.
She nodded. "Yes, really. I expect you to give me granddaughters," she poked his chest then walked off.
Ernak laughed and he nudged his brother's arm playfully. "Wow, the pressure!" he teased and Dengi growled, shoving his brother away. "Hey! It's just a joke. Well, mother doesn't really joke about those kinds of things."
"How long do you think it will be until I can see them?" Csaba asked his uncles.
Dengi grabbed the boy by his shoulder. "Probably awhile. You should get some sleep before you pass out."
"I'm not tired!"
"That's what they all say," Ernak muttered.
Xena and Gabrielle walked into the large bath house together and saw a few women washing their hair in the steamy hot water. Gabrielle took off her clothes piece by piece and eyed Xena, slowly taking off her blouse and then saw the lashes on her back.
"Xena..." she gasped. The warrior's head hung, hiding behind her veil of hair. "Did Zeno do that to you?" her voice in a soft whisper.
"It will fade," Xena said and slipped off her dark pants and walked into the hot bath. The water stinging her wounds on her body, she wrapped her arms around herself. "Are you going to come in or stare all night?" she teased.
Gabrielle sighed and stepped into the bath, dipping her short locks in the water. Finally, relieved that all of that was over, for now. They still had the stupid Scythian Queen to worry about, but that was for another day. Tomorrow, she thought. Tonight, she felt like a person again and it was really nice to sit in a hot bath while it snowed furiously outside.
"I'm surprised that you didn't stay with Anastasia," she hinted and rubbed some oil onto her arms.
Xena smiled softly. "She knows what to do, besides, she's knocked out."
"Poor girl," Gabrielle sighed. "You could have warned her that was going to happen."
"If I did she would just panic." She said and winced as she rubbed the oil one of her open wounds on her shoulder.
Gabrielle swam over and pulled Xena's wet hair away from her backside to take a good look at the lashes. She grazed her fingers on the wounds and frowned sadly. "I'm sorry that he did this to you, Xena."
"He got what he wanted but he lost in the end," Xena turned and smiled softly at the concerned blonde behind her. Cupping her cheeks she kissed her lips briefly. Gabrielle smiled and swam backward with a teasing smile.
"So, we can finally sleep in our own bed tonight..." she hinted and Xena arched her eyebrow.
"Yes?" she sank lower into the water, eyeing her from across the bath.
Kreka walked into the bath house and saw the two together. She smirked and Gabrielle turned to her, immediately sinking into the water, only her eyes above the water. "Am I interrupting something?" she pried.
"No, not at all," Xena waded in the water and ran her hand across her hair.
Kreka eyed both of them and then the robe around her body fell to the ground. Gabrielle's eyes widened as she stared at the woman's body for the first time. All the years she had spent with these people she only ever saw Xena naked but never anyone else. Kreka ran her fingers through her stick straight hair that reached her hips, just like Xena's and Anastasia's –pretty much all the women here.
Gabrielle's eyes remained wide and in shock. She couldn't stop looking at her body and it definitely wasn't what she expected. Kreka always wore dresses that hid her figure and her collar reaching her neck, concealing everything underneath. This woman's body was slender and her hips large, complimenting her small waist.
Xena caught Gabrielle's eyes wandering on the khatun and smirked. She splashed some water over and Gabrielle rose from the water, rubbing her eyes. "What's the matter Gabrielle? Never seen a naked woman before?" she teased, sinking into the hot water.
"No!" Gabrielle spat and her cheeks flushed. "I mean...you know what I mean," she grumbled. Kreka stepped into the water, wetting her long locks and Gabrielle waded away from her, moving closer to Xena. What is it with these women and their perfectly toned bodies, she wondered?
Kreka smiled and swam over to Gabrielle and saw the blonde's eyes widen fearfully. She reached behind her to grab the bottle of oil. "Just needed this," she said and Xena smiled smugly, enjoying Gabrielle's uncomfortable nature at the moment.
"Anastasia finally woke up," she said and Xena's face lit up. "She named the baby Arielle," she eyed the blonde, "after you, Gabrielle."
"Really?" Gabrielle beamed. "I feel special."
"You are special," Xena said and Gabrielle hid her shy grin. "And Navaz? Is he with her?"
Kreka nodded. "I don't think you could pry him away." She smiled and rubbed the oil into her hair. "Tuya is coming over here."
Xena groaned. "Fabulous." She leaned against the bath wall. "Get ready to feel real awkward, Gabrielle."
"I don't feel awkward!" Gabrielle retorted, seeing what kind of game Xena was playing. "As long as she doesn't look like you two then I'll be fine."
Kreka frowned. "Like what?"
"Yeah, Gabrielle, like what?" Xena teased.
The red cheeks on the blonde was so apparent, she turned around and washed her face. "Never mind. Forget I said anything." She muttered. Kreka and Xena shared a knowing look with each other and smiled smugly.
Tuya walked in and saw all three of them in the baths together. She waltzed over and saw the flushed blonde in a corner of the baths and smirked. Kreka turned around and saw the queen mother standing in a floor length robe. Xena nudged Gabrielle's arm.
"I'm not going to look this time," Gabrielle muttered.
"Well, I'm going to," Xena smirked and watched Tuya disrobe herself. Gabrielle peeked through her fingers and her jaw dropped. This woman's body was even better than Kreka's and not to mention every single one of them was very tall and suddenly she felt like a shrimp next to them.
"Seriously?!" she spat and Tuya eyed her before slipping into the water. "That's it, I'm leaving." She grumbled and Xena grabbed her arm, bringing her closer.
"Oh no you're not. You're going to sit here with everyone else," she said and eyed Tuya dip her long dark hair into the water.
"Xena..." she groaned. "This is so awkward." She whispered.
"Nobody said you had to stare," Xena whispered and Gabrielle punched her shoulder.
Kreka poured water over her arm and waded in the water closer to Xena and saw Gabrielle scoot away gradually. "I think we should move back to Pannonia. Dengi told me he wants to marry a Caucasian girl."
Xena's eyes widened. "Leila?" she said.
"How do you know her name?"
"Not important." Xena smiled. "I would like to move back. I don't like this place. No offense," she stared at Tuya. "But Anastasia will have to stay here. I can't expect her to move back with us."
Kreka nodded. "Yes. That is a problem. She can come visit for awhile if she wants to. Maybe to escape the Caucasus winters." She suggested.
Xena agreed. "There is another problem. The Scythian Queen allied with Arpad. I know she is going to come here. She doesn't want peace, she wants war. If Anastasia could go to Pannonia..." she trailed off.
Tuya frowned. "You would have her leave so soon?"
"Well, I don't want her to die, Tuya. She is my daughter after all," Xena turned to the queen mother who averted her eyes elsewhere, oiling her skin. "We can wait and see what the bitch wants first," her eyes narrowed and she sunk into the water.
Are these women seriously talking about politics right now, Gabrielle thought. Naked in a bath. Everyone talking so casually about political matters while they're naked. This is not what she was envisioning her night would be like. In fact, this entire week had been a mess and everything was unexpected, including tonight.
"What do you think Gabrielle?" Xena asked.
"Huh?" she turned and saw Kreka and Xena staring at her. "Oh, right. Pannonia. Yeah, great idea." She smiled sheepishly. "I think I'm finished here." She quickly got out of the bath and grabbed her robe, wrapping it around herself.
Xena smirked and waded to the other side of the bath to retrieve her robe and clothes. "You two have fun and try not to kill each other," she teased and stepped out of the water.
Anastasia lay on her side beside Navaz as he held the baby in his arms. She leaned her cheek on her palm, watching him intently. Still feeling incredibly sore and exhausted from yesterday she was advised to stay in bed for many days, which was going to be terrible, she thought, especially since there were so many women here at her disposal.
Navaz smiled, staring at his daughter and then looked over at his wife who had her eyes glued to him. "How are you feeling?"
She sighed heavily. "Tired. Very tired." She shifted in the bed and winced. "Could you go get my mother for me?" she asked and he nodded, setting the baby down on the bed beside her. She grinned and grazed her finger along her daughter's cheek.
Csaba walked into his mother's room very quietly and she lifted her head, seeing her son for the first time in what seemed like forever. He smiled and leaned over the bed, eyeing his baby sister laying next to his mother. "Can I see her?" he whispered.
Nodding her head, she sat up slowly and grabbed her daughter, cradling her small body in her arms. Csaba hopped onto the bed and scooted close to his mother, looking into his sister's big eyes. "Arielle..." he smiled brightly. "Can I hold her? I'll be careful."
She quirked her mouth and hesitantly handed off her daughter to her son's open arms. "Hold her head," she said and her hands hovered over, making sure he held her correctly.
"Mom, I know what I'm doing," he eyed her nervous face.
Xena walked into the room and saw her grandson holding Arielle and of course Anastasia fussing over him the entire time. "You sent for me?" she interrupted and Ana lifted her head.
"Yes..." she took one last look at her son and then back to her mother. "I need something for this pain," she said lowly and Xena nodded silently and made her way over to the table filled with herbs from last night. "Where's Gabrielle?"
"She's still sleeping. You know how she is," Xena smirked and poured some lavender into hot tea and stirred it with a spoon. Walking over to the bed she handed her daughter the herbal tea.
Anastasia let out a breathy exhaled and sipped the hot tea and wrapped her hand over her swollen abdomen, wincing at the twinges of pain that still lingered. "You could have told me that was going to happen."
Xena shrugged her shoulder. "I didn't want to worry you." She peered over at Arielle's wandering eyes, staring up at the ceiling and her older brother. "Arielle, huh?" she said and Ana smiled.
"How long do I have to stay in bed?" she asked, already bored and it hadn't even been a day yet since her daughter's birth.
"For a week at least. You need time to heal and it's not like you need to be somewhere, right?" she winked and Ana groaned. "Listen, Anastasia, in a couple of months when you are fully healed I am going to send you to Pannonia."
Anastasia frowned. "Pannonia? Why?"
"Queen Tomiri has her eye on Balaam and I don't want you here when she comes. I know she will come here. I will send you, Csaba and Arielle to Pannonia with Ernak. Kreka can accompany you so she can help you but I need to stay here with Navaz and Gabrielle to make sure the area is secure."
"The Scythian Queen?" Anastasia said and Xena nodded. "What does she want?"
The commander sighed heavily. "I don't know but she allied with Arpad. I don't want you to fight me on this, Anastasia. You know how ruthless Tomiri is. We tried to ally with her in the past when Ellac was king and you know how well that turned out."
The Hun queen nodded, remembering that all too well. "Alright," she relented. "I will go." She turned and smiled at both of her children.
Xena grinned and kissed her daughter's forehead. "Thank you." She felt a weight lifted off her shoulders. For once, Anastasia did not disagree with her. "So, do you need anything else?" she asked.
"You can stay here you know," Ana hinted and her mother sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Are you asking me to stay?" Xena teased.
Ana furrowed her eyebrows, knowing the game her mother was playing. "I want you to stay. Please."
Arielle began whimpering softly and Csaba's arms locked up and his body stiffened with fear. "Mother..." he panicked and Anastasia grinned. "What do I do?"
"Give her to me," she held her arms out and he passed his crying sister over to his mother willingly. Cuddling the infant close to her breast she smiled warmly, wiping the tears from her daughter's cheeks.
Twenty Seven Years Ago
Xena sat in her yurt alone with her daughter laying on the floor in a pile of warm fur skins. She kept staring at her daughter while she was crying. Xena's eyes wide and her body frozen, not knowing what to do. Only a few weeks before, she lost Borias in the battle against the Visigoths and now she was alone. Now she had a daughter to take care of and she didn't know what to do. She didn't think that she was going to go through this alone and the realization that the father of her child was gone had not hit her yet.
Cera, the wife of Attila, walked into the yurt when she heard the child crying loudly. "Xena?" her voice soft and pleasing to the ears. Slowly, Xena turned and had tears in her eyes and her hair was unkempt. The redheaded Hun queen smiled and walked over, sitting down beside her husband's commander.
"Your daughter." She said and Xena turned back to her crying daughter. Cera reached over and picked up the baby in her arms, cuddling her close to her chest, smiling warmly. "You don't need to cry, little one." She whispered and Anastasia's cries calmed as she stared into Cera's big green eyes. "See? Not so bad, right?"
Xena wiped her cheeks and stared at Cera in awe. "How did you do that?"
"My mother was a midwife." Cera said and saw the distress on Xena's face. "You are not alone, you know. I will be here for you." She stared into the blue confused eyes beside her. "Xena," she began and lay Anastasia back down on the animal skins, slowly falling asleep. "You can't raise her as a girl, you know that, right?"
Xena wiped her nose and stared at her daughter. "What do I do?" almost pleading to the queen.
The redheaded woman smiled. "Do what you need to do, Xena. I can have someone come and stay with you for awhile. I don't want you to be alone." She stood slowly and brushed her hands along her dress.
Xena turned and watched the woman leave her home and frowned sadly, staring at her slumbering daughter once more. For the first time in her life she had to think about someone other than herself and she was going to make sure that her daughter was protected and safe.
Finally, she smiled and laid on her side, tucking the blankets close to Anastasia's cheeks. Together, they were alone but Xena realized that she wasn't truly alone. At least, not completely. She propped herself up on her elbow and saw her daughter yawning as she slept. She never thought that she could love someone so much in her life before until now. She wanted to keep her daughter and didn't want to send her away and would protect her for her entire life. She promised herself that.