This is about to be the longest war I've ever written but it will be well worth it. Many plans for the Huns as well as Gabrielle and Xena. Enjoy :)
Chapter 24 –The Wrath of Queen Tomiri Part I of V
Gathered in a large room inside the Adame, Csaba was finally able to celebrate his birthday, nearly a month after his actual birth date. Sitting in a circle on the floor, Anastasia and Navaz sat together with Arielle in a bassinet in between Ana and her mother. Gabrielle sat beside Xena and Kreka with Tuya beside Navaz on the other side of the circle.
Csaba opened Gabrielle's gift first and he was surprised to see a leather satchel filled with a lot of parchment, ink and plenty of quill pens. He looked up at his blonde aunt as he called her from time to time. "Let me guess, this is for studying Latin, isn't it?"
Anastasia frowned, "Csaba!" she reprimanded and he smiled.
"It's really nice. Thanks Gabrielle. I'll make sure to use it all the time." He leaned over and whispered, "but for drawing, not for Latin."
The blonde smirked and lightly hit the boy's arm. "Very funny, Csaba. You should open Xena's gift next. I'm sure you'll love it. Right, Xena?" she peered up at the warrior.
"I hope so," Xena smiled and leaned back on her palms as she watched her grandson open the large flat box.
Anastasia had seen those boxes before and she shot her mother a glare. "Tell me you didn't..." she said and Csaba pulled out a long sword and he smiled from ear to ear. "You did." And her mother gave her a sneaky knowing look. Rolling her eyes, she focused back on her son.
"Wow!" he raised the sword in the air. "Will you teach me how to use it like you did before?" he eyed his grandmother.
Xena quirked her mouth and eyed her annoyed daughter. "Maybe your mother can teach you. She is very good with a sword you know." She said and Ana smiled softly.
"Really?" he turned to his mother. "Can you teach me?" he hoped.
His mother nodded. "Of course I will teach you."
He set the sword down and looked over at Navaz. "Alright, I've been waiting forever. Where is it?" he begged and Anastasia frowned.
"Csaba! Seriously? Tatli cocuk," she waved her hand dismissively at his needy and greedy attitude.
Navaz chuckled and looked at his irritated wife. "Don't stress yourself out," he whispered in her ear and kissed her cheek. She fumed and folded her arms at her eager son. Navaz stood and went in the other room to grab his stepson's present.
Csaba tapped his fingertips together as he waited for Navaz to come out with his present. His eyes lit up when he saw the gift. "A bow! I knew it," he walked over, not even giving the king a chance to come towards him. "Thanks," he said and Navaz smiled down at the lanky teenager. He walked over and showed Gabrielle and Xena.
Xena examined the bow and pulled the string back, testing the strength of the weapon. "Very nice," she said, "for a bowman," he eyed Navaz with a teasing smile.
"At least he got meaningful gifts," Ana commented and glanced over at her mother. "My mother gave me a dress for my fourteenth birthday." She smirked and Xena rolled her eyes.
Navaz sat back down and confusedly looked to his wife and Xena. "What's so bad about that?"
Kreka laughed and lowered the glass of hot tea from her lips. "You mean, Anastasia never told you?" she said and he shook his head. "Oh, I would like to stay and listen for this story."
"Can we not?" Xena eyed the khatun and Kreka shrugged a shoulder.
"I want to hear it," Navaz said.
Anastasia sighed and peered over in the bassinet to see her slumbering daughter. She had no idea how her daughter was able to sleep through all of this noise. The longer she stared at her infant daughter she realized that she was able to have a daughter with no repercussions unlike her mother. At that particular time it was frowned upon to have daughters and many were sent away because of the fear of the Goths taking female children and killing them. Before, she didn't understand why her mother raised her as a boy, but now she understood why and never questioned her mother about it anymore. Her daughter, Arielle, was free here.
She thought of her childhood and what great fun she had with Attila's sons and she was the only girl in Pannonia and she never truly felt like she was a girl around the boys. They didn't know she was a girl until she was thirteen but even after everyone knew, Ernak, Dengi and Ellac didn't treat her differently. She would always see Ernak and Dengizich as her brothers. Now, she would like to thank her mother for giving her that opportunity to live with her and maybe at that age she was too harsh and not understanding.
Eyeing her mother she saw shame in her eyes and a sad expression on her face. Smiling warmly she turned to Navaz, who was eagerly waiting for her to explain herself and her childhood. So many things that she hadn't told her own husband, but she didn't want to humiliate her mother while telling this story. She didn't deserve that. Nobody did.
"Why raise me as a boy anyway?" she asked sincerely, feeling more confused than angry at the moment.
Xena rubbed her forehead and tapped her fingers on her knee. "To protect you."
Anastasia scoffed, "protect me? Protect me from what?!" she was now getting angry.
"Look around, Ana!" Xena frowned, "do you see any girls in this tribe?" she asked and her daughter lowered her eyes. She lifted her daughter's chin, "you are the only girl here and you may not understand now, but you will later." She said and her daughter grimaced.
"Well maybe it would have been better if I was never born then."
Anastasia took in a deep breath and Xena lowered her eyes and Kreka had a smug grin on her lips. "My mother...raised me as a boy until I was thirteen." She began and Navaz's eyes widened in shock. She continued, "I didn't understand why at the time and I thought I was a curse." She eyed her mother and Gabrielle grabbed Xena's hand firmly. "But, I'm glad that she did because then I would have never grown up in my homeland with people that cared about me the most –Attila, Ellac, Ernak, Dengizich and later Gabrielle."
Xena lifted her eyes and gaped at her daughter with surprise. Anastasia smiled warmly and spoke directly to her, "and a lot of people will never understand her reasoning behind what she did and those that did are gone now. I know what she did was to protect me and I am grateful for everything she has done for me. I am also grateful that my daughter will not have to grow up the same way I did –living in fear and hidden from the world."
Finishing her story that had been locked away for so many years she shared a warm smile with her mother and Gabrielle grinned, leaning against Xena's shoulder. Navaz rubbed his chin and Ana turned to see his bemused face.
"That is...very interesting," he said, not quite sure what to say to all of that. "What else haven't you told me?" he eyed his wife curiously.
Ana chuckled lightly. "Plenty of things. But I'll be sure to tell you all about them later," she said quietly and he smiled. Arielle woke suddenly and began whimpering softly. All eyes turned to the crying infant and Ana smiled, seeing her daughter, dressed in a burgundy and gold lined dress.
She reached inside the bassinet and cradled her daughter in her arms. Navaz helped her to her feet and she turned to her mother as she walked towards the doors. Xena got up off the floor and followed her daughter out of the room and Gabrielle remained seated. The room was quiet now minus Arielle's loud cries from the hallway.
Dengi walked into the room with his soon to be wife, Leila in hand. Kreka whipped her head around and looked at the young woman, or girl. He nervously stared at his mother and Gabrielle exhaled deeply.
"Csaba, happy birthday. I brought you something," he pulled out a gift from his pocket. "It's small but I think you'll like it." he said and the thirteen year old walked over, slinging the bow over his shoulder and took his uncle's gift.
Unwrapping the small present, Csaba pulled out a necklace with the Pannonian symbol of the large falcon, holding a sword with its talons. "Wow, thanks Dengi." He slipped the necklace over his head. "I can't wait to go back to Pannonia." He said and turned to Navaz. "Are you coming with us too?"
The king shook his head. "I think I have to stay here," he said, not wanting to worry the boy but Xena had told him the plan about Queen Tomiri and her mission to invade Armenia. He didn't want Anastasia, Csaba or his daughter to be here when that happened.
"But I would love to go one day. I heard Pannonia is very beautiful," he said.
Csaba nodded his head vigorously. "Yes! It is! More beautiful than Balaam, I guarantee it!" he said and sat down beside Navaz. "Will you show me how to string the bow?" he said nervously.
Navaz grinned. "Of course."
Kreka stood and walked over to her son and fiancée. "So, Leila, right?" she eyed the pale faced girl and touched her blue veil that hid her long wavy dark hair.
"Mother, be nice," Dengi frowned.
"I haven't said anything!" she said and smiled at the girl. "Leila," she hooked arms with the nervous girl, "we should get to know each other better." She suggested and guided her towards the pillows next to Tuya.
Gabrielle shook her head and walked over to Dengi who stood by himself, watching his mother talk to, or rather interrogate Leila. "She's just being a mother, Dengi."
"Have you met my mother?" he eyed her and she chuckled.
"Where is Ernak?"
Dengi shrugged. "I saw him with a few Bulgurs. I think they might be smoking opium somewhere." He said and Gabrielle's eyes grew. "Don't tell Xena or she'll have a cow."
"How could she? She smoked it with you!" she punched his shoulder and he winced.
"Gabrielle!" he growled and shoved her slightly. "Listen, you don't understand what happened that night. I don't know if she told you..."
"Oh she told me. She said she was 'having a moment', whatever that means." She folded her arms, still feeling a bit bitter about that entire situation. Xena not only lied about the Magyar but she lied about wanting to be alone. She never saw Xena act so strange in her entire life.
"No, Gabrielle," he began in a soft voice, "she was alone on the hills and I saw her there. I went to talk to her and she said she felt so guilty for lying to you. She also felt guilty for wanting to kill Zeno. She didn't want to hurt you anymore than she already had in the past. I told her to come into the yurt so we could talk more. I convinced her to smoke the opium with me because she was very upset and she wouldn't stop talking." He groaned. "So, you see, she didn't tell you everything. So, maybe cut her some slack?"
Gabrielle frowned sadly and lowered her gaze to the floor. Apparently, Xena was hurting more than she was leading on and for good reason. Her lies were so out of character for her and she hates liars, but now Gabrielle understood why she did it. She was more than upset. She was hurt and lost.
"I better go over there before my mother scares Leila to death," he muttered and walked over to the two women.
Anastasius was able to take the throne after Zeno's body was disposed of thanks to Xena. He also brought back all of the White Hun army that were camped out in the Akitziri tribe, with him back to Constantinople. He knew that some of the army was also in Troy and was sure that Xena and Navaz had a reason for keeping them there. He himself had never been to Troy because it was considered a neutral territory to Romans and Huns.
But that hadn't always been the case over the last few decades. He learned that Flavius Aetius had invaded Troy when Xena was stationed there and fled from Pannonia. Anastasius was just a teenager at the time when that happened, maybe a few years older than Xena's daughter, but he lived in Constantinople at the time. His father was on Theodosius' council in Nicaea at the time. He saw Xena when she was at her prime, working for Attila and he was frightened by her as a child. He didn't know if he was still scared of that woman because she was pretty reasonable and she looked just the same as she did all those years ago.
Now, he was in charge of Constantinople but he had to share the empire with Odoacer and he knew this was going to be difficult. Emperor Zeno was not very good friends with the Western Emperor, but he hoped that he could rekindle that relationship and establish some kind of friendly alliance with the emperor.
Also, Odoacer was a Hun that denounced his heritage to become a Roman Emperor. Xena knew exactly who the man was yet did not kill him. He expected his corpse to be brought back to Rome when he left Balaam. He was surprised to find the bastard still alive. He sometimes questioned why Huns did the things that they did, but he was positive that Xena had a reason for everything she did.
Over the last couple of weeks he had the entire palace cleared out. All of the old servants were dismissed, including Zeno's advisers and other councilmen. He wanted to start fresh and have a court that respected him for who he was and his alliance with the Huns was very important. He did not want to betray their trust. It was them who got him in this position in the first place. He would be forever grateful for that opportunity and he planned to keep this alliance peaceful and cordial, unlike Zeno.
He had no desire to go after the Huns and ransack their nation. He was to be their friend and ally. He hoped that Odoacer would come to a reasonable agreement and stay out of Pannonia, Thrace, Armenia and Kazakhstan as well. The Huns were good people. Fair. Reasonable. Kind is not the word he would use to describe those tribal people, but they were nice to their allies as long as everyone was treated fairly, there should be no problem at all.
The new governor of Constantinople walked into the emperor's quarters. "Sir, I have news from your counterpart." He bowed his head.
Anastasius turned and frowned. "What is it, Survius?"
"Emperor Odoacer has traveled all the way from Rome to speak to you. He is waiting in the foyer. Shall I bring him in?" Survius eyed the young emperor.
"Yes, bring him in." the new emperor folded his arms and thought this is a bad sign. Odoacer never comes to Constantinople. There were only letters that were sent back and forth when Zeno was in charge. This must be serious or maybe it was damning. He was about to find out.
Odoacer walked into the room and smiled at the governor turned emperor. "Anastasius. The new emperor. I am quite surprised that you had it in you to overthrow Zeno. I applaud you."
"Oh really?" Anastasius played it off and remained collected in front of his counterpart.
"Yes," the Western Emperor grinned. "I was planning to have Zeno dethroned as well but looks like you beat me to it. I commend you but now you are in my way. You've thwarted my goals to combine both empires together. Alas, I have to deal with another emperor in Constantinople."
Anastasius nodded. Of course, Romans betraying Romans. Xena was right. They were all the same and that included himself and Odoacer alike. "Is that why you came, Odoacer? You want overthrow me now?"
"Absolutely not. You won this position fair and square with the help of my brothers, the Huns." Odoacer chuckled. "Allow me to have control of the Nicene Council and we can call it even. You can have your holy city as long as I get your council on my side."
"Not a chance in hell, Odoacer. You will never control the Nicene Council. That belongs to my family, you know that."
Odoacer sighed heavily and walked around, admiring the bare room that was once filled with beautiful paintings and statues of Grecian gods. "What a shame. I really want to be your friend, Anastasius, I really do, but you allied with the enemy. You can't do that. It has never worked before. Have you forgotten what a disaster the alliance with Valentinian and Attila was?"
The young emperor nodded. "I did not forget, but that was because Valentinian was foolish and Theodosius was a poor emperor. He did not want to govern his side of the empire fairly. I plan to keep the White Huns, the Bulgurs and Pannonians, as my allies. They are my friends. I owe everything to them for this position they gave me."
"Don't be so foolish, boy." Odoacer frowned and sauntered over, attempting to intimidate the young ruler. "You forget that I share the same blood as those Pannonians. Xena is not even a Hun by blood, but she adopted their culture...their lifestyle. She is as much a Hun as Attila and his forefathers. Huns are not trustworthy. They will betray you."
Anastasius smirked. "You betrayed your own people, Odoacer. The Huns have shown no reason to betray me. I am loyal to them. It would befit you to connect with your roots and rekindle your relationship with the Pannonians. Perhaps, they will pardon you for all the harm you've done. That little invasion of Balaam was poor at its best. You were shooed out by the White Huns and ran back to Rome. You are not a Roman. I am. You are a Hun."
Odoacer's eyebrows rose at the audacity of this young emperor. "How dare you defend those savages to me. You don't know anything about them. They are the kind of people that do not bode well in alliances especially with Romans. You will be sorry that you ever allied with them, Anastasius. I bet on it."
"We'll see, Odoacer. It is not me that they will be after. Since they are my ally then that means you are not able to go into their territories and attack them. I want you to put aside your differences for them and send a letter to the White Hun King. Tell him that you will leave the Hun Nation alone forever until I permit you to enter their lands otherwise."
Odoacer laughed and walked towards the exit. "As if I am going take orders from a child. I am old enough to be your father. I wish you the best of luck with your barbarian friends, Anastasius." He blew a kiss to the young emperor and made his way out of the palace.
Anastasia sat on the bed inside her room, breastfeeding her daughter, or trying to. Xena sat beside her and peered over at Arielle fussing. "I don't understand why she keeps doing this," she grumbled, growing frustrated.
"Maybe if you just relax?" her mother suggested and Ana sighed heavily, relaxing her tense shoulders and nestled her daughter close to her breast. Slowly, Arielle stopped fussing and relaxed along with her mother. "See?" Xena smiled.
As Xena sat beside her daughter she couldn't help but feel tension in the room and all the tension was radiating off her daughter. "You know...Anastasia," she began calmly, "Tuya made a room for Arielle. I think you should keep her there instead of in your room. So...you can get some sleep." She said and looked into her daughter's tired eyes.
"But...I want her close to me," Ana said, tears swelling in her eyes.
"I know but she's right next door. You really need sleep," Xena smiled and wiped the tears from her daughter's cheek. "I know you don't really like Tuya very much and neither do I but she can watch Arielle for you while you get some rest. She is very good with her."
Anastasia frowned and switched her daughter to her other breast. "I must look like death. Even Navaz doesn't come near me very much. When am I supposed to go to Pannonia?"
"Soon, but you need more time to rest. Just think about what I said, alright?" she said and Ana nodded silently.
Dengi walked into the room and his face paled when he saw Anastasia feeding her daughter. "Whoa!" he turned around swiftly, facing the wall. "Um, Xena, Gabrielle wants to talk to you about Queen Tomiri." He said. "Sorry."
Anastasia smiled and Xena scooted off the bed and walked over to Dengi. "You should get used to seeing that, Dengi," she teased and pat him on the shoulder. His cheeks reddened and he saw Navaz brush past him. He made a hasty exit to go find Leila and pry her away from his mother.
Navaz smiled and sat on the edge of the bed, peering down at his daughter. Once she was finished feeding, Anastasia slipped her sleeve over her shoulder and held Arielle close to her chest. "Gabrielle suggested that you leave next week to Pannonia."
"But my mother said two months. It hasn't even been a month yet!" Ana cried out.
He nodded. "I know but Tomiri's men were spotted in the mountains a few days ago. I would trust Gabrielle's judgment. Are you well enough to travel so soon? Kreka will be with you."
She sighed heavily. "I guess I will have to be. I don't really have a choice do I?" she said and he wagged his head.
Inside the conference room, Ernak, Dengi, Kreka, Xena and Gabrielle were together talking about the journey to Pannonia. Gabrielle lead the discussion. "Anastasia will leave with Ernak, Dengi and Kreka to Pannonia next week. Navaz's men spotted Tomiri's men in the mountains so we know that she is not far. Scythia is very close to Armenia. We can't have her coming here when Anastasia is here."
Xena nodded. "Right, but I don't know if she is able to travel so soon," she frowned.
Kreka agreed. "She won't be able to ride a horse. We will have to take a caravan," she suggested and Xena eyed her worriedly. "I'll take care of her," she winked.
"Alright, but what about Tomiri?" Ernak interrupted. "Why does she want to come here in the first place?"
"My guess is that she doesn't want Anastasia or any Pannonians nearby," Gabrielle said. "She's after you all and nobody else. She wasn't very kind to us the last time we tried to ally with her. She promised she would wipe out the entire Hun nation if you don't recall..." she eyed the sons of Attila and they dipped their heads.
"So, why do we have to go back to Pannonia? Can't I stay here and help?" Dengi asked and folded his arms.
Xena shook her head. "It's better that you go back to Pannonia. The less Pannonians the better. Tomiri will be enraged when she finds out Anastasia is not here. She's insane. She will come here and ransack Balaam. Have you not heard the stories about her, Dengi?"
He nodded. "I have. She's not fit to be a queen. Isn't her son the general of her army?"
"That is beside the point," the commander interjected and pointed to the map, her finger circling Scythia, which was located directly above White Hun territory. "She is not far. She's gathering her army. It is the dead of winter and the mountains are hard to maneuver through. She's going to have a hard time getting through the mountains and snow to reach Balaam."
Gabrielle smiled deviously. "So we should blockade the mountains, then?"
"No. Knowing her she's not going to come through the mountains. It's a tough terrain. She knows the area well because it is also her homeland." Xena sighed and rubbed her chin in deep thought.
"It will take a long time to march an army of thousands around the Caucasus Mountains," Gabrielle said and lifted her eyes to the pensive commander who stood beside her. "What do you think she's going to do, Xena?"
"I'm not sure," she hated to admit. "She's unpredictable and this is not my territory. I don't know the area well enough."
"But Navaz does," Kreka said and Xena lifted her eyes. "Navaz should lead the charge against Tomiri. This is his homeland. He knows all the inner workings of this area. He will know what to do."
Xena and Gabrielle shared a knowing look and gave a curt nod to Kreka. "Okay. Navaz will be in charge of geographical strategy. Gabrielle and I will handle the mainland."
Queen Tomiri stormed into the Sassan family palace and met with the Shahs, Peroz and Hormzid. She smiled and bowed to them both and they did the same. "I have come a long way to meet with you both."
Peroz smiled. "Of course and we are delighted by your presence, Queen Tomiri. What can we do for you?"
A malicious grin appeared on her face and her brown eyes widened. "I want to attack the Caucasus Huns. It has come to my attention that Pannonians are there and Anastasia, Xena's daughter, is their new queen. I want to annihilate them all and claim the territory under my rule."
Hormizd glanced at his brother and frowned. "And you want our help?"
She nodded. "I know you do not have the best relationship with the White Huns. Allow me to eradicate them for you. I want you both to agree with me to attack Khushnavaz's kingdom. They are small in number compared to my army and yours combined. So what have you? Will you agree to help?"
Peroz chuckled and chimed in, stepping off the dais, approaching the Scythian woman. "If we do agree to help you, what do we get out of it? What can you offer our empire?"
She crossed her arms and watched the Persian circle her like a vulture. "You can have the savage woman, Xena. I will take Navaz's head and his wife's. You are free to do what you wish with Xena but leave Armenia to me. I want full control of the territory."
"Xena killed Emperor Zeno not too long ago," Hormizd interrupted. "She is a formidable foe and she's dangerous. If we are able to capture Xena and bring her to Persia that would be most desirable. But Anastasius is now the new emperor."
She laughed loudly. "Then...make him your ally! Romans always backstab their allies. The Huns are barbarians. Scythia should rule over the Caucasus. So, do we have a deal?" she arched an eyebrow. Both brothers eyed each other and then nodded at the anxious queen. "Fabulous. I have to return to my country and I will notify you when I decide to attack Balaam."
She turned and quickly left the large throne chamber. Peroz frowned and turned to his elder brother. "She is a mad woman."
"But she is ambitious and I like that. She has conquered many territories over the years. I have faith that this raid will not fail as long as she does as she says and does not betray us."
Peroz groaned. "You trust her?"
"For now."
Xena sat in the bedroom inside hers and Gabrielle's yurt. They were eating together on the floor, sitting very close to the open fire in the middle of their bedroom. Gabrielle noticed that her partner was being very quiet since they meeting earlier. Something was bothering her.
Setting the spoon in her bowl, she stared at Xena intensely. "What's wrong with you?"
The warrior lifted her head and twirled her spoon in the rice. "What?"
"You're very quiet. What's wrong?"
Xena sighed. "I don't want Anastasia to leave so soon. I have a bad feeling about this Scythian war that is about to happen. I am tired of fighting to live, Gabrielle. I don't want to be a commander. I don't want to be in charge of an army. I just want to be Xena."
Gabrielle frowned and felt like for the first time that Xena was being sincere. She's mentioned this before but it never stuck. She was always a commander, for Attila, for his sons, and now Navaz and Anastasia. It was the same year after year. Perhaps, Xena was bored of this life, but this life was hardly boring, it was exciting and difficult at times. But could her lover be burned out finally?
"Do you really mean that?" she pried and the warrior nodded, her eyes gazing at her. "What about...after this war with Tomiri, we go back to Pannonia and you don't have to be anyone's commander anymore?" she offered with a small grin.
That suggestion didn't satisfy the solemn commander at all. "I don't want to do that. There will always be war, Gabrielle, especially in Hun territories."
"So, what are you saying? You want to leave Pannonia behind?"
"That's not what I'm saying..." Xena groaned. Now, she was frustrated instead of sad and depressed about this situation.
"Then what are you saying? You can tell me, Xena. I love you, you know that. You can tell me anything. I won't judge you." She reached forward and grabbed the warrior's hand.
Xena took in a deep breath. "I...I am a target everywhere I go. If I leave the Hun nation then all the people I care about won't be targets anymore." She said and Gabrielle creased her eyebrows. "Nobody is attacking us because they are bored, Gabrielle. They are after me and because of me, they are after Anastasia too. I don't want to cause any more pain for anyone anymore."
Gabrielle crawled to the warrior and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, leaning on her arm. "So...then what would you like to do?" she asked and smiled, lifting her eyes to see the confusion on her lover's face. "I'll follow you wherever you go. I won't let you leave my side again."
"I...would like to travel somewhere. Somewhere far from here –to a place that I've never been to!" Xena's face beamed at the thought.
The blonde nodded. "We can do that. Where would you like to go?"
"Tunis," she said and Gabrielle gave her a look. "We should go to Africa. I've never been there. I've been trapped in this area of the world for a long time." She sighed and turned to her partner's puzzled expression. "What do you think? Can they manage without me for awhile?" she gave a crooked smile.
"It sounds...like a good idea," Gabrielle said, unsure what has come over the warrior. "Why do you want to leave? Don't you want to stay with your family?"
"Of course I do, but I can't right now. The Romans, Persians and now Scythians are coming in too hot and fast. This area is chaotic. I am allowed to travel freely, aren't I?" she nudged the blonde lightly.
Gabrielle chuckled. "Of course you are. I just want you to be sure about this decision." She said and gripped Xena's arm firmly. "We...will come back though, right?"
"I don't want to abandon my people, Gabrielle. I just want to escape for awhile. With you," she grinned and the blonde nodded, nestling her cheek against her arm. "There is a whole world that we haven't seen –that I haven't seen."
"Well, I'll do whatever you want, Xena. As long as it makes you happy. I just...don't want you to think that you are the cause for this chaos and pain. Because, you aren't. I want you to know that." She said and Xena lowered her gaze, her cheeks flushing. "You are not responsible for everyone's pain and suffering. You aren't some powerful goddess that rains blood on the earth!"
Xena laughed lightly. "I get your point." She exhaled deeply and turned to look in the sweet emerald eyes. "Thank you..." she whispered.
"For what?"
"For being you and for listening to me. For putting up with me for so long. For everything. You mean a lot to me Gabrielle."
Now it was Gabrielle's turn to turn bright red at the brunette's compliments. "You've grown too soft. Being a grandmother really took a toll on you, huh?" she teased.
Xena frowned and punched her partner's arm.
"Ow! Xena!"