And finally, some excitement lol. Good luck ya'll and thanks for reading :)
Chapter 26 –The Wrath of Queen Tomiri Part III of V
Peroz was welcomed into Tomiri's tent within the campgrounds. He saw she was wearing a long white gown and not the white armor she wore yesterday during that disaster of an ambush. His cheeks flushed at the moment he looked into her dark eyes. The Scythian Queen smiled and rose from her chair and waltzed over to the flustered Persian Shah.
"We are allies are we not, Persian?" she asked with a sly grin on her lips. Waltzing around the nervous Shah, she traced her fingers on his black leather sleeve.
He kept his gaze forward and refused to look into her seductive chocolate colored eyes. "Yes, your highness."
"We don't need to have formalities. I am Tomiri in my tent. I am not higher than you. You are a Shah, a king, a khan, Shahanshah –king of kings. We are friends and we both have something in common. We hate the Huns and they must be eradicated."
Perzo cleared his throat and watched her take a seat in her chair at the desk. "Yes. They will cease to exist after this war and we will remain allies. You will claim Armenia and all of the Caucasus. I trust that you will not dare invade my empire, right?"
She chuckled, "oh well, let's not get ahead of ourselves, Persian. You are my ally now but when I take Armenia you will be another enemy of mine. Lest you not forget that," she winked and his lips parted.
"You mean that you will seize our agreement and invade my empire?" he spoke in a soft voice as if he were surprised.
She gave a simple shoulder shrug and smiled, twirling her long dark hair around a finger. "Allies don't last forever now do they? I just wanted your alliance to defeat the Huns. When I've claimed Armenia I will go after the rest of the Huns and destroy them. I will paint portraits with their blood."
He was beginning to regret everything he agreed to with this insane woman. His brother was right. She is a mad woman but she is very smart. But so far her strategy to winning this war had not been seen yet. She was holding back or perhaps she wasn't a good strategist as everyone said she was.
"I assume that you've come up with a plan to counter their previous attack?" he asked, ignoring her last comment about alliances.
Tomiri sighed heavily and pointed to the map of Balaam. "But of course. My army will be here in a few days. When they arrive that is when we attack Balaam full force. I get Khushnavaz and you get Xena as promised."
"And if they decide to attack before your army arrives? What then?"
She smiled. "Then we will just have to fight back now won't we? Your army is strong, Peroz. I know you can handle those savages. You have three times the men that they do."
"But Xena is the commander. She has fought off an army of thousands with only a few hundred men. I think you are underestimating her, Tomiri."
"You put too much faith in that woman, Persian!" she growled and stood from the chair. "Xena was the best commander when Attila was alive but now she is washed up. Her tricks won't work anymore. She is fresh out of ideas. She is too soft now. She is the one who is responsible for killing your father years ago. You have no idea what she was like in her prime. Xena is not as good of a commander like she used to be."
He frowned and folded his arms. "What makes you so sure? She did just fine blocking my men using a Roman military strategy."
Tomiri nodded. "Yes, she is inventive. I did not say she was stupid I merely said that she has grown soft. She will not kill you."
"She killed Zeno."
"Well, she has a thing for Romans you know," she laughed lightly. "Anyway, we will remain inactive until the Huns attack."
Gabrielle rolled up her cloak and set it on a chair nearby their bed. She felt like she hadn't been able to sleep properly in weeks and this night was no different. She stayed awake with Xena and Navaz yesterday trying to come up with a feasible plan to oust Tomiri and assassinate Peroz. She had her doubts about the plan because assassin techniques weren't Xena's forte. Xena was more of a brute force commander and relied on tricks and schemes to win a war. She didn't use assassins to finish the job, but maybe this is better.
She looked on at Xena who sat on the bed, taking off her boots. The first time the two were alone together in an entire month. They now slept in the Adame but tonight, Xena wanted be in the field so they slept in the yurt together, but Xena knew they weren't going to sleep much tonight. Her mind was on the Persian camp that was not too far from Balaam.
"Xena," the blonde began and the commander lifted her eyes briefly. "Did you mean what you said about going to Africa?"
Xena smiled. "Yes, I did. When this is over I want to leave for awhile. Of course, we will make sure everything in Pannonia is squared away. I have faith in Ernak keeping the peace."
Gabrielle nodded and sat on the floor, wrapped in a warm wool blanket. "And what kind of things do you want to do in Africa?" she asked curiously. She, herself, had never been there before either and wondered why Xena would pick such a place to explore.
"I don't know," Xena shrugged her shoulders. "I just want to see what else is out there. Not everything revolves around the Huns, Romans and Persians. Maybe one day we can go to China."
"China?!" Gabrielle blurted out. "I think we should stick with Africa first. It's a big place, I've heard. I also heard that Romans have control of Egypt."
The thought of Romans made Xena sick to her stomach. She didn't want Romans to ruin her new adventure. "Then we will stay far away from Egypt. I can't promise that if I see a Roman I won't kill him if we visit that country."
"Good to know that you still keep your promises and your word," Gabrielle chuckled. As much as she hated to think about Tomiri, the subject was inevitable and unavoidable. "When are we going to attack the Persian camp?"
Xena lowered her eyes and picked at her nails. "Tomorrow night. Right now, we will rest. The men are wounded and tired from sleepless nights."
"But you aren't going to go to sleep, are you?" Gabrielle implied and Xena smirked. "I thought so. Your mind is focused on battle. You can't ever turn it off."
"And that's the problem. I've lived like this my entire life. Always paranoid that someone is out to kill me and they were –are. I want to experience the feeling of what being safe is like and I can't do that if I stay here. As much as I love my family, I need to spend time away. With Zeno gone life be easier for them in Pannonia. Odoacer is too chicken-shit to come to Pannonia with his empty threats."
Gabrielle nodded and lay down on the rug, staring up at the dark haired warrior woman. "You don't think you're going to be bored?"
Xena smiled and stopped picking at her nail beds. "With you? Never."
"Not with me. I mean, no fighting, no commanding an army. Don't you think you'll get bored of it all?" she asked.
"I don't think so. I don't know why everyone hates us anyway. Tomiri needs to go. She needs to be obliterated. Nobody should have given that woman the power she has. She has done horrible things to her own people. She doesn't deserve to reign over her land. Her head belongs on a pike." A malicious smile crossed her face and then she saw the concerned blonde below her.
She added, "and maybe staying in Africa for awhile will get rid of this violent streak I have from time to time," she sheepishly said, running her fingers through her messy hair.
Gabrielle scoffed. "From time to time? Do you hear yourself?" she teased. "Don't change for anyone, Xena. I like you just the way you are. Violence and all. But you aren't mindless and kill people for fun. Even I know that."
"Let's just try and get some sleep for tomorrow," Xena said, brushing the subject off and climbed into bed, still clad in her pants and tunic. Her sword stayed nearby ready to attack at any moment.
Anastasia sat on a bed holding Arielle in her arms while Kreka was coming up with some solution to help these women. "So, you say that none of these women are Bulgur Huns? They're all Egyptian?" she asked.
Kreka frowned and threw the quill on the bed, frustrated at every little thing today. "They aren't just from Egypt. Some of them are Gaul and Visigoth."
"Visigoth?!" Ana spat and her daughter began whimpering softly. She smiled softly down at her daughter and touched her warm flushed cheek.
"I wouldn't be too concerned about them. Visigoths have their own problems to worry about. These women are afraid of everything and everyone. They think that we will treat them as horribly as Basil did."
Ana frowned and placed her daughter on the bed, swaddling the blanket around her tightly. "What do you think he did to those women?"
Kreka shook her head. "I don't want to know and don't care. We need to teach them our language so we can communicate." She lifted her eyes and smiled deviously. Anastasia arched her eyebrow, cautiously gawking at the look in the khatun's eyes. "Anastasia...you are very good at writing. Your mother taught you how to read and write in Latin and our language. You also know Greek."
"My Greek is very bad. I hardly remember anything from the time I spent in Thebes and Athens!"
Kreka's eyes grew and she scooted closer to the young Hun queen. "But you know enough to get by. I'm sure those Egyptian women know some Greek. You could be our translator!"
"Oh no, no, no!" Ana crossed her arms. She suddenly wished Gabrielle were here. She was so much better at teaching than she could ever be.
"Why not?" Kreka frowned. "You'd be great at it and besides, you don't have to do any queening while you're here. You're free to do as you wish until...you have to go back to Balaam that is."
So far, the last few weeks in Pannonia had been quite boring and she felt useless around here, not like before. In Balaam she was always busy doing something. Now she just had to take care of her daughter and Csaba found some Bulgur kids his age to hang out with so she didn't really have to watch him anymore like she did in Armenia. Also, her mother wasn't here to stop her from doing anything.
Smiling she nodded. "Alright, I will do it." she said and Kreka grinned. "But I am going to need some time to form a lesson plan for them. This is going to take a long time. They aren't going to learn how to speak and write in our language in one night."
"I think we have a lot of time on our hands. Tomiri has everyone on their toes in Balaam." She eyed Arielle and saw her eyes wandering around the room. She picked up the baby in her arms and Ana's mouth gaped. "And I will take her off your hands for awhile." She got off the bed and took Arielle away.
Ana gasped. "But Kreka!"
"You have a lot of work to do," the khatun smirked and walked out of the room, kidnapping Ana's daughter.
"She's worse than mother," Ana grumbled. She then spotted Leila waltzing into the room."Hello Leila."
"Your highness," Leila bowed her head.
Anastasia sighed. "I'm not your queen here. I'm just Anastasia. So call me that."
Leila nodded nervously. "Alright...Anastasia..." she said awkwardly. "Pannonia is really beautiful. I like it here. I've never been outside of Balaam before!"
Ana knew the feeling. She was confined to Pannonia her entire life until she was thirteen. Then she traveled to so many places after that. This young woman was only a few years younger than her and was incredibly naive. Somehow, she felt lucky that her mother gave her the opportunity to study in Greece and she took that for granted.
"Well, I'm glad you like it. I'm sure you will be very happy here and Kreka will throw a big wedding for you and Dengi," she smiled softly. She wished that her own mother allowed her to marry Ellac long ago, but her stubbornness got in the way. Then when she married Navaz she also wanted her mother there, but that wasn't possible.
She saw the fear in the girl's eyes and couldn't help but smile. She recalled her own wedding with Navaz and it was nothing like the weddings in Pannonia. "You know, our weddings are a bit different here," she said.
Leila's eyes grew. "Really? What's so different about them?"
Ana sighed heavily and quirked her mouth, lifting her eyes to the ceiling, drifting off in her own thoughts. "Well, for one, the wedding lasts a long time. It's a huge party here not like the private weddings in Balaam. Everyone in the territory comes to celebrate. Dancing, a lot of food and drinks. It's very fun."
Leila grinned from ear to ear. "That sounds exciting!"
"Yeah," she frowned sadly. "Would you like to help me gather a lesson plan for the slave women? Kreka put me in charge of teaching them our language but I could use some help."
Leila nodded. "Sure, I can help you, your majesty." She said and Ana narrowed her eyebrows. "Anastasia..." she corrected and lowered her eyes. "I have one question."
"What is it?"
"What do I call Kreka Khatun now that we're in Pannonia?"
Ana smiled. "She is the queen of Pannonia so you have to address her like one. Although I'm sure she won't mind if you call her by her title instead."
"She kind of scares me."
Anastasia chuckled softly. "She used to scare me too but not anymore. She's got a hard shell but she's nice."
Leila nodded and felt the pit of her stomach knot just thinking of that woman. "And your mother, the commander. Is she nice too?"
Ana shrugged her shoulder. "Only to a few people. She has a hard exterior too but don't be afraid of my mother. She doesn't care about you." She said and Leila gasped. "I mean, not like that, but just...don't get in her way. I doubt you will have any problems with her."
"She didn't seem to like me very much the first time she saw me," Leila said softly.
"You should be more worried about Kreka instead of my mother. She will be your mother in-law. My mother already has a son in-law. You are of no concern to her," Ana smiled. "Now, let's go find some parchment and ink in this place."
"Fire!" Xena yelled and the men released the catapults directly into the Persian camp. She grinned and looked behind her to see Gabrielle commanding the defense fleet in case the Persians decided to invade. Navaz was busy with the front legion instructing them on how to attack.
Her head spun around and she saw the Persians scattering around like chickens with their heads cut off. A malicious grin appeared on her face and she knew the assassins were heading into the camp now. She saw Peroz commanding his archery fleet in the back row from afar. Even in the darkness her eyes saw daylight and this was not good.
"Archers!" she yelled and the Huns ran into a huddle, holding their shields above their heads. She ran behind the wall of catapults and ducked, watching the rain of arrows clash onto the shields and snow.
Gabrielle held up her shield and blocked the rain of arrows. She spoke to all the soldiers as they were huddled together. "Go to the right flank. Run and don't look back! Block all the arrows and then charge into the Persian camp. Don't stop until the front line is defeated!" she said. "Understand?" she asked and they nodded.
"Go, go!" she yelled and stood up, still blocking the arrows as she walked backwards away from fire range.
Meanwhile in the Persian campgrounds, Huns stormed into Tomiri's tent and frowned. It was empty. "She isn't here!" one shouted.
Tomiri jumped out threw the top of the tent and slit the Hun's throat and spun around with her sword to the other Huns with a wild smile. "Assassins. Well played, Xena. Very clever," she chuckled. Swinging her sword she pushed the Huns out of her tent and stabbed one in the gut and the other two ran off into the darkness.
"But not clever enough," she muttered.
"Mother! The Huns are bombing us!" Sparga ran up to her with baited breath.
She wiped the bloody sword on her white armor and walked to the top of the hillside. She smiled seeing Xena commanding the ballistic fleet while Navaz handled the front fleet and that blonde girl, that blonde Greek that Tomiri remembered from so long ago.
"Xena's bitch I see is still alive." She smiled and sheathed her sword and ran to her horse.
"Where are you going?!" Sparga yelled.
She turned to her son with wild eyes. "To catch a fish." She kicked the horse and took a back road to the entrance of Balaam.
Gabrielle saw Peroz still alive on the hill top and realized this plan was going downhill very fast. Eyeing Xena she saw that she was yelling at the men handling the catapults. They kept firing at the Persians. Navaz hadn't sent out the first fleet first and instead Gabrielle sent her defense out first. This was not a good idea at all.
She felt something pierce her shoulder and cried out. She looked at her shoulder and saw a huge arrow sticking out of her collar bone. Swiftly she turned around and saw Queen Tomiri holding her large bow in hand with a devious smile.
"Greek woman," Tomiri cocked her head and Gabrielle unsheathed her sword. "Oh please." She rolled her eyes and unwrapped her whip and flung it around Gabrielle's neck, pulling her across the snow. Gabrielle grunted and held onto the whip that choked her.
Now she sat on her horse, towering over the terrified blonde. "Xena is never distracted. She is too focused on the battle to notice you. What a pity." She winked then kicked Gabrielle in the face, rendering her unconscious. Tomiri grabbed Gabrielle's arm and hoisted her on her horse then took off, but not before she drove her blade into a Hun coming straight for her.
Navaz turned around when she saw Tomiri riding off back up the hill with Gabrielle draped over the back of the horse. "Gabrielle!" he yelled out. He turned and saw Xena was too immersed in the Persians finally attacking back to realize what was going on. He decided to take matters into his own hands.
"Go to the front archery line and wipe out those Persians!" he yelled at his men and then mounted his horse, following Tomiri.
The Scythian Queen looked over her shoulder and saw the White Hun king following her. She grinned and quickened her pace through the snow and diverted away from the Persian camp into her territory far from here where her army lay dormant.
"Tomiri!" Navaz called out.
"You should turn back, Khushnavaz!" she yelled and then laughed as she rode through the rough snowy terrain.
Miles away she finally halted her horse and came to her camp. She dismounted her horse and a horde of her men surrounded her. Navaz slowed his pace and his eyes grew once he saw the thousands upon thousands of soldiers hidden in this secluded part of the Caucasus. How could they have missed this?
"I told you, you should have turned back, Khushnavaz," she chuckled and snapped her fingers. "Take the Greek woman and put her in a cage!" she ordered. The men grabbed Gabrielle and drug her through the snow while she was still unconscious.
He frowned and unsheathed his sword. It was pretty foolish for him to come alone but he couldn't let this insane woman kill Gabrielle. That alone would drive Xena mad and he didn't want to see that side of Xena.
"Stop this madness, Tomiri." His chest rose and fell heavily as he pointed the blade directly at her.
Daringly, she stepped forward and the tip of his sword poked her throat. "So why don't you just kill me then? Are you not the mighty Hun king? You are no Attila that's for sure but I must give you credit for trying." She smiled and stepped away. "Detain him!" she pointed to the king.
Her men surrounded Navaz with javelins and swords. He frowned and realized he couldn't defeat them all. He was alone. He looked ahead and saw Gabrielle being gagged and tied by her ankles and wrists. The arrow still in her shoulder. What a disaster this was. He truly underestimated this woman.
"It was pretty stupid of you to come here by yourself, Hun King." Tomiri folded her arms. "Tie him up!" she snarled.
"Xena will kill you!" he yelled and the one man smacked him in the jaw with a javelin and he fell off the horse.
"I'd like to see her try."
Zolten ran up to Xena in the midst of the battle. "Commander!" he yelled and she whipped her body around. "Queen Tomiri took Gabrielle and Navaz went after her!"
Xena's heart stopped for a moment and turned to see both of them gone indeed like Zolten said. Then a feeling of vengeance filled her body and her eyes darkened. "Call a retreat," she ordered.
"But commander..."
"Do as I say or I'll drive a pike through your body!" she snarled and he backed away slowly, nodding his head. "Tomiri..." she growled. She promised herself that she wasn't going to lose anyone else in her life and Gabrielle was her number one. She couldn't start breaking her promises now.
A couple of hours later, the body count was nearing one hundred after this one battle against the Persians. Xena felt like she was losing very badly. These men weren't skilled enough to take on the Persian army. There were too many men against her but the Persians weren't very good fighters but there were so many of them that it didn't seem to matter. And now Tomiri had Gabrielle and of course Navaz followed her instead of getting help. He was still such a young king. He didn't understand how wars worked and Tomiri wouldn't kill them both. Not yet.
Tomiri wanted Anastasia, Xena and Navaz, but why take Gabrielle? Xena sat in her yurt contemplating on the bed, staring at the fire pit intensely for the last two hours. The only logical explanation was that Tomiri wanted Xena to find her and fight her. That had to be hit, Xena thought. That was the only reasonable thing she could think of.
Gabrielle was probably confused and no doubt drugged or injured by now. Tomiri was ruthless. She burned her own people publically for entertainment. Xena didn't want to begin to think of what that insane woman could be doing to Gabrielle at the moment. And she also had Navaz, but was Peroz aware? Most likely not.
He was just a pawn in all of this, Xena thought. She began to think that this war was going to be lost and Tomiri would win. She needed a new strategy –a strategy that she hated using but it worked sometimes. She had only used it twice in her lifetime and this was something she had to do.
She stood and grabbed her sword, storming out of the yurt. Many of the Huns were gathering corpses to be burned. She head straight for the Adame and Zolten eyed her, fearful that she'd lash out at him.
Xena entered the queen mother's quarters and saw Tuya talking with a few of her maids. "Get out," she told the servants and the young girls quickly left.
Tuya frowned. "I know what happened. Tomiri has my son and Gabrielle." She folded her arms.
"We need to rethink this entire war, Tuya. We are going to lose." She said and saw the Hun queen's face contort in shock and fear all in one expression.
"What do you mean? Aren't you going to go after them?!" she cried out.
Xena shook her head. "No because that's what Tomiri wants me to do. I need to beat her at her own game." She sighed and rubbed her chin. "But how is the real question..." she muttered.
"They could be dead!" Tuya yelled and buried her face in her hands. "My son could be dead," she said softly.
"They're not dead." The commander touched the queen mother's shoulder. "Tomiri won't kill them. She's waiting for me to come to her but I'm not going to do that."
Tuya lifted her head and wiped her tear stained cheeks. "Then...what will you do?" she brushed the wrinkles out of her dress, trying to compose herself.
"The unthinkable," Xena turned her back to the Caucasian woman. "I'm going to make Peroz ally with me against Tomiri."
"I beg your pardon!" she yelled and Xena spun around. "You can't do that!"
"I can and I will." Xena smiled and pulled out a dagger from her belt. She grazed it against her palm and drew a small amount of blood. "It will take some...persuasion..."
Gabrielle awoke in a large iron cage outside. Her vision blurred and then she was suddenly reminded of the awful wound. The large arrow was still stuck inside her shoulder and then panic set in. her ankles and wrists were bound. Struggling, she banged her backside against the iron bars, trying to set herself free.
"A caged golden bird," Tomiri said and Gabrielle jumped at her sudden appearance. "Frightened so easily. I wonder what Xena sees in you. You're a small little thing." She chuckled.
"Go to hell!" Gabrielle spat and the Scythian arched a thick dark eyebrow.
"Wouldn't be the first time someone said that to me." The queen stood and walked around the large human-sized cage. "I wonder how long it will take Xena to come looking for you. You remember me don't you?"
Gabrielle breathed heavily and watched the woman round the cage like a vulture. "Yes, I do. You wanted to kill everyone in Pannonia because we declined your offer."
Tomiri grabbed onto the bars and knelt down behind Gabrielle. She whispered, "that's right and Anastasia's little toy king was so foolish. He tried so hard to be a good king. Too bad he was killed in battle. My heart goes out to the little Hun queen." She smiled and stood, rounding to look into the emerald eyes of the Greek.
She continued, "and where is the little spawn of Xena?" she folded her arms.
"As if I'd tell you," Gabrielle smirked.
"Oh but you just did." Tomiri's eyes grew as did her smile. Gabrielle's face paled. "So she's not here in Balaam, is she? Where is she?" she knelt down and was eye level with the Greek woman.
Silence.
"Alright, Greek," Tomiri sighed and stood. "I will find her and when I do...I will take her crown and head. When Xena comes for you I intend to finish what Zeno couldn't. And I'll make sure you'll have the front row seat." She grinned.
Snapping her fingers to her guards. "Clean her wound. I want her alive for when Xena comes." She ordered and turned back to the petite blonde. "If she comes." She winked then sauntered off.
Anastasius rode into Pannonia as it was on the way towards Armenia. He spotted the young Hun king in front of the Adame. "Ernak!" he yelled and the Hun turned at his voice.
"Anastasius," Ernak smiled and walked forward. "What brings you to Pannonia?"
The emperor sighed. "I received word from Gabrielle. She says that help is needed in Balaam."
Ernak frowned at that. "Xena never asks for help. Things must be going to shit over there." He rubbed his chin. "Are you on your way to go help?" and the emperor nodded. "It will take you a week to reach Balaam."
He felt almost embarrassed to ask but he really didn't have a choice. "I was going to ask if you wanted to accompany me to Balaam. I'm sure your skills would be very helpful. I've never fought against the Scythians."
The Hun's eyes grew wild. "Of course I will come with you!" Ernak exclaimed. "I will need to gather the Bulgurs...I mean, my men, some supplies and horses."
"God shines upon you all, Ernak," Anastasius smiled. He felt somewhat relieved that he had some help. Truly, he had no idea how to fight with Huns and their tactics were obviously different than Roman strategies. He was lucky enough to be put in this position. He had Navaz and Xena to thank for that.
Anastasia exited the Adame and saw the young emperor on his horse. He smiled and waved at her. She made her way over and grinned. "Anastasius. I am surprised to see you here."
He nodded. "I'm surprised to find you here as well. I am going to Balaam to help your people fight against the Scythian Queen." He said and immediately, her smile disappeared. "You had your baby," he said to change the subject.
She smiled and folded her arms. "A girl," she said.
The emperor's smile grew. "Congratulations to you. I am sure she will be just as beautiful as her mother," he bowed his head and she raised an eyebrow at his charming flattery.
"What is going on in Balaam?" she asked abruptly.
"Tomiri ambushed them. I've asked Ernak to aid me in this fight. I hope we are not too late," he sighed.
She felt her stomach churn at the thought of her people losing and even dying. She didn't want anything to happen to Gabrielle, her mother or Navaz. They all meant so much to her, especially her mother. She wouldn't and couldn't lose her again.
"I would come with you if I could..." she lowered her eyes.
Anastasius smiled briefly. "I am sure you are a great fighter like your mother. It would be an honor to fight alongside you, Anastasia. In the future, I hope to have that honor." He gave her a curt nod and she responded with a simple weak grin.
Ernak rode up to him on his horse. "I am going to gather the men. We may leave at the end of the day." He instructed and the Roman nodded. He turned to Anastasia. "We're going to wipe out Tomiri and her entire army, sweet Ana." He winked and pat her cheek.
She swat his hand away and walked back to the Adame, sulking. Ernak sighed and turned back to the Roman emperor. "Women and their hormones." He joked then trotted off, yelling at the soldiers.