Back to a normal life for awhile!
Chapter 41
The Hun army trotted into Pannonia, carrying the black and green Persian flag. Grand smiles on all the soldiers faces spread across the entire army. The people inside the encampment came out of their yurts to see what all the excitement was about. The loud horses, drums and cheers alarmed everyone. Ellac and Anastasia lead their army towards the Adame and slowly, their family came outside to greet them.
Ana smiled upon seeing her mother and Gabrielle for the first time in such a long time. She felt like she missed a great opportunity to reconnect with her. Arielle clung to Xena's leg and Anastasia's jaw dropped as she lay eyes on her toddler aged daughter. A couple more months and she would be three. She felt like she missed so much of Arielle's young life and hoped that her daughter wouldn't forget who she was.
She walked up the stairs and knelt down, stretching her arms out. Arielle smiled and ran to her. A warm feeling that she'd never forget and was so happy to see that her own daughter didn't forget who she was. Lifting her eyes, she smiled with wet eyes at her mother and Gabrielle.
"Thank you for taking care of her," Ana grabbed Arielle into her arms and winced at the weight against her pelvis. Supposedly she was healed like the medic said, but there was still some residual pain left behind.
Xena frowned seeing the discomfort on her daughter's face. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, yes. I'm okay." Ana weakly grinned and set her daughter on the ground. "We won. Peroz and Hormizd fled to the Magyar territory. Navaz and his army are in control of Persian territory. Ellac suggested that we split the claimed land with him."
Gabrielle nodded. "Wow, that is very noble of him."
"Listen, Ana, a lot of things happened here while you were away. We should talk inside," Xena suggested and grabbed her daughter's arm, helping her up the stairs while Arielle ran after them. Gabrielle eyed Ellac talking to his brothers and all we smiles for awhile. Ellac's smile disappeared when Ernak said something. She feared it was the death of Kreka's tribe that upset the young king. He looked more devastated than his own stepmother did months ago.
Anastasia sat in the women's quarters with Arielle in her lap. Ana occasionally glanced over at baby Giselle in Leila's arms and smiled. Her mother told her what happened to Kreka's tribe and the khatun hadn't come out of her room for the last few months. Sometimes she came out to greet people but usually she stayed far from the public's eye.
"So how is Kreka doing?" she asked while plaiting Arielle's curly hair.
Gabrielle wagged her head and shared a concerned look with Xena. "She's not doing well. She won't talk to anybody."
Leila lifted her eyes to the surrounding women. "She refuses to see anyone. I tried to go see her but she didn't want to see me."
Ana sighed. She saw the happiness in Giselle's brown eyes and smiled. Innocence in a child was such an uplifting thing during a time of distress. "Have you tried bringing Giselle with you?"
Xena nodded, "a great idea, Ana. Leila, you go to Kreka's room with Giselle. I know that dragon lady won't refuse to see her only grandchild," she winked and Leila smiled down at her infant daughter. "There is another problem that we haven't discussed."
"What else is there?" Ana feared the worst.
"Anastasius is dead. General Justinian is the emperor now. We found out last month. He sent us a warning not to interfere in this new Byzantine Empire he is creating. Odoacer hasn't bothered to combat the new emperor, but I don't think that will last long."
Ana's heart hammered hearing that news. Her friend, her only Roman friend, was dead. She knew there was something wrong with Justinian when she met him. Now she understood why. The victory with Persia was a great one but she lost a friend and an ally. The Huns had no more ties with the Eastern Romans anymore and she didn't know what was going to be in store for them all.
"Leila, can you take Arielle to her room. I want to talk with my mother and Gabrielle alone."
Arielle gasped and hugged her mom's arm. "Noooo! Mommy please..." she wept quietly.
"Don't worry, tatli kiz, I'll come see you later tonight," Ana kissed her daughter's forehead.
Arielle reluctantly went with Leila and now Gabrielle, Xena and Anastasia were alone. The queen spoke frankly, "Justinian is going to attack us. He doesn't like us. I got that much from him when we met briefly before we entered Persian territory. I don't think we are strong enough to face the Romans after that long war with Persia. We won't make it."
Gabrielle interrupted, "maybe we don't have to. You could negotiate a peace treaty with him to buy us time."
"I don't know if that's such a good idea. He has a hatred for us that I haven't seen in a long time. Zeno was horrible and destroyed Pannonia. Theodosius wasn't that harmful and Valentinian was a fool. The Romans can't seem to keep an emperor for more than a few years or sometimes months. Who knows? Maybe Justinian will be assassinated and a new emperor will rise!" Ana chuckled.
Xena raised her eyebrow and folded her arms. "Ana, this is different. Justinian isn't claiming to be a Roman Emperor. He is making a new empire. We heard about it when we were in Arabia. He's been planning this for a long time right under everyone's noses. I don't want us to go into another war that we will lose. Anastasius helped us because he was our friend, but Justinian made sure to cut those ties. Now that the Persian Empire is gone, he will try and claim that land you won."
Ana knew her mother was right and before she would have been irritated to hear her advice, but now, she desperately wanted it. She could have used her mother's brains in the war earlier. "What do you think I should do?"
The former commander was taken aback when her daughter asked for help. A small grin appeared on her face. "I think we should wait and see what Justinian plans to do. Now that Peroz and Hormizd have fled Persia, they might try to ally with him. You should write Navaz and tell him to have constant surveillance on every inch of the newly claimed territories."
Ana nodded. "Alright, I will do that." She tried to stand and hissed. Gabrielle leaned over and grabbed her arm. "I'm fine," she protested.
"You are not," said Gabrielle. "You were more injured than you think. You should rest. We can have a healer sent to your room for you."
"No! I'm fine like I said."
Xena stood and grabbed her daughter's hand. "I will take you to your room and you will have your injuries looked at."
"But –"
"Just do as I say for once."
Ana grumbled and hobbled along, clinging to her mother. "First day back and I'm already being ordered around by you," she jested and shared a smug grin with her mother.
A few days after the arrival of the victorious Hun army, Kreka didn't come out of her room to greet everyone. Ellac, being her stepson, grew concerned for her and tried to talk to her, but she didn't answer to his call outside her room. Leila decided to go inside the khatun's room midday with her daughter to hopefully talk some sense into the solemn woman.
Leila knocked on the door twice and there was no answer. Tired of the khatun's silence, she opened the door and crept inside. Kreka didn't bother to lift herself out of her bed to see who it was. Leila closed the door behind her as she held a sleeping Giselle in her arm.
"I don't want to talk to anybody," the khatun grumpily said.
"Khatun, everyone is worried about you. You haven't come out of this room for months," Leila walked closer to the bed and Giselle stretched her arms outward, yawning. "I brought Giselle..." she hoped that would pique her interest.
Kreka lifted her head and saw Giselle in Leila's arms for a brief moment. She rested her head back down on the pillow and threw her long plait behind her. Leila sighed and sat on the end of the bed, staring at the woman's pale face. She was not heavy woman nor was she ever thin, but most would say she had a nice figure. That feminine shape had withered away and she was far too thin. Her long black hair and pale features made her look so much older than she actually was. Nobody was able to get through to her, not even her brother, Peticus.
"Ellac and Anastasia came back. They won the war against Persia."
Kreka simply nodded and stared at the wall in front of her. Leila continued, "Listen, Kreka, I don't know how it feels to lose an entire tribe. I understand that they were your people and your family, but we are your family too. Everyone here cares about you and I don't want you to stay in here forever. You keep closing yourself off to the world and you are turning into a hermit. You used to be a warrior queen and now you look unrecognizable."
Leila didn't see any sudden changes as she spoke to her mother in-law. She frowned and swaddled Giselle. "If you don't come out of this room, Xena is going to come in here and force you to leave."
Kreka scoffed and rolled over to her other side. "Xena," she grumbled. "If she even tries to lay a hand on me I will slice off one of her fingers." She threatened.
"I don't think you have the strength to do that, khatun. I know you two have your differences and don't see eye to eye on everything but I know that you two care about each other. You both have lived with each other for so long it's hard not to." She peered down and saw Kreka hiding her emotions again, but everything she said was the truth.
"Well," Leila sighed and rose from the bed. "If you decide to come out I will be in the women's quarters with Giselle."
Kreka heard the door close and she lifted her head, making sure nobody was in the bedroom. She swung her legs out of bed and walked over to her vanity set. There she sat and stared at her sunken face and puffy eyes. She dug her fingers into her cheeks and frowned sadly. Her long black hair dipped to her hips and once it was shiny and straight, now was unkempt and lost its sheen. She wasn't the person she used to be and the longer she stayed in her room, the more awful she was going to look.
She groaned and swiped all her creams and pins off the vanity and rest her head on her arms, sulking by herself. Everything that she had was gone. Her entire tribe was gone and there was nothing she could do about it. Her Ashina family was no more and all she had was her older brother. Her cousins were gone, her other relatives were all gone. Though, she still had her family in Pannonia. She lifted her head and grimaced at her appearance.
She unraveled her plaited hair and shook her long tresses out. She reached into a drawer and began brushing her long hair beginning from the ends.
Later in the day, Csaba was supposed to have a language session with Gabrielle and then sword practice with Xena. He had very little time to do other things he wanted to do since his grandmother and adopted aunt came back months ago. He also decided to spend more time with Erzibet and take advantage of their time together.
He grew to like her more and more as they spent time together. Though, he knew that was probably going to have to stop because his parents were back and that meant his mother was going to be watching him. His mother was in bed for the last few days ordered by a well known healer among the Bulgur Huns.
Erzibet and Csaba were in a secluded hallway in the Adame, beside all the bedrooms. She grabbed his hand and pushed him against the wall. Staring into his eyes curiously she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Is your cousin still bothering you to hang out with him?" she whispered.
He smiled, "sometimes, but I promised Gabrielle and my grandma that I'd spend time with them today so I can't stay..."
She pouted, "then when will be able to hang out with each other?"
He was just about to answer when he heard a loud banging sound on the wooden floor. Anastasia rounded the corner and frowned at the two teenagers. She was advised to use a cane when she walked long distances outside of her bedroom. Erzibet's face reddened and his face turned two shades paler.
"What are you doing?" Ana walked towards them and she snarled at Erzibet. "Take your hands off him!" she ordered and the teenager immediately moved away from Csaba.
"Mom," he put his hands up for defense. "We didn't do anything, I swear!"
She smiled and looked into his green innocent eyes. "You keep your hands off her, you understand?"
"Yes mother," he nodded, afraid of what she might do.
"Don't touch her. Don't look at her. And if I ever catch you two alone again, there will be consequences, yes?" she whacked her son's shin with the cane and he grunted, hopping away from her.
"Okay, okay! I get the idea..." Csaba grumbled. "It won't happen again."
Ana bobbed her head with a satisfied smile. "Good. Now go on about your duties." She shooed him away and he ran down the hallway. She turned her attention to the unveiled girl beside her. "As for you. I see you have stopped wearing your veil. That is new. What else has happened while I was gone?"
"Nothing, khatun," Erzibet said fearfully.
"Don't call me khatun!" she yelled and the teen flinched. "Come. I want you to do something for me." She hobbled down the hall and Erzibet followed behind her. "Keep up, girl!" and then heard the footsteps behind her hasten.
Csaba ran outside and saw his grandmother standing with her arms folded and Gabrielle gathering her parchments for the lesson. "You're late," Xena said.
He rubbed the back of his neck with baited breath. "Sorry, I was doing something else. Anyway, so what are we going to do first?"
Xena threw a sword at him and he barely caught it. "Train with me first then you get your lesson with Gabrielle."
She planted herself in the snowy grass and he did the same. Both held their swords in front of them and circled around each other. She smiled and swung her sword around and he blocked her first blow. "Very good. You have been practicing."
"Yeah, I've had some time to practice with Oran."
She grumbled and swiped her leg around and knocked her grandson off his feet. He yelped and landed on his back. "Grandma!" he whined. "What the hell was that for?"
"For not paying attention. Now, get up." She encouraged him and he leapt to his feet, brushing the snow off his clothes. She thrust her sword forward in between his ribcage and armpit. She grabbed his wrist and knocked the sword out of his hand. She held his throat and looked into her fearsome eyes. "And you'd be dead right now." She shoved him away and he huffed, getting more frustrated by the second.
Gabrielle chuckled under her breath watching the two spar together. She jotted some notes down watching them. She continued to write of all the things that happened from the time they left for Africa until now. She promised she'd show Xena when she was done, but for now, she was going to keep writing until her masterpiece was complete.
Xena pushed all her weight on Csaba's sword, pushing his boots deeper into the snow. He struggled against her strength until he fell down again. He spat some dirt out of his mouth and she smirked. "Quit it. You're being unfair!" he said and wiped his mouth.
"No, I'm not. You just suck, Csaba," she teased. "How old are you now? Fifteen? Your mother could beat me up at your age. Come on, Csaba. I know you can do better."
Gabrielle raised her eyebrow. "Xena, he is trying."
"Go back to your writing, Gabrielle. Come on Csaba," she wriggled her fingers and he charged at her. Their blades clashed two times. Three times. Four times. He grabbed her long hair and kneed her in the nose and thrust his sword forward, stopping an inch away from her abdomen.
Xena held her nose and saw blood drip onto her palm. She peered down and saw the blade very close to her. "Good..." she managed to say while controlling her temper. "But maybe next time, stay away from the face during training."
He lowered his sword and saw blood gushing down her face. "Oh...I'm sorry," he immediately apologized and tried to help her.
"I'm fine." She wiped her nose and Gabrielle stood, looking concerned at her partner.
"Xena! He broke your nose!" Gabrielle cried out and tried to stop the bleeding. Csaba's face paled and Xena rolled her eyes.
"Gabrielle, stop. I'm fine. Just let it go, would you?"
"No way! God," she muttered and pinched the bridge of Xena's nose to stop the bleeding. "You know, this wouldn't have happened if you showed him how to fight in the first place."
"Well, excuse me. I'll try better next time," she mocked.
Csaba awkwardly looked around to see if anyone was watching. He just broke his grandmother's nose. "Um, should I go get help or something?"
Inside the Adame in their bedroom, Csaba helped clean up his grandmother's broken nose. Gabrielle ran back and forth to find more bandages. He sighed and couldn't help but feel terrible. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hit you that hard."
She smiled and watched him struggled to keep the blood from flowing out of her nostrils. "Your father broke my nose at your age."
His eyes grew in shock and amazement. "Really?"
"Yes but it was an accident. It was a few days before you were born. He was really upset that I wouldn't let him see your mother."
"So...he hit you?"
"Like I said, it was an accident. Let's not make it a family tradition," she joked and he finally cracked a smile.
Gabrielle rushed in with fresh bandages. "Okay I found these in the women's quarters. I think this should do the trick." She sat beside Xena and Csaba stepped away. She blotted Xena's nose and shook her head. "What a mess."
"It's not that bad," Xena said and Gabrielle scoffed. "What? It's not like this hasn't happened before." She eyed her grandson and winked. He chuckled beneath his breath and gathered up the bloody bandages and threw them in a basket.
"Too many times." Gabrielle pulled the bandages away. "Okay, I think the bleeding stopped." She breathed a sigh of relief. "So...shall we go onto my lesson? It's less violent," she teased her partner and the warrior rolled her eyes dramatically.
"Do I really have to?" the prince whined.
Gabrielle furrowed her brows. "Yes. Your mother said I have to teach you how to read and write. So, come join me on the floor." She sat down and pat the empty spot next to her. He sighed deeply but sat beside her and she handed him a pen and fresh parchment.
Xena watched the two and tried to ignore the throbbing in her nose. "Don't mind me. I'll just sit here and watch."
"You can go do something else, Xena. We'll be here for awhile. Right, Csaba?"
He groaned, "right..."
"You two have fun now," Xena waltzed out of the room with a smug smile on her lips.
She walked down the hallway out of the bedroom aisle and stumbled upon her granddaughter peaking into a bedroom through a crack of the door. She snuck up behind her and pinched her waist. Arielle screamed and turned around, breathing heavily. The little princess smiled and Xena winked at her.
"Don't do that..." Arielle chided and Xena looked through the door crack.
"What were you doing?" she whispered.
"Erzibet in trouble..." Arielle whispered back with a sly smile. Xena nodded, understanding the girl and opened the door. Erzibet was sitting at a desk, organizing stacks of papers.
"What are you doing?" Xena stepped inside the room and the teenager jumped. "Didn't mean to scare you."
Erzibet sighed, "sorry. I'm sorting through documents."
The warrior nodded and Arielle ran into the room, immediately hopping onto the bed. "I can see that but why?"
"The queen asked me to do it for her," the teenager frowned at that. She finished one stack of papers and moved onto the next. She had two more stacks after that. This was probably going to take all night and she really hoped not.
"Ah, I see," Xena sat on the bed and grabbed Arielle into her lap. "If you don't mind me asking...why is my daughter asking you to do something so tedious?"
"Because she asked me to," Erzibet declined to tell her more.
Xena puckered her lips and looked down at her granddaughter. "What do you think, Arielle?"
"She in trouble," Arielle snickered and Erzibet shot the princess a glare.
"Looks like your cover has been blown. So, why is she making you do this? Did you get in trouble?"
The teen sighed and threw her hands in the air. "I was caught with Csaba alone and she got really mad at both of us. I guess this is supposed to be my punishment but in my opinion, it's stupid. Csaba should be punished too!" she griped.
Now Xena understood why Csaba was late for his training session. "Listen, Erzibet, I can assure you that Csaba will be punished more severely than you. He just doesn't know it yet. Why don't you go do something else and I will talk to my daughter."
"But she asked me to do this for her. If I don't do it she is going to get super angry!"
"Leave her to me. Go do something fun," Xena said and Erzibet eyed her suspiciously, not sure if she should trust the queen's mother of all people.
"Really?"
"Yes. Go. You shouldn't be stuck here doing my daughter's work." Xena waved her hand and the teenager smiled and quickly ran out of the room. "I think we should go see your mom. What do you say, Arielle?"
The toddler princess gasped. "Okay!" she hopped off her grandmother's lap and quickly ran out of the room. Xena sighed and slowly followed the girl and her quick long legs.
Ellac paced around the front of his queen's bed, rubbing his soft beard pensively in deep thought. "So if Justinian is the new emperor then we should barricade the entire tribe, right?"
Anastasia shrugged her shoulders. "My mother said not to do anything. I sent a letter to Navaz to warn him of what might happen. We have no telling what Justinian has planned for us if he decides to attack."
"We don't have enough strength or will power for another war. Our men are recovering from the war with Persia. I still want everything guarded just in case."
She nodded. "We should send spies to Constantinople to observe the changes. My mother said he is not claiming Roman status."
"What?"
"He is creating a new empire called Byzantium," she mocked. "I believe that is why Kreka's people were trapped in Syria. Peroz captured them for Justinian and to spite us, he killed all of the Ashina," she frowned sadly at that. "I hear that she is not taking it well."
He was angered by the Roman's decision to kill his stepmother's tribe. He wasn't here to do anything about it and his brothers were not quick to take action. Ernak explained that Xena prevented him from going to Constantinople and killing Justinian. Ernak probably would have died so it was probably for the best that everyone lay dormant.
"I know she will recover, eventually." He hoped. "I think we should take your mother's advice but yes on the spies. I will gather up Ernak's best spies and send them to this Byzantium," he shook his head. He wanted Justinian dead as much as his brothers did but for now, they wait. He looked to his pained queen. "Are you feeling any better?"
She pursed her lips and tried to hide her emotions. "I'm better as long as I stay in bed for as long as possible."
"I knew that you shouldn't have gone into the field. You didn't give yourself enough time to heal." He sat on the edge of the bed and lifted up the blankets. She gasped and clutched the blankets. "I want to see."
"No, Ellac."
"Come on," he smirked and she sat back. He lifted the blankets and moved the slit of her dress aside. He eyed her swollen hip and shook his head. He grazed his fingers along her hip and she flinched. "Does that hurt?"
"Only a little bit. I'll be fine soon," she said defiantly and certainly. He smiled and lifted up her gown further. "Ellac..." she grabbed his wrist.
"I just want to check your other wounds," he said with a charming smile.
She frowned and looked into his mischievous eyes. "Sure you do." She finally smiled and leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his neck. He ran his hand along her side and leaned into him. "Did you see Dengi's daughter? She is so adorable."
Ellac raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I saw her." He kissed her bare shoulder, traveling close to her neck. He lifted his head and looked into her big eyes. "Are you trying to tell me something?"
"You're the one who wants a daughter," she teased.
His mouth gaped and pulled away. "Oh, so it's me now? I thought we were supposed to make the decision together. Let's not repeat what happened last time."
"Ellac, that was different," she pulled him closer and his eyes widened. "When I'm feeling better then perhaps I will consider...giving you a baby," she teased. He smirked and kissed her generously.
Arielle came in the room with her grandmother. Xena folded her arms watching Ellac's hands all over Anastasia. "Well, you can't keep your hands off her, can you?"
Ellac pushed Ana off of him and immediately stood up. He turned and wiped his lips, too embarrassed to face her. "Xena," he greeted.
"Ellac," she smirked and looked at her flushed daughter. "I need to borrow your wife."
He exhaled heavily. "She's all yours." He turned and smiled briefly at her then rushed out of the room.
Anastasia frowned, "you can't just walk in here anytime you want, mother."
"I'm glad I did." Xena smiled and Arielle ran over to her mother's bed. "I want to talk to you about Erzibet. Why did you give her such a tedious task?"
"Mother, you should really stop poking your nose where it doesn't belong."
"I know that you caught Csaba and her together alone. That doesn't mean you should punish her. She's just a child."
Anastasia laughed loudly and pointed her finger at her mother. "Oh, that is too funny. Don't toy with me, mother. You weren't exactly very happy when you found out I was with Ellac at their age. Don't be a hypocrite."
Xena grimaced. "That was different and you know it."
"Mommy..." Arielle reached up to her mother and Anastasia waved her hand.
"Not now," she hushed her daughter. "Mother, they had their hands all over each other. I don't want anything to happen with those two under my watch. I am not repeating history here. I thought you of all people would understand."
"Mommy!" Arielle yelled.
"Not now!" Ana shouted and the princess groaned.
Xena folded her arms. "I do understand, but I don't think you should have punished her so severely. I have been watching them while you were away. They are just getting to know each other. Don't turn into me, Ana."
Anastasia huffed and crossed her arms, mirroring her mother. "Fine. I will reconsider but I still don't want them around each other alone."
Arielle was growing impatient and clenched her fists. "Mommy!"
"What?!" she hissed and the princess flinched. She saw tears swelling in her daughter's eyes and relaxed her tense face. "Oh, I'm sorry," she smiled and lifted Arielle onto the bed. "I didn't mean to yell at you." She kissed her daughter's forehead.
Xena raised her eyebrow and slipped away to the door. "It would do you some good to relax, Anastasia. No more war talk for awhile. If you need to talk strategy, leave it to me and Ellac until you feel better." She half smiled then left the room.
Arielle leaned into her chest and she sighed heavily. Perhaps she needed to rest like her mother said, but it was almost impossible to do that now. She was turning into a bitter woman as the months went by and though she tried to remain normal, it grew more difficult to do so. She recalled so many times when she asked her mother to be a normal person and she would never be one. She was turning into her mother and she didn't want to do that.
Twenty Seven Years Ago
Xena sat in her bedroom inside her large yurt, overlooking her next campaign to invade Goth territory in a few months. She spotted her toddler daughter peering through the curtains. "Anastasia, what do you want?" she called out.
The little girl appeared from the curtains, dressed in her pants and tunic, barefoot with her medium length hair plaited down her back. "What you doing?" she asked.
"Oh you know, stuff," Xena smirked.
Ana leaned on the bed and looked at the large map. "War stuff?" she inquired and her mother nodded. "Can I see?"
Xena grabbed her daughter and set her down on her lap. She pointed to the Goth territory. "We are going to this territory soon. It is far from here."
"How far?"
"Very far," Xena smiled and Ana quirked her mouth then peered up at her mother.
"You are going away?" the girl pouted and Xena sighed.
"Only for a little bit." She saw the sadness in her daughter's eyes and wished she could stay but the fact was that she couldn't. "I won't be gone long I promise. You know I always keep my promises." She held up her hand and Ana smiled.
The toddler curled her legs close to her and leaned on her mother's chest. "And father.."
Xena's stomach tightened and she pushed the map aside. "Anastasia, you know I already told you that he is not here anymore."
"What happened to him?"
Xena inhaled deeply and stared down at her curious daughter's face. "He died before you were born. I told you this story before."
"How?"
"He was killed by a very bad man," Xena explained in the simplest of ways.
Ana nodded and looked up at her mother. "Who did it?"
"A Visigoth," Xena said and Ana's eyes widened. She saw the realization in the toddler's eyes.
"You miss him?" she inquired and Xena grinned.
"Sometimes. I know that he loved you very much," she poked Ana's chest and the girl giggled softly.
"Really?"
"Really." Xena brushed a few strands of hair out of Ana's face. "Why don't you go to bed? I have a lot of work to do."
Anastasia frowned and clung to her mother's blouse. "Nooo...I wanna stay. Please?" she begged and Xena sighed.
Arielle sat in her mother's lap, clutching to the gown sleeves. Ana smiled and ran her fingers through her daughter's curly long hair. "Hey Arielle, after your birthday do you want to go see your father? He asked about you."
The girl's face distorted. "My father?"
"I told you about him before, remember? He lives in Armenia. I know he would be very happy to see you. He hasn't seen you since you were a baby."
Arielle frowned, unsure of what to think or what to say. "I go stay...with him?"
Anastasia nodded. "I'm sure you will have a great time!" she squeezed her daughter's waist and Arielle chuckled. "And you get to meet your other grandmother. What do you think?" she offered and Arielle's eyes widened in shock.
"Two grandmas?" she said and her mother nodded. "I think about it."
"Good," Ana smiled. "Maybe Gabrielle and your grandmother can take you. Would you like that?"
"Yeah!" she cheered.
That evening everyone was gathered in the king's quarters eating dinner altogether. This was a rarity for everyone to be in the same room at the same time, but Ernak insisted on it since it almost never happened. Gabrielle and Xena sat together beside Ellac, Anastasia, Csaba and Erzibet. Arielle was seated in between Anastasia and Leila. Dengizich next to Leila, his wife and Ernak sat beside Dengi.
Enclosed in a circle together, one person was missing. The matriarch of the entire family. An empty spot remained void next to Ernak. He occasionally stared at the empty plate and pillow beside him. He wished his mother would come out of her room, but that was unlikely to happen.
Everyone ate in silence and often looked around the circle, gaping into each other's eyes. Csaba looked over at his grandmother and felt embarrassed. "How's your nose?" he said in between a spoon of rice.
Xena lifted her eyes in the middle of chewing her food. "Fine..." she said tersely and he gave her a sheepish smile then returned to eating.
Ana frowned and set her spoon in her bowl of rice. "What happened?"
"Nothing," Xena mumbled.
"Csaba broke her nose," Gabrielle said and Xena elbowed her in the ribs. "Ow!"
Anastasia gasped. "Oh my god! Csaba!" she growled.
"He apologized. Don't worry about it," Xena reassured her.
The doors opened and everyone halted eating. Kreka Khatun walked into the room and her sons' jaws dropped upon seeing her. She smiled at everyone as she walked through the large circle. She saw her empty spot next to Ernak and made her way over. Dressed in a red cotton long sleeved dress and a veil to match, draped over her long black locks.
She sat down on the pillow and Ernak gaped at her, surprised to see her. She frowned at her son's rudeness. "Ernak, you look like a fish out of water."
He closed his mouth and immediately reached over to the large platter of rice and spooned some of it onto her plate. Everyone gawked at her and she raised her thick eyebrow. "You are all having a nice evening together and I was not invited."
Xena smirked and tore off some bread, dipping into the yogurt. "Dragon lady is back," she muttered.
"Such kind words, Xena," the khatun chided. "I expect nothing less from you," she said. She and Xena shared a certain look and smiled at one another.
"Glad you're back," Xena said.
Ernak scooted the plate close to his mother. "I thought you were never going to come out of your room. What made you decide to come out?"
Kreka eyed Leila holding Giselle in her arms and smiled. "I was reminded that I have a lot of family here." Ernak grinned and hugged his mother tightly from the side. She grunted. "Get off of me, you goat!" she snarled.
As the circle fell silent Csaba eyed both his parents and felt Erzibet's nerves beside him. "So, mother...father..." he began and both of them eyed him as they ate silently. "When can I get married to Erzibet?"
Gabrielle dropped the spoon onto her plate and Xena ceased chewing the bread. "So much for a nice dinner," she muttered to her partner.
Anastasia set down her spoon carefully and eyed her anxious son. "You must be joking." She said and her son's face said otherwise. "Have you lost your mind?"
"But you said I could marry her if I wanted to when I was sixteen. I am fifteen. So..." he pried and Ellac sighed heavily.
"Absolutely not!" Ana shouted and everyone lowered their heads, continuing to eat silence. "Why do you want to marry her? You two don't even know each other!"
"But mother you said!"
Xena shook her head at the two teenagers and Anastasia groaned. She pushed her food away as she was no longer hungry. She eyed Erzibet and the girl refused to look into her eyes. "Are you pregnant?"
Erzibet's face paled. "No, your highness!"
"Are you sure about that?" Ana placed her hands on her knees, glaring at the girl.
"No. I mean yes, I'm sure!"
"I didn't touch her," Csaba reassured his irate mother. "I promise."
That set aside some resentment for Anastasia. "Then, no."
"But mother –"
"This discussion is over." She waved her hands and felt her hip flaring up. "I'm going to my room."
Ellac wiped his hands and grabbed her hand. "Do you want me to come with you?"
"No. I want to be alone." She grabbed her cane and hobbled out of the circle, slowly making her way to the exit.
Xena lifted her eyes once her daughter finally made it out of the room. She turned to her grandson. "Nice going."
He grimaced. "But she said!"
"She says a lot of things," she said. "My advice, don't bring that up again or you will be sorry." She warned him and he got up then stormed out of the room. Erzibet sat awkwardly and felt like all eyes were on her now, especially Ellac's.
"I think I'll go to my room..." she attempted to get up.
Ellac frowned, "sit down!" he ordered and she plopped back down on the pillow. "You will stay here until everyone else is finished. Understood?" he said firmly and she nodded.
A few weeks later after Arielle's third birthday passed, she and Gabrielle and her grandmother arrived in Balaam. The princess was quiet the entire journey to Armenia. No matter how many stories Gabrielle told, the girl was uninterested. She wasn't sure she what to expect meeting her father for the first time and this place was a lot different than Pannonia.
Arielle held Gabrielle's hand as they walked up the Adame. Xena frowned when she saw Tuya standing beside Navaz. "Do we really have to deal with her?"
Gabrielle nudged her partner. "I know you don't like her but she is also Arielle's grandmother."
"Don't remind me," she muttered.
Navaz walked toward his daughter and knelt down with a big smile. Arielle backed away into Gabrielle, afraid of him even though he seemed to be nice. "Hello Arielle. You know who I am, right?" he asked and she nodded. "This is where I live. I know it's a little different than Pannonia but I'm sure you'll like it." he said and she shied away from him.
"She's a little nervous," Gabrielle says as she pushed the princess forward to her father. "He's not going to hurt you."
Arielle huffed and Navaz couldn't wipe the smile off his face. He extended his hand to her and she eyed it cautiously. "I'd love to show you around and you can meet your grandmother," he pointed to his mother waiting patiently on the steps of the Adame. "She is very excited to see you."
She turned and looked up at Xena with concern. "Go on, we'll be right behind you," Xena reassured her. Arielle inhaled deeply and grabbed her father's hand finally.
Gabrielle walked with Xena up to the Adame. The blonde heard her consort grumble under her breath. "Remind me why we're doing this again?" Xena whispered.
"Because Anastasia asked us to. We're here for Arielle, that's all." Gabrielle smiled at Tuya and the cold queen frowned at both women. "She hates us," she said through a forced smile.
"Yup."
Tuya opened the doors to Arielle's old room that she used to stay in while she was a baby. Arielle clung to Xena and held her hand, despite meeting Tuya briefly. "This is your room. I hope you will like it."
The princess walked inside and her jaw dropped. It was even better than her room in Pannonia and she didn't have to share it with anyone like her other room she shared with her cousin, Giselle. Turning around to Tuya she asked, "for me?"
"Yes, just for you," Tuya grinned. Xena rolled her eyes and received a punch from Gabrielle. "I made some dresses for you."
Arielle frowned, "I don't like dresses." She said and Xena stifled a laugh. Tuya turned and glared at her and Gabrielle slapped her own forehead.
"That's not very nice, Arielle. You should say thank you," Xena encouraged her.
The girl sighed. "Thank...you..." she looked up at Tuya. "What we gonna do now?"
Tuya grinned and knelt down. "I could show you the rest of the Adame. Would you like that?" and Arielle nodded. She grabbed her hand then left the room.
Xena groaned. "Kill me."
"Shut up, Xena," Gabrielle griped. "It's only for a couple of weeks."
"Two weeks of hell."
"Stop being such a grumpy old lady, Xena."
"I am not an old lady!"
"Then quit acting like one," Gabrielle chuckled. As they trailed behind a very talkative Tuya, she couldn't help but notice something was different about this place. She also saw Navaz talking with a redheaded woman in the foyer. "Who is that?" she inquired.
Xena peered over, spying on the king and the mystery woman. "That's not the same woman he brought to Pannonia."
"Maybe that's his wife?" Gabrielle thought.
"Maybe..." Xena lifted her eyebrow, watching the two talk quietly among themselves. She was focused on the two that she bumped into Tuya.
The irritated queen spun around and Xena smiled cheekily. "Sorry, must have forgot you were there."
Tuya's upper lip quivered. "Do your best to keep your distance, Xena."
"Oh I will."
Gabrielle shook her head. "This is going to be a long two weeks if you don't get along with her," she whispered and the warrior smirked. "I'm serious!"
"What? I'll try my best, okay?" she saw the doubt in the blonde's eyes. "Okay?"
"I don't trust you."
"Oh, come on!"