Chapter 3 –Curiosity Killed The Cat
In the heart of Anatolia in the large city of Ankara, Osman and his clan lived together spread out through the mountainous terrain. Together, Solan and Belach were sitting outside their yurt sharpening a few older weapons.
Belach, sixteen years old, quite often liked to keep Solan around as his pet little brother. He taught him how to do so many things when their father was not around, or his mother, Natassa. He sat and watched Solan try and sharpen the blade over and over with a stone.
"You're doing it wrong," he said and Solan lifted his eyes. He wagged his fingers and Solan handed over the weapon. He began showing him how to sharpen the dull edges correctly.
"See, it's easy," Belach smirked and Solan took the sword and copied his brother's skills.
Natassa saw her son sitting with Solan and frowned. She walked over and stood in front of the sandy blonde boy and Solan saw her colorful dress and lifted his chin.
"Natassa Khatun..." Solan smiled nervously.
She scowled and pulled out a letter from her pocket. "A letter from your mother," she said and then walked off into her yurt a few yards away.
Solan looked at the letter in his lap and wondered whether to open it and read it or not. Belach scoffed. "A letter from your mom, huh? I bet she misses you," he mocked, puckering his lips, teasing Solan.
The thirteen year old frowned. "Would you stop?" he said and Belach laughed.
"Did I hurt your feelings?" he snickered and Solan groaned lowly, crinkling the letter in his hands. "Oh come on, Solan. You can't be a mamma's boy forever. Let her have Askander," he chided. Belach often called Alexander by his Turkic name, Askander, instead of his true Greek birth name. He didn't really fancy Greek people, especially when he first met Xena when he was a young child. Since he met her, he said he would hate all the Greek people from then on.
"I am not a mamma's boy," Solan spat and Belach chuckled, shaking his head. "Your mother still washes your clothes and you call me a mamma's boy."
Belach frowned and tossed the sharpening stone on the ground. "It is a woman's work," he folded his arms and Solan stood up, almost the same height as him, glaring into his dark brown eyes.
"My mother doesn't even wash her own clothes," Solan smirked.
"Well your mother is also a backstabbing bitch, Solan," Belach narrowed his eyes and Solan gasped then pushed his elder half-brother into the bench behind him. Belach growled and ruffled his dark hair then grabbed Solan by his shoulders and backed up into the yurt.
Natassa was outside her home beating a rug when she saw Belach and Solan fighting with one another. She widened her eyes and quickly ran over to them both.
"Belach!" she grabbed her son's arm and pulled him away from Solan. "What are you doing?!"
Her son adjusted his vest and breathed heavily, smiling down at Solan. "Just playing around, mother." He said and Solan frowned, wiping the blood off his lip. He turned then looked into his mother's blue eyes and touched her cheek. Sighing audibly he grabbed his sword then left the area.
Natassa creased her eyebrows then looked to Solan and scowled. "Are you alright?" she asked, folding her arms.
Solan stood and ran his fingers through his short blonde locks. "I'm fine," he brushed past his stepmother and marched right for Belach.
Her eyebrow rose as she watched Solan ran after her son. She shook her head and adjusted the coined headpiece on her head and folded her arms, leaning on the canopy. As much as she despised Xena, she promised Borias that she would watch over Solan and Alexander while they lived here without Xena. Alexander was much easier to mold than Solan was. Solan stayed with Xena for a very long time until he was nine years old until he began living in Ankara. Alexander only lived with Xena until he was two so he was more exposed to both his mother's life and his father's as well.
As Belach grew older he began to really dislike Solan, only because he was Xena's son. At first, the two got along very well until two years ago. The only time those two got along was when Borias was here or when Solan was with his mother in Persia, but since he didn't not to go this year, Natassa was stuck with two bickering boys.
Solan marched towards Belach and grabbed his shoulder. "I'm not finished with you!"
Belach smirked and ran his fingers through his long dark hair. "You are really becoming more and more like your mother, Solan. You even look just like her with those baby blue eyes," he pat his cheek harshly and Solan growled. "At least Askander inherited more of father's traits. He doesn't look like a Greek boy like you." He frowned and mounted his horse.
"We are from the same people! The same blood, Belach! Why do you suddenly hate me?"
Belach growled, "we are not the same! You are a half breed!"
Solan was about to yell back until a stampede of Crusaders charged through the campgrounds and both boys turned and saw the Roman Crusaders, wearing their large red crosses on their tunics, carrying heavy shields and swords.
Belach smirked and yanked on his horse's reins. "You're better off staying in Persia with your mother, Solan. You don't belong here." He kicked his horse and rode off to meet with Osman and the Crusaders. Solan huffed and ran after his brother, curious as to why Romans would come all the way to Anatolia.
An hour later, Osman, Ankara's Chieftain invited the lead Crusader, Gregory, into his large yurt to talk. Belach accompanied Osman since he was the eldest son of Borias. This meant that Solan was not invited, though he stayed outside of the yurt, listening in to their conversation.
Gregory thanked the chieftain for the coffee and spoke bluntly. "The pope proclaims another Crusade on Jerusalem and wishes to give his hand to the Anatolians for aid. Emperor Xenophon's empire is expanding too quickly and he wishes to put an end to it immediately."
Osman lowered his eyes and he sighed. "Forgive me but, we pay taxes to Xenophon..." he said lightly and saw the Roman did not falter. "In return he gives us money to fund our military."
"Rome can double the amount Xenophon gives you, Chieftain," Gregory said with a smile. "If you ally with us, you will no longer have to pay taxes to the Greco-Persian empire."
Osman rubbed his chin and Belach smiled, knowing this decision would be very easy for him if he were in charge. Little did the Romans know that Xenophon was no man, but a woman. Xena. The woman whom he hated and Belach would love to see her empire crash and burn and what better way to do it than with a Crusade?
"We should take the offer, uncle," Belach suggested.
The chieftain eyed the ambitious teenager and frowned. "We will take it under consideration."
Gregory nodded. "As you wish. I will need a decision in the morning." He stood and left the yurt.
Belach growled and stood up irately. "Why do you hesitate?! Xena's empire could be destroyed in a second and you must think about it?"
Osman frowned and stood, towering over the angst teen. "I cannot attack Xena's empire, Belach. Borias is on a mission at the moment and I can't make this decision without him."
The teen folded his arms. "If I were chieftain I would have agreed to ally with the Crusaders." He stormed out of the yurt.
He saw Solan hunkered down listening outside and he growled, picking up Solan by his collar and tossing him aside. "What do you think you're doing, you rat?" he snarled and Solan frowned.
"You want to see my mother's empire fall? What is wrong with you?!" Solan spat, fixing his tunic.
"She gets what she deserves." Belach turned and began walking off.
"My mother has done more for you than the Crusaders ever will!" Solan called out and Belach kept walking, ignoring him. He sighed heavily then pulled out the letter from his mother in his pocket. He hadn't read it yet, but then he quickly ran to his yurt to read the letter in peace.
Xena sat outside in the barren gardens watching the girls train with each other with wooden weapons. She wasn't stupid enough to give them real weapons as of yet. So far, these girls had been here for a week and some of the girls were not very cooperative as she hoped.
She quickly learned that some of the girls were pregnant and decided to take them out of training, but keep them in her palace and put them to work in other jobs that were less strenuous. While some girls threatened to run away or even kill themselves, Xena warned them that if they tried to escape, they would have a hard time leaving the palace.
She then too took those suicidal girls and gave them a different task to focus on. She sent them to the seamstress down below the palace so they could help weave large Persian rugs. As each day went by, she was left with very few girls to actually train with, maybe twenty or so and she started out with over fifty of them.
Xena groaned and began sweating under all the layers of clothing she wore. She lifted her veil and scratched her drenched neck.
Gabrielle pushed her partner down and stomped her sandal on top of her chest. "Looks like I win again," she smiled proudly. Helena groaned and threw her head back, defeated for the third time in a row. She chuckled and twirled the staff in her hand then glanced over at the sultan sitting down in the hot sun underneath a small canopy.
She eyed the sultan and saw his bare neck and then Xenophon lowered the veil again, shifting in the chair. Gabrielle raised her eyebrow and then was startled by Helena grabbing her shoulder.
"Shall we go again?" the brunette eagerly asked then saw her friend's eyes on the sultan. "You shouldn't stare, Gabrielle. He might see you."
"I've been trying to get his attention for a week now, Helena!"
Her friend scoffed and pulled her aside. "Are you insane?" she whispered and eyed Xenophon again, completely unaware of their conversation. "Why would you do a stupid thing like that?"
Gabrielle smiled. "He's so strange. He only comes out during training and just watches us like a hawk then he disappears upstairs in that lair of his and we never see him again. Don't you think that is weird?"
Helena frowned, "no! He is a sultan, he can do whatever he wants! Now come on, we need to get back to training," she begged.
Gabrielle sighed and went back to their corner, "fine," she grumbled and then wacked Helena's arm unexpectedly and laughed.
"Gabrielle! I wasn't ready!" Helena groaned, rubbing her arm.
"A warrior always needs to be ready," the blonde smirked.
Xena raised her eyebrow and then looked up at the balcony and saw Alexander sitting in between the stone columns of the railing, swinging his dangling legs over the edge. He was eating an apple, observing the training. He caught eye of her and started waving. She frowned and waved her hand up at him to go back inside.
She groaned, seeing he was deliberately disobeying her once again. She saw the smug look on his face as he kept chomping on the apple, peering down at the girls training below.
Once the training sessions concluded for the day Gabrielle walked inside the palace with the rest of the girls and peered over the sea of heads. She was too short and pushed through the girls and saw the sultan disappearing to the west wing.
She smiled and then once she realized all the girls were gone, she saw Miriam, one of the girls that worked down below with the seamstresses, carrying gold threaded fabric in her hands. She was heading straight for the west wing.
Gabrielle quickly ran and stopped Miriam. "I can take these off your hands. You must be really tired."
Miriam frowned. "Don't you train outside with the other girls?" she asked.
She bit her bottom lip, "well, I have two jobs now. I work outside and inside the palace." She held out her arms and the brunette eyed her cautiously. "I'm sure you have loads of other work to do. Just tell me where to take this and you can get back to sewing."
Miriam sighed and looked up at the second floor of the west wing. "These must be taken down the hall in the west wing, upstairs, second door to your right, not second door to your left. Do you understand?" she stressed and Gabrielle nodded. She then handed off the fabric to her and walked off in a hurry to get back to work downstairs.
Gabrielle inhaled deeply and hastily walked through the hallway and rounded a corner to find the stairs. She then saw the sultan walking up the stairs as his dark cape drug on the steps. She waited until the sultan made it to the second floor before she ran up the stairs.
She quietly made it to the second floor and hid behind a large pillar. She poked her head around the pillar and saw the sultan enter the bedroom on the second door to the left of the hallway. Once the coast was clear she cautiously walked down the hallway and eyed the large doors on her right, then looked at the doors on her left, which was obviously the sultan's quarters.
She was too curious and wanted to see what the sultan was hiding and why he hid himself away for hours on end. She only saw Xenophon for a few hours a day and that's it. Gabrielle was beginning to wonder if Helena was right and the sultan was deformed. That was probably the only explanation.
"Are you the new servant girl?" Alexander came up behind Gabrielle, scaring her half to death.
She turned and looked down to see a small thin boy with dark hair grinning up at her. She fumbled and held the fabric in her arms. "Um...no," she smiled nervously.
Who was this boy and why is he here, she thought. Did the sultan have children too or was this a nephew of his? He couldn't be a servant by the looks of his black and gold robes and nicely polished boots.
His eyes lit up as soon as he saw the gold fabric. "Oh great, you brought the fabric!" he smiled and Gabrielle raised her eyebrows, seeing the excited boy take the fabric from her arms. "This is going to go nicely with my new outfit," he wriggled his eyebrows and she stifled a laugh.
This fabric was for a boy? Is he serious right now? "The sultan ordered the fabric for you?" she asked.
Alexander frowned, "no, I did!"
"Alexander!" Xena called out from her bedroom. "Who are you talking to?"
Gabrielle frowned and knew that was a woman's voice, not the same voice of the sultan's. Was this his wife perhaps?
He panicked and then opened the door on the right side of the hall and tossed the fabric inside his room. "Nobody!" he answered and then when his mother didn't answer he let out a sigh of relief. He grabbed Gabrielle's arm and began ushering her out of the hallway.
"Listen, you really gotta go now," he said and began pushing her down the hall.
Gabrielle gasped and she couldn't believe she was being pushed around by a scrawny boy. "But, I..." she stammered and he groaned and kept pushing her.
"Go, go!" he said and heard his mother's door open. "Go!" he hissed and Gabrielle began descending down the stairs.
Xena frowned and saw her son at the foot of the top of the staircase. "Who was that?" she asked.
He swiftly turned around with his hands behind his back with a big grin. "Oh, just a servant girl."
Gabrielle gasped as soon as she heard the boy say that. She was halfway down the staircase, listening to the two talk to one another.
Xena folded her arms. "I didn't request anyone," she eyed her son and he kept smiling.
"I know," he shrugged and grabbed her wrist, pulling her along. "That's why I sent her away," he chose his words carefully.
Gabrielle heard the door close and she peeked over the second floor from the stairs and raised her eyebrow curiously. That boy obviously didn't want her around, but he was quite a piece of work. Asking for fabric without, she only assumed, his mother's permission. The sultan has a wife? She frowned, tapping her chin then ran down the stairs to go to the baths in the east wing.
After bathing Gabrielle smoothed out her sheets on her bed then saw Helena reading quietly to herself. She lay down on her stomach and kept staring up at her friend. "You want to hear something?" she whispered.
Helena smiled and closed the book. "What is it now?"
"I went into the west wing," Gabrielle smiled.
"Gabrielle!" she hunkered down in her bed and made sure nobody else was listening. Almost everyone was asleep by now. "You aren't allowed to go over there!"
The blonde nodded. "Just listen," she began, "I think I heard the sultan's wife and there was this really demanding boy, I think might be the sultan's son..." he frowned, still not getting over that.
Helena chuckled softly. "The sultan doesn't have a wife."
"How do you know that? He could keep her locked away," Gabrielle supposed.
"The sultan hasn't married anyone, Gabrielle. Everyone knows that. Maybe she's his concubine or something," Helena sighed and opened her book again, reading silently.
"Yeah...maybe," Gabrielle rolled over onto her back, staring up at the dark ceiling.
The following morning, Xena walked with Dajan down the hallway after the meeting they just had with the council. She adjusted the veil around her face and saw many of the girls already heading outside to train.
"You sent the men to Ankara, right?" she asked.
Dajan nodded, "yes they were sent two days ago, your highness." He said and they kept walking. He pulled her aside and whispered. "Xena, I don't know if bringing Osman here is such a good idea," he warned.
Xena frowned and folded her arms. "And why is that?" she hissed.
"Our spies in Anatolia saw Roman Crusaders heading towards Ankara. I fear that Osman will ally with Rome."
She scoffed. "Not if he wants to die!" she stormed off. "Notify me when he is brought here!" she called out.
Gabrielle woke up late and struggled putting her sandals on as she stumbled out of the sleeping quarters. She spotted the sultan heading to the gardens. Oh now is my chance, she thought. She quickly tied her sandals then ran up to the sultan.
"Your highness!" Gabrielle greeted loudly and Xena's shoulders tensed. She slowly turned around and saw the blonde smiling up at her.
"Ah, the troublemaker," Xena said. "What can I do for you?"
Now suddenly standing in front of the sultan, Gabrielle was at a loss for words. Xena raised her eyebrow and leaned down, their eyes meeting. "I...uh..."
"Suddenly you are not so talkative, are you Gabrielle?" Xena smugly grinned beneath her thick veil.
"I, well...I do have one question," Gabrielle smiled nervously and Xena folded her arms.
"I'm listening."
Gabrielle inhaled deeply and avoided those piercing blue eyes. "Why would you want to start a school for girls? I mean, an important person such as yourself probably has so many other things to do!" she nervously rambled and Xena smirked.
"You are very nosy," Xena remarked and Gabrielle's eyes widened in shock. "I have a special training session for you all today and I'll make sure you are the first to participate." She turned and walked off.
Did I just volunteer myself again? Gabrielle groaned and then walked outside, slumping her shoulders.
Outside all the girls stood in two rows of ten and Gabrielle stayed in the back row standing beside Helena. She kept eyeing the sultan and saw him pull out a dagger from beneath his belt.
Xena held the dagger by the tip of the blade and looked up at the large pillar. She smiled and threw the dagger to the top and it stuck inside the pillar. All the girls' eyes traveled upward, the sun beaming into their eyes.
"Today will be a different training session. Not of strength or bravery but of perseverance and patience." She began and all the girls stared at her confusedly. "The first to reach the top of the pillar and retrieve the dagger accomplishes the exercise." She smiled and saw the fear in all of their eyes.
She then eyed Gabrielle and smiled deliciously. "And Gabrielle will go first. Won't you, Gabrielle?"
Gabrielle slowly glanced up at the pillar and could barely see the dagger. The pillar seemed to be miles long, it was so tall. How could the sultan expect anyone to complete the task? But, she stupidly spoke out again and volunteered herself for the job.
She stepped forward and Xena smiled, handing over a large sash. She frowned and took the sash and stood in front of the tall pillar.
She turned and looked into Xenophon's smirking eyes. "And what if I can't retrieve the dagger?"
Xena smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "Then you will try again, and again, and again, until you do!" her eyes darkened and then she sat down underneath the canopy. She waft her gloved hand at the outspoken blonde. "What are you waiting for?" she teased.
Gabrielle sighed heavily and wrapped the sash around the pillar and tugged on it with her wrists, making sure it was taut. She kept cursing herself for even speaking to the sultan in the first place. Helena was right, I have a big mouth, she thought.
She jumped up and wrapped her thighs around the stone pillar and groaned, hoisting herself up with the sash and Xena smirked, watching her struggle. Not even five feet up the pillar, Gabrielle fell down onto her back and she groaned.
"Oh, nice try Gabrielle. Better luck next time," Xena said and waved her hand to the next girl in line. "Next," she said and Gabrielle quickly got up and shoved the sash into the next girl's chest, then proceeded to walk to the end of the line.
This continued on for two hours and Gabrielle tried to climb up the pillar four times already, but she didn't get much further than she had the first time. Xena stood from her chair and looked at the dirty, exhausted girls.
"Tomorrow, you all will do this again until you get it right," Xena frowned and walked past the girls and heard them all moaning, complaining among themselves.
"This is ridiculous!" Gabrielle griped.
Xena frowned and heard Gabrielle, instantly recognizing her voice. She swiftly turned on her heel and walked over to the feisty blonde. "You think you are so tough, don't you, Gabrielle?"
The blonde folded her arms, glaring up at the sultan.
"You will stay outside for the rest of the night by yourself." The sultan said and Gabrielle's jaw dropped.
"For what? This training exercise is pointless!" she spat back and Xena pinched her cheeks together with her leather gloves.
"You know what else is pointless?" Xena whispered. "Arguing with me." She gently pushed Gabrielle away from her and grimaced. "You will stay out here. You can get acquainted with the scorpions." She chided then walked off brushing by the startled, terrified girls.
Xena sat by the window, brushing her long locks, getting through the knots in the ends. She frowned and brushed more firmly. Alexander was in the middle of her room, pretending to fight her wooden bedpost with a piece of long fabric. Ever since he knocked down her rack of armor, she forbade him from possessing any sharp objects.
He circled around the post, making faces at it and pretended the piece of long fabric was a whip. Xena turned and raised her eyebrow watching her son in the middle of a battle, putting all of his force into it. she chuckled softly and he stopped, glaring at his mother.
"Why are you laughing?!" he folded his arms.
"No reason," she stood and grabbed him by his waist, lifting him in the air and rest his slender body on her hip. She frowned and pinched his skinny arm.
"Hey!" he whined.
"Are you sure they're feeding you in Ankara?" she asked and he rolled his eyes.
He pushed away from her, "mother, I'm not a baby! Put me down!" he moaned and he hopped out of her arms and onto her bed.
He then jumped up, grabbing the wooden rod, holding the bed together. He swung back and forth and Xena folded her arms. "We really can't go to the beach?" he asked.
"No."
"Aweh," he whined and let go of the wooden beam and fell on his back on the large bed, gawking at the ceiling. "This is so boring." He let out a huge sigh and she rolled her eyes.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, she tugged at his leg. "I could tell you a story."
He rose up and stared at her incredulously. "You are a bad story teller, mother." And she gasped loudly and he smiled. "What? You are. Solan is much better at telling stories." He sighed and crawled off the bed. "I think I'm going to bed now, goodnight." He ran off to his room.
Xena shook her head then walked over to the large balcony, overlooking the gardens and she leaned on the balustrade, feeling the cool desert breeze against her skin. She then peered downward and saw Gabrielle pacing around the gardens, talking to herself.
Amusing, she thought. She smiled and kept watching Gabrielle muttering quietly. She watched her then walk over to the weapons rack and raised an eyebrow. Gabrielle grabbed a long rope and walked back over to the pillar with the dagger stuck in it at the very top.
"What are you doing?" Xena whispered as she watched Gabrielle tie a small knot, making a loop with the long piece of rope.
Gabrielle then swung the rope up at the pillar and Xena kept watching intensely, curious to see what her trainee was doing. Gabrielle then tossed the rope up again and looped the rope around the hilt of the dagger.
Smiling, Gabrielle yanked on the rope and the dagger popped out of the side of the pillar and dropped to the sand.
Xena frowned, "very clever..." she straightened up and tapped her fingers on the balustrade. She then slowly slipped away from the balcony to disappear into her room.
Gabrielle grinned and held the dagger in her hand. She lifted her head and saw a silhouette from the balcony and then descend into the bedroom. The curtains were drawn and she saw the figure in the candlelight moving around in the room. Lowering the dagger, she ran past the pillar to get a closer look and then the candles were blown out and she could no longer see the silhouette anymore.
Xena walked out into the gardens and saw the girls were already lined up, though they were talking among themselves. She heard a few whispering about the missing dagger and she grinned.
"Good morning," she announced and the whispers ceased. She swung around and looked at the line of girls. She noticed Gabrielle was very tired and not very attentive as she should be.
Peering up at the pillar, she saw the dagger mysteriously gone and smiled. "It seems that someone was able to retrieve the dagger." She said and eyed Gabrielle's sudden alertness. "Won't the victor step forward?" she asked.
Gabrielle stepped forward and took out the dagger from behind her back. Xena raised her eyebrow and walked over to the sleepy blonde. She took the dagger from her hands and examined it.
"What a great feat you have accomplished Gabrielle," Xena admired and the blonde lowered her eyes. She grunted then threw the dagger to the top of the pillar again and Gabrielle's jaw dropped.
"Won't you show us how you did it?" the sultan asked and Gabrielle widened her eyes. "Don't be shy." She teased.
Xena then walked over to her chair and lifted her long cape and sat down, eyeing the nervous Gabrielle, gawking up at the dagger.
Is he serious? He wants me to retrieve the dagger again? Gabrielle couldn't understand the ways of this sultan at all. Not only was she about to be humiliated again, but the sultan was obviously playing a game with her.
"We are waiting," Xena's voice carried and Gabrielle cringed.
Gabrielle sighed and then turned to the sultan. "I'm very...tired..." she lamented, which wasn't a lie, but also she didn't want to be embarrassed.
"So you refuse to do as I say?" Xena pressed, tapping her gloved fingers against her cheek. "You must have worked all night to retrieve that dagger," and Gabrielle said nothing, hanging her head. "You are obviously a very strong young lady," she smiled, relishing in Gabrielle's embarrassment. She even saw her cheeks flush.
The sultan sighed heavily. "You know, I really don't like liars," she announced and Gabrielle's stomach tightened. "It would be a real disappointment to me if any of you lied to me," she hissed and saw the fear in the girls' eyes.
She turned her attention back to Gabrielle. "Gabrielle," she called out and the blonde lifted her head. "Retrieve the dagger." She demanded.
Gabrielle looked up at the pillar and frowned. "I can't," she said softly.
"I can't hear you!"
"I said, I can't!"
Xena smugly grinned, "and why not?"
Gabrielle knew she was going to regret this. "Because I didn't retrieve the dagger. I pulled it off with a rope." She muttered, folding her arms.
The sultan tisked. "Oh, that's too bad. I appreciate your honesty, Gabrielle..." she chuckled softly. "And since you were so honest, your teammates should thank you." She said and Gabrielle frowned confusedly and all the girls eyed one another.
"All of you will stay out here all day and night until one of you retrieves that dagger. The right way," she said firmly.
All the girls groaned and immediately glared at Gabrielle. Suddenly, Gabrielle felt even more embarrassed than ever, especially in front of all these girls. Helena rolled her eyes and Xena smiled, tapping her fingers on the armrests of the chair.
"Well, looks like you girls have a lot of work to do!" Xena said and the girls lined up, cursing under their breaths, getting ready to make the dreadful climb up the pillar. "All thanks to Gabrielle," she smiled.
"Thanks a lot, Gabrielle," Astremia said and pushed her aside, grabbing the sash and looked up at the tall pillar. Gabrielle sighed and walked to the back of the line.
She eyed the sultan sitting in the chair, basking in the humiliation. Xena's blue eyes followed Gabrielle's menacing stare and she smiled beneath the veil.
Three hours went by and Xena was notified by Dajan to come to the falcon room immediately. She stood from the chair and walked by all the exhausted girls. Some of them sat down in the sand, waiting for their turn to climb the pillar.
She walked by Gabrielle and whispered in her ear, "don't play games with me, Gabrielle." She smiled and kept walking back into the palace.
Gabrielle blinked and turned her head, gawking at the sultan descend into the palace. The balcony from last night, she remembered. Of course, how stupid of me. She cursed herself and folded her arms. Helena grabbed her shoulder firmly.
"You sure know how to make yourself known, Gabrielle," she grumbled and rubbed her sore back as she fell off the pillar from half way up.