AN: feedback much appreciated and thank you for reading ;)
Chapter 6 –Judas Part I
Early the next morning Gabrielle woke up in her bed and saw Helena walking to the baths while everyone else was asleep. She pretended to be asleep and kept one eye open as Helena disappeared into the baths with Penelope and Francesca.
Smiling, she threw the blankets off of her and weaved through the sleeping trainees, being as quiet as possible. She poked her head inside the baths and saw Helena undressing and getting into the bath with the two other girls. Gabrielle immediately eyed Helena's armor sitting on a bench and crouched down.
She began crawling across the floor and hid behind a wall, waiting for Penelope and Francesca to leave the baths. She knew that those two were very quick to wash their bodies and didn't even bother washing their long hair, taking their time like Helena always did. Every single day, she thought.
After waiting for awhile Gabrielle saw the two girls leaving with their armor in hand. Helena was still bathing and washing her long hair. She quickly grabbed Helena's armor and snuck out of the room to change into the armor. She was going to be with the sultan and her cavalry no matter what happens.
Xena instructed the three girls to meet her at the front entrance of the palace outside the gates so they could leave as soon as possible. She told them to wear their helms with veils to hide their faces. She did not want the rest of her soldiers and any of Osman's men to find out they were women either. She worked very hard to keep her secret to her army and did not want to change that. People might think it strange that a male sultan employed women to work with her outside of the palace.
She waited on her horse for the girls to arrive. She told Kara not to let Alexander out of her sight and make sure he didn't leave the palace for anything. Although, since she wasn't there he was allowed to roam to whatever place he liked in the palace. Xena feared that her son did this every time she left for a long time and didn't expect him to obey her. It seems that he was the prince of misbehavior this time around.
Finally, the three girls came outside the palace and joined her in the entrance. She took the reins and trotted over to the veiled girls. She inspected every single one of them and gave them a curt nod.
"Your horses are over there. You will follow me and do not wander off. Nobody is to know that you are women so don't give yourselves away," Xena said and the girls nodded then mounted the steeds.
Gabrielle mounted the horse and she couldn't remember the last time she rode a horse. The only time she rode a horse was when she was six years old and she wasn't alone, her father was riding with her. Now, she was riding beside the sultan on this clandestine mission to Ankara. She eyed the sultana and watched her trot off with a slew of soldiers behind her and she along with Penelope and Francesca followed the sultan and troops.
She eyed the caravan traveling with them and it was filled with an assortment of weapons, stakes and tents. She wondered where in the world they were going and why they needed this many supplies. Though, she wanted to see why they were all heading to Ankara in the first place. She remembered the sultan talking with her adviser about Ankara when she eavesdropped, but she didn't know what was in Ankara. All she knew was that it was the capital of Anatolia and that's it.
More than half the day went by as they continued traveling and Xena decided to stop and make camp because there was quite a violent storm with high winds once they crossed the mountains. The troops made their own tents and Xena told the girls to pitch their own tent off in a corner of seclusion from the other men.
The three trainees looked at their tents laying on the ground and stared for half an hour, trying to figure out how to pitch the tents. Gabrielle picked up a large part of the tent and examined it carefully.
"Maybe you're supposed to put this end in the ground first?" she suggested.
Penelope adjusted the itchy veil on her face and frowned. "I don't think that's how you do it..." she eyed her teammate and recognized that voice and it certainly didn't sound like Helena at all.
"Well we can't sleep outside!" Francesca cried and began helping the other two to figure out how to put this monstrous tent together. She picked up a stake and frowned, not quite sure where to put this. "This is ridiculous. We're going to get eaten by the wolves if we stay outside." She huffed.
"There are no wolves out here, stop being a baby," Penelope griped. "Helena hand me that end of the tent," she instructed.
Gabrielle was too busy trying to figure out which end was which and didn't even hear Penelope.
"Helena?" she reiterated.
Gabrielle finally heard her and turned around. "What?" Penelope pointed to the far end of the tent and wagged her fingers. "Oh right," she nervously said and picked up the large end of the tent and walked it over to her.
Xena's men finished putting up her large tent and they brought in her chest of clothes inside. She stepped outside and cocked her head, watching the three girls arguing with one another, trying to pitch their tent. She smirked and enjoyed watching the girls try and work together, but all they could do was bicker instead of work together.
She decided to make her way over and stepped over a few unlit campfires. Penelope was arguing with Francesca while Gabrielle was on the ground trying to put the stakes in the ground without having the tent set up in the first place.
"Is there a problem?" Xena announced and the girls stopped bickering and stared up at her with wide frightened eyes. "It would be easier if you pitched the center of the tent first..." she implied.
Gabrielle groaned and threw the stake down, frustrated at herself. She stood and placed her hands on her small hips. "You know what we can just sleep under the tent, how's that girls?" she turned around and saw the sultan standing there and her eyes grew immensely.
Xena's eyebrow rose and she approached the frightened trainee, eyeing her emerald eyes. "You wouldn't be making trouble for yourself, would you?" she questioned.
Gabrielle shook her head. "No, your highness."
Xena stepped closer and felt the girl's hot breath seeping through the thick veil. She smirked and stepped away. "Perhaps you have been hanging around the troublemaker, Gabrielle, too much, Helena." She joked and the other girls grinned.
Meanwhile Gabrielle frowned and didn't find that joke funny at all. "We...don't know how to pitch the tent."
"I can see that," Xena said. "Figure it out," she sauntered off. "Work as a team."
Penelope scoffed and took the veil off her face. "This is pointless. It's like the sultan wants us to fail!"
Gabrielle watched the sultana disappear in her large tent and her mouth quirked to the side. She listened to the two girls bickering constantly and her ears were burning with frustration, listening to those two.
"He's right," Gabrielle said, interrupting the girls. "We need to work together. It's just a tent. We've accomplished much harder things!"
"By the time we get this tent set up it'll be morning," Penelope muttered then Gabrielle tossed a couple of stakes at her.
Solan was outside during a hot morning and had been sparring with one of Osman's nephews for the last few hours. He put his fists up to his face and saw his opponent breathing heavily, glaring at him. Osman's nephew, Bahri, was only a year older than Solan, but the two liked to spar with one another.
Bahri thrust his first forward and Solan grabbed hold of his arm and flipped him over onto his backside. Solan then wrapped his leg around Bahri's and pinned him to the ground with both hands.
"I win again," Solan smirked and Bahri rolled his eyes.
"You got lucky, Solan." Bahri was helped up by his partner and the two wiped their sweaty brows with the backsides of their hands. Bahri handed a ladle filled with water to his friend and smiled. "Are you going to the coronation today?"
The water dripped from Solan's chin and he frowned. "Coronation?"
"You mean, you don't know?" Bahri asked and the blonde young teenager kept staring at him blankly. He gave a light chuckle and wagged his head in disbelief. "Belach is going to be crowned as Osman's second in command alongside his father."
Solan's eyes widened and he threw the ladle back into the bucket of water. His father hadn't told him anything about this since he got back, but he did remember his father telling him that he would be in second command before Belach would be, only because he was a better fighter than him, despite their age difference.
He stormed off and Bahri frowned. "Solan! Hey! Where're going?!" he called out to him.
Solan burst into his elder brother's yurt and saw he was praying on the rug, muttering his prayers. Belach turned and saw the blonde Greek boy standing at the entrance with a scowl on his face. He smiled and finished his prayers and stood, rolling up the rug.
"It's rude to interrupt someone during prayer, Solan," Belach hissed and then tossed the rug aside by his bed. He grabbed a cup and began pouring some water for himself.
Solan growled and knocked the cup out of his brother's hand and Belach gasped. "How could you do this?!" he pushed Belach onto the floor and felt his heart racing.
Belach's eyebrows creased and he stood up then pushed his brother back. "What's your deal?"
"My deal?" Solan huffed, "my deal is that I was promised the position of second in command. Not you!" he spat and Belach smiled, stepping closely to him, inches from his face.
"That position was given to me fair and square. You're just a kid, Solan. You're not ready to take a position like that."
Solan's eyes widened with fury and he clocked his brother in the jaw sending him a few feet backwards. Belach grumbled and rubbed his jaw. "I am a better fighter than you!" Solan spat and Belach smirked, shaking his head.
The elder brother then grabbed Solan by his shoulders and began pushing him out of the yurt. Once they were outside, Solan pushed his brother back then the two grabbed one another's hair and fell to the ground, fighting one another.
Borias walked outside of Osman's tent and saw quite a lot of people looking at the two boys fighting one another on the ground. Osman frowned and Borias pushed through the crowd of people and saw Solan on top of Belach, punching him in the face repeatedly.
"Solan!" he yelled and Solan ignored him. He frowned and wrapped his arms around his son and pulled up off of Belach. "What is the meaning of this?" he shook his son's shoulders.
Belach sat up and spat blood and glared at his younger brother. "Yeah, Solan." He snickered and Solan growled, ready to attack him again until his father grabbed hold of him. Borias wrapped his arms around Solan preventing him from escaping.
"Solan!" Borias growled as his son kept squirming in his arms.
Loud horns were sounded throughout the large campgrounds and everyone turned their heads and saw a horde of horsemen riding towards them. Osman's jaw dropped and he approached Borias.
"Sultan Xenophon approaches!" one of the soldiers announced.
Borias frowned and let go of his son and saw Xena leading the group of her Persian troops over the large hill. Belach chuckled and wiped his mouth. The crowd began dispersing and Belach approached Solan. "Saved by your mommy again," he hissed and walked off.
Osman stood by Borias and whispered, "what is she doing here?"
"I don't know," Borias frowned, folding his arms. He turned and saw Solan walking off, following Belach. He groaned and went after him, grabbing his arm. "Where do you think you're going?"
Solan snatched his arm from his father. "Getting away from here." He eyed his mother coming into the campgrounds with her troops and frowned. "I want to see mother later if she has time for me," he snidely said then stormed off.
Penelope turned her head and whispered, "when were you going to tell the sultan that you decided to steal Helena's place?!"
Gabrielle frowned at her teammate. "Don't say anything. I deserve to be here, not Helena."
"You stole her position! How do you deserve to be here? You heard what the sultan said, he hates liars! You make your own fate, Gabrielle." Penelope shook her head and the horsemen abruptly stopped once the sultan dismounted the horse, walking towards the girls.
Xena approached the girls and adjusted her gloves. "Osman's guards will show you to your yurt where you will stay for the time being. You are not to expose yourselves while we are here. Do you understand?"
All the girls nodded and Penelope eyed Gabrielle maliciously. Xena nodded and then turned to walk off. She immediately spotted Borias glaring at her along with Osman by his side.
Gabrielle hopped off the horse. "Your majesty!" she called out and Xena cringed then turned slowly. "What will we be doing here?" she pried curiously.
"Nothing until I come for you," Xena eyed the green eyes of the girl and raised her eyebrow, carefully studying those eyes. Very deceiving eyes, she told herself.
Xena head straight for Borias with a slew of men following behind her. Osman put on a false smile and she frowned beneath her veil. Borias folded his arms and scanned Xena's entire black attire, hiding her body and her face. It was definitely a strange and intimidating sight. Everyone in the campgrounds kept staring though they kept their distance, watching attentively.
"Borias," Xena greeted.
He half smiled, "Xen...ophon," he snickered and she grunted lowly.
"Can I have a word with you, alone?" she glared at Osman and the chieftain slowly backed away, bowing curtly at her. He allowed them some space and instructed his guards to escort Xena's trainees to their yurt during their stay.
Borias motioned for her to step inside his home and he smiled. "After you," he politely gestured and she brushed past him, gruffly hitting his shoulder and he groaned lightly.
Once he entered the yurt he sighed heavily. "Xena, what are you –"
She swiftly clocked him in the jaw and he gasped, stumbling backwards. He rubbed his bearded jaw and grimaced. She ripped the veil off her face and marched towards him, clasping her gloved hand around his throat.
"Why haven't you answered any of my letters?" she hissed and he frowned, gleaming into her striking wild eyes. "When I write you I expect you to answer, especially if it's about our sons!"
He growled and slapped her hand away and pushed her backward, grasping her shoulders and backed her up into a corner. "What letters?" he asked and her eyes grew.
She waft his hands off her shoulders and adjusted her cape. "I wrote you twice, Borias!"
He took a step back and breathed heavily then creased his thick brows together. "I never got your letters, Xena." He said sincerely and she folded her arms, thinking silently to herself. "I always write back to you. You know me better than that."
She began pacing and he rolled his eyes. "Someone is hoarding my letters. I tried to write Solan multiple times but never got a response. I thought something was wrong so I –"
"So, you rode all the way to Ankara to find out?" Borias chuckled. "Come on Xena, that's not why you're really here."
Xena frowned, glaring at him. "Alexander told me that Solan didn't want to see me anymore. I'd like to know why."
Borias raised his eyebrow and rubbed his chin. "That's not what he told me. Belach told me that you said you asked Solan to stay here, but then Solan said that he wanted to stay here."
She laughed mockingly and he stared at her as she kept laughing maniacally. "I see what's going on here..." her smile disappeared and she stepped in front of him, inches from his face. "Your son is trying to keep Solan away from me," she spoke of Belach and Borias frowned.
"No, he's not, Xena."
She smiled, "oh?" she folded her arms. "Belach doesn't like me, Borias, so he's taking it out on Solan. He is an arrogant child."
"Xena..." he warned.
"You have other sons, Borias. Don't you forget that." She hissed.
Natassa walked into the yurt and frowned upon immediately seeing Xena. "Xena, I didn't know you were here," she said with a tight smile.
"Do you mind? We were talking," Xena eyed the brunette woman.
"I live here," Natassa set down her bundle of fabric on the chair and Borias pinched the bridge of his nose.
Xena decided to play this little game and put on a big smile. "You know Natassa, I am not here to steal Borias away from you. In fact...he's all yours," she pat Borias' cheek and put her veil back on her face. "We will talk later," she said lowly and then stormed out of the yurt.
Natassa growled and marched up to her husband. "You invited that whore into our home?!"
"She wanted to talk to me, Natassa," he explained and saw the irate look in her blue eyes and her lips turn into a deep frown.
"The last time you two talked she ended up pregnant with another one of your bastard sons!" she growled and he shook his head then left their home.
Gabrielle huffed and sat down on the bed inside the yurt. She and the other two girls shared the large yurt together, though she was glad everyone had a separate room and a window, thank god. She wasn't in total seclusion.
She took the helmet off her head and could finally breathe. She didn't understand how the sultan could breathe underneath that veil she wore all the time. She took out the measly short sword that the sultan gave them and didn't understand why she didn't give them swords already. Gabrielle supposed it was because the sultan didn't trust them with actual weapons, at least not yet. She also didn't understand what they were doing in Ankara and she certainly wasn't going to get any information just sitting in this yurt all day and all night, waiting for the sultan's word to come out.
She sighed heavily and flopped onto her back, staring up at the ceiling, wondering what the purpose of all this was. She also began to think about how disappointed Helena was right now and when the sultan found out, she was going to be furious.
As she lay on the bed she heard two people arguing outside the yurt and she frowned. Crawling on the floor she peeked her eyes over the fabric ledge of the window and saw the sultan arguing with a dark haired Anatolian.
She studied the two carefully and it appeared that these two obviously knew one another by their tone and body language. Gabrielle kept a low profile and tried to listen carefully to understand what they were saying.
"We can't talk right now. Not here and not now," Xena hissed.
Borias rolled his eyes. "Then when, Xena?" he asked and reached for her arm.
"There are too many people around," she whispered and brushed his hand off of her. "I want Solan brought to my yurt later this evening. Do you think you could do that for me?" she turned and marched off and Borias rubbed his face, grumbling to himself then walked off in the opposite direction.
Gabrielle hunkered down underneath the window ledge and tapped her cheek. Xena, that is your name, very interesting, she said silently to herself. And you have another son, also very interesting.
Francesca walked into Gabrielle's bedroom and frowned. "What are you doing on the floor?"
Gabrielle immediately hopped to her feet. "Nothing. What do you want?" she folded her arms.
"Dajan just told us to stay inside here and not to leave until the sultan says so," she said and the blonde nodded. She sighed, "I can't believe you took Helena's place. The sultan is going to have your hide when he finds out." She turned and walked out.
Gabrielle rolled her eyes and mocked the young trainee then plopped back down on the bed. Xena, she kept repeating the name to herself. She twirled a strand of hair around her finger, staring blankly at the wall. "Why, Xena? Why do you pretend to be someone you're not?"
Xena sat on the floor in the yurt that Osman was kind enough to lend her during her stay. She was in a secluded section of the grounds, though close to her trainees, just in case something happened. All of her troops were also stationed nearby, including Dajan, whom slept in the yurt next to hers.
She heard footsteps at the entrance and lifted her eyes to see Solan standing by the entryway with a sheepish look on his face.
"Solan," she began and dipped her pen in the inkwell and kept writing. "Why didn't you come to see me?"
Her blonde son sighed heavily and rubbed the back of his neck. "Just because," his voice muffled.
"Because why?" she kept writing and looked up, seeing the anxiety written all over his face. "Solan, this is not an interrogation." She finished writing and then folded the paper and stamped it with the wax seal. "Alexander told me that you didn't want to see me anymore."
Solan's mouth gaped and he shook his head. "That's not true!" he cried out.
Xena raised her eyebrow and set the paper aside. "Then who said that to Alexander?" she asked and saw his eyes lower. "Was it Belach?" she came to her feet and placed her hands on her hips. "Solan, I asked you a question."
He nodded, "yes..." he answered in a soft voice. "Are you mad at me?"
Her eyes grew and sadly smiled. She walked over and lifted his chin, staring into his blue eyes. "I could never be mad at you." She rubbed her hands along his arms. "But I think you should come back to Persia with me." She eyed him and he smiled. "Permanently," she added.
Solan gasped. "What?!" he shouted and she walked away from him going to attend to something else to distract herself. He followed her into her bedroom and frowned sadly. "I have friends here!"
"You can make new friends," she grabbed her clothes for tomorrow and set them on her bed, laying each piece out neatly.
"But mother!" he growled. "It's bad enough that I have to live in two different places! You and father use me and Alexander as a barter between you two!"
Xena's eyes widened and she turned to face her suddenly outspoken son. A side she had never seen before. "Your father and I agreed to this arrangement a long time ago. I can't be in two places at once, Solan!" she spat and he took a step back, folding his arms.
She sighed. "Either you can stay here or you can come live with me."
"How 'bout neither," he stormed off and she gasped.
She threw down her clothes and chased after him. "Solan!" she yelled and he left the yurt. "Solan!" she called out and saw him marching through the dark field. She growled and then kicked over a table.
Early the next morning Xena marched through the grounds and Gabrielle peered out from the yurt and saw her heading towards a young teenager with dark hair. The blonde put on her helm and veil, shielding her face, she decided to step out of the yurt to take a closer look.
Penelope frowned. "Where do you think you're going?" she set the spoon down into her bowl of warm oats.
Gabrielle waved her hand, "don't worry about me, I'm just looking," she smirked and Francesca shook her head and continued eating beside Penelope.
Xena grabbed Belach by his shoulder and turned him around forcefully. He smiled once he saw the veiled sultana standing before him.
"Oh Xena, good morning," he said with a sly grin.
"Where is Solan you brat?" she hissed and shook his shoulders.
Belach growled. "Take your hands off me!" he snarled and pushed her away. Xena's eyes grew with fury and she grabbed Belach by his arm firmly and twisted it behind his back and he winced.
"I'm not going to ask again," she said and he moaned in pain as she kept twisting his arm.
"How should I know where he is? I'm not his keeper!" he groaned. "Let go of me!" he whined.
Borias stepped out of his yurt and saw Xena manhandling his son. "Xena!" he growled and she let go of Belach's arm. He marched towards them both and looked at her eyes, the only visible thing to his sight. "What is going on?!"
"Solan left last night and I don't know where he went," Xena admitted and Borias' mouth hung open.
Belach rubbed his arm and glared at Xena. "I saw him leave last night on his horse," he said with a cheeky grin.
Xena snarled, "I thought you didn't know where he was?!" she shouted and pulled out her sword and Borias grabbed her wrist firmly.
He eyed his son, "Belach, why didn't you tell her where Solan was if you saw him?" he asked.
The teenager huffed and threw his hands in the air. "Because my stepmother is insane!" he stormed off and Borias sighed heavily and let go of Xena's wrist.
She snapped her head around to Borias. "If something has happened to Solan I will kill you," she threatened and Borias raised his eyebrow. She mounted her horse and then heard loud horns sound throughout the campgrounds.
Both looked to the hill and saw Mongols riding towards them. Xena's eyes widened once she saw a horde trotting in and she grit her teeth. "Mongols!"
Borias shook his head, "no, Xena you don't –"
She took off riding and whistled at her men to follow her. Her troops immediately mounted their horses and began riding off. Borias growled and then Osman came out of his yurt and approached him. The chieftain saw Xena approaching the Mongols with her troops.
"What in God's name does she think she's doing?" he said.
"She doesn't know about the alliance..." Borias muttered and ran off to get his weapon and horse to ride after her.
Dajan went to the trainees' yurt and sheathed his sword. "You are needed," he instructed and the girls immediately began grabbing their weapons and helmets. "Sultan Xenophon is riding towards the hill. Come quickly!" he said then ran off.
Gabrielle grabbed her short sword and went outside to grab her horse. As she ran to the stable she saw Xena riding with her men to the hill and her eyes widened once she saw who she was about to meet. "Mongols..." she whispered.
Penelope and Francesca mounted their horses and saw Gabrielle standing dumbfounded. They then saw Anatolian horsemen riding out to the hill and were immediately confused. "Gabrielle, let's go, come on!" Penelope urged and the blonde nodded and mounted her horse.
Gabrielle suddenly didn't know what she got herself into. She felt like she needed more training especially against warriors like the Mongolians. They were definitely were among some of the best trained warriors in Asia. They took over China overnight it seemed. The kingdoms of Lao and Song were conquered by Genghis Khan and he vowed that all other lands would succumb to his reign next, including Persia.
Xena rode head first and saw the Mongolian commander halt his horde and she saw the realization that they were about to be attacked. She smiled and grabbed the bow on the back of her horse and shot three arrows at the soldiers standing beside the commander.
Subutai, the Mongolian Commander, frowned and raised his hand to his archers. "We are under attack!" he yelled and began trotting backwards away from the fight. He saw the malicious Greek Sultan riding right towards his men with a slew of black Persians following behind.
The Mongol archers aimed directly at Xena and released a rain of arrows on her and her men. She dropped the bow and unsheathed her sword and broke several shooting arrows in half and kept riding.
Penelope, Francesca and Gabrielle rode behind the sultan's horde of men and saw raining arrows coming straight towards them. "Dear God in heaven," Penelope panicked and ducked her head down to the horse's mane and the arrows flew right over her head.
Gabrielle shielded herself and then saw the Anatolians ride in a circle, blocking half of Xena's Persian troops from attacking the Mongols. She saw then the two armies fighting one another and Xena charging right through the Mongolian horde with the other half of her men.
"They're attacking us!" Gabrielle said and the other girls lifted their heads, still afraid of the potential raining arrows from the enemy. She saw the Anatolians creating a blockade around the Persians and frowned. She yanked on the horse's reins. "We must help them." She rode off.
Francesca gasped, "Gabrielle!" she yelled out and Penelope shook her head then decided to ride off, following the crazy blonde into this battle.
Xena hopped off her horse and drove her blade into a Mongol's chest and stomped on him. She growled and saw the commander, trotting away with a few other cowardly men. She smiled and marched through the crowd, watching her men slaughtering the Mongols and vice versa.
She saw a sword swing at her from the corner of her eye and she blocked the blow. She saw it was Borias who was attacking her. "What are you doing?!" she yelled.
"Xena, this is a mistake!" Borias said and she pushed his blade back then continued marching towards the commander. "Xena!" he ran after her and grabbed her arm. "You don't understand."
She growled, "what don't I understand, Borias? I am doing you a favor! I am helping you get rid of these Mongol rats!" she marched onward and he blocked her path. "Out of my way!" she had her eye on the commander and he was getting away as long as Borias kept blocking her way.
"I made an alliance with the Khan!" he spat out finally and her eyes widened. "They are here to negotiate!"
Xena snarled and then swung her sword at him and he side stepped her. "You betrayed me?!" she snarled and swung at him again and he dodged the attack and then their swords clashed with one another. "Why? I have been nothing but loyal to you and your people!"
"It was either Rome or Mongolia, Xena!" Borias pushed her aside and he turned to see her men slaughtering his, left and right. He growled then ran off to help the others. Meanwhile Xena stood dumbfounded and then a Mongol came behind her and tried to slice through her back.
She swiftly turned and drove her sword into the soldier's leg and kicked him down on the ground. Snarling, she glanced up at the commander, waiting at the top of the hill with his elite guards. She smiled and thrust the blade out of the soldier's leg and marched upward by herself.
Gabrielle ran through the sea of people and was able to fend off for herself with Penelope and Francesca behind her. She sliced a Mongol's arm then quickly ran off, fearing for her life. She breathed heavily and unveiled her face, feeling the cold air against her skin. She didn't think she could continue fighting. This was too much and a lot more strenuous than training back in Jerusalem. She began to think that she should have paid more attention to the sultan's training after all.
She saw two Mongols running right for her and she gasped and dropped to the ground and the two men smashed into each other. Her labored breathing quickened and she crawled across the grass and quickly got to her feet before they could attack her again.
She spotted Xena marching up the hill by herself and then saw a few Mongols waiting. Her eyes turned and saw a Mongol following Xena with a large blade and her eyes widened. "Oh no..." she looked down at the short sword in her hands and felt like she needed to do something. After all, despite the sultan's oddness, she taught her so many things in a short amount of time.
A memory came rushing back to her as she watched the Mongol approaching Xena sneakily and Xena was totally oblivious.
In the training grounds Xena instructed the girls to throw daggers at a target from a fair distance. She sat in her chair under the shade and watched the girls failing each time they tried to aim for the center.
She rolled her eyes and yelled out. "The target is your enemy!" she began and all the girls looked directly at her. "This is not just a piece of cloth you're aiming for! It is your enemy! Now throw like you mean it!" she yelled.
Gabrielle lifted her head and grasped the hilt of the short sword and narrowed her eyes. The target is my enemy, the enemy is my target. She inhaled deeply and then saw the Mongol stab Xena in her left shoulder blade and she gasped. She heard Xena cry out in agony and then turn around to attack the Mongol.
She huffed and then aimed directly at the Mongol whom Xena was now trying to attack with a blade sticking out of her shoulder. She was losing, and losing a lot of blood. Gabrielle closed one of her eyes and then threw the short sword directly into the Mongol's chest.
He gasped and then stumbled backwards, falling on his back, bleeding out. Gabrielle smiled, feeling very proud of herself then immediately saw Xena drop to her knees and hold onto the sword sticking out of her upper half.
She panicked and ran over to her and knelt down. "Let me help you," she suggested and Xena's gloves were soaked in her own blood. Gabrielle grabbed the hilt of the sword and pulled it out of Xena's shoulder. She hissed in agony and then covered the wound with her hand as blood gushed down her body.
Gabrielle ripped off a piece of her veil and held it up against Xena's wound and then saw the sultana lift her eyes, staring at her. She completely forgot that her face was not hidden beneath the veil and hadn't realized.
Xena's eyes widened once she saw Gabrielle, her little troublemaker, helping her. "YOU!" she growled and Gabrielle's heart raced, seeing the anger in her eyes. Xena grabbed Gabrielle's face with her bloody gloved fingers and squeezed her cheeks together. "You..." she hissed and Gabrielle began sweating then saw Xena's eyes roll in the back of her head and she slumped to the ground.
Gabrielle's mouth gaped and she slapped Xena's cheek, trying to wake her. She felt the blood soaked clothes and tried to lift her off the ground. "I need help!" she cried out.
Penelope and Francesca ran towards Gabrielle and covered their veiled mouths once they saw her covered in blood. "What did you do?!"
"Nothing!" Gabrielle frowned. "I need help!" she exposed Xena's open shoulder wound. "Go!" she ordered and the girls ran off to find a few of the sultan's men to help.
Natassa sat inside the yurt and went through a stack of letters that were supposed to be sent to Xena from Borias. She went through the stack and found Solan's letter to Xena and frowned. She opened it and began reading over it carefully. She found that Solan was acting as Xena's little spy, telling her everything that went on here, including a private meeting that Osman and Belach had with the Templar Knights.
Borias stormed into the yurt and Natassa put the letters back into the box and hid it underneath a pile of clothes in a large chest. She stood and saw he was rather flustered since the impromptu battle earlier today.
"I heard Xena was injured..." she said, pretending to care. She walked over and took off his animal pelts and saw dried blood all over his clothes.
He gently pushed her away as she kept fussing over him. "Have you seen Solan?" he asked.
She frowned and folded her arms. That was definitely not the first thing she wanted to hear especially after what happened earlier. "I have not," she answered curtly. "I don't keep tabs on that boy. He is just as flighty as his mother. One minute he's here, the next, he's nowhere to be found." She smirked.
Borias snapped his head around and grabbed his wife's shoulders. "I don't have time for your jealousy, Natassa!"
"As if I would be jealous of that slut's son, Borias. Shouldn't you be by her bedside?" she chided and stormed out of the yurt.
Gabrielle saw people going in and out of the sultan's yurt for the last few hours. She stood outside, watching like a hawk. She saw that no guards were standing by the entrance and heard a few Anatolian women talking to Dajan and she decided to make her way over to the yurt quietly.
She slipped into Xena's yurt and saw a sheer curtain surrounding the bed. She was able to make out Xena's face hidden behind the curtain. Cautiously, she trailed around the curtain and peeked inside. she saw Xena unveiled, the second time she had seen the true face of the sultan. She also saw a large bandage draped across Xena's shoulder and her entire chest.
Gabrielle decided to step through the curtains, making sure to be as quiet as possible. She knelt down and looked to see if Xena was well and awake, but she was asleep or unconscious or maybe drugged, she didn't know. She sat beside the bed and watched the sultana's chest rise and fall slowly and the blood from the shoulder wound seeped through the bandages.
Hesitantly, she grazed her fingers along Xena's wound, checking the bandages. She eyed the dark haired sultana carefully to see if she would move, but when she didn't, she continued to lift the bandages and saw the huge gaping hole in her shoulder. She only assumed there was also a huge wound on her backside as well.
Curiously, she traced her fingers along Xena's bare arm and saw blood stained all over her hands. She frowned sadly and grabbed a damp cloth from the water basin and wiped off the blood from Xena's hands gently.
Xena's lip twitched and she furrowed her eyebrows. Gabrielle gasped and immediately stood, seeing the sultana squirm in the bed, moaning softly, though her eyes were still closed. She stepped outside of the curtains and watched Xena lift her arm slightly and cry out in agony.
Gabrielle heard people hustling inside and she hid underneath a table. The same women that were in the yurt earlier pulled the curtains aside and took off Xena's bandages and began dabbing the open wound gently. She heard Xena yelling at the girls and was obviously fully awake and alert now.
She panicked and began crawling across the floor of the yurt and heard Xena saying some pretty heinous things to those women. She quickly exited the yurt and exhaled deeply, placing a hand over her heart. It was pounding profusely and she heard Xena moaning loudly once more then took off running to her yurt she shared with Penelope and Francesca.