AN: a lot going on in this chapter and it leaves you wondering who to trust and count on. Good luck to all ;)
Chapter 13 –The Red Wine Sea
A Few Days Earlier
Borias mounted his horse to meet with the Mongolian Golden Horde in Antioch, a day's ride from Ankara. Osman's men along with Xena's men were behind Borias as they trotted into the open fields, leaving the campgrounds. They were going to have to ride through the city of Ankara and the barren desert of Konya to get out of the area. Although, the ride was not long, getting there was difficult due to the large mountains in between all of the smaller cities leading to Antioch.
Before they even made it out of the campgrounds Borias looked around and saw hundreds of Templar Knights in the field, surrounding them. "What is this..." he growled and yanked on the reins of the horse and rode back into the campgrounds.
Osman was outside talking with one of his advisers and saw Borias riding straight for him. He shooed his men away and frowned at his commander. "I thought you were leaving, Borias?"
"We are surrounded by Templars!" he yelled and the horse skid to a abrupt stop in the soil.
The chieftain walked forward and saw all of the knights surrounding every exit possible out of this city. Nobody was leaving that was for sure. He folded his arms and raised a suspicious eyebrow. "This is a problem. Subutai is expecting you in Antioch tomorrow afternoon. Perhaps we shall find out why they are blockading us?" he suggested.
Borias rolled his eyes and rode off without speaking to his chieftain. He wants answers, fine, I will find out what these Templars want.
Belach walked towards his parents' yurt and then spotted Osman. He immediately turned around and headed back to his own yurt, trying to avoid him as much as possible, but it was too late. Osman frowned upon seeing the young teenager.
"Belach!" he called out and the son of Borias cringed, then slowly turned around. "Where were you heading?"
"To talk to my mother," he answered curtly.
"I see," Osman eyed the nervousness in the boy's dark eyes. "You should know that I sent my niece to live with my sister in Masada."
Belach gasped and ran to the chief. "But that is in Persia! You sent her to live in my stepmother's empire, are you mad?" he frowned deeply and Osman grabbed his shoulder firmly.
"Masada is a day's ride from Jerusalem, Belach. I highly doubt Xena would notice a girl that means nothing to her, living in her vast empire. You have such hate for her, don't you?" Osman chuckled softly.
"You don't know her very well," Belach grimaced. "She's evil incarnate."
Osman smiled and released the teenager. "I have known Xena for a long time and she is not evil, Belach. You may think she is because of what role she plays in your life. She wouldn't dare harm you, despite her distaste for your mother."
"She tried to break my arm when she was here last!" he shouted.
The chief frowned, glaring at the arrogance in this boy. He was definitely not fit to rule over the tribes of Anatolia yet, or maybe never if he kept up this awful attitude. "Perhaps you deserved that for whatever you did, Belach. It would be more beneficial for you to get on Xena's good side. Maybe one day you will understand that. She has helped you more than you know." He turned and walked off.
Is he serious? I would never accept help from that woman, my father's whore. She rules an entire empire while everyone here is stuck in Anatolia, ruling over hundreds of tribes, constantly at Xena's beck and call. The only thing she has done is make my life more miserable.
He marched into his parents' yurt and saw his mother sitting on the floor, sewing a patch onto one of her long dresses. She glanced up and ignored his presence, continuing to sew in silence.
"Mother, you can't let father give my position to Solan. He is a kid, he doesn't know how to rule a nation," he began.
Natassa sighed heavily and bit off the thread and tied a knot at the hem. "It is not my decision, Belach. Your father gave your position to Solan because he believes you are not ready for such a big responsibility."
"But he is only thirteen! I am three years older than he is! I am stronger and better at everything than him!"
"Your combat skills say otherwise. Perhaps if you spent more time training like Solan, instead of jumping into bed with the chief's niece, then maybe you would still have your role as second in command." She stood and folded up her dress and set it inside a chest filled with her other clothes.
He scoffed and rolled his eyes then rubbed his sparse beard. "But it is not fair. Solan always gets special treatment because of who his mother is. Xena makes sure father puts her bastard sons before me."
"Belach," she sighed, "Solan and Alexander are no longer living here. They will not be coming back here and yet you are still jealous of them."
His eyes widened. "And you aren't?! You hate Solan and Alexander, yet they are told by their mother to respect you and you go along with Xena's little game?" he rolled his eyes, thinking that his mother had gone too soft. She took care of Alexander when he lived here and never complained, and even though Solan was old enough to take care of himself, she was always nice to him in public.
Natassa loved her son dearly, but she was beginning to realize what a scoundrel he really was. He didn't act like this when he was only a few years younger. He continued to defy her and Borias, simply because he thought that he was better than Xena's sons. She began to realize that Belach's attitude was causing a lot of chaos around here and that was one of the reasons why Xena took her sons back with her, although, she didn't mind that those boys were no longer living in Ankara, but it was because of her own son that was the cause of Solan's and Alexander's departure.
"I don't play games with Xena. She and I do not get along for obvious reasons, but I do not succumb to her manipulative ways. Don't talk to me like that again," she warned and squinted her eyes, glaring up at her son.
He huffed and lowered his eyes then she walked back to the sitting area and began mindlessly organizing some bottles and cooking pans. Frowning, he lifted his head and glared at his mother. "Osman said that Xena has done more things for me than I know. Do you know anything about that?"
Natassa's eyes widened and she set the pans down silently. "Why would he tell you that?"
"He said I should be nice to Xena. Why would he say something like that, mother?" he pried, crossing his arms. Her lack of response only made him more suspicious. "Is there something I should know?"
She frowned and stood slowly, turning to her son and saw his uncertain eyes. "Do you remember when your father sent you to that academy in Edessa when you were eleven?" she asked and he nodded. "After we moved from Persia to Anatolia, our funds were extremely low. Your father suggested to me to send you to an academy for two years where you could live with other boys your age and learn how to write and read."
Belach didn't like where this was going and he felt his blood boiling already. He kept listening to his mother tell this awful story, which was supposed to be one of the good times in life, he felt it was about to turn into something he hated.
"We did not have enough funds to send you for two years so," she exhaled heavily then continued, "Xena offered to pay for your schooling, clothing and food in Edessa."
He laughed aloud and couldn't believe what his mother just told him. His stepmother offered to pay for his school? Is she serious right now? What an incredible lie. As if Xena would ever do anything nice for me, he thought.
"That's a nice joke, mother."
Natassa frowned and folded her arms. "It's not a joke."
His smile disappeared as soon as he saw his mother was quite serious. "But that school was over one hundred thousand dinars per year! Do you mean to tell me that Xena paid for that out of the kindness of her heart?" he spat and his mother narrowed her eyebrows. "I can't believe this!" he groaned and stormed out.
"We are surrounded because Xena refuses to surrender to the Pope," Borias explained and Osman nodded his head slowly. "They are not going to let us through as long as Xena keeps defying them."
Osman frowned at Borias. "Then you need to convince her otherwise." He said and Borias laughed. "This is not funny!"
"I know," Borias grinned, "you can't convince Xena to do anything, Osman. Haven't you figured that out already?" he sneered and the chief rolled his eyes.
Belach smiled, listening to his father and uncle talking. He ran over to them both with a beaming smile. "I can go talk to Xena, father."
"Ha!" Osman yelped and Borias couldn't help but continue laughing, meanwhile Belach frowned deeply, not thrilled that these two didn't trust him.
"Why not? You both need to stay here. I can talk to Xena on your behalf. It will give me a chance to prove to you that I am capable of holding my own. What do you say?" he raised his eyebrows, eyeing his father intensely.
"You are insane," Borias creased his eyebrows, glaring at his haughty son.
Belach smirked, copying his father's stance. "So is she. What do you say? Can I go?"
Osman scoffed, "what makes you think Xena is going to take you seriously, child?" he snickered. "She is more than just a simple stepmother to you, Belach. She is a ruler of a huge empire. I highly doubt she is going to listen to you."
"I can be very persuasive. I can take a group of your men with me through the mountains. If I say that I am serving on your behalf then she has to listen to me, right?" he smiled sneakily.
Borias shook his head, thinking this was a very bad idea. Obviously, his son was trying to prove that he wasn't just a sore in his eye, especially as of late. "You need to be on your best behavior."
"Does this mean that I can go?" Belach's eyes grew with sheer excitement.
His father nodded. "Yes, but Belach," he grabbed his son's shoulder. "Don't play games with Xena. You will lose."
"Of course not, father," Belach smiled.
"I mean it. Don't." Borias warned and his son nodded his head, anxious to leave already.
Alexander walked to the girls' room and knocked on the door. Joan opened the door and peered down to see the little prince, covering his eyes. She chuckled, a bit amused at this boy, and he asked, "are you ladies dressed?"
"Yes," she answered and he exhaled deeply then uncovered his eyes. "What can I do for you, Alexander?" she asked with a big smile.
"My brother is asking for Gabrielle," he said and she nodded then called out for Gabrielle.
Gabrielle walked sleepily over to the door and Joan left. She yawned and saw Alexander peering up at her with a cheeky grin. "Solan wants to see me?"
He nodded. "Yes, it's very important, if you know what I mean..." his eyes widened and she sighed. That only meant it had something to do with Xena of course, she thought.
They both walked over to Xena's room and found Solan leaning on the wall, tapping a dagger against his palms. Solan lifted his head and smiled once he saw Gabrielle coming towards him with his kid brother. "Gabrielle, thanks for coming. I know it's early."
"It's alright..." I don't need sleep anyway. Who needs sleep? "What's the problem now?"
He sighed, "Kara needs to go to the apothecary in the market to get some herbs for my mother. I want you to watch her while she's away. Can you do that?"
Gabrielle frowned and couldn't believe she was going from babysitting Xena's son to babysitting Xena herself. This is going to be great. Had it only been a day since this happened? Why yes, yes it has. "Sure, of course," she answered with a fake smile.
She opened the door and Alexander was following behind her until Solan grabbed his arm.
"Hey!" the little prince cried.
"Nice try, little brother," Solan teased. "You will be spending the day with Sarsa," he marched his brother down the hall.
Alexander gasped. "Oh no! Kara's sister?! She's mean!" he tried to wriggle his way out but Solan held his hand firmly. "Come on, Solan! Can't I spend the day with you? I promise I'll be really quiet!"
"Nope." Solan smiled, enjoying this. "Sarsa is nice, Alexander. You just don't like her because she doesn't let you get into any trouble."
"She tied me to a chair last time!" Alexander whined and grunted, trying to pull himself free. "Please, Solan, don't do this..."
"Don't be so dramatic, Alexander. Everything is going to be fine! You'll have a great time!" he snorted and his brother whined loudly.
"I hate you."
Solan smiled, "I love you too."
Gabrielle sat beside Xena's bed and thought she looked a lot better, less sweaty she noticed. Although there were dark circles underneath her eyes and her face was incredibly pale. In fact, she looked dead. Frowning, she leaned in closer and brushed a single strand of hair away from the sultana's cheek.
"I'm sorry this happened to you, Xena," she whispered, shaking her head. Obviously, there were so many enemies that wanted Xena dead and they were willing to do everything in their power to get rid of her. A simple poison in her wine was enough to kill her, though Gabrielle had faith that Xena was going to die, at least not yet. She was definitely stronger than that.
Staring at Xena unconscious in her bed just made Gabrielle think that Xena was human. She was vulnerable too, just like everyone else. Xena was like everyone else, despite her secrecy, she was a person. Gabrielle sometimes forgot that Xena was a person, part of that was because she thought Xena was very weird, yet fascinating at the same time.
She always thought that Xena or Xenophon, was a horrible ruler and cruel to her people. But, now, she guessed everyone outside these palace thoughts that. At the moment, every single person in this palace was trying their best to protect the palace and city from outside sources. Xena had a lot of people that cared for her. They didn't show their allegiance through fear, but through loyalty and trust.
"I see, Xena. You like people you can trust and you can't trust me because I lied to you many times. I lied to you because I wanted to know more about you and now I'm stuck here –yet not a slave nor a servant –but a servant to your will. I need to gain your trust, but how? I have helped you before and you thanked me but it wasn't enough because I thought I could outsmart you and I was wrong. I am helping you now and you can't even see it. This is just great." She sighed heavily.
"One day you will trust me, Xena," Gabrielle whispered with a small smile. "Or I hope you will. Sometimes, it's just...I can get carried away and say things without thinking, but I guess you already know that..." she sighed. This was getting nowhere.
She turned and spotted the huge parchment of the battle plans on the floor. She left Xena's side and peered down at the map. Quirking her mouth to the side she knelt down and flipped the map over onto the blank side and ran to the desk to retrieve the long pen.
She smiled and sat on the floor, drawing the boundaries of Anatolia, the Roman Empire, and the Greco-Persian Empire. She frowned, making sure the lines were perfect then wrote down the major cities in each empire –Rome, Ankara, Thebes and Jerusalem. It was a very weird love triangle, she thought.
"A triangle..." she tapped her chin with the pen. "Yes, of course!" she exclaimed and drew a giant triangle, the point at Ankara, the other on Rome and Jerusalem. She connected the dots of the three main cities. The most important cities in this giant chaotic mess.
She circled Jerusalem several times and realized this city was the problem of everything. She turned and drew the Mongolian Empire controlled by Genghis Khan. Those Mongols took over everything in such a short amount of time and they wanted Jerusalem too, in fact they wanted Persia entirely, but so did the Templars.
Gabrielle frowned. "Templars...Mongols...Anatolians." she sighed heavily, not making the connection here. She wrote down the city, Damascus, in Syria and circled the city. "Sidon..." she recalled the Syrian that Solan mentioned to her yesterday.
"Damascus, Jerusalem, Ankara...all important cities, of course, but why? Who are you Sidon? Who are you working for?" she muttered to herself. "Why did you invade Syria, Xena? What was your purpose? And why is Sidon after you now? You must have done something..." she groaned. "But what?!" she shouted.
Xena's eyes fluttered open and she frowned, hearing Gabrielle muttering to herself. She sat up slowly, narrowing her eyes as she watched Gabrielle writing on the map. Unconscious I may have been, and so I have heard everything you said.
"Clever girl," Xena said in a sickly voice.
Gabrielle froze and her eyes widened, staring at the wall in front of her. She didn't expect to hear Xena's voice and hoped that it was just her imagination. She dare not turn around so she could believe that this was all a horrible dream, a figment of her vivid imagination. Yes, that's it, she tried convincing herself.
"You know my name," Xena said and Gabrielle closed her eyes. No definitely not a dream, she said to herself.
"Trying to get into my head, are you?" she kept talking and the blonde didn't move an inch. Probably too afraid, Xena thought. "Lost your tongue, Gabrielle? You were talking up a storm earlier. Why stop now? You're on a roll." She teased.
Gabrielle sighed heavily and set the pen down on the parchment slowly. This is not happening. Xena is not unconscious, which meant she heard everything I said! How embarrassing...
"Come now, Gabrielle, you must tell me how I should trust you?" she smiled and Gabrielle turned around to see her sitting in her bed, glaring intently.
"I...didn't know you could hear me..." Gabrielle said under her breath.
Xena kept smiling and pat the empty seat next to her bed. "Sit," she ordered and Gabrielle wrapped her arms around herself. "Sit down!" she yelled in her hoarse voice.
The nervous blonde slowly walked over and sat down on the empty chair, avoiding eye contact with her at all costs. Not only was this embarrassing, it was nerve-racking! Xena heard everything. I'm so stupid.
Xena eyed her trainee and saw her cheeks were crimson flushed. "You believe you are a servant of my will? What is that supposed to mean?"
Gabrielle creased her eyebrows and shook her head, refusing to answer.
"Gabrielle, you don't need to be shy around me. You practically poured your heart out to me! I should be so flattered," she hummed and reached over and her hand touched Gabrielle's knee. She noticed that the blonde flinched at her touch. "It has been a long time since someone has shown such flattery towards me, especially someone who is not sharing my bed."
Excuse me? Gabrielle's eyes grew in fear and shock at the same time. She felt heat radiating off her cheeks by the second, especially since she felt Xena's hand on her knee. Why are you touching me? Why?
"You are trying so hard to convince me to like you..." she leaned over the bed and Gabrielle snapped her head around, eyes growing in terror. "Some people have yet to learn that they can't make me do anything." She saw the fear in the girl's eyes and backed away. "You don't have to convince me, Gabrielle. I like you."
Gabrielle felt a bit relieved but then became suspicious. Is this another one of her games? "You do?"
Xena nodded. "I liked you the first time I saw you," she smiled softly and coughed. She felt her chest burning and placed her hand over her heart. "You were the only girl that talked back to me." She cleared her throat and reached for the glass of water beside her bed.
She likes me? Is this a joke? Xena doesn't joke, right? "But I thought you hated me. You –you were so –"
"Hard on you?" Xena swallowed the water, feeling much better already. "I am hard on you because I see a lot of potential in you, Gabrielle. The other girls are fine, yes, they don't give me trouble, not like you," she winked and Gabrielle bit her bottom lip. "I like challenges, Gabrielle. You are my challenge."
And you're mine, you strange woman. Gabrielle chewed her lip anxiously and folded her arms, noticing Xena kept staring at her odd mannerisms. "I still don't understand you."
Xena chuckled lightly. "Many people don't. Do not feel left out." She sighed heavily and ran her hand across her stomach, feeling so nauseous. "Now..." she began, grabbing the blonde's attention. "Where is that rat, Sidon?" she narrowed her eyes.
Oh she knows. Of course she knows, she's Xena. "We're working on it..." she smiled nervously.
"We?" Xena growled and then leaned over the bed and vomited in the bucket. Gabrielle cringed and scooted away from the bed, wiping her pants gingerly with her fingers. Xena spat in the bucket and wiped her mouth with the backside of her hand. She let out a large exhale and lolled her head on the pillows, closing her eyes.
"I have not...felt this sick since I was pregnant with Alexander," she grumbled and Gabrielle crinkled her nose. She turned to her trainee. "Who is 'we'?" she frowned deeply.
Dajan barged into Xena's office where Solan was conducting the interrogation of the kitchen staff. Solan lifted his eyes as he was in the middle of writing. "Your highness, someone is here to see you."
Solan groaned and looked at the frightened woman. "You can go now, Emira," he said and the young servant quickly left the room. "Who is it?"
The adviser smiled deliciously. "Oh I think you should come see for yourself. He is waiting in the north wing."
Solan raised his eyebrow then stormed out of his mother's office and head to the north wing where the entrance was. He walked through the open hallway where he could see outside the palace walls. He saw someone with long dark hair standing by the open archways and then the person turned.
His blood boiled. "What are YOU doing here?!" Solan growled, marching up to his elder brother.
Belach smiled. "Hello, little brother. I have come to see your mother. Is she busy at the moment?"
"Who sent you? Why are you trying to talk to my mother?" Solan pushed his brother and Belach kept smiling.
"Hey, hey. I come in peace!" he brushed his dark vest and ruffled his long dark hair. "Now, where's your mother? I have some business to discuss with her."
Solan scoffed. "Right. Like I would ever let you talk to her! It's not like she'd listen to you anyway." He folded his arms.
Belach frowned and copied his brother, staring into his blue eyes. "I'm not here to argue with you. I'm here representing Osman. Where is she? I am not going to ask again."
"She's...not available to talk right now," Solan tried to stall his elder brother, but then he realized something. "Why are you here anyway?"
Belach rolled his eyes. "I told you, I'm representing Osman. It's a political thing, something you wouldn't understand. Now, I really need to speak to your mother, could you go tell her that I'm here?" he frowned deeply. He saw that his brother wasn't willing to go get his wretched mother. "Solan, I'm not in the mood for this shit. Where is she?!"
Solan smiled nervously and began backing away slowly. "Could you...wait here for a few minutes?" he asked then ran off. Belach raised his eyebrow and shook his head at his brother.
"So you know for sure that Sidon poisoned the wine?" Gabrielle asked, sitting in the chair beside the bed.
Xena nodded. "Yes. He's done it before when I lived in Thebes. He sent the wine as a gift a few days before I invaded his country. I didn't drink it because I was pregnant, but several of my servants bit the dust." She groaned and felt nauseous again, she cringed. "What I don't understand is why he decided to attack me now?"
Gabrielle shrugged her shoulders. "We're been trying to figure that out, but we needed you to help us."
"Who is this we? I sure hope you aren't talking about Solan..." she frowned and Gabrielle smiled nervously. "I'm going to kill him."
"Um...you were the one who put him in second in command if you weren't available..." Gabrielle said and saw the sultana give her a terrible glare, something she didn't want to see.
Xena remembered that she did write that in her declaration as sultan, but it wasn't supposed to be implemented until he was a little bit older. She suddenly feared the worst when she thought of her teenage son taking over the palace and military. How long have I been knocked out?
"Is it chaotic out there, Gabrielle?" she whispered.
Gabrielle smiled, "no, he's doing a great job. I can't believe that he is also second in command in Ankara too!" she blurted out and Xena's eyes widened with fury and slowly turned her head towards her. Gabrielle's smile dissipated and realized she made a mistake, a terrible mistake.
"What did you just say?" Xena hissed and rose from the pillows.
Solan entered his mother's room and saw she was wide awake. Happy to see that he smiled brightly. "Mother, you're okay!"
Xena threw the blankets off of her and swung her legs on the edge of the bed. She slowly stood and held onto the wall, barely able to keep her balance standing up. "And you're in trouble."
His mouth gaped. "Huh?"
She gripped the bed post and Gabrielle stood up to help her. "Don't touch me!" she growled and Solan didn't like that tone of voice. He had heard that many times, too many times. "Solan...when were you going to tell me that your father gave you the position of second in command?!"
Solan blinked rapidly and he stuttered, "um, uh, wh –what are you talking about?" he feigned surprise, though now he was scared for his life.
"You are lying to me..." she gave a big eerie smile and let go of the bed post, slowly walking toward her son and his eyes slowly lifted, staring up at her. "Solan!" she gripped his arm tightly and he winced.
"Mother, stop! I was going to tell you, honest!" he pleaded and her grip tightened. "Let go of me!" he grunted and pushed her away. Xena gasped and then he slowly backed away. "I'm sorry," he quickly apologized. "It's just you never listen to anything I say! I'm so tired of you treating me like a little kid, mother. I'm not Alexander's age anymore. I'm sorry."
Xena felt her head throb and she hissed, shutting her eyes and then felt nauseous again. She leaned on a chair. She opened her eyes and saw her vision was extremely blurry again and her hearing muffled. Slowly she turned her head and saw Solan talking to her and she frowned, trying to make out what he was saying.
Belach stormed into the bedroom thanks to Alexander's help. "I got tired of waiting!" he said and Solan swiftly spun around and grimaced at his brother.
Xena shook her head and then vomited all over the rug beneath her. Gabrielle slapped her forehead and sighed heavily. Belach crinkled his nose and saw Xena barely able to stand up on her own. "Is she pregnant again?" he asked.
"Get out of here!" Solan demanded and marched over to his brother, pushing him back outside the room. "You can't just come into her room!" he yelled aloud.
Belach scoffed. "Well, you were taking too long, brother. What's up with her?"
"None of your business and why do you care?"
"Because I came here to talk to your mother," Belach said through a tight lipped smile. "Now, what the hell is wrong with her?"
"Nothing!" Solan pushed his brother and Belach laughed.
"You don't want to do this," Belach warned and shoved his younger brother backward. "Why don't you go back in there and help your mother like the good little boy you are?" he teased and winked mockingly at him.
Solan snarled and shoved his brother into the wall and he bumped into a large vase. Belach blew some of his long hair out of his face and grunted, brushing some dust off of his vest.
Gabrielle tried to help Xena off the floor and heard a lot of yelling outside in the hallway and something crash. That can't be good, she thought. Xena shook her head and grabbed the chair, hoisting herself up.
"um, I think you should get back into bed..." she suggested and Xena's lip quivered.
Xena hung to the chair and then the wall, making her way over to her sword hanging on the wall. She yanked it off the wall and tread to the door. Gabrielle began silently praying to herself that Xena wasn't going to do something stupid.
Gabrielle ran to the exit and sprawled her arms over the wooden doors. "I don't think you should go out there!"
"Get out of my way!" Xena grabbed Gabrielle and tossed her aside.
Penelope and Astremia came out of their room and saw two teenage boys fighting, one being Solan and the other they had no idea. Penelope frowned and saw the boys shoving each other against the wall and destroying everything in sight.
"What is the prince doing?!" Astremia asked as she watched the two fight.
"I don't know but he definitely gave that guy a bloody nose," Penelope cringed as she watched Solan pull out a large sword and swing at his opponent. "For a kid he sure knows how to fight."
"Yeah definitely better than you," Astremia teased. The two girls then saw someone come out of the sultan's room and it definitely wasn't a man. It was a woman. Astremia frowned and nudged her friend. "Who is that?"
Penelope poked her head around the large pillar and saw a woman with dark long hair come out of the sultan's room and with..."Gabrielle? What the hell is she doing in there?"
Xena saw Solan and Belach sword fighting with one another and growled. She thrust her sword down in between them and she knocked both blades out their hands. "Enough!" she shouted and both boys widened their eyes.
She grabbed her son's arm and tossed him aside. "Go to my room," she said lowly and Solan frowned.
"But mother!" he protested and she pointed the sword at her room.
"I said, go!" she shouted and he grumbled then walked into her room alone. She turned to Belach, "and you..." she smiled and walked over to him slowly. She shoved him against the nearby wall and pinned his arms. "You touch Solan again I will break your arm...for real this time," she raised her eyebrows. "You got that?" she hissed and he nodded.
"That's the prince's mother?" Penelope whispered.
Astremia shrugged. "I think so, but I've never seen her before?"
"I think...the sultan and the prince's mother are one in the same..." Penelope whispered back and Astremia's eyes grew in shock.
Xena breathed heavily and Belach stared into her eyes anxiously waiting for her to back away now. She hung onto his shoulders and dropped her sword, collapsing onto the floor. Belach groaned and grabbed onto her arms before she face planted onto the marble.
Gabrielle covered her mouth and panicked. "Get her back inside!" she told him.
Belach grunted and lifted Xena up and carried her back into the bedroom. Gabrielle scratched her head nervously and turned to see Penelope and Astremia gawking at them. Oh no, she thought, they must have seen everything. For now, she needed to go back inside and explain later.
Solan saw his elder brother set his mother down on the bed gently and scowled. The sight of him even touching his mother was sickening and made his stomach churn. Belach leered over her and her head lolled over on the pillows.
Belach frowned sadly at his stepmother and felt bad seeing her like this. He had always seen her so boisterous and feisty. "What happened to her?"
"Do you actually care?" Solan rolled his eyes.
"Just tell me what happened Solan. You don't see me killing your mother do you?" Belach said and Solan shrugged a shoulder.
"I think the previous sultan of Syria, Sidon, poisoned her wine yesterday."
Belach nodded and peered down at his stepmother and didn't like to see her like this, despite his hard feelings towards her his entire life. After what his own mother told him what Xena did for him he felt sort of horrible for treating her so badly and thinking terribly about her. He wondered why Xena would do something so nice for him even when he was awful to her when he was a kid and now a teenager.
"Seems like everyone wants a piece of your mother," he said and Solan nodded silently. "I came here to ask her to surrender to the Templar Knights. They're blockading Ankara so father can't leave to meet Subutai."
Solan frowned, "Subutai? The Mongol commander for Genghis Khan?" he verified. "Mother will never agree to that and since when did father and Osman ally with the Khan?"
Belach smirked. "Awhile ago. Is there any way I can help Xena?"
"Why are you being so nice all of a sudden? Don't you hate her guts as much as you hate mine and Alexander's?"
"Solan..." Belach smiled deviously and wrapped his arm around his brother, bringing him close. "Why are you so suspicious of me? I want to help. Despite my hatred for your mother, I don't want her to die. That would be very...cruel of me."
"Sounds like you, but your behavior is weird. I don't like it!" Solan grumbled and pried his brother's arm off of him.
Gabrielle cleared her throat. "Hey you two, can we focus on the bigger picture here? Xena is very sick and we need to do something!"
Solan agreed. "She's right. Do you really want to help, Belach?"
His brother nodded his head. "Yes, I really do."
"Okay, go take my mother's men and scout the city. Look for suspicious behavior and come back if you find anything."
"What am I going to tell father? I'm supposed to come back and give him Xena's decision. How can I do that if she's passed out?!" he groaned and looked over at Xena, whom was still knocked out.
Solan smiled cheekily and looked over at Gabrielle.
"What?" she saw that strange look in Solan's eyes and it reminded her of his mother, a little too much.
An hour later Gabrielle finished writing a letter to Borias. She immediately regretted doing this for Solan and his brother. She felt like this family was really strange, just like Xena was. She was beginning to understand why Xena was such a sour lemon all the time. She had to deal with her stepson and both of her own sons and her sons' father too? This is ridiculous.
"So, what do you think?" she asked and Solan read over the letter.
"It's perfect! You're an amazing writer, Gabrielle," he smiled and set the letter down on the desk. "Now, sign her name."
Gabrielle gasped. "What?!" she shook her head and slammed the pen down on the desk. "No way! I am not forging Xena's signature! She'll kill me!"
Solan grinned and pushed the pen towards Gabrielle's hand. "Come on Gabrielle, this is a dire situation! You can blame it on me..." he pressured her and she slapped her forehead with her palm.
"Solan, you don't understand what your mother is going to do to me. She doesn't trust me! Now after this, she's really not going to trust me! I am not doing this!"
"Gabrielle, this is really important! Since my mother is not able to rule her empire that means I am in charge so –"
Belach frowned, "excuse me?! She put you in second in command of her entire empire?! And father did the same thing in Ankara? This is insane!"
"Shut up," Solan turned to Gabrielle with one of his cheeky smiles again. "Please, Gabrielle. I can't do it! Your handwriting is so much better than mine." He held the pen in his hand and waved it in her face. "Please, Gabrielle?" he begged.
Xena is going to kill me. I should start digging my grave right now. Hopefully she doesn't wake up anytime soon. Gabrielle sighed and snatched the pen from the prince and signed regrettably signed Xena's name at the bottom of the letter. She immediately thought this was a terrible idea and she was definitely going to die, but Xena doesn't kill women, but maybe she'll make an exception?
Belach kept shaking his head watching Solan fold up the letter and stamp it with Xena's royal seal. "You are going to be in so much trouble when she finds out what you've done."
"I'm already in trouble," Solan said and smiled looking at the letter.
Gabrielle sighed heavily and buried her face in her hands. She felt like this was going to be the worst decision. This is borderline treason, she thought.
"So, when do I go scout the city?" Belach asked with a bit of mirth in his eyes, eager to get to the mission at hand.
Gabrielle stepped out of the room to get some air. She was trying to wrap her head around everything that happened. Not only was she brutally humiliated by Xena because of what she said, but then she accidentally mentioned something that she probably shouldn't have about Solan. She gathered that Xena had no idea what she was talking about and she cursed herself for saying what she did. That's the last time I trust a seven year old, she reminded herself.
As she strolled down the hallway, rubbing her temples to soothe her throbbing headache she spotted Penelope and Astremia glaring at her outside the room. Oh no, not right now, not today. I don't need this interrogation.
She quickly turned and evaded the two gawking girls, hoping they wouldn't bother her.
"Gabrielle!" Penelope yelled and the blonde groaned.
"What is it?!" she spat back.
The two tall girls approached her with curious expressions. "Who was that woman? The sultan's wife?"
"Or perhaps concubine?" Astremia inquired.
Gabrielle rolled her eyes and turned back around to leave. "I don't really have the time or energy to discuss this with you two right now."
Penelope sneered and called out, "or maybe the woman is the sultan herself, huh?!"
Gabrielle stopped dead in her tracks and exhaled heavily. This is not happening to me right now. Why am I always caught in the middle of all these things? Why me? Xena is definitely going to kill me now.
She turned back around and grabbed both of their arms, pulling them aside in a separate hallway. She looked around to see if anyone was listening or passing by. Glaring into their eyes she whispered, "you can't say anything. I'm already in enough trouble as it is!"
Penelope smirked, folding her arms. "No wonder you are always with the sultan, or should I say sultana? Now, I'm curious as to why the sultana would reveal herself to you Gabrielle. I'm beginning to wonder if you really are the sultana's sex slave. Does she swing both ways or...?"
Oh my god. "NO!" Gabrielle rubbed her cheeks roughly. "It's not like that, at all. Stop saying stuff like that before she hears you. She knows everything, Penelope. You shouldn't underestimate her."
"I thought the sultan was weird, but now that we know the sultan is a woman –wow, that's new and yet...even more weird than before." Astremia frowned, suddenly realizing that what she said sounded so much better in her head.
Gabrielle shook her head, "whatever." She sighed and continued, "listen, you can't tell anyone. Please, I'm begging you. If she finds out that you two know she will be furious."
Astremia and Penelope shared a glance and smiled, turning to their comrade. "Sure, Gabrielle, we won't tell anyone," Astremia said.
"Lips are sealed," Penelope added.
Gabrielle released a sigh of relief. "Thank you," she shook both of their shoulders. "Don't tell anyone, got it?"
"We got it," Astremia said flatly.
Gabrielle nodded then left the hallway and walked out of the west wing by herself. Penelope frowned and grasped her friend's arm.
"This is insane! I can't believe the sultan is actually a woman. That explains why she always hides her face! Wow," she frowned deeply and tapped her cheek.
Astremia peeked her head from behind the wall and looked at the sultana's room. "Did you get a good look at her face?"
"Not really, did you?"
Astremia shook her head.
"I sure got a good look," Belach whispered behind them and both girls yelped, scared half to death. He smiled sweetly at them both, raising his eyebrow. "You two ladies talking about something?"
Astremia caught her breath and frowned at the dark haired teenager. "Who are you?"
He walked around, eyeing the girl from head to toe. "The sultan's stepson. Who are you?"
"She has a lot of kids," Penelope whispered and Astremia snickered.
Belach frowned and pulled out his sword then pointed it at both girls. They quickly shut their mouths and backed up against the wall. "You know about the sultan, don't you?"
"We won't tell anybody, we promise," Astremia said.
He nodded and saw the imminent fear in both of their eyes. He stepped closer to them both and tapped his blade against their shoulders one at a time. He suddenly got an idea and retracted his sword. "How would you two ladies like to help me out?" he smiled charmingly.
The girls raised their eyebrows and looked at each other, unsure whether to trust this boy.
"I have to go scout the city per request of my brother. Care to join me?" his smiled widened and the girls frowned. "Unless you want to face my stepmother's wrath, which I promise you, you don't want to see that."
Penelope and Astremia shook their heads and stared widely at the young brunette teenage boy.
"Wise choice. Follow me!" he sheathed his sword and whistled as he sauntered down the hallway.
Joseph was busy instructing his master's men to scout the area of Masada and make sure nobody came in the area. Gregory wanted to make sure that this area was off limits and didn't trust Xenophon's men at all. The sultan's men were not only great warriors, but Gregory knew for a fact that the sultan had highly trained assassins as well.
Once the men were on their horses they left the area and Joseph frowned, hearing loud horse hooves stampeding towards the campgrounds. "Saracens," he grumbled. His master thought it was a good idea to hire the Saracens to spy on Xenophon and the two parties made a deal with one another. The Saracens help the Templar Knights and the Church and they were allowed to stay in Egypt and Tunis without converting to the Church.
"Joseph," the Saracen said once he hopped off his horse and took the veil off of his face to reveal a big smile.
"Sidon," the Templar growled, not exactly happy to see the ex-sultan of the old Persian Empire.
Gregory smiled and approached Sidon and his second in command. "Sidon, we were not expecting you to return so soon."
The Syrian shrugged his shoulder. "I bring some very valuable news about Xenophon." He couldn't wait to see the look on the Templars' faces.
The Templar master frowned and crossed his arms. "I'm listening."
Sidon stepped closer and wrapped his arm around his Christian brother. "How would you feel if I told you that Xenophon is actually...a woman?" he sneered.
Joseph's eyes widened. "A woman?!" he blurted out. "That's blasphemous."
"Not to mention impossible!" Gregory stated. "Xenophon can't be a woman. I've seen him in person. He does not appear to act or even sound like a woman."
Sidon nodded. "I understand your doubts, brother, but...Xenophon always hides his face. I always thought there was something strange about that even when I met with her many years ago." He stepped away and saw the irate look in Joseph's eyes.
"Tell me brothers, have you ever looked into Xenophon's eyes? Is there not something feminine about those blue eyes? The way she walks...and her layers upon layers of robes to hide her body like the snake that she is..." he hissed.
Joseph groaned and grasped his master's shoulder. "Sire, this is a bigger problem than we ever could have anticipated. If what Sidon says is true then we have the authority to overthrow her and try her for multiple crimes."
Sidon snickered and saw the shock on Gregory's face. "You can charge her as a pagan witch of course and burn her at the stake to publically humiliate her. God knows that she has humiliated several of us before. She needs to die."
Gregory nodded, agreeing with both of them. "She is quite tricky, isn't she? She has fooled the world for over a decade. How does she manage to keep up this charade?"
"She hides," Sidon began, "she hid in her palace in Thebes and then attacked me months after I agreed to give her my share of the Persian Empire. She couldn't even show her face in battle. She not only destroyed my entire kingdom but took my army and control of all my trades and taxes."
He laughed, relishing in the thought of the sultan whom betrayed him so long ago, burning at the stake as the fraud that she is. "She is a liar, a thief, a fraud and a serpent from Hell. Destroying the paradise that me and the previous Persian Sultan created. A dark cloud looms over Jerusalem as she continues to infect it with her lies and deceit."
Joseph raised an eyebrow, gawking at the Saracen. "You people are quite poetic, aren't you?" he said and Sidon smirked. He turned to his master, "how do you want to handle this?"
Gregory frowned. "We write to Genghis Khan for aid. The Anatolians refuse to help us and they are very loyal to Xenophon. They are keeping her secret safe. We attack Anatolia and seek help from the Mongolian Khan to dethrone the sultana."
"And what of Xenophon? What shall we do about her?" Joseph inquired.
"We play along with her little game." Gregory smiled.
Sidon laughed and the two knights looked over at him. "I may have poisoned the witch's wine. She refused my wine last time I sent it to her, but I know that she cannot resist the taste of the devil's nectar."
"You poisoned her?!" Joseph growled and grabbed Sidon by his dark robes.
"But of course. It was a simple gift. Her physician gave her an antidote unfortunately but she will be weak for a long time. I am not sure if she will recover," he smiled deviously at the knight.
Gregory pulled his soldier away from the Saracen. "How do you know if she will recover or not?"
Sidon grinned, "I may have a little spy inside the witch's palace."