AN: sorry about not updating but I had a short week of vacation before I start classes again. Promise the cliffhanger was well worth the wait ;)

Chapter 16 –Divine Intervention

Belach rode to the back entrance of the palace and dismounted his horse. He quickly ran to the back doors in the garden area and saw several broken glass windows. He hoped there wouldn't be any people inside and most of them were outside in front of the palace. Breathing in heavily he unsheathed his sword and kicked open the doors and cautiously walked inside, gripping his sword tightly.

Circling around himself as he tread through the dark halls, he heard a couple of voices and one was very familiar. He raised his eyebrow and walked along the wall, listening to the hushed voices. He pressed his ear against the wall and heard Alexander trying to whisper to Solan. Rolling his eyes he then sheathed his sword and walked over to the door where he thought his brothers were hiding behind.

He opened the door and was met with a dagger thrown directly at him. He gasped and dropped to the floor. Lifting his eyes he saw Solan with a sheepish grin on his face.

"I thought you were one of the intruders..." Solan lamely apologized.

Belach quickly jumped off the floor and turned to see the dagger in the wall behind him. He faced his brother and frowned deeply. "Nice aim, you nearly decapitated me," he said. "Come on, your mother wants me to take you out of the palace."

Alexander smiled and ran over to Belach still holding his wooden sword. "Are we going to fight?" he eagerly asked.

His elder brother smirked. "Sorry, no fighting for you. She told me to get you both and that's it."

Alexander pouted and folded his arms. Solan ran up to his younger brother and looked at Belach suspiciously. "Why are you helping my mother so much? What is your game?"

"No game, Solan," he sighed, "can we go now?" he grabbed Alexander's hand and began ushering him out of the room.

Solan snarled and pulled Belach's arm, thrusting him backward a few steps. "I don't trust you. You've been acting really nice since you got here and I want to know why."

Belach growled and pushed his brother aside and kept walking with Alexander. "We don't have time for this!" he quickened his pace to his horse outside and Alexander skipped with him, barely able to keep up with his long strides.

Solan furrowed his eyebrows and snatched the dagger out from the wall and ran to meet with his brothers. Belach hoisted Alexander up on the horse and turned around, motioning him to climb aboard.

"What is your deal, Belach? Why are you helping my mother?" the blonde teenager asked, incredibly skeptical of his brother.

Belach rolled his eyes and mounted the horse. "Solan, your mother asked me to do this. So would you just get on the horse? Don't make me force you."

"You can't force me to do anything," Solan grinned smugly.

"Just as stubborn as your mother," Belach smirked. "She has been ousted by the Templar Knights and Sidon. Everyone knows who she is now."

Solan's eyes widened in fear and his brother nodded his head slowly. "Yeah, that's right. You heard that correctly. If we don't leave now I'm pretty sure your mother's palace is going to be a pile of rubble. Now, get on this damn horse!" Belach demanded.

Solan quickly jumped on the horse and sat behind Alexander. He wrapped his arms around his younger brother and Belach rode off throughout the gardens. Alexander wrapped his arms around Belach's waist as tightly as he could.

"So, does this mean that mother is a sultana now?" Alexander asked.

Belach smiled and turned a sharp corner, weaving through the trees in the gardens. "More like dead meat."

Alexander gasped. "What?! She's going to die?"

"Belach, shut up," Solan rolled his eyes. He pat his little brother's shoulder. "She's not going to die, don't worry. I sent a letter to father." He whispered.

"I'm guessing you still haven't told her about that," Belach mused and Solan pursed his lips, remaining silent. "You're in deep shit, Solan."

Xena twirled the sword in her hand and smiled at Gregory. "Open the gates, Templar, and fight me like a man." She winked.

Sidon rolled his eyes and approached the gate, coming dangerously close to her large sword. He poked the end of her blade teasingly and grinned eerily up at her. "Syrian craftsmanship. The best in the Persian hemisphere. Much better than those Spartan swords you had in Thebes, huh?"

"Sidon, don't play games with me," Xena thrust the sword through the iron rods and he jumped backwards. "Don't like being at the end of my sword, do you?" she asked with a playful grin. "You must be very accustomed to my sword since your kingdom was destroyed in one day by my army."

Sidon snarled. "And where were you? Hiding in your luxurious palace like the real coward you are," he spat at her horse and she grimaced.

She bat her eyelashes and lowered her sword. She nodded her head slowly, licking her lips. "I have no reason to hide, Sidon. I am not hiding right now, am I?" she smiled and she saw his nostrils flare. "Oh, don't get angry, Sidon, it clouds your mind to make rational decisions. But, you are not very rational, are you?" she cocked her head.

Gregory groaned and unsheathed his sword. "Enough of your riddles, Xena. I am giving you one last chance to surrender to the Church. If you surrender, you may be pardoned, if not, you will be burned."

Xena sighed heavily and waved the sword in front of the large gates. "Don't bring your Church into this, Templar. Neither your Church or your heavenly deeds will save you here. You are in my empire. Your holy vows mean nothing to me. God cannot protect you."

The Templar chuckled lightly and waved his hand at Joseph. The other Templars, Mongols and Syrians began running to their positions. Xena frowned and saw archers lined up on all sides of the walls. "So you admit that you are a Godless woman, Xena."

"I didn't say that."

Her eyes darted to all the archers and she was obviously outnumbered here. She only had herself, Gabrielle and all of her trainees with her. Her army was on the coast protecting the civilians. There were too many people here and she knew she was going to lose if she attacked them head on. They obviously weren't going to surrender unto her either.

"Then you must submit to the Church or die. You don't belong in this holy land. You have corrupted it enough!" Gregory looked around and smiled. "And you are surrounded. You have no way out."

She narrowed her eyes and began backing away from the gates. Gabrielle grabbed her arm and saw the fear in Xena's eyes. "He's right, you know," she whispered. "We can't win this, Xena."

Xena smiled and Gabrielle eyed her confusedly. "This is not about winning, Gabrielle. They are bluffing. They won't attack me. They want me to suffer. If they kill me now they won't be able to humiliate me. Sidon has been waiting years for this moment."

Gabrielle's eyebrow rose then turned to all the shocked girls behind them. "What if he's not bluffing?" she asked and Xena turned to her. "They don't sound like they are."

"Gabrielle, I want you to take all of the girls and get inside the palace. Take them to the armory," she whispered.

Sidon rolled his eyes, growing impatient. "So much talk and so little action, Xena!" he yelled out. "You want to fight yet you gossip with those street rats you now own as your little warrior slaves!"

Xena grunted and Gabrielle looked over at Sidon nervously. "Gabrielle!" she hissed and the blonde snapped her head around, facing her with wide eyes. "I have Greek fire in large barrels inside the armory. I want you to ignite them then get out of the palace as fast as you can."

Gabrielle shook her head. "Are you crazy?!"

"Do as I say!" Xena growled and her petite trainee tensed at her tone. She smiled softly and said, "I have faith in you."

Gabrielle sighed and nodded her head. She turned to the girls and nudged her head. "Come with me," she said lowly and rode off on her horse. The group of girls soon followed her after they stopped gawking at Xena, completely ignoring everything around them.

Gregory raised his eyebrow as he saw all of the young girls riding off down the road and he turned to Xena with a bemused look. "Now you are all alone, Xena," he smiled. "One last chance."

Xena grinned smugly and wrapped the veil around her face again. She poked her sword through the iron rods at the anxious Templar teasingly. "Don't underestimate me, Templar." She winked then rode off.

Sidon gasped and looked upward at the Mongol archers. "Fire at her!" he shouted. The archers began shooting directly at Xena but missed terribly because she was too far out of their range. The ex-Sultan yelled up at the sky and pushed open the gates. He grabbed the nearest horse and hopped on.

Gregory yanked on the reins and stepped in front of the eager Saracen. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"I'm going to kill her!" Sidon kicked the Templar out of the way and he whistled at his men then rode off following Xena down the long dirt road through the desert forest ahead.

"Sidon, no!" The Templar cursed under his breath and then Joseph ran to his side. Gregory folded his arms whilst shaking his head at the foolish Saracen. "She is going to do something."

Joseph snickered. "She ran away, sire."

Gregory sighed and turned to his second in command. "She is not running away. She is up to something. She has a plan. If she was able to destroy Damascus in one day, imagine what she could do in a few hours, Joseph? Sidon is an idiot."

"His anger blinds him," the younger Templar said and Gregory nodded, agreeing.

Belach halted his horse once he saw a horde of people riding towards them in the barren desert far away from the palace grounds. He wasn't even sure they were in Jerusalem anymore. Alexander wrapped his arms tighter around Belach's waist and leered behind him to see the horsemen approaching.

"Who are they?" Alexander asked in a timid voice.

Solan raised his eyebrow and dismounted the horse then took off running to a higher place to get a closer look. Belach growled, "Solan!" he called out then kicked the horse to follow his brother. "Get back here!"

The adventurous blonde ran and climbed on top of a large rock formation. Belach halted the horse and watched him climb up easily. Solan put his hand over his eyes to block the blinding sun. he smiled widely once he was able to see who the horsemen were.

"Anatolians!" he shouted to his brothers. "Osman and father came here like we asked them to!"

Alexander frowned and tugged on Belach's sleeve. "You asked them to come here? Why?"

Belach grinned nervously and pat his brother's hand gently. "It's a long complicated story, Alexander. Although, I'm kind of glad that they came."

"Mother is not going to like this," Alexander shook his head in shame at his brothers.

Borias rode ahead of Osman's men and came to an abrupt halt to see all three of his sons in the middle of nowhere. He looked to Belach and wasn't quite sure what he was doing, especially with Alexander on his horse. And then there was Solan who was perched on a large boulder.

"What are you boys doing out here?" he asked all three of them.

"Well," Solan began and eyed Belach.

"Don't look at me," Belach put his hands up, refusing to give into this awful plan of his brother's.

Solan huffed and then jumped off the boulder and approached his father's horse. He almost didn't want to look him in the eye, considering he lied and his mother had no idea what was going on. "We needed help and I didn't know who else to ask, so I asked you."

Borias' eyebrow rose slowly and he rubbed his chin. "What are you talking about?"

Belach rolled his eyes. "That letter you got from Xena wasn't actually from her. Solan and I wrote it." he blurted out and Solan's eyes widened in fear.

"Where is your mother?" he turned to Solan.

The blonde teen shook his head unknowingly and Belach answered for him. "The Templar Knights, Mongols and Syrians have taken over Xena's palace. They know who she is and she's surrounded. She told me to get Alexander and Solan and leave the area."

Borias exhaled heavily and rubbed his face out of frustration. "Where is she now?"

Belach shrugged. "I guess she's still at the palace, but knowing her, she probably ran off somewhere. You know how she is," he smirked.

Osman rode up beside Borias and frowned at the three boys. "What is going on?"

"Xena didn't ask me to come here, my sons did," Borias grumbled and glared at his sons, specifically Solan and Belach.

"I knew she would never ask for your help," the chieftain chuckled lightly.

Alexander climbed off his brother's horse and ran over to Borias. He tugged on his leg and looked up at him with his big brown eyes. "Father, you need to help mother. I don't want her to die."

Borias smiled softly and grazed his hand across his small son's cheek. "She's not going to die." He said.

"Maybe she'll die of humiliation," Osman mumbled and Borias shot him a glare. "You know how prideful she can be..."

"Father, please!" Alexander pleaded with tears swelling in his eyes.

Borias sighed. "We will help her," he looked out and saw the huge palace a few miles away. He also saw a lot of black smoke filling the sky around it. "If we can find her..." he grumbled. He turned to Belach, "take Solan and Alexander far away from here."

Belach frowned, "I want to help! Let me come with you, father."

"No. You will stay with your brothers. Osman's cousin will be there to watch over you," he began trotting off and Solan ran to grab Alexander's hand. "Go!"

Belach groaned and hopped off his horse and walked with his two brothers to meet up with the rest of the Anatolians that were setting up a camp in the desert. Alexander looked over his shoulder and saw his father, Osman and the rest of the army riding towards the palace.

He sighed and turned to Solan. "Is she going to die, Solan?"

"I don't think so," his elder brother reassured him.

"It would take hellfire on earth to kill your mother," Belach said half jokingly and received a punch in the shoulder blade from Solan.

Gabrielle brought the girls to the armory through the secret tunnels that Solan showed them before. They walked inside and saw the plethora of weapons before them. Gabrielle frowned and tried to look for the barrels that Xena mentioned, but this place was huge.

She turned around to the stunned girls, all but Penelope and Astremia. "Okay, we need to look for large barrels. Xena said to ignite them on fire and then escape the palace as quickly as possible."

Helena folded her arms as did many of the other girls. "You lied to us, Gabrielle. You knew the sultan was a woman all along. Why didn't you say anything?" All the other girls agreed and began talking among themselves.

Gabrielle groaned. "We don't have time to talk about this right now!" she shouted and everyone immediately ceased talking. "The barrels are filled with Greek fire. Once we ignite them, this place is going to blow up. She told me to do this and we should work together. Okay?"

All the girls remained silent and Penelope smiled. "We should spread out," she suggested.

"The sultan said to work as a team not against each other," Astremia said. "Do what Gabrielle says," she said and then turned to her short blonde teammate and winked. Gabrielle smiled widely and her cheeks flushed.

Joan pushed through the crowd of girls angrily. "Why should we listen to the sultan...or sultana...now? She lied to us! She lied to everyone about who she is! Why should we save her stupid palace?!"

Gabrielle grimaced and approached Joan, staring up into her wicked eyes. "Because she brought you here to have a better life. She cares about you." She yelled out to everyone else, "she cares about us all!" she shoved Joan backwards gently.

"We aren't just trying to save her palace, we're trying to save her empire. Those men want her to burn at the stake in public! And why? Because she is a woman? We are all women too. We should help each other, like the sult...ana always says." She sighed and smiled at everyone. "She is not a horrible person. She is merciful, I've seen it for myself many times. She is a fair ruler and she deserves to be recognized for all of her good deeds."

She walked backwards and held out her arms. "Now, spread out so we can find these barrels." She said and all the girls looked at one another, feeling a bit ashamed and embarrassed at their behavior.

Everyone began running around the large armory to find the barrels that Xena wanted. Gabrielle walked off by herself and Helena ran over to her. "Gabrielle," she touched her shoulder. "You knew the whole time?" she asked.

Gabrielle nodded with a weak smile.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I don't like to betray someone's trust. It wasn't my secret to tell," Gabrielle answered and pat her friend's shoulder then walked off with Penelope to help look for the Greek fire filled barrels.

Astremia ran over and began pushing over wracks of weapons to find the barrels. She spotted Gabrielle helping Penelope. "Hey Gabrielle, you gave a really nice sappy speech back there," she teased.

"Thanks, I think," the blonde grinned and wormed through the small narrow paths of wracks upon wracks of weapons.

"The sultana is really pretty," Penelope stated aloud. "I can see why she hides her face."

Gabrielle smirked and tried to ignore that comment, although it was the first thing that came to her mind as well when she saw Xena's true face for the first time. Xena was not pretty, that wasn't the word. She was attractive yes, beautiful even, but she was very vigilant and strong, even at her weakest. That's what made her dangerous and her good looks were a plus.

Although, Gabrielle thought that Xena was different from other women. She not only posed as a man for several years, but she made her own empire from the ground up in a short amount of time. She also didn't and couldn't rely on her good looks to sway people to her side. That was definitely admirable considering that women were known for using their looks to entice men. Xena didn't use her looks to get anything she wanted.

"I found some barrels!" Joan shouted from the other side of the armory room.

"I found some over here!" Helena said with a big smile.

Gabrielle ran over to the girls and frowned, rubbing her chin pensively. If they light the barrels inside here, it will destroy the entire palace. Xena didn't seem to care what happened to the palace, she just wanted those men gone, dead or to vacate the area. Perhaps, there was another way to do this –a more strategic way.

"I have an idea," Gabrielle smiled smugly. All the girls turned to her and ran to the center of the armory where she stood. "We attacked the Templars on the walls before. We could go up to the tower and throw the barrels down at them and ignite them with arrows dipped in fire. It would give us more time to escape."

Astremia nodded. "Great idea, Gabrielle. We need to hurry though. We won't have much time before they run to attack us in the tower."

"We can throw them out the windows too, not just the tower. There are a lot of us," Helena suggested and Gabrielle grinned at her.

Penelope stepped forward, "alright, who's the best at archery?" she asked and ten girls stepped forward, raising their hands. "Come with me, let's go find some bows." She ran off and began looking for large war bows.

Borias and Osman approached Xena's large palace and it was indeed swarmed with Templar Knights and Mongols, which Borias thought was odd. He saw the men hoarding inside the gates, hiding or perhaps waiting. Xena was also nowhere to be found which meant she probably left the area and had a plan, as usual.

Gregory frowned once he saw a huge army of Anatolians outside the gates. He approached the chieftain and his second in command. "Ah, the sultana's loyal followers," he mused. "Have you come to help out your lying ally?"

Osman grimaced, "where is she?"

"She rode off. Perhaps she got scared and decided to flee because her precious palace is surrounded," he chuckled.

Borias scoffed. "Xena is not scared of anything. If she rode off then she has a plan already. You don't know her very well."

"I suppose you do?" the Templar inquired and Borias' eyes darkened. "I don't know why Xena chooses to ally with nomadic Muslims such as yourselves. She must think she is above you."

"She thinks she is above everyone," Osman interjected. "That's why she has been so successful, Templar," he smirked and saw that angered the Templar.

Borias trotted close to the gates and the archers on the walls pointed down at him. He raised his eyebrow and looked to the furious knight. "Where did she go?"

Gregory folded his arms. "East, but I doubt you'll find her. The Saracens are on her trail."

He spun around and whispered to Osman. "I'm going to find her. Don't leave this palace," he growled then rode off and a few of the men followed behind him.

"You should have taken me up on my offer, Osman. We could have taken Xena out a long time ago and obviously you knew about her treachery. You too shall face charges of fraud in the eyes of God," Gregory smiled wickedly at the chieftain.

"Xena is an ally of mine and always has been. She is more godly than you will ever be. She does not slaughter people to receive respect. She has always been fair to us and everyone in her vast empire. You underestimate her skills, Templar. I suggest you leave Jerusalem." Osman pulled out his sword and his men did the same.

Gregory laughed and all the knights pulled their arrows back. "Are you threatening me, chieftain? You actually want to protect the sultana even after she has deceived us, all except you, of course."

"I'm not threatening you, I'm asking you to leave. This land belongs to Xena. She conquered it fair and square years ago." Osman narrowed his eyes and looked up at the archers with their taut bows.

"She is a liar! She's been impersonating a man for over a decade and you kept her secret! Why would you do that for her? She means nothing! Women have no place to rule an empire! This is not ancient Greece!"

Osman smiled and waved his hand at his men and they rode off, spreading about the palace. They created a large barricade around the fortress and the knights held their fire until Gregory gave the signal.

"Perhaps Xena is more of a man than you will ever be, Templar," Osman teased.

"Fire!" Gregory shouted at his men. Osman backed up on his horse and his men pulled out their shields and formed a wall of copper over their heads.

Inside the gates the Mongols wearing the silver masks saw barrels being dropped a few stories above them. Two men looked down and saw black oil spill all over their boots and the ground.

Penelope and Astremia smiled and pulled back their flaming arrows. "Fire!" Penelope shouted and the girls shot down below directly onto the Greek fire.

Immediately the ground burst into flames and a few Mongol assassins were set aflame and began running all over the place, bumping into others and igniting whoever and whatever they touched. All the girls above in the balconies laughed at the men running around, panicking and fearing for their lives.

Gabrielle and a few other girls tipped over a large barrel onto the west wall and the Templar Knights spun around. They began running towards the tower and slipped on the oil, falling flat on their faces. The archers, on the balcony below the tower, shot their flaming arrows onto the wall and the knights self immolated and began screaming in agony.

The other knights ran to help but soon caught fire themselves and no amount of pat downs were going to put out Greek fire. Some of the knights toppled over and fell over the side of the wall and lit the grass and brush on fire as well.

"Fire on the east wall!" Gabrielle shouted and the girls on the opposite side tipped the barrels over the balcony onto the east wall.

Joseph on the ground spun around and saw everything up in flames and it was mostly his men and the Mongol assassins. His eyes widened. "Greek fire!" he shouted and his master turned around completely distracted and forgot about the Anatolians.

Osman whistled at his men to back away from the palace and saw a lot of young women, some no older than sixteen, shooting flaming arrows at the Templars. He smirked and sheathed his sword. Shaking his head, he couldn't believe Xena had girls in her palace, girls working for her.

"I thought she got rid of that stuff years ago," he mused, finding this rather amusing seeing an army of God being slaughtered by a bunch of adolescent girls.

Xena rode to the outskirts of Jerusalem and wouldn't dare go to the beach. Knowing Sidon he would kill all of those civilians and her army wouldn't be able to protect the people and fight off Sidon and his men at the same time. She looked behind her and saw Sidon still hot on her trail.

She rode through the barren desert and there was no protection at all. No trees, no brush, no mountains. She was far from Jerusalem, far from civilization. She was trapping Sidon and made sure that he would not harm anyone else. After all, she thought, Sidon is after me and he wants nobody else.

Sand kicked up behind her as she began riding in a large circle, trying to tire Sidon and his men out, but it didn't seem to be working. Glaring behind her she saw them riding through the dust storm and she growled. She saw a large area of sand dunes ahead and kicked her horse, riding faster towards the dunes.

Her horse sunk into the sand, slowing her down. She unsheathed her sword then jumped off of her horse and slid down the thick dune. She shielded her eyes as sand whisked in her face and eyes. She put her arms out and dug her boot into the sand trying to stop herself from sliding further.

Sidon yanked on the reins and frowned. He saw Xena in the dune, sliding down in the hot sand. He hopped off the horse and ran down the dune as his boots began to sink in the sand. "Xena! You conniving witch, you will not hide from me again!" he shouted.

Xena winced as she finally stopped her body and felt her legs about to give out. She forgot her staff was on her horse and she was not exactly able to stand for long since the poison was still in her bloodstream. She slowly rose to her feet and held onto her sword. She ripped the veil off her face and smiled as Sidon approached her from above.

"I'm right here, Sidon! Come and get me!" she teased. She felt her arms shaking as he came closer and shook her head, trying to focus.

The Syrian laughed and he pulled out his sword, merely a few feet away from her. "I see the poison is still in effect. What a shame it didn't finish you off the first time."

She smiled weakly and her hands began sweating inside her gloves as she glared at him. "That's because I didn't drink it the first time." She smirked and his smile disappeared. "Pretty cowardly of you to resort to poison. You should have faced me like a man, Sidon."

"You betrayed me, Xena!" he yelled and charged right for her. Her eyes widened and she evaded his attack.

"No, Sidon!" she breathed heavily and felt her left leg slowly giving out. She limped over to him and thrust her sword at his chest and he swatted her blade away. "It was you who betrayed me! I offered you a deal and you went behind my back! You planned to attack me! I wasn't going to stand around and wait for you to kill me!"

He grinned. "I bet you wish you killed me, huh? I'm glad you didn't because then we wouldn't be having this conversation right now." He chuckled and saw her struggling to stand and keep her balance. "Look at you, barely able to keep to your feet, yet I admire you. You never give up. It should be easy to kill you. Face to face," he winked and charged right for her and she dodged him, falling onto her side.

She groaned and held her ribcage. Sidon walked over and stomped on her back and she face planted into the hot sand. She gasped for air and spit out some sand. The sun was beaming down on the sand and it felt like shards of glass cutting into her cheek.

"I almost don't want to kill you," he said, seeing her so easily defeated.

"Why not?" she hissed. "Isn't this what you've been waiting for?"

He sighed and poked her back with the tip of his sword. "You are defeated, Xena. You can't even defend yourself. So pathetic, but so easy."

"Then why don't you just kill me?" she frowned and turned over her shoulder, glaring into his dark eyes. "What's the matter? Not man enough to finish the job?" she smiled smugly and he growled.

He rose his sword high into the air and then felt something stab him in the back of the leg. He moaned and turned around to see a giant arrow sticking out of his leg. Xena was waiting for the sword to be plunged into her back and then frowned.

She flipped over onto her back and saw a group of men attacking the Syrians on the top of the dunes and archers, continuously shooting at Sidon, though they missed several times. She squinted her eyes from the bright sunlight and saw Borias. What in the world is he doing here, she thought.

She tried to stand and fell back down into the sand, wincing in pain. She reached for her sword and began crawling away from Sidon, wrapping her arm around her midsection.

Sidon growled and saw Xena getting away from him. "No, you don't!" he limped forward and grabbed hold of her ankle and pulled her back.

Xena dropped her sword and it soon disappeared in the sand. She snarled and kicked Sidon away and he smiled. He grabbed her turban and unraveled it off her head and exposed her hair slicked back into a tight bun.

"Now you will show your true face, Xena –the lying snake that you are!" he hissed and grabbed her leg and drug her across the hot sand. She felt she didn't have any control over her legs anymore and was beginning to feel weaker as the hot sun beamed onto her face.

He wrapped his hand around her neck and yanked on her bun and her long hair tumbled down her back. Her eyes widened as he was merely a few inches from her face. "You are a beautiful woman, Xena. Shame you had to hide it for so many years. Look at you now, you were the most feared ruler in Greece and Persia, but now...you are a ragdoll. You have no control of your limbs, do you?"

He pulled out his sword and held it against her throat and she clenched her jaw. "Not nice being on the other end is it?" he hissed. "When I'm finished with you, I'll fuck your corpse and feed you to the dogs." He smiled and she cringed as she felt his blade graze her skin.

Borias wrapped his arm around Sidon's neck into a choke hold and the Syrian gasped for air. He threw Sidon a few feet away and he tumbled in the dunes. He turned and ran towards Xena. He knelt down beside her and saw blood seeping from her throat.

He pressed his hand against the wound and she blinked rapidly up at him. "What...are you...doing here?" she choked out and he applied more pressure to her open wound.

He shook his head and ripped a piece of her robe off and wrapped it around her neck as tightly as possible. "It is a long story." He heard Sidon growl behind him and he rolled his eyes. "Don't move," he ordered her and he unsheathed his sword.

Sidon coughed and rubbed his neck. "Anatolian..." he grinned. "The allies of Xena of course. God must have sent you here, but that would be impossible because Xena is a godless woman."

"Save your prayers for later, Sidon," Borias said with a smile and slowly walked forward towards the irate Syrian.

"You will all burn in Hell. We are of the same religion yet you are loyal to that heathen of a woman," Sidon snarled.

Borias shook his head and lunged forward, thrusting his blade into Sidon's already wounded leg. The Syrian cried out in agony and grabbed Borias' long hair and kneed him in the nose.

Xena rolled over onto her side and her vision began to blur as she watched Sidon fight with Borias. She touched her neck and the fabric was soaked. She looked at her hand and saw a lot of blood on her palm. Her eyes became heavy and she reached forward, trying to crawl away in the sand.

She breathed heavily and saw Borias grab Sidon by the neck and toss him aside. Her eyes fluttered as she tried to stay awake and try to crawl away. She exhaled lightly and collapsed into the sand and her head lolled onto her stretched out arm. The winds began picking up and sand started to cover her body as she lay in the hot sand.

Sidon knocked Borias' sword out of his hand and Borias backed away slowly. A few Anatolians came running behind and he smiled. "Get rid of him!" he shouted at Osman's men then turned around to see Xena covered in a light blanket of sand. "Xena!"

His boots sunk into the sand dunes as he tried to get to her. He dropped to his knees and shielded his eyes as the wind grew stronger. He lifted her torso up and pat her cheeks. Her mouth parted slightly and he looked at the fabric wrapped around her neck. Too much blood, he thought, the cut was too deep.

He groaned and hoisted her up and threw her body over his shoulder then began to tread back up the dunes. He struggled against the harsh sandy winds and held onto her dangling legs. "You are insane, Xena," he grumbled.

The Templar Knights began mounting their horses and were eager to leave Xena's palace. Most of the men were still running around in flames or they were dead. All the Mongolians were dead and those girls kept throwing barrels over the balconies and towers.

The gates were opened and Gregory waved his hand. "We need to retreat!" he ordered.

The Anatolians surrounded the Templars as they were about to make a hasty exit. "Leaving so soon, Templar?" Osman smirked. "Why don't you stay awhile?"

"I do not have any quarrels with you, Osman. I've lost nearly all of my men!" Gregory shouted.

Osman tisked and shook his head. "That's unfortunate for you. You should have left when I asked you to then maybe this didn't need to end like this."

"Allow us to pass, chieftain. You would fight a man unfairly?" Gregory asked and nervously looked around at all the Anatolians dressed in black and gold, surrounding him and his men.

"Isn't that what you did to Xena?" Osman said with a playful grin. "That's the difference between you and Xena. She is fair, you are not. You claim to be servants of God but you don't follow the word of God, Templar."

Gregory scoffed. "We have different gods, Osman. This is hardly an argument."

The Anatolian laughed aloud. "We have the same God, Templar. I am sorry you feel differently. I can't allow you to pass, at least, not so easily." He unsheathed his sword. "Surrender to me and my army and no harm will come to you."

The Templar master looked to Joseph and what few men he had left. He barely had twenty men and Osman had over one hundred men, possibly more. There was no way he was going to be able to fight them all without losing a few more lives.

"It seems you are out of ideas, Templar," Osman grinned. "I will let you run back to your Church now if you don't attack. Back down now. You don't have a lot of options."

Gregory huffed and gripped the horse's reins tightly. "Don't think that I won't be back with more men next time, Anatolian." He rode off and the remainder of his knights trailed behind him. Osman smiled and then heard all the girls cheering loudly on the balconies.

"Wow that was amazing!" Helena said and hugged Gabrielle tightly. Soon other girls wrapped their arms around her and Gabrielle coughed as she couldn't breathe.

Joan looked down at the Anatolians and the dead Mongols and knights down below. She frowned and looked beyond the palace walls. "Where is the sultan –I mean, sultana?" she asked and all the girls' smiles faded instantly.

Borias rode in with Xena draped over the horse in front of him. "Osman!" he shouted and the chieftain turned around with a large frown on his face.

"What's happened to her?" Osman asked.

Gabrielle looked down below and saw the man she saw in Ankara the last time she went. It was definitely the father of Xena's two boys and she squinted her eyes and saw Xena's body on Borias' horse. A sad frown graced her lips and then she saw him riding off with Xena.

"Where is he going?!" Gabrielle gasped then pushed through the girls and ran down the spiral of stairs.

Penelope frowned and Gabrielle ran right past her. "Gabrielle, where are you going?!"

Gabrielle breathed heavily and ran towards the gates and approached Osman. She grasped his leg and he was startled by her presence. "Where is he taking her?" she asked and he sighed. "Where?!"

"To my camp in the desert not too far from here, girl," he answered.

She nodded and then he began trotting off. She ran in front of his horse and he snarled. "Let me come with you."

"I don't think so. You and your girls did a fine job today," he smiled then began riding off and she grabbed the reins and the horse reared on its hind legs.

"I won't take no for an answer!" she said and he frowned down at the petite blonde. "Please," she begged.

Solan stayed outside the tent with Alexander playing a game in the sand. He drew a chess board in the sand with a large stick and so far they had played through three games and he let Alexander win two times.

Belach leaned against a tree and sighed heavily as he watched his brothers play the game over and over again for the last few hours. He kept his eyes open for his father or Osman if they planned to return.

Solan frowned at his brother. "You can't move the queen in that direction, Alexander."

"Why not?" he pouted.

"Because, you just can't!" Solan shook his head and moved the large rock to a different square. "Besides it's my turn anyway," he smiled and grabbed the smallest rock, representing a pawn and was about to move it across the sand 'board'.

Alexander huffed and stood then kicked his boot in the sand, destroying the chess board Solan drew. "I am done playing with this game!" he folded his arms and Belach snickered. "I want to know what is going on! What is taking them so long, Solan?"

"I'm sure it won't take too long, Alexander. Just be patient," Solan sighed and rubbed his temples, feeling a headache emerging soon.

"Belach, do you know anything?" Alexander walked up to his elder brother.

Belach shook his head and ruffled Alexander's thick short hair. "Sorry kiddo, I know as much as you."

Alexander grimaced and ran his fingers through his hair. "I really wish you'd stop doing that." He grumbled. He then heard horses approaching and ran forward. He smiled upon seeing his father riding in. "They're back!" he cheered.

Solan stood and Belach walked ahead of Alexander and saw Xena draped over his father's lap and then he halted the horse. Borias hopped off and hoisted Xena off the horse and carried her in his arms. He spoke with Osman's cousin in a hushed tone, too far to hear from where he and his brothers were.

Belach raised his eyebrow and then saw Xena's neck drenched in blood and her limp arms hanging down. His eyes widened and then Borias walked with Osman's cousin to a tent in a secluded area.

Alexander ran forward and frowned. "Did father find mother? Can we see her?" he asked eagerly.

Belach watched their father disappear into a tent with Xena and sighed heavily. He knelt down in front of his younger brother and smiled softly. "Do you want to play another game with Solan?" he asked and his kid brother pursed his lips.

"No! I am done playing games! I want to talk to father. I know he found mother, I saw her on his horse," he smiled widely. "I want to see her!" he marched forward towards the tent and Belach quickly grabbed his arm.

"Alexander, no!" he yelled in a firm voice.

"Let go of me!" he whined and tried to pull away from Belach and kicked his shin. His elder brother groaned and then Belach picked him up, wrapping his arms around him in a bear hug. "Belach!"

Belach shook his head and walked away from the tents and set him down on the ground and pinned him to a tree. Solan frowned and looked over to see a lot of people crowding around the tent that his father was in.

"Alexander, you can't see your mother right now," he said in a softer voice.

"But I want to see her!" he frowned sadly.

"And you will, but you can't right now, okay?" Belach smiled weakly.

"Why not?" Alexander's eyes widened.

He sighed and placed his hands on his little brother's shoulders. "You can see her later. Now, about that game?"

"Belach, I am not stupid. I want to see mother!" Alexander tried to get up and Belach pushed him back down.

"Alexander! Please," he sighed.

Gabrielle rode in with Osman and the rest of the army. She hopped off the horse and Alexander caught sight of her and grinned. "Gabrielle is here! See, mother is okay because she's here. Gabrielle!" he waved and she looked over at him and smiled softly.

She walked over to the three boys and Alexander ran up to her. "Hey Alexander..." she smiled and pat his head.

"Did you see my mother?" he asked with a beaming grin.

"Not yet..." she lifted her eyes and saw the concern in Belach's eyes and Solan's uncertainness. She already knew that the two older boys knew and Alexander had no idea. "But I will go check on her for you, okay?"

Alexander nodded. "Can I come with you?" he asked.

Belach shook his head and Gabrielle bit her bottom lip. She knelt down and grasped his upper arms. "Not right now, Alexander. I will see her first and then come get you, how does that sound?" she smiled.

"Okay!" he said and she nodded her head slowly.

"Just stay here with Belach and Solan. I'll be back soon," Gabrielle pat his cheek lightly and then ran off to go find someone to talk to so she could see Xena. She knew something was wrong, but didn't know what it was and the look on Belach's face was more than concerning, it was not good. Belach was not even Xena's son and he looked worried, which was unusual.

Solan grabbed his little brother's hand and looked over at the tent and saw his father step out and talk with Osman quietly. He saw blood all over his arms and palms. He pulled Alexander away, shielding him.

"So, how about another game of chess while we wait?" he offered.