AN: there is a new character introduced in this chapter that will play a vital role in this upcoming war with the Templar Knights. Once again, thank you all for reading and following along. This story is really fun and entertaining for me to write. Thanks and enjoy :)

Chapter 19 –When The Mockingbird Sings

Thirteen Years Ago

In the Persian Steppes near the Syrian and Anatolian borders, Borias and Xena stood within his yurt arguing with one another as well as Natassa. Belach hid in his room, peeking behind a curtain, watching the three fighting, talking over each other.

"I am warning you, Borias, those Crusaders are going to come into Persia and destroy everything!" Xena yelled.

"They are heading towards Jerusalem, not the Steppes, Xena," he said for the third time.

Natassa scoffed, "why should you keep arguing with her anyway? She doesn't know what she's talking about." She folded her arms and Xena shot her a glare.

Borias rolled his eyes at his wife then grabbed Xena by her shoulders, squeezing them firmly. "Xena, the Steppes are too far from Jerusalem. There is nothing here that they want," he shook her slightly.

She pushed him aside and inhaled deeply, trying to calm herself. "Just you wait, Borias. You are wrong and will come begging for my help."

"That won't be all he'll be begging for, I'm sure," Natassa made her snide remark and Xena growled, marching towards the arrogant woman and Borias held her back.

"Xena!" he snarled and she clenched her jaw, seeing the satisfaction written all over Natassa's face. Xena shoved Borias away and stormed out of the yurt as quickly as she could.

Natassa sighed and sat down on the floor, lounging on a few large pillows. "You allowed her into our camp to help us, Borias, but all she's done is share a bed with you." She saw him lower his eyes and turn away from her. "Don't think I haven't noticed the child she is carrying, Borias," she frowned deeply and narrowed her eyes and witnessed the shock and embarrassment written all over his face.

"Oh yes, I know. I must commend her on hiding it so well all this time, but I've always known," she smiled and sighed, stretching her arms along the pillows. "I would congratulate her if it wasn't my husband's child inside her," her nose crinkled in disgust and Borias frowned.

He scoffed, shaking his head, and turned and stormed out of the yurt. She sat up from the pillows and grimaced. "Yes, run to your whore, Borias!" she yelled and then settled into the pillows again, groaning lowly.

Later that evening Xena sat in her yurt, drawing a map of Persia on her floor bed. She grumbled and crumbled up the parchment and threw it across the room. By now there must have been a dozen crumbled parchment all over the floor. She grabbed fresh parchment and began drawing the borders again, trying to come up with a suitable plan to block the Crusaders. She knew they would come here, but didn't know when. The only thing she knew was that they were going to Jerusalem to see the Persian Sultan and possibly Damascus later, but they'd definitely make their way towards Anatolia and this camp just happened to be right in the middle of Anatolia and Syria's borders.

She heard some footsteps come inside the yurt and she grit her teeth. "I told you I don't want to see you, Borias!" she yelled.

Belach frowned confusedly and stepped inside the yurt, "Xena?" he called out and she lifted her eyes to see the tall three year old standing at the entrance with wide brown doe eyes.

"Oh," she pursed her lips and brushed her hair behind her ears. "What are you doing in here, Belach?" she asked nicely and he shrugged his shoulders. "Shouldn't you be with your mother?"

He shook his head silently and she sighed, rubbing her throbbing left temple. "What is that supposed to mean?" she asked, growing impatient by this child gawking at her.

"She's...not here," he answered in his small voice and she sighed deeply. "She –she left," he said. "Can I stay?" he asked and she set aside the parchment and nodded. He grinned and ran to her and crawled onto the bed.

He observed the drawing she was working on and he quirked his mouth, grazing his small fingers across the map she made. "Nice," he said with a smile and she smiled softly. "You draw nice."

She stifled a laugh and pushed the parchment further away from him so he wouldn't ruin it. "Nicely," she corrected and he looked curiously at her. "I draw nicely."

"Nicely," he nodded. He sighed heavily and fidgeted with his hands in his lap, turning his head around, looking at the inside of her yurt. Much different than his parents, he thought, and it only had one room, unlike his yurt that had three rooms.

Xena felt more awkward sitting with this boy than sitting in the same room with Borias and Natassa. He was being very quiet, which was unusual for him. She often saw him talking back to his mother or playing with Osman's nephew during the day.

She saw his eyes linger on her and she covered herself with the blanket, hiding her swollen abdomen. Belach frowned and scooted closer to her and looked up into her wide eyes.

He grabbed the blanket and ripped it off of her and her body tensed. He eyed her belly curiously and raised one eyebrow. "You have a baby?" he asked and she kept staring at him speechless. "How?"

She smiled nervously and she couldn't possibly explain this awkward situation to a child, especially Borias' and Natassa's son. "I have a present for you, Belach," she said, trying to distract him.

A big smile crossed his lips. "Really?" he asked and she nodded.

She reached over and grabbed a small box and set it in his lap. He excitedly opened the lid of the box and frowned, pulling out a necklace with some sort of ornament attached to it. "What is it?" he eyed her uncertainly.

"It's a falcon's talon," she said and he raised his eyebrow. "I know you like falcons. This is from one of the best falcons in Persia," she told him and his eyes widened.

"Really?" he asked skeptically.

"I swear," she winked and he threw the necklace on and touched the talon with his palm. "It's for your birthday."

He frowned, "my birthday was yesterday."

"A late birthday present," she said and he smiled cheekily. She then heard horses hooves outside and people yelling and screaming. Frowning, she grasped his cheeks. "Stay here," she whispered and struggled getting out of bed and grabbed her coat, throwing it over her shoulders.

She peeked out of the yurt and saw Templar Knights invading the camp, tearing women out of their homes by their hair and fighting Osman's army. Her eyes widened and she felt Belach rub against her leg and she peered down and saw horror in his eyes.

Belach saw the Templars ransacking the entire camp and then saw his mother riding in on a horse, wielding a large sword. "Mother!" he yelled then ran off and Xena gasped, grabbing his arm and pulled him back, holding onto him close to her.

"No, Belach!" she whispered and saw her horse not too far from her yurt. "Come with me," she grabbed his hand and ran outside to her horse. She picked him up and set him on the horse.

He frowned sadly and kept looking back at the chaos behind him. He saw his mother fighting a Templar. "But, my mother?" his eyes swelled with tears.

She smiled gently and adjusted the straps on the saddle as quickly as possible. "Don't worry about her, she'll be fine." She grunted and swung her leg over the horse and wrapped her arm around Belach's small body and rode off.

"Where we going?" he breathed heavily and couldn't take his eyes off the Templars attacking his family, his friends, his people.

"Somewhere safe," she frowned and kept riding far from the camp and far from the knights.

Belach stood in his room and held the small necklace that Xena gave him so long ago. He had forgotten he had it and he even forgot that he kept it all these years. This was the only present that he got from Xena since he came to know that his mother hid all the other ones from him as a child. He smiled softly and then heard someone enter his room.

"Belach," his mother said and he stuffed the necklace in his pocket.

"Yes, mother?" he turned around and she eyed him suspiciously.

"Your father wants to see you." She said and he nodded then closed the clothing drawer. "What were you doing?"

He smiled at her weakly and pat her shoulder. "Nothing," he ran past her and exited the yurt. He immediately saw his father talking with Osman outside in the open. He ran over to them both and they ceased conversation.

"You wanted to see me?"

Borias nodded. "I want you to count how many weapons we have. Set aside all the claymores and scimitars. We will send them to Xena in Thebes."

Belach stood and gawked at his father, his face contorted in confusion. "Does she know about this?" he asked.

His father rumbled, "yes! She told me to send them to her!"

"Okay..." Belach raised his hands in surrender. "Anything else?" he asked.

Borias and Osman widened their eyes and shared an uncertain glance with each other, finding Belach's nice behavior very odd. Borias cleared his throat and nodded. "We need to send her barrels of oil."

Belach raised his eyebrow. "Oil? Does she have cannons that we don't know about?" he chuckled and saw his father didn't find that amusing. "Okay, barrels of oil, got it." he smiled then ran off to go to the stone fortress filled with the weapons.

Osman scoffed and folded his large arms. "I don't know what Xena did to that boy in Persia, but she deserves a medal." He said half jokingly and Borias rolled his eyes. "Perhaps you should send him to live with her for awhile!" he laughed and slapped his hand on his commander's back and walked off. Borias groaned lowly and trailed after him, watching Belach run to the armory.

Solan was watching Alexander learn how to use a real sword, playing with Bahri, Osman's nephew. He saw Natassa walk by, heading back to her yurt. He leap to his feet and ran over to her and she frowned, trying to hide her distain.

"Natassa Khatun," he smiled smugly. "Are there any letters from my mother today?"

"Yes," she entered her home and Solan waited patiently outside, whistling to himself, occasionally looking back at his brother trying to do his best to spar with the much older partner he had. She came out of the yurt and handed him a rolled up scroll. "Here," she said with a stiff grin.

"Thanks!" he smiled then ran off, tearing the ribbon off the scroll and unrolled the paper. The letter was incredibly long, two pages he noticed. He sat back down on the grass and read over the letter carefully.

"Solan, Solan!" Alexander yelled and ran towards his brother in a hurry and had trouble breathing. He smiled and Solan lifted his eyes from the letter and gasped. "Look at this awesome cut on my face!" he squealed.

"Oh my god," Solan exclaimed under his breath. "Bahri!" he growled.

Osman's nephew shrugged a shoulder and twirled the short sword in his hand. "He didn't duck...sorry," he half grinned.

Alexander wiped his bloody cheek and lifted his chin proudly. "So, do I look like a true warrior now?" he wriggled his eyebrows.

"More like a stupid warrior," Solan said and Alexander frowned. "You really need to be careful, Alexander. You could really hurt yourself with that sword," he said and swatted his sword away. Alexander rolled his eyes and stuck the sword in the ground and peered over his brother's shoulders at the letter in his lap.

"Is that from mom?" his eyes widened and he plopped down on the grass beside Solan.

"Yeah," Solan scooted away from his brother's prying eyes. "Do you mind, I'm trying to read!"

"What does the letter say?!" the little prince tried grabbing the letter from his brother's hand and Solan shoved his hand in his brother's face, pushing him away. "Solan!" he muttered and slapped his elder brother's hand out of the way.

Solan finished reading the lengthy letter and he sighed heavily, setting the paper on the ground. Alexander wiped his mouth and cringed in disgust, tasting his brother's hand on his tongue.

"So, what did mother say? Don't keep me in suspense!" Alexander grinned and wrapped his arm around Solan's shoulder.

"She wants to send us to school," he said and Alexander gasped.

"School? In Anatolia?"

Solan shook his head. "No, in Alexandria."

"Hey, that's like my name," Alexander chuckled. "Where is Alexandria?" he asked curiously.

Solan crossed his legs and leaned his cheek on his palm, staring at the mountains far from the camp grounds. "It's in Egypt. It's really, really, really far from here." Alexander's beaming face soon died down once he realized that him and his brother would be sent far from Anatolia and Greece, far from everyone.

Belach finished counting the weapons and saw his brothers sitting in the grass with long faces. "What's up with you two?" he sat down next to them and Solan frowned.

"My mother is sending us to Alexandria to go to school," Solan grumbled.

Belach nodded his head slowly and looked at the mountains with his brothers. "Bummer," he teased and Solan shot him a glare. "Well, have fun in Egypt," he grinned and pat Solan on the back and rose to his feet.

"Why don't you come with us?!" Alexander smiled and stood, grabbing Belach's arm.

His elder brother laughed, "yeah right! School isn't really my thing."

"Yeah, you can't read for shit," Solan teased and Belach groaned.

Upon returning to Thebes, Xena realized that this palace was incredibly run down and not kept up like she thought it would be. She hired new workers in the first few days when she arrived. She also promised herself that she would continue training the girls while she was here. No reason to go back on her mission that she first started months ago.

She slept in the east wing while the girls slept in the separate west wing, incredibly far from her room. She remembered so many things happened in this palace. In fact, she remembered when it was first being built and she had a two year old Solan with her constantly. Those times were a lot simpler when she started out. She was new in Greece and didn't know anything about anyone in Thebes. She remembered everything, yet blocked out everything at the same time.

Early in the morning, she marched through the marble halls, dressed in dark pants, boots and a white tunic, carrying a large sword on her hip. She passed by a few male workers that were putting up new silk banners on the columns.

"Good morning," she said and all the men turned their heads, gawking at her. She smirked and kept on her way to the girls' sleeping quarters.

She swung open the doors to the large room where all the girls slept and frowned seeing them all still sleeping. She walked over to the windows and pushed the curtains back, letting in the bright sunlight. She heard a lot of groans and moans.

"Get up!" she yelled and some girls covered their faces with their blankets. She turned and ripped Joan's blanket off her body and she squealed like a little girl, curling up in a fetal position.

"Rise and shine, girls," she teased and the girls yawned, stretching their arms over their heads.

Gabrielle lifted her head off her pillow and groaned, turning over on her side. Xena raised her eyebrow and weaved through the beds and stood over Gabrielle, trying to sleep soundly. She bent down close to her ear.

"Gabrielle," she whispered and the blonde moaned softly. "Wake up!" she screamed and Gabrielle gasped and fell out of bed onto the floor. Xena folded her arms and Gabrielle groaned, rubbing the back of her head.

"No reason to sleep all day, girls. We have training to do. A lot of it," she walked back to the doors and saw the girls still waking up slowly. "You have five minutes to meet me outside," she said and all the girls' eyes widened in fear. "Go," she smiled and closed the doors as she left the room.

Helena ran over to Gabrielle and helped her off the floor. "Gabrielle!" she said breathily. "We have five minutes!"

"Huh?" Gabrielle groaned and stood from the floor then she saw all the girls hurrying to put on their armor.

Xena waited for all the girls to come meet her outside in the training grounds. Unlike her palace in Persia, this palace had a proper training area and it was quite large –so large it could hold half an army. She used this area to help her soldiers train for war many years ago and she had many memories of soldiers being injured and some dying from the summer heat.

She tapped her fingers on the hilt of the sword as she watched all the girls run outside, barely making it on time. She looked to the sky and saw the sun fully risen and smiled. She counted all of the girls in the first and second rows, making sure everyone was here.

Gabrielle stumbled outside, trying to tie her laces on her boot and Xena raised her eyebrow. Gabrielle huffed and finished tying her laces then quickly ran to the second row, breathing heavily and sweat dripping down her face.

Xena walked over to her and towered over her. She smiled widely and tapped the shoulder pads on Gabrielle. "Your armor is on backwards," she whispered and all the girls began snickering. "And you're late."

Gabrielle groaned and stripped the armor off over her head and frowned at all the girls. Xena walked off and swung her sword over her shoulder. "Sorry," she muttered.

"No apologies here, girls. We aren't going to apologize for anything."

She stuck her sword into the sand and everyone flinched. She smiled, amused at their terrified faces. "I know what all of you must be thinking, but I am the same person as before. Although here in Greece, I am not a sultan, or an emperor, but an empress. But today, I am not any of those things. I am your teacher," she looked to Gabrielle who was still trying to figure out how to put on the armor, struggling a bit.

"You will listen to me just like you did in Persia, except this time it will be different. Before, I was training you girls for my own amusement and to teach you all a lesson. Now," she frowned, narrowing her eyes, scanning all of the girls' faces. "You wanted to come here and for whatever reason, to help me fight the Templar Knights. There is more to war than learning how to use a sword. A sword kills, yes, but..."

She stepped forward and tapped her finger on the side of Yasmine's head. "The mind is a better weapon." She grinned and Yasmine's eyes grew in terror. "You must be better than your enemy. You must know every move before he strikes or you will die." She swung her sword around and nearly sliced into Yasmine's cheek, but stopped half an inch from the girl's face.

"But most importantly, you must have excellent reflexes," Xena frowned and lowered her sword from the frightened trainee. "If you had been alert then you would have blocked my attack, but you didn't and I could have killed you, Yasmine."

Yasmine swallowed and held onto her sword tightly, feeling her palms clam up. "I...I will be better next time."

"There is no 'next time' in war!" Xena yelled and Yasmine backed away from her face. She walked along the front line of girls, examining their eyes and armor. She stopped in front of Astremia and smiled as the girl tried not to make eye contact with her.

"How old are you, Astremia?" she asked.

"Twenty two," the brunette answered curtly and lifted her eyes hesitantly.

Xena nodded. "When I was twenty two I already had this palace built and a two year old, but that is beside the point. I did not see war until I was a few years older. My position was challenged by everyone and that's what I'm here to do –challenge you."

"So," she grinned and twirled her sword with her wrist with ease and agility. "Let's begin."

Hours later all the girls stumbled into the palace, moaning and groaning in pain. Helena and Gabrielle hung their arms around each other as they hobbled inside. Helena winced as she felt Gabrielle hit a new bruise on her shoulder.

"Man, she is insane," Helena said.

Gabrielle frowned and saw Xena walking ahead of all the girls, completely unharmed of course and looking very chipper. "I'll say," she slid out of Helena's hold and hobbled over to Xena, grabbing her shoulder.

Xena swung around and smiled. "Gabrielle, you did a great job today. You have very fast reflexes."

Gabrielle laughed nervously and nodded. "Yeah...I don't think I'll be able to walk tomorrow."

Xena kept grinning, slightly enjoying Gabrielle's pain. "Don't be so dramatic Gabrielle," she teased.

"You were really feeling your oats back there," Gabrielle rubbed her sore back and Xena pat her shoulder roughly and she winced.

"You volunteered for this, Gabrielle. Don't you forget that," she wagged her finger in her face then walked off. "I want you to come to my office tonight. I have some news to share with you." She called out and sauntered down the marble hallway.

Gabrielle sighed exhaustively and then frowned, realizing she had no idea where Xena's office was in this palace. "Great," she grumbled then hobbled off to the west wing with the rest of the girls.

After asking several people, Gabrielle finally found out where Xena's office was. Took long enough, she griped. Knocking on the door first, she waited for Xena's response but got nothing. She opened the door and saw Xena sitting on her large bed with her legs stretched out, reading. She's always reading, Gabrielle thought to herself.

"Hello..." Gabrielle greeted and Xena lowered the paper in her hand and smiled.

"Gabrielle," she set aside the paper and put it on the table beside the bed. "Come sit with me," she pat the empty spot next to her.

Oh, she wants me to sit on the bed with her, that's new and very weird. It's like her mood changed completely after leaving Persia. Perhaps that place was crippling her and she needed to go back to her true foundation of her empire to discover herself again. Or she's just crazy. Yes, let's go with that.

Gabrielle sat down on the bed cautiously and was very far away from her. Xena raised her eyebrow. "I don't have a disease. No poison," she jested. Gabrielle grinned softly and scooted closer to Xena, sitting up very stiffly.

"You know, I still don't understand why you want to stay with me after everything that's happened," she began and bit into a large apple slice.

Gabrielle sighed and wrapped an arm around herself unconsciously trying to protect herself, but she didn't know from what. "I told you, I want to learn everything from you. You are a great teacher, although, I think you may have over done it in today's session." She felt all the aches and pains settling into her body the more idle she became throughout the day.

"It's been awhile since I've felt this way," Xena began, feeling slightly shy. "I want to thank you."

The blonde lifted her eyes, "for what?"

"For revealing the truth to me. I've never had anyone say those things to me before. I think I was stuck in my own bubble and stopped caring about others around me." She said and Gabrielle's cheeks flushed. She reached over and grabbed Gabrielle's hand.

Dear lord, she is touching my hand. Gabrielle's eyes widened, but she tried to remain calm and collected without looking in Xena's eyes.

"You must understand that I put myself in a position that was very difficult. I did a man's job –I was the man. I had to completely shut myself off from the rest of the world, including people close to me. I hardly had anyone close to me besides my sons, Borias and his clan. I couldn't trust anyone and to be honest, I don't know if I can anymore."

Gabrielle realized that Xena was more alone than she thought. She isolated herself in order to gain power, but why? Why did you do it, Xena?

"Do you think life would have been different for you if you ruled as an empress instead of an emperor?" she asked.

Xena smiled and slid her hand off of Gabrielle's. "I wouldn't have made it six months in Thebes if I did that. You saw those Templars, Gabrielle. They want me dead. They didn't even bat an eye when I was emperor of Greece. It was only when I decided to take Persia that they became concerned. It's all about power. Power is the key to success and being a man. That too."

"But you are not an emperor now, or a man. You are an empress and everyone knows it." Gabrielle frowned, now feeling very conflicted in her logic. "I have a question that you haven't answered since I've met you."

"Yes?" Xena leaned forward, scooting closer to Gabrielle.

Oh, please, don't come any closer. She felt her palms begin to sweat and she tried to evade eye contact once more. "You've explained to me why you pretended to be a male ruler, but you never told me why. Why did you want your own empire? What made you want to do this? Surely, you didn't wake up one day and decide to rule a nation."

Xena nodded, thinking about her answer and it was probably something that Gabrielle didn't want to hear. "I wanted to be powerful." She answered and the blonde trainee looked to her with bemused eyes. "There was a time when I wasn't thinking straight. I wanted everyone to follow me, whether I killed them or not. I went all across the Steppes and was able to find an army willing to follow me wherever I went even though I was a woman, they respected me."

She continued, "I was ambitious and very young. I thought I knew everything until I met Osman and Borias. It was then I realized I didn't know a thing about warfare and strategy. I offered to aid their army and learn how to train with them. I was a horrible warrior," she smiled at the thought. It seemed so long ago.

"I stayed there for a year and then my life completely changed. I became friends with everyone, a little too friendly with Borias. When I found out I was pregnant with Solan I knew that I could never be in charge of an army, but I tried. It was then that I knew I couldn't rule as long as I was a woman. People treated me differently and only saw me as a woman with a child. I didn't want people to see me that way. I wanted to be better than them."

Gabrielle was now beginning to understand why Xena decided to go on this path. Although her way of thinking before she became an emperor was quite dark, too dark. She was definitely not the same person, but she was glad she didn't know Xena during that particular time.

"Then you decided to create an empire for yourself?" she proceeded to ask.

Xena nodded. "Yes, but I stayed in the Steppes for two years after Solan was born. I thought I could make a difference there, but nobody took me seriously. I decided to take all of my men and move to Greece. I decided that nobody would take me seriously unless I was a man and that was impossible. But I made it possible through a lot of persuasion and threats and...death."

She sighed and was beginning to feel a bit drained talking about her life like this. She had never really explained it before until now and realized how insane it must sound to a common person. "I wanted to be fair to everyone and having Solan was my reminder that I should treat people with fairness and kindness. I didn't want to be a tyrant ruler like the previous rulers in Greece. I wanted to be different."

Different, you definitely are, Xena. Gabrielle smiled and felt more relaxed that Xena was able to explain herself fully. She could tell that took a lot out of her. "Well, I think that was very brave of you to do that. I don't know a lot of people that would be willing to sacrifice so much and still be treated horribly in the end. And that's why you have so many people that care about you."

"Aren't you clever," Xena teased and saw the blonde's cheeks flush. "Don't be shy, Gabrielle, after all I just told you my entire life story."

Gabrielle grinned and stifled a laugh. "I'm glad that you did. It makes me understand you more. You used to confuse me and I thought I would never figure you out."

"And have you?" Xena pried.

"Have I what?"

"Figure me out."

Gabrielle quirked her mouth and shrugged her shoulders. "I am not sure yet, but I'm one step closer!"

"You are a smart girl, Gabrielle. I hate for you to waste your time learning how to fight and spend your young life with me. I know this is not what you want to do." Xena said with a bit of sadness in her eyes. She had grown to really admire the young blonde.

"If I wanted to leave I would have. I thought that being a warrior would be glamorous but it's far from that. I've learned a lot being around you."

"Me too," Xena said with a smile and Gabrielle grinned right back at her. "I've learned from all of you girls."

The two looked at one another for a few silent moments.

Xena then took this conversation into a different direction. "I've decided to send Alexander and Solan to a school in Alexandria. I don't have the time to teach them and I don't want to deprive them from learning."

Gabrielle nodded. "That's a great idea! I'm sure they'll love that city. I've heard it's beautiful."

"It's also next to the sea. Alexander has been begging me to take him to the beach ever since he got here, but I couldn't. Now, he can be around it all the time." She sighed and added, "I hope they won't be upset about moving again."

"Once they get there I think they're going to really like it. It'll be nice for them to be around children their own age," Gabrielle said, trying to reassure Xena of her decision.

"I worry about Alexander," Xena said with a frown. "He is obsessed with swords and wants to learn how to fight. Solan is more grounded like his father. I'm afraid that Alexander is more like me."

Gabrielle laughed aloud and Xena eyed her with distain. "Is that...supposed to be a bad thing?" her laughter quickly died down.

"I have a responsibility to teach him right from wrong and I can't do that if I'm not around all the time. I can't be in two places at once. I'm hoping the school will ground Alexander and force him to stay away from his obsession with weapons. He is too young to learn the ways of the sword."

This side of you I have not seen, Xena. A mother I've seen yes, but quite a strict one. This time, you are softer, nicer, kinder and more compassionate. Maybe opening up to someone was the key to finding some peace with yourself after all.

"I think you're doing a great job of raising him so far. He's a real...spitfire," Gabrielle said and Xena smiled softly. "He's a bright boy and he definitely knows how to give people the what-for. He doesn't let others push him around, including his brothers."

Xena rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Belach is a piece of work, like his dear mother," she clenched her jaw just thinking of Natassa. "I have never seen him so cooperative in my life."

"He was pretty helpful. I don't know too much of your relationship with him but from what I saw, he didn't really like you too much," Gabrielle hinted and Xena nodded vigorously.

"He fed into his mother's hatred of me. No child should grow up that way. He's a smart boy, but he doesn't think he is."

"Maybe you should send him to school too?" Gabrielle suggested and Xena started laughing.

"I did!" Xena inhaled deeply, halting her laughter. "I sent him to a school when he was eleven. He doesn't know that though," she winked and Gabrielle blinked rapidly. "I don't hate him, he's just a stubborn, arrogant teenager. He thinks he knows everything."

Gabrielle had to agree with that, she once thought she knew everything too. "I think after spending some time with you, he realized he doesn't know everything. You are a good role model to him."

"No, Gabrielle, I'm his evil stepmother," Xena joked. "He used to call me that when he was a child. He was very jealous of Solan once he figured out that was his younger brother."

"From what I saw, he and Solan worked really well together!" Gabrielle beamed.

"It must have been a miracle because that never happens," Xena said with raised eyebrows. These past few weeks have been crazy the more she recalled everything that happened.

"No, it's because they care about you."

In the valley of the kings in Upper Egypt, Crusaders had been pushed out of the province. News of Sidon's death reached the military commander of Egypt and when he heard of about the Templar Knights invading Jerusalem, he couldn't allow that to happen. It had been tried before with the previous Persian Sultan, but they failed. The commander knew that the knights were getting restless and more irritated.

The vizier, Imran, approached the commander with a scroll. "Sir, more news from Persia." He bowed his head.

Saladin took the letter and watched the Templars being escorted out of the Egyptian territory. He wanted to make sure that all of those rats were gone and sent back to their Church. He looked down at the letter and smirked.

"Xenophon is a woman, how remarkable is that," the Kurdish commander rolled up the letter and handed it back to Imran. "I have always been impressed by the Greek ruler and...her skills." He smiled. "She is allies with the Anatolians, yes?"

"Yes, sir, she is," Imran answered and Saladin nodded and rubbed his long thick beard.

"She is on our side then. The holy land belongs to us. She is one of us and is against the Templar Knights." He very much liked this idea and wasn't fazed that the sultan/emperor was in fact a woman. He would side with anyone that had the same values and beliefs as him.

He walked back towards his military fortress and his vizier quickly followed. "I wish to meet with this woman, what is her name?"

"Xena, amir," Imran said.

"Xena," Saladin smiled. "I want to meet her and form an alliance. She will be the bright jewel to my conquest to take Jerusalem. Perhaps we could share the empire together?" he thought that could be a possibility, although he had never made any deals with this woman before and figured she was hard to negotiate with, considering she posed as a man for so long, right under the Church's nose. He admired her ability to thrive in this world and create an empire for herself.

Together they walked into the simple fortress and he walked by a few of his soldiers and they gave him curt nods. "Imran, tell me, this woman, she must be some form of a leper like Baldwin IV, to hide her face for so long."

"On the contrary, sir, she is most beautiful. Eyes as blue as sapphires and skin like a ripe olive with hair dark as the midnight sky."

Saladin raised his eyebrows and stopped to examine a few weapons before they were going to be shipped off to Cairo later this evening. "Eyes blue as sapphires," he mused. "Sidon must have been very disappointed to find that his foe was a woman. What a fool he was." He scoffed and then waved his hand to the soldiers to take the weapons away.

"Instead of combating her, he should have allied with her. He was a fool to ally with the Crusaders," his lip quivered just at the thought of even coming within an inch of a Templar.

Imran smiled, agreeing. "But sir, it has been said that she is a godless woman that rules over Jerusalem. Sidon called her a heathen."

Saladin chuckled at that. "Sidon is a kafar! He was never meant to rule Syria. I should have swiped it from him when I had the chance. What a poor excuse for a sultan." He sighed and folded his arms. "But now he is dead because of his ill actions and decisions. God was never on his side, but He is on mine."

"Shall I send a letter to the empress about your desire to meet with her?" Imran offered.

The commander nodded. "Yes, do that, Imran. Together, Xena and I can form a crusade of our own against the Templars. It will be written in history." Saladin grinned deviously as he formulated this plan to ally with this formidable woman.