Chapter 18 –Fair Trade: Part I

Xena strode swiftly up the large staircase, and she could hear Gabrielle pleading with her to wait. She was set on speaking with Anastasia, and if she didn't receive the response she needed there, she would move on to Arielle.

Reaching the hallway, she saw Anastasia standing outside of the Khagana quarters. Smiling, she picked up her pace and then abruptly halted. Navaz appeared from around the corner and greeted Ana.

Navaz looked over his shoulder, following his wife's gaze. He frowned and turned around, folding his arms.

"I knew you were going to try to convince Anastasia," he said, smiling haughtily.

Xena raised an eyebrow. "Don't test my patience, Navaz. You voted against me."

"I voted in favor of your plan!"

"No, you decided to put the plan to a vote. So, in that case, you voted against me." she jabbed his chest.

"What is going on?" Ana chirped, stepping in between the quarrel.

Gabrielle crossed her arms, and glared at Xena. "We have a plan to rescue Xerxes. He's in a Persian rebel camp. We have a tied vote, so you need to break the tie."

Flustered, Ana looked at everyone and prattled, "Xerxes is a prisoner?"

"Yes, and time is of the essence. We need you to cast your vote."

Navaz hooked his arm with Ana's. "I will explain both plans to her as we discussed," he eyed Xena cautiously.

He pulled Ana along with him, leading her away into the next hallway. Xena whipped herself around and frowned at Gabrielle. Her spouse simply shrugged her shoulders unforgivingly. She hoped her daughter would use her rationalization skills to make the right choice instead of focusing on Xerxes' situation.


Revkah finished examining the Khagana and went to wash her hands. She spoke over her shoulder, "You have a lot of back pain, you said?"

Arielle sat up and pulled down her shift. "Yes."

"Daily?"

"Yes, every morning."

The longer she waited in silence, the tighter her gut became. Arielle cautioned herself not to judge Revkah too quickly because of their limited interaction. This woman was unlike any other midwife Arielle had ever encountered. Furthermore, she lacked the friendliness and likability of other midwives. Still, Arielle appreciated a positive trait in her: she got right to the point.

Revkah traveled back to the bed and smiled gently. "Your mother told me you fainted earlier. Does that happen a lot?"

"I'm not prone to fainting spells if that's what you're asking."

"I didn't ask that. I asked if you fainted a lot."

She was about to say no until she sat back and thought about it. In the past few months, there were several occasions where she fainted, nearly fainted, or simply fell asleep unexpectedly.

She looked up at Revkah, perplexed, as if she was still collecting her thoughts. "Maybe...four or five times in the last four months," she said.

The midwife did her best to hide her disconcert. "I will have a medicinal drink prepared for you. You will drink it every morning and evening. Twice a day for seven days. Then we will see if your symptoms improve."

Arielle nodded, absorbing the instructions. She didn't feel the need to question the woman or even bother to ask what type of medicine it was. Revkah continued to give her more instructions to stay in bed for the next few days. As she was listening, she kept hearing muffled voices coming from the hallway. They were voices she recognized instantly.

"Wasifah, let them in," she called.

After a long silent pause, the door was opened and Xena walked inside with Gabrielle. Their eyes shifted to Revkah and gave a bemused frown. Revkah simply took a few steps away from the bed and kept eye contact with them.

Xena approached and Gabrielle sat on the edge of the bed. Arielle glanced at them both and then nudged her head to Revkah, signaling her to leave.

"Who is that?" asked Gabrielle.

"Never mind her. Why have you two come in here?"

Xena sighed deeply. "We need to talk to you about Xerxes."


Seated together for lunch, Farah's sons anxiously watched her as she ate in silence. Normally, she would reiterate house rules, go over necessary assignments for tutoring, and any updates she had on their father's whereabouts on the border. Today, Farah refused to speak to anyone and everyone carried on eating without asking questions.

Öza didn't know what exactly was troubling the queen, but she knew this was not a normal interaction. She warily glanced at Edemen beside her, and he gave her a reassuring smile and grabbed her hand.

"Will we have our usual lesson today?" Öza inquired. Soon, she realized she disrupted the silence and everyone turned in her direction.

Farah chewed her food slowly. "Not today."

A blushing Öza, obviously embarrassed by her bold attempt to break the silence, nodded, and buried her face in her bowl.

The empty pillow beside her caught Farah's attention. Though, she wished she would've noticed sooner.

"Where's Aracsilla?"

Her eyes darted to her twin sons, who both sheepishly looked to their laps and kept eating. She then glared at Edemen and he gave her an unknowing look. She knew he wasn't attempting to hide anything. He was too enamored with Öza to pay attention to anything else.

"Aman. Aladar," she said in an even tone. "Do you two happen to know where your sister is?"

Aladar shared a silent glance with his brother and pursed his mouth. "She's in her room, mother."

"And why isn't she here eating with us?"

"I think she wants to be alone," said Aman.

"Is she sick?"

"N-no."

"Then why isn't she here?"

They both stared at her blankly and Farah creased her eyebrows. She waved her hand to her chambermaid, Tula.

"Bring the princess. If she gives you any trouble, tell me."

"Yes ma'am."


Nasrin wiped Aracsilla's black eye and injured face with a warm, damp cloth. When the princess winced or wiggled, she quickly removed her hand.

"Princess, the more you move, the longer we'll be here doing this," she firmly stated.

Even though she knew she would be taking care of the princess from the time the queen was pregnant, she had no idea the job would be so demanding. The princess got into a lot of mischief and many times it was Nasrin who covered for her. This time, she lied to Farah about Aracsilla's condition and covered up the wounds for two days.

"Did you tell my mother?"

Regrettably, Nasrin answered, "No, but we probably should. You might need stitches. The swelling isn't going down."

Aracsilla gasped. "I don't want a needle in my face!"

"Well, as far as I can tell, this isn't getting any better."

"But she will be angry!"

Nasrin smiled. "She'll be too worried about you to be angry."

Tula burst in, unannounced, and uttered a terrified yelp. Nasrin and Aracsilla both spun around at the same time to stare into Tula's frightened eyes.


Aracsilla was led into the hall by Nasrin and Tula shortly after the meal was over. She covered her eye and got strange looks from her brothers. From across the room, her mother gave her a warm grin.

"Why are you covering your eye?" asked Farah.

Nasrin nudged the princess forward gently. Aracsilla scowled at her maidservant and sighed, foreseeing the inevitable. The room erupted in gasps as she stepped forward and revealed her eye.

Farah jumped up and ran to her daughter. "Oh my god." She grazed her fingers over the wound. "What happened to you? When did this happen?"

"It happened two days ago, your highness," Nasrin spoke softly.

"Why wasn't I told?"

Aracsilla tapped her mother's shoulder. "I told her not to tell you. I was playing with Tespar, Muqan, and Emese in the woods."

Farah's chest rose and fell as her anger seethed. "Did those boys hurt you?"

"No..."

She forbade herself from showing her children any signs of rage. She let out a deep breath and gently kissed her daughter on the head.

"Have the physician look at her wounds," she told Nasrin. "I will be back later." With haste, she stormed out of the dining hall.


"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Gabrielle scooted closer and grasped Arielle's hand. "You were very sick. It would've been too much for you."

Arielle wiped her teary eyes. "I...I don't really like either one of these plans," she said, sniffling. "But if I had to choose, I say we ask the Gokturks for help. We need to expose Adarmahan and I agree with both of you. Gokturks helping is one of the best ways to reveal the truth."

Xena sat proudly looking at Gabrielle as she beamed with victory. The simplest portion of her day was right here. She didn't even have to convince Arielle to support the Gokturk plan; her vote was pivotal in overturning the tie.

"How do we know the rebels won't kill Xerxes and Jadha?" asked Arielle, dreading the answers.

Gabrielle swiped her thumb across Arielle's hand for comfort. "Marbzan said they're in a tent. The rebels must be using them for bait."

"I'm sure they're alright. The best thing we can do is have hope," Xena reassured her. "Gabrielle and I will leave for Balaam tomorrow after the vote is cast."

Still digesting the news and the pace of this plan, Arielle sat in silence, contemplating. "What a useless ruler I am—sitting in bed while others make decisions without me, and my husband is being held hostage by his own people."

"You can't be the wonderful ruler that you are if you're sick." Xena arched an eyebrow and gave a playful wink.

Arielle's tears began streaming down her face in a flash. Xena and Gabrielle were startled by her loud wails as her quiet sobbing escalated. Gabrielle caressed her arm and gave her a deep embrace in an attempt to comfort her.

Wasifah hurried in, somewhat taken aback by the Khagana's uncontrollable sobbing. But she went ahead and tapped Xena on the shoulder.

"There is a lot of commotion in the tribe involving Queen Farah."

Xena quirked her mouth. "I'll go see what's going on."

"No!" shouted Arielle. "I want you...I want you to stay," she swallowed hard, "with me."

She glanced at Arielle in complete bewilderment, unsure of what to do or where she should go. So that she could soothe Arielle, Gabrielle swiftly volunteered to enter the tribe on her own.

Wasifah awkwardly announced, "I will be standing guard outside if you need me, Khanum."


Her ears were filled with the clamor of the tribe's conversation. She felt like an exhibit, and they already knew who she was. Yeter's gaze darted across the group of people around her in panic. Their expressions ranged from bewilderment and rage to disdain.

With hundreds of people pressing in on her, her heartbeat pounded in her ears. She looked up at Farah, who was towering over her and reprimanding her. After Farah shoved her, she fell and didn't even notice she was on the ground.

Once the buzzing in her ears subsided, she heard Farah's booming voice clearly over everything else. In spite of her apprehension of the tribe's vengeance, Yeter gritted her teeth and stood up. She did a thorough headcount and discovered that several of the folks were armed.

"Because of you, many of our tribes have been attacked!" Farah shrieked. "You have one son terrorizing the north plains, and the other two sons harming my daughter."

Yeter frowned. "My sons have done nothing to your daughter."

"Of course, you would say that. You'd say anything to keep them safe."

"Your daughter will recover."

In a fit of rage, Farah lunged forward and attempted to tackle Yeter to the ground. When she felt something sharp brush against her shoulder, she stopped dead in her tracks. She turned her head and saw the blade's point hovering just below her collarbone.

"Step back, Farah," Ursula demanded.

Several soldiers raised their weapons in Ursula's direction as they defended their queen. She did not let off Farah's shoulder, where her sword was resting. Even if soldiers attacked her, she would not allow bloodshed in her tribe.

"You are defending her," Farah barked.

"I defend no one. Yeter is under protection by Xena's order. She is a queen with no land, no title, and no status. She is no threat to you."

Farah would not be deterred from seeking redress, even if a protection order were in place and a sword was held to her neck. She was fixated on the sword at the hip of one of the tribesmen. She quickly drew the sword from its sheath and charged forward belting out a loud shriek.

She drove the blade into Yeter's shoulder and collapsed on top of her.

Heavy with breath, Yeter peered up at Farah as blood spurted from her wound. There was no regret or any expression in her icy black eyes.

Gabrielle forced her way through the mob and witnessed Farah straddling Yeter, whose shoulder had a blade protruding out of it. She ran to Farah in a panic and yanked her away from Yeter, dragging her to the side.

She fell to the ground, Farah's limp body in her arms. Farah's eyes went from a deep blue to a lighter shade, like the sky, as her pent-up wrath finally dissolved. The tears started to fall when she understood what she had done.

Gabrielle nervously glanced at Yeter, who was sobbing and writhing in agony. "Take the queen back to her home," she ordered the soldiers. "Leave this area! All of you!" she yelled at the onlookers. "Go!"

Gabrielle hurried to Yeter's side as the crowd dispersed and rumors began to fly. Ursula was summoned in order to remove the blade from Yeter's shoulder and transport her to safety.

When the sword was quickly removed from Yeter's shoulder, she let out a piercing screech. She was helped to her feet and leaned on Ursula for support. They began slowly making their way to Ursula's yurt.

"I will bring a healer to see her," said Gabrielle.

"I can take care of her myself," Ursula snarked. "You should go tend to Farah."


They held the final vote the following morning, and everyone assembled in the Khagana's quarters. Even though Arielle wasn't feeling well enough to host the meeting in the downstairs hall, she still wanted to make the final call.

Eksama asked, "Where's Farah?"

"She won't be joining us," said Arielle.

The kidnapping of Xerxes was not the only news of the day she heard about yesterday; she also learned about Farah's fight with Yeter. Neither of the two circumstances was to her liking, but she could only handle one at a time.

"Thank you for coming," she said to everyone. "I am overruling everyone's vote. We will be deploying the Gokturk army to the Persian rebel camp."

Eksama rolled her eyes. "Just like I said yesterday; what if that brat doesn't agree to help?"

"Then we use our own soldiers," Gabrielle interrupted. "This isn't a difficult choice."

"Well, come get me when that happens," Eksama cheerfully said.

"We're also running out of time. Gabrielle and I will be leaving for Balaam after this meeting," Xena announced. She saw the worry in her daughter's eyes from across the room.

Arielle waved her hands. "You're all dismissed." As everyone began to file out, she blurted out, "Wait! Do not let any word of this reach my daughters' ears. They don't need to know their father is a hostage."

After her final words, they all dispersed and exited the room. Arielle massaged her hips, mumbling under her breath. She waited until everyone else had left before calling out for her mother.

Anastasia hastily made her way over and sat on the bed.

"Have you seen Revkah?"

"I haven't."

Arielle groaned. "She was supposed to bring me some medicine."

"I will go find her and bring her here."

"Mother," she grabbed her hand. "Take Wasifah with you."

Anastasia agreed and then she thought the situation that happened should be addressed. She knew it was on Arielle's mind just as much it was on hers.

"What are you going to do about Farah?"

"I haven't decided yet," Arielle muttered, sighing deeply. "For now, she's not allowed to leave her Adame and neither are her children."

"Arielle, she stabbed Yeter."

In a single flash, Arielle's manner shifted from that of a daughter to that of a monarch. She was unafraid to confront her mother. She responded with composure and maturity, whereas in the past she would have either kept quiet or lashed out.

"Yeter is a political prisoner. She isn't supposed to be here."

After hearing her daughter speak so sternly, Ana felt her skin crawl and a shiver run up her spine. She straightened up and said, "She is a protected prisoner and she didn't deserve to get stabbed. Farah's temper caused this. She also exposed Yeter and now everyone knows she's here."

Dismissively, she replied, "You should go find Revkah. Tell Ku to bring my daughters in here. I want to see them."

Anastasia got up slowly from the bed, staring fixedly at her daughter. The stubbornness was something she was familiar with. Although her daughter did not like Yeter, she hoped that her daughter would ultimately do what was best.


It was strange to go through the camp and feel like an outsider. Anastasia was well aware of the scrutiny her family received from the public. She was uncertain of her people's feelings toward her, but she sensed that they were to some extent perplexed and skeptical. Farah should not have allowed her anger to get the best of her.

The sight of several Suevi men patrolling the clan's campground only served to heighten her unease. The yurts were guarded by both soldiers and a flag representing the Suevi clan.

"The insolence..." she mumbled. "I need to pass," she told the soldiers.

Wasifah gently grabbed Ana's shoulder. "Khatun, it is probably best if we leave," she whispered.

"I am not leaving."

She had heard that far too often recently, and now she knew exactly where the Khagana got her obstinacy from.

"Clear a path," she ordered.

"Let her pass," Ursula shouted from afar.

The soldiers stepped aside so that Ana and Wasifah might get through. Anastasia pushed a soldier's shoulder purposely and strode confidently across the field.

"What is this?" she hissed. "How dare you fly your clan's flag and set up a barricade."

"I will not have anyone come into my clan and murder people."

Ana's eyes fluttered. "Farah is not a murderer."

"She came here with the intent, Anastasia. What is the verdict on her punishment?"

"It hasn't been decided yet."

Ursula smiled. "Or there is no aim to punish her at all."

"I will make sure she receives a fair punishment," Ana said, almost growling her words out. "Take that flag down at once."

"The flag stays until Farah's punishment is decided."

She could continue to dispute with Ursula and draw more attention to themselves, or she might accept the terms. It had been years since she'd felt threatened by her own people. The tribe's mistrust of her wouldn't be unprecedented. However, she did not want to fight.

"I bought some herbs. I need to pay for them."


At her daughter's bedside, Farah sat sobbing uncontrollably. She looked at her daughter, who was sound asleep despite having a large bandage covering her injured eye. The confinement to her home was a merciful response to her actions and their consequences. Nonetheless, she was uncomfortable with her boys' stares whenever they met.

Nasrin entered the room, bringing with her a tray of refreshments. When she entered, she saw the queen drying her eyes.

Setting the tray down, she asked, "How is the princess?"

With her best effort to keep a steady voice, Farah whispered, "The physician said he can't save her eye. He will operate tomorrow."

Perhaps if she had informed the queen sooner about the princess' eye, this wouldn't have transpired. Nasrin felt responsible for the princess' wounds and blamed herself. Instead of reporting to the queen directly, she opted to be a confidant instead.

She made the queen a glass of tea and presented it to her. Farah hesitated before accepting the glass, but eventually, she did. Nasrin took a few steps back and exhaled deeply.

"Your Highness, you should know...a message was sent to the king."

The sound of glass breaking startled her. As she spun around, she saw the queen's feet littered with shards of glass and Farah sobbing into her hands. Nasrin promptly dropped down to her knees and started picking up pieces of glass. A firm hand pressed against her shoulder, and she turned to see the Khatun.

With a gasp, she got to her feet and Anastasia motioned for her to leave. Nasrin hurriedly threw the broken glass onto the tray and left the room.

Anastasia observed her granddaughter asleep in bed from a distance. The back of her hand lightly stroked Aracsilla's face. Upon seeing Farah, her expression contorted in concern.

"The physician told me about Aracsilla's eye," she quietly said.

Farah wiped her eyes and nose, hiding her reddened cheeks from her mother-in-law.

With a heavy sigh, Anastasia sat on the bed. "Farah, you are like a daughter to me. I love you very much and care about you. I accepted you into my family, and you gave me my first grandchild." She placed a hand over her chest. "I say all of that to say...you need to be punished for what you did to Yeter."

"My daughter is going to lose her eye!"

"Farah, you stabbed someone! Yeter did not start that fight, you did. What you did is unacceptable."

"She-she said her sons had nothing to do with Aracsilla's injury but I don't believe her! I don't!" she barked, glaring angrily up at Ana.

Anastasia glared at her granddaughter with her arms crossed. Aracsilla had been hurt badly before, so this wasn't the first time. She injured her arm while trying to climb a tree a few years ago. She sprained her ankle last year when she attempted to ride a horse that was not hers.

If Farah still had any doubts after everything that had happened, Ana was determined to dispel them. She was prepared to do whatever it took to stop a civil war within the tribe.

"I will find out if it was an accident or not," she said softly.

Farah wiped her eyes. "Y—you will?"

Ana nodded her head slowly.

"How will you do that?"


Since her arrival in Pannonia, a lot had happened, and it felt like weeks had passed. However, only a little time had elapsed. She hadn't seen her daughters or spoken to them since she arrived, let alone checked in on how they were doing.

Boran, her youngest, was sitting on her right and clung to her like a lemur. Boran kept trying to crawl under the sheets, and Arielle responded by clutching the blanket even more to her torso in an effort to hide her stomach. Abbaseh, perched on Aurora's lap to her left, was reading a journal.

"Abbaseh," she said, trying to get her attention. "Abbaseh, tatli kiz."

The princess raised her head and grinned. "Ya?"

"What are you reading?"

"Somethin' I found in the library. The library here is a lot smaller. Who is Kreka Khatun? Her name is in here a lot." She pointed to the page.

Boran spat, "Khatun?! We already have a Khatun."

"Was she the queen before Grandma Khatun?" asked Abbaseh.

"Give me that," Arielle said, snatching the journal.

She paused to browse the pages for a moment. Abbaseh's reading level startled her, but so did the fact that Abbaseh fully understood everything she read. It made her realize that she hadn't spent nearly enough time explaining her family's history to her own girls. They knew a great deal about Persia and that side of the family. Only Aurora understood more about her Hunnic ancestry than her sisters.

"Try not to rummage through the archives." She handed the journal to Ku-Ilm. "How are you two liking Pannonia so far?"

"I don't like being called princess," said Abbaseh, folding her arms. "I'm a shehzada."

Arielle bit her lip anxiously. "They mean the same thing."

"It's not the same."

Boran wrapped her arm around her mother. "Are we going back to Persia?"

Her assumptions were right from the start. Her daughters were having a difficult time adjusting. "No, we're staying here for a while."

"How long?"

"For a long time."

Abbaseh skeptically asked, "How long is a 'long time'?"

Arielle frowned, feeling the frustration bubbling inside her. "Longer than just a few days. I don't want to be asked about this again."

She was grateful when her mother walked in and her daughters' attentions were diverted. Although, she was curious as to why Emese was with her.

Abbaseh and Boran sprang off the bed and went to Anastasia, who they immediately began questioning with a variety of inquiries. When they saw that Emese's eyes were red, they assumed that she had been crying and asked her what was wrong several times over.

Ku sprang from the chair and grabbed the girls' hands. "We will come back and visit tonight. Aurora, halu, are you coming?"

Aurora griped, "I'm not a little girl."

Arielle overheard her daughter and grabbed her arm. "I want to talk to you later," she whispered. The princess seemed receptive and nodded before leaving with Ku and her sisters.

With the distractions removed, Anastasia drew her granddaughter to stand next to the bed. Due to Emese's repeated attempts to escape before she ever entered the room, she had to resort to a small amount of force.

Arielle smiled. "Hello, Emese."

"Khagana..." she greeted, sniffling.

"Oh, you don't need to call me that." She picked up her niece and set her on the bed. "So, why are you here?"

Anastasia gently prompted, "Tell her what happened to Aracsilla."

The smile on Arielle's lips faded. "Aracsilla?"

Ana looked agitated and glared at Emese. Her command was firm: "Tell her everything you told me."

After only a few moments, the princess broke down in tears and gazed up at her grandmother with pleading eyes. Her grandmother's gaze penetrated right through her, rendering her calls for rescue useless. Emese faced her curious aunt who had been looking at her strangely.

Once she let her tears subside, she spoke softly, "Me—me and Aracsilla went to play with Tespar and Muqan in the woods. We wanted to spar..." Her words drifted and one last time, she looked up at her grandmother.

Anastasia's lip curled. "Keep going."

Emese's eyes watered. "I took...I took some knives from my mother's armory," she stuttered, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Muqan and Aracsilla were sparing and...he cut her eye. But it was an accident!"

Arielle's jaw dropped. "Does Cera know about this?" she asked her mother.

"Not yet."

She didn't feel comfortable breaking the news to her sister herself, so she asked their mother to break it to her. Now she knew why Farah had reacted the way she did. She was trying to comfort her crying niece throughout all of this.

"Thank you for telling me what happened," she told Emese. "You may go back to your room now."

The princess turned away from her grandmother without a word, her shoulders sagging as she walked. At the sound of the door closing, Anastasia reached into her pants and removed two vials.

"I got these from Revkah."

Arielle took the vials of medicine. "That's all she gave you? I'm supposed to take two vials a day for seven days."

"Then you might want to tell Ursula to take down her barricade of soldiers."

"What?"

"Ursula assigned soldiers to block the entrance of the Suevi clan to prevent others from entering. Nobody from the clan is allowed to leave either, including Revkah. She isn't going to let her guard down until Farah receives a punishment."

Arielle's fingers curled into fists. "That is absurd!"

"She's also flying the Suevi flag."

"She can't do that! It's treason." She gulped down the contents of one bottle of medicine in a fit of rage. She wrinkled her nose and crinkled her mouth in disdain as she coughed. "Goddammit, that's fucking awful," she groused. "I—I'm going to put a stop to this."

Anastasia took a seat on the bed, bracing herself to deliver more news. "Aracsilla's going to lose her eye. It was more than a cut. I know you and Farah share this hatred for Yeter but Farah does need to be punished. We do need Yeter alive if we want Issik to cooperate with us for the raid. If you could come up with a compromise with Ursula, we won't have a civil war—"

"Does nobody care that my husband is a hostage?" she yelled, silencing her mother. "Xerxes is probably being beaten—tortured—and I'm carrying his child. An—and people are out to kill me and my daughters. I can't even leave my home because I'm afraid someone might kill me. But, by all means, let's focus on a queen stabbing a political prisoner; a prisoner who almost killed all of us at one point!"

As she listened to her daughter's tirade, Ana felt compassion for her plight. She had experienced being in the middle of an imperial crisis before. Arielle had done a good job as Khagana for her people during the past few years, despite being absent for a large portion of that time. She became accustomed to spending her days alone in her Persian home. The way the tribe lived in Pannonia had changed, and Ana was worried that Arielle had forgotten the old traditions.

"Sometimes we have to make tough decisions," Ana explained. "Our people come first. Remember that."


X&G adventures in the next chapter :)