The Great Merge
Four Years Later
Draw.
Pull.
Release.
Aurora lowered the bow from her cheek and examined the pierced arrow in the center of a wooden target. The placement of the arrow certainly wasn't up to par. Disappointed in herself, the princess huffed and handed her bow off to a soldier nearby.
Over the last few months, she had practiced her archery skills relentlessly, but all her hard work hadn't paid off. Aurora was eager to impress her mother with her improved archery skills, but it appeared she needed more training. While her mother was stationed in Persia creating war plans for the rising Gokturk Empire, she was stuck in Pannonia with her extended family. It wasn't that Aurora disliked living with her family, but she missed the company of her mother and two younger sisters, Abbaseh and Boran. In two days, she was supposed to leave for Persia to finally reunite with her sisters and mother, so her archery training would be put on-hold for now.
Aurora dashed inside the big wooden palace after a hard morning of training in the fields, trying to stay unobserved. Her covert attempt to avoid joining her family for a late breakfast was thwarted when her name was shouted from downstairs. The princess came to a stop in the middle of the steps when she heard a booming voice.
Xena stood at the foot of the stairs; a long strand of silvery raven hair tucked behind her shoulder. She waved her hand at the thirteen-year-old princess. Aurora then took a leisurely walk down the large stairs.
Finally, Xena combed Aurora's hair back, revealing brilliant honey-brown eyes studded with green flecks. She smiled softly and raised the princess' chin.
"Are you done preparing for your trip to Persia?"
Aurora nodded. "I gave my luggage to the horsemen yesterday."
"Good, good," Xena mumbled. "I know how hard it must be for you to be far away from your mother. How long has it been?"
"Thirteen months and five days," Aurora eagerly spat out with a bright smile.
Xena chuckled at the exuberant response. "She's going to be very impressed with your archery skills. I know you've been practicing a lot." She winked and pinched Aurora's chin.
Aurora usually practiced archery with her mother, and it was tough for her to practice on her own. Her uncle, Csaba, wasn't very interested in archery, and he wasn't particularly good at it either. Farah had no idea how to fire an arrow, or wield any weapon for that matter. Nobody in this family seemed to be a good sharpshooter like Arielle. Aurora wished her mother was more engaged in her life at moments like this. Aurora had not planned on spending a complete year apart from her mother and sisters.
"I still can't hit the middle of the target," the princess admitted, defeated.
"You'll get it," Xena said. "You're only thirteen, Aurora. Give it some time. Your mother has practiced for many, many years." She saw some of the light leave Aurora's eyes. "But I promise your mother will be more excited to see you," she added.
Aurora could only return a faint grin and quickly excused herself to go clean up before joining the family in the dining hall. Xena walked the corridors with her hands behind her back, imagining how much it hurt Aurora to be apart from Arielle. Xena worried whether Arielle's assignment in Persia would be extended. She reasoned that as long as the Gokturk Empire expanded, Arielle would remain in Persia.
She came to a halt as two teenagers barred her path. Those adolescent boys were Farah and Csaba's twin boys. One twin pursued the other, aiming an arrow at the other. Xena raised an eyebrow, and the princes quickly understood they were being watched. The twins' raucous laughing ended, and their cheeks paled three shades lighter.
"You aren't supposed to have weapons in the Adame," Xena warned, a growl trapped in her throat.
"Very sorry, Khanum," Prince Aman immediately apologized. "It won't happen again."
Prince Aladar snickered. "It's not even a real arrow," he combatted. Though, he sorely regretted his quick tongue.
Xena extended her hand, and the princes exchanged a concerned glance. Finally, Aman passed the bow over to Xena and saw her snap the bow with a thrust of her knee. Both Aman and Aladar exclaimed. Xena returned the broken bow to the careless twins, who each grabbed a piece.
"No weapons," she reiterated, and she continued walking.
She could hear the princes squabbling and blaming each other as she sauntered casually. They were more outraged by the broken bow than they were by breaking the restrictions Farah had set for them. Xena smiled contentedly and whistled her way into the spacious hallway.
The next day, everyone who had been assigned to go to Persia was busy preparing carriages and horses, as well as distributing baggage and chests of clothing, gifts, and armament. Xena went around the perimeter, checking all of the caravans carrying the weaponry. Her job was done for the day when she gave the troops her approval.
There have been several changes since Arielle's reign as Khagana of the Hun-Avar Empire began. Arielle completed her plans five years ago to construct a school in the empire's center, Pannonia, for all children to attend. She also erected a church for Pannonian residents, albeit this was mostly out of spite. Emperor Justinian and his wife, Empress Theodora, were continuously attempting to tax Pannonia for constructing a church on 'pagan grounds,' as they referred to it.
While there was always going to be opposition from the Huns' western neighbors, the one thing that remained steadfast was the school. The school's headmaster allowed the recruitment of teachers and mentors from all around the globe to teach at the school. Arielle could only put one person in charge of the institution, and she nominated Gabrielle as headmaster four summers ago.
When Xena walked inside the enormous school in southern Pannonia, she was greeted by a swarm of rowdy schoolchildren who ran up to her. She smiled as she greeted each child, and she pried a few lads who were wrapped around her legs like monkeys. She withdrew her gaze from the crowd of students and established eye contact with Gabrielle.
Gabrielle waved from a distance, a bright smile on her face. She ordered the students to walk outside in a loud voice, and the throng dispersed quickly. She could tell Xena was overwhelmed by the attention by her wife's disgruntlement.
"What're you doing here?" asked Gabrielle.
"Nice to see you too," Xena jested. She smoothed out the wrinkles in her coat sleeves.
Gabrielle sighed and rolled her eyes. "I meant it's a bit of a journey to get here. I thought you were doing weapon inventory today?"
Xena leaned forward and kissed her wife on the top of her head. "I finished early," she remarked, shrugging her shoulders. "I also wanted to see whether your students had overtaken you yet." She gave a wink.
They traversed the corridors of the school together, and Gabrielle looped her arm through Xena's. They passed many classrooms where lecturers were instructing students and they halted outside one of them. Farah was teaching mathematics to some of the older students, two of whom were her twin boys.
Gabrielle jotted down a few notes in her journal and counted the students in the room. Her brow wrinkled as she tallied the unbalanced number of students in Farah's class. She looked through the list of attendees and tapped her pen on Aurora's name.
"Hmm."
Xena lifted her brows as she looked over at her wife. "What is it?"
"Aurora is supposed to be in this class today, but...she isn't."
Her eyes gradually shifted to Xena, who was more captivated by the pupils taking up every detail of Farah's lecture. Xena gradually became aware of the pair of eyes burning a hole in her coat and met Gabrielle's fierce look.
"What?"
"Do you know where Aurora is?" asked Gabrielle, in an accusative tone.
"Yeah. As if I have time to keep up with all these children."
"Xena, she's skipped three classes this week," she huffed and slammed her journal shut in frustration. "I dunno about you, but I am seeing a pattern; Anastasia…Arielle…."
"Ah-ha, don't even go there, Gabrielle. I'm sure she's off practicing archery or doing something non-violent," Xena answered, teasingly. "She's just nervous about traveling to Persia. Aurora is a smart girl and she stays out of trouble. I wouldn't worry."
"I worry," Gabrielle mumbled.
After the lecture, the students filed out of the room, some more concerned about the required homework than others. Farah was tidying her workplace when Xena and Gabrielle entered the room. Farah swept her desk and smiled as she glanced over her shoulder at the unexpected guests.
"Günaydin!" Farah chirped.
Gabrielle stepped forward. "Good morning, Farah. I, ah, wanted to ask you if you've seen Aurora? She was supposed to be in your class."
Farah grabbed a stack of parchment, nodding her head. "Yes, she's missed many of my classes."
Gabrielle arched a brow and looked up at her wife. Xena raised her shoulders and held out her hands.
"What? Why are you looking at me?"
"And you said not to worry," Gabrielle chided. She turned back to face Farah with a tight smile.
She would have preferred to be outdoors completing more inventory inspections, but she had made a commitment. She hoped she could back out of the agreement. Xena sat on the floor, a brush in one hand and paint in the other, drawing a map of the empire. Gabrielle appeared to have caught her on a particularly generous day and persuaded her to paint this map. She now regretted agreeing to do it since she discovered she wasn't a decent painter.
Before dipping the paintbrush into the water to rinse the bristles, Xena exhaled deeply. She tried her hardest to keep her detest disguised since she saw how pleased Gabrielle was. She'd have to put up with this painfully boring bonding period for a little while longer.
Gabrielle hummed softly while she painted. "Are you finished with your side of the map?"
"Working on it…."
Gabrielle took her gaze away from the map when she saw her wife washing the paintbrush until it was squeaky clean. She grinned and resumed her attention to her painting.
"I know you'd rather be doing something else right now, but I appreciate you doing this with me."
Xena's lips curled into a warm smile at that. "Painting a map of the empire isn't exactly at the top of my list, but if it means spending more time with you, I'm all for it."
This was one of the rare occasions when they could sit together, just conversing and laughing. It was a welcome respite from constantly discussing strategy and war preparations. They painted in silence for the next half hour, periodically exchanging looks and spewing out jesting comments to one another.
A knock on the door interrupted their peace. Xena invited the guest in, and the door creaked open to reveal Csaba. He peered from around the corner and entered the room, instantly enthralled by the large map.
"Wow, look at this! You two have really outdone yourselves," he said, nodding his head in approval.
"What do you want, Csaba?" questioned Xena.
He was no stranger to his grandmother's bluntness and knew not to waste her time. "I need you to train some dogs."
Xena scrunched her nose. "Well…I know the young troops can be a pain at first, but I wouldn't call them dogs. A tempting request, Csaba, but I don't train soldiers anymore. Haven't for a long time."
Csaba snickered. "Not soldiers, grandma. Dogs."
She huffed and set down the paintbrush. "You want me to train animals?" she clarified.
"From the recent attack in Scythia, Oran seized a pack of dogs. Two of them seemed more obedient than the others, and mother's eyesight isn't getting any better...so…I thought it would be wonderful if she could have a dog. You know, to help her get around without anyone else's assistance."
Gabrielle grinned. "That's a very nice thing to do for your mother, Csaba."
He raised his chin, quite proud of his ingenious idea. "What do you think? Will you do it?"
Xena's brow furrowed at the prospect of training animals. He was correct in saying that Anastasia's vision had not improved in recent years. But dog training? She was skeptical about the whole premise. Some could even argue that teaching animals would be demeaning given her previous command of one of history's most notorious armies.
"You should do it, Xena. It would be an exciting experience," Gabrielle chimed in. "Anastasia would be impressed…."
Using her daughter as an incentive was a strategic move on Gabrielle's part. Xena recognized that. It had been used against her many times when it came to making odd decisions such as this one. Xena closed her eyes, considering the idea of training dogs. Her eyes opened to look up towards the ceiling, contemplating her life choices.
"I'm not…saying no…."
"Great!" Csaba cheered. "Mother's going to love this, I know it. Thank you." he hurried over and kissed his grandmother's forehead.
With a flick of her wrist, Xena shooed him away. Csaba got the hint, made himself scarce, and exited out the side entrance. Gabrielle couldn't help but smile as she saw her wife's discontent growing.
Xena side-eyed her spouse. "I didn't say 'yes.'"
"But you didn't say 'no' either," Gabrielle replied, wagging her eyebrows.
"Let's just finish painting this map," Xena grumbled.
Aurora was regarded as the quietest of the family's children. In terms of etiquette, demeanor, and even looks, she was nothing like her mother or father. Aurora resembled her grandmother the most in terms of beauty and maturity. She was more interested in how to administer an empire than in fighting for one since she learned to read and write. This also meant that Aurora would occasionally lock herself up in her room and read till dawn.
So, one could tell that something was amiss when she just recently stopped attending school lessons. As a result, on the morning of Aurora's departure to Persia, Xena decided to check in on the lonely princess. She was well aware that Aurora's expedition to Persia was giving her a great deal of tension and distress.
Xena knocked a couple of times on the princess' bedroom door. Aurora swiveled in her desk chair, hurriedly folding a piece of paper and tucking it beneath a stack of journals.
"Grandma Khanum, I didn't hear you come in."
Xena walked over to the desk and eyed fresh ink on the quill's tip. "Writing something?" she gestured to the inkwell.
The princess sighed as she swept her long dark locks behind her shoulder. She took out the buried paper, gently unfolded it, and presented it to Xena. When the document was removed from her grasp, she sagged in her chair, her arms crossed.
As Xena read the written thoughts, a grin crept up on her face. She returned the parchment on the desk and comfortingly caressed Aurora's shoulder.
"You're a good writer. Maybe one day your mother will let you sit in one of her meetings with the Shah and take notes for her," she hinted.
Aurora illuminated at the thought of sitting in on one of her mother's meetings. "You think she'd let me do that?"
"I'll put in a good word for you," Xena whispered, and gave a wink. "Everyone is almost ready to go. Do you have everything you need?"
Aurora nodded.
"Alright…." Xena held out her hand. "You'll be with me, Gabrielle, and your grandmother. Gabrielle packed plenty of games for you in the caravan."
After the child seemed even more hesitant to leave, Xena bent over, hands on knees, and locked eyes with her. Xena's smile soon became contagious and no matter how much Aurora hated it, she returned the smile and tried to hide it behind her veil of hair.
Aurora sighed heavily. "Do you think she will be disappointed that I'm not as good of an archer as she is?"
Xena scoffed. "Are you kidding? Your mother will be amazed by anything you do. No weapons needed." She winked and stood upright, holding out her hand. "Come on, we need to leave."
Aurora finally grabbed Xena's hand, and they walked to the doors. "I'm really nothing like my mother, am I?" she asked, tilting her gaze upward.
"Your mother is a strange one, I'll give you that. Don't worry about being 'like your mother.' Just be you."
Anastasia rushed by in the hallway and paused in front of the doorway, raising an eyebrow. "I have been looking all over the place for you," she directed her irritation towards her mother.
"I was just grabbing some precious cargo here," Xena smiled down at the princess.
"Well, hurry up. We're already running late," Anastasia said, as she hurried down the hall with a few maids trailing after her.
Xena pursed her lips and pulled on Aurora's hand. "You can depend on your grandmother to put your mother in her place if she steps out of line," she whispered.
Aurora giggled in response.
Estakhr, Persia
Arielle believed she had made progress in Persia in recent years. She struggled to be heard by the Persian court since none of the councilmen responded to her requests. None of the council members saw her in person since it was supposedly forbidden in Persia to look at a Shehzade's wife. She was, however, no ordinary wife of a Sassanian prince. She was the Khagana of a vast empire capable of consuming Shah Khosrow's reign.
Nonetheless, her years of wrangling with her husband's brother had paid off. Arielle was summoned to Shah Khosrow's chambers to address the court. She imagined Xerxes had to pull a few strings in order for her to be invited to a council meeting. She was angered at first but then understood that Xerxes had to overcome numerous barriers and fights with his brother in order for her to be present for this meeting.
Khosrow greeted her warmly and introduced her as his sister-in-law and a prominent figure in the Persian Empire. The greetings were casual, but the council was concerned about Arielle attending the private meeting. Several times throughout the council session, she was criticized. Arielle would have cursed the council if this meeting had taken place a few years ago. But she kept her composure and didn't say anything about the obnoxious councilmen.
Three hours later, the council adjourned, and Arielle praised every god she knew. Xerxes took her out of the room and into the corridor. He excused himself from his exuberant brother, locked the wide room doors, and approached his irritated wife cautiously.
Arielle rubbed her forehead, soothing her throbbing head. Xerxes placed his hands on her shoulders and pressed his body up against hers.
"You did very well tonight," he whispered in her ear.
"I'm never going to get anything done if the court doesn't listen to me," she groaned, massaging her head.
Xerxes spun her around and cupped her cheeks. "You got your meeting and you did great, Arielle. It'll take some time for those old bastards to warm up to you," he jested.
Arielle faintly smiled. "Thank you, I know you're being nice, but thank you."
He kissed her on the cheek and adjusted her black beaded headpiece. He placed her veil across her shoulders, affixed the beautiful sparkling headpiece. Arielle raised an eyebrow, and Xerxes smiled brightly. Arielle leaned her head on his chest as they shared a stifled giggle.
"You should get some sleep before we head back to Elam tomorrow," he said, tracing his fingers across her back. "Arielle?"
"Hmm?"
"Sleep. Do you want me to walk you to the room?"
"Mmm, no."
"I can carry you…."
"I'm going," she said, pushing herself away.
All of the councilmen and the Shah applauded wildly behind closed doors in the chamber. It was a typical night of noblemen filling their bellies with more wine than a horse could hold. Arielle scowled and narrowed her eyes as she looked at her husband, who grinned uncomfortably.
"Don't stay up too late," she warned. "And don't drink too much."
"Yes, Khagana," Xerxes replied teasingly, placing a fist over his heart.
"Don't start."
"Yes ma'am."
"Xerxes!"
He snickered. "I promise I'll be on my best behavior. Go to bed."
Elam, Persia
Arielle intended to unwind when she returned to the palace in Elam, but her responsibilities never waited. She had been stuck in her quarters for the previous three days after returning from Estakhr, reviewing and signing paperwork. The majority of the papers she received were tax-related inside her dominion and Persia.
She had trained her brain to read materials quickly in order to understand the primary message, so she could do a lot in a few hours. Arielle had signed her name more than she could count, and she had no plans to stop anytime soon. She wanted to do as many of her tasks as possible before her relatives arrived. With her hectic schedule, she hardly had time to absorb anything. Her oldest daughter was finally on her way to Persia after a year separated. Too much time, she reasoned.
Arielle flicked through the pages quickly, alternating between two quill pens to avoid drying up the tips from overuse. She was concentrated when she heard the door creak open. Her second-oldest daughter, Abbaseh, crept into her bedroom, with Arielle pretending to be engrossed in her work. She disguised her smile and tried not to see her daughter's clumsy effort at sneaking about.
Shehzada Abbaseh padded across the room, her beautiful coppery blonde hair bouncing with each stride. She approached her mother's desk and peered over the table's edge, admiring her mother's deft calligraphy.
"Yesss?"
Abbaseh gasped. "You saw me?!"
Arielle smiled warmly and set down her pen, staring down at her daughter's big brown eyes. "I see everything," she whispered.
The five-year-old shehzada came around the desk. "Are you busy?"
"A little bit," Arielle said, picking up her pen to write again.
"Too busy to…go to the market?" Abbaseh hinted with a smug smile.
Arielle raised an eyebrow. "I really need to finish my work." She tapped the pen on her daughter's nose. "We can go to the market when everyone arrives. How's that?"
Abbaseh nodded enthusiastically, clearly pleased with the compromise. She stayed behind to observe her mother carry out her royal responsibilities. She leaned against her mother and started fiddling with the pearls on her mother's flowing sleeve.
The doors slid open in the middle of the silence, and the youngest of Arielle's children raced inside. Shehzada Boran exhaled loudly as she rushed away from her maid, who was keeping an eye on her. Arielle scowled at the breathless maid waiting at the entryway, and the little shehzada smiled cheerfully.
Arielle regretted ever allowing Ku-Ilm to take a six-month leave of absence in Assyria. The Persian maids that Nousha hired were not as attentive as Ku. Boran was the wildest and most disobedient of her three daughters. In many ways, Boran was just like her mother. They had the same demeanor, attitude, and features. Boran resembled her mother in every way except for her stick-straight black hair and dark eyes. Arielle immediately understood how much burden she had placed on her mother and grandmother as a child as soon as Boran was able to talk.
Abbaseh scowled at her little sister. "Boran, mom is working! You can't just come in here!"
"But you're here!" Boran cried. "Mama, guess what?!"
Arielle pinched the bridge of her nose. "What?"
"They're here!"
Arielle parted her lips and glanced at the young maid for confirmation. The maid lowered her head silently, acknowledging that the Pannonian clan had truly come. Arielle pressed her brow into her hand and looked at her two girls, each of whom had their brown eyes fixed on her. She put on a phony grin for their sake.
There was no more time to prepare. Her family had arrived, and there were several issues she had neglected to mention in her letters. She braced for a reprimand from her mother, which she expected. She was, however, unprepared to see Aurora after living a year apart. She wondered how much Aurora had grown in the year they had been apart, yet she was unable to daydream anymore. Aurora had arrived. She couldn't flee or hide.
"Well, it seems I'm done working for the day," she announced.
The two daughters joyfully shouted and grabbed their mother's dress. Arielle's grin broadened as she saw her girls' excitement, and she gently rose from her chair. She put a hand on her unsettled stomach, and before she knew it, she was being dragged by her daughters. They grabbed her hands and forced her to stride.
"Where's Nousha?" she asked.
"In the courtyard, Khagana," the maid uttered quietly. "Shehzadaler, allow your mother to walk freely," she gently reminded the girls.
Arielle was grateful for the push her girls provided her in hindsight. She would have stayed glued to the chair if it hadn't been for them. She hadn't seen her immediate relatives in over a year. She was so preoccupied with her job and obligations that she neglected to write to her family on a regular basis. No amount of time rehearsing what she should say to her family would ever be adequate. She was worried that the minute she saw her family, her tongue would seize up.
But she knew one thing for certain: she couldn't avoid this.