Has sexual themes and graphic violence, and most importantly it is a dropped story, meaning it will be years and years before I even consider continuing this.
(Xena/Gabrielle, Lila/Minya) Divided into roughly ten parts due to size.
Read Conquering Liaisons pt 10
Disclaimer: Xena, Gabrielle and anything else XWP belong to RenPics and TPTB, and certainly in no way to a certain little dragon.
This is a conquerorfic and contains a fair share of violence. There is mention of sex, and at a certain point a roundabout mention of rape. While I think it should not be too disturbing for anyone’s sensibilities, a warning is only fair so that you can avoid reading if this would upset you.
The most important warning I feel is this; THIS STORY HAS BEEN DROPPED. It is unfinished and shall remain that way for the foreseeable future. I do still hope to return to it sometime, years from now, but for now – and for quite a few years – I am hopelessly stuck.
Conquering Liaisons pt 10 of 10
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by Carola “Ryûchan” Eriksson
Chapter 24: The Fall of a Satrap
For a long moment after Gabrielle had been led inside by Royal Guards and placed in an ornate chair next to Xena’s own at the head of the table, Xena merely sat staring at her lover. She was, simply put, mesmerized.
The cream-coloured dress was of an deceptively simple cut, but made from the finest of materials, and held intricate but elegant tooling in silver around the waist, neckline and cuffs. It was also a splendid complement to Xena’s own choice of dark clothing with identical silver tooling, fitting them together quite nicely. Xena had to remember to do something nice for Myra sometime, she decided.
Gabrielle warmly but discreetly greeted Ephiny and Glaphyra as she sat down, waiting for Xena to make the official introductions or at the very least tell her what to do. Xena shook herself slightly to return from the pleasant love-struck gazing that she had indulged in, hopefully before the other people in the room noticed.
By the raised eyebrows and speculating looks on display, Xena failed that attempt somewhat. Fighting down a surprising impulse to blush, Xena forged on with the introductions.
The room fairly teemed with curiosity as Xena introduced “Lady” Gabrielle, but neglected to inform the Satraps why Gabrielle was present at this very exclusive meeting, and who the young woman really was. Only Glaphyra knew the truth, and she was beaming a pleased, if smug, smile at the others that managed to dent the passive armour of Lao Ma ever so slightly… Lao Ma narrowed her eyes speculatively at both Glaphyra and Gabrielle. Xena of course noticed, and while slightly amused by how well Glaphyra knew to push Lao Ma’s hidden buttons, she couldn’t have cared less. The silently glowering Marc Anthony was a greater cause for concern, just in case he decided to open his mouth at an inopportune moment. But no matter, Xena wanted them to deal with the business part of the evening’s meeting before making her announcement, and besides, keeping the Satraps itching with curiosity was rather amusing.
For most part, Gabrielle sat quietly listening and observing the proceedings of a Satrap meeting. It turned out to be quite less formal than she would have expected, but still, there were some rules to be respected and she’d rather learn about them before disturbing anyone. She exchanged some quiet words with Ephiny, who sat close by, and even tried to speak to the unresponsive boy on her immediate left. Ming T’ien ignored her attempts at a conversation, but kept staring at her. It made Gabrielle feel rather uncomfortable, but she chose to ignore him altogether.
Xena was well aware of Gabrielle’s presence at her side, of the silent looks and quiet words shared with Ephiny, even though she was not really distracted from her work as such. The meeting carried on, although very haltingly for most of the Satraps, giving Glaphyra a much appreciated opportunity to voice the issues for her province before the others. The usual responses were sparked, although in a subdued fashion, and the meeting was well underway.
It wasn’t until Xena noticed Glaphyra glaring across the table in Gabrielle’s direction that she fully turned around to look at her lover. Gabrielle sat leaning slightly towards the table listening to something Ephiny was saying, and was not paying attention to Glaphyra. Xena realized that it was not Gabrielle Glaphyra was glaring at, but rather Ming T’ien who was quite blatantly staring down into Gabrielle’s cleavage while wearing a quite unbecoming leer.
The booming thud of Xena’s large hand when it impacted with the tabletop as the Conqueror rose to her feet made the room go deathly silent. Everyone gave a start and stared at their scowling ruler. Xena turned her angry gaze at the youth.
“You.” A rising eyebrow at the boy and a single finger moving in a curt motion towards Lao Ma. “Go sit by your mother. Now.”
Ming T’ien remained unmoving for a moment, undoubtedly too shocked to move, but Ephiny discreetly pulled out his chair and urged the boy to his feet. On the other side of the table, chairs were exchanged so that a space would be available by Lao Ma’s side. It wasn’t until Ming T’ien took a tentative step or two that he seemed to snap out of his surprise enough to pout at the turn of events and give Xena a petulant look.
“What?” Marc Anthony snorted derisively. “You’ll not take his eyes for staring at your whore?” Xena bared her teeth as she turned around to face Marc Anthony, but stayed the protests from others with a negligent hand. She waited a moment until she was certain she could speak without giving in to the darker impulses that were coursing through her at the moment, then cast a glance in Ming T’ien’s direction.
“No. He’s a child that knows no better…” A glance at Lao Ma. “and I… respect his mother. He gets to keep his eyes for now.” The eyes in question turned the size of saucers hearing this. Xena lowered her voice to one of it’s more dangerous and growling registers as she added. “If he ever tries to commit such a crime against me again, however… he will know his punishment.”
The youth from Chin scrambled to his mother’s side, where he stared wide-eyed at his suddenly deadly surroundings. Cleopatra eyed Gabrielle with new appreciation while Boadicea snorted in contempt at the whole dramatic proceedings. Neither Xena nor Marc Anthony was quite done yet though, it would seem.
Xena placed herself behind Gabrielle’s chair, with her hands on Gabrielle’s shoulders. “Have a care with how you address my Gabrielle, Anthony… I will give you no more warnings.”
A wiser man would have heard the danger in Xena’s voice, and let self-preservation hold his tongue regardless of his opinions. Not so in the case of Marc Anthony, he shrugged and sneered in the direction of the other Satraps at his side as if looking for backing.
“A whore is a whore is a whore, Xena… despite your little illusions, she’s had many before you, and will have many more once you’ve gotten tired of her… charms.” He leered at Gabrielle, who at this point was trying hard not to cry.
The growl emanating from Xena’s throat sounded as if it came from some large animal, perhaps the lion that she was so often compared to, for nothing in it seemed even remotely human. As loud as it was, it was the snap when one of Xena’s large hands reflexively tore off one armrest from Gabrielle’s gilded chair that should have warned Marc Anthony of what was coming next. If he had the time to notice it, that is.
In one smooth, instantaneous motion Xena spun in his direction and swung the wooden piece of armrest in a deceptively negligent one-handed blow… that hit the Roman’s face with enough force to send both him and his chair sprawling on the floor, split his lip and leave an angry red welt across the side of his face.
Xena was visibly shaking from struggling with herself, and to the amazement of the Satraps, Gabrielle gently touched her arm in a soothing manner to calm her. And it seemed to work, somewhat. Xena clasped Gabrielle’s hand within her own and lifted it to her lips for a brief kiss.
“It was my intention…” Xena said quietly, still with some difficulty, and completely ignoring Marc Anthony as he dazedly moved around on the floor. “to wait until our business meeting was over for this evening before making the announcement.”
“It was my intention to invite you all” A brief pause emphasize that the invitation no longer would include all present, for obvious reasons. “…to my wedding.”
The room went so still that it almost seemed a palpable thing. Xena met the astonished eyes of each of the people sitting at the table as she swept her gaze over them.
“I am wedding my Gabrielle in a month hence. And she will be your Queen.”
Silence reigned for a long moment in the room, as Xena gave the Satraps a moment to digest the no doubt startling news. She exchanged a tender look with her still rather pale young betrothed, placing another kiss in the palm of Gabrielle’s hand.
“You” Marc Anthony spoke unsteadily from the floor where he was straightening himself out, gingerly wiping some blood off his face as he got to his knees. “…are saying you’d marry your slave?” The incredulousness in his voice seemed genuine, and the comment caused Gabrielle to flinch slightly.
“Not just a slave, either, but your _body_ slave? A whore you scraped off from a brothel is supposed to become the Queen of the world?” His laughter turned into a wheezing cough as he bent over his upturned chair as if to pull it up with him. “Surely you’re not that desperate. So unless Aphrodite herself taught her the profession, I’d say she has a hold on you… I wonder what it is?”
Several things happened at once.
A tear escaped Gabrielle’s downturned eyes and made a solitary journey down one cheek as she unconsciously cupped the invisible swell of her belly. Cleopatra all but climbed into Lao Ma’s lap in her attempts to put distance between herself and her obviously self-destructive lover, while the enraged Glaphyra climbed up on the large table in her attempts at crossing it to give the insufferable man a good proper beating. Ephiny and Melosa both stood and stepped closer to Gabrielle, then Ephiny gently pulled Gabrielle out of her chair and protectively put her behind herself.
Marc Anthony spun around in his position on the floor, revealing the broken armrest in his hand, and charged Xena with it. Xena… lost control.
It didn’t take long for Meleager and the Royal Guards outside the room to come rushing in and separate the two combatants, but it was enough time for Xena to have done quite a number on the Roman’s face. Restraining the Roman was a simple task for the guardsmen, but making Xena calm down proved a bit more challenging. Fortunately Meleager had, after all, known Xena for many years now.
The Roman glared futilely at the woman now standing partially behind one of the Amazons. Ephiny noticed the look and crossed her arms in silent challenge, but Marc Anthony didn’t notice. Instead he saw, even with one of his eyes slowly swelling shut, the way one of Gabrielle’s hands still rested on her abdomen.
If his laughter before had been a wheezing cough, then the sound he made now was quite unrecognisable as anything at all except just plain being ugly.
“S-she…” He wheezed. “she’s p-p-pr…”
If Meleager had not managed to grab Xena before she reached the Roman as she spun around at the sound of his voice, she would have simply reached out and snapped his neck. As it was, the firm grip of the Captain of her Royal Guard reminded Xena of her surroundings again.
“Pregnant?” Her voice was dangerously smooth. “Yes. The child of my love she carries.”
Xena may have been far too angry and too preoccupied to notice how Gabrielle’s eyes grew wide and luminous at her words, but a few of the Satraps bore witness to the look that passed over the young woman’s features instead. Ephiny and Melosa shared a look of silent communication.
“Lord Xena?”
Xena turned to the grim-faced Amazon princess, a little surprised to find her providing a protective human shield for Gabrielle, and even more surprised to find herself met by an Amazon warrior greeting. She looked at the young Amazon quizzically.
“May I suggest turning him over to Amazon justice?” Ephiny met her gaze unblinkingly. “Our laws are very clear, and very strict, especially when it comes to transgressions against children or those carrying new life.”
“In Africaans we do this delightfully evil thing with ants…” Glaphyra piped up from where she was gingerly climbing down from the table, careful to avoid destroying any more of the delicate cutlery.
“Tongs. Red-hot tongs and water…” Ming T’ien spoke up unexpectedly and with surprising enthusiasm, immediately falling silent after receiving several odd looks, the most stifling being the look from his mother.
“No.” Xena looked absolutely evil as she stood in front of Marc Anthony and the Royal Guards holding him. “Have him branded, then send him gift-wrapped to Brutus.”
Marc Anthony paled visibly.
“I’ll decide on whom I wish to bestow all his wealth, titles and property later… Perhaps Octavian should be given a little something, as Brutus gets his favourite plaything?”
Marc Anthony spluttered as the guards began to drag him away, but managed to resist them for long enough to throw a last taunt at Xena before they would drag him to whatever dungeon or slave pit that Xena would have them use as she destroyed his life.
“So whose is the bastard then, Xena? Is it her former owner’s, or maybe a customer’s?” One of the guards holding him cuffed him in the mouth to keep him from saying anything else about their adored Lady.
“Oh, and Meleager?” Xena tossed over her shoulder as Marc Anthony was dragged away. “Have them neuter him first, Brutus won’t mind.” Her smile at the Roman’s choked gasp at her words was, once again, truly evil.
The evil look faded away with the last of the guards that left the room, and instead Xena looked tired as she looked at her lover. Silently she opened her arms wide, and immediately Gabrielle moved out from behind Ephiny and hurled herself into them.
Holding Gabrielle close and burying her face in the red-gold hair, Xena spoke softly, disregarding anyone else present “I am sorry, my sweet… this was not how I had intended this to go.”
Xena sighed deeply and tightened her embrace, kissing Gabrielle gently on her head.
“I know, dearest… I know.” Gabrielle’s voice was muffled against Xena’s chest and still somewhat choked with tears, but as long as Xena was holding her, she felt she would be allright.
After a good long moment of silence, Melosa cleared her throat somewhat awkwardly. “Well then, I guess that congratulations are in order.”
Affirmative noises and phrases came from the other Satraps, although with different levels of enthusiasm. Xena accepted the well-wishes as amiably as she could, given the situation. And she certainly was not about to let go of her beloved anytime soon.
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Chapter 25: Relations and Relationships
Flinging the announcements at the Satraps in the manner that Xena had, although not quite by her own choice, had proven somewhat of a bother. Although the Satrap meeting was in truth finished as surely no-one could keep their minds on business after all that happened, there were still a lot of unanswered questions and, as much as Xena detested it, polite small talk to endure.
Xena answered the questions regarding the upcoming nuptials that she felt she wanted, and even a few regarding the elevation of Gabrielle to Queen of the Known World. No-one quite dared ask about the truth in Marc Anthony’s foolish slurs regarding Gabrielle being a body slave bought from a brothel, and Xena made it clear to them all that she would not accept any comments along those lines either. She did inform them that Gabrielle had indeed been her slave, and if anyone felt that it was their place to question her choices, they could do so… of course, the expression on the Conqueror’s face, as well as her tone of voice, made it clear that the person who did so had better feel it worth his or her life, for that would indeed be the price for their concern.
A topic of great, if carefully vented, interest was of course Gabrielle’s pregnancy. Xena was surprisingly candid about the circumstances of the pregnancy, which made Gabrielle blush fiercely to the roots of her hair, and garnered a range of reactions from the Satraps. The Amazons seemed most reverent and awestruck once they realised that the child within Gabrielle would be truly born of two mothers without the interference of a man. Such an occurrence would be held almost holy among the various Amazon tribes, and Melosa told Xena quietly that once the news of this spread among the Amazon Nations, Xena would gather an even stronger support than before.
Lao Ma looked darkly at Gabrielle, making the young woman feel quite ill at ease, but the Chin Satrap never spoke to her. Finally Xena let them all know she had enough for one night, and brought her young lover back to their chambers.
Some distance away from the meeting Viceron was fuming in his rage. But the news of events at the meeting spawned another idea, another angle through which to reach his objective. Smiling, Viceron considered his options.
Yes, it would certainly do.
In the room that the Royal Guards on stand-by duty used there was a small section in the back that housed a number of bunk beds. The guards on stand-by slept, ate and sat playing cards in shifts, so that they would always be ready if their sovereign needed them. As it was, nightfall coincided with Mavican’s sleep shift there, and she was just getting comfortable as someone unexpected claimed the bunk next to hers.
“Minya? You’re not on duty tonight, you can go down to the barracks and your own bed, you know?”
Mavican decided not to ask why the younger woman was not sleeping in Princess Lila’s room that night, as had been the norm since the girl had gotten a room of her own. After all, Minya was clearly floundering around the devious young Poteidaian as it was, Mavican probably shouldn’t tease her about it so much, even if it was one of Mavican’s new favourite pastimes. And who knew, perhaps even these girls needed the occasional night to themselves, she figured.
Minya muttered something unintelligible, and turned facing the wall. Mavican shrugged a little and relaxed, listening to the sounds of the other guards moving around in the room, and the quiet voices announcing that the Lord Conqueror and Lady Gabrielle had retired to their chambers for the night. Artus was on duty tonight, and by the sounds of it, on a winning streak at whatever game going on at the table. Mavican had almost drifted off again when the room went from quiet to silent, and a set of soft footfalls approached the bunks.
“Princess Lila?” Sitting up Mavican identified the quiet guest. The lump on the other bunk groaned slightly and moved, but did not sit up. “What are you doing here, Princess? Do you need anything?”
Mavican was nothing if not conscientious in her duties, and if truth be told, she rather liked her young charge, so naturally she was concerned when said charge wandered into the guard room at night wearing no more than her nightgown and a pout.
Lila showed no indication of having heard Mavican’s softly spoken questions, instead she rubbed her eyes and looked like a lost child for a moment, standing there in her long nightgown and obviously very sleepy. Then she zeroed in on Minya’s form on the bunk, just as Minya peeked a dishevelled head over the covers.
“Lila?” Minya was alarmed. ”What is it? Is something wrong?”
“You didn’t come to bed.” The Princess whined. “I waited and waited, and you didn’t come to bed.” She further expressed her extreme displeasure at this with an angry stomp with one small foot.
Mavican bit her lip not to start laughing as Minya turned wide-eyed and beet red at that statement. It really was too adorable.
“Ah, Princess? Isn’t there a Royal Guard already stationed at your bedroom tonight?”
Another stomp and another adorable pout. “Want Minya.”
Mavican snickered and Minya, by the sound of it, choked, but neither woman got the chance to say anything as the pouting princess crawled up into Minya’s bunk, over the suddenly petrified woman, and partially squeezed into the small space between Minya and the wall. The rest of the obviously sleepwalking Princess ended up draped over Minya with her head on Minya’s shoulder, and one arm tucked firmly around her quarry.
“S’better.” A mumble from the direction of Minya’s shoulder. “G’night Mavican.”
“Goodnight Princess.” Mavican chuckled, and looked forward to telling Lila about events in the morning. She hoped the girl’s new guardians wouldn’t be offended if she spent a night in the guard room, as surely the girl couldn’t be safer than right there, using one of the guards as her personal pillow. Mavican also hoped that said guard would remember to breathe soon, preferably before she fainted. Either way Mavican reasoned that she had a world of ammunition to tease her young friend with in the morning, and she was looking forward to it immensely.
The following morning, Mavican decided that she felt sorry for the Poteidaian princess. Xena and Gabrielle both had come running into the room while the princess and Minya still slept, nearly in a state of panic, believing the girl to have been abducted. Mavican, who fortunately enough had been up for a while, intercepted them to explain the night’s events, but she didn’t get very far. Woken by the noise, Lila stirred and peeked up from her comfy sleeping place in Minya’s arms, and both of her guardians immediately spotted the girl.
Gabrielle was left gaping in shock as Minya also woke and, after a single befuddled glance at her ruler, turned beet red. Xena’s eyebrows climbed a bit on her forehead at the sight, but she still smiled enigmatically.
Mavican once again tried to explain the situation, while Gabrielle snapped at her sister to go to the Royal Chambers and wait for her there. Lila scowled but trudged away obediently enough, leaving Minya looking as if she was waiting for the executioner’s axe.
Fortunately for Minya, Xena listened to Mavican’s explanations, then told the young guard that she would speak with her later, privately. At the moment, Xena and Gabrielle were more concerned with Lila and settling things with her.
Returning to the Royal Chambers Xena and Gabrielle found Lila pacing back and forth on the Persian carpet, alternating between frowning and pouting. When she saw her sister come in, Lila immediately turned to face her.
“Lila, you really can’t just walk around like that in the middle of the…” Gabrielle launched into a lecture straight away, with Lila looking moderately repentant as she listened. Xena tuned it out for most part, choosing instead to think some things through and leave the scolding to her lover. Mostly this was because Xena realized she would not have the heart to reprimand the girl, and with the severity of what could very well have happened to her the way things were, Lila needed to be scolded. It was for her own safety.
Still, Xena looked at the increasingly sorrowful countenance of this trusting child that the Fates had seen fit to bring into her life, and after a while she just couldn’t take any more. A hand on her shoulder stopped Gabrielle’s admonishment short.
Xena stood in front of Lila and gently made the girl meet her eyes.
“Lila, Gabrielle and I are not angry with you, you just scared us very much.” The look on the girl’s face said quite clearly that she didn’t think Xena could be afraid, but she remained silent as Xena spoke. “You are safe with the Royal Guard, and if you are ever worried or in trouble and Gabrielle and I are not there, you should run to them. They will protect you with their lives.”
“But living here in the palace is not like in Poteidaia... I have enemies, little one, dangerous people that would stop at nothing to hurt me or those I care about.” Xena heard Gabrielle take a deep breath, she probably did not want to frighten Lila with what had happened with Jett and whoever murdered him, but it was unfair to scold the girl for something that had not been properly explained to her in the first place Xena figured. “These people would hurt you or Gabrielle if they could, Lila... and that is the reason why there are always guards present. They are for your protection when I can’t protect you myself.”
“But we can only protect you if you do not wander off on your own.” Xena touched her cheek. “Do you understand?”
Lila nodded, wide-eyed, and received a pat on the head from the slightly relieved Xena. “Good.” She didn’t notice Gabrielle’s surprised eyes on her. “Now, will you tell me why you did not want to sleep in your room?”
Admittedly Xena knew nothing of what moved in a young girl’s mind as she herself had been quite... different from the typical young girl, she supposed... so she thought it best to ask the girl in case there was something wrong with the rooms Xena had gotten for her. Perhaps the bed was not satisfactory? Or maybe the guards that were assigned to Lila that night were people that the girl did not feel comfortable with? Xena could imagine a number of scenarios that might urge Lila out of her own bed and into the cot with the guard she felt the most secure with.
Lila pouted. “Minya did not come to me even though I waited. So I had to go to her.”
Gabrielle shook her head slightly in amused exasperation. “Minya is a grown woman, not your cuddly toy... you can’t ask her to be with you every waking and sleeping moment, Lila. It is great that you two are such good friends, but you have to respect that she has to be off duty and have her own life sometimes.”
The words were spoken gently, but they sparked a spectacular reaction.
Xena on her part made panic-stricken faces at Gabrielle, but it was too late. Lila turned pale, and large dark blue eyes overflowed with tears.
“S-she...” Lila’s quiet voice quivered as pitifully as the girl’s still pouting lip. “...she’s just with me because it is her j-job?” A sob. “She d-doesn’t want to be with m-me at all?” The crying began in earnest.
Xena turned in panic to Gabrielle but found her young lover standing there quite open-mouthed and dumbfounded at her little sister’s reaction. Turning back to the sobbing girl Xena had no real idea what to do, but did manage to scoop the girl up in an awkward hug, trying to comfort. Crying children were not her area of expertise.
“There, there.” Xena murmured, clumsily patting the girl’s back. “Minya cares a great deal for you, you know that Lila. There’s no need to cry.”
The girl sniffled into the fabric of Xena’s shirt. “R-really?”
“Really.” Xena promised, feeling thankful that her young guardsman was as transparent as she was, otherwise Xena would have had to lie to her young ward... because she didn’t think she could stand seeing the girl cry.
“B-but... what if she... thinks I’m silly and... too young and... oh Xena what if she likes someone else?”
The last was almost a wail, and Xena was back to patting the shaking back as comfortingly as she could muster. Xena sent a beseeching look over at Gabrielle, who had remained stunned to silence until that point, and thankfully it got the other woman to snap out of her stupor. Gabrielle hurried to Lila’s other side to hug the girl.
“Oh sweetie, I’m sorry... I didn’t mean to sound as if Minya didn’t care about you.” There was a small twitch as Gabrielle said ‘care’, but other than that she managed not to let on how badly the concept had surprised her. “Please don’t cry anymore Lil.” Gently she wiped at the girl’s eyes.
After a moment of hugs and murmured apologies from her sister, Lila had calmed down. Xena even got a smile when she ruffled the dark bangs a bit, making the Ruler of the Known World breathe a silent sigh of relief.
“So... are you and Minya, uh...” Gabrielle began at last but faltered off awkwardly. Finally she cast a pleading eye on Xena, who winced internally but nonetheless stepped up to the task.
“How far have the two of you gone?”
“XENA!” Gabrielle was aghast.
“Whaaat?” Wasn’t that what Gabrielle had wanted her to find out?
“What?” Lila echoed and looked at them both uncomprehendingly at first, then it seemed to slowly dawn on her. She blushed promptly. “Oh!”
Just as Xena thought that the girl wouldn’t answer, Lila spoke up again. “She holds me while we sleep.” The confession was soft and the shy smile that accompanied it was heart-warming to see. “And...”
Xena smiled and patted Lila’s hand. “And?”
Lila blushed harder. “And... I would very much like to... kisshersometime.” The end part was all but whispered out in a rush, making Xena and Gabrielle take a moment to catch on. “Eventually. When it is the right time. And if she likes me too.”
Xena nodded approvingly. “It is good that you know you should wait until it feels right for you. Don’t ever think you have to do things you’re not comfortable with to make her like you, just because she is older than you are.”
“Are you sure?” Slightly insecure blue eyes looked for confirmation from her hero.
“I’m sure. Minya wouldn’t pressure you. In fact...” Xena hesitated for a moment, wondering how much to say on that subject. She wasn’t sure if these things were over Lila’s head because the girl was so young or not. But the girl was nearly fourteen, in places like Poteidaia that was old enough to arrange for marriage, no matter how disturbing the thought was to Xena herself. “I would suggest you take things slow and, um, be patient and gentle with Minya. I don’t know the whole story, but Minya was hurt by someone pretty badly before she joined the Royal Guard.”
“Someone hurt Minya?” Lila gasped in horror and mounting anger. “Who? Who hurt Minya?”
Xena calmed the girl before answering. “I don’t know. That is a story Minya herself will have to tell when she’s ready. Don’t let knowing that make you treat her differently, just remember to be careful with her affection.”
“Thank you Xena.” Lila hugged her tall guardian gratefully. “You are the best.”
“Hey... what are sisters for?” Xena beamed at the girl and elaborated. “We’ll be sisters soon, once Gabrielle and I are married. I always wanted a little sister.”
That earned Xena another round of hugs from both Poteidaians, and with a promise to remember what she had been told about wandering off on her own, Lila was sent to her own rooms to get ready for the day. Xena nearly sagged with relief... handling young girls was much more harrowing than crossing swords with someone on the battlefield.
Slender arms embraced her from behind and a warm voice murmured near her ear. “You are surprisingly good at the sensitive chats, dearest.” There was some amusement evident in Gabrielle’s voice but mostly sincere affection. “We both have some rough spots, but we have time to iron those out until our baby will be old enough to date.”
“Date?” Xena growled and pulled at Gabrielle’s arms until she could put her own arms around Gabrielle. “Our child will not date. I’ll make a royal decree that any prospecting suitors will have their arms torn off... and if I find them unsuitable for my child, another body part of my choice.”
Gabrielle giggled and looked up at Xena adoringly. “Silly goose.” Xena’s pretended outrage made Gabrielle giggle some more. Then the expression changed into something else. “Xena?” She breathed, causing Xena to break out in goosebumps with the look in her eyes. “Kiss me.”
And Xena did, repeatedly and for a very long time.
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Chapter 26: Relations and Relationships
Days passed in something of a blur, filled as they were to the brim with the business of ruling the world. The satrap meetings were a bit more quiet than usual, as Cleopatra remained quiet for most of the time, opting to agree with whatever Xena suggested and merely sat close by Lao Ma and watched the proceedings. The Chinese satrap was as surprised at the sudden friendliness as Xena was, but did not give much sign that she noticed any change beyond the initial surprised glance. Xena did not mind the lack of banter from her flamboyant and shrewd satrap, and as even Boadicea was subdued and not as argumentative as usual, things moved along more or less smoothly.
It lasted for a few days, and during that time much of the scheduled work was processed. Of course, Xena had to entrust the silent search for Jett’s murderer to Meleager while the preparations for her upcoming wedding was handled by Jace, and it frustrated her to no end that she was stuck having to go through the satrap business when her focus should be on those two matters. Fortunately circumstances allowed Xena to bring Gabrielle with her to the satrap meetings, and the younger woman’s soothing presence at Xena’s side was just what was needed to placate Xena’s restlessness.
It amused Xena to see that Gabrielle had picked up two new and dedicated friends in Ephiny and Glaphyra. The two appeared to take turns in being seated to Gabrielle’s left – her right being occupied by Xena at all times – often engaging her in quiet conversation when there was opportunity. Normally Xena would have felt jealous at someone being that close to her beloved, but in the case of the Amazon, not only had all the amazons become surprisingly reverent towards Gabrielle after the news of her pregnancy had spread, but Xena knew that Ephiny had been devoted to the stocky and taciturn lover that was waiting for her back at their village ever since they were children. If completely honest with herself, Xena would admit that she was willing to allow Ephiny her camaraderie with Gabrielle because of how the Amazon had sought to protect Gabrielle during the unpleasantness with Marc Anthony.
Glaphyra was another matter... Xena knew without any doubt that Glaphyra was simply too loyal to entertain any lustful thoughts towards a friend’s lover, despite her often flirtatious jokes. It was that sense of loyalty that would cause one satrap meeting to erupt after several days of subdued dealings.
Boadicea and Glaphyra had wound up sitting next to one another during that day’s meeting, and Boadicea, perhaps recovering from days of forced politeness, had been making all manner of snippy little comments and getting on Glaphyra’s nerves. Finally Boadicea had loudly speculated in what was an old but still touchy subject... the matter of Glaphyra’s two fellow Satraps in the Africaans, Satrina and Mahari.
Satrina and Glaphyra had for a brief time been lovers, but by the time Xena made them Satraps of the Africaans it had become a deep friendship instead. When Satrina was first introduced the third Satrap Mahari, a tall, proud beauty native to that part of the Realm, she had fallen head over heels in love. Caught up in the whirlwind of emotion Satrina had made no secret of how she felt, and indeed gone to Mahari to confess all and ask if she had any hope of winning Mahari’s affections in return.
Satrina had been shot down as Mahari explained that she was married to an older man and had two small children by him, and even though it was an arranged marriage Mahari would not be unfaithful to him. Satrina was heartbroken but did her best not to let her feelings get in the way, loving Mahari from afar over the years as her feelings never faded. Five years later illness ended Mahari’s husband’s life, and by then not a one among Satraps and nobles were unaware of Satrina’s silent pining away for her fellow Satrap.
Satrina gave Mahari a year of mourning before she approached the other woman again. This time Satrina was not deterred, and after roughly two years of courting Satrina married Mahari. It would not have been the cause for anyone’s concern had it not been that the circumstances surrounding the death of Mahari’s husband had been questioned, and Mahari remained adamant about not revealing what illness had drained his life. Malicious individuals suggested that the man had been poisoned.
Xena found the idea preposterous, reasoning that if that had been the case, Satrina and Mahari had not waited eight years to marry, and the subject in itself not suitable for discussion among her Satraps. After all, among them were two women guilty of the very same crime as Lao Ma and Cleopatra had both successfully poisoned their spouses, and neither had ever been openly questioned regarding their husbands demise. Boadicea only brought the matter up to stir trouble with Glaphyra, against all better judgement.
And she succeeded. After a particularly lewd comment about Glaphyra’s friends despite Xena warning Boadicea to silence, Glaphyra spun around and delivered a blow to the briton’s chin that toppled Boadicea’s chair to the floor with her in it.
Xena felt a headache building. She sighed.
“I suggest we step out while the guards take care of this situation... perhaps we can reconvene at another location?” Xena gestured towards the door, getting Gabrielle and the amazons to move towards it. “We will have to make do without the representatives for Britannia and Africaans until the grand meeting it seems.” Wryly. “That should give them time to cool off.”
Directing the last bit towards the Satraps from Chin and Egypt Xena was surprised to find that Cleopatra had once more all but climbed into Lao Ma’s lap, despite the fact that she had been seated on the side of the Chinese ruler that was further from the combatants. Although her face betrayed nothing Lao Ma’s eyes were bewildered, still she managed to calmly disentangle herself and stride from the room with her usual dignity.
Xena followed, with an amused smirk on her lips, as the guards entered the room to break the fighting women apart. She looked at Ming T’ien who was still looking over his shoulder with wide eyes. “It would seem that this was not a good year to experience the Satrap meetings by your mother’s side, Ming T’ien.” Her tone was partly polite and partly apologetic.
She was surprised when the otherwise so arrogant boy turned towards her and spoke with genuine appreciation. “On the contrary my Lord, I appreciate this opportunity. I believe there is much to be learned from unplanned events as well.”
Xena gave a short but amused laugh. “Then it was the perfect time for your first visit to Corinth. However, may the next one be in... less _interesting_ times.”
The boy blinked a few times, then caught the joke and laughed... a light, youthful sound that caused Xena to smile slightly and his mother to frown. A brief but harsh glare from his mother made Ming T’ien shut up and adopt the disinterested and arrogant expression that usually made Xena and many others want to drop him in the nearest manure pile. Xena sighed again.
“I hate to impose, especially right now...” It wasn’t until Melosa addressed Xena quietly that Xena noticed the additional amazons standing in the corridor along with the Satraps. “...but I’m afraid there has been some trouble with the children.”
---dropped---
