by Andromeda
"She took our prince," she whispers softly. "She took our son."
Alexander blinks, "What do you mean?"
"She attacked me in the darkness,” Iraia whispers, tears forming in her eyes. "Saying that only her child will truly be the heir to your kingdom. She stabbed and cut me, and then began to punch my stomach. I fought as best I could, but she was too much for me. She killed him, she killed our son!"
"Who!" Alexander demands. "I swear by the gods whoever it is will lose their head for this!"
"Do you promise me," she whispers, "that they will die?"
"I swear it!" Alexander promises. "I swear it to you!"
Iraia looks into his eyes and her next words makes his heart stop. "Zenobia."
*************
Inside her own home, Zenobia sits with Anthea, Kila and Srax, sharing a meal.
"So let me get this straight," Anthea says, tearing a piece of bread and dipping it into the vinegar wine. "You slept with Alex...again, Zen?"
Zenobia blushes and nods slowly. “Yeah…again…”
Anthea turns to Srax. "And you slept with Kila?"
Srax grins sheepishly and in his lap sits Kila, who is grinning as wide as the Nile.
A couple days ago was that Festival of Zeus thing and during their little 'celebration' Alexander and she had sex...again. She doesn’t know what it is, but every time they get together, they somehow end up doing that. Zenobia can't deny it any more; she has strong feelings for Alexander and she can't fight them anymore. He is the father of her child and she can't keep it from him.
She remembers she was going to tell him her feelings, until a guard burst into the palace, shouting that Iraia was hurt and he rushed up to help her. Zenobia doesn’t blame him, he would have gone to go see what was wrong with her too, so she left....and found Srax and Kila.
That was a big surprise, as Zenobia didn’t know they had feelings for each other. She thought that Srax only had eyes for her, but then again, she should have guessed that Kila had feelings for him. She always wanted to be around him and flirted; she guesses the Festival gave them the perfect excuse to let loose their passions.
"Well, I'm glad you two are together," Zenobia says truthfully to them.
"What are you going to do about Dias?" Anthea asks her.
"I guess I'll tell him my feelings," Zenobia sighs. "And hope he feels the same way."
"Oh, trust me, he feels the same way," Anthea says with a chuckle. "Trust me when I say he can't go a day without thinking of you."
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Everyone jumps as the thunderous knocking at the door of the house. A slave runs into the dining room, her eyes wide with fright. "M...My Lady...the Guards are here to see you," she stammers.
Zenobia looks to Anthea with a raised eyebrow and stands up slowly, her hand going to her stomach for balance and then walking to the door. Five guards stand in full armor and they look at her coldly. "Lady Zenobia," the guards snap. "You have to come with us now."
Taking her to the palace, the room she is led to, she recognizes instantly; Alexander’s personal chambers. The doors close behind her, and she looks over the room a moment. So many things happened here, both good and bad. But didn't the bad in a way turn into the good?
"You know I would have thought that out of all I've done for you...you'd be grateful to me," a voice says.
Turning around, she sees Alexander appear from behind a curtain and her heart flutters in her chest. But his words confuse her. "What do you mean?" she asks.
"You know, Zenobia, I know you are capable of a lot of things; hell, I've seen you in battle. But to kill an innocent child is something I'd never think you'd do!" he says through gritted teeth.
"Alexander, what the hell are you talking about?" Zenobia asks. "You are starting to scare me.”
"My child!" he roars. "You killed my child and almost killed Iraia!"
His words freeze her in her place. "W... What are you talking about?" she whispers. “What’s wrong with Iraia?”
"Don't play coy with me," Alexander sneers. "You beat her. You beat her so much that you killed my son! You wanted only yours to be my heir!"
The blood roars in Zenobia’s ear; the only thing she hears him say is “You beat her; you beat her so much that you killed my son! You wanted only yours to be my heir!”
No...No, he couldn't think that I had done that, she thinks to herself as she looks to him. "That's not true..."
"Don't lie to me!" Alexander barks. "Iraia is still recovering, but she lost it! And she is covered in cuts and bruises! What do you think, she did this herself to place the blame on you? We both know she isn't that smart! Besides, we both know that you were less than pleased when you found out about her and the child. Don't act like you didn't do this!"
"BECAUSE I'M NOT ACTING!" she yells at him. "I DIDN'T EVEN TOUCH IRAIA! AS A MATTER OF FACT, SHE SLAPPED ME WHEN I TRIED TO BE NICE TO HER!!"
"I have the right to have you killed!" he roars. "Carrying my child or not!"
Zenobia’s heart freezes. "Are you?" she whispers softly.
"I... I can't," he says, hanging his head. "I know I have the right to, but I can't kill you. So instead, I'm going to banish you."
"From Sparta?" she asks.
"From the palace," he says. "I... I can't banish you from Sparta, but you are forbidden from stepping foot into the palace."
Zenobia looks into his eyes; she can tell that he has already made up his mind. He’s not going to believe her no matter what she says, so she laughs bitterly at him. "Oh, don't worry about me stepping foot in the palace again. As a matter of fact, I'm never stepping foot into this city again!" she glares at him. "I... I might have loved you, Alexander. I was willing to fully move into this palace with you for the sake of our child, but you ruined it. As well as any chance of being in their life! I hope that whore was worth it, because you just lost me and your child. To think that you'd think I'd do something like that to an innocent child is shameful! I will never forget this!"
She turns to leave, but Alexander grabs her arm. "Do not turn you back on your king!"
Zenobia yanks her arm free and punches him in the stomach and then the nose. "You are no king of mine! The king I might have fallen in love with doesn't exist!"
Storming from the palace, she returns to her home, and after laying on her bed for a couple minutes, she makes her decision. She is leaving. She’s moving further away, maybe to this place called the coast by the Great Water.
I need to get as far away from him as possible. I hope that whore was worth it, I hope he marries her and makes her queen and lives the life he's always wanted. I don't want anything to do with him ever again.
*************
Chapter Sixteen
The scent of saltwater fills Zenobia’s nostrils as she gazes out over the Great Water. The soft cry of birds overhead fills the air as they dip and dive in the clear blue sky. The wind whips her hair around her shoulders as she sighs softly.
Who would think that four years would go by so quickly and bring so much change with it, she wonders to herself.
It's been four years since she’s left Sparta; she both found and bought this house by the Great Water in order to live in it. Learning the Greeks call it an ocean. She herself has changed in these years; not physically, but mentally. Her time in Sparta has taught her so much with the most important lesson being: you can never trust your heart.
Sighing softly, she leans against the smooth stone of the railing. No matter how much she tried to fight it, in the end, she realized that no matter what, Alexander will be the only man for her. No one would match him in what she wants, and he might have betrayed her in the worst possible way, but she still loves him. But it hurts so bad, she wants to cut her heart out so that it will stop hurting, but she knows she can't. Mainly because it will kill her.
She remembers the night he accused her of hurting Iraia and killing her child; did he really think her a monster? Would I hurt an innocent child? Iraia, o
f course, I would kill her, but not while she was pregnant! Only a monster would do such a thing!
When she left the palace, she packed up everything she had and left. She didn't tell anyone where she was going, but she knew one thing: she had to leave Greece. Her first thoughts were to her people, to try and see if she could help them. But the journey was dangerous and she was heavily pregnant. So, she made inquiries and found out that her kingdom has been completely destroyed; the only survivors had already joined other tribes. She cries for days for that, and in her darkest times, she thought had nothing to live for.
A gentle cooing behind her makes her turn around and when she does, a soft smile curves her lips. Her daughter Philomena toddles over, her chubby hands out, reaching out for her mother. Her daughter reaches her and tugs at her dress, reaching her arms up to be picked up. When Zenobia heard about her people, she had considered killing herself to join them in the afterlife. But she was wrong; she had something to live for, she had someone to live for.
It wasn't long after she moved into this house that she went into labor. Imagine her surprise when she found out that she wasn't carrying just one baby; she was carrying two. It didn't really surprise her. As many times as Alexander and she had sex, she should have known she was going to be carrying more than one baby.
When she first looked into their eyes, she knew that she had something to live for. She had a job to do: she had to raise her children. True, she never would have pictured herself a mother considering her past, but she loved them the moment she set her eyes on them.
She has a boy and a girl. The boy, her first born, she named Matthias, meaning gift of the gods. The girl, she named Philomena, meaning strong, and she proved just how strong she was even as a newborn. Like her mother, little Philomena was born with the life rope wrapped around her neck. Most babies would die when this happens, but she fought with death and won her life. Both of her children are strong and smart; at only three years old, they can walk and talk. They are weaned, already eating semi-solid foods and are learning their letters.
"Hello, little one," Zenobia coos at Philomena, picking her up and putting her on her hip.
"Kaliméra, Mommy," she says smiling back, using the Greek word for hello.
"Where is your brother?" Zenobia ask as they walk back into the cool of the house.
As if summoned by magic, Matthias comes charging out of his play room, a pack of nursemaids behind him. When they see Zenobia, they all stop and bow. "My Lady," they murmur.
Matthias runs over and hides behind her dress, his grey eyes so much like hers, looking back at the women.
"Has he been causing problems?" Zenobia asks them, looking down at Matthias, who giggles and hides behind her skirts.
A servant suddenly comes running over and bows her head. "M...My Lady, someone is here to see you."
Zenobia frowns. Living here, she has gotten a reputation as an herbalist, a famous one at that, but it's too early for her normal customers to be coming here. "Who is it?" she asks.
"A... A woman," the servant stammers. "She said her name was Anthea and she needs to talk to you."
*************
The thunder of Alexander’s horses' hooves echoes across the empty fields. Leaping over a fallen tree, they land on the other side before coming to a sharp stop at the top of a hill.
The soft glow of the sun shimmers purple, orange and red. He smiles softly as he surveys his kingdom; everyone is settling down for bed. At this time, fathers are watching their children getting tucked in by mothers. After they tuck their children in, the parents would retire to their own chambers and either go to sleep or make love. He sighs, and slides from his horse’s back to sit into the soft grass, the blades tickling his fingers and legs under his tunic.
Four years, how the time has flown. In those four years, he seems to have aged decades, his hair grown longer and a beard appearing on his face. His eyes have bags under them form the seemingly endless nights he has stayed up late to work on his kingdom. Alexander has finally taken full control of his kingdom, just like his father would have wished.
He still listens to the High Council, but the young king is now completely in control. They answer to him, not the other way around. In the past, he let his passions cloud his judgment, and he was blind to some wrongdoing in his kingdom; and that was how worms like Eridian were able to wiggle in. Well, no longer.
A soft breeze blows and the scent of orange blossoms fills his nose. Instantly, he cringes as memories he’s tried so hard to suppress begin to bubble back to the surface of his mind. Zenobia, her famous scent was orange blossoms. Four years since he’s seen Her.
Alexander bites his lip as he remembers the look in her eyes when he accused her of the unthinkable. He cursed himself the moment she had left; he should have known she wouldn't do something so horrible. She never would have killed an innocent unborn and its mother. And yet, he was so blinded by his so-called ‘love’ for Iraia that he couldn't see the true love in front of him.
He snorts at that whore, Iraia. He’s learned a lot of things in two years. Such as she frequently shared Eridian's bed and that child inside her most likely wasn't his. Not long ago when Eridian's treachery was finally revealed to all, so was hers. Both of whom are now dead, so such things as Alexander’s bed have been cold, save for his own warmth. He can't even look at another woman without thinking of Zenobia and their child.
He bites his lip so hard he can taste blood. Zenobia wasn’t that far along in her pregnancy, but he wonders if they are alive. A week after their fight, he went to her home to try to make things right, but found it abandoned. His world was shattered when he learned that she had left that very night, and no one knew where she was. He sent scouts to try and find her, but they all came up empty. No one knows where she is.
And the thought of it drives him almost mad with worry. Is she alive? Is their child? The thoughts of so many options reel in his mind, as he tries to think of what could have happened to her. Knowing her, she most likely went back to her people, as he knows that's what she really wanted the most.
I wish her the best of luck from the bottom of my heart, seeing as she deserves happiness, even if I have none of my own.
*************
Zenobia holds her daughter closely to her as she watches Anthea drape herself across one of the couches, before looking at the twins. She looks first at Matthias and then to Philomena.
"They look just like him, especially the girl," she says.
"Anthea, why are you here?" Zenobia asks, the young girl looking at Anthea with wide and interested eyes.
Anthea finally pulls her gaze from the twins and then settles onto Zenobia. "I'm here to ask you to come back..."
"NO!" Zenobia says sharply. "No. No. No. No. NO!"
Anthea sighs, "You can't keep hiding from him, Zenobia."
"How did you find me?" Zenobia demands.
"It wasn't that hard," she says. "I remember you saying you loved the ocean while you were with me. So I just dug a little and found out that there was one villa this close to it sold to a heavily pregnant woman with brown skin."
Zenobia flushes and then groans softly, before putting down her daughter and looking at the twins. "Go and play with your toys. I'll be there in a moment."
Matthias and Philomena nod before running off, their nursemaids after them, leaving the two friends alone.
"How old are they?" Anthea asks.
"Three years," Zenobia answers softly. "And growing up fast."
"Do they ask about their father?" Anthea asks.
"Sometimes," Zenobia whispers. "I tell them that their father is a mighty warrior, but hurt me, so that is why I left him. They don't ask much, though."
Anthea crosses the room and sits on Zenobia’s couch, covering her friend’s hand with hers. "You can't keep hiding from him, Zen. You have to face him."
"I don't have to do a damn thing!" Zenobia snaps at her. "He hurt me!" And yet I still love him.
"Zen," An
thea says softly. "Sometimes the Fates give us trials for us to face: both mental and physical. You passed your physical ones and won your freedom, but you still have to face your mental trials."
Zenobia wipes away the tears she didn't even know were forming. Anthea’s words are so right; she can't keep running from her past. She has to face it. Her children deserve to know their father, and whether he believes her or not, he should meet them at least once in their lives.
"I have a job for you," Anthea continues. "I want you to help me train my Amazons. There is a... stirring in court and I want you there."
Zenobia looks up at her, "Do I have to live in the palace?"
"Of course not," she says. "You can have your old villa. Srax was living in it, but left after he married Kila."
Zenobia smiles. "They got married?"
Anthea nods. "Married and are expecting their first child together. I'm letting her rest and enjoy married life. So I need a new right-hand, want to fill the position?"
Zenobia exhales deeply. "How could I say no?"
"Good choice," Anthea says with her normal wicked grin. "Because I was planning on kidnapping you if you did."
*************
Chapter Seventeen
"Alex, you've been searching for months. She's gone," Titus says.
Alexander doesn’t look up from his map of Greece. Covered in circles and x's, they mark the places that he’s searched and the places that he hasn’t. "She's out there some place," he growls at him. "I know it!"
Not long ago, Alexander had come to the decision that he wanted to look for Zenobia. The woman was carrying his only blood and with the stirring going on in court, he needs both of them here. It drives him crazy that he doesn’t know where she is, disappearing like mist in the morning. He’s sent search parties out, following every lead they had, but nothing worked. All of leads they have, turn up to be nothing but dead ends.
Titus sighs and stands up from his chair. Walking over, he looks at the map over his shoulder. "You need to get some air, Alex," he says. "Go out for a ride a while and I'll look over the map and tell you if I can find a pattern or something."