by Andromeda
Alexander doesn’t want to, but after a couple of moments, he nods and leaves his chambers. Heading to the stables, he finds his stallion, Ares, and swings himself onto his back. They thunder out of the palace and down the roads, heading to their favorite field. After ridding for what seems like hours, they begin to head back, passing through a familiar grove of trees.
Suddenly, Alexander is thrown from his horse by the force of an arrow burring itself deeply into his shoulder. Yelping with pain, Ares screams in fright and surprise as more arrows rain down upon them.
"GO!" Alexander yells as he runs to cover. "Go back to the palace!"
Ares horse snickers, not wanting to leave, but Alexander slaps him hard on the rump and he finally takes off, kicking up thick clouds of dust as it tears down the pathway. A well-trained animal, Alexander knows that if his horse returns without him, then a search party will come back for him; he just hopes that they find him alive and not a corpse.
Ducking behind a tree, he hears the sounds of arrows stabbing its trunk. When he hears them stop, he sneaks a glance. Three masked men armed with bows, arrows, knives and whips are stalking forward. Alexander bites his lower lip, swearing under his breath. He is outnumbered and outmatched, but he’ll be damned if he doesn’t go down fighting. He takes his long hunting knife from his belt, ready.
The men speak some unknown language amongst themselves and spread out to circle the tree. Suddenly, one of the men falls back, two arrows buried deeply into his eye sockets. The other two turn their attention from Alexander, and to the direction of the arrows. A woman appears from one of the trees, she lunges at them, two knives drawn. Tackling one of the men like a cat does a mouse, she slices his throat before quickly turning her attention to the other. She moves so fast, Alexander believes he’s in the presence of a goddess, of Lady Athena herself.
When the woman stands up, Alexander approaches her. "Thank you, My..." The words stop on his lips when he looks into the silver eyes he thought he’d never see again: Zenobia.
*************
Zenobia walks through the doors of her old home, and is surprised at how well kept Kila and Srax has it. Everything is freshly clean, the stairs swept and the plants watered.
"ZEN!" Kila cries when she sees her, waddling down the stairs before she wraps her arms around her best friend and crushes her tightly. "I've missed you!" she whispers. "Don't you ever do that again!"
"Kila!" Zenobia gasps with a laugh. "You are going to hurt the baby! You need to calm down."
"That's what I keep telling her," Srax chuckles as he comes down the stairs. He kisses Zenobia’s cheek. "Welcome back home, Zen."
Zenobia smiles and kisses his cheek back. "Thank you, Srax.”
"Careful, Zen," Kila teases. "That's my husband. I might have to kill you to protect his honor."
Zenobia throws back her head and laughs. "Kila! You both know that I would kick your ass in a fight."
Kila rolls her eyes and then looks behind her, seeing movement; she freezes and gasps, "Zen..."
Following her eyes, Zenobia sees the twins, who are peering behind their nursemaids with wide eyes. Holding out her hand, the children run over, hiding behind their mother’s skirts and Zenobia smiles down at them. "Kila, Srax, these are my children: Philomena and Matthias."
"They look just like him," Kila whispers. "Especially the girl, she could be his twin."
"Does he know about them?" Srax asks Zenobia.
Zenobia lifts Philomena in her arms and shoots them both looks. "No, and I want to tell him when I want to. So please don't tell him."
Kila and Srax looks at each other but nod.
"Good," Zenobia says. "Their nursemaids will put them down for a nap. I'm going for a ride to see if much as changed.
Within moments, she is thundering down the roads on Athena's back, loving the feel of the wind in her hair. Armed with a bow and a quiver of arrows in face, she sees something she wants to hunt. Anthea took good care of her prize mare while she was gone, who whinnied the moment she saw her approach the stables. Zenobia loves riding horses, it just makes her feel so free. The open fields haven't changed much; a bit wild, but that's fine. Slowing her into a gentle trot, they begin to pass through a grove of trees when something catches her attention.
Men dressed in dark clothing move through the grove with stealth, and they are headed for a lone rider. It's too far to see who it is, but the protective instincts come up instantly, and she knows that she has to help whoever they might be.
Jumping from Athena’s back, Zenobia climbs up a tree. Looking for a connecting branch, she runs through the leaves, staying hidden and moving as silent as a cat. Even though it’s been years since she’s had to call into her battle training; she instantly can hon in on them. As she leaps in the tree right above them, she peers down to see who they are hunting. Her jaw drops: Alexander.
************
For a moment, Zenobia is frozen, watching as the man that she once loved—and still does unfortunately—presses his back against a tree, an arrow in his shoulder. Seeing the men close in on him, she snaps out of whatever trance she was in and knocks two arrows. Before the two men can blink, Zenobia lets them loose and they find home in one of the men's eyes. He screams in pain, falling to the ground, dead.
Grasping this act of surprise, she draws her daggers and lunges from the trees, cutting the last two surviving men before they could even scream for help. Shaking the blood from her hands, the sounds of gentle rustling behind her makes her turn around.
"Thank you, my..." a deep voice begins to say, but stops the second she turns around. Alexander’s eyes widen. "Zenobia..."
He's changed in these four years. He is still tall, a head or two taller than her, and his frame is more muscular. His skin is tanner, most likely from spending more time in the sun. His green eyes are now harder, with a glint behind them like he's had to make hard choices that he might regret. As she’s looking at him, she sees that he's looking at her too; mainly her stomach. Now perfectly flat from her keeping fit after the twin's birth.
"Are you hurt?" she manages to say softly. "Do you need my help?"
Alexander looks at the arrow and then sighs. "If you want to."
Zenobia walks over and grasps the shaft of the arrow. Putting her hand on his shoulder to steady herself, she is shocked by the electric spark that shoots through her body by this simple touch. Biting her lip, she shakes her head to clear it and then yanks the shaft cleanly out. He grunts softly at the feeling, but when she staggers back, he grasps her waist, holding her in place.
They are frozen, staring into each other's eyes. So much time, so much lost time. She willingly opened her heart to him, to let him love her and then he accused her of the unthinkable. She bites her lip and he groans, cupping the back of his head and pressing his lips to hers.
No! Zenobia’s mind screams. Stop this!
Her body betrays her; her lips want his kisses, they want his touch. A heat and wetness begins to build between her thighs; a feeling she hasn’t felt in years. Her fingers reach up to his thick mane, pulling him closer. Alexander softly groans and slides his hands, cupping her bottom and she wraps her legs around his waist.
He walks, pressing her against a tree, settling himself between her legs. His hand reaches down and begins to slide up her dress, rubbing her thigh and stroking the tender skin. Pulling his lips from hers, he moves to her neck, kissing and nibbling as she moans with abandon. She can feel his hardness behind his tunic and Alexander begins to pull it up, tearing at her gown to have her. That snaps Zenobia out of her lustful stance.
"A…Alex," she murmurs. "No, Alex, stop..."
He either doesn't hear her, or ignores her. Like her, Alexander is lost in this lust and passion and most likely thinks she doesn’t mean it. But she does mean it. She’s not ready, she doesn’t want this, not now, not against his tree like a whore. Whore... The word flash in her mind and she remembers how she came to be in Sparta. It was all because of him.
<
br /> Zenobia begins to fight harder, wiggling and struggling. "Stop! Stop it!"
"Stop fighting!" he growls at her.
Zenobia grunts and then knees him hard in the groin.
Alexander groans with pain and lets her go, staggering back. "What the hell was that for?" he asks, holding himself.
"You almost raped me!" Zenobia snaps.
He looks up, hurt all over his face and not from the knee she just gave him in the family jewels. "I would never do that," he says tightly.
"Then why didn't you stop?" she asks.
"I... I thought you were wrapped up like me," he says. "Look, Zenobia, I'm...I'm sorry. It's just seeing you after all this time...it brought back pent up feelings I thought I had locked away.”
Same thing with me, she thinks. Looking away a moment, she turns back and then sighs softly. "I'm not going to lie...I had such feelings too, but...I don't know, Alexander. I'm not ready for something like that."
"I understand," he whispers softly. He then points to her stomach. "Did you...have it?"
Zenobia nods. "Yeah, I did…and I had two: a boy and a girl."
His face lights up at the mention of the children. "Can... can I see them?"
She shakes her head. "N... Not right now. We just moved back and they are still getting used to the place."
He nods solemnly and then sighs. "I would...like to see them one day. With your permission, of course."
"I'll think about it. Right now, I'm here because Anthea asked me to be."
He looks up, his heart hopeful. "What?"
"She asked me to be her Second now that Kila is pregnant," Zenobia answers. "You didn't know?"
He shakes his head, "No, I didn't. But I know you'll be a good Second."
That brings a small smile to her face. "Thank you."
They look at each other, a king and a lost princess. The thundering of hooves breaks their moment and when they turn around, they see Titus and several of the royal guards galloping to them.
"My king," a solider says. "Are you alright?"
"Thanks to Lady Zenobia," Alexander says, not looking away. "I owe her my life."
Titus looks at Zenobia and then laughs. "Zen? So that's where Anthea went to."
Zenobia smiles and waves. "Hey, Titus, I missed you too."
Titus waves the other soldiers to wander around before hopping off his horse’s back and walking over. "Are you back for good?" he asks.
She glances at Alexander a moment. "For the time being."
"Good," Titus continues, oblivious to their looks. "Because we have been having some...problems."
She raises an eyebrow. "What kind of problems?"
"Persians."
*************
Chapter Eighteen
Zenobia sits still as a servant finishes her hair and then steps away, in order for her to inspect herself. She has been in Sparta for about two months now and has been settling in quite well, but she can't help but feel as if she is impeaching on Srax and Kila. She’s had thoughts to give the home to them, but haven't found the right time to tell them.
Life has been sweet and almost every day she gets a messenger from the palace with a gift from Alexander. Sometimes its clothes, sometimes its jewelry, sometimes its toys for the children. His last gift, she had to send back, was a set of daggers. Who the hell sends a set of training daggers to three year olds? She wondered to herself. Apparently, their father. She had to smile a bit because he sent them back with a note, telling her to save them for when they are older.
Tonight is different. There is no messenger because today, she is going to court for the first time in what seems like forever; and Anthea told her to look her very best, and so she has. Dressed in a white, sleeveless V-neck dress, golden belts wrap around her waist and push up her breasts that the V-neck gives a peek too. Two golden bands of gold sit on her upper arms and her hair is half up and half down with golden strings of beads braided in it. She wears a golden choker to replace her mother's necklace—a necklace that she wonders if Alexander still has or not.
She smiles as she looks in the mirror at the woman before her, what she’s become. She has changed so much in her time in Greece. In a way, you could say she has become more like a queen than her father would have ever expected her to be.
"My Lady?" a servant whispers. "The carriage is here for you."
Zenobia turn to her and nods. "Thank you. Have the twins been taken care of?"
"Yes, My Lady," the servant says. "They are with their Nursemaids and have a whole day planned for their enjoyment."
Zenobia nods and lift her dress, following her down the halls where she finds the twins playing in the main room with their toys. Kila and Srax are staying; the twins have grown to trust them and Kila likes to 'practice' on them how she will care for her own child when it comes.
"I'll be back later tonight," Zenobia tells them. "But if it's later, then I'll stay at Anthea's."
They nod and she kisses them, before climbing into the carriage. The palace is just as she remembered it, but its busier now, and she sees several new faces as well as old.
"Zen!" Anthea calls when she sees her enter the hall that goes to the throne room. "You made it."
"Of course, you said this was important," Zenobia says.
Anthea looks her over and then smirks. "Are you trying to make Leonidas crazy?"
Zenobia can’t help but blush and nervously begins to fiddle with her dress. "Is it too much?"
"No," she says, shaking her head. "You look like a queen."
"Thank you."
The trumpets blast, signaling for everyone to gather in the throne room for...whatever this is. When the two women walk into the room, Alexander’s eyes snap onto Zenobia’s. The young woman can't help but blush under his heated gaze. For a moment, they are the only people in the world. Anthea leaves her, and for a moment, Zenobia panics, wondering where she goes, to sit.
What do I do? Zenobia panics. What customs have changed since I've left?
A hand taps her shoulder and when she turns around, it’s one of the throne slaves. The man bows. "My Lady, King Alexander asks that you sit next to him."
What? She looks to where Alexander is sitting on this throne and see, to her amazement, that he has a golden chair to his right. Almost like a throne. The room goes silent as Zenobia slowly walks up to the dais and stands before him.
She bites her tongue. "You...wish for me to sit next to you?" she whispers softly, quickly adding, "My Lord."
"I do," he says. "Your place is at my side."
Zenobia looks to Anthea and Titus, who sits behind him and both are grinning like hyenas. Taking a deep breath to still her furiously beating heart, she slowly walks over and takes the seat at his side. For a moment, she is overwhelmed; how high they seem above all. All eyes are on them, on her.
Alexander slowly leans over and whispers softly in her ear. "Your place is at my side...and in my bed..." Heat flushes over her face and he softly chuckles, seeing that he's made her blush. "You might not know it now," he continues. "But your place is here, on this throne, by my side and in my bed. Your place is as my queen. And I won't stop until you recognize it and accept it."
*************
Zenobia tries to keep a straight face, but Alexander’s words replay over and over in her head as Court is held. You might not know it now, but your place is here, on this throne, by my side and in my bed. Your place is as my queen. And I won't stop until you recognize it and accept it...
She bites her lip, his words replaying over and over again in her mind. She always knew that she’d be a queen but...the Queen of Sparta? His wife? Can she trust him enough to give him her heart? To give him her soul? She thought that she could once, but he squashed all hopes she had of giving herself to him...didn't he?
She is suddenly snatched from her thoughts by Alexander’s staff striking the tile.
"Before we all leave for the night," he is saying. "We have one last guest."
The doo
rs open and a strange looking man with dark olive skin marches into the throne room. He is dressed in silks and a weird-looking head wrap. Behind him, a woman strides in dressed in a similar pattern of pink colored silks with a face covering.
The man bows before the throne before looking to Alexander. "Great King Alexander, I come to you on behalf of My Lord, King Xerxes."
"What does King Xerxes want with me?" Alexander asks.
"My Lord has noticed that some of your men have been stopping traders in the east," the man says. "And he asks if there is a way they could stop."
"He is the one moving within my territory," Alexander says sharply. "Why should I give him anything?"
Zenobia watches with wide and approving eyes as he talks to this strange man. She has never seen him act like a king and yet here he is, and she has to say, it makes her blood stir and warm. He has changed a lot; he doesn't seem whiny or a puppet king. He is the King of Sparta and you better recognize it.
After a couple minutes, the man bows and then gestures to the woman. "This is Roshni," he says. "King Xerxes sends her to you as a gift."
Zenobia stiffens and Alexander notices and he turns to the man, his eyes narrow. "What do I have of use for this woman?"
“Let her work in your kitchens or warm your bed?" the man says. "It is your choice. But the king said she is for you and you alone."
Alexander glances at Zenobia, then to the woman, Roshni. "She can work in the kitchens," he says. "And court is now dismissed." He looks back to Zenobia and holds out his hand. "Lady Zenobia, will you honor me with dinner in my chambers?"
She glances behind at Anthea who shoots her a look that says 'You better go with him or else'. She nods. "Of course."
*************
"How much has changed since I've been gone?" Zenobia asks softly.
She sits at one end of the table while Alexander does at the other. They have just finished their meal and she has to say, she is impressed because he had the cooks make all her favorite foods.
"A lot," he says, wiping his mouth. "Most of it has to do with the Persians."