XENA COULD HEAR the shouting as she approached Nebula's apartments. There was a crash like an overturned table, sounds of a struggle. Xena stopped and waited. There was more shouting, and the door flew open. A handmaiden and two Guards ran out of it, stumbling over each other, followed by a rain of curses and a thrown urn, which soared over their heads to spatter against the far wall. Xena waited until the three had made their escape, then walked in through the still-open door. "Feel better now?" she asked.

"Yes, thank you." Nebula picked the overturned writing-table back up and kicked the fallen scrolls and inkpots underneath it. "I needed that."

"Bad day, huh?"

"Well, let's see... I had to banish my own cousin, I had to send him to one of my own estates which wrecked any fun I might ever have out there in the future, I made about six Houses furious by freeing his slaves, my own brother tried to kill me, and I had to go through all that wearing that stupid regalia with that breastplate that makes my tits sore for days. Yeah, I guess you could say it was a bad day. Why are you here?"

"I've come to protect you, of course." Xena unslung Eve and put her down on one of the couches. "Knowing how you're cringing in terror waiting for the follow-up assassins."

"Oh, good. I can rest safely knowing that the mighty Xena is here now." Nebula picked up Eve. "Hiya, kiddo. You gonna grow up and be a big scary woman like your mama?" Eve laughed.

"Don't give her any ideas," Xena said. "She's part-god, you know."

"Well, we'll just have to worship you then, won't we?" Nebula said. Eve grabbed at Nebula's hair, examining its texture, and now it was Nebula's turn to laugh. "We'll make a big Eve-temple, and everyone will have to come in and make offerings of sweetmeats and dollies. And then they'll all play peekaboo. You like that?" She gazed at Eve affectionately while the baby twisted her hair into a nasty-looking snarl. "I gotta worry about having babies someday. The royal line, and everything. I hope not for a while, though." She sighed. "My grandmother was like me, the only one in direct succession, but they wouldn't let her lead, of course. So she had to produce a heir right off the bat. Had five husbands. She used to tell me the bunch of them chattered so much she never went near them unless she had to...Evie, Auntie Nebula needs that scalp, okay? You go play now." She put the baby back down.

"So," Xena said, "are you okay?"

"I will be." Nebula watched Eve for a few moments more. "You know, Khalil and me, when we were kids, before we realized this whole thing with the succession and everything, we were inseparable. I even remember when I was like eight or nine thinking it wouldn't be such a bad thing if the House made us get married, I..." She straightened up, stretched out her back, and sighed. "Yeah. I will be okay. In a bit."

"I'm sorry," Xena said softly.

"So am I." Nebula walked over to a chair and sat down. "Have a drink," she said, waving at the filled sideboard. "A bite to eat if you like. I'm not all that hungry. I was careful not to throw any of the good stuff, though."

"Thanks." Xena poured some palm wine for herself, diluting it with enough water to keep it harmless, and selected some dried figs.

"How's Joxer?" Nebula asked. Her tone was a little too casual.

"He fell on his head. He's fine."

"I can send my physicians around to take a look if you want. No reflection on your abilities, of course."

"Nah. I gave him a sleeping potion to keep him put for a while, and he'll have a headache for a day or two. No biggie."

"Well...well, good then." Nebula was quiet for a moment, then snorted. "Man, Blondie had a bug up her ass."

"Gabrielle can be a little...protective of him." Xena returned to the couch and sat down. She gave Eve a fig to chew on, distracting the baby from her investigation of how best to climb up the nearest wall-hanging.

"And you're a little protective of her." Nebula held up a hand in surrender. "I know, I know. I take it all back. I shall never sully the name of the Great Gabrielle, O Mighty Xena."

Xena laughed softly. "No problem."

"That was a good move she did with the cape," Nebula admitted grudgingly. "Probably the first time that ugly thing's ever been useful in its entire existence." She sighed and leaned back. "And it looks like we can say the same thing for about half the Court."

"They seemed more or less shocked. What happened after we left?"

"A groundswell. An absolute groundswell. I went back up onto the dais, I thought I'd try to calm them down, save some face. 'We have taken care of this, it is as nothing to Us', that kind of thing--but almost immediately someone from the Bull House jumped up and was yelling about an attack on the person of the monarch and how it was against everything on the heavens and the earth and some such, you will pardon the expression, bullshit. The Bull House! The Bull House hates me. But they hate violations of tradition more."

"And then what?"

"Groundswell. Like I said. They were infuriated that anyone should make an attempt on the monarch in public. And after all, if someone had the nerve to attack the sacred person of the Queen, no noble's going to be safe, right? They were all chanting my name, by the end of it. I've never seen Court so unified on anything."

"Really," said Xena softly.

"Really." Nebula shook her head. "Wow, is Hassim's nose going to be out of joint. Nobody even noticed when they took him away. Well, serves the little bastard right, I guess. Funny." She mused. "I though this was going to be the hardest thing I'd ever done as queen. It turned out personally, it was--but politically, it seems to be the best move I ever made. Funny."

"Yeah," said Xena. "Funny."

The dried figs were not as tasty as she thought at first. She gave the rest of her share to Eve, who unconcerned with matters of politics chewed on them happily.