Destiny’s Dominion

Chapters 1 & 2

 

Chapter One: Menassos
The day was hot, the sun blazing in a cloudless sky. A sleepy feeling permeated the arid air, so that it was something of a surprise to see two figures moving, however unhurriedly, along the dusty road as the candlemark approached midday. The tall, dark, warrior walked with an innate, lazy grace that spoke loudly of controlled energy. Alongside her strode a much smaller, golden blonde, young woman who smiled easily and seemed ready to enjoy everything that life threw in her direction.

Obviously easy in each other's company, the pair were a stark contrast to each other in so many ways. The smaller woman had a lightness to her features that spoke eloquently of a sunny disposition, and an animation to her movements that was currently being expressed by expansive hand gestures, illustrating some point she had made to her friend. The warrior, however, displayed a dour expression as she listened to her companion's incessant chattering. Apart from the fluid strength of her movement, the most notable things about her were the ice blue of her eyes, that appeared to burn with an inner fire, and the certain awareness that an explosive power lurked close below a placid seeming surface.

"Is he dead?" questioned the blonde woman as she thought about the problem her friend had set her.

"No," came the terse reply.

"Hrrrmphh!" snorted the third member of the group; a golden horse that trailed lazily behind the two women on a loosely held rein.

"That's no help, Argo," proclaimed the blonde with a smile. She glanced at her friend who almost seemed lost in thought. The smile deepened. Even on a peaceful day, with no one to save and no battles to fight, Xena found it impossible to relax. Gabrielle knew that her friend was listening intently to every sound around them; analyzing them to see if they were out of place or a likely source of danger. There was a slight crease to her brow, however, which was a tell-tale sign that something was worrying the warrior. She decided to broach the subject, "What's up?" she asked gently.

"Oh, I don't know," came the prompt reply with something of a mischievous gleam in the eyes. An expression that very few people ever got to see, "Could be the sky, or a bird or the sun. There are just so many possibilities."

The crease disappeared immediately and the light answer was enough to confirm to the bard that her friend had something on her mind, "Ha, ha!" responded the honey blonde, her tone heavy with sarcasm. - Okay, - she thought, - she doesn't want to talk about it yet. Give her some slack and she'll get round to it eventually . -

"You ready to give up?" asked Xena with a slightly smug look settling onto her features.

"Ummm ... How about Cecrops?" she hazarded, without much hope of success.

"Nope." came the laconic reply that gave no clues to tell the bard if she was even close to the right answer.

The name game was one of their favorites for passing the time on the endless leagues between villages, especially when they were in no hurry to reach a destination. Now was such an occasion. It made a change for them to have some time to themselves; it seemed that they had been chasing around, moving from one fight to another with no time to draw breath, since they had returned from Rome. Gabrielle determinedly put those memories, along with many that had happened after, out of her mind; she still had trouble reconciling her actions there with her conscience.

Frowning the bard tried to concentrate on the game, whilst enjoying the brilliance of a wonderful summer's day. They dawdled unhurriedly along the road, that led to the village of Menassos, kicking up swirls of clinging dust that bore mute testimony to the parched dryness of the long summer. Normally the bard in Gabrielle would have used the time to compose new verse, allowing the almost idyllic setting to soothe her into a gentle passage of poetry, which she could scribe out at their evening stop. Today, however, her agile intelligence was fully occupied with solving the mystery identity of the person in their game. It was fun and she felt it was necessary to try and relax Xena so that she could eventually coax out whatever was worrying her warrior friend.

As the time and distance passed, fields began to replace the more forested areas, indicating that their destination was drawing near. Gabriel tried another question in the game, "Did you know him before you met me?"

"Yup," came the oh so informative reply.

Gabrielle looked hard at the warrior, "You know you're so frustrating," she breathed under her breath, "Well, have I met him?"

"Yup," agreed Xena once again and allowed a brief smile to flicker across her lips, "At this rate you're gonna use up all your questions," she told the bard.

"I'll get the answer long before then," retorted the blonde quickly as she started to re-examine all the information she had learned, speaking out loud as she tried to fix a logical sequence to possible events in the established criteria, and so work her way to the answer. The trouble was that Gabrielle had the habit of speaking quite loudly to herself and also used big gestures to emphasise points she was making.

Xena arched an indulgent eyebrow at her friend as she allowed the conversation to wash past her awareness and into a relegated background noise. However much she tried to relax, her senses were always alert to possible dangers. It was part of her nature and in suddenly dangerous situations her reflexes tended to take over without conscious thought on her part. It made her rather unpredictable and appear like an over wound spring, but it had saved her life, and Gabrielle's, too often for her to ever think of trying to subdue it.

Another faint trace of a smile almost made it to the Warrior Princess's features as she watched the bard chew her lip in concentration, working on the problem at hand, "Give up?" she questioned mischievously, knowing that Gabrielle would rather go without lunch than admit defeat. She noted that the blonde's stomach chose that moment to rumble loudly, and silently amended to herself, - Well maybe! -

The bard scowled at her in that stubborn manner that Xena recognised so well and stated in no uncertain terms, "No way!", almost scandalized to think that anyone, let alone her best friend, would expect her to give in so easily, "I'll work it out," she assured passionately, "just give me some time!"

Xena glanced around with sharp interest as she recognised that slight smoky haze that always seemed to hang over a village, "Yeah well, there's Menassos," she told the bard as they rounded a turn in the road, "and I'm hungry," she admitted as her own stomach chose that moment to protest, "so what say we suspend the game until after we've had some lunch?"

Gabriel tried to judge the distance to the village before saying, "Plenty of time yet, you just don't want me to get the answer."

Xena sighed in mock exasperation as she gave Gabrielle a light, two handed, shove to get her moving down the road once more, "Please yourself," she told her.

"It could be Draco," tried the bard looking closely at her friend trying to judge if she was right, and then before Xena could speak she changed her mind, "No wait a minute, it's Niklios!"

Xena's sardonic look confirmed her failure to guess right before she said, "Wrong on both counts," and dazzled her with a smug smile that really irritated the bard.

Scowling again, Gabrielle suddenly poked her tongue out and went cross-eyed at the big warrior. Xena allowed a spontaneous laugh to escape her, a sound that was so easy and natural, and so very rare, it soon had the bard joining in. "Okay," she said when she got her breath back, "that narrows the field down .. a bit anyway." and she went back to loudly working out who that left for the answer.

- Well she is a bard, - thought Xena irreverently as she watched the smaller woman, - She must like to hear herself talk, and the gestures are a part of the trade. -

The road was beginning to pick up other travelers, local people, farmers and a few merchants heading for the village, or back to their homes. More frequently the pair began to attract startled looks; the tall, darkly menacing warrior, and the small blonde who was lost in a world of her own, speaking random thoughts and wildly animating the conversation with sweeping gestures. Those who foolishly gaped for too long, found themselves the recipients of an icy stare, a look that chilled to the bone and quickly cleared the path for the oddly matched pair and their horse.

Upon reaching the centre of the village, Xena selected a likely looking tavern. She carefully avoided those that looked like they attracted some of the rougher elements in the area, even though she knew Gabrielle raved about the ambience of such establishments, opting for one where the wafting smells of cooking seemed good enough to tempt even her.

Throwing Argo's reigns over the hitching post, she rubbed the mare's neck affectionately and told her softly, "Stay put girl, we'll only be a short while." When she looked up, she spotted Gabrielle some distance further up the dusty street still talking to herself. Xena was unable to keep a sardonic half smile from her face as she sent out a loud, piercing whistle to attract the girl's attention and called, "Hey! The food's this way!"

Gabrielle stopped dead in the street suddenly very aware of the looks that she was getting from the villagers who surrounded her, "Ahh ..." she began with an embarrassed laugh, her thoughts racing furiously, "It's not what you think ..." she tried desperately, "not that I know what you could be thinking really," she struggled wondering what she could give as a convincing explanation of her actions. She tried for the truth, "You see, my friend and I were playing this game." The faces surrounding her looked back blankly and she desperately turned to indicate the place where Xena was standing, only to find her gone. "Well, umm ... she must've got hungry," she smiled reassuringly at the local population as she silently promised herself, - I'll get you for this, Xena. - She shrugged in embarrassment and laughed uneasily again as she started backing down the street to the tavern where Argo stood waiting, "Well, ummmm ..., I've got to be going now." she nervously giggled as she ducked into the tavern, relief filling her to be away from the stares of the villagers.

As she made her way to the booth that Xena had appropriated, her fertile mind was creating several scenarios in which she was able to make the Warrior Princess very sorry for the humiliation she had just put her through. She noted that the booth had a view of both of the tavern doors and that her friend had already purchased the drinks.

"Thanks a lot," growled Gabrielle as she slid onto the bench opposite the warrior. She noticed that slightly distracted frown on Xena's brow again and wondered whether she should venture an opinion on it.

Before Gabrielle could say anything, however, Xena waded in with a distraction, "Hey you're the talker. I was sure you'd find the right words to convince those villagers that you weren't the raving lunatic they thought you were."

"That's not funny, Xena," growled the bard swallowing the bait along with a mouthful of the cider from the flagon before her. "I promise I'll find a way to get you back for that."

One of those superior, smug smiles crept onto the warrior's face as she almost purred, "You're welcome to try ... anytime you feel lucky."

Gabrielle looked at her friend belligerently. It was one thing to make such a promise and quite another to execute it. - It just wasn't that easy to catch Xena with her guard down ... what was she thinking! ... it was downright impossible. - Her usual attempts at getting her own back, normally ended with her getting very wet or suffering some equally unpleasant form of discomfort and humiliation. It really wasn't fair. She sighed and mentally chalked up another debt to be collected at some indefinite time in the future.

As Xena ordered two servings of whatever was the tavern's dish of the day, the bard tried to work out how she was going to tackle whatever was worrying her friend. She was fairly certain of the cause, but getting Xena to talk about it might require a lot of work. She thought about it for a while longer as she drank another, longer, draft of the cider, "S'good," she declared, happy to wash away some of the trail dust from her throat, "If the food's as good I think I might be persuaded to forgive you for helping me to make a fool of myself out there on the street."

Xena smiled sweetly, "You didn't need my help for that, Gabrielle."

"I'll get you for that crack too," grinned the bard getting a raised, quizzical eyebrow in return. "I will too, Xena," she responded sensing the challenge, "One of these days I'm definitely gonna catch you with your guard down."

"Never happen," Xena told her with a feral grin that oozed confidence.

 


The banter seemed to lighten the atmosphere somewhat, and Gabrielle decided that the time had come to test her theory about what was troubling her friend, "Xena. You know, it's okay and nothing to worry about." The warrior looked at her in incomprehension, "I mean, lots of people have put bounties on you in the past, but it has to be someone really dumb to try and cash in on them, though."

Xena sighed and leaned back on the bench, composing her thoughts as the meal they had ordered was delivered. It was easy to forget that the chattery bard had a shrewd intelligence and a strong sense of insight into her thoughts and feelings and, no matter how she tried to hide things, the bard would often manage to ferret them out. Just as she had on this occasion.

In a way she knew that Gabrielle was right about the outstanding bounties on her head, but in the last three moons they had been hit four times by mercenaries out for the two hundred and fifty thousand dinar prize that he'd offered for her. It was a flattering sum, an amount far in excess of that she had asked for his ransom all those years before, and one sure to tempt even those wary of her reputation.

What was more worrying was that she was certain that Caesar also had designs of Gabrielle. Her conversation, during her private meeting with Pompey, had set alarm bells ringing in her mind at the time and they were once again clanging furiously as she remembered:

- He's sent Brutus out to find your friend, Gabrielle. - - You mean Crassus. - - No. It's your friend he wants. he seems to think that she has some sort of power over you. He wants that power. - She knew it to be the truth and if Caesar was really aware of it then Gabrielle would be in real danger. Perhaps if they talked the whole thing over she could get the bard to go and visit with the Amazons for a while. No one would find it easy to get to the Amazon Queen whilst she was surrounded by all of her people. It was a good idea. The problem would be in getting Gabrielle to agree to it. Her brow twitched a frown as a half memory struck her, - We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, - she told herself, knowing that the Amazons would likely be hostile towards her. The bard looked at her to see how she would respond to what she had said, "Eat your lunch before it gets cold," Xena told her and began to munch on the roast lamb and vegetables on her plate.

Gabrielle looked as if she might say something before thinking better of it and started digging into her own meal, suddenly realizing just how hungry she was. She was delighted to find that the food was as good as the cooking aromas had promised and she even had a second helping before leaning back with a contented smile and declaring, "Gods! it makes a change to get a good meal that I didn't have to cook myself."

"Hey!" protested Xena in mild good humour, "Don't I always get you the best ingredients available?"

"Yeah," agreed the bard patting her pleasantly full stomach happily, "But it's still nice not to have to cook once in a while."

Xena looked at her mischievously, "Wanna swap jobs for a while," she suggested, "Y'know. You hunt, me cook?"

"Ahh, no thanks, Xena," Gabrielle told her hurriedly, "Slow poisoning is not my preferred method of death." she shuddered as she thought about her friend's last attempt to cook dinner.

"Well," drawled Xena in the tone that Gabrielle just knew held a joke that was going to be at her expense, "I don't suppose it would come to that ... we'd most likely starve before that happened .. what with you doing the hunting."

"Funny!" retorted the bard in a tone laden heavily with sarcasm, "really funny". She looked thoughtful for a moment though and then asked, "Do you want to stock up with dried goods before we leave here? Anyway, where are we heading for?"

- Well, - thought Xena, - we're both in a good mood, so now might be the best time to broach this subject. - She looked seriously at the bard before saying, "I wanted to talk to you about that," she began, realizing that Gabrielle was making a mental shopping list of the things that she would like to add to their stocks. "You know, we're not too far from the Amazons, and it might be a good time for you to go for a visit."

Gabrielle totally missed the edge that had crept into the warrior's voice, as well as the emphasis that she had placed on the singular 'You.' She grinned at the thought and enthused, "Yeah! We could go visit with Ephiny for a while. it might be fun for us to get some relaxation in. It's been a while and we have a few fences to mend there as well ...."

She broke off as she saw the look on Xena's face and replayed in her mind exactly what the warrior had said before growling very slowly, "Now wait a minute, Xena," the voice low and urgent, "I go where you go. We're a team, right?"

"Listen, Gabrielle ..." the warrior tried to reason.

"No, Xena!" Gabrielle reiterated in a quiet but thoroughly immovable tone.

Xena carried on anyway, "... I need you to be somewhere safe for a while. At least until I can make some of the more stupid members of the bounty hunting profession realize that chasing after me isn't such a good idea."

"No, Xena. I go with you." the bard repeated with a stubborn determination that could have given stubborn resistance lessons to a mountain.

"Gabrielle ..." tried the warrior again, but the set of the bards jaw and the look in her eye halted her. "Alright, Gabrielle," she gave in for the moment, "But we will talk of this again." she promised.

"The answer will still be no, Xena," her friend assured her, "You're not getting rid of me that easily."

"I'm not trying to get rid of you," protested the warrior heatedly, "I'm just trying to keep your stubborn neck out of trouble. I don't wanna have to face losing you." that last came out almost as a whisper. It was difficult for the Warrior Princess to admit to any feelings, let alone the deep affection that she had for her friend.

Gabrielle looked at the warrior's earnest expression and tried to decide the best way to respond, "Hey," she began, "I'm not that little girl anymore," she said lightly, "I can take care of my end of business. We'll do fine ... just like we always do." She laid her hand on the warriors arm.

"Yeah," returned Xena, obviously unconvinced, "Well, we'll see."

They finished off their drinks and paid for the meal, complimenting the tavern keeper on his cook. Gabrielle asked him about the best place for them to pick up the supplies they wanted and armed with the relevant information, they headed for the street.

The hot afternoon air hit them hard as they left the relative coolness of the tavern. What people there were on the street moved sluggishly as if the heat of the day had sapped their strength. Most of the people who had been milling around before the pair had their lunch had disappeared and there was a quiet air of tenseness that seemed to thicken in the atmosphere as the warrior and bard stepped into the road.

Senses tingling with the need for caution, Xena pulled to an abrupt halt, grabbing Gabrielle's arm to prevent her from moving forward. Something was definitely not as it should be. Even on a hot day there should be more people out on the street, and those that were there seemed suddenly anxious to be elsewhere.

"Wha...!" gasped the bard as her friends strong fingers dug heavily into her arm.

"Get your staff ready," hissed the warrior quietly, "There's something wrong here. Stay close." she told Gabrielle as she pulled her sword from the scabbard that hung from her back. As Xena walked forward, her movements smoothed out into a lithe, graceful glide, much like a hunting panther. Her whole posture and body language portrayed menace and a readiness for sudden, deadly action.

Shaking her head, the bard took a firmer, fighting, grip on her staff and followed behind her friend, muttering to herself, "I wish I knew how she did that," as she slowly became aware of the abnormalities that had triggered Xena's alarm systems.

The street was now empty of everyone except the two women and their horse. The still air was laden with a tension that could be tasted. Xena, followed by Gabrielle, moved into the centre on the street, giving themselves as much room as possible for the fight that they knew was coming.

Minute sounds from side streets told the Xena that there were warriors waiting in ambush. The harsh scrape of leather and metal armour on brick walls, the softer scuff of boots in the dirt as men moved into their given positions. The Warrior Princess knew that they were surrounded, it was just a question of how many they faced and who was leading them.

The familiar desire for battle, confrontation and danger began to boil in Xena's veins. A burning light blazed in her eyes stoked by the anticipation of conflict. It made her feel whole and alive, and it shone forth like a warning beacon to those who were foolish enough to stand against her. She lived for this. Once, the rest of her life had merely been the way to mark time between the fights she gloried in. Now, the danger was the zest of life that made the rest of her time precious to live.

As if recognizing that they had failed to surprise their intended victims, and almost reluctant to face the fabled fighting prowess of the mighty Warrior Princess, the warriors, who had sought to ambush the two women, began to emerge from their points of cover to surround their intended prey.

Xena stood perfectly motionless. Her stance was confident and all but arrogant in her knowledge that she could best these men. Those approaching her did so with trepidation. Her very icy calmness ate away at their own confidence in their ability to beat her.

As she stood, seemingly nonchalant, Xena was counting the numbers against her and Gabrielle. As far as she could tell, there were about forty warriors in the party. They had faced worse odds and won and the Warrior Princess relished such encounters, enjoying the chance to test her abilities to their limits.

Gabrielle moved warily behind her, watching her partners back. Her whole attitude to such confrontations was totally different from Xena's. She fought as means of self preservation. It was not something she enjoyed, but something she endured. It was the price of being the friend of the Warrior Princess, and she paid it, though with none of the relish savoured by her friend.

Xena bounced on the balls of her feet with the eagerness engendered by expectation. Her eyes watched the approach of three men from behind the ring of warriors, although her finely tuned senses were ready to react to any hostile movement from those around her. - The warriors, - she noted, - look tense and nervous. Not the best way for troops to enter a battle, - she mentally grinned.

The obvious leader of the group was a rather small, lithe man, who looked both capable and confident in his own abilities. He had dark brown hair and a well trimmed beard that gave him an almost debonair look in comparison to his men. "Hello Mavrikios," Xena greeted, an icy edge to her chilly tone. She had recognised the man instantly. He had at one time been a junior lieutenant in her army, but had branched out on his own and had been, she knew, making something of a name for himself as a reliable man for a job, "You're a long way from home," she said conversationally, although her tone did not rise above freezing.

"Xena," smiled the smaller man, looking almost happy to be in the presence of his former commander. He showed no obvious signs of tenseness, his muscularly compact frame seemed to be relaxed and at ease, a sign of quiet confidence. "You're looking good," he ventured a compliment.

Xena raised an imperious eyebrow at him, waiting to hear what he had to say, all the while taking close note of the subtle shifts and movements of the men around her and Gabrielle, and checking to make sure that the bard was staying close to her. She hadn't failed to note that the men trailing their leader were each carrying heavy sets of manacles. She almost smiled at Mavrikios's over-confidence.

Knowing that his warriors were in position, Mavrikios felt no urgent need to hurry matters. If he could achieve his ends without having to battle the Warrior Princess, then so much the better. - Talk, - he decided, - costs nothing. - His head tilted slightly to one side as he said, "We could do this the easy way," his deep, gravelly voice seemed as if it should belong to a much larger man, "You could lay down your weapons and save us all the time and trouble of a fight."

Xena's voice almost purred with silky menace, "And why should I want to do that, Mavrikios?"

"Because it might make the trip we're going to take a little better if my men, and you two ladies are not so damaged as to make it uncomfortable." he replied suavely.

"And where would this trip be to?" Xena asked deceptively lightly, although she already knew what his answer would be.

"Rome," grinned Mavrikios.

"Sorry. I've been there. Can't say I liked it too much. Too big and ... dirty!" returned the Warrior Princess.

"Well," said Mavrikios, with tinges of regret in his voice,"That's a real shame. You see Caesar is really keen on you having another look at some parts of the city that are rarely seen. I hear he wants to give you a tour of the dungeons and torture chambers. In fact he's so keen that you drop in for another visit, that he's willing to pay whoever escorts you to him a 'kings', or should I say, Warrior Princess', ransom in dinars. He'll even pay a big bonus if we can get you both there to him alive." He smiled, showing perfect white teeth, but maintained the hardness in his eyes and voice, "I don't know what you did to annoy the Man, but he is mighty anxious to see you again."

"Life is one long disappointment," Xena told him bluntly, her tone loaded with pure menace and her eyes looked cold enough to burn. "You run along back to 'the Man', puppy, and tell him that Xena's got better things to do with her time."

Mavrikios' smile barely wavered at her insult and his voice dripped with insincerity as he said, "Sorry you feel that way, Xena, but this invitation is not one you can refuse. If anyone is going to collect that bounty, it's going to be me." He'd been darting looks to gauge his men's preparedness and, satisfied that they were ready as they'd ever be, he shouted, "GET THEM!"

A surge of men leapt towards the pair of women, confident that their far superior numbers would be enough to subdue them, even if one was the redoubtable Warrior Princess. Xena met the onrush with a high snapping kick to the head of the first man to reach her that saw him collapse bonelessly to the ground. She spun in a smooth, fluid, motion that put her into place to smash a left fist into a bearded face and the pommel of her sword into the temple of a third. not waiting around for the next wave, or for any of the three she had downed to recover, she back flipped away from the situation, just as four more attackers attempted to converge upon her. A kick into the back of the legs of an incidental soldier, left her with a clear path to Mavrikios who smiled confidently and raised his sword to engage the Warrior Princess.

Gabrielle soon found herself in the thick of the fighting. Mavrikios's men swarmed around her like bees around a honeypot. However, the bard was no easy conquest for anyone. Her time travelling with the Warrior Princess had given her the chance to refine her staff fighting techniques and she employed them to good effect. The first man to reach her got a full blooded jab to the stomach that doubled him over for the roundhouse swing that cracked sharply across his jaw, sending him spinning away from the fight. Showing good reflexes, she quickly adjusted to face her second opponent. With the staff held around it's centre point, Gabrielle swung both ends in lightning fast moves that hit the warrior across the knees and arms, before she adjusted her grip to jab him in the stomach and leave him writhing on the ground, fighting for breath.

With no time for thought, the bard slid back to the central grip and tried the same series of manoeuvres on her next assailant. He, however, was ready for her. As she struck out with the staff, her opponent got a good grasp of it and tried to pull it from her. Thinking quickly, Gabrielle, twisted around under the staff, so that she was back to back with the warrior. She was ready for him when he used his superior strength and weight to pull her over his back so that she faced him once more, but as his hands slipped on the staff, she used timing and strength to smash it up into his face, and then, once free of his restraint, she pummelled him until he dropped to the ground.

She swung around in time to intercept a fourth man who was trying to sneak up behind her. He pulled to a halt, intent on keeping out of range of the staff that seemed to be everywhere. On a sudden inspiration, the bard dropped to her knees, taking a grip on the staff at the very end of the shaft, and swung it hard to crack into the man's ankles, bringing him down with a satisfying thud so that she could crack him across the temple to remove his interest in the proceedings.

Swords clashed as Xena and Mavrikios met. Sparks slid down the weapons as they locked together in a deadly embrace. Xena's senses warned her as a warrior attempted to sneak in on her blind side to help his leader, and she kicked back hard, connecting with the man's left knee and recognized the stark 'crack' as the bone shattered beneath the force of the blow. The Warrior Princess gathered her far from inconsiderable strength and threw Mavrikios back so that she could grab an incoming arm wielding a heavy club. She stopped the blow in mid strike and barely gave the warrior a glance as she spun under his arm and flipped him some distance away from her. She returned to her confrontation with Mavrikios and said with a barely disguised sneer, "Ya gotta try harder than that. If these goons are the best you've got, Gabrielle can take them on her own." She punctuated her sentence with a double handed swing of her sword that Mavrikios barely managed to turn aside.

"Think so?" he retorted, the smile that had been on his face had been replaced by a snarl, "Well the dance isn't over yet." he feinted with a thrust to her chest, turning it at the last moment to a slash at her legs which Xena parried with contemptuous ease.

The smoldering rage that was never far from the surface in the Warrior Princess, flared joyously in her eyes as she allowed the reigns to be loosed on the dark side of her complex nature, allowing her to revel in the arts of battle that were so much a part of what she was. Screaming out her ululating war cry, she leapt high into the air, did a forward roll at the apex of her ascent and landed safely behind Mavrikios taking out a soldier with a swift slash across the belly and a second one with her elbow as she drove it into his windpipe, "Gotta tell you, Mavrikios, the bands beginning to wind down."

The warlord, turned swiftly raising his sword once again to face his foe, "My piper's still playing the tune, Xena," he told her with an arrogant confidence that seemed more than a little misplaced with so many of his men down and injured. He continued, "But you're gonna get to pay him!" as he launched into another series of slashing attacks.

The bard was beginning to feel picked on. Normally, all the bad guys congregated around Xena eager to earn the kudos for bringing the Warrior Princess down. For some reason, however, there seemed far too many who wanted to test her fighting skills. Not that she could blame them exactly. She personally felt that anyone would have to be mad to voluntarily go up against her best friend in a fair fight.

She planted her staff into the ground and used it as a fulcrum to push off and deliver a double heeled kick into her nearest assailant's chest. She landed the manoeuvre cleanly, spun her staff and looked for the next problem waiting to confront her. Two warriors moved before her menacing her with swords. As she swung the staff to confront one the other tried to slip around her guard until she swung the staff in turn to menace him. Deciding that attack was going to be her best way out of the situation, she concentrated on moving forward in a fighting stance only to suddenly find herself hampered by a net that had been cast from behind in a sneaky move to disable her. Before she had time to extract herself from the confinement, something heavy slammed into her skull causing instant darkness to descend.

Mavrikios and Xena exchanged a rapid series of sharp blows while his soldiers milled around the pair of them creating a screen of bodies to confine the fight. Xena had to be constantly aware of her position in relation to those men as Mavrikios pressed his attacks to push the Warrior Princess back into range of the waiting warriors.

Using the momentum from the warlord's shove, Xena back flipped over the encircling men and flashed a wicked grin at him saying, "Not good enough, Mavrikios." She emphasised her contempt by delivering a hard kick to the backside of one of the soldiers propelling him into the arms of his leader. Then punched another man in the face, grabbed his arm and spun to send him hurtling into a group of his fellows, used a stamping kick to the stomach to fold up another and a sword cut to the ribs to disable the next.

Seeing his men dropping like so many flies, and having seen his contingency force dragging Gabrielle off the street, Mavrikios decided that his best option was to order a retreat, "Pull back!" he yelled. - With the bard in hand, Xena will come to me! - He told himself as he waved his forces off.

Xena flourished her sword in a complex display of weapon mastery before sheathing it and aiming a half playful kick at a retreating backside. She grinned to herself, confident there was no one to see her unusual display of delight at the fight. "Good workout," she muttered as she turned to check on her friend ... and bit back a curse as she saw no sign of Gabrielle in the road other than her staff which lay in the dust. "GABRIELLE!!" she yelled, knowing that she wouldn't get an answer. "Damn!" she swore, all signs of good humour gone.

She quickly scanned the area for tracks and read the signs all too clearly of what had happened. They'd taken her down the alleyway between the tavern and a house. Throwing caution to the winds as the need to get her friend back over-rode all other thought, Xena moved quickly hoping to catch the abductors before they managed to regroup with the main body of troops. Her haste, however, led her straight into the trap that had been set for just such an eventuality; an arrow slammed into her left shoulder.

Relegating the pain, from the wound, to be dealt with at another time, and not waiting around for any other surprises, Xena backed out of the tight confines of the alleyway with far more caution than she entered it. Collecting the bards staff from the road, she whistled for Argo who came readily to her mistresses call. She swung herself into the saddle and headed out of Menassos as fast as she was able. She'd get Gabrielle back, but she couldn't do that if she got herself killed or captured through carelessness.

The Warrior princess burst through a cordon of Mavrikios's surprised pickets and galloped down the road as fast as the horse could carry her. She had to find a place where she would be safe to deal with her wound and get herself away from the hunters that she expected to follow hard on her trail.

Gritting her teeth against the pain she was trying not to feel, Xena growled, "Hang on Gabrielle. I'll come and get you."


Destiny’s Dominion

 

Chapter Two: A Bard in the Hand
and Xena in the Bush
The first thing that Gabrielle was aware of was a throbbing ache that started somewhere at the back of her head and spread out from there. Keeping her eyes tightly shut against the blinding light of the sun, whose hot rays she could feel on her face, she stifled a groan, and raised her right hand to feel the lump she knew would be on the back of her skull. It was at that point that she worked out something was seriously wrong. Her arm felt leaden and she lacked control! She opened one eye to squint at her right arm and saw the manacles even as her senses registered the feel of metal about her wrists, "Gods," she breathed softly. "I never knew I was that dangerous."

A voice thundered out from close by, causing her to wince from the further pain it induced, "Hey boss!" a man yelled, "She's awake!"

Forcing both of her eyes open, the bard edged herself into a sitting position and gratefully leant against a handy tree, desperately fighting off the nausea that threatened to engulf her fragile sensibilities. A quick look around at the cluster of warriors told her that there was no sign of Xena - Was that good or bad? - she tried to make up her mind. As she struggled with the thought, Mavrikios moved into her line of sight, before bending to examine the tender lump on her head.

"She'll live," he commented, "Give her something to drink, then we'll get moving."

Gabrielle gratefully took the water skin and gulped down some of the tepid, lifeless water that it held, before fixing her eyes on the warlord and saying, "I don't know who you think I am, but I can assure you that I'm a writer, not a fighter." She rattled the chains at him, "Don't you think that these are a little bit excessive? I mean with all your warriors around, I'm hardly likely to be able to run off, now am I?"

"I know exactly who you are, little girl," retorted Mavrikios with a touch of sarcasm in his voice, "You're the irritating blonde that just banged up half a dozen of my men, and whom Caesar will pay me a lot of dinars for once I get you to him." He looked at her in a calculating way, "Now, I'd like to do this as easy as possible, but that's going to be up to you. You cause me any trouble and I guarantee that you'll regret it."

Gabrielle looked at him with more than a hint of pity in her gaze, "Trouble? Listen buster you've got more 'trouble' coming your way than you can shake a stick at!"

The smirk on the warlords face made her want to slap him, as did his awfully articulate answer of, "HA!"

Keeping her temper, and doing her best icy intimidation impersonation, Gabrielle pointed out quietly, "She'll find me you know. She's not going to let you get away with this."

"Xena's got troubles of her own," sneered the warlord, "One of my men put an arrow through her and, although it's not likely to kill her, it'll slow her down for a while, and make it that much easier for me to take her when she shows up again."

"You're not chasing after her?" asked the bard in surprise. The bounty on Xena was big enough to make most men drool at the chance of collecting it and make them forget about the dangers of facing her, especially if she was injured.

"There's no need to chase her round the countryside," he told her smugly, "She'll be coming after you and I'll be waiting for her."

Gabrielle's stomach clenched as she realized that she was bait for a trap. It seemed that Xena had a valid reason to be concerned about her vulnerability - He's smart, - she decided. She tried to dredge up any information she had about this warlord from her aching head as she took another swallow of water. Xena had once, long ago, mentioned that Mavrikios was a good leader of men. He weighed odds carefully and looked after the welfare of his troops. He was also a dangerous man with a blade. She seemed to remember that Xena had said he had an uncertain temper when things started to fall apart on him, and that he was not a man to anger or cross.

She looked up at Mavrikios as he ordered his men to be ready to move,"I've seen her take out a small army when she'd been blinded," she said conversationally, "An arrow wound won't worry her too much ... but it should worry you."

The warlord swung his attention back to the bard, "Oh? Please do enlighten me as to why I should worry?" he growled full of confidence in his abilities and plans.

Gabrielle grinned happily at him, "Because a wound is gonna make her mean, and I wouldn't want to be in your shoes when she gets through with you," she said sweetly.

If her words had worried the man, he didn't show it in his voice or eyes. He just grinned nastily at his captive and rumbled, "Well then, we'd better get moving, hadn't we? I want to meet Xena on ground of my own choosing," he told her as he grabbed her by the chains and hauled her roughly to her feet, making her head swim.

"Hey!" complained the blonde indignantly.

The warlord grinned maliciously, "Get used to it. I'm sure Caesar has far worse in mind once he gets his hands on you two." He tugged her towards where the men were mounting their horses, "Here Gregorias. Keep her safe, or I'll have your head," he barked as he threw the bard up over the front of the warriors saddle, so that she hung face down like a sack of oats. Swinging on to his own mount, Mavrikios ordered his men to move out.

 

The cave, she had found, was really just a shallow depression in the side of a cliff, but it was shelter of a sort and it gave Xena a clear view if anyone tried to approach her. Sweat beaded her brow as she lowered herself from Argo's saddle and staggered over to where she could lean herself against the support of a large boulder.

The arrow had entered beneath her collarbone and, from the feel of it, the head was pressing against the underside of the bone. She didn't think it had done any major damage, but it needed to come out before the wound became infected. She couldn't risk being incapacitated by a fever; she had to be back on her feet if she was going to rescue Gabrielle.

Carefully, she unclipped her armour so that it slid away and gave her more freedom to work on the problem - So far so good - she told herself mentally, - Now things start to get interesting. -

Clutching the shaft of the arrow, she concentrated her strength to break off the fletchings to leave a shortened stub to work with. The jolting pain that stabbed through her as she did so, told her that the arrow had probably nicked the bone, and with that thought came a wave of nauseating darkness that swept up causing her to black out ....

Consciousness returned with an immediacy as she became aware of a man leaning over her. Movement came without thought and, in less than the blink of an eye, her boot dagger was in her hand and pressed against the stranger's ribs. Even though the motion called up waves of darkness once more, this time she mastered them and forced them back down.

"Easy," came a soft, soothing voice, "easy there. I mean you no harm."

The tone was gentle, comforting and reassuring. Xena recognised it as the tone she'd use to calm a frightened animal, or the type a physician used with a nervous patient. "Who are you?" she demanded, her voice a rough growl from the pain she was enduring. Her eyes blazed as she studied the blonde haired, blue eyed man who filled her line of sight.

He spoke as he continued to inspect the arrow shaft, probing the wound with strong, though seemingly delicate, fingers, "My name is Patroclese, warrior," he told her, still speaking in that soft calming tone, trying to put her at her ease. "I'm a physician ... a wanderer. I heard your horse from down on the road and, since I was lost, I came to see if someone could give me directions ... and found you lying here with an arrow in you." He looked at her and a slight smile played over his features, "I can take the arrow out, although I'd find it more comfortable to work without your knife digging into my ribs."

"Take it out," she told him, blinking the sweat out of her eyes as it trickled down her brow. "The knife stays where it is ... just in case." She looked down at the blood slick half-shaft sticking out from her flesh, "You're gonna have to push it through. I think it's got a barbed head, and it's pressing on the collarbone, probably nicked it on the way in."

"Uh huh," agreed Patroclese, "you seem to know an awful lot about my craft."

"I have many skills," Xena told him flatly.

"If I push that arrow through, and the pain causes your muscles to spasm, I'm likely to end up in a worse condition than you're in now," he told her with a worried glance towards where she held the knife.

"That's the chances you take bein' a good Samaritan," she told him through pain gritted teeth.

"A nice friendly way to put it," replied the physician dryly, swallowing hard.

"Just do it!" hissed the Warrior Princess pressing the dagger tighter to the man's ribs before relaxing it a little.

He nodded his agreement and placed the heel of his hand over the broken shaft. He looked searchingly into her face and asked, "Ready?"

"Do it!" gritted Xena, clenching her teeth against the anticipated pain.

Patroclese shoved hard, feeling the slight resistance from the edge of the bone, before the arrowhead cleared the flesh of his patient's back to stick out covered in crimson gore. Xena groaned, involuntarily with the pain, "Hang in there," he encouraged her as his hand moved around to grip the blood slick arrow and draw it fully from the wound. "It's out," he told her.

The warrior gave a tight smile that never reached her eyes, "As a friend of mine once said, 'That'll wake you up in the morning.'" She moved the dagger away from Patroclese, although she retained it in her hand ready for instant use. She licked her dry lips before gritting out, "Can you get it bandaged? I need to be somewhere else."

He moved to his horse and rummaged in his saddlebags, quickly finding the things that he needed. As he came back to her side he said, "As your physician, I would recommend some time to rest up. You've lost quite a bit of blood and you're right to suspect that the arrowhead chipped the bone. I think we're going to have to stitch those wounds to stop the blood flow too."

He worked as he spoke, cleaning the wound with some alcohol, that caused the dark haired woman to draw in her breath sharply, before inserting three neat stitches into the torn flesh at both the entrance and exit wounds, then smearing a healing salve over them.

"Just patch me up, best you can. I'll take it from there," Xena told him curtly as he slid her leathers and under tunic down to her waist so that he could bandage the wounds securely, oblivious to all thought of modesty. "I'd be grateful for some water if you'd pass the skin before you do that," she requested and drank thirstily when he complied and held the skin to her parched lips, doing his best not to stare at her ripe torso. The tepid water felt like nectar as it slid down her dry throat. She thanked him with a nod of her head and a slight quirk of her lips as he stoppered the skin when she had taken her fill.

Watching him work as he skilfully padded and wrapped her wound, Xena was impressed by the professionalism being shown by the young man. "By the way," she asked him, in a far more friendly tone, as he finished the task, "What do I owe you, besides my thanks?"

"No charge," he told her, "I started treating you without consultation. But," he forestalled the protests he could see about to spring from the warrior's lips, "you could give me some help with those directions and information that I came looking for in the first place."

"Deal," agreed Xena, putting some warmth into her tone for the first time, "What do you want to know?" she asked, carefully testing the shoulder's mobility as Patroclese finished dressing the wound.

"I'm a stranger in these parts ... in Greece, actually," he told her with a twitch of his lips. "I'm looking for a woman, a warrior like yourself. Her name is Xena."

The defensive look sprang back into her eyes and Patroclese found cold metal pressed against his throat as a very sharp blade pressed close, "What do you want with her?" she demanded, her tone as frozen as ice.

Patroclese swallowed hard and became, suddenly, very still, as he saw instant death staring him in the face, "I ...." he licked his lips nervously, "I have a message for her from a friend." He realized that more information was called for and quickly added, "I owed the man a favour and I promised that I'd take his message to the Warrior Princess for him."

"What's this man's name?" demanded Xena pushing the knife a little harder to nick the physicians skin and draw a tiny speck of blood.

"Isumbras of Narbo," squeaked Patroclese quickly, "That's in Narbonensis. He's a merchant," he added suddenly very eager to please.

"That's a long way to come to deliver a message," prodded Xena, although she relaxed some of the pressure on the knife, "Why would you agree to undertake such a difficult and hazardous journey, huh?"

His throat dry and tight from fear, Patroclese swallowed hard again and explained, "I owed Isumbras. He helped finance my studies as a healer and the only thing he's ever asked of me in return was to deliver this message." He saw some of the doubt ease from her eyes and added, "Besides, I always wanted to see more of the world and the chance to meet the legendary Warrior Princess was just too good to pass up."

Xena still looked coldly at him and there was a warning bite in her tone as she demanded, "What's the message?"

"That's private, " tried the physician, sweat beading his fair brow and his blue eyes shifted nervously, "It's for Xena."

A far from friendly smile appeared on the Warrior Princess's face as she said softly, "It won't do anyone any good if the messenger dies before delivering it," she told him grimly.

Patroclese licked his lips, indecision plain on his face, "I ... er ... well, if you put it like that," he stuttered. "He told me to tell her, ummmm," he screwed his face up in concentration to make sure that he got it exactly right, "Remember Artellios. I need you."

"That's it?" questioned the woman, although the healer was pleased to note that she did remove the menacing knife.

"I swear by the gods," promised the physician, relief plain on his face that he was away from the blade. He touched a finger to the spot the knife had nicked and brushed away the blood that had quickly dried there. He saw a look on Xena's face that must have frightened him because he added, "I have no idea what it means. I just agreed to deliver it."

The Warrior Princess looked at him suspiciously for a long moment before sheathing the dagger back in her boot, "Well you've delivered it, " she told him flatly, pushing herself a trifle unsteadily to her feet.

"Y ... You're Xena?" he asked in amazement, "Gods! What are the odds on us meeting like this?" he wondered.

"I was thinking the same thing," agreed Xena suspicion underlying her tone, but her eyes didn't seem quite as cold as they had been. She pulled her clothing back on and refastened the clips to her armour, before gently easing herself back using the boulder to steady herself.

"Gods, but you're an untrusting woman, " Patroclese returned with a nervous half laugh.

Xena gave him the 'look' that could send the cold chill of imminent death through the heart and bones of even the most hardened warlord, and saw the physician take two or three involuntary steps away from her, "It keeps me alive," she told him with scarily quiet menace. A wave of blackness swept up again as she moved her arm too quickly, but she refused to let it take hold, and continued to the healer, "You've delivered your message, and have done your good deed ... I'm grateful for the help, but now I suggest that you go home."

Patroclese nodded his agreement, still having to swallow to get some of the moisture back into his throat, while trying to disguise his nervous fear of this infinitely scary woman, "Yeah, right ... fine," he agreed and was turning away, back to his horse when a movement caught his eye, "Xena, look out!" he cried, diving towards where his horse stood and reaching for the bow that he carried there.

An arrow sped from the screen of trees, straight towards where the warrior was turning to confront the danger. Patroclese just knew that his medicinal efforts had been wasted; there was no way that the Warrior Princess could possibly avoid the shaft that sped towards her.

As he waited for her cry of pain, or for her to drop to the ground, he had to blink in amazement. The warning he had given had triggered the woman's incredible, battle honed, reflexes. With movement faster than the eye could follow, she plucked the arrow out of the air, just as it seemed certain to skewer her throat. All time for thought was instantly gone as a dozen warriors charged from the trees, across the clearing, towards Xena and her companion.

Raising her chilling battlecry, Xena leapt high into the air did a flip and came down in position to tackle her attackers. A heavily planted boot in the stomach met the first man, and a backhand, roundhouse, punch snapped into the jaw of a second. A well placed right elbow to the throat left a third man choking on the ground, and gave her the space to backflip away to draw her sword. But the warriors were quickly upon her and before she was settled, one had clubbed the weapon out of her hands, while a second slammed a staff into her abdomen.

Dropping to the ground, she braced herself with her arms as she swept the feet from beneath the warrior with the staff. A forward roll took her to where her sword had landed and she scooped it up ready to face the next attack. Holding the weapon two handed, she swung with incredible force at the warrior closest to her. He met her blade with his own, but staggered under the impact and failed to recover in time to avoid the straight right punch that plastered his nose across his face.

Xena bounced on the balls of her feet as she prepared to meet the next wave of assailants, only to see the lead man taken out by a well placed arrow through the heart. She spun instinctively, kicking out with a muscular leg, to take out a warrior who was trying to get behind her, then used her momentum to force herself into a low forward flip which enabled her to get in position to be able to sweep her blade across her next opponent's chest. Another arrow buzzed past her to take a threatening warrior in the shoulder, as she fell into a flurry of exchanged blows, finally taking the man out with a reverse sword sweep. And then it was over, with those left alive scuttling for the safety of the trees they had emerged from.

Xena dropped to her haunches taking deep breaths to try and clear away the spots, that were swimming in front of her eyes and the nausea that made her want to vomit. Patroclese was quickly at her side, checking the dressing on her wound and making sure that she hadn't taken another injury. "Thanks," she told him with grudging appreciation.

"Just part of my job," grinned the healer as he adjusted the bandage, "Doesn't look like you've done any more damage, though I can't imagine how you managed to avoid doing so."

"Benefits of a healthy lifestyle," she half mockingly replied. "Thanks again, by the way," she told him in a much more friendly tone than any she used previously, "I'd have chased them off eventually, but your archery certainly speeded things up." She eyed the physician questioningly, "How did a healer learn to use weapons with such skill."

Daring greatly, Patroclese used a question in answer, "I could ask how a warrior learnt quite so much about the healer's art?" He smiled to show it was a rhetorical question, "For myself, I'm not stupid. I knew that being a wandering physician would not be the world's safest occupation, so I took steps to learn how to protect myself."

"Good thinking," agreed Xena as she pushed herself, more than a little unsteadily, back to a standing position, aided by Patroclese who willingly gave her an arm to lean on, although she tried her best to do without his help.

"You really could do with some rest, you know," he told her, "Loss of blood is going to make you weaker for a while, and that could hurt you at a crucial moment."

"I'm fine," she told him, though not unkindly, "I don't have time to rest up at the moment."

He looked at the bodies lying around in the clearing and nodded, saying, "I see what you mean." He hovered behind her as she took a couple of halting steps to where Argo stood waiting patiently, "You know, I'm not in the habit of abandoning my patients before they're fully fit."

"Forget it Patroclese," she told him bluntly, "Where I'm going is no place for a healer," she told him in no uncertain terms. She moved away from him towards Argo, while the young healer checked the bodies of the five men, scattered around them, to see if any still clung to life.

"Are you going to see what Isumbras wants?" he questioned as he moved between the men, finally assuring himself they were all dead before moving across to his own horse.

"Maybe," she told him non-committally, "when I've done what I've gotta do first." She checked Argo's cinch, tightening it a notch. The effort caused her to grunt with pain and sweat beaded on her brow once more.

Patroclese noted the problem, but wisely refrained from commenting on it, "Can you tell me what that message is about?" he asked cautiously, "I've been carrying the thing around with me for a couple of moons now, and it's been driving me crazy wondering about it." He watched the woman mount her horse, before swinging easily into his own saddle.

Xena looked at Patroclese long and hard, and saw an eager young man of good muscular build, blonde haired and blue eyed in a handsome sort of way, with an air of competence about him that shone through in his every movement. He had done her a good turn by removing the arrow from her shoulder, and had stood with her against attackers, "I'll tell you on the way back to the road," she told him with a wry twisted grin.

They heeled the horses into motion and picked their way carefully back towards the road, senses alert in case any of the beaten warriors should be lurking around in the hope of getting a second chance at them. Xena threw a look across at the healer and said, "Isumbras was a merchant, even back when I knew him," she explained. "He supplied me with some of my more unusual needs ... including information." Her eyes seemed to go distant as she allowed the memories to flood back into her mind, "My army was at a little village called, Artellios, and Isumbras provided me with some intelligence that proved vital in keeping me alive." She ducked under a low branch that was in her chosen path before continuing, "He wouldn't take any money for it. He just asked me to remember in case he ever needed anything."

Patroclese nodded his understanding and said, "So you owe Isumbras this big favour, but you're only 'maybe' going to help him. I'd thought better of you, Xena."

"Now look, Patroclese, I know you feel a responsibility to Isumbras, and I know I owe you my gratitude, if not more, for your help back there, but I've got my hands full at the moment and Isumbras will just have to wait until I can get round to him!" she was annoyed that she'd let the healer get to her.

A few minutes later they reached the road, "You'd better head South. You'll find the village of Menassos there and you should be able to get some work there too." she told him.

"Which way are you going?" he asked.

"I'll cut across country. I need to get past some people, and I'd like to do it without having to fight my way through them." she told him.

Xena turned Argo away from the physician, just as a shout erupted behind them. Turning her head she saw some twenty armed men riding up the road towards where the healer sat his horse staring at them, "Patroclese!" she yelled, "This way!" and waited only long enough to ascertain that he followed, before heading the horse into the scant safety of the copse on the far side of the road.

As they broke out of the cover of the trees, and into the more open ground of hilly pasture, Patroclese drew up alongside the Warrior Princess and shouted, "Have you done something to upset someone? Because something seems to have stirred up an awful lot of warriors in these parts."

"Long story," Xena cast back at him, "Keep close to me. Too many people have seen you with me now, so you better tag along until I can find somewhere safe to leave you."


 

The cave, she had found, was really just a shallow depression in the side of a cliff, but it was shelter of a sort and it gave Xena a clear view if anyone tried to approach her. Sweat beaded her brow as she lowered herself from Argo's saddle and staggered over to where she could lean herself against the support of a large boulder.

The arrow had entered beneath her collarbone and, from the feel of it, the head was pressing against the underside of the bone. She didn't think it had done any major damage, but it needed to come out before the wound became infected. She couldn't risk being incapacitated by a fever; she had to be back on her feet if she was going to rescue Gabrielle.

Carefully, she unclipped her armour so that it slid away and gave her more freedom to work on the problem - So far so good - she told herself mentally, - Now things start to get interesting. -

Clutching the shaft of the arrow, she concentrated her strength to break off the fletchings to leave a shortened stub to work with. The jolting pain that stabbed through her as she did so, told her that the arrow had probably nicked the bone, and with that thought came a wave of nauseating darkness that swept up causing her to black out ....

Consciousness returned with an immediacy as she became aware of a man leaning over her. Movement came without thought and, in less than the blink of an eye, her boot dagger was in her hand and pressed against the stranger's ribs. Even though the motion called up waves of darkness once more, this time she mastered them and forced them back down.

"Easy," came a soft, soothing voice, "easy there. I mean you no harm."

The tone was gentle, comforting and reassuring. Xena recognised it as the tone she'd use to calm a frightened animal, or the type a physician used with a nervous patient. "Who are you?" she demanded, her voice a rough growl from the pain she was enduring. Her eyes blazed as she studied the blonde haired, blue eyed man who filled her line of sight.

He spoke as he continued to inspect the arrow shaft, probing the wound with strong, though seemingly delicate, fingers, "My name is Patroclese, warrior," he told her, still speaking in that soft calming tone, trying to put her at her ease. "I'm a physician ... a wanderer. I heard your horse from down on the road and, since I was lost, I came to see if someone could give me directions ... and found you lying here with an arrow in you." He looked at her and a slight smile played over his features, "I can take the arrow out, although I'd find it more comfortable to work without your knife digging into my ribs."

"Take it out," she told him, blinking the sweat out of her eyes as it trickled down her brow. "The knife stays where it is ... just in case." She looked down at the blood slick half-shaft sticking out from her flesh, "You're gonna have to push it through. I think it's got a barbed head, and it's pressing on the collarbone, probably nicked it on the way in."

"Uh huh," agreed Patroclese, "you seem to know an awful lot about my craft."

"I have many skills," Xena told him flatly.

"If I push that arrow through, and the pain causes your muscles to spasm, I'm likely to end up in a worse condition than you're in now," he told her with a worried glance towards where she held the knife.

"That's the chances you take bein' a good Samaritan," she told him through pain gritted teeth.

"A nice friendly way to put it," replied the physician dryly, swallowing hard.

"Just do it!" hissed the Warrior Princess pressing the dagger tighter to the man's ribs before relaxing it a little.

He nodded his agreement and placed the heel of his hand over the broken shaft. He looked searchingly into her face and asked, "Ready?"

"Do it!" gritted Xena, clenching her teeth against the anticipated pain.

Patroclese shoved hard, feeling the slight resistance from the edge of the bone, before the arrowhead cleared the flesh of his patient's back to stick out covered in crimson gore. Xena groaned, involuntarily with the pain, "Hang in there," he encouraged her as his hand moved around to grip the blood slick arrow and draw it fully from the wound. "It's out," he told her.

The warrior gave a tight smile that never reached her eyes, "As a friend of mine once said, 'That'll wake you up in the morning.'" She moved the dagger away from Patroclese, although she retained it in her hand ready for instant use. She licked her dry lips before gritting out, "Can you get it bandaged? I need to be somewhere else."

He moved to his horse and rummaged in his saddlebags, quickly finding the things that he needed. As he came back to her side he said, "As your physician, I would recommend some time to rest up. You've lost quite a bit of blood and you're right to suspect that the arrowhead chipped the bone. I think we're going to have to stitch those wounds to stop the blood flow too."

He worked as he spoke, cleaning the wound with some alcohol, that caused the dark haired woman to draw in her breath sharply, before inserting three neat stitches into the torn flesh at both the entrance and exit wounds, then smearing a healing salve over them.

"Just patch me up, best you can. I'll take it from there," Xena told him curtly as he slid her leathers and under tunic down to her waist so that he could bandage the wounds securely, oblivious to all thought of modesty. "I'd be grateful for some water if you'd pass the skin before you do that," she requested and drank thirstily when he complied and held the skin to her parched lips, doing his best not to stare at her ripe torso. The tepid water felt like nectar as it slid down her dry throat. She thanked him with a nod of her head and a slight quirk of her lips as he stoppered the skin when she had taken her fill.

Watching him work as he skilfully padded and wrapped her wound, Xena was impressed by the professionalism being shown by the young man. "By the way," she asked him, in a far more friendly tone, as he finished the task, "What do I owe you, besides my thanks?"

"No charge," he told her, "I started treating you without consultation. But," he forestalled the protests he could see about to spring from the warrior's lips, "you could give me some help with those directions and information that I came looking for in the first place."

"Deal," agreed Xena, putting some warmth into her tone for the first time, "What do you want to know?" she asked, carefully testing the shoulder's mobility as Patroclese finished dressing the wound.

"I'm a stranger in these parts ... in Greece, actually," he told her with a twitch of his lips. "I'm looking for a woman, a warrior like yourself. Her name is Xena."

The defensive look sprang back into her eyes and Patroclese found cold metal pressed against his throat as a very sharp blade pressed close, "What do you want with her?" she demanded, her tone as frozen as ice.

Patroclese swallowed hard and became, suddenly, very still, as he saw instant death staring him in the face, "I ...." he licked his lips nervously, "I have a message for her from a friend." He realized that more information was called for and quickly added, "I owed the man a favour and I promised that I'd take his message to the Warrior Princess for him."

"What's this man's name?" demanded Xena pushing the knife a little harder to nick the physicians skin and draw a tiny speck of blood.

"Isumbras of Narbo," squeaked Patroclese quickly, "That's in Narbonensis. He's a merchant," he added suddenly very eager to please.

"That's a long way to come to deliver a message," prodded Xena, although she relaxed some of the pressure on the knife, "Why would you agree to undertake such a difficult and hazardous journey, huh?"

His throat dry and tight from fear, Patroclese swallowed hard again and explained, "I owed Isumbras. He helped finance my studies as a healer and the only thing he's ever asked of me in return was to deliver this message." He saw some of the doubt ease from her eyes and added, "Besides, I always wanted to see more of the world and the chance to meet the legendary Warrior Princess was just too good to pass up."

Xena still looked coldly at him and there was a warning bite in her tone as she demanded, "What's the message?"

"That's private, " tried the physician, sweat beading his fair brow and his blue eyes shifted nervously, "It's for Xena."

A far from friendly smile appeared on the Warrior Princess's face as she said softly, "It won't do anyone any good if the messenger dies before delivering it," she told him grimly.

Patroclese licked his lips, indecision plain on his face, "I ... er ... well, if you put it like that," he stuttered. "He told me to tell her, ummmm," he screwed his face up in concentration to make sure that he got it exactly right, "Remember Artellios. I need you."

"That's it?" questioned the woman, although the healer was pleased to note that she did remove the menacing knife.

"I swear by the gods," promised the physician, relief plain on his face that he was away from the blade. He touched a finger to the spot the knife had nicked and brushed away the blood that had quickly dried there. He saw a look on Xena's face that must have frightened him because he added, "I have no idea what it means. I just agreed to deliver it."

The Warrior Princess looked at him suspiciously for a long moment before sheathing the dagger back in her boot, "Well you've delivered it, " she told him flatly, pushing herself a trifle unsteadily to her feet.

"Y ... You're Xena?" he asked in amazement, "Gods! What are the odds on us meeting like this?" he wondered.

"I was thinking the same thing," agreed Xena suspicion underlying her tone, but her eyes didn't seem quite as cold as they had been. She pulled her clothing back on and refastened the clips to her armour, before gently easing herself back using the boulder to steady herself.

"Gods, but you're an untrusting woman, " Patroclese returned with a nervous half laugh.

Xena gave him the 'look' that could send the cold chill of imminent death through the heart and bones of even the most hardened warlord, and saw the physician take two or three involuntary steps away from her, "It keeps me alive," she told him with scarily quiet menace. A wave of blackness swept up again as she moved her arm too quickly, but she refused to let it take hold, and continued to the healer, "You've delivered your message, and have done your good deed ... I'm grateful for the help, but now I suggest that you go home."

Patroclese nodded his agreement, still having to swallow to get some of the moisture back into his throat, while trying to disguise his nervous fear of this infinitely scary woman, "Yeah, right ... fine," he agreed and was turning away, back to his horse when a movement caught his eye, "Xena, look out!" he cried, diving towards where his horse stood and reaching for the bow that he carried there.

An arrow sped from the screen of trees, straight towards where the warrior was turning to confront the danger. Patroclese just knew that his medicinal efforts had been wasted; there was no way that the Warrior Princess could possibly avoid the shaft that sped towards her.

As he waited for her cry of pain, or for her to drop to the ground, he had to blink in amazement. The warning he had given had triggered the woman's incredible, battle honed, reflexes. With movement faster than the eye could follow, she plucked the arrow out of the air, just as it seemed certain to skewer her throat. All time for thought was instantly gone as a dozen warriors charged from the trees, across the clearing, towards Xena and her companion.

Raising her chilling battlecry, Xena leapt high into the air did a flip and came down in position to tackle her attackers. A heavily planted boot in the stomach met the first man, and a backhand, roundhouse, punch snapped into the jaw of a second. A well placed right elbow to the throat left a third man choking on the ground, and gave her the space to backflip away to draw her sword. But the warriors were quickly upon her and before she was settled, one had clubbed the weapon out of her hands, while a second slammed a staff into her abdomen.

Dropping to the ground, she braced herself with her arms as she swept the feet from beneath the warrior with the staff. A forward roll took her to where her sword had landed and she scooped it up ready to face the next attack. Holding the weapon two handed, she swung with incredible force at the warrior closest to her. He met her blade with his own, but staggered under the impact and failed to recover in time to avoid the straight right punch that plastered his nose across his face.

Xena bounced on the balls of her feet as she prepared to meet the next wave of assailants, only to see the lead man taken out by a well placed arrow through the heart. She spun instinctively, kicking out with a muscular leg, to take out a warrior who was trying to get behind her, then used her momentum to force herself into a low forward flip which enabled her to get in position to be able to sweep her blade across her next opponent's chest. Another arrow buzzed past her to take a threatening warrior in the shoulder, as she fell into a flurry of exchanged blows, finally taking the man out with a reverse sword sweep. And then it was over, with those left alive scuttling for the safety of the trees they had emerged from.

Xena dropped to her haunches taking deep breaths to try and clear away the spots, that were swimming in front of her eyes and the nausea that made her want to vomit. Patroclese was quickly at her side, checking the dressing on her wound and making sure that she hadn't taken another injury. "Thanks," she told him with grudging appreciation.

"Just part of my job," grinned the healer as he adjusted the bandage, "Doesn't look like you've done any more damage, though I can't imagine how you managed to avoid doing so."

"Benefits of a healthy lifestyle," she half mockingly replied. "Thanks again, by the way," she told him in a much more friendly tone than any she used previously, "I'd have chased them off eventually, but your archery certainly speeded things up." She eyed the physician questioningly, "How did a healer learn to use weapons with such skill."

Daring greatly, Patroclese used a question in answer, "I could ask how a warrior learnt quite so much about the healer's art?" He smiled to show it was a rhetorical question, "For myself, I'm not stupid. I knew that being a wandering physician would not be the world's safest occupation, so I took steps to learn how to protect myself."

"Good thinking," agreed Xena as she pushed herself, more than a little unsteadily, back to a standing position, aided by Patroclese who willingly gave her an arm to lean on, although she tried her best to do without his help.

"You really could do with some rest, you know," he told her, "Loss of blood is going to make you weaker for a while, and that could hurt you at a crucial moment."

"I'm fine," she told him, though not unkindly, "I don't have time to rest up at the moment."

He looked at the bodies lying around in the clearing and nodded, saying, "I see what you mean." He hovered behind her as she took a couple of halting steps to where Argo stood waiting patiently, "You know, I'm not in the habit of abandoning my patients before they're fully fit."

"Forget it Patroclese," she told him bluntly, "Where I'm going is no place for a healer," she told him in no uncertain terms. She moved away from him towards Argo, while the young healer checked the bodies of the five men, scattered around them, to see if any still clung to life.

"Are you going to see what Isumbras wants?" he questioned as he moved between the men, finally assuring himself they were all dead before moving across to his own horse.

"Maybe," she told him non-committally, "when I've done what I've gotta do first." She checked Argo's cinch, tightening it a notch. The effort caused her to grunt with pain and sweat beaded on her brow once more.

Patroclese noted the problem, but wisely refrained from commenting on it, "Can you tell me what that message is about?" he asked cautiously, "I've been carrying the thing around with me for a couple of moons now, and it's been driving me crazy wondering about it." He watched the woman mount her horse, before swinging easily into his own saddle.

Xena looked at Patroclese long and hard, and saw an eager young man of good muscular build, blonde haired and blue eyed in a handsome sort of way, with an air of competence about him that shone through in his every movement. He had done her a good turn by removing the arrow from her shoulder, and had stood with her against attackers, "I'll tell you on the way back to the road," she told him with a wry twisted grin.

They heeled the horses into motion and picked their way carefully back towards the road, senses alert in case any of the beaten warriors should be lurking around in the hope of getting a second chance at them. Xena threw a look across at the healer and said, "Isumbras was a merchant, even back when I knew him," she explained. "He supplied me with some of my more unusual needs ... including information." Her eyes seemed to go distant as she allowed the memories to flood back into her mind, "My army was at a little village called, Artellios, and Isumbras provided me with some intelligence that proved vital in keeping me alive." She ducked under a low branch that was in her chosen path before continuing, "He wouldn't take any money for it. He just asked me to remember in case he ever needed anything."

Patroclese nodded his understanding and said, "So you owe Isumbras this big favour, but you're only 'maybe' going to help him. I'd thought better of you, Xena."

"Now look, Patroclese, I know you feel a responsibility to Isumbras, and I know I owe you my gratitude, if not more, for your help back there, but I've got my hands full at the moment and Isumbras will just have to wait until I can get round to him!" she was annoyed that she'd let the healer get to her.

A few minutes later they reached the road, "You'd better head South. You'll find the village of Menassos there and you should be able to get some work there too." she told him.

"Which way are you going?" he asked.

"I'll cut across country. I need to get past some people, and I'd like to do it without having to fight my way through them." she told him.

Xena turned Argo away from the physician, just as a shout erupted behind them. Turning her head she saw some twenty armed men riding up the road towards where the healer sat his horse staring at them, "Patroclese!" she yelled, "This way!" and waited only long enough to ascertain that he followed, before heading the horse into the scant safety of the copse on the far side of the road.

As they broke out of the cover of the trees, and into the more open ground of hilly pasture, Patroclese drew up alongside the Warrior Princess and shouted, "Have you done something to upset someone? Because something seems to have stirred up an awful lot of warriors in these parts."

"Long story," Xena cast back at him, "Keep close to me. Too many people have seen you with me now, so you better tag along until I can find somewhere safe to leave you."

Chapters 3 - 4


Return to Destiny's Dominion - Main Page

Return to The Bard's Corner