Destiny’s Dominion

Chapter Five: Beware Amazons
Bearing Grudges
It was four long days travel to the lands of the Amazons. During that time, Xena pressed her companions hard, intent on keeping ahead of the pursuit. She often left the bard and the healer, while she scouted ahead to make sure the way was clear, or swung behind them to cover tracks and cut false trails. The hunt was still on, but those tracking them never got close enough to challenge them. As they entered the Amazon forest, and read the warning totems, a sense of relief, tinged with uncertainty, came over the Warrior Princess; the chances of being ambushed here were greatly reduced, but the Amazon's held a heavy grudge against her and their memories were long.

She and Gabrielle had had several long and serious discussions about what they would face upon their return to Amazon jurisdiction. The bard had been certain that her position within the Nation would ensure the Warrior Princess went unharmed, "After all," she reminded her best friend while Patroclese had been washing up in a creek at one of their night camps, "it's not as if you did any real damage."

Xena quirked her a mirthless smile as she responded sarcastically, "Oh no .. no real damage. Just broke the Regent's arm, battered her a bit, kidnapped the Queen by dragging her out of the village with the full intention of killing her."

"Stop that," rebuked Gabrielle firmly, giving her friend a concerned look, knowing that she didn't really remember any of it and was just quoting from what the bard had told her about the incident. "Ephiny's a friend, Xena, she owes you far more than could be destroyed by a broken arm .. as for me, well I'm still here and very much alive. If you'd really wanted me dead, I'd be dead."

The bard watched closely as the blue eyes jerked away from hers and Xena concentrated on prodding a stubborn cook fire into life. Moving over to the raven haired woman's side, she hunkered down next to her, laying a gentle hand on her friend's arm, "Xena, you weren't yourself ... the grief, the anger, all of it ... in your right mind you would never have done what you did."

"Gabrielle ... I ... I'm so very sorry," the warrior whispered as she tried desperately to remember what had happened within the Amazon stronghold. Her mind tried to picture the scene as the bard had painted it, but her memories refused to focus and images slid into a nothingness that left her feeling frustrated and deeply ashamed for what she had nearly done to her one true friend.

Slipping her arm around the other woman's shoulders, Gabrielle hugged the tormented warrior and whispered softly, "It's alright, Xena. It's over .. past. We'll find the way to make the Amazon's get over it too."

Allowing herself to be comforted, Xena still couldn't shake the feeling that the Amazon Nation would be far less likely to forgive and forget than the young Queen who had chosen to remain at her side after all she had done to her. It was something that remained foremost in her mind as they pushed steadily towards Nation territory. But however the Amazons might feel about the Warrior Princess, they would welcome their queen back with open arms, - And right now, she needs to be somewhere that's safe from Caesar, - her practical mind argued. - I'll worry about me when I know she's safe! -

As they probed deeper into the forest, Xena's highly tuned senses soon registered the fact that they were no longer alone. However, if she'd been asked how she knew, or how she knew that the watchers were Amazons, she wouldn't have been able to find the right words to explain. A feeling, a sound, a movement, all were part of a whole, along with a myriad of other minor things that came together to give her an answer. Now she knew that they were in the midst of a screen of Amazon warriors.

"Alright," she said coming to a standstill in a small clearing, "Throw down your weapons and raise your arms in the signal I showed you."

Gabrielle grinned at her partner patiently. She knew the ritual, having performed it before, but went along with it anyway for Patroclese's sake, who this was all new to. She threw down her staff and clasped her hands together over her head in the Amazon sign for peace at about the same time the others did.

As the weapons hit the ground, the Amazon's appeared, almost like magic, from their vantage points in the trees that had camouflaged their presence. Patroclese's eyes nearly popped out of his head at the suddenness of their arrival, and then they goggled at the women who surrounded them in their full exotic splendour.

"Hi Solari," greeted the bard happily, recognising the distinctive mask of the head of the Royal Amazon Guards, "how are things going?"

"Gabrielle," greeted the Amazon, the tone warm for her. Then she and the other Amazons levelled their weapons in the Warrior Princess's direction. "Xena," she said grimly, "You should know better than to return here!"

Xena studied the Amazons recognizing latent hostility in their attitudes, "Solari." she greeted coldly with an icy stare, "I'm just escorting Gabrielle to Ephiny. I won't be staying. I have to be somewhere else."

None of the Amazons relaxed and Solari's tone was anything but friendly as she replied,"We'll see. There's a lot of hard feeling against you amongst the sisters at present," she stated stonily, "We'll see what Ephiny and the elders have to say."

Gabrielle began to feel worried for the first time. The atmosphere generated by the Amazons was cold and distinctly unfriendly. They looked tense and ready to spring at Xena at the first wrong movement, "Solari ?" she asked in concern, "What's going on?"

The stolidly, dour, Amazon, glanced in the bards direction, softening her tone slightly as she answered, "Amazons died when she raided the village to get to you. Many of the sisters want justice." She took a deep breath, before continuing, "Therefore in the name of the Amazon Council, I arrest you, Xena of Amphipolis, on charges which include treason and murder."

Gabrielle was stunned. She knew that Solari stood close to Ephiny, was in fact the Queen Regent's head of the Royal Guard, and for all her distinctly aggressive posture, her tone and demeanor were not greatly different from normal, but the attitude of most of the other dozen Amazons was definitely antagonistic. Quietly, the bard said to her, "Is this a call for justice ... or vengeance, Solari?"

Ignoring the comment, Solari eyed Xena warily, "Are you coming along peacefully, or must we fight?" Her question was emphasized by four of the Amazon's drawing bows with the arrows aimed at the Warrior Princess.

Xena looked long and hard at the Amazon before answering, "I'm not here for trouble," she told her with chilling coolness, "So we'll keep this peaceable ... for now."

"Lay down all your weapons, Xena, and take off your armour as well," the Amazon warrior ordered coldly.

"Solari ... "Gabrielle started to intervene, worried about how Xena would react, anxious about just how bad the situation with the Amazons really was.

Her eyes never leaving the Amazon leader's, the Warrior Princess interrupted her friend with the quiet words, "It's alright, Gabrielle. We'll do it Solari's way for now."

The bard watched in uncomfortable silence as she saw Xena arch an Eyebrow and gain Solari's tacit nod of approval as she slowly reached to remove her armour, bracers and greaves, tossing them down in a pile in front of her. Moving carefully, she divested herself of the breast dagger and the two boot daggers she carried, before unhooking the chakram from her waist and handing it over to a reluctant Gabrielle, "Keep it safe for me," she said with a crooked smile.

One of the scouts stepped in and expertly looped some heavy ropes around Xena's wrists, binding her with professional expertise. The Warrior Princess stood motionless for the indignity, accepting that now was not the time to start a fight. She needed to ensure her bard's safety before her own.

Gabrielle, however, was far from silent. "Solari!" she exclaimed, "What do you think you're doing? There's no need to tie her up, she's surrendered her weapons."

"I'm sorry, Gabrielle. But she has to face charges and I can't take any chances .. I have too much respect for her fighting skills to do that." came the flat reply.

As the bard spluttered in indignant disbelief, Patroclese held the reigns of the horses and looked on. He felt totally out of his depth and very uneasy in presence of such hostility where he had expected a different kind of reception. He wondered what he should do, but as the Amazons formed up around the trio any decisions were taken out of his hands, "Me and my wanderlust," he muttered morosely, "I could have been safe and comfortable in some tavern by now."

Gabrielle tried to banish her look of concern over the situation and reassure the healer, "Don't worry," she told him encouragingly, "We'll clear all this up when we see Ephiny." - I hope - she added silently as she took note that all but three of the Amazons were tightly clustered around Xena.

The armour and weapons were quickly gathered and packed to be carried by Argo, with one of the guards taking the reigns from Patroclese and leading the two horses down the barely defined trail. Everyone else in the party followed on, Gabrielle and Patroclese behind the horses, Solari and the bulk of the guards next, arranged around Xena, with two flanking scouts out.

"Who is this Ephiny?" asked the healer intrigued about the name he'd heard mentioned several times.

"She's the Queen Regent of the Amazon's. Kind of the deputy for the real Queen," explained the bard with a half smile, "and a friend."

"That's good, agreed Patroclese edgily, "But wouldn't it be better to have the real Queen on our side too?" he asked, throwing a look back at Xena and the Amazon Warriors who were regarding their prisoner rather like they would a deadly snake.

Gabrielle's smile broadened, "Well, she is as well," she told him.

Patroclese looked at her with frank disbelief, "Oh yeah," he said with a touch of sarcasm in his tone, "Well then, who is she, and why doesn't anyone talk about her?"

The bard looked at him in slight confusion, "I thought you'd heard Xena say," she replied, although when she noted the blank look on his face, her glance became sly and she told him, "Actually, I'm the Amazon Queen."

Patroclese stumbled in mid step and would have fallen if Gabrielle hadn't moved quickly to support him, "You're kidding!" he blurted out.

"Actually she isn't," the dark warrior voice rumbled from behind them, looking to move forward when she saw the healer stumble.

The Amazons had tensed at the sudden movement of their prisoner, hands gripping weapons tightly in the expectation of use, and only relaxed when Xena realised how nervous she was making her guards and dropped back into the dense pocket they had formed around her with a mocking arch of a darkly sardonic brow.

"What's with all the hostility, then?" he demanded, grappling with an awful lot of suddenly new ideas.

"Long story," Xena answered him from behind, ignoring the edginess that the Amazons continued to display.

Patroclese fell in beside Gabrielle again and demanded to know, "What have they got against Xena?"

The bard sighed. It was not really a story that she wanted to go into with such a new acquaintance, but she could sense the healer's concern and understood his need to know, "Not so long ago," she began, " Xena and I had serious falling out." she grimaced at the inadequacy of the words to describe the hatred and torment that had welled up between the two of them, "It was pretty bad," she added, putting a lot of emphasis on the 'bad'. "Both of us ended up hating each other - or so we thought at the time. Anyway, I went to stay with my Amazon sisters, while Xena went somewhere to get through what she felt." Gabrielle collected her thoughts and continued with her narration, aware that most of the Amazons were listening as well, "Well, eventually, Xena decided that she'd feel much better if I was dead, so she rode into the Amazon's village and abducted me, intending to kill me."

"What? She rode into a whole Amazon village on her own and just took you away?" asked the healer incredulously as he stole a look at the Warrior Princess who sauntered along stoicly behind them.

"Yeah." agreed Gabrielle," That's what this problem is about. Xena wasn't exactly in full control of herself at the time, and several of the Amazon's got hurt, but neither of us realized that any had died." she explained.

"Hey," said Patroclese suddenly, grabbing the bards arm, "How come you're still alive, then?" He thought about it for the barest second before clarifying what he meant, "I've seen her fight and if she wanted you dead, you'd be dead."

"Yeah," agreed Gabrielle with heartfelt understanding, as she pulled her arm free, "Well I guess I was lucky, because even though we were both hurting, the love in our friendship was enough to break through all the pain, anguish and hate that we'd managed to build up," her eyes were a little misty as she remembered. "Yeah... I guess I was real lucky." The bard looked over her shoulder and smiled a sad, pain tinged smile at Xena, who returned the look with a faint, tender, smile of encouragement that Gabrielle had grown to recognize and treasure.

They spent the rest of the day toiling through the dense woodlands that protected much of the Amazon Nation's lands. No one spoke much, not even Gabrielle. She was busy trying to work out ways to defuse the situation once they reached Themiscyra, while Xena wasn't known for her verbose conversation and with the Amazon's edgily watching the dark warrior's every move, Patroclese had no one else to talk to.

Evening came and a camp was made. They were still a good half day's journey from the Amazon capital and Solari saw no sense in travelling through the night. Xena was detached and, worryingly, more silent than was usually normal for her, even when Gabrielle sat beside her in open support of her friend. Yet the bard sensed that her partner was grateful for the company and the Amazons looked on, knowing that there was no longer a rift between the Warrior Princess and their Queen.

Patroclese had gotten over his nervousness about the Amazons and was in a deep conversation with a young girl that Gabrielle seemed to remember was called Alexa. The pair were soon lost in trading stories and soft laughter. The rest of the Amazon's didn't make a major show of it, but they were obviously keeping a careful watch on Xena, even though the Warrior Princess had done nothing but comply with them.

Gabrielle watched as Xena twisted her wrists within her bonds to keep the blood circulating. The warrior was staring into the fire and seemed far away from the reality of the campsite. "Hey," said the bard softly, "You okay?"

Xena seemed to return from some distant place before nodding and answering, with "Stiff shoulder," which both of them knew was an evasion of the question.

"Here, let me take a look at it," offered the bard, just wanting the warrior to know she was there for her.

Physically relaxing under Gabrielle's gentle ministrations, Xena switched back her finely honed senses to the area around them. She was aware of the movement of the wild creatures that ran almost silently in brush and through the tree canopy, all normal sounds for where they were. She had remained alert all day, more worried about the slower pace that the larger group travelled at, than her current uncertain situation. She wasn't sure how close the pursuit was, but she hoped being within Amazon territory would discourage the bounty hunters from continuing after them.

For a long period, she had heard nothing out of the ordinary. They had eaten their evening meal and settled down for an uneasy rest for the night. Gabrielle had remained at her side and she had spoken of inconsequential things, her concern at the current situation showing in her incessant talking. Xena didn't mind, in a strange way it was soothing. She almost laughed, - There was a time when her ceaseless chattering nearly drove me insane .. now I find it comforting. - She shook her head wryly at the thought.

Stiffening, her eyes suddenly narrowed as she picked up the sound of someone, or something, moving closer towards the camp - Several someones! - she decided. She concentrated, fining down her senses, narrowing onto the area of concern and blotting out everything that was not relevant to the situation. She was only vaguely aware of the salve that the bard had been rubbing into the almost healed wound, but she responded with a quiet, Thanks," as the blonde replaced the dressing.

"Have we got problems?" asked Gabrielle, recognising the tell tale signs in her friend's attitude.

"Yeah," breathed Xena, as she got slowly to her feet, "Get your staff, and try to keep out of serious trouble ... don't get caught this time, huh?"

"Who me?" whispered the bard incredulously, giving Xena her most wide eyed innocent look.

"Yeah, yeah," muttered the Warrior Princess as she moved towards the fire to add some more wood to the flames, making the embers leap into renewed life and add some light to the clearing. Circling around the camp fire, she hunkered down next to Solari and told her quietly, "We've got visitors out there. They could be after Gabrielle, so keep an eye on her."

Solari looked at her with stoney implacability, acknowledging Xena with a bear movement of her head. She gave a signal that sent two of her scouts into the woods, the Amazons stealthily slipping between the trees like silent shadows.

"Any chance that you'll cut me lose and give me my weapons?" asked the Warrior Princess neutrally.

Solari gave her an unreadable look before replying, "Can we Amazons trust you, Xena?" she replied flatly, "How do I know that this isn't a trick of yours?"

"Forget it." Xena told her, disgust evident in her voice, "Just keep Gabrielle safe," she instructed in a tone like chiselled granite.

She was on edge. She could feel the presence of the intruders, and she knew that the Amazon's were far more concerned with keeping an eye on her, than in getting ready for an attack so deep into their territory. Xena flexed the muscles in her wrists, straining against the ropes, but knowing that they had been tied all too well. it was going to make the coming fight ... interesting, to say the least.

Ghostlike, one of Solari's scouts returned bringing the news of an imminent attack, but before any of the Amazons could consider cutting the Warrior Princess loose, or even decide whether it would be safe to do so, the undergrowth around the clearing erupted and spewed forth dozens of warriors, yelling war cries and brandishing weapons.

Caught at a disadvantage, the Amazons followed Solari's shouted order, "Protect Queen Gabrielle," leaving Xena outside the protective ring of their weapons and disadvantaged by her tied hands.

A warrior rushed towards her his sword held high. Xena ducked beneath his wild slash, and rolled away from him as he swung down at her, only to have his feet kicked out from under him as he did so. Xena sprang athletically to her feet, meeting another man with a double handed punch to the gut and a two fisted uppercut to the jaw that threw him backwards and his sword up in the air to land safely into her waiting hands. With no time to cut herself free, the Warrior Princess turned to face the charging mass, weaving a deadly arc with the blade to keep the warriors back.

The Amazons held a tight cordon around Gabrielle and Patroclese, with the pair mopping up any attackers that got past the Amazon defenders. Many of the sisters had taken wounds as they dealt back death to the warriors who were pressing to reach the bard, but so far none of the women had fallen.

Xena was beating back four warriors, when her sword was clubbed from her hands, leaving her weaponless, once more, in the face of the enemy. She swiftly remedied this with a slugging backhand blow to the nearest warrior, sending him sprawling into his comrades and taking them down into a confused bundle on the ground. As another man ran towards her with an upraised sword, Xena neatly sidestepped and grabbed his passing arm, slamming it down across her knee in two heavy blows that snapped the bone and sent the sword flying. A quick forward roll gave her the opportunity to grab the fallen blade from the ground and, on the upward roll, the momentum to execute a thrust under the ribs of a warrior just about to spit Solari.

Booting the warrior's body off of her weapon, Xena spun with a whipping high kick that struck an attacker across the side of his head and somersaulted him out of the action. Yelling out her ululating battlecry, Xena backflipped over the heads of those converging upon her and landed beside a newly fallen Amazon just in time to deflect the killing blow the soldier swung. A reverse thrust of her sword took out the warrior attempting to sneak up behind her, but as he fell the sword was twisted from her grip.

Swaying to one side, Xena avoided a sword thrust, grabbed the extended arm, spun under it and used the created torque to flip him out of her way into three rushing warriors. The move, however, left her open to attack from her flanks and three warriors leapt at her clubbing her down with fists. They all went down in a heap, but one man was ejected from the brawl with a double footed thrust that sent him skywards to land some distance away. As the two remaining warriors tried to haul the Warrior Princess to her feet, she pushed off hard from the ground, flipping over to break their grip on her and head butted one before back handing another.

A quick look assured her that Gabrielle was fine and in no danger, although the Amazons had lost two sisters, and a couple more looked badly hurt. A glance up, however, told her that the attacking warriors had had enough and were dragging their own wounded and dead back into the forest where they had come from.

Xena scanned the area with a professional eye to make sure that all sources of danger were gone and, only when she was satisfied on that point, did she start to make the rounds to check what needed to be done for the injured. Gabrielle and Patroclese were already moving amongst the Amazons doing what they could to patch them up.

Xena moved to the fallen girl, Alexa, who lay unmoving. Hampered by the ropes around her wrists, she had difficulty examining her. Noticing an abandoned dagger to her side, she started to reach for it, intending to cut herself loose, only to feel the cold steel of a sword blade against her neck. A glance over her shoulder revealed one of Solari's warrior's standing guard over her. Xena shook her head slightly in angry disbelief, before pushing the weapon aside and continuing her examination of Alexa. The girl had a variety of small wounds, none of them serious, except for the sword thrust through her side, "Patroclese," she called, "You better come here. She needs to have this wound cleaned and stitched before she loses much more blood or we'll lose her," she told him.

She looked up into Solari's eyes. The Amazon remained as dour as ever, but she grated out a, "Thanks," before turning back to check on the rest of her sisters.

Xena stood wearily and shook her head. She doubted that the warriors would be back for more, they'd taken quite a beating when they had probably felt they were going to get an easy victory. However, the rest of the night wouldn't be a comfortable one, with very few of them getting any sleep. But they stayed because the injured needed to rest and the group, as a whole, would be better off moving through the forest in daylight, rather than darkness.

Looking down at her wrists, Xena sighed. She'd be damned before she asked Solari to release her again, her pride wouldn't allow it. She hoped that she hadn't made a mistake in bringing Gabrielle to the Amazons, but in truth, the sisters were still the only people that she felt the bard would be safe with. Glancing at the alert Amazon guard behind her, Xena made her way over to where Gabrielle had laid out their sleeping furs and settled down, moodily, to get what rest she could.

Chapter Six: A Meeting of Friends
The journey was not an easy one, even if short. Most of the Amazons were hurt, and they'd had to make travois litters to carry Alexa and one of the others. There were three dead that were wrapped in blankets and hung across the backs of the horses who also drew the litters. Xena remained bound, and the scouting party divided their attention between watching her and focussing their attention for another possible attack.

Word of the imminent arrival of the scouting party, and those that they were escorting, spread through the village at a pace that only such news can travel. It was also known that, before the party made their appearance, there were several injured amongst them, which meant that the Amazon healers were there to meet them as they limped into the crowds that had gathered for their arrival. The injured and dead were quickly spirited away, leaving Xena, Gabrielle and Patroclese surrounded by a large, inquisitive body of Amazon womanhood. Not all of the faces were hostile, but even the women who were usually friendly towards Xena looked concerned.

A disturbance at the back of the crowd, saw a gap open to allow Ephiny access to the new arrivals, before closing behind her as she passed through. The Queen Regent bowed her head to Gabrielle in formal greeting and then gave the younger woman a quick hug of friendship, before holding her out at arms length and with a smile declared, "Welcome home, my Queen."

Gabrielle returned the smile and was happy at the warmth of the greeting, but she shook her head slightly and said, "You're more the Amazon Queen than I am, Ephiny."

"Only until you return to take your rightful place," insisted the blonde Amazon.

"I'm just glad there's at least one friendly face here," the bard said pointedly, glancing around at the gathered Amazons and the group of guards that surrounded the Warrior Princess, before noticing that Ephiny's eyes hardened as she glanced over to where Xena stood.

As Ephiny observed Xena, a look of hostility edged onto her face, "Hello Xena," she greeted, noting that the warriors hands were bound, and making no move to extend her the friendly reception that she had given the bard.

"Ephiny," returned Xena neutrally.

"You aren't responsible for the scouts' injuries, are you?" coldness evident in her words and her eyes.

The warrior Princess returned the look with an arch of her eyebrow and an icy blue stare that would have frozen most people to the spot. Ephiny forced herself to maintain eye contact with the warrior. Xena had broken her arm when she had tried to defend Gabrielle, and had killed two sister Amazons. As Regent she had to appear strong in front of the Nation, she couldn't afford to seem to be intimidated ... even if she was!.

However, before Xena could make an answer to the question, Gabrielle jumped into the breach and stated, "Actually, I suppose I'm responsible."

The other woman's attention switched back to the bard as Ephiny exclaimed in disbelief, "You! ... But how?"

Gabrielle explained smoothly, "The warriors that attacked us were after me." - Well it wasn't exactly a lie. They might well have wanted Xena too, but they were definitely trying to take me as well. - "If it hadn't been for Xena, all of the sisters would be dead," she told her audience bluntly.

"Is that true?" Ephiny demanded of Solari.

Whatever opinions Solari may, or may not, have held about Xena, the woman had a deep abiding respect for the truth, and quickly verified Gabrielle's statement with, "She warned us that she 'heard' movements outside the camp," she affirmed and the added, "Even though she was bound, as she is now, and weaponless at the start of the fight, she managed to fight off the bulk of the attackers and, not only that, she also saved my life and Alexa's."

Ephiny gave Xena a mildly warmer look. The report of the attack, technically, should have been made in private, but by making it in open public, it gave a lot of Amazons something to think about, other than Xena's attack on the village. It also gave Ephiny something else to think about. However she quickly ordered the Amazons to go back about their business.

As the women dispersed, except for Solari and a guard of nine that included six archers, Ephiny invited Gabrielle, Xena and Patroclese to attend her, "Come with me," she said heading into the heart of the town. As they walked, they were all too aware of the stares that they, or more precisely Xena, was getting.

The silence hung around them like a cloak and, as was usual, it was Gabrielle who broke it, "How's Xenan?" she asked her friend. In a bid to find a neutral subject, she asked about Ephiny's son, named for Xena after the Warrior Princess had delivered him in a difficult birth that had threatened both mother and child's lives.

"Fine," enthused Ephiny, the proud mother, "he's getting bigger and stronger all the time and he's so like Phantes now. You'll have to see him later." She looked over to Xena, concern and coldness back in her features, "You know I have so much to thank you for there, Xena. But we have a big problem, here."

"Do tell," came the warrior's slightly sarcastic reply.

Ephiny chose to ignore the comment, although she did explain the problem, "When you smashed through the village last time, a lot of Amazons were hurt and two died. Charges were raised against you and, now that you're here, Amazon law is going to demand that you stand trial for your actions."

Xena casually answered, "You are supposing that I'd be willing to let you try me," she smiled darkly at the look that Ephiny gave her.

"Xena!" warned Gabrielle as the archers drew their bows and sighted on their prisoner, ready in case the Warrior Princess should attempt flight. Xena flicked the bard a look that said she was aware of the archers and of what she was doing. The bard was not reassured and turned to the blonde Amazon, "Ephiny," she remonstrated, "stop this. It's madness."

Ephiny looked at her friend, her Queen, and said with a tinge of sadness, "I can't Gabrielle. the charges have been laid. There is going to have to be a trial, and neither you nor I can stand against the law." She turned back to Xena and drew a breath, "Xena, you're going to have to stay in a cell until the trial."

"Oh, c'mon!" exploded an incensed bard, "Is that really necessary?"

"Hush, Gabrielle," Xena told her, "Don't worry. We'll work it out." Her icy gaze flickered across to Ephiny, "Won't we."

The blonde Amazon inclined her head slightly and answered, "Tomorrow. We'll organize the trial for the morning," she promised.

Xena swung to look at Solari, "Give my weapons to Gabrielle. I'll want to know where they are when I leave." That, of course, could have been taken in several ways, but at Ephiny's nod, Solari handed over the sword and assorted knives that the Warrior Princess normally carried about her person, Gabrielle already being in possession of the Chakram.

"Thanks," Xena drawled, "Now are you gonna show me to my 'room' or do you want me to find my own way there?"

Solari motioned for her to follow and led the Warrior Princess, and her escort, off to the town gaol, where she would be lodged for the night. Gabrielle watched them go, chewing her bottom lip in concern about how the whole situation was developing.

Turning back to Ephiny, she demanded, "This trial thing is a formality, right? I mean, there's no way that she can be found guilty of anything, right?" She was aware of the look of concern on Patroclese's features that must be a mirror to her own.

"There's a lot of hard feeling towards her, Gabrielle," the Amazon told her, "She's always had a hard core of enemies within the village who have resented what they see as outside interference in Amazon domestic issues, and those people have had a lot of time to stir up feeling against Xena. After what she did, even those who were friendly towards her doubt the wisdom of leaving her loose. She's just too damn unpredictable and violent."

"Is that what you feel, Eph?" the bard asked softly.

The curly haired Regent refused to look her friend in the eye, "Gabrielle, after what I saw her do .. after what she did to me and you ..." she shook her head, "I don't know if we can trust her anymore."

The bard put a hand out and pulled the Amazon to a halt, "What about all the good she's done for you and the Amazons as a people?" she asked quietly, "If it wasn't for Xena risking her life time and again for you, do you really think you'd still have an Amazon Nation?"

Ephiny shook the hand off, "I know, Gabrielle. I know. But isn't she as much a danger to us as those that she got rid of? I owe her a lot, but I have to think of the Amazons and what's best for them."

"Are you sure that's it?" asked the bard, misty green eyes boring into brown, "Are you sure that you're worried about the Nation and not just smarting over being bested by her so easily?" She saw the Regent wince.

"All right, I admit it, she embarrassed me. Broke my arm and trampled on my pride, but God's, Gabrielle! I can forgive her that .. I can, but what's going to stop her from doing that again? .. to you? to us?" questioned Ephiny intently.

"She can't make any promises, Eph, neither can I. But the circumstances were pretty unique and I doubt they'll ever happen again. I'll fill you in on all the painful sordid details, so you'll really know what happened," she told her friend, "Then I hope you'll judge Xena differently. She doesn't deserve your hostility .. she really was a victim of the whole thing."

Ephiny snorted derisively, "Oh yeah! You get dragged out of here behind a horse and Xena comes out of it the victim."

They turned and headed along the dirt streets, through the tight packed huts to where Gabrielle's own dwelling stood. The bard's lips tightened at her friend's comment, but she knew that pushing the matter wouldn't help, so changing the subject slightly, the bard asked, "What exactly happens at this trial?"

"A council of five elders will sit to hear the evidence." explained the Amazon, trying to adjust her perceptions and relegate her own anger from her thoughts, "The trouble is that everyone here knows, or thinks they know, exactly what happened that day. So, at the moment, things don't look good," explained the Amazon.

"What do you mean, 'things don't look good'?" demanded the bard angrily, "I thought there wasn't supposed to be a judgement until all the evidence was heard in a trial."

"Gabrielle," Ephiny explained patiently, "She killed Amazons. Our people want justice."

"I'm all for justice," agreed the bard, "I'm just not into lynch mobs and revenge mentalities!"

"Neither am I," agreed Ephiny, "That's why as Queen Regent, I'm going to appoint the most fair minded of the available elders. I can't sway their decision, but I can make sure that Xena gets a fair hearing."

"I suppose that's something," agreed the bard as they reached her hut, "Ephiny?" she asked, "Can you let me have some scrolls on Amazon law? I think it might be helpful if I know what's going on in the court."

Ephiny smiled warmly, "I'll bring some right over," she promised. "You should know, however," she told her friend, "that although you can't influence the trial as Queen, there's nothing to stop you taking the part as Xena's advocate. You know everything that happened, so you're in a unique position to draw the truth out. When all of the facts come out, it might just be enough to sway the elder's decision." She saw the look of hope spring onto the bard's face, "That's not a certainty," she warned, "but it's better than nothing."

"You're right," agreed the bard as the Amazon turned to go, "Ephiny," she said, "Thanks."

"For what," smiled the fair haired woman.

"For being a friend ... to me and Xena both," Gabrielle told her with feeling.

"I'll do the right thing, Gabrielle. Just don't expect too much of me. I've got a lot of bad thoughts to work through, but I'm willing to listen to what you have to say. Tell me about what happened when I find those scrolls for you, please?" Ephiny asked earnestly as she turned and headed off to find the law scrolls that the bard had requested.

Gabrielle opened the door to her house and motioned Patroclese to follow her inside.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

- Here we go again! - thought the Warrior Princess as the cell door clanged shut behind her. They had stripped her of her leathers, giving her a simple white skirt and tunic in their place. The ropes had been replaced with manacles, her reputation doing her no favours in her treatment by the Amazons.

She took a slow perambulation around the room, inspecting the amenities. The cell was a large one, big enough to contain up to eight prisoners comfortably. As she had it to herself, she could please herself which bed she chose to use. She selected one at random and stretched out on it, deciding that she might as well get some rest, if she was going to be forced into inactivity anyway. She closed her eyes and her thoughts drifted back to the events between Solon's death and her and Gabrielle's reconciliation.

Nothing seemed clear about that time. She had been filled with rage and pain over the death of her son, but, the attack on the Amazon village was a total blur! All she had been aware of was the need to find and kill Gabrielle. The muddled images that came hazily to her mind could have been from any part of her blood soaked past; she couldn't connect them directly to what had happened here!

Thoughts of that tortured time filled her with despair as she relived the loss of Solon, yet again, and remembered just how close she had been to destroying the one truly good thing in her life; her friendship, her bond, with Gabrielle. - Get a grip, Xena! - she told herself sternly, - You don't have time for self pity. What happened, happened. It's in the past. Put it aside and get on with your life. -

She focussed on her present situation. As dungeons went, the Amazon gaol was far from the worst one she'd spent time in. She almost chuckled as she thought about just how many there'd been, before deciding that she might as well grab some sleep while she had the comfort of a bed. So, using the professional soldier's skill of resting whenever the opportunity presented itself, she put herself into an instant light sleep, closing her mind to her worries.

Outside, an Amazon guard took a peep through the grill into the cell, "Well," she said in surprise, "She really is a cool one!" she told her fellow guards.

"Probably thinks she's got nothing to worry about, being a friend of the Queen, and all," said another one spitefully.

"You know that our laws don't work like that, Demarris!" Solari admonished her. "The trial will be fair, and the elders will give true judgement. The Queen has no part in deciding the fate of the Warrior Princess."

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Patroclese was feeling irritable and impatient. He'd had to stumble through the quagmire of problems that had assailed them ever since they had met up with the Amazons. He didn't really understand what was going on, or what had caused the problem in the first place. Gabrielle was pretty much uncommunicative about the whole thing .. he'd been sent out of the hut to get a meal when Ephiny had returned, and hadn't heard the tale of exactly what had transpired in the past. Now, as the bard worked her way through endless scrolls on Amazon law, he felt that he couldn't put his head outside the door because the Amazon's were suspicious of any man on their territory. His trip to the dining hall had been really nerve wracking.

He sat in a chair and fumed silently, until he couldn't stand it any longer and demanded, "Can't you do anything? I mean, you are the Amazon Queen. Surely your word has got to count for something here."

Gabrielle looked up from what she was reading and answered bluntly, "Technically, I have no say in this whatever. The Amazons brought in a law, many years ago, that removed all jurisdiction of trials from the Queen to prevent judgements based on favouritism, rather than the law."

"So you're just going to sit back and do nothing?", Patroclese sounded incredulous.

"Well," Gabrielle told him thoughtfully, "I can't do anything to influence how the Elders decide the case, but as Ephiny said, I can act as Xena's advocate." She looked a little abstracted as she added, "I'm sure that I can make the Amazons see some of the wider issues that were at play here."

"What issues?" asked the healer in exasperation. "What happened?"

Gabrielle had returned her attention back to the scrolls and was making some notes, "I don't have time to explain it all now, " she told him impatiently, "Wait for the trial tomorrow. You'll find out all about it then."

Patroclese rose from the chair in frustration, and moved across to the window where he watched the Amazon women going about their lives, "Did you get a look at the faces of some of those women?" he asked morosely, "They've already made up their minds about what the verdict should be." He turned back to look at the bard again and asked, "What's the penalty for what she did, if she's convicted?"

"The Elders have a fairly wide range of discretionary punishments that they can hand out." Gabrielle told him quietly, "They range from banishment to death."

"Death," whispered the healer in disbelief, "But they can't ...."

The bard did her best to calm the healer's fears, although her own doubts were clear to read in her eyes, "The Amazons are a fair people," she assured him, "Once they get all the facts, they'll let Xena go." She tapped a scroll thoughtfully, "Besides, if things go wrong, there might be another way out of this."

Patroclese looked a question at her, but Gabrielle just shrugged and told him, "Wait and see what happens tomorrow, before we start worrying about other ways to free her."

Chapter Seven: Trials of Life
The trial was held in the Amazon meeting hall in the centre of the town. The hall had been built to house Amazon gatherings so that it was plenty big enough to hold everyone who wanted to attend .. which was close to being the whole local Amazon community, along with a few of those from farms that lay close by.

The court assembled about two candlemarks after the night's fast had been broken. Xena was brought into the hall, and the assembled Amazons took their seats on the benches provided. The Elders then entered and took their places on a raised dias, behind a long table at the far end of the hall. Xena sat with Gabrielle at a table immediately in front of them, with two guards standing directly behind the chained Warrior Princess. Tarelle, the prosecutor, sat at a second table to the left of the first.

As they waited for the court to come to order, Xena allowed a small, self mocking smile to flit over her face. Gabrielle caught the look and asked her friend, "What are you thinking?"

"Oh," replied Xena lightly, "Just that it seems we've been through something like this before."

The bard smiled back, "Well that turned out all right in the end," she reminded her friend.

"True," agreed Xena. "But I don't think that I'll be able to trick Ares into resurrecting the dead this time," she added. However, she felt comforted by the gentle squeeze that the bard gave her hand.

With everyone assembled, the hearing began. Tarelle, an Amazon who clearly stood with the anti-Xena faction, had been given the task as prosecutor of the charges, "The Amazon People charge Xena of Amphipolis, Warrior Princess of Calmai, Destroyer of Nations, with murder, grievous bodily harm and the abduction of Queen Gabrielle, with the intent to do murder upon her, and thereby commit treason against the Amazon people."

"Now wait a minute," declared Gabrielle hotly, standing up to contest the last part of the charges, "I have never sought to charge Xena with my abduction! And just how could she have committed treason? She's not an Amazon."

With a look to the Elders to gain their approval, the red haired Tarelle turned to the bard and said, "Forgive me, my Queen," it sounded almost as if she choked on that bit, "but you are the Queen of the Amazons and as such your person is part of the Amazon state. It is therefore within the people's right to bring the charge of abduction, because it was their Queen who was abducted."

Gabrielle looked a bit stunned about that, but she wasn't giving up on the charge of treason, "Look, even if the charge of abduction is admitted to the proceedings, there's no way that treason could or should be considered."

"On the contrary, Queen Gabrielle," Tarelle almost purred, "Xena is the Queen's Champion, and as such subject to the laws of treason."

"Tarelle is correct," contributed Elder Katanis, a raven haired woman with flecks of grey at her temples and a hardness to her face that seemed to speak of severity.

Amara, the Eldest, a white haired woman with an air of wise patience about her, made the first ruling, "The charges stand as presented. Tarelle," she instructed, "call your first witness.

"I call Ephiny, Queen Regent, to hold truth," stated Tarelle formally.

The blonde Amazon made her way from one of the front benches where she had been seated. Called to hold truth, all Amazon's were honour bound to give a true testimony of events they were questioned about. Ephiny stood stiffly as she faced Tarelle. Her talk with Gabrielle had led her to re-evaluate her opinions and position on the case.

"Were you present on the day of the attack?" asked the prosecutor.

"Yes," agreed the blonde.

"Did you see the accused in her attack on this village?" continued Tarelle.

"Yes," repeated Ephiny.

"Were you not attacked by Xena as you sought to protect Queen Gabrielle from a savage assault?"

"Yes, I was," agreed Ephiny and tried to add, "but it wasn't the Xe...."

"You've already agreed that it was Xena?" interrupted Tarelle.

"Yes, I know, but...." agreed the blonde Amazon, trying to clarify what she had seen.

"Well then, can you describe what happened?" pressed Tarelle relentlessly.

Ephiny had no choice but to describe how Xena had fought past her attempts to stop her, breaking her arm and attacking any Amazon that had stood in her way until she was able to get to Queen Gabrielle and remove her from the village by dragging her behind a fast moving horse.

"You saw Xena strike Mariss and Denara?" demanded the red haired prosecutor.

"Yes," agreed Ephiny quietly.

"And both of these sisters died of the wounds received from Xena's hand?" she pressed.

"Yes," agreed Ephiny almost reluctantly.

"And you also witnessed the brutal abduction of Queen Gabrielle?" persisted Tarelle.

"Yes," Ephiny stated once more to the hushed hall.

"Did Xena attempt to kill her, while here in the village?" demanded the prosecutor.

Ephiny bit her lip and stood quietly, reluctant to answer the question.

"You are under oath to answer truly," reminded Tarelle.

Ephiny looked an apology at both Xena and Gabrielle, "She threw her chakram at the Queen," she answered in a quiet voice.

"Xena is deadly accurate with this weapon, is she not?" asked the red head.

Ephiny nodded her reply.

"How is it she failed to hit the Queen?" she demanded.

"I deflected her aim," returned the blonde Regent softly.

"I have no further questions of this witness," Tarelle told the Elders.

"Do you have anything that you wish to ask Regent Ephiny, Queen Gabrielle?" asked Amara for the Elders.

Gabrielle rose from beside Xena and moved around in front of the table she had been seated at. Speaking to the Elders, Gabrielle began by saying, "I'd like to go back to the time a few days before the raid on the village took place."

"Is this relevant, Queen Gabrielle?" asked Sarelle, the youngest of the Elders serving as judge, a woman who looked young even though she had reached her fiftieth year.

"It's crucial to the whole event, Elder Sarelle," affirmed the bard seriously.

The Elders conferred quietly together for a few moments before Amara nodded her head and invited, "Please continue, my Queen."

Gabrielle turned to Ephiny who stood to one side of the dias, "I want to go back, before the day of the attack," she instructed her witness, "Can you tell the everyone of the events that took place at the Centaur gathering prior to Xena's alleged attack here on the village."

Ephiny outlined the events surrounding the appearance of Callisto and Hope amongst the Centaurs. She described the murder of Kaleipus and the battles that ensued, along with the many deaths and Xena's heroic part in limiting the damage and those deaths, finally defeating Callisto.

Tarelle, stood and objected to the relevance of the evidence being given, "The trial has been called to judge Xena's crimes against the Amazons, not to applaud her aid to a bunch of worthless animals."

That, drew a heated glare from Ephiny, who had married the Centaur, Phantes, and whose own son, Xenan, was a Centaur Prince. However, the Elder Amara, quickly quashed Tarelle's complaint with the statement, "To understand the instant we must look at the whole," and was backed up by nods of affirmation from the other Elders sitting in judgement.

Gabrielle returned to her questioning, while a fuming Tarelle returned to her seat once again, "And you say that Xena managed to save all the children at the gathering, including your own son, Xenan?"

"Yes," agreed Ephiny, "she particularly made certain the children were safe, as well as managing to ensure the safety of many of the adults as well."

Gabrielle had thought hard about the next questions. She moved behind the table until she stood behind the Warrior Princess and placed her hands firmly on her friends shoulders, partly as support, partly as a form of restraint. She knew that Xena's face was a blank mask, emotionless, expressionless. Her shields had come up as soon as Gabrielle had begun to trespass on the sensitive areas surrounding Solon's death. She also knew that raw pain still existed under that emotional barrier, because this was a topic that still seared her own feelings as well.

"Ephiny, a boy died in the centaur village .. the boy was Kaleipus' adopted son, Solon. Did you know that the boy was Xena's own son, given to be raised by the centaurs just shortly after his birth?" asked Gabrielle clearly, the question bringing a hum of speculation to the hall.

Ephiny shook her head, "At the time I didn't know that Xena had a son. She'd kept his existence a hard secret. It was only afterwards at the funeral pyre that I found out the truth," acknowledged the Regent.

Calming herself, Gabrielle looked at Ephiny and asked, "Do you know who killed Xena's son, Solon?" She tightened her grip on Xena's shoulders as she felt her tense beneath her hands.

"The daughter of Dahak, the child Hope," came Ephiny's quiet reply.

"Do you know who Dahak is?" questioned the bard.

Ephiny nodded and answered, "He's known as the Dark One. He is a god of ultimate evil and destruction, who seeks entry to our world and total dominion over it."

That produced a stir amongst the Amazons, most of whom had never even heard of the entity called Dahak.

Tarelle, stood once more, however, and demanded of the Elders, "Has this any relevance to Xena's slaying of our sisters, or her abduction of our Queen, or her treason? I have heard nothing to shed any light on the Warrior Princess's actions in mitigation of her offences."

The Elders conferred once more and then Amara spoke to Gabrielle, "Tarelle has a valid point. Testimony should be relevant to the charges."

"If you just give me but a moment or two," pleaded Gabrielle, "I'm sure the relevancy of this will become clear."

The Elders whispered together again before coming to a consensus that Amara pronounced, "Very well. You may have a little more time so that we may judge where this is going. But, my Queen, I hope that you are not trying to waste this tribunals time."

Thank you Elder Amara," acknowledged Gabrielle gratefully. She turned back to Ephiny, "Do you know who Hope's mother is?" she continued with a dogged determination, fighting her own feelings while trying to help Xena control hers.

"Yes," responded Ephiny quietly.

"Tell the Elders, and our sisters, please," instructed the bard.

Ephiny looked towards the table of Elders and said in a clear voice, "The mother of Hope was Queen Gabrielle." Surprised murmurs rippled around the hall at that revelation.

When the noise had quietened down, Gabrielle asked, "With your intimate knowledge of the events prior to the advent of the attack, would you say that Xena was deeply affected by grief and a sense that I had betrayed her?", she squeezed tightly on Xena's shoulders, knowing she must have hurt the still tender wound from the arrow at Menassos.

Ephiny licked her lips and hesitated before answering, "With the loss of her son, I think that Xena's grief may have unbalanced her reason. She could have believed you'd deliberately betrayed her."

"Ephiny, when the prosecutor asked you about the attack on the village, you tried to say something about Xena. Could you tell us what that was?" questioned the bard.

The Regent thought for a moment before answering, "It's just that when Xena was in front of me, she seemed like a totally different woman. Everything she said, did, the way she moved were all different from the woman I knew. It was as if she'd become a totally different person."

Gabrielle excused Ephiny as a witness and returned the floor to the prosecutor, "Thank you, Ephiny for your candour in this matter."

Tarelle called more witnesses to give evidence on the events that transpired in the village, basing her case upon the attack itself, without bothering to investigate the cause. In truth that was her task, but this was a far more complex situation that required, wisdom and compassion to fully understand all that had happened and how actions far removed from the Amazons had triggered the attack upon them that resulted in death and injury.

Gabrielle could not refute the evidence of the attack, but she did ask each of the witnesses whether Xena had attacked anyone first, or had only responded when Amazon's tried to attack or restrain her .. in other words acting in self defence. Yet she knew that to win the case, she would need to show something else to gain the Elder's judgement in Xena's favour.

With the end of the Amazon witnesses presenting evidence on the attack, the Elders stood and Amara spoke, "We have had a long morning of evidence, it is time to recess until after lunch. Take the prisoner back to her cell, if you please." The two guards grabbed Xena's arms and escorted her from the hall back to the gaol until the court resumed.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Pacing restlessly in her cell, Xena ignored the tray of food that Solari had brought in for her. The re-hashing of the events leading to Solon's death left her edgy, miserable and angry .. not at Gabrielle, but at the thought that the memories, of that difficult time, would be causing the bard as much pain as they did for her.

- Of course, I could end this right now, - she snorted at herself, jerking the links on the manacles, knowing that with just a little effort she would be able to snap them. - I could break out of here and ride away before any of them could stop me, - she told herself. - The only trouble is, that would hurt Gabrielle, and I've done more than enough damage there. -

She stopped pacing and slumped onto a cot, - It might actually be better this way. If the Amazon's decide to execute me, at least with my death Gabrielle will no longer have to fear Caesar coming after her. - she brooded.

Standing up she started to pace once more. She knew that it wasn't her time to die yet, that she had still much to do, so much to atone for, but she was growing tired of past mistakes, old as well as new, continually coming back to challenge her. - Is it any wonder that I'm ready to give up! - her mind shouted at her, - It would be the easy way out, - she told herself, then stopped dead still in the middle of the cell, - Since when have I ever gone for the easy anything? - she sneeringly asked herself, - C'mon, Xena! Snap out of this. You're just letting those events get to you! - she berated herself, and then more thoughtfully, - I just wish I could remember more of what really happened because, may the gods bear witness, everything that happened here is just some cloudy haze. -

She turned as the bolts on the door were drawn back and Solari appeared, "Recess is over. We have to get you back to the court now."

Dipping her head in acknowledgement, Xena preceded the guard commander out of the door and allowed the escort to conduct her back to the meeting house.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Upon resumption, Tarelle called the bard to the witness stand, "I call upon Gabrielle, Queen of the Amazons, to bear truth," she announced smugly.

As she stood up from her seat beside Xena, she gave her friend's arm a comforting squeeze, before walking calmly, head high, to the witness stand where she turned to face Tarelle and her first question.

"Queen Gabrielle, on the day of the attack against the town ..."

"Excuse me, but the attack was not aimed at either the Amazon's or the town. It was directed at me, personally and alone. It was unfortunate that other people were hurt and killed in the process, but it was not, and should not be described as an attack on Themiscyra and it's people," the bard corrected firmly.

"Perhaps I should remind you that under Amazon law you are the embodiment of the Amazon Nation and, therefore an attack on you is an attack on us," smirked Tarelle with assurance.

"Then I think I should ask the Elders to take under consideration the fact that I have a personal life away from the Amazons and these events stemmed from those, and had nothing to do with the Nation," protested Gabrielle again, turning towards where the Elders sat quietly listening.

"Your point is noted, my Queen," acknowledged Amara, "Now if you could please just answer the prosecutor's questions, we would appreciate it."

"Thank you, Elder," said Tarelle appreciatively.

"As you wish," answered the Amazon Queen simply having made her point.

Turning back to Gabrielle, Tarelle smirked and began once again, "Now on the day of the attack against the town and our people, where exactly were you?"

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, "I was in the purification hut where I had been for three days, trying to ...."

"Just a statement of your location is sufficient, my Queen," purred Tarelle making the title sound like an insult. She saw the bard clench her fists and could see the knuckles whiten, "What happened when you heard the carnage taking place outside?" she questioned.

"Joxer had come into the hut to get me after hearing me cry out," Gabrielle remembered.

"Joxer?" questioned Elder Sarelle, who had not been in the town at the time of the attack.

"A male friend of both the defendant and the Queen," offered Tarelle in explanation.

"Very well," acknowledged Sarelle, "Please continue, my Queen."

Swallowing, and looking over Tarelle's shoulder to lock eyes with Xena, Gabrielle continued her narration, "I was weak from the purification ritual, and Joxer carried me outside to revive me. As he stepped through the door I could see there was trouble. Amazon's were attacking Xena, Ephiny was on the ground .. it was a scene from one of my nightmares," she ventured softly.

"What happened then?" prodded the prosecutor.

"I .. I .. don't remember," replied Gabrielle, very aware of the anguish in Xena's eyes as she struggled to recall exactly what had happened.

"Oh, come now, Queen Gabrielle, surely you're not asking us to believe that you can't remember the Destroyer of Nations throwing her chakram at you?" persisted Tarelle.

"I .. It's really not clear," stammered Gabrielle.

"Perhaps the memories, the memory of your best friend trying to kill you, hurts too much?" pushed the prosecutor, "Or perhaps it's what she did after, that you are having trouble reconciling as an act of friendship?" probed the red head relentlessly, "Are you telling this court that you remember nothing of what happened to you?"

"Leave her alone!" growled a voice that promised severe retribution if it was ignored. Xena was on her feet and moving across the floor before her guards realised what she was doing.

Tarelle rounded on her, showing either supreme bravery, or total stupidity, when she sneered, "What! The Warrior Princess seeks to protect the Amazon Queen! There's a turn up for the books. Or is it just that you believe only you have the privilege of inflicting severe physical damage upon her whenever it suits you ... and you alone!"

Having reached Gabrielle, the raven haired warrior rounded on the prosecutor, and the look that Tarelle saw on the Warrior Princess's face made her own blanche. With a furious wrench, Xena snapped the linking chain on her cuffs and bore down on Tarelle who, to give her her due, stood her ground, even though she looked terrified.

"No, Xena!" shouted the bard making a grab for her friend's arm as pandemonium erupted throughout the meeting hall, with guards rushing towards the scene of the confrontation, weapons levelled and ready to subdue the tall warrior.

Amara hammered thunderously with her gavel, trying to restore order before the whole affair turned into a riot, "Everyone stand still!" she roared with an amazing volume of lung power for an elderly woman.

Gabrielle pushed herself between Xena and Tarelle, and tried to use her body to shield her friend from the hostile guards. Knowing that, if she really wanted too, her friend could by-pass her restraining influence in a wide variety of ways to get to Tarelle. Instead she merely pressed forward until Gabrielle felt like the meat in a sandwich as the two squared up.

Ignoring everything that was going on around her, her eyes never breaking contact with the redhead, Xena's voice pitched down to a low threatening register and spoke words that only she, Tarelle and Gabrielle could hear above the noise, "You can say what you like about me, you can accuse me of whatever you want to, but don't you ever speak to her in that manner again!"

The prosecutor went as white as a ghost as she saw and read the undeniable menace in the Warrior Princess's eyes and knew that it wasn't an idle treat. She tried hard, but couldn't stop a convulsive swallow in a very dry throat.

"Be nice!" warned Xena in a deadly tone, "Or I won't be."

Seeing that the warrior was not physically threatening anyone, or trying to escape, the guards had enough sense not to charge in and make a tense situation turn deadly. While Solari snapped orders to the guards, Xena, having made her point, allowed Gabrielle to push her back away from the prosecutor, where members of the guard could surround their prisoner once more.

The bard turned to her friend and hissed in exasperated irritation, "That was plain dumb, Xena. You could have gotten yourself killed, and may have done our case all kinds of damage here."

Shrugging, the dark haired woman, looked down into her friend's eyes and told her, "She was attacking you, Gabrielle. Alright, not physically, but it was still an attack on you, on your position. I needed to let her know that it wasn't a viable option for her, okay," she quirked a smile, "I'm still Queen's champion and protector, remember?"

"Xena ..." began Gabrielle again, still angry and very concerned about the effect the outburst would have.

"Yell at me later, Gabrielle," the warrior told her calmly as she surveyed the shouting angry crowds as those supporting Tarelle demanded that action be taken against the Warrior Princess, while the Elders demanded order and Gabrielle's supporters railed against the way that Tarelle had badgered the Queen.

Finally, after a lot of shouting, threats, and a few outbreaks of physical violence, order was restored to the court, with several of the most vocal and belligerent Amazon's having been ejected from the meeting house by Solari's guards.

Her voice sounding a little ragged from all the shouting she'd been doing, Amara addressed the court, "Since we are nearing the time for the evening meal, and there is still a substantial amount of evidence to be heard as well as tempers to be cooled down, we have decided to adjourn for the day." She turned to Solari, "Take the prisoner back to the gaol."

With alert guards watching her every move, Xena allowed herself to be escorted from the meeting house, ignoring the catcalls and jeers that were thrown in her direction, idly twirling the broken chains hanging from her cuffs.

"As for you, Tarelle, and you, Queen Gabrielle, we'd like to have some words with you in the back chamber," Amara stated, while scribbling a hurried note, handing it to a guard, and quietly speaking a few directions. Noticing the bard's gaze following the prisoner and her escort, she reinforced her order with a curt, "Now."

Cheeks flushed with embarrassment at the dressing down she'd just received from the Elders, Gabrielle made her way quickly across town to where the thick stone walled gaol stood on a backstreet next to Royal Guard command headquarters. Amara and the other Elders had not been happy with the way that the court session had been forced to end; the bard was told plainly that she was expected to answer all questions put to her truthfully, without being influenced by friendship or personal concerns. She was Amazon Queen and it was time she behaved as such, and not some spoilt child!

Tarelle had looked smug at that, but she didn't get off lightly either. She was lectured about harassing and goading witnesses, the Queen in particular, and she was also warned that her belligerent attitude towards the defendant was far too personal. Amara had finally told her, "If you cannot remain objective about this task, we will replace you with someone who can."

Thoroughly chastened, the pair had finally been allowed out of the Elder's chambers and free to plan their strategies for the morrow's continuation of the trial. Gabrielle knew that she had to speak to Xena to try and work out some plan of action. She would try to fudge her evidence as much as possible, but she didn't want her friend getting protective when Tarelle pushed her. Outbursts like the one that had ended the day's session looked bad and made true the statement that the Warrior Princess couldn't control her temper and resorted to physical argument whenever it suited her.

As she reached the gaol, she saw Ephiny approaching with a large covered tray. She stood and waited by the door as the Regent caught her up, "Thought you'd be heading here when the Elders got through with you," she grinned rakishly, "Get a spanking did you?"

"Ephiny!" exclaimed the bard, "We're all mature women, not children."

"Well did you?" insisted the curly haired blonde.

Gabrielle gave her a version of Xena's 'look', but when it made no impression on her friend, she sighed and conceded, "A verbal one."

"Thought so," she grinned, "C'mon, lets get this food into Xena. I've brought enough for you as well, I don't think either one of you ate much at lunch. Solari said Xena didn't touch hers."

Gabrielle scowled as she held the heavy door open so Ephiny could get in, - If I don't watch her, she really doesn't take proper care of herself, - she thought.

"Open it up Solari," she heard the Regent saying, as she hurried along the gloomy corridor to catch up, "Gabrielle's right behind me and I want them both to eat this while it's hot."

There was the sound of a key turning in a lock and bolts being drawn back. As the bard entered the brightly lit cell, her searching eyes soon found Xena sitting moodily on her cot. She was pleased to note that the broken manacles had been removed and not replaced.

Ephiny set the tray down on the bed and then gave the warrior and bard a stern look, "Before either of you starts yelling at the other, you eat what's on that tray. If you don't agree to that, I'll have Solari bring the guards in here and force feed the pair of you .. I don't want you collapsing in court from starvation." she warned. She got a scowl from Xena and grin from Gabrielle, but she also got their agreement.

The Regent left them digging into the large pot of fish stew and fresh warm bread, and knew that they wouldn't be able to resist the soft crumbly cheese that the bard adored, nor the fruit that Xena favoured, - Well at least they'll have full stomachs to argue on, - she told herself as she watched Solari swing the door closed and lock it tight.

"Hey, you're head of the guards, Soli, what are you doing pulling this duty?" asked the blonde intrigued, knowing that her guard captain had plenty of people she could assign the task too.

Glancing through the door grill at the two occupants, Solari sighed and shrugged, "Xena's got an awful lot of sisters ready to try something stupid against her. Poni, Malonda and me figured that the best way to avoid that was to make sure one of us was always around her."

"I didn't realise things were that bad," muttered Ephiny, annoyed at herself.

"Well you've had your hands full with Gabrielle and arranging the trial," soothed the dark haired guard captain. "Poni figured that no one was going to try anything dumb if the three highest ranking officers in the guards were on duty."

The Regent nodded. Technically, Solari and Eponin were of equal rank, Solari as Guard Captain, Eponin as Weapons Master, but everyone knew that Poni was a wily campaigner and probably had more influence than the Guard Captain. Solari didn't mind or care, she knew she still had plenty she could learn from the other woman, and they were firm friends. Malonda was their protege and head of the Scouts. The pair of them were grooming the younger Amazon to fill in where they needed someone they could trust and who thought like them.

- It seems to be working pretty well, - acknowledged Ephiny to herself.

"Eph, what do we do about Xena tomorrow? I know she's your friend, but honestly, we can't have a repeat performance of what happened today in court," Solari ventured.

"Have we got any stronger shackles?" she asked.

"Nothing that would hold her if she was determined to bust them," responded the other woman, "Honestly, Eph, if she wanted to break out of here, there's absolutely nothing we could do to stop her.

"I know," answered the Regent, chewing her lip. "Amara sent me a message just before I brought that food over here .. I haven't had a chance to look at it, but I'm guessing it's about the same thing. I'll go look into it and see what we can come up with. Have someone sent round to Vallis at the smithy. Tell her to stay put, that I'll have an all night job for her. Tell her she'll need a couple of her apprentices as well."

"Sure thing, Eph," responded Solari as she watched the Regent leave.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

They had eaten in silence. Xena had a dour expression on her face, knowing that she was going to get a lecture from Gabrielle about letting her fight her own battles. - Well too bad, bard! - she grumbled at herself, - I'm responsible for this. If I hadn't let my anger and rage get a grip on me the attack on the village would never have happened! - She squeezed her eyes shut trying to visualize the events, piecing things together from what she heard in court. She shook her head in exasperation. It was like a thick blanket of fog lay over the events and nothing seemed to shift it.

"Hey?" Gabrielle asked softly when she saw the looked of strained concentration on her friend's face.

Xena's eyes snapped open and she read concern in Gabrielle's eyes, "Hey yourself," she answered trying to keep the angry anxiety out of her voice.

"Wanna talk about it?" probed the bard gently brushing a stray wisp of hair away from the deep blue pools that had an unusually lost look in them.

Fighting the urge to jerk her head away from the touch, any touch, Xena shook her head, "When do I get the lecture?" she asked with a slight quirk to her lips as she sought to change the subject.

"What lecture?" questioned the honey blonde, a frown creasing her brow as she wondered, - Should I let her get away with avoiding my question like that? -

"The one where you tell me to let you fight your own battles .. that you're a grown woman and not a little girl any more .. that I could have gotten myself killed .. you know, that one." supplied the warrior with a lopsided grin.

"If you know what I'm going to say, then there's no need to say it," shrugged Gabrielle, deciding that she was far more concerned about what it really was on Xena's mind, "Now just what is it that's really bothering you?" she asked insistently.

Xena arched an eyebrow at her and growled, "You're not going to let this drop are you?"

"Nope. I'm your advocate, and I need to know what's going on if I'm going to get us out of this," she persisted.

Letting out a long sigh, and giving a small shrug, the Warrior Princess looked away from her friend and said softly, "It's really frustrating, Gabrielle. I listened to the evidence in that court today, and none of it was familiar. It was like I was never there." She looked absently at the wall as if willing the scene to be played out there for her, "I know it's me they're talking about. I remember all the anger, rage and frustration I felt after we .. after Solon ... well after that everything seems to get foggy."

"Xena," the bard spoke gently, "I know it's hard, and we've avoided talking about this because it hurts, but it's important we know now. Just what did you do when you left the centaurs?"

"Do?" she ran her strong fingers through her luxuriant black hair, "Gods, Gabrielle. I don't know. I think I just went off to mourn somewhere."

"Try to remember, Xena. It might help us sort out why you don't remember coming to Themiscyra and what happened here," pressed the blonde Queen carefully.

Chewing her lip, Xena tried to take herself back to the time after the funeral pyres, "I .. I left the village, and travelled north," her brow wrinkled in concentration as she struggled to replace missing time in her mind, "It was cold. I re .. remember snow? A mountain?" She shook her head in frustration, "Gods, Gabrielle," these could be memories from any time!"

The bard looked at her with pleading eyes, "Keep trying, Xena. I know we're getting somewhere. You just have to keep trying."

The warrior pulled in another deep breath and concentrated on the cold, on the mountain, on the snow, "My heart felt as if it had been shattered then crushed," she said in a small quiet voice, the pain of the memories was causing her head to hurt, and it almost felt as if a wall had been erected around those memories to keep her out.

Concentrating hard, sweat beginning to bead on her brow as she fought the building pain and hammered against the stubborn wall. "I found the highest place I could to sing Solon to rest, but my song was filled with the screams of my soul. I was alone again, everything had been a betrayal, I'd lost my son and my best friend ... and ... and then," her eyes snapped open full of fiery rage.

"What?" demanded the blonde anxiously, "what happened, Xena?"

"Ares," the warrior breathed the name like a curse, "Ares came."

Images now flooded into her mind. She felt again the crushing ache that she had felt upon that frozen mountaintop and she knew that Ares had worked on that, on her maternal instincts and the hate that had sprung up, like black bile, to infect her mind, her whole being! He had twisted the knife with the delicate precision of the master tormentor that he was, and she had responded with the murderous rage that had needed Gabrielle's blood to satisfy it.

"Xena?" there was a worried edge to the bard's tone, "What about Ares? What did he do?"

Turning her haunted gaze back to the Amazon Queen, the warrior said in a whisper almost too soft to hear, "I'm so sorry, Gabrielle .. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," the bard tried to soothe her, "It's over, I forgave you long ago."

"I never realised," the dark haired woman choked, "I didn't remember." A single tear rolled down her cheek, "How could I have done that?"

Trying to turn Xena's thoughts away from the harrowing personal attack on her, Gabrielle attempted to get her to focus on Ares, "What happened with Ares, Xena. What did he say? What did he do?"

And so she told her. Haltingly and with much pain filled self-recrimination .. she told the bard all of it, and felt the full weight of what she had done slam into her with a sickening reality that burned her fragile soul.

On to Chapter 8 - 10

Return to Destiny's Dominion - Main Page

Return to The Bard's Corner